"Could I have some more wine please?" Rosalind Zabini asked Narcissa.
"Of course," the Malfoy matriarch replied.
Narcissa could have used her wand to pour the wine; but her mother had taught her the importance of being a proper hostess, so she poured the wine by hand.
"You pour so nicely, Cissa," Nicola Crabbe remarked. "Whenever I try to pour a drink, it always sloshes."
"My mother made me practice a lot," Narcissa explained.
"Druella Black is truly everything a Pureblood woman should strive to be," Iris Parkinson commented.
Narcissa pinched her lips slightly. For the most part, she did respect her mother, but the two had never been close. Just like a proper Pureblood, Druella Black had always been about propriety, but she had never been about forming strong emotional attachments with any of her daughters.
Narcissa had always strived to be a proper Pureblood woman as well, but she had also always strived to have a real connection and bond with her husband and son.
"I suppose your mother misses your father a bit," Iris spoke to Narcissa, even though she was giving Rosalind a significant look.
Cygnus Black, Narcissa's father, had died about two years ago.
"I guess," Narcissa responded. "They were married for many years, after all. But with my mother, it's hard to tell. She has never been one for openly showing her affection."
"I have never had any use for affection," Rosalind commented, "and I'm living very happily. I have always found affection to be a weakness that gets in the way of success."
"Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?" Iris sneered.
"Don't tell me that you love your husband?" Rosalind sneered back.
Narcissa had to struggle not to pull out her wand and hex Rosalind.
What was so wrong with her loving Lucius? That didn't get in the way of her being a proper Pureblood woman. She wasn't weak because she loved Lucius. She wasn't.
"I will admit that I have come to tolerate my husband," Iris responded, "and for the most part, I am satisfied with him. I just wish he wasn't so lazy or slow. I'm still mad at him for not getting us tickets in the Top Box. You're very lucky, Narcissa, that your husband is much quicker on his feet."
"Lucius has always been a hard worker," Narcissa said with obvious pride in her voice.
"And I have no doubt that Draco is the same way," Iris responded. "I am very proud of my Pansy, and I have no doubt that she will be the female Slytherin Prefect next year."
"Lucius and I are also hoping that Draco will become a Prefect," Narcissa replied.
"I have no doubt that will happen," Iris returned. "Draco is very exceptional."
"Maybe my Blaise will be the male Slytherin Prefect instead," Rosalind spoke up. "His grades have always been excellent."
"The same could be said of Theo," Narcissa remarked.
Georgina Goyle and Nicola Crabbe exchanged glances. They knew that their sons were not in the run for being Prefects in their fifth year.
"Would either of you two ladies like some more wine?" Narcissa asked smoothly, seeing the expression on their faces.
"You are very kind, Cissa, thank you," Georgina smiled, holding out her glass.
Nicola also smiled and nodded her thanks when Narcissa refilled her glass.
The tent flap lifted up. Draco, Theodore, Blaise, Pansy, Gregory, and Vincent walked inside.
The five women stood up to greet the children.
"Look at what I got, Mother," Draco said excitingly as he began to show off all his souvenirs.
The rest of the children did the same with their mothers, while Theodore walked up to Narcissa, who greeted him warmly.
Pansy was telling her mother about how nice Draco had been to her. Then, she mentioned Millicent.
"Blaise didn't want to buy anything for Millicent," Pansy said, "because Tracey is prettier. Draco, however, didn't care about such a silly thing as that."
"You are such a gentleman, Draco," Narcissa smiled proudly.
"Every lady deserves to be treated like she's special," Draco said.
"I wish Blaise felt the same way," Rosalind remarked, frowning slightly at her son. "You should have seen what he got me for my birthday."
"I'll make up for it at Christmas, I promise," Blaise replied, flushing slightly in embarrassment.
"I hope that you do," Rosalind returned, a hint of warning in her voice.
The tent flap lifted up once again. Mr. Parkinson walked inside.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said, "but the match should be starting soon. We should return to our own tent."
"Of course," Iris responded. "Come, Pansy. Narcissa, Draco, I hope that you two, along with dear Lucius, enjoy the match from your seats in the Top Box."
Mr. Parkinson flushed slightly, but he didn't say anything. He merely lifted up the tent flap for his wife and daughter.
"Such a weak, pathetic man," Rosalind commented after the Parkinsons had left. "Iris would be better off without him. Poor woman. Come, Blaise. We should be going as well. Thank you for the fruit and wine, Narcissa. We'll see you in the Top Box."
"Now we can talk about Quidditch," Draco grinned as soon as the Zabinis had left. "It's just us boys now."
"What am we?" Narcissa asked in an amused voice, indicating herself, Georgina, and Nicola. "Pieces of furniture?"
"No, of course not, Mother, Mrs. Goyle, Mrs. Crabbe," Draco quickly said. "That's not what I meant."
"I know, dear," Narcissa smiled. "You boys go ahead and talk."
Draco, Gregory, and Vincent didn't need any more encouragement than that. They quickly began to discuss the various players on both teams, even though they focused mainly on Krum and how amazing he was.
Theodore finally rolled his eyes before walking over to the table where Narcissa, Georgina, and Nicola were sitting and sipping from their glasses of wine.
"Do you have anything that I can read, Mrs. Malfoy?" Theodore asked. "I really don't care much for Quidditch."
"I can't say that I blame you," Narcissa smiled with clear affection. "Let me see what I have in my bag."
Narcissa used her wand to summon all her books out of her bag.
Theodore eagerly began to look through them.
The tent flap lifted up once again. Lucius entered, along with Mr. Nott, Goyle, and Crabbe.
"I see the Parkinsons and the Zabinis have already left," Nott observed. "I guess we should be going as well then. Come, Theodore."
Theodore had just found a book in Narcissa's collection about Arithmancy, a subject that greatly interested him. He gave his father a look that was a combination of sadness and annoyance.
"You can take that book with you if you wish, Theo," Narcissa offered with a gentle smile. "You can owl it back to me when you're finish."
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Theodore smiled. "I really appreciate it. I'll see you all later. Draco. Mr. Malfoy, sir."
"Theo," Lucius said, nodding his head at the boy.
The Notts then left the tent.
Georgina and Nicola bid their farewells as well as they walked over to their sons.
"Did you both enjoy yourselves?" Lucius asked his wife and son as soon as they were alone.
"Yes, it was nice to catch up with the ladies," Narcissa answered.
Lucius nodded his head.
"I had a wonderful time, Father," Draco said. "Look at everything that I bought."
"I'm glad that you found some things that you liked," Lucius commented.
"Draco was quite the gentleman today," Narcissa remarked. She then told her husband what Draco had done for Millicent.
Lucius nodded his head approvingly at his son. "I'm proud of you, Draco. You acted just like I would have wanted you to, like a proper gentleman. It is important to give a lady the respect that she deserves, regardless of how she looks. Miss Bulstrode was undoubtedly very happy."
"She was," Draco confirmed.
"And how was your walk, Lucius?" Narcissa asked.
"It was very interesting," Lucius replied. "I ran into some former colleagues that I haven't seen in a while. I'll tell you more about it later. I really don't want to bore Draco with all the tedious details."
Lucius gave his wife a significant look as he was speaking.
Narcissa nodded her head in understanding.
Draco grinned at his father's words. "Thank you for that, Father. I'm so glad I don't have boring parents."
Lucius rolled his eyes slightly, but he also looked amused.
"The match should be starting soon," he then spoke. "We might as well relax a bit until it's time to go."
"I can't relax," Draco said. "I'm too excited to relax."
Draco placed his figurine of Krum on the table. He watched as it began to walk.
"I want to be just like Krum one day," Draco remarked. "I want to be a famous Seeker."
"Is that what you really want to do with your life, Draco?" Narcissa asked in a worried voice. "Doing it for fun is one thing, but doing it as a career is something totally different. It's a dangerous sport. You could get seriously hurt."
Draco looked to his father for help.
"Your mother is right," Lucius said. "Professional Quidditch can be very dangerous. Besides, we were both hoping that you would want to do something more meaningful with your life. I won't deny that Quidditch is fun, but it isn't exactly life fulfilling. And what if you do get seriously injured? What would you do with your life then?"
Draco shifted on his feet. "I guess I really don't know what I want to do with my life yet."
"Then maybe we need to start discussing it," Lucius replied. "Your O.W.L.s will be next year, and they will play a huge role in determining your future. We need to find out what you need to really focus on, so that you will do well on your exams."
"Yes, Father," Draco mumbled.
As far as the teenage boy was concerned, though, he had plenty of time to think about his future. Besides, he and his parents had more than enough money to live on. It really wasn't essential for him to make grand plans for his future.
Lucius just sighed. He could tell that he had not fully gotten through to his son the importance of his education.
Lucius then sat down at the table with Narcissa as he pulled out from his bag his own Arithmancy book.
Draco, meanwhile, focused on his Krum figurine. He suddenly found himself thinking about the bet that he had made with Blaise.
Draco had been caught up in the moment when he had made the bet with Blaise. The blond-haired teenager just hoped that his desire to look better than Blaise would not cost him.
Three hundred Galleons really wasn't that much to Draco, but he didn't want to lose anything to Blaise. Draco wanted to win the bet. He wanted to come out on top.
Draco also didn't want his parents finding out about his bet. He knew they wouldn't be pleased with him. They had always stressed to him that gambling was stupid and an easy way to lose all your money. Lucius had often told his son that money, if used unwisely, could disappear a lot quicker than it had appeared in the first place.
Draco didn't want to end up like the Weasleys. He couldn't be a pauper. He just couldn't be.
Draco fingered his green rosette. He then looked at his Krum figurine.
"You both better do your part," he muttered under his breath. "I can't lose to Blaise. I just can't."
There was suddenly the sound of a deep, booming gong.
"It's time," Draco cried excitingly, forgetting all his fears and worries. "It's time for the match to start."
Lucius and Narcissa closed their books and laid them down on the couch as they stood up.
Lucius then took Narcissa's hand, and she held out her other hand for Draco to take.
Draco gave his mother a pleading look that clearly said, "Please, don't treat me like a little child."
"I don't want any of us getting lost in that huge crowd," Narcissa said firmly. "It would be way too easy for one of us to get trampled on, especially since there are so many out there that have no sense of dignity or propriety. Besides, there's a lot of filth around, and I don't think you want to be lost among them."
Still with some reluctance, Draco took his mother's offered hand. He really did appreciate that his mother worried and cared about him, but there were times when he wished that she would treat him more like the young adult that he was slowly becoming.
The Malfoys then stepped outside their tent, where they were greeted by the sight of green and red lanterns, which were lighting a path to the field.