"So this is what certain doom feels like," Alcina mumbled to herself. She had never thought she'd come to know the feeling, at least not until she was walking down the aisle clad in ivory lace and silks of her mother's choosing. At first she thought it was the apparition, but as she approached the Malfoy's home with her mother, Aldora, and sister, Octavia, Alcina could feel her stomach twisted into tighter knots. She knew she was done for.
Octavia had nagged Alcina all morning. She had jumped on Alcina while she was still in bed and proceeded to tell her how lucky she was that she got to stay with the Malfoy's. And while Alcina ate her eggs at breakfast Octavia told her all about Draco Malfoy, as Octavia had had a pen pal at Hogwarts. As Alcina ate her sausage and finished off her toast Octavia had talked about how steely and alluring Draco's eyes were. And as Alcina finished the last of her pumpkin juice Octavia just stared off into space with a disgustingly dreamy look etched on her face. So, needless to say, Alcina was ready to plant a right hook in her sister's jaw.
As the trio stepped through the tall, ordinate gates Alcina noticed small gargoyles perched atop the peaking bars. A chill ran up her spine, it felt as if the little, gnarled beasties were watching her, taking in her every move. The front lawn looked completely different in the day light, all neatly trimmed shapes and carpet like grass, dazzling white peacocks strutted around and picked at the ground. Wiltshire, England felt a little humid compared the Valcon home in Whales. Alcina wiped at a bead of sweat that began to roll down the back of her neck and when she lifted her gaze the grand Malfoy manor loomed over head. The Greek stylized columns and white marble exterior reminded Alcina of her of the night of Narcissa's birthday and how every day until the end of August would be like that. Uncomfortable.
Aldora knocked at the door daintily. But Alcina wasn't sure anyone would be able to hear the feeble sound even if they had been standing right in front of the monstrous hunk of wood. However, within seconds Narcissa opened the creaking door and tossed her pale hair behind her shoulder. She looked first at Octavia seeming a little confused. When her gaze fell on Alcina her face softened immediately.
"Alcina! Aldora! Welcome, welcome. Please come in. All of you." with a harsh smile and soft eyes she ushered them into the manor. "Draco!" She called behind her then looked back between Alcina and Octavia. "He should be down in a moment." Sure enough Draco came sauntering down the right set of stairs. Alcina watched him intently. There was this strange, pompous spring in his step that made her want to roll her eyes. And suddenly everything Octavia had told her about him at breakfast started to make sense.
"Aldora, you remember my son, Draco." Mrs. Malfoy beamed a little.
"Of course, how are you, Draco." Draco made to politely respond but Aldora kept talking. "This is my daughter Octavia. And I'm sure you remember Alcina."
Alcina could feel her mother gushing at the back of her neck when she said her name to the Malfoy boy directly. It was all so obvious what she was trying to do. Alcina, however, didn't care. She planned on making as little contact with Draco Malfoy as possible. She was going to see if there was a place for her to sneak off and practice her keeping skills. Luckily Alcina had almost become immune to Aldora's poisoned threats. Aldora had been absolutely livid when Alcina had hurried down the stairs with Mordecai's Moontrimmer to place with her bags. But even with all the remarks about how she was being disgraceful, Alcina still was able to make off with the broom. And now that Draco had to deal with her mother, well she felt some kind sympathy for him.
Octavia stepped forward to shake Narcissa's hand and offered her own to Draco. He took it from hanging in the air and pressed it to his lips for only a second. When Alcina didn't budge to do the same as Octavia had Aldora pushed a single, well-manicured nail into the centre of her back, making her do so. The corner of Alcina's mouth twitched and she stepped forward.
"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Malfoy," Alcina smiled as they shook hands lightly.
"Oh please you can call me Narcissa, Alcina," Alcina smiled awkwardly out of politeness. Alcina made to step back but as she lifted her foot Draco grabbed her right hand, lifted it up to his mouth and kissed it gently. Alcina felt a strange sensation run from her hand, up the side of her arm and neck, split at the back of her head, making her ears and knee caps tingle. He stood back up and smiled and Alcina almost couldn't move back to where she was first standing.
"Nice to see you as well Draco," this only came out as an unsteady whisper. Alcina glanced to see Narcissa smiling at Aldora. All the small doubts that she had against her theory of matchmaking had been blown out like a candle.
From the corner of her eye Alcina saw a house elf flit across the room to Narcissa's skirts. The poor little creature tugged gently at her cloak. "Mistress, lunch is ready," the elf looked at Alcina with her big orb like eyes then faded into smoke.
After a lunch of Aldora and Narcissa reminiscing and Octavia drooling over Draco, Alcina had about had it with her stay. The group sat in the parlour with the ordinate fireplace Alcina had found during the party. All of them with hands full of teacups and biscuits. Aldora was captivated by the gardening tips Narcissa was giving her and Alcina saw an epiphany spark in her sister's eyes.
"Mrs. Malfoy I would love to see your gardens. Why doesn't Draco show us around?" Octavia folded her hands in her lap and lent forward so far that Alcina was sure she would fall out of the paisley patterned chair.
"What a lovely idea," Narcissa smiled. Draco, on the other hand, had a look of pure horror on his face.
"Oh Draco, do show me around the garden," the sound of Octavia's syrupy voice was the beginnings of a bad headache for Alcina. She had never seen her sister this exponentially sweet.
"You girls have fun," Aldora said, granting permission. Octavia's face fell into confusion like a small puppy that has eaten all of its food and doesn't know where it's gone.
"Don't you want Alcina to stay here with you mother, Mrs Malfoy might want to give her a tour of her home." This made Alcina smile. If Octavia was anything it wasn't subtle.
"There's plenty of time for that Octavia, you three run along," Narcissa said as she pressed her lips to her tea cup. Alcina couldn't believe what was happening. Her sister had a crush on the boy that her mother was trying to push on her. It, in all honesty, was better than catching Octavia making out with her pillow. Alcina had to use all her will power to keep laughter from erupting from her lips so, consequentially, she shoved a cookie into her mouth.
Octavia's shoulders dropped a little, but within seconds she had linked her arm through Draco's and pulled him out of the room. Alcina rubbed the bridge of her nose as she followed after them.
After a fairly extensive walk through the gardens, with Octavia not shutting her mouth once, Alcina was pretty sure Draco's ears were about to turn themselves inside out. Octavia had pretty much given him her entire life's story. Starting from when she popped out all the way to this very second. As Alcina walked behind the pair she could tell Draco wasn't listening, he would nod periodically but as far as actual comprehension there, was none.
Once Octavia stopped to take a breath Draco tried to hook Alcina into the conversation. "So, Alcina, would you like to tell me absolutely everything about yourself?"
"Oh don't mind Al. She's not that interesting," Octavia shot out; completely missing the jab at her, "all she cares about is quidditch." Once the comment was out of her mouth Octavia knew what she had done. Draco slipped his arm from in hers and turned to Alcina. Everyone knows wizards can't help but talk about quidditch.
"You like quidditch?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do," she was trying to as nonverbal as possible as to not attract too much attention to herself.
"You play?" She nodded in answer to his question. He was really trying to keep going but there wasn't much he could say with Alcina's lack of participation. Finally, when Octavia got hold of him again he tried to make an excuse to get us back inside. Luckily a large drop of rain hit Octavia square in the nose. Her eyes grew wide and she bolted from between us back towards the house. Draco gave Alcina a questioning look at Octavia's expense.
"She'll melt," she shrugged as the clouds prepared to open up and unleash the impending storm.
"Have a wonderful time Alcie dear," Aldora had her hand around the back of Alcina's neck as she kissed her forehead. Her lips were cold against Alcina's skin and when she pulled away there was sure to be a large smear of lipstick that was probably a shade of Mid-level Whore Mulberry.
As Alcina wiped the back of her hand across her forehead repeatedly Octavia said, "Yes, Al do have a good time and enjoy Mrs. Malfoy's lovely home." All of her gushing was painstakingly obvious and far too over played. And out of the corner of her eye Alcina saw Draco quirk a pale blond eyebrow. She guessed he would, considering that what Octavia actually had meant was, 'Bye Al, I plan to have a good time enjoying Mrs. Malfoy's lovely son when I return. As you will make a marvellous impression on the parents as to let me nudge in and make Draco confess his undying love for me.' Alcina smiled slightly as she hugged her sister.
"Bye Ocie," Alcina said and Octavia gave her a terribly frightening glare at her nickname.
"Good bye, Narcissa," Aldora said as she lightly hugged her childhood friend, "I hope Alcina will behave properly for you." Of course Alcina's mother still considered her a child, even at twenty-two, she was still one of her babies. "And it was very nice to see you again, Draco," she said to him smiling politely.
"As it was you, Mrs. Valcon," Draco said as Aldora smiled and gave a pointed look at Narcissa as if in approval.
"Well we must be off. I must make sure everything is ready for our trip Octavia. And thank you again Narcissa, for taking in Alcina while we're gone."
"No Aldora, thank you," Narcissa said with a strange and mischievous smile on her face. Aldora took Octavia's hand and pulled her out the door and out of a Draco related trance. And that was the last Alcina would see of them for a little while. Maybe this would have some perks, Alcina thought as a wide smile pulled its way across her face. Unfortunately Narcissa pulled Alcina out of her trance.
"Draco dear why don't you show Alcina around the manor," Draco looked at his mother and nodded gently, "Why don't you start in the west wing," she suggested. As they left Alcina couldn't help but see the ridiculous smirk on Narcissa's face.
"So Alcina," Draco began but she stopped him.
"I told you, don't call me Alcina," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, what then?"
Alcina shrugged. He could call her 'chair' for all she cared. He nodded with a shrug and continued to walk. She quickly followed behind.
He started with the things she had already seen. The dining room and adjoining ballroom then back through the foyer to the parlour with the carved fireplace. They then passed through the other arch on the right side of the foyer to a grand kitchen that was surly not used by the house elves. It opened out onto a patio that over looked a garden and Alcina could see down to a pond at little ways away. Then was the library. It must have taken up two stories of the manor with its incredibly high ceilings and countless shelves of books stuffed to the brim. Its grand windows reminded Alcina of her own home.
On the second floor there were three or four sitting rooms; Alcina wasn't quite sure on the number seeing as she had lost count. There were a few spare bedrooms and a closed door which Draco quickly explained as his father's office. But Alcina's favorite was the music room with its grand piano, tall windows and beautifully ornate settees. She could feel Draco staring at her as she smiled.
The third, and last floor, was where the resident bedrooms were. Lucius and Narcissa's room was over the west wing of the Manor along with another guest room. Draco's was over the east, and wasn't quite as big because there were two other guest rooms on the opposite side of the hall.
Draco opened the door opposite of his, "this is your room," he said.
Alcina peered in and smiled at the sight. Granted the room wasn't quite as homey or lived in as her room at home, someone had taken a few hangings and pictures of hers and placed then on the walls of this one. Her books where set up in the bookshelf on the far wall. All of her clothes must have been put away. It didn't seem as stale and plain as she had been expecting. Alcina walked in and ran her hands over one of the deep purple walls. All the furniture was black leather or dark cherry wood and the curtains and bedding were pale and deep purple silks. She smiled.
"So you like it?" Draco asked from behind her. Alcina turned quickly and shook her head 'yes', still smiling. "Mother wasn't too keen on putting your photographs on the walls but she wanted you to feel at home."
"That was nice of her," Alcina said softly as she turned back to the line of tall windows that looked over the garden and from here the pond looked even smaller.
"Yes, well she seemed rather bent on pleasing you. Probably wants to impress your mother or something," Draco said from behind Alcina. She turned to face him once again.
"Still haven't gotten it through your head have you? What they're doing," Alcina said laughing a little at him and a little at herself. She walked over to her bed and lifted the lid of the gift her father had given to her: his old broomstick. Draco walked closely behind her.
"Who is 'they' exact-" Draco stopped when he got to her side, "Moontrimmer?" he asked a little confused.
"Yes, and the 'they' are our mothers. It all seems too grand this time round."
"Why would it seem grand, Moontrimmer?" he said, stepping back.
"Because they," Alcina began but stopped and looked over her shoulder at Draco, "w-what did you just call me?"
"Moontrimmer," he said matter-of-factly. Alcina shook her head a little and continued.
"It's just this time my mother is trying a little too hard to set this," she waved her hand between the two of them, "up. She's determined."
"…Merlin," Draco whispered, "I thought you were joking the first time. I've met you maybe twice when we were little.
"Well technically you've met me three times," Alcina said.
"What, when?" he asked
"When we were sorted at Hogwarts. I was going to sit down at the Slytherin table and you tripped me then proceeded to laugh at me on the ground."
"You didn't go to Hogwarts, I would have noticed you," he said looking at her.
"I was only there until Christmas. My father had me go to Beauxbatons. I couldn't tell you why," Alcina said putting her hands up in the air. Draco stood up and began to walk out.
"Dinner will be in a few hours," he said briefly and continued for the door but stopped and said quietly over his shoulder, "sorry Moontrimmer." Or at least that's what it sounded like.
A/N: Alright there is chapter 6 finally. I'm going to start working on chapter 7 soon and hopefully finish it soonish. Thanks to xXMizz Alec VolturiXx for the review I really appreciate it. Also I was thinking of doing a feature each time I update a chapter. I'll read and review a chapter of a reviewers story. So leave me some love and you may have your story featured in the Author's Note! Happy Readings :)