The Shopping Trip
I didn't see Draco after that. Well, that's not technically true. Since I was trapped here, doing pointless, stupid shit for everyone here, I saw him all the time. The problem was, we couldn't speak. We could hardly even look at each other. Once in a while, when our paths crossed, we'd brush our hands together or "accidentally" bump into each other, but pretty soon it wasn't enough anymore. I needed to see him, to speak to him. Not having him was driving me crazy, especially when I had to listen to that psycho bitch Bellatrix shout orders at me.
When it was Narcissa giving me jobs, it was always in a really easy going voice. She sort of had a soft spot for me, but I didn't really know why. I mean, sure, I was dating her son. Sort of. But I hardly thought that was a reason for any of these people, especially her, to give me any special treatment. Draco never gave me things to do. Sometimes I wished he would, just so I could look at him.
I'd also been putting off practicing with my voice. Hermione once told me that a good exercise technique was to take a glass and focus on it until I was able to shatter it with my voice. It was stupid, I know. It reminded me of that one time in third year when the Fat Lady smashed that glass against the wall and tried to make us think it was her voice. But it was all I had, so I decided to try it one day when I had some alone time in my room.
"Okay. I can do this. Just focus, and sing. I got this." I had taken the glass from my nightstand that had water in it. I was staring at it, hoping it would spontaneously explode without me having to sing. Needless to say, it didn't.
"This is stupid! Just suck it up and sing, Talia!" I said to myself again. And finally, I took a big breath, and belted out a note, while looking at the glass. Nothing happened. I tried again, but got the same results. Nothing. It was so frustrating! If I didn't get the hang of this, I knew they would punish me.
About a month had passed since my arrival at the Manor. One day, as I was polishing some expensive looking silver vases and teapots in the kitchen, a shadow fell upon me. When I looked up, I saw Bellatrix looming over me, looking particularly insane.
"Yes, ma'am?" I asked her, getting up.
"Were you humming?" She asked me.
"I… didn't notice, ma'am. I'm sorry if I was."
"Right. Were you just trying to send one of us over the edge? Trying to get one of us to let you out of here? What was it?"
"No, ma'am, I wasn't trying to control anyone. Honestly." She looked skeptical, but seemed to believe me.
"Very well, then. Mrs. Malfoy would like to speak to you in the living room. Go see what she wants immediately." I was beginning to see why Draco hated her so much. I mean, I always knew why I hated her, but she WAS incredibly bossy. I went into the living room, and Narcissa was sitting on the couch with a cup of tea. For some reason, Bellatrix followed me in, probably not trusting that I'd listen to her.
"You wished to speak to me, Mrs. Malfoy?" I asked, very politely, not wanting Bella to know we were on any other terms than master/servant.
"Yes, Miss Jackson, I did. You see, I have a need to go into London and do some shopping. Usually I coerce my son into helping me with the bag carrying, but since he's helping his father with some things today, I'm in need of some help. Are you up to the task?"
"Of course she is, Cissy, no need to be so polite." Bellatrix said. One of these days, lady…
"Yes ma'am, I can certainly help you with your shopping." I had a feeling my eyes were sparkling. I loved shopping so much, and I hadn't done it in so long.
"Wonderful. I should warn you, I have a bit of a spending problem, so we might be stuck with more bags than you can carry by yourself. We might have to have Draco meet up with us later." Narcissa, you sneaky devil. "Bella, would you please tell Draco to meet us at our usual lunch place when he's done?"
"Of course, Cissy." She left, and I slumped on the couch next to Narcissa.
"You're a life saver, Narcissa. Thank you."
"Of course, darling. Now, go get cleaned up and meet me back here in ten minutes, alright?"
"Yes ma'am!"
….
"I feel like I haven't seen sunlight in years." I said later, as we were walking around London, going from store to store. I had tipped my face up to soak in the sun, and it felt amazing. It was really fun, shopping with Narcissa. She had been buying a lot of stuff for herself and family, but she also bought me a lot of stuff. Especially clothes. It was amazing.
"You know, now that I think about it, that blue dress did look wonderful on you. We should go back and get it." She said, and we turned around.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. It is my favorite color."
"I thought purple and black were your favorite colors?"
"What, I have to choose now?" She laughed. "Plus, Draco mentioned a few times that he likes it when I wear blue." I said, smiling. Narcissa looked at me, and she smiled too.
"So, you two seem pretty serious."
"We are."
"Has he gotten you any jewelry?" I nodded.
"For Christmas, he got me this necklace." I said, and I pulled it up to show her. "I wear it every day."
"Well, I must say, my son has impeccable taste in jewelry. And his taste in girls has greatly improved, too. I never understood why he was with that Parkinson girl. She was incredibly obnoxious, and not nearly as pretty as you." I laughed so hard I almost choked on my iced tea.
"Trust me, you're not the only one to think that about her." And then she laughed.
"What about your birthday? Did he get you anything for that?"
"No, my birthday is in August, so he hasn't had the chance yet. Oh!"
"What?"
"I just remembered that my birthday is in a month."
"Oh, wonderful! Now I get to shop for a birthday present!"
"Oh please. You've already bought me a ton of stuff today."
"So?"
"Point taken."
"I have to say, having another woman around other than my sister is extremely refreshing."
"I can't believe you're related to her. You're so… awesome, and she's totally insane. And not in the good way."
"Well, you can't choose your family, right? And she wasn't always this way, believe it or not. We were very close once."
"Hmm. I never would have thought."
"That's okay. Ah, here we are!" We walked in and went back over to the dress that we'd changed our minds about. "Dear, why don't you go try it on again?" So I grabbed it and went into the dressing room.
"Hey, Narcissa? Do you mind if I ask you some things?"
"Of course, Talia. Ask away."
"Well, you see, you seem pretty gung-ho about shopping in all these muggle stores and stuff. Why is that?"
"I'm not nearly as closed-minded as everyone believes."
"That's really cool."
"Thank you. Is that all?"
"Well, no. Also, Draco once told me that you guys don't really spend money like this anymore. So why are you buying me all this stuff?"
"Well, for a few reasons, actually. First, I think we both needed to get out of that house for a while. Second, you still need more nice dresses, as the Dark Lord is going to start inviting you to dinners so you can show him what you've learned. Third, I thought it would be a nice opportunity for you and Draco to see each other. And last, I REALLY needed to go shopping, it's like I've been in shopping withdrawals for years now. I just never had anyone to go with."
"Same here. I think I inherited my shopping addiction from my mother. It's nice to have a mother figure type person to take me shopping." I said, and stepped out of the dressing room with a huge smile on my face.
"Yes, we were right about this dress. And I think you should wear it out of the store and for the rest of the day. Why don't you gather your things, and I'll go pay."
I loved this woman. Obviously she would never be able to replace my mother, but she was just like her in some ways. It was nice. All in all, she bought me six dresses and matching shoes for each. She seemed a little surprised that I wanted a pair of Converse for the blue dress, but once she saw how it looked, she approved. We did get some other basic clothes too, like jeans and t-shirts and just all around comfortable clothes. We sat down to eat outside this little café-type place, but we didn't eat just yet. And when I saw my favorite blonde haired boy running down the sidewalk toward us, I knew why.
"Oh my God! Draco!" And I ran to meet him. He did the whole pick-me-up-and-spin-me-around-in-the-air thing, and then we kissed once he set me down.
"I missed you." He said. We were such a sappy couple, but I didn't give a shit at the moment.
"I missed you too. Going a month without you has been torture."
"Don't you mean going a month without sex has been torture?"
"Well, of course. But I missed you too!" We walked back over to where Narcissa was sitting. When we sat down, she got up.
"Hey, what gives? I was having such a good time with my second mommy!" I said, and they both laughed.
"You two should be alone. And I've got to go do some shopping for myself. If I don't have anything new after today, they'll all know we went shopping for you."
"Smart." I said, and she left us alone.
"Draco, I love your mom. We had such a great morning. She bought me like six dresses! AND matching shoes! And she still wants to buy me something else for my birthday." He chuckled.
"Yeah, she's pretty great. Speaking of, what do you want for your birthday?" He asked.
"To get out of that stupid house. No offense." I said. He had grown up in it, after all.
"None taken. That's it?"
"Well, and jewelry, of course."
"Well that was already a given."
"Has anyone ever told you how perfect you are?"
"Yes. Many times."
"Jerk."
"You look really hot in that dress."
"Never mind!" We laughed, and then we ordered food. I wish I could say that I ate like a proper lady, with a salad and a fork and everything. But I didn't. And Draco thought it was hilarious.
"Slow down there, or you're gonna pull something."
"No way, dude. Have you seen the stuff they've been feeding me at the manor? It's all bland and leftovers. So this hot dog is pure gold right now." I finished and started licking my fingers. "Sorry if this is unattractive." I said, and smiled. He smiled back in a way that made me go light-headed.
"Actually, I find it pretty sexy." And then his face fell a little bit. "I'm sorry I haven't been doing much to make you more comfortable there." I reached over and took his hand.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. Honestly, there's not much you could do to make this better."
"Of course there is. I could be sneaking you better food, I could be visiting you at night when everyone's asleep, I could be taking you out of the house with me, I could be—"
"Okay, okay, maybe there are a few things you could do. But don't get all upset about it, okay? Please?" He tried for a smile, but didn't manage one, so I took my fingers and pushed up the corners of his mouth. And that made him smile for real. And then he grabbed my hands and started kissing my fingers, looking at me with his smoldering gaze. "So, maybe when we get back, you could 'summon' me to your room so I can help you… clean it."
"Sounds perfect. My room has been pretty unruly lately." He said, with a knowing glint in his eyes. Just then, Narcissa walked up, done with her shopping.
"I have to say, Talia, I really missed this. I think we should make it a weekly th—" She saw what she had interrupted, and suddenly looked embarrassed. I had a feeling I was blushing, too. "Oh, I'm sorry, maybe I should just go back and—"
"That's okay, Narcissa, we were just finishing our food. Did you find anything you couldn't live without?"
"Absolutely! I have to show you these shoes I just got…" As she went on about the shoes, and other items she bought, I glanced at Draco. We sat there, staring, playing footsie, for a few minutes. Until I heard Narcissa say, "Birthday present." That snapped me out of it.
"Birthday present?"
"Yes, dear, I got your birthday present already. I know it's a tad early, but it was just screaming 'Talia'."
"Well, thank you!"
"Of course. Now, I hate to put an end to this fun morning, but we really must head back. I'm told the Dark Lord is having all of his followers over tonight, and I think they may ask you to demonstrate something for them, Talia. I'm sorry." I was suddenly terrified.
"What! But I haven't even accomplished anything yet! What happens if I lose control in front of everyone! I can't even break the glass—"
"Talia, calm down. Everything's going to be just fine. They don't want you to show them anything interesting, they just want to see what you're all about." I calmed down, a little.
"Okay. I think I can do that."
"Plus, it will give you a chance to wear that fabulous little black dress we bought you, with those adorable shoes with the green on them." I giggled.
"I love how you look at the bright side of things." And we got up and went back to my prison.
….
"Draco, show Miss Jackson to my room so she can put away all my new stuff." Narcissa said, as we walked into the living room. I didn't understand why, until I saw Bellatrix standing by the fireplace. Thank God I had changed out of my new outfit before we went in. Was that woman everywhere?
"Yes, mother." And we started walking up the stairs. When we got to her room, Draco shut the door and took the bags from me. He set them on the floor, and then we both sat on the floor also. We were wiped.
"So, how exactly have you been practicing? What are you supposed to do?" He asked me. I sighed in frustration, and lay back on the floor.
"I don't even know! It's so stupid! Hermione and I were studying about this once, and she read something that said if I can focus on a glass and make it explode with my voice, I'd be doing well. But I haven't done anything yet! I can't even make the damn glass fall over!"
"Can you show me?"
"Yeah, let me get my bags and we can go into my room." We walked to my room, carefully of course, and shut the door quietly. Draco put a charm on the door so no one would hear us talking to each other.
"Okay, now show me." I pointed to the glass, and he sat on the bed. I sat next to him, got comfortable, and focused on the glass. And just like before, I belted out a single note. And just like before, nothing happened.
"You see? Nothing."
"You're trying too hard."
"What do you know? Are you suddenly an expert on Sirens?"
"Of course not. But when you were trying, you were forcing yourself. You were hardly breathing, and your face was turning red. Maybe you just need to relax, and try again. Don't force it." I looked at him like he was crazy, but then I shrugged. It was worth a try, I guess. I relaxed my arms and back, and closed my eyes, and tried again. Not only did I feel better doing it, I think I sounded better as well. Again nothing happened, so I tried again. And finally, I heard a crack.
"Bloody hell, I did it!" But when I opened my eyes, the glass was still there and completely whole. "What the heck?" I looked at Draco, but he was staring and pointing at something behind me. And when I turned around, there was one big crack going down the middle of the mirror on my vanity table.
"You did it." He said, and looked at me with excitement.
"Yeah, I did!" I got excited, too, and hugged him. But then I got a little less excited.
"Well, I didn't exactly do it. It wasn't what I wanted to do."
"Yeah, but you still accomplished something! Now you're just one step closer!" He was choosing to look at the positive thing, so I decided to do the same.
"That's true! I did it!" And I got up and started doing this really weird happy dance. Draco laughed and got up, but I never got to see him happy dancing, because Narcissa knocked on the door.
"Draco? Talia? May I come in?"
"Of course!" I said, still ecstatic. She came in.
"What's all the celebrating for?"
"I just made that mirror crack with my voice!" I said, and pointed to the mirror.
"Oh, you did? Talia, that's wonderful!"
"I know! Well, technically, I WAS aiming for that glass on the nightstand, but…"
"It's still a marvelous achievement, darling."
"Thank you."
"Now, you guys must get dressed for the party. Draco, please escort her downstairs in two hours."
"Yes, mother." He looked at me, and I looked at him, and I could tell we were both wishing we knew what was about to happen.
A.N. I think I forgot to mention this, but I have a few outfits for certain parts of the story up on my profile, in case you want to check them out.