The last week of the holidays seemed to last forever. I had my trunk almost completely packed by Wednesday night, even then I knew it was unnecessary. I wanted to get away from the continual reminders of my engagement, and enjoy the last year of freedom I would have.

On Thursday night, the Parkinsons threw a ball, which mother deemed that I was by now old enough to attend. Cissy found this incredibly exciting, but I thought that I would probably enjoy myself more curled up in bed with a book.

Even I had to admit that the room looked wonderful, though. Glittering crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, tall arrangements of white and silver flowers were scattered around the room and the walls were lined with windows, the curtains thrown open to allow the sound of the tinkling fountains in the grounds to mingle with the music of the band.

The clothes which some of the guests wore were even more incredible. I watched Abraxius Malfoy stride past in robes of a rich green on which thousands of embroidered silver snakes slithered and swirled. One woman even wore a hat crowned with a real, live occamy: a kind of winged snake which sat and flicked it's tongue at the other guests in a bored way. I couldn't help but pity it. My own robes were less ostentatious- white silk cut in a fairly simple style, although mother had made sure that they came from one of the most expensive (and apparently best) robemakers in London.

I knew that I should be circulating, trying to live up to my robes and family name, but instead I huddled in the corner. I was a little overwhelmed by the spectacle. I had danced my first dance on arriving with Lucius, of course, but it wouldn't have been proper to have spent the entire evening with him before we were married. I could see him now, deep in conversation with two women. I looked away hurriedly, and tried to find a friendly face in the crowd.

My eyes alighted on Bellatrix, huddled in a corner with a girl called Cecilia Wilkes. This wasn't especially surprising- the two of them had been good friends since Bella's first year at Hogwarts. They seemed to be having some kind of conflict, though- Bella's eyes blazed, despite Wilkes' hand laid calmingly on her arm. Wilkes seemed to hiss something at Bella, and Bella yanked her arm away. I had just begun to push my way through the crowd towards them, thinking to try and catch what the argument was about, when a voice spoke at my shoulder. I jumped nearly out of my skin.

"Andromeda, why aren't you talking to anyone?" It was mother. "What kind of impression do you think it makes if you stand in the corner and won't make the effort to converse? At your very first ball, no less! Come on." She gripped my shoulder tightly and pulled me towards a group of women I knew vaguely. I smiled politely at their jokes and tried to look interested, while sneaking a glance at the corner where Bella had been.

She was gone, and Wilkes had gone with her. I stared around the room for her as discretely as I could, but I couldn't see either of them anywhere. Disappointed, I turned back to the conversation at hand- just in time, because I was being congratulated warmly on my engagement.

I forced a smile. "Thank you all so much. I honestly can't believe my luck either."

"Can we see the ring?"

"Of course," I said, extending my hand to show them the band of gold and the large diamond which glittered there. They all cooed about how beautiful it was, and I smiled dutifully before changing the subject. "Anyway, speaking of good news- am I right in believing that you have some of your own, Clarinda? I'm sure you deserve my congratulations far more than I deserve yours." Clarinda had recently announced that she was pregnant, with her second child.

As everyone excitedly clamoured to add their congratulations to mine, the conversation turned to children. I took the opportunity to scan the room more carefully for my sister- but she was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Wilkes. I forced my attention back to the conversation at hand, but I was troubled. I couldn't shake the conviction that there was something going on with Bella.

*

Lucius came to speak to me again later that evening, taking my hand and planting a gentle kiss on it. "Enjoying the ball, my darling?" he asked, his deep grey eyes locking onto mine.

"Yes, thank you," I said. "And you?"

"I am, although I must say I wish I was able to spend more of it with you. I know that one can never have too many acquaintances, but I do sometimes feel as though I wouldn't mind having a few less."

"Yes," I said, thinking of the many mindless conversations I'd had that evening.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked. "You seem… preoccupied."
"Sorry," I said hastily. "I was just wondering where Bella was- I haven't seen her much tonight."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Lucius said. "From what I know of her, your sister's more than capable of looking after herself."
"Hmm… I suppose so," I said. It occurred to me that this was probably the reason why he'd proposed to me, and not my older sister- she could look after herself, whilst I was malleable and sure to obey my husband.

"Anyway, the hour grows late and I wanted to ask you for another dance before the ball draws to a close. May I have your hand for the next song?"

"Of course," I said, smiling. We made conversation for a few more minutes, and then the song that had been playing drew to a close and I allowed him to lead me onto the dance floor. I could feel the jealous eyes of more than a few other women on me, and I couldn't help but enjoy it.

The song which began to play was a slow one, and so we swayed slowly around the dancefloor. I wasn't much of a dancer, despite years of lessons, but Lucius was brilliant: good enough that he was able to cover my mistakes whilst looking graceful himself. We were close enough that I could pick up the slightest hint of expensive cologne. He kept his grey eyes on me the whole time, a slight smile curving the edges of his lips as if I was the only girl in the world. Despite my reservations about being engaged I found that I couldn't look away. He really did have quite nice eyes…

Those eyes remained in my head for the rest of the evening, and I lay in bed remembering our last dance, with my head spinning. I barely registered the fact that Bella hadn't come home yet, and I didn't even notice my mother's fury at her disappearance and complete lack of respect. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face. Maybe marriage wouldn't be so bad after all…