Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Sorry for such a short post last time. It was torture just to get that much of the story written for all the times that I had to rewrite it. Hopefully this part will be easier. :)
"Why am I not surprised that he's my partner in all of this, Bella?" I laughed lightly, casually throwing myself down on the couch next to Draco.
"Well, it was natural." She responded, a light smile dancing across her lips. "The two of you are so in tuned with each other that we thought it would be unfortunate and silly to put you with another group. You're familiar with each other—each other's instincts, body language, that it would be most wasteful not to use that to our advantage."
She made it sound like she was only doing this because it was more beneficial to the situation. I knew Bella—I knew how much she loved Draco like a son, and I like a daughter. And I knew that she wanted nothing more than for me to truly be a part of her family.
I wasn't sure of anything at the moment, I felt emotionally numb towards Draco somehow, and the idea of Flint was agreeable. I wondered why I'd worried so much about it this morning in the shower.
"The two of you are going to be stationed in one of the biggest cities of evil in the united states—this place called Hollywood, in California. It's quite dodgy in some of the muggle parts—so we've cleared a nice inn that's in the heart of the wizarding town." Rodolphus said—all business. He handed the two of us, thick, manila envelopes, "In there you'll find all of the briefing you'll need. And all of your instructions for this mission. Remember that it's essential that you are as discreet as possible. We have no idea how the surrounding area is going to take to the news. And the last thing that the dark lord needs is more mudblood loving scum banding together."
I pulled out the top sheet of paper, skimming the script, "We're supposed to pretend to be a couple?" I inquired of Bella. Draco looked at the parchment over my shoulder, and let out a loud laugh.
"What? It's the most believable. Why else would a young man and young woman be on holiday?" She replied bashfully.
"Uh-huh," I nodded, "It's not going to be bad. Hold hands in public sometimes. Make up stories for your relationship for those who pry. It's not like we're asking you to snog, for merlin's sake!" She teased.
"You say that, Aunt, like kissing her is going to be a big problem for me." Draco teased.
"Draco Archibald Malfoy!" I hissed, "Don't be so ludicrous!"
"Have you two been naughty?" She asked, laughing.
"No—"
"Yes—"
I turned and looked at Draco, "No." I repeated, firmly.
Bellatrix and Rodolphus exchanged glances; he shrugged in response—his face telling her to not pry. And for once, unlike Bella, she didn't.
We were shortly interrupted by a knock on the door. A tiny house elf appeared, leading a few scarred men.
"Well, Draco darling, Hayley sweetheart, It looks like we're out of time today. You depart on Wednesday. Everything you need to know is in your hands." Rodolphus added with a tone of command.
"Sounds great." Draco replied.
Wednesday? Wasn't that a little early? It was Sunday. That gave us two and a half days to prepare for this? To understand what was truly going on?
"It was great talking today, Bella. I'll see you soon."
"Have fun, you two!" She replied as we exited the sitting room.
Draco and I walked in silence down the marble hallway.
"So, are you going to the Flint's cocktail party tonight?" He asked conversationally, as soon as we exited their mansion. I noticed that my car was pulled around in front of the entrance.
"Of course. Mother wouldn't have it any other way. I'm meant to be his arm candy for the evening." I replied bitterly. Not at the fact that I had to spend my evening with Marcus Flint, but instead at the idea that I was going to be paraded around like some kind of prize. I hated that mindset.
"That's a pity. I was going to ask whether or not you'd go with me." He replied.
"Really?" I asked, for a moment I was excited at the idea of going to a formal party with Draco. I could see it now—me, in a dazzling black and emerald cocktail dress. My curls, piled loose at my neck. Draco in all black, and with his hair slightly askew. We'd be the talk of the party. But it was just a flash, "I meant to say that suggestions like that need to be halted."
"What? What about last night?"
"I honestly don't know what to say about last night." I started, "However, what I know today is that I'm expected to marry Marcus Flint. Regardless of the charming witticisms you chose to woo me with."
"That can't really be what you want." He replied.
"How do I know that it's not?" I countered.
"I can't see you with him." He replied, "I can't see you loving Marcus Flint."
"Draco, please stop." I asked, closing my eyes, "This is what I have to do. I have to entertain the idea of the union. It would be a lot easier if you stopped interfering."
"Why should I do that?" He asked, "Give me one good reason why I should. Just say it, and I will. I'll stop fighting for us."
"Don't make this harder than it has to be." I shook my head, not looking at him, but instead at the ceiling.
"What do you want, then? Can you at least enlighten me with that?"
"I honestly don't know what I want." I shrugged, "All I think right now is that Flint is charming, and handsome—and my parents adore him." I had essentially repeated the same answer that I'd given Bella, "I, at least need to try this for them."
"That's fine. It's not going to last. There's no way." He shook his head, stepping away from me, "I'll be waiting for you when it's over." He finished coldly, walking off towards the sleek black sedan that sat, yards away from my own.
I stood there, completely defeated. I wanted to cry. I wanted to run to Draco, and tell him that of course things between Flint and I wouldn't work. And that I didn't have to try.
Yet, on the other hand. I wanted to try. Something in me—some cloud, some wave of something made me want to try this with Flint. And that's exactly what I was going to do.
I got into the car with my head high. I wasn't going to let Draco stop me from having a chance at happiness.
As soon as I got back home, I hurried to my room—to the comfort of my fluffy pillows and extravagantly soft bed. It was almost two o'clock. All I wanted to do was sleep. I was exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Merlin knows, emotionally. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
I was awoken several hours later—or so I assumed by Blair. A tiny house elf with an abnormally large nose stood by her side. I think it's name was Dopey, or something of the like. It held a tray adorned with a small tea pot, a tea cup, and a few scones. He sat it quietly on my bedside table before bowing and disappearing as soon as he came.
"Mother asked me to wake you," She began, "It's nearing Five, and she wants to make sure that you drink some tea to calm your nerves before you start getting ready."
I sighed, "Are you going tonight, too?"
"Yes. As Victor Krum's escort." She giggled, pushing a strand of raven hair back from her face. I hadn't seen her in days—I was either always out, or she was with Krum. She'd even missed Pansy's ball over it.
I rolled my eyes, "I don't know what you see in him." I finished honestly.
"Well, he's just so…confident. In a very, very, sexy way. And hello? International Quidditch Superstar!"
"That's the only thing he's got going for him." She teasingly slapped my arm.
"That's not true. He's quite lovely. If you gave him a chance, you'd see that." She smiled blissfully.
"Uh-oh, Someone's in love." She started blushing.
"Oh, shut-up!" She hissed.
I sat up, looking around my room. The first thing I noticed was the black garment bag hanging on my closet door. Oh, drat. I'd meant to wake up in time to actually pick out my dress for once. Knowing mother, it was probably totally horrendous. I was parched, so I naturally reached for the tea cup on my bedside table.
I downed cup, after cup—all while listening to Blair talk about how delightful she found Victor Krum. And the more she got into her descriptions of how amazing she found him, the more I found myself excited to see Marcus this evening. The more excited that I was to spend time with him.
When it came time to get ready, I was actually enthused about it—for once.
I started by unzipping the black garment bag. Once open, it revealed an emerald green knee length dress with an asymmetrical neckline. The neckline had slight rouching over the bust, creating an almost Grecian look. The skirt looked to be very hugging over the hips. It was a very fine silk, with a small slight in the back. I found nothing objectionable about it.
I sat down at my vanity, unwinding my severely messed up bun. My hair sprung from it willingly, into a disgruntled mess. I slowly drug my fingers through the coils, it was soft and shiny—but overall in a frizzy mess. I guess it would have looked alright if I was someone like Granger. She didn't have the time to worry about things like the frizz level of her hair. She had to work twice as hard to be an insufferable know it all in an attempt to please the Pure bloods.
Her efforts were laughable.
Fortunately, I was privileged enough to be able to really pride myself on my appearance. And of course, had the money to pay for everything to make me the best me I could be. Better than perfect, yes, it's possible.
Not that I'm conceited or anything, I was just born into higher circumstance.
I toyed with the idea of wearing my hair close to its natural curl—a tighter ringlet, and then I also enjoyed the idea of medium sized waves. That was what I always did though, so I ended up settling on straightening it, into perfect locks. I let the ends curl ever so slightly, and when I was done (It took about fifteen minutes, not even magic can really fight frizz) I was left with glossy, shiny, beautiful hair.
I took my time with my makeup. Afterall, I was really in no rush. For something like this, I would have typically done a heavier eye and light lips. Tonight, I was all about the different.
I applied a light champagne color to my lids, using brown to define the crease. I used the lightest bit of gold to bring a pop of color on the center of my lids. I volumized my lashes, and darkened them so much it made me look like an old muggle film star. I finished with red lipstick. I usually wouldn't wear red lipstick with an emerald green dress…too "Christmas" for my tastes. But tonight…tonight it just felt right.
"Almost ready darling?" I turned to look at the door. My father stood there smiling. "Your mother wanted me to check in on you. And inform you that we would be leaving within the next ten minutes."
"I'll be ready without a problem," I replied.
As soon as he shut the door, I meandered over to the dress that hung from the closet. Slipping into it, I realized that it hugged my hips tighter than I thought it would. I didn't mind. I liked the elegance of it. I would have picked out something like this for myself, so I couldn't complain.
Due to the neckline, wearing a necklace was impossible. I dug in my jewelry box for a pair of diamond drop earrings, and a companionable bracelet.
I finished by searching through my shoes for the perfect pair—a usual feat for me in the getting ready process. I settled on a pair of Marc Jacobs peep toe black pumps.
When I got into the car, alongside my Mother, Father, and the fidgeting Blair, I couldn't help but realize that I was excited. I was excited to see his face. I was excited to see his face when he saw me. Hear his laugh. Hear him gently say my name. Feel him gently push the hair back from my face.
I didn't know what was going on with me.
I turned down Draco.
And now, I was giddy at the thought of spending the night on Marcus' arm.
Was I dreaming? Surely, I had to be.
The more I thought about whether or not I did have feelings for Draco, the more my head hurt. Almost as if I was getting an electric shock in my brain. And then I started feeling guilty…for thinking of someone who wasn't Marcus.