There was a week to go until the Parkinsons' gala, and though Aurora was nervous that she wouldn't get to go, or that something bad would happen - they still hadn't caught her father, and Andromeda was clearly nervous - she couldn't withhold her excitement about the event either. Dora wasn't very interested in hairstyles and makeup, but Andromeda was, and seemed rather pleased to have someone to discuss fashion with, seeing as neither her daughter nor husband would.
Though she wasn't getting out very much, Aurora had her run of the garden while Dora was at training and Andromeda at work. Ted usually kept an eye on her while working from the garden, but he trusted her not to fall off the broom and break her neck. She flew laps and went as high as she could without being spotted from the nearby Muggle village, chasing Stella who was running along the ground far below her. When she got as far as she thought was sensible to go, she turned and went into a steep, fast dive, hurrying towards the ground. She loved the feel of the bruising wind against her cheeks and the adrenaline coursing through her veins. This was what she missed out on when she stayed on the bench during matches and training.
Something moved in the trees next to her. She drew up sharply, as a massive black dog darted out in front of her. Heat racing, Aurora steadied herself and hovered not far above the dog. It turned its head up to face her, pale eyes glistening unnaturally. It showed no signs of moving, even when Stella hissed at it, and Aurora slowly made her descent down to the grass. Ted was on the other side of the garden and didn't seem to have noticed, but she didn't think the dog was going to hurt her, despite how terrifying it seemed at first.
It looked a bit like a Grim, she realised as she touched down, but knew it couldn't be. Grims were meant to be bringers of death, but she didn't see Death hanging anywhere around the dog's shadow. Stella didn't seem to like the dog though. Aurora encountered it warily, holding her broom tightly in one hand while she fingered her wand with the other. She narrowed her eyes at the dog, but it didn't seem to want to do anything except stand there.
"Hello," she said, regarding it carefully. Now she got a better look at it, the dog looked rather thin and bedraggled, like it had been starved for a very long time. A stray. How had it found her here? She couldn't help but feel a little on edge. She partly wanted to try and pet it, but was sure it would give her fleas; she kept a wide berth.
The dog barked at her, eyes wide. They seemed to shine. "Are you lost?" she asked it quietly. The dog lowered its head, nose to the ground, and let out a low, almost sad, whine. "You're a stray?"
Somehow she didn't think Andromeda would take well to her trying to adopt a stray dog. Dora would think it was a laugh, though. But they didn't have any food. What did dogs even eat? She imagined it was meat, and maybe similar to the food cats ate. "You stay here," she told the dog. "Please. I'll get you some food."
The dog's eyes seemed to light up as Aurora headed back inside, grabbing some of Stella's cat food in a bowl upstairs - some dogs could eat cat food, right? - taking a banana from the kitchen and then getting another bowl for water. Dogs must need water, she thought, carrying the two bowls carefully across the garden towards where the dog still stood at the edge of the trees. Stella whined at her heels, seeming quite upset that her food was being used to feed a dog. "I know, Stella," Aurora said clippedly. "But the poor thing's starving. I'll still always prefer cats."
Stella didn't seem impressed by this declaration, though. Aurora set the two bowls down carefully in front of the dog - though far enough away that she couldn't catch anything its disgusting fur was carrying - who leapt on them quickly, and devoured the cat food. He must have been starving, Aurora thought. She unpeeled the banana and went to break it up, but the dog was eyeing it so hungrily that she lay it down and let him eat it himself. It was quite impressive: she had never seen a dog so well-trained and yet so utterly ravenous when eating. Stella meowed and gave the dog a superior sort of look.
While the dog lapped at the water, Aurora crept closer, but there was no collar or anything to tell her who the dog might belong to. It must have owners, to be so obedient, but whoever they were they didn't seem to have done a good job taking care of it. She hoped no one had hurt the dog. It didn't have any obvious signs of being hurt, but she didn't really know what to look for. It was clear that it had been neglected.
Aurora knelt down to meet the dog's eyes, and a chill went through her. "Would you like to come inside?" she said quietly. The dog considered her with sharp eyes, then shook its head. "No? Are you going to be an independent dog?" Stella hissed like she hoped the dog would be an independent dog, and bugger off so she didn't have to share her food with him.
She expected the dog would leave in a minute now it had gotten what it wanted, but instead it reached out a paw and placed it gently on her knee. She stared at it, surprised, and rather inclined to pull away. She didn't know why something was pulling in her chest. It was a dog, and a gross one at that.
"Alright," she said crisply, moving the dog's paw gently off of her. She still didn't trust that it didn't have fleas. "If you hang about, I can try and sneak you food from dinner."
The dog looked tempted - not that she really thought it knew what she was saying - but shook its head. It licked the back of Aurora's hand, much to her revulsion, let out a low whine, bowed its head and then sprinted away back into the trees. She watched it go, shrinking into the shadows. Stella hissed.
Aurora stared at the back ofher hand. "That is disgusting," she said, feeling a desire to wash her hands until they were positively red and rid of the dog's saliva. "We ought to get back inside then," she told her cat, picking up the two emptied bowls and the banana peel. "And I need to wash my hand before I feed you. Come on, lovely."
She couldn't stop thinking of the dog, though. Those eyes were familiar. But that thought was ridiculous; she was just on edge and unnerved because of the recent news. Stray dogs probably came around here all the time looking for food. Right? But it creeped her out the ore she thought about it, and the more she thought about it the more she thought of how utterly foolish she was being.
She kept inside the house for the rest of the day, watching the window nervously, just in case. If she were to be rational, she told herself, she would know that she was just being overly paranoid. But if she couldn't be paranoid now, when could she be?
She mentioned the dog to Dora after dinner, but she didn't seem concerned. "We get strays coming round all the time," she told her, "I think they're attracted to the magic or something. Don't worry about it Aurora. Stray dogs are not on our suspect list."
The dog didn't return the next day, to Aurora's relief. That Saturday was the Parkinsons' gala and Aurora had to make sure she was ready. Pansy said she could stay at the manor on the Friday and Saturday nights with her and the other girls, and Aurora couldn't wait to see everyone again.
Andromeda Flooed her to the Parkinsons' after dinner, which was a very awkward encounter given that, prior to marrying Ted and breaking from the family, Andromeda had been a good friend of Pansy's mother. Now they didn't speak except to exchange strained pleasantries, and Aurora was rather relieved when Pansy brought her upstairs. "Daphne and Astoria are already here, and we expect Millie and Lucille soon. Draco, Blaise and Theodore aren't joining us until the morning, Mother said it wouldn't be proper for them to stay the night." She rolled her eyes and grinned. "I'm so glad you're here, though! I read about your father in the paper, are you alright? Father said not to bother you about it, but I thought someone ought to ask you."
Aurora looked away, trying to feign nonchalance. "I mean, it is rather frightening, but he isn't my father, not really. It's not like I ever knew him."
"Yes, but it's ever such a scandal! Mother fretted for days over your invitation, but of course I insisted you still had to come."
"Oh." Aurora didn't really know what to say to that. She tossed her hair and put on an unbothered smile, hoping it looked genuine. "Well, I am awfully glad you invited me. I couldn't have these dress robes go to waste."
"Exactly!" Pansy grinned. "That's precisely what I told Mother."
Daphne was already there, combing the hair of a younger blonde haired girl who could surely only be Astoria, her little sister, who was due to start Hogwarts in September. Astoria's eyes widened as she saw Aurora, but Daphne stopped her saying anything by letting out a loud squeal and hurrying over. "Aurora!"
"Hello, Daphne," she said awkwardly as the other girl embraced her tightly. Aurora wasn't totally sure how to reciprocate when her arms were basically pinned to her sides.
"Oh, I couldn't believe it about your father, it's so horrible? Are you worried? My father was shocked, no one ever escaped Azkaban - but you are alright, aren't you? I didn't know what to say in a letter and Mother told me I oughtn't to write one to you, but I was shocked!"
"Oh," Aurora said stiffly. "Well, I suppose I'm alright. I just hope they find him soon."
"My father says he should never have been imprisoned in the first place," Pansy said, shaking her head. "He said he was quite on the right side. Of course, this just goes to show how utterly incompetent the Ministry always has been."
Aurora feigned a smile and squirmed out of Daphne's grasp, desperate to change the subject. She turned to Astoria, Daphne's little sister. "Hello, Astoria. It's lovely to see you."
"And you, Aurora," Astoria said, in that perfectly polite way. Aurora recognised the way she was speaking. That tiny hint of fear, of wariness. She tried not to let her frustration show; she figured there would be a lot more of that at Hogwarts come September.
"Don't be so stiff, Astoria," Daphne huffed, playing with Aurora's hair. "She's excited to see Draco tomorrow," she whispered conspiratorially, "she fancies him."
"Daphne!" Astoria cried. "I do not!"
"Do you?" Pansy looked quite upset. "You're far too young for him, Astoria."
"Why'd you fancy Draco?" Aurora asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Aurora, don't be so rude."
"Don't get me wrong, he's still my best friend." Astoria was a very bright red. Aurora took some pity on her. "He probably wouldn't notice if you fancied him, he's incredibly unobservant." This didn't seem to help at all. Aurora didn't think talking about boys was her strongest talent. "But most boys are at this age."
"I'll tell him you said that about him!" Pansy said.
"I've told him as much myself," Aurora laughed. "He won't care."
The girls were lovely and Aurora had a great time sharing the room with Pansy that night, as they gossiped about the Summer and gracefully avoided any talk of Aurora's father. In the morning though, she was incredibly grateful to see Draco again. Regardless of whatever disagreements and differences they may have, he was her best friend, her family, and he always seemed to know the answers to what few questions she had. She had missed him.
He showed up just shortly after breakfast with his parents, all of them perfectly turned out. Narcissa looked absolutely stunning, Aurora thought, and she felt all of a sudden rather scruffy in her silver morning robes. "Ah, Lucius, Narcissa," Pansy's mother, Rosebelle, greeted with a warm smile. "We didn't expect you to arrive so soon, it's a lovely surprise."
"Ah, Draco was so eager to see Pansy and the other girls again," said Narcissa smoothly. She snuck Aurora a gentle smile over Rosebelle's shoulder. "How are you all?"
"Very well, thank you," Rosebelle said. "Of course, organising the gala has proven quite the task as it always does, but we manage. Draco, dear, would you like to go upstairs with the girls while the adults speak? You must all be back down here at noon, promptly."
"Of course, Rosebelle," Draco said smoothly, and he grinned at Aurora. "I've missed you all dearly."
"Draco, come and help me with my dress and jewellery," Pansy said, taking his arm immediately. "I wasn't sure what you'd think of it."
Draco looked at her weirdly. "What's so special about your dress?"
Aurora laughed, taking his other arm. "Draco, you really are such a boy sometimes."
"What does that mean?"
The girls only laughed. "Come on, we'll get dressed and then we can talk. You look great."
"Ugh, Mother chose my robes." Draco looked down at himself in distain. "They're far too frilly."
"They're fine," Millicent said. "You're all way too fussy about clothes."
"Millicent wanted to wear grey," Lucille giggled, and Aurora gave her an unimpressed look. She didn't seem to care. "Can you imagine?"
Draco looked at Aurora as though to ask if that was bad or not. She just smiled. "I'm so glad to see you," she said quietly. "I've missed you."
"Me too," he admitted. "I saw the news about your father. Mother and Father wouldn't tell me much but... I hope you're okay?" She knew that Draco, while physically affectionate, didn't really know how to talk about emotions. But she appreciated that he'd tried; it meant more than any of the proper words.
"Yeah," she told him, nudging him gently. "It's just an awful lot to deal with, but I'll be fine."
"We'll talk about it later," Draco told her, for Pansy was trying to catch his attention, vying with Astoria. "You'll dance with me, won't you?"
"Well, I don't know who else I'm meant to dance with, so yes." She smirked at him. "But if you step on my toes, or my dress, I'll murder you."
Draco just laughed. She decided she really liked that about him. He didn't care about her father - possibly because he was from the same Dark family - and he just saw her as Aurora, his best friend and cousin. She tried not to show her happiness too much. That would simply appear foolish.
Aurora was the first girl ready, mainly because she wanted to talk to Draco without being interrupted by the others. Pansy she trusted with her emotions, but she wasn't sure Pansy would want to talk about them so much as Draco did. Besides, she'd been acting all funny and giggly around Draco all morning, and both of them thought it was weird.
"You look nice," was all Draco said when Aurora came out of the room she shared with Pansy, smoothing down her skirts. The dress robes accentuated what few curves she had, pulled in at the waist so they flared out a little and gave her a gentle silhouette, in an elegant light blue. Honestly, she hadn't thought the shade would suit her at first, but it did. In her hair she had some silver clips, and the sapphire necklace with Cyphus the snake pendant on it. Her wrist was adorned with various delicate silver and diamond bracelets, and from her ears dangled silver earrings. She wore no rings except for the family ring, but figured she had enough jewellery.
She smiled at Draco haughtily, trying not to laugh. "You're very complimentary."
Draco seemed not to know what else to say. "Well, you're pretty? I don't know, Aurora!"
She laughed. "Just be nicer to Pansy. You didn't sound sincere."
"I do mean it!" he insisted, cheeks growing red. "Really!"
"Leave it, Draco," Aurora giggled. "I really don't care what you think of my appearance."
Draco seemed to sigh in relief. "I thought you were being serious," he mumbled. Aurora smiled tensely, eyes turning down. "So... Are you okay?"
"And what do you mean by okay?"
"Well, are you scared?"
"Of course I'm not scared," she snapped. It wasn't totally true, though.
"My dad told me everything," Draco admitted. "I didn't know your father was the one who actually betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord."
She glared furiously at the floor, as Draco guided her to sit down. "Dora thinks he's broken out to go after him. Potter, I mean."
"Well, maybe he'll do us all a favour and knock him off."
"Draco!" Aurora scolded. "Don't. I don't actually want Potter to die, least of all because of my father."
"You had no problem poisoning him."
"That was intentionally non-fatal and you know it, Draco. And you swore you wouldn't tell."
He smirked, and put an arm stiffly around her shoulders. She tried not to laugh. "I get if you feel awkward about it, but I don't care. You're just Aurora."
"Just Aurora, gee, thanks, Draco."
"Oh, you know what I mean! I know it's an awful scandal right now, and Mother is terribly upset about it - he was her cousin, after all - but it will blow over and I'm sure they'll capture him."
"I'm sure they will." She pursed her lips. She probably shouldn't be saying this, but it was only Draco. If she couldn't talk to him then who could she talk to? "They might give him the Dementor's Kiss, Draco. Suck out his soul." He shivered. "It sounds terrible, but I can't say I don't think he deserves it."
"I can't imagine it," Draco said quietly. "The Dementors are meant to be horrible." He shivered a little. "I'm glad Father..." He sucked in a nervous breath. "What do you want then?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "It's not that I'm scared of him. Because I'm not." Well, maybe only a little. "But I just don't want to be like him. And this has reminded half the world that he's a murderer and half of them that he's a blood traitor and it's reminded everyone that I'm his daughter and they should hate me."
"Well, I don't hate you," Draco said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. "And I know you're not a blood traitor. Or a murderer."
"I know that," she sighed. "But not everyone does. And people will just believe what they want to believe." Her eyes turned to her hands, clasped nervously in her lap. "People always judge me based on him. Even if they don't say it, I know they do. They pick a side of him to hate and then they hate me for it too."
Draco looked like he was trying to reconcile something in his head. Finally, after a moment of silence, he spoke. "Are you going to go after him?"
She looked down at her hands. "I don't know. I kind of want to, but I know it would be foolish of me. And I don't exactly want to give him the chance to kill me like he killed... Well, everyone else." She swallowed thickly with a horrid lump in her throat. "But he betrayed his family. So I won't go after him but if he shows himself to me, if he tries to hurt me... I don't know what I might do."
Her friend looked briefly shocked, but nodded. "Right."
"Do you think I'm being ridiculous? He betrayed his family, yes, but he chose the right side in the end, didn't he? It was the losing side but it was - I suppose..." She didn't know how to say it. How to admit to the air that the Death Eaters were her family's side, when she wouldn't say that they were necessarily hers, too. "I hate every part of him, not just the traitor but the murderer. But I keep thinking, it's not like he's the only Death Eater in the world. It's just that he got caught." That he murdered a dozen Muggles and laughed.
"What are you trying to say?" Draco asked and she laughed drily.
"I don't even know, Draco. I guess I just wish none of this happened. I wish I had nothing to do with him, he didn't exist." She looked down, and her heart felt heavy. "Is that a bad thing?"
Draco took a moment to reply. "I don't think so. He chose the right side in the end, but he was also a blood traitor. I know you've never liked him."
"How could I?"
"Yeah." He smiled wryly. "It'll be alright, Aurora."
"Do you think Potter knows?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Who cares?" He looked at her. "No really, Aurora. He doesn't like you anyway, it won't make any difference. Potter's a prick, he hates us all. There's no point being guilty about it. It's not like you even had anything to do with it."
"Someone must tell him at some point," she mused.
"Yeah, probably Dumbledore. He'll give him fifty points for the trouble." Aurora cracked a grin at that. "Seriously, don't worry about Potter of all people. I'll make sure none of them give you any trouble over it." He took her hand. "Family looks after family, right?"
She was at once incredibly grateful to have him as family. Aurora couldn't help herself from smiling. "Thank you. Seriously, Draco. I - I know I'm not really the best at showing... affection or whatever you want to call it, but I do love you. You're my best friend, and I - just, thanks. For being here. On my side."
He smiled at her like it was easy. "Well, obviously."
She couldn't restrain her own smile at that. Tears pricked her eyes, and she tried to hide it but was sure Draco noticed. "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this? I don't want anyone to think I'm bothered by it. I don't want to make a fuss."
"I won't," Draco said, with a faint smile. "Promise."
They were halfway to a hug when the door opened again and Pansy came waltzing out in frilly pink dress robes. "Draco, how do I look?"
Aurora gave him a significant look. "You look gorgeous," he said stiffly, and she had to look away to hide her laughter.
Pansy seemed pleased though. She came over and cooed over Draco, telling him and Aurora how utterly excited she was for the day ahead. It didn't escape Aurora how she placed herself between them, which was entirely ridiculous and infuriating. There was nothing about Aurora that Draco didn't see in Pansy, but as much as she loved her friend, Aurora wished she wasn't there. She'd wanted to sit with Draco a little while longer; she didn't think she could talk to anyone else about this.
The other girls came out shortly after, and all of them looked stunning. Millicent blushed when Aurora told her so. "You really think I look alright?" she asked, tucking hair behind her ear. "Lucille said it didn't look right anymore."
"Lucille doesn't know what she's talking about," Aurora said firmly, taking Millicent's hand. "I think you look absolutely gorgeous."
Millicent went bright red, but looked very pleased as they went down the stairs together.
There were an awful lot of people for her to meet and talk to, and all of them spoke about nonsense that Aurora only half understood. She mainly stuck to Draco, Pansy and Millicent. The Malfoys were good about introducing her to people, with the firm look in their eyes that said they were in no way to equate her to her recently escaped murderer of a father. She appreciated that about them all, even Lucius.
When the time came for the meal, Aurora wound up sitting with Millicent's family at one of the tables far away from the Parkinsons, who dined with multiple people Aurora recognised as being from the Ministry - Orcus Selwyn, Savar MacNair, Dolores Umbridge - as well as the Malfoys and the Greengrasses. Millicent's parents and sister were pleasant enough, but Aurora couldn't help feeling envious seeing Pansy seated next to Narcissa and across from Draco, laughing with them like she was the family rather than Aurora. It was a foolish thing to envy. Aurora knew where she stood. Or at least, she had. Now her father had broken out and reminded the world of the stains on the Black name... She was on uneven ground.
And she realised as she ate, that the restoration of the Black family name relied on her now. It was something that had semi-occurred to her before but never truly hit her in the way that it did now. She was the last of the true Blacks, for all intents and purposes. She disowned her father as all those before her had done.
She made polite conversation with the Bulstrodes, and the Flints, who also sat at their table. She learned that Julius Flint was Marcus Flint's uncle, and that he had several close contacts within the Quidditch League and the Ministry Department of Sports and Games, as a personal friend of Ludo Bagman. That set everyone off in a very excited conversation about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup.
"Of course, we'll all be cheering for England," Millicent's mother, Andrea, said, looking around the table as though to catch someone out for not fully backing their team.
Aurora nodded earnestly. "Oh, of course. Still, I wouldn't mind terribly if Wales or Scotland won, but we all know how likely that is." Everyone around the table laughed, and she smiled. "So long as America aren't the winners."
That got an even larger laugh, particularly from Julius Flint, who went red in the face and had to gulp down more wine, though Aurora thought water would have done the trick and the wine was likely half the problem. She wasn't much a fan of the weak white wine that she and Millicent had been served, though she suspected the appreciation for it would come with age and maturity.
After they had finished all seven courses and the plates were vanished to the kitchens, they were free to mingle as they saw fit. Millicent and Aurora slipped away from the adults, making a beeline for Daphne, Lucille, and Astoria, who were loitering by the edge of the garden walls, where pale blue and purple fairy lights had been strung up with real fairies dancing inside.
"Ah, there you two are," Lucille said by way of greeting. "We thought Millicent might have gotten lost in the puddings."
Millicent shifted uncomfortably and Aurora stepped forward. "No, we were just chatting to the Flints - Marcus' cousins. It was rather fun. More fun than the conversation at your table looked at any rate."
Lucille's face turned stony at the sly insult, and Aurora grinned over at Daphne, who appeared amused. "Now you're here," Daphne said, slipping her arm through Aurora's, "I wanted to dance."
"Oh, and are you asking me?" Aurora said, feigning embarrassment. "Why, I'm all a flutter, Daphne."
But they'd barely reached the patio where people were dancing when Draco arrived, beaming. "My mother wants to introduce you to some people," he told Aurora happily, "while father's speaking to some Ministry people."
Aurora looked back at Daphne, who had put her hand over her chest in a mockery of heartbreak. "Another time, Greengrass, another time."
Millicent, Daphne and Lucille all laughed, but Astoria seemed too overcome at the sight of Draco to do so. Smiling, Aurora took his arm and headed out into the crowd of people.
"Well," he said, "how were the Bulstrodes and the Flints? I told Father we should put our foot down and tell the Parkinsons you were to sit with us as family, but he said it was tricky to navigate." He rolled his eyes. "He's negotiating something or other with Pansy's father, I don't know what, but Mother isn't too happy about it."
"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Aurora told Draco.
"Yeah. Probably." He shook his head as they approached Narcissa, who was in conversation with a tall, stern-looking, grey-haired witch who reminded Aurora a little of Professor McGonagall. "Mother, here she is."
"Ah, Aurora." Narcissa broke into a stunning smile and moved to kiss her cheek. "Marie, this is my cousin, Aurora Black. She's in Draco and Pansy's year at Hogwarts. Aurora, this is Marie Jasper. I believe you may have heard of her."
A thrill of excitement went through Aurora that she tried to hide. Marie Jasper was a well renowned Artihmancer - her book about sacred numbers had been one of the most informative Aurora had read on the field. "How do you do, Ms Jasper?" she said, slightly breathlessly, putting on a bright smile as she dipped her head. "I'm a massive fan of your writing."
Marie, who had at first appeared slightly alarmed by Aurora's introduction, broke into a smile. "Is that so? Do you study Arithmancy at Hogwarts?"
"Oh, not yet - I'm just about to start third year, we start our first Arithmancy classes this September - but I've always had an interest in it, it's so fascinating what numbers can reveal."
"Indeed." Marie Jasper's eyes glimmered and Draco gave Aurora a knowing, slightly teasing look. Narcissa looked rather pleased with herself as Aurora started up a friendly - and possibly a little rambly - conversation about Arithmancy.
The evening was a whirl of people and names, and Aurora tried her hardest not to trip over her words. Often, when she was introduced to someone, they would do a double take, or else eye her warily. This happened most often when she met someone from the Ministry. One Dolores Umbridge - allegedly a relative of Orcus Selwyn, who did not once deign to confirm this - looked at her like she was positive vermin until Lucius arrived and pointedly included Aurora in his greeting to his 'family'. At that point, Umbridge turned horribly sweet and swept Lucius and Narcissa into a political discussion while Aurora and Draco slipped off to where their friends were dancing. The girls had been joined by Theodore and Blaise, but Pansy squealed when she saw Draco and swept him into a dance immediately, leaving Aurora stranded.
She looked around for a moment, wondering if there was anyone else she knew who might dance, when there was a warm hand in hers. She turned sharply, about to wrench it away, only to see Theodore Nott grinning at her. "Draco said you dance?"
"Oh." Not used to having someone's hand in hers, Aurora's nod was unusually clumsy. "I did ballet when I was younger, not so much now. The Hogwarts dorms don't exactly leave much room for a grande allegro."
He chuckled, and there was a faint blush ove r his cheeks. Aurora didn't know quite what to do with that realisation. "Well, I'm not asking for a grande allegro, but... Do you want to dance? With me?"
She tried not to laugh at his nerves. "Yes, I suppose so, just please don't tread on my toes."
"Noted," said Theodore, and pulled her into their little knot of people - Draco dancing with Pansy, Daphne with Blaise, Millicent with Gregory, and Lucille with a Flint boy from the year above theirs - as the music picked up.
The familiar movements of dance - turning, rising, arms tracing through the air - felt so natural and so soothing that Aurora wondered why she'd ever stopped dancing. And having a partner felt even nicer. She felt light, but more than that, this all felt familiar. Even with Theodore, she felt herself falling into patterns: pointed feet, delicate fingers, curved arms, relaxed shoulders, tilted chin, hips turned out. And it felt nice, that structured familiarity.
Theodore spun her, grinning, and then she was released to be caught between Draco and Daphne, both grinning. For a few moments that night she could forget about her father, and fall back into the things she knew and understood. She only wished it could remain that way forever.