Aurora stood in front of a little hovel in rural China, thinking, what the hell am I doing here? She was about to knock on the door when she heard a voice behind her.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
She turned around to find Ramona standing behind her.
"Um…I'm not sure exactly."
"So you just came out here on a whim?"
"Yes?"
"Okay. I guess you can come inside, just don't touch anything."
Ramona opened the door and walked in with Aurora following behind. Even though the hovel looked small and run down from the outside once inside Aurora felt as if she had stepped into a decent sized flat.
"I knew there was no way you would live in an actual hovel."
"Well duh! I had to make a few modifications." Ramona walked into the kitchen. "Do you want anything?"
"No, thank you."
Aurora noticed a door that was placed in between the bathroom and bedroom.
"What's this?" She asked as she reached for the door.
Ramona rushed over to prevent her from opening it.
"That, my overly curious friend, would be my lab. Don't go in there."
Aurora put her hands and up and slowly backed away, and Ramona returned to the kitchen.
Aurora ventured to the kitchen and took a seat.
"Here." Ramona said as she placed a plate of food in front of her. Aurora was about to protest but she thought better of it, and after all, she was hungry.
"Now, tell me what you're doing here. And don't give me that 'I don't know' garbage." Ramona took a seat across from her with her hands folded in front of her.
"I guess I just wanted to know what it feels like to be spontaneous for once."
"Ah, I see. So you decided to lie about your whereabouts and come all the way here."
"Precisely so."
"You want to know something?" She asked, as she casually examined her nails.
"What?"
"You're a shit liar."
"W-What?" Aurora stuttered.
"I said you are a shit liar. Your face and ears start to turn all red when you tell a lie. Listen, I'm not going to let you stay here until you tell me the truth."
"Fine, fine." Aurora huffed. "The subject of 'Draco' and 'marriage' came up while I was having breakfast with his family."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Well, I definitely saw that coming. The both of you do make a handsome couple." Ramona smirked, teasing her friend.
"Stop that."
"What? It's true! Just think of how beautiful your babies would be!"
"Ramona, stop."
"He's a good match, you know."
"I know." Though Aurora smiled patiently, she was screaming internally.
"So what's the issue?"
"I don't want to get married. I feel like my life hasn't even started yet. I mean look at you- 23, living on your own, studying plants! I want to live on my own and study rocks!"
"Then do it! Didn't you say yourself the other day you are planning on getting your own flat?"
"Yes, but who do you think is going to pay for it? My father, of course!" Aurora stood and began to pace about the kitchen. It was a habit she developed whenever she grew nervous and uneasy.
"Well, what's wrong with that? You're still a student, remember? I finished and I am being paid to be out here. Don't worry, once you finish school you'll start working and pay for the flat all by yourself. And then you can marry Draco and have those gorgeous babies!"
"STOP THAT!"
"Be honest here- have you ever entertained the idea of possibly becoming the next Madam Malfoy?"
"No, never. Well, at least until Mr. Malfoy heavily implied that Draco and I should marry. He basically told Draco that he should propose right then and there!"
Ramona burst out in laugher, nearly falling from her chair. "I knew that man was blunt and didn't give a shit of what others thought but wow! He just laid all the cards out right there on the table, didn't he?"
"Yes, and at first I thought it was hilarious. But now it's making me super uneasy."
"What makes you uneasy? Is it Draco, are you afraid of a loveless marriage?"
"No, no. Draco is fine, I mean any girl would be lucky to have him. And as far as 'love' goes I think we can eventually build up to that. Nothing better than marrying your best friend, right?"
"Aurora, you are confusing me. Do you want to marry Draco or not?"
Aurora thought for a moment. "He's an ideal match, yes…but not now."
"Why?"
"I told you already! Haven't you been listening? I'm not ready! I can barely match my own socks and to top it all off I've barely experienced the world!" She sighed in exasperation and threw her hands up in distress. "I want to go on spontaneous adventures! I want to travel without a single care in the world! I want to do it all before I share my life with someone! My God, I can barely handle sharing shoes let alone a living space or a bed!"
"Calm down." Ramona admonished. "It's not like you're marrying him tomorrow. Also, this is just wishful thinking on the Malfoys' part-"
"And my parents!"
"And your parents, but they won't force you if you don't want to."
Aurora collapsed in her seat, burying her head in her hands. "This is too much."
"Listen kid, just focus on graduating University first, and then think about all the other stuff, okay? When do you finish, anyway?"
"This fall."
"Already? How many years have you been in school?"
"Almost two years, but I graduated the academy with a bunch of University credits- that's why I'm finishing early."
Ramona smirked. "It's nice to see that you are following into my footsteps."
Aurora scoffed "Yeah right, as if I'm going to let you be the only brains in our little social circle."
"No dear, I'm not the only one; you forgot someone."
"Who?"
"Wyatt, of course! Okay, the boy may be socially inept but he is well on his way to becoming an accomplished potions master. My brother and I inherited our brains from our father and looks from our mother." Ramona stated, with a smug look on her face.
Aurora rolled her eyes; she knew she couldn't argue. Damocles Belby was, after all, the one who invented the Wolfsbane potion. It was only natural that his offspring would inherit his talents. Even though Ramona and Wyatt were on two opposite poles, they did make a remarkable team. With Ramona's extensive knowledge in Herbology and Wyatt's natural talent for brewing potions, nothing could stop them.
"I'm going to spend the week here. I hope you don't mind."
"That's fine, I could use the company." Ramona looked at her watch and noticed that it was almost 10 pm. "We should get to bed."
"Why?"
"Well, you said yourself, you wanted a spontaneous trip, and what can be more spontaneous than spending a whole day in Hong Kong?!"
"What about the work you have to do?"
"Taking a day off won't kill me."
Aurora smiled trying her best to hide her excitement. This is going to be a great week.