A ray of moonlight entered into my bedroom through the open window, along with a cool breeze that made me shiver. I was tangled in between the bedding as a result of restless tossing and turning. Despite the chilly night air flowing into the bedroom, a sheet of sweat covered my pale skin.

It was July 21st, my fourteenth birthday. In the morning I'd have to get ready for the traditional Black family birthday event, where nearly every member and friend of the family is invited. This meant hours of meaningless formalities and futile small talk with people who I get to meet approximately once or twice a year, but who I'm still expected to treat as family. As a child all that was required from me was to sit properly during the dinner and to not bother the adults, but ever since I started at Hogwarts, everyone suddenly seems to have taken quite the interest in me.

I got up and leaned on the window. Apparently I hadn't closed it properly after sending an owl to Tom the previous night. In the letter I had vented about the upcoming event, then crumpled the paper and thrown it away. It didn't seem appropriate to complain about a feast that was thrown in honor of my birthday while he was stuck in that horrid place.

Earlier in the week I had asked mother whether Tom could attend the party as my guest and maybe stay here for a while. Her nostrils had flared the way they did every time she came across something unpleasant.

"I don't think that's a good idea, dear", she had said with a final tone.

"But you met him last year, he's not a strange kid from school anymore!" I had argued. "I thought you liked him..."

"He was very polite, indeed...", mother had muttered. "But the guests come from the most appreciated wizarding families and there is a certain etiquette one must master if they wish to participate. I doubt he has any experience in socializing with the higher society, by the look of him."

"Oh come on, mother! Couldn't you at least consider it?"

"My decision is final! I mean, could he even afford proper clothing?"

"Well, we could help him with that! And you said it yourself, he was very polite, I think he would do just fine-"

"That's enough!" she had snapped, raising her voice. "The wealth of our Noble House will not be spent to dress some low class boy, no matter how charming he might be! And don't you dare talk back to me like that when I have made all this effort for your birthday, you ungrateful brat!"

Her words still echoed in my ears as I laid back down on my bed. In the final version of the letter I had explained that the house was already going to be full of guests and there would simply not be enough room for him to stay. With a sting in my heart I had sealed my white lie in the brown envelope and sent it on its way. It was certainly better to not tell the whole truth, but the sickness in my stomach refused to fade away ever since that conversation with mother. Her pure lack of empathy and the insufferable need to appear perfect didn't surprise me, but to not let Tom attend solely because of his background? It didn't make sense at all. If he had a proper suit and behaved like he usually did, no one could ever know. Except her. With this thought I drifted into restless sleep.

The door creaked, then burst open and a pair of footsteps entered. The blanket was pulled off my bed and the curtains opened before I had even managed to open my eyes. Then the weight of a nearly adult-sized person landed next to me and smacked my head lightly.

"Happy birthday, sis!" yelled Lucretia into my ear. "Time to wake up so we can make you look presentable! We all know that can take a while."

"Ugh, get away!" I groaned and unsuccessfully tried to hit her back.

"Lucretia, behave yourself", said my mother who was standing over my bed as well. "And Elara, she's right, you need to get up so we can get you ready for today."

Letting out a sigh I rose from the bed and headed toward the bathroom. "Where are my gifts?" I yelled over my shoulder and closed the door behind me.

"Later, dear", replied the muffled voice of my mother. "We have more important things to do first."

A couple hours later I was seated in front of the dresser in my room while mother was combing my hair into an elaborate hairdo. She had even applied a bit of mascara and red lipstick which she then carefully dabbed with a piece of tissue to make it appear more subtle. This was the first time she had ever spent this much time on my appearance, even though I had watched her scurrying around Lucretia for a couple of years now. A part of growing up, I suppose.

"Alright, all done here", said mother and laid down the comb. I looked up at the mirror and let out a small gasp of surprise. The girl looking back at me wasn't the scrawny teenager I usually saw myself as, but a young woman with the whole world ahead of her.

Lucretia entered the room and let out a cry of delight. "Oh, you look tolerable! A miracle has happened!"

She laughed as I grimaced at her through the mirror. Lucretia looked stunning as always, with her blonde hair in a skillful hairdo much like mine and her icy blue, elegant dress robes. Mother threw her a grim glance and sighed.

"Remember, when the guests arrive I want you to be on your best behavior", she guided. "That applies to you too, Lucretia. What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Oh, the first guests have arrived just now", she replied. "Grandpa Sirius came with grandma, complaining about joint pains and is probably still on about it."

"Do not talk about your grandfather that way!" snapped mother. "Go see them in, we will be down in a moment."

She quickly helped me get dressed in my dark green, brand new dress robes. I was glad that she hadn't insisted to dress me in the same light, pastel blue shades Lucretia often preferred. Then she led me downstairs to the formal dining room on the ground floor. There, around the large dinner table sat my parents, siblings and grandparents Sirius and Hesper. More people drifted through the door as I greeted them all and joined them by the table.

Orion had been seated in the smaller kids table at the corner with our cousins Alphard, who was ten, and little Cygnus who was only three. In earlier years I had been shoved there too, but today mother had informed me that I should join her and the others.

"What am I suppose to talk about with them? Neither of them doesn't even go to Hogwarts yet!" Orion protested as he walked up to me and Lucretia.

"Like you had anything reasonable to say anyway", I teased and Lucretia laughed.

"But it's not fair!" he wailed. "It's not fair that I'm twelve already and still at the kids table while you two get to sit with the adults!"

"Orion, the only reason you even exist is that me and your sister happened to be born as girls", stated Lucretia casually. "If I had been a boy, neither of you might have never seen the light of day so be grateful, Orion, because otherwise you wouldn't be sitting anywhere."

"Oh yeah, it's all about having an heir in the family", I continued. "So if I were you, I wouldn't complain about the order of seating."

"Whatever", he huffed and turned to me. "Where's Tom? He's the only other boy I could talk to here."

"Umm... He wasn't able to make it here", I muttered. Orion merely sighed and vanished into the gradually thickening crowd.

"So no snake boy this summer, then?" asked Lucretia. "Let me guess, mother didn't allow him to attend your party."

"Mmh", I grunted. "I don't understand, I thought they'd accepted him."

"Behind closed doors, maybe. But in a setting like this...", she sighed. "You know it's all about status for them."

Was Lucretia right? Did nothing else but your heritage and the status that came with it matter at all? A sick feeling twisted my guts. Lucretia opened her mouth to say something more but was interrupted by our mother who approached us with a slightly familiar-looking man.

"How are you girls doing?" she chirped, with an excessively wide smile. Lucretia raised her eyebrows at me and I had to fight the urge to laugh. Our mother was behaving in a way she did only when there were influential people outside of the family present. A façade she had mastered in order to profit the most from every social interaction she had.

"Lucretia, Elara, meet Ignatius Prewett", she beamed. Both me and my sister gave him an awkward nod.

"Congratulations", he said to me, but didn't take his eyes off Lucretia.

"Lucretia, would you be kind enough to show him around in the house?" mother asked. "I'm sure he would love that."

Lucretia looked utterly baffled. "Uh, sure", she replied, then turned to Ignatius. "Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."

Ignatius gave another nod, then disappeared through the doorway that led into the entrance hall.

"Mother, what is going on? Since when have you wanted people touring around our house?" she inquired as soon as he had gone.

"Oh, he's not just anybody", replied mother. "He's a family friend. Besides, he'll make a wonderful husband for you when you graduate Hogwarts."

Lucretia let out a laughter of disbelief. "What? I'm not planning on getting married so soon."

"But you cannot live here forever either, now can you? You need to start thinking about your future."

"But mom, he's already in his thirties... I can't marry someone so much older!" Lucretia wailed. Her usual carelessness had yielded, revealing genuine anxiousness.

"Sure you can!" mother retorted. "Now go on and be nice to him while showing him around."

Lucretia threw me one last incredulous glance, then slouched in the direction of Ignatius.

"Well, what are you standing there for?" snapped mother at me. "Go on, socialize!"

Later in the evening, while gladly retreating to my room on the fourth floor, I ran into Lucretia in the stairs. Mother had kept her near Ignatius for the whole day, even after the house tour. She looked utterly defeated and exhausted, dragging herself down the stairs towards the bathroom.

"How are you?" I inquired quietly. After the quests had left, the house had become eerily silent and I didn't want my parents to hear our conversation.

"Oh, I'm doing great!" she spat. "As great as anyone who has just learned they will be married off to an old stranger soon!"

"Don't worry, you still have two years in Hogwarts. Anything could happen."

"Have you met our mother?" she laughed humorlessly. "I don't think there's much anything that will change her mind. But just wait, you'll see it for yourself in a couple of years."

"Well, you never know", I replied, trying to reassure her, but her words had shocked me a bit. Would I really share the same fate after graduation?

Lucretia merely shrugged and brushed past me down the stairs. I continued upwards, barely noticing my surroundings. Was there even anyone I could've been married off to? I suppose there were a few options mother could consider in the future but all were at least ten years my senior...

Breathing heavily, I entered my room and opened the window to take a deep breath. Almost at the same time our family owl, Mercury, flew out from the darkness to hand me a letter. She must have been waiting outside for hours, poor thing. I gave her a couple of treats from the windowsill and took the letter. It was from Tom.

Sitting down on my bed in the middle of a pile of birthday gifts which must have been brought up by Kreacher, I opened the letter and held it toward the light.

Don't worry, I understand. Congratulations on your birthday, I have acquired a small present for you. It is in the same envelope as this letter. Shall we meet in Diagon Alley in a couple of weeks?

Tom

From the envelope I took out a beautiful silvery necklace that had an emerald stone hanging from it. It was simple yet elegant, but I had to admit that it had seen its best days a long time ago. Even so, my cheeks warmed up and I quickly put it on my neck as I hopped across the room to the mirror. The necklace lay gracefully over my collarbone, glimmering in the candlelight. I scribbled a quick thank you -message for Tom and sent it on its way, then slumped on the bed without opening the other gifts. Gradually I drifted to sleep, caressing the necklace.

The next morning I indifferently browsed through the other gifts. I found the usual assortment of expensive clothes, hair accessories and shoes, all those things you can buy for a young girl without asking her what she actually wants. Every single item felt impersonal and unnecessary.

I was about to make my way downstairs for breakfast when somebody knocked on my door. Lucretia slid in, looking like herself again and peered toward the gift pile I had moved next to the bed.

"Got anything worth keeping?" she inquired.

"Help yourself", I replied and sat on the windowsill. There was a silent agreement between me and my siblings, that if one of us didn't receive the most desired gifts, the others were allowed to go through them.

"Merlin's beard!" she exclaimed, picking up a particularly ruffled, cotton candy -colored dress. "I bet this is from grandma."

"Uncle Regulus, actually", I snorted, raising a brow. "All yours if you ask me."

Lucretia glared the dress as if it had offended her somehow. "I think we should give to Orion."

I let out a little laugh, then glared her more intently. "How are you doing? After yesterday?"

"I'm fine", she chirped, avoiding my gaze.

"What about these?" she asked and picked up a pair of black leather heels.

"Take them."

"Thanks", she replied. Then she got up from the ground and awkwardly waddled to the door. "I'm going to get breakfast now. See you later."

After she had closed the door behind her, I let out a long sigh. She was clearly not being truthful about her state of mind, but there was nothing I could do to help her even if she had been. In my family, arranged marriages were more of a rule than an exception and in a few years I would undoubtedly share the same fate as Lucretia. For some reason I started to think about Tom and the fact that in a way we were both prisoners, both powerless to change our surroundings. But maybe together we could find a way out.