Venom & Virtue

chapter 34

I looked up as the sound of an apparition flooded my room, the green-eyed elf appearing near the door.

"Good morning miss, Dobby was instructed to inform you that Lady Narcissa and Mistress Violetta are waiting in the foyer for you."

"Please tell them that I'll be down in a moment," I smiled at the creature as he bowed his head, disappearing with a crack.

I glanced down at Snape's book in my hand, proceeding to fold the corner of the page, setting it aside for later.

After Violetta's visit to my room last night, I'd decided that the time had come to broach the subject of The Sacred Twenty-Eight properly, spending most of the morning hours speeding through the novel.

There were only 10 chapters in total, each covering a wide range of information related to the subject.

1: Blood Purity - Defining Terms
2: Historic Conception of Wizarding Society
3: What It Means To Be A Pureblood
4: Family Trees & Ancestry
5: The Sacred Twenty-Eight
6: Responsibilities & Expectations
7: Wealth & Heirlooms
8: Social Bias
9: The Future of Wizarding Britain
10: Final Thoughts & Further Reading

I'd nearly finished the book, reaching chapter 9 in my eagerness to understand both why Snape had felt it important I read the novel, and what I could learn about the world I'd be staying in for the next few weeks.

Mostly, I'd hoped it might give me some significant insight into the life of the Malfoys, a key moment of realisation perhaps. But so far, the book had proved to be more informative than revelatory.

The most noteworthy part had been on The Sacred Twenty-Eight, one of the largest sections of the book; it had helped me to understand just how established each of those families were, their blood lines so ancient they might as well have been carved into the very ground we walked upon.

It was strange to read about knowing that it applied to the very family who's house I was a guest within.

The fact made the words of the book seem so loud, as if they were screaming off the page and escaping through the stone walls.

Even as I walked down the quiet corridor with my new knowledge, I felt oddly unnerved.

It seemed as if the portraits on the wall were judging me for my obvious lack of familial history, displeased.

I couldn't shake the idea that they were aware of my intrusion upon their descendants, that they somehow knew I was the very opposite of them, orphaned and penniless.

Each of their snide stares looked down upon my presence when I passed, and I was sure that if they could, they would stretch out their painted hands and claw at my skin for entertainment.

I hurried beyond them in my paranoia, reaching the foyer where two of the current Malfoys waited for me.

We greeted one another briefly before Narcissa offered her hand, apparating us out of the eerie manor.

We arrived promptly upon a bustling street, which I quickly realised was Diagon Alley as I spotted the familiar sight of Ollivander's a few stores away.

Narcissa wasted no time, immediately beginning to lead us through the sea of magical folk, most of whom seemed to part for the witch, as if she were royalty.

I couldn't blame them, she certainly looked it.

I turned to Violetta as we walked, sure that the manor must be significantly far from the city, prompting me to ask a critical question.