Love, Deryah | Blaise Zabini

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a/n: i hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! once again, i'm glad we could start this journey together! this is the first time, if i'm correct, i've never written over 2000 words, so yay!

i present to you...

the deal

narrator's pov

The Night Before She Returned Back for Her Sixth Year

as she lay in the grass under her favorite willow tree, deryah watched the sun tuck back under the horizon, leaving streaks of rose and tangerine behind. as the moon soon took its place, deryah realized, as the summer was coming to an end; so was her childhood days. her father would be expecting her to transform into a young woman and let go of her childish pastime with nature. she sighed and turned to fiddle with the leaves softly drooping from the crooked tree. "at least i got to spend it with you old friend" she spoke, running her fingers across the bark. she exhaled as she rose from the grass, retrieving her journal and flower crown from the grass, making her way towards her homestead.

forgetting to clean her feet from the mud that made its way between her toes, deryah tracked a trail of mud through the halls, somewhat staining the cooled marble floors. once she caught sight of the mess she had created, she sent very sincere apologies to charlotte; the free elf. "i am so sorry! i had no idea you were cleaning the floors today." she spoke with sincerity.

"don't worry miss, i didn't get to these rooms yet; no worries." she said, dismissing her quietly while smiling.

after being dismissed, she swiftly and softly ran past her father's study in an attempt to be as quiet as possible, until she heard a firm voice call out for her.

"deryah-" she froze in her path; she felt like a toddler who had been caught red handed. groaning softly, deryah turned back around and made her way back to stand at the entrance of his study.

"good evening father,"

he lifted his head and scanned his daughter, analyzing her appearance thoroughly. "were you out by that blasted tree again?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. he had placed his book down and was now grasping a glass of firewhiskey that once sat idle on his desk.

"yes father," deryah now held her head to the ground and fiddled with her fingers. although she was usually very headstrong and outspoken, deryah became very timid and closed off around her father; that was until they both became riled up. she had gotten her temper from him, but when they were going head to head, she had to remember her place and that he held a lot of power over her.

"we've talked about this before deryah. you've got to get out of these foolish ways if you ever expect to be courted." the thing was, deryah didn't want to be courted just yet. she wanted to spend the rest of her school days stretching her childhood as long as she could. when it was time for her womanhood, it would come naturally. she didn't want to be hurried into seeking a husband.

"who says i want to be courted just yet?" she muttered, causing her father to snap up from his chair.

"speak up when you talk to me," he spoke sternly. one thing lafayette fontaine hated, was mumbling. ever since she learned to talk, deryah was always taught to speak up and never mumble and mix her words if she ever wanted to be taken seriously. deryah didn't reply, nor did she attempt to look up at him; this caused her father to become easily irritated. he harshly slammed the glass onto his desk, causing an echo to carry throughout the study. "i said speak up when you speak to me!" he shouted, raising the volume in his voice even more. he now stood over his desk with his arms spread to either side. deryah flinched, quickly lifting her head while her eyes stayed focus on the ground, not daring to make eye contact with her father, even though she felt his dark brown eyes on her as they bore in her direction.