𝐵𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 | 𝒟.𝑀.

19 | ﴾ Attendance is Mandatory ﴿

I tended to my plants that afternoon before resigning to the sleeping quarters for reading and to open the mysterious letter. I had figured it would be more private for me in the one part of the castle that Malfoy quite assuredly could not follow me into.

Before I headed up it was of course awkward when it came time to watering and pruning the larger plants I'd left down in the common room by the glass wall facing the lake. Draco seemingly felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever about assaulting Warrington. He had remained in the common room for hours afterwards, writing out assignments and keeping an eye on my behavior while ignoring the topic when other students confronted him about it. At one point our gazes accidentally met and he rolled his eyes, looking away with a scowl. Even when he scowled, he was handsome, I found myself thinking and then mentally kicked myself for letting the thought in.

I waited for nightfall to open the letter, despite Hilda's objections. I needed to know the information first and then I would decide how I felt about sharing it. She eventually gave in and closed her curtains for bed, leaving me feeling unnecessarily guilty. I closed my own silky green curtains and sat cross legged with the fancy envelope turning it over in my hands. It had an unbelievably heavy and malevolent energy oozing invisibly out of it, and my hands shook as I tore at the thick paper.

I slid out the letter, holding my breath with a pronounced grimace. The Malfoy Crest shimmered in the top corner.

With great honors, Mistress Madeleine Malfoy is requested for attendance on this coming day, Friday, January 15, 1999, for the annual Sacred Ball - a recently revived tradition.

The ball will take place at the Malfoy Manor, while the proposed dress code will be black tie.

Attendance is mandatory.

Sincerely,

Narcissa Malfoy

I blanked, squinting at the words repeatedly. This sounded like a very bad situation, and I had only just escaped the manor a matter of weeks ago with zero intention to return.

Attendance is mandatory.

The sentence didn't seem like typical invitational dialogue - perhaps Narcissa had scribbled in that last sentence signatory for me, knowing I would put up a fight. Was this some sort of elaborate trap set up by the Malfoy's? Had Draco been in contact with them about me being difficult? I pictured them luring me back to the property and locking me in the dungeons like a troll.

Since returning to the safety of Hogwarts I had sent at least five owls to my parents regarding the truth about my situation, the abuse, and the fear that I was experiencing. Since it seemed unlikely that any of the teachers could do anything to resolve the matter, I had point blank sent the last owl with a request for them to come and take me home. None of the owls had been returned - no response, no sudden visits from them. My family had seemingly abandoned me. My father was a stern man, albeit not nearly as reprimanding as Lucius, but he was still not so aristocratic and unreasonable as to force me into an arranged marriage. Especially one so terrifying. Or...was he?

My stomach felt sick. I knew they had similar base values regarding marriage to an acceptable pureblood, but it had always felt more like a religion than a law. A belief and an understanding that it would eventually work out in a respectful manner - that I always would have the choice about which pureblood boy that would be exactly. Neither my brother nor I had shown any objection towards the emphasized importance of it.

Draco Malfoy. That was the one I had "chosen", accidentally, by following my hormones and ignoring my rationale. That was probably what they believed. I felt a lighting strike of anxiety with the realization that they were probably told by the Malfoy's that I had known what I was doing. Perhaps all of the owls I had sent after the incident just looked like a childish and reckless girl, begging to be taken out of an irreversible mistake. That wouldn't be so far from my character. Perhaps the owls were simply embarrassing my father who in turn was ignoring me until I accepted my fate.