-UndoubtedlyYours-

-Chapter♕Three-

✧AN UNWANTED COURTSHIP✧

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With Rabastan 'wanting to stay out of it,' and his disappearance, she hadn't managed to ask anything more about Rolf's rumor. So to busy herself, she went ahead and continued to read through her newest manual she purchased from the store in Hogsmead.

It's meant to hold her until she managed to sort out her thoughts, and give her something to do.

It was work to retain and manage a sort of study method, her mind held endless storage and she smiled while obtaining and reviewing. Course her studies had been abruptly interrupted by one of the many house elf.

"Mistress ask for young Mistress to come down, supper is on table."
"Thank you Tessie, let's get going before they get pissy." She grumbled, but the elf hadn't made much of a reaction to Rhea's bitter comments.

Not when Tessie was flourishing at being spoken to so kindly by her young mistress.

Rhea had made her way up from her desk and hurried into her house shoes before taking the guiding steps down the main staircase and into the dining room.

The rest of her family was already sitting down, but Rolf's mention had thrown sirens in her head. Yet she managed well enough and took her seat across from Rabastan and between either parent.
"I'm glad you're feeling better to join us this evening, Rhea." She tried to keep up with her movements in placing the napkin onto her lap.

"Yes, the Gryffindors certainly gave me a migraine the final moments on the train." She ushered, and Rabastan smirked. He had heard from McNair she let them have it so he threw his own words into the discussion.

Leaving Rhea not having to speak considering it continued to bounce back and forth.

She had been pushing her soup back and forth with her spoon as she followed along with her father and brother's heated debate on the Quidditch season.

As that was certainly more important than her NEWTS, wasn't it?

The elves had come and gone with an array of dishes, and yet nobody really had made the effort in speaking to her. Not unless it was Rabastan who mentioned her in context, leaving her to politely smile and nod along.

It pained her to realize that nothing had really changed to when she was at the table or not, she was just filling the void of her eldest brother at this point, wasn't she?

"Rhea, your father and I wanted to have a word with you about this coming summer." It startled her to hear her name at the point of discussion and so she nodded along, silently showing her sense of attention to her mother then turning off towards her father.

"Rolf said that you wanted to speak about it during lunch when he was here?"
"Yes, that would've been easier considering this is an important family matter." The stern face of her father had washed over, it was as he was a new man every time he spoke to either of his children.

He loved them dearly, but it was clear to everyone—Rhea included, that she wasn't the favorite.

"...You're of age darling, it's time we start considering proposals. And they've certainly started to come in like wildfire these last few months. It seems they've been scouting the new graduates." Rhea blinked at her mother's words.

What sort of proposals did she mean?

"I-I'm sorry...I'm not quite following." She honestly admitted, and her father sneered. Though it was a rather endearing sight to see that her mother had defended her for being lost.