Bitten

Meeting the Family

Riley looked at herself once more in the mirror, turning her face this way and that. She pulled at the strands of hair that fell in front of her face, smoothing them a bit. She took a deep breath and barely kept herself from placing her hands on her face. Her body shook with small tremors and her stomach was queasy with butterflies. Why was she so nervous? It was just a perfunctory dinner. Her silvery eyes opened and were unable to look away from her image in the mirror.

"What's happening to me?" She asked her reflection softly. Her face was flawless—the wonders of make-up. Her skin was smooth and soft, with a touch of blush on her cheeks to give her face a bit of colour. She had on light, black eyeliner on her top lid that topped off with mascara that curled her eyelashes innocently. A gentle, white eyeshadow highlighted her eyes to create a natural look. Her eyes turned down and looked at the rolled parchment. That little piece of paper had caused Riley to be the talk of the campus for the last week. Many of her friends had even avoided her because they had no idea why she would have been associated with Malfoy. She sighed, shaking her head. Her fingers ghosted over a contact case. Stephanie had suggested them for Riley. She said that while Riley's silver eyes were beautiful in their own spooky way, tonight she needed to be elegantly beautiful. With deft fingers, Riley unscrewed the lens case. She looked down at the bright blue opaque contact lenses. She bit her lip and placed the lenses on her iris'. After blinking a few times, she looked back in the mirror. For a moment, she didn't even recognize herself. She turned her face sideways.

"Is this really me?" She breathed. Her clock struck a quarter till five and Riley stood. She grabbed the invitation off her vanity, placing it in her purse. The ring on her finger glinted in the white light and Riley stared at it for a second. A feeling began to bubble up inside of her. But she had no time to do a divination so she would just have to wing it. She'd already memorized the directions to Draco's so she wrapped her shrug around her shoulders and turned off the lights in her dorm.

Riley looked up at the large house. For some reason, it felt like it glared down disapprovingly at her. She swallowed hard and walked up the front steps. She looked for a door knocker and didn't see one. However she did see a golden rope. She looked for anything other than that rope, but there wasn't a knocker or a doorbell anywhere. She sighed and gingerly pulled on the rope. A clamorous amount of bells went off from a tower high above her. The air was filled with the bronze, steel, and golden bells as they serenaded the night. Her eyes widened and she glanced above her to see the sky filled with a horde of bats. She made a face totally unbecoming for her make-up.

"Seriously? Bats? How stereotypical can you get?" She hissed shakily. After her initial shock, she heard a rancorous sound from inside. There were rushing of little feet—house elves most likely—and the hushed whispers.

"She's here! Get out of sight, you grotesque creatures!" Hissed a female voice. Riley's stomach churned. She had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

The door opened and Riley shielded her eyes from the sudden onslaught of light from inside.

"Welcome! We're so glad you could make it! Please, come inside." Ushered a female. Riley opened her eyes, careful of her contacts, and looked up. The woman was beautiful, however she seemed prematurely aged. She had long, fine blonde hair and blue eyes that stood out from her pale skin. Her complexion was perfect, contrasting with the lines that had been sculpted in to her face from stress. She ushered Riley inside, taking her coat and throwing it at something in the corner. Riley's eyes glanced to the house elf who shuddered in fear and disappeared with the coat.

"Oh, how rude of me. Let me introduce myself. I'm Narcissa, but you can call me Cissy if you'd like." She gushed. Riley blinked.

"My name's Riley Sterling. It's very nice to meet you." She said softly, curtsying slightly. She glanced back up at Narcissa. "Are you Draco's sister?" Narcissa blinked then laughed gently.