Gypsy

Chapter Thirty Nine

The food on offer was extremely fantaisie, hardly a surprise considering the society that surrounded me.
The buzz from fire whisky still thrumming through my brain and limbs, I stood on mostly stable feet and looked at the dining table bedecked with  morsels of food.
I recognised immediately snails on one of the plates, people were delicately picking off of it and commenting on the 'fine taste' of their Dark Lord.

Dark wanker more like...

"Not so lovely" mumbling to the group surrounding the snails, I smirked when they glanced at me and raised their noses in disgust.

"What would a Mudblood know about fine dining?" I glanced briefly at the person who spoke, the young Mr Nott. He looked relatively the same, his teeth had obviously been magically straightened.

I flashed him my N brand with a smile, "Mudblood Nymph". Reaching around him I grabbed a bread roll, the only thing on the table that didn't have eyes looking back at me. Stuffing it into my mouth, I smiled around the buttery taste and let my teeth elongate into the soft fluffyness. 

"Disgusting", his lip curled as he gracefully slurped down an unknown entity.

Swallowing the bread, and chasing it down with a sip from a fresh glass of whisky. Drink tray you are my saviour. I looked up at him, he was game, standing so close to me.

"Sorry about your father." His eyes narrowed at my words, fury bubbling beneath his thick brow. Good. "Is it difficult?" I continued, "knowing your Lord and Master tortured him into pissing himself and snapping his own neck, I mean".

A vein buldged in his forehead, he was practically spitting rage when he spoke next. "I don't know 'Nymph', is it difficult knowing that my Lord will soon have your ability to reproduce scooped out?"

I bit back a laugh, "you know, I'm pretty sure I used that exact description when I reminded Malfoy of that fact."

Nott seemed thrown for a second, his rage melting into confusion. "Malfoy was unaware?"

The absurdity of this conversation struck me for a moment, and I bit back a hysterical giggle. "I think Malfoy only notices what is right in front of his nose." Nott raised his brow, an invitation to continue. "By that I mean, he's never really cared or noticed, until it affects him directly."

Nott frowned, "he voted in support of the Bill".
I tilted my glass at Nott, parody of a polite acknowledgement without having to reply.
"He never expected you to wake up did he?"

I grabbed another bread roll, stuffing it into my mouth and nodding in reply to his question. He let out a bark of a laugh, shaking his head.

"Foolish belief. He would not be so fortunate. So what now? He marries a Pureblood to produce an heir?"

"I suppose so", I frowned at the thought of a child of Malfoy's running around. "I would never allow myself to carry their spawn, regardless of the state of my womb".

Nott's brow again rose, it was if it were connected to string that was pulled strongly at the appropriate times. The image of a House Elf being hidden behind Nott's back, holding said string, gave me a momentary smile.
Bored with the conversation with Nott, I turned and walked away. I could hear him muttering about the rude manners of Mudbloods, this again made me smile.

Ah, the days when I was only called Mudblood...

A grip on my arm stopped me from walking further. Looking first at the hand, I immediately knew who had be in their grip.

"Hello Voldemort." His ghastly ring winked at me. The only reaction to my words, apart from the nearby murmmers from his Followers, was a twitch on the very finger that held that ring.

"Are you behaving?" His voice held a deep timber of accusation, he knew I wasn't.

Rolling my eyes, again that bloody murrmer, I looked away and ignored his question. The hand on my wrist shifted slightly, a single finger circling the pulse on my wrist.

Thump...Thump...Thump

"If you are concerned about the procedure, I have no intention of letting them mutilate you".

Dark fury filled me, the instant reaction of my nails and teeth elongating an immediate 'tell' of my feelings. Ripping my arm away from Riddle, I furiously pointed at a Veela who stood of to the side. "What about her Right to have children, you took that from her already," I pointed at a man who had a W brand on his cheek, "or his?".

The Dark Lord matched my fury, gripping my chin and forcing my face up so his eyes could meet mine. I felt instant disgust, the red in them a reminder that his soul was split. I don't know how or why, but he was halved and quartered into something far less than human. "You think that change is simple? I am trying to purify and protect what is left of Wizard-Kind".

"By eradicating other species?" I pulled my face away, his eyes flashed down to the red marks he had left on my face. Something unknown entered his eyes, on anyone else it would be regret, but he didn't have the ability to feel that anymore. "Do you honestly think I care about my ability to reproduce?" Doubt filled his eyes, that emotion was still in there apparently. "Why would I want to ever have your children, you have no soul."

Soft gasps came from nearby, they thought I was speaking figuratively about his lack of a soul, not literally.

"Be very careful Little Nymph, I can feel his fury from across the room..." The stern voice came from behind me and I jumped in reflex. Malfoy placed a hand on my shoulder, fingers dipping into the hollow of my collarbone. "She doesn't know what she is saying My Lord, forgive her imprudence".

Ever the smooth talker...

Whatever way he looked at Riddle, seemed to have snapped him out of his urge to murder me. His eyes calmed, remembering where he was no doubt. "We will speak soon. Although I enjoy your fire in a private setting, I will have to ensure you behave better in a social setting". The crowd around us tittered at the implications his words held, I felt red flood my cheeks and vision.

Before I could lunge forward, Malfoy gripped my shoulder tighter and pulled my body back against him. "Thank you, My Lord."

"Return her to our room Malfoy, I won't have her disrupt tonight further". Apparently I had run out of chances, it didn't matter though, I had shown these people around me that I wasn't to be underestimated.