Dollhouse [Rabastan Lestrange]

Chapter 11

"My very existence, my life in this world
seemed like a hallucination."

The morning after Callista returned to school was filled with chaos and whispers that followed her into the Great Hall. The paper had been published, the one containing the article written about her parents, and the new engagement between herself and Rabastan Lestrange.

She had dreaded this moment ever since the photograph was taken. The train ride to Hogwarts was tense and awkward between the two of them. Her friends, who all knew of the situation, kindly ignored it and continued on as if nothing was happening.

She had not yet gotten a chance to talk to Genevieve and Fallon about the situation. After dinner, she had climbed straight into bed, hoping to get enough sleep to deal with the questions and rumours that would spread.

And they did spread. She could hear it as she walked past the tables on her way to her seat.

"Engaged to Lestrange? Never expected that."

"Two death eaters in the making of you ask me."

"At least their children will be cute."

Callista felt a knot forming in her stomach. Children? She never thought about children in the past, but she realised her parents would expect them within two years of her marriage.

She finally sat down and greeted her friends, noticing that Rabastan, Aidan, and Magorian had not yet arrived.

She reached over the table to grab a bread roll only for her breakfast to be interrupted by none other than James Potter dropping the Daily Prophet onto the table and swinging one leg over the bench to sit next to her.

She looked at him. "Yes?"

He pointed at the paper before leaning closer and talking in rushed whispers so no one could hear. "What is this?"

"What? You don't approve?" She continued buttering her toast.

"No! Of course not!"

"James, just leave it." People were starting to stare.

"He's a Death Eater, Callista."

She could hear the concern in his voice. The whole situation made her feel sick and she did not think she could finish her toast, so she dropped it onto her plate and turned to face him.

"It's an arranged marriage. Now move, I'm going to be late to class." She got up and walked past him and out of the Great Hall. She could talk to him later, she just wanted to get out of the suffocating hall where she was under the gaze of nearly everyone in there.

Transfiguration began two hours after breakfast and Callista found her seat next to Reece Bloomfield who was becoming a good friend of hers. Despite being in a study group since last year, their friendship blossomed when they were paired together in Transfiguration this year.

Reece was a Hufflepuff who never failed to have a smile on her face, often because she had just witnessed the effects of her latest prank. She often had an item of pink on her and had a walk that screamed power.

She admired Reece. Despite her friendly demeanour, no one messed with her. She was more than capable of putting others in their place and hardly ever did as she was told unless it suited her.

As Callista sat down, Reece leaned over and said, "So Lestrange, huh?"

She sighed dropping her bag onto the floor. "Oh, the joys of your parents picking your husband."

She nodded, "Ah, that bad?"

She gave her a look of desperation, before returning to a neutral expression when McGonagall walked into the class. The students quieted down and began preparing their parchment and quills for the lesson. Callista readied her own things and started down at her paper.

Reece would not tell anyone else about the arranged part of her engagement, Callista trusted her.

She wondered why she even wanted that part a secret. Maybe it was the fact that she did not want her entire life in the public eye. Maybe she wanted it to seem like she had some semblance of control over her life.

________________________________________

Y'all I'm so sorry I keep forgetting Wattpad exists
Uhh anyway why do I always get the motivation to write during exam time??

Anyways lol enjoy sorry for the short chapter <3

– walkingmasterpiece xx