The Kind Hufflepuff

Chapter 38: Flamingos

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The Kind Hufflepuff - Year Two

Chapter Thirty- Eight: Flamingos

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Cali had been dreading the Christmas break for the last month, completely unaware of the fact that Regulus Black had convinced his cousin to write a letter home to her father declaring the incident to be unacceptable but fixable. Cali was not positive of the contents of the letter, and she suspected that Regulus didn't fully know the contents either though she had been unable to ask. What she did know was that whatever it had been likely prevented her from feeling the full force of the punishment her father had laid out for her, instead being locked inside her room for most of the holiday and not being able to have Christmas gifts until the situation was resolved. But nonetheless, Narcissa had even made sure that Cali and her family had an invitation to her mother's Christmas Ball, something that had delighted the entire family as they had never been invited previously.

"Cali, not sure how you did it but even labelled as a blood traitor, you've given our entire family an invite to the Black family Christmas Ball," her mother had cheered, her mood the most festive it had been during the entire break as she clutched the letter in hand. "We will have to find you a proper gown," her mother mumbled after watching Cali for a few moments before mumbling something about this being Cali's last chance to make a better impression.

Cali hadn't voiced her concerns about attending the party, failing to point out that even though the Black family was willing to give her another chance, the Malfoy family had not made the same decisions. She wondered if her mere existence at the party would be creating a war between two sides of the Pureblood line, wondering how everyone would react to her existence as she stood in front of the floor length mirror that was inside her bedroom, her fingers running across the material of the gown repeatedly as though she was trying to smooth nonexistent wrinkles and her mind racing. The dress was a banana yellow with white polkadots and a false white belt around her waist. She had been surprised by the choice, having expected her mother to throw her in something dark and very unlike her but she was happy that this was the case instead. However, her mother did force her to wear wrist length white gloves and chunky heels that she could barely walk in.

"Hey" Bertie greeted the girl.

"Hi Bert," Cali whispered nervously.

"Everything will be okay," Bertie reassured her. "I was there at Hogwarts; I know what was happening there."

"It was nothing," Cali dismissed.

"It was not," Bertie argued.

"The worst part was not being able to hang out with Regulus," Cali shrugged. "Everything else was tame."

"Look, just be careful. They don't really like you right now. I don't want anything to happen to you," Bertie warned the girl.

"Ok, I'll be careful," Cali nodded, dismissing the boy as she turned back to the mirror.

As it turned out, being careful was not the concern that Calista Higgs would need to worry about as she entered the Christmas Ball. She was not positive why she had been permitted to attend at all as she had attended the party to experience coldness, and wary looks. Not a single person had approached her during the entirety of the event. It was almost like they had received notice that she was ill with dragon pox because nobody was coming within 10 feet of the girl, which is what led to her exiting the party, overwhelmed with the sheer avoidance that she was receiving and wandering to the gardens where she had been told held baby Flamingos, an engagement gift that Lucius Malfoy had provided to Narcissa Black.