Recollection

One

Eliza's POV

The words of her mother weighed heavy on Eliza's mind as she sat in the Great Hall, zoning out from Headmaster Phineas Black's welcome speech. 'Do not mess this up. You're lucky your father has arranged such a prominent match for you. Many in your situation are not so lucky.'

Constance Stretton was right. Eliza pitied the other girls whose matches were far from enviable. Many were promised to men several years older than them, men they had never even had the opportunity to meet. Upon their graduation from Hogwarts, they'd be married off to these strangers and be expected to bear their children. Eliza considered herself one of the lucky ones to be promised to Ambrose Black. He was kind to her and already a close friend. Although upon their graduation, he'd become much more than a friend, her husband.

It also worked out that Ambrose's twin sister, Amara, just so happened to be Eliza's best friend. Eliza was worried at first that this arrangement would put a strain between their friendship, but after a heartfelt conversation, Amara was thrilled that Eliza would legally become her sister after their marriage. She already considered her as such.

It felt like everything in Eliza's life was falling perfectly into place. She had great friends, a great future husband, and the love and support of her parents, which was what she always dreamed of after her unfortunate upbringing. Eliza would do anything to please her parents after the grief she had caused them with her magical abilities, or lack thereof for that matter. Having shown no sign of possessing magic as a child, her parents feared her to be a squib. They never said anything negative directly to her but she could see it in their eyes... she was an embarrassment. She was left excluded from social gatherings and never permitted to leave their estate. She was mainly confined to one wing of their exquisite manor where it was easy to avoid her. She had a lonely childhood and hated herself for being different from her family. Her younger brother Oliver seemed to be the only one who didn't view her any differently. He would spend as much time with her as their parents would allow. There was no greater shame to be from such a proud wizarding family and having no magical abilities to show for it. She didn't blame her parents for viewing her the way they did.

Shortly after her fifteenth birthday, her prayers had finally been answered. During a heated argument with her mother, Eliza lost control of her anger and ignited the curtains in their dining room. Her parents weren't even mad about damage she had caused and were enthralled to see her using magic. She couldn't even remember what she was upset about in the first place. She only remembered looking up at the large flames of orange and red and feeling proud that she had been the one to cause that. After countless visits to healers and professors it was discovered that not only did she possess magic but she had the ability to absorb and wield an ancient magic that had lied dormant for centuries. This allowed for others to overlook the fact that she had been a squib for years and she became sought after by many. She was desired and loved and it felt so good to be wanted for once.

Eliza was seated at the Slytherin table between Amara and Lilith Malfoy. She watched scornfully over her younger brother, Oliver who sat across from her and appeared to be in a deep conversation with Ominis Gaunt. Eliza was worried about his influence over her brother as the two had become closer during the previous school year. Ominis did not hold the same values as his family or any other pureblood family for that matter. His rebellious views were dangerous and her biggest fear was Oliver getting disowned from their family. It was her responsibility to make sure her younger brother remained uncorrupted.

Eliza's thoughts were pulled to a much happier place when Amara leaned over to whisper in her ear that Ambrose kept looking at her. The girls giggled as Eliza stole a glance at the black-hair boy that sat a few places down from Oliver, diagonal from where she was seated. She felt her cheeks turn pink as her green eyes met his rich, chocolate colored irises before quickly turning back to Amara.