Loyalties | Barty Crouch Jr

The Stupid, Pureblood Party

December 31, 1977 - Saturday

The last day of the Christmas Holiday was a dreaded one for Leonora, and it wasn't because she had to return to Hogwarts in the morning. This evening, she would have to attend the stupid New Years party that was to be hosted by the Lestrange family this year. That in itself made her feel quite uneasy, as the Dark Lord had been staying there over the past two weeks, and she presumed he had only just left.

A majority of the families attending would be blood purity fanatic Slytherin's, no doubt all Death Eaters, while the rest of them would be Ministry families. It was certainly an easy way for the Death Eaters to weave themselves into the Ministry, something Leonora figured the Ministry workers were too blind and power hungry to notice.

Putting her nerves aside, she had spent practically the entire day getting ready for the party, wanting to make a good first impression on a lot of the families she wasn't very familiar with. She was confident most people would be staring and giving her strange looks all night, as why in the world is a Potter there (although you'd think most of them would know by now). So, she figured she might as well give them something good to look at.

As the clock ticked closer to seven, Leonora stood with Illyria in the Malfoy's sitting room, directly in front of the fireplace. They both held a small handful of floo powder as they waited for her parents to join them.

"Are you girls ready?" Illyria's mother asked as her and her husband sauntered into the room, joining both girls by the fireplace and grabbing their own handful of floo powder. She was wearing a black dress similar to Illyria's, while her husband was wearing expensive black dress robes.

Leonora's nerves suddenly reappeared as she compared all of their outfits, as her green dress was very bright compared to the darkness of the Malfoy's outfits. Would everyone there be dressed similarly? Would her green dress stick out among everyone? She certainly didn't want that.

Illyria kept her eyes trained on the black marble tile as she nodded her head. She refused to look her parents in their eyes.

Her father was the first one to be swallowed in the green flames, followed by her glaring mother. The girls looked to each other and sighed, neither looking forward to the party.

Leonora stepped into the fireplace. "See you on the other side," she joked before yelling "Lestrange Manor" and throwing her fistful of powder to the ground. The green flames engulfed her body, and instead of staring at the bleak Malfoy Manor sitting room, she was now staring at the bleak Lestrange Manor sitting room.

She stepped out of the fireplace and frowned at her surroundings. She was assuming that they'd at least have some decorations up, seeing as this was supposed to be a party, but there were absolutely none. 

Illyria soon joined her side, rubbing the leftover traces of soot off her dress.

"Where is everyone?" Leonora wondered aloud, seeing that barely any guests had arrived yet.

"We always come early," Illyria answered as she began walking towards the hallway. Leonora scampered after her. "The party doesn't officially start until eight. Thalia and I usually hang out beforehand."

Leonora rolled her eyes. "Lovely. As if this day couldn't get any worse. What do you want to bet all she talks about is the Dark Lord?"

"Oh, I know that's all she'll talk about. Given your own future plans, though, I suspect it could be beneficial to you. I plan to just smile and nod."

The two girls ascended up the double staircase to the second story, where they made their way all the way down the left hallway before Illyria knocked on the very last door. Rustling could be heard in the room as Thalia rushed to open it.