Christmas dinner at Nott Manor was everything Calli had expected it to be.
Long.
Pretentious.
And filled with people who thought far too highly of themselves.
The dining room had been transformed for the occasion. Hundreds of candles floated beneath the high ceiling, their flames reflected in polished silver and crystal. Evergreen garlands wound around the dark pillars, decorated with silver ribbons and ornaments bearing the Nott crest.
It was beautiful.
It was also completely devoid of warmth.
Calli sat halfway down the long table, dressed exactly as her father expected, posture perfect and expression pleasantly interested.
She was bored out of her mind.
There were more guests than she'd anticipated.
Some she recognised immediately. Old pure-blood families. Ministry officials. People who had been coming to the Manor since she was a child.
Others were unfamiliar.
Her father had spent most of the evening moving effortlessly between conversations, introducing people who apparently had no previous connection to one another.
Calli watched him over the rim of her glass.
This wasn't a Christmas dinner.
Not really.
He was gathering people.
Building connections.
Allies.
Whether every person attending understood exactly what they were being drawn into was another matter entirely.
Calli suspected some did.
Others were simply vain enough to be useful.
A wizard three seats away had been talking for nearly ten minutes about his influence within the Department of Magical Transportation.
Calli had stopped listening approximately nine minutes ago.
Eventually, boredom won.
She lowered her gaze towards her plate.
Then very lightly reached out with her mind.
Legilimency.
Nothing invasive enough to alert someone trained to recognise it.
Just a brush.
The wizard's smug voice faded beneath fragments of thought.
A Ministry promotion.
Money.
A mistress his wife apparently knew absolutely nothing about.
Calli almost choked on her drink.
She withdrew immediately.
Interesting.
She tried another guest several minutes later.
...Cantankerus has the right idea... Ministry is getting weak... useful connections... I do deserve that promotion.
Calli glanced towards Theo. He looked bored too but one thing she wouldn't do was use Legilimency on him.
He was listening to another conversation with his usual detached expression.
Apparently neither Nott sibling was safe from other people's matrimonial planning.
YOU ARE READING
Callidora ☆ Fred Weasley
FanfictionCallidora Nott has always known exactly what is expected of her. As the daughter of one of Britain's oldest pure-blood families, her future has already been carefully planned; alliances, power, and a life shaped by tradition she never chose. At home...
