Of Doves and Dragons

Chapter Three: Mingled Consequences

"Sometimes I think it's getting better and then it gets much worse. Is it part of the process? Well, Jesus Christ, it hurts."

-Florence+the Machine, Big God

Ember sat under the covers in her bed reading Magical Theory underneath candle light and the pale moon. She had turned in early after an uncomfortable dinner. The day had seemed to stretch on for miles and despite the added stress as the hours passed she couldn't seem to beckon sleep to take her.

Dinner with Narcissa and Draco was filled with restless silence. Narcissa had supplied enough useless questions throughout the meal to prove that she was forcefully avoiding the innate awkwardness of the situation. She sat proudly in the right-hand seat to the empty head of the table nibbling demurely around an expensive silver place setting. Her eyes avoided the empty place beside her, settling her gaze on a glowering Draco and a politely unresponsive Ember instead.

She kept waiting for Mr. Malfoy to walk through the double doors into the dining room and perhaps invigorate their boring meal, but he never did. In fact, she got the feeling that he didn't even live here. He obviously hadn't died considering her own father had mentioned him before leaving. Neither of her two hosts had mentioned the man, giving her the impression that it was not a subject that she should casually bring up over pigeon pie.

After his pigeon pie had grown cold and his crystal glass of wine had been emptied, twice, Draco had fled from the room and Ember didn't see him for the rest of the night. Narcissa had apologized after the abrasive exit of her son, but Ember hadn't minded his departure.

She was especially skittish under his presence. His eyes were strong and the features of his face smoothed over with glowering indifference. He treated her with the patience of a child and written her off as naïve or simply stupid from the very first conversation. She was far from stupid and recognized that as much as she did not want to be stuck amongst these strangers, he did not want her in his house perhaps even more. It stung to be declared unwanted at first glance, but it was nothing she was unaccustomed to.

She spent the rest of the night in her overly familiar room buried into the theories of magic. It gave her a small peace of mind. For as long as she could remember, she had consumed her dinner in a hushed environment before retreating to her room where she would read until her eyes succumbed to sleep. It was oddly comforting to know that she wouldn't have to politely manner her way through forced meals.

She sighed deeply before closing the book, placing it on her night stand, and blowing out the candles' fire. She slid further beneath her covers and stared at the rounded moon. Out here, in the middle of possibly thousands of acres, she could see a full sky of stars winking back at her. The beautiful moon and stars were friends to be sure, but even they disappeared too.

~

The sun shining from a different angle than she was use to was the reason Ember had slept in so late. When her eyes had blearily opened, she had to blink several times before she remembered why her room was just slightly off. She took a deep breath, taking a long moment to come to terms with the predicament she had foolishly hoped had all been a far-off dream.

She sluggishly began her day. She went through her normal routine. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She made her bed and made sure that her room was spotless. Robotically, she dressed in her most comforting cyan dress and slipped into her brown sandals.

After her routine came to a conclusion, she sat dumbly on her window seat. She wasn't sure what the procedure for her day was supposed to be and without some sort of guide she bit her lip with anxiety. She let herself drift into mindless nervous what-ifs before her stomach growled rambunctiously and sealed her fate.