The Years of Blue [2]

Chapter 19: Christmas Eve

It was Christmas Eve, and Malfoy Manor was booming with guests, decorations, charms and spells.

Rooms were opened, their furniture tucked to the side for people to move about. Garlands decorated the halls while flying Father Christmas ornaments roamed the first floor, sprinkling snow over guests' heads.

The number of people present was a spectacle on itself. Witches and Wizards from all over the world appeared, with even the Minister of Magic making an appearance with his lovely wife, Cordelia Fudge.

A lively quartet was stationed in the drawing room, now spread out as a dancing floor with a bar and elf stationed to the side. The second-floor arch ways leering over the drawing room were opened for guests to witness the dancers from up above by the chandelier light.

For once, Narcissa Malfoy used her home for its rightful purpose, or so thought Ava Fountaine, who watched from the 2nd floor stair well, camera in hand.

She looked rather peculiar at the moment as she wasn't exactly in the same dressing attire as the rest of the guests. Instead of wearing dress robes or a ball gown, she was in her blue cotton robe, her hair dripping wet from her recent lavender bath. A green face mask was gripping tight to her smooth skin, making her look like a troll.

It was a miracle Emmeline Fountaine let her daughter out to watch at all. Oh, that's right, she didn't.

Moments after a flash illuminated from Ava's camera, a gasp of horror followed by botched French was heard from the second floor as mother Fountaine dragged daughter Fountaine by the ear lobe into her bed room, slamming the door shut for good measure.

"And to think I thought you had more sense, Ava," Emmeline snapped as she took the camera and banished it from sight with a snap of her fingers. Her daughter tried to frown in response but was finding the green mask a bit too constricting to do so.

Emmeline sent her daughter off to wash her face while she dried and styled her daughters hair into long ringlets. This was followed by Ava throwing her mother out, saying she could dress herself; she wasn't a baby anymore.

This left Emmeline, gorgeous as ever, to mask her hurt-felt emotions before rejoining the party, her evergreen gown trailing behind her.

Ava went to unpack the dress her mother had found for her simultaneously.

A dress of eggshell white and covered in silver daisies, the top was strapless with a black ribbon embedded on the edge. Another black ribbon attached itself nicely to my waist with a black bow front and center.

Looking into the mirror, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice I looked. My mother had outdone herself once again.

I had not made it all the way down the stairs yet when I heard commotion on the first floor. Malfoy and his gang of friends had nearly crashed into a house elf holding a tray of ginger snaps, trying to peg down the numerous Father Christmas ornaments, who, raced away from the boys, heading to the 2nd floor. The boys stopped right at the stair well as I was blocking them, trying to make my grand entrance.