𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑

parisian blue

“It takes great courage
to see the world in all
it's tainted glory, and
still love it.”

•

IT WAS TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT all over again, Skylar thought, as she fidgeted with her lilac silk gown and sat between her 'family' at the Malfoy Manor. She had brought Mr and Mrs Weasley as her parents and they were more than happy to come. Harry was there too, in a black suit that was a little lose on him but fit him well nonetheless. On the other side of the table, Draco sat between his parents, dressed in an impeccable navy blue suit, hair brushed to perfection, a smirk constantly lingering on his lips. Sirius Black, the neutral party, sat on Draco's side to 'even out the number' as he liked to call it. They had been here for an hour and nothing but pleasantries had been exchanged before food was served and they resigned to eating in silence until a few questions were scattered here an there.

The Malfoys were still fairly uncomfortable with Harry, given that he not only destroyed their Lord, but also vouched for them in the Ministry—although, Draco was the reason they were spared. But they tried. Skylar could see Lucius Malfoy attempting to smile or converse with Harry, and Skylar could see that he just didn't know how to.

Mrs Weasley, however, had gotten into a full blown conversation with Narcissa the second they had stepped in, with Narcissa practically throwing herself at Molly and a string of, "Thank you for taking my son, thank you, how can I repay—"

Mrs Weasley had all but patted her back, unsure of what to do, before resorting to a smile and saying, "I did what any mother would have done, Narcissa." Skylar doubted Narcissa would've taken in Ron or Harry and protected them at the risk of her own family, but at the same time, despite her warped reasons, Narcissa did lie to Voldemort's face. So she stayed quiet, fidgeting quietly next to Mr Weasley, who was awed at the Mansion and it's squeaky cleanliness.

All through the conversation in the sitting room, Skylar had been expecting jabs about the Weasleys from the Malfoys regarding poverty or snide remarks from the Weasleys towards the Malfoys for choosing the wrong team to play in, but none of that happened. Narcissa and Molly were deep in conversation of what happened when Draco stayed there—“Oh, what a lovely boy. . . Helped the chickens, helped with Bill and Fleur's wedding.”—and Lucius attempted to talk to Arthur about his fascination with the muggle artifacts—“I do believe the rubber ducks don't have any specific function, Arthur.”

Skylar had been nervous. No, that would've been the understatement of the century. For a moment,she had even considered taking Bill and Fleur as her 'family' but that that would've been too bizarre since she wasn't particularly close to them. Her next option was Remus and Tonks, again, impossible because Remus Lupin was a werewolf, and no matter how comfortable Draco was with him, a werewolf had still tried to attack the Malfoys heir and their hatred for halfbreeds was still there, Skylar knew, in the back of their blond heads. She had considered bringing just Harry, which would have been catastrophic, considering he had barely managed to keep up a conversation with the Malfoys without sounding like a freak. Therefore, she had settled with Molly and Arthur. Logically, they should've been her first choice, but considering how busy Molly was with Percy and Audrey's wedding, she felt guilty to ask it of them, until Molly herself brought it up by saying, "I heard you've exchanged courtship jewelries with Draco? If you need anyone to come to the engagement meeting, we'll be more than happy too, alright? Don't be shy to ask."

Skylar had wondered how they knew the process before Percy had told her that they too were purebloods, and even if they didn't follow the process, they were aware of the steps. That was the first sober conversation she had had with Percy Weasley, who was still an uptight prat and Skylar had a hard time speaking to him without feeling like she was meeting the Mayor. And then, obviously, Sirius had come, solely on Draco's request, who simply wanted his parents to feel awkward at the overwhelming amount of reckless Gryffindors in the room. Skylar was only halfway finished with her soup when Narcissa spoke—