Pandora Malfoy and the Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Forty-One: A True Malfoy

When we welcomed our guests to the Winter Ball less than thirty minutes later, we were all smiling, as if nothing had happened. But even with the strange distortion the world had seemed to be under for the past hour or so, I took note of the fact that Mother was spending as little time around Father as she could get away with.

At the start, that was most of the time, as Father was far too busy parading me around to those in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and demonstrating that, despite my sorting, I was still the perfect Pureblood daughter. I played along with curtseys and subtle blood-purist bigotry; the sentence still repeating itself in my mind made sure of that.

Act like a true Malfoy...

At one point, Father fell into conversation with Mr Selwyn.

"She is still going to wed a respectable Pureblood husband, I assume?" Mr Selwyn asked. The foggy sound everything had to it seemed to have got worse since the incident with Mother and Father earlier, and it meant I had to concentrate harder than ever to hear what he was saying.

"Of course," Father said. "She may have broken tradition, but that was merely a political ploy; her loyalties still very much lie with this family, and with the true Pureblood cause. Isn't that right, Pandora?"

Say yes... Father's voice echoed in my head. Make it clear that what I said is true...

"Yes, Father," I said, though the voice that was talking didn't really seem to be connected to me. "I am a Malfoy, and I wear the name with great pride."

"Then perhaps, Lucius, at some point, we can discuss a possible arrangement with my son, Emeric."

Father gave a slight nod. "Of course."

"How about Friday?"

"Friday," Father agreed. "I have some business to attend to in the morning, but that will be finished by lunchtime."

"That sounds alright," Mr Selwyn said. "Emeric is obviously home from Hogwarts for the holidays, so perhaps you ought to come to our manor so he can be involved too — he's of-age now, after all." He glanced over at me, then added, "And perhaps it would be better if your daughter is left out of matters until she is a little older, a little more mature."

Father nodded again, and I heard a new order echoing in my head, drowning out what he was saying.

Find Draco... spend the rest of the ball with him...

I immediately turned and walked away, looking for my brother. The strange distortion in my brain meant it took me a while to think of anywhere he might be, but I eventually remembered the alcove in the wall we'd turned into a little den during the previous Winter Balls, and went over there, hearing the foggy-sounding voices of Draco and the other Slytherin Pureblood kids coming from behind the sheet they'd once again pinned up.

"Dora!" Draco said, smiling as I pushed the sheet aside and sat down next to him. "I was wondering where you were."

Act like a true Malfoy...

I didn't return the smile. "Father told me to join you," I heard myself saying.

Pansy opened her mouth, presumably to object to my being with them, but I fixed her with a steely gaze, and she closed it again, looking a little scared.