Bloodlines || A Draco Malfoy Romance Fanfiction

Before Dinner - 57

Draco

Not even twenty-four hours into the Summer holiday, everything had gone downhill.

The day I got back from Hogwarts,  I noticed Mother acting odd. When I asked her if everything was alright, she didn't give me a straight answer. I finally found out what was going on at dinner when Father tells me that Aphrodite has been arranged to be married, and he had played a major part in setting it up.

The fit I had even surprised me. I hadn't had one in years, since I normally didn't question my father's actions. I asked why he would even encourage this, considering the relationship with our families. We could have made a suitable match, but now we'll never know. He intermittently scolded me for disrespecting him while Mother sat, staring at her plate and eating silently.

"William wanted this. I cannot control his desires for his daughter's future." Father said during our spat, "But perhaps, Draco, If you had made a better impression on William in the fourteen years you've known him, he would've been more open to the idea.

My mother gasped lightly, looking at my father wide-eyed, whose steady gaze stayed on me.

"That's rubbish," I said. "Mr. Cytheria has never behaved in any way to make me think that he dislikes me so."

He raised a brow. "Oh dear, son. You do not know Mr. Cytheria as I do. How do you think he gets along with nearly everybody? He knows very easy how to hide his true emotions."

I was silenced, pondering if this was true. I excused myself from the dining table and went to my room where I lay in bed sleepless for most of the night.

In a way, I felt foolish for feeling such a sense of loss. In some ways, it made sense. She was my best friend, that was one factor, and our relationship would most likely change after school once she married. But I also fancied her almost desperately at this point, which I was a bit embarrassed to even admit myself. 

I finally felt regret for sneaking into my father's things. Perhaps if I didn't find that parchment and assumed we were the ones set to marry in the future, this feeling wouldn't be gnawing at me that things were going terribly wrong.

Three days later, I was dressed in a new suit, about to go to Aphry's house to meet this tosser and his parents.

I walked down the stairs to the foyer, buttoning my cuff as I do.

"Don't look so surly, Draco." my mother chided as I met her at the foot of the steps.

My eyes met hers as I clenched my jaw. "Oh? What would you like me to do? Grin like a well-trained chimp while my childhood friend gets bartered around like an animal raised for slaughter?"

"Draco!" she exclaimed, looking around for my father, who had not appeared yet. She'd tried to dissuade me from my bold statements the past couple of days but ultimately resigned to requesting I not say them around my father. "This is not completely uncommon Draco. You knew there was always a possibility..."

"Actually. No, I didn't," I told her, setting my hands on my hips. "I was told by William Cytheria himself in December that Aphrodite would get a choice in who she married, which seemed on par with the way he was raising her. I have no clue what changed in six months to cause such a complete turnabout." At the revelation, my mother's eye's shifted, avoiding my gaze. My sense that something was wrong increased. "What is going on, Mother?" I implored.

Mother looked up the stairs, in the direction of the master suite, before turning back to me and opening her mouth, about to say something.

"Narcissa. Draco. We ought to be off soon," my father interrupted, finally emerging from the corridor and coming into sight. Our conversation died as he made his way down the steps and we headed outside where we could apparate.

Father apparated, as I was to apparate alongside Mother. Once he was out of sight, Mother turned to me. "I don't want to delay too long and make your father curious... I wish I could explain more, But this is just the way things have to be Draco. Now, Aphrodite needs your support more than ever. Please do not make things harder on her by causing issues."

With that, she grabbed hold of my arm and apparated to the front driveway of the Cytheria estate. Father was a few yards from us.

Mother sighed sadly, looking at the facade of the house. "The charms Persephone cast on those flowers... it's like's she's still here."

Two staircases were leading to the covered front porch, supported by large columns. We climbed the left staircase and approached the door. Father knocked on it a few times.

A female house-elf wearing a floral print towel answered the door, and Father walked through with no word to the elf, followed by mother and me. The Cytheria's treated their elves incredibly different than the Malfoy elves were, with politeness and manners as if they were equals. I noted mentally how none of their elves seem desperate to be given clothes, but I knew better than to voice that out loud. Mr. Cytheria and Father seemed to have a truce regarding how each household handled their house-elves.

"I'll go tell Master and Miss that you've arrived," she said, before running off up the stairs.

I looked around the entrance to the house, as it had been a while since I last set foot there. I wondered as I had plenty of times, how our families got caught up with each other. It was almost poetic how vastly different the two were.

A gentle tap, tap, tap from the second floor got my attention. I looked up to see Aphrodite, a vision in a light yellow dress that flowed gently as she walked. A pearl clip on one side held back her delicate auburn curls. Our eyes locked as she reached the top of the steps, and she smiled. My heart raced as she gracefully took each step.

My feet seemed to work beyond my control, crossing the foyer to meet her at the foot of the steps.

She took the last step, tilting her head up slightly to look at me. Her familiar spicy-sweet scent hit me harder than it ever had before. "Good Evening, Draco," she said.

I returned her smile. "Good Evening, Aphry."

"Darling, that new dress is lovely on you!" Narcissa said, approaching and looking between the two of us with a worried glance. "When should the Sokolovs be here?"

Aphry's smile dropped subtly for a fraction of a second, then returned before turning her attention to my mother. "Any moment I believe."

 My mood deflated at the subtle reminder of why we were there as I fought to keep my composure.

This was going to be a long night.