Blooming in the Dark (Flora Weasley and Elwin Malfoy romance)

6. And No Goodness Dies

Elwin closed the shop early, leaving out plenty of food for Azar and taking a whole bag of woodlice for Finn who insisted on staying in his pocket. By the time he got to his family, they were all in an elaborate tent with real white peacocks on top. Elwin sighed, wondering who was making sure the poor things had what they needed. Resolving to check on them after the match, he entered the tent to find his brother and parents in the first room. 

"Ah, there you are," Lucius said coldly. "Hurry now, we'll be late." 

"Sorry," Elwin said, doing his best to keep his irritability out of his voice. 

"Change," Lucius said, handing him a set of robes on a hanger. 

Brows furrowed, Elwin glanced down at himself, trying to determine what could possibly be wrong with his own outfit. However, as fighting with his father was the last thing he wanted to do, he complied without protest, taking the robes from him and going into another room to change, being careful to transfer Finn and his food into the other robes. Once he was done, the four of them set out. 

It was silent as the four of them left the tent, Lucius at the front with Narcissa at his side, closely followed by Draco while Elwin trailed behind. It was a long walk to the stadium, and an even longer one to the top box, but at long last, they had reached the top. Elwin was keenly aware of the number of people around him, not to mention their great height. He felt his heart rate speed slightly. 

A small hand pressed against his chest. Finn had felt it. Elwin took a deep breath, glancing toward the field only to notice a boy staring at them. He was around Draco's age with dark hair and bright eyes. 

He was broken from his thoughts, however, as his father suddenly said, "Minister, I don't think you've met my eldest son, Elwin?" 

"I haven't had the pleasure," Fudge said heartily, stepping forward to shake his hand. Looking him over, he added, "My, my, it seems the family resemblance skipped you, didn't it?" 

Uncomfortably glancing at his father, Elwin replied, "It certainly seems so." 

"Allow me to introduce you all to Mr Oblansk - Obalonsk - Mr - well he's the Bulgarian Minister of magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else - you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?" 

Elwin followed the minister's gesture to a large family of redheads who seemed to be with the dark-haired boy who had been staring at them before. Sensing the tension, he glanced between his father and the eldest of the group. 

Lucius' eyes scanned over the long row of people before he muttered, "Good lord, Arthur. What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" 

Elwin's eyes widened as he stared at his father in abject horror. A retort danced on the tip of his tongue before Narcissa, who was closest to him, grabbed his hand, shaking her head the smallest bit. 

Tuning back into the conversation, Fudge said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest." 

"How - how nice," Arthur said as Elwin avoided the eyes of each of them, knowing a single look could cause him to lose it and possibly ruin any fraction of favour he currently possessed with his father. 

Just when Elwin thought the moment was over, he noticed his father's eyes trained on a girl in the group he had failed to notice before. She had dirty-blond hair and light eyes. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, but he could tell she was fighting hard to maintain his gaze. Elwin instantly looked away. His face had turned a shade redder from his contained anger. With a curt nod to Mr Weasley, Lucius moved on down the row toward their seats while Draco shot the two non-redheads and one of the boys around their age a glare before he joined their parents. 

Elwin hesitated, his face flushed as he looked at the Weasleys. None of them were looking at him now, but he felt the need to say something, anything to make it better. Even so, he let out a long breath and joined his family. The entire match, he had trouble focusing, so much so that he afterwards could not even have told you who won. The moment it was over, however, he walked away with his family and quickly made up an excuse to leave. 

Instead of going to apparate, however, he instantly made his way toward the tents to see if he could find the name Weasley anywhere.