Just Ellie ⌁ Draco Malfoy (ON HOLD)

36

The family began to eat in awkward silence. Lauren took a small, slow sip of her wine, eyeing her daughter down as she cut up her roast.

"Excited for school soon, Ellie?" Jack broke the silence, sending his daughter a small smile when she looked up at him. She returned it, but it probably wasn't convincing anyone. She doubted her small stiff nod did either.

"It'll be a tough year but you know it," Ellie replied with a shrug.

"You'll do fine," her father responded in a kind voice as he cut up his roast. "You always do. Besides, sixth-year is great. They'll be tougher on you, ooh, you have no idea...but — free periods, slight authority, more books to borrow from the library. You'll love it."

Thoughts of Nikolai swarmed in her head and she almost coughed. Instead, Ellie responded with a weak, "Yeah, I'm sure I will."

"I'm glad you brought that up, Jack," said Lauren in a 'soft' voice. "Elyssa, I've invited the Orlovs' over for dinner next week. It'll be nice, won't it, to see Nikolai again before school starts?"

Ellie choked on her pumpkin juice and coughed loudly and dramatically before looking at her mother and saying a calm, "excuse me?"

Ellie knew what dinner with the Orlov family would look like. The two families would sit together at this table, eat, chat, laugh, Nikolai would be all lovey-dovey and pretend in front of everyone. Lauren would tell Ellie to take Nikolai and show him around the garden or the back yard while the adults chat, Nikolai would then be his usual douchebag self and be cruel to Ellie, even grow annoyed about her eating and drinking what she would have for that dinner, pick on her appearance, perhaps even accuse her of something, or, here's her favourite, perhaps even come up with some new stupid rule for her to follow.

That's what's in store for Elyssa Greer in one week.

"Excuse you what? It's a kind gesture and I did it just for you. I would love to hear the stories you and Nikolai come up with what you two did together last year and what the two of you have planned for your future. I bumped into his mother Estelle this morning in Diagon Alley and we sat down for a cup of tea and even discussed some possible wedding decorations. We're going to discuss guests next week and where we should plan to have the wedding."

Ellie was sputtering and stammering, her mind going wild and her stomach twisting and punching.

"You wouldn't like to have it here, would you?" Lauren continued, not having noticed or perhaps not having cared for how uncomfortable Ellie was with the whole thing. "No, we were thinking we'd talk to Narcissa and Lucius about having it there, they have this wonderful—"

"Mum, stop!" Ellie snapped, slamming her fork and knife into her plate. Everything grew uncomfortably and awkwardly silent as Lauren and Jack stared at their daughter in shock — even the servants looked shocked...except for Isobel. She looked rather pitiful. "How do you not see that I don't want this...at all? You're the only one who does!"

Her mother, under any other circumstances, would have snapped at Ellie for speaking to her in such a tone but tonight she was...confused.

"But...what on earth are you talking about? Why would you not want this? The Orlov family are a great one — one of the greatest and oldest wizarding family, mind you, Ellie, and their son is wonderful. He's perfect for you."

Ellie chuckled bitterly, looking away from her mother and focusing hard on a bottle of firewhisky wasting away in the kitchen liquor cabinet to keep from saying something silly.

"You mean he's perfect for you."

Jack and Lauren exchanged a horrified look.

"Ellie!"

"Elyssa, that's revolting, why would you say something like—"

"I don't mean like that!" Ellie interrupted them. She looked away from the liquor cabinet and at the red faces of her parents. "I mean he's perfect in the sense that you wouldn't see me going off with someone who's Half-blood or less and I'd have perfect little Pureblood babies and you'd probably arrange marriages for them on their second birthday. That's what's perfect to you."

Lauren stammered and choked on her words.

"Well, here's an interesting fact for you, Mum. Nikolai is not perfect. He's a monster," Ellie said casually, picking up her fork and chewing the roast that was on the end of it.

"If you think saying cruel things or making up ridiculous lies about this poor boy is going to get you out of this engagement, think again," Lauren said hotly, her hand gripping her glass of wine so hard that it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone if it were to smash right then and there.

"Lies," Ellie huffed. "You and Dad are the liars."

"Watch your words, Ellie," Jack said strongly. He looked to the four servants by the door and dismissed them. Isobel looked back sadly, meeting Ellie's eyes, before she shut the door behind her. "You want to talk? Fine, we'll talk. But first lose the attitude and rudeness."

"You knew what kind of person Nikolai was before even setting me up with him!" Ellie said, getting straight to the point. "You knew about Alexander. You knew Nikolai was a psychopathic murderer."

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Her mother laughed. A cruel yet very humoured laugh. Ellie blinked, confused.

"Sweetheart," her mother gasped, a wide smile on her face, a smile that terrified Ellie, "Alexander slipped off some rocks and fell into a creek! It's horrible, yes, so terribly horrible and tragic, but sweet Nikolai had nothing to do with that."

"Yes he did. Isobel saw him."

"Isobel? Isobel is an idiot girl. She was working for the Orlovs' at the time of Alexander's death and she was very, very underpaid and jealous of their other workers' higher wages. Thought she could come up with a silly story...and while they were in the middle of grieving, too, that stupid, stupid girl...She got a large pay out of it, too. I almost didn't hire her. She's taking the day off when the Orlov's are here."

Ellie didn't know what to say at this point. That made sense, but at the same time it didn't. Not at all. Isobel was the sweetest person Ellie had ever had the pleasure of meeting and she would not use a child's death to make money. Would she?

"That doesn't change the fact that Nikolai is emotionally and physically abusive," Ellie stated slowly, looking between her parents to see what their reactions were. Lauren snorted while Jack looked rather distant and hid is mouth and chin in his hand thoughtfully. "It's true. I have proof. I took pictures of the marks he'd left on me."

"Wow, Elyssa," Lauren started, and just the way she said those two words indicated that nothing Ellie said was believed at all, and the redhead felt her eyes pricking with tears, "you really want to end this engagement don't you?"

"It's true..." Ellie choked out, looking to her father, her only hope. But he wasn't looking at her. Her mother was shaking her head shamefully. Ellie stood from the table. "I'm not hungry."