When the clock stroke six, guests arrived one by one. Octavia, accompanied by Evan, Felix and her parents Evan and Gabrielle, welcomed each of them. It was a duty the girl really hated, but it felt almost appreciable compared to the moment she had to greet the Blacks.
"Good evening Evan, Gabrielle... Isn't that Evan? You grew up a lot. Oh and Octavia, didn't you get prettier since last time?" exclaimed the woman with fake enthusiasm. Felix was merely ignored, and Octavia felt jealous.
"Mrs. Black, that's too nice of you but thank you," told her the girl, with a smile she hoped wasn't too crisped.
"You saw Regulus of course? He suggested to come earlier so you could catch up a little before this fancy party," she continued.
"Yes of course. We managed to catch up," answered the girl, not commenting on the fact that Regulus had told her something different.
The woman went back to talking with her parents and husband as Octavia turned her focus towards new guests arriving in.
"I'm really sorry..." whispered discreetly Evan by her side. He felt sorry she would have such an awful mother-in-law and she knew it.
She didn't say anything and continued her duty, "Mr. Flint, always great to have you home. Is Ivanna around?"
"Yes, right behind," said the man.
The girl was indeed behind, accompanied by her mother and Lilah, and Lilah's family. Octavia went to give her friend a big hug, going to embrace Ivanna in the process.
"You guys don't even imagine how boring life is when you're not there," sighed Octavia.
"Probably just as boring as our lives," answered Lilah, laughing sourly.
"Stop complaining, you two must meet often."
"My mother isn't too fond of her mother so it doesn't happen as often as you might think," replied Ivanna.
"But like five minutes ago they were..."
"Octavia? Do you still get fooled by our people? Nobody has a real friend here. Sometimes we don't even have real families," replied the girl ironically.
"Except us of course," rejoined Lilah.
Zephyr arrived a few seconds later and Octavia barely had time to greet him before she heard the annoying high-pitched voice of her mother.
"Octavia! Get back here!" muttered the woman, a frown on her slim pale face.
She sighed, sent a look to her friends before leaving them.
Once everyone seemed to be arrived, she wandered alone through the crowd, sometimes engaging in conversations with her parents' friends and sometimes with her housemates, when they would get along which only included her roommate Peony and rare others.
But at some point, she heard whispers behind her. She instantly turned around and came face to face with two women, they looked much older than her and seemed to be in their twenties already.
"Hi Octavia, we wanted to further talk with you," spoke the blonde one, with a soft voice and a gentle look in her clear grey eyes.
"Oh, you're Narcissa and Bellatrix-"
"Yes Reggie's cousins," finished the black-haired one, a huge smirk on her lips, her dark eyes with a look of dementia in them, contrasting with her sister's.
"Yeah, that's right, I almost forgot because you don't have the same name anymore."
"You look like a really nice and correct girl for our cousin Reggie, I'm really happy."
"Aunt said she lacked discipline, not that she was nice," whispered Bellatrix in her sister's ear, loud enough for Octavia to hear her obviously.
"But as long as she's nice to Regulus. Right Octavia?" asked Narcissa, genuinely smiling at her again
Octavia didn't know much about the Black sisters, except that they rejected the eldest for being a blood-traitor and that one of them was a Death Eater looking rather intimidating and the other being married to the cold Lucius Malfoy and looking just as cold. But she realized this description didn't suit Narcissa well.
Octavia nodded to her words, and before she could say anything Bellatrix intervened.
"Speak of the devil, look who's coming!"
Regulus Black walked up to them and greeted his cousins before addressing a glance to Octavia.
"We were getting to know your little fiancée Reggie. Good choice that made your mother, she's really pretty," told him Narcissa.
Octavia didn't know why, but she felt flattered to receive such compliment coming from a beautiful person like her.
"Yes, Mother did good," answered the boy, smiling at his cousin.
"Fancy finding you two here!" said a cold thrilling voice that Octavia knew all too well.
"Mother. Were you looking for us?" asked Regulus, turning around to face his mother.
"Yes. Gabrielle charged me of gathering you two for a dance. She's going to put on a nice tune for the dance," said Walburga, faking excitement. "You like to dance Octavia, right?"
She might be smiling but Octavia felt the threat in her voice and the cold in her steel grey eyes was enough to convince her.
"Yes, I do."
Just as she said this, music magically started playing. The crowd went to the periphery of the room, except for the few couples starting to dance. Octavia really didn't want to go out there and dance with Regulus Black whom she hated.
"What are you waiting for?" muttered Walburga as Octavia had been frozen in place for a few seconds, with Regulus just standing by her side.
The boy held up his hand without looking at her and she just took it and followed him, looking down at the floor.
"Look up to me," he whispered and she did.
He stopped and placed his hand on her waist, the contact making her jump up slightly and then he started moving around, as naturally as he could with her stiff body close to his.
One minute felt like eternity and the ginger-haired girl thought this silence was unbearable. As to forget people's stares on her she decided to say something.
"So, you think I'm pretty?" she whispered to him, the ghost of a smirk tugged on her lips.
His eyes looked back at her since he had been looking elsewhere for a few seconds and a frown was placed on his features.
"Uh? I said that? You misunderstood, I only think of you as an ugly-"
But he didn't have time to finish his sentence as the girl had accidentally stepped on his foot.
"Ouch-"
"Sorry, it was an accident," she whispered, smiling innocently though the corners of her lips were twitching with the anger building up in her.
"Bitch-" he mouthed, glaring down at her.
"Oh, I'm so offended," she muttered, her small smirk not leaving her red-tinted lips.
They had been looking at each other while waltzing, she instantly noticed the moment he averted his gaze.
"Look, your friends are staring at us..."
Octavia's head spun around to see Zephyr and Lilah staring at them from afar, looking rather shocked by this while an overexcited Ivanna was by their side.
"You won't say anything right?" asked the girl, this time serious.
"No, I won't, I already told you... why don't you want anyway? It'll be known one day or another."
"They can't know. Nobody should know. Especially not my friends and Max. I'm just ashamed..." she told him honestly.
The boy scoffed, and asked, "Ashamed? Of what? Of me?"
"Yes. Of your name, of your reputation and..."
"And because I'm a Death Eater, too I guess?" he muttered, now getting tired of this conversation.
"This too. If mean, if you're really one?" said Octavia, looking at him curiously.
"Look down," he only told her.
The hand she had placed on his shoulder went down to his forearm as they continued dancing, and she lifted up his sleeve just a little so she could apperceive his skin stained in black. In a second the girl had averted her gaze and her hand was back on his shoulder.
"Disgusting..." she only said, not wanting to look at him anymore. He was disgusting and she felt disgusted of her own self for being so close to him.
"Disgusting you say? What about your brother? And your friend Ashford?" muttered Regulus, still trying to hide his anger as much as he could.
"Jaden is not you! Jaden didn't have a choice, unlike you who wanted to-"
"That's what you think? And if I didn't want to, do you really think I could have had a choice?"
He didn't realize his tone had risen up a little, attracting a few curious glances that Octavia noticed.
"Calm down, people are looking," she told him, looking back up at his face.
Regulus hated to admit it but the blue of her eyes so similar to the sky had a strong calming effect him.