Chapter Eleven - Of Screw-ups and Screw-downs
"I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
December 21
I am beginning to regret ever answering that letter. Here it is.
Delayna,
This is your Mother. I am hosting the annual Christmas Ball at the Estate. As I am so, you are to return to the Estate for the holidays. You are to go shopping for your dress robes on the 23rd, as the Ball itself will be on the eve of the 24th. You are also to stay until the 2nd of January, in which you are free to go as you wish.
Sincerely,
Mother
I could see that dear Mum was struggling with her signature. She was readying her hand to write "Lasiandra", but figured that it would seem as if she didn't treat her daughter properly (which was questionable at this moment). She's very self-conscious of her precious public image and if word got out that an heiress daughter of hers was being mistreated to her circle of friends, she would never hear the end of it.
Anyways, my answer letter to her basically agreed on the condition that I am allowed my old room back. Ever since I stated Hogwarts as a Slytherin, I would come back for the summer only to sleep in the guest room and arrogant little Kiana in mine. Well, it is me and Henry who will split the bulk of the family fortune, as was stated in the Warbeck files. The oldest child would be entitled to the old vault in the lower dungeons of Gringotts while the other siblings will live off measly trust funds. On the case of twins (there have never been any triplets, quadruplets, etc. in my family), the fortune would be shared and whoever's family adds the most to it continues the family line, and keeps the surname of Warbeck.
Complicated, no? That's the life of the rich to you. It's all about reputation and money. The new money families (or the "minor" families) have yet to experience the complications of passing down the family fortune. This money we have has been gathering for many centuries now. They have only been around for a few decades, possibly a century. Henry and I were born heirs and raised to be heirs. Etiquette lessons, financial lessons, decision-making in general, manners, hosting (for me), government politics, the works. Henry and I were even taught linguistics. Basic French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. We were taught enough that we could conduct a business deal in different languages and not much else. Heirs and heiresses to pureblood families have learned much of the same things as Henry and I. I still have to learn it during the summer when I am home by our tutor.
I have to start packing. The train leaves tomorrow at noon and I have to get settled back in my own home.
- Heiress Delayna of House Warbeck and Slytherin
"Welcome to the estate, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Lucius," I greeted with a stiff smile. My expression was blank and hardly welcoming, but I wouldn't put it past them to think me unsuited for my position. "Please make yourselves at home." Please don't. "Which Wing would you rather reside in for the duration of your stay?"
"The East Wing is fine, Delayna," Mrs. Malfoy answered me in the same cold manner. I was tempted to grab that platinum blonde hair of hers and strip her of it until she was bald but held my restraint. I called one of the house-elves and quickly requested them to lead the Malfoys to their Wing. Each of the four lead pureblood families are the only ones that are to stay in the estate until the New Year. The Malfoys and Blacks switch off coming, but since the lead family of Hufflepuff had other matters to attend to, both Malfoys and Blacks are staying. This is a disaster waiting to happen, I tell you, since the Potters are the ones representing Gryffindor. Let's see: the Malfoys, Blacks, Potters, and Warbecks all in the same estate. Mmhmm.
"Having fun?" Sirius's velvety voice announced his presence behind me. I rolled my eyes and replied with a stiff, "Lots." Sirius threw an arm around my shoulders and sniffed my hair.
"Strawberries? I never figured you to be a strawberry-person, Delayna," Sirius commented in a rather random fashion. I cocked an eyebrow in his direction and shook my head. I pushed his arm off my shoulders and then leaned up and sniffed his hair.
"Wow, odorless! I never figured you to be an odorless-person, Sirius!" I mocked exaggeratedly. Our smiles and postures turned austere as Sirius shook hands with Mr. Diggory, and I said polite hello's to the couple and their 20-year-old son, Amos. I welcomed them in with feigned grins which immediately dropped off my expression as they flounced out of sight.
"The first Christmas event you're hosting, I suppose?" Sirius remarked dryly. "So many people are here already. You'd think they'd be on time, but the Blacks just have to present a neat performance. We were here two hours early." We shared a laugh at this, and I glanced around the Honor Hall.
The ceiling was very high and spanned all three floors of the estate. There was a mural of different birds circling around a raven, which spread its wings like a grand king. That's Ravenclaw, to you. The walls were a mixture of vibrant silvers, gold, and blues to match the coloring of the ceiling. What looked like Roman columns were situated on the corners, all sporting plaques at their bases reading "Consilion non impetu", which meant "With wisdom not rashness". Every family's robes held their family crests with their mottos engraved on them where their breast pockets would normally be. The traditional seal of Warbeck is actually an eagle with its wings spread on a silver shield, but as the lead Ravenclaw family, we adopted the Ravenclaw seal, with Warbeck splashed across the shield instead of Ravenclaw and our motto on its edges. Both Houses of Malfoy and Black held the Slytherin crests, but both refused to wear it and instead chose to wear their own family crests.
I, if I do say so myself, look pretty good at the moment, considering I took three hours getting ready, and had to suffer through going shopping for a new gown with Delilah and Trista, who had also come home for the holidays A/N – Refer back to the Chapter IV diary entry for a full list of the Warbeck family.. Luckily, I was able to sneak out of their eyesight and managed to get a gown out of my own accord and to my liking. It was a rather elegant blood-red gown that swirled around my ankles as I walked. Intricate designs slithered around the hem, and over it was the traditional hostess robes of white with the family crest emblazoned on the shoulder. My hair was haphazardly placed on my head with a few stray locks of hair curled and loosed, framing my face. Light makeup shadowed my eyes, and my lips reddened with a thin layer of lipstick. A charm bracelet was snug around my wrist with several charms I had accumulated over the years.
Sirius, my temporary companion, was looking pretty spiffing as well. He was dressed in the black robes that are customary for the Black family with his own family's crest adorning it. His family signet ring was on his right middle finger, symbolizing that he was the eldest children of his family line. His hair was still the same as ever, but with a hint of neatness behind it. His sparkling grey eyes were wary, but nonetheless cheerful. I spotted his family over his shoulder, and was suddenly reminded of something.
"Sirius… didn't you run away last summer…?" I inquired uncertainly. I wasn't sure whether to bring this up or not, seeing as how it might have been a sensitive subject. It was the topic of all of Mother's gossip that same summer. Sirius's eyes darkened, and I withdrew slightly.
"Yeah, I did. I'm here with my Uncle Alphard," he pointed out a man in dark robes laughing with William Warbeck. "My Uncle and your Dad are good friends, so he decided to come here and invited me to go with him." I was silent for a moment as I contemplated him. Even though Sirius had horrible commitment issues, he was still a decent guy. Coming from a family like his, it's a wonder the way he turned out. My eyes brightened as a particular family sporting the Gryffindor crest arrived. Time for the fun…
Third Person Point of View
"And the Potters have arrived," Delayna murmured, already moving to welcome them. Sirius followed, equally curious. Delayna tilted her head and smiled amiably. "Welcome to the Warbeck Estate, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, James." The Potters reciprocated the greetings politely. James hid a wicked grin as he spotted his friend behind the senior Slytherin. The Potters were granted the West Wing before the elder Potters wandered to mingle.
James's façade of aristocratic arrogance fell as he grinned toothily at Sirius, whose mischievous grin mirrored that of his best friend. Delayna listened to their quiet chatter with practiced ease. Her interest was piqued as she heard James mention a certain head Girl. Deciding it was the perfect time to butt in, she interrupted smoothly.
"The Lily Evans that you were… preoccupied with on the Halloween Ball?" she remarked innocently, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. James blinked, before realization dawned on him. He stammered humorously and the two co-conspirators crowed in laughter and triumph.
"It was only snogging," James muttered fruitlessly, thoroughly embarrassed. "We didn't go very far before she ran off." Delayna felt a stab of sympathy for the poor love-struck puppy Lily Evans created. She dismissed it quickly and grinned maliciously. Only snogging, eh?
"Ah, but you wanted to go farther, didn't you?" Sirius continued on their vein of thought. James, it if was possible, turned an even brighter shade of red. Normally, James would take it all in stride and fire a comeback heatedly, but this was his love life with Lily Evans, not just some girl he happened to come across for a quick session. Sirius and Delayna were positively heaving in laughter. Delayna, taking pity on the poor boy, toned down her chuckles to al him to speak.
"She won't talk or even look at me!" James said mournfully. "I'll never see her lovely smile she wears when she's reading her cheesy romance novels, or watch her—"
"Dance with me, Delayna?" Sirius implored of her, becoming frustrated by his best friend's overly romantic ways. Delayna agreed readily and curtsied smoothly as Sirius bowed. Taking his hand, they listened to the orchestra strike up a moderately fast waltz. Following Sirius's graceful lead, Delayna began to enjoy herself and chuckled at the comments Sirius muttered in her ear.
"Your mother's sipping her tea, ever so daintily," he murmured, turning the two of them to the right jerkily, as the beat of the music demanded. She felt shivers pass her spine as his smooth velvety voice encompassed her thoughts. "Don't you just wish – Ah! That's the ticket. Her tea spilled on my mother nonetheless. They're good friends. Perhaps not anymore, by the looks of things." Delayna, picturing her mother's embarrassment couldn't stifle the satisfied grin that touched her lips. Then, picturing Mrs. Black sputtering angrily, she had a fit of giggles that resulted in stuffing her face in Sirius's dress robes, biting it with her teeth to keep from laughing outright. Did I just giggle…? Delayna though passively. She shrugged off the concept mentally.
"James is angry now," Sirius continued, amusement lacing his words. "He's trying to get a way to get on the dance floor to smack us around a bit. I think he hasn't found a way because he's scared to dance with these Slytherin goons." Delayna frowned and squeezed the hand holding hers warningly, purposefully moving her foot over his, and stepping lightly.
"Watch it, Black, you're dancing with a Slytherin," she pointed out, somewhat miffed. She thought they were over this by now! Sirius's chest rumbled with a chuckle. He said, "But I got the pretty one." The comment was so unexpected that Delayna blinked and felt traces of a blush stain her cheeks. She could understand why Black was so popular with the ladies with his "charming wit". She found that she was laughing more than any other time in her life.
The dancing pair was unknowingly watched by a pair of nearly black eyes. Oh yes… Henry Warbeck, also heir to the Warbeck fortunes, had to talk to one Sirius Black very soon…
Delayna stumbled to her door, barely stifling a giggle. Sirius followed, his eyes glittering in amusement. "So how many glasses of wine did you have, exactly?" he enquired, bemused.
"Just one!" she hiccupped. He raised his eyebrows, which elicited another drunken giggle from the oddly inebriated woman. "But it… it… kept refilling!" She fumbled to open the door and staggered inside, flopping down on her bed noisily. "Wooh…" The face of Sirius looming above her head bursting into quiet laughter was the last before all turned to black.
James, giving up his fruitless chase after Sirius and Delayna, rested on his back, staring up at the top of his four-poster bed in contemplation. The guest room was warm and homey, but had an intimidating undertone to it. The wind passed over his bare torso soothingly and he adjusted his glasses. Heaving a long-suffering sigh, he turned over to his side, recalling the past Halloween Ball clearly as if it were yesterday…
Flashback
"Lily, I—" James begun to say. Lily cut him off with a finger on her lips.
"Let's take this elsewhere," she murmured, glancing furtively at a dancing couple nearby. James turned to look and spotted Delayna and Sirius. If the two heard he and Lily, they would most definitely intervene and meddle in their affairs as always. James agreed readily and took Lily's hand to lead her off the dance floor back to Gryffindor Tower. She followed him hesitantly, her smooth hand soft in his Quidditch-roughened ones. Her beautiful gown swished behind her as they walked, a comfortable silence reigning between them.
Leading her into the Gryffindor Common Room, James opened his mouth to speak. For the second time, Lily interrupted.
"Look, I should apologize for my recent behavior…" Lily muttered uncertainly. "You still have your moments of… bigheadedness but you've matured. I apologize for treating you so badly." She hung her head, looking at her toes. Absently, James wondered who had put her up to this. James noticed her teeth start digging into her lip, a nervous habit he knew she had acquired over the summer. "Well, I know I treated you horribly when we were working together so—"
James, feeling a looming cloud of doom form and begin to descend on him, pressed his lips against hers. She murmured his name in ecstasy and unconsciously responded. The moment he reciprocated her name seemed to snap her back into reality. The cloud wrapped around his very being with suddenness that surprised him. There was a scuffle outside, which he ignored. He was focused on the breathless Head Girl in front of him.
Lily looked like she was going to say something. James waited for the scathing remarks and the put-downs, but none come. Lily sealed her mouth shut, picked up her skirts, and fled.
End Flashback
James blew a long suffering sigh. He really screwed it up this time.
Author's Notes: Ah! I'm truly sorry, my readers. Today is my final day at school, and things have been very hectic for the past week. Last weekend was our soccer tournament, followed by a soccer party the next day, and a piano audition the day after (which I passed). Feel free to beat my head into my lungs with piggy banks.
Sorry about the change of Point of Views. I wanted to get a bit more perspective, and I'm trying new styles to write with. Let me know how I'm doing?
For those of you who just have me in your Favorites or Author's Alert lists but never bother to review, please do. I enjoy feedback and it greatly affects my story. I know a great many of you just have me in your Author Alerts lists, and just settle for reading, but please Feed the Author and review! I know this is somewhat uncharacteristic of me to do… but here we are!
Did you like the little Lily/James moment I incorporated in the story? I'm not going to be centering around Delayna for the whole of the story… I'm going to be straying from side-to-side occasionally, but Delayna is still the main character.
If you would like to get a sneak peek of the upcoming chapters, look to the summary two weeks after chapters are posted. I usually have an excerpt on there.
I AM ON SUMMER VACATION! That means, I have more time to write! Today was my final day of school, and I don't return for thirteen (13) weeks! –cheers-
And so ends this Note.
- Cerulean Asphodel