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iv. CHAPTER FOUR

ENGAGEMENT PARTY
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                      THE NEXT FEW DAYS passed by far too quickly for Briar, and she found herself, for once in her life, dreading the end of term. Christmas holidays were approaching, and Briar had received the usual letter from her mother, asking about her daughter's well-being and confirming that she would be coming home. The confirmation was a mere formality. Briar had never been invited to a classmate's home for the holidays, and even if she had, she would have declined. For the last 5 years, every holiday had been spent at home.

            "Excited for Christmas?" Lucius asked her conversationally, as he helped her heave her trunk onto one of the carriages. They were heading for the Hogwarts Express, which would take them home for about two weeks.

             Briar smile's slightly. "Of course. As always."

            Briar hated to admit it but for once, she wanted to stay back in Hogwarts for the holidays. She wasn't sure what the reason was, but somehow, the thought of going back home was making her more nervous. She shook it off, turning to look at Rabastan Lestrange, who had just joined them. He was a good friend of Lucius's, and he held a hand out to Briar to help her into the carriage.

             "You should be excited," Rabastan told her, with a smile, as she settled down beside her cousin. The carriage began moving with a jolt, drawn by some invisible force. "I hear there's an engagement party to be held for your brother? It's quite the event of the season. My mother could barely talk about anything else."

                Briar nodded. Her elder brother, Lorcan, had left Hogwarts almost two years ago. Having joined the Ministry and gained a prominent position in a short period of time, Briar parents had decided that the time to fulfill his betrothal was arriving. He'd been long-engaged to Aimee Rossetti, the second daughter of a rather prominent Brazilian pureblood family, Briar had met the girl once or twice, and although her English could do with a bit of improvement, she'd seemed like a decent person.

           "Yes, Mum and Dad are quite excited," Briar admitted, smiling back at Rabastan. "They seem to be making a larger deal out of the engagement than the actual wedding itself. I hope your family plans to attend?"

           "Oh, wouldn't miss it."

                The carriage rattled on, reaching the Hogwarts Express much sooner than Briar would have liked. She managed to find herself an empty compartment. Lucius and Rabastan sat with her for a few minutes, before joining some other Slytherin boys in a different compartment. Grateful for the silence, she quickly pulled out another muggle book that she'd bought from Diagon Alley, and curled up beside the window to read.

"Oi, look, this one's empty!" a voice yelled out cheerfully, as a tall figure shoved open the door. James Potter froze, however, once he saw Briar sitting inside. "Um, sorry. Never mind."

He quickly backed away, closing the door behind him. Not, however, before Briar caught a glimpse of Sirius Black standing in the aisle and watching her curiously with his dark grey eyes.

She'd spent the last week of term avoiding him entirely. It hadn't been particularly difficult. Their paths very rarely crossed, and even when they did, he didn't seem particularly eager for conversation either. Briar was unsure where the last encounter in the Three Broomsticks had left their relationship. They'd never really been friends, but she wondered if they could now be considered enemies. She had pointed a wand at his throat. Thinking about the event made her feel a tiny bit of remorse. She should have cursed him instead.

Finding her mood suddenly ruined, Briar quickly closed the novel and shoved it back into one her bag . As she pulled out her hand, however, it jabbed into something sharp. She extracted Lucius's wand, remembering that he'd asked her to hold it as he lifted her trunk down from the carriage, and she'd never returned it to him. Sighing, she got to her feet and walked out into the aisle to find him.

                Briar walked past a few compartments, before noticing that Sirius Black and James Potter were standing in the aisle. Hadn't they found somewhere to sit, yet? She paused a few feet away from them, before realizing that they were actually eavesdropping on one of the compartments. The door was open a crack, and a loud and rather familiar voice was drifting out of it.

                Evan Rosier.

         Briar thought, recognizing the voice immediately. It was difficult to forget. After the abrupt ending to their Hogsmeade trip together, Briar had sought him out and tried to apologize for the situation. He hadn't been particularly willing to forgive, however, and she'd been receiving dark looks from him for the past few days. She'd finally decided to let it go. If he was so intent on holding a grudge, there was nothing she could do.

              "━I'm telling you, mate, those lips of hers, their enough to drive any man crazy," Evans' faint voice said, along with a bunch of other masculine chuckles. Briar pitied the poor girl that had captured Evan Rosier's attentions now. Glaring at Sirius and James, neither of whom had noticed her, she cleared her throat.

                  "Excuse me? I'd like to get past," she told them. They both jumped, turning to look at her in surprise. As soon as Sirius saw her, however his eyes narrowed. He shifted his position so he was blocking the corridor completely.

                 "Go back to your compartment, D'Alessio."

              Briar raised her eyebrows. Who the hell did he think he was, ordering her around? "I don't think so, Black. You don't own this train, move, right now, so I can get past."

              Sirius shook his head. "Would you listen to me, once? Get back to your bloody compartment, it's for your own good. You don't want to hear this."

                 "Don't want to hear what?" Briar demanded, her curiosity getting the better of her, sh pushed past both Sirius and James so that she was standing right in front of the crack in the compartment door. Evans' voice was louder, and she could hear it more clearly.

                  "━If things hadn't ended so badly, I swear, I would have fucked her sooner or later. I'm telling you, she's probably one of the only virgins left in our year, that's how much of a prude she is," Evans' was continuing harshly. "Wouldn't even let me hold her hand, she moved away when I tried or maybe she's not a virgin at all! Maybe she's been fucking Black this whole time and no one ever noticed!" A cruel laugh followed this statement, and was joined by a few other boys.

               Briar froze, unable to breathe as she realised what or who he was talking about. It felt like someone was squeezing her lungs.

                "Ha, you're right there, Evan! Betrothed,  weren't they, before the little bastard turned traitor? It's your own fault, Evan, you signed up for the used goods!" another voice called loudly, to more raucous laughter.

               Briar hadn't noticed that her hands were starting to tremble slightly, as she stepped away from the compartment door, her face had gone white, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

                They were talking about her.

               "Move, I can't listen to this bullshit," Sirius decided finally, after watching Briar walk away from the compartment. He felt a sudden rush of anger, Slytherins were disgusting little hypocrites, but he'd never thought that they would do this to one of their own. Glancing once more at the trembling girl who looked like she was going to be sick, he shoved the compartment door open, and walked in.

                "Sorry, Didn't mean to interrupt your little....Party," Sirius hissed, as a group of about 6 Slytherin boys stared up at him in shock, mid-laugh. Evan was sitting closest to the door, and it took Sirius less than five seconds to grab him by the front of his robes and pin him up against the wall.

               "Wh-what are you doing?" Evan demanded, trying to squeeze out of Sirius's grip desperately. "Let go of me, you filth! Do you have any idea who you're-"

              Crack.

               The sound, which seemed to echo throughout the compartment, was that of Evans' nose breaking. There was a spatter of blood as Sirius pulled his arm back, followed by an anguished yell of pain.

             Sirius released Rosier quickly, before another Slytherin lunged at him. Ducking, he slipped out of the compartment and met Potter's horrified face.

              "Sirius, there's half a dozen of them in there! What were you thinking?" James panicked.

             "I really don't know? Let's run!"

          Briar watched in shock as the two boys fled down the aisle, followed by a few angry-looking Slytherins, Rosier was still lying crumpled in the doorway, clutching his nose and moaning in pain. A few seconds later, a familiar figure emerged from the compartment. Briar felt her stomach lurch.

         Lucius.

            "You were sitting in there with them?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, almost cracking towards the end of the sentence. Malfoy looked up at her, eyes wide.

              "I... Briar, I can explain," he insisted.

           "Explain?" Briar's blue eyes were now covered in a glass layer of tears that were threatening to spill at any given second. "Oh, please do. Please do explain why you were sitting with a bunch of disgusting maggots and having a good laugh while they talked about me like... like that!"

              "Briar, they're my friends, I couldn't have said anything to ━"

            "Oh, of course you couldn't," she spat, her tone full of anger as opposed to the tears spilling from her eyes. "Sirius fucking Black could step in and get them to shut up, but my own cousin couldn't be bothered. I see how it is."

              Lucius glared at her. "You're misunderstanding the entire situation, Briar. I suggest you calm down before you let your anger cloud your judgment and prevent you from seeing things clearly."

             "Quite the contrary cousin, I see things very clearly now."

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          "Oh, Rose. You look absolutely beautiful!"

            Briar smiled at her reflection, feeling satisfied. She'd put a lot of effort into her appearance for the special night, and it had paid off. She was wearing a blood red satin dress, she picked it out specifically for how it contrasted very well with her platinum blonde hair, her lips were covered in a matching red lipstick.

             Briar Rose D'Alessio looked like a pureblood heiress.

            "Thanks Mum," Briar grinned, turning to face her. Amelia Malfoy looked just as gorgeous, age had not affected her beauty, and she looked magnificent in a midnight blue gown. "You look wonderful also."

                 Amelia smiled, entering further into the room and closing the door behind her. "Thank you, dear. But I suppose that after the bride-to-be, you will be the center of attraction tonight, we mustn't ruin your future sister-in-law's night, of course- However there will be many important people here, and there's no harm in making a good impression."

             Briar nodded, despite not being very straightforward she understood what her mother meant by it, no doubt that her parents would want her use the night to attract the attention of a pureblood family and their son. "Of course."

             "Well, I suppose we should get going, then. Your father's waiting for me downstairs," Amelia replied, adjusting her own dress slightly, before smiling. "And don't forget to have some fun as well. It is your brother's engagement."

             Briar let out a shaky breath, and followed her mother out of the room, she'd been to plenty of social gatherings before, of course, but this was the first one where she, along with her mother, was old enough to be considered a hostess. She would have to interact with guests, smile and dance. The thought both terrified and excited her.

              The D'Alessio's had spared no expense for Lorcan's engagement. Only the best was to be had for their only son, and the extravagance was beyond expectations. Entering the ballroom of the D'Alessio mansion, Briar saw that it had been enlarged for the purpose, and every inch was decorated.

          Although all the guests had not arrived yet, there were many people already dancing and talking. She froze in terror for a few moments, before she felt a arm rest on her shoulder.

             "Scared already, Rose? The worst ones have yet to arrive."

                "Lorcan, stop being a prick!" Briar scoffed at her brother, slapping him on the arm playfully. "I'm terrified enough as it is. You look quite handsome tonight, though."

               "Only handsome, I think I look dashingly stunning." Lorcan sniggered at her.

            Despite them being siblings, they looked nothing alike, however they'd both inherited the But while Briar looks came from her mother's side of the family, Lorcan had inherited the classic D'Alessio features. "You look beautiful tonight too, Rose. I hope you're ready to be a wonderful hostess."

             "I'm scared though. I don't know half of these people."

             "Ah, but they know you. So just smile and nod and act as though you know exactly what they're saying. You'll find people are rather fake these days."

           "Now you're just teasing me. Where's your bride-to-be? I haven't seen her yet, tonight."

           "Her sisters have arrived ━ she's gone off with them somewhere," replied Lorcan somewhat dejected. "And I was hoping to introduce her to Yaxley later..."

            "Are you okay?" Briar interrupted as she reached to hold Lorcan' hand, Lorcan' smile faltered and Briar felt her heart waver. Despite it being his engagement party, She couldn't help but feel like his mind was somewhere else.

          "Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be okay? Everything is fine, Rose..." Lorcan trailed off, suddenly spotting someone that he needed to speak to, and left Briar standing alone once more. She frowned, glancing around at a few more of the unfamiliar faces nervously. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't just stand here, doing nothing, could she? She barely knew any of these people....

           Briar turned around, just in time to see her Mother reappear. Amelia D'Alessio smiled at a few more unfamiliar faces politely, before taking Briar' arm. "Darling, I hear the Lestranges are to arrive any moment. Will you greet them? I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere..."

             Briar took a deep breath, and nodded. She knew that this was a test, allowing her to greet a family as important as the Lestrange' showed the trust her mother was placing in her, and Briar wasn't about to let her down. "Of course, mum."

            "Very well. I'll be in the tapestry room, if you need me."

               Nodding, Briar quickly smoothed down her dress, before standing near the fireplace. Most of the guests preferred to Floo to the D'Alessio mansion. Although they could apparate, it was a bit of a trend to see which family had the best and most comfortable fireplace.

             The D'Alessio', in particular, had an enormous one, where groups of up to 6 people could Floo together at a time. It was more of a fashion statement than anything.

             There was a burst of green flame, and before Briar could register who they were, four people had walked out of the fireplace. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lestrange walked out first, followed by their two sons, Rodolphus and Rabastan.

          "Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange," The platinum blonde greeted, easing a polite smile onto her face. "It's wonderful to see you. We're so glad you could make it tonight."

          "Oh, of course, darling," Mrs. Lestrange cooed, stepping forward and smiling sweetly at Briar. Her large hat contained a single fuchsia feather, which matched her robes. "You look wonderful tonight, dear ━How you've grown! I last saw you when you were but a child... hasn't she grown, Alfred?"

       Her husband gave a non-committal grunt.

            "That's very kind of you, Mrs. Lestrange," Briar replied. She couldn't help but notice that Mrs. Lestrange was eyeing her like a hawk eyes it's prey. "My mother is terribly sorry that she couldn't be here to greet you herself. I'm afraid she got caught up in the preparations."

            "Oh that's perfectly all right, my dear. But we must offer our congratulations to the young couple! Where are your brother and his fiancée? Brazilian, I hear she is, how absolutely lovely..."

           Briar only nodded, allowing herself to glance past the fuschia-robed Mrs. Lestrange and at the rest of the family. Mr. Lestrange seemed in a bad humor and eager to leave, as did his son Rodolphus. Briar had never met him before but he looked extremely terrifying.

              Rabastan, on the other hand, looked handsome. He offered Briar a smile, but it faded at the cold look she gave him. Briar hadn't yet put the train incident out of her mind. He'd been sitting in that compartment too, she knew it.

           "The bride-to-be is over there, by the fountain, if you wish to offer her congratulations," Briar replied.

           "Of course. We'll go over immediately," Mrs. Lestrange decided, grabbing her husband's arm. She smiled down at Briar. "Your Mother has taught you well, I see. What pretty little manners you have!"

              Briar shifted uncomfortably. "Thank you, Madam, I hope you have a wonderful evening."

               The Lestrange' swept past her into the ballroom, none but Rabastan bothering to glance back at her. She returned a cold glare, however, and he was quick to follow his family. Soon, they were out of sight, and Briar let out a relived breath.

        Well. That wasn't too terrible for my first time.

           The teen girl composed herself quickly, turning to leave the fireplace, just as another flash of green flame appeared.

        Surprised, Rochelle paused to see a beautiful but sour-faced woman step out, along with a tall man and a boy with slicked jet black hair. She recognized them from immediately, how couldn't she?

           Fuck! please no! Merlin, this is the Black family! Why didn't Mother tell me?

           "Mrs. Black," Briar greeted politely, trying to calm her nerves. She hadn't been prepared for this, where was her mother? "And Mr. Black. It's such a pleasure to see you. We're so glad you could make it."

           Mr. Orion Black nodded at her gently but firmly. "Thank you, Briar. May we offer our congratulations to your family on your brother's engagement? It's a very joyous-"

            "Well, I say!" Interrupted Mrs. Black, looking quite indignant, if Briar had thought that Mrs. Lestrange was dressed outlandishly, then there was nothing to be said for Walburga Black. She seemed to have taken the recent trend of feathers a little too seriously. "What sort of party is this? Will no one even bother to take my coat?"

              Briar's mouth dropped open, horrified. Quickly turning to rectify her mistake, she waved over a house elf standing nearby. "Dipsy! Take Mrs. Black's coat, will you? I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Black."

                Walburga Black huffed irritably, before throwing her peacock-feathered coat at Dipsy. The poor house elf almost crumbled under it's weight, but soon managed to upright herself and disappeared with a pop. "And what's this? There's soot on my dress! Good lord, haven't you even a clean fireplace?"

             Briar bristled slightly, the fireplace had been cleaned multiple times specifically for the ball, not to mention the multiple guests had come though it soot free. There was no chance of any soot on Mrs. Black's dress, unless it came from her own fireplace.

               She couldn't, however, voice this out loud. "My apologies, Mrs. Black. Would you like me to help you clean that?"

              "No, don't touch it," Walburga snapped. "Merlin, what a disaster! And where's your mother? Couldn't she come greet us herself? A bit of an insult, sending her teenage daughter to greet us, don't you think, Orion?"

              Orion Black shook his head calmly. "I think Briar Rose is enough of an adult to be greeting guests, Walburga. Perhaps Amelia was caught up in some other work."

             "Dinner preparations," Briar prompted quickly, shooting Mr. Black a grateful smile. At least he knew how to handle his wife. "She's terribly sorry she couldn't be here. Would you like to meet the engaged couple? They're over there-"

          "Hm, all right, all right," Walgaburga muttered, frowning. "We'll greet them, though I don't know why your brother couldn't have just married an Englishwoman. Brazilians, little bastards they are, never liked them much. Come on, then, Orion, I suppose we must engage in formalities."

           Briar stared at Mrs. Black, appalled at her rudeness.

            How could anyone speak that way? Was she drunk? She gaped in silence as Mrs. Black pushed past Briar, her large feathers brushing the blonde' face as she clutched her husband's arm with a vice-like grip. Regulus Black paused for a few moments, turning to look at Briar.

            "Erm, sorry about my mother. She's...well I don't know..."

             Briar just gave him a weak smile, and he continued on after his parents.

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                Amelia D'Alessio was appalled that Briar had been forced to deal with the Black family herself.

             "I'm so sorry, dear, I never expected their arrival," she admitted, once they'd found a few seconds of peace.

             Most of the guests had arrived, and Amelia was running around, trying to please them all. "I wouldn't have left you alone with them if I'd known. Walburga has always been odd; but I'm afraid that she's particularly sour this evening. It's the first social gathering since her son ran away of course... and you were meant to become her daughter-in-law. You can see how she might take that out on you."

Briar shuddered slightly at the thought. "Of course."

"Well, never mind, it's all over. Perhaps it's best if you stay out of her sight from now on," Amelia insisted. "Why don't you go join your father? He's speaking to some of his Ministry colleagues. They're quite pleasant people to get along with."

The teen girl nodded, relieved at the thought of joining her father. She quickly walked over to him, where he was standing with another rather important looking gentleman. She smiled at him politely. "Good evening, sir. I hope you're having a pleasant evening?"

"Wonderful, thank you," the man replied, smiling kindly. "And I suppose this is your daughter, Alfred? Such a well-mannered girl, I see she takes after her mother."

Christian D'Alessio laughed. He had a loud and rumbling laugh, that seemed to have a contagious sort of happiness around it. "Is that a jibe at my manners, Fabian? But yes, allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Briar. Briar, this is Mr. Zabini, from the Ministry."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir."

"You as well, my dear," Mr. Zabini answered. "Well, it was wonderful talking to you, Chris, but I'm afraid I must see where my wife has gotten to."

"Of course. I hope you enjoy yourself, this evening."

"Oh, I fully plan to."

Fabian Zabini walked off, leaving Briar alone with her father, Christian smiled down at his daughter, once more. "Well, Rose, you seem to be creating quite the stir this evening," he told her. "Almost everyone I've met has commented on your pleasing manners. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, dad" Briar replied, unable to control the gush of pride she felt inside. She could deal with ten Walgaburga Blacks, if it made her father happy. "Most people have been quite cordial."

Christian D'Alessio laughed. "And by most, I suppose you mean to refer to Mrs. Walburga Black. Don't worry about her, darling. She's a little bitter that you won't marry her son."

"That's what mum said."

"Yes. Well, I think you've pleased enough guests for one night. Go have some fun, why don't you find yourself a dance partner?" Christian suggested. "Perhaps Lucius━"

"━is busy with Narcissa Black," Briar covered up quickly., she'd successfully managed avoid the Malfoy family, the entire evening, and didn't intend to go anywhere near them any time soon.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find someone."

Christian D'Alessio disappeared, walking off into the crowd to meet someone else. Frowning, Briar calmly began to find herself a seat, before she could someone tapped her on the shoulder, as she turned around she came face-to-face with Rabastan Lestrange.

"I heard your father mention that you might need a dance partner," he commented, holding out a hand. "Would you care to join me?"

Briar narrowed her eyes at him. "No thank you. I'm rather tired."

Rabastan dropped his hand, disappointed. "Briar, are you still angry because of what happened on the train? I know I was in the compartment with Rosier, but-"

"No, Rabastan, I am not angry," Briar spat. "I have no right to be angry with you, you are nothing more to me than my cousin's friend. I am, however, disgusted. So excuse me if I'd rather not be in your presence."

"I apologize for my behavior, but-"

"You have nothing to apologize for, please leave me be."

"But I-"

He was interrupted by a loud crash a few feet away. Surprised, Briar whirled around to pinpoint the source, and saw that Walgaburga Black was standing at the center of it, screaming. Resisting the urge to bang her head against the wall, she turned back to Rabastan. "Excuse me. I have to take care of this."

She walked away quickly, hurrying towards the commotion. Dipsy, the poor house elf, was crouching on the floor in terror, while Walgaburga screeched at her. "And a disaster! Ruined my dress entirely! Couldn't she look where she was going? What sort of atrocious service is this?"

The platinum blonde pushed past a few onlookers, quickly approaching the woman. "Mrs. Black. Is there a problem?"

Walgaburga glared at her. "Of course there's a problem. Your stupid little house elf can't even walk straight! I've never seen such incompetent servants anywhere! If she was my house elf, she would be whipped for her clumsine-"

"I'm terribly sorry about your dress, Mrs. Black," Briar replied, forcing herself to keep calm. 'if you'll give me a few moments, I'll be certain to have it fixed for you. Dipsy, please get up from the floor and bring me another elf to fix Mrs. Black's dress."

Dipsy got up from the floor, shaking, and nodded. She was about to disapparate, Walgaburga protested. "Well? Is that all? Won't you punish the elf?"

Briar turned around, shooting Walgaburga Black a sharp look. "Dipsy tripped over the feathers of your dress, Mrs. Black. It could happen to anybody, and is certainly not an offense large enough to warrant punishment. Even if it was, however, our family is not in the habit of punishing our elves in public, surely you can see how it would ruin the mood of the gathering."

Walgaburga stared at Briar, her mouth gaping open slightly. "How dare you speak to me that way, you insolent little girl! I am your elder, not to mention your guest!"

"Well then, perhaps you should behave like a guest!"

There was a shocked silence, most of the onlookers were horrified at Briar's boldness, and she regretted her words immediately.

Before she could say anything, however, Amelia D'Alessio quickly appeared, followed closely by her husband. She took Briar' arm, and gave her a stiff smile.

"Why don't you go upstairs, dear. I'll handle this from here."

Briar nodded numbly, quickly leaving the ballroom as quickly as possible, she ran upstairs, crossing to the other side of the mansion, before slamming the door of her room behind her and collapsing onto her bed. A fleeting thought crossed her mind.

No wonder Sirius Black ran away from this woman.

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Heyy, so this chapter is really long and I was going to put them in two parts but I was like nah, anyway feel free to tell if there are any mistakes :) what do you guys think of it? <333

━━ sel