Thomas turns to face her and he towers over her with his broad body. "Don't fucking lay hands on me like that again Blishen." His words cause her to step back afraid but he steps forward. "Get ready and fuck off."

"Y-you're scaring me, Thomas." Violet steps back once more, careful not to fall off the railings. "Don't talk to me that way."

"Just get ready." he enunciates each word angrily through his teeth.

Violet lets go of the breath she's been holding in as soon as Thomas turns to leave, running down the steps with heavy stomps. He doesn't turn back to her the entire way and even slams the door as he still runs down the steps to the gravel driveway.

Her eyes leave the closed doors and move to her hand that's gripping the railing so hard that her nails are bleeding all around.

She clears her throat as she walks down the stairs with her injured hand held against her chest. It scares her the closer she walks to the doors because it means her engagement is getting closer by the second. That terrifies her but not as much as the answer she has to give in front of everyone invited.

As Violet locks the giant doors behind her, she takes a small step back before apparating off the ground of Malfoy Manor.

Just seconds after apparating, her feet hit the ground inside her flat and immediately she sees Bridgette walking towards the door. She has a hand bag squished between her side and her arm while she puts on a pair of gold earrings.

Bridgette stops when she sees Violet and her hands fall flat to her sides. "Violet." her lips press together and she reaches out, pulling Violet into a tight embrace. "I thought you had left for the party already. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly." Violet rubs Bridgette's bare back where her dress swoops down. "I don't know what I feel at this point. This is all just overwhelming my emotions."

Violet feels Bridgette move her hands to Violet's shoulders and she grips them to push her back. She sighs and takes a look at her face. Her face which is swollen from all the crying she's been doing.

"It's always okay to run." Bridgette shrugs as her hands grip Violet's shoulders.

"I bought a home." Violet replies, throwing her head back when she hears the words out loud. "What if Draco comes back and I'm not here?"

"Oh, mon Dieu Violet. Tell me you're not still waiting for that man?"

Violet steps to the side and wipes her tears with the sleeve of her sweater. Her movement makes Bridgette turn to look at Violet who's now making her way to the hall of the bedrooms.

"I uh- I have to start getting dressed." Violet hugs her torso and drops her head, not wanting to admit it to anyone how she is waiting for Draco. "I'll see you at the party then?"

Bridgette gives her a nod back before walking towards the living room door, leaving Violet all alone in her flat. Leaving Violet to herself for the last minutes she has of freedom before her life is signed off to a boy she doesn't love.

How is she supposed to prepare for an engagement when her life is in shambles? When the only stable thing she had ended this morning, the morning of this set up engagement that she'd terrified of.

Violet stands at the edge of her queen-sized bed with her eyes glued onto a gold, ballroom style, dress with sheer sleeves that are covered in diamonds.

Of course, Pansy Parkinson would purchase something like this.

A tired sigh escapes Violet's lips as she walks to the bathroom while taking her clothes off, leaving a trail behind her. She locks the bathroom door behind her but the green jumper hanging on the back of the door stops her from turning away.

Her heart skips a beat, remembering the many months ago when her Professor gave this to her late at night. She remembers the way his chest was pattering at an unsteady pace because of the small towel wrapped around her wet body. The way his jaw clenched to control the urge he had growing inside of him.

"It's five minutes to eleven, what are you doing in the showers so late? Most importantly what are you doing walking in a towel?"

"I forgot my clothes." Violet groans awkwardly and hugs her chest tighter. "I don't know the rules here so well, I'm new."

Violet takes the Quidditch jumper off the door and into her shaky hands and brings it up to her face. The second that the cloth brushes against her rosy cheeks and cold nose, she inhales deeply while closing her eyes.

"Thanks." She whispers and holds her towel in her hand as she stands with his large, Quidditch jersey. The jersey goes to the middle of her thighs, enough for her to walk without a towel.

"Get to your dorm and –" He gulps and struggles to keep himself from not looking at her bare legs that were covered earlier by those tights. "– and don't let me find you out this late ever again unless you're returning from Astronomy."

"Of course." Violet responds with an unemotional tone. She figured him giving her his jumper was a start to a better relationship but clearly, he's just a jerk. A jerk she masturbated to. "Good night. Professor."

Draco's smell faded after having the jumper for months and wearing it every chance she can. So, in this moment, the only thing she can do is try to remember the comfort of his cologne when she had her cheek pressed against his hard chest.

She remembers the feeling of his arms wrapped around her torso and the way his thumb brushed softly on her lower back. And how he'd hum to her every time he had her that way.

Violet moves the jumper away and hangs it back up before wiping tears that are streaming down her cheeks. Crying these past days is nothing new to her, she's used to it.

As she turns on the bath faucet, she unclips the back of her bra and sets it aside while the large bathroom steams up. Her reflection in the golden faucet fades with humidity and she steps into the hot, soapy water.

Her head leans back against the white tub and her arms rest on the sides of the tub, her hands gripping the white porcelain. The water rises as her body hits the bottom of the tub and her head sinks under the water.

Violet holds her breath under the water for as long as she will be able too. She feels a hand go under the water and bring her up by her shoulders. She gasps for air when she rises up and her hands wipe her eyes from soap so she can see who grabbed her.

"What are you doing?!" Elaine gasps and looks down at Violet whose body is exposed.

"Elaine? W-what are you doing here?" Violet reaches for a black towel from the wooden chair beside the tub to wrap around her body as she steps out. "I wasn't doing anything."

Violet walks to the mirror and hover over it, breathing heavily after holding it in for so long. She turns to Elaine who is in a long black mermaid dress and she furrows her eyebrows.

"Did Theo send you?"

"No, Thomas actually sent me –" Elaine grabs another towel and helps dry Violets hair. "– he said something about an argument and bringing you a makeup artist. What he didn't tell me is how stressed you must be."

Violet takes the extra towel out of Elaine's hand and starts walking out to her bedroom where women are steaming her dress and setting out makeup supplies.

Her hands drop to her sides at the sight of chaos in her bedroom and she shakes her head.

"Stressed doesn't even begin to explain what I'm feeling." she's pulled onto a chair and her eyes dart back up to Elaine. "Is this really necessary? I mean, I can do this on my own really."

"I'm afraid so." Elaine frowns and reaches into her purse that's hanging on her shoulder. She picks up a folded parchment and hands it over to Violet. "Draco, he- he gave this to me before leaving. I suppose there's no better moment to read it than now."

Violet feels her heart skip a beat and now she can remember it, his smell. His touch, his voice, every thing about him that she loved with every bone in her body. Every thing that would have made her say yes if he was to ever propose with that ring hidden under floorboards.

"Thank you." she smiles a real smile and holds the parchment tightly in her grip. "And thank you for the bathtub thing, you were right."

Elaine gives her a short bow of her head before apparating out of her bedroom, making her gust of wind blow Violet's damp hair back. She sighs and looks down at the paper in her hands, feeling scared to open it but nervous to leave it closed.

She takes a deep breath as she unfolds the parchment, getting a glimpse of cursive letters written in black ink. Her hands are shaking uncontrollably, making the words blur even more because of her watery eyes.

My Violet,

I wish our goodbye could have been under better circumstances. I wish I could have told you how much I loved you but I screwed up before I got the chance. You found out I left under the impression that I didn't love you enough to stay. But because I love you, I had to go. Your life was better without me in it, you said it yourself. I want you to live your life to the fullest and only remember our happiest moments together. I love you Violet.

Signed,

Professor Malfoy.

Violet's chin is lifted by the makeup artist in front of her and she's scolded because of the tears running down her pale face. Her under eyes are attacked with napkins to dry her tears before applying makeup on her swollen skin.

"No more crying." the older woman speaks in an angry tone. "We have strict instructions to have you perfect in an hour."

"Makeup and a hair do don't make me perfect." Violet sighs under her breath as she closes her eyes while the woman rubs a thick substance on her skin. "But do your thing."

****

Thomas' POV (Narrator):

"Those arrangements are in the wrong place!" Pansy can be heard from across the ballroom, shouting at the flower shop workers who just arrived. "Set them by the entrance! They need to create an aisle for our guests and hosts to walk through!"

Thomas shakes his head and takes another swig of the fire whiskey clutched in his hands. His left elbow is leaned carelessly against the bar that only he is drinking from at the moment. The chaos around him feels unreal, especially since its all for his future.

Pansy has everyone on their toes, doing everything exactly the way she tells them to or else they face her rage. Even Cressida is running around in an expensive dress and heels, doing everything her mother shouts at her to do. She barely has time to talk to Rose who's patiently sitting at one of the tables, writing things for Pansy.

"Merlin Tommy get off your ass and help me!" Cressida grunts as she walks into the ballroom, pushing a large clear crystal with as much force as she has. "We need this in the far-left corner!"

Thomas doesn't bother to get up from his comfortable seat; instead, he lifts his wand ands flies the crystal to the corner, causing Cressida to stumble forward with nothing holding her up anymore.

"Mum said no magic tonight!"

"You tell mum that I don't care about her damn rules!" Thomas shouts with anger, raising his bottle in the air between each other. "I'm already marrying the girl; I don't need her telling me when I can use magic now."

His words cause Cressida's eyebrows to shoot high and her lips gap in shock. Thomas has never disrespected Pansy; he's been a mommas boy since the day he was born. Everything she told him to do was done and every decision in his life, he needed her advice.

Cressida is about to say something when Thomas' jaw drops and his eyes land on the ballroom entrance. And there, behind Cressida is Violet. Violet standing in tall heels and a gold ball gown that her hands are resting on like they're floating on clouds.

She has her hair neatly straightened back and a beautiful necklace accentuating her collarbones that are sparkling with glitter. Her lips are curled into a forced smile but even from far away, Thomas can see how fast her chest is rising and sinking.

He can tell how nervous she is.

"Oh my!" Cressida cries out with squeals of excitement as she runs to Violet. "You look amazing!"

Thomas gulps as he watches them from the bar, Violet addicting smile making him blush. He hears a stool drag behind him and he turns to see Bridgette pouring herself a shot of tequila.

"You're marrying a great girl." she speaks with her head down and her slender fingers wrapped around the small shot glass. "You think that it's hard, but it is ten times harder for her. And your mood towards her isn't helping her feel better. But like I said –" she gets up from her chair and chugs her drink as she starts walking away. "– she's a great girl so, consider yourself lucky for being stuck with her and not anyone else."

As she walks away, Thomas turns back to Violet and smiles to himself, knowing that Bridgette said the truth. Being stuck with Violet isn't as the worst but then it doesn't mean he doesn't wish for it to be different because he does.

The next few seconds, guest are arriving in crowds through the ballroom doors and Thomas has lost sight of Violet. He wants to talk to her, form an alliance but now she's no where to be seen in this crowded room.

But even if she was to be seen, he wouldn't be able to reach her because he's surrounded by men and older woman congratulating him for what's going to happen.

Thomas feels someone grab him and he turns around and sees his mother and her lips moving. With everyone and every thing overwhelming him, he can't hear what his mum is trying to tell him. His heart is beating out of his chest and he has sweat accumulating on his forehead beneath his curls.

It's not just hitting him.

He's getting engaged.