Chapter Eleven: We Are Nothing Without It.

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"And then a hippogriff came out of nowhere and swooped in." An enthusiastic woman explained, her hands wildly mimicked the movement of the hippogriff with her right hand and sloshing her drink with her left. The crowd around her attempted to follow the movements aside from Freya, who was trying to keep the bourbon off her shoes. "Nearly took off my leg, but I'm rather quick."

"How impressive," Freya hoped Regulus would return soon

"Not as impressive as the time I nearly got taken out by one those mermaids, you see—"

"Freya, how lovely it is to see you." Narcissa Black said in a smooth and refined voice. With the barest upturn of a lip, she looked at the older woman. "Sorry, mind if I steal her away for a moment?"

The woman gave a dismissive wave, then turned back to the rest of the group. "Anyway, I was way out in the ocean."

Side by side, Narcissa walked with Freya. The straight-haired girl was slightly taller than her in heels but carried herself in a far more regal manner that Freya tried to emulate. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Very much so," Freya answered, correcting her posture even more.

Impeccably dressed in a black long-sleeved dress and smoothed-out hair, Narcissa strolled around the house. She wasn't exactly "beautiful," yet she was pretty and knew how to keep the illusion she was. Fair-skinned without a blemish in sight, the only issue on her face would be the slight scowl that came with it, though that was simply her resting face.

"And Regulus is good company?"

Freya nodded slightly, wondering how Narcissa and Walburga managed to keep a conversation and barely look at the person they were speaking to. "Of course, he's one of my dearest friends."

"Yes, he is." A stronger curve came to Narcissa's mouth, and it looked rather odd, to be honest. "Very handsome, wouldn't you say?"

Freya knew cousin-to-cousin marriage was "normal" to British purebloods, but it still seems rather odd, especially since she thought Narcissa was being courted by Lucious. After an awkward beat, Freya managed to say, "Yes... he's got a lovely nose." then regretted it quickly. Sipping the gold beverage, she looked at a random man across the room. "Is that your sister's husband?"

"Rodolphus Lestrange." She explained with a nod, "He's quite close to my uncle, but most of the men are." Her blues eyes went to Freya. "Family is very important to us."

Freya felt like she was being inspected again. "Of course, we are nothing without it."

"Indeed." Pleased with the response, Narcissa gently stroked a curl that framed Freya's face. "You have beautiful hair."

"Thank you."

Dropping her hand, Narcissa's blue eyes drifted back to her face. "You took your owls this year, yes?"

"Yes."

"And how do you think you did?"

"Well, I hope," Freya admitted, a slight joking tone in her voice, but quickly fixed and noticed they had stopped strolling a while ago.

Narcissa didn't seem to respond to the lighter tone Freya used and continued to pry. "And what do you plan to do with your scores?"

It felt like a spotlight was placed on her, and she didn't know why. "Find a good job, possibly working at the ministry."

Narcissa nodded. "Interesting."

If Freya had given the wrong answer, she really didn't know what the right one was. Then she glanced at Narcissa's long garment. "Your dress looks beautiful."

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