UNLEASH | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 6)

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By the time Aine reached the evening ball which many notable wizarding aristocrats would attend, it was already nightfall. A large majestic marble staircase greeted her, Draco and Cyrus when they arrived. The manor's butler was already waiting for them upon their arrival and he graced their presence before leading them to the ballroom where the main party would be held.

When the thick dark-brown stained door groans open, Aine squinted a little at the blinding room. The black and gold marbled floor reflected many pairs of dress shoes and heels, filled with hundreds of witches and wizards who held an esteemed reputation in the Wizarding World. Some of the purest of blood, some not so much, but still held a prestigious title for themselves. Each individual who was invited represented a noble family and at least half of them were families that Aine had recognized. 

Her eyes scanned across the lavish room, locking eyes with each of the faces who had turned to look at her. She ingrains their faces into her mind, matching their appearance to which family they had come from. Although there were about a hundred of them, almost one-third were individuals who worked for her father, who swore fealty to the Dark Lord. They include Deatheaters, Snatchers and even Ministry officials who were all spies and pawns of Voldemort. 

Avery. Bulstrode. Burke. Carrow. Fawley. Flint. Greengrass. Lestrange. Macmillan. Nott. Parkinson. Rosier. Rowle. Selwyn. Travers. Yaxley...

With their arrival, the number of distinguished guests increased as representatives of the Azuli, Malfoy and Estoileon households were present, which also meant additional members of the Dark Lord's army were sent here to scout for more allies. Although Aine was by blood a Riddle, she was still legally an Estoileon and decided to keep her last name.

She exhales through her nose, feeling overwhelmed with all of the attention from the many pairs of eyes staring, gawking, and admiring her. She could already hear the whispers going on, the thoughts that those people were thinking, loud and clear, and slowly swallowing and drowning out her own. Instead, She decided to focus on the environment to calm herself down and took in every little detail of the place like secret spots, potential escape routes and hidden crevices that no one bothered to spare a look at. 

It was a rather large ballroom albeit smaller than the Great Hall of Hogwarts, it was definitely more extravagant. Every corner screams luxury and the amount of gold and sparkly accents in the room was enough to make any Niffler go wild. It was a Niffler paradise.

The walls were higher than two floors and curved with crown mouldings on them, there were carved medallions of flower motifs on the hand-painted ceiling where jewels were embedded in the stone. Several tiered crystal chandeliers were hung from it, massive like the one she first saw in Gringotts Bank and they glittered in the soft warm lighting, sending fragments of their reflections to dance and scatter across the room.

Despite the ballroom being filled with chandeliers and hanging sconces, the room was rather dim and heavy like the atmosphere. Perhaps it was also because most of the windows were shut and concealed with thick drapes of dark purple velvet, further enclosing the environment from the outside world. However, there were at least two windows with curtains tied to the side with beaded pearl chains which led to outside balconies.

If Aine were to describe the setting in one word, it would be that it was grandeur, almost as if it was decorated to impress and brag about one's opulence. There was a large amount of the colour gold used along with black marbled tiles that probably had been polished every single day. With every turn of a head, brilliantly cut gemstones of every colour dazzled the eyes.

Draco gently tugs on her arm before he slides his hand down to intertwine hers. She redirects her focus to him and he smiles, slowly blinking at her. "Are you alright?" he asks, worry in his eyes. It was her first official debut to the public as the Dark Lord's daughter after all.