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ENGAGEMENT PARTY ┕━━━━━━━★━━━━━━━┙
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.
