Winter (Draco x Reader)

Chapter 20- The Tea Party

The sunshine, intermittently blocked by large storm clouds, warmed the surface of my closed eyelids. I basked in the unusually hot summer day, the cat resting on her cushion nearby with eyes narrowed to glowing yellow slits. Tendrils of my parents' conversation drifted from the sitting room window. 

"Thank goodness we managed to get this sorted." My father's baritone was barely audible. 

"It was too close, F/N," my mother huffed. "We can't compromise her safety; that was the condition from the start."

"We won't. This is for the greater good."

A light breeze ruffled the cat's fur, and I sneezed from the pollen.

Eyes wide, I glanced back towards the mansion. There was a pregnant silence, and I exhaled. Creeping deeper into the rose garden, I ducked behind the biggest bush, extracting a novel from my bag. It was the first time in three days I had been able to sneak outside.

"Y/N?" my mother's frantic voice sounded not a moment later. "Y/N, where are you?"

My heart sank. I clambered to my feet, sheepishly tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "Here, mother."

Her worried gaze narrowed as I approached. "Inside. Now."

She whacked the back of my head as I passed, ushering me in faster. I stumbled over the thick carpet, dragging dirty mud tracks onto it with my trainers. Her eyes darted back and forth like they were governed by a metronome. Hunching her shoulders, she checked all the locks on the French doors, the turn of her wrist shaking uncontrollably. 

When she turned back to me, it was like she had deflated. Her usually bright eyes had a dull, fish-like look to them, and I couldn't recall ever seeing those wrinkles near her mouth. 

"I told you not to go out," she said. I rocked back on my heels, avoiding her gaze. "Y/N, it's not safe."

"But why?" I complained, on the edge of a frustrated whine. "I don't understand, Mother. Why can't I read outside?"

She sighed heavily, trailing her fingers across the burnished copper handle. She abruptly pulled back as though it had burned her, holding her hands behind her back. "You don't need to be involved."

Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the hallway mirror, she turned to face it fully. She adjusted the tit of her lavender fascinator and twirled a shiny curl back into place. "Don't forget, love," she said. "We are hosting afternoon tea today. Be ready by three."

I groaned internally, watching her walk away, already ordering the house elves about. 

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The longer I stayed at the manor, the more erratic my parents' behavior became. Keeping me hidden at all times was simply the latest thing on the list. It had come on gradually -- first, I wasn't to stay out after dark. Then, my owling had been restricted. Now, this. I began to braid my hair glumly. The tables had definitely turned since Christmas if my biggest wish was now to return to Hogwarts as fast as possible. 

There was a knock on the door. It creaked open, Rooky's small face reflecting in my mirror. "Your dress for this afternoon, miss."

I gagged. It was a mountain of sap-green frills and ornamental, gilded pearls, set so stiffly it could have stood by itself. "I thought it was just a tea party."

Rooky almost looked like he pitied me. "If I may, Miss Y/N... It's never just a tea party."

The bubbling sound of voices and doors closing began to waft through the open door and Rooky excused himself. I slid the dress on hurriedly, struggling with the zipper where it caught on the ruffles. Clasping my snake bracelet around my wrist, I hurried downstairs.