Alessandra De Luca

[Alessandra De Luca]

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{ A B O U T . Y O U }

Name: SeraphAngel
Gender: Female
Age: 21
E-mail: [e-mail]
Twitter: twitter.com/SeraphAngel731
Years of RPG Experience: 1 ½ years
Other: FALCO

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{ Q U I C K . Q U I Z }

How did you find us? I joined some months ago, but I originally found the site through a Google search
What about ISS inspired you to join? I really liked that the members were so active, and the storylines seemed promising
Do you have any suggestions for us? Nothing at the moment

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{ A B O U T . T H E . C H A R A C T E R }

Name: Alessandra Sofia De Luca
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Year: 6th
Face Claim: Jessica Lowndes

Canon or Original? Original

Facial Properties: Although she doesn’t quite believe it when people tell her, Alessandra is a beautiful girl. She has a longish face with high cheekbones and well-proportioned, symmetrical features. Her smooth skin tans easily, lending her a healthy appearance. Her complexion is offset by the dash of freckles across her nose and cheeks, which become more pronounced in the summer. She’s not too fond of them, but other people tell her they look cute on her. Alessa’s eyes are easily her most striking feature, almond-shaped, with irises pigmented an attractive shade of green rimmed with blue. They are an expressive pair of eyes that can sparkle with mirth, glimmer with sadness, or glitter with anger, among a variety of other emotions. Alessa has an attentive gaze, preferring to look directly at people when they talk. Between her eyes lies the nose she inherited from her father, not so straight as to be boring, but not so distinctively shaped as to look out of place. Below the nose is a wide mouth with pink lips. The fullness of her lower lip has bestowed Alessa with a rather pretty pout, which she often uses when she wants something or when she is displeased. She has an attractive smile, complete with two rows of straight white teeth. She also has a pair of nondescript ears that are often hidden by her hair but typically adorned with a variety of earrings. Makeup is not an absolute necessity for her daily life, but she wears it when she goes out and when she feels like it. Alessa also possesses dark brown tresses that fall naturally into loose waves and curls. She changes her hairstyle like she changes her clothes—often. Her talent for Transfiguration enables her to change the length, cut, and texture of her hair as she pleases, although she doesn’t usually change the color. One day, it might be long and curly, and the next, it could be straight and shoulder-length with bangs. Alessa never knows, because she decides based on where her mood takes her.

Physique: Alessandra used to be a mere slip of a girl, straight up and down and stick thin. But then puberty hit, and she began to develop some more-than-modest curves. Around that time, she also became more interested in fashion, and she began to wear clothes that emphasized her positive physical attributes. Needless to say, that began to attract attention from the opposite sex. Alessa hasn’t grown any taller since reaching the height of 5’5” last year, but she doesn’t let that bother her, because she can always gain a few more inches by wearing high heels. Alessa is in pretty good physical shape, as she doesn’t shy away from exercise. Her breasts aren’t the largest ones she’s ever seen, but she likes to think they’re an appropriate size for her figure. Her flat stomach allows tight-fitting clothes to look more attractive on her, and she also likes to wear dresses that show off her shapely legs. Alessandra is very conscious of her personal appearance, a characteristic she got from her Italian father, who believes strongly in first impressions and always dresses well. When she has a choice, she usually wears stylish clothing that she picks out herself. Alessa loves variety, and she never wears the same thing two days in a row if she can help it. She hates that she has to wear the same, boring school robes day after day after day, and she’ll usually change out of them as soon as classes are over.

Wand Type: Holly, 10 ½”, pliable, Demiguise hair
Wand Expertise: Good for Transfiguration
Patronus: Jaguar
Boggart: Being alone in the dark

Personality: Alessandra likes to have fun. She enjoys singing, dancing, shopping, partying, even playing sports from time to time, anything where she can move, talk, be active in some way. She is a passionate person who wants to explore everything life has to offer. She loves to try new things, because for her, variety really is the spice of life. An adventurous girl, Alessa will try almost anything once, checking it out and making up her mind about it afterward. She likes to experience new things firsthand when she can, because it’s more exciting that way. Hearing about something from a friend or reading about something in a book isn’t good enough for her. She wants to see for herself. Alessandra gets bored with routine easily, and she’s always looking for something interesting or entertaining to capture her attention. Breaking the rules doesn’t bother her as long as no one gets seriously hurt and she gets to have fun. Alessa thrives on excitement, but that’s not to say that she can’t spend a tranquil afternoon just enjoying nature. She has an appreciation for beautiful things, especially flowers.

A naturally sociable girl, Alessandra has all kinds of friends and acquaintances. She’s incredibly outgoing, and she’ll often take the initiative to approach someone else in order to find out more about them. She likes getting to know people because every person is different and they all have something unique to offer. She doesn’t socialize simply to socialize; she is genuinely interested in the people she meets. Alessandra loves being around people, especially at parties. She tends to attract attention to herself through her charm and enthusiasm, and she can usually be counted on to liven things up. Although she has a large circle of acquaintances, she does hold certain friends closer to her heart. She cares a great deal about her close friends, and she won’t stand for anyone showing them disrespect. If someone insults a friend of hers in front of her, she won’t hesitate to take action. Alessa is willing to help her friends in any way she can, although she isn’t always the best person to ask for advice because she doesn’t always think things through as completely as she should.

Alessa is very impulsive, and her actions are typically driven by her emotions. She tends to do what feels good, even if it isn’t always the wisest choice. That’s why she tends to procrastinate on her homework until she absolutely has to get it done. Because it’s just not fun, and she always wants to maximize the amount of time she spends having fun. Normally, Alessandra is a cheerful, fun-loving girl, but it doesn’t take much to change her mood. If the situation warrants it, she can go from happy to angry in an instant. She inherited her father’s quick temper, and it can flare up quickly if she sees or hears something that she doesn’t like. When she’s angry, she is very likely to act before thinking, and she becomes much more stubborn and difficult to deal with. However, it can go the other way just as easily; she can shed the anger easily if something positive happens. Alessandra appears confident in herself, and she usually is, but when she goes through difficult times, that aspect of her personality sometimes falters. Underneath her vivacious exterior is a vulnerable little girl who still hears her sister’s taunts that she isn’t good enough. Her hidden insecurities are the reason that she likes to be complimented, why she likes to be told that she’s beautiful even though she should know it by now, and why she gets jealous if the boy she’s dating looks at another girl. She needs the reassurance to feel good about herself. Then she can stand tall and be the Alessandra De Luca her friends know and love. Because she is such an expressive individual, Alessa’s emotions are pretty easy to read. The way she feels at any given moment is usually obvious in her facial expression and body posture. She doesn’t usually try to hide her feelings, but when she does, she almost never manages to pull it off completely.

Alessandra can also be quite flirtatious. As a naturally playful person, flirting comes easily to her, made all the easier by her Italian heritage. Many boys find her faint accent and use of Italian terms of endearment appealing. Alessa enjoys flirting with boys because it gives her an exciting little thrill. She doesn’t always mean to flirt, however—her direct gaze and habits of touching people and standing relatively close to them are often mistaken for flirting behavior. Although flirting is fun, what she really loves is dating. Alessa is distinctly feminine, and she wants to be regarded as such. She likes being treated delicately, and she prefers to date boys who know how to show courteous behavior to girls. She usually falls for charismatic boys who know just the right words to say to get her interested. She doesn’t mind casually dating someone, but she would definitely prefer to have a boyfriend. Jealousy is an emotion Alessa struggles with often in her dating life, and one thing she absolutely hates is infidelity. Once a boy has committed to her, she can’t stand the idea of not being special enough for his attention to stay on her instead of wandering to other girls.

Although she’s not an unintelligent girl, Alessandra’s school record as a whole is quite average. The marks she receives are determined less by her intellect and more by her interest in the subjects she is learning. She does exceptionally well in Transfiguration, for example, because the very essence of it, the concept of change, appeals to her. Another one of her favorite subjects is Herbology. She loves the feeling she gets by taking care of something alive and helping it grow and change right before her eyes. She thinks that History of Magic and Arithmancy are incredibly stale, dull subjects because nothing really happens in those classes. She also doesn’t care much for homework, usually choosing to do more fun things before she gets down to business.

Likes:
+Aidan Donnelly
+Hers and Aidan’s special place
+Trying new things
+Parties
+Shopping
+Feeling special
+Singing
+Dancing
+Flowers
+Herbology & Transfiguration
Dislikes:
–Her sister
–Infidelity
–Discrimination
–Rudeness
–Being bored
–Homework
–Being alone in the dark
–Being cold
–Snakes and bugs
–History of Magic & Arithmancy

History: Antonio Roberto De Luca was a made man. The eldest son of Italian mafia don Alessandro De Luca, he made his bones at the age of eighteen by killing a low-ranking member of “the family” who was discovered to have become an informant for the police. In the years following his induction into the mafia, he became talented at making hits. Eventually, he racked up a great number of successful ones, earning him the nickname “Tonio Insanguinato,” or “Bloody Tony.” A respectful and loyal member, he garnered the good opinion of his superiors and rose steadily through the ranks. When he proved himself to be a valuable earner for the family, he was promoted to the position of caporegime, in charge of his own crew within the mafia. At twenty-eight, he inherited “the business” when his father was gunned down by a rival mafia family. Antonio took the reins in the bloody conflict that ensued, leading the De Luca mafia family to victory over their rivals.

After his father’s death, in addition to becoming a mafia boss, Antonio also became the new head of the De Luca household. Now responsible for looking after his six younger siblings and his grieving mother, he found himself in need of a hobby to relieve his stress. He began to take an interest in the wine industry, and before long, he was attending his first wine tasting. When another patron accidentally spilled red wine on his expensive new suit, he almost lost his temper, but a young foreign woman intervened and offered to help. She dabbed at the discolored area with a cloth for a while, but it didn’t seem to be working, so he looked away to find a member of the staff. When he looked back again, the stain had disappeared, as if by magic. Surprised that she’d been able to get such a difficult stain out so quickly, he thanked her and introduced himself. He spoke some English, and she proved to have a working knowledge of the local language, able to speak passable Italian despite her atrocious accent. Her name was Isabel, and she turned out to be the heiress to the Ballantine wine company, which was based in England. She was nineteen years old, and she had been living in Italy for the past year to take in the culture and perhaps learn a thing or two about Italian wine. Isabel was a lively, flirtatious young woman, and despite their very different backgrounds, Antonio found himself attracted to her. Over the next few months, they continued to bump into each other at various wine tasting events, becoming more interested in each other each time. Finally, on one such occasion, Isabel decided she’d had enough of waiting and asked Antonio, “When are you going to take me to dinner?” The answer turned out to be the very next evening. They had a lovely time, which paved the way for many more such evenings to come.

Two years later, they were married. To Antonio’s relief, Isabel didn’t have too much trouble accepting her husband’s criminal background. For her, it was enough that he loved and cared for her and treated her well. When the news of Antonio’s marriage to a non-Italian spread, people in the mafia community began to talk, saying he’d had lost respect for tradition and wondering if he was meant to hold his late father’s position as don. Two months after his wedding, Antonio put a stop to the talk by pulling off one of the biggest illegal arms trafficking operations any of them had ever seen. He made an enormous pile of money, and people began to call him Antonio “Straricco,” or “Filthy Rich,” De Luca. Not too long after, Isabel told him she was pregnant. Deciding that they needed more room to start a family, Antonio used his ill-gotten gains to buy a new house that was even bigger than the mansion they already lived in. When their first child, a girl, was born several months later, they named her Carmina, which meant “vineyard,” with the middle name Francesca, after Antonio’s mother. They doted on her, as any new parents would, and Antonio was rarely able to keep himself from spoiling her just like he spoiled Isabel.

One day, when Carmina was barely a year old, Isabel and Antonio took her on a stroll through the park. Afterward, as they were leaving the park, Isabel began to push the stroller from the sidewalk onto the street when an out-of-control car came screeching toward them. On instinct, she immediately grabbed the child from the stroller. Antonio, who hadn’t yet stepped onto the street, watched, astonished, as Isabel and Carmina disappeared from sight, only to reappear behind him. Later, after they’d gotten home safely, Isabel finally revealed to her husband that she was a witch, with magical powers. She explained her family history to him, telling him that the Ballantines, a family of Muggles (or non-magical people, as Isabel had to explain), had been struggling in the wine industry for many years before Richard, Isabel’s father, was born. Richard was a wizard, the first one born into the family as far as anyone knew. When he finished his magical education and came of age, he came up with a solution to help the family business. He used lucrative, but not so scrupulous, magical techniques to Transfigure water into wine, which Antonio took as blasphemy against Gesù until Isabel performed the same feat right in front of his eyes. Magic was the force that had created the Ballantine fortune. Now, their wineries used more legitimate techniques to produce their product, but the vineyards still received a magical helping hand from Isabel’s wizard father. Antonio struggled with his wife’s secret at first, unable to decide whether her magical abilities were a gift from God or the devil, but he eventually came to terms with it. If her use of magic was a sin, she could confess it in church, and everything would be all right.

Two years later, Isabel began to experience severe pelvic pains along with a number of other symptoms. At Antonio’s insistence, she went to the finest Muggle gynecologist in the region, who diagnosed her with a condition called endometriosis and told her that she could have trouble getting pregnant. With treatment, the pain lessened but didn’t go away completely. Despite the difficulty, Isabel and Antonio kept trying to have another child, and they finally succeeded when Carmina was five years old. Their second daughter was named Alessandra Sofia, as homage to Antonio’s late father and Isabel’s late mother. When they brought her home, Carmina took an interest in her little sister at first, but before long, she began to be annoyed by the baby’s constant presence in their home. Having spent her whole life until her sister’s birth as the center of her parents’ lives, Carmina had a difficult time sharing the spotlight. She didn’t know or care why, but she recognized that her parents had stopped paying as much attention to her and all the focus was on the new baby. Isabel’s next pregnancy was an ectopic one, and it had to be surgically removed. Although Antonio had grown up in a large family and had always expected to have one of his own, he made the decision that they should stop trying to have more children. It was too much of a risk for his beloved wife’s health, and they already had two beautiful little girls. Because she was the last child her parents would ever have, Alessandra grew up pampered, especially by her father. She was la coccolina di papà, or daddy’s little girl. She tended to get whatever she asked for, as long as she was polite and well-behaved. She was an energetic, happy child who loved to explore. As soon as she learned how to crawl, her caretakers spent much of their time chasing after her as she zoomed around the house. She was fearless in her toddler-age adventures, except for her irrational fear of the dark. Carmina largely ignored her little sister as she grew up, because she couldn’t see how Alessandra could possibly be so special as to warrant such attention from her.

When Alessandra was five, Isabel received word that her father had died of pneumonia. She was the sole beneficiary of his will, inheriting the rights to the Ballantine wine company and the mansion she’d lived in as a child. Although they’d lived happily in Italy together for over ten years, Isabel told Antonio that she wanted to return to England. Antonio, who’d never been able to refuse his wife anything she truly desired, made arrangements to continue running the organization from overseas. He promoted his brother Vittore, one of his most trusted capos, to underboss to oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization in the don’s absence. When Antonio finally made the move to England, he kept in close contact with Vittore to ensure that things were running smoothly. Using the acquisition of the Ballantine wine company to his benefit, Antonio began to hide some of his illegal operations under the legitimate winery business. Eventually, he came to be known in mafia circles as “Il Viticoltore,” or “The Winemaker.” While Antonio was busy handling his business affairs, his wife and children began to adjust to their new home. A few days after the move to England, five-year-old Alessandra discovered that her favorite toy had been damaged while being transported from Italy. Losing her temper, she threw the doll on the ground, only for it bounce straight up to the ceiling and back again, in a way that it was not designed to do. Realizing that her second daughter had just shown signs of magic, Isabel took her aside and explained that she would be a witch just like her. When Alessandra asked whether her sister was a witch as well, Isabel said she didn’t think Carmina shared their gift, and that they’d know for sure by her next birthday. The birthday passed, and nothing happened; Carmina was a Muggle. Jealous of the extra attention her mother bestowed upon her younger daughter from then on, Carmina continued to treat her sister poorly. She began to place the blame on Alessandra for things she hadn’t done, saying she’d been using magic. This backfired, because, knowing the volatile nature of untrained magic, Isabel never punished Alessa for such incidents. Instead, she’d take her aside and comfort her, which always added to Carmina’s ire, leading to even worse torment for Alessandra. Carmina said awful, hurtful things to Alessa during her childhood, planting seeds of self-doubt in her mind and undermining her self-confidence.

A few months after they’d settled into the Ballantine mansion in England, Antonio and Isabel were nearly finished dining at a restaurant in the city when one of Antonio’s “associates” approached him with an urgent message. Irritated at the interruption, Antonio took the message anyway, telling his wife that he’d be outside shortly. Stepping outside the restaurant first, Isabel was immediately set upon by a group of street punks, who began making crude sexual remarks toward her. About to retreat inside to find her husband, Isabel was surprised when a man appeared from out of nowhere and put a gun to one of the boys’ heads, just in time for Antonio to witness as he came out of the restaurant. Impressed with the man’s boldness and to show his gratitude for the lesson in respect that the man had taught the punks who’d been harassing his wife, Antonio asked the man his name and offered him a job in his “organization.” The man’s name was Liam Donnelly, and he was the first and only non-Italian to join the De Luca mafia family. Later, Antonio discovered that Donnelly’s family lived in the same area that his family did, and, at Isabel’s urging, he extended a dinner invitation to Donnelly and his wife Ceara. Isabel hit it off splendidly with Ceara that night, and, after a few more meetings, the two became friends.

One day, when Alessandra was seven years old, Donnelly brought his son Aidan to the De Luca’s mansion. Isabel had suggested it after finding out that the Donnellys had a child who was the same age as Alessa. They took to each other immediately, like-minded in their spontaneity and adventurousness. Within the next few visits, they were good friends. They didn’t get to see each other during the school day because Alessa attended an expensive Catholic private school while Aidan went to the nearby public school, but they still saw each other a few times a week, after school or on weekends. Their friendship was ultimately cemented when they were eight years old, on one of the rare occasions that Alessandra’s sister agreed to play with them. Aidan had brought his little sister Fiona with him that day, and they’d just decided to play hide and seek when Carmina asked if she could join. They agreed, and Aidan was chosen to be the seeker. While he was counting, Carmina and Alessa left the room by the same door, while Fiona ran off in another direction. The two sisters found a room far away from the starting place and began to look for places to hide. Taking notice of a closet door, Alessa opened it and stepped inside, only to realize that it was too dark for her in there without a light. Turning around to try to find another hiding place, Alessa’s ears were met with the sound of a click coming from the lock on the closet door. She heard Carmina’s voice from outside, taunting her, saying that not even magic could help her because she was too much of a coward to use it in the dark. Alessa banged on the door for a while, calling for someone to open it. No one came, and after several minutes, her fear of the dark got to her, and all she could do was sit with her arms around her knees, crying. She didn’t know how much time passed until it happened, but finally the door opened, letting in the blessed light. Alessa stumbled out and latched onto the person who’d opened it, who turned out to be Aidan. Awkwardly returning the embrace, Aidan said to her, “Don't be scared, Alessa. I'll keep you safe from the dark.” From then on, Alessandra considered Aidan her very best friend, even closer than Chelsea Stewart from school. The next year, Carmina went away to a prestigious boarding school in America, finally affording Alessa some relief from the persecution, something for which Aidan was glad as well. When they were nine, on one of their excursions without Fiona, the two of them found a scenic spot by a tree and a small pond near the edge of the De Luca property. Alessandra took to calling it “nostro posto speciale,” or “our special place.” She and Aidan went there whenever they wanted to be alone, and they would spend hours there just talking or whatever else tickled their fancy.

During the summer of Alessandra’s eleventh birthday, the Ballantine-De Luca mansion was visited by an owl carrying her acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Antonio was hesitant to let his little girl go somewhere where his power didn’t reach, but Isabel assured him that the Hogwarts staff would look after Alessa’s safety. Alessandra herself was excited at the prospect of being able to start learning magic and experiencing all kinds of new things in the world her mother had told her about. Her enthusiasm was dulled only when Isabel told her that if she went to Hogwarts, she’d have to leave her best friends behind. She was torn for a while, not wanting to leave Chelsea, Fiona, and especially Aidan behind, but after realizing that she’d be able to see them every few months on holiday breaks, she decided she really wanted to go after all. On the day of her birthday party, she told her friends that she’d be leaving for boarding school in the fall, making sure not to mention anything about magic. The day before she left for Hogwarts, Alessa said a tearful goodbye to Aidan at their special place, expecting not to see him until Christmas. When the morning of September first finally arrived, however, eagerness had replaced her sadness, and she arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters with a cheerful disposition. She was able to make a few friends on the train ride to Hogwarts, easing any anxiety she may have felt about leaving home. After arriving at the castle, the first years were taken aside and told that they would be “Sorted” into four different Houses. Unsure what that meant, Alessandra was a tad surprised when she saw the magical Sorting Hat sitting on a stool at the front of the Great Hall. She waited with the other students, her eyes trained at the front of the room until her name was called and it was her turn to sit on the stool while the ratty old hat on her head decided her fate. When the Sorting Hat shouted out the name of the House she’d be joining for the next seven years, she ran excitedly to join her new Housemates at the long table. She’d barely gotten herself seated when she heard the professor call out, “Donnelly, Aidan!” Her head snapped right back toward the stool she’d just vacated. It couldn’t be the same person—but it was. The Aidan Donnelly she’d known for four years, the best friend she thought she’d left at home, was here, at Hogwarts. She couldn’t believe it. He was a wizard too! After the Sorting, she confronted him about why he hadn’t told her that they’d be going to the same school, while he said very much the same thing to her. In the end, they were both happy to see each other and relieved that they’d have at least one familiar person with them in this new environment.

Aidan’s presence eased the transition considerably for Alessandra. The two of them fell right back into the friendship they’d had before they left home. In their first few years at Hogwarts, they were inseparable. They walked to their classes together, sat next to each other in classes and at mealtimes, wrote notes to each other when they were supposed to be paying attention in class, spent time together after classes and on weekends, all the things that best friends do. Things between them remained the same until their third year, when Alessa looked up from her Transfiguration homework one day and realized that the boy sitting next to her, Aidan, her best friend, was cute. Well, he'd always been cute, but now he was cute. It was as if she were seeing him for the first time in months. When had this happened? How had he become so much taller than her without her noticing? When had he become so very attractive? His face had lost the roundness of youth, his eyes seemed bluer than ever, and his smile… well, she’d always loved his smile. What was a girl of thirteen supposed to do when she realized she had a crush on her best friend? Hide it from him, of course. The next year was awkward for her as she tried to keep Aidan from finding out about her feelings for him in case he didn’t feel the same way. She flirted occasionally with other boys in whom she had a passing interest, and she began to notice that Aidan was beginning to show interest in other girls. Convinced that that meant he didn’t want to be anything more than best friends with her, Alessa kept her feelings to herself until a tragic event occurred in the middle of their fourth year. Aidan’s mother passed away after losing a battle with brain cancer. When Aidan returned to Hogwarts after his mother’s funeral, he wasn’t handling it too well. One day, completely losing her head in her desire to comfort him, Alessandra kissed him. Mortified by what she’d just done, she began to pull away—and was surprised when Aidan kissed her back. The next day, they began walking through the halls holding hands, but Alessa remained unsure of how to define their relationship until Aidan suddenly asked a week later, “So… you’re my girlfriend, right?” Alessa happily confirmed that she was, and they became an official couple.

Since then, Aidan and Alessandra’s relationship has been a tumultuous one. They’ve never been able to stay together for very long but never able to be apart for long either. They bicker often and usually make up the next day or even just a few minutes afterward, but sometimes they have terrible spats in which one or the other decides that enough is enough, and they break up. Every time they break up, Alessa thinks she's done with him, but she isn't. She’ll date other boys, fully intending to leave her romance with Aidan behind her each time, but inevitably, she’ll come to miss him, because he isn’t just her boyfriend, he’s her best friend. They always renew their friendship, and eventually more than their friendship. Now, going into their sixth year, they’re together again and happier than ever, but who knows if things will change?

Sample Post: Lucius stood in the foyer of Malfoy Manor, leaning on the banister of the grand staircase, boredom evident in his face and posture. Arms crossed, Lucius had begun to slouch slightly, no longer adhering to the rules of posture instilled in him from years of training. He sighed, glancing toward the hallway near the stairs. He’d finished getting ready for the Graces’ party nearly an hour ago, dressing himself in the black and green dress robes that had been chosen and laid out on his bed by his mother. It seemed, however, that his parents were not as determined to prepare themselves for the evening in as timely a manner as he had. He’d been standing in the foyer for nearly fifteen minutes already, and his parents still hadn’t arrived to leave for the party. At this rate, they were going to completely miss the event—not that he would be opposed if they did. He knew Narcissa would inevitably be there, because there was absolutely no way that the Blacks would miss this event. It was much the same with his own family; no matter how little they actually cared about the Graces, the Malfoys could never, ever be seen to be missing from such a high-profile social affair. Unfortunately. Lucius wasn’t sure what he would do once he saw Narcissa there, in such close proximity. He hadn’t seen much of her or talked to her at all since the… incident. He remained undecided about his standpoint on their relationship, but his recent encounter with Alecto Carrow had proven to him that he no longer wanted anyone who was not Narcissa. The thought of dating other girls now repulsed him, an altogether unsettling feeling, because he’d always before held only fleeting interests in individual girls. Easier though it would almost certainly be to deal with someone—anyone—other than Narcissa, the only one he desired to be with was her. The intensity of his feelings for her was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.

Lucius’s head snapped up when he heard footsteps. His mother appeared from the hallway and made a beeline for him, immediately starting to readjust his tie. He sighed. “Stop fussing, Mother, nothing’s wrong with it.” She continued to rearrange his clothing, pulling and smoothing the fabric as she saw fit. Lucius rolled his eyes and asked, “Is Father coming? We’re already late.” His mother replied, “It’s all right to be late to a party, dear. That’s why they call it being ‘fashionably late.’” Keeping her eyes fixed carefully on the tie she was adjusting for the second time, she murmured, “He’s not in the best mood, darling. It might be best to steer clear of him tonight.” The advice wasn’t necessary, as Lucius had learned long ago not to aggravate his father when he was in a bad mood. Though it hardly mattered what he did, anyway—whether his father called for him on a night like this inevitably boiled down to how much alcohol he had imbibed that evening. Looking past his mother’s head, Lucius involuntarily straightened his back when he saw his father come into the foyer, followed by a nervous house-elf. His father was walking quickly, putting on his cloak as he passed his wife and son. “What are you standing around for?” he barked. “Aren’t we already late?” He strode toward the front door, which was being held open by the house-elves. Together, the Malfoys walked outside, where a handsome carriage awaited them. Lucius would have preferred Apparation instead of this utterly slow method of travel, but carriages were in style now, and it simply wouldn’t do for the Malfoys to arrive in anything less than the most fashionable one they could find.

When the carriage finally reached its destination, the Malfoys descended from the carriage and approached the Graces’ mansion. As they passed through the front door, their names were announced loudly enough for everyone to hear above the music. The three of them swept inside, casting appraising glances around the room at the décor and the guests. Lucius’s father immediately seized a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and walked away to talk to someone he’d just seen. His wife allowed her face to betray only the slightest amount of worry before she smiled and turned to her son. “I see the Blacks have already arrived,” she said. “Oh, there’s Druella and her darling girl, Narcissa. Come, Lucius, let’s greet them. It’s polite.” If there was anything Lucius felt like being tonight, it was certainly not polite. He followed his mother silently across the room to where Narcissa was standing with her mother and another girl. “Druella!” his mother called pleasantly, taking the other woman’s hand and kissing her on the cheek. “It’s been some time, hasn’t it? Oh my,” she said, turning toward Narcissa, “you look stunning tonight, my dear. Absolutely gorgeous. Doesn’t she, Lucius?” She raised an expectant eyebrow at him, waiting for him to affirm her compliment.

Slowly, Lucius shifted his gaze to look directly at Narcissa. He met her eyes once, briefly, before taking in the rest of her appearance. It was true, she did indeed look stunning. From her stylish dress to her diamond jewelry, she was the very picture of elegance. Something tensed inside his chest, and Lucius averted his gaze, making a noncommittal noise of agreement in order to satisfy his mother. Looking away from Narcissa, his eyes were drawn immediately to the girl standing next to her in a lavender gown. He remained at a loss as to the girl’s identity until he noticed the distinctive glasses. Oh, yes, Priscilla Pryce. She looked only vaguely like the girl he was used to seeing at school, with makeup that was decidedly too heavy and her long, brown locks falling gracefully down her back instead of pulled away from her face. She looked nervous, as if she felt out of place. As the strains of a lively new song reached his ears, he saw his mother’s hand about to descend onto his shoulder. To avoid being forced to be “polite” and make further small talk with Narcissa and her mother, Lucius turned swiftly back to Priscilla. Taking a small step toward her, he asked, “Would you like to dance?”

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{ C O N T R A C T }

I solemnly swear that I, SERAPHANGEL, have read the rules, understand clearly what my responsibilities are now that I am joining ISS, and will abide by these standards set by the staff.

[Professor Albus Dumbledore]

ACCEPTED !