Unwhispered Words

I stared down at the letter in my hand, reading over the words I had chosen so meticulously, once again. It was perfect. If I really wanted to be with Draco, this was the ticket to getting him. Now all I had to do was send it, and yet I hadn’t. I had been thinking about it for a few days now, wondering if I really wanted to send it at all. If I did, Draco and I could finally be together, but is that what I really want?

When I’m around him, I lose my train of thought, and immediately jump to conclusions about everything that could potentially involve him, and yet I never stop to consider that I hardly even know Draco. Why would I want to be with a boy I barely know, and why would I want to throw myself into another relationship after getting out of one with Harry? Even I admit that it would be much too quick, even if I no longer wanted to be with him.

I stuffed the letter back in my trunk before heading down to the front entrance of Hogwarts. Since Dumbledore agreed to let us have the Halloween dance, he was also allowing us an extra weekend long trip in Hogsmeade to pick out our costumes.

After a long conversation, I finally convinced Harry that I didn’t want to go in couple costumes. He was confused at first, but I told him that if we both chose to be an individual thing, rather than two things that would go together, we would have a lot more variety to choose from, and I love having choices. He was reluctant, but he agreed. He already knew what he was going as too. I, on the other hand, had no idea in the slightest.

Since he already had his costume picked out and bought, Harry decided not to go to Hogsmeade, which honestly surprised me. He’s never passed up an opportunity to spend time with me, not that I’m complaining. He told me he was going to use the time to get ahead on schoolwork so he wouldn’t have to worry about it with the dance coming up, but I also found that funny. Harry is the world’s best procrastinator.

I pushed the thoughts out of my mind as I began the long walk to Hogsmeade alone. This is probably one of the only times I can think of in recent weeks that I actually miss having Harry beside me. The weather was starting to get cooler, so it would have been nice to have someone to snuggle up next to, and I definitely wouldn’t mind the company. Although I’ve always been comfortable in solitude, the trip to Hogsmeade was one thing that I never liked to do alone. I sighed, stuffing my mitten covered hands into my coat pocket.

Hogsmeade came into view not too long later, and I immediately made a beeline for a store they had opened just for this occasion. Man, Dumbledore really can pull some strings. I pushed the door open, the tingle of a bell resounding above me, announcing my arrival. From the outside, the building looked meek and worn down, but the inside was absolutely phenomenal. Row upon row of costumes were available for my choosing.

A customer service representative walked up to me, smiling. “Hello. Welcome to the Jack O’ Lantern Halloween store, where we offer more variety than any other store and the most authentic decorations and costumes you can find. My name is Alexia, but you can call me Lexi, and I’ll be helping you today.”

She was absolutely gorgeous. Her skin was nicely tanned, which was odd considering we were entering winter time, and she had long blonde hair, the underneath was dyed black, that reached down to the middle of her back, with warm chocolate brown eyes that made me feel welcome the moment I walked through the door. She stood eye level with me, which meant she was at least 5’9”.

I grinned at her. “Hi, Lexi. My name’s Charlotte. It’s nice to meet you.” I extended my hand out to her. She took it in hers, shaking it firmly.

“The pleasure is all mine, madam. So, what can I help you with today? Do you have any ideas?”

“Not in the slightest, actually.” I laughed. She nodded in understanding.

“You aren’t the only person who’s had this problem, I promise. Follow me.”

She led me down the middle of the two center rows towards the back of the store. I couldn’t help but get caught up in all the costumes as I went. They sparkled, glimmered, and shined in all the right ways. It was any girls dream. Maybe I could be a mermaid, or an Egyptian Goddess? So many ideas popped into my head as I passed the endless amount of costumes.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here, but I have the perfect costume. As soon as you walked into the store, I knew it would look absolutely phenomenal on you, that is, if you’re willing to give it a chance?”

“I’m willing to try anything once! Especially when I have absolutely no solid ideas of my own.”

We both laughed, approaching another door labeled “Employee’s Only.” She pulled out a key and placed it in the lock, twisting it open. She did one quick glance around the store to make sure nobody was watching before ushering me inside.

“Normally you would have to wait outside while I came back here, but it’ll be a lot easier for both of us if you just come with me.”

The room we were in was incredibly small compared to the front of the store. Only one rack was in it, placed precisely in the middle of the room, and there was only about 10 costumes hanging off of it.

“These costumes are the best of the best, in my opinion. We keep them back here because we feel that some of our customers aren’t worthy of such extravagant clothing, while others deserve only the best.”

She leaned in towards me and continued, whispering in my ear, “I don’t really believe that, but it’s company policy for me to say it. I’m not that snooty, I promise.”

I giggled, shaking my head in agreement.

“I didn’t really get that vibe off of you in the first place.”

She smiled, taking my arm and leading me towards the rack. The confusion set in when she led me past it.

“This is my favorite costume in the entire store, honestly. I love it so much I keep it hidden back here. I’ve been saving up to buy it for myself, actually.. Of course it would be the most expensive thing we have, but I know it would just look too perfect on you to let you pass it up.”

She threw open the doors to a closet that we were now standing in front of. I couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped my lips. She was right, it was absolutely beautiful.

It looked like a wedding gown, the kind that a princess would wear. It was a strapless white bow dress, with beads all along the chest area, with a silver bow that wrapped around the waist area. It was matched with a pair of fierce, red lacey pumps with a bow at the toe that I fell in love with the moment I saw them. I immediately thought of a clutch I had back at Hogwarts that would go perfectly with the entire outfit.

“What’s the idea behind the costume?” I whispered, too enthralled by the gown to muster up the energy to talk louder.

Lexi chuckled before responding, “You ever heard of Cinderella?”

Well then. What is the irony of this situation right now? Harry wanted to go as Prince Charming and Cinderella, and now I’m staring at the perfect Cinderella costume.

“Um, yeah, my boyfriend told me about her one time.. She was like, a princess or something right?”

“Yeah, you can look at it like that. There’s more to the story though, but none of it is absolutely crucial to know. But ooooh, a boyfriend. What’s his name?”

“Harry Potter.” I responded as nonchalantly as I could while rubbing the material of the dress between my fingers. Naturally, Lexi got extremely quiet, her mouth gaping open at me.

“You’re dating THE Harry Potter? As in The Boy Who Lived?!”

“Yep, the one and only.”

Her eyes widened. “You lucky bitch.”

I laughed as she covered her mouth in surprise.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to say that, I swear!”

“No worries.” I smiled, reassuring her. “May I try it on?” I asked, gesturing towards the dress.

“Absolutely, of course!”

She pulled out her wand and levitated the dress and shoes down into my grasp. I quickly stripped down to my undergarments and pulled the dress on. It fit perfectly, and the shoes slipped right onto my feet, but stayed snug when I walked around.

“It’s like this entire outfit was made for me.” I whispered.

I could see the longing in her eyes, how badly she wished that she were the one wearing the dress. It broke my heart, but only a little bit. Not enough to make me pass it up. I understood why she wanted it so badly. It was stunning.

“I’ll take it.” I said, stepping out of the dress and handing it back to her. “The shoes as well.”

She definitely looked downtrodden, and I could tell she regretted showing it to me, but she put the best fake smile she could muster on her face and led me back to the front of the store. She silently boxed them and then rang them up for me. For once, I was thankful that my family was so filthy stinking rich.

“Where are you from, originally?” I asked her as she handed over my purchases.

“London. That’s where the store is actually located. We tend to both muggles and wizards, but we actually make more money off the muggles. They sure do love Halloween.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. It’s always nice to know where you can find such amazing costumes, and I live near London, so that works out perfectly. Thank you so much for your help, Lexi. I really appreciate it, you have no idea.”

She grinned, and this time I could tell it was genuine. Everybody likes to be appreciated for their hard work, especially since she’s sacrificing her dream costume.

“It’s all part of a day’s work. I’m just doing my job.”

I nodded and gave her one last smile before making my way towards the exit.

“Have fun at the dance, and tell Mr. Potter I said hello!”

“Will do!” I laughed, and closed the door behind me.

***

The first thing I did when I got back to my room, besides hiding my costume from the other girls, was dig the letter out that I had been wondering about since the idea came to me in that cupboard with Draco. I began to read through it one more time.

Dearest Mother and Father,
I miss you both terribly! Nothing at Hogwarts has changed. I’m ahead in all of my courses, and doing everything possible to make you proud of your only daughter, but that’s not the reason I’m writing.

It’s come to my attention that now is about the time you both will begin to look for possible suitors to one day become my betrothed. I always knew this day would come, and I’m beginning to accept my fate. We must keep our pureblood line strong and proud, mustn’t we?

I know that this is a duty you both will fulfill on your own, but I must impose my own opinion on the situation, because a possible suitor of my own liking has come to my attention, and I believe you both would like him as well.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy have been friends of the family for years, albeit not very close. However, their son, Draco, has grown into a very handsome and independent man. One who knows how to take care of himself, and could easily take care of his woman. His family is also very wealthy and powerful, which is always a plus, right?

Please take him into consideration.

Sending you all my love,

Charlotte xoxo

It was a risky maneuver to send them this, because if they did take him into consideration, it meant that one day, I would become Mrs. Draco Malfoy.. But would that be so bad? Draco is exceptionally handsome, and I know that he would be able to take care of me.

An arranged marriage is inevitable for me anyways, right? So why not have his name added to the list?

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to send the letter after all…

So I did.