Avery

She walked into the hallway when a flashback came. She remembered them running together when they were 6 years old, and Avery fell, but Draco stopped running, turning his head to her and running toward her, holding her up to stand and saying, "Are you okay?" looking very worried.

Avery's eyes were glossy from the memories. In the corner of the other room, as she walked there, there was a huge sofa near the fireplace where Avery and Draco used to draw together when they were 7, and above the fireplace, there were a lot of portraits of the family. The only person besides the Malfoy family in those pictures is her face. There are 2 frames out of 20 others; one frame shows Draco and Avery when they were 6 Holding hands together, smiling in the snow, and the other is of Avery and Draco at 16 years old, Avery smiling at the camera, but Draco is looking at her, smiling at her sideways. Avery remembered those feelings like it was yesterday. It was after Christmas that Avery and the Malfoys celebrated together and they took pictures of them. Avery couldn't hold her tears anymore as they flowed nonstop, and suddenly.

"Why are you crying like someone is dead?" one of the portraits talked to her. Avery gasped and wiped her tears instantly, cleansing her throat, but she didn't answer the portrait. It then spoke very sternly, almost angrily, "You're not allowed to come to this side of the Manor, Miss..."

"Parkinson," Pansy said. All the portraits started whispering. Avery looked at the portrait and noticed Pansy standing in front of it, asking, "But why is she allowed to go there?" Pansy nodded to Avery, who was standing still in front of the fireplace.

"Miss Avery is the fiancée of Draco. She's the future Lady Malfoy; she can go anywhere she wants in this manor. She's been doing that since she started to walk by herself," the portrait told Pansy, wide-eyed. 

The other portrait added, "Since she was a baby."

"Yeah, that's true," the other portraits echoed, whispering.

"I am the future Lady Malfoy," Pansy announced to them.

The portrait scoffed, "You're only a rumor," and then closed her mouth, mocking like any other portrait.

"Or maybe mistress," and all the portraits laughed at Pansy.

"That's not a rumor; it's a fact! It's true!" Pansy said.

"You got any proof? Because as far as I know, Lucius and Narcissa never spoke about you and Draco never did either," Avery said, walking closer to Pansy. They both stood in front of the portrait now. Pansy suddenly raised her hand to the portraits.

"This!" she smirked. All the portraits gasped. There was a green emerald ring on Pansy's finger just like the one that all these wives of Malfoy had on their ring fingers.

"Is that my ring on your finger?" the portrait's eyes widened as she looked at Pansy's finger and then back to Pansy’s, carefully checking if they were the same ring. They looked exactly the same in Avery's eyes. Avery just stared at Pansy's ring finger, numb.

"She just holds the fiancée title for now, but I got the ring, so tell me, who is the true future Lady Malfoy now?" Pansy bragged, smirking like she was winning.

"When did Draco give it to you? Last time I checked, it was still with Narcissa," the lady in the portrait asked her.

"Just so you know, as soon as I become Lady Malfoy in the future, I will burn you first!" Pansy sneered, glaring at Avery, and all the portraits, and walking away. Avery was in shock, like something had punched her in the stomach. There was a lump in her throat. She looked down, standing still, staring at nothing but the hallway where Pansy had left, thinking what a truly embarrassing fact it was that she was here at this party when all of Draco's friends knew that he had given her the Lady Malfoy ring to Pansy, making it clear that he was very serious about his relationship with Pansy, and Avery was just the unwanted person in their relationship.

"I wish it were you to be the future Lady Malfoy, not her," the portrait said, looking horrified, nodding at Pansy’s way. Avery wanted to run away from this place, but she hadn’t yet been able to talk to Draco since she came. Their eyes only met twice that whole night, and Avery was scared of his eyes and everyone at this party because she knew what they were thinking of her: "The Unwanted." So she decided she had to get away as soon as possible, but she had to talk to Draco before excusing herself from this party, from his life...

She walked slowly, like someone had taken the life out of her body, and she was just an empty shell. She noticed all the guests enjoying the party; both Narcissa's friends and Lucius were inside, and Draco's friends were outside, waiting for fireworks circling around the white fountain. A flashback came when she was looking at that fountain, remembering when they celebrated Draco's 15th birthday and ran around, splashing water at each other, playfully laughing after they kissed in the garden. They kissed again, like they were meant to be together, like they were made for each other, like they were born for each other, fated.

Draco was standing in the hallway, leaning against the white wall. Blaise and Nott were a bit farther in the front, far from Draco, smoking cigars. Just like Draco, who was holding his cigar, they were all looking at the fountain where everyone was standing.

Avery hesitated, but she knew she had to talk to him if this was going to be the last time she talked to him. She cleared her throat, and Draco turned his head and looked at her; his eyes went wide.

"I think I have to go back home..." Avery said.

He nodded, looking down.

"Happy birthday, Draco..." She smiled even though he wasn't looking at her. The words came out but felt like there was a big lump in her throat, holding onto whatever was left of them.

"I..." Avery's words got cut off by someone screaming.

"Draco, come take pictures!" Pansy screamed from the fountain. People gathered together to take positions. Blaise and Nott started walking towards Pansy. Draco looked at Avery, waiting for anything she had to say, but Avery was looking at Pansy at the fountain, putting everyone in their positions for pictures. Avery hesitated; seeing Pansy was like a reminder to her that Draco had a new girlfriend now. Again, it felt like someone was stabbing her in the chest with a knife. She looked back at Draco's eyes but said nothing; the words stuck. After waiting for a while, no words were spoken from her lips, so Draco walked slowly towards the fountain as Avery took a step forward and hesitated to say the words because she knew it was only going to hurt her in the end, but she said it anyway.

"I love you...." So soft, almost like a whisper, but Draco didn't seem to hear her with all the noise as he was already slowly walking towards his friends. She was trying to hold back her tears, looking at his back; it hurt, but she repeated the words again.

"I love you too..." Tears fell from her eyes as she took a breath and turned away, walking herself out the opposite way slowly. But Draco stopped and turned around, looking at Avery's back while she walked away from him to the front door.

Avery walked along the pathway in front of Malfoy's front door. She could apparate, but she felt like she wanted to walk to get fresh air, walking out while holding her breath, eyes swollen, and tears streaming down. She stopped and gazed at the tree and the bench where she remembered they sat together when he said the words. When they were kids, drinking iced tea on a summer day, Draco had put the straw to her mouth carefully, smiled at her, and kissed her cheek for the first time ever. It was love; they clearly loved each other; it showed in their eyes.

Avery said to herself in her mind, Maybe we loved too fast, and it ran out? Does love change...?

She kept walking and looking back at the big manor, thinking this was her future, her dreams of becoming Lady Malfoy, having a family together, Mrs. Malfoy. Suddenly, someone would take that position that had belonged to her all her life. She imagined what she would become, but not anymore. She kept walking; she didn't know where, but she kept walking, sobbing like she wanted to get away from this nightmare, crying, and she realized no wizards or witches were on the street, no one walking like her; she was alone. Why walk when they could apparate? But she kept walking until she didn't know where she was, lost in the darkness, crying like no one was listening.

She stopped and sat on the pavement, staring at nothing, burying her face in her arms, sobbing and mourning her future that once was so bright and clear. It went dark in one night. She apparated to her manor, and it was 1 a.m. She knocked on her parents' room. "Mother, Father, I need to tell you something urgent."

"Come in," her parents replied. She went inside and told them.

"I want to tell you to..." Her chest spasmed, "to break the engagement." She held back her tears.

"Why? You and Draco are in love with each other; you told me," her mother said, shocked.

"We were... but things changed. Feelings changed, I think... Umm..." She was trying to put on a brave face in front of her parents.

"Can we talk about this tomorrow morning?" her mother suggested.

"Yes, darling, give yourself time to think..." her father added, but she cut him off.

"I did, father. I had a long journey home walking; I've been thinking."

"You walked?" Her father had a horrified look on his face, imagining his only daughter walking in the middle of the night alone.

"Yes, I had to, to... clear my mind, to think..."

"Oh, darling, what happened? I'm sure we can talk about..." Avery cut in again.

"He... he got a girlfriend." She had never acknowledged that fact before; it slipped out of her lips. But after she said it just now, it felt like poison on her tongue. Her parents were shocked and gasped. "Are you sure?" her mother asked.

"And did he invite this girl to the party?" her father asked her angrily.

"Uh-huh," Avery nodded.

"I just want him to be happy; that's all. He... he's falling in love with a girl (did he?) I... I don't want to be someone that... gets in the way of his happiness." These words hurt her parents.

"It's okay, Father, Mother, I'm okay. I just... I just wanted to tell you that and help me break the engagement officially with his family."

"I will go to the Malfoys in the morning and break the engagement like you want, darling." Her father gave her assurance.

Avery nodded. "Thank you, Father. I'm sorry to disturb your sleep," and she walked away from her parents' room.

That night, she drank and drank like she never had before. She usually didn't drink, but she emptied two bottles of alcohol. Looking at the gifts and presents for 18 years together that Draco gave her each year, she kept them in a safe, crystal clear box like trophies. All their pictures together on each birthday and the memories floated in her mind. It hurt to feel this way at this moment, but it's all she could think about— all their good memories together. She was crying and sobbing, and called her elf.

"Lofi."

The elf came and was sad to see her face. "Clear this room and put these somewhere else; I don't want to see it," she said, crying.

"But these are things that are very dear to miss..."

Avery cut Lofi off. "Just do it; that way, you can ease my pain."

"Alright, Lofi will ease the pain."