The Parties
Draco
Draco stood waiting to receive guests at the floo in the entrance hall. Many pureblood families were invited, along with many of his friends. It was his late birthday gala, after all. His parents were also standing with him, all three with neutral looks and straight postures.
Till now, The Crabbes, Goyles, Parkinsons, Notts, Flints, and Puceys had arrived, along with Milicent Bulstrode, who was his half-blood classmate, with a pure-blood and half-blood parent each. She was fine; but exactly a friend, more of an ally. Many foreign relatives of Draco's were also present this year.
The floo roared once again and through it first entered Lord Sirius Black, Draco's mother's cousin and an uncle of Draco's, though there had never been much of a personal interaction between them. Draco didn't dislike the man; Sirius was nice enough, and easy to talk to.
"Sirius," Narcissa Malfoy greeted her cousin with a polite smile.
The man in question grinned at her. "Cissa. Good to see you. You too, Lucius."
Lucius nodded curtly. Lyra appeared next, smiling at the Malfoys. "Uncle Lucius. Aunt Narcissa. Well met."
"Well met, my dear," Narcissa replied.
Lyra next turned to Draco. "Happy birthday, cousin."
But their attention was attracted to a whoosh noise, and they looked to see a third figure coming out of the floo...
It was Ginevra Weasley. And she looked stunning. She wore a single-sleeved cool blue dress, which was more muggle than anything and seemed formal and casual at the same time. She didn't have much make-up on, but she was still practically glowing. She radiated pure joy, lighting up any room she walked in.
Ginevra curtseyed to Draco's parents first, impressing them. "Lord Malfoy. Lady Malfoy."
Lucius seemed torn between approval and disdain. "Young lady."
Then Ginevra turned to Draco, her eyes glittering with mischief. "Happy birthday, Dray."
Draco turned red under the combined looks he was getting from everyone and muttered, "Don't call me that." But he secretly liked it. Ginevra had called him 'Dray' in passing a few times last year, and he'd never minded, acted like he didn't notice. He had no idea why, but whenever she called him that, butterflies fluttered in his stomach.
Ginevra just shrugged. "Whatever."
James
Meanwhile, the Potters were all groaning and whining by the evening as Lily practically dragged them all to the doorstep of the Dursleys. The only one even remotely neutral was Effie, but it didn't come as a surprise she was a Hufflepuff.
Petunia opened the door, looking as thin and bad-tempered as always, and stiffly welcomed them in, barely hugging her sister back.
Vernon and Dudley were already inside, sitting on the table, wearing coats that looked about to open due to the men's weights. James was suddenly relieved that they had all, on Lily's insistence, worn muggle dresses. The children all greeted Dudley with fake cheer, other than Harry who didn't even bother with the pleasantries before sitting in the chair farthest from the muggles. James almost laughed at how much his eldest was like him.
"So," Petunia started after half an hour of Lily chatting to maintain the noise, "How old are you?" she asked Harry, who seemed surprised at being addressed directly.
"I'm about to turn sixteen soon."
Petunia nodded thoughtfully. "How are your studies going?"
Harry grinned. "Excellent. In fact, I'm about to get my OWL results soon, and I'm confident I've done well."
James waited for the explosion. Harry had just accidentally said, 'OWLs'... To their shock, Petunia only frowned slightly. "Those are like, very important exams, right?"
Harry dumbly nodded, trying to compose himself. "Uh... yeah. Ordinary Wizarding Levels. We give them in our fifth year. They sort of allow us to choose what we need in the sixth year. Very important in our careers. Second to NEWTs; Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests."
"And you're confident you've done well?" Dudley asked, joining in.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. Pretty sure the only thing I'll fail in is Astronomy."
Dudley frowned. "That's-"
"Studies of stars and all." Harry shrugged.
James smiled. He and Harry both disliked Astronomy with a passion.
The Dursleys were surprisingly pleasant the rest of the dinner, too. At least, Petunia was. And Dudley was neutral, too. Vernon was purple with containing insults, though.
Sirius
Sirius was just refilling his cup of champagne when a girl appeared next to him out of nowhere, also looking for something to drink. She was very beautiful; her hair was platinum blonde - almost white - and her eyes were a dark brown. Her lips were pink and full, and her build was slim and athletic.
She smiled at him once she noticed him. "Lord Black, is it?" Her accent had an Italian lilt in it, but her English was good.
Sirius grinned at her. "Yeah, but I prefer Sirius."
She eyed him. "Signore Black, then."
"And who might you be?"
"Chiara Rossi. I'm a cousin of little Draco."
Rossi was a prominent Italian pureblood household. Equivalent to the Black family in that country, even. Wealthy and very much respected. Rossi was a neutral house, not one known for holding blatant purity ideals. Sirius hummed. "Well, Signora Rossi, would you do me the honor of a dance?"
Chiara slowly smiled. "Of course, Signore Black. Lead the way."
And so Sirius took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. A slow waltz was playing, and Sirius led the dance unconsciously, the action so familiar to him that he didn't even have to think about it. These things were drilled into his brain from since when he was a kid, and he was excellent at dancing and playing the piano.
"So," Chiara said, "You know Italian?"
Sirius smiled. "Enough to get by, yes. At least, it's a lot better than my Spanish. I speak French by far the best."
"How many other languages do you speak?"
"Well, apart from my native tongue, and excusing Spanish, French, and Italian, I know some Bulgarian and Russian. What about you? Your English's pretty great."
"English is my second language," Chiara confessed, "But I speak good Spanish and Dutch. And basic Japanese, I suppose."
"Impressive," Sirius complimented.
"You are no less," Chiara smirked. "You are what the Italians would call La perfezione."
"I'm flattered," Sirius commented drily. "So, mia signora, what are you here for? In England? I can't believe you'd come such a long way for a distant cousin's birthday."
"You're right, ovviamente," Chiara smiled. "I'm here to look for a suitor. Mia Madre's wish."
Sirius raised his eyebrows. She looked to be about the same age as him, a few years younger, but not much. As if reading his thoughts, Chiara scoffed. "I didn't wish to be married earlier. But... she's insistent, Mia Madre. Very much so. And I always cave to her wishes at the end... Besides, I don't have nearly as much objection to the idea as I had before. It is necessary for a lady of my age to marry, anyway. I don't approve of some of my mother's choice, however."
Sirius nodded in understanding. "That's what happens to people of our lineage."
"Hey, dad," Lyra suddenly appeared, having excused herself from the dance she was having with her friend Zabini, "We ought to leave, don't you think?"
Sirius understood her sentiment; Regulus was alone with Remus for the night, and Molly would throw a fit if Ginny was late. "Yeah, sure."
Sirius kissed Chiara's hand, elegantly bowing. The song had ended, anyway. Chiara smiled. "Well, I look forward to meeting you again, Signore Black."
"Until next time, Signora Rossi."