Children of Fate

Draco Malfoy yawned pointedly as Mrs. Lowell continued her speech. His mother, Narcissa Malfoy, shot him a withering glance. His father, Lucius Malfoy, didn't ever look away from Mrs. Lowell, his face rapt with interest.

It was all an act, though.

Everything concerning the Lowells was an act.

Draco was supposed to act kind, gentlemanly, and even caring, towards the young Miss Kaitlyn Lowell. After all, she was his future bride. Or at least the fastest way to get his family out of debt. It was no secret that Kaitlyn Lowell was rich. Many of Draco's "friend's" families' had been eager to arrange a marriage between their own sons with the young maid who had been tutored in France.

"And so," Francine Lowell said with a passionate flare, "I present to you my daughter, Kaitlyn Lowell!"

Narcissa and Lucius clapped while Draco stared at the plank that led up to the door of the boat. In a few moments he was going to see the woman he was going to be stuck with for the rest of his life. Draco really hated being a pawn in his parent's political games.

And then he saw her. Draco's face fell. When he had seen Kate's four eldest sisters-Amelia, Sophia, Marlene, and Josephine-he had held some glimmer of hope that Kate Lowell might look the least bit like them, with buttery blond hair, bright blue eyes, rosy pink cheeks, and waists so thin that more than one charm had to be involved. That would have made the thought of an arranged marriage more bearable.

But, of course, Kate was entirely different from any of her sisters. Her hair was the color of chestnuts and her eyes were a pretty dark blue. Her nose was much like the delicate noses of her sisters, save the fact that hers was a bit longer. Her lips were thinner than the full lips her sisters had. Her body was taller and more willowy than the medium heights and rotund builds of her sisters. All in all, Draco decided, she seemed to be pronounced and out of proportion when she was compared to her elder siblings; they were far too perfect to compare to rather-plain Kate.

Draco was made well aware that he was staring in an unflattering manner at his future bride when his father nudged him and hissed, "Draco, what in the name of all that is magic are you doing? Say hello to Kaitlyn, and stop staring, or you'll bloody well regret it!"

If Kate or Mrs. Lowell or any of the Lowell girls noticed Mr. Malfoy's sharp reprimand they pretended not to. Draco, after turning a light pink, turned to Kate. "Good day, Kaitlyn. You're looking quite lovely," he said in a suave voice, taking her hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you, by the way. My name's Draco-"

"Well I obviously know your name. I mean, what kind of girl would I be not to know the name of my future husband?" Kate cut Draco off so sharply that he dropped her white-gloved hand in surprise. Never before had a woman been able to resist his charm.

'Oh, well,' Draco thought, shrugging mentally, 'she's probably still hurt about the whole staring bit. This time, though...This time I'll win her over.'

"Well, of course," he said, laughing lightly and brushing away a strand of his silvery blond hair. He was told that the ladies loved when he did that. "I'm so sorry. Can I make it up to you?" he asked. "Let's share a carriage back to my family's summer estate so we can get to know each other." The last words came out in a purr. Draco gently kissed Kate's hand and looked up into her eyes, expecting to see adoration and enchantment in them.

Instead he saw annoyance, anger, and--my!--was that disgust? How could Draco Malfoy, the Don Juan of the wizarding world, be disgusting to anyone?

"No thank you," Kate spat out after tugging her hand (rather roughly) away from Draco. "My sisters, Peggy, Miranda, Penny, and I will share a carriage together." And, with that, Kate strode away from the astounded Draco, the sisters named Peggy, Josephine, and Miranda following close behind.

Draco didn't hear Mrs. Lowell's many apologies, he didn't see Kate's sister's whispering cruelly about their sister, and he most definitely didn't hear his cousins, who had come for the occasion, laughing heartily at his expense. What he did see, though, was Kate climbing into a carriage, but not before turning around and giving him one more scornful look. And he also most definitely heard his fiancée whisper to Peggy, "What a stuck up git!"

Peggy, of course, laughed, highly amused at her younger sister's comment. Kaitlyn's carriage drove away not long after that. Draco was almost sure that they would be talking about his stupidity on the way to the manor.

***

Tinkerbell looked up at Ana, Liza, and Rey, a small smile on her face. "And that's how they met."

Ana's eyebrows were furrowed together. "But how do Harry Potter and Lee Jordan and Cho Chang and Hermione Granger fit into all this? I thought Harry Potter and his crowd hated people like the Malfoys," she said after a bit.

Tinkerbell smiled. "Well, that's the next part of the tale. Now mind you, the Malfoys were prominent-if not twisted-people. Their family was one of the oldest in the wizarding world, and also some of the most well known purebloods, something they prided themselves on. So of course, when young Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune, got engaged, they had to formally introduce Kate to the wizarding society of Great Britian."

"How were they going to do that?" Liza asked, sitting in her chair.

"How else?" Tinkerbell asked, and Ana saw the faintest gleam of merriment in the faerie's eyes. "In the traditional way. They held a series of three masquerades, which happened over a period of three nights. At the end of each night Kate would reveal herself to the public before slipping away. And everyone who was anyone was to be invited. If you weren't invited then you had either done something horribly wrong or upset the Malfoys. You could only hope that you were invited to the wedding."

"Was it grand?" Liza asked, and her eyes were big and excited. Liza always hung around at the top of the grand staircase that led down to the ballroom. Even the darkest and dreariest dance couldn't discourage the young girl. Ever since she had read Cinderella, she had been hooked on fairytale endings.

"Was it grand?" Tinkerbell asked, and she gave a snort. "Oh, it was grand alright. Kate told me all about it. The ball itself had been planned for months prior to Kate's arrival. Mrs. Lowell and Mrs. Malfoy had gone all out on everything! The invitations had been written in the most expensive ink available, the food to be served was of the finest quality, and Kate's costumes were to be the most lavish of them all."

Tinkerbell grinned sadly. "Oh, it was grand alright. And poor Kate; she had to prance around that ballroom on the arm of her future husband, all trussed up and treated like a trinket." She looked down at the diary. "Let me tell you what happened that night..."

***

"And I heard she was tutored by Madame Maxime personally!"

"Did you hear the latest about Kaitlyn Lowell? Her wedding dress is to be made by the famous designer from Surrey...Ladonna Carolle. Narcissa was just telling me about it!"

"Oh, yes, I saw her earlier today when I arrived. She's a little scrawny but she's such a young thing that I'm sure she'll grow into her body!"

Kate stood at the top of the grand staircase leading down into the ballroom. There all the guests-mostly high class purebloods and their children-mingled together, though they all seemed to be talking about one thing: the young bride of Draco Malfoy. Every once and a while a little tidbit of a conversation would drift up the marble stairs and reach the ears of Kate. Each time this happened she swallowed nervously and straightened her mask. Not all the things said down in the ballroom were kind.

"That bloody whore! Don't worry, Pansy! We all know it's you Draco wanted to marry! Now, now, don't make that face! We'll show that stupid slut!"

"Yeah, Pans! That Lowell girl is so going to pay for stealing away your boyfriend! Don't worry! Don't worry!"

Kate peaked around the corner and looked down the staircase to see three girls gathered around one girl, who was sitting on the very bottom step. The three girls, obviously the sitting girl's cronies, were all dressed in similar billowing green dresses, complete with bow-sashes. Their hair was done up in the same fashionable swirling bun and they all had the same moss green masks upon their sympathizing faces.

The girl sitting on the step, however, was by far the most elegant of the four. Her dress was of the most recent fashion in the deepest ruby red. Its skirt swirled out around her waist and a little ruby tiara had been stuck in her hair to hold up her blond curls. Even underneath the satin ruby mask Kate could see that her face was tight and upset, almost like a pug's. That girl could only be one person, Kate thought.

Pansy Parkinson.

Her number one enemy from the sounds of it, as well.

Kate had heard a great deal about Pansy, though she had never actually laid eyes on the girl. From what her spies (namely her sisters Miranda and Peggy) had found out, Pansy had been just about to marry Draco when her mother, Lynette Francine Lowell, had suggested that Draco marry Kate instead. Lucius Malfoy had been only to eager to agree to that marriage, which would also result in a strong financial backing. Or at least more than the Parkinsons could offer.

"Everything would have been fine," Miranda had said eagerly earlier that day, after spending an hour bribing one of the maids for information, "if Draco and Pansy had not dated for three years prior to the arrangement."

Kate had scratched Lila, a gift from Mr. Malfoy in the form of a German Shepherd puppy, behind the ears before asking, "You mean he loves her?"

Peggy, who had wooed the stable boy into giving her some answers, shook her head violently. "No, no, not at all! She loves him but what he feels for her is purely lust, if anything at all. She's already his mistress and she will no doubt remain so after your honeymoon."

That piece of information had shocked Kate, but not for long. After the initial shock had worn off her resentment for Draco Malfoy grew into hate.

She had vowed a million times over never to give into his attempts--and there had been many so far--to enchant her. "I'll never love him," she had muttered only hours earlier.

To Kate's relief Pansy and her friends, one of which she had addressed as Blaise, stood and glided off towards a tall figure clothed in a deep green suit. Even with the mask covering his upper-face, you could tell it was Draco. He had just entered to ballroom through one of the garden entrances. Two gargantuan boys, Crabbe and Goyle, who would be two of the groomsmen (much to Kate's disgust) accompanied him. Within ten feet of Draco Pansy slowed down and began to sidle up to him in a seductive manner. Draco, after watching the young blonde for a few moments, threw back his head and laughed, holding open his arms. Pansy, pleased as anything, laughed with him and ran into his arms. Her friends, as well as Crabbe and Goyle, all smiled in a way that suggested they thought the scene before them fit together much better then the one that would play out in a few moments, with Kate in Pansy's place.

After a few moments of hugging Pansy and Draco broke apart. Draco leaned over and whispered something into Pansy's ear; something that made Pansy giggle happily and wink to her friends. Everyone in that hall--they were all watching--knew what that something had been. Even with his father sending him what-the-bloody-hell-are-you-doing? looks and his mother apologizing loudly to Mrs. Lowell, Draco walked back out into the gardens, Pansy on his arm.

Even with her vows of forever hating Draco Malfoy, seeing him walking off to go shag some other woman-in front of so many people-hurt like hell. Everyone down there knew who Pansy Parkinson was. She was the woman Draco would rather spend his time with; the woman he'd named his mistress, the woman who wasn't his fiancée.

Before the embarrassed young woman had time to run back to her apartments the music stopped and Mr. Malfoy, dressed in dark gray with a billowing cape and fancy mask, stepped up onto the stairs. "Ladies and gentlemen, though my son could not be here," Mr. Malfoy paused a moment, "I would like to introduce to you my future daughter-in-law, Kaitlyn Marcia Lowell."

Everything went silent and, after taking a deep breath and pushing all thoughts of Draco Malfoy and his whore from her mind, Kate stepped out from around the corner. With her head held high she walked down the staircase, though everyone could plainly see her shame, and her facade of her being a grand lady evaporated. Kate walked to the chairs lined up on the north wall of the ballroom and sat down next to all the girls likely to become old maids due to the fact that their fathers could find them no husbands.

As Kate sat beside a bone thin young girl named Pricilla she buried her face in her hands. She wished that she hadn't seen the look of pure fury her mother had shot her. It was clear whom Mrs. Lowell blamed the evenings events on.

'Hell,' Kate thought sadly, 'even I blame myself...A failure in everyone's eyes!'

***

Soon after the appearance of the young Kaitlyn Lowell, Mr. Malfoy had ordered the orchestra to strike up a slightly more festive piece than the classics they had been playing. Immediately, out of pity more than attraction, Kate was asked to dance by a tall, rather gangly figure dressed in a red suit with gold trimmings. His large scarlet cape billowed out behind him as he whisked her onto the dance floor.

For one time in her life Kate was thankful that her father, who, despite what he said, had favored she and her sisters Miranda and Josephine, had forced her to endure countless dance instructors. She and that scarlet clad man were given a wide path to the dance floor. Once they had reached the middle of the room the orchestra began to play a lively tune.

Kate and the man, whose face was covered completely by a golden mask, twirled artfully to the next three dances. Kate had begun to enjoy herself so much that she hadn't noticed that she and the man were the only ones dancing. When the fourth dance was finished the man bent down, kissed Kate's hand, and swept out of the ballroom through a garden door. The second he had left the room exploded into whispers.

"Who was he?"

"Did you see how she smiled at him?"

"Well, seems young Mr. Malfoy has gotten his comeuppance! That'll teach him to screw that whore of his in Kate's presence!"

Again Kate ignored the comments. With a serene smile, and ignoring her mother's looks, she glided--yes, glided!--out the same door the red stranger had left.

***

A few hours later, when the ball was in full swing, Kate found herself strolling along the large stone deck-porch that wrapped around the entire back half of the Malfoy's summer home. In three spots there were grand steps leading down to the Malfoy's grounds and gardens. She had walked back and forth, down the long stone veranda, eight times now and she was still as filled with butterflies as when she began.

The scarlet clad man-who had he been? A kind noblemen of high class and with a long ancestry of purebloods?

Unlikely, Ana thought sadly. No pureblood would have dared to dance with the bride of Draco Malfoy, lest they invoke the Malfoy's rage. Maybe he was just some passerby who had charmed his way into the ball. Also unlikely.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a polite cough. Turning, Kate expected to find a servant there to tell her that her mother requested her presence. Instead she found-"You!"

There, standing in the shadows of the pillars that supported the second story of L'enfer, was the scarlet clad man. His golden mask shone out from the darkness in which he stood.

"I thought it was you, Miss Lowell," the man said quietly. Kate shivered, despite herself. His voice was so much richer and pleasant than Draco's constant drawl.

"Please, call me Kate," she said, smiling shyly. "It seems only appropriate that you call me by my first name, after all the dances we did."

"As you wish, Kate," the man said again, and Kate was thoroughly convinced that he was speaking so smoothly just to send chills--all of them involuntary--down her spine.

"May I ask who you are?" Kate asked, taking a step towards the man.

"Wouldn't that incriminate me? You and I both know I'm not a welcome guest here," the man answered, chuckling softly.

"I wouldn't tell anyone," Kate answered, hoping dearly that her voice was as enchanting to him as his was to her.

"Is that a promise?" the man asked.

"A steadfast one," Kate answered.

"Very well, Kate, come here."

Kate took a few steps closer to the man, who had removed his golden mask. She removed her mask as well. It seemed like the right thing to do.

"My name," the man said, his lips now by her ear, "is Ronald Weasley. But everyone calls me Ron." Then, without warning, those lips were upon hers.

The kiss--Kate's first--was so sudden that she hardly knew what to do. After struggling for a few minutes with Ron's hands clamped firmly upon her shoulders she stopped and melted together with him. A few minutes later they broke apart.

"What in the blooding hell was that?" Kate asked. Despite the chills, thrills, and excitement of the kiss, the surprise and nerves of it had ignited her rage.

"Well, I thought you'd know that every steadfast promise was sealed with a kiss," Ron replied, and in the faint light that came from the large windows of the ballroom Kate could see the traces of a smile on Ron's lips.

"That's rubbish!" Kate cried, and she knew her face was flushing pink, as it so often did when she was mad.

"Not where I come from," Ron said, and the slight smile grew to a broad grin. "I bid thee farewell, Miss Kate." And just like the suddenness of the kiss, Ron was gone, sweeping across the Malfoy's lawn. Part of Kate wanted to follow him. She half feared that Ron would not come to the next ball.

She also feared that he would...

***

"And that's how the love triangle began," Tinkerbell said, finishing the tale with a flourish.

"So my mother was being forced to marry Draco Malfoy but she fell in love with Ron Weasley? Is he my dad?" Ana asked.

Tinkerbell gave Ana a benign smile that revealed nothing. "That's what you'll find out later. This story becomes so complicated that it must be told as it happened, and as it was told to me. Mind you, I only arrived on the scene for the second half of the tale, which has barely even begun."

Ana nodded, more than a little disappointed. She had a feeling Tinkerbell wasn't telling her something important about her parents. She would have pressed further in the matter but by then the clock on the south wall read that it was two-thirty A.M. Wearily the three friends stumbled off to beds.

Despite the loads of information of her past that Ana had just learned she was asleep just seconds after the lights were turned off.

***

In the morning Tinkerbell was gone. Ana wasn't really surprised. Though there was no note she knew Tinkerbell would be back, even if Liza and Rey didn't believe her.

All they had to do was wait.