A/N-Never fear my dearies, 'A Study of the Mind' is back! hehe. An explaination to all of the hold-ups at the end.
Chapter 5- Bella Luna (Part 1 of 2 of Narcissa's Birthday Gala)
She was scrambling. Boy was she scrambling. Her normal anal retentive self was left to the wind throughout the week.
The remaining five days seemed to mesh together in a blur, all leading up to Saturday. Trips to Diagon Alley were made, along with visits to Muggle London, especially some store that Ginny couldn't pronounce or heard of previously, but Alise called it 'Louis Vuitton'. Ginny and Alise ended up walking out of 'Louis Vuitton' with a leather handbag each.
As the week progressed, Alise gave up hope on trying to find a date and decided to get ready with Ginny. A plan was formulated involving Alise spending Friday night at Ginny's flat, while on Saturday, they'd spent the entire day getting ready at their own leisure. An ensemble was also picked out for both women. There came a point during one of their outings to Madame Malkin's where they almost ended up buying the same dress robe. Luckily, that was squashed the next day when Ginny found a dress that made her forget the infamous dress and the incident that followed it. As a result of Ginny's sudden change in robe preference, Alise snagged up the coveted dress when her friend wasn't looking.
At long last, Friday was over and Saturday came on swift wings, bringing with it Narcissa's birthday party. It was then that Ginny lost it.
A crash was heard from the kitchen causing Alise to run at mock speed towards the source, an eyelash curler partially blinding her as well. As she skidded to a stop in front of the swinging kitchen door, she attempted to catch her breath to no avail. A small whimper or sob could be heard, but Alise couldn't put her now blood red nails on which. She carefully opened the door so as not to ruin her nails and took a peek inside. Slumped against the refrigerator was a rumpled looking Ginny Weasley staring quite morosely at a shattered vase, its multi-coloured stemmed contents splayed across the wood-panelled floor.
"Ginny, what in God's name just happened?"
Alise was met with an unwelcome silence, so she bent down, staring her friend straight in the eye.
"Ginny, you've got to tell me what happened so I know how to help fix it."
A choked sob was Ginny's response along with a mumbled "You wouldn't understand."
"I wouldn't understand what? That in a sudden fit of rage you decided to throw your flower vase to the floor in self-pity while scaring the bejesus out of your best friend? No, I think I understood that."
Ginny looked up into her friend's eyes before getting up.
"You sound like Draco when you do that."
"Really?" Alise asked with a slight twinkle in her eye. "Well, if it'll get you out of your occasional bouts of self-pity, then I must 'sound like Draco' more often."
"How much longer until the party?"
"We still have a good four hours."
"Then why are you putting on eye makeup now?"
"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. I'm experimenting. Seeing which look will go better with my dress to you know, impress any eligible bachelors out there."
There was a good thirty seconds of an awkward silence before Ginny answered.
"That's got to be the strangest thing I've ever heard of."
"Hey, don't come crying to me when your look doesn't receive the biggest impact."
"Alise, I'm not trying to outshine Narcissa, unlike you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nice soak in the tub before getting ready."
As Ginny walked towards her bathroom at the other end of the flat, she could hear Alise yell out "I'm not trying to outshine Narcissa!" Ginny shook with silent laughter as she walked. Alise's makeup at the present time seemed to take on a baroque sense: overblown and grand. To Ginny, it looked more theatrical than elegant with the long faux eyelashes and bright Chinese red lips. While it would have been perfect if Alise was walking down a haute couture runway, it was not the appropriate makeup for a birthday party. Ginny hoped her comment would make Alise tone down her outlandish makeup.
Ginny entered her bathroom and turned on the taps in her grandiose Roman-style tub. Sifting through the medicine cabinet, she found a suitable bubble bath and poured a good dosage into the pearly blue water. She stripped herself of her clothing and tentatively stepped it. Her troubles were soaked away over the next 2 hours, causing her to shrivel up like a prune in the process.
Realizing that she couldn't get any cleaner, Ginny stepped out, drying her self off as she exited the bathroom to go into her adjoining bedroom. Towel still wrapped around her body, Ginny made her way over to her wardrobe to retrieve her dress.
Her dress was a thing of beauty it was. The moment she saw it, she knew it was meant to be hers. No one else at the party would have it and just for tonight, she wouldn't mind standing out. The dress itself was a halter made of chiffon and silk. It was a pale orange colour with hints of salmon mixed in. The fabric covered her "assets" perfectly with a neckline low enough so it teased but didn't give too much away, ending just below her breasts. Around her waist it wrapped around with the same fabric, a copper brooch right at the centre with orange, red and gold jewels embedded into the piece of jewellery. The bottom portion, or skirt, trailed down in the same orangey chiffon fabric with the salmon coloured silk underneath, ending in a small train behind her. It was the slightest bit flouncy, but it made Ginny feel girly and surprisingly, the orange dress didn't clash with her red hair.
Ginny carefully took the dress out of the wardrobe, examining its beauty. She gingerly placed it on her bed and went back to retrieve her shoes and handbag. She decided to buy a copper coloured bag as well as shoes to not only make the dress' brooch stand out, but to make her hair seem more "multi-faceted". The shoes were Muggle made by an American company called Chinese Laundry. The purse, Ginny picked up at one of the lesser known boutiques in Diagon Alley, called Diagon Outfitters. Considered a rather eclectic shop, the clutch Ginny found there had two huge gold balls as fasteners, reminding Ginny of the coin purses that old women carry around.
Placing the shoes on the floor and the clutch on the bed, Ginny unwrapped the towel from her body, took the dress off its hanger and slipped it on. Realizing she forgot one crucial detail, Ginny ran to her chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of peach silk and lace boy short underwear. Slipping them on under her dress, she scampered over to her vanity, taking a seat in front of the mirror.
Scattered on the vanity's table were items like lipstick, lip gloss, eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, and powder. Ever since Ginny was hired by Narcissa, she began to grow accustomed to a life similar to the one that Draco led as a boy. She flat out refused to own a house elf, but appreciated some of the finer aspects in life, like makeup from Muggle companies such as M.A.C. and Stila. As a child, Ginny was never one for Glamours when it came to applying makeup. From experience, she learned it was better to apply one's makeup by hand.
At the vanity, Ginny began gathering her tools: the various brushes, shades of eye shadow, the black eyeliner, etc. With an array of choices in front of her, she picked up the foundation and sponge and got to work.
About and hour and several changes later, Ginny settled on a look that worked for her. Composed of shades similar to that in her dress, black eye liner and mascara, Ginny's eye makeup suited her and with a pale peach lip gloss on instead of lipstick, Ginny was pleased with her decision. Now there was just one obstacle left: her hair.
She had no friggen clue what to do with it. By the time she finished her makeup, it was almost dry, its curly self turning into an unruly mass.
A knock was heard on the door. Ginny got up and opened it, revealing Alise in all of her splendour.
"Aww, Alise, you look splendid! Simply marvellous!"
"Thanks, Gin. I'm telling you, that dress looks amazing on you! Oh and we have an hour left."
"You must be referring to my lack of a hairdo then? Don't worry, I'm working on it."
"Here let me do it," Alise said, reaching out to take Ginny's hair in her hands.
Ginny backed away immediately. "I don't know. After your little eye makeup fiasco, I'm not sure I want to be another one of your 'experiments'."
"Ginny, I will do no such thing to you and you know it! Just trust me."
Another forty-five minutes later, Ginny and Alise emerged from Ginny's room, Ginny with a hairstyle befit for a Grecian goddess with its piled up curls and Alise with a slight change to her already perfect dress. Although Alise came out of the dress incident with a black corset and a-line cocktail silk sheath, she decided to change it to a deep blue. She and Ginny agreed; it looked better in blue than in black. She had matching matte blue stilettos and clutch, while her hair was straightened, done up in a middle pony-tail with her bangs pinned back so it looked slightly poofed. Her eye liner was black and minimally winged with blue eye shadow for undertones on the top and bottom lids. Alise, thankfully, was able to pull it off and gosh darn it did she look amazing.
Both women checked that they had all of their necessary items, including the invitations tucked neatly into their bags, before Apparating to Malfoy Manor and Narcissa's birthday gala.
* * * * * * * * *
To say that Narcissa Malfoy's birthday gala was the biggest wizarding event of the year was an understatement.
Pansy and Saphira took it upon themselves to make a (what else?) green carpet. As the guests arrived, each one proceeded to walk down the green carpet, amidst a frenzy of reporters and paparazzi gathered at the event.
Not used to such things, Ginny and Alise seemed rather meek and out of place. After a few minutes though, they warmed up to the photographers, even posing for a few pictures.
Eventually, they made their way to the front door, promptly greeted by Pansy (who both women knew from either the Ministry, or in Ginny's case, school) and an exotic, but obviously gorgeous woman who must be none other than Saphira Zabini, Blaise's mom. After being sent off by Pansy and Saphira with a peck on the cheek and a hug, Ginny and Alise stepped foot into the overly decorated Malfoy Manor.
Decked out in green and silver, everything in the Manor was given a larger than life sense. Narcissa was nowhere to be seen, but Ginny was sure that she was off schmoozing with her guests. The guests. There had to be at least over 200 people present, not including family, both the Blacks and the Malfoys. They scoped out the crowd, recognizing a few people here and there, but those were few and far between. Ginny and Alise felt like complete strangers among the wizarding society's elite and were starting to regret their decision to come.
Overcome with an inane need for something to drink, Ginny excused herself from Alise's death grip and talked her way to the bar.
* * * * * * * * *
Alise, now alone, was unsure of what to do. Ginny said she'd be right back, but that was some time ago. She barely knew anyone here and instead of that being a comforting thought that only scared her more.
She was beginning to lose all hope in Ginny ever coming back and, more importantly, in her continuing to be a dateless loser, when a very handsome, dark-haired someone emerged out of the crowd.
He had a cat-like grace to him, with his dark hair and light blue eyes. It was an interesting combination, but Alise adored it. He didn't look tan or ghostly white, like many of the men here, but what seemed like a happy medium. He was wearing black pants and a black dress shirt with a blue tie that matched the colour of Alise's dress. Alise knew that she was going to meet at least one guy tonight, but boy did she just hit the jackpot. As he walked closer, he let out a little smirk quirk his positively kissable lips. Alise was getting nervous now and she did not want to mess this moment up. He stopped right in front of her, flashing a dazzling smile before speaking.
"Hello. I'm Blaise Zabini. And you are?"
* * * * * * * * *
"Mother, it is absolutely necessary for me to be here?"
"Antonio, you know it's your aunt Narcissa's birthday. We must be here," the woman spoke with a slight Italian accent, taking a sip of her martini in the process.
"But this is what? The third time I've seen her?"
"Stop whining, Antonio. What are you? A twenty-four year old or a six year old?"
"Neither, but you could've gone by yourself while I could've stayed back in Italy."
"And stay with that harem of women in our Milan flat? I don't think so."
Antonio cringed at that last statement. He hated it when his mother made allusions to his dating life.
"Ahh…I see where this is heading. You dragged me all the way to England so I could find some nice English girl to marry and have hundreds of children with."
"Something along those lines, but the company is an added bonus," the woman replied with a smirk and another sip of her martini.
"Sophia de Medici, I don't know whether to be happy to call you my mother or to curse the day I sprung from your loins," Antonio replied with a kiss on his mother's cheek. "I'm going to get another Mai Tai."
"And don't you dare come back until you find yourself a suitable girl!"
Antonio turned over his shoulder and smiled before continuing onto the bar.
* * * * * * * * *
Antonio socialized his way to the bar.
There were many gorgeous women at his aunt Narcissa's party, no doubt about that. The trouble was that many of these types of beauties he could find back home in either Milan or Florence. None of them stood out, even the part-Veela women. Usually once a Veela woman found you attractive, they clung on for dear life, but being part-Veela himself, Antonio was thankfully immune.
His mother had told him not to come back until he found a suitable girl and he would do well to follow his mother's orders. A Medici or not, she was still a Malfoy by birth. To defy his mother, especially on something as important to her as this would be like treason. He just needed to find one girl that his mother would approve of. Being beautiful would be an added bonus, but if he didn't love her, which was something he could count on, there was always his "harem of women" back home.
Antonio wasn't one to brag (unlike his cousin Draco), but he was what one would call a bloody Adonis. Although Italian by birth, he received almost the entire Malfoy gene collection. He was often mistaken for his cousin Draco, but if one looked closely enough, one could tell them apart easily. For example, while Draco has the silver eyes that most Malfoys have, Antonio inherited the Medici dark brown eyes. Also, if the eyes didn't give it away, then the obvious Italian accent would.
As he got closer to the bar, he saw some more hopeful prospects, even this one Asian-looking chick, but she seemed to be engrossed in conversation with the self-proclaimed former Hogwarts Boy-Whore, Blaise Zabini.
Tis a shame that a woman that beautiful is going to be wasted on him, Antonio thought with a shake of his head.
After her though, he didn't notice anyone else. He carefully approached the bar, but was nearly knocked to the ground by some girl. He regained his balance quickly, but she was still falling. Doing the gentlemanly thing, he snagged her waist before she made contact with the ground.
She looked up at Antonio to thank him, but instead of thanking him, her eyes went wide and one word was uttered from her lips. It was so low that one had to strain to hear it.
"Draco."
"No. I'm sorry. That would be my mentally incapacitated cousin," Antonio said as he straightened both of them out. "I'm Antonio. Antonio de Medici. May I ask who you are?"
"Oh. I'm terribly sorry, Antonio. My name is Ginevra Weasley, or Ginny for short. I'm Draco's psychologist."
"Ginevra, eh? Nice strong Italian name. It translates to Geneva in English. Did you say that you're Draco's psychologist?"
"Thank you and yes, yes I am."
"No wonder why you thought I was Draco."
"Yes now that you mention it, you do resemble Draco in many ways. Except for the accent, of course."
"And the eyes."
"Oh, yes, the eyes," Ginny said with a slight smile.
"So, Ginevra, you must tell me what it's like baby-sitting Draco?" Antonio asked, extending an arm to Ginny.
Ginny giggled a bit nervously at Antonio's question, yet took his arm before replying.
"Yes, I suppose it is like baby-sitting him, isn't it? Well, he's very much like the spoiled brat that I went to school with, but in some ways he isn't. He doesn't like answering my questions and when he does, he has a tendency to go off into some wild tangent that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. He's just so frustrating sometimes that I want to strangle the little bastard. Oh, sorry, I forgot; you're family. I didn't mean to speak so lowly of him."
"Oh no, it's quite alright. We were never really that close, his family and mine. In fact, this is the third time in my entire life that I've seen my aunt Narcissa."
"That must be horrid!"
"I take it that you're rather close to your family then?"
"Well, with six older brothers one has to be."
"So you're the youngest?"
"Yes."
"Alas, as an only child, I have no concept of what having siblings would be like."
"In some ways you're very lucky, Antonio."
"So I've been told," he replied with a smile.
Ginny coloured slightly at Antonio's smile. She couldn't help it, he was extremely gorgeous and from what she could tell so far, the perfect gentleman.
They had made their way to the centre of the dance floor by now. As if on cue, the music started up and Ginny was pulled into Antonio's arms in one grand sweeping motion.
In his arms, Ginny could feel the warmth of his body, his breath hovering near her neck and the raw Italian sensuality extruding from his every pore. He was so much like Draco, yet so different. She had so many questions for him that she couldn't help asking.
"Antonio, you must tell me all about your family."
"Well, you already know Draco and my aunt Narcissa and my mother's brother Lucius, right?"
"Of course."
"You know how Draco killed uncle Lucius?"
"Yes, that happened to be on of the few things that I got out of Draco."
"Then there's not much left to tell," Antonio said with a chuckle.
"What about your mother and your life growing up in Italy?"
"My mother, Sophia, is originally English by birth. My father, Lorenzo, is a descendant of what was the largest banking family in Florence, the Medicis. He's also a Muggle. My mother, coming from a pure-blooded wizarding family, was soon disowned after marrying my father. So I guess she's the black sheep of the family. Because she was disowned, I had little or no contact with my mother's family. Growing up, I lived in both worlds: the wizarding and Muggle. My parents are prominent figures in both of the worlds, so my household was an interesting combination of both."
"My, that sounds like a fascinating childhood."
"I guess you could call it fascinating."
"Well, its better to live in Italy than in England."
"Is that so?"
"I mean, you have access to so many different enriched cultures and you're a half-blood, so you get to experience the wonders of both worlds. I didn't experience the Muggle world until this year and that was because my friend Alise grew up with it."
"Is being a half-blood a bad thing?" Antonio asked. Ginny seemed like a sweet girl, but she was starting to put a toe over to being annoying and/or insulting. Antonio couldn't figure out which yet.
"No, it's not, but I was brought up in a pure-blooded household and although my father worked in the Department for Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, it just isn't the same as experiencing the world yourself."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No, you shouldn't apologize, I did sound rather insulting."
Maybe she wasn't so bad if she was willing to take blame for her faults.
Yet after Ginny said that, there was an awkward silence as the music began to fade. Antonio loosened his grasp around Ginny's waist. Even though she did insult him, he felt something emanating from her nonetheless. He had to admit she was a very pretty girl. She wasn't the exotic socialite that he was used to dating, but she was more of puritan goddess. Her look was vaguely reminiscent of that of a Roman or Greek goddess, from her hair to her dress. If she didn't do anything else that she might regret, maybe he could introduce her to his mother at the end of the night.
* * * * * * * * *
Sophia de Medici stood at the opposite end of the room watching her son. More specifically, her son and some red-headed girl.
The girl was smiling at something Antonio had said and Sophia saw the blush creeping up the girl's cheeks when Antonio did the same.
As of yet, Sophia was satisfied that her son hadn't ended up dancing with a skank. If she was lucky, she might meet this red-headed girl by the end of the night.
Maybe bringing Antonio along wasn't such a bad idea after all.
* * * * * * * * *
"Hello. I'm Blaise Zabini. And you are?"
"Hi," Alise said with a small wave. "I'm Alise Martin. Nice to meet you, Blaise."
"Likewise," Blaise spoke with a kiss to Alise's hand.
"You must be Saphira's son then?"
"The one and only," Blaise said with a smile.
Wow. He looks amazing when he smiles, Alise wistfully thought.
"You must know her then?" Blaise continued.
"Oh, no. In fact, I met her tonight at the door; I just recognized the last name."
"Ah, yes. That would give it away wouldn't it? So, tell me Alise, what brings you here? Besides Narcissa's birthday of course."
"Of course. Well, I'm her sister, Bellatrix's, psychologist, so I guess I was invited for that reason."
"I'm not interrupting any date that you're having, am I? Some one as beautiful as you must have a date."
"Oh, no!" Alise almost exclaimed with a smile. "No. No. In fact, I believe the person that I came with, my friend Ginny, seems to have found someone." Alise finished with a point in Ginny's direction. "Wait, is that Draco?"
Blaise followed Alise's finger to where Ginny was. "No, that's his cousin Antonio. And if you don't mind me asking, how do you know Ginny?"
"I work of with her. She's Draco's psychologist. Why? Do you know her from somewhere?"
"Do I know her from somewhere? I went to school with her."
"Really? Oh, you must tell me what she was like."
"Well, truth be told, I wasn't all that friendly with her. In fact, it was common sport in the Slytherin House to make fun the Weasleys more than the other Gyrffindors."
"Buy why? I mean aren't you friends with her now?"
"Yeah, now we're friends, but that's only because of the Ministry, but when were still in Hogwarts, we weren't exactly what you would call 'best pals'."
"You still didn't tell me why you made fun of Ginny and her family," Alise said with coy smile.
"I guess I didn't. I must correct that now. Normally, the Slytherins, my house, just made fun of the Gryffindors, Ginny's house. We left most the Weasley related taunts to Draco. He and his family have this long standing grudge against the Weasleys. I always thought it was kind of ridiculous, but then again, I'm neither a Weasley nor a Malfoy, am I?"
"So that's why Ginny hates being Draco's psychologist," Alise spoke with an air of a new dawn coming over her.
"I never really thought about that, but yes."
Like Antonio, Blaise was on the hunt for a girl. His mother, Saphira, had given him specific instructions of what he supposed to do tonight. Besides helping her and Pansy with the party, he was told to "find a suitable girl because having a one-night stand almost every night of the week does not make a woman wife material;" the clincher of all this being that he had to introduce said girl to his mother by the end of the night. He had fallen into one his mother's accursed traps. Boy did he hate that. It was bad enough that his mother knew of his infamous nickname from school, but now she was using it in her favour. She was a crafty woman, that Saphira Zabini.
"So, Alise, you never did tell me where you're from."
"Oh, originally, I'm from America; Southern California to be exact. I only moved to England to go to a competent wizarding college. Don't get me wrong though, American wizarding schools, especially the junior and high schools, are amazing, but their wizarding colleges aren't up to par yet. My parents are both pure-blooded; among the few in America."
"America, you say? From what I've seen of it, which is not much mind you, it's rather nice."
"Well, what parts of America have you seen?"
"Parts of New York and Florida."
"So you've never been to California?"
"Nope. Never."
"I must take you then! It's beautiful!"
"We'll see," Blaise replied with a smile.
"Blaise, dear!"
"Oh, hello, Mother," Blaise said as Saphira planted a kiss on her son's cheek.
"Blaise, who is this young lady that you seem to be so enwrapped in conversation with?" Saphira asked with an appraising gesture aimed at Alise.
"Oh, my apologies. Mother, this is Alise Martin. Alise, this is my mother, Saphira Zabini."
"Pleased to meet you, Alise."
"You as well, Mrs. Zabini."
"Oh, call me 'Saphira', darling. Besides, Mr. Zabini died some odd years ago."
"I'm terribly sorry, Saphira."
"For what, dearie? Blaise's father was only the seventh out of a long line of men."
"Blaise never told me that."
"I wouldn't expect him to," Saphira said with a charming smile.
Alise didn't know how to reply to that, so she did the most logical thing: she smiled.
"Alise was it?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Do you think I could talk to you in private?"
"Oh, I don't know Mrs. Zab- I mean, Saphira."
"Blaise doesn't mind. Do you, dear?"
"Of course not. Just don't be too hard on her would you, mother? I kind of like this one," Blaise finished with a wink to Alise.
Alise visibly blushed at this, but smiled nonetheless.
"Don't worry, love. It'll only be a few minutes," Saphira said, slowly taking Alise to a small alcove in the ballroom.
* * * * * * * * *
God how she hated birthday parties; especially her own.
It wasn't like that when she was younger though. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
When she was younger, every birthday meant another age closer to maturity and getting away from her family. Once she hit thirty-five though, it was just another reminder of how old she was.
She had to admit that this year's shindig was turning out to be quite the social event. And as an added bonus, her husband wasn't there to parade her around like some trophy! Yet, with every positive, there must be a negative.
This year's negative was the lack of certain charming and charismatic twenty-four year old, also known as her son. While it never seemed like it, she really did enjoy her son's company at such soirees. He was gentlemanly, kind and always complimentary. As he grew older, they began to play a game of sorts. With his good looks, he was able to pick up women very quickly. So, they formed a bet. At the very beginning of the night, they'd both make guesses as to how many floo locations he's get, the equivalent of a Muggle telephone number. To many, their bet seemed shallow and too inhuman for a mother and son to have, but when affection is scorned upon in their household, as strange as it sounds, it was the closest thing they had to expressing they love they had.
That morning, she had looked forward to formulating the bet with her son, but she remembered where he was and what his current mental state was.
She never remembered crying so much.
Not even at her husband's funeral, but that was only because she was expected to.
As she walked around the crowded ballroom, socializing with guests, many she didn't even know, the reality of it all hit her. She tried to get him out for this one night, but the hospital wouldn't budge. Seeing Antonio was like putting salt into a fresh wound.
So with her fake smile plastered onto her face, Narcissa Malfoy meandered around her party, inwardly mourning the mental loss of her son, Draco, with each step.
A/N- Now an explaination to the whole '1 of 2' bit: Originally, ch. 5 was 23 pages written so
far. If I continued to write it out, it would have been well over 30 pages. Typed, this chapter is 13 pages, so
it's rather long. Ch. 6, "The Devil Wears Prada", concludes Narcissa's birthday festivites. As to why
it took me so long to get this out, just real life problems, but I shall try my best to post ch. 6 in 2 weeks time.
Also, I know that Narcissa wasn't featured all too much except for that last bit there, but she'll be seen more
in ch. 6.
References- Peanut pointed out that Saphira's name comes from Christopher Paolini's book 'Eragon', so I do not own it. And the Medicis are REAL people. Look it up (they were well known during the Renaissance in Florence, Italy). Obviously, Sophia and Antonio are NOT.
Reviews
Andrea- First off, THE most AMAZING review I've ever gotten! I had no idea that my writing did
that and that my characters seem human. Thank you so much for your kind words. It really meant a lot to me. Also, the
little cheer you gave me on FIA was great as well! :D As to D/G's relationship, they will get together at the end,
but not in the sense that you might be thinking of. But trust me, they will!
Everyone else, thank you so much! All of your reviews are lovely and beyond amazing! They keep me going and I thank you for that.
Next chapter: Alise talks with Saphira, Ginny talks with Sophia, and Alise's 20 minutes of weirdness. Plus, a
bigger appearance from the birthday girl! Oh and if you wish to recieve emails as to when I update, either leave your
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