The rest of our lives is much too long

Pureblood girls were incapable of dressing themselves.

Or that was Astoria's opinion on the matter. Not only did she have all final decisions on clothing purchases, she was the Chief Executive In Charge of Daily Outfits, as well as the Prime Minister of Special Events Attire. Franki was currently wriggling into a dress she always hated wearing. She slid her arms through and sighed heavily, bending her arms awkwardly to zip herself up.

Astoria entered. "What are you doing? I can zip you!"

Franki was victorious though. She smiled smugly and dropped her arms. "It's alright, mum, I got it." To have this little freedom in dressing herself made her feel like she did have some control over her controlling mother. Astoria scowled. "You probably wrinkled the back- no matter, I am sure I can do something about it." Franki sighed again. "Stop huffing, you sound like a rhinoceros."

She held out the huge heels and Franki groaned. "C'mon, mum, I always trip in them!"

"I don't want to hear your tongue, Francesca."

"Franki."

Astoria paled. "Listen here, young woman. We named you Francesca because it carried a sense of dignity and-"

"Elegance and a common name such as Franki is a disgrace to the Malfoy name. Got it, mum."

Astoria stared at her daughter. "Put your shoes on. I'll pack your bag and do your hair in a moment."

Franki sat down and began the difficult task is strapping the heels to her feet. As she did, her father entered, whispering to her mother, "Is this really necessary?" "Yes, Draco, the others are all betrothed, what makes her any different." "I don't know it's just- it's just so young." "Sixteen isn't young. Scorpius was betrothed at fifteen."

"I'm walking on sunshine!" Franki burst into song, "Whoa-oh! I'm walking on sunshine. Whoa-oh. And DON'T IT FEEL GOOD?"

Astoria turned to her husband. "And do you see what I'm dealing with?"


"Daedalus."

"Dyadelus."

"Daedalus!"

"I'll just see if he has a nickname-"

"Francesca!"

The plan was they were going to Eli's. The adults had decided to have dinner together as well, but Francesca and this stranger were to get to know each other over dinner. Because, as everyone knew, all one needed for a successful marriage, was one successful dinner. Franki still hadn't allowed herself to believe this was final. She was sneaky- she had gotten out of her mother's diet, she could get out of this.

The light was frantic as it died on the horizon, groping up into the sky with its last breaths of orangey light. It was through the misted windows of the library that Daedalus watched the sun as it was bundled behind the hills that rose up over the landscape like the back of a sea monster creeping beneath the surface of the water that was, in this case, merely clumps of thick, russet earth topped with a layer of lush viridian. To have his mind elsewhere, grappling with a different reality, imaging what it would have been like to frolic amongst creatures of a different world, made it easier to dispel the horrors of his current reality, and the ache in his side.

The boy’s mournful behaviour was not uncommon. More often than not he’d be found in one library or another just staring out into the sunshine of the world beyond, ever wishing he could join those that basked in its glow while knowing full well that though he could easily just rise from his chair and walk out there, it would not do him any good to do so. Excess sunlight made the boy feel more than a little bit queasy, though no one was entirely sure whether that was because of vampire genes or some other underlying reason. But the sunset was something Daedalus adored. Its dwindling strength was something he could relate to, not that Cillian would ever allow him to bow the way the light always did to any adversary. It was something Daedalus wanted to do but dared not to, for his own sake as much as his mother’s; Cillian would not mind much, Aoife could have another son yet.

“Daedalus?”

The young man’s eyes left the window momentarily, pressing the sunset into his periphery as his mother filled his primary view. Her hair was piled on top of her head having been curled with tendrils left to fall down around her temples to frame her face. Her hands were caught up near her face as she poked her earrings through the near-closed holes in her lobes. Her face contorted a little in pain as the metal pierced through delicate skin once more and Daedalus took a step forward, the need to protect his mother rising up within him, a feeling he quickly quashed when he realised how ridiculous he was. He merely managed a smile instead as she too brushed away her inner feelings in order to focus on the task at hand and the hours ahead of them.

“You look smart,” She complimented as she drew closer to him, brushing lint off of the lapels of his jacket and straightening his tie for him. “Don’t be too petulant, eh? Your father wants to at least attempt some sense of normalcy and that includes getting you a marriage. Francesca is very pretty, Daedalus. You’ll like her very much, I’m sure.” Aoife couldn’t quite ignore the sceptical look the boy shot her and she smiled despite herself, reaching up to pat the boy on the cheek. “Perk up. You’ll only make him angry otherwise.”

The D’Eath trio made their way into Diagon Alley via Floo, the Healers having explained to Cillian years before that it would never be a good idea to take the boy anywhere by Apparation. Daedalus walked between his mother and his father, feeling all the more anxious as they neared the restaurant where they would be meeting the Malfoys. Increasingly, he found himself thinking of excuses to leave, reasons for him not to be able to go. He was sure there was another bruise forming on his shoulder – the way the suit rubbed against his skin only exacerbated the throbbing there. Daedalus wondered if by mentioning this he could go to St. Mungo’s instead and have his body re-drained of magic. He doubted he’d get out of it, though. Cillian would just make another appointment.

When they entered the restaurant, Daedalus hung back with his mother feigning the need to catch his breath as his father went to speak with the concierge.

“I don’t want to do this, mother.” He exhaled impatiently, his gaze boring into her less than sympathetic eyes. “This is all in vain. You and I both know-”

Aoife inhaled sharply and turned to stare at her son, disbelief and hurt marring her features. “Do not deny us hope, Daedalus. This is positive, it is. Just, smile, please. For me? This is important. You must impress them. We can only do so much.”

“I do not want her.” He hissed back in response, receiving only a withering gaze from his mother in retort to that.

“Draco and Astoria are talking with your father, look. Do try and act as if you care, Daedalus. I know it might be difficult but please, try.”

Franki shifted impatiently from her left foot, back to the right, back to the left until her mother reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, fingers grappling onto Franki's shoulder painfully. The rebellious daughter simply smiled, as though to show she had somehow been victorious by annoying her mother to the point of inflicting pain on herself. The second she could, however, she stepped from her mother's grip.

Draco had turned back to Astoria to whisper their argument, though Astoria would hear none of it. It seemed the tiresome woman had finally tired of her youngest daughter and was eager to marry her off and move her out as soon as possible. Often, Franki considered reminding her mother that she was still only in sixth year. How would it look if she tried to move her out before her NEWTs.

Franki turned her back to her parents and watched the windows in the dining are with a bored expression. A little boy was outside, making faces at his reflection, unaware that the people inside the restaurant were fully able to see him. Franki glanced about- no one had noticed the boy's antics, and he had still not grown bored of them. Her lips twisted and lifted, genuinely uplifted by the sight.

"There they are," she heard a hissing. She turned back to ensure it was her mother who had spoken, and was immediately beckoned forward and then turned around to face the door. "Mum, is this a meeting or a playdate?" Franki whispered but she was shushed by Astoria, who smiled elegantly, trying to create a picture of the perfect family as the d'Eaths walked in. This portrait was ruined by a very exaggerated roll of Franki's eyes.

Cillian d'Eath approached and Franki watched him with reproachful eyes, already taking a dislike to his voice and airs. He greeted her and she bared her teeth in a smile, offering her hand at a prompt from her mother through another shoulder squeeze. Astoria spoke to Cillian, "We reserved two tables. One for us adults to enjoy a nice dinner, and one for Francesca and Daedalus. Oh, doesn't Daedalus look handsome?" Astoria asked, directing at Franki.

"Daedalus looks handsome," Franki droned back, earning herself another squeeze.

As far as Daedalus was concerned, beating around the bush was not going to get them anywhere; and neither was outright lying. Daedalus did not know why his parents bothered with the pretences or that almighty “hope” his mother clung to like a punctured life raft. He knew all too well that it was not his place to dictate what was to go on but he was dying, this he knew, so he did not think it too unreasonable to want to choose his own destiny, even if his future – or lack thereof – had been predetermined for him. Yet, despite this, Daedalus wanted to please his parents and so despite all of his reservations, he found himself striding towards the Malfoys of his own accord, without his mother’s coaxing.

Despite not being brought up in a way which his father would have preferred, Daedalus knew how to act in Pureblood social situations. He smiled warmly at Astoria, holding his hand out to receive hers in order to place a kiss on the back of it. After a brief introduction he reached to shake the hand of Draco, shooting a smile to the other man before turning to look at their daughter who, much to Daedalus’ dismay, was not as beautiful as his mother had painted her to be. He glanced over at the woman in question who merely smiled encouragingly back at him, forcing Daedalus to look at Francesca once more. He held out his hand in a similar fashion, expecting the same response from her as he had her mother, a small smile curving his lips upwards as he took his eyes from Francesca to her parents.

“What a beautiful daughter you have,” he told them smoothly, dutifully, receiving an approving look from his father. He removed his hand abruptly once the situation warranted it but did so in what he hoped to be a rather subtle fashion before gesturing for her to go with him to the second table which was a little away from the one their parents had settled at so they had privacy but not an extraordinary amount.

Daedalus continued to play the part of a doting gentleman and pulled the chair out for her to take her place in, all the while wondering how it had come to this and, more importantly, why it had come to this; why him, more than anything else. The Malfoys weren’t completely lacking in their resourcefulness. They could have picked someone other than him. He knew a few eligible wizards. Heck, they could have even had his brother if they really wanted. Why him? Why did they pick the one whose expiry date was prior to even the engagement?

“Your dress is very pretty,” Daedalus complimented her. “It compliments your eyes.”

Stop bullshitting her, lad, his brain told him. But of course, naturally, he ignored it.

Franki was calculating now. The Malfoys had enough disgrace on their hands for her to outright embarrass them, but Merlin save her if she was going to be forced to marry. She had to be proper, but just off enough to be moved on from; not unliked, but to hopefully have them lose enough confidence in her to be willing to move on to the next candidate. Whatever Franki did, she refused to accept this as a done deal. She still had her magic to work, and an opportunity presented itself.

He extended a hand to her and she exchanged a quick, almost timid, look with her mother before looking back at the slight boy. She reached out and gripped his hand, shaking it rather than letting him kiss it. She would not believe that he would be excited to be paired with a stranger. The two knew each other from school, yes, but Daedalus had been one of those kids you simply forgot existed. When she shook his hand, she allowed her eyes to reach his, to try to discern his thoughts, to try and make a deal with him- we work on this together to get the hell out.

She did not know if her message was received and she released his hand. He spoke smoothly of her looks, to impress the adults surely, and she stared down at her shoes, noticing a scuff on one of them. She told Astoria- she had warned her. Daedalus motioned for them to go and she waved a hand to her parents. Her father's arm twitched, but he remained stoic, before Astoria led the party away.

Franki followed him watching his shoulders to try to keep her balance but a movement out of the corner of her eye distracted her- the little boy had not left. Her heel stuck and she half-stumbled, but she quickly corrected it, hurrying to the table and trying to ignore the child. As fortune would have it, she was seated so she could see the unruly boy right over Daedalus' shoulder. Naturally.

He complimented her dress, but she was watching the child who's fingers had pulled his mouth completely out and his tongue waggled. Her eyes flicked to her date's and she said, "What? Oh, right. Sorry. Um, thanks." She wanted to get right into it. She didn't like wasting time. She wanted to know what his plans are, and if they had any hope. "Let me level with you-"

"Drinks?" the waiter had arrived. Franki looked up and paused, derailed. "Iced tea, please." She settled back against her seat to wait for Daedalus to order too.

The faux affection towards the girl was seen right through by his mother and her furrowed eyebrows told Daedalus exactly what he needed to know: he was in trouble with Cillian. The young man sighed heavily and dropped himself somewhat unceremoniously into the chair opposite the young woman. He undid the button of his jacket and licked his lips absent-mindedly before reaching forward for the menu, just so that he had something to fill his hands with. He skipped the meals, instead going straight for the drinks section, knowing full well that it was that that the waiter would ask for first. He thumbed through it idly, deciding the only thing that could save the situation was a glass of Firewhisky which, much to his delight, was legal when purchasing it with a meal.

A waiter appeared just as the girl had begun to speak candidly and Daedalus looked up, saved from having to narrow his eyes at her. He looked up at the waiter and sat back a little in his chair though still retraining a good amount of posture for the social event. He closed the menu momentarily and allowed Francesca to speak first – though, not really, she just spoke without preamble – and then ordered his Firewhisky, ignoring the slightly befuddled look the waiter gave him before sweeping away, promising to return with their drinks momentarily. Daedalus then turned his attention back to the blonde, dismayed slightly by her lack of decorum.

“The apple has fallen quite far from the tree then.” Daedalus spoke finally, raising his eyebrow slightly at her, wondering whether she’d prove him right.

The waiter turned from her and Franki sighed, irritated that he had interrupted at so crucial a moment. Who knew if her courage would remain? It had been on an impulse, to speak so brashly, but perhaps the impulse had passed. The waiter had taken Daedalus' attention and Franki's eyes moved, drawing towards the boy in the window. One of the patrons had begun staring, and he now looked intent to continue the staring contest. His brow was furrowed in determination, his head bent, hands on his hips, his eyes unwavering. The question had to be asked- where was this boy's mother?

Daedalus shook her from her reverie and she turned her head to look at him, momentarily confused. The comment registered and she struggled with it- was that a good thing, or a bad thing? Was she flattered or offended? She was not exactly sure and she knew her answer would vary depending on the intention of the d'Eath boy. It was his uncle who had thrown her family from their manor, after all. She doubted the d'Eaths had a very high opinion of her family, so perhaps he was pleased to see her different. And that raised another question- did she want him to like her? She certainly did not want to get along so well the marriage continued, no. But they would have to, at least, get along to work together.

She felt her hand go up to her neck, absently playing with the silver necklace there as she tried to figure out the best tactic. And then, something happened that she would never admit. A piece of Astoria's advice entered her mind- and if her mother found that out, Franki would never hear the end of it. Smiling and the simple question 'whatever do you mean?' got me through the first three months of my own courtships. It implies mystery rather than ignorance, and gets your questions asked. Displeased to have been led to this, Franki smiled as calmly as she could, though there was a definite uncertainty in it, and said haltingly, "Whatever do you- do you mean?"

Daedalus raised his eyebrows at the girl before him, wondering why suddenly she feigned ignorance – as if she was not aware of herself. He did not encounter the Malfoy children much – though you would not see him complaining on that front – and so he was unaware as to their particulars though there was something about the girl that suggested to him that she did not belong. Perhaps it was her absent-mindedness.

Now, make no mistake, Daedalus had been around Pureblood women and most of them were not prized for their brains - rather, their assets – so he expected a certain amount of ditziness. Yet, where they hung off of his every word, she seemed to be in a world of her own and Dae wasn’t sure whether he was happy about that or not.

“That’s for you to decide,” he told her simply.

The young man’s eyes returned back to the menu after that. How did one entertain a girl who clearly, found her joy elsewhere? Daedalus figured he had to make a show of wining and dining her or whatever their parents wanted to see. Personally, he still did not understand why they’d bothered with the whole affair but who was he to question their motivations? Oh yes, their son.

“This is a complete and utter waste of time,” He said finally, not bothering to look up from the menu. “But we might as well enjoy the food.”

Thanks, Astoria. Brilliant advice. Really cleared that up.

The question had gone unanswered and Franki shifted awkwardly, swallowing and then clearing her throat. She was not sure what to say, and her indecision was not making her seem any more capable of actually being able to pull off something like the overthrow of their parents' decision. She had hoped for... well, she was still not sure what she had hoped to find in place of Daedalus d'Eath. All she knew was that this was not going at all she had wished it might.

She finally found her voice and decided to stick with mystery. He could be vague, as could she. "I suppose the apple must roll away to root themselves up," she said back. "You can't grow in the shade of another. I don't know how far I have rolled, but I don't think it too far." She cleared her throat again, wishing madly for the moment to pass.

She reached for her menu and opened it, reviewing the meals. Daedalus' words brought her eyes to his. "What do you mean by that?" This time, there was no vague mystery, only an earnest request for clarification, a tiny sparkle of hope in her eyes. Was she not alone in wanting something different for herself than what had been planned for her? Or was he just a cynic?

The evening was not what Daedalus was sure his mother had been expecting. He certainly had not been expecting an exchange of metaphorical vagueness that seemed to be taking up much of the conversation that they held. Daedalus busied himself with picking at a bit of plastic laminate that had come away from the parchment that it had been protecting and eyed the girl somewhat idly, not really paying attention to any particular part of her but, rather, looking at her as a whole and finding himself appreciating her regardless of his preconceptions.

“Some apples get eaten, you know.” Daedalus stated blandly, beginning once again to flick through the menu. “What are the specials, do you think? Are they at the back? Ooh, would you look at that? Apple pie on the dessert menu. How ironic.” Daedalus smirked a little before shaking his head and closing the menu, letting it drop onto the table just as the waiter returned with the drinks. Once he set the drinks down, he looked from Daedalus to Franki before asking the latter what she wanted for her meal.

Daedalus took this moment to finally answer: “Oh, nothing,” before smiling a little and taking his eyes off across the room to find something interesting to amuse himself with.