I fear my heart, and the way it trembles at the thought of you -- Christmas 1975 (SMUT)

The annual yule ball at the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.  My favorite time of year now.  Of course I left Monica and Gabriel at home.  They were not Purebloods.  I was dressed as wonderful as I could be and bade goodbye to Gabriel and Monica.  She knew who I would be with the entire night.  She knew, but she dared not speak a word of it. 

When I arrived at Grimmauld Place, Bellatrix was the first I looked for.  However, there were certain things that needed to be addressed first:  such as greeting the ones who put this all together, just like every other year. 

I found Walburga Black and bowed slightly, taking her hand and kissing it gently.  "Mrs. Black, it is so lovely to see you again.  The place looks marvelous," I said to her smoothly.

Being fourteen, I did not necessarily enjoy these yule balls as much as my parents, but I knew it was important to my mum and dad.  I finished up with my tie and headed down to the main study area that doubled as a ballroom for events such as these.  Mum had the piano charmed to continue playing music quietly in the background.  I saw that Garridan was already there.  I grinned; I had always liked him.  I found Bella while he spoke to Mum.

"Your boyfriend is here," I said to her, winking playfully.

Smirking, I greeted Ollivander.  "Thank you, Ollivander," I said to him smoothly.  "We do go all out for our Annual Yule Ball at the Noble House of Black."  I enjoyed throwing the name of our ancestry out.  We were a well-known, powerful family.

"It shows," I assured her, "in the most lovely of ways."  I knew who I was really there to see, and I had yet to hear her cackle... that was the main reason why I was spending time speaking so long with Mrs. Black.

I had left Alecto at home with the house elf as she was only five years old.  Yes, I was rather proud of the fact that my younger sister was a beautiful little girl, she was not quite old enough for such parties.  Genevieve and I were at the party together, actually.  I was rather content with that.  We entered the House of Black and was rather pleased at the way that Walburga and Orion Black had decorated the place.  It was magnificent actually.

Though Father hated these parties and never showed, I started to once I became of age.  It was better to be on good terms with everyone than on bad.  Even though Dad had never come to one, no one seemed to hate him for it.  I got along decently well with some of the people there -- such as Gary.  He was speaking with Walburga Black and I smiled at him and he politely got himself away from her.  She was gorgeous, but a bit crazy.  "Hey Gary," I said to him easily, chuckling.  "Did you need an escape or have you found your little lady yet?" I knew about him and Bellatrix Black whether anyone else did or not.

I looked at Amycus and sighed.  "this is going to be a drag, I think," I muttered to him.

After handling the formalities with the elders and, most importantly, the Blacks, I found my way towards the Carrows.  "Hello Gen... Amycus," I said to them, inclining my head towards them slightly as a nod.

Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion always had the best holiday parties.  I was with my youngest cousin, Regulus, waiting for all the guests to arrive.  "Now, you know what to do," I said to him again.  I knew that some would not agree with my affair with Garridan, but Regulus understood.  He looked up to Gary.  I found their relationship rather entertaining.

I chuckled.  "Yeah, go save him from Mother," I said, leaving my older cousin and walking over to Mum and Gary.  I cleared my throat politely.  "I hate to intrude, but Mother, is it alright if I ask Ollivander some questions about the schoolwork that I've been having as of late?  It won't take long... but we will be up in my bedroom so there is some quiet to be able to understand the best of the knowledge that he has to pass on."  I was a smooth liar.  It was a gift.  I smiled sweetly at my mum and I knew it would work.  

She was pleased that I was looking up to someone better than Sirius anyways and the fact that I wanted to do well with my studies always made her happy.

I chuckled at looked at Mrs. Black. "I would not mind helping him at all," I said, assuring her.  I knew what REgulus was doing, but we needed to be discreet nonetheless.

I smiled and shook hands with Malfoy. "Lucius, it is nice to see you -- though we knew that you would show. How are things?" I questioned politely.

"Thank you, Ollivander. Be sure to check in on Bellatrix and have her join the party, Regulus," I said to my son, wanting my niece to come down to the party as quickly as possible. I knew she was here, I had just not seen her for a little while. I wanted her to bring Narcissa down to socialize with Lucius Malfoy; the two of them would be a good pair and we had all already discussed it.

I smirked, watching Garridan and Regulus. I hoped he knew that he was not as sly as he thought he was. Or maybe I was just that observant because I already knew what was going on.

These things always depressed me. I tried to avoid them all. However, this time around I am not sure if I will go unnoticed. I kept quiet and left my bedroom door closed. Hoping no one knew I was still here.