|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 14, 2008 19:23:05 GMT -5
"Magic International. It is a small private school in London. My father, Atticus Brown, you may have heard of him, felt the school was full of people not of my class so he shipped me here." Holly glared off into the distance angry at her father's choices. He had controlled her all her life, from friends, boyfriends, schools, everything. She had no freedom in her own household. Maybe it was because of the choices her brother had made...
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 14, 2008 23:02:43 GMT -5
No, Dare hadn't heard of Atticus Brown. He guessed by the way she spoke of him that she must be a Pureblood, one of the Old Families like Michael. Dare himself knew little of those things. His father had rarely spoken of his life before that serendipitous holiday to California that had ended in his marrying Mom. "I hope he doesn't think Hogwarts is full of Purebloods," he said, knowing that would give him away. "There's plenty in Slytherin, but..." Dare shrugged. He was just glad she wasn't still trying to drag him outside.
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 14, 2008 23:14:32 GMT -5
Holly looked up, slipping back into the entrance. She ran her fingers against the cool stone and laughed bitterly. "Oh no! He went here himself! Slytherin, of course... So, it would make sense to send me here. In a year I will probably be pulled out anyway to be married. Ha! I made a bet he would be one of my cousins." Holly's eyes danced maniacally, full of anger, regret, and remorse.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 15, 2008 0:18:40 GMT -5
Dare's nose wrinkled in disgust at that. Thank God Mom had straightened Dad out about that Pureblood stuff before Dare was old enough to remember. "If he does that, you should elope or something. Being disowned has got to be better than that." Dare knew two disowned Purebloods, and Dad hadn't looked back until Mom died.
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 15, 2008 15:07:26 GMT -5
Holly's eyes softened when she thought of her mother. Although her mother, Devon Cordelia Cordell, was quite a handful, she had always provided the love and support a parent should give. "Oh no, I could not do that. My parents have always given me what I needed. I suppose it is my duty as the heir to the family." Holly remembered her father talking with her about her future; marrying, children, finances. It was all so much and so close...
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 15, 2008 15:20:46 GMT -5
Dare's brows lowered a bit as he looked at the girl, incredulous for some moments before it all came together in his mind. He knew one Pureblood in particular who had done worse than give himself to an unwanted marriage to please his father. Two months ago, Dare never would have been able to understand, but he'd seen it now. He'd been there. "If you're that close to your parents, why don't you just talk to them?" he asked at last. There had to be some Purebloods somewhere who were reasonable with their kids.
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 15, 2008 15:24:24 GMT -5
"Well, there is more than that. I have no idea why I am spilling this to a complete stranger but whatever. See, my father is in a lot of debt and he can not get out of it himself. It started from the war and such. This man, my fiancee, he has known the family I guess, and they are very very wealthy. I have tried arguing about it but my mother thinks it is best and my father needs it. Everything failed with my brother so I am their last hope." Holly sighed releasing the last of her pent up air waiting for his response.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 15, 2008 16:19:20 GMT -5
Purebloods and their obsession with money. He could understand the whole carrying on the family name thing, but the money thing he just didn't get. His parents hadn't been impoverished by any means, but still. He'd seen bits of how Purebloods lived and didn't know why it was necessary. "Well, your only choices are breaking it off somehow or marrying the guy," Dare said. He wouldn't try to talk her into one or the other, he only knew part of the story. "Oh, and I'm Dare," he added. Now he wasn't a stranger.
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 15, 2008 20:50:34 GMT -5
"Holly," she smiled. "I may be overreacting, people have been having arranged marriages for years. I got a letter recently and my father says the man shall be here soon. Knowing my father, he will not be my age," she grimaced. The image of a short, fat guy in his mid fifties came to mind again. She shuttered putting that thought into a garbage can in the back of her mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 15, 2008 23:36:34 GMT -5
Dare shook his head in disbelief. "That's so... medieval," he said. "And you're how old? Fifteen? Is that even legal?" Dare had never known a single person in his life who'd had an arranged marriage. Of course, he wasn't sure there had been any Purebloods at all at SWIM, and if there had been, they certainly weren't the high-society type. Those types went to pricier and far better schools.
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 15, 2008 23:43:37 GMT -5
"Yes, I suppose it is. When I say not my age, I do not mean middle aged. My father would never let a man that old get too close to me." Holly chuckled remembering the times at balls when older men had tried to hit on her. Her father had had a fit. "Maximum I would say about thirty."
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 16, 2008 2:04:10 GMT -5
The incredulous look on Dare's face didn't fade a bit. Pureblood courtship rituals were just craziness. Dare knew more about the balls than anybody who'd never been to one should know, and though it sounded amazing to watch, he couldn't imagine being pushed at one girl after another to find a wife. He was barely seventeen, for chrissake! "And you're just going to be cool with all this?" Dare asked. It was surreal.
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 16, 2008 16:38:19 GMT -5
Holly grimaced, sensing Dare's shock at the whole ordeal. "At first, I was not too accepting. I will do all I can to get out, but my father is very strict about it. I will have to see what happens when I actually meet the man." Holly eyes went down, staring at the floor. Maybe Dare was right? Was she being to submissive?
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Dec 16, 2008 22:46:03 GMT -5
Dare didn't try to dissuade her again. It worried him less now that it sounded like she was just reserving judgment. She sounded like she was close to her parents, so for all he knew, they'd picked someone she'd like. Absolutely nothing like the other Pureblood parents he'd known, who disowned their children for the slightest misbehavior. Well, maybe not the slightest but certainly unreasonably. "You said you were supposed to meet him soon, right?" he asked. "Were you supposed to marry him soon?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Holly Brown on Dec 16, 2008 22:55:37 GMT -5
Holly looked back up, staring straight into Dare's gray eyes. She immedietely blushed and looked away, uncomfortable with the eye contact. "Well, he needs the money soon so I expect the marriage should be next year. I will be sixteen," she whispered, eyes suddenly full of fear. Oh, it was too soon!
|
|
