Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The only thing that I do own is Aurora Malfoy. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Third Person POV:

   "AURORA!" Cynthia Malfoy, née Fawley, shouts for her eleven-year-old daughter from the elaborately decorated downstairs ballroom. From her bedroom, Aurora sighs quietly to herself, studying the dress Bippy, the Malfoy family house-elf, had laid out on her bed to be worn that night. The dress had a hue of deep, dark green; Aurora scoffs at the implication that there was no question of her Hogwarts house, even though she hasn't even boarded the train ever.

   "Yes Mother?" Aurora calls back, poking her head out of her bedroom and peering over the spiral staircase. 

   She spies her father, tall and blonde - the blondeness a Malfoy staple - keeping watch over the house elves as they bustle around, preparing everything for the ball while none of the Malfoys lift a finger to help. The familiar clicking of her mother's high heels sound on the dark oak paneling of the floor, and the matriarch of the Malfoy family appears a floor below Aurora, the young girl involuntarily holding her breath at the sight.

   "The ball is starting in an hour," Cynthia's voice is as sharp as ice. "There better be a good reason why you aren't in the dress I picked out for you to wear." Aurora bites her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth.

   "I apologize Mother," starts the blonde preteen. "I was going to get ready soon. The one problem is..." Aurora trails off, hesitant to admit to the fact that she doesn't like the color of the ornate dress.

   "Is what?" Abraxas Malfoy, the rich and arrogant head of the Malfoy family-and the grand Malfoy estate,- asks impatiently. "We don't have all day, Aurora."

   Aurora sighs and mumbles a curse under her breath. "I don't particularly enjoy the dress's color." The Malfoy parents make no reaction to this, and neither does Aurora's older brother, Lucius Malfoy. He is going to be a prefect at Hogwarts this year, going into his fifth year as a Slytherin. Aurora, being six at the time, vaguely remembers the proud letter written by Lucius, declaring the news of his Sorting in a pompous manner.

   "That has no bearing on the fact that you are going to be wearing this dress tonight," Cynthia states in an abrupt, no-nonsense tone. "Get changed." Aurora frowns softly and spins lightly on her heel, going into her room and closing the door with a light, audible snap behind her.

   Reluctantly, she changes out of her comfortable, casual clothes and into the emerald dress. Straightening her dress out, Aurora softly calls out, "Bippy?" A soft popping sound quietly echoes through the room as a small house elf appears.

   "Young Mistress called for Bippy?" she wonders, dipping her head slightly into a bow.

   Aurora giggles to herself. "Bippy, please call me Aurora. None of that 'Young Mistress' stuff." Bippy smiles at Aurora and nods her head, ears flapping slightly. "And Bippy, can you please help me with my hair?" The girl looks pleadingly at the houself.

   "Bippy would be happy to!" responds Bippy, ushering Aurora over to her vanity and sitting her down on the chair in front of it. Aurora sits patiently, hands folded daintily in her lap.

   Ten minutes later, Bippy has finished braiding, curling, and pinning Aurora's blonde tresses, the final product being a half-up, half-down hairstyle that looks as elegant as her dress.

   Aurora smiles in relief, finally ready for the ball that will be starting in... 

   "Twenty minutes?!" Aurora yelps, surprised. "Thank you so much Bippy," she hurriedly thanks her friend, scrambling to slide on her dark green ballet flats. 

   Surprised at all the green? Just wait until you see all of the other young, "respectable" pureblood ladies. Giving herself one last look in the mirror, Aurora applies a touch of lip gloss and hurries down to the main floor, taking extra care not to trip on the marble steps.

   Arriving at the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, she takes her place next to her older brother, pretending not to see the looks her parents are shooting at her. Aurora quickly flits her eyes towards the grandfather clock, realizing that the guests will be arriving any minute now.

   Schooling her expression into a stone cold mask, she thinks to herself, 'It's showtime.'

   The next thirty minutes pass in a swirl of "Good evening sir" and "your dress is simply exquisite, madam" and "welcome to our humble abode" and "bloody hell these people are prats." Well... that last one was private in the confines of Aurora's own head.

   "Orion!" Abraxas Malfoy greets pleasantly, shaking hands with the dark-haired, cold man almost as tall as he is. "It's been too long."

   "Likewise," Orion Black responds. "Might I formally introduce you to my wife, Walburga, and my two sons, Sirius and Regulus." Aurora's silvery eyes flick up to the stone-cold grey orbs of Walburga Black, immediately looking away and at the two boys. 

   One of them, Regulus perhaps - or is it Sirius? -, looks back at Aurora with an expression of the utmost annoyance and boredom. Aurora's lips curve into a small smile, instantly interpreting his expression as not one of annoyance at her, but at the ball in general. The other, slightly younger by the looks of it, stands shyly by his brother, as silent as a statue.

   "Sirius is going to Hogwarts this year, isn't that right, Sirius?" Walburga informs the four Malfoys, looking down her nose at her oldest son, who nods his head.

   "Yep," he states, shrugging his shoulders casually.

   "Sirius Orion Black," Orion hisses quietly, loudly enough so that Aurora hears but nobody else. "Shrugging in such a manner is unbecoming of the heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."

   "Our youngest, Aurora, is attending Hogwarts for the first time this year as well," Cynthia smiles sharply, hand on Aurora's shoulder in a gesture of motherly love. It's uncomfortable for Aurora, as her mother's hand grips slightly too hard. The handsome boy now known as Sirius shifts slightly uncomfortably from foot to foot.

   Regulus smiles innocently. "Maybe Sirius and Aurora should dance with each other then." The attention turns towards the nine-year-old, and his cheeks redden slightly. "Just to get to know each other, right?" Aurora smiles slightly at the young boy, who subtly winks back at her.

   "Brilliant idea, Regulus," Orion Black compliments, ushering Sirius closer to Aurora. Sirius holds his hand out to Aurora, and she takes it lightly. The two eleven-year-olds walk off onto the dance floor, and they begin waltzing to the slow, melodic tune of the formal song.

   "You look bored," Aurora states matter-of-factly as Sirius pulls her slightly closer, an appropriate distance for a dance.

   He snorts. "So do you," Sirius responds, the first words he has ever spoken to the Malfoy Princess. Rest assured, Aurora hates this title with a burning passion.

   "You caught me," she giggles quietly. "There's too much arrogance in one room for me."

   Sirius barks out a laugh, twirling her gently around. "So definitely not one of the pureblood maniacs then?"

   Aurora smirks. "I'm actually quite insulted that you think of me like that, Mr. Black," she gasps faux-offendedly, hand over her heart dramatically. She replaces her hand in his, and they continue their dance.

   "Is that so, Ms. Malfoy?" Sirius replies in the same jokingly formal tone, bowing extravagantly to her. "Please pardon my impolite comment; I never meant to offend." Aurora twirls once more under Sirius's arm, smiling widely up at him, enjoying herself for the first time in the history of her attendance at these balls. And she's been going diligently ever since she turned four.

   "You're going to Hogwarts this year, right?" questions Aurora lightly, eyebrows furrowing together delicately.

   Sirius nods. "I turned eleven last year, on November 3rd. So I'll be twelve soon." Aurora smiles up at him.

   "I'm going this year too. I'm one of the younger eleven-year-olds, as my birthday is August 23rd," she comments back. Her voice turns dry and sarcastic. "Slytherin or nothing?"

   Sirius blinks at her, shocked. "Wait wait wait," he says quickly, his brain comprehending her sentence slowly. "Do you want to be in Slytherin?" Aurora snorts.

   "You're talking to 'the Malfoy Princess,'" she says, using air quotes. "Do you really think that there's any chance that their baby girl wants to be anything but Slytherin?" Aurora answers lightly, not completely answering his question while still keeping up pretenses to anyone listening to them. Sirius snorts, grinning at her deftness. "What about you?"

   Sirius snorts, declaring subtly sarcastically, "Of course. Slytherin or nothing." Aurora laughs, a sound like tinkling bells with her high, feminine voice. The tune ends with a flourish, and Aurora and Sirius go over to the refreshments table, Sirius meeting up with his younger brother again. "Thanks Reggie," he says lowly to his brother, glancing discreetly around to make sure his parents aren't anywhere.

   "You're welcome," Regulus chirps, holding a plate filled with tiny, bite-sized desserts. "Cake?" He offers the plate to both Aurora and Sirius, and they both take a tiny square. Aurora takes chocolate and Sirius takes vanilla.

   "Where's your cousins?" Aurora asks, keeping up appearances with small-talk. She immediately realizes that it's the wrong thing to say, as Sirius and Regulus's faces turn dark and sad quickly.

   "Andy-" Sirius starts.

   Regulus clarifies, "our oldest cousin, Andromeda."

   Sirius nods his head, frowning, "yeah, Andromeda, she got disowned... roughly a month ago." Aurora gasps.

   "What? Why??" she wonders, concerned. "She's the sweetest!"

   Regulus sighs. "Yeah, she is. She got disowned because she got engaged to Ted Tonks."

   Aurora raises an eyebrow. "Ted who? I've never heard of him." Sirius sighs.

   "Of course you haven't," he explains, "everyone here would be infuriated if you did. He's," Sirius looks quickly around, trying to protect his cousin from disgrace, and leans closer to Aurora, whispering in her ear, "a Muggleborn." Aurora's hand flies to her mouth, covering a gasp.

   "And she got disowned because of that?" Aurora hisses back to the two Black brothers, them nodding somberly. "Those idiotic racist prats!" she mumbles to herself, righteously angry. Sirius eye rolls.

   "That's the pureblood mantra. Incest and racism."

   Regulus slightly elbows Sirius in the ribs. "Don't get in trouble Siri. Mother and Father won't be happy."

   Sirius snorts. "They've never been happy with me. Now will be no different." Aurora sighs quietly to herself at the brothers' bickering.

   "What about Bellatrix? And Narcissa?" Aurora questions.

   Sirius groans softly to himself. "Dear cousin Bella is as twisted and insane as ever. Thank Merlin she only has two more years at Hogwarts before we're free from her self-proclaimed 'reign of Hogwarts.'" Aurora bursts into peals of laughter, covering her mouth with her hand to appear ladylike. Sirius and Regulus look around for Narcissa, the youngest Black sister. "Cissy's flirting with your older brother," Sirius snorts, subtly pointing them out for Aurora to see.

   "Lucy has such a crush on her," Aurora giggles to herself. "It's the most obvious thing, more obvious that if we don't get Slytherin we'll be-" she gasps dramatically- "black sheep."

   Regulus snorts. "For Siri, more like white sheep. He's part of the Black family, and the most opposite of black is white." Sirius laughs.

   "True," he agrees, ruffling his brother's raven black hair. "I take that title with pride." Searching for a clock, the trio blink as they realize that they have spent two hours talking to each other, and the ball is almost over. "Well, see you at Hogwarts Aurora," Sirius bids her adieu, smiling. 

   Regulus waves goodbye and the two brothers walk over to their parents, who start following the crowds of people Flooing back to their manors. Aurora yawns, exhausted from the day she had.

   Within an hour, all four Malfoys have gotten ready for bed, with help from Dobby, Bippy, and Scarlett, their three house elf servants. Aurora, yawning, pulls back her duvet and crawls into bed. Her head hits the soft pillow, and she is out like a light.

Word Count: 2,047