Summary:
They have alot in common, they're both in Slytherin. Naturally, they're friends. That's until they find out they’ve been arranged to marry one another. Now with their true colors finally showing, will their marriage work?

Author’s Note:

After a year long hiatus, I’ve decided to pick up this story again. Instead of starting off where I left off, I have decided to revamp the whole thing. There’ll be more in a chapter and the rating (formally a ‘T’) will be raised to a complete ‘M.’ The story, of course, is focused on the arranged marriage between Draco Malfoy and Millicent Bulstrode. I’ve chosen this pair because, frankly, it’s more believable and offers more drama. How so? Oh, you’ll have to read to find out; I’ve got the whole outline worked out. The story will be told through the POV of Draco and Millicent, that way you get the whole feel of the situation. Well, that’s all there is to be said at the moment.

Chapter One: From ugly duckling…

Everyone goes through phases - that‘s a given.

Some may last for a couple of weeks and can go as far as years. Mine so happened to have started when I was but that tender age of eight. It will not be for another four years that I completed this… caterpillar…phase, if you will. Honestly, I would call those four years the worst in my life; I would rather forget them and focus on the future, blah, blah and blah. I must admit had I not gone through that experience, I would not be the person that I am now.

Oh, that and the help of Pansy of course.

So, my childhood was perfectly fine up until I was around eight. By then, I had learned to play the piano; my parents were quite proud of me, especially so when I played for their guests in their social gatherings. Along with playing the piano, I also took classes in ballet but unlike playing an instrument, I had competition. I always tried my best to make the lead in a production but I was always placed in the supporting role instead. It was until my mother spoke with the instructor that she learned the real reason why I was never placed in a starring role. It so happened that the instructor believed I was “too chubby” to take the lead. It was here when my mother’s obsession began.

It was for the next four years that mother kept a keen eye on me whenever I ate; I was highly involved in anything that involved physical movements for a period of time, such as swimming. I was naïve enough to believe that the reason mother was so attentive was because she cared, being a mother and everything. It will be a bit later on that I realized the true reason behind this surveillance - she hated the way I looked; to her, I was fat.

In photographs as a child, it was evident that I was big but not by the whole essence of the word. No, I was taller than most of my peers within my age group; I was not lanky just ‘fuller’ but not fat. I remember her taking me to a specialized healer to see what could be done about my weight, instead, she was told I was quite a healthy kid; the healer explained to my mother that I was big boned, had even shown her how he came to that conclusion with an instrument or two. It was all in the bones, he had said and right he was. Instead of relief on her part, mother was peeved by the healer’s answer as it did not correlate with what she believed. Somehow, she had not taken into consideration that my father being a robust man and, she, statuesque, well... not smart, is she?

Even with what the healer had told her, my lovely mother believed I still needed to lose the weight. It also did not help that us, The Bulstrodes, are an aristocratic family. While my mother fit the mold of ‘beautiful, slender wife’, I did not; I was not the perfect doll like the other daughters from our social-class. While I was dressed in the ‘perfect’ garments for a girl of my status and age, it was not enough for my mother, as she just wanted the perfect looking daughter.

Her mania for perfection ruined whatever connection I had with her.

I was not a happy child and with father being away most of the time, he was not around to defend or step in when my mother went too far with her critiques and punishments. Whenever I had a snack that was not of the healthy kind, she would literally slap them away from me; whenever I was too tired to go to my next meeting of whatever she thought would help me lose weight, she would make it clear with colorful words on how disgusting I was and how I could not possibly be the daughter she bore. So it was just natural that I grew up hating myself and my mother to such a degree… Father on the other hand loved me deeply; whenever he was around, my mother would obviously change her tactics with my ‘care’ but even so, father would step in. To him, I was his beautiful princess and to my mother I was her troll.

It will not be until I hit puberty at the age of eleven that just made everything worse; I was still a couple months away from attending Hogwarts, so I still wasn’t sheltered away from her wild, sick demands. She must have missed the memo that once a girl hits puberty, everything about them changes, which is what happened for the next couple of months and years. I had grown taller by inches -I’m now officially 5’8”- and what my mother thought was fat had slowly “spread” itself around my body. My breasts grew to a full C-cup and my hips got curvier; unlike a fat person, I did not have those ugly rolls hanging on me and my collarbone could actually be seen. When it came to leave for Hogwarts, I was exceedingly happy about it; I had believed being away from my mother’s glare and harsh remarks, I would be able to live a decent life.

I was wrong. Sorta.

While I was sorted into Slytherin, I had to work out my insecurities; to say it was easy would be a lie, so I done the one thing that really didn’t take much work. I put out a strong front and it worked perfectly. It did not take long to make friends and, well, being of status helped plenty but even so, I still did not let my guard down. Amongst those that I was friends with, Pansy Parkinson was my best. Even with all the girls I knew and hanged with, I was still the “big” girl amongst them…

There was a reason why I took a liking to Pansy and while she fit the mold of an aristocratic girl (slender, fashionable, and attractive), it was her personality that I admired. At the beginning, our personalities were quite different from one another; I was more of the quiet, brooding, I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-they-say type and she was the amicable (when she wanted to), thoughtful (when she wanted to), and popular (you have to catch her attention to be approached). Yeah, those characteristics are not the most appealing but there was something about her….a je ne sais quoi. Had it not been for her, I would not be the person who I am now.

You see… she was the one to show me who I am but also what my family meant in this society. The Bulstrodes are one of the most influential and rich families in Britain; not only was my father part of the Wizengamot but had his own lucrative business (handed down to him by his father) outside the Ministry, which naturally explained why he was rarely at home. My mother, while a ‘homemaker,’ was also the offspring of another well-known family outside of Britain; she did not offer much to society besides a pretty face and being the go-to for the latest trend. Being the offspring of such prominent figures, well, I had a great advantage and that was the something I was not aware of. So while I had a mother who bought me the latest clothes (and who I now detested), it was Pansy who helped ‘build’ me up, and through that, my confidence grew. Greatly.

So while there was the high possibility that the only reason why Pansy became my friend was of my status, we eventually became each other’s best friend. Others kissed-up to me (how amusing) and not only to be on my good side but for the connections. My God, the connections are the most important things both inside and outside of Hogwarts. I suppose that is the reason why I was one of the “popular” kids around Hogwarts. I know I’m being “used” but hey, I also did the same thing; it was a give and take situation and, apparently, I have more to offer than anyone around.

I so love my life!