Dahlia lay on her bed looking at the top of the canvas above. The curtains pulled slightly, you had to lay on the bed to see the inside top of the four-poster. Like most of the dorm, the underside had pictures across it, though she had less then half what the others did. Mostly her brothers pictures doing goofy stuff, a few friends' pictures with her, memories she couldn't forget. There was however a small space right in the middle you might even notice. In there was nothing. A glance around seeing her other dormmates busy with their own thing and she pointed her wand up slightly, making the movements.

"Aparecium" she whispered and a picture of Connor showed up, his working on some piece of homework at one of the library tables. He was so cute, Merlin! And he clearly had no idea how much she was giving him attention which drove her crazy! But she couldn't just put his picture up cause her family mustn't find out about him! So hiding it with the charm worked well and she could still look at him studying away and then flashing one of those smiles of his. Her Dusk.

There was a slight flush to her cheeks, but she did hide the picture again after a moment.

Dahlia didn't think she was in love really because that wasn't allowed. And no point to really falling head over heels for any boy really, not with the way her parents had things going. At home she had no pictures of any guys at all and stashed the picture of his in the next year's room with the spell too. If her parents had found out about him, a muggleborn they would have had a flip out! And they were just friends anyway since he was like many guys clueless. "Goodness." She wasn't in love, she knew this, it was logical.

Very much. Maybe a little crush. Really. She face palmed.

Rolling over onto her front she grabbed a notebook and pulled it over. Picking up her quill she began writing a letter to her mother. Formal, proper, first daughter appropriate. It wasn't long and she had to keep it as neutral as she could. Mentioning it was odd not having her brothers here was good and she wrote a lot about the owls she was working with on the side for the Professor, but she kept stopping to think about how she could mention the elephant in the room and then deciding she was courting suicide if she did. "Ffffffudge fairies."

Pictures couldn't look at your @ss could they? She blushed.

Who was she fooling? He was way too much a gentleman to look picture or not and that might be the most frustrating part of all this. Why did her family have to be so stuck in the old ways? Dahlia gritted her teeth and firmly put the letter aside to grab her brush and smack her leg hard to distract herself. One of the other girls looked up as she sat up, starting to brush her hair out with long strokes. After a moment her dormmate put her head back down and she kept brushing, focusing on the strokes being smooth and long.

It was amazing what a difference it made in the tangles for sure, but tiring on the arms...

For Dahlia's birthday, she usually got something special. The Selwyn's always gave their children the things they believe represented the best of the best, symbolic style and high fashion. Expensive & high-magic; status symbols. That was their view and most likely her brothers' impression. For both of their final birthdays at home they had received hand crafted brooms by one of the last true master's of the art. Even she was impressed at how the brooms had matched her brothers in all moves, thought controlled practically, moving through the air like living things!

Bardwaulf had used his quite a lot and Colis got his last year, a marvelous thing to watch! Both gifts were because of their heir status, the male bloodlines that they would be for the future of the family bloodline. She had known she would get nothing so useful, nothing so...phallic. No, she was a bond to be given to another family, combining blood lines into another family's future not her own. She was to merge and lose her identity to another and whatever she had down to even her underwear would be his. That was what she hated the most of this whole situation, her loss of self.

Who cared about possessions against that?

The dinner beforehand had several delicacies in it, things most wizards would not consider paying for often. Tonight her family celebrated, even her brothers there, Baardwaulf with his wife & newest child. In particular she had noticed Felicity's eyes, how unemotional they were till turned on her child, quietly observing all these new creatures around him. That was what awaited her, giving her life up to her children letting them suck her dry. Something she did not want to do, but saw no way of avoiding either. Afterwards (this was a private celebration, not even her cousins here or other Selwyns) the family stayed in the family room and spoke softly as her father led her into his den.

On a table arranged sat something long under a silken cloth.

Without a word he walked around behind it and took the edge of the cloth up. What would it be? A pretty box done up with ribbon? Sewing kit? It was some length so it was an odd shape to her imagination. She somehow found the idea of it being anything owl related impossible; they would scarcely want to give her wings even symbolically. It would be something to keep her in place, to make her stay to the traditional. Her family's minds were still rooted in the past, not the future though she had tried to talk to her mother about it, there was no way to get through. And wasn't that the kicker? Her mother, going along with this remembering her own purchase and selling? Her own loss of face? That was the hardest slap in the face of all!

He pulled back the cloth with a brisk whipping away, like some muggle conjurer distracting his audience. A long red box. She saw the Louis Vuitton distinctive design, a designer as sought after in the muggle world as hers since they had long ago crossed over to sell in both. One of the very few companies to dominate a field of consumerism on multiple plains of existence, she knew this was something...unusual. "I know you would have preferred blue, but this was too special to come multiples ways," her father told her, sure of his command of the situation "It's the new Supreme Malle Courrier Trunk and only five were made! None of the people who bought them have children at Hogwarts, I checked. Now pay close attention."

Trunk?

Putting out his hand, he waited till she gave him her wand without a word, used to being commanded this way and he tapped it on the box. In the other he had a piece of paper. Murmuring something off it, he laid her wand on it and told her "Pick it up. Open it." Getting the idea easily enough, she picked up her wand and tapped the trunk as she commanded "Alohomora" and the trunk lid popped open and hung there, letting her look into a space with four pillows in it stuffed against each other. The surprise interior caused her to look back at her father who smirked. He always had enjoyed the use of power over his household. "Tap it twice" he did it so as she watched "and then command it to expand."

She lifted her wand...