It was…perfect. The second they were close enough to the gathered watchers, his phrasing was perfect, and set the crowd to murmuring immediately. But the dance continued, sweeping them away from those members of the crowd. She knew how it sounded to them. Their first ever dance and it seemed he had proposed to her. Naeva knew it was destined to be a loveless match, but society would push things in a certain direction.

And her father would insist. That was the real kicker.

“I would much rather marry someone than remain in this hellish limbo,” she imparted. “The who doesn’t much matter to me anymore. But I think they think you want to marry me.” She inclined her head towards the crowd, smiling a little. It was a desperate move, she knew, and a trap he’d likely have no way out of. But she was a Slytherin, and her ambition right now was to get married. No matter the cost.

---