A Little Bit of Celebration and a Little Bit of Plotting

[Parkinson's Ancestral Manor]

In the present moment, there was no one happier than the Parkinson's heiress. 

Waking up and being greeted with wishes, blessings, gifts and compliments made her feel ecstatic. 

Her tiny feet rushed through the corridors to find her father. The man who made sure to fill up her room with countless gifts while she was asleep.

However, she was unable to find the lord of the Parkinson family. 

Hurriedly walking down the staircase, she almost bumped into her mother. 

"Oh my, look at my little princess." Standing with a calm smile, the lady of the Parkinsons wished her daughter. "Good morning, Pansy."

"Good morning, mother." The heiress greeted back with a blooming smile. 

Isabella Parkinson was used to her daughter's energetic behaviour and while she wanted to make her daughter a proper elegant lady, she also wanted to let her enjoy her childhood. At times the freedom she provided made her think if she was too lenient. 

But then she shook her head. Today was Pansy's birthday, it was not the time to worry about such things.

"And I wish you a happy birthday, sweetie."

Pansy smiled gleefully before giving her mother a tight hug. 

"Thank you, mother." 

She barely reached her waist but the little gesture made her mother put on a small smile. 

"Your father is discussing with Julian about today's guests." 

As she said this, Pansy's happiness knew no bounds. She knew some of her friends were going to come, especially the heiress of the Greengrass —Daphne Greengrass. 

"Who are the guests, mother?" She asked curiously, to which her mother replied. 

"Umm… Let's see." Putting a finger over her chin, the Lady Parkinson recalled the guests that her daughter might be interested in. 

"The Greengrass heiress, Abbott Heiress, Nott heir, Malfoy heir, Ollivander heir and even the Weasleys were invited." She took the last name with a bit of bitterness that went unnoticed by her daughter.

Why? Because the little girl stopped listening after a certain heir's name. 

"Malfoy?" Her eyes went wide. "Draco is coming?"

Looking at her daughter's expression, Isabella smiled. She knew that her daughter looked up to the Malfoy heir and it made sense to her. Amongst the pure blood, the Malfoy family had a lot of political figureheads, and how did they achieve that height? 

Through to their charm… and manipulation.

She remembered being charmed by Lucius when she was young but that was in the past. After all, later on she met the person that she was comfortable with rather than just being attracted to.

"Yes, sweetheart." 

Pansy was jumping in her little boots at the revelation. 

"But do remember that you need to pay attention to the rest of the heirs and heiresses as well, and not just the Malfoy heir." Isabella reminded her daughter. "When you are older, you will need their assistance."

Pansy didn't pay much attention to what her mother said but still gave the woman a nod. 

"Okay, mother."

…

…

[Cecil Parkinson]

The Sacred Twenty Eight was a title that held one of the greatest powers among the Wizarding world. Just being part of it gave you benefits beyond belief, be it political or economic. 

Sadly, despite the title 'Twenty Eight' there were barely a few houses standing with heirs to lead them to the next generation. Rest were either left heirless or had been erased completely after the war. 

And this led to the other standing families to try and claim the wealth and political power of the houses that were destroyed through marriage and ancestral relations. 

An heir with a mother or a father who was a part of, or been related to one of those fallen houses could claim lordship of the house unless someone with even greater connection was found. 

He knew this and sadly he couldn't do much about it. His family had relations with some of the fallen houses, however many others had a deeper and greater connection to those houses. Which meant there was no way for him or his daughter to avail such benefits. 

However, there were ways to gain similar or even greater political standing. 

That was through connections. 

"The heirs and heiresses will be here in a few hours, My Lord."

He smiled at the news. In the circle of politics, no event was organised without a reason —his daughter's birthday was no different. 

The birthday was a gateway to build connections with most of the remaining Sacred Twenty Eight. 

"Children are easy to mould." He said, smiling as he went through a list of names. "And they are easy to befriend just as well. Aren't they, Julian?"

The butler knew what his lord was referring to and as such, he nodded immediately. 

"The young miss has been ecstatic about her birthday and the guests." Julian paused and looked at his lord. "Especially about the heir of the Malfoy family."

"Malfoy, huh?" He leaned into his chair and looked at the ceiling. "This will be tough "

The Malfoys were known for their craftiness and he was certain that they would not fall for naive tricks. And if their heir was anything like his father or the previous Malfoy lord, it would take a lot more than childish friendship to build a long lasting connection. 

'Maybe a marriage?' He wondered but wasn't certain.

There were families with greater political and economic powers than the Parkinsons and he was certain that they would try to betroth their daughters to the Malfoy heir. 

To have even the slightest chance at a marriage, he needed his daughter to make the Malfoy heir head over heels for her, while also proving to the Malfoys that she was a good pick.

"What about the rest?" He asked, making Julian go through the list of guests. 

"Theodore Nott, the heir of the Nott family is great friends with the heir of the Malfoy, Draco. It is very likely that building friendship with the Malfoy heir will get good results with the Nott heir and vice versa." Julian recited what he knew.

The Nott family was also a good pick and would bring the Parkinsons great political support. 

"It is also a double edged sword." Cecil mumbled. "Falling out with one family will result in a fall out with the other as well."

Such were political connections. One wrong move and it might start a domino effect. 

"Hannah Abbott, the heiress of the Abbott family is said to be a kind and shy girl." Julian scratched his chin on this. "However, her personality is totally different from the young miss's. I am not certain if this friendship will work."

Cecil was a bit disappointed after hearing this. Hannah's aunt was a high ranking minister of the council and if he could have secured this relationship, it would have greatly profited him. 

But he was not a loon to overestimate his daughter's acting ability. She was young and he knew she wouldn't be able to act on a fake friendship at this age. 

"Abbott is not an option for now. Next."

Doing as told, Julian read the next name on the list. 

"Ian Ollivander, heir of the Ollivander, is a bright child. He has been through most of the books in the public library and according to the staff he has been able to understand complex theories in a few hours." Julian continued. "However, just like his uncle, he doesn't seem much interested in the political aspect either."

'Ollivander.' Cecil smiled as he heard the name. 'A family whose business line has traces of over two thousand years.'

"Another good pick." Cecil exclaimed, putting the Ollivander name in the list of possible allies. "Who is next?"

"Greengrass." Julian answered, making Cecil's smile grow even bigger. 

His daughter and the Greengrass heiress have been friends from earlier and this also allowed him to build an alliance with the Greengrass from even before the birthday party. 

But as he was going through the names, he heard a small knock on his door. 

"Daddy?" 

The cute little voice made him realise that it was time for him to go out and prepare for the guests. 

"Coming, little one."

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