June gently shifted the stem of the flower, taking her scissors to the bottom and cutting, lifting the long stem from the ground and brushing off the dirt. She grinned and held up the orange flower, turning to the house elf next to her. "Bitty, how's this?" She had insisted on helping the house elf pick the final flowers for the bouquet, and despite Bitty's protests she had come to enjoy helping around the house. Well, house was one word for it. It was ridiculously large and could house several families comfortably without them even running into each other. It must have been a pureblood thing, she had always assumed, to have way too much money. It was different from the life on her old farm she grew up on. Sometimes she woke up at first light still, ready to take care of the animals only to remember that not only did her family sell the farm, but she lived with her purist uncle now. She knew he disapproved of her mixed blood, and always tried to get her to cover her pointed ears. It made her mad, but eventually she grew tired of arguing.

"It's lovely, miss." The house elf gave her a thin smile before taking the flower from her hands and placing it with the others. June got up off her knees and brushed the dirt off of her jeans. The knees were stained and ripped, and for a second she felt a pang of nostalgia. "You best be getting ready soon, miss." June pressed her lips together and hesitantly nodded. "I guess, yeah. Although I doubt I'll like the dress my uncles has handpicked for me." THe elf gave her a knowing look before kindly waving her off.

June made her way across the large yard, walking off of the grass and on to the perfectly placed stones. Usually, she wouldn't have bothered to get off the grass just to spite her uncle. However, she knew how much work the elves and gardeners put into keeping the grass green and healthy, and she too contributed to the gardening efforts. She glanced at the rows of flowers and perfectly trimmed bushes, wondering how her uncle managed to make something as free and beautiful as nature seem so artificial. She made her way through the grand doors, which were cast open to offer a full view of the hustling workers putting up the finishing touches. This was what her uncle called a simple party, a gathering of his family and closest friends. Of course, what he didn't mention was that his family and 'closest friends' meant high status pureblood families. The only comfort she had was that this would mark the end of summer, and she knew school would be starting soon. No matter how hesitant she was to go back to Hogwarts after 2 years, anything was better than her.

She entered her large room, pausing in the doorway as she saw the gown being smoothed onto her bed by one of the maids. She swallowed, glancing behind her before looking back at the gown as if she almost couldn't believe it was meant for her. Because it was actually beautiful, she actually liked it. The maid glanced up and gave her a warm smile. "Your uncle had this specifically made for you. He said it would match your eyes."

The maid made her way out and June stayed in the doorway for a moment longer before inspecting the dress. She found it hard to believe that her uncle went out of his way to have this made for her, she always assumed he never truly cared for her, only how she made him look. But this was an effort.

Half an hour later, June was sitting in front of the vanity while her hair was curled and pinned into place. She felt a pang of disappointment as the curls were pinned to cover the points of her ears, which was stupid. All her uncle did was order a pretty dress, that didn't mean he had changed.

An hour later, the guests started filling in and June made her rounds, giving her practiced greetings and plastic smile. When she was finally done, she snatched a handful of tarts and made her way to a corner.

The perfect wallflower.