There it was, the final list. The giant list of pureblood men in London dwindled down to a mere five choices. It had started off well, this search of hers, the hunt for a husband. She had high hopes for it. A whole list of men she would attempt to seduce, a whole list of men she could potentially marry. Men who would have money and power, men who would allow her to live the life she was used to, men who'd give her the opportunity to do her duty and provide the world with lots of attractive pureblood babies. It was a great plan her parents concocted for her, and it sounded possible back when that small list had 20 names instead of 5.

Flooing home was her mistake. Her intent had just been to check in and let her mother know how the search was going. Instead, she was handed a list of restrictions. It wouldn't reflect well on the family if Ella pursued a married man, a comment made in passing that crossed off a fair number of names, including that of the Minister of Magic. Pursuing a younger man would give her a bad reputation according to her all-knowing mother, a note that served to eliminate most of the other names. The hope that this might actually be possible was now far off as she looked at the names of 5 strangers she'd have to try and win over.