Age 7

Alanna sat outside near the hedgerows watching the butterflies flutter around Narcissa's rose bushes. She could hear them arguing inside the Manor again, and hoped it wasn't about her, although she knew it was. Narcissa hated her, hated the very idea of her. When Bellatrix had been imprisoned in Azkabhan, Narcissa had practically begged Lucius to turn her out. But he had refused.

Alanna sighed, if they were fighting that would mean no dinner for her. Narcissa was proving to be just as cold-hearted as her sister, finding pleasure in punishing Alanna when she didn't move fast enough, or when she did something that was, in Narcissa's opinion, wrong.

Alanna watched as Draco rode past the front door on his little broom, and she couldn't help but feel envious of him. He was the Malfoy heir, spoiled rotten, and loved by his parents. He always got new clothes, and the best toys, and she always got nothing. Occasionally, Lucius would sneak something down to her, a new dress, or a doll, but it wasn't the same. She wanted to be like Draco, she wanted a warm bed, and parents to chase away the monsters.

Alanna sighed as she heard a door slam somewhere inside the Manor, and she shifted farther back into the bushes, trying to hide herself from view. She watched as Narcissa appeared, shielding her eyes from the sun as she scanned the view before her. Either she was just checking on Draco, or she did not find what she was looking for. Either way, she turned after a moment and disappeared back into the house.

Alanna waited until the sky had turned to a dusty pink before she slowly slid from her hiding spot and started back towards the house. She smelled dinner as soon as she stepped through the front door, and she eagerly walked towards the dining room, anticipating something hot to eat.

"Nothing for you tonight" Narcissa's cold voice sounded behind her as she was about to enter the dining room.

"But I'm hungry" Alanna replied, her voice barely above a whine.

"You should have thought about that earlier. You are no child of mine, and therefore –"

"Narcissa"

The sound of the man's voice had both Narcissa and Alanna turning, one with a look of disdain, the other hope. He would save her, he nearly always did.

"Lucius" Narcissa's exasperated voice echoed through the hallway, "We've no obligation to this child. Don't you see what she's done to us?"

The man said nothing, sneering slightly at his wife as he brushed by her to stand beside the child, his hand touching her shoulder lightly.

"She is our ward Narcissa. We will take care of her"

"Lucius – "

"No Narcissa" the voice was so sharp that the tone of command could not be ignored. "She will be fed. And tomorrow I will take her for proper clothing"

"She won't be here tomorrow" Narcissa spat back. "I've already called the orphanage. Someone will be here to collect her first thing. She is not my niece. Not my sister's child. She is no kin to me, and I will not have her here any longer"

Lucius' hand tightened on the child's shoulder for a fraction of a second as though he could not believe Narcissa dared disobey him.

"I am done caring for her Lucius. I will feed her tonight if I must, but it ends now. Do you hear me?"

Lucius did not reply. He merely turned on his heel and walked out, not into the dinning room, perhaps to his study. And the child felt the last of her hope die as the door closed behind him.

What was to become of her?