Chapter Twenty One

A/N: Thank you to Sammii-jojo, as always, for reviewing the last chapter.

Narcissa reached forward slightly, pushing up against her daughter's chin to close her gaping mouth a little. Allie rolled her eyes slightly at her mother's observation of etiquette even at a time such as this, but closed her mouth nonetheless.

"What do you mean?" the teenager questioned, stumbling slightly over her words. She was finding it near impossible to function properly at this revelation; for anyone else, the idea that their parents were not intended to be married would not be so shocking, but for the daughter of the two most traditional Pureblood Houses, it was akin to finding out she was half-Veela.

"Precisely what I said." Narcissa answered simply, seeming vaguely amused by her daughter's reaction to the news. "Your father and I were not intended to be married."

"But you always told Draco that your marriage was arranged. That's what he told me." she informed her mother, enunciating clearly, the way Draco did to her when he was mocking her lack of knowledge about Pureblood society. She did not wish to offend the woman, for she loved her too dearly to ever consider doing so, but she thought that perhaps she may have misunderstood her meaning. It became quickly apparent that she was wrong.

"I did, and it was true. My parents betrothed me to a Pureblood boy they thought was suitable for me to marry, and your father's parents did the same for him." It had taken the fragmented way her mother explained the situation that had finally led to Allie's understanding. "But they did not betroth us to each other."

Narcissa looked up to gauge her daughter's reaction, but her face was utterly void of expression, save for the shock that had left her head reeling. It was difficult for Allie to take in, the fact that she and her brother had been born solely because their parents had disobeyed their grandparents' wishes. However, as the shock dissipated, she found herself smiling, as she realised that two of the staunchest Pureblood supremacists she had ever known had rebelled against their conventions to marry for love.

"So... you married my father... just because you loved him?" The disbelief was still present in Allie's tone, but now it was being slowly replaced by her overwhelming pride. Her mother had had the strength to defy her family and marry the man she had fallen in love with, even though she was meant to marry one they had chosen for her. It was a huge show of strength for a Pureblood woman and Allie could not be prouder than she was to be her daughter.

"I did." her mother confirmed. "And I would do so again a thousand times, even if I would have to sacrifice my family, like Andromeda did. I was fortunate that they approved of your father, I suppose, because they certainly did not approve of the match my sister made. I don't know if I could have borne the hatred they showed towards her, but to be with your father, I would have borne anything."

"Even if he was a Half-Blood?" Allie had no idea why she had asked the question; it had slipped from her lips before she had a chance to think. The young woman's heart pounded in her chest as her mother considered the question; if she said no, then she would have destroyed her daughter's dreams without even knowing it.

Narcissa looked up at her daughter, studying the emotions hidden behind her eyes in the way only a mother could do. Allie did not try to hide her fear, for she knew that the woman would be able to see it anyway. After a long silence, the Malfoy matriarch answered, and Allie held a deep breath in her lungs.

"Yes."

Unable to stop herself, Allie breathed a sigh of relief, chuckling to herself. She had been terrified of how her mother would react to the boy she loved, but now it seemed she need not have feared at all. Above all, it was love that Narcissa valued, and her daughter had never been happier to know it.

"Why do you ask?" was Narcissa's query, and the young woman's elation once again gave way to secrecy and fear. She could not tell her mother about her secret love, not yet, not when she had not yet told the boy himself how she felt.

Allie gasped as she realised, for all the love she felt towards him, she had never once admitted it. She had hoped it had been obvious in the sparkle of her eyes, for she had never been good at keeping secrets, bar the one she had had no choice in, which she had kept hidden for over ten years, even for herself. But he didn't know.

He had to know.

With not a word of explanation, the young woman bolted from the room, her hair flying behind her as she ran down the corridors of the palace, hoping blindly that she would find the man she sought before the one she was trying to avoid.

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side, as when she rounded a corner, she was almost knocked to the ground by the force with which she collided with Blaise Zabini.

"Alyssienna!" he exclaimed, looking down at her, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Allie shifted uncomfortably, pulling herself to her feet. "You look stunning. I am quite the lucky man to be attending the Yule Ball with you."

"Thank you, Blaise. That's very kind of you, but..." She paused for a moment, trying to gain the courage that had won her a place in Gryffindor. "But I will not be attending the Ball with you tonight. Someone else has asked for my hand and I have told him yes. Besides, I would rather dance with a slug than with you, though perhaps those two thoughts are one and the same."

Allie smiled, pleased with herself as she walked away, leaving a gaping Zabini in her wake. 'That's one problem solved.' she told herself. 'Now just to solve the other.'

A/N: Please review!