~Who Told You?~
One morning during breakfast, Wheezy came into the dining room, with him were a series of envelopes in hand.
"The morning post, Master," the little elf timidly said as he bowed and handed it to Lucius.
Mister Malfoy set fork down on his plate and swiftly took the letters from Wheezy's hands without a single word. Lucius began to shuffle through the post, inspecting it for anything of importance.
"Ah, Draco. Some of these are for you," Lucius said as he handed the envelopes to his son.
Draco opened the letters addressed to him and promptly began reading them.
"Who are they from?" Alyona asked as she took a bite of her eggs.
"Let's see here. There's one from Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott. They want to get together sometime this summer," Draco answered.
"That's fun, why don't we plan a hangout sometime? I'm sure you miss them. Are they inviting you over?" Alyona asked.
Draco nodded, "Ya, they're asking if I'd like to spend a few days at their homes. Not sure why, there's much more to do here. Their houses are pitiful compared to this house."
"If they really want you to come to them, I could go with you, if you want?" Alyona offered with a smile.
Lucius was quick to chime in, "Absolutely not. You are not to leave the manor's property, young lady."
Draco and Alyona turned to Lucius with saddened expressions. The air within the dark dining room was flooded with awkward tension as the idea of visiting their friends was immediately shot down.
"He's right, Dear. It's not safe for you, out there." Narcissa kindly added.
Draco wasn't too pleased with his parents reaction to the idea of Alyona accompanying him to visit his friends.
"I'm perfectly capable of making sure no harm comes to her," Draco retorted in an almost angry fashion.
"You dare to talk back to your parents that way!? Lucius growled at his son, sending shivers of fear down Draco's spine.
"Lucius, Darling. It's alright," Narcissa said as she placed a gentle hand on his arm to soothe him, "Draco, dear, it's not that we don't think you'd do everything you can to keep her safe. You're very a talented young wizard, but some...physical strength would also be necessary to provided adequate protection. Whoever is targeting Alyona's family is most likely an adult. She needs someone tall and strong in addition to being good with magic to escort her anywhere off the manor's property. You understand that, right?"
Draco raised a finger in the air as if he was about to make a strong point until his mother interrupted him.
"And no, you two being away at school doesn't count as you keeping her safe. If there's one thing that Hogwarts does exceptionally well, it's protect it's students. Even if you weren't there with her, she'd be perfectly safe at that school."
"But she wasn't safe last year when Pansy basically hired that muggle-born as a hitman to attack Alyona in the forest. Had I been there, Alyona wouldn't have been put in that situation! Had I been there, she'd be safe," Draco insisted strongly.
"Draco, our word is final," Narcissa firmly declared with a haughty expression.
The young Malfoy felt humiliated. His mother had basically told him that he wasn't strong or capable right in front of Alyona.
"It's okay, I'm sure they'd be willing to come here if they really want to hangout with you," Alyona said optimistically.
"Ya, probably," Draco said in a saddened tone.
"I have plenty of activities planned for you two, actually," Narcissa said, "Next week you two begin your dancing lessons."
Draco groaned at this news as he rolled his eyes, "What? But, I've already taken so many dancing lessons. I'm sure I must know every routine known to wizard-kind already."
"Yes, but Alyona hasn't. I thought it would be best for you to take the lessons with her. It'll make them for fun," Narcissa added.
"Well, I can just teach her. The instructor that always comes here is dreadful," Draco retorted.
Narcissa gasped, "Now Draco, there's nothing wrong with Misses Baggot. She's taught you to dance quite well."
"I know but she's mean, mother. She's so strict —"
Narcissa sighed, "Are you really going to make me cancel on her, I've already paid for the lessons in full."
"It's alright, we'll be together. Maybe it'll be fun," Alyona chirped to the platinum haired boy.
Lucius, who had remained silent yet irritated throughout the entire conversation, lightened his facial expression upon hearing this.
"You know what I've noticed about you, Alyona," Lucius asked, "You're always so optimistic, Draco could learn a thing or two from you."
"I can teach Alyona everything there is to know, I promise," Draco pleaded.
"Well…I suppose I can write her a cancellation letter," misses Malfoy said as she took a sip of her tea.
Draco grinned, "Thank you, mother."
"What should we do today?" Alyona asked.
"Did you want to go swimming? We have a pool downstairs," Draco offered.
"I love swimming! Let's do it! Alyona said as the two of them quickly left the table and ran off to fetch their swimming attire.
Lucius looked at his wife with a smile as he shook his head, "You're too soft on that boy."
"I saw him guiding her through a routine the other day, Draco definitely new the steps by heart. They looked so adorable," Narcissa said.
~ooOOOoo~
During their first swim, Draco was absolutely amazed at how graceful Alyona was in the water.
Alyona was so fast and agile as she cut through water that Draco struggled to keep up with her, no matter how hard he tried.
Draco was becoming more and more fatigued by the minute as Alyona continued to swim circles around him in the gigantic natatorium.
"Keep up, Malfoy! You're lagging quite a bit over there!" Alyona mocked from the deep end of the pool.
"It's best not to tease me, Blossom! You won't like the consequences!" Draco playfully shouted back as he hopped out of the shallow end only run over and canon ball right beside her.
After a few more minutes of play, the two kids hopped out of the crystal clear water to take a break and have a snack of tiny sandwiches and a bowl of fruit.
Alyona noticed that there weren't any forks available for the fruit. She decided that if she was going to use her fingers to eat, she should take off her diamond snake ring, in order to keep it from getting stained with the fruit juices.
Draco was halfway done with his second sandwich when he heard Alyona scream bloody murder.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
Malfoy dropped his snack and covered his ears as the screech coming from Alyona was loud enough to rupture the tall glass windows that lined the large pool room. With his hands still clutching his ears, Draco quickly sprung over to help his damsel in distress.
"Woah Woah Woah! What happened, Love!? What's wrong!?" Draco asked frantically.
Alyona looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.
"The r...ring! It b-bit m..me!!! She cried out in agony.
Draco's heart sunk as he looked upon his beloved as she clutched on to her left hand with her right one, an excessive amount blood dripping from it and onto the stone floor.
A horrified look placed itself on Malfoy's face. Draco waisted no time calling out for Wheezy to help them. The young boy leaped from where he was sitting, trying his best to avoid the shards of glass that littered the room and sped over to the first aid cabinet, grabbed a few items, and rushed back over to his girlfriend.
"Sweetheart, did you try to take your ring off!? Draco asked, feeling overwhelmed at the situation.
She nodded as she continued to weep heavily.
Draco had a pouch of cotton balls and a bottle of essence of dittany in hands. He carefully took hold of her left hand to asses the damage.
Alyona had two very deep gashes where the snake had latched on. It appeared that the snake had raked it's fangs down the back of her hand and all the way down to her wrist before letting go and coiling back around her ring finger.
"It's going to be okay, Princess. Let me take care of you," Draco soothed her as he gently placed a medication soaked cotton ball onto her injury.
Alyona sat in the chair near the snack that they had abandoned as she watched Malfoy tend to her wound.
"Don't ever try to take this ring off. It's been made to…uh…protect itself from being removed. If someone try's to steal it off of your finger, it's charmed to attack the hand of the thief in self-defense," Draco explained.
Alyona nodded as she wiped away another one of her tears.
"But, just in case—" Draco then grabbed his wand off of the table. He delicately took Alyona's left hand into his and murmured something under his breath.
Suddenly, the bejeweled snake began to slither around her hand. It proceeded to coil itself even tighter around her tiny finger. Not uncomfortably tight, just tighter than it once had been previously.
"Does that feel more secure, Love?" Draco asked her calmly.
"Uh…ya, it does," Alyona answered him with a bit of unsureness in her voice.
"Good. Now remember, it will never fall off, it will never tarnish, and it will always fit perfectly. The ring stays on, understand?" Draco questioned as he looked into her beautiful eyes.
Alyona nodded quickly as she didn't really understand why he was being so serious about something seemingly so trivial as a bit of jewelry.
Draco smiled as he embraced his darling within his arms and sealed this act of affection with a kiss to the forhead. "That's my good girl. I promise the ring won't hurt you again, as long as you leave it be."
Draco looked up from his beloved and over to the shattered windows in disbelief. The two kids summoned Wheezy and Draco's parents to asses the damage to the pool hall.
"Wha—what the hell happened in here?! Why are the windows broken?!" Narcissa demanded as she stared up at the now windowless archways. With each step that she took she heard glass crunching under her stilettos.
Draco tried to walk towards his mother as he began to answer her, "we…we were just playing and—"
"No! Don't come any closer, you'll cut your feet open! Wheezy, come clean up this mess at once!" Narcissa shouted.
The little elf appeared out of nowhere at the moment his name left her mouth, "Yes, Mistress. Right away."
The group watched as the elf used it's magic to speedily clear all of the glass that was blocking the kids' path to Draco's parents. Once they were certain that ground was safe to tread on, the children went running over to them.
Narcissa embraced the children, relieved that they were both safe, that was until she caught a glimpse of Alyona's right hand. Misses Malfoy instantly knew what had happened the moment she saw it. She then noticed the cotton balls and medication still resting on the poolside table.
"Did either of you two get hurt?" Narcissa asked.
Draco panicked a bit as his eyes met his father's, who was standing behind his mother.
"Nope, we're both perfectly fine. I Promise," Draco insisted with an innocent smile.
"Alright, well let's let Wheezy clean this mess up, shall we?" Draco's mother said as she guided the kids out of the hazardous area.
~ooOOOoo~
Later on, Draco found his father sitting in his office. Lucius was looking over som paperwork regarding ministry affairs when his son walked up to him hesitantly.
"I'm rather busy at the moment, Draco," Lucius said coldly.
Draco gulped as he continued to approach his dad, "This is kind of important, Father."
Lucius looked up from his work with a sigh, "Alright, so be it."
"Well, it's about what happened earlier. I think…I think Alyona was the one that shattered the windows…," Draco hesitantly admitted, "Neither of us casted any magic while we were playing. I…think it was her scream."
"Is that so", Lucius said, "is there anything else?"
Draco nodded, "Nothing bad, but I did notice something about the way she swam around in the water. It seemed…almost unnatural for a human to swim like that. She was so fast, I could hardly keep track of where she was, let alone keep up with her. It was quite extraordinary."
"You didn't tell her the full truth about the ring, did you?" Lucius inquired.
Draco shook his head, "No. I only told her not to try to remove it ever again. She'll listen to me, I'm sure of it."
Lucius examined the seriousness on his son's face before responding, "Where is she now?"
"I have her resting in the bedroom," Draco answered.
"Okay, I suppose it's about time you knew the truth about her," Lucius spoke, "The truth about the Blossoms.
Draco looked confused at his father's words as his father began to let his son in on the family's great secret.
~ooOOOoo~
After a little while, the youngest Malfoy returned to his dwelling where he had let Alyona rest. She was sleeping peacefully, curled up in within the fine silk sheets and plush pillows when Draco came over to her.
He sat down the glass of water he was holding down on her bedside table. Alyona opened her eyes at the sound of the glass hitting the wooden surface. She looked up to see the tall boy looking down at her with a half smile.
"Hey there, what time is it?" She asked him.
"It's nearly four-thirty. How'd you sleep, Darling?" Draco asked as he stroked her hair gently.
Alyona yawned and stretched her limbs before sitting up in the bed, "Not too bad. Last I checked though, you were laying next to me. Where did you come back from just now?"
"Oh, I just wanted to get you some water. I don't want you to become dehydrated," the boy spoke calmly.
Alyona looked at the glass of water and back at Draco. She knew what he was doing, and knew that he had most likely been informed about her heritage.
"Who told you?" She asked.
"My father did. That's where I just came from. We had the conversation in his office," Draco answered.
Alyona looked at him with confusion, "And…you still want to be with me? Even though I'm not…pure?"
Draco sat down beside her, grabbed the glass and handed it to her.
"Drink, Princess. You need to stay hydrated," Malfoy soothed.
Alyona cautiously took the glass from Draco's hands and finished it in seconds.
"Now your extreme thirst makes sense," Draco chuckled, "But to answer your question. Yes, I still want to be with you. You are pure, Darling. In fact, you're not only pure, but you're extremely unique, in the best way possible."
Alyona was stunned at his response. She set the glass down on the table beside her and stared into Draco's sparkling grey eyes.
Without any further hesitation, Draco leaned forward and embraced his beloved. Alyona felt so comforted and safe in his arms.
"My perfect little mermaid," Draco cooed as he held her close, with no intention of letting go anytime soon.
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