Fred and George continue to ignore Alli for the next several weeks, but she tried to not let it upset her. She spent most of her time with Katie, who was the one who accidentally started the rumor about Alli and Hermione. "I only said it as a joke. I didn't think they would take me seriously. I know you don't have that kind of a relationship with Hermione." Katie stated as she apologized to Alli. Alli was mad at Katie at first; but after her friend explained what she had said, Alli knew that Katie was not at fault and Fred was just being ridiculous. "Fred is just jealous that there are things Hermione knows about you that he doesn't. He needs to grow up and realize that the fact that you and Hermione grew up together is never going to change." Alli was grateful for her support; but, even though, she was still mad at him, Alli couldn't help but miss always having the twins around.
Quidditch practice became a bit awkward as well. They were still civil on the the pitch, but there were a few times Allestra thought Fred had intentionally not blocked a Bludger from hitting her. After about the third one hitting Alli, Wood yelled at Fred and George to pay more attention, and do their jobs. They claimed that they had just been focusing on protecting Harry since he was the youngest on the team. When she got back to the Common Room that night, Alli was so sore that Katie brought her food from dinner because she couldn't move without being in excruciating pain. Hermione suggested she go see Madame Pomfrey, but Allestra was dragged to the hospital enough times that going there voluntary and when she was not dying just did not seem right.
Thankfully the Christmas holiday was near, because Alli needed to get out of the castle for a bit. There were so many strange events this year, and Alli had been feeling much more irritable lately. She was going home with Hermione for the first half of the break, and spending the end of it with Tonks and her parents. The Weasley and Harry were staying at the school, so on the train Alli, Hermione, and Katie had a compartment to themselves. Hermione chatted excitedly with Katie. Katie had begun to tell her spells that students learn in their second year, and Hermione could not hear enough. Alli stared out the window for most of the trip, but then Katie left to find Eddie so it was just her and Hermione. Alli was so concerned about everyone talking about her and her fight with Fred that she never even thought about how the rumor may have affected her sister. But now, she noticed that Hermione was sitting at the other end of the cabin and staring at her hands. Poor Hermione, she was only a first and she already had trouble fitting in, and then this stupid rumor was started. All slid away from the window and touched Hermione's folded hands "Hey, no one has said anything to you about this rumor, have they?" Hermione shook her head. " No. Harry and Ron know how close we are and did not pay attention to it. Ron just doesn't understand Fred's reaction to it. He says he think Fred has gone mad. Other than that I'm not really popular enough for anyone to care about a rumor about me." Alli looked at Hermione curiously, not really understanding her last comment. Alli knew Hermione was having trouble making friends at the beginning of the year, but she had seen her talking with several other students from her year lately. "I know I have been friendlier with the other first years, but they mainly are friends with Harry and Ron. I'm just sort of there." Alli moved to the other bench and put her arm around her. "You know I don't know Harry Potter that well, but I know Ron. And he is one of the best friend you can have. Everyone else will eventually see how great you are." Hermione threw her arms around Alli, and held her tight. When they separated, Alli recognized the look on Hermione's face. She wanted to say something, but was afraid to. "What's up? I know there is something on your mind." Hermione adjusted her position so her back was against the hallway window. "I was just thinking about that meeting you and I were suppose to have on the day you fought with Fred. I didn't want to bring it up then because so many other things were going on. But, I am curious as to what you wanted to talk about." Alli had completely forgotten about meeting Hermione that day. Over the time, she had lost her nerve to come clean about her family. But, Hermione had been good to her lately, and always dealt with Alli's crazy mood swings. She deserved to know the reason behind them. Hermione started to Alli apologize for bringing it up again, but Alli cut her off. First she made sure that there was no one in the corridor that would overhear, and shut the door to the cabin tightly.
"Ok, so I haven't been completely truthful with you. Most of the story about my life before I moved in with Diane and Allen that I told you is true, I just left parts out." She had planned to say everything little by little, but once she started she couldn't stop the overflow of words that tumbled out of her mouth. "My mother is Bellatrix Lestrange, a very devoted follower of Voldamort, and she is married to Rudolphus Lestrange. They raised me, but Rudolphus is not my father. I left you and Fred to believe that because I didn't want to face your reactions to learning the identity of my real father. Rudolphus was like a step-father to me. I have memories of him holding me, and comforting me when I was scared; but I had to call him Uncle Rudy, if I called him Daddy he would have been severely punished." Hermione had a look of horror on her face, and Alli knew that nothing she was about to say would bring anything but horror. "I am just going to get this over with." Alli said while taking a deep breath. "I am the only offspring of Lord Voldemort" Alli paused for a second, expecting Hermione to scream or protest that Alli was playing a prank on her like she did when she got her Hogwarts letter. But Hermione just sat there silently, staring at the seat. Alli didn't want to say anymore until Hermione had absorbed everything she was just told. After what felt like an hour, Hermione said "Do you know if you spent much time with him when you were little?" Alli had to think back through a the memories she had visited in the Pensieve. "Not really. He sometimes came to celebrate my birthday, but only stayed for a couple of minutes. Then he started to come over for about an hour every so often to help me perform magic and start to learn how to control it. He would help me hold his wand and tell me words to repeat and then we would see what happened. But, in all I probably saw my father no more than a dozen times. " Hermione seemed to relax a tad, but still looked scared. "Did your mother and Uncle Rudy make you do anything like the other Death Eaters? Like... um... were they preparing you to become one." Alli absentmindedly caressed the mark on her arm. "I don't think so. My mother was very protective of me, and Uncle Rudy did whatever she wanted. When it was evident how powerful I was, she became very scared. Plus my years with them were complicated. I was having terrifying nightmares that I know now were visions of the future, but I actually saw Harry Potter killing my father several months before it happened, and it scared me so much that I rarely left my mother's arms. So there were months that they really could not get me to do much other than play with Saharia or climb on my mother's lap." Hermione took a slow, deel breath, but motioned for her to continue. "I know you probably think I'm mad for making them sound like good people. But in all honesty, around me they were. Though I never did care for my Uncle Lucius, he was never a friendly sort. I hate to admit it, and please don't mention this to Mum, I sometime dream about what my life would have been like if I was still living with them. Of course I keep out the Voldimort portion, so I envision it like my life now only with Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange taking care of me." Alli felt as if every muscle in her body had relaxed, and suddenly she felt very tired. Hermione was looking at her with a smile on her face. "How could you think you and your family are evil when you have such find memories of them?" She asked as she slid closer to Alli so they were sitting side by side. "I can see now why you get very angry sometimes. Everyone is always saying how Death Eaters were wicked people, but I guess not many stop to think about them as actual people with actual families." Alli continued to stare downward only she wasn't looking at her hands or the floor, she was looking at her sock. Tucked away in it was still a small folded up piece of paper with an address on it. Alli had tried to throw it away several times in the past, but always ended up digging it out of the garbage pale seconds later. And now, more than ever she had the urge to write to her mother. This made her feel like a traitor. She didn't know what to think anymore. Were her parents really evil? But if they were, how could they have shown her so much love and kindness? And what about Diane, didn't she deserve more love than anyone else? Suddenly Alli began to sob uncontrollably. Hermione was taken back by the unusual display of emotion, but she drapped her arm over her sister's shoulders and just let her cry. After about ten minutes, Alli's crying became softer and her head began to droop. Hermione gently guided Alli's head to their balled up coats on the seat that she could use as a pillow. While Alli slept, Hermione pulled out the books she had borrowed from the library that referenced Alli's biological family. There was a long line of purebloods on her mother's side, so there were a few pieces of history that involved them.
Alli slept for about an hour, leaving Hermione plenty of time to learn more about Alli's past without upsetting her. She figured that the more she knew about Alli's family, the more she could help her deal with it. Now that she had more information, Hermione had to find the announcement of The Dark Lord's daughter's death in a book she had found that contained old editions of the Daily Profit. They portrayed it as an unavoidable occurrence. According to the paper, the child had become too powerful and expressed similar qualities to that of her father. Therefore, for the safety of the entire Wizarding World, the child was taken to Azkaban and executed in the least painful way the Minister could think of, the Dementor's kiss followed by having her drink a fast acting poison. Hermione looked at the date of publication and calculated that Alli would have been around four years old when that article was written. Hermione couldn't figure out why the Ministry had waited more than a year to announce this, and why they had to make it so gruesome. Something had to have happened that made the Ministry fake Alli's death. Unfortunately, Hermione did not remember much of when she was three years old.
Alli woke up to the sound of the snack trolley pulling up to their cabin, and bought a selected few sugary treats to get her energy back up. Hermione was so lost in her book that she did not notice. But, she jumped slightly and slammed the book closed when Alli flopped down next to her, and asked her what she was reading. Answered vaguely, she said that she was just doing some research for Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The rest of the train ride was pleasant, Hermione did not ask any more questions and Alli did not reveal anymore secrets. Instead, Alli taught Hermione how to play Exploding Snaps, and got her used to playing Wizard's chess instead of Muggle's chess. Then there was a few minutes where Hermione got mad and wouldn't talk to Alli because she had tricked her into eating a boggie flavored Berty Bots bean. But, Alli was forgiven when she found a handful of ear wax gloves ones and ate them all at once as penance. For a bit of time, Alli did not have to guard what she said. She did not have to worry, and was just able to have fun.
When they hopped off the train, the girls found Katie and Eddie to wish them a good holiday, then ventured off down the platform to find Diane. Hermione got a bit ahead of Alli because she was fumbling with Balgeria's cage, and so she had to watched as Hermione and her cousin accidentally run into each other's shoulders. Alli waited for cousin to say something horrendous, but instead he just gave Hermione a dirty glare, which she returned. When he came up next to Alli, however, he whispered " Don't they teach manners in the Muggle world. Tell that Mudblood keep her place and never touch me again." Without trying to think of an alternate way to respond, Alli dropped the owl cage and threw her fist as hard as she could into Draco's cheek. He stumbled back a bit, but then charged at her knocking them both to the ground. They only wrestled with each other for a minute or so before they were pulled apart, but that was enough time for Alli to get a bloody nose and Draco to get a split lip. A circle of students had formed around the two, but it was Diane and Lucius who had restrained them. Once Diane had taken hold of Alli, she had stopped struggling, and watched her cousin as he continued to fight against his father's grip to try and attack her. No one moved, all the students and other parents still on the platform waited to see what would happen next while the two brawlers and their parents just glared at each other. It was not until a sinister, monotoned voice broke through the crowd asking, "What is going on here?" Students parted to allow Prof. Snaps through, and he stood between the two families looking from one to other, waiting for an explanation. Alli's nose was still bleeding and Draco had just spit out what looked like blood from his lip as well, so Prof. Snaps continued without an explanation. "As you are now in the possession of your parents, I cannot administer a school related punishment for this childish behavior. However I am sure that the punishment given by your parents will be far worse than a few days of detention. Now everyone move along and exit the platform."
Abruptly students began to move in ever direction, collecting their abandoned trunks and finding there parents. The gap between the Jerrings and the Mallfoys was soon filling in with people, and Diane began to pull Alli away. But, there was a moment where Alli locked eyes with her Uncle Lucius, and knew while she might be grounded for the entirety of the holiday her cousin would probably be praised and pampered. Hermione was waiting by the platform exit obviously unaware to what happened at the other end because she gasped when she saw Alli's bloody face and shirt. Diane had not let go of Alli's elbow and forcefully pushed her through the exit. Alli hurried to the car with Diane calling after her asking for an explanation, but all Alli would say was that it didn't matter as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. When they got to the car, Hermione got in but Diane pulled Alli aside. "Hey, tell me the truth. It's not like you to get into an actual, physical fight like that. What happened?" Diane went into her purse and pulled out couple of tissues for Alli to use to clean herself with. Alli was avoiding eye contact with her mother, then Diane took hold her shoulders and forced her to looks at her. "If you do not tell me your side of the story, your punish will be far worse for hiding things from me." Alli was not ashamed of fighting with Draco, he deserved that busted lip; but, she was ashamed of letting her anger get the better of her again. Finally after being sternly stared at by Diane for two minutes, Alli said angrily, "He called Hermione a Mudblood." Diane didn't say anything, instead she pulled her into a tight hug. On the drive home, Hermione tried to discover the reasoning behind the fight, but neither Alli nor Diane was willing to tell her the whole truth. Alli simply told her that Draco had said something foul and she lost control.
Of course Diane had to ground Alli for fighting, but thankfully it was just for a few days. Diane knew that what Draco had said was wrong, and could somewhat understand Alli's angry response. She just wished her daughter would have fought back verbally or not at all instead of physically. But she also kept thinking that something was not right. Even though Alli did have a temper, she never got into a fist fight before. She always just yelled or magically send thing flying, but even then the objects were rarely directed towards anyone. When they pulled up to the houses Alli and Hermione hugged the Granger who were waiting for them on the sidewalk. They asked about the red stains on Alli's shirt, but she brushed it off as being no big deal. Then the parted ways so Hermione could spend some time with her parents and tell them all about school. Diane led the way into their house while Alli carried all her school things.
When she walked through the door, Diane let out a small scream and jumped back slightly. Alli hurried in to see the cause, and found Snape sitting on the couch reading the paper. "Dear Lord, Severus. I thought there was an intruder in the house." Diane said as she closed the door behind Alli. While Diane went to greet Snape with a hug, Alli pulled her school things at the bottom of the stairs. "So you are following me for the entire holiday, or just for a few days?" Alli asked as she too hugged her uncle. "Well I had only planned to spend th first week or so here. But, due to that display between you and Mr. Malfoy earlier, I believe it is best that I remain here till you leave to visit Ms Tonks. Wouldn't you agree Diane?" Diane did not respond, but simply nodded and went into the kitchen. "I had to do something, Uncle. He called Hermione a Mudblood." Alli was getting angry again just thinking about her cousin's smirk and the condescending tone of his voice as he made the comment. "I am sorry I lost control, but I am not sorry I hit him. It is about time someone gave him a good smack in the face." Snape did not seem amused as he sat back down but remained straight backed and stern. "And Mr. Malfoy will always try and make you angry. He thinks it shows that he has some sort of control over you. He is always boasting about how he is stronger than you, and how you are the reject of the family. He wants to feel above you because he is scared of you. I believe you actually fighting back today instead of remaining silent as you usually do may have put him in his place for awhile. He now knows that you are not afraid to fight back, whether it be with magic, words, or your fists." There was a small grin on his face. Diane had walked back into the room with a cloth holding ice for Alli to hold to her nose which had begun to swell. "I do believe what Draco said was wrong, and I hope Alli has made him afraid enough of her that he will stop provoking her. But, I cannot and will not condone fighting. Alli promise me that you will get into anymore fights." Alli nodded her head and rested it on her mother's shoulder while Diane held to ice to her nose.
Once Alli's nose no longer felt as if it had a pulse, she left the adults and went to change and unpack while her Uncle went to grade essays and Diane started dinner. Sahara slithered out as soon as she entered her room, and playfully wrapped herself around Alli's legs. "Mmm, why do I smell blood?" Sahara had gotten so big that she was almost to Alli's hip and could stretch across the length of her room three and a half times. "Its a good thing you'll be traveling back to Hogwarts with me. Soon there would not be enough room in this house for you." Sahara coiled up on the floor while Alli sorted her clean and dirty clothes on her bed. Snape came to her room, and at the sight of Sahara, let a groan. "Perhaps we will have to rethink the arrangements for your pet. She will take up half me office. Have you ever looked up what kind of a snake she is, and whether she is done growing or not?" It never occurred to Alli that Sahara would ever grow to the size she was now, and she had not idea whether this is it. She assumed that Sahara was the same breed as Nagini, but she remembered that snake being small and slender. Alli sat and talked with Sahara, filling her in on everything that happened at school, until Diane called her for dinner. While they ate, Diane asked questions about school, but Alli wasn't sure how to answer all of them; particularly when Diane asked why Alli had been in the hospital wing so many times, and was spending nights in her uncle's office. Quickly Alli shoved a forkful of chicken into her mouth, and looked to Snape for help. Any way she phased her answer would worry her mum, but Snape would be able to reassure her which he did.
After everything was cleaned up, Snape retired to the guest room to read while Diane went to help Alli finish unpacking. So as to free up space in Alli's room, Snape made the basement into a comfortable living space for Sahara. While Alli organized her books and homework, Diane folded and put way her daughter's clean clothes. They worked in silence for awhile, and Diane could tell Alli was troubled by something. "Alli come here for a second." But Allestra was not listening. Diane had to grab her arm as she absentmindedly passed her in order to get Alli's attention. "What is going on? You don't seem like your self today." Alli just felt drained from today; from telling Hermione everything, to her fight with Draco, and knowing everything she had to bring her mother up to speed with, Alli just wanted to put her head on her mum's lap and fall asleep while Diane stroked her hair. This had been one of the worst beginnings of the school year yet. Last year went so well and Alli was so happy. But this year, everything seemed to be going wrong. "I don't want Uncle Severus to stay. I don't want to think about school at all right now. I just want to enjoy Christmas and break with you and Hermione and Tonks. He is going to be so strict with me, especially after that fight, and I wont be able to relax. I just need a break from worrying."
Alli spent the rest of the night telling Diane everything that had happened at school. She started with the train ride, including the incident involving Fred and Hermione, and she ended with how she explained everything to Hermione. Diane listened patiently not making any comments or reprimanding her. By the time she finished, Alli couldn't read the expression on Diane's face and she felt as if she was going to pass out. Diane did not question her about anything, instead she just said that they would talk about it more tomorrow, kissed Alli's forehead, and left her to relax and get ready for bed.
Snape spent most of the evening in his room, which left Diane alone downstairs. The Grangers called over to make sure Alli was alright. Once Diane reassured them that everything was fine, they had another million of questions about the school and all the things Hermione had them. Diane was happy to answer everything and was thankful that at least Hermione had a good first term. Allen came over after he got out of work and calmed Diane down. Since Allen never officially gave up custody of Alli, the two of them talked about how they wanted to proceed with helping Alli feel better and making it easier for her to relax. They agreed what they had to do. It was time they took a stand for Alli instead of just letting people tell them how things were going to happen. Diane especially was tired of being told what was best for her daughter.