A/N:
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise. I only own the characters, items and locations that you don't recognise.
Summary: When shy and intelligent Ariella Potter and Quidditch hotshot Lucas Malfoy get paired together for a school project, Ariella knows that she shouldn't feel anything but hatred towards him. So why does she feel attracted to him? And what will Ariella do when Lucas returns her affections? Will they ever break free from their cliques and parents' rivalry so they can be together?
Chapter Fourteen – Getting Ready For The Ball.
Slowly but surely the day of the ball arrived and Dawn and Ariella was getting ready for the ball. They had decided to be fashionably late and make a grand entrance when everyone was least expecting it. Down in the Great Hall the tables had been conjured into lots of tiny circular tables. While Ariella and Dawn were getting ready an owl flew to the dormitory window and Ariella noticed that it was her father's owl. She walked over to the window and took the letter from the owl. It said:
Ariella,
After some deliberation with your mother I have decided that you are happy being with Lucas Malfoy, which is why I have decided to give the relationship my blessing. However if he ever hurts you then I will not be happy and he will have to suffer the consequences. Have fun at the ball.
Love dad.
Ariella showed the letter to Dawn who smiled and hugged her best friend. Meanwhile Lucas had decided to pay a visit to his father and tell him exactly what he thought.
"Father! I love her and there's nothing you can do about this relationship! No matter how hard you try you will never succeed in breaking us up!" Lucas exclaimed.
Draco Malfoy sat in his armchair and looked at his son. He could see the same expressions that he himself had had on his face when he told his father that he was marrying Pansy. Draco smiled at Lucas and nodded his head in a way of showing that he accepted what Lucas had just said. Behind the door Boo was listening to what was being said and walked into the room. Draco looked at her as she sat down on the arm of his chair.
"Luke I'm sorry that I told dad. I didn't think that she meant that much to you," Boo told him.
Lucas nodded and hugged his sister then apparated out of Malfoy manor to the edge of Hogsmeade while Boo clung to his arm for dear life.
Back at Hogwarts, Dessy and Ember entered Ariella's dormitory and sat down on her bed. Ariella looked at them and asked what they wanted.
"We're sorry for owling dad. We shouldn't have," Ember told her.
Ariella nodded and told them they had best start getting ready for the ball. Ember and Dessy bid farewell to Ariella and walked out of the dormitory and left Dawn and Ariella getting ready.
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