Nothing is more precious than the love a parent possesses for their child.

At that moment, as our lips met, I was completely, and utterly happy. The universe had pulled together, the planets were aligned. Everything was perfect. So, naturally, something went wrong.

"How dare you? You worthless girl!"

With a sharp intake of breath, we turned around to face our enemies; Druella and Cygnus Black.

"What were you thinking?! Do you want us in ruins, Narcissa?!" Druella's shrill shrieks filled the room. It seemed, at the time that the fates were completely against Narcissa and me; like the universe was constantly pulling us apart, torturing its children of the world. Little did I know that this was not the work of the universe; there was someone else behind the scenes, some other puppet master at work. However, dear reader, that will all come to light later in this story.

"Our greatest competitor and you are out there, flouncing about! The absolute nerve of you, girl! I knew you were daft but this…This is beyond even your level of stupidity! FOR MERLINS SAKE, CYGNUS, SAY SOMETHING!"

The elder Black turned to face us, and I must admit, he was a terrifying presence. His dark eyes, void of all emotion except pain, and anger, his insanity well hidden but still visible in the smallest of ways. A subdued, more threatening version of Bellatrix.

"What do you want with the girl, Master Lucius?" His eyes leveled with mine, willing me to look down, to lose my resolve. I would not.

"I lov-"

He waved me off. "Don't even, Lucius Malfoy. I know how your mind works, the mind of a Malfoy. Cold, quick, and cruel. There is no love within your heart. I know for a fact that you are thinking the exact same thing I am right now."

I cleared my throat. "What might that be, Sir?"

He smiled, a wicked smile and ignored my question. "Mr. McCarthy has offered us a handsome amount for Narcissa. More than she is worth, I should say. But this is not about her worth, this is about how much I want." His cold eyes darted over the pair of us. "And how much I am willing to pay."

He began to pace the room. "I do not deny, the merging of the Malfoy and Black houses would be a most magnificent union, indeed. A Pure-Blood match made by Salazar himself. It would be wonderful publicity for our family." Picking up a glass of brandy, he faced us again. "However, we are not on the most cordial of terms these days. So…I will cut you a deal. How much are you willing to pay, Master Malfoy?"

"Anything."

His lips curled into a smiling snarl. "Wonderful. One million pounds will be transferred into my account by tomorrow morning and you can take this burden off of me."

I was shocked, he was letting us go. "One million pounds? You'll just give her away…" I said.

He scoffed. "She's no star. Remember, the money first thing tomorrow morning. Now, off you go, Narcissa can collect her things tomorrow. I want her out of this house as soon as possible. Druella, do show them out."

I held my breath as we were escorted down the dark corridors.

He had let us go, with nothing but a fine, just a fine of money and a promise of power. I couldn't believe how lucky we were, how easy he had let us off. But the truth was that he hadn't, he had done one of the cruelest things he could have.

He sold his child. Gave her away , for money and for power, to a man he had deemed heartless. Without fight, he let her go with that cruel smirk on his face.

"You are worth nothing more than a million pounds and handsome title. You are nothing precious, child." That was what he was saying, the worst thing you could ever say to your child.

Druella led us to the door, and I stepped through the threshold. But Narcissa stayed behind, and faced Druella.

"I.." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I would have been so proud to call you my mother. If only you had let me try."

Druella stood there, her mouth opening and closing, like a fish out of water, searching for something to say.

She gave up, and slammed the door in our faces.

I felt Cissa grasp my hand, as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Are you alright, darling?"

"Mmm…Mhm." She smiled her sad little smile. "Just saying goodbye. I've got a new family now."

We turned around, never looking back, facing our future.