It's been a while- So sorry! I've been busy with finals and all sorts of other stuff. My break starts Thursday, though, so hopefully I can get a lot of writing done over the holidays!

Enjoy! This one's a bit longer than usual. (:

Chapter Eighteen

"Are you sure you're alright?" Antonin asked for the fiftieth time since we'd met up.

"I'm fine," I insisted. As fine as I could be before telling my parents that I was getting married. It wasn't that they would have a problem with Antonin, per se; it was more the fact that I was still a child in their eyes. They would be hesitant about the whole matter, even if it had been Voldemort himself I was engaged to.

Antonin raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, but mentioned nothing more about that. "Do you want to wait a little longer before we head over?"

I nodded, and he smiled, sliding closer on the couch.

"Good."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "Antonin?"

"Yes, darling?"

"How are your parents going to react?"

With a soft chuckle, he answered, "It doesn't matter. It won't change a thing."

"But suppose they disown you."

"They won't. It's not as if you're a mudblood, Ally. You worry too much."

"But what if they don't like me?" I pressed. "What if they think I'm not good enough for you?"

"Alecto." He was suddenly very serious. "You're far more than good enough for me. If they can't see that, it's their problem. But it'll be fine. Trust me."

I closed my eyes, inhaling his intoxicating scent in an effort to calm myself. "Okay."

"That's my girl," he whispered, his thumb tracing my collarbone.

"We should go before my parents worry. I told them I'd be straight home," I informed him, with a trace of reluctance. Depending on my father's mood, the situation could get bad.

Despite my worries, there was nothing but calm curiosity on the faces of my parents when Antonin and I arrived in my living room. I'd conveniently forgotten to mention I was bringing him along.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carrow," Antonin greeted politely. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," my father returned with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Whereas my mother found Antonin absolutely charming, my father wasn't quite so taken.

"Mother, Father," I tried to interrupt the awkwardness. "How have you been?"

"Well enough," my father's tone was notably warmer toward me than Antonin. My mother, as usual, was silent in his presence- even before they'd married, I think she was intimidated by him. The fear only had grown over time, but Amycus and I had always pointedly turned a blind eye toward our parents' relationship. "And you, Alecto?"

I glanced at Antonin, who squeezed my hand and then dropped it before they could see. "I've been fine, father, thank you."

"Sir," Antonin cut in, making me think that he might have been about as unsure regarding the situation as I was, "I have... We have... something we'd like to tell you."

Immediately, both of my parents eyed the pair of us suspiciously, though my mother with less hostility.

"Alecto?" my father inquired. Antonin nudged my arm, encouraging me to tell them. I wished I didn't have to be the one to break the news.

"Antonin's asked me to marry him." I knew I must have looked terrified as I spoke.

My mother uttered a soft "oh", but her face lit up a bit. My father, on the other hand, continued to look suspicious. "You're still in school, Alecto."

"Oh, we'll wait until the summer, at least, sir," Antonin answered for me.

I could see the gears working in my father's mind, weighing the benefits of having me marry into such a prestigious family against the fact that he didn't wish for me to grow up.

"Alright," finally came the answer. "You have my blessing."

My mother was suppressing a smile, I could tell. She'd wanted this to happen all along, I think.

---

Antonin left shortly after that, deciding not to press our luck by overstaying his welcome. I was sure my mother would have enjoyed him staying around all day, but my father would never approve; I didn't want to risk him rethinking his decision on the matter, either.

When I'd asked when he'd come see me next, the only answer Antonin gave was "soon", which could have meant anything. Turns out, though, that soon was really only a few hours. I was half ready for bed when he appeared silently in my room, grinning in a devilishly attractive way.

"How'd you do that?" I queried, positive that apparition always occurred with a loud 'crack'.

"Practice."

"You're not normal."

He grinned slightly, his hand running over my hair, which was still damp from my shower. "Never said I was, did I?"

"I guess not. But that still doesn't explain..."

"Maybe I'll teach you sometime, okay?" His fingertips were tracing circles on my back by that point, his touch through my pajamas making my skin hot.

Rolling my eyes, I shrugged. Obviously, he didn't feel like talking about that at the moment.

As it turned out, he didn't really feel like talking at all. Once he'd pressed his lips against mine, I found that I didn't really feel like talking anymore, either.

The thing about kissing Antonin- apart from the fact that he was outrageously good at it- was the fact that I was never quite sure what to expect. There were times when he'd be gentle and sweet, holding me as if I was breakable, kissing me as if I was precious and fragile. But then there were times where he would nearly bruise my lips with his insistence, and when his hands didn't seem capable of finding enough of me to run over.

This time, one of his hands was resting in the small of my back, and the other was cupping the side of my face gently, his thumb gently tracing my cheekbone as his lips moved against mine. It was, in all respects, the perfect kiss; neither too soft nor too passionate, and yet somehow too much for me to handle all the same.

I knew that silent apparating wasn't the only thing he'd had practice with.

Without really thinking, I deepened the kiss, pulling him closer to me and running my fingers through his hair. It was impulse; I began working at unbuttoning his shirt almost subconsciously.

He shrugged out of it without breaking contact; I was sure we had never had this much skin-to-skin contact before. My nightdress didn't exactly cover much, and my skin tingled everywhere it contacted his, almost as if he was in danger of burning me through mere touch.

"Ally," he whispered against my mouth, almost pleadingly. I felt a shiver run down my spine. Never breaking away, he gently moved us toward my bed, pulling me down so that we were sitting on the edge.

There was nothing rough about his assertiveness, and I was all too happy to follow whatever lead he gave- his kiss was intoxicating, and his hands were doing magic over the exposed skin of my shoulders, arms, and back.

I had to break away after a moment to catch my breath; I could almost hear my rapid heartbeat as he watched me, his eyes dark with desire. "Ally," he repeated, a little more insistence in his tone.

"Hmm?" I managed, before he pulled me against himself so that we were in an even more compromising position. Oh.

There was no way in hell I could stop this, though. Every kiss, every touch, was so perfect; it was all I could do to keep from tearing off his remaining clothing right then. What would he think if I'd let things get this far but wouldn't take them farther?

Of course, I was only trying to rationalize the fact that I didn't want the things he was doing to me to stop by telling myself I'd feel guilty if I didn't let him do as he pleased.

He kissed my jaw, and then trailed more kisses down my neck, and bloody hell it felt amazing. It was as if this was the first time he'd ever been this close to me, even though I was certain we'd had many days doing things like this over the summer. Hadn't we? At the moment, I didn't exactly have full capacity for memory.

"Antonin..."

"Yes, love?" His fingers were dangerously close to the top hem of my shirt, which was a bit too low cut for that to be appropriate. There was still that longing in his eyes, a look that made my heart positively stop beating and my breath catch in my throat. If I hadn't trusted him so completely, it might have frightened me how much lust was evident in that gaze.

"We... we can't do this..."

He froze, no longer looking in that nearly-predatory way he had just seconds before. It was as if I'd slapped him across the face; he gently pushed me off of himself, breathing heavily.

"Yeah. You're right. I... I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry, Ally, I just-"

"Sh," I commanded, slipping my hand into his and looking up at my ceiling. "It's alright. You couldn't help it."

"Something like that," he agreed, though he didn't sound happy.

"Are you okay?"

"Honestly, no." He rolled onto his side, and I turned my head so I could make eye contact with him. "I feel like I've just done something terrible to you."

"But you didn't, Antonin. It's fine."

"I wanted to, Ally. If you could hear my thoughts-" Sighing, he broke off. "I'm so sorry. I'm such a sick-"

"Stop," I cut him off. "You're amazing. And it isn't a problem. It happens, okay? I love you. And nothing's going to change that. Isn't that all that matters?"

Smiling slightly, he ran his thumb down the side of my face. "I love you, too."

I yawned, then, and he pulled his hand out of mine and sat up. "I'd better let you get some sleep."

"No... stay... please." Really, I didn't want him to leave. We saw each other too seldom for me to allow him to be away for a minute more than he absolutely had to.

"Only until you're asleep, okay?" He brushed some hair back from my face and then settled back into my bed, wrapping his arms around me.

"Mmkay," I agreed, snuggling against his chest. Like always, he smelled good, that familiar cinnamon-and-rain-and-grass scent that I'd come to associate with him over the years. It wasn't long before I'd drifted off.

When I woke in the morning, I was extremely surprised to find that not only was he still with me, his arms wrapped around me possessively, but there was a breathtaking ring on my left ring finger. It was all the formal proposition I required- and I knew he knew without asking that I accepted.

Oh, Alecto and her silly self control. Review, please? (: Next chapter coming... soon!