Chapter One

She was so close to him she could feel the warmth of his body crashing into her like fiery waves. The heat was suffocating as his arms wrapped around her slight frame and his lips pushed towards her own. Their lips touched and the electricity of it dizzied her senses...

"Alysious?" a familiar voice ripped her out of the dream. "Are you okay? You were making weird noises..." Hermione looked fearful and touched her best friend's forehead searching for a fever. Annoyed, Alysious waved her hand away and sat up in her bed grumpily.

"Never wake me up when I'm making weird noises. I always have the best dreams when I make weird noises." Alysious laughed at herself and stood up sleepily.

Alysious was really a very beautiful girl, standing a radiant five feet eight inches, she was considerably taller than many girls at school. She was slender with a healthy, athletic build and had skin that shimmered with a light golden color year round. She had light brown hair with a hint of blonde and red in it that draped long and smooth to the middle of her back. Her eyes were blue like the ocean, which made them stand out from the rest of her face. She had full, pink lips that opened to reveal a perfectly white and sparkling smile that could disarm a boy on any given day.

"Well, it is difficult to determine whether you are having a good dream noise or whether you are having stomach cramps." Hermione glanced over at Alysious with a sparkle of laughter in her eyes.

Hermione had grown up so much within the past few years; it was difficult to recognize her from her old pictures. She was about five feet four inches tall, and had a slim hourglass shape. Her curves had begun to fill in during the last part of her fifth year, and they drove Ron wild. She had long hair like Alysious, except hers was a dark auburn that bounced playfully in curls. Hermione had honey colored eyes and perfect teeth she had fixed herself at Hogwarts.

The two girls had been best friends since their 2nd year at Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was well known to Hermione that Alysious had been harboring a massive crush on Harry Potter since they first started school. Harry, naturally, was clueless to the infatuation and thought of Alysious only as a good friend who happened to be incredibly clumsy and speech impaired when around him. Hermione found great fun in exacerbating these awkward situations for Alysious because Hermione was great friends with both sides of the party.

Alysious also happened to know that Hermione and Ron were very much an on/off couple that spat constantly in public but lust for each other when in private. At the present time they were "on" and had been for the past two months. Ron had almost broken the good luck streak when he forgot the anniversary of their first kiss (June 10th) and Hermione threatened him with his very manhood. Other than those occasional situations, their relationship was going strong.

"So, if your dream was so fantastic, who had the pleasure of being included in it?" Hermione prodded for information.

"Well, if you must know..."

"And I must."

"It was Harry, of course." Alysious burst. "Who else do I have weird noise making dreams about?" She sighed and peeled off her t-shirt. The girls were close enough to not be shocked by each other's bodies. She put on a tank top and shorts. "I just wish I could tell him... I mean, how long have I liked him now? And how long has he not known about me liking him?"

"I think we're up to about five sexually frustrated years now." Hermione talked as she packed her bag. The girls were getting ready to head back to school for their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. The train was leaving in about two hours and much was needed to be done.

"Oh God, has it been that long? Wait, wait, yes... it does feel like it's been five long sexually frustrated years. I mean, sometimes a girl just needs-" Alysious stopped short in utter horror.

"Please continue- a girl needs what now?" Harry and Ron stood in the frame of the girl's room in the Weasley house. Harry had spoken and was smirking at them, while Ron was looking in amusement at Alysious.

Harry had grown to be the poster boy for all tall, dark and handsome men. He had grown to an even six feet tall. His jet-black hair had not been cut since school let out and it fell loosely in front of his eyes. His green eyes had become even more radiant within the past years and absolutely popped against his tan skin and dark hair. He had been practicing quidditch all summer with Ron and had developed more muscles, giving him a very toned physique. Harry had traded his glasses in for contacts, but hated wearing the contacts so much he often wore his glasses anyway.

"We're all very curious to find out what girls need. I think it would help me out a lot actually." Ron chuckled at Hermione.

Ron had grown very much over the summer and now stood at a little over six feet tall. His red hair danced across his face, as he was letting his grow too. Ron had been practicing very hard with Harry over the summer and had gained a lot of muscle weight. He was tall, but also very built. Hermione was very excited for the transformation from gangly, awkward boy to confident, tall and built man.

"Go ahead, Alysious, tell Harry and Ron what girls need." Hermione smiled devilishly.

"Girls need...um... girls...need..." Alysious fumbled all over the place.

"Girls need to learn how to pack their bags faster and come eat breakfast before we have to leave for the train!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted as she came up the stairs to observe what was taking so long. "If you girls don't hurry you'll miss the train! It's a long drive over to the station- oh, good heavens you haven't even finished packing..." She walked off down the stairs mumbling about teenagers and their never failing ability to overestimate themselves.

Hermione walked over to the doorframe where the boys still stood. "Either help us pack or get out. You are doing us no good just by standing there watching."

The boys cleared out of the doorway and walked downstairs to breakfast, but not before Hermione gave Ron a big kiss. The boys continued to make raunchy jokes about what girls need all the way down to the breakfast table until Mrs. Weasley over-heard one and threatened to make Ron and Harry walk all the way to the station.

Hermione continued carefully folding her things into her suitcase and trunk while Alysious sat on her bed and fiddled around.

"You know... I think he knew I was talking about him just then. Did you see that look he gave me? He knew I just had a dream about us naked together! He knew it!" Alysious flailed her arms around in the air while she spoke.

"Oh, come on, you're being ridiculous. Besides, would it be so bad if he knew? I bet he'd like it."

Twenty minutes later the girls came thumping downstairs giggling and ready to leave for the train station. They each grabbed some toast and said hello to the rest of the Weasley family.

"Oh good, I'm glad you are all ready now. I think this will be the first year we are not rushed to get you to the station on time. And it's your last year..." Mrs. Weasley began tearing up, and dabbed at the corners of her eyes with her apron.

"Come off it Mum, you know I'll be living at home till I'm thirty!" Ron joked.

The group laughed and shared stories up until they reached the station. Mr. Weasley and the twins helped carry all their trunks and suitcases to the platform where they said their final goodbyes and ran through to the train.

Once aboard, the gang sat together in a compartment and talked. The train started moving towards Hogwarts after one final shrill whistle and the anticipation grew.

"You know, I heard that we're going to have a considerably larger first year class than we normally do this year." Hermione started a conversation.

"Great, that'll mean that many more crazy kids running around with wands and not knowing how to use them properly." Harry added while he shifted in his seat. His hand brushed across Alysious' shoulder and she felt her face warm.

"Umm..." Alysious started to say something but Harry looked at her and she lost her words. "I think I'm going to go to the bathroom..." Alysious stood up suddenly and left the compartment awkwardly.

Once outside the compartment, she breathed a breath of fresh air and walked slowly over to the dreaded train bathrooms. It was not uncommon for many first years to come down with a bad case of motion sickness on the train and would make a beeline for the bathrooms. Luckily, because the train had only been going for about half an hour, no one was praying to the porcelain gods yet.

After Alysious was finished, she washed her hands and started trying to make her way back to the compartment. There was a lot of commotion going on in the aisles with students. Two boys were arguing louder than the most and Alysious payed attention.

"Come on, move outta my way- this is my compartment, I got here first!" one boy shouted.

"Well too bad, I'm not sharing and all the other ones are so full that they are making people share five to six people per compartment. My friends and I already got this one!"

"Fuck you! This is mine! You get your friends and get out of here!"

Alysious looked down the aisle and couldn't even see a place where a compartment door was open and someone was joining in with others to share. She did not think she could handle being shoved up against Harry for a couple hours without making a complete ass out of herself, so she started looking elsewhere. Finally, on the other end of the train, she found a compartment that was completely empty.

Excited, Alysious flopped down on one of the booths and spread out so that she was comfortably lying down. Maybe she could fall back asleep and finish her dream about Harry...

"Um, hi." The compartment door slid open and a male voice broke the silence.

Alysious sat up quickly and straightened her shirt. It was Draco Malfoy, sworn enemy of Harry and all his friends.

"Malfoy..." Alysious glared. "What do you want?" She stood up and crossed her arms over her breasts while she stared at him.

Her mean face faltered. He was gorgeous. He had grown taller since the last time she saw him and she had to look up to meet his eyes. He must have been around six foot three. His skin was tan and glistening and his eyes pierced her with their electric blue. His sandy blonde hair was messy and fell down loosely. He looked strong and powerful, his body defined by the sharp angles of his developed muscles.

"Actually, I was just going to welcome you to my compartment," he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I went to grab some snacks and drinks for the trip, and when I got back…you were here! Amazing isn't it?"

"Well fine, I'll leave. I wouldn't want to disturb you and your snacks..." Alysious mocked him on her way out.

"No, its fine. I would like for you to stay." Draco blocked the door. "I have plenty of snacks I promise." He smiled at her. She wasn't use to his smile; it was usually more of an unpleasant smirk. His smile was almost...alluring?

Alysious faltered before she sat back down. "Okay... what's the catch?" she eyed him suspiciously. "Are you going to kill me?"

Draco laughed heartily. "Yes." He smiled at her again. She couldn't help but smile back at him. This was odd. This was not the Draco she remembered from last year.

"Here, have a chocolate frog." Draco handed her a small package that was ornately decorated. She heard it ribbit.

"So, you seem... different..." she paused. "What happened?"

Draco gave her a half smile. "A lot changed. Well, not even a lot... pretty much everything changed. I guess you could say I'm a new person now?" Draco lifted his eyebrows as he finished the sentence. He seemed to be trying to find the right words to explain to her what happened.

"Really... a new person, huh?" Alysious took a bite out of the chocolate frog. "You smile more. It's actually quite charming."

"Well I learned a lot this summer and it made me question much of my past. I'm a lot happier now than I used to be. It's a nice change." Draco smiled at her again. "Juice?"

"No thanks. So what happened over your summer then?" Alysious had no inhibitions toward him. He was much more welcoming and she surprised herself at how easily she was calmed by his presence.

"It's a long story. But- what about you? How have you been? You look...stunning by the way."

Alysious stopped eating mid-chew. Did he just say she looked stunning? She swallowed. "Um, well, Hermione and I spent a lot of time traveling. I went and visited my brother in Liverpool. He's in the music business." Alysious loved bragging about her "almost famous" brother.

"I love music! Does he know the Dragon Slayers?" Draco got very excited.

"No...I don't think so. Ever heard of The Beatles? They're from Liverpool..." Alysious commented.

"The who?"

"Yes, they're a band too."

"What?"

"The Beatles were a very famous band back in the sixties. It's a muggle thing I guess..." Alysious trailed off.

"Are you muggle-born?" Draco looked at her.

"Yes, I am." Alysious got nervous. She remembered how awful Draco could be to muggle-born witches and wizards. He didn't even falter when she said it though. She continued, "My parents are very proud of me being a witch, though. They never would have guessed it." Alysious laughed thinking about when she got her letter asking her to attend Hogwarts and her parents thought it was something made up.

Alysious and Draco talked for over an hour about themselves. Alysious scooted closer to Draco to show him a Divination trick on his hand, and never moved back over to her spot. They soon started flirting with one another. Draco's hand landed on her bare thigh. She could feel him tense up as soon as he touched her.

"What's the matter, Draco? Never felt a girl before?" Alysious playfully grabbed his arm. His arm was warm and hard. She realized then that she wanted someone like this, someone to love her, watch over her, protect her. Draco looked at her in silence, and they gazed at each other, neither one wanting to break the connection. Alysious closed her eyes and leaned forward.

The compartment door opened abruptly.

"What the fuck?" Harry ripped his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at Draco. "You better get your hands off her right now or I'll hex the fuck out of you." His voice was deadly. Alysious, for the first time since she could remember, was disappointed to see Harry. She wanted to be alone with Draco a little longer.

"Calm down, Potter. Nothing's going on. What's it to you anyway? She's not your girl..." Draco stood up slowly with his arms raised.

"I know that." Harry spat. "She's like a sister to me... like family... and I protect what is close to me." Harry quickly glanced at Alysious.

She couldn't help herself. Her eyes were brimming with tears. Like family? She never wanted to be that girl to Harry. She was like a sister to him, not like a lover. She would never be a lover to him, why was she wasting her time?

"Harry, I can take care of myself. Why are you here anyway?" she was trying to keep control of herself, but she was fighting a losing battle.

"I was looking for you... I was worried when you never came back..." Harry lowered his wand and looked confused.

"I don't need a babysitter, Harry." Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. "I never wanted you to be my babysitter!" She slammed the compartment door in his face and sat down heavily. She buried her face in her hands and cried softly.

Draco put his arm around her. "He was foolish never to have seen it." Draco messed with her hair, and pulled her head in closer to rest on his chest.