"Dracy-poo! You're all aloneee! Let me sit with you honey bunches!" Squealed Pansy Parkinson, plopping next to Malfoy. Ali could hear it from halfway across the room. She rolled her eyes and scarfed down her eggs.
"So are you gonna do it today?" Ron asked, sitting down next to her at the breakfast table. Ali moved over a little to give him room.
"Yeah, I guess so. The potion expires in, like, three days. So I don't have much of a choice when I do it," she replied, shrugging. Ron smiled and patted her arm.
"Where are Hermione and Harry?" Ali looked past her ginger friend at the door.
"Decided to skip out on breakfast. 'mione's helping Harry with homework." His friend nodded.
Ali turned and looked at the Slytherins again. Pansy was literally all over Malfoy. Ali frowned as the Pug-faced girl leaned in to kiss Draco's cheek. This shouldn't have bothered Alison, but it did.
That afternoon, Ali was packing up just before Potions ended. She was stuffing her Advanced Potion Making book into her bag when she sensed someone was behind her. She straightend her back and turned to face them.
"Professor Snape wants to see you after class," Malfoy reported smoothly. His cold grey eyes were emotionless. Ali raised an eyebrow.
"Couldn't he have told me himself?" Malfoy shook his head and nodded to where the professor was. He was lecturing Ron on something as usual; probably giving him detention as well.
"Oh, fine. Um, thanks for letting me know, I guess." Her eye twitched when she thanked the weasel. He smirked and walked off. The class hurried out when the bell rang. Soon, it was just Snape, Alison and Malfoy. Ali walked over to her teacher's desk.
"Uh, you wanted to see me?" she asked nervously. Snape looked up.
"Yes. You were the only one in the class to perfectly brew the Draught of Living Death...care to tell me why that is?" His monotonous voice sent scared chills down her spine. Malfoy lingered nearby.
"Um, well," Ali bit the inside of her cheek. "I've been studying for a while. It wasn't really hard, anyway. I just followed the instructions." The lie hung in the air between them. Snape studied the girl. Finally, he nodded.
"Fine. You may go." Ali rushed out of the classroom, not wanting to stick around to hear what he had to say to Malfoy.
That night, everyone sat down to dinner. Ali and her friends sat at the edge of the Gryffindor table, so Ali could watch Malfoy. That sounds creepy, but it was essential for the 'plan.' After the food appeared, Ali got up and walked around to the Slytherin table. She was about to pass Draco – who was alone – so she bent to tie her shoe. This was the the distraction would go down.
Ron walked into the Great Hall – he'd been watching from the big doors – and pretended to faint. Everyone who was watching gasped and jumped up. Malfoy stood and inched closer to see if the ginger had really fainted. Alison used this time to pour most of the potion into his pumpkin juice. Then, she ran over to Ron as well.
As dinner ended and the students made their way to the doors, Ali searched the crowd for her victim. Malfoy was slowly getting up, suddenly groggy. He yawned and walked out of the Hall.
Not very many minutes later, Alison was in the Gryffindor common room, fluffing up her recently curled hair. She had let Ginny do her makeup (Ron's sister had insisted she be a part of this plan) and she almost looked like a french girl. Harry had supplied the Slytherin uniform – his friends didn't ask where he got those – and soon Ali was a french exchange student in Slytherin.
Within moments she was wandering the halls of Hogwarts, getting closer and closer to the Slytherins' dungeon common room with each passing minute. She heard footsteps shuffeling toward her and kept walking, her heart racing.
"Huh? What're you doing wandering the halls this late?" Malfoy himself asked her. She turned on her heel and sucked in a breath. He looked positively exhausted.
"Um," she started, remembering to use an accent, "I'm lost. I-I've exchanged from Beauxbatons and I don't- I mean, I can't find the Slytherin dormitory?" She put on a heavy accent. It was convincing to the sleepy blonde. He nodded.
"Come with me, I'll lead you there." Ali smiled widely and followed Malfoy.
"So you're new here?" He looked back at her. She nodded, her eyes wide. "Cool. Slytherin's the best house out of all four, so you're lucky," he grinned at her. Grinned! Ali was sure he was only capable of sneering or smirking.
"Well, I'm glad to be here. I've heard stories about the house.." Draco waved it off.
"They're probably all myths. We're not bloodsucking snakes or anything. But we are awesome." At this Ali giggled.
"Here we are. Pure-blood," he said to the stone wall in front of them. It moved and the two stepped into the common room. Ali was amazed; she had figured Slytherins were lazy and filthy. She was so, so wrong. The Slytherin common room was gorgeous; there were intricately carved figures on the walls, and the arches connecting rooms were tall and elegant. The furniture was dark green leather. A fire crackled in the fireplace, under a carving of intertwined snakes. Green lanterns hang from the ceiling, casting an eerie light on the surrounding items. Ali could hear the gentle sounds of swishing water outside. It was calming.
Draco yawned into the empty room.
"The girls' dormitory are that way. Good luck at Hogwarts." He smiled sleepily and went the opposite way he pointed; to the boy's dorms.
"Thank you," she called after him. Ali could have sworn he blushed. She waited for about fifteen minutes before following him. He had left his door ajar, so she walked right in.
Woah, she thought. Malfoy had his own freakin' room in the castle. It was..gorgeous. Malfoy lay, sleeping, on a queen-sized four-poster bed with green covers. Above his headboard was an elegantly framed mirror. Alison noticed he had no pictures whatsoever, like most students decorated their dorms with. She sneaked up next to the bed to make sure Draco was really asleep. His chest rose and fall gently, his breathing deep. She felt oddly bad for him; he would be asleep for a very, very long time. Ali saw dark shadows circling his closed eyes. Huh.
Remembering why she was here, Alison searched the room. First, under the bed. Why not? There was nothing but lint and dust bunnies. Next she searched his dresser. The top drawer held nothing but clothes. The second drawer was empty except for a note that had been folded many times. Ali was already invading his privacy enough; she didn't read it. The bottom drawer held a soft, sheer blanket. Ali pulled it out: it was Harry's invisibility cloak! Ali stuffed it in the designer bag that was strapped across her shoulder. Under that was a rectangular box that held various other objects, but none of them were Ali's friends'. They looked personal. Closing the drawer, she stood and took one last look at Draco. A crazy idea came to her.
She left the dungeon room and made her way to the Potions class. She gathered several ingredients and started brewing. This was risky. After she finished making a potion, she ran back to Draco's room, out of breath. Leaning over him, she propped his head up on a pillow and pressed the vial of Awakening potion to his lips. It ran down his throat and Ali suddenly forgot that it didn't take long to start working. Once the vial was empty, she put it in her bag and started to leave. She didn't anticipate the yawning she'd hear.
"Woah...how long was I asleep?" She heard Draco mutter. Her heart raced; she ran into the closest thing: a tall, dark wardrobe. Pulling the doors closed, she pressed herself into the shirts and jackets. She heard Draco sit up.
"Hm... I had a long day anyway.." he yawned again and started over to the wardrobe. Ali prayed he wouldn't open the doors. Instead, he got distracted by something. Ali peeked out.
He was kneeling next to his dresser. Crap! Alison had forgotten to put the folded note back in. He picked it up and narrowed his eyes.
"Get out of my closet."
