I woke up the next morning with my face hidden in a mane of brown curly frizz. Rolling over onto my other side, I sat up and tossed the covers out of me. I ran my a hand through my hair that was a mess all in itself.
"Mione, wake up." I said, standing up and pulling my hair up into a high ponytail, stabbing my wand through the hairband. My sleeping friend groaned and rolled over, her mass of hair following her head in slow motion. Letting out a loud sigh, I jutted out my hip and crossed my arms against my chest. "I guess I'll just have to go to Diagon Alley all by myself. I think I hear your mum calling me now..." I trailed off, inhaling deeply the smell of fresh bacon and toast as she shot up from her bed.
"You wouldn't dare." She said, getting up and glaring at me through grogy eyes.
"Of course not, you have to feed me first." I said, letting a small smirk fall across my expression. Rolling her eyes, she roughly made her bed in traditional Granger fashion before standing up and smiling at me.
"Well alright then. Let's go on and feed you then." She smiled wider as we made our ways downstairs and into the kitchen, where Mrs. Granger was cooking eggs and Mr. Granger was already sitting at the table, sipping his morning coffee and skimming over the morning paper. Hermione practically skipped up to her father, placing a kiss on his cheek as he looked up and smiled at her brightly. "Morning Daddy.
"Morning princess." He replied before glancing over at me. "Alise." was all I earned as I took my seat next to the princess. Neither of Hermione's parents liked me very much. A orphan with no clear explanation of who her parents were with a history of ten's of foster homes and a witch with no need for education. At least Mrs. Granger treated me with somewhat of respect.
"Good morning you too. How did you both sleep?" She asked, trying to add a bit of warmth as she placed two plates stacked with eggs, bacon and toast in front of both of us. She never asked how I got in, when I got in, or why I was here, it was a mutual respect we had.
"We slept great. I finally told Alise about the arrangement and she said yes! Can we please go to Diagon Alley today? We need to get our supplies." Hermione asked as I began manuvering the food around the plate. She had her parents wrapped around her fingers despite the fact that they were clearly uncomfortable at the prospect of involving themselves in the realm of the wizarding world. After everything she had been through, harrowing adventures of life and death, I was always suprised they let her go back every year.
"I don't see why not." Her mother spoke up as I shoved a forkful of egg into my mouth. Once again, Mr. and Mrs. Granger exchanged glances once again. "We'll leave after breakfast." She smiled at her daughter and stared blankly at me. We ate breakfast in silence, the scrapes and clanks of forks against plates and the content sounds of sipping were the only sounds. Like usual, I finished first and got up, placing my dish in the sink, heading back up to Hermione's room. Changing quickly into a fresh pair of jeans and a long sleeved black shirt, I snatched a large wad of cash from the hidden pocket in my duffle bag. My parents may not have left me much but they did leave me with a bank account. Of course the names on the account were faked, but only I could access the money. Anyone else who tried got shut out, either through the bank's website, an ATM, or even in person. Shoving the money in my pocket, I nudged my bag underneath her bed along with the rest of my stuff. Footsteps coming up from the steps caused my head to snap up and meet Hermione's brown eyes.
"I just have to get dressed, then we'll go." She smiled widely as I plopped down on her bed. Grabbing a piece of clothing from each drawer, she scuffled off into the bathroom and came out a few moments later. "Let's go!" As she tugged on her Gryffindor cloak, I sat up and made my ways down the stairs. The Grangers were whispering to eachother as they stood right infront of the front door. Seeing me, they ceased talking and the only noise in the house was Hermione's footsteps coming down the stairs. Silently, we all piled into the car.
Diagon Alley was packed with witches and wizards of all ages. Stores were pilled with everything from books on how to train dragons to large jars filled with floating newt eyes. Hermione was grinning from ear to ear as she pulled me through the masses of people. First stop was Gringotts, the wizarding bank, where I exchanged my pounds for wizarding money, Knuts, Sickles, Galleons. Smiling at the grumpy goblin, she pulled me around for an hour or so, loading me up with all the supplies she told me that I needed for the upcoming school year. Draging me towards the exit, I dragged my heels down as we rushed by a store that caught my eye.
"Hermione! Quidditch!" I smiled, as she snapped back to stand next to me. "Let me go in, maybe I can get a broom and some books." I said, looking at the packed store with excitement. Letting out a long sigh, she smiled at me with an understanding look.
"You are going to love Ron and Harry. I guess I could go check out Flourish and Blotts for a little bit..." She trailed off as I was released from her grip and I took my chance. Walking into the store, I smiled at all of the broomsticks hanging from the walls. Of course I had never played Quidditch, but from what I had read and heard from Hermione, I knew that I was going to love it. Flying up in the air, bumping into people and hitting them with clubs and high speed projectiles, that was my kind of sport. I made my way to the less crowded part of the store and began reading a display case that descriped the new types of brooms. A smooth voice broke me out of my conversation.
"So Weaslette, what are you doing here without the rest of your inbred family?" Instantly, I tensed up and quickly turned around. My deep green eyes met shocked light green ones.
"Excuse you?" I asked, crossing my arms against my chest. A tall boy about my age stood in front of me. His dark brown hair was cropped short and his skin was a deep tan. His face turned from confusion to intriqued in a split second as he gave me a sly smirk.
"I am very sorry, I thought you were someone else." He said, leaning over the display case along side me. "But obviously you are not." His eyes raked over me in a very uncomfortable manner.
"Yes, obviously." I quickly replied before turning my attention back to the display.
"I'm Blaise Zambini, and you are?" He asked, giving me what I assumed to be a flirtious smile.
"Alise Bradford." I said, turning to face him and giving him a what I hoped to be a dazzling smile.
"Bradford hmm...?" Blaise asked to himself as he gave me a lopsided grin. "I haven't seen you at Hogwarts, have I? I mean I don't think I could have forgotten you."
I let out a small laugh and smiled at him.
"No I don't believe you would have. I don't go there." I said simply as he looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
"Well you're not French so you're not from Beauxbatons and you're not a scary bulky Bulgarian so you're not from Durmstrang. Where have you been hiding?" He said, placing an elbow on the case and placing his head on his hand. Opening my mouth to speak, a relaxed voice cut me off.
"Zambini, what have I told you about harassing young women. It's not exactly the best way to get them to like you." A tall boy, almost a man, said. He had a slight lopsided grin on his face that didn't reach all the way to his molten grey eyes. My breath slightly hitched in my throat as he looked at me through his extremely pale blond hair that barely hung down infront of his eyes. His gaze caught him and I felt my face turn red against my will as he gave me a smirk that I assumed he has trademarked.
"Miss. Bradford and I were having a lovely conversation, Malfoy, that you just rudely interupted." Blaise said, standing up straighter and turning to face the new arrival. They grinned at eachother in a familiar greeting before they both turned their sights on me.
"Draco Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you." The taller and paller one said extending out his hand to me. Accepting it, he lifted my hand and gently ran his lips over my knuckles. Shivers went up my arm, as I cursed myself for letting some attractive wizard get to me.
"Alise Bradford.I assure you the pleasure is all mine." I smiled softly at him as he lowerd my hand and gently dropped it. Draco looked at me curiousity in his eyes and giving me a light smile that was gone the instant it appeared.
"Bradford..." Draco started as he and Blaise made eye contact once again, silently speaking to eachother. I dropped my arms and placed one on my hip as Draco turned his gaze back to me. "What house are you in?" I opened my mouth to reply but a sharp voice broke my concentration.
"Alise! Where are you? My mum and dad are waiting!" Hermione called out as I tried to find out where exactly in the store that she was. Draco's demeanor changed as he tensed compared to his earlier relaxed state.
"That's my cue." I smirked, flipping my hair as I turned around. "I'll be seeing your boys around then." I said, walking off, locating Hermione in an instant. Her eyes met mine and she grinned.
"Did you find a broom?" She asked before looking down at my empty hands.
"I'll have to get one later." I shrugged. "But I did find some new friends." I teased as we made our way out of the store.
"Who are they?" She asked eagerly, obviously concerned with my social abilities.
"Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zambini." I stated as I saw her expression drop and her steps falter. "What?" I asked her, as she turned back to look at me, her smile not as bright as it once was.
"They're in Slytherin." Hermioned whispered at me, gasting glances around us.
"So?" I shrugged, thinking nothing of it until my mind snapped the pieces into place. "Isn't Malfoy the one who's always mean to you? The jerk who thinks so highly of himself because both of his parents are wizards?" I asked timidly, as she nodded at me, biting her bottom lip, a sign of her nervousness. It was hard for me to connect the dots from the abusive and abrasive jerk who terrorized others passed solely on their family tree to the sauve and gentle person that I had just met a few minutes ago. However, if Hermione was nervous around him, something was off. "Alright, I guess, but hey, for all we know I could end up in Slytherin." I suggested and automatically regretted it as she turned to glare up at me.
"Don't even say that, they're all evil and cunning snakes. Trust me, you don't belong there." Hermione protested, although I could see her considering it in her eyes, as we continued our pace to the end of the alley.
"We'll see." I said in a sharp tone. We were silent for a while before I spoke again. "Draco is pretty hot though." I remarked as she glared at me once again and we continued our journey in silence.