The following weekend had several Gryffindors finding their way to classroom 607. Hermione led the group, Harry and Ron just behind her, Ginny talking to Neville and Alice and Charlotte bringing up the rear.
"I'm not sure why he wants to see me," Charlotte said to Alice, who simply shrugged.
"Apparently he taught my mum and dad, I owled them and they confirmed my theory that he is, in fact, a wanker."
Charlotte snorted.
"Besides," Alice carried on. "You're a prefect, of course he wants to see you. They don't just make anybody a prefect."
They arrived at the classroom and sat down. Padma Patil informed them that he was seeing them all one by one, and that Ernie Macmillan, the sixth year Hufflepuff prefect was currently on the other side of the curtain that had been erected. It was sound proofed, and nobody could hear a thing.
"Oh look, Potty and the Weasel," a voice drawled, and before anybody could react, Ginny had drawn her wand and cast a Bat Bogey Hex on him.
"My my!" a voice exclaimed jovially, and a very large, balding man that Alice took to be Professor Slughorn appeared with Ernie Macmillan. "What's your name?"
"Ginny Weasley, sir," Ginny looked appropriately abashed for someone who'd been caught jinxing another student, although Alice knew that she didn't really regret it at all.
"Well Miss Weasley, I think I had better see you next!"
Hermione performed the counter curse as Ginny disappeared behind the curtain. "What did he ask you?" she addressed Ernie.
"A bit about my family, he taught my parents, and then about my ambitions and such," Ernie looked smug. "I think I'm going to be invited to join the Slug Club, he seemed fairly impressed, especially when I told him about my strict study schedule."
Ron was looking more horrified by the moment. Alice's opinion of this stranger sunk lower by the second, even if he had seemed impressed by Ginny's hex.
Malfoy, his face now clear of bogeys, took the vacant seat next to Alice.
"Why are you sitting there?" she demanded rather rudely.
"Well there's two seats left, and given your history with Blaise, I didn't think you'd want to sit next to him," Malfoy smirked.
"Zabini?" Harry asked, horrified. "You had a thing with Zabini?"
"You prick," Alice muttered.
"Why yes, Potty, it was in fact Zabini that your little girlfriend shagged last year," Malfoy said slyly. "Didn't she tell you?"
"She's not my girlfriend," Harry said irritably. "I was just surprised that she'd sink that low… although I should be grateful that it wasn't you."
"I'm sitting right here!" Alice said loudly, but Harry ignored her. "And at least Zabini's attractive, even if he is a wanker."
"So glad to know you think so highly of me, Black," the dark haired Slytherin in question had entered the room, and Alice flushed, half angrily, half out of shame.
"Ugh!" Alice put her head on the desk with a dull thud. "Kill me now!"
"Now now, Miss Black, there's no need for drama," Slughorn had returned. "You next."
Alice rolled her eyes and followed him behind the curtain, where there was a squishy armchair that he had evidently just vacated, and an ordinary wooden chair for her to sit on.
"Now Miss Black, do you know who I am?"
"Yeah, I asked my parents."
"Good!" Slughorn seemed delighted. "Research! Now, Miss Black, what are your ambitions for the future?"
Alice simply shrugged, never breaking eye contact.
Slughorn leaned forwards. "Did you know that I can hear everything on the other side of that curtain?"
Alice stared at him. "So?"
"So I can tell you now that I won't be letting Draco Malfoy into the Slug Club."
"Good, he's a wanker."
Slughorn chortled. "You're so like your mother, you know. She was very blunt when she was at school."
"I know. I also know that you never had her or my dad in your Slug Club, because they refused to come," Alice folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. "What's in it for me?"
"I see," Slughorn looked at her shrewdly. "You're the person that knows everything about everyone."
"No, I just know how to read people, I'm not an idiot."
Slughorn, still chuckling, escorted her from her seat.
"Well?" Hermione demanded as soon as she'd reappeared and he'd taken the next person.
"I think he liked me," Alice wrinkled her nose. "God knows why, I was nothing but rude to him."
Alice left the room as quickly as possible, before Malfoy could kick off again. She knew she could outwit him if she had to, but she just couldn't be bothered to put up with him. She was about halfway down the corridor when Harry caught her up.
"You shagged Zabini?" his emerald eyes blazed with anger.
"It was one time," Alice whined. "I was drunk and it seemed like a good decision at the time."
"Seriously Alice, he's a Slytherin!"
"I know," she said, but he cut her off.
"He's friends with Malfoy. Have you forgotten what a dick Malfoy is?"
"I know," Alice said through gritted teeth, but he talked over her again.
"I mean come on, Blaise Zabini? You can do better Alice, you know you can."
"Yeah?" Alice began to lose her temper. "Suggest someone better who actually wants to be with me."
Harry was stunned into silence.
"Exactly. Now when you've come up with someone, I'll just be shagging random people to get my kicks," she snapped, and stormed off.
So Alice and Harry had fallen out. It wasn't the first time, and Harry knew it wouldn't be the last, but he couldn't help but feel like he'd crossed some sort of line.
"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, as she came out of classroom 607 with Ron.
"I pissed Alice off," Harry sighed.
"Well, it's not hard," Ron grinned. "Cheer up mate. Whatever you did, she'll forgive you."
"I don't know," Harry said. "She was madder than I've ever seen her."
"What did you do?" Ginny sighed. She knew Alice had a short temper, but there were certain things that made her spark even quicker.
"I told her that she could do better than Zabini, and then she asked me to suggest someone who actually wants a relationship with her."
"And?" Ginny raised her eyebrows.
"She put me on the spot! I couldn't think of anyone!" Harry said heatedly.
"And that's why she's pissed off!" Ginny told him. "No one ever wants anything more from her than just a quick shag, and I think she's getting sick of it."
"Go and talk to her mate," Ron advised. "Before she does something bloody crackers."
"No, let her cool off for a bit," Ginny contradicted him. "Give her about an hour, she'll have a few cigarettes and then she'll feel better and come back to the common room. Talk to her then. Avoid the Astronomy tower unless you want hexing."
Draco listened intently at the door. So Potty had pissed Black off, had he? Black was feeling lonely, was she? An idea began to form in his head.
He waited until their footsteps had faded, and then made his way to the Astronomy tower.
"Black," he greeted her.
"Piss off Malfoy," she replied, although there was no real heat in her voice. She was sat leaning against the door, looking towards the battalions. The sky was a clear blue with a few wisps of cloud drifting across it.
"Now now Black, there's no need to be rude."
"What do you want?" she asked curtly, throwing her finished cigarette over the parapets.
"You're pure-blood, I'm pure-blood," Draco began.
"So?"
"Isn't it obvious where I'm going?" Draco raised a pale eyebrow.
"Maybe I'm just playing dumb because I'm a fucking idiot," Alice replied moodily, glaring at the sky as if it had offended her.
"Potty pissed you off, and I know why he pissed you off," Draco cut to the chase. "You hate that everyone only wants one thing from you. You give it to them anyway, but you always want more."
Alice laughed. "That's not even close to correct, Malfoy."
"Well it's that or you like Potty, and I know you have better taste than that."
Grey eyes met grey. "What are you saying, Malfoy?"
"I want to date someone attractive, and of course she has to be pure-blood. You're the only attractive pure-blood in the school, Black. You need to either piss Potty off back or stop being lonely, and I don't much care which."
"That's the worst idea in the world," Alice told him.
"Yeah? I don't hear you saying no."
"I didn't think you were that stupid," she retorted, fire flashing in her eyes.
"Keep my proposal in mind," Draco said coolly, backing off as she stood.
"Why the hell should I? Why on earth would I want to be your girlfriend? We hate each other."
"There's a fine line between love and hate," Draco smirked.
"No there isn't."
"Fine. Maybe I just want a shag, but you want more, and I'd give that to you… until you get bored of me, and I know you well enough to know that you get bored easily."
"It'd be fake."
"Maybe, but it'd piss Potty off and that's what you want, isn't it?"
Alice couldn't argue with him there. Draco knew he had her and he smirked. He leaned down.
His lips had barely grazed hers before she pushed him off. "What are you doing?"
"Well if we're going to have sex Black, we need to kiss first. I don't know how you do things but I need to be in the mood first."
"Who says I want to kiss you?"
"You've been thinking about it ever since I put the idea in your head." He didn't hesitate this time, and kissed her forcefully on the lips.
It took her a few seconds to respond, but she did, and Draco had to admire her courage. She hated him, and here she was, kissing him because he kissed her first. His hands began holding her waist, but as her tongue gently pushed its way into his mouth, he pushed her against the wall, responding enthusiastically.
A loud bang told them that the door had been shoved open. Distracted, they both looked towards the source of the noise.
Harry stood in the doorway, looking winded and breathing heavily. He had the Marauders Map in one hand, his wand in the other.
"Get away from her," he spat, his emerald green eyes burning with rage.
Draco simply smirked, let her go and strode off.
Mission accomplished, he thought to himself.
"Are you joking?" Harry bellowed. "Draco sodding Malfoy? Are you joking?"
"He kissed me first!" Alice protested.
"Well it really looked like you were trying to push him away," Harry retorted.
"For your information, he actually asked me out," she snapped back.
Harry burst out laughing. A scowl clouded Alice's face as he did.
"Please tell me what's so funny about someone actually wanting to be with me," she said quietly, dangerously.
Harry had the sense to stop laughing immediately. "It's not that. He's Malfoy. He hates you. He hates all of us."
"Well he doesn't hate me."
"No, because he wants a shag," Harry hit the nail on the head, and he knew he had, because Alice's eyes narrowed. "He thinks you're easy. You're better than this, you know you are."
"Am I?" Suddenly tears had sprung to her eyes. "Am I really? Charlotte's the prefect, Evie's popular, Ginny's the pretty one and what does that make me? The tag along? No one ever wants to get to know me! The only reason Ron and Hermione talk to me is because of you, and the only reason you talk to me is because of our parents!"
She sunk to the floor, shaking with sobs, her face in her knees.
"That's not true," Harry told her, sitting beside her. "We're friends because we're friends. We would've been friends anyway, because of Ron and Ginny." He patted her awkwardly on the back. "Are you going to look at me?"
"No, my face is all red and puffy," she muttered, but it sounded like her crying had stopped. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.
Harry grabbed her chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Perfect."
Alice couldn't help but give a small giggle. His eyes lingered on her face, there was something in them that she couldn't read.
He still had his hand under her chin. "Are you going to let go of my face?" she asked.
He quickly withdrew his hand. "Oh yeah, sorry."
When Harry and Alice arrived back in the common room, they found an empty sofa, sat down and began to do their homework, Alice a Defence Against the Dark Arts essay, and Harry a Transfiguration quiz.
"What's the wand movement for a shield charm?" Alice asked after ten minutes of running her hands through her hair in frustration.
Harry pulled out his wand and demonstrated it. "Practice it before you write about it," he advised her.
Alice frowned, pulling out her own wand.
"No, you're doing it wrong," Harry told her, gripping her wrist and directing it properly. "Pro - te - go. A movement for each syllable."
He let go of her wrist, and her skin tingled where his fingers had been. This was unfamiliar to Alice. She looked up from her wand to him, startled when she saw his green eyes staring back at her.
"Try it yourself," he insisted, oblivious to anything that had just passed between them.
She had barely moved her wand when he grabbed her wrist to show her again.
Ginny was just coming down from the dormitory, having taken advantage of the empty room to take a shower. Her hair was dripping wet, but she didn't really mind. She'd braided it back out of the way. She made her way towards the blonde and dark heads that thankfully looked like they'd made up, but stopped about five feet away. One of Harry's arms was draped casually around the back of Alice's cushion, and his right hand was firmly gripping her wrist as he demonstrated a spell.
"Right ok, I think I've got it," she said, and he let go.
"Took you long enough," he smirked when she'd finally performed the charm successfully.
"Oh shut up," she playfully punched him in the chest, grinning.
A dull ache seemed to settle on Ginny's body. She knew she had no right to feel that way. Harry wasn't hers, he never had been. She was perfectly happy with Dean. Harry didn't even know how she felt about him. But Alice did know, and she felt as though Alice had betrayed her, even though they weren't behaving any differently than usual.
"Are you alright?" Hermione's voice came from behind her, softly.
"Yes," Ginny lied. "I'm fine."
A/N: Thanks for the crappy reviews. Man up and post it under your username. I would like to extend an actual and sincere thank you to JadedLights07, who has actually been helpful and constructive in her reviews. If you would like to post hate, man up and do it properly.
