Sorry for the wait and thank you for the reviews. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 today and wanted to write again. I hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter etc.

Chapter 4:

The door of the girls' dormitory burst open and Pansy Parkinson stormed in. Alison looked up at her and then back out of the window by her bed.

"Lucian and Blaise are waiting for you!" she said impatiently.

Alison sighed and ignored her. Pansy whined loudly.

"Come on, Draco won't leave without Blasie who won't leave without you. And I want to go to Hogsmeade with Draco so can you just come downstairs?"

Alison sighed again and followed the whining girl out of the dormitory and into the Slytherin common room. Lucian gave her an encouraging smile as she joined the group and Blaise put an arm around her shoulders. Draco stared at them then led the group out of the castle.

"The Three Broomsticks is the best place to start," said Lucian, leading them to the inn, "we can get a couple of butterbeers and figure out where to go next."

When they got inside the inn, they found it full of Hogwarts students. Alison spotted Ron and Hermione in the corner and abandoned her friends for a few minutes to go and see them.

"No Harry?" she asked, standing next to their table.

Hermione smiled up at Alison, "Hi, Ali! We haven't seen you for while. And no, Harry didn't get his form signed."

"That's a shame," said Alison, "you ok, Ron?"

Ron was looking very uncomfortable in his seat opposite Hermione. He nodded stiffly and gulped down his butterbeer.

"We heard about you parents," said Hermione after a few seconds of silence.

"News travels fast around Hogwarts," said Alison, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry Alison," said Hermione, "if you ever want to talk or anything..."

"Thanks, Hermione," interrupted Alison, "anyway, I better get back to my table."

Hermione nodded and waved goodbye as Alison left and sat down with her fellow Slytherins. Lucian passed her a glass of butterbeer. She smiled slightly and drank it quickly. Once she finished she gazed around the inn, waving at a few people such as Neville Longbottom and Cedric Diggory. The others were trying to decide on the best place to go next and Alison casually listened in on the conversation.

"I say we go to Zonko's Joke Shop," said Blaise, "when was the last time we played a good prank?"

"No, no we should go to The Shrieking Shack!" said Draco.

"No!" whined Pansy, "We should go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop! It's supposed to be great for couples. I know you'd feel a little left out Lucian but I'm sure we can find you someone."

"What?" asked Alison, taking in what Pansy had said, "What do you mean Lucian would feel left out?"

"I mean, well, I'm with Draco and you're with Blaise..."

"Hang on a second, Alison's not with Blaise!" said Draco. He turned to look at Alison, "Are you?"

"What? No!" said Alison, "No offence, Blaise."

"None taken," he said with a smile.

The table grew silent. Draco continued to stare between Alison and Blaise. Lucian sat back with a smirk on his face. Alison cleared her throat.

"I agree with Draco, let's go to the Shrieking Shack," she said.

They left The Three Broomsticks and headed towards the Shack. Lucian walked with Alison.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Mum says not to worry and that Dumbledore is right – all that matters now is your new family,"

"Yeah," said Alison.

"So...are we going home for Christmas this year?" asked Lucian.

Alison shrugged, "I've been thinking that, maybe, if it's ok with you, I'll go home-home. To my aunt and uncle."

Lucian stopped walking, "Why would you want that? Don't you want to live with us anymore?"

"Of course I do, Lucian," said Alison. She rubbed the back of her neck, "I just want to talk to them. See if I can find out about my parents. It would only be for a few days."

Lucian sighed, "And you'll be back for Christmas Day?"

Alison smiled and said, "I'll be back for Christmas Eve."

Lucian hugged her just as Blaise shouted for them to hurry up. They caught up with the others.

After visiting the Shrieking Shack, they went to Honeyduke's Sweet Shop. They all separated to find their own sweets. Alison examined a packet of peppermint toads as Draco appeared next to her. He held up a blood-flavoured lollipop and handed it to her. She smiled and took it.

"So you and Blaise..."

"No," she said, turning back to the peppermint toads.

"Cool," said Draco. He put his hands in his pockets and followed Alison as she wandered through the shop. "So what are you doing when we get back?"

Alison shrugged, "Probably go and see Buckbeak."

"Why?" asked Draco in disgust, "It's a foul creature!"

Alison whirled around and frowned at him, "He is an amazing creature. You're the foul one for provoking him!" She thrust the lollipop back into his hands before turning back around and looking at the other sweets.

Draco sighed, "Sorry." He paused and thought about what to say next, "Maybe I could come with you?"

Alison looked at him, puzzled, "I'm not sure Beaky would like that and besides, your arm is supposedly still injured."

"My arm is fine; Flint has me pretending that it's still injured so we can get out of our match with Gryffindor. Come on, surely you'd want to prove to me that Buckbeak's not that bad."

Alison frowned at him, "Fine. But if you're mean to him again, I'm going to let him rip you to shreds."

Draco smiled and handed her the lollipop again. Alison took it and held back a small smile.

"Keep up, it'll be getting dark soon," ordered Alison as she led Draco to the Forbidden Forest.

Draco jogged to catch up with her and stayed silent.

They arrived at the clearing as the sun was starting to disappear. Buckbeak stood up from his spot by a tree and tried to run towards Alison but was stopped short by the rope tying him to the tree. Alison bowed to him before hurrying over and stoking his feathers. Draco cleared his throat catching their attention. Buckbeak grew agitated at the sight of Draco. Alison stroked him soothingly.

"Ok, bow, Draco," she instructed.

Draco bowed hesitantly, keeping an eye on Buckbeak. The hippogriff squawked angrily but Alison continued to try and calm him.

"This is a waste of time..." said Draco but Alison ordered him to be quiet.

"Just give him a minute."

Eventually, Buckbeak bowed back. Alison smiled and told Draco to walk over slowly.

Draco reluctantly walked forward, "What if he attacks me again?"

"What, are you scared Draco?" asked Alison with a teasing smile.

"Of course not!" snapped Draco, glaring at her.

Alison laughed, "Just be nice and you'll be fine."

Draco sighed and slowly made his way towards them. He stopped right in front of Buckbeak and just stared at him.

"Stroke him then," said Alison with a laugh.

Draco bit his lip and his hand twitched slightly. Alison sighed, grabbed his hand and moved it along Buckbeak's soft feathers.

"He's not so scary is he?" said Alison, smiling.

Draco shook his head and smiled a little. After a few seconds he cleared his throat, catching Alison's attention.

"Do you think I could have my hand back now?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

Alison felt her ears grow hot and immediately snapped her hand away from his.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon.