Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters and settings belong to JK Rowling not me.

AN: Long time no read I suppose. But FINALLY a new chapter. And I think the feature idea still stands! I'm going to start the next chapter soon and when I finish I want to feature a chapter of one of my reviewers! Just let me know at the bottom of your review if you would like me to feature one of your stories :). That way I can be more involved in ff rather than just being a writing hermit and not reading anything. So review and I'll see you next chapter.


"Well, Alcina," Alcina hissed, doing a nasty impression of Lucius Malfoy, "I wasn't aware a girl of your stature was capable of playing such a demanding sport. Where does he get off?"

Alcina lay in bed staring through squinted eyes at the ceiling. She hadn't been aware that Lucius Malfoy was so vile. During dinner he took every opportunity to make a jab at her. When she was telling Narcissa about quidditch? Fat joke. When Draco asked about Beauxbatons? He called her stupid. It had all been indirect of course. Maybe Narcissa didn't catch any of it. But Alcina could feel his eyes scrutinizing her face. Waiting for her to flinch.

She shot up from bed and walked over to the row of windows where the moonlight peeked through the curtains. It was starting to get stuffy in her room. She wrenched back the silken curtain and something caught her eye far below down the lawn.

The rippling surface of the pond steamed from the earlier heat of the sun. Alcina smiled and hurried out of her room. When someone points out your flaws the only way to get back at them isn't to prove them right. But show that you really don't care.

Alcina scurried down the hall and staircase to find her way to the kitchen where there was sure to be a large set of unlocked, glass doors. The stones of the patio were still warm against her feet and the wind whipped around her face. Being outside in the night was a kind of freedom. A freedom Alcina didn't feel inside that manor. Her nightgown fluttered around her thighs as she stepped onto the dewy grass. She smiled and took a deep breath and ran.


Draco lay in his bed staring out the window watching the moonbeams distort every time a tree waved. There was a soft click from outside his door that made him sit up.

"Hello?"

There was no response. "Who's there?" he asked. Still no answer. "Moontrimmer?"

He stayed sitting in his bed for a few minutes before finally getting up. He opened his door to find Alcina's set ajar. He pushed her door gently open and whispered, "Moontrimmer?" No answer again. The moonlight showed that there was no one in the bed. He noticed a curtain had been pulled back and as he walked over to the window he saw something white flit across the lawn towards the pond. It was in fact Alcina. Long brown hair and white night dress flying behind her. Draco quirked his eyebrow and sighed. He might as well go follow her, seeing as he wouldn't be doing any sleeping tonight.

As Draco made his way down the lawn he saw Alcina at the edge of the pond staring over the surface. He was about to call out her name when she pulled her night dress over her head. Draco's eyes widened. She was standing there stark naked. Draco, honestly, didn't know what to do with himself. He almost called out something along the lines of 'I've never seen a girl get naked this soon in the relationship' but he thought better of it. He had to live with this girl for three months. So he did something he wouldn't have normally done. He turned around and walked back to the manor. After all, he now had something to think about before falling asleep.


The rush of cold water around Alcina's face was the best sensation she had ever felt and as she surfaced she saw Draco's disheveled blond hair bobbing away.

He hadn't seen her, she reasoned. There was no way…

"Oh, fuck Merlin," she said and slipped back under the water.


After the dinner Alcina had the night before she decided to skip breakfast and head straight for the rolling lawn with broom in hand. The sun speckled spread of the forest that covered most of the Malfoy's property and the quidditch pitch that lay somewhere in it called to her. That had maybe been the only good thing to come out of last night's dinner, Draco had told her about the clearing he used as a pitch out on the property.

As Alcina sat on the patio and adjusted her arm and shin guards and straightened the tail of her broom she heard the door creak open. Her gaze found Draco.

"You going to practice? Mind if I join you?" he asked, looming over her with a quaffle under one arm and a gleaming Nimbus 2001 in his other hand.

Alcina shrugged, "I don't see why not," and stood. "You have to keep up with me though."

"I don't think that will be too hard."

But Alcina had mounted her broom and taken off half way through his sentence. Draco grumbled and flew off after her. Catching up easily on his faster broom. Draco bolted ahead to lead the way to the quidditch pitch hidden by trees.

Alcina wasn't sure what she expected from Draco quidditch wise but he was doing better than she anticipated, though still not exceedingly well. He could catch anything she could throw at him but his aim was terrible. Alcina found herself swooping and diving after the quaffle almost every time Draco threw it to her.

"Draco! Use your eyes! Look where you're throwing!" She would yell over the rush of wind and rustling of trees. But Draco still flung the quaffle whichever way his arm moved. Alcina finally had to land, pretending to take a break.

"I'm not much of a chaser, you know," Draco said, landing next to her, "I was Slytherin seeker."

"You're damn right you're not a chaser," Alcina laughed. "Must have made a decent seeker though. Your hands are like the stickiest spello tape."

"Compliment accepted," Draco said, his stomach grumbled. "I think it's time for lunch. I'll race you!" Draco quickly took off back towards the manor.

"No fair your broom's faster!" Alcina shouted after him but he was already half way back. Alcina flew as fast as she could behind him. She approached the house at top speed but she could see that Draco had already landed and was making a show out of waiting for her.

Alcina stopped, hovering above where Draco stood. "That was an unfair race! Your broom goes way faster!" She half shouted, half laughed. It had been a while since she felt this way. Like she was twelve again, scooting around the quidditch pitch in a race against one of her teammates. She swung upside down bringing her face to Draco's level.

"Show off," he simpered.

"Yes, I'm the show off," Alcina smirked back. And it was that point that she realized that it wasn't just the racing that made her feel twelve again.

"Draco!" Narcissa's frantic voice came from the patio doors. Alcina quickly unwrapped her legs from her broom and dropped to the ground and the pair ambled up to the patio to find Narcissa a mess. She was mumbling as she fused over the state of Draco's hair. She tried to flatten the coif down at the same time as pulling at his shin guards with her foot. "Go up to your room and change right now. Alcina you as well."

"Mum, what are you-"

"Draco, please just do as I say. Merlin knows no one else does any of that." Narcissa hurried them inside, trough the kitchen, and up the marble stairs careful to keep them from the sight of the dining room. "You have five minutes."

Draco grabbed hold of Alcina's hand and apparated them up to his bedroom on the third floor.

"Why did you do that?" Alcina asked as she tried to catch her balance. Against the post of his bed.

"Because my mother only gets this frantic when some of father's colleagues are here for tea. So when she says five minutes what she means is five minutes ago. And seeing as my father is obviously my biggest fan we're going to get ready like we were supposed to be downstairs yesterday. Now go put on a dress or something."

Alcina just stood staring at him. "First off what do I care about your father's colleagues. And second off-"

"You are a guest in my parents house," he sneered. Suddenly all notions of being young vanished from Alcina as she went to find a dress her mother had probably packed her.

Once he was done changing Draco pulled open Alcina's door with out knocking, zipped the back of her dress she was desperately trying to reach, and pulled her out the door by the elbow. Alcina would have normally pulled away and scolded him with her death glare of fury but seeing the rattled and anxious look on Draco's face made her think about what he had said. She was indeed a guest in his parent's house so, for her family's sake, or at least her father's, she would try to act like a guest.

They hurried down the marble staircase that lead to the main foyer and Draco dropped her elbow as they approached the dining room. Draco bowed her in first and what Alcina saw made her want to turn and run. Besides the Malfoy's sitting at the table there were four more guests. Three of whom Alcina had never seen before and one of which Alcina had never wished to see again.

While at Beauxbatons Alcina had only a small group of good friends that did not reach from her quidditch team. And though she didn't often hate anyone, not even her mother, there was only one person she could say with absolute confidence she truly despised. The name of that girl was Yvette Pierpont and she, by Alcina's standards, was truly awful. Whether it was coming up with not-so-clever and nasty nicknames or sticking gum in her hair or hiding a boggart under her bed Yvette Pierpont had done it all. Like she was on some kind of crazy vendetta.

And there she sat a seat from Lucius's left all ashen curls and bright crazy eyes. Though no one but Alcina thought they looked like crazy eyes.

"Alcina! Draco! Nice of you to join us," Narcissa cooed sitting to the right of Lucius, "did you have a nice quidditch match?"

"Yes mother," Draco said quietly and took his seat at his father's left next to Yvette who looked even wider eyed when she saw Alcina backing towards the door.

"Alcina? Alcina Valcon?" her high voice made Alcina want to jump out of her skin. "Is zat you my dear?" Yvette pretended to shade the sun from her eyes to get a better look at Alcina. "I do believe it iz! I deed not know you vere staying here?"

"Yes, Yvette, Narcissa invited me to spend the summer," Alcina said standing awkwardly near the door.

"Alcina do sit. Next to Lule if you don't mind," Narcissa gestured to the dark haired girl sitting to Yvette's left who looked a little dreamy. Alcina quickly took her intended seat and glanced across the table to see a slim man the same blonde as Yvette and a man resembling a bear across from Lule. Assumedly these were the two girls fathers. The plot thickened instantly that Alcina was sure she could almost smell it, she glanced up at Narcissa then to the smirk on Lucius's face. And she now understood why Narcissa had seemed to flustered.

"As I was saying," Lucius's smirk widened. "My friends, I wouldn't want your daughter's to have to travel so far just to get some etiquette polishing that my own dear Narcissa could be able to offer you. Why don't they stay here? It seems we have an open house."

Narcissa choked on her wine, glass still held to her face.

"Lucius I don't know that we have-"

"The space, Narcissa? What are you talking about? We've plenty of space."

Alcina was shocked by the happy tone of voice that was coming from Lucius and then even more so when she realized what was being proposed. Yvette? Stay here? Hell on earth. That's what that would be. Merlin help Alcina Valcon.

Alcina turned her head past Yvette and Lule to find Draco staring down at his plate, a frown on his lips. Alcina had to stand corrected, Merlin help Draco Malfoy.