I'M BACK! Well, technically I got back last night, only to be greeted by all your reviews, alerts, and favorites waiting for me in my inbox! Seriously guys, I was absolutely blown away by how awesome your responses were. It was the best ending to my awesome boating trip...I can't thank you guys enough.

Anyway, happy Wednesday :) Ready for chapter 10? You better be, because this is going to be a fun chapter! Hold onto your hats! Or seats, if you're not wearing a hat...

I woke up the next morning in my bed. Lucas was sitting next to my face, one furry paw resting lightly against my cheek as he purred. I grinned at the cat as I rolled onto my back, stretching. It took me a total of two seconds to remember the previous day. I sat bolt upright, causing the room to start spinning. Groaning, I fell back into the pillows, running my hands over my face. I forgot the midnight ointment application. Pomfrey is going to have a shit fit.

Wait. That's not possible. For one, the bottle rings loud enough to wake the entire school. Secondly, I'm sure Malfoy would've forced me into consciousness, just to be an ass. I looked over towards the bedside table, finding the little jar sitting there with a note secured underneath it.

Zabini –

Don't worry about the midnight thing, I did it for you.

When you wake up, come find me. I'm above you.

– DM

Leave it to Malfoy to add a sexual reference in there. Of course, it wasn't really that awful, considering that I knew exactly what he meant. There's a passageway further down in the dungeons, somewhere most students would never think of going willingly. Therefore, only the Slytherins actually know about the spot. The passage ultimately leads to a rock ledge, which sits over the Black Lake. Malfoy must be there. As the Slytherin part of the dungeons are mostly under the lake, that would put him 'above' me.

Ha bloody ha.

I sighed, rolling out of bed. I threw on a bra, jeans, and a sweatshirt, deeming it a good enough outfit. Throwing my hair into a messy bun, I left my room. Wandering down the dark dungeon corridors, I found a little bit of peace in just meandering along. I wasn't in any great hurry. It wasn't like I was super duper thrilled to go see Malfoy. Especially this early in the morning. I wondered how long he would wait there for me. I was somewhat tempted to find out, but ultimately decided against it. I didn't really want to wait until he stopped waiting. What a vicious cycle that would be...

I had reached the entrance to the rock passage now. I climbed over the jagged rocks that made up a small cave, finally emerging at the very edge of the Black Lake. It was slightly eerie here, the dark rocks with the castle's shadow falling over the lake. It looked quite ominous. I liked it though, the image was quiet and unperturbed.

As promised, Malfoy was there, waiting for my arrival. He sat cross-legged on one of the flatter rocks, dangerously close to the water's edge. He could reach out and touch the surface if he wanted to. He didn't turn as I jumped over a couple rocks, nor did his gaze waver from the water when I sat down next to him. He did offer me some of the toast he had piled in a napkin. Not in any real position to refuse, nor unable to ignore my empty stomach, I took a piece.

"Hi," I finally said. The silence had been stretching on. I'd finished the slice of toast, which had taken awhile considering that I had been taking anxious nibbles. I had since taken a second from him, just holding it instead of actually eating it.

"Morning," he replied evenly. There was no emotion in his voice. Not happy, relieved, amused, not even upset or furious. I couldn't think of how to continue the conversation. Luckily, I didn't have to. "Remember any of last night?"

"Not really," I shrugged. It was true, the last memory I really had was around 11:30, when the ointment pain started to dull again. "That stuff made me really tired, and I guess the lack of sleep when I actually needed it was bad. Uh, thanks for the midnight thing. You could've just woken me up."

I felt his shrug rather then saw it. His arm brushed mine in the process. It made me stiffen, I'm sure he noticed. "It was alright. You looked tired. You passed out mid-sentence you know," he actually sounded entertained now.

"What?" I turned to look at him, finding him laughing silently.

"Yeah, you were explaining something about the exploding plants in Herbology, then just fell asleep during the middle of the whole monologue."

"Does that mean...you brought me to my room?" I asked slowly. It had only then dawned on me that I had no recollection of getting there.

"Yes," he was still smirking. "I actually tried to wake you up for that, but you started yelling about werewolves that raised me. More like loud mumbling, you were still really disoriented. So, I just carried you."

"Thanks. Again," I huffed. "It's not a good habit to thank you all the time. Can I just write it down and never have to actually say it again?"

"That would take all the fun out of forcing you to say it," he said, as if this was obvious. He handed me the napkin with the remaining pieces of toast, turning towards me more. His hands were against my left side, pausing a few times as he moved. I didn't stop him. Malfoy pulled up the side of my sweatshirt to look at the wound site.

"Am I in for another day of torture?" I asked glumly.

"No. It's gone," he dropped the shirt, turning back to his original position.

"Seriously?" I was about to twist around to check, but I wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. Especially with a sweatshirt in the way.

"You don't trust me?" he asked, watching my face. I guess my facial expressions were obviously connected to my thought process. He still looked entertained, though there was some other flicker behind his eyes. I couldn't decide what it was.

"Not really," I answered honestly. The flicker grew, though I still didn't know what it was. "Are you trustworthy?"

Malfoy frowned, the strange expression dying off. "No."

"I guess I'm a good judge of character then," I beamed at him before turning my gaze across the lake.

"Why do you do that?" he suddenly asked, sounding irritated at whatever I did.

I shot him a glance, finding him scrutinizing me. I looked back at the undisturbed water surface, running what I just did through my head. Nothing seemed strange. "Uh, do what?" I asked, wondering if it was a stupid question.

"Smile. Joke. Laugh. Anything that you do normally. Why do you continue doing them now? It's just us, you hate me. You don't have to make the effort," he added the last comment after a pause. It was in a much softer tone, he almost sounded upset.

I hadn't really thought about it. I shrugged lamely, tossing one of the uneaten pieces of toast into the lake. It floated there for a moment before a giant squid tentacle rose from the water and pulled the food beneath the surface. "Did you want me to express my hatred?" I asked quietly, unsure what I would do if he said yes.

"I don't think you hate me as much as you think you do," he announced.

He wasn't wrong. "I think that you shouldn't think that you know how much I think I hate you," I countered. Hah. Think about that.

"I think that you think I didn't understand that," Malfoy replied. I heard his smirk. I rolled my eyes, throwing another piece of toast into the lake. "I'll rephrase, if it makes you feel better. I don't think you hate me as much as you say you do."

He still wasn't wrong. He's quite correct, actually. I sighed, looking at him. He was still watching me. "I don't know what you want me to say to that," I informed him. It was true. I had no idea how to reply.

"We should be friends," he replied abruptly. He averted his gaze this time, watching bubbles pop up in the place of the second piece of toast as it disappeared. I, on the other hand, gaped openly at him.

"You think very highly of yourself, don't you?" I asked, frowning. A ghost of a smirk appeared on his face.

"You just noticed?"

"What, I don't hate you as much as I say, therefore I must feel the need to start a friendship with you?" I asked, very much aware that I was still gawking awkwardly at him.

"Why not?" he shrugged, looking at me out of the corners of his eyes. "Come on Zabini, how bad could a friendship with me be?"

I clapped a hand over my face, groaning quietly. "Well, we've sort of been mortal enemies from day one. There's a small tip off that this isn't the best idea," I rolled my eyes, finally closing my jaw.

I had started watching the lake again, therefore I didn't see his movement. That is, until his voice was right next to my ear. "I think we'd manage," he breathed quietly. His breath washed down my neck, making me shiver involuntarily. I knew he felt it, and he was close enough to me that I could actually feel his lips turn up in a smile.

I looked round at him as he sat up straight again. I mulled the idea over, albeit with major distraction. His convincing tactic apparently worked well – I could nearly feel the ghost of his breath in my ear. Finally, I shifted my position so I sat facing him with legs still crossed. Malfoy mirrored my actions, our knees were almost touching. "So, what? Trial friends? We could see how it works," I said slowly. He actually looked pleased that I wasn't yelling and refusing the suggestion. In fact, he shrugged.

"Sure. We'll have a trial friendship," he agreed, holding out a hand.

I actually hesitated. It was like I was selling my soul or my freedom or something. Malfoy raised an eyebrow, almost as a challenge. I exhaled. Then, I shook his hand. His grip was nice, his hand was a good, dry temperature. I could feel slight roughness on his palm from Quidditch. That was nice too. Why was I thinking about this? I blinked, realizing that we'd been sitting like that for a good minute. I dropped his hand.

"Alright Malfoy. Trial friends," I stated. He smirked, giving me a very quiet scoff. "What?" I asked, a little defensively.

"Do you call all your friends by last name?"

"Theodore. I call him 'Nott' all the time," I expelled the fact quickly, barely thinking about it. I just knew I needed a good answer.

"You're dating Nott. Different story," he sighed, tilting his head as our eyes met. Eye contact proved to be dizzying, with his swirls of stormy gray and flecks of blue. I was literally left breathless at the intensity of his gaze. Internally, I choked soundlessly, hoping with all the hope I could muster that he didn't notice my lack of air.

Finally, thank Merlin, I figured out how to breathe again. "Okay...Draco. Trial friends."

"Good," he stood up. I copied him, just so I wouldn't feel awkward sitting at his feet. "As a friend, I have to tell you something," he said, eyes full of hidden thoughts and a small smile playing around his lips.

"Alright?" I agreed, a little nervously. Malfoy – uh, Draco – surprised me by stepping closer. I wasn't sure how he managed it, this rock wasn't that big. We had already been pretty close together. One of his hands was on the small of my back, pressing my body into his. The other hand was under my chin, forcing my face up so he could look right into my eyes. His head dropped, as he was a good few inches taller then I was, so our foreheads touched.

"You're the most beautiful friend that I've ever had," he informed me quietly. I shivered again as his breath touched my face. This time, it was obvious that he noticed, as his hand against my back pulled me even more securely towards him.

"I beat Parkinson?" I whispered, unable to get my voice any louder. I had no idea why the question slipped out. Maybe because I needed to throw a joke somewhere into this interaction. Draco didn't laugh. Shame.

"For all I care, Parkinson is a bug under your shoes," he actually growled the words. Without waiting for an answer, he left. He just seemed to melt away, leaving me standing there. I was shocked, bewildered, unable to think straight. Hell, I could barely see straight. Why did he have this effect on me? It took me a couple minutes before the entirety of the situation completely dawned on me.

Draco Malfoy is my friend. Well, 'trial' friend.

Draco Malfoy thinks I'm beautiful.

Just...what?

I started laughing. I wasn't sure why. It was probably nervous energy, and I just needed to expel it somehow. I realized that I was shaking uncontrollably from the oddly excited fire that was shooting through my stomach, accompanying the butterflies that were fluttering there.

Butterflies?

I had butterflies in my stomach because of Draco Malfoy.

What universe am I living in?

I had to tell someone. I had no idea what to think. I could barely figure out how to get myself moving again. When I eventually figured it out, I headed back into the castle. Thankfully, Draco was nowhere to be seen. I had no idea how to deal with him at that moment. As I walked back towards the main part of the school, I reached an ultimatum. It was a hard one to come to, and I hated myself for it, but it was painfully true.

I couldn't tell Rae.

I mean, I could, but it wouldn't be a very helpful conversation. She'd tell me that she 'told me so,' then decide that I was insane and not approve. Ah, the thought process of my best friend. I couldn't tell her yet. I needed someone else. Someone who would actually listen, try their best not to judge, and possibly offer some helpful insight. Or something.

For some reason, the most insane possible answer that I could've thought of popped into my head. It would be a perfect solution, if it wasn't so absurd. Though at that moment, I didn't have much of a choice. I needed to spill everything that was in my head to someone.

Hermione Granger.

With the idea firmly in place, and before I could talk myself out of it, I started off through the halls. I had no idea where I would possibly find her, but decided that I would rather check everywhere else in the castle rather then brave the Gryffindor common room. Again. I nearly screamed in relief when I found her in the library. She was alone and doing DADA homework.

"Hermione!" I exclaimed, as loudly as possible while still not alerting Madam Pince. Her head jerked up, scanning the room until spotting me. She visibly relaxed, throwing her quill down and covering her face with her hands while I sat down in the chair across from her.

"Hey Alexa," her hands dropped. She looked exhausted and irritated. "How are you?"

"Uh-" I stopped, unable to give her a straight answer. "Never mind that. Why are you alone?"

"Ron's being foul cause he thinks he's a lousy Keeper," she mumbled, frowning. "This is what I get for having guys for friends," she huffed. "I'm avoiding them both. I'm actually glad to see you, I finally have someone to talk to."

"Well, I might talk a little too much," I mumbled. She looked at me quizzically. I had a moment of second guessing, but it was probably to late to scrap this plan. "Look, I really need a girl to talk to. Long story short, I can't talk to anyone in Slytherin. Since you're the first person outside my house that I'd consider almost a friend, I've come to ask for your ear. And possibly your feedback, if you find it in yourself to not judge me to terribly."

She laughed. I had no idea what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. "First off, you're going to need to talk a little slower," Hermione said calmly. "Secondly, of course you can talk to me. Let's get out of here though. Bookshelves have ears, and you look like you're not prepared to explain whatever it is you're about to explain quietly. Want to go for a walk?"

"Thank you," I breathed, standing up.

"Sure," she actually looked pleased with this development. "Something to do other then homework, and your face says that this is going to be a very interesting conversation."

"You're probably not going to have the most...er- objective view on any of this. Considering you're a Gryffindor and all," I admitted slowly as we headed towards the main floor and the grounds.

"I'll do my best," she assured me. We walked along in silence until we got outside. It was freezing outside, the clouds and temperature were threatening incoming snow. Needless to say, we were alone. Nobody was out taking casual strolls. "Alright, I'd say this is a pretty good place to talk," Hermione decided. I laughed as I agreed. "Go ahead, talk away," she gestured openly to me as she pulled a Gryffindor scarf out of her coat pocket to wrap around her neck.

"Well, I guess it started with our first Quidditch practice..."

I told her everything about Draco and I. No details left out. Starting with Rae's observations after the practice, my relationship with Theodore and Draco's warning about him, the argument I eavesdropped on during Prefect patrol, Pokey, the Herbology incident, the ointment, and finally ending less then an hour ago at the conversation held at the edge of the lake.

"...Then he left, and I haven't seen him since," I finished. The whole story was exhausting. It was as if I'd said it all in one breath. It had taken me awhile too, we had nearly lapped the grounds twice.

"I'm not walking in silence, I'm thinking about everything you said," Hermione informed me. I nodded, waiting while she mulled over the story. We walked quietly for awhile longer, starting the third lap around the castle. "I- I dunno Alexa, I really don't know Draco at all," she finally said. She genuinely sounded apologetic.

"It's alright," I shrugged. "I don't know what I actually wanted out of this. It was nice to tell someone though," I kicked a rock along as we walked, tucking my hands deeper into my sweatshirt pockets.

"I do have a thought," Hermione said after a moment. I glanced at her. "I think you should end your relationship with Theodore. I know, he's your boyfriend, so that's not something to be taken lightly. But you don't seem all that certain about actually dating him anyway, maybe it would be a good thing to just be friends with him. It's just...that thing about the mail is really concerning. Also, now that Draco has expressed that he actually cares for you, maybe you should consider his warning genuine."

"Maybe you're right," I sighed, sitting down on the next bench we came close to. Walking had become too tiresome to accompany this conversation. Hermione sat next to me. "I really don't believe that Theodore would hurt me though. Honestly, I don't. I know he's a good person."

"People change," Hermione shrugged. "It's even more concerning that he was gone for so long, considering that Draco seems to be the only one who knew about it. Harry thinks that Draco is a Death Eater," she threw in casually.

I snorted loudly, unable to stop myself from continuing into laughter. "That's absurd," I finally choked through my giggles. "Draco isn't that mean."

"You hated him for the first sixteen years of your life," Hermione pointed out.

I waved this fact off. "Yeah, cause he's a spoiled and pompous little brat. I guess I'm required to say that affectionately, now that he's my 'friend'. Seriously though, believe me and pass this onto Harry. Draco really isn't as evil as he seems. Even if he is involved in Death Eater crap, he's not going to go Bellatrix insane or anything," I was still chuckling as I spoke, imagining the absurdity.

Hermione didn't reply at once. Instead, she watched me laugh, a strange expression on her face. When I looked at her curiously, she just smiled. "You really don't strike me as a Slytherin," she admitted.

"What do I strike you as?"

"Well, I'd say Gryffindor, but you'd say that I'm biased," she grinned as I nodded in agreement. "You're...nice," she seemed to be able to find no other way of putting it.

"You know why I think Slytherins and Gryffindors have such a harsh rivalry?" I replied with a question. Hermione shook her head. "They're too much alike. Determined, intelligent, brave, no regard for rules, resourceful. We're super powers of houses, and we have no choice but to fight each other. I mean, think about a rivalry with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. It would be boring," I scoffed.

"I suppose you're right," Hermione actually sat and thought about my words. "I never really thought about it that way."

"Blaise thinks it's a stupid theory," I mumbled. "I wonder if Draco is telling him about the whole friendship thing," I suddenly wondered aloud, talking mostly to myself.

"Do you care?" Hermione asked.

"No, I suppose not. Everyone is going to find out anyway," I shrugged, then started giggling. "Hah, Parkinson is going to have a fit. It's going to be fantastic," I clapped gleefully.

"Why is that fantastic?" Hermione asked, though she was smiling too.

"Cause I can taunt her endlessly! And I can blackmail Draco into backing me up, because he's my 'friend' now, and that's what 'friends' do," I smiled widely.

"Normally, you don't blackmail your friends," Hermione reminded me.

"Which is what makes me a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor," I said simply.

Hermione rolled her eyes, sighing slightly. "Can I ask you a question that you probably don't want to be asked?" she wondered, the query spoken slowly as she considered the words while she said them.

"I suppose," I agreed, shrugging.

"I want you to answer as honestly as you possibly can," she started, voice almost stern. I nodded. "How do you really feel about Draco?"

I looked at her. Somewhere in her eyes, I saw that she already had an answer. There was apparently only one correct answer to this, which she apparently knew. I was left momentarily confused and overwhelmed. She knew the answer to a question that I didn't even know how to begin to answer.

"I-" the reply tried to start, but I broke off before I could get any further, faltering into silence. Hermione just watched me expectantly. "I- I think-" I stopped again, looking off across the grounds. They were desolate and gray, shaded by the low hanging clouds and the impending snow that still hadn't hit. "I don't hate him," I finally mumbled.

"I think we covered that," Hermione seemed to be on the verge of laughter. "What else?" she prodded. I pondered for a few minutes, trying to decide whether to actually tell her what I was thinking. In the end, I took a breath. I had told her everything else, why stop now?

"I don't want to fall in love with him," I whispered. I wondered if she heard me, as the wind picked up just as I spoke. It began to howl across the small courtyard we were sitting in, somewhere in the middle of the Hogwarts grounds. I risked a glance at my companion, seeing her understanding and purely friendly smile. I had apparently satisfied her supposed answer.

"We should head back," she announced, standing up. I followed suit, but was surprised to find myself being pulled into a hug. I hugged her back, with slight awkwardness in my surprise. When Hermione let me go, she still smiled pleasantly. "You're a good person Alexa. It'll work out," she assured me. "Come on, it's freezing out here. I can't believe we've been out here for this long. I bet the Great Hall has hot chocolate," she beckoned, starting off in that direction.

Huh. Gryffindors. Apparently they can surprise you.

•••

We returned to the castle with perfect timing. Seconds after we set foot inside, the first snowflakes started to fall from the sky. It would be a blizzard soon. As predicted, the Great Hall was wonderfully stocked with steaming hot chocolate. Hermione managed to talk me into coming to sit with her at the Gryffindor table, and we watched the ceiling as we warmed up, observing it turn whiter and whiter from snowfall.

"What are you smirking about?" I finally demanded. Hermione just snorted, keeping her gaze on something behind me. When I made to look around, she shook her head, ducking her head towards her hot chocolate. I was about to keep questioning her, but someone stopped me by sitting down on my left. I looked around, finding none other then Draco Malfoy fidgeting in his new seat.

"This is probably the most humiliating moment of my life," he announced, apparently unable to decide where to put his hands. He settled for folding them tightly together and placing them stiffly on the table top.

"And yet, you sacrifice your reputation for me. Good friendship stuff, I'm proud," I praised, casually sipping my drink.

"I'm here for Rae," he blurted.

"Wounding. I held no appeal?" I pretended to pout, blinking rapidly in his direction.

"She's threatened all of Slytherin house that if one of us doesn't find you and send you her way immediately, she'll start torturing First Years," Draco ignored my sarcasm, updating me in an almost formal manner.

"Rae loves children," I rolled my eyes.

"She mentioned that. It was to emphasize how serious she is. She's prepared to sacrifice her love for the strange pygmies in order to track you down."

"They're not pygmies!" I exclaimed. This was start of term feast all over again.

Draco snickered. "Can I go now? Have you been properly informed?" he rolled his eyes as he asked the questions, still apparently unable to find a comfortable position on the foreign table.

"If I said no, how long would you stay?" I challenged. Draco just fidgeted, looking too uncomfortable for his own good. In fact, he looked much younger then he was. I had a brief flash of a nine year old Draco, sitting at the dinner table in Malfoy Manor and squirming about because he had been forbidden to leave. I laughed. "Go away," I waved my hand dismissively in his direction. He couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough.

"My respect for him just grew, just a little tiny bit," Hermione said casually.

"Why's that?"

"He didn't call me a mudblood. I'd rather he ignore me then insult me," she was smiling.

"I think you have very low standards of him," I grinned, making her pull a face at me. I finished off the hot chocolate before standing up. "I consider every threat Rae makes to be very genuine. I should go find her before she hangs a First Year off the Astronomy Tower. See you later, Hermione."

"See you," she waved. As I left, I considered the fact that she really didn't know how grateful I was towards her. Being able to expel my thoughts and pretty much my entire heart helped clear my head. I could tell Rae now, no matter what her reply would be. I had thought about the situation enough to accept whatever the reaction I would get from her.

That is, unless she already heard. That would be bad.

Now, my only task was to find her.

Chapter 10, come and gone :) Told you this was a big one! Alexa and Draco are friends! Thoughts? We're in the double digit chapters now, which is just a whole other exciting thing entirely...Chapter 11 to be coming soon!

While you're waiting, review? (I'm compelled to ask, I'm sure you understand...ha :D )