Author's Note: Although I sometimes pretend to be J.K Rowling while I write this, sadly I am not her. Everything here, except the stuff you don't recognize, belongs to her.

Chapter 10 Fun Times in Detention

They reached a blank wall after walking for ten minutes and Malfoy stopped, a frown on his face.

"What's the password again?" he asked, not looking behind him. Alex and the others exchanged worried glances before Malfoy continued, "Oh right, pure-blood!"

A door appeared and Malfoy let Alex go in first. She walked into a depressing room, no windows and no light. Alex realized this was because they were in the dungeons. Above their heads, a green light shone as the only source of light besides the fire place. Alex was shocked to see that the light flickered as if they were underwater. The Slytherin common room was under the lake! She sat on the couch by the fire and, much to her disgust, Malfoy said next to her. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed in to her.

"Read this, you'll find it hilarious." Alex took it and read the article aloud so Harry and Ron could hear.

On Sunday, December 23rd, Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was fined fifty galleons for bewitching a Muggle car. The car had been seen by at least seven Muggles earlier this year and crashed into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mr. Lucius Malfoy, one of the school governors of Hogwarts, has called for Mr. Weasley's resignation.

"He has brought disgrace to the Ministry and the name of Wizards," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter, "He must be dismissed before he does anymore damage."

Mr. Wealsey has no comments on the situation, but his wife told our reporter that if he did not get off their property, she would send the garden gnomes on them.

Alex looked up and Ron, who was pale and shaking slightly. She looked at Malfoy's expectant face and managed a small smile. He seemed satisfied with that and took the paper back.

"So, what do you like about Italy? I've been there several times myself, you know," asked Malfoy

"Oh…I don't know, it's all so pretty," she said, trying not to stray off topic, "You know though, I don't really want to leave."

"Why?" asked Malfoy.

"Well, you're going to think I'm stupid if I tell you, but I don't want any of my friends to get attacked while I'm away," she said, "I feel it would be my fault that I wasn't there to protect them, since I'm a pureblood and the monster won't attack me."

"That's not stupid," said Malfoy, putting an arm around Alex, "And you shouldn't blame yourself if it does happen. Besides, the monster won't attack any Slytherins."

"But how do you know that?" asked Alex, not too happy about the arm around her and thinking about her earlier conversation with Malfoy, "What if the monster makes a mistake and attacks a Slytherin? What if I made the heir angry and he or she wants revenge?"

"Only the heir of Slytherin can control the monster, and if they're a true Slytherin, they won't attack their own house mates," said Malfoy calmly.

"Yeah, but what if-?"

"Pansy, you think too much," laughed Malfoy, "Everything will be fine, in fact probably better with that monster here. Now all the Mudbloods in the school will get what they deserve. My father told me the last time the Chamber was opened, a Mudblood died. We can only hope it might happen again."

"Your father was at school when it happened before?" asked Harry.

"Of course not you idiot, that was over fifty years ago!" snapped Malfoy, "My father did tell me that the person who opened it last time was expelled. Father said not to get caught up in all of this though," he added, "He told me to leave it to Dumbledore to settle everything. Have you noticed there's been nothing in the papers about all the attacks? Is that his great way of settling things? Sooner or later people are bound to find out." Malfoy turned back to Alex and smiled. "I have something for you, I was going to give it to you before Christmas but I never had the time."

He pulled out a black velvet box and handed it to Alex. With a questioning look at Malfoy, she opened it and gasped. It was a necklace in the shape of a snake. The entire thing was made of diamonds except for the eye, which was a dark green emerald. Speechless, she looked up.

"It's…I mean…Wow," she said laughing.

"Do you like it?" he asked nervously.

"Like it? Are you kidding me, I love it!" she said, looking at the snake again and sighed, "But I can't accept this. It must have cost you a fortune."

"Not really," he said, "I got a summer job in Knockturn Alley and this was one of the pieces. My boss said I did such a fantastic job there, so I could pick anything I wanted for half the price. I saw this and thought of you."

He helped Alex put it on. She saw Harry and Ron's stupid stunned looks and smiled at them. She walked over to a mirror and almost screamed aloud. Her hair was starting to get darker, the potion was wearing off.

"I've got to go!" she said, looking at her watch, "I was supposed to meet my father fifteen minutes ago. Thank you so much for the gift," she said to Malfoy as she turned to leave.

Malfoy grabbed Alex's hand and kissed it in good-bye. Alex tried not to look angry, so she smiled. That seemed to make him braver and he kissed her cheek. Alex turned and ran before she could punch him in the face. Oh he was so going to pay for that later!

As she ran back to the bathrooms, she felt her stomach clench and her robes were getting bigger on her. She willed herself to run faster, despite the lurching feeling in her stomach. Finally, she banged open the door to the bathroom, panting.

"Hermione, boy do we have so much to tell you," said Alex, completely herself once more.

"Go away!" cried Hermione.

Moaning Myrtle came out of the stall where Hermione's voice came from, smiling. Alex had never seen her smile and never wanted to again. It was more like a grimace.

"Oohh, you should see her," squealed Myrtle.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" asked Alex tentatively.

Alex opened the door and what she saw scared her. Hermione was bent over the toilet, but she had a tail. Slowly, she turned to face Alex. Her face was covered in fur and she had pointed ears on the top of her head. Hermione had turned into a cat.

"Oh no, Hermione! You grabbed cat hairs instead, didn't you?" asked Alex, giving her friend a hug.

"I must have!" sobbed Hermione.

The bathroom door banged open again and Harry and Ron came in. Ron gave a loud shout at the sight of Hermione.

"Holy Merlin, what happened to you?" he shouted.

Hermione started sobbing harder and Myrtle was cackling above them all.

"Thanks Ron," said Alex over the noise, "That's really classy. She grabbed cat hairs instead of Bulstrode's hairs. And you," she turned up to Myrtle who was still laughing at Hermione's ears, "You're the most ugly, emotional girl I have ever met. If you were alive, I bet you would have scared off anyone who would ever want to be friends with you."

Myrtle stopped laughing and screamed. She flew straight through Alex and into a toilet. Alex shivered and turned back to the others.

"Sorry, she was really annoying me. Anyway, we need to get Hermione to the Hospital Wing. I'll think of some excuse, just as long as Snape's not there. He'll realize what it is."

…...

Hermione stayed in the Hospital Wing for a few weeks. A lot of people thought she had been attacked, even though Alex told them she was just sick. When term started up again, Harry, Ron, and Alex would bring Hermione her homework.

"Hey Hermione!" said Alex, sitting on her bed with a bunch of textbooks in hand. "You look so much better, your face is almost back to normal."

"Yeah, your eyes are a little green, but that's it," said Ron, sitting on the other bed.

"Thanks guys. Have you found anything that could tell us who the heir is?" she whispered so only they could hear her.

"Nothing, it's been pretty quiet since the attack on Justin," said Harry.

Once they were assured that Hermione would make a full recovery, Alex and the boys told Hermione about their failed mission in the Slytherin common room. Since then, they hadn't been able to figure anything else out. The attacks had seemed to stop for the time being.

"I don't know whether to be happy or worried," said Alex.

"Well I would be worried about your detention tonight," Hermione said with a stern look at her friend. Alex looked at her with confusion so Hermione elaborated, "Detention with Malfoy, remember? Who's the moderator?"

"Professor Flitwick," said Alex as she felt her stomach drop. She had forgotten about her detention with all the fuss about the Polyjuice Potion. "But he likes me so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm worried though because it's my first detention."

"How is it that you went a whole year without a detention?" laughed Harry, "You're the most troublesome witch I know!"

"Because I'm good at not getting myself caught," Alex joked and was glad that Harry was trying to make her smile.

Just then, Madame Pomfrey told them to leave and the three went to the common room. Alex ran up to her dormitory to get ready for her detention. She decided on wearing her hair back in a ponytail in case they had to do manual labor for their detention instead of only lines. When she returned to the common room, she sat down beside the boys and stared at the fire.

"Um, Alex? You do realize your detention is in ten minutes, right?" said Harry, looking at his watch.

"Yeah, I do. I'm just preparing myself for the horribleness," she said, looking at her friend with a nervous smile, "Any advice?"

"Just go in there and do whatever needs to be done as swiftly as possible," Harry replied encouragingly, "If Malfoy starts talking to you, ignore him. He'll probably try to egg you on so you land yourself in another detention."

"Also, try not to puke slugs all over the object you have to clean if that's what you're doing," said Ron with a grin, "It doesn't help much."

"I'll remember that, thanks guys. You're the best!" Alex said with a smile of her own and leapt to her feet, "If I'm not back by midnight, send a search party. It means Malfoy and I managed to kill each other."

The guys laughed as Alex ran out of the common room and to Professor Flitwick's classroom. When she arrived, it was only Malfoy who was in there sitting up front. Alex took a seat a few desks away from him and they sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. She checked her watch and saw it was five minutes past eight. Where was Flitwick?

"Well this is fun," Malfoy drawled, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, "Although I'd take this over a trip into the Forbidden Forest any day."

"I've heard those centaurs are a nasty bunch," muttered Alex, remembering when Harry came back from that detention. He had looked so frightened when he talked about seeing Voldemort again and when the centaur, Bane, told his companion he should have not interfered and saved Harry.

"It's not the centaurs you have to worry about. They're werewolves in there too."

"Please, that's just a rumor," snorted Alex. She had asked Hagrid about it once and he was adamant in saying there were no werewolves in the forest. He said Dumbledore would never allow them to be so close to children.

"And how would you know? You've never been in there," said Malfoy, looking over at her from his lounging position.

"Thank Merlin I haven't, but I've got resources," she replied with a smirk.

Casually, Alex gripped her wand in her robes and flicked it. Malfoy's chair slipped as though someone had kicked it and he toppled over. Alex couldn't keep her laughter controlled and she let out a bark of laughter as the Slytherin got to his feet.

"That's what you get for not keeping all four feet on the ground," Alex said through her laughs.

"How'd you do that? I know you did something," asked Malfoy, narrowing his eyes at her. When Alex didn't speak, he shook his head and continued, "You are one hell of a strange girl, Ratcliff. Sometimes I think you'd make a good Slytherin."

"Sod off, Malfoy!" she hissed, eyes fiery, "I'm nothing like your Muggle-hating friends!"

"You know, people always forget what Slytherins are really known for," he said with a sigh, "Or perhaps in Slytherin/You'll make your real friends,/Those cunning folk use any means/To achieve their ends."

"That's…That's what the Sorting Hat said before we got Sorted," said Alex in shock, "You remembered that?"

"I needed something else to think about," Malfoy said with a shrug, "Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't Mr. Calm when I walked into Hogwarts. My father didn't tell me anything, seemed to believe it would take away from the magic of it all."

"Would it have?" she asked curiously.

"Probably," he said with a smirk, "Although I could have rubbed my information in the faces of all those Mudbloods."

"Really Malfoy?" shouted Alex, slamming her hands on the desk and rising to her feet, "Just when we're starting to have a civil conversation, you have to go and say something stupid like that. Why do you think you're so special compared to them, huh? Because you have different ancestors?"

"Those ancestors happen to be from the purest of Wizarding blood, something you would know nothing about," snarled Malfoy.

"And what's the bloody difference?" Alex yelled, her chest swelling with hot anger, "It doesn't make you any better than the rest of us. Hermione is Muggle-born and she's kicking your bloody ass in every single class! Having an all-magic background doesn't make you any smarter than others. In fact, when you prance around like your God's gift to mankind and flaunt your heritage, it makes you look like a greater ass than you already are!"

"Of course it wouldn't matter to you, you're from nothing," he sneered, getting to his feet as well and walking around his desk so he was facing her, "Your father is a filthy Muggle, completely worthless. Your mother, oh she thought herself so special coming to Hogwarts. I've heard it all from my father, her and her sister hung around with that Mudblood Evans and the blood traitor Lenns. They all thought they were something special, but look what happened to them? Look at who's dead and who's alive."

"My parents were far nobler than yours could ever dream of being," said Alex quietly as she felt her chest deflate as she tried not to burst into tears, "And those people may have died, but their stories live on. As long as there are people in this world who can tell their stories, they will be remembered far longer than your family and their friends will ever be."

She met Malfoy's eye and they stared at each other for a moment before the door banged open and little Professor Flitwick came running in, panting. The students returned to their seats as they watched the professor reach his desk.

"Terrible sorry I'm late," Flitwick said once he regained his breath, "I had completely forgotten about this. I hope you two have been behaving?"

"Like little angels," replied Alex innocently, ignoring Malfoy's stare.

For their detention, Alex and Malfoy just had to write lines. Alex was grateful that it was nothing that involved the two of them working together since she couldn't even bring herself to look at that blonde Slytherin. After two hours of writing, Flitwick dismissed them and Alex sprinted out of the room. She ran until she had no idea where she was and stopped, leaning against a wall and sliding down. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered Malfoy's harsh words and a sob escaped her before she could stop it.

He knew nothing about her parents or what they went through for her. How could he say such horrible things about people he didn't even know? Malfoy just blindly went along with what his family and Housemates believed, like some mindless zombie! He never thought for himself and was comfortable in letting others make decisions for him.

Footsteps caused Alex to stop mid-sob and quickly get to her feet. She pulled out her wand and held it out, waiting for whoever it was to round the corner. Much to her anger, it was Malfoy who came around. He took in her watery eyes, red face, and pointed wand in one glance before he raised his arms in surrender.

"Merlin Ratcliff, the lines weren't that bad," he said mockingly.

"You know damn well this has nothing to do with the detention," snapped Alex, gripping her wand tighter, "Before I jinx you into oblivion, I want you to listen to me. I hate you. Not dislike you, not "really not like" you, just good old-fashioned pure hate."

"Shockingly I managed to figure that out."

"Shut up! I hate you with every fiber of my being. From your stupid smirk and slimy hair to your superior attitude and snide comments, I hate it all. And you know what? I'm not the only one who hates you, because everyone in this school does as well. They all find you repulsive in your behavior and want to wipe that Malfoy smirk you always wear right off your face. Oh sure, your Slytherins may adore you because of who your father is but don't bet on them sticking around when you really need someone to rely on. Like you said so yourself Malfoy, "Those cunning folk use any means/To achieve their ends." And when they get what they want out of you, they'll hang you out to dry and the rest of us will just point and laugh. The sad part about that is you'll probably do the same thing to them. That, Draco Malfoy, is why I hate you. You never think of anyone but yourself. Stupify!"

Malfoy fell to the ground and Alex let out a sigh. She flicked her wand and watched Malfoy hover above the ground as she directed his body to a shadowy corner. Alex performed a few more jinxes (turning his hair flamingo pink, covering his face and arms in puss boils, etc.) before leaving him and returning to her common room. She saw that the guys were waiting for her by their usual place near the fire and went to sit beside them.

"So what did you have to do in detention, Alex?" asked Ron as she joined them, "Nothing too stressful I hope?"

"We wrote lines," she said calmly and Harry frowned slightly.

"So…er…how was it?" he asked worriedly.

"Cathartic," Alex replied with a sly smile and went to her dormitory, leaving Harry and Ron very confused and slightly fearful.

Author's Note: I have to say, this is my favorite chapter in this book. However, my opinion doesn't really matter since I'm not the one who reads and reviews this. What did you all think? I wanted to show the tiny bit of good in Malfoy, did you think I succeeded? Of course I had to have him say something nasty. Can't have him being too nice now, can we? ;)

I'd like to thank all my reviewers, those who put me on alert, and those who have me in their favorites. Your support is what keeps me going so thank you so much for that! :D