-1Okay. I am sorry. Summer is here. Updates will be frequent, I promise. I just... have had a lot of trouble in Algebra Two, and my mom... wasn't pleased.

But thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. They're what made me decide to continue this.

THANKSSSS:

Conngirl9 : Awe, thanks. Glad you like it. I don't actually hate Hermione; I'm quite fond of her. However, for this story, I need to have her... disliked. For once. hahaha.

Fairyprincess21: Thanks. And no, there is definitely nottttt any Fred/Hermione. At least, that's not what's in the cards now.

Adrilily: I'm glad you checked your email! Thanks, and yes, I absolutely loved Wicked.

ONWARD!

Chapter 10: Hospital Wings, Hogsmeade, and Office Chats

"I would really rather not be here." I said shortly.

"I would really rather you not get into fights." Draco replied.

"Look who's talking!" I hissed.

Ugh! Men!

Draco has gotten into well...countless fights. And I never lecture him. Now he's treating me like a baby, and I...well, I would have won.

"I can handle myself." Draco said and looked down at me, a faint smile on his face. He knew he was making me angry.

"I can handle myself Draco! Stop treating me like a child!" I stomped my foot, instantly wincing in pain.

Okay, not my brightest moment. Nor was it my most mature moment, either

"What happened Miss Conrad?" Madame Pomfrey came clucking in. I rolled my eyes.

"I uh... slipped." I said sarcastically. She eyed me suspiciously, but got a potion out of her cabinet.

"Here you go. Drink up." I drank the potion, and nearly choked.

"Oh, god, that was bloody awful." I said, wiping my eyes. "Was that really needed?"

"Yes." Pomfrey looked quite offended at my questioning her methods. "Now, if you'll just stay the night, then I can look over you. You leg had quite a break in it, and..."

"Oh! No! I'm fine!" I jumped up, and winced again. Damn.

"Bed. Now." Pomfrey commanded, and Draco nodded.

Traitor!

"Draco! How can you do this, just leave me here to rot in this disgustingly sterile room of white?" I cried.

"Sorry Lex." Draco said, "Get better." Pomfrey shooed him out of the Hospital Wing and told me to get some rest.

I looked around the room. Granger obviously wasn't here. Thank God. Because honestly, I probably would have torn her to shreds.

Really. I mean it.

I sighed and leaned back against my pillow. The bed was really a lot more comfortable than I expected.

"Wow. Three minutes and I'm already bored out of my mind." I said, "This is going to be one thrilling night."

Well, in all actuality, it had already been a thrilling night.

I fought Granger! And held my ground!

With only mild interference by Draco, might I add.

Although I'd rather not be in this horribly...clean Hospital Wing, things hadn't actually turned out too horribly.

I looked around the Hospital Wing again. I was the only patient currently.

I sighed again. I had to admit, I felt a bit ashamed that I had to be here, when Granger didn't seem to need medical attention.

"Well, of course not. She's the smartest witch in our year. I'm sure she knows all sorts of dorky healing spells." I said to myself.

Still, I felt as though somehow this made me the loser.

And, well, George wouldn't be too pleased.

George!

I had completely forgot the reason for my fight with Granger. Now, not only did I feel that Granger outdid me, but she also knew about George and I.

"Argh, this day couldn't get any worse!" I moaned, burying my head in my pillow. I continued mumbling small curses and whinings into my pillow for about 10 minutes.

I felt a small tap on my shoulder. I whipped my head around.

"Hey, listen, leave me the fu-" I stopped. Draco grinned at me.

"You're extremely childish Conrad." He said, sitting down on my bed. I smiled.

"Thanks for leaving me with the crazy lady." I gave him a pointed look. "Took you long enough to get your arse back here."

"Sorry. Blaise held me up." I looked down.

Blaise. Another item on my ever growing list of problems.

"Really? And, uh, what did Blaise want?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Just wanted to know if I really supported your...relations with Weasley." Draco responded. He paused. "Are you okay?"

No, I was not.

I hadn't felt this un-okay in a long time.

One of my best friends was mad at me.

My boyfriend's friends hated me.

I hated them.

My parents would murder me if they found out about George.

"No." I said in a small voice. "I'm not okay."

Draco put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't let Blaise get you down Lexi. He's surprised; I was too. He'll get over it."

I shrugged "Doesn't matter to me if he does or not. I don't have to answer to anybody but myself, and if he can't be happy for me then he can just leave me alone."

Or he could just stop being a prat. But I knew he wouldn't. Blaise was stubborn as hell, especially when he thought he was right about something.

Hell, even when he knows he's wrong, he still holds out forever.

"You do care, and it does matter to you." Draco said quietly.

"I don't want it to matter to me. I don't want to have to sneak around like this, and I don't want my friends to hate me because I want to be happy. This isn't fair Draco. I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?" I asked desperately.

Draco looked at me, pity evident in his eyes. Draco Malfoy never pitied anyone.

"No Lex, you're just doing something different." He said, giving me a hug.

"Thanks." I whispered.

Sometimes I was glad Draco didn't support me like normal friends did. He didn't coddle me, and that made the moments where he showed real affection towards me all the more special.

"No problem Alexis." He grinned. "Now, I'd best go before the old bat comes back in here. Get better soon, okay?" Draco ruffled my hair and left as swiftly as he had come.

I grinned and rolled over. Draco always had the innate ability to cheer me up. Perhaps he didn't always use the most traditional methods, but then again, we didn't have the most traditional friendship.

I think I had dozed off for about 40 minutes when I heard rustling somewhere to the left of me. I quietly opened one eye, and tried not to move.

"Lexi? Hey, you, you up?" I felt a sharp jab in my side.

I rolled over, trying to ignore my assailant.

They were persistent, as I felt another round of poking.

"Lexi, come on, I just want to talk to you. You know you want to talk to me, right?" The cocky voice asked.

I sat up and glared at him.

"Argh! No! I'm cranky, I've had a bad day, my leg hurts, I do not want to speak to you!" I snapped and flopped down onto my bed.

A minute passed.

"What do you want, Fred?" I asked exasperated. I felt my bed shift as he sat down.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I shifted myself up and looked at him.

He actually looked...concerned.

"Yes. I am okay. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you never know. Hermione is pretty skilled." I glared at him, "Not saying you aren't, but come on! She's a bloody genius."

"Yes, well, now that you've pointed out Grangers obvious superiority to me, would you mind letting me get back to bed?" I snapped again. Fred look taken aback.

I felt a pang of shame. Here he was, coming to check up on me, and I was being a royal bitch to him.

"Look, I'm sorry. I've just had a really bad day, and seeing as how you're about the only person who actually seems to care, I'm naturally taking it out on you." I shook my head, "And I know that's not exactly a good excuse, but its all I've got."

Fred smiled kindly at me , "That's okay. George is going to be right pissed when he hears that Hermione basically jumped you." He paused, "I don't understand why she did it though."

"She hates me Fred. And I hate her. You don't exactly need a reason to want to attack someone you hate, and she's been looking for a reason." I laughed, "Yeah, I egged her on a bit, I'll admit it. But honestly, who wouldn't?"

Fred laughed, "I would."

I grinned.

While I was beginning to care for George more and more, Fred was becoming more like a brother to me. I didn't trust him as much as Draco, but I did talk to him more than most people.

"So, you want to tell Uncle Freddy what happened?" Fred asked. Well, not asked, demanded nicely. Because although he asked, I knew he meant that I was going to tell him.

So I did.

"...and then Draco comes in and tells her to get out. So she gets up and limps her smart aleck stupid fat ass out of the room." I finished heatedly. "I can't stand her, really. It's just...so... annoying. None of her business. At all."

Fred chuckled, "You'll come to find that Hermione gets into a lot of things that aren't her business. But she does care about people."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather like it if she stayed out of my business." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Fred looked at the clock. "Well, I'm going to get going. George said he would be back early this morning, and I'm sure he's going to get an earful...from everyone." He grinned.

I sighed. Everything had to be so complicated.

"Hey now, don't feel guilty. From what George tells me, your worth all the hassle any of his family or friends could give him." Fred squeezed my shoulder as he stood up. "Now, I must away." He tipped an imaginary hat from his head.

I giggled, "Thanks Fred."

And I meant it.

"No problem Lexi." He said, opening the door noiselessly and leaving the room.

I sighed and got more comfortable on the bed. What a day.

And I had a feeling this was just the beginning. Now that Granger knew about George and I, I knew she wouldn't exactly let things go between us.

Well, if she wanted a fight, I would give her one. I would be a lot more prepared than I was today, too. I would show her what happened when you messed with Lexi Conrad.

I rolled over and closed me eyes, drifting off into a restless sleep.

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I woke up early the next morning, eager to get back to civilization.

"I'm okay, right? Just like I knew I'd be." I said , a bit haughtily I'll admit, but I needed to get out of there.

"Yes, Miss Conrad, you're fine. Still, better safe than sorry." Madame Pomfrey clucked, shooing me out of the Hospital Wing.

How rude! Like I was forcing her to let me stay there!

I stumbled out into an empty hallway. It was still pretty early, but I knew breakfast would be going on, so I headed towards the Great Hall.

I walked in, a bit surprised at how empty it was.

There were a few studious Ravenclaws in there, as well as some Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. I grinned at the Head table, where I saw Fred and George discussing something. I headed to my table and stopped.

Blaise. His head was down, so I assumed he hadn't noticed me. I walked slowly over to the table. It felt like it took me forever to cross the hall. I approached where Blaise was sitting and stopped. He noticed me, of course. I saw his eyes quickly flicker up. He didn't acknowledge me in any way though.

I narrowed my eyes. If Blaise wanted to have a fight, I would give him one.

I turned on my heel and walked to the other end of the table, my head held high. I sat down, looking straight forward. I heard a scoff from the far end of the table.

I glanced around the Hall again. George and Fred were looking at me, both with concern, though George seemed more worried. I looked down. I didn't want to discuss last night, not yet.

I quickly finished breakfast and hurried out of the Hall. Blaise stood up as I passed. We both paused and looked at each other.

I swear, in that moment, things were okay. Even though we were both mad at each other, and we knew we would continue to be angry for a while, for just a second, everything was back to normal.

I wanted to hang onto that moment forever. Blaise's friendship and good opinion meant so much to me. In only a span of 3 minutes, I had lost both.

Blaise quickly shook his head, like he was waking himself up. Maybe he was. I heard myself take a sharp intake of breathe and turn around, walking quickly out of the Great Hall.

More specifically, walking away from my former best friend.

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A lot of people like the weekend; I only like Saturday. For me, Sunday is always so anxious, because you know a week of work is about to start. I can never relax.

Not only that, but my Saturday had been ruined by Blaise and Granger.

I stopped my thoughts. Now that Blaise and I were fighting, what should I refer to him as? Zabini?

The thought of being so coldly formal to Blaise almost hurt.

But there was no way I was going to forgive him so easily. Especially when he wouldn't even admit he was wrong.

I sighed and went into the Common Room. Draco was exiting the boys dorms as I came in.

"Ah, there's our resident hospital patient!" He said, grinning at me. I glared.

"Ergh, don't get me started." I chuckled, "I already ate. I'll probably be ready by the time you're done. Wait in the Hall for me?" I asked.

"Yeah, okay." Draco nodded, "Not too long though."

"Right." I hurried to my dorm to get ready.

After cleaning myself up, I decided to wear a skirt for once. I put on a black skirt that came to a bit above the knees. With it I paired a grey 3/4 sleeved shirt that had a white collar and cuffs on the sleeves. I put a thick black headband in my hair, and wore black mary janes.

All in all, I looked very professional. I grinned. Neat.

I rushed up to the Entrance Hall. I stopped and smoothed out my skirt before making my 'big entrance'.

I walked haughtily past the Gryffindors, retuning their glares with ease. My eye caught Grangers, and I was please to see the bruise on her cheek was still in tact. I smirked at her and turned away, making sure my hair flipped.

I tried not to grin too triumphantly as I walked over to Draco. "Let's go" I said.

"About time." He stood up and we left the Hall.

"How awful was the Wing Lex?" Draco asked.

"Like I said, don't get me started." I paused, "Fred visited me."

"Really?" Draco rolled his eyes, "Gosh, they're all just accepting you as a surrogate member of the Weasel Clan, aren't they?" He drawled.

"No. Weasel hates me. Only Gingersnap, Fred, and George like me." I grinned. "And really, who can blame them?"

Draco shook his head, but smiled.

"So, anything uhm... interesting happen at breakfast?" I asked.

"If you're wondering if Blaise said anything about you, the answer is no." Draco said, "Actually, I had gone so far as to think you two might have made up, but obviously that isn't the case."

"Yeah uhm, we kind of avoided each other at breakfast." I paused "He can come up to me when he's ready to apologize and admit he acted like a prat."

Draco laughed, "You two are the most stubborn people I know."

I shrugged, "Yeah. Anyway, what do you want to do today?"

Draco grinned, "Actually, I was thinking of a little sneak trip into Hogsmeade for my best friend and I."

I squealed in delight. "And do what exactly?"

Draco paused, "I suppose we could go and get our outfits for the my parent's New Years Party."

I pounced on him "Yes! Let's!"

Every year, the Malfoys hosted a very lavish, extravagant New Years Party. It was a very formal affair, and only the most prominent wizarding families, along with the Minister of Magic and other high ranking officials, attended. And if you didn't wear the best, you were considered a target for cheap gossip from catty old ladies for the rest of the night, and possibly weeks after that.

So you made sure you wore the best.

"So, let me go and get the money my mother sent me, and then we'll ne on our way. " I said excitedly.

I may have been more down to earth than many females at Hogwarts, but I was still a girl.
And like any normal girl, I loved to shop.

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"Oooh, look at this one!" I said, pulling Draco over to a another rack of robes. "ugh, these are a nice color, but not very well made. Look at the loose stitching." I slumped my shoulders and put the aqua robes back on the rack.

Draco paused, "I think navy would be a good color for you. It would contrast against your skin, and make your eyes stand out."

Draco, although he was a guy, had undoubtedly good taste. Because he didn't go for things that were trendy like most did. He wore things that were sleek and sophisticated and always in style.

"Well, obviously you're going to get silver. Or green. You always do." I said simply. He shrugged.

"Why fix something that isn't broken?"

"Because change is good." I said, pulling out deep red robes. "Naaah."

"Yeah, you're a bit too pale." Draco offered.

"Thanks. You're a walking confidence booster, you are." I said sarcastically.

Then, I saw it. The most beautifully elegant set of robes I had ever laid my eyes on. They were perfect, just perfect.

"Draco..." I trailed off and walked over to the robes, handling them delicately. It was as though I feared something so perfect looking might shatter if treated too roughly.

"Perfect." Draco came up behind me "My best friend will be the best looking witch at the whole party."

I grinned, "Oh, you know it."

Then we set out to pick out Draco's robes. Although he usually settled for the standard emerald green or silver, I wanted to persuade my friend to think, eh, outside his little 'color spectrum'.

I gasped ; Draco made an approving noise in the back of his throat. We both headed for the rack.

I turned, "Fabulous, aren't they Drakey?" I looked around. Draco was at a rack about 10 feet away, inspecting some...

Silver robes.

"Oh no, mister! These are the robes for you!" I brandished the robes at him with a flourish. He took them, eyeing them thoughtfully.

"Good fabric." I added.

"Yeah, these will do. A little change of color won't kill me, I guess." Draco agreed.

I grinned as we paid for our items.

"This was fun Draco. Thanks for suggesting it." I gave him a sideways smile.

"No problem Lexi." Draco grinned, "At least we've got this out of the way. How responsible of us."

I shrugged, "Even though we snuck out to do so, I suppose it could be perceived that way."

Draco then informed me that I was ruining the moment and told me to shut up.

Arse.

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It was about 3 o' clock when we got back to the school. Draco then informed me that he had a meeting with persons whose names he wouldn't disclose to me. This led me to believe that he was involved in something rather shady, and had Blaise and I been on speaking terms, I wold have concocted some sort of plan to find out what.

So I decided now would be a nice time to talk to George, if he wasn't busy.

I went straight to his office. And paused. What if he was busy? I shook my head. He would definitely want to talk to me, right?

I knocked on his door. And took a step back.

I heard the sound of someone hurrying over to the door, a lock turning, and the door knob being turned.

George grinned as he opened the door wider to admit me into the room "Hey Lexi"

I smiled "Hi." He shut the door and gave me a hug, which I returned.

"How are you?" I asked, sitting down in his spinney chair behind his desk. I spun myself around for a few seconds as he answered.

"I'm been doing fine, but I think the more important question is; How are you?" He stopped the chair with his arms and lifted me up, "I've heard you had a not-so-great night."

"Yeah, it wasn't the best of days." I replied.

George sat down on the couch (A/N: oh-so-strategically placed by yours truly :D)

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

Of course I wanted to tell him about it. I wanted to tell him about it and have him hug me and tell me everything would be okay.

I wanted comfort.

"Okay." I said quietly and sat down nest to him, snuggling into him. George put his arm around me and pulled me close.

And I felt safe.

"Well, what do you want to hear about?" I asked.

"Everything. Tell me about Hermione first." George said.

"Okay. Well, I was heading back from the library, on my way to the Common Room, right? And I wasn't in the best of moods, and I bumped into someone. Granger. So, before I even knew it was her, I was already mad and told her to watch where she was going. Then she said something bitchy back to me," I felt George's chest rumble with silent laughter, "and I turned to leave. But then she said she wanted to 'talk to me about something'. Well, I protested, because I thought she was going to like, hex me or something. Anyway, eventually I went with her." I paused and looked up.

George looked angry.

"So, we went into this deserted classroom. And all of a sudden she starts talking about how she knows something's going on between us. Not only that, but she kept telling me about how she knew I just wanted to hurt you, and that if I really cared about you I would just stop...being with you." I took a deep breathe.

"And?" George asked.

"And... I got mad at her. Because... I didn't like her saying those thing about me. About...us." I swallowed. "And so I goaded her a bit, saying things like that I did care about you and I could date you if I wanted. Then she pulled out her wand and well... I don't like to back down from a challenge." I looked down.

I knew that what had happened was partially my fault. But that didn't make me any less sorry. I did feel bad though because now it felt as though George would have to choose between one of his friends and me.

"I know." George finally said, "And well, I'm sorry."

"Why?" I asked, looking at him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I should have known Hermione would have been intuitive enough to spot our relationship, and I should have told her from the beginning. You've told Malfoy and Zabini, and I should be able to tell my friends too." George said.

"It is your fault Grangers got it out for me." George snorted, "She does!"

"Its not that simple. Sure you guys don't get along, but this wouldn't have happened if I would have been honest with them." George looked down at me "And my Lexi got hurt because of it."

I smiled. His Lexi. I liked how that sounded, coming from him. It was a term I could definitely get used to.

"You know I care about you, right Lexi?" George asked seriously, turning me to face him.

His eyes were the most amazing shade of blue. I was so close to his face that I could even see the little circular patterns in the iris. They were stunning. I looked like a pool of water that was being rained on, you know? With all the little raindrops making rivets in his eyes. They were magnificent.

I nodded. "I know. I care about you too."

"I was really upset when I heard Hermione sought you out like that. Upset with her, and myself. I'm going to try and keep her out of your hair, okay?" George smiled at me.

I almost sighed at the sight of his smile. I beamed at him.

"Okay, but I can handle things you know. Like, if she bothers me. I can deal with her." I leaned my forehead against his. "Thanks though."

He smiled, "So, what had you looking so depressed at breakfast today?"

I sighed, "Blaise. He's being a right prat about..." I trailed off.

"About?" George prompted.

"Us." I whispered.

"Oh." George sounded ...perplexed, to say the least.

"He's concerned, and I appreciate it. But, he doesn't seem to care about whether I'm happy or not. I know that it's well... a bit of a surprise, but I know he's just being stubborn." I shook my head, "He's so thick."

"Are you happy?" George asked, a flash of concern crossing his eyes.

"Of course." I said, hugging him, "I'm...happier with you, than I've been in a while."

I really was, as hard as it was for me to admit it.

George grinned, "I'm glad, because a fantastic girl like you deserves to be happy."

I smiled, kissing George lightly on the lips.

He certainly was charming, and... I trusted him.

Even though it went against my better judgment, I felt George would never hurt me. At least never intentionally.

He deepened the kiss, and I felt myself lean back against the arm of the couch, George quickly following. My hands found his hair, and his found my waist.

I was falling, and falling fast.

And the weird thing was, I didn't exactly want to stop myself.

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So, I think this was kind of a filler chapter. Well, half filler, half George's reaction. But I hate having short chapters.

Reviews are greatly appreciated! And I PROMISE PROMISE that I will update SOON. like...soon.

summer brings out the best of my writing abilities. Especially since my mother won't be concerned with my grades till ...October?