Alexa is trying to be all sweet and loving. It works pretty well.
But soon enough everything is going to change. So if you expect a corny romance, you're up for a surprise. I like my stories dark :)
Thanks to the amazing Chelsea and Icarus!
Chapter 12 : Hurt
Alexa held her head between her hands, massaging her temples, while her elbows rested on the desk. McGonagall was lecturing them about human transfigurations, with her severe expression, and tightly pressed lips, talking faster than Alexa could comprehend. She scanned her peers; Parkinson was putting her nail polish on, Malfoy was spacing out, Weasley and Potter appeared defeated and the only one that was trying to pay attention was Granger. Alexa picked up her quill again and continued to summarize McGonagall's explanations, knowing that she would have to read it thoroughly again after the lecture ends, to fully comprehend the subject.
"Alexa, do you think I look exceptionally handsome today?" Blaise asked her in a smug voice, leaning closer to her and invading her part of the desk.
"Well," Alexa said with, curling her lips, "You look exceptionally handsome every day, so I guess it's not so exceptional." She replied with a smirk.
"Then please enlighten me, why is Malfoy constantly looking in my direction?" Blaise inquired in an innocent voice, but his sly grin was teasing her.
"If I were sitting next to Parkinson, and surrounded by filthy Gryffindors, I would much prefer to gaze at you." Alexa whispered, trying to pay attention to McGonagall.
"This is completely understandable." Blaise said with vain expression, "But I have this strange feeling it is not me Malfoy's looking at."
"And why would you consider such thing?" Alexa questioned, putting on a shocked expression.
"I guess you can call it … feminine intuition," Blaise replied in a silky voice, and Alexa gave out a loud snort, biting her lips so she would not burst out laughing.
"Anything funny, miss Kaiser?" McGonagall addressed her firmly, staring at her behind her glasses.
"No, professor." Alexa said quietly, and elbowed Blaise's ribs forcefully.
McGonagall continued the class as if she was not interfered but many surprised eyebrows were raised at her; in all of her years at Hogwarts, Alexa was never berated. Most of them seemed quite amused that even she had stumbled once, but Malfoy seemed furious for a certain reason; his eyes were burning with rage but somehow still maintained their cold metallic quality. It was the first time she admitted to herself that Malfoy had mesmerizing eyes.
"I expect a four stroll essay on the subject due to Friday." McGonagall informed them when the class ended. Alexa gapped while many others complained loudly; Friday was in three days. Sighing heavily she collected her belongings and marched out of the classroom, and while everyone had made their way to the common room, she headed straight to the library. When most of the crowd had scattered, and the hallways turned silent she could not ignore the feeling of being followed. She made a right turn and pressed her body to the wall, gripping her wand.
When the person that followed her took the same turn Alexa grabbed their arm and forced them face forward into the wall, pointing her wand at his back. A girlie squeak was heard and Alexa let go immediately as she realized it was only Granger. "Any reason you were following me, Granger?"
"I wasn't!" she protested, turning around, "I was heading for the library and…." She started to explain but had stopped talking when she saw Alexa smile.
"I'm heading to the library myself." Alexa said, hiding her wand in her pocket. "I'm sorry for assaulting you Granger. I guess I'm turning slightly paranoid lately…"
Granger laughed; she looked surprised and happy at the same time, she was glowing. Alexa gave her a bluntly inspective look and Granger suddenly turned quiet. "You look different," Alexa remarked, "Your hair, your teeth, the way you hold yourself." Alexa noted, and seeing Granger's uncertain expression, added, "It's a compliment."
"Oh" Granger nearly gasped, "Thank you." She said weakly. Granger strangely reminded her of Malfoy at that moment; another person who forgot how it was when people treated him respectfully. Granger was respected by many of the students, but the Slytherins had always given her a hard time. "I'm quite new to all of this… I'm not a beauty care master like Parkinson." Granger admitted shyly.
Alexa let out a bark of laughter, and started to walk toward the library, escorted by Granger. "Parkinson? This is your idol?" Alexa was amused, "Parkinson is nothing but a bulimic cow. As much as I find it hard to admit, since you are a Muggle born, you are thousand times better than her."
Granger considered if she should be insulted or complimented; it seemed like she had taken Alexa's comment in a positive way. "Apparently she's doing something right; she has Malfoy around her finger." Granger said with obvious disgust.
Alexa stopped her pacing and faced Granger. "First of all, shagging Malfoy is not an index for quality. Secondly, Malfoy couldn't care less of Pansy; you know him well enough to understand his lacking abilities in caring for someone but himself." Alexa felt a sting of guilty as she said it, knowing it was not true, "And third, why would you care? Do you fancy him?"
Granger was flustered and when she opened her mouth words did not come out. "I don't fancy Malfoy." She finally uttered, and the sheer look of repulsion on her face supported her statement.
"Of course you don't." Alexa said lightly, and Granger exhaled with relief, "You are head over heels with that dorky Weasley."
Watching Granger was criminally amusing; she had paled to a chalky shade of white, then blushed in bright red, then paled again. Alexa began to worry. "You are a sharp observant." Granger finally said, avoiding the subject.
"Though I appreciate the compliment I cannot take it. Anyone who claims for one functional lobe and minimal vision could have pointed it out." Alexa grinned in an unpleasant way, making Granger quiver. "So you fixed yourself and waiting for him to notice?"
"I…Well, it's not that…" Granger struggled out of the question but then she gave up. "Yes." She whispered sadly.
"If you wish to be noticed, I can help you with that." Alexa gave her a bright smile, fleshing a row of perfect, shiny teeth.
"I'd love that!" Granger clapped her hands together in excitement, but then her expression darkened, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Well, there is that insignificant matter, you know, regarding you saving my life." Alexa said sarcastically, "Moreover, it's likely to assume I will be spending some time with you until the war ends. If we have to get along eventually, why not start now?" Alexa shrugged.
Granger gave her a genuine smile, as they both stop in front of the library entrance. "You here to write McGonagall's essay?" Granger asked and Alexa nodded tiredly. "We can work together, if you wish…" Granger suggested hesitantly.
Alexa pondered for a moment; this was a moment she had never seen coming. "Sure." Alexa agreed with a friendly smile and the two of them entered the library together, immediately attending the vigorous task of finding the proper books.
It was a few days after when Snape burst into charms class, asking for Alexa; Blaise gave her a questioning look but she was just a clueless. She followed him out of the class and his usually emotionless features held suppressed distress. "Potter and Malfoy had a… violent encounter," Snape said in a blank voice, "Malfoy is in the infirmary, and might be transferred to St. Mungo's."
Alexa felt nausea, a large lump in her throat, and a cold, stinging emptiness in her stomach. "St. Mungo's?" she whispered, only really severe cases were transferred.
"Potter's recklessness and his abilities in causing damage are far greater than I imagined." Snape commented with snide. "The headmaster released you from your classes today, so you can visit Mr. Malfoy."
"Thank you, professor." Alexa said in a weak voice and almost sprinted all the way to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey had let her in and she soon spotted his bright blonde hair in the last bed. If she was not told otherwise she would have thought he was dead; his face looked dull and gray, his hair was dry as straw, and his body lay motionless in bed, like he was not even breathing. His entire torso was heavily bandaged and the white dressings were soaked with blood. "Oh dear," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed behind her, "It seems like I have to change his bandages once again."
Alexa nodded wordlessly, staring at his limp body; so weak, so helpless, so not Malfoy. "I'm just going to my dorms to grab a few things," Alexa said weakly, "I will return soon."
She walked inhumanly fast in the relatively empty corridors, her mind feverish with thoughts. She knew she had to harden herself; during the upcoming war she would witness these kinds of sights on a daily basis. That thought only made her even more nervous. While marching towards the dungeons she had short glimpse of a wild, dark hair, and abruptly decided to follow it, her thought unclear even to herself. She had reached that certain person a few moments later, feeling uncontrollable rage pumping in her veins and blurring her judgment.
She tapped the lad on the shoulder and just as he turned to face her, she mustered all her strength and punched his nose, hearing a painful cracking noise. He stumbled backwards, hitting a wall and Alexa approached him, gripping her wand. "You saved my ass, Potter," she said in a low growl, "And this is the only reason why you aren't reunited with your beloved parents." She said in a threatening voice that sounded foreign to her, "Stay. Away. From. Malfoy."
"It wasn't my fault!" Potter protested, holding his bleeding nose.
"Really?" Alexa yelled, "So Malfoy bleeding to death in the infirmary had nothing to do with your doing?"
"I didn't mean to harm him… that badly." Potter added, realizing the first half of the sentence was a complete lie. "I didn't know what that spell does."
Alexa inhaled deeply, trying to control her anger. "Next time you are using advanced dark magic, do it against Death Eaters and not your peers!"
"He is a Death Eater, Kaiser!" Potter roared, clenching his fists.
Alexa found herself holding Potter by the collar of his shirt, her face inches from his. "This is my last warning to you Potter." Alexa whispered hoarsely, "Do not interfere with my mission, do not provoke Malfoy, or you have my word as a Kaiser that I will make your life a miserable hell."
And with that threat she turned around and headed to her dormitories, collecting a few books and returned to the infirmary, to sit by the unconscious Malfoy. She stayed there for hours, reading her books and finishing her exercises, sending a worried glance to Malfoy every once in a while. She noticed that his bandaged were not as soaked as before, and he seemed a little less…lifeless. It was not until a late night out that she had heard a rusting of sheets; she looked at his agonized expression and involuntarily sent her hand to stroke his hair, coming to sit on his bed. He shifted a little in bed and she examined him, from the tip of his head to his delicate hands resting by his sides.
"When did you start to wear rings, Malfoy?" She teased him, suspecting he was awake, "Your tasteful choice of clothes, the ridiculous amount of time you spend on fixing your hair and now this…I'm starting to suspect you're not genuinely into girls."
He let out a chuckle. "Just tell me when and where, Alexa, and I will show you how genuinely interested I am." His voice was hoarse, and his eyes still closed; Alexa was grateful he could not see her blushing. "You were her earlier, didn't you? Where did you go?" he asked, struggling to open his eyes.
"You were conscious then?" Alexa asked rhetorically, "I grabbed a few books and had a little retaliation," she smirked mysteriously. Malfoy raised an eyebrow and she added, "I Broke Potter's nose."
Malfoy shut his eyes again with a satisfied smirk, "That's my girl."
Alexa softly smiled at his comment, and he complained. "And why did you stop stroking my hair?"
"I never intended on doing it in the first place," Alexa replied with unease, "But you looked so cute and harmless. But now you seem like your normal horrid self."
He grinned evilly at her, and then glanced at the window, at the darkness of the night. "Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked with a pout and Alexa was reluctant to agree, "You have to spend a night with me before I die. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss out on this opportunity."
Alexa rolled her eyes at his narcissism, but some part of her knew she should stay. She needed to get closer to Malfoy and this really was a once in a life time opportunity. She sighed, and took of her shoes, laying down on her side next to him, supporting her head with her palm while looking down at him. He gazed back at her, his expression serene and content, like the storm inside her gray eyes slightly calmed. She felt his smooth fingers caressing her cheek, before he whispered, "Kiss me, Alexa."
She obeyed, slowly leaning down to meet his lips in a soft kiss. She pressed her lips gently against his, her palm cupping his cheek, kissing him shyly. When she broke away, he pulled her back down, his hand on her nape guiding her back to him, into another tender peck. Damn him and his Malfoy charm, Alexa screamed in her mind, feeling herself melting at his touch. It turned into a long session of chaste kisses, affectionate fondles and longing gazes; it was innocent and pure. Malfoy had gone through this phase at his second year, Alexa thought gloomily as she pulled away.
He inhaled deeply, and licked his lips. "Where have you been all my life?" he asked jokingly, and turned his head to watch her.
"Studying in the common room, hoping you'd forget to insult me." Alexa replied dryly.
"It's going to be different from now on." He promised, finding her hand and holding it.
"Take the offer, Draco," she said softly, pleadingly.
"I can't. I was chosen to fulfill this task." His voice almost broke down.
"Do it for your mother." Alexa insisted, her eyes locked on his, "Do it for me. I want you to be with me when the world ends, not against me," she whispered, surprised at her dramatic skills.
She saw him swallow hard. "You're a true Slytherin," he remarked with a chuckle. He wrapped his hand around her, scooping her closer to him, and she lay beside him, as close as she could without hurting his wounded body.
"Please, Draco," she whispered to his ears and placed another kiss on his lips. It was supposed to be a mere pretence of affection, just to lure him in, but the warmness that filled her chest said otherwise. He kissed back, slightly harder and rougher than before, this time letting his tongue slid into her mouth and explore. She reacted, a little more courageous, adding some passion to her kiss, and moving her tongue against his; he tasted like medicine and his expensive cologne was replaced with the scent of disinfectant, but she loved it nonetheless. She playfully nibbled his lower lip and a soft moan escaped his lips, causing her to draw back.
He chuckled at her reaction. "You're not bad for a beginner." He commented arrogantly, "Was it your first kiss, at the New Year's Eve?"
Alexa nodded, avoiding his eyes. She had never planned on Malfoy to be her first kiss. "I'm sorry." He said earnestly, "I'm sorry for stealing your first kiss. I'm an ass."
"I was really mad," Alexa confessed, "But now I don't mind." she added with a sweet smile. She fought an urge to puke; this whole lovey dovey behavior was so unlike her. She resented it with every fiber of her body but somehow it came out so naturally. She buried her face in Malfoy's unwounded shoulder, not wanting to see his victorious expression, and let him play with her hair as she slowly drifted to sleep.