The next few chapters are going to lead into the main part of the story, because apart from cute Draco/Alexa moments, a good fanfic also needs a solid plot. For all the Draco lovers, you are going to get plenty of him starting on chapter 17.
Thank all of you for commenting, it means so much more than I can express in words.
Chapter 14 - Funeral
It was deathly quiet when Alexa woke up and for some reason everything seemed grey; the flowers on the table to her right were grey, her skin was grey, the bed sheets were grey, everything was so dull and colorless. She would have stopped breathing if she could because it was pointless, she had no reason to live in a world without him; unfortunately she could not commit suicide by holding her breath.
"You moron, she thinks he's dead. You better go in there right now and tell her!" she heard Ginny Weasley screaming in the hallway and a second later a scared looking Potter entered her room.
"It seems there was a little misunderstanding," Potter said hesitantly, "Malfoy is not dead. He was badly wounded, but he is fine now."
Alexa was slowly digesting the meaning of his words when she suddenly noticed Potter's eyes were green. To her right were white lilacs and red roses, the bed sheets were distastefully teal colored, though her skin still seemed greyish. "What a relief." Alexa said, masking her roaring emotions. "Call the nurse, I want out."
"Well, I don't think it is wise for you to leave in your condition." Potter said with the slightest hint of fear in his voice.
"I didn't ask you to think, you incapable Gryffindor, I asked you to call the nurse. Can you possibly execute such a simple task?" Alexa asked, her voice dripping with venom.
Potter swallowed hard and left the room, and a nurse came in a few moments later. "I want my clothes, and the release forms." Alexa demanded, examining the wound on her side.
"I'm afraid we can't release you yet, dear. My professional opinion as a Mediwitch-" the pleasant looking nurse started to explain when Alexa completely lost her temper.
"-is by far less significant than mine as a Healer." Alexa stated cruelly, "Now go get my clothes and release forms, you stupid bint, before I hex you to the next millennium."
The nurse left the room with tears in her eyes just when Ginny came in, looking awfully down. "Aren't you cheerful today." She said grimly.
Alexa's expression softened immediately and she made an effort to get out of bed, walking a very painful way to the mourning redhead, "I'm so sorry, Ginny," Alexa whispered, hugging her tightly and causing great amount of pain to wash over her weak body; that bloody wound.
"A hug from the heartless Alexa Kaiser, I thought I'll never see the day," Ginny tried to joke, but there were tears in her eyes, and she was shaking.
"I'm not a monster." Alexa argued, trying to sound playful and failing, "You're brave Ginny, I'm proud of you." She told the younger girl, and let the sorrowful sister break in her arms. Not long afterwards, but enough for Ginny to regain her composure, the nurse returned with some clothes and the papers. Alexa quickly filled them, and changed from that atrocious hospital outfit, cringing in pain with every movement. And then she marched to Malfoy's room.
She opened his door with a kick, causing Astoria to let out a shriek of fear, and drew her wand; he was half seated in bed, his chest bandaged, looking at her with sheer shock. "You bloody moron!" Alexa growled, closing the distant between the door and his bed in inhuman speed, "We didn't even start the mission, never left Britain's borders, and you already trying to get yourself killed. You're an idiot even in a Hufflepuff scale." Alexa spat and Malfoy seemed deeply hurt.
"You have responsibilities. You are the best Auror they've got. You are a father to a beautiful son, you have Greengrass over here- " Alexa preached him, when Astoria interrupted
"It's Malfoy." She corrected Alexa again.
"Whatever. You can't just go and throw your life away!" Alexa rebuked him, pointing her wand at his chest, "I swear Malfoy, if the Death Eaters did not finish the job, I might just do it myself if you're so keen on getting yourself killed."
"Please refrain from doing so," Came Potter's amused voice from behind her, "We still need him." Alexa turned around and gave him a very dark glare, "Astoria, I need you to fill in some forms in the reception desk." Potter said politely, watching the dark haired woman who sat expressionlessly beside Malfoy's bed.
"Of course, Potter." She said curtly, shooting both Alexa and her husband dirty looks.
They were left alone in the room and Alexa turned her eyes to watch him; he looked absolutely terrible. His hair was an utter mess, and seemed to be burned at the edges in a few places; Alexa assumed he had narrowly avoided a few well aimed Incendio spells. Though she stood a few feet away from him, she could feel the dark magic oozing from his wounds, and not needing to take a look at the damaged flesh beneath the bandages, she knew it would leave a nasty trace. His skin was showing the same ill looking grey shade she had too, due to a mixture of emotional stress and the effects of blood loss.
"Could you please lower your wand Kaiser?" he drawled, his finger lightly touching the tip of her wand. She pocketed her wand immediately, looking at him with torn eyes and without another thought she launched forward, embracing him in a tight hug that caused both of them pain; neither of them complained.
She buried her head in his bandaged chest, soaking the fabric with her tears, while his hands held her gently, one on her lower back and the other caressing her hair. She heard him inhaling deeply, taking in her scent, and that action only made her sob even more, and hug him with more desperation. "May I ask what caused this emotional outburst?" he asked with a gentle smile when she pulled away, carefully moving the hair from her face.
"Potter, the git, made me think you were dead." Alexa muttered angrily and Malfoy chuckled, "He was going on and on about how foolishly you went hunting the Death Eaters yourself and I fainted before he finished talking."
Malfoy let out a genuine laughter and his eyes shone in a way she had not seen for too long. "Were you really so upset over my death?" he inquired with a smirk.
"Of course I was, you prat." Alexa said, punching his arm lightly.
"After what you said yesterday…" Malfoy trailed off, looking away from her.
"I regret what I said." Alexa said firmly, "It was stupid and vindictive, with the pure purpose of hurting you."
"Well done, you certainly managed," Malfoy replied bitterly.
She took his hand in hers, and held it, smiling at the familiar feeling. Her eyes were slowly lifted to meet his grey pools and she thought of how strange it was to just look at him; not glare at him, shoot daggers at him, frown at him, just simply look at him. She watched his scowl soften into a relaxed, pleasant expression, and her hand involuntarily rose to caress his bristled cheek. "I didn't mean it, I didn't mean any of it." She said softly.
"Does that mean you love me?" he said with a teasing smirk and suddenly his face was much closer than before, too close for her liking. She lowered her eyes, and pulled her hands back to her lap.
"Your wife will return any moment," Alexa said faintly, "I should go." She said more to herself than to him, and stood up, exiting his room without glancing back, before she would do something she regret.
Ron's funeral took place a day later; it was supposed to be a lovely vernal afternoon, but the weather seemed to decide otherwise and strong, chilly winds blew beneath ashen grey sky. Alexa stood in a safe distance from the mourning group, insensitively noting to herself it was the largest number of gathering redheads she had ever seen; Weasleys from all over the world came to take part in Ron's burial. But they were not the only ones, not at all; she recognized representatives from every respected family in Britain, every figure of power or man of wealth, they all attended the burial.
Alexa carefully watched Hermione, who was visibly shaking but she did not cry, her expression agonizingly restrained. Alexa noticed Lukas glancing at Hermione from time to time, his face clearly betraying the inner battle he was having; she hoped he would make the right decision. Ginny was surprisingly stoic, or not so surprisingly considering the feisty redhead's psychological resilience had been keeping Potter sane for the last decade or so, while Potter himself seemed broken, and much too old. Alexa, who was relatively unaffected by their lost, felt a sting of pain when she heard the heartrending sobs of Molly Weasley; that woman had suffered too much grief.
Alexa looked at Malfoy as he came to stand by Hermione, squeezing her hand and looking at her with that silvery intensity, as if he was trying to pour power into her through his gaze - it was also the moment she noticed she was not standing alone. Astoria, clad in fancy black robes, stood beside her, looking at the ceremony with tightly pressed lips and the faintest hint of disgust on her face.
Alexa took a puff from her cigarette and glanced at the other woman. "Must you wear that look of disdain on your pretty face, Astoria? You seem as if someone smeared dragon dung under your nose." Alexa remarked with the slightest fury, "A mother lost her son, a wife lost her husband, show some compassion."
"You are the last one to talk about compassion, Kaiser," Astoria replied coldly, "I can't recall your compassion when you ruthlessly obliterated entire families," she said darkly, and Alexa looked away.
"Touché, Greengrass." Alexa said quietly, throwing the cigarette on the ground and crumbling it with her boot.
"It's Malfoy," Astoria chided her, though tiredly.
"Whatever." Alexa replied mindlessly, her expression morbid as her thoughts wandered to the war.
"You're never going to accept me as his wife, are you?" Astoria asked after a long silence, appearing slightly insecure for the first time.
"It's not that. I think you're a prefect Malfoy wife, better than I could ever be." Alexa answered truthfully. Astoria was undoubtedly beautiful, always fashionable, a prefect aristocrat with the right amount of cunningness and social skills. "I guess it's hard for me to adjust to this new reality, where you are married to Malfoy; when I left England you weren't even wearing a bra."
"Yes I was," Astoria protested, and Alexa could swear she saw a sparkle of amusement in those ever cold features. "You had enough time to adjust, don't lie to me."
"The truth is not always pleasant," Alexa said, cocking her eyebrows questioningly at Astoria, who motioned her to continue, "Like I said, you would make a perfect Malfoy wife. However, Draco," Alexa felt a bitter taste on her tongue, calling him by his given name, "Is not a typical Malfoy, not anymore."
Alexa heard a deep sigh. "I've gathered that much myself." Astoria remarked bitterly. "My parents planned for us to marry since we were children; I was taught from early age what is expected of me as his wife." Astoria shared in a moment of rare sincerity that surprised Alexa, "But it seems to aggravate him, and he pushes me away, until I have nothing but a symbolic place in his life."
"Of course it aggravates him; it reminds him a society that he hates, ideas that torn his family into pieces, customs that were forced upon him." Alexa explained, her voice softer than she intended it to be.
"But this is who I am!" Astoria nearly yelled, frustrated. "Why can't he accept me like Ma-" she stopped herself just before saying something she should not, and eyed Alexa suspiciously.
Alexa gave her a knowing smile. "You have nothing to fear from. I don't talk to him about you. Actually, I don't talk to him at all, unless it's absolutely necessary." She promised the nearly hysterical wife, her eyes resting on Malfoy.
"Maybe you should," Astoria said angrily, "Maybe you're the woman for him."
Alexa chuckled, but it was laced with much too bitterness to be genuine, "It doesn't actually matter, you know." Alexa gave her lopsided grin, "Since what's truly important is the question - is he the man for me?" Alexa paused, seeing Astoria's curiosity, "And frankly, I think the answer is no."
"No?" Astoria repeated dumbly, shocked.
"Indeed. If he were, he wouldn't have shagged me while still married to another," Alexa mentioned, and Astoria flinched, "And he wouldn't have alienated me for leaving, he would never have treated me as horribly as he did."
Astoria swallowed hard. "He is not the man for me either." She admitted reluctantly.
"Well, I really can't help you here." Alexa offered her a grim smirk.
"You already did more than you can imagine," Astoria replied in a sly tone, a dangerous spark in her eyes, determined expression on her face. Just as she finished her sentences the crowd started to scatter, and Alexa bid her good day and walked away, pensive. She then Apparated to her apartment, and took a long, hot shower, mentally preparing herself for comforting Hermione, and Ginny, and Potter, and whoever else that needed that sort of console. She knew what it was like to be left alone with your sorrow; you wade in it until you drown.
Just when she exited the shower, still wrapped in her towel, a reddish brown owl flew through her window, carrying a yellow parchment. She gave the exhausted bird a treat and turned to read the paper.
"Tell Harry I'm coming. R.A.B "
The towel slipped from her hands and the owl let out a petrified shriek. She gave it an angry look and said, "Come on, I don't look that horrible."