Alli rolled over on the couch, groaned, and opened her eyes. She ran her fingers through her tangled dark brown hair.
"Alli!"
Alli jumped off the couch and snatched her wand out of her pocket. The fire sparked up on the wood and illuminated the figure of her roommate, Ashley, standing in front of her.
"Holy shit," said Alli. She lowered her wand. "Don't do that to me!"
"Sorry," Ashley replied. She laughed a little and lightly wrapped her arms around Alli giving her a friendly hug. Alli didn't return the gesture. "What's wrong?' asked Ashley. "I thought if you were out of the hospital wing then you might have been all better."
"I snuck out," Alli admitted to her. There was a pause as Ashley gave Alli a weak smile.
"Are you," Ashley began, "I mean, are you okay?" Alli looked down and shook her head. She focused her eyes on the carpet. The woven strands of thick black fabric mirrored the way she felt - twisted, uneven, and dark. "Dumbledore told us," Ashley said quietly. Alli looked up, curiously. "He told us what happened in the forest and... he told us what happened to Draco."
Alli nodded silently and looked back down at the floor.
"There's going to be a ceremony for Draco tonight," Ashley told her. "It's a proper goodbye."
The day had passed in a dull slowness that seemed to go on and on until the time had come for the ceremony. Alli followed the rest of the school to the Great Hall. Whispers surrounded her but Alli chose to ignore the repetitive "there she is; do you think she's okay?" and "how long is this going to last?"
Once everyone in the school was seated at their tables, Dumbledore stood at the front podium and hushed the already quiet crowd.
"As you all know I have called the school to this Hall to dedicate a ceremony to Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy was one of Slytherin House's greatest students," Professor Dumbledore began. "He was seeker to the Slytherin Quidditch Team. He was a part of a powerful family in our Ministry and he will be missed by those who were close to him. But above all, Draco Malfoy was a leader. You all know now that Draco Malfoy was murdered. He was killed by Lord Voldemort. I ask you all to take a moment of silence to pay our respects."
The moment of silence did not last long. Mumbling in the crowd began nearly three seconds after Dumbledore's request for quietness. Alli, who sat at her usual spot at the Slytherin table, looked over at Draco's empty seat. Then, she looked around at the other students. No one seemed to care. No one was going to pay their respects, Alli observed. Maybe it was true that no one cared. Draco did not mean anything to these students. What had he been? A bully and a tormentor? Annoyance rose up inside Alli. She couldn't take it any longer. She couldn't stand the fact that no one was taking this seriously. So, she stood .
"Can I say something?" Alli found herself blurting out to the school. Alli felt shaky as all eyes focused on her. But despite the fear that she might break down, she gave everyone a hard stare. Professor Dumbledore nodded once at her. "Listen," said Alli. "I know that most of you don't care about this ceremony. You don't care that we've lost Draco because he didn't mean anything to any of you. But, let me just tell you something, okay? Just because you didn't care about him and this whole thing seems stupid and a waste of time to you, does not give you the right to be disrespectful. Because believe it or not, there are people in here who cared about Draco. His family, these students sitting next to me... or at least some of them... and me." Alli's voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "I cared about him and, honestly, I seem to be the only one in this room right now who does enough to be quiet for two minutes. Do y'all not get it? It's not important to you but to some of us, it is, including me. And if you want to know why, it's because I loved him. And right now, it seems like I'm the only one who truly cared about him and..."
Alli paused and looked out at the students' faces. They seemed to be shocked into silence, or worse, they may still not have cared. Alli was considering that second alternative to be true until Harry stood up.
"I did," said Harry. The whole school turned to look at him. Alli looked at him confused. Then, Hermione stood up.
"I did," Hermione said. Ron stood up.
"I did," said Ron. Then, Luna Lovegood stood up and said the same. Ginny, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and several Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students stood up. These were followed by the rest of Slytherin House, then the rest of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor.
"I did."
"I did."
"I did."
"I did."
As everyone was leaving the Great Hall, a sense of calmness washed over Alli. She sighed and followed the crowd to the Entrance Hall.
"Are you alright?" Ashley asked Alli. Alli nodded and gave her a small smile.
"Yeah," Alli replied.
"Allison?"
Alli looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes as Pansy Parkinson caught up with her.
"Erm, hi," Pansy said awkwardly. Ashley narrowed her eyes angrily.
"What do you want?" said Ashley sternly. Pansy opened her mouth as if to speak but then closed it. "Hmm?" Ashley said raising her eyebrows.
"I wanted to apologize," Pansy said.
"You can stick that fake apology and that pathetic face up your fucking—"
"Hey," Alli cut her off, "chill." Ashley rolled her eyes. Alli turned back to Pansy.
"Well?" said Alli, attempting to initiate Pansy's apology.
"I'm sorry," said Pansy. She bowed her head towards the ground and then looked back at Alli.
"Okay," said Alli after a moment. She had been expecting more than just a basic, "I'm sorry."
"When Draco was alive, I tried to do everything I could to separate you from him. I wanted him to myself. I mean, before you showed up Draco and I were close. Then, you—"
"Uh," Alli stopped her, "no. Draco said that he was over you when he met me remember?"
"Yeah, but—"
"I know you're trying to act like you and Draco actually had a thing but honestly—"
"Honestly, Draco loved you," said Pansy. Pansy looked down at the floor again. Alli found herself speechless. Pansy had flat out admitted it, throwing Alli into a silent shock. "He loved you. He never loved me. He never..." Pansy sniffed and when she lifted her head, Alli saw her blue eyes shining with tears. Pansy leaned her head back and wiped her eyes with her hand. She cleared her throat and faced Alli. "I never got the chance," said Pansy, quietly. Alli felt a small pang of sympathy for Pansy. It was a very small part of her that felt bad. Though the rest of her was pretty stuck in her ways of hating Pansy and feeling nothing for her at all. Alli decided to act upon that small bit of sympathy, but just for a moment.
"I'm sorry," Alli told her. Pansy gave her a confused look.
"What?" Pansy said with a slow tone careful to not mistake what Alli said.
"Well, kind of." Alli tiled her head to the side and then said, "Actually, no. Not really." Pansy glared at her. Alli sighed. "Pansy, I know that you never got the chance, but it wasn't my decision. Draco does what he wants to. That's the kind of person he is. Well, the kind of person he was. I didn't make him choose me over you... he just did."
Pansy nodded slowly.
"I mean I could probably give you a list of reasons why he chose me over you but I'm going to spare you that much for right now because you're actually taking the time to apologize to me and express your feelings."
"Right," said Pansy with a slight hint of anger in her voice. "Well, I think that's done with."
"So, we're on good terms now then?" Alli called sarcastically as Pansy walked away into what was left of the crowd.
Christmastime at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a most magnificent and magical occasion. Alli woke up the 1st of December to the Slytherin common room decked out in Christmas. There was silver tinsel delicately framing the mantel of the large fireplace. Wreaths made of pine that held a heavy wintery fragrance hung on each stone wall. Red candles with flickering flames surrounded by holly sat on the tables. A large Christmas tree was placed in the back-right corner. A glittery silver tree skirt hugged the base and wrapped presents of green and silver foil huddled underneath. Silver tinsel and bright little lights shined. Dancing red Santas, tiny moving reindeer, and jeweled ornaments hung in midair against the long, piney tree branches and a twinkling star was gleaming from the top. Alli had never seen the Slytherin Common Room so bright and cheery. It was strange but Alli didn't mind too much. After everything that had happened the month before she needed some cheerful décor. Alli had always loved seeing the house where she grew up turned into Christmas charm. Alli dreaded the actual decorating of the house, but the final product was always such a wondrous sight. So, the Hogwarts castle's self-decorating ability was greatly appreciated. What wasn't as appreciated was Slughorn's next get-together—the Annual Slug Club Christmas Party.