Thanks to all who read and ESPECIALLY to those who review. I really appreciate your comments! THANKS!!!!

PS ~ As for couples… I have *NO* idea how I came up with them! I just started pairing people up with who I said was and was not gay and worked from there.

Shades Of Gray

By princessofplanets

E-mail: princessofplanets@hotmail.com

Part 6 / 9

Alex was scribbling notes from her book for Care for Magical Creatures class, The Monster Book of Monsters. She murmured what she was writing under her breath as her quill flew across the page. "Dragons… Most have the ability to fly, such as…" She frowned as she wrote down their names.

"I hope Professor Dumbledore only chose the kind that can fly… But I guess we'll find that out tomorrow, won't we?" she murmured. She continued to write down notes: how their muscles worked, what they ate, what kind of habitat they liked, how you could kill them… The blonde growled softly in frustration. "Does or does not the Avada Kedavra spell work on them?" As she scanned the pages, she murmured, "It probably doesn't matter. Voldemort would know how to deal with them anyway…" Her head jerked up as people entered the room, talking loudly and laughing.

"Nani?" she asked softly, confused to see people in the room she created for privacy. What? A knowing, annoyed look crossed her face as the only four people who knew of the room's existence followed the others, even though she had barely seen them in the past ten days.

"Well, hey, Alex!" One of the Weasley twins slammed her back as she jerked forward.

"Ohayo," she greeted. Good morning.

"Whatcha studyin'?" the other – George, Alex could tell from the small scar beneath his left eye – inquired, leaning over and reading the page over her shoulder.

"Ooh, it's dragons," Fred commented.

"But I thought by this time in fifth year you'd be doing something interesting, like… I dunno, elves or something. Then again, what in Care for Magical Creatures is interesting?"

"Alex, sometimes you study too much!" Hermione exclaimed, squeezing Ron's arm.

"Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black!" she tossed back weakly. Seeing the twins' attention turn to her notes, she quickly shut her book. Almost immediately it started attacking the two older boys. "Desino!" she ordered, and the book abruptly dropped back to the table. Stop! The blonde carefully folded the parchment and shoved it roughly into her jeans' back pocket.

"Why did you guys bring them all here?" Alex addressed Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Her blue eyes scanned over Lavender, the twins, Dean, and Seamus as the truth dawned on her. "Minna-chan…" she said, her voice dangerously low.

"Well, we're going to play strip poker, remember?" The blonde's eyes narrowed as the Slytherin boy continued, "And we can't play in the Common room with all those kids…"

"And we can't play in the Girl's dorms…" Lavender supplied.

"And we can't do it in the Boy's dorms because girls aren't allowed in there…"

"So here we are!"

Alex shot a quick glare at Ron, who finished the statement, before repeating, "So here you are." She sighed and gathered up her books. "I'll just leave then…"

"Aww… But Alex, we want to see you in your — " Fred was interrupted by a pink blonde.

"Bite me," the girl interrupted, turning and beginning to leave the room.

"Was that an invitation?" the eighteen-year-old asked hopefully.

"Simply a statement," she said. "I'd rather open a vein to a vampire than play strip poker with you guys."

"That's dan – "

"Come on, Alex. *PLEASE*!" Harry pleaded. Alex felt her resolve waver.

"Harry…"

"Alex, take your cards," Draco ordered, now dealing out the deck to the people sitting in a circle in the center of the room. The girl groaned under her breath before sitting down in the free space between Draco and Fred.

"Hi," the redheaded teenager said flirtatiously.

Alex rolled her eyes at his playful antics as the dealer, the silver-haired Slytherin, said loudly, "Ok, everyone, pay attention to the game!"

"And, remember Alex, you're supposed to take something off like you would before going to bed! Jewelry doesn't count" Hermione said, knowing how body-shy her friend was.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "But I take off my jewelry before I go to bed." Draco rolled his eyes at his friend's persistence.

"Shut up, Granger, otherwise she'll never play. Now make your bets."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Do I have to have this pile in front of me?" Alex complained for the nth time. She kept her eyes steady on her new cards, knowing that if she looked up she would turn beet red. The blonde was the only person with her shirt and pants on, with the exception of Draco, who had taken off his silver stud earring in place of his leather pants.

She had been the winner five times out of seven, mainly from her unwillingness to lose. Therefore, she had a growing pile of clothing in front of her, and while she knew that to some of the people present that would have been erotic, to her it was just disturbing.

"No, Al, you win it, you have it," Draco replied in a bored tone, his eyes roving over Harry's body.

The blue-eyed girl made the mistake of glancing up, only to see the raven-haired Gryffindor Seeker sitting in his boxer shorts in front of her. She turned an instant red, muttering, "I quit!"

"You know, Alex, you're awfully body-shy for a Gryffindor," Seamus commented mindlessly as he stared openly at Dean. Glancing up quickly, she noticed that Hermione was ogling Ron while Lavender drooled over Fred.

"It just turns her on," Draco murmured between his kisses on Harry's face and neck. Alex made a face.

"Oh yes, that's it," she said dryly. "I'm just *SO* turned on!"

"Yep…" he replied indistinctly as he focused entirely on his task at hand.

Alex made another face and quickly left the room. As she stepped into a shadowed area of the Common room, where her door was hidden, all her worries and fears slammed into her, making her dizzy and breathless.

She slid down the wall, trembling as she realized the nearness of the next day, shown clearly by the extinguished fire. "God please have us win," she whispered softly, tears fighting to overcome her as she forced her muscles to still and her throat to unclench. "Kami-sama, Jupiter, Buddha, whatever name you go by." PLEASE… "Don't let me fail… Or else… Minna-chan…" Everyone… Alex shuddered, her frail body wracked with silent sobs as the tears she held in for fifteen years escaped in torrents. She hugged her knees tightly, willing herself to stay silent and still throughout the storm of emotions, and to hold her powers in check.

"Dear God please…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Good? Bad? Confusing? You'll learn more about Alex's powers in the next chapter… The Halloween Dance… HA HA HA HA HA! *Coughs* Yeah, yeah, I know I have to work on my evil laugh. Ja!