"Happy birthday to… me. Happy birthday to… me. Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to… ME!"
"Okay, okay. We get the point, it's your birthday." Draco was being driven crazy. Alexas had been singing that all morning and it didn't look like she was going to get tired of it anytime soon. For once he was glad they were in different houses, at least he wouldn't have to put up with her during lunch. Draco sat down gratefully at the Slytheryn table.
"See you later!" Alexas called as she walked over to the other Ravenclaws.
Alexas sat down and cheerfully loaded her plate high with food. About to tuck in, she felt a timid nudge on her shoulder.
"Happy birthday." Adrian mumbled, not meeting her eyes. He handed her a small present, still not looking at her.
Alexas sighed inwardly as she unwrapped it. He was like this every year. Even though she had known about Adrian's feelings since the start – probably before he himself had realized – she just couldn't bring herself to shoot him down. That was why she was so harsh with him. It was just her way of trying to give him a not-so-subtle hint.
When she clasped eyes on the gift, she gasped. "This is amazing." She said breathlessly. It was a silver necklace, the pendant a raven with silver eyes. "Adrian, I- I can't accept this. It's too much."
His heart jumped, she had used his first name! This was too good to be true. "Keep it." He said. "You deserve it." To himself he thought, "She actually smiled at that. Smiled. Warmly. At me!" He could scarcely believe his luck.
She held it out. "Can you put it on for me?" She swept her long hair off her neck and looked at him expectantly.
Adrian could hardly keep his fingers from shaking as he tried to do up the clasp on the necklace. It really had been worth every sickle. "There. All done."
She flicked her hair back over her shoulder. "Thanks. You know how useless I am at doing those things up."
He swallowed. It was now or never. There would never be a moment more perfect than this to tell her. "Alexas, I-"
He got no further than that. Her head spun around suddenly. "Hold that thought Biggsly; I have to go check on something." She swore quietly under her breath, this would require serious damage control. From what she could feel from Draco, he was about to rip out someone's throat.
Draco gritted his teeth, holding onto his fork so hard the handle was digging into his palm. Watching that fool sucking up to Alexas was driving him crazy. He could see her coming towards him; she had doubtlessly felt his rage. He tried to take deep breaths to calm down, but to no effect.
Adrian watched her retreating back gloomily. Once again, he'd been blown off for that scum. Not wanting to watch, he got up from the table and left the hall.
Alexas pushed her way to a seat next to Draco at the Slytheryn table. A second year she had shoved cried out in indignation, but a death glare silenced her and she turned back to her lunch wordlessly.
"Draco, what the heck is going on?" she hissed.
"Nothing."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah sure. That's why that fork is practically bent double."
He slowly opened his hand, staring at the bent utensil as if he'd never seen one before in his life. She was right; it was almost bent in half.
"What got you so mad? You didn't even get this angry when we altered your hair." She chuckled, remembering his shock.
"I don't even really know myself." He said quietly.
By instinct, Alexas started berating him for trying to lie to her. "That was a blatant-" She paused. Something wasn't right about this. "Wait, that wasn't a lie at all. How can you not know?"
He shrugged. "I just don't." And he didn't. Why HAD that upset him so much? It's not like he was going out with Alexas. What was going on? He shook his head. "It's probably just the stress, that's all." He thought. "Yes that must be it. Stress."
Hermione was in the common room, making some pamphlets for S.P.E.W. before breakfast when Alexas stumbled in, still half asleep. "Morning Alexas." She said.
"Muh." Was the grunted reply. She plopped down in the chair next to Hermione and rested her chin in her hands. She pulled out her wand and conjured up a little hand mirror. Sighing at the state of her reflection, she said, "I really should wash my hair, but I can't be bothered." She spoke the altercis adherius charm into her hands and ran them through her hair. As her hands passed through it, it became smooth, shiny and clean.
From the other side of the room, Draco looked up. A hair-altering spell? But…
"Hey Hermione? What do you think I'd look like as a blonde?" Alexas asked. When she got no answer, she did the spell again, this time changing its color. After looking in the mirror critically, she shook her head. "No. It's not really me."
As Alexas changed her back to its natural color again, Hermione looked on in wonder. "How did you do that?" she asked incredulously.
"It's the spell that we used to change Draco's hair. It's quite simple, and it changes your hair to whatever you want it to be for a day. All you do is say altercis adherius into your hands and think about the change you want to make. Then just run your hands through your hair. Try it." She prompted
"Okay." Said Hermione. She spoke the spell into her hands and ran them through her hair, thinking about what she wanted to happen as instructed. When she was finished, Alexas handed her the mirror. Looking into it, she was astonished. Her hair was exactly as she had wanted it, straight and long. So much that it had gained almost a whole foot simply from having the curls removed.
"Wow," Alexas commented approvingly, "it looks really good like that."
"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked timidly.
"You look fantastic. Go show it off to all those Gryffindors!"
"Okay." She replied, getting up. "Thanks for this. I'll see you later!" she called as she left for breakfast.
Alexas got up and walked over to where Draco was sitting – completely stunned. "Hey, how about some food?" She got no answer. "Helooooooo? Anyone home in Draco-Land?"
That comment shook him out of his shocked trance. "Yeah, okay." He said, still a little shaken. "It WAS her!" he thought to himself. "How could I have been so blind?"
As they made their way down to the Great Hall, Alexas got more and more worried about Draco. Anytime she tried to talk to him, he would vaguely mumble something off topic if anything at all. She decided to test him.
"Hey Draco, so you wanna make out with Cliff sometime?"
"Yeah sure." He muttered. "Wait, what?" he said, suddenly being dragged back into reality.
Alexas shrugged. "I figured that was the only way I'd get your attention today. You haven't heard a single thing I've said this morning. What's on your mind?"
"Nothing, nothing." He said dismissively, lying through his teeth. "I can't possibly tell her." He thought. "She'd freak out. She doesn't even really need to know herself." He reassured himself, knowing even as he thought it that it was far from the truth. While walking through the doors, he was snapped out of his thoughts again when Alexas made a noise of sheer frustration.
"You're doing it again!" she hollered. "Look, if something's going on, you can tell me. But if you don't want to, then I can't deal with you! I'll see you later okay?"
She looked at him one last time with concern before sitting down at the Ravenclaw table and greeting Cliff and Biggsly, leaving Draco to go off to the Slytheryn table on his own.
Not really hungry, Draco distractedly pushed his food around his plate with his fork. He knew that he'd eventually have to tell her, but didn't know when – or how for that matter.
"What's wrong Drakie?" Pansy simpered.
He sighed. "Nothing Pansy, I'm just not hungry." He said, rather dejectedly, not even having the presence of mind to snap at her. He covered this up by pointing up at the morning mail delivery. "Look, that's your mother's owl."
As Pansy opened her letter, he continued to stare aimlessly up at the mass of owls, all delivering mail to students. It was then that he saw the ultimate bearer of bad news, one of his father's owls. A knot tightened in his stomach, making his even less hungry. He took the letter off its leg with a heavy heart, but when he went to open it, he couldn't bear to. "I'll do it later." He thought, not wanting to read it where the whole school could see him.
He stashed it away in his pocket, vowing to read it later that night and tried to put it out of his mind. It didn't work. He spent the entire day worrying about it; it felt like it would burn a hole in his robes. He couldn't stop putting his hand on it to check that it was still there.
During dinner, still barely eating, he didn't notice that Alexas kept looking over at him, obviously worried. Time and time again she tried to catch his eye and failed.
When Draco walked out of the hall, heading for his bed, the one refuge he had to finally read the cursed thing, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Alexas behind him and was reminded of the night she come to comfort him, her eyes were shining with the same concern.
"What's going on? I've been able to feel you fretting about something all day, even across half the bloody castle." She asked softly.
"I don't want to talk about it here." He said abruptly. "Follow me." He led her to an abandoned classroom, the same, in fact, as the one he had used to sulk in the past over his quidditch loss to her.
Sitting down heavily on a desk, he ran his hands through his hair and said haltingly, "I… got another letter… from my father."
"What's it say?"
"That's the problem. I don't know. I still haven't opened it."
"Is it really all that's bothering you?" she asked, sitting down beside him and looking at him questioningly. "You were distracted way before the mail arrived."
He looked up at her sharply, alarmed. "I- I don't want to talk about that!" he stammered.
Alexas spread her hands wide in an effort to pacify him. "Oooookay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want, I won't force you. So what about this letter? Do you want to open it now?"
"I suppose now is as good a time as ever." He said reluctantly. Taking it from its resting place, he broke the seal. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, then began to read.
'Draco, your uncle will arrive at the start of your second week of holidays. Be prepared.'
"Uncle?" She said, confused. She saw the look on his face. "Sorry. I know it's a bad habit to look over other people's shoulders."
"No, it's okay. 'Uncle' is code for the Dark Lord. His 'visit' will be my initiation." He put his head in his hands. "I knew this was coming, I just didn't know it would be so soon."
"You don't have to do it you know. Go to Dumbledore. He'd fix it." She suggested.
"You don't know my father. It would be too dangerous. Not just to me, to everyone I care about." He looked up. "That includes my mum and you too."
"Hey," she smiled, "I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."
"What about my mother though?"
"Well look," she said, "you don't have to decide right now. Just think about it okay? And no matter what you choose, I'll be here to help." She put a comforting arm around his shoulders.
Draco nodded, leaning slightly into her. "What would I do without you?" he joked.
"Probably go crazy and commit mass murder." She retorted. They both chuckled for a few moments before settling back into a comfortable silence, both absorbed in their thoughts.
A/N: So what do you think? Aren't they cute. They'll be even cuter if Draco actually manages to suck up the courage to tell Alexas what he knows. R R!