-Victory-

Chapter 5

Draco could hear the crowds cheering as he and Harry raced toward the golden snitch. This was the last game of the year. The winner of this game would win the Quidditch Cup. It had been nearly ten years since the last Slytherin victory, and Draco was determined it would be his time to shine. He leaned forward on his broom and reached out his hand. Harry did the same. "Time to play dirty," Draco thought to himself. He pulled away from Harry and then rammed into him with all his might. Harry flew off course but came back and nudged Draco a little. "It that all you've got Potter?" he yelled over the roar of the wind in his ears.

"Not by a long shot," Harry yelled back. He pulled up on his broom hoping Draco would follow.

"Not this time Potter." He leaned even more forward so he was almost lying in the room stick. He turned the corner and something hit him in the eye. He could feel the pain searing through this head and the vision in his left eye began to fade away. He shook off the pain and realized that he had grabbed at the object instinctively. He gasped when he saw the snitch in his hand. He let out a victory scream that could have been heard for miles. "Slytherin wins the Quidditch Cup!" the announcer yelled. "Draco Malfoy has caught the golden snitch." Draco lowered himself and dismounted his broom. He held the snitch up for all to see. "I did it," he smiled a genuine smile. Although he wanted it more than anything and although he told everyone that he was going to win, he still had some doubts.

Alexia ran down to the pitch and hugged him. "Awesome job." She patted his back and ran back to her friends.

Later in the Slytherin House everyone was celebrating. Everyone except Alexia. She had gotten as out from her father. It read:

Dearest Alexia,

I'm glad to hear you won the cup, but I regret to say that I will not be able to see you this summer. Your cousin needs help desperately and is calling upon everyone he knows for help and support. He's planning something big. I'm really sorry sweetie, and I hope to see you very soon.

With all my heart,

Dad.

Alexia sat on her bed and reread the letter at least a dozen times. She sighed, got up, and walked over to the window that was showing the water under the lake. She spun around when she heard the door unlock.

"Alex, why don't you come down with us and celebrate," Sabrina walked over to her.

"There's nothing to celebrate," she growled.

"We won the Quidditch cup. What do you mean there's nothing to celebrate?" she sat beside Alexia.

"Just what I said. Leave me be." She stood and purposefully left the letter on the windowsill. She couldn't say it, she wouldn't. But she could let Sabrina make her own conclusions about the letter.

Sabrina saw the letter and picked it up. She thought about not reading it, and then figured why not? She opened it and read it twice. "Alex, I'm sorry."

"About what?" she denied even receiving a letter.

"Alright, well, whatever." She stood and tossed it into the fire. If Alexia wanted to play she could play too. "I'm going to have some pumpkin juice."

"Whatever." Alexia rolled over onto her side and stared at the fabric that was blocking her view. All she wanted to do was sleep and forger all about her father and her father's side of the family. She knew it may be bad, but she didn't care. She was closer to her father than her dear second cousin was. Besides he was a half-blood and her family was all pure bloods. So what if he was feared by all. She wasn't afraid of him. She sighed and listened to all the commotion. Going on in the common room. She sat up when she heard her name. She walked over to the door and cracked it open. She saw Draco and Roger arguing in the middle of it all.

"She likes me more Malfoy." Roger crossed his arms.

"How could she like you? She's royalty and you…you're nothing but a half-blood." The crowd gasped when they heard that and Roger drew his wand.

"What did you say?"

"Your great-great grand mum, what was her name?" He smirked, "oh yes, Rhonda Evans. Muggle through and through."

"She was not." He pushed his eyebrows together.

"Go ask daddy." He sneered.

"Besides, you saw the hug she gave me after the match today."

Alexia came storming down the steps. "How dare any of you boneheads think that I like either one of you?" She put her hands on her hips. "Hmm?"

"Well," Roger started.

"You, I was only talking to you because of all the lies you told to build your self up, even thought you know for a fact that Malfoy here is right about your blood type."

Draco snickered.

"And you!" she turned to him. "I hugged you because you won the match for my first year here. It meant nothing." She chewed her jaw. "Both of you are just…" She drew her wand and waved it in the air. The two boys that had been arguing no more than five minutes before were now squealing and grunting on the floor like pigs.

"What's gong on here?" Prof. Snape burst into the common room. "You three into my office, now!" He pointed to Draco, Roger, and Alexia. Inside his office he blew his stack. "What's wrong with you three, you have been causing problems since she got here." He lowered his voice when he realized what was going on. "Alexia, I need to speak to you first."

Draco and Roger left the room still grunting between breaths.

"Alexia,"

"Professor Snape, before you say anything let me just say that…"

"I know that you are under a lot of stress."

"What? Kinda I guess." She said surprised.

"How if your father?"

"What father?" she covered her mouth but it was too late.

"Business?"

"As always. He spends all his time with that cousin of his. Now I can't see him all summer because Cousin V…Vincemeat has something planned."

"I know, I can feel the power." He lifted up his sleeve to reveal his death eater mark.

"Yeah well." She crossed her arms.

"Tell the pigs I'd like to speak to them and if possible…"

"I'll fix them." She smirked and walked out of the door.

Next Week

A few days had gone by and everything was back to normal in the Slytherin House. As must as normal as it ever was. Alexia, Roger, and Draco put aside their differences for now and had fun ganging up on all the other houses.

Alexia had talked with P. Snape a few more times and decided to let Draco in on her little secret. She found him one day after dinner. She hadn't eaten. She couldn't, she had a queasy stomach.

"Draco, I need to talk to you," she pulled him aside, "follow me." They walked down to Snape's office, and went in. "He told me I could use it, because it's sound proof." She sat down and looked at him.

"What's gong on Alexia?"

"You know my father is a death eater, but what you don't know it…" She sighed. "My dad and I are purebloods." She said to get off topic.

"Alexia, I know that. I've known that since day one. You told me remember?"

She looked at the ceiling. "Yeah."

"Just tell me." Draco was getting annoyed.

"It's not that simple." She unfolded her hands and looked at him. "My family is…complicated."

"Complicated? How complicated? Can't be that bad. I mean, it's not like you're related to Voldemort." He stood up clearly irritated.

Alexia bit her lip.

"What? You're not serious?" His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, he's my second cousin. My dad and he are first cousins."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. I have the family tree if you want proof. I'll get my dad to send it."

"No wonder my father told me your family doesn't mess around."

"I have been talking to Professor Snape and he said that now was as good a time as any to let you know."

"But why would you let me in on the… unless it's not a secret, and I'm the last to know."

"Draco, stop being a twit." She stood.

"You're the only student that knows, well besides Brea, but she knew from before I met her."

"So, Roger doesn't know?"

"No, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't go bragging around to him and everyone else that you have been let in. This is a tremendous responsibility and blah, blah, blah."

"Blah?"

"Yeah, that's what my dad told me, and eh said that I could only tell one person but I had to give them the whole speech about not telling anyone."

"Why did you pick me as the one person to tell?" Draco raised his eyebrow.

"Because." She turned and walked out the door.

Over the next few weeks Draco and Roger tried every trick they had to get Alexia to choose. She however, ate it up. She played them both. She kind of had an idea of whom she liked more, but with the passing days, she was becoming more and more unsure.

Finally, came the week they had all been dreading, the entire year. End of year exams. There was tension everywhere but more so in the Slytherin House. Along with the studying that Alexia had to do, there was the fact that she still wasn't sure whom she liked more. Toward the end of the week Alexia was pretty close to picking, and she was almost sure she had a perfect score on all her exams.

"My potions exam tomorrow is going to be the easiest yet." Alexia stuffed a piece of roll into her mouth.

"That's only because your mommy teaches it, and you don't' have to do anything to earn a good grade." Draco rolled his eyes and took a swig of pumpkin juice.

"That's not my fault." She grinned and took another bite of roll.

They finished the dinner in silence and later made their way to the Common Room.

Alexia and Sabrina took the chairs facing the fireplace while Roger and Draco went over the last of their potions book.

"Alexia may not have to study, but I need an E in this class."

"Not me." Roger smirked. "She told me that if I made it look like I was doing my stuff then she'd help me. We are going to be partnered up for the final."

Draco wanted to tell him that he was going to be Alexia's partner and that he has a secret, but remembered what she had told him about responsibility and all that. He turned the page and went over the ingredients for the silence elixir.

"So who do you think the house cup will go to?" Sabrina pulled her legs up to her chest.

"We will of course."

"But this is your first year here; there is no way you could know that. Gryffindor always wins."

"We won the Quidditch cup, we'll win this." She winked and stood. "I'm off to bed."

The next morning the Slytherins and the Gryffindors made their way down the corridors and into the potions room. Alexia gasped when she say another woman in her mother's seat.

"Sit down now." She barked. "Mrs. Fowler was called out of town for an important meeting and won't be here for the exam. She did however; leave the list of partners she made up before." She opened a folder. "When I call your names please pick a seat and sit."

Alexia's mind was full of all thoughts possible, but mostly worries. Her mother would have told her if she had to leave. Had something happened to her? Had her cousin called her out for something? Had Dumbledore finally found out how to destroy Voldemort? She was so busy thinking she didn't hear her and Draco's names being called. Luckily he did.

"Alex," he tapped her shoulder and took a back seat.

"Thanks, I'm just thinking about what's wrong with my mom."

"Did you study?"

"I didn't think I had to." She bit her lip and pulled out her vile.

"Luckily for you," Draco gloated, "I did."

"I owe you bit time." She smiled and pulled out a second vile. "Here, just in case." She handed him the vile and sat back in her seat.

When everyone was finished and all the vials here labeled and everything was cleaned up, they were dismissed.

"Looks like you remembered more that you thought." Draco led the way up to the Great Hall.

"Yeah, I guess I paid more attention during class than I thought I did." She took a seat and waited until the room started to fill.

Dumbledore took his usual place in front of the mass of students and cleared his throat. "Good evening students, as you all know, tomorrow is the last day here. Tomorrow's dinner will be the very last and the House Cup will then be awarded. So make sure everything is set up, packed up, and ready to be shipped out. And until then, Tuck in." He raised his arms and the food appeared on the long house tables.

Next Morning

Alexia, as well as everyone else, was up at the crack of dawn packing and spending the rest of their time together.

Breakfast, lunch, and outside time came and went. Soon it was time for the award dinner. As everyone filed into the Great Hall flags of green and silver fell from the ceiling.

"Everyone find your seat." Professor MaGonagall clapped her hands to hurry the students.

"Welcome, and Good Evening." Dumbledore stood and took his place at the podium. "I think that it is time to award the House Cup. In the last place if Hufflepuff with 351 points, in third place is Ravenclaw with 392 points, second is Gryffindor with 469 points and in first place is Slytherin with a total of 500 points." He smiled. "Congratulations to Slytherin House for winning the House Cup. Your dedication and determination paid off."

"We did it. We've won!" Alexia cheered along with the other Slytherins.

After the feast was over everyone rode down to Hogwarts Station and boarded the train back to London. Draco, Alexia, Roger, and Sabrina shared a compartment. "Next year is our last," Sabrina sighed.

"Yeah, then we can go out and cause some trouble." Roger smiled.

Alexia stared out the window. It was hard for her to think about anything except how she was going to spend her summer. She wouldn't get to see her father, her mother would, no doubt, be spending her time with Snape, and she would have the entire place to herself. She had thought about inviting people over, but wasn't sure if she'd like that the whole summer.

"Alex, are you okay?" Draco put a hand on her arm.

"Alexia said nothing for a while and then wiped a tear away and turned to them. "Would you all like to spend the summer at my house? I'll be there alone. The house elves will tend to your every whim."

"Sounds great!" Sabrina smiled.

"Terrific." Draco felt the pin that Alexia had given him the last time her father came to visit. It was a small green and sliver circular pendant, with a trophey etched in the center.

Alexia smiled at him and put her hand on his arm.. "Can't wait." She looked into his eyes and thought she saw a glimpse of joy.

"Me either."

Roger pouted. "Looks like this is your Victourious Day, Malfoy."

Draco smirked. "Victory."