Draco pulled Addie into a carriage heading towards the school and the two sat looking at each other in silence.
"What do I say to her? Why's she just staring at me like that? Look away I can't take it! Fine if you wont look away I will! She hasn't changed at all. Heck if she were wearing what she wore the last time I saw her no one would ever know a year has passed her by. Wait… is that a sign that maybe she's really been in her grave the whole time? Is this a sick joke being played on me? Just talk Draco! Say something! Anything! Open your damn mouth, move your lips and speak! Oh I'm pathetic." Giving up Draco slumped back in his seat.
"My names not Hailey is it? We were close weren't we? and you and Harry hate each other right? Why? Did I go to this school ever before? How long have we known ea.."
"Addie whoa slow down." Draco laughed. "One at a time. But no you're name's not Hailey it's Adele Elissa Verdandi. I call you Addie though and you called me Drae ha I've actually missed that name. We've known each other since we were babies but always argued and fought. Some thought it was hate but it really wasn't. It just took us a while to accept the fact we were attracted to each other. And yes Potter and I despise one another. We have ever since first year and always will. Even you've hated him since first year. Me and you have had some good times makin him mad. Once we snuck into the Gryffindor common room and"
"Set off a stink bomb and lit some stuff on fire…right?" Addie grinned looking hopeful at Draco.
"Yeah… you remember that?"
"No… I had a dream of it about a week ago." She sadly smiled "But you said it took us a while to figure out were attracted to each other. Did we go out? Were we… were we in love?
The carriage stopped with sudden halt causing Addie to nearly fall off her seat and Draco to hit his head on the side. Even though there was a dull pain in the side of his head and still in his chest he barely noticed it. What could he tell her? Wouldn't it be unnerving in a way for her to find out what was really between them? That is if she's telling the truth of her coma. She'll just have to remember on her own, but he could tell her anything and she'd believe him. If he hadn't loved her so much he would have messed with her mind.
"Come on Addie we gotta get going before these things take off again." He stepped out of the carriage and held out his hand to help her down. She looked at him questionably and took his hand firmly in her own.
While walking towards the castle Addie whispered in Draco's ear.
"Guess what." she smiled wryly
"What?" Draco smirked
"You're…it" She playfully pushed him and started running off laughing.
Around her Draco couldn't help but to laugh and so after her he went. They ended up knocking people over, slipping, falling themselves, but he caught her by lunging at her. People laughed at them and whispered things but neither of them paid any attention. It didn't matter. Draco noticed though that no one recognized her. It was as if none of them had ever seen her before. He knew damn well that everybody in the school new who she was even before the so called murder. What was this all about? People were actually asking him who his new girlfriend was and other girls were actually mad at him for finding someone "new" and abandoning the "dead Adele".
"If only they knew." Draco thought to himself
"Where are we going anyway? And all of these people can really do magic?" Addie asked in disbelief.
"We're going to the Great Hall to watch the sorting hat and eat. You seriously don't remember any of this? And yeah of course they can that's why they're here."
"Draco how many times do I have to tell you no I can't remember any of this!"
"Aw come on Addie you have to realize I thought you were dead! And now out of nowhere you're back and unable to remember anything!"
"Dead? You mean it's really true? That article where it said I was murdered.. You're sure that was me?" Addie was now wide eyed in horror.
"I'll tell you everything after dinner now's not the best time there's too many people around ok?"
"Hailey! Hey come on we're gonna be late and miss everything if you don't hurry up!" Hermione grabbed her and pulled her away from Draco before another word could be spoken between them. A crowd of students swept in between them separating them completely.
"Why do you always do that? I can handle myself! Damn Granger back off!" With that said Addie tried to leave but Harry dragged her to the table and got her to sit down.
"I'll get them for this. I swear I will. Dragging me somewhere I don't want to be. Acting like they care. Who do they think they are? Aw geeze I should be grateful they're being so kind. But nooo I wanted to talk to Draco! Oh my god Draco where is he?" Frantically Addie looks around but there were far too many people around.
"So Hailey how come I don't remember ever seeing you here before? What year are you in?" Hermione asked rather coldly.
"Year six, transferred" She said barely paying attention and standing up to get a better look around for a platinum blond haired boy.
"Ah I see what school did you say you came from before?" She now asked raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't." Addie smiled wryly changing the subject to last year. "So Herms. Can I call you Herms? Ok great. Anyway what was last year like here?"
"Oh well last year was a rather sad year.. Very tragic, right Ron?" Hermione now turned to Ron who was too busy waiting for food to show up.
"Oh what? Ah right sure very tragic indeed. Ey Harry when you s'pose the foods gonna show up?"
"After the sorting hat as always Ron." Harry laughed
As if Harry's words were a cue Dumbledore stood up and McGonagall walked in with new students lined up behind her.
"Everybody settle down please. Thank you. I'd like to say welcome to all who are here and I hope you're ready for another year of adventure and learning." He spoke on with a rather lengthy speech but, soon it was time to sort students into their houses. The hat was held for everyone to see and to the first years they were surprised when the hat cleared its throat and spoke.
Name after name, house after house, until all students were put in their proper places. Everybody including Dumbledore thought that the ceremony was over but once more the hat cleared his throat.
"You, come here!" it growled.
Addie was pulled from her seat and thrown in the stool rather roughly from some unknown force for all to see.
"Professor what do we-"
"Minerva" Dumbledore cut in looking sternly upon the hat and the girl. "Lets see what the hat has to say." he sighed sitting back down.
McGonagall placed the hat gingerly upon Addie's head but it slid down until it rested on her brow.
"AHHH what's happening? What IS this thing gonna do to me? Ewe.. it smells... Bad.." Addie's heart pounded but soon the fear faded when she at last spotted platinum blonde hair at a table on the far left side.
"Ah lets see what's become of you…" The hat poked and prodded through the pages of Addie's mind. "I see. This is not as easy as it once was. You're not who you were…you're not influenced. You are still bold, inquisitive, I dare say ambitious to say the least, cunning, and mischievous which would instantly put you in the Slytherin House. The difference from before is your heart. You love, you feel, you dare. Oh you can be great but where to put you?" For a long moment the hat was silent but whispers of students filled the Great Hall. Suddenly causing her to jump the hat spoke once more.
"Stubborn still as always." it gruffly chuckled and then coughed.
"Ravenclaw? No…no that wont work. Hufflepuff? You're loyal. Very loyal indeed…that says a lot about a person you know. How about…Gryffindor? Oh.. I see…yesss I see it all too clearly now…" Sadly the hat shook its head and like a beast it stalked upon its prey, diving deeper into the recesses of her mind. If she could she would have torn the hat off from her head, but she dared not move, she was incapable of doing so. All the while she stared at Draco and he relentlessly stared at her until someone whispered in his ear saying something to cause him to turn away.
"Damn she's fine. I can't wait to get a hold of her, if ya catch my drift, but who is she?"
At hearing those words Draco coldly stared across the table at his good friend Blaise Zabini who stared at Adele practically drooling. Draco knew what Zabini was envisioning. That in his mind he was taking Addie's clothes off piece by piece ready to devour what lay underneath. Casually Malfoy leaned towards Blaise with a smirk on his face like he was going to reveal something good and he motioned for Blaise to do the same. In a swift movement Draco grabbed Zabini by the collar of his robs when he was close enough.
"You touch her and I swear I'll-"
"Let go of him Draco no need to cause trouble already." Professor Snape cut in, in a rather monotone voice.
With one last glare Draco shoved Blaise back into his seat who glared just as cruelly back.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted causing the Gryffindor's to shout in joy. Well all except Addie who just sat dumbly on the stool even after McGonagall took the hat away saying, "Come on dear, go join your house."
"That's not my house, change it! please!" McGonagall just shook her head and pushed Addie away who was on the verge of tears. She looked despertly at Draco who looked even more pale than usual and in shock. It just wasn't right to be a Gryffindor. The whole table turned quite in disbelief when they realized that the girl was actually begging to not be in their house and McGonagall was trying to drag her to the table when she refused.
"Put me in Slytherin right now! I refuse to be in the same room as these-"
"Let go, I'll deal with her." Snape hissed, grabbing Addie and dragginf her outside of the Great Hall.
Snape lifted Addie's chin and looked her over. "What's your name?" he asked.
Addie was about to say Adele but rethought that and said, "It's…Hailey, Hailey Alill…sir"
At that Snape just raised his brow in disbelief. "You lie."
"Why would I lie about my name?" She asked trying to act innocent, looking up at him with big sad teary eyes and a trembling lower lip.
For a moment Snape looked horrified, it reminded him of that dead girl but he regained his composer before the girl would notice.
"Why is it.. you want to be in the Slytherin House? Why not Gryffindor it's got Potter, the boy who lived."
Without realizing, Addie sneered at the mentioning of Harry and his friends. She had no reason to dislike him, heck she just met him! And he had been nothing but nice to her. Well ok she could admit that he was annoying at time thinking he was Mr. Know-it-all but that couldn't really be helped now, could it?
"Well.." Snape smiled, if it was possible. "I'll be keeping my eye on you." And with that he started walking away, but as he neared the Great Hall he looked back with a look of disbelief and then proceeded to move on.
"What the hell was that about? "I'll be keeping an eye on you." Whatever. He can go watch himself. I can't believe I'm in Gryffindor… The goodie goodie's. They think they're so0o won…" She stopped barely recognizing her own words. "Wonderful……" she finished. Suddenly the thought of having to live with them hit her and she clenched her fists. "Fine if that's what they want, that'll be what they get." and she herself walked back into the Great Hall.
"Where are they sitting?" she thought sighing. "Oh there's Harry and Neville." she spotted and gloomily walked over to them and squeezed in between them.
"So Hailey is everything ok?" Harry asked with concern.
"Yeah Harry I'm fine." She convincingly smiled. "Thanks"
"Jerk! Stop talking to me and being nice. You can't be nice to me you're...you're just…"She silently growled and gave up, grabbing a chicken leg in front of her. As soon as she was about to bite into it she gasped in horror.
"Aww Hails it's just Nearly Headless Nick." Ron laughed looking to and from Hailey to the ghost that just appeared but Hailey ignored them both and stared at the boy next to her.
"Neville?" She gapped.
"Umm… yeah.. Do I know you?"
Addie smiled and pushed on. "You've got a frog too don't you?"
"Yeah I do." He smiled awkwardly. "But I keep-"
"Losing him right?" She asked in awe that she knew this.
"Yeah I do. How'd you know that?"
"Harry I remembered!" Without thinking she hugged him and laughed and he did the same, slightly blushing.
Hermione sat there watching the whole scene before her and she knew just then something was wrong. This girl Hailey was a fraud and she would find out who she was and what she was up to no matter what.
"How would you know who Neville was and that frog of his if this is your first day here?" Hermione asked casually.
"Oh she's good" Addie thought to herself. She never realized she'd have to watch her step all that much but now she would. She'd weave a web of lies if she had to in order to get Hermione off her back.
"I used to know someone who went here. But yeah… She told me she thought it was funny how this kid was always looking for his frog."
"I see." Hermione said looking skeptical. "What was her name?"
"Now's the time to shake things up see peoples reactions." Addie inwardly grinned to herself.
"Her name was Adele.." As soon as Addie said that everybody around her became silent.
"You knew Adele? That answers some things…" Hermione mumbled.
"Now to seal the deal." without warning Addie covered her face and started crying. "She was my best friend. Why w-would s-someone d-do that to her!" Addie sobbed.
"You just had to ask didn't you Hermione?" Harry frowned, wrapping his arm around the sobbing figures waist.
"Oh don't start that with me Harry. I'll prove you all wrong just watch!" With that Hermione left.
From a distance Draco watched scowling. How dare Potter touch her. That was his girl and no one. I repeat no one would take her from him, now not even death. As soon as Harry started rubbing her back Draco stabbed a knife into the table and stalked out of the Great Hall.
"I don't need her. I have to get over her. All of this is a hallucination or something and I'll wake up to find she's not there." Draco paced around the Slytherin common room unsure of what to think. "Just stop thinking. Yeahhh that's it." At that thought Draco slumped down into a chair and relaxed in front of the fire all the while playing tricks on the incoming first years. Soon he drifted off into a fitful sleep.
"Hey…what's wrong? What happened, tell me." Draco demanded from Addie who stood before him with tears streaming down her face.
For a long moment the two stood there looking at each other and suddenly her hand made contact with his face, leaving a red mark.
"I HATE YOU!" she screamed turning away to run.
"Addie wait!" he shouted grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her towards him. "Tell me what the bloody hell's going on." Draco growled glaring down at her squeezing her wrist even tighter. Addie collapsed to the floor sobbing, struggling to break free of his hold.
"I thought you loved me Draco…" She finally breathed at last, out of breath, staring up at him, her eyes filled with unbearable pain.
"Why Draco? Out of all things…why'd you have to go and do that?"
In his mind Draco tried to go over what happened, what you did to have possibly hurt her then it hit him. There was a party, the Slytherin Quidditch team won a game against Gryffindor and they partied…big time. Some of the older guys brought in liquor, a lot of it. The problem was Draco couldn't remember anything that happened that night.
"Noooo" Draco groaned realizing what happened. The night was such a blur but he vaguely remembered a hand a little too high on his thigh, his shirt being taken off and lots and lots of alcohol .