A/N: Ack! I know it's been long in coming...but here you go! Thanks to my reviewer!

Ch.10 Unsuspecting

"I don't want to talk to you." Alexa pushed her hair our of her face and continued up from the dungeons.

Blaise shrugged. "I don't really care what you want." He continued walking with her.

After a minute or two, Alexa glanced at him exasperated. "Are you just going to come up to me to say nothing? What do you want?"

"The truth."

"O, Lord. About what?"

"Lunch."

"Hmmm. No comment."

"Is it true then?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Alexa said, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Has Draco been spreading nasty little rumors about it not being true?"

"No."

"Shocking."

"Pansy has."

"I'm not surprised." She turned and kicked the wall. "Do you believe me?"

Blaise hesitated before answering. "To a certain extent, yes; it makes sense."

Alexa arched her eyebrows. "A certain extent?"

Blaise hesitated. "Well, some of the details seem a bit incredible…"

"Like?"

"The whole mother death eater thing."

"And? "

"And? Can you give me any proof?"

"Like what? List of all the dark arts spells for you that I know? Show you a picture of her displaying her dark mark?"

They had reached the portrait whole and were walking inside.

"Sure," Blaise answered sarcastically. "But really, what can you offer me…"

Alexa glanced at him. "For proof," he hastily added.

Alexa sighed. "There comes a point when I can't explain it to you anymore. And I am beyond it. So this is where you take the truth based on whether you trust me or not. So Blaise, do you believe me?"

Blaise lowered his gaze to the ground. "I don't know."

Alexa sighed, turned on foot, and went up the stairs.

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Several hours later, Alexa came down, exhausted from homework, to eat dinner. Upon entering the Great Hall, she feigned ignorance of the ugly glares she was getting from the far end of the Slytherin table and walked over to sit at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione looked up from her book as Alexa came over. "Problems?" She asked sweetly, nodding towards the Slytherins.

Alexa sighed and sat down next to Harry. "Something like that?"

"Wha don tuch asct fer atans far?" Ron asked from down the table, shoveling Shepherd's Pie into his mouth.

Alexa cocked her head. "Wha?"

"He means 'Why don't you ask for a transfer?'" Hermione translated adeptly.

Alexa shrugged. "I guess I feel like I'm causing some good there. And I like the people there."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You mean some of the people there."

"Especially one in particular, am I right Alexa?" Hermione said smugly. "Alexa doesn't want to transfer because she doesn't was to leave Blaise."

Alexa flushed but did not deny it. "It's complicated." She sighed.

"Complicated by something that happened at lunch?" Harry asked. "Sorry, I heard things around the school."

"At lunch, yes, that would be it."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, from behind her book.

"I kind of told them my life story—about my mother being a death eater."

Harry spat out his pumpkin juice, Ron choked on his spoon, and Hermione's hand froze in mid-page turn.

Hermione slowly lowered her book to the table. "What?

Alexa grimaced at having to retell her painful past again. "My mother, a death eater."

"So then, why aren't you….evil?" Harry said awkwardly.

"She died." Alexa's face was in her hands.

"Naturally?" Hermione asked.

"No. Voldemort killed her." She sat up, breathing in deeply to control her emotions. "She was a threat to him, so he killed her." She smiled sadly. "But I supposed I have to be grateful for that, or I'd be following in her footsteps."

Hermione watched her compassionately. Alexa looked up and met her eyes. "And that is my problem with Blaise."

"He doesn't believe you?" Hermione asked sympathetically.

"He wants proof, and I can't give it to him. And he has no way of finding out if I am telling the truth."

Harry patted her on the back comfortingly. "He a jerk anyways, right?"

Alexa sighed. "No, unfortunately. He's actually really nice. But unless this gets cleared up, I doubt anything will ever happen between us."

"What happened to staying neutral?" Hermione asked, bitingly.

Alexa looked up. "I still am. And I think I'm going to go to bed." She got up from the table.

"But haven't had any dinner," Ron protested, loading his plate up for the fifth time.

"I don't think I'm hungry anymore." She turned and left the Great Hall as quickly as she had come.

Hermione watched her leave. She rubbed her hands down her thighs in thoughtfulness and started as she hit a bump in her left robe pocket. She reached her hand inside and drew the object out. She looked at the object, a tiny bottle with amber-colored liquid, under the table. She glanced up at Alexa's retreating form and then covertly over at Blaise at the Slytherin table.

No way of finding out, eh? We'll see about that. Hermione grinned.

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Blaise stood up from the Slytherin table and walked, musing, out into the side hallway. He walked down the corridor, unsuspecting, until he was pushed roughly out of the middle of the hallway and into a side closet.

Blaise fumbled around in the darkness to see who had accosted him. He found a body tried to maneuver it to see who it was.

"Stop," a voice said. Female. "Lumos."

A wand, pointing towards Blaise's face lit up. Blaise looked in the wandlight at his attacker and abruptly removed his hands, disgusted.

"Hermione!" He spat, moving as if to leave the closet. "I mean, I know I'm hott, but if you think for one second that you could…"

"Blaise, shut up." She pushed him back against the wall. "You are so full of yourself; it's no wonder Alexa has problems with you." She sighed and pulled away from him, lowering her wand.

"You talk to Alexa?"

"I said shut up," she said, once more pointing her wand at his face. "Listen for once in your life instead of sticking your foot in your mouth."

Blaise clamped his mouth shut fearful, but determined not to show it.

"I know about the issue at lunch today. And I know you don't believe her. And I know or can tell how you both feel about each other. So I, out of the goodness of my heart, have resolved to help you both—though YOU certainly don't deserve it."

She reached into the folds of her robes, pulled out a tiny bottle filled with amber colored liquid, and presented it to him.

Blaise took the tiny bottle from her, confused. He looked it over and then looked up sharply. "No!" he said in amazement. "This couldn't be…"

"Felix Felicis? Yes, it could. It's the very bottle I won this afternoon. Use it well Blaise." She retreated from him and opened the closet door, stepping out into the light.

Blaise looked, awed, upon the tiny bottle in his hand and smiled.

"But know this Blaise…"

Blaise looked up rapidly.

"If you hurt her, you will answer to me." Then she turned and left, letting the door swing shut.

Blaise stared dumbfounded after her in the darkness.

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Blaise walked slowly up to the portrait hole, fingering the potion, now in his right robe pocket. He stepped through only to find Alexa, studying diligently, by the fire. Smiling at her slim figure, he pulled the tiny bottle of out his pocket and opened the lid, He took a swift, little sip; immediately he felt his senses flooded with its effects and, taking a deep, stepped forward.

"Alexa?"