A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Especially NelStar7- you made me decide to go ahead and write another chapter today! I really appreciate all the feedback so keep it coming! Also, it was brought to my attention that I didn't include information on how you are supposed to pronounce Alysious' name (I know it's kind of strange, but J.K. Rowling always uses interesting names, so I thought I would follow suit. Anyways, it is supposed to be pronounced Uh-lih-see-us. Thanks guys! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Six

It was a long night for both Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. Neither one of them was injured to the point where they needed to be kept in the hospital wing overnight, but Dumbledore insisted upon it. They lay in their respected beds across the room from each other, refusing to speak. Just then, the doors swung wide open, allowing access into the room for Dumbledore. He strode into the room, looking troubled.

"Your actions were despicable. I am surprised and distressed that you two have let something like this happen in the middle of Hogwarts." Dumbledore spoke calmly. Neither one of the boys spoke, so Dumbledore continued. "I have spoken with both the Heads of your houses, and we have decided that the only way to prevent this kind of event from happening again between you two is…" Dumbledore paused, looking sad, "expulsion from Hogwarts." At this, both Harry and Draco shouted in outrage. After a few moments, the boys were sitting silently, but fuming.

"Of course, I do not believe that the person who was assaulted should also be punished for this act, so after concluding who instigated the fight, I will make my final decision. For now, you will resume your regular activities and attend classes when they begin next week." Dumbledore turned silently and left the wing.

The whole school seemed to find out that Draco was being expelled from Hogwarts mere minutes after he had found out himself. The next day Draco had planned on staying holed up in his room for the whole day, refusing to be tortured by his fellow peers. Everyone seemed to have turned against him. They saw him as the guy who tried to hurt Harry Potter, the guy who was so enveloped in evil and Lord Voldemort that he couldn't control himself when around Harry. Draco was not very popular with most of the school, with the exception of his Slytherin friends. Blaise Zabini had come to visit him once that day, but only briefly. Alysious had not come to see him at all.

Draco's brain was in a constant migraine as he mulled everything over. Expulsion all for nothing, because obviously Alysious didn't care what he had done… she was probably nursing over the Chosen One right now, her mind empty of Draco. It was right at that moment of thought that Draco heard a soft knock on his door. Hermione peeked her head in.

"You have a visitor…" she smiled knowingly as she pushed the door open farther, revealing a timid Alysious. Draco's chest pulsated with excitement and thankfulness as he walked over and let her in, closing the door quickly. Alysious sat on his bed, her eyes sad.

"It's all my fault, Draco…" she started, her eyes rapidly filling up with tears. "And now you're going to be expelled from school… what are you going to do? You'll never forgive me, I'm just sure of it…" Draco just stared at her.

She must be absolutely insane. Draco thought to himself.

"Don't be ridiculous. You didn't force me to go do that… I didn't mean for it to become what it did… well, yes, maybe I did…" Draco pondered. He sat down beside her awkwardly. He put his arm around her and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Don't blame yourself for my actions." Alysious smiled -just barely- at him, but he noticed.

"The whole school thinks…" Alysious started.

"Let them think what they want. I don't care." Draco moved closer so that his face was inches away from hers. Their lips met with a burst of electricity so that both their bodies tingled in the aftershock. Alysious kissed him hungrily, wanting to be as close to him as she could. Draco heard a soft moan escape her mouth and become lost in his own throat. He plunged deeper into the kiss and maneuvered himself over her.

Alysious, lost in the moment, didn't notice until seconds after the fact that Draco had unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and was sliding his hand softly down, down, down. She pulled Draco's shirt off of him, revealing his muscles defined and rippling. Copying Alysious, Draco began pulling her shirt off in anticipation. Both of them were quickly bare from the waist up, and Draco cupped Alysious' right breast and began massaging it softly, his thumb lingering ever so slightly over her hardened nipple. Alysious moaned quietly, her eyes closed. She reached up and grabbed a handful of his hair with her left hand, her right hand tracing the muscles on his back. Draco hardened against her, subconsciously putting more and more pressure on her as he leaned into the pleasure.

Suddenly, Alysious stopped. She let go, stopped kissing him, and her face turned an amazingly red color. Draco was dumbfounded. Nothing like this had ever, ever happened to him right before he had sex. Not knowing what to do, Draco quickly pulled himself off her.

"Is something…wrong?" Draco questioned, completely confused and embarrassed of his obvious arousal. Alysious looked speechless, and then began scrambling for her bra and shirt.

"No, no, nothing…I just… I don't want to go much further…" Alysious stopped what she was doing and looked up at Draco. He looked utterly mystified.

What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean! Draco thought.

"I didn't mean to…" Draco started.

"No, Draco, don't apologize. I'm sorry, I just got a little caught up in the moment… I mean, I've never actually, well, you know…" Alysious looked away, ashamed.

"You're a virgin?" Draco asked bluntly. Alysious looked up at him meekly and nodded slowly. Draco smiled warmly at her. He had a new respect for this girl. Never before had he dated someone so innocent, so loving, and so free of preconceived judgment. Alysious smiled back at him, and the moment of awkwardness was forever lost.

Harry Potter sat in his dormitory, thinking about everything that happened. He fought with himself mentally for over an hour trying to decide how to fix a number of his problems. Finally, he decided there was only one way. He hopped out of bed, a new look of determination on his face, and walked to the familiar gargoyles guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Caramel drops." Harry spoke, as the gargoyles jumped out of the way. He walked up the spiral staircase and knocked on the heavy door.

"Enter," a voice called from behind the door.

Ginny Weasley was sitting alone in the common room, reading a book recommended to her from Hermione. She sat snuggled up in one of the big chairs by the fireplace, lost in a world of imagination so that she didn't even notice when Harry first entered through the portrait.

"Studying to become next Head Girl are you?" Harry walked over to her, smiling. Ginny looked up and blushed.

"It's nothing serious. Just fiction." She never had gotten over her crush for him. "Where have you been, it's after midnight?" Ginny suddenly asked him.

"Promise not to tell?" Harry asked her seriously as he took a seat in the chair across from her. Ginny nodded as she set her book on the floor. "I went and spoke to Dumbledore about… the incident…" Harry started. He took a deep breath. "I told him I started the fight."

"Harry! You're going to get expelled! All for stupid Malfoy!" Ginny cried, throwing herself at him in an embrace. Harry took her in his arms.

"See, that's the beauty of it. Dumbledore can't expel me because I don't have anywhere to go. The Dursley's won't take me back, and nowhere else is safe for me right now. I'm kind of stuck at Hogwarts." Harry smirked at the cute redhead.

"Why would you lie for Malfoy?" Ginny questioned. "You hate him, remember? He attacked you for god's sake."

"He attacked me because…" Harry sighed. "because I was hurting Alysious. And as much as I hate to admit it… he really does care about her." Harry paused. "I care about her too. She's one of my very best friends and I don't want to lose that. I know she would be upset if Malfoy was kicked out, so… I wanted to be a good friend for her." Harry finished and looked for Ginny's approval.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like she always wanted to.

The next few weeks were rather uneventful. After Harry talked to Dumbledore, and made him promise to keep things anonymous, Draco was allowed to stay and school resumed normalcy. Classes started, and everyone was suddenly frantically busy with homework and studying. Alysious and Draco were spending as much time together as they could possibly manage, as were Harry and Ginny. Something was changing in all the different relationships. Things were going steadily uphill for Draco and Alysious and Harry and Ginny. Ron and Hermione's relationship seemed to be fizzling fast on the other hand. They were constantly fighting and rarely spent any time with one another. Everyone was worried they were quickly approaching another one of their well-known breakups.

Everyone was equally excited about the first approaching Hogsmeade trip. It was the only flare of excitement in the entire castle, and helped to give a needed boost for all the seventh year students' morals.

As the day to go into Hogsmeade quickly approached, everyone had decided on bringing dates. Despite their bickering, Ron and Hermione had decided to go with one another and meet the group in the Three Broomsticks for drinks.

The day of the excursion, Draco dressed himself in a pair of loose denim jeans, and a dark blue vintage shirt. Alysious wore a pair of snug dark denim jeans and pale pink tank top. Her hair fell loosely down her back and she wore light makeup for the unusually warm September day. Draco met her outside the Gryffindor common room with a single white rose.

"For you, my love," Draco mock-bowed and smirked at her. Alysious giggled and took it graciously.

"Thank you darling! How very kind of you…" Alysious tucked it gently behind her ear, making her look even more lovely. They held hands and Draco kissed her forehead gently.

"You look great by the way." Draco said as they began walking to the carriages to take them to Hogsmeade.

"Thank you," Alysious smiled at him as she watched his eyes gaze over her. "You look devastatingly handsome yourself. You had better watch yourself, I may not be able to control myself…" Alysious smirked when his eyebrows shot up.

"What exactly do I have to do so that you can no longer control yourself? Please, I'm begging to know…" Draco whispered huskily in her ear. Alysious felt goose bumps erupt on her skin like thousands of tiny pin pricks. Draco noticed them and kissed the sensitive area beneath her ear. She sighed happily and glanced up at him.

"You are tempting…" she laughed. Draco hunched over so that Alysious could hop on his back piggyback style and he carried her all the way down to where the carriages waited.

Harry and Ginny were already sitting comfortably inside one of the carriages and waved at Draco and Alysious.

"Meet you in Hogsmeade, then?" Harry called out at them.

"Sounds good! Where are Ron and Hermione? I hope they will make it…" Alysious said as she patted Draco's head underneath her.

"I haven't seen them yet." Ginny shrugged. At that point, Draco spotted an open carriage and waved goodbye to Harry and Ginny as he carried Alysious over to it. The two had only been sitting alone for a few precious seconds when Ron and Hermione came bustling in to join them.

"Where have you been? We were all worried that you weren't going to come!" Alysious cried, leaning forward to give her best friend a hug. Draco openly took this opportunity to check out what Alysious had to offer from the back. He smiled contently with himself.

"We, erm, well, we were talking…" Hermione lied, blushing and looking secretively over at Ron. He had his hands thrown behind his head and was looking quite pleased with himself.

"Yep… that's what we were doing." He defended Hermione.

The carriages started their journey to Hogsmeade and everybody began to talk. Before they knew it, they were walking through the gates to their favorite shops and pubs. Harry and Ginny already had occupied a table for everyone in the Three Broomsticks, so Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Alysious all sat down together. Everything felt awkward between the group.

"So…" Alysious tried to break the silence. "Drinks, then?" Everyone agreed.

"How are your quidditch practices coming along Draco?" Ginny asked unabashed. Draco looked up suddenly, and coughed nervously.

"Erm… pretty okay…" he responded awkwardly. "You?" He asked. Ginny smiled at him warmly.

"He's cute, Alysious." Ginny scrunched up her nose with a big smile. The group continued drinking until all tensions were released.

"Okay, okay… I have an idea," Ron slurred slightly and everybody laughed. "Lets play a little game… truth or dare?" Everyone glanced around excited.

"I'll start!" Hermione raised her hand. "Ginny! Truth or dare?" Hermione laughed.

"Umm… dare, " Ginny looked devilishly over at Harry.

"Okay. I dare you to…." Hermione looked up at the ceiling in thought, "spin your wand on the table and kiss whoever it points at." Hermione finished looking very satisfied. Ginny giggled.

"Okay…" Ginny took out her wand and spun it expertly on the table. A few sparks shot out the end at first, and then it began slowing down. It pointed in-between Alysious and Draco. The group laughed. Ginny looked over at Hermione. "Redo?" she asked.

"No, pick your poison." Hermione giggled. Ginny stood up grinning and walked around the table so that she was on Alysious' side.

"Alysious could you please stand up?" Ginny asked. Alysious stood, feeling jealous someone was about to kiss Draco. Suddenly, she was pulled into a short kiss by Ginny. All the guys in the pub stopped whatever they were doing and stared.

"YES!" Draco shouted, unaware he was no longer thinking inside his head. Everybody whooped as the two girls sat down.

"No offense, Draco, but I don't know where you've been…" Ginny said sarcastically. "I hope I didn't freak you out too much Alysious… I only want to be friends…" everyone laughed loudly. "Okay, I choose Harry." Ginny said.

"Erm…truth…" Harry said embarrassed.

"Oh, come on Harry! Live a little!" Ginny pushed him. "Fine, fine…" Ginny took another shot. "The last time you got off, who were you thinking about?" Everyone gasped and Harry looked mortified.

"Ginny! You can't ask me that!" Harry took a large swallow of his drink and finished it off in one gulp.

"I just did, now answer!" Ginny fell onto his shoulder. Harry looked quickly around the table. Nobody was making eye contact with him, but everybody was snickering quietly.

"Zoranda Starfig," Harry muttered. Everyone exploded in laughter. Ron slapped him on the back. Zoranda was a famous witch model that was very beautiful, and rumored to be part veela.

"That skinny bitch?" Ginny huffed. Hermione and Alysious each glared at their respected dates as all the boys shared a moment where they reflected on Zoranda.

"Alright, alright," Harry broke the chatter. "Draco, truth or dare?" Harry asked. Draco smirked.

"Dare." He said boldly. This was not the answer Harry had been hoping for.

"Erm, okay, I dare you to tell us about your first love. If you had one." Harry added. Draco looked shocked and looked over at Alysious. She was busy giggling over something silly with Hermione. Draco cleared his throat.

"Her name was…. Rose. We met when I was sixteen, so two years ago. She was the first girl I ever felt any kind of emotional connection with. But, soon after things started becoming more… serious… she left school. I don't know why… she never tried to contact me again." Draco finished.

"Lame." Ron muttered, and then started snickering again. Hermione punched his shoulder. Everything seemed to have eased up between the group, and they all acted almost like…friends.

It was growing dark outside, so the group decided to call it a day. Everyone piled into the carriages and started the path back to Hogwarts.

A/N: Sorry, I know it's not a super eventful chapter, but there were a few things that needed to come up before I started on some of the later chapters. Important information, you know… Okay well, I'll try and update soon, and please don't forget to review! Thanks!