Later that Night

Alexis tossed around feverishly, unable to sleep. She looked across at Draco, watching as his sides heaved gently.

At least someone can go to sleep around here, she thought. I need Sleeping Potion. At this rate, I'll be asleep face-down in my breakfast tomorrow morning.

In a last attempt, she cleared her mind until she could see and imagine nothing but nothingness. She shut her eyes tightly for what seemed like an eternity before deciding that it was no good.

What is it? The question echoed in her mind. Why can't I sleep? This is hell!

She glanced at her wristwatch in the moonlight. It was about two in the morning.

Suddenly, it was like an ice cold hand had gripped her heart. Stabs of fear coursed down her spine, making her shiver.

No, she thought, not fear. Close to fear, but not fear. Apprehension. Something bad is going to happen. Something very bad.

Tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead. They slowly dripped down her face as she instinctively curled into a ball. It was a deep, dull ache in her chest. Finally it faded away, leaving her frustrated.

She felt like banging her head against the wall. Alexis stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes before finally drifting into uneasy sleep. She'd probably never been more glad to sleep.

She jerked awake at a jet of water, wetting her sticky face gratefully.

"Hermione?" she asked groggily.

"Morning." she replied cheerfully. "You look dreadful. What time did you sleep last night?"

"Dunno. I was still up at two."

"Don't sleep that late, Aly!"

"Not my fault. I couldn't sleep."

"Well, I've got some great news!" said Hermione. Alexis could tell that Hermione was really excited, because she wasn't acting normal.

"Out with it, then." she said impatiently.

"Oh, we're getting some company!" the brown-haired girl yelled. Alexis cocked an eyebrow.

"That's it? We're getting company?"

"Oh, yeah! She's a girl around our age, and she'll be starting Hogwarts with us! Oh, and she's staying here for the rest of break. Isn't it cool?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." replied Alexis absently, because she wondering whether the apprehension she'd had last night had anything to do with…no, no, it couldn't. After all, what harm could an extra housemate do?

Unless it were Voldemort, she thought, holding back a chuckle as she imagined Voldemort masquerading as a sixteen-year-old girl.

"When's she coming?" asked Draco, whose presence Alexis had failed to notice.

"Um, sometime –" Hermione was cut off by the faint but audible knock on the Weasley's front door. "Oh my gosh!" Hermione fled out the door in barely suppressed anticipation.

Alexis and Draco exchanged glances.

"Right." said the boy. "She's a little over the moon, isn't she?"

"Too much." agreed Alexis.

"Well," Draco stood from his bed, walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I'll be heading down too, Alex. Haven't had breakfast yet." he laughed. "And I want to meet the new girl. You coming?"

"No thanks." replied Alexis nervously. "I'm not feeling too well at the moment."

"Oh, well then see you later."

"Later, Draco."

She wasn't looking forward to this. For some reason, Alexis hardly ever liked change. Well, unless it was something like the Order winning the war or the time Draco had switched sides. Right now, she was pretty much satisfied with her five group friends, not counting Ginny or Cho Chang (who was Alexis's only Ravenclaw friend apart from perhaps Luna Lovegood).

Five minutes later, Alexis was still on her bed, head resting against the wall and jaw (surprisingly) clenched.

This is absolutely silly, she thought. I'm being stupid and I know it. She evaluated her situation.

Yep, definitely. Since when do people act on pure feeling, even if they've been right before? And since when do I feel apprehensive about a sixteen-year-old girl? I'm going downstairs. I'm crazy.

Don't, some part of her rebelled. You won't like it.

How do I know? She snapped at herself, silly as that was to do. All the same, she didn't shift her position, not even her sore clenched jaw, until she heard footsteps. It turned out to be Harry's footsteps.

"Morning. You've heard?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, I don't like the look of her. The likes of her even having a chance of being in the Order? No way!"

"Y-you don't?" she asked, before scolding herself for acting so jittery.

"See for yourself." he answered, then dragged her onto her feet and steered her out of the room.