Disclaimer: I really detest having doing these, but I think it's the right thing to do. Sadly I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did. I could use that kind of profit. All Well, at least I can pretend to on this website. Now, onto the the feature presentation! Ta Da!
Chapter 3
Sparks at First Sight
What if I told you
It was all meant to be
Would you believe me
Would you for real
It's almost that feelin'
We met before
So, tell me that you
Don't think I'm crazy
When I tell you love
Has come here and now...
A moment like this
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this
Some people search forever
For that one special kiss
Oh, I can't believe it's happenin' to me
Some people wait a lifetime
For a moment like this-
"A Moment Like This"
Kelly Clarkson
Draco stood off in a little more secluded spot with Blaise, sipping some kind of alcoholic drink he had managed to find. The supply never ran short, so that was the only upside to this already boring party. Nothing interesting had happened yet. Many of the students were dancing to a Weird Sisters' song. He hadn't seen Jezebel or this newly improved Alana that she had promised to bring with her. Not that he was waiting to see Alana! He had told himself that all of yesterday and all day today. But, a part of him kept arguing that he needed to give her a chance. It was just a small part, though.
" Where is Sinclaire?" Blaise yelled. " She's the hostess! She should be here!"
" Who knows!" Draco answered, throwing back the rest of his drink. " I'm going to get more! Do you want something?"
" No, and be careful how many of those you have! I'm not going to help you back tonight if you get drunk!" Blaise replied with a smirk.
" Aw, come on! You know I can hold my liquor!" He shouted back, throwing his hands up in the air to exaggerate his point.
As he made his way to the refreshment table, Draco spotted Jezebel making her way towards the Golden Trio. She was pulling a girl that he didn't reconize, but Damn! was she hot! All of the pink she wore made her sapphire eyes stand out like no tomorrow. Her hair was just perfect, too.
" Wait a minute! Only one of Jezebel's friends has sapphire eyes. No, it can't be...Alana?" He thought.
Draco glanced at his empty cup, shrugged, and kept going towards the refreshment table.
" Maybe Blaise is right. I shouldn't have too much alcohol tonight." He said to himself as he poured himself another drink. " I'm already seeing things that aren't there."
Jezebel walked up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione with Alana and Ginny in tow. Ginny ran past her and flung her arms around Harry, who laughed and caught her easily. He kissed her briefly before putting his arms around her waist and holding her close. Alana sighed. She had always wanted a boyfriend like that. One that would hold her in his arms and treat her with respect.
" Hi, guys! What's going on?" Jezebel asked over the music.
" Not much! Hey! Is that Alana Kaligaris?" Hermione asked, looking at Alana in shock.
" Nice to see you, too, Mione!" Alana yelled, happy that it was dimly lit in there so they couldn't see the blush creeping up on her cheeks.
" Oh my God, you look fantastic!" She shrieked, pulling Alana into an embrace.
She giggled into Hermione's hair. She had always liked the Gryffindor bookworm. Many people said that they were so much a like, except that Alana wasn't as opinionated as Hermione and tended to be a little more quiet. Once Alana managed to escape from Hermione's arms, Cleo came up to her and thrusted a drink into her hand. It looked and smelled like Vodka, and she gave her a weird look.
" Cleo, you know that I don't drink Vodka!" Alana shouted.
" Just try it!" She urged her. " Besides, it's not that bad! It's been mixed with tonic water and lime!"
Alana took a tiny sip, and her eyes began to burn from the strength. She'd had alcohol before, being Greek, and was more of a Shiraz person. But after a few more sips, it wasn't as bad. She felt a little more relaxed and started to talk easier. After staying with the Golden Trio awhile longer, Jezebel whisked her away again. Alana knew that she was on the prawl and would be that way all night, introducing her to different people to help her social life.
" Come on! We have to find Malfoy and Zabini! They should be looking for us!" She explained as they made their way through the crowd.
" Why are they looking for us?" Alana asked, curiously.
" That's for me to know, and you to find out!" Jezebel answered as she spotted the two boys.
At the moment, Draco was trying to shake Pansy off of him. She looked even sluttier than ever in a black, leather, corset top and a short, black, mini skirt with black fishnet tights underneith. Jezebel turned to Alana, and they both exchanged an amused look. When they got closer, Draco had just managed to push Pansy off of him.
" Hey, Malfoy! Did you miss me?" Jezebel asked with a smirk.
" No, not really, but at least the party will get a little more interesting now!" He replied, matching it perfectly.
" You remember my friend, Alana, don't you?" She asked, pulling Alana up beside her.
Draco looked down at Alana with an emotionless face, but his eyes were barely suppressing his shock and surprise. His heart gave that funny leap again. It was her! Alana looked up at him with those intense eyes of hers, and they bore into his. They both instantly felt a spark deep inside of them, but didn't understand it. Pansy wrapped her arm around Draco's and looked down her nose at the Ravenclaw Prefect.
" Why would she interest, my Drakie?" Pansy asked, snootily. " Not trying to get him to dump me, are you, Sinclaire?"
" Not at all, Parkinson! I would never dream of it!" Jezebel lied, through her teeth.
Jezebel wanted Draco to leave Pansy, but she wasn't really trying to get him and Alana together. She had just thought it would be funny to prove him wrong about her, and it had been well worth it to see the look in his eyes when he first looked at Alana. Then, Jezebel felt Alana tense up in her grip. She pulled her wrist out of her hands and looked at Pansy; her eyes flashing with a look Jezebel had only seen Alana give people when she was severely annoyed. A smile twisted on her lips as if she knew a special secret that everyone else did not.
" If you're implying that I'd steal your little boyfriend, then you're sadly mistaken, Miss Parkinson! Just get that through that abnormally thick head of yours, okay?" Alana said, irritation evident in her tone.
Pansy lifted her eyebrows in amusement and stepped towards her. She sized her up arrogantly, putting her hands on her hips. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but didn't show that her anger was raging inside.
" Is Lil Miss Perfect challenging me?" Pansy asked with a smirk.
" No, I'm just saying to watch what you say, Princess!" She retorted, she said the last word mockingly before turning her back to her to walk away.
Pansy's face turned dark, and she went for her wand, but Alana turned around and pointed hers at her throat. The other fours' eyes widened at the normally peaceful and mousy girl. Draco smirked without realizing it. She had a quick temper that was for sure.
" Don't even think about it! I know spells that you probably haven't even seen in your wildest dreams!" Alana threatened through her teeth.
She lowered her wand slowly, obviously pleased with herself, and walked away swiftly. Pansy subconsciously put a hand to her throat; her eyes still impossibly wide. Jezebel smirked after her friend before turning back to Draco. She gave him an I-told-you-so look before saying, " Excuse me!"
She rushed off after Alana, who was at the refreshment table drinking a glass of water. Draco watched her, still unable to believe what had just occured there.
" Well, that little wretch better watch it around me from now on!" Pansy ranted, before facing Draco angrily. " Why didn't you do anything? You're supposed to protect me"
" Why? You had things under control, Pansy! A big girl like you should be able to take care of herself!" Draco drawled, boredly.
" Hmph!" Pansy huffed as she stalked away.
" Well..." Blaise commented at last. " that was quite...interesting!"
Draco just kept smirking as he looked at Alana. Jezebel put a hand on Alana's shoulder as she downed her fourth glass of water.
" Whoa! Slow down, Miss Kickass! What has gotten into you? That was amazing!" Jezebel yelled.
" I'm never drinking Vodka, again!" Alana answered, pouring herself a fifth glass.
" Why not? It makes you the woman you were born to be!" Jezebel replied.
" Whatever!" Alana said after downing that glass too, before filling her cup with Shiraz that she had managed to find. " I'm sticking to wine from now on, if you don't mind!"
" Heh heh, you keep surprising me everyday!" Jezebel said, putting an arm around her shoulder as they walked off together. " I think you gave Malfoy quite a shocker, too! Did you see his face? It was priceless!"
" Jez, you aren't really trying to set me up with Malfoy, are you?!" Alana asked, looking at her.
Jezebel turned to Alana, shocked by the sincerity and straight-forwardness of her question. She looked into the Grecian girl's sapphire eyes and smiled before she led her around the room.
" Unless you want me to, no! I was only trying to shock Malfoy at how wrong he and Zabini were about you, Alana! I think I'll leave you to the job of stealing Malfoy's ice cold heart!" Jezebel explained with a smirk.
" Ha, me and Malfoy! That's a weird picture! We're so totally different!" Alana laughed.
" Not as different as you think." Jezebel thought while looking at Alana's face.
After another hour or so of chit-chat, Jezebel went off to dance with Blaise, leaving Alana alone. She just stood up against the very back wall, watching her friend have fun, while she finished off her Shiraz. The songs had gotten a little less noisy by now, and she was happy about that. Now, she could avoid another pounding headache besides Jezebel. Her thoughts had absorbed her by the time Draco came up to her with two drinks in his hand. He cleared his throat loudly to get her attention after she didn't notice him for the first thirty seconds. Alana turned her head and looked a little shocked to see him.
" I saw that you ran out, so I'd thought that I'd be a gentleman and bring you another." Draco explained, handing the glass to her.
Alana smiled at the gesture and threw her empty cup into a nearby trash bin. Draco stood next to her and leaned up against the wall casually. As she watched the dancing, Alana took a sip of her wine and almost spat it out. Shiraz! How had he known? Draco saw her give the cup a weird look, and the corners of his mouth lifted upwards slightly.
" You looked like a Shiraz person." Draco explained, looking forwards again.
She looked at him in confusion before doing the same as him. Alana sipped her Shiraz and calmed down again. The air was a little tense around them, but neither seemed to care. They were just enjoying each other's company, even though they'd never admit it.
" So, where did the Princess go? I would have thought that she'd be trailing after you like a little, lost puppy." Alana asked.
Draco chuckled and took a sip of his drink before answering.
" Well, a few minutes after your "chat" with her, Pansy left. She said that the company of this party wasn't up to her high standards. In other words, she couldn't find anymore girls to pamper her or boys to flirt with." He explained. " Good ridense, too. Now, I won't have to deal with her. I should be thanking you, Kaligaris."
" You don't like her?" Alana asked in surprise.
Draco looked down at her and shook his head with a smirk.
" Naww. Truthfuly, I can't stand Pansy. I'm only with her because I don't have the time or energy to find another girlfriend." He replied, simply.
" I don't get it when people do that. How can you be with someone that you can't stand?" Alana said, more to herself than him, looking out at the people again. " I'd think that you'd want to be with someone who makes you happy. All well, what do I know? I'm just a shy, mousy girl, who has her nose stuck in a book most of the time. I'm not the most social girl around, so you best not listen to my theories on relationships."
Draco looked down at her. She had intrigued him with what she had just said. Alana did have a point, though. Why do people stay with people that they can't stand? He took a sip of his drink again before tearing his gaze away from her.
" One thing you'll learn to understand about me, Kaligaris, is that I'm not a happy person. I haven't been happy in years. It's something you get used to." Draco explained, solemnly.
She just shrugged her shoulders and murmered, " To each his own."
Alana finished her glass and threw it away like she had with the other. Draco did the same just as a slow song came on. Alana smiled at all of the couples dancing together. A few of her friends were out there, wrapped in the arms of some boy or their boyfriends. She loved this song; What's Left of Me by the muggle singer Nick Lachey. Gray eyes looked down at her curiously. He could see the longing in her eyes to be out there. A strange feeling arose in his gut, and a force pulled him to her.
" Do you want to dance?" He asked, sincerely.
Alana turned to him, confusion and shock blended together in her eyes. He smiled the smallest one he could muster before offering her his hand. She looked at it uncertainly at first before gently grasping it. A shock of warmth ran through them both when their skin made contact. Draco led her out onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. Alana shakily draped her arms around the nape of his neck. They started to sway slowly to the music. He felt how tense her body was, signalling that she hadn't done this often, but she was so graceful. She didn't once step on his feet, which would have hurt with her shoes.
" Relax. It's just a dance." He whispered in her ear, comfortingly.
Alana looked into his eyes and smiled. No signs of his usual, Slytherin smirk or piercingly cold eyes appeared at all. They never broke eye contact; sapphire eyes staring into stormy gray. She relaxed a little as he pulled her closer. Alana felt so wonderful in his arms. She fit just perfectly with the contures of his body, like the missing piece of a puzzle. After awhile, Alana laid her head on his chest, to which he didn't object and just laid his on top of hers. His fingers started to play with a few strands of her hair. A content smile appeared on both of their faces as their eyes closed.
It seemed as if they were the only people in the room. They did even notice everyone else dancing to the same song. The room dissolved around them, and all they conscentrated on was each other. It had been so long since Draco felt bliss, especially with another person. He felt an emotion that he didn't reconize or was even sure that he had ever felt before. Alana had never experienced anything like this before. It was amazing! Everything just felt so...right. They were taken out of their thoughts when the song, suddenly, changed. The slow song turned to a quick and loud one by the Weird Sisters again. Their eyes popped open, and they stared at each other.
Alana felt her cheeks starting to burn terribly and avoided eye contact with Draco. He felt sweat starting to form on the back of his neck. Slowly, they released each other and walked off of the dance floor. Draco and Alana stood where they had been before. He tried to catch her eyes, but she was being shy and distant at the moment.
" Um uh...thank you for the dance, Malfoy. I...uh...I'm going to find my friends." She said, almost too quietly for him to hear over the music.
" O...okay. I'll see you around?" He replied, a pang of disappointment starting up in his heart.
" Yeah, I guess." She said before offering a weak smile and rushing off.
Draco didn't know why, but he was almost sad to see her leave. All of a sudden, he felt cold again. It was like all of the warmth in the room was surrounding her, and now, she was taking it away. He watched her retreating back with confused and saddened eyes. Alana felt just as confused as he did. Her back burned where she knew his eyes were boring holes into it.
" What just happened back there?" They both thought.
Later, the party was diminishing, and Alana was struggling to help a drunk Jezebel out of the door. All of her other friends had left, leaving her to the task of helping Jezebel back to the Slytherin Common Room alone. Even Blaise had retired early for the night. She was half way down the hall when she heard someone yell, " Hey! Kaligaris!"
She turned to find Draco running towards her. Jezebel gave her a goofy grin before slouching on her more. Draco caught up to them and smirked down at Jezebel.
" Looks like you need a hand." He said with a laugh.
" Yeah, and it would be very much appreciated." Alana replied with a weak smile.
The dance was left behind them for a moment, and Draco slung one of Jezebel's arms over his shoulders.
" I don need elp from you, Malfloy." Jezebel slurred. " Alany wilt take care ofs me."
" Alany?" He asked, looking towards Alana with a raised eyebrow.
She just shrugged her shoulders as they continued down the halls. It took what seemed like forever to get to the dungeons. When they came up to the Slytherin portrait, Alana gave Jezebel, who was now unconscious, over to Draco and looked at the ground briefly before back up into his eyes.
" Thanks a lot, Malfoy. I owe you one." Alana said, quietly.
" Just make sure that she doesn't drink so much two weeks from now, and I'll be fine." He answered with a smirk.
An awkward silence settled about them. Alana looked back down at the ground again, playing with the sash to her gouchos.
" Listen, about earlier..." He blurted out.
" No, just forget about it." Alana interrupted, starting to blush again at the thought of their dance. " It's nothing worth bringing up. It can be our secret."
" I guess it would be best if Pansy didn't find out." Draco said, attempting a joke.
" Yeah, I suppose so." She answered with a laugh. " Well...again, thank you. Good night, Malfoy."
" Good night, Kaligaris." Draco replied as she walked away.
As he turned to the portrait, Alana turned around and called, " Oh and Malfoy..."
Draco turned to her, and his eyes locked onto hers. She smiled whole-heartily and finished, " Alana is fine. It's shorter than Kaligaris."
Draco smiled and nodded. Then, swiftly, Alana spun around and walked in the direction of the Ravenclaw dormitories. Jezebel squinted up at Draco and smiled knowingly.
" Draco's got a crush." She chanted in a sing-song voice.
" Oh, shut up, Sinclaire!" Draco snapped, looking down at her.
" Denial is always the first stage to a meant-to-be relationship." She resited, before zonking out again.
" I swear...she's insufferable, even when she's smashed!" Draco thought as he said the password and stepped into the Common Room.
A/N: Well, I hoped you liked this new chapter. I thought it was a little slow, but otherwise it was okay. I thought it established the beginning stages of Draco and Alana's relationship. I appreciated the nice reviews on the last two. It made me feel better about the story. Like I said, I'll try to update frequently. Well, please continue reading and some more nice reviews would make me happy. I'll leave you with this questions. What will Draco find out about Alana in the next chapter? Is she really the person everyone believes her to be? -Draco's-Slytherin-Princess438