Soul of the Enemy
By Willow Spirit
Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Everything else belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry that this chapter is a bit short, but I promise I will update in a few days.
Chapter 10 – Old Friends
Monday morning came, and that itself could only mean one thing: classes for Alex. Hermione had provided Alex with a school uniform on Sunday evening, which she was now putting on. So Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron were all waiting for Alex to come downstairs, but she seemed to be taking forever!
"Where is she?" Ron groaned with impatience. "We're going to miss breakfast if she doesn't show up soon. And I don't want to sit through double Potions with an empty stomach. You might as well just kill me instead."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Ginny lightly slapped his shoulder.
"Let's just wait a few more minutes," Harry said.
"Well, Ron does have a point," Hermione admitted. "Except for the killing part. We don't want to be late."
"Looks like we won't have to wait anymore," Harry suddenly saw someone coming down the stairs. The group saw that it was indeed Alex, completely head to toe in the Hogwarts uniform. And she looked extremely uncomfortable.
"I am wearing a skirt," Alex face scrunched up in disgust. "I am wearing a BLOODY skirt. I feel like I belong in the 1950s. This school is setting the feminist movement back about forty years or so."
"Come on, Alex," Ginny laughed. "The skirts aren't that bad. Besides, they don't look bad on you. So are you ready to set foot in the jungle?"
"I don't know," Alex hesitated. "I don't know if I can do this."
"Come on," Ginny grabbed Alex's arm and dragged her with them down to breakfast.
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The four old Gyrffindors and the one new member all sat together at the Gryffindor table. Nearly everyone else in the room was staring at 'the new girl', courtesy of all the fresh rumors from Saturday night. And that new girl was very much aware of all the attention.
"Wow," Ron whistled quietly. "This would definitely challenge Harry's largest attention grabbing moment."
"Yeah, well, can't say I'm really enjoying it," Alex said as she played with her eggs.
"Alex, are you alright?" Harry asked. "You seem to find your plate awfully fascinating."
"I don't like crowds," she replied shortly.
"I can see that but don't you think…"
"I…don't…like…crowds," Alex repeated. "I'm not going to look at them with unease and self-doubt just to satisfy their need to feel superior."
"Alex…" Hermione started with uncertainty. "I don't think that's the way it works."
"Hermione, I don't know if you've ever stopped to think about it," Alex countered. "Every time someone looks at you, they do it to judge you, evaluate you, and compare themselves against you. If you show any sign of weakness at all, that makes them feel like they've won. Then they feel superior. The others are just being curious, but obviously their mothers never told them it isn't nice to stare."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence that followed. "That's an awfully pessimistic point of view," Hermione said with skepticism.
"But it's my point of view," Alex said firmly. "And it's what I believe. I don't expect you to understand."
"And what is that supposed to mean!" Hermione looked slightly hurt.
"Whoa, girls," Ron waved his hand in between them. "Stop right there. The idea of a cat fight is really tempting but I don't think this is the best place. See all the professors sitting up there at the Head Table? And there's Snape, oh wouldn't he just love an excuse to take points off Gryffindor."
"Honestly, Ron," Hermione huffed. "Do you really think we're that uncivilized?"
"Do I really have to answer that?"
The small group settled down once more to eat their breakfast in peace. They tried their best to ignore the people coming and going around them. That is, until someone hesitantly joined them at the table.
"Hello, everyone."
"Hey, what's up," Ginny asked casually.
"Not much," the shy boy shrugged. "Just barely finished my Potions homework. It's probably not any good and Snape will just yell at me, but I'm trying to tell myself that it doesn't matter."
"That's what I do all the time, mate," Ron said.
"So, er, who's the new girl?" the boy tried to be polite by acknowledging Alex. Said new girl hadn't even raised her head to look at the newcomer. Much to the dismay of the others, Alex maintained her position of plate hypnosis. But then, much to the surprise of the others, the boy made a fairly bold move. "I'm Neville Longbottom, by the way. What's your name?"
As if released from her spell, Alex suddenly turned her head and looked directly at Neville. He had to force himself to not jump under such an intense gaze. She just looked at him, with such a strange expression. For a few moments, Alex and Neville just stared at each other. Nearly a minute passed before he realized that she hadn't answered him.
"Uh, you do have a name, right?" Neville tried again. For a while it seemed like Alex was just going to keep on staring at him. He was almost ready to give up and leave the table when,
"I'm Alex Reid," Alex said quietly.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Alex," Neville said, before turning to the rest of the group with an anxious expression. "I suppose I should leave for Potions now. Don't want Snape to be mad at me for being late. That'd be the best way to start off the week."
So Neville left the table, looking very forlorn as he nearly dragged himself out of the Great Hall. Alex watched him leave in stunned silence, her jaw dropping ever so slightly.
"Alex?" Harry asked. "Are you alright?"
"Er…yeah, I'm fine," Alex gave her head a little shake. "We'd better get to class, too."
"Sounds like a good idea," Harry agreed. "Let's go."
The group started off in Neville's direction, but with Alex falling slightly behind. And that's how nobody noticed the way Alex bit her lip, and the inexplicable expression that swept across her face.
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The group came to an intersection in the hallways, and the four Seventh Years said farewell to Ginny, as she made her way to Charms. They continued to squeeze through the mass of students, trying their best not to get separated. Soon they came to a break in the crowd as they approached the stairs leading to the lower levels. But in some ways, it would have been better if they had stayed hidden in the mob.
"Potter!"
Almost as one, Harry, Hermione and Ron all rolled their eyes together. "What, Malfoy?" Harry sighed impatiently.
"What have you done now, recruited another person into your band of losers?" Malfoy sauntered over with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. "I can't believe you've managed to convince another pathetic…"
For a split second, Malfoy trailed off as he finally got a good look at the new person. A look of utter surprise flickered across his face, but then he quickly composed himself again. "Well, just look what we have here," Malfoy flashed a disarming smile. "It's the little girl from the hospital wing."
Purely on instinct, Harry went to move in front of Alex. Alex, on the other hand, just gaped at Harry. "Excuse me?" she looked at Harry like he had gone mad. "What do you think you're doing?"
Harry turned his head in confusion. He stared at her, wondering if he had heard correctly. "Well…I thought I was protecting you," he felt like it was completely obvious. After all, Malfoy and his two bodyguards were never good news and they rarely played by the rules.
"Aww, that's so sweet," Alex put on a fake smile as she proceeded to step around Harry and approach the three Slytherin boys. Harry wanted to reach out and stop her but Ron placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. Alex stopped once she was standing directly in front of the Slytherin ringleader himself.
"So I'm a little girl, huh?" Alex paced her hands on her hips. "If I remember correctly, I'm not the only who's little around here." She made a point of looking Malfoy up and down.
"Who are you!" Malfoy's face became slightly red…again.
"Who am I?" Alex repeated. "You mean besides the psychotic escapee from St. Mungo's?"
"Do you know who you are talking to?" Malfoy asked dangerously.
"Should I know?" Alex countered just as coldly.
"Any true wizard would know who I am!" Malfoy nearly exploded. "If you had any idea, you would not be so disrespectful. Nobody insults my family and gets away with it. I am from one of last pure blood lines of…"
"Alright," Alex's hand shot up to silence him. "I get the idea. You're from a big and powerful family. But the thing is, I could care less. So if you don't mind, I think I'll be going to class now. It's my first day and I don't want to be late."
Alex turned around to join the other Gryffindors, but apparently Malfoy wasn't quite finished. "You don't want to mess with the Malfoys," he sneered. "If you have any sense at all, you'll stay out of our way."
All of a sudden, Alex paused and spun around. "Malfoy?" she asked, as if some light just went off in her head. "That would make you Draco Malfoy? Son of Lucius Malfoy?"
Malfoy stared at Alex in surprise. "Yes, of course that's who I am," he replied arrogantly.
"So you're Lucius's boy," a slow, wicked smile spread across Alex's face. "This is quite a surprise. I never expected to see you here. It never even occurred to me."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"Well, I don't know, shouldn't you be at Azkaban right now, visiting your poor father who's behind bars?"
Harry, Hermione and Ron were transfixed by the conversation. It was like watching someone poke a stick at an angry bear. "Do you think we should just grab Alex and go?" Hermione asked with concern. "We're going to be late for class if we don't leave soon."
"Bloody hell, no!" Ron exclaimed. "This is the best entertainment we've had in ages."
"Besides," Harry pointed out. "I think Alex is doing fine against Malfoy."
"Watch your mouth," Malfoy warned, as his hand almost reached for his wand.
Alex just gave him a satisfied smirk. "Like that's really going to work," she patronized him. "I'm only telling the truth. It's not like it's a big secret, anyway. Everyone knows about it. Everyone talks about it behind your back. You may not hear it, but it's there."
"Who are you to talk about my father that way?" Malfoy demanded. "What right do you have? You know nothing about us. You're probably some filthy Mudblood who doesn't know what it's like to be a pure wizard."
"And here you go, making assumptions," Alex exclaimed. "You don't know anything about me, Malfoy. You don't even know who my parents are. They could be anybody! So at least I don't pull my comments out of thin air."
"Alright, then," Malfoy said smugly. "What is your family name? And this time you will answer my question."
"I'm Alex Reid. That's all you get to know."
Malfoy fell silent for a moment, clearly trying to make a connection with the name Reid. He was most likely going through a mental list of important leaders and diplomats. "Nobody of any importance has that name in the wizarding world. So I must have been right, you are just a low class Mudblood," he concluded self-righteously.
"Ah, Malfoy, again with your assumptions," Alex shook her head as she finally turned around to leave.
"Then who is your father?" Malfoy's eyes narrowed. The four Gryffindors started to walk away, but Alex turned her head and gave Malfoy the most curious smile.
"Oh, but you already know my father."
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A/N: Again, I'll update soon. Please review!
Next Chapter: Potions class with Professor Snape...need I say more...