Free.

The one word that flitted across Alex's mind described everything.

Snape had just "taken time out of his busy schedule", and Apparated her onto the corner of Diagon Alley, leaving her with the final words, "I'll be here to pick you up at 4 o'clock." and Disapparating.

Alex strolled down the street, carefully avoiding direct contact, seemingly more interested in the sidewalk than anything else. She had deliberately gone and carefully decided what to wear today, fixed on her appearance for Daphne.

She was wearing tight fitted blue jeans that hugged her waist. Her top, the green top that Daphne had mentioned in one of their earlier letters, completed her "I don't care" look. It was a halter top made of silk fabric; the material was ivory with a sea-green flower print on it. The same sea-green color trimmed the inner cut of the fabric where it revealed cleavage, and a thick strip of sea-green ribbon wrapped around her torso under her bosom. It tied at the back of her neck, and showed her back, which was dusted with freckles. Her damaged arm was wrapped in a linen cloth and she kept it snugly against her side in a protective way.

Alex actually thanked her former school, and for the beauty tips they gave her, as she performed one to get rid of the dark circles under eyes and put on some light make up. The make up consisted of sea-green eye shadow, (compliments of Daphne, of course), and some clear gloss. She had finished her look with the final touch of taking a black beaded hair clip in her hair, which matched her bracelet and earrings.

Alex looked up at the ice-cream parlor and entered it, and was immediately greeted with a shriek of delight.

"Alex! You look absolutely darling!" Daphne said, waving her over. "I've been waiting for you. Draco should be here soon. Oh, I knew that top would look simply wonderful on you!"

"Hi Daph," Alex smiled warmly at her friend, who was already at the counter getting ice cream.

"Draco told me what type of ice cream you like, so I got it for you." Daphne winked. "Now onto important business. Show me the letter from Blaise!"

Alex pulled out a crinkled letter and smoothed it out on the table.

--

Dearest Alexandra,

First, a formal introduction is in order. I am Blaise Zabini, one of Draco Malfoy's few close friends. I'm sure you remember him?

The true purpose of this letter, other than introducing myself to a girl who il mio amico continues to rave about, is to warn you of Draco's possible intentions and to politely inquire as per yours.

If you are not aware of this, be certain that I have never seen Draco quite as smitten with a young lady as yourself before. Draco has neither taken buon care of, nor treated with proper respect, the female population.

Draco has never been one to be unattached for any amount of time, no matter how short. However, since he laid eyes on you, he has not had any sort of female company. While such a change is certainly welcome, it is of my concern when he no longer delights in such activities as he used too.

Although Draco's intentions may be more pure when directed at you, I advise you to keep both eyes open. It is not exactly unusual to find him as one of two occupants of a broom closet.

Now as a friend, I must inquire as to your intentions with him. As a gentleman, I would not dare question your honor, but my duty as a friend comes first. I ask you to think of him, to save him from any sort of public humiliation, and finally to remember that he is only human. Men have before been destroyed by the deeds of Women.

I look forward to finally meeting you at Hogwarts. For now, I will be content to say arrivederci il mio caro

Most Sincerely Yours,

Blaise Zabini

--

Daphne traced his signature over with her finger before saying dreamily, "He sounds even better in a letter."

The little bell at the door rang as it swung open, and in came a very regal-looking, handsome young man. He had dark hair and it was evident he was of Italian blood. He wore blue jeans and a deep blue T-shirt that matched his cerulean eyes.

"And…speak of the devil," Daphne whispered.

He pulled up a chair to their table, and sat on it backward. Smoothly, he said in a deep, sophisticated voice, heavy with an Italian accent, "Why, what is the world coming to when such charming ladies, such as yourselves, are sitting all alone?"

"Alex, this is... Blaise Zabini." Daphne said weakly.

"Pleased to me you." Alex said, rather speechless at the moment when Blaise swiftly caught Alex's hand in his and brushed his lips against it.

"The honor is all mine." He said, before sitting up straight and flashing a dashing grin at them. "So you're the famous Alexandra Peltier."

"Famous?" Alex said, worried, but before he could answer, Daphne jabbed Alex in the ribs. "Oh, sorry, I'm sure you've met Daphne Greengrass."

--

An hour or so later, the three of them having chatted about mostly everything, the door's silver bell jingled merrily again and in came one of the main subjects of their talk, Draco Malfoy. Clad in black slacks and a dark shirt, he walked a few steps into before he glanced over at them and he froze when he saw Alex. His eyes drifted down her form, and Alex felt the heat rush up to her face, aware that both Blaise and Daphne were watching her.

"Why don't you invite the whole world, Daph?" Alex snapped in a whisper.

"Well, maybe next time I will!" Daphne said, in an amused tone. "Draco!" she called out, "How about you join us instead of make my friend feel deprived of personal privacy."

Draco glared at her and sat at the table, coincidently right next to Alex. "Zabini." he nodded his head slightly. Blaise returned it stiffly.

"We were just talking about ideal partners for a relationship. Blaise said he likes his quiet and sarcastic. I told him he should get to know Alex." Daphne said, purposely. Draco stiffened. "I personally like my dark and handsome. Oh! And I find accents incredibly sexy."

"And you, I suppose, like yours dark and handsome, Alex?" Draco asked in an even tone. Daphne stepped on Alex's foot and mouthed "Flirt." clearly.

"Uh, actually, I prefer mine blond." Alex said, trying to wiggle the toe Daphne had crushed. Daphne smirked at Draco's bewildered expression. Then suddenly, "Oh bloody—"

"What?" Daphne asked early at the sudden change of Alex's tone.

"Ex-boyfriend alert," Alex said, letting her head fall into her arms. "And this one is the stuck up prat who told me I'd regret breaking up with him."

"Why did you break up with him?" Daphne asked, her face assuming the look of pondering in a devious way.

"'Cause I caught him cheating on me with my friend's girlfriend. And my friend, ugh, he didn't even believe me when I told him!" Alex muttered all of this into her non-injured arm. "Great, he's even here with his buddies."

"I have an idea. Draco, scoot closer to Alex."

"Daphne—"Draco warned, the idea didn't seem particularly wise to him, but he felt eternally grateful to Daphne – although he would never ever ever say that out loud.

"Oh, just do it, Draco!" Daphne said, playfully.

Blaise looked on, amused, as Draco scooted his chair closer to Alex's, and noticed the look of masked terror on his face.

"Okay, you two act as a couple when the guy comes around. You've moved on to bigger and better things!" Daphne grinned, watching as Alex's head shot up.

"What?" she asked, sending a meaningful look Daphne's way.

Blaise grinned. He was really starting to like Daphne.

"Come on. Get couple-ish," Daphne said, as Alex squirmed uneasily under Draco's gaze.

"You guys are bloody morons! TOUCH EACH OTHER!" Daphne yelped loud enough for the two to glare, but not cause disturbance.

Rolling his eyes, Draco threw his arm across Alex's shoulders, casually pulling her a little closer.

"Lean in a bit," he whispered, placing his hand on top of hers on the table.

Obediently, Alex leaned in toward his shoulder, resting the top of her head in the crook of his neck. Draco twined his fingers between hers and brought their hands from the tabletop to his knee. Daphne giggled at the uncomfortable look on Alex's face.

"Is this close enough for you?" Alex asked sarcastically, still glaring at Daphne.

Daphne made to reply but was cut off as a simpering voice said, "Alex? Oh my— it is you! Michael, get over here; you'll never guess who's here!"

Alex plastered an obviously fake smile on her face and turned around slightly, careful to keep her hand in Draco's the entire time.

"Julie. How are you?" She asked in a falsely cheerful voice, her smile still firmly in place.

"Oh just marvelous! You seem to be doing well too. Who is this?" Julie purred, looking Draco up and down.

Alex's cheeks turned a delicate pink. "Um, he's my — this is my… well, he's — this is Draco," she finished lamely.

"Mm-hmm. Yours, is he?" Julie asked, sounding not so slightly disappointed.

"Yeah. Aren't they adorable together?" Daphne piped up, smiling sweetly at the look of distaste on Julie's face.

The boy that Julie had called Michael came over to their table, his eyes narrowing when he saw Alex and Draco.

Draco's arm tightened protectively around Alex's shoulders.

"Michael, you remember Alex, right? Of course you do," Julie smiled at the boy beside her. "And this is Draco" —she gestured to him— "Alex's newest catch." She wrapped her arm around Michael's waist before continuing. "This is Michael. We started going out after he broke up with Alex. But I'm sure she's told you all about that…."

Alex's mouth dropped open, Blaise's blue eyes darkened dramatically and Daphne looked very ready to protest — loudly.

But Draco beat them all to it.

Discreetly pulling Alex closer, he said casually, "Actually, I hadn't heard about it 'til now. We've been rather busy this summer. But I suppose I owe you one, Michael. It's all thanks to you that I was able to get Alex at all. She's truly amazing." He planted a swift kiss on Alex's cheek, causing her to blush profusely.

Michael's jaw clenched visibly. Finally he looked darkly at Alex. "So you're—"

"Very happy, thanks." Her grip on Draco's hand tightened suddenly, causing him to wince slightly. She noticed and flashed an apologetic smile at him. Turning her attention back to Michael and Julie, she continued, "Now if you'll excuse us, we were just about to leave."

Draco and Alex stood up, still hand in hand, and gave both Blaise and Daphne a very pointed look.

Daphne cast a very longing look at her ice cream, very reluctant to leave any to go to waste. Blaise, however, took her arm gently and led her out of the café with a firm, "Come along, il mio caro."

Alex stifled a laugh; Daphne had completely forgotten her ice cream and now looked like she was in heaven.

Once outside, Alex made to let go of Draco's hand, but he kept a firm hold on hers, refusing to drop it.

Draco led the way down the pleasantly full street. He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up slightly in the back. Alex felt her heart skip a beat.

"So… you broke up with that Michael guy?" Draco asked casually, looking over at Alex inquiringly.

"Yeah, though as you can see, he doesn't like to divulge that part of the story," she replied bitterly; out of the corner of her eye she saw Draco hide a slight smile.

"Why would he?" Draco said calmly, "No bloke would want to admit that he was dumped – especially not by a girl like you."

Alex looked up at him, frowning slightly.

"What's that supposed to mean 'a girl like me'? What kind of girl am I?" she asked him, gazing curiously into his grey eyes.

"Well," he said, swinging their joined hands, "you're the kind of girl who deserves better."

"You sound very sure of that," Alex smiled wryly.

"Of course I'm sure of it—I'm a Malfoy," he smirked back at her.

She laughed, causing Draco to smile as well. Not a smirk, mind you, a real smile such as he had not done in years.

"Well then, merci beaucoup, Mr. Malfoy, for rescuing me from the evil Michael's clutches," Alex said smoothly.

"I'll always be here to rescue you, love," Draco replied chivalrously.

Alex blushed a vibrant pink.

Blaise and Daphne walked up beside the other two.

"Well?" Daphne said, looking expectantly at Alex.

"Well what?" Alex asked, confused.

Daphne sighed dramatically, causing the corners of Blaise's mouth to twitch in a half-smile.

"You know, for someone as smart as you are, Alex, I'm having quite a time making the utterly obvious clear to you. Kiss him!" Daphne said impatiently, throwing her arms up in the air (and nearly taking Blaise's head off in the process).

"What?" Alex choked out, her face much paler than normal.

Draco raised his eyebrows, then said teasingly, "I'm not that bad, you know."

Daphne continued as if she'd never been stopped. "Draco kissed you in front Michael, it's only right for you to reciprocate!"

Alex looked pleadingly at Blaise for help with Daphne, but the Italian held up his hands and said, "You'll find no help from me—I find I rather agree."

She glared at him.

"Fine."

She leaned up on tiptoe and pecked Draco's cheek quickly.

Daphne rolled her eyes and again sighed loudly.

Blaise put his arm around Daphne's shoulders, giving her a swift squeeze; "She did do what you told her to, tesoro. Give her credit for that."

-----

Italian translations:

il mio amico: my dear friend

buon: good

arrivederci il mio caro: good-bye, my dear

il mio caro: my dear

tesoro: darling

French translation:

merci beaucoup: thank you very much

-----

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