Hello again! I currently feel quite good about the story's progress. I personally love that chapter and I hope that you'll enjoy it as well. I do not like messing around with long forewords, just because I am always annoyed of them^^ Just enjoy it! AND PLEASE REVIEW!
"I hope you enjoyed dallying with that little girl up there, Draco.", Blaise spat angrily and rubbed his cheek as if he could still feel the kiss that Draco had placed on it.
Draco sat down on his bed an watched Blaise removing the girl's clothes. His hair had still a slightly tone of blond, but the effect of the polyjuice potion had just faded away as they arrived at the Slytherin common room. That had been very close. Just some minutes longer and that bloody Dumbledore girl would have seen that the girl at Draco's side hadn't been a girl at all.
"That's fucking embarrassing, Draco. Ask those two trolls the next time if you need a guard that urgently. I will certainly not put on that stuff again, nor will I let you touch me, you pervert.", Blaise said and threw the skirt away to put on a pair of trousers.
"I suppose they will do much a better job than you did, Blaise! What the hell were you thinking of raising your voice? Even a deaf one could have recognized your male voice!", Draco said angrily. Blaise looked at him as if he wanted to kill him, but Draco laid down on the bed and sighed heavily. He was so tired.
Why couldn't he just fall to sleep? Why couldn't he just sleep and forget everything that troubled him?
"What were you doing in there, Draco? You owe me to tell.", Blaise said, while he looked into the mirror and examined his whole figure. How vain that guy was!
But Draco still asked himself how he managed to persuade Blaise swallowing polyjuice potion and transforming himself into a girl, just to be able convincingly keeping watch while he worked in the Room of Requirement.
"That's just my concern, Blaise." Draco grunted. He never told anyone about his task, about what he did in that room.
Voldemort ordered him to keep the whole mission as a secret, even if repairing the Vanishing Cabinet had nothing to do with his plan to assassinate Dumbledore. But now after all these months of hard work he had to admit that killing Dumbledore seemed rather easy than repairing that bloody pile of wood.
Furthermore he realised that having a companion whom he could tell everything would ease his task, give him new strength. But there was no way involving anyone else than himself.
Professor Snape anyway tried to loosen his tongue about his plans, although he was aware of his task, but not the exact progress, and even tried to use Legilimency on him, but Draco was skilled enough in Occlumency to fend him off. Snape was just a traitor and the Dark Lord would find out soon enough that Snape wasn't really working on the dark side. It always had seemed that Snape always hung at poise, being neither good nor evil. But Draco knew it better. Snape worked for Dumbledore and Draco therefore tried to avoid him as often as possible.
But could he afford losing his friends? Could he come up losing their loyalty to him, them still accepting him as their leader? Even if he didn't speak about his mission, he was able to impress and intimidate them with it and therefore was able to count on them as companions.
How long would that work? Would he lose them if he hence kept quiet about it? He ought not to care. They were curious, but even those who were at the dark side were afraid of the Dark Lord, and therefore they would not force Draco to be honest or to tell them exactly what he was doing. Their respect and fear would prevail and keep them at bay.
As Draco looked into the face of Blaise, he nevertheless felt the urgency of opening himself to someone. He wanted to get rid of the burden he had to carry, wanted to fell free as he did the years before. He indeed had had some problems with his father, he always wanted to be like him, to maintain the honour and prestige of the Malfoys, but all that seemed to be bygone concerns now.
At the moment he had to reinstall the Malfoy clan. It was on the ground and Draco had to build it up once more. He would succeed in assassinating Dumbledore. He would be the one who killed the most powerful mage, whom even Lord Voldemort dread. He would be the boy who succeeded.
Alanis almost spilled her elf-made wine as she tried to distance herself from the vampire who was on Slughorn's exotic guest list of his Christmas party and wished the buffet would contain some blood-flavoured lollipops to keep that strange creature at bay. He seemed to love looking greedily at all bare white-skinned female necks that were exposed.
Alanis was glad to find Harry in the crowd, his companion Luna somewhere having a chat with Professor Trelawney. She unfortunately didn't manage taking anyone to the party, but honestly she wasn't putting much effort in finding an accompany for the evening. Additionally she always kept on putting it off. Whomever she might have asked, she would always have been lying to herself that she had been honest. Therefore it seemed much better for her attending the party alone.
"Where's Hermione?", Harry asked curiously, but Alanis grinned mischievously.
"She's on the run of McLaggen."
"McLaggen?", Harry repeated astonished.
"She think he's the one who would upset Ronald the most.", she answered shortly and refrained from laughing. That served Hermione right. If she'd rather coped with her mess with Ron than blaming Alanis for being affected by the handsome face of Draco Malfoy, she wouldn't be stuck with that narcissistic McLaggen.
The whole party was annoying, but Harry and Alanis made fun of the looks of other guests and passed the time helping themselves with the big amount of sweets at the buffet. As Harry took the third peace of his favourite treacle tart, Slughorn made his way to them and toasted them with a big smile on his face.
"Harry! Alanis! I hope that you're enjoying yourselves! Did I already introduce you both to Gwenog Jones?", he asked and Harry shook his head. Alanis could imagine that getting to know Jones would be great for Harry, but he seemed not very amused of Slughorn's presence.
"My dear Alanis! Albus always told me of your mother's wonderful singing voice and he pretended that you're gifted as well! Would it bother you if I'd ask you to give us a little sample?"
Alanis almost choked on her treacle fudge, but Harry patted her back.
I would certainly not, Professor.
"I'd love to, Professor.", Alanis gulped and felt herself blush. Why did she just agree?
She was far too good-natured. Damn stupid Gryffindor mentality!
But it was already too late for withdrawing as Professor Slughorn let poor little Flitwick sit down at a pianoforte, who almost looked that shorttaken and unpleased as Alanis did. Before Alanis could realize what she was actually dragged into, Slughorn had already presented her to all of the guests and announced her being gladly performing, just as a favour for Professor Slughorn.
"And of course, my dear friends, we will now remember beloved Ambrosia and Gregory and listen to Alanis Dumbledore dedicating her song to her parents, may they rest in peace.", Slughorn said theatrically, but Alanis felt herself growing angry but weak at the same time.
It seemed to be so long ago that she had heard the names of her parents. She never really had spoken of them to anyone, never really had dared lamenting them and always had pushed their death away from her as if she refused to accept it.
Aberforth had kept her busy to forget her despair and pain, her friends avoided speaking of family, and Dumbledore just comforted her, if he had been present.
In fact, she'd never really said goodbye. She wanted to do it for herself and now Slughorn forced her to open, to show her feelings in front of any people she barely knew.
She stood there as if she had been petrified. She felt Harry concerned and looking for her gaze, but she just looked to the hand-woven carpet on the floor.
She'd never realized how much she missed her parents, what a great loss their death had been. And at that moment she felt alone, everything around her seemed to be as foreign as it did the first time. She thought of having found a new home at Hogwarts, but she was wrong. The warmth around her, the love of Dumbledore, even the cold of Aberforth, all of it didn't really mean anything to her in the sense of family or security.
Music is the way into people's hearts, because it knows only one language, the love.
Her father had always told her that. But could she now speak that language? Could she find her voice again, after Slughorn's words made her speechless?
Music was like magic and magic was known to work wonders. And bloody hell, was she a witch or not?
Alanis took a deep breath and some steps to Professor Flitwick and quietly asked him, which piece they both knew and could now chose.
As soon as they were decided, Alanis stood beside him, and took a look to the crowd. She hated those sad, curious and amused expressions on their faces. Trelawney looked likely to predict Alanis soon having to face the same fate as her parents and Harry's face was covered with pity and she could see his own few memories of his family pass his mind. Slughorn grinned, not caring about her emotions, the discomfort he made her, but was happy about his next person that he could collect, the next tragic situation about he could swagger about the next years.
Alanis closed her eyes. If she should really sing now, it had just to happen for her and her parents. She would be able to overlook all those people in front of her.
She would sing in her own language, not willingly making all the others understand. And if they did, they would be ashamed of listening her, because they would realize the intimacy within it.
Mum, Dad, I love you.