Hey guys! It's Christmas time^^. Just have some problems with the content of the following chapters, so I fear I won't be able to update daily, but I really will go to great lengths to satisfy you!
Please keep going on to review! I really like your comments and suggestions (thumbs up for them^^)!
"Stand up, girl! I need you downstairs. Now!"
The door of her room smashed and Alanis was left alone. She slightly opened her eyelids and looked up.
"Good morning to you too, Aberforth." she murmured angrily and stood up, flipping away a bug from the edge of her tiny bed and took a look through the dirty window. Aberforth let her do so much work in the Hog's Head that she barely found any time to clean at least her room to make her life in there a bit liveable. But as much as she tried to, there was no chance getting this pub somehow like clean.
Aberforth disliked her being around anyway. He didn't seem to love her as much as Albus pretended to do. Alanis had still confronted him with his reluctance and asked, even begged if she could move to Albus Dumbledore, but he went mad as she had mentioned it. Aberforth disdained Albus and there was no chance of calming him down.
But Alanis had to agree with Aberforth that Albus couldn't care less of taking care of a teenage girl, even if there were just a few months left to her adulthood. Additionally, as much as Aberforth was annoyed about Alanis living with him, he pretended to let Alanis only over his dead body be under the wings of Albus Dumbledore.
Alanis knew of Albus' past and the death of his sister Ariana. She had been a poor girl and her death was horrible. Aberforth was never able to forgive Albus for being related to the mage Grindelwald and accused him causing Ariana's death.
Alanis had often sat in front of the painting of young Ariana and talked to her. Ariana was her only companion while she'd lived in the Hog's after her parents died.
She blamed Aberforth not being able to come up with her daughter's death. He had disliked Alanis' father, because he'd animated her mother to resettle to Norway and Aberforth thought him dragging his daughter away from him.
Additionally she was hurt that he didn't even try to lament her parents, to lower the pain, and rather treated Alanis as if he made her responsible for everything. As if he asked himself why his daughter had to die and his grandchild was still alive.
Alanis was hurt, but she tried to forgive him. But now, after almost half a year, at Christmas, things had not changed a lot. As much as Alanis tried to adapt herself with these conditions, she never would forgive him even not trying to improve their relationship.
How could she therefore bear being stuck with him at Christmas?
She'd really wanted to stay at Hogwarts, but Aberforth attempted to get her away from Albus Dumbledore, even if that was only possible for Christmas holidays.
Alanis didn't even expect something from Aberforth, not a Christmas dinner, not even a present. But she wanted to go back to Hogwarts. Even if she had been alone there, because all of her friends had left, she would be more likely sitting in the dungeons trying to improve her potions skills.
She quickly pulled some clothes out of her trunk, which she refused to unpack to show how unwillingly she was to live here. As she headed to the living room, she found a glass of milk and some bread for breakfast at the table.
"Good morning and happy Christmas, Ariana.", Alanis said to the portrait and was able to raise a small smile from the moony face of Ariana.
Just as Ariana sat down, an owl arrived and delivered a little note to her:
Dearest Alanis,
I hope that you are enjoying your holidays quite well. However, I would be pleased if you would join the Christmas dinner at Hogwarts today. I would like to hand you your present personally.
Albus
A big smile ran over her face. Christmas could be saved for her! She headed down to Aberforth.
"Abe!", Alanis said excitedly and saw him standing at the bar and rubbing some goblets with a filthy rag, as he always seemed to do. He flinched. He didn't like her calling him Abe, but it was her form of trying to get closer to him.
"I got an invitation for Christmas dinner at Hogwarts! May I go today?", Alanis asked him. Aberforth frowned and stopped cleaning.
"Who invited you?"
Alanis breathed deep and Aberforth immediately understood.
"So then it's no. I want you to stay here."
"But Albus wants to give me my Christmas present personally. I want to join the other students who stayed at the castle."
"I thought that none of your friends stayed."
Alanis hold her breath and held back her answer. He was wrong, there was still someone in the castle, whom she didn't count as friend, but as...mate.
"But you can't bar me from celebrating Christmas! I... You...!"
"Don't hesitate, girl, just say out loud that you are tired of being stuck with me! Just say that you hate the Hog's head!", he shouted angrily and threw the rag away.
Alanis clenched her fists and shook her head, restraining herself from obeying him willingly.
"Don't be so unfair! Can you imagine, why I am not comfortable? Because you never welcomed me, never even tried to give me a new home, never remembered being my grandfather!", Alanis spat and wiped away her tears. "You've lost your daughter, but I've lost my parents too!"
Aberforth pressed his lips together and she saw him swallowing down heavily.
"You can do whatever you want, girl. But don't you dare involve me in some of Albus' business! If you do, you'll be much less a grandchild to me than you still are!", he grumbled and Alanis was just overwhelmed by him being so stubborn and clattering around on her emotions.
She headed back to the steps, more and more tears running down her cheeks.
"Hold on, girl. You still have some work to do."
Alanis turned around slowly, not believing what she'd just heard.
"Will you ever start calling me by my name? It's Alanis!", she whispered, but Aberforth just looked at her angrily and pointed at the guest room.
"After you cleaned it, you will be off to get some food."
Alanis suppressed her sobs and turned back stiffly.
The sooner she finished, the sooner she would be able to leave. But there was still a problem. How should she get to Hogwarts if she had to pass the safety arrangements?
Would the invitation of Dumbledore be enough to pass the aurors?
In the evening she was exhausted from her work and just wished to go to sleep, but she pulled out her blue dress she already wore at Slughorn's party and fitted perfectly to her eyes and dressed for the Christmas dinner. She used some Transfiguration spells to let her hair fall back in soft waves and put her black festival robe over her shoulders. Then she walked down to the living room. Ariana's eyes seemed to follow her and Alanis faced the portrait as she felt observed and taken by surprise.
"Don't look at me like that, Ariana! Aberforth told me that he doesn't care about what I'm doing! He even didn't mind me wishing merry Christmas!", Alanis shrugged.
"Ok, I did not wish him merry Christmas as well. And I regret it, of course.", she sighed and Adriana's expression on the canvas seemed to brighten up.
"But I still don't know how to get to the castle. Should I walk up to the castle and face the aurors? I fear they won't let me in.", Alanis said and nervously let her hand ran through her hair.
But then Ariana smiled at her and Alanis frowned as her figure took one step behind. Suddenly the portrait swung open and revealed a secret tunnel behind.
"Ariana? What does that mean?"
But Ariana would not speak like other portraits, anyway. Did Ariana want her to walk down this tunnel? Where would it lead to?
"Lumos.", she said as she took her wand and held it in front of her.
Then she slowly walked down the tunnel, whatever she might face at the end of it. But she realized almost immediately that this tunnel lead to Hogwarts.
She opened another door and found herself in a small corridor full of mirrors which reflected the warm light of torches on the walls. She looked into the mirrors and was pleased to look at herself. She felt comfortable imagining entering the Great Hall dressed like this. It took away all her bad feelings about Aberforth and just left anticipation.
She quickly headed down the corridor and opened another door to finally find herself in the seventh floor of the Hogwarts castle. She turned around to look back and orientate herself, but the door which she just had passed, had vanished! Had they been some kind of special magic acted out by Ariana? But there could be no way that a portrait used magic.
But why did the door disappear?
Then she reminded herself of Hermione's stories about the DA. Hermione had told her of the Room of Requirement which turned into any room a person needed.
Was this room that special room? But why did it lead directly to the Hog's Head? Was the magic of the Rom of Requirement reaching that far?
She was really irritated but collected herself and headed down the staircase to the Great Hall.
Now there was nothing left to prevent her from celebrating Christmas.
Draco didn't really enjoy the Christmas dinner. Only a few students remained at the castle, mostly some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws and two little Gryffindor first class students.
There was just Zabini Blaise who stayed with him and Draco felt as if he watched him. Blaise still seemed to be upset having surrendered to him dressing like a girl to guard him. Draco felt as if there was another reason, which he wasn't yet able to discover, but Blaise almost seemed likely to watch him.
Everyone had to sit down at one single but table in the Great Hall, because of the small group of students. Eleven students 'enjoyed' their Christmas dinner, next to the Headmaster, who's seated himself at the head of the table. Some other Hogwarts staff members sat there too, like Trelawney, McGonagall, Slughorn and bloody Snape.
Draco's body tensed.
It was such a bad idea remaining at the castle. For sure, he had time to think about his further steps with his mission, but that empty castle didn't give him some kind of cover.
Snape followed him everywhere since that conversation after Slughorn's party and it was hard to get rid of him. Snape was persistent and observed him everywhere, and pretended to want to help Draco with his task, he even did the Unbreakable vow to his mother to protect him.
And now Draco had to sit here with all that people and especially Dumbledore. He felt himself likely to vomit, but immediately quaffed a cup of pumpkin juice to fill up his stomach. But then the portal was opened carefully slowly and all of them looked up to see the Dumbledore girl enter.
Draco couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at her. He was delighted to see her but didn't dare to watch her for a long time, until he would form an opinion about her appearance that night. There was no way he could afford considering her beautiful.
But what did she do here? He thought of her having left the castle during the holidays.
"Ah, Alanis, I'm glad you followed my invitation as much as the other ones in here did! Sit down and join in!", Dumbledore greeted her and Alanis walked to the table with red cheeks.
Draco mentioned her avoiding looking around. After everyone greeted her and continued eating, Alanis looked up. But she didn't just look up. She directly looked into Dracos face.
Her blue eyes were filled with joy and the more he looked at her the more he reckoned her suitable outfit, the beautiful dress she wore. He did never think of her being able to increase her beauty.
Her beauty? Did you hit your head at the Vanishing Cabinet?
It was hard for him not look at her delicate features, but he ordered himself remaining calm and unconcerned. Perhaps he was just lucky to see another face amongst these sleeping pills around him.
As the dinner was finished, Draco almost fled from the Great Hall, muttering some silly excuse to Zabini and headed to the staircase.
After he slowed down his pace, he took a deep breath.
He could have no longer bore being in the same room as that girl. Something about his thoughts about her changed in him and he ran hot and cold on her.
He blamed that intense gaze between them at Slughorn's party, but partially he blamed his desire for her that he already had at the very beginning of that school year and his virile urgencies which he had been neglecting for the last weeks.
Damned thing down there, he thought, as his trousers began to seem being too tight.
And now she had heated him up like a campfire with just looking innocently but also venturously at him.
Was he actually getting mad, maybe because of the pressure of his mission?
He would welcome it as a very agreeable excuse.
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