Hey guys! Just thank you for the great reviews! I'm glad you liked it... This chapter will just prepare everything for the following plot. I hope you will like it, as it might be not very special, compared to the old ones. Nevertheless, please keep reviewing and tell me what you think! I can really only improve if you tell me your honest opinion! Don't hesitate, ok?

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"Where have you been last night?", asked Hermione with a low voice and glanced suspiciously at Alanis as she took a bite of her toast. Alanis just shrugged and pretended to gnaw on her toast intensively. She additionally tried to keep herself from staring at the Slytherin table, but as far as Alanis guessed, Draco had skipped breakfast another time.

"Your bag felt very lonely in the common room, you know.", Hermione continued and leaned over the table, as she always did when she wanted to teach somebody a lesson. "So why won't you tell me where you did go? And don't tell me that my worst supposition is true!"

Alanis sighed.

"This is just between Draco and me and nothing of your business! We'll better leave it at that."

"You already call him Draco? Did you really go that far? How can you get involved with that evil git?", Hermione ranted and her voice skirled.

"Be quiet, Hermione, please!", Alanis hissed nervously and looked around if somebody heard them. "I just don't want to talk about it, ok?"

Hermione was so angry that her face blushed and her fuzz got untamed as she forgot to hold up the spell with which she tried to tame her hair.

"Fine. But I can't believe that Dumbledore approves all of that!", she said.

But Alanis was happy that they were interrupted as the owls arrived to deliver the post. The same black school owl as in the last night brought Alanis a little package which was wrapped in brown paper.

"What's up?", asked Harry as he and Ron joined them at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, Alanis just told me how much she enjoyed the last evening.", Hermione said, but didn't look up from the Daily Prophet.

Both of the boys looked strangely curious and Alanis asked herself if Hermione made any suggestions in front of Harry and Ron about her and Draco. But if she did, Harry would barely even look at her, so everything seemed to be fine, except of Hermione's enragement.

But obviously Harry and Ron thought that Hermione's spleen had something to do with Lavender Brown, who was still upset about Ron and Hermione and shot killing glances at them.

Alanis quickly unpacked something which turned out as a common galleon. What did this mean? Did Draco want to tease her?

Just for urgencies.

That was the only note that the little package contended. She quickly let the galleon slip into her pocket, but Hermione didn't look at her anyway and Harry and Ron talked about the strategies for their last Quidditch match.

"Katie!", Harry's voice was surprised and excited as well, as Katie Bell entered the Great Hall. So now she was back. Harry quickly ran to Katie and Alanis could see that he talked to her with excitement.

Alanis watched them with a bad feeling raising up in her stomach.

How would Draco react if he saw Katie Bell?

Katie shook her head several times, but Harry didn't seem to let her go. Alanis knew that he would be persistent and try everything to find out who cursed her.

But then Draco entered the Hall and Alanis saw Katie's gaze falling on him. Everyone could be able to read in her face that she was stunned and frozen, as she looked at him. Draco looked baffled as well and quickly turned around to leave immediately.

This is bad, Alanis thought.

But then she saw Harry following Draco.

This is worse.

"Oh no, no, no!", Alanis murmured as fear grew up inside her. Hermione just breathed in heavily to ask her out, but Alanis jumped off her seat and ran after them.

Harry would face Draco certainly and Alanis knew what that would mean. As far as Alanis knew there relation, such a coincidence would only lead to something really bad.

There was only one thing she could do now.

Alanis was short of breath as she finally reached third floor. She furiously knocked on the door of Snape's office. She had to remain calm, but fear filled her entirely.

"What do you want?", Snape spat as he opened the door and looked and her.

But Alanis wasn't able to speak. He let her fear and the scene of Harry following Draco run through her thoughts. Snape must have read it in her mind, which she now offered him willingly to enter, or in her expression, as he quickly pushed her out of his way and headed to the staircase.

Alanis trembled as she followed him, but Snape suddenly turned around.

"Let Potter not see you, especially caring for Mr Malfoy."

Alanis knew what Snape wanted to say with that, nodded stiffly and headed back to the Great Hall, but was hardly able to let Snape go for Draco and Harry alone.

She hoped that Harry and Draco wouldn't carry out the duel that they had been longing for years. If they did, she knew they would fight to extremes.

Alanis paced up and down the common room, clutching Draco's galleon and was desperate to know what had happened. Hermione looked very worried at her, as if she knew how Alanis suffered, not knowing what was going on and if Harry and Draco were unharmed.

"Alanis?"

Alanis turned around eagerly and almost spat at Hermione fretfully.

"Please sit down."

Alanis let herself drop into the chair right next to Hermione and sighed.

"Do you think that Dumbledore will be satisfied that Harry had now managed to get that memory from Slughorn?", Hermione asked.

At least Harry was successful with his task that Dumbledore gave him. Alanis could just hope being able to help Draco fixing the cabinet.

Ron yawned bored and Hermione flinched, a very severe expression on her face let her look like Mrs Weasley.

"Just shut your mouth, Ronald, we all don't really want to see what your breakfast had been!", she said disgustedly and Alanis sighed, a little smile running over her face.

Harry finally entered the common room, seemed to be very exhausted and angry as well, and Alanis was immediately was cut off her thoughts.

"Harry, what happened?"

It didn't last very long, as Harry told Ron, Hermione and Alanis that Draco and him duelled in Myrtle's toilet and Draco was wounded heavily. But Harry seemed to be more resent having to absolve detention at Snape's, than regretting having cast a dark spell out of that bloody Halfbood-prince Potion's book which slit Draco's chest half open.

"Why did you use a spell you didn't even know? Couldn't you imagine that it is some kind of really dark magic?", Hermione said and seemed to be as angry as her. But Alanis was much more worried about Draco, even if she knew that Snape cared for him and Draco would hopefully accept him doing this time.

It was almost that the shock let her remain mute and she wasn't able to catch her words to shout at Harry. But even shouting at him wouldn't satisfied her to avenge Draco.

"He was about to cast the Cruciatus on me, Hermione! I just reacted instinctively and you can believe me that I'm not proud of having used that spell!", Harry protested.

"You could have almost killed him!", Hermione repeated, but Alanis put her hand on her arm to calm her down. At that moment the galleon in her fist grew very hot and Alanis looked at it. Little letters appeared on it and formed some words.

Join me?

"How did you get one of them?", Hermione asked and almost picked it right away but Alanis closed her fist around it. "The DA used them last year to send short messages around.", Hermione continued, but Alanis didn't answer.

She just looked at Harry, who still seemed to suffer from the things that happened. She wanted to judge him having injured Draco, but she really didn't have the nerve to do it. Draco was actually more important.

Then her gaze changed to Hermione, as Alanis tried just to make her understand with her expression from whom the galleon was. But Hermione did anyway know, also how desperate and shocked Alanis must have felt, even if she wouldn't still understand her feelings for Draco.

But Alanis was sure, that nevertheless Hermione didn't want Alanis to be worried and sad, even and especially if Draco was connected with it. That's why she would never let her down.

"I have to leave.", Alanis said, but her voice was broken and very low. Hermione just nodded and smiled sadly. Alanis squeezed her arm thankfully and left, without looking back at Harry. She just couldn't, as she recognized that she was likely to hex his balls off for what he had done.

But she hurried to the hospital wing and just saw Blaise and Pansy Parkinson leaving. As Blaise saw her, he quickly pulled Pansy's arm, that he could lead her to another direction to keep her away from observing Alanis entering the hospital wing. She thankfully smiled to him and he nodded back at her. However, also if Blaise was a Slytherin, he was a very loyal one and he just conferred his loyalty for Draco onto her and she highly appreciated him for that.

She took a look around, but there weren't much students in the hospital wing, most of them hidden behind big curtains which covered every single bed to establish some privacy. But then she reached Draco's bed.

He was sitting on it, because Madam Pomfrey was changing his bandages. His upper part was naked and some ugly cicatrices crossed his chest. But Draco's face seemed to be unharmed of all that horrible wounds and his expression brightened as he clapped his eyes on her.

Alanis just wanted to step behind, not disturb him, but she was totally caught by his gaze. She even couldn't look away from his body, his muscles and the pale skin. She felt herself blush, how could she think of him being attractive at that moment?

There were not just that marks that Harry's curse had caused. There were older ones too. Marks, that were reminiscent of things even worse than that and Alanis was just not able to stand to think of how Draco was hurt so badly. She was never really able to imagine what it meant to serve the Dark Lord.

She didn't really know what Draco had really to suffer from.

She felt ashamed of her naivety.

Draco just looked as if he wanted to shoo Madam Pomfrey away, or at least to fasten this procedure. After Draco had swallowed some diptam essence, Madam Pomfrey turned around, looked at Alanis and wasn't able to hide her astonishment.

"Just ten minutes, he needs to rest.", she finally said and walked away to treat some other students.

Draco quickly stretched out his arm, but Alanis closed the curtains first and then finally walked to his bed.

"I'm glad you came. You can't believe how annoying Pansy could be and you can't imagine Blaise's silly plans of revenge! But cutting Potter's broomstick into pieces and burning them sounds really good to me.", Draco said and smiled.

But then she couldn't hold it in and she had to fight back her tears.

"I should have told you, but I forgot to tell you that Katie will be back! I knew that you wouldn't easily face her. And I shouldn't have come for Snape at first, I should have followed you both as I saw Harry and you leaving the Great Hall! It's my fault, I could have prevented it!", she cried, but Draco's smile just grew bigger and bigger.

"It was about time that Potter and I had to fight. We both always wanted it, and believe me, although Potter knocked me down, I won, definitely. Furthermore I love to see you concerned about me.", he said and smirked, caressed her cheeks gently with the back of his hand.

"But you could have died if Snape didn't save you!", Alanis hissed, but Draco shook his head.

"I didn't die because of you telling Snape what was going on. I obviously owe you.", he said and Alanis tried hard to stop sobbing.

"I'll remember you when the time is right to do it.", she answered, calming down, and leaned forward to give him a short kiss on his forehead. But he quickly grabbed her and held her in position, kissing her mouth intensively.

Alanis freed herself whispered embarrassed:

"I didn't say everywhere and anytime, did I?"

Draco just laughed, but ended up in a coughing fit, which was accompanied by some painful moans. Alanis just looked at him worriedly.

"How long will you have to stay in here?", she asked and carefully patted his back, carefully not touching his wounds.

"Some days, but I hope it won't be too long, I have to continue...", he answered and this time she could see desperation in his eyes.

So did Harry tell the truth and did really catch Draco crying in Myrtle's toilet? Was he really that petrified of failing and being killed by Voldemort? Was he really that desperate although she had promised to help him?

She felt ashamed as she never ever seemed to be able to understand entirely what Draco was really threatened of.

"Don't worry, Draco. You can count on me and I won't ever let you down. In every sense."

Draco suddenly knitted his eyebrows and looked away from her.

"Are you really honest with me, Alanis? You really want to help me?", he asked her and grabbed his linen sheet. Alanis knew that there was still another question in his mind, but that, she knew, was still unpronounceable, although their passionate and candid kiss spoke volumes.

But their conversation was cut off as Madam Pomfrey pulled back the curtains and ordered Alanis to leave.

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