Chapter 15- Raindrops

Even the little ballerina Rayna had bewitched to dance around her feet did little to lift Aliana's spirits. It's soft and graceful movements only paralleled her own clumsy movements. The tiny girl pirouetted and jumped jeté's along the foot of the fireplace. Her perfect bun pulled tightly back mirrored her beautiful figure surrounded in a light pink tutu.

The twinkle in Alli's eye had been lost; all of the girls had noticed. They refrained from mentioning it, however, because they could feel her need for space. They could feel her pulling herself away from them. Throughout the year as Aliana became closer and closer to Draco she had started to drift farther and farther apart from her friends. They spoke after classes ended and occasionally at meal times. Most of the time Aliana had been so wrapped up in Draco she failed to pay them any attention. They were in her background, as friends, who were always there but only when she needed them to be. They could tell she really didn't mean it to come across that way. They knew she loved each of them greatly and they most definitely knew what it was like to be caught up in Draco.

During their time at Hogwarts so many girls had become lost in Draco Malfoy. He was a mystery; an absolutely gorgeous mystery. Whenever he allowed a girl a chance to be with him, for more than one night that is, she reveled in her opportunity. Everyone reveled in her opportunity. It wasn't very often anyone escaped a mere one night stand with the infamous Slytherin. But Aliana's case was different. They had never known him to spend so much of his time with a girl before. He had almost become obsessive with her. She really must mean something to him because for Malfoy to be so attached there must be some major feelings involved. They couldn't help but wonder… Could it really be love?

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Alarm, shower, hair, make-up, clothes, breakfast, classes and the morning is over. Lunch, classes, homework and the afternoon is over. Supper, studying, more homework, bed and the evening is over. Every day and night this week followed a strict and busy schedule to keep Aliana's frame of mind in a strict and scheduled manner. Her classes, meals and homework seemed so dull. Everything just seemed dull. She wasn't allowing herself the simple pleasures of friends because she was losing it. She couldn't stand to see herself happy and she couldn't figure out why.

On this particular night she decided to spend some quality time with the books in the library. So she made her way through the nearly deserted hallways and into her forgotten haven. She chose a spot near the middle, an empty table where she could spread out her textbooks and hopefully finish a few essays.

Not even a quarter of an hour had passed and Aliana already found herself staring off into space. Her gaze was rested on the starry sky outside the library window. She hardly noticed another joining her at her table and continued to stare blankly outside into the glorious night. She found herself wishing she was out there. The clouds were swirling and a thunderstorm was imminent, but right now the sky was perfect. The calm before the storm was her favorite part. The actual storm, on the other hand, was something she could do without.

"Hey, Alli. You doing okay," a voice across from her woke her from her daydream.

"Oh, Hey Hermione."

The awkwardness had set in as she recalled their last encounter. It hadn't been pleasant. It hadn't been pleasant for either of them.

"What are you looking at, Mudblood?" Draco spat.

"Oh, nothing much. Just that beautiful blond head of yours," Hermione Granger said in a fake dreamy voice. "It just seems to get bigger every time I see you."

"I'm sorry," Aliana blurted to fill the silence. "He can be so…"

"Let's just forget about it. Pretend it never happened."

"Sounds good."

Aliana couldn't believe how simple that had been. All it had taken was a few words to secure their friendship once more. Or maybe it had something to do with the dullness emanating off of her. Maybe this was a pity make up friendship. Either way, right now, Aliana really didn't mind. It was nice to have some company that wouldn't probe her about Draco. It was nice to get away from that; away from him.

"Alright," Hermione's voice once again woke Aliana from her thoughts. "One of the real reasons that I decided to come talk to you, and I'm really quite sorry about it, is… Well, it's about Ron."

Aliana leaned closer, clearly intrigued, and whispered, "Ron?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if you've noticed but he is absolutely in love with me."

"And I'm not sure if you have noticed but you are absolutely in love with him."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Only to the trained eye, Hermione. Only to the trained eye."

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It had been week since she had seen Draco. He had been courteous enough to grace her with as little of himself as possible. She hadn't the time to deal with him right now. Their insignificant fight was far past along with the anger she had held for him. Not seeing him, not being with him, had become routinely normal. She held no contempt for what he had said to her but she also no longer held any remorse for the words she had said to him. He had deserved it.

Now lying in her bed she drifted in and out of dreams as she struggled to get through one more sleepless night. Another storm was passing through and tonight it seemed to be even worse. The pounding rain, that held possibilities for a soothing rhythm, was accompanied by treacherous winds and loud flashes of thunder and lightning. Her wand lay beside her head emanating a strong string of light but was doing little to comfort her fear.

She faced away from the window with the curtains pulled tightly around her bed. She desperately tried to drown out the noise by dragging her blanket over her head, covering her ears. She hardly noticed a disturbance towards her curtains. She was only aware of a body sliding into her bed beside her and pulling a strong arm around her waist. In any other circumstances she would have whorled around and pushed the person out of bed screaming. Somehow, tonight, this arm around her felt perfectly normal. It seemed just perfect, familiar.

Her heart jumped as his lips moved up her neck and over her jaw. They made their way towards her ear and whispered comforting words. Her muscles relaxed as she melted into him. The thunder was drowned out by this arm wrapped around her.

A/N: So, my procrastination got the best of me. I had every intention of getting up to chapter 20 done through the Christmas break. But that didn't even come close to happening. This is about as far as I got… So, reviews would be a great incentive. They make me want to write so much more.