Damion:Whoooo! I get to start out the story!
Nanci: It's your birthday present. *shrug*
Damion: Hey, that's not until fall.
Mandy: It's early and it's from both of us.
Nanci: It's only from me and you know you are so lucky to have a fall birthday.
Damion: I know. I am the best.
Nanci: That's not what I said! *pounces*
Mandy: *Laughs evilly* All part of my master plan to get to introduce the story! Here you go my little bouncing bunny rabbits! Chapter Five! *stares hungrily at you*
Nanci: Did you ever notice how weird twos look? [2]
Damion and Mandy: *nods*
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
Chapter Five: Broken Windows
Draco's nerves felt like they had been set on fire. Every little touch had made him jump from Pansy hugging him when he walked into Snape's classroom to the paper that had brushed his hand when someone had let it drift onto the table top. 'Something's wrong with Alexia and I'm just sitting in a classroom like nothing's going on!' Draco thought angrily.
"Draco! Have you been listening at all?" Pansy hissed into his ear. Her breath was hot and it made Draco cringe away slightly. Pansy scooted away a little and looked hurt.
"Yes, I have been listening!" Draco lifted his arm to show her his notes. Pansy sighed.
"Not to Snape, to me! I've been talking to you for the last ten minutes and you've had the same glassy eyed look the whole time. You know I remember when I used to talk and you would hang onto my every word! I just-"
"Ms. Parkinson, would you care to share your conversation to the rest of the castle as well as this class?" Professor Snape cut in on their not so private conversation.
Pansy blushed furiously as Draco stared at her in horror "I-I didn't real-realize I w-was-"
"What? You didn't realize that you where shouting your head off in the middle of my classroom!" Snape shouted at her. BANG! His hand had made contact with the table in front of the stuttering girl. Pansy stared at it as though it might bite her. "Get. Out. Of. My. Classroom!" He yelled his voice was unnaturally high for him. Pansy grabbed her things and rushed out leaving a small trail of paper. Everything was oddly silent, all eyes staring at Snape. He straightened up and regained his composure "You too, Draco."
"But I didn't do anything!" Draco protested.
"Yes, you did. You were the reason she was shouting in the first place. Now leave. Maybe this could have been avoided if you didn't have such 'a gassy eyed look'." Snape sneered as the rest of the class snickered and laughed behind their hands. Draco grabbed the rest of his things and packed up, trying not hurry so as not to make a fool out of himself like Pansy did. He walked out into the hallway and was met by the sight of a sniveling and shaking Pansy. She looked up at him from the ground where she was seated.
"I-I d-didn't get you k-kicked out t-too, did I?" Draco almost scoffed and made some sniding remark but he stopped himself.
"No, it wasn't you. I just mouthed off to Snape after you left." Draco smiled half-heartily at Pansy letting her believe his lie. She smiled back and forced herself off of the ground. They both knew that Snape would never come out and berate them for being disruptions, he never did with Slytherin students.
"So where are you going to go? It's such a nice day out maybe we should go outside and get a tan!" Se laughed as she wiped away the old tears. "You could use it!"
Draco laughed too. "How about you go outside and wait for me, I've got to drop by and visit someone. It will only take a second." Pansy paused for a second running through all the people he could be visiting right now. She seemed satisfied with her results as she agreed to wait for him. They parted at the entrance hall, Pansy walked outside and Draco walked to the North Tower.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]IT'S A CASTLE IN THE SKY[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
Alexia had finally gotten all the dye out and her white-blond hair now fell to the middle of her back. She stared at the reflection in the mirror and frowned. This was not her this was some other girl, one that had real parents and hadn't gone through a quarter of the things she had gone through. 'Well,' Alexia thought 'that is just going to have to change.' She pulled out a pair of large dangerous looking shears that gleamed in the dim light of the bathroom. She raised them up and was about to chop when someone knocked on her door.
"One second!" She called. Silence was her reply. Alexia shrugged and set the shears down and quickly grabbed two cloth-covered elastics out of her pocket. She gripped two bunches of her hair and tied them into perfect pigtails. For a long time Alexia had hated the utter simplicity of a ponytail and so she had taken to carrying around several elastics instead of just one. She ran to the door and opened it fully expecting laughs for her hairstyle choice.
"Nice hair, look, what happened back there?" Draco walked past her into the room and looked her dead in the face.
"The dye thing? Yeah, everything's cool now." Alexia swung around to keep up with his movements and felt her hair tickle her face. She smile and welcomed the feeling. "I actually might keep my hair like this. Hey, wait, didn't I tell you to get to class?" Alexia questioned pointing an accusatory finger at Draco while using her other hand to twist her new hair.
"I got kicked out and, no, I did not do it on purpose. Anyway, do you want to go get a tan with me and Pansy outside." He laughed a little at it now because it was impossible for anyone related to his father to get a tan, they just burned.
"Sure, just let me change." Alexia walked over to a small duffel bag and began to pull out clothes. "Today feels like a ribbon day. Right?" She turned and grinned at Draco as she pulled out more clothes.
"Um, sure, but what's a 'ribbon day' consist of?" Draco leaned around her trying to get a glimpse of what she was pulling out.
"Ribbons, duh. Oh, and lace." She stated matter-of-factly still digging through the bag. "Found it." She smiled proudly and pulled out a dress, or in Draco's opinion, a pile of black ribbons and blacker lace. She stood up and held it against her body. "Do you like it?"
"Why can't you just wear what you're wearing right now?" Draco said not taking his eyes off the dress as if it would bite him.
Alexia sighed dramatically "I dressed thinking my hair was going to stay short and brown. In fact I don't even remember packing my fancy dress. Weird, I must have grabbed it in my hurry to get here." The dress fell to her knees and the corset top was made out of criss-crossing ribbons and satin, it had no shoulders and the sleeves, swishy and made out of lace, fell to her elbows and seemed to be attached by a single thread. The skirt was made out several layers of lace and had a thick layer of tulle to keep it poofy. On the top layer of lace there were several tiny roses sown on. "Do you like it?" She asked again.
"Yes, it's beautiful." Draco said slightly awed.
"Thanks, I made it myself!" Alexia frowned slightly "Something's missing though." She went back to sifting through bag after throwing the dress into Draco's arms. "Found it!" She cried happily. She stood and showed Draco the hair piece; it was a headband with a large, black rose on one side of it and several medium, black roses trailing off to the other side under neath that was a thin decorative veil that could be pulled over the top half of the wearer's face.
"I suppose you made that yourself too?" Draco asked thinking he knew the answer.
"No, my friend did for me, I would make such a mess! I'm good with a needle but you can forget a hot-glue gun." Alexia said as she took the dress back then walked into the bathroom.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]SHE FEELS THE RHYTHM LIKE IT IS HER HEARTBEAT[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
Pansy had taken off her robes and laid them down on the grass and had her plain white dress shirt untucked from the regulation gray Hogwart's skirt, she had kicked off her shoes so her long legs wouldn't have tan lines. She smiled when she heard voices traveling across the grounds and recognized one of them as being Draco. She turned onto her stomach fully ready to give Draco the berating of his life for taking so long, but then she saw her. She had long blond hair that had ribbons in it to hold up the pigtails and a hair piece that covered half her face and an extravagant dress, but none of this stopped Pansy from seeing that she was gorgeous. Her hand twitched on the edge of her improve blanket and she swallowed the want, no, the need to jump up and crush her pretty face and push her away from Draco. The girl's, no, the woman's, because even Pansy could clearly see that she wasn't awkward or skinny like Pansy she was curvy and in every way a woman, face split into a grin revealing perfect white teeth.
"Hi, I'm Alexia! You must be Pansy." Alexia bent down and offered her hand to her. Pansy took it silently never taking her eyes of off her smooth, pale face.
"Yeah, I am." She muttered after a little bit. Pansy was ready to flip herself back over and forget all about, or at least try to, Draco's lovely companion. She heard the flutter of a cloak next and glanced over to see Draco laying down his own. 'But in the shade.' Pansy thought quite dejectedly. "What's up, Drakey?" Pansy said without thinking. Alexia giggled as Draco blushed.
"I told you not to call me that!" Draco said his blush rising in a way that Pansy had never seen as Alexia giggled harder.
"What? I like it, Drakey!" Alexia teased and Pansy realized why Draco was blushing. It was because there was a insanely gorgeous creature in the vicinity. Pansy blushed realizing that she had only made a gateway to flirtatious behavior. The two bantered back and forth for a second before Draco gave up and collapsed on his robes. Alexia was about to sit down next to him but instead went over to Pansy. "Can I sit next to you?" She asked.
"Um, sure." Pansy said scooting over a bit.
"Hey, Lexie, won't you burn?" Draco said from his spot in the tree shade.
Alexia sighed dramatically "Draco, any boy who acts as dimwitted as you deserves to sit without the company of two lovely young woman." Pansy almost blushed when she realized that Alexia had just paid her a compliment and almost strangled her when she realized that prim, proper, 'wouldn't-give-a-nickname-to-his-own-grandmother' Draco had just called her 'Lexie'.
"You two would would have beautiful children, you know." Pansy said, as always, speaking her thoughts before she thought them through.
Alexia burst out laughing and fell back. "Oh, yeah! They'd be great! With their twenty-three fingers and eighteen toes!"
"Wha-? What do you mean?" Pansy yelled shocked as ever.
"Pansy! It's a little thing called genetics!" Alexia straighted up and laughed a little more at Pansy's bewildered face. "Draco explain. I have to go now actually." Alexia got up from the robes and straightened her dress.
"Where are you going?" Draco questioned.
Alexia giggled and sang "I'm off to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of Hogwarts!" She skipped off still singing the mangled song. Pansy shot a questioning glance at Draco but he only shrugged.
"Well, anyway, me and Lexie are related. I don't know how, because she won't tell. She keeps telling me I'm not allowed to know." Draco sighed and looked up to the sky. "She's always telling me that." another sigh "I hate not being allowed." Pansy nodded she was at loss for words trying to think of all the things that the young Malfoy was 'not allowed'.
Her list was pretty short.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]CAN YOU FEEL THE BEAT?[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
"Alexia, you don't have to leave right away, do you?" Dumbledore said as he walked behind his desk.
"Well, no, I don't necessarily have to." Alexia said as she flumped down into the chair opposite him. She worried her lower lip as thoughts in the back of her head began to push and shove their way to the front.
"Could you stay for the dinner then?"
"Of course. I'd love to!" She smiled and just the thought of the delicious food made her mouth water.
"Also, I need to ask you about your payment." Alexia shifted in her chair.
"I haven't actually thought about that. I guess that I've been to busy with the social extremities of your school!" She giggled nervously and sunk slightly in her chair.
Dumbledore's brow furrowed slightly "What ever do you mean and why are you so nervous?" Alexia realized what she had been doing and sat up straight.
"Oh, nothing. It's just how all big schools are I suppose. You can't exactly help it when the student body gets... interested in the," a giggle escaped her lips when she realized that what she was about to say was extremely corny "student body." She giggled some more but regained her composure quickly.
"Ah, yes. I do think you have had a lot more interaction with the older students then the younger ones. Yes, their behavior can rub off on the best of us sometimes." He gave Alexia a knowing smile which only made more laughter bubble up to her surface. "And I see that it has made you a giggling mess." Their was a small pause in their conversation in which they both straighted themselves out. "So, how about one hundred galleons. Is that a good amount?"
"What?! A hundred galleons, for just this? Um, wow, I don't think I've done that much." Alexia said in seemingly one breath. She had leaned forward and looked slightly paler than usual. "Are you serious?" She whispered.
Dumbledore just smiled "Of course I'm serious! I think you deserve it." He leaned forward and rested his head on his hands.
"Um, okay then. I guess that's a good amount." She stood up at the same time that he did and they shook hands Alexia still slightly disbelieving at the amount. Dumbledore walked around his desk and put an arm around and walked her to the door as she repeated thanks over and over again.
"It's nothing, please. I'll see you tonight." He waved her out the door.
Outside Alexia smiled slowly. "Wow, a hundred." and then she began her walk down the the stairs toward the gargoyle.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]FOREVER YOUNG[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
"Lucius, did you really think that you could hide her from me? Do you think I'm a fool?" Voldermort said quietly, if you didn't know him very well you would say he had a forgiving tone.
"No, my Lord. I do not think you are a fool." Lucius said his eyes glued to the floor in front of his Lord's bare feet.
"Then why did you even try to hide her from me. I told you to kill her, not ship her off to America and keep her safe." Voldermort began to pace in the Malfoy Manor's drawing room but Lucuis's eyes never left the spot. "I didn't tell you that did I?" His voice was rising with each syllable that he spoke. "Did I?!"
"No, my Lord. You did not tell me to do that." Lucius said struggling to keep his voice steady.
"So, then the logical question would be: why did you let her live?"
"My Lord, I could not kill a child." Voldermort stopped pacing and was now in front of Lucius.
"Yes, because killing a full grown adult is so much easier." Voldermort grabbed his collar and lifted him up so he was face-to-face. "I will find a way to her and when I do I will kill her. I can not have a female at the head of the Malfoy family!" Voldermort dropped Lucius where he crumpled to the ground.
"My Lord, she is at Hogwarts, you can not get there without being detected." Lucius held his breath and waited for his master's response.
"I can't get there but I know people who can." and Lucius, with growing dread, chanced a glance at Voldermort and saw a large grin spread out on his face.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO GOOD[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
"Draco! Draco, come here!" Harry had just seen him enter the main hall with Pansy and had remembered the letter that Alexia had wanted to him to give to Draco. Draco said something to Pansy and walked over.
"What do you want, Harry?" The remark had obviously meant to be a lot more scathing but had ultimately failed. Harry smirked slightly as he pulled out the letter.
"Alexia wanted me to give this you." Harry handed the letter over and Draco opened it. Harry watched Draco's face fill with a mix of surprise and horror. "Draco, what is it?"
Draco looked up with wide eyes. "It's her will. Look."
"What?!" Harry leaned over Draco's shoulder and read the first line:
I, Alexia Eloise Malfoy, being of sound mind and body give my last will and testament...
It went on down the page but Harry didn't read it all. He slowly leaned away from Draco and Draco turned toward him with panic in his grey eyes. "Harry, why would she make a will if she's so young? Is she going to kill herself? Maybe her work is more dangerous than I thought?"
"Draco, you need to calm down. Let's go find Lexie and ask her why. Okay?" Draco took a large breath and seemed to calm down, slightly. "Okay, where did you last see her?"
"Outside, but she skipped away singing something about 'the wonderful wizard of Hogwarts'. Whatever that means." Draco look at his feet not finding a meaning in the song.
Harry laughed and said "Oh, I know where she is." Harry grabbed Draco hand pulled him into a corridor which led to another and another until they turned the corner and at the end next to a large statue of a gargoyle stood Alexia with a dreamy look on her face. "Alexia!" Harry yelled breaking her out of her trance. She grinned at them and jogged down the hall to them.
She opened her mouth to speak but Draco cut her off "What is this?! Why do you have a will? You don't need a will. You're only, like, what, in your twenty's? Why do you need one?" Alexia had a small smile on her face as it drifted down to Harry and Draco's still interlocked hands, but she hide it by looking down at her feet and then snapping it up to meet Draco's eyes when it was gone.
"It's a just to be safe, so all my stuff doesn't end up in a garage sale and eventually in the hands of a muggle. And you would have know that if you would have read the letter that was with it." She smiled again and snatched the envelope out of Draco's hand and pulled out a second piece of paper. Draco unlatched his hands from Harry's who blushed when he realized he had been holding hands with Draco. "Harry, while our silly friend Draco is reading that, can I talk to you, alone?"
"Um, sure." Alexia led Harry away from Draco and walked down a different corridor. Draco finished reading and looked around almost calling out for the two, but then remembered the conversation and snuck as quietly as he could in their direction. He grinned when he heard their voices drifting down the hall.
"Harry, are you dumb?" Draco almost laughed.
"No, I'm not dumb, but I think you are being incredibly stupid. He doesn't even like me." Draco's smile faded for a second and began to think of all the things that they could be talking about.
"Oh, he likes you. I know he does."
"No, he doesn't like me and I don't like him, and I'm not continuing this conversation." He heard Harry's shoes walking toward Draco's spot but then Alexia whispered something and Harry stopped walking. Draco didn't hear it though.
"'I wish you could see me like you see her.'" Alexia whispered again "That's what you want isn't it? And you can't lie because I saw it in your head." Harry turned on his heel and faced her.
"I don't care what you saw or heard it's all in my head. It's not real and I don't care." Draco forgot that he was supposed to be hiding and leaned forward letting an eye peak around the corner of the hall. Alexia was leaning on the wall facing Draco and Harry's back was to him.
"Like I said don't lie and I won't lie either and you want to know how he likes you?" Alexia didn't wait for an answer. "He told me right after you and I got out from the mind transfer." Alexia smirked and Draco realized what they were talking about.
"Draco? No your kidding." Draco's eyes rolled into the back off his head and his body fell backward without his mind being aware. Draco had fainted giving off his hiding spot to Alexia and Harry. Harry stared down at Draco limp body, gaping.
"And now he knows you like him back." Alexia said as she rounded the corner smiling.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]STATUES BUILT ON THE BONES OF YOUR FRIENDS[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
"Hey, there Sleeping Beauty. You ready for your kiss with Prince Charming?" Draco blushed into Harry's shoulder but it felt good; to smile and blush and be held. Harry broke off the hug and pulled away, blushing too. Draco looked up from the hospital bed, which he had been laying in for the last two and a half hours, at Alexia and tried to scowl at her but failed because Harry was laughing. Draco had awoken from his shock induced 'sleep' an hour earlier to be met with the sight of Harry sitting near his bed reading and upon noticing that he was awake launched into what would have been a full scale explanation on what had just happened. But, Draco who was in no mood for endless talking clapped his hand over Harry's mouth and then in a moment of spontaneity pulled Harry's lips down to meet his own. The kiss was short lived but sweet and Draco loved it. It wasn't like the other kisses he received over the years from the other Slytherins, being 'The Ice Prince' came with perks, lots of perks. (A/N: That was an innuendo.)
"Hey, she asked you a question." Hermione said as she walked over to the bed with Alexia. "Sorry, Harry, Ron wo-couldn't come." Harry nodded and looked away but Draco caught her eye and she gave him a small nod that told him everything. Draco leaned back into the pillow and sighed as the pure simplicity of the scene hit him. Harry was holding his hand as he talked to Alexia and Hermione. Then at the same time that the window shattered, the scene did.
Everyone looked up at the window except Alexia, her head slumped and her hair created a sheet around her upper body. She looked up.
Alexia gripped at the arrowhead that was now sticking out of he chest and she staggered away from Draco and the rest, blood was already pouring out of the wound staining her skin. No one said anything for the second that it took to dawn on them.
"Oh my god! Madam Pomfrey! Come here, please!" Hermione screamed and rushed forward to catch Alexia before she fully fell. Her arms wapping around her carefully avoiding the feathers at the end of the arrow. Harry lost his grip on Draco's hand and raced over to Alexia too. Just as he got over to her she coughed up blood and it flecked Harry and Hermione's faces and clothes.
[BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK][BREAK]
Nanci:That took to long to write. I suffered from sleep deprivation for about a day and a half. And I know what I'm going to do, now. Note about the breaks they are lyrics to several different songs, they have absolutely nothing to do with the story. Just my randomness showing, again. And the will is just a coincidence, Alexia can not see the future. Just, before you ask. If you ask. I am immediately going to start on, what is it now?, Chapter six? Yes, wow, I got this far. Just to tell you how (creepy, sadistic, messed up, choose one) I am: I was smiling when I wrote that last bit and I was also listening to Lady Gaga. Like I said choose one. Now a word from my not-so-sponsors.
Damion:That speech was long. They came here to read Drarry not your ramblings about how sorry you are.
Mandy: Same thing. And what does she have to be sorry about. She never said she was sorry.
Nanci:Review please or I might commit suicide by crazy mommy-cat.