I've struggled a bit with chapter 7, I knew what I wanted to happen, but I had a bit of a hard time getting there. So I'm sorry if it isn't as good as usual, but it will lead to something better, I promise! :)

AvengedSevenfoldLover: Thank you, for the review and everything. :)

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! :)

RonHermione7: Thank you as always!

Chapter 7

"How come you two are always wet?" Narcissa asked her son as she waved her wand and Draco's clothes dried up. "And what are you wearing? Did I not tell you Bellatrix is coming for lunch?"

"I was just about to go and change", he mumbled and steered to the stairs.

"Hurry, lunch's in ten minutes", Narcissa said.

When Draco came back downstairs to the dining room, the woman's were already there. He tended to avoid his aunts' seeking gaze and sat down across from Alice.

"Draco, can you send me the potato, please?" Alice asked. Draco picked up the bowl of potato's and reached it over Alice. For a second their hands met and he felt the blush creeping up his face.

"Thank you", Alice said, smiling. He smiled back, but quickly focused on the food again. He peaked over at his aunt, who'd stopped eating at watched the two youngsters closely. An unpleasant feeling rolled down his spine. Bellatrix was up to something.

"So, Alice, I heard that the Dark Lord gave you a private lesion of the three curses", Bellatrix said. It wasn't until now Draco realized that Alice's mother was missing.

"Father wanted me to learn from the best", Alice said, the tension between them were unmistakable.

"Father?" Bellatrix said and put down her fork on the table with a loud; bang!

"Yes?" Alice said, starting a starring competition between the two. "Imagine, he chose her over you."

"You're lying! There was more to it than just choice!" Bellatrix's eyes widened.

"What then? Her blood is purer than yours?" Silence followed. "But to be true", Alice said in a whisper. "I'd rather have you as my mother." Bellatrix seemed overjoyed by the statement. But then her expression changed. The mood went stiff again, and Bellatrix's gaze felt cold and searching.

"The dark lord has ordered me to take you to Diagon Alley", she said to Alice.

"What for?" Alice asked, she couldn't see any reasonable reason for Bellatrix to take her there. Why couldn't she go with Narcissa and Draco next week?

"To buy your Hogwarts supplies", Bellatrix said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why can't I go with Draco and Narcissa?" Bellatrix starred at her with black eyes.

"You know what your father said to you about that", Bellatrix said, almost yelled actually. Alice didn't catch what she referred to at first. Then it hit her; he'd told her not to take any further interest in Draco, and she hadn't. They were just friends, right?

"Is it so wrong of me to go somewhere with my friends?"

"You will do as told!" Alice went numbed, clearly her father had been very strict on that point. She was to go with Bellatrix to Diagon Alley, sounded fun...

"Fine", Alice said. It was clear in the tone of her voice that she'd given this one up. "Come get me when it's time to leave", she said and left the table. Alice hadn't even finished her plate. The remaining trio ate under silence, desperately trying to avoid eye-contact. Draco felt scared, he never knew what his aunt was up to and her visits were always somewhat unpleasant. They remained seated as the house-elves cleaned the table and served the grown up woman's some firewhiskey. Narcissa swooped the glass in one gulp and then hurried to refill it.

"The Dark Lord is coming by tomorrow afternoon, he wants to speak with you Draco", Bellatrix said. Draco just nodded. This was definitely one of the best and worst summers ever. If it wasn't for... Well, he a part of him wished he'd wake up and all of it would be a dream.

Two damped knocks sounded trough the room. Alice sat on her bed and looked out her window. She missed the view of their old house, the mountains, the green fields, the wild animals. Sure, there were mountains in the distance, green grass and animals here too.

"Come in", Alice said, not paying attention to who it was that entered her room.

"You won't go to Diagon Ally until tomorrow", Draco said. He stood relaxed, leaning against the doorframe looking on her. She just glanced in his direction before looking out the window again.

"I've got something for you", he said, Alice looked over at him again. "I don't have it here, I've got it in my room", he said with a smile. Alice noticed the redness on his cheeks. He'd probably been trying to find a way to say it for some time now.

"What is it?" Alice asked, curious of what he might want to give her.

"You have to wait and see", he said, still with the small, carful smile on his lips. He turned around and started walking down the hall, towards the stair. Alice jumped off her bed and ran to him. She could see that his smile got bigger for a second when she appeared by his side.

"So, is it something I can use?" She said, trying to lure out what he was giving her.

"Yes", he said, not giving her any specific expression other than that.

"Is it fun?"

"Yes", he said again, then he glanced over at her again. "I think so at least." They walked up the last step on the stair and Alice realised, she'd never been to the third floor before, at least not while paying attention on it. It was even darker than the tow lover once, besides from the cellar. The walls were painted in a dark green colour and there were only two windows in the hallway, each in the ends. Draco opened the door to the first room on their right. It was a bit smaller than Alice's, but still big enough. It was a bit cosier, dark green curtains, low bookshelves with candles placed upon them, a fireplace, a sofa and a table, a desk and of course a king-sized bed. He walked over to the desk, pulled out one of the drawers and picked something up.

"It thought you might like it", he said and reached the squared present over while waiting for her reaction. Alice took it and carefully unwrapped it. It was an old book, with a leather binder and a thin line of golden text that read; Alice in Wonderland.

"Don't show it to mum", he said. "Don't show it to anyone here actually, they'd probably burn it."

"Why?" It was a bit worn; Alice presumed it'd been read several times.

"It's written by a muggle", he whispered.

"Will you read the beginning for me?" she asked and reached the book over to him. He took it and smiled before going over to the bed, sitting down on it. She walked up to the bed as well, sat down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder as he started reading.

" Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?" "