Hey guys, I was just reminded by myself that Draco might have been a bit out of character, but remember; this is from Alice's point of view, this is how Draco is with her. Otherwise he's still a jackass, a jackass we love to love though. ;) I'm not quite sure what I was trying to say with this, but you get the point. Yeah. Oh, and don't get to sad when he starts being a jackass in this story as well.

Thank you all for the reviews!

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Chapter 11

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Alice had placed herself by the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, waiting for the other student's arrival. She straightened the collar on her new, green robe and nervously looked over at the teacher's table. A few Rawenclaw students had arrived, but still no one from Slytherin. What if they wouldn't approve her?

"Hi", Alice looked to her right. A lean, tall girl with dark brown hair, almost the same colour as Alice's, and a gentle smile stood beside her.

"You're new, aren't you?" The girl asked as she sat down beside Alice.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Alice answered with a smile.

"There's not that many girls in every year in Slytherin", she said and pulled her bang out of her face. "I'm Daphne by the way, Daphne Greengrass", the girl said and stretched out her right arm. Alice took it.

"Alice Gaunt." The hall was starting to fill up; most of the tables were nearly full. Further to her right sat a pale, dark-haired girl with a hard face, surrounded by two big, and according to Alice, 'slow looking' boys and a dark, long boy with high cheekbones and slating eyes. To her left sat a small group of younger boys.

"Which year are you starting in?" Daphne asked, she really seemed interested.

"Fifth, but it's my first year in school ever", Alice admitted. It felt more than good to have someone to talk to.

"Haven't you gone to school before? Why not?" The doors opened and Professor McGonagall walked in to the room, followed by a rather large group of first year students. She placed a three-legged stool and placed the same hat Alice had worn the night before. She rolled out a parchment and started reading up names.

"Mum wouldn't let me", Alice said quietly, to answerer Daphne's question.

"Strange", Daphne though, Alice couldn't but agree. They sat quiet under the rest of the sorting, four girls and five boys got sorted in to Slytherin. Professor Dumbledore stood up by the teachers table and the whole room silenced.

"Let the feast begin", he said and food of all kinds appeared on the golden plates before them. They all started picking out the food they wanted and they all started speaking with each other again. Alice glanced over her shoulder, only to see Draco enter the room, walking as fast as he could to the Slytherin table. He sat down next to the dark boy the Alice's right. Their eyes met for a moment, he didn't show any particular expression and hurried to look away.

"What was that about?" Daphne asked and looked over from Alice, to Draco and back to Alice again.

"Nothing, it just..." Alice changed her mind. "It's complicated." Daphne seemed ok with Alice's answerer and started talking about something else. Alice thought about something professor Dumbledore had said to her this morning; it was perfectly ok to leave before the feast had ended. Truth was, Alice had never met more than about ten persons at a time. Now it was over hundreds, you could say it was a bit overwhelming. Her head was pounding by all the sound and expressions; she wasn't really sure where to look or what to do.

"I'm going to the common room", Alice said to Daphne who looked rather shocked.

"Okay, alright. I'll see you later then", she said with a smile. Alice made her way passed the tables and exited the great hall, immediately her head pounding calmed down and she could focus again. One thing was good though, she was anonymous, and she could be who ever she wanted. Her feet carried her without having to think to the dungeons and to the wall that led in to the common room.

"Supreme", she said and walked through the wall. The sound of water and the greenish light felt soothing. This was right, here she belonged. She walked through the big room and to the left, where a small corridor appeared with doors on both sides. She walked in to the fifth door to the left. The room was rather big, four beds, a fireplace at the far end, a door that led in to a bathroom and a window in the roof that showed the water above. She walked over to one of the beds beside the fireplace and opened a drawer at the nightstand. After retrieving a book she walked out to the common room again and sat down in one of the sofas by the fireplace. Not shortly after she heard people enter the room, taking place in the room. Alice recognized Daphne's voice.

"What? She seems nice", Daphne said and Alice saw in the corner of her eye how Daphne made her way towards her.

"Can we join you?" Alice closed her book and smiled at Daphne.

"Of course", she said, moving to the side of the sofa, giving them room.

"This is Alice Gaunt", Daphne said as she sat down beside Alice. There were three girls; one of them was big, had black hair and a robust face, she was introduced as Millicent Bulstrode; the second girl was the same that had been to Alice's right under dinner, Pansy Parkinson; further more there was a small, dark-brown haired girl with glasses named Tracy Davies.

"Anyway, as I was telling you Draco invited me..." Pansy Parkinson stopped talking as Draco entered the room, all five of them watched as he crossed the room in haste. He glanced over at them and his gaze lingered at Alice for a moment.

"Excuse me", Alice said, picked up her book and ran after him. "Draco?" She said and touched his arm. He stopped, but didn't say anything.

"Have I done something?" He still stood with his back against her. "Will you at least look at me?" He turned around.

"Please, will you just leave me alone?" he said, his voice felt cold, but his eyes told a different story.

"You can't expect me to..." Alice was interrupted.

"I think you heard him." Alice turned around to see the pale, hard-faced girl.

"And who were you again?" Alice said, not paying much attention to her.

"Pansy Parkinson", she said with a grin. "Draco's girlfriend." Girlfriend? He hadn't ever mentioned a girlfriend. Alice didn't know what to say, she just looked over at Draco. She noticed right away that he had a hard time looking at her.

"When were you going to tell me this?" Draco looked at her, as if he was begging her to forgive him.

"Why would he want to tell you anything?" Pansy said, lifting an eyebrow. "You look like a tacky maid. Maybe that's what you want to be? Draco's maid?" Alice backed up a few steps. What did this come from?

"I think we both know who would love to be Draco's maid of the two of us", Alice said, before turning around to leave.

"Don't mind her, Draco", Pansy said behind Alice's back.

"I need to be alone", Draco said. Alice could imagine the rage on Pansy Parkinson's face.

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School started the next day already; Alice had retrieved her schedule and felt disappointed that she wouldn't have class until after lunch every Monday. She's just left the common room and was heading for the Great Hall, where Daphne would meet up with her.

"Alice." Her heart skipped a beat, but she stopped, letting Draco catch up with her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, walking by her side as if nothing.

"Fine", she said, looking down on the floor. They turned around a corner and the most arousing smell hit her.

"Do you smell that?" Draco asked, they'd both stopped. "It smells like..." He bent down towards her and inhaled deeply. "No, it was just you", he said and continued walking.

"It's not me", Alice said. "I don't smell like this", she continued.

"No, I'm sure, it's you." They stopped again and Draco leaned against her, smelling her right by the neck. "Definitely you", he said. They walked through the corridor, a door stood opened almost at the end.

"It comes from in here", Alice said, pointing in to the room. It was a classroom, probably for Potions class. They stepped in trough the open door and walked over to one of the tables. It was a golden pot, with a clear, distinctive mother-of-pearl shined liquid inside it.

"It smells like vanilla and a spring rain", Draco said, standing almost right behind Alice.

"No", Alice said, leaning in to the cauldron. She turned around and put her nose in the chest of Draco and then turned back to smell the potion. "It smells like you."

"Be careful with that!" Alice turned and faced an old man, with gray hair, a bald circle on the top of his head and pleasant eyes.

"I'm sorry, sir, the smell", Alice said backing away with Draco from the pot. Professor Slughorn looked up at the young couple standing in his classroom. He looked at the tall boy. He was a Malfoy, no doubt. Then his gaze moved over to the girl. For a moment his heart stopped, he took a step backwards and stumbled, landing on a chair he was sure hadn't been there before and the girl held out her wand.

"Are you alright sir?" His eyes widened as he looked at the girl once more. The resemblance.

"Quite alright, thank you", he said. "That is the love potion Amorentia, very dangerous if used wrong." They stood silenced for a moment.

"May I ask for your name?" Alice casted a glance over her shoulder, Draco was gone.

"Alice Gaunt", Alice said and walked over to the old man, helping him on his feet.

"That you, I presume you're the one conjuring the chair?" He brushed of his clothes and walked over to the table with all the cauldrons.

"Yes sir, I wouldn't want you to get hurt", she said, honestly. "If you excuse me, my friend is waiting for me in the Great Hall. I'll see you in class professor", Alice said and left the old man standing in his classroom. The corridors were near empty as Alice made her way to the Great Hall. Daphne stood up and waved at her as soon as she'd entered the room.

"Nobody", Alice stopped at the sound of Draco's voice. "She means nothing to me."

"What were you doing with her then?" The boy whom Draco was speaking with was long and skinny; he didn't look much for the world.

"She wanted to look at some stupid love potion", Draco said. Alice felt betrayed, what was this all about? This wasn't the Draco Alice knew, not at all. He looked up at her as she passed by; he must have understood that she heard. The regret in his eyes told so.