Yes! Finally chapter 16 is out. I hope you'll like it. I've never been on a date (we don't really date in Sweden), so I hope it turned out alright! ;)

Thank you as always for the reviews and special thanks to Angel9999, a very dear friend of mine whom been helping me irl! (Check her out sometime, I hope she'll post her awesome story sometime soon on fanfic too!)

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Chapter 16

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"Are you ready?" Alice took Blaise's arm and they threw themselves out on the road to Hogsmeade. It wasn't a very pleasant walk, the wind and snow hit them hard and tried to scratch up their faces. Alice buttoned the last button on her coat and looked down on the ground to not get snow in her eyes.

"Where do you want to go first?" Blaise yelled over the howling wind.

"I've never been to Hogsmeade", Alice reminded him. The outlines of the village appeared in the distance. They didn't speak much on the rest of the way – like everybody else; they were just trying to get there. The wind seemed to decrease as the approached the village. Blaise pulled Alice in to a brightly coloured shop full of all sorts of sweets. The shop was crowded, half the school was probably there. Alice unbuttoned her coat a bit and let the warm air fill her.

"They have everything in here", Blaise said and picked down a box of different coloured candy beans.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour bean", Alice read on the box.

"You should really try them", Blaise said and gave her the box. "But be careful though, they really have every flavour possible." They walked over to the far wall, nest to the counter where the chocolate were. Alice looked to her left; professor Slughorn was standing by the shelves and picked out a box of crystallized pineapples.

"Let's get some fudge and get out of here", Blaise said and reached for the fudge on the top shelf.

"Oh, Alice how wonderful to see you again!" Professor Slughorn said. "And Blaise", he added with a pleased smile.

"Professor Slughorn", Alice greeted him.

"Be sure to bring Blaise with you on that supper we spoke about earlier!"

"Of course sir", Alice said and professor Slughorn left laughing for the counter. Blaise followed him, paid for their sweets and they left the crowded shop. They walked passed Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, a pretty place full of Hogwarts students drinking tea and holding hands.

"Uh", Alice said and shrugged at the thought of even setting a foot in there.

"Yeah, that place's quite tacky", Blaise said and took Alice's hand. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks Inn." They walked across the street in to the cosy inn. It was a bit crowded, just as Honeydukes. Blaise took her to one of the booths by the fireplace.

"Two butterbeers, please", Blaise said when a curvy woman with a rather pretty face came up to them. She left quickly as if she was afraid some of them might hex her.

"So I've heard you live with the Malfoys?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah, I haven't really got anywhere else to go", Alice said honestly.

"What about your parents?" The pretty lady came back and gave them two glasses of a honey coloured liquid.

"Mum's gone and dad... Well he moves around a lot", Alice said and tasted the drink. "How about you then?"

"I live with my mum near Birmingham", he said. "My dad's gone but mum's remarried a few times."

"No siblings?" Blaise shook his head and they sat quiet for a moment.

"I have to ask you about Draco", Blaise said, he'd been sucking on the question for a while. That much was obvious.

"What about him?"

"What's your relation with him?" Blaise starred at his still full glass. "I mean, are you in love with him?" Alice reacted at the question; why would anyone think that?

"No, Blaise, I'm not in love with him. We were friends, but I'm not sure anymore."

"I just had to ask; after that fight yesterday..."

"What fight?" Alice interrupted him.

"The one Draco and Pansy had, about you", he said. "I thought he'd told you about that?"

"We barley talk anymore... Wait, they we're fighting about me? Why?"

"You know Pansy, she's..." Blaise struggled to find the right word.

"Wrecked psycho?" Blaise smiled and maybe even laughed a bit. "I knew it!" Alice said loud and smiled.

"Knew what?" Blaise had returned to his normal, damped state.

"That you could smile; Daphne doubted it", Alice said, still smiling brightly at him. He couldn't help but to crack another smile.

"Do you know why I asked you out?" Alice took another sip of her butterbeer.

"No", she said. "Why?"

"Because you're beautiful and so carefree", he said and smiled. This time it was another kind of smile. "You're not like the others." Alice wasn't used to being complimented like this and just smiled shyly at him. She now noticed that they were sitting closer together than before.

"It doesn't matter to you", he said, reached out and touched her cheek with the tip of his fingers. She didn't know what he meant by that. And she didn't want to ruin the moment either.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, looking her straight in the eyes. She nodded lightly.

"Yes", she whispered. Blaise closed the distance between them and caught up her lips with his. It wasn't exactly like Alice imagined it, but close to it. It gave her a good warm feeling in the body that spread quickly. Blaise moved his hand to around her neck and took hold of her hands with the other one. Even though no one probably cared to notice them Alice pulled out of the kiss just in case someone would care.

"Sorry", she said, looking down and gave him an embarrassed smile.

"For what?" He placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up again. Once again he smiled that special smile towards her. "I wouldn't believe you've never kissed anyone before, it was perfect."

"How'd you know?" Blaise straightened up.

"Draco told me", he said and looked away from her. A brief moment of awkward silence struck them. Alice couldn't stand it. Neither the silence nor the awkwardness of bringing Draco in to the conversation.

"I've got to go to the loo", Alice said and stood up.

"Let's get out of here after that; we can go somewhere else here in Hogsmeade if you'd like?" Blaise said and stood up as well.

"I'd love to", Alice said and left for the lavatory. The sign for girls were at a dark door near the bar. As Alice stepped in the pretty woman who'd served them the drink made an outburst towards her. Alice took several steps back and didn't stop until she hit the wall behind her. Instinctively she pulled out her wand and waved it towards the woman so that she instead flew back in the opposite wall, falling down in a sitting position. Alice took the chance to flee; she stepped over the woman and walked out in to the serving room again. Blaise stood with his back towards her. She looked past him; there by a table in the middle of the room sat that boy Harry Potter with a red-haired boy and a pretty girl with a brig brown mane.

"Who are they?" Blaise jerked by the unexpected question but soon turned to her with a smile.

"People who believe they are something", Blaise said and gave Alice her jacket and her scarf. "The red-haired one is Ron Weasley and the other one is the mudblood Hermione Granger."

"Why do you think some muggles get magical abilities?" Alice asked. "I mean, why do you think there are mudbloods?" They stepped out from the warm inn and out in the snow. It had pretty much stopped snowing and the wind slowing.

"Some think they've stolen their magic from someone that's magical born and that's why there are Squibs, but I'm not sure", Blaise said and took her hand. "We are after all superior to the muggles so it would be rather unlikely for a muggle to take the witches or wizards magic, don't you think?"

"I guess", Alice said. "What's a squib?" The wind was increasing again. Then a scream sounded trough the landscape. They both turned back only to see a girl, hanging in the air, she was screaming constantly. And then someone else started to scream. Alice could see shapes of others standing close by to the floating, screaming girl. All the sudden, the girl fell to the ground.

"Let's go", Blaise said and pulled Alice away from the scene. Alice couldn't find any words. That girl had been cursed, by something real nasty. Even Alice could figure that out.

"Professor Hagrid", Blaise suddenly said. Alice looked forward again. The abnormally large professor and gamekeeper stopped beside them.

"Zabini, Gaunt", he nodded towards them. Alice had only had a couple of lesions with him and besides his enormous size he was rather alright.

"Someone's been hurt, down the road", Blaise said and Hagrid lumbered with haste down the road. "Hopefully he'll be able to help her, even if I doubt it." Alice chose to not say anything. They hurried back to school, mostly to get out of the bad weather.

"I've got to go and do something. Meet me by the Great hall in fifteen minutes?"

"Okay", Blaise said, leaned towards her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Alice turned and ran up the stone stairs. She turned right and knocked on professor McGonagall's office door.

"Come in", she heard from inside.

"Professor McGonagall", Alice said in haste. Professor McGonagall stood up from behind her desk.

"Yes Miss Gaunt?"

"Someone from Gryffindor's been cursed, I think. She had a yellow and red scarf", Alice said in one breath.

"Where is she then?" Professor McGonagall stepped forward to Alice.

"Hagrid..." Professor McGonagall stormed out of the room.

"Thank you Alice!" She said in high voice while walking quickly down the corridor. Alice started walking down the corridor, after professor McGonagall and towards the Great Hall.

"They're all strutting around her like she was something special. Even Daphne is following her like a dog." Alice recognized that voice to well. It was coming from one of the classrooms nearby. "No wonder Draco chose not to be with her. Apparently she tried to manipulate him." Alice took out her wand and put a hand on the doorknob.

"I've also heard she's hexing people to like her. No wonder, who'd like her if she didn't? She so ugly and..." Alice threw the door opened.

"Enough! Lies about me will not make you a better person!" Alice said loudly. Pansy's eyes widened and she almost fell of her chair.