Chapter 35

"Alice, you have to come", Daphne was in panic. "Alice, hurry!" Alice got off the sofa and ran after her best friend.

"I wanted to tell you before Pansy does", she said and stopped in the corridor right outside the common room. "Draco's hurt."

"What?" Alice asked, she didn't quite catch what Daphne was saying.

"He almost died Alice", Daphne put a hand on her shoulder as comfort.

"What?" Alice said once again.

"Pansy was just in the hospital, she said Harry Potter attacked him in the bathroom, there was blood everywhere."

"Draco's hurt?" It started to sink in. And the thought that she'd been angry with him and now he almost had died. What if she hadn't had time to tell him that it didn't really matter? That he was perfect just as he was?

"Yes, and you have to go to him, now!" Daphne took a firm grip around Alice's upper arm and pulled her along the corridor. It was like with her mother – what if she'd been acting differently. Would he not be hurt then? Would she not have died? Alice had blood on her hands and she knew it. She needed to make it right; she needed to make it up to them. Blaise caught up with them at the fifth floor, walking alongside them, in silence. He leaned in to Daphne and whispered;

"Is she going to be alright?" Daphne shrugged her shoulders – probably, he wasn't dead, just hurt.

"We'll see you later, Alice, okay?"

There was no one there, except madam Pomfrey and the other, sick students. Alice walked determined over to Draco's bed. Madam Pomfrey stood bent over him.

"I-is he going to be alright?" Alice asked. He looked alright, besides from the light line across his body.

"He'll be fine", madam Pomfrey said. "He needs to rest, I wouldn't bother; he won't wake up 'till the morning."

"I don't want to speak with him; I just needed to see that he'll be alright", Alice said, starting to walk out from the hospital wing.

"Wait", madam Pomfrey said. "What have you got there?" Alice turned around.

"It's just a book", Alice said. "Alice in Wonderland, he gave it to me."

"A familiar vice often helps, reed for him." Madam Pomfrey swung with her wand and a stool appeared beside the bed. Alice opened the book and sat down beside Draco.

"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?" ", Alice read. She noticed a younger boy lying across in the hall paying attention to her reading, but she didn't mind. She continued reading, speaking up a bit so the younger boy also could hear. She read the first chapter, it wasn't very long but she'd already missed dinner and didn't feel hungry. She continued reading, the little boy was lying down, but Alice understood that he was still listening. It didn't take long before he fell asleep. She marked the page for him, even if he'd never hear the continuation; it felt the best to do so.

.

Alice woke up hours later. At first, she couldn't place where she was. Then it came back to her. She looked to her right, but the bed was empty. And why was she in a bed? Madam Pomfrey came out of her office.

"God morning", she said. "Your friend just left for breakfast."

"Why didn't I go home last night?" Alice said, mostly to herself.

"You fell asleep on Mr. Malfoys bedside and he insisted we'd let you sleep", madam Pomfrey explained. Alice looked over on the bed where the young boy was lying the night before.

"Where did the little boy go?" she asked and nodded towards the empty bed. The young boy stepped out from behind a cover and smiled shyly at Alice. "Did you like to book?" Alice asked and the boy nodded. He couldn't be older than eleven, slim, short, golden hair with a pointy nose and a vague smile on his red lips.

"What's your name?"

"Melvin, Melvin Flickheart", the boy said. Alice got up from the bed, took the book from the nightstand. "Will you come back and read for me?" He asked. Alice stopped in front of him and smiled.

"I'll come after dinner every day you are here, agreed?" He smiled enthusiastically and nodded again. She reached the book over to him. "There's some pictures in it you can look at while I'm gone." She said with a smile and left the room. She headed downstairs for the Great Hall and breakfast. She bumped in to Neville Longbottom, he hurried to ask if she was alright.

"Well, yes, why shouldn't I be?" Alice said, and Neville pointed towards the hospital, which she'd just left. "Oh, a friend of mine was hurt yesterday." Neville looked at her with scepticism.

"Draco Malfoy?" He said with a frown. Alice didn't respond. She knew the two of them hated each other; in fact, almost everyone seemed to hate Draco for some reason. "I don't understand why you're friends with him", Neville said. They started walking together to the Great Hall. Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"Two weeks ago he yelled at you for asking how he was doing!" The truth was, and this Neville didn't know, for Draco she'd pushed him. Not gently asked if he was doing alright as everyone else thought.

"You don't understand", she just said, trying to defend him.

"Your right, I don't. In fact, no one does", he said, not angry, worried. "I just don't understand what you see in him." They stopped in the doorway to the big room, that was full of newly woke students.

"I'll see you later, Neville", Alice said and walked away from him. She couldn't take this confrontation, not now. Alice made her way towards Daphne, as always. Pansy was glaring from the far end of the table like never before.

"Alice!" Draco grabbed her arm from behind and she turned towards him.

"You look well", said Alice. Draco smiled and put a hand on her cheek.

"Thank you for last night", he said, bent down and kissed her on the lips.

.

The night before

Draco felt the sleeping draught wearing off, and the cloud that kept him down started to light up. The pain was gone, but the ache still lingered. Someone was beside him, a bit on top of him too actually. His eyes were still too tired to open up, but with his hands he could feel a book and soft hair in a braid. Suddenly he felt more than awake. Draco opened his eyes and looked down at the sleeping Alice on his lap. She looked so relaxed, so carefree. He took the book and put it on the nightstand, and then he lifted Alice's head up and got out from the bed. Very gently, he picked her up and placed her on the bed.

"Draco, you're awake", Pansy walked up to him with a wide smile. "I was so worried, everyone is."

"I'm fine", he said and pulled the blanket over Alice's body. Pansy's eyes immediately wavered from him and down to Alice.

"What is she doing here?" Pansy put a frown on her forehead that want all the way down around her eyes and between her eyebrows.

"She was just reading to me", he said and looked at her as well. That he once thought that Pansy was all he could get, that she was the perfect one. That'd changed very quickly when Alice came along. Not that he didn't care, it just wasn't as much. And it had been less and less before that too.

"Reading, snuggling up in your arms, whispering words of comfort", said Pansy in anger.

"Don't blame this on her!" Draco replied. "Whatever happened between the two of us is between us, not her."

"When have you ever taken the blame for someone else?" Their gaze met and Pansy, for once, was the one to break it.

"I will for her, every time", he said and looked down at Alice again. "I think it's time we talk and that you listen."

"Are you going to humiliate me in front of her?" He shook his head.

"No, it's not like that." They walked over to the far end of the room, where no one else was for the moment. Pansy sat down on one of the beds and just waited for him to speak. It was unusual for her to act like this.

"Pansy", he decided in that moment to take courage and jump right in, "I love her." Pansy looked down on her hands and swallowed.

"Why? She's ugly and vicious..."

"Stop it! You didn't really think we would be together forever, did you?"

"No, I guess... It's just that I'm still in love with you, and I was so much more in love with you the first night I saw the two of you together. You hadn't even told her about me; or me about her. I thought I had you, I was your girlfriend. But you were in love with her even then."

"I've been such a coward, hiding behind things. But I can't be anymore. Not when I'm with her", Draco said and looked over his shoulder.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Pansy suddenly changed. "Why is she so much better than me? You didn't think once about telling me a bit earlier and sparing my feelings?"

"I've tried to tell you for months! All you do is talking about other things or trying to snog with me to get away from the subject."

"You're a sodding arse, do you know that?" Pansy got up, pushed Draco in the chest and left the room quickly. He had a feeling this conversation wasn't over.

.

Alice was surprised by his actions, but found herself enjoying it rather quickly. It was more then she'd expected for a first kiss in public.

"Way to go, Draco!" Theodore Nott was the one to give attention to them. Alice felt the blush rising on her cheeks and Draco finishing off the kiss.

"You told me I needed to be more courageous", he said with a shy smile. "I spoke to Pansy as well", he said before Alice had the chance to say anything.

"How did she take it?" Alice asked and glanced to the side, over at Pansy. Her dark eyes had turned black of malice and the expression on her face told the story of her wanting Alice dead.

"Well, at first she seemed alright and then she flipped", he said. "I think she'll try to kill me."

"Are you lovebirds going to stand here all day or do you want to go outside to enjoy the weather?" Daphne said with smile. Alice blushed, when her gaze met with Daphne's. It wasn't like her to act like this; it wasn't like her to actually be in love. Draco took her hand as they walked after Daphne and Blaise to the warm sun that was shining. Blaise took a step in towards Daphne and walked close by her. He bent down to whisper something to Daphne and Alice realised she wasn't the only one blushing. Something had changed by late, hopefully for the better.

So, here you go, two new chapters in one night! I do have a question for you though. I've been starting to think about exactly where this story is going and therefore about the end as well. I do have a question for you – would you like a happy ending or a bit less happy but still great ending? Review and share your thoughts in the matter. Cheers! :)