Alice awoke to the sound of birds chirping in the garden, reminding her that it was indeed springtime. She was still dressed in her outfit from the day before; her flats had been removed and were aligned at the side of the bed. She realized Draco had carried her there after she must have fallen asleep by the fireside reading in the library. The thought made her slightly embarrassed although it was also comforting. Ever since she met Draco, she had felt safe when he was nearby, especially while everything else in this world made her wearily uncertain.
A silver tray with her breakfast was on her reading table by the fireplace, having been placed there by the Malfoy's house elf prior to her waking. "How does he do that?" Alice thought, noting that again the house elf's entry into her room had not stirred her from sleep.
On the balcony laid that morning's Daily Prophet, again with a letter from the editor, Barnabus Cuffe, requesting an interview. Alice ignored it and turned to the paper's front page. There, much to her surprise was a review of her book.
The book by incriminated and recently revealed granddaughter of the famous wizard, Albus Dumbledore, is worth a read for the sake of novelty. McNally's Hinting at Magic: 20th Century Conspiracies and Possible Explanations, provides the wizarding world with a topsy-turvy, upside down look at the events that have shaped our prior century. It reminds us that those events weren't locked into the confines of the magical realm, but often spilled over into muggle territory and while all precautions were taken to cover it up, their unusualness did not get past everyone. This is where Alice McNally proves her bloodline, displaying the wit of her grandfather through her writing. For us wizards and witches, she asks questions that we of course know the answers to, but she, in her ordinary muggleness, provides thought out and reasoned responses that are close if not exact to reality. We cannot help but remain in awe of her efforts. Of the many books written on the recent wizarding wars, this may be the most unusual and most thought provoking.
Alice felt oddly elevated by the positive review of her book and then questioned why a review was even in the paper; wasn't her book confiscated by the Ministry? Was it suddenly making its rounds in the wizarding world without her permission? Is that allowed? While she bemoaned her lack of rights, she also relished the thought of her words being read, even if it wasn't by the intended audience.
After washing up and dressing, Alice decided to spend most of her day in the Malfoy's library. Finding the door unlocked made her beyond grateful to Draco for trusting her to leave the confines of the guestroom. The inside of the house was even more grandiose in the sunlight. She remembered the way through the hallway and up the stairs to the library's grand doors, where she found the pile of books Draco magically pulled from the bookshelf last night. They covered history, culture and even the basic fundamentals of magic. Not knowing where to start, she randomly chose one and began reading. She brought a notepad and a pen to take notes if she came across something she did not understand, knowing she would have the opportunity to ask Draco later of its meaning.
The library was extraordinarily quiet which was conducive to reading but it also made Alice aware of any sound other than her page turning. She thought of Draco's parents and hoped her presence in this room would not be a bother to them. Suddenly, she heard a panting and light footed trot come from the other end of the room. The Malfoy's large Irish wolf hound had entered from the side back door. Upon seeing Alice, he began galloping towards her, his tail wagging furiously. Alice could sense the large beast was approaching her for attention and not to attack. She smiled at the funny thought that a few sausages could have made her potential attacker a companion, who was now lowering his head for a pet. She cupped his big head in her hands and scratched behind his ears. The dog's tail continued to wag and its great mouth hung open as if smiling. Alice couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "I wonder what your name is," she asked the dog, knowing not to expect an answer.
"Fritz!" Yelled a stern voice from the backside of the room where the dog had entered. There, witnessing the entire scene was Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, former Death Eater and definitely no friend of muggles; Alice recalled all this from her former readings. The dog's tail stopped wagging and with a quick look of gratitude to Alice, it turned and ran to the side of Lucius, who had begun to walk towards Alice with an air of sovereignty.
Alice immediately stood up from her chair to properly greet him, although she half expected to be expelled from the library at that very moment.
"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy, I'm…"
"I know who you are," he said in a cold voice, his nose turned up slightly as he gazed at her.
He had walked over to the pile of books that lay on the study table nearby Alice, using the silver tip of his snake-handled walking stick to push some of the books off each other to survey what she was reading.
"I appreciate you allowing me to stay here sir," Alice said, trying to break the awkwardness.
"It is under the graces of my son that you stay," Lucius remarked, not looking at the girl. "I would not have consented to having the bastard muggle grandchild of Dumbledore in my house otherwise."
Alice was not upset by the remark, it was something she expected from the man and while demeaning and negative in tone, his nomenclature of her was correct.
Peering over to Alice again he added, "It's a pity such a great wizard couldn't have a proper heir."
Alice thought for a moment and said, "The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of the Arabia." She quoted the opening of a book she read by the famous evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, entitled Unweaving the Rainbow; it explained how truly lucky we are to be alive in biological terms.
Lucius simply glared at her, wondering if she was mad.
"It's a quote about the stupefying odds of genetic coding. Our DNA allows for greater alchemists than Nicholas Flamel, more powerful wizards than Dumbledore," Alice thought utilizing great wizards she just read about would be more effective than muggle historical figures, "But it's you are I in our ordinariness, that are here."
Lucius contemplated what she said; he was surprised her retort to his obvious bad-mannered jeering was instead unemotional intellectual blabbering. Meanwhile, Fritz the dog had made his way back over to Alice's side. He sat down next to her, looking to Lucius for a mark of approval over finding a new friend.
"Yes, extremely ordinary," he said with considered contempt as he took in the odd scene of his dog sitting next to her like a sentinel. "Carry on," he added, kicking back his walking stick in his hand and leaving the grand library by the main entrance.
"So I guess you're Fritz," Alice said looking down at the large dog sitting by her side.
If there was anything Alice learned in life, it was to fight ignorance with intellect. It usually worked. And while not counting that encounter a completely successful first introduction, she hoped the mere fact he allowed her to stay in the library meant she hadn't irritated the man too much.
With his part in the McNally case finished, Draco was free to assume his potions research in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He had been out of that office for a few days but the vibe was the same as before, noisy, busy and mildly chaotic.
Making his way to his desk, he was greeted by Susie McClellan, the cheery senior assistant of the head Obliviator, who made it a point to have her morning chat with everyone. "Oooh," she chimed excitedly, "You're back! Our muggle book writer sure has been making the news, hasn't she? Heard the trial's going to be quite publicized."
"Is it?" Draco asked, actually curious to hear more from Susie, whose cheeriness verged on mild annoyance so early in the morning.
"Well, everyone wants to get a look at Dumbledore's granddaughter. Also heard she was moved from the premises, no one knows where the Special Cases Unit is keeping her," Susie said, slightly whispering. "The press sure is trying though!"
With that Susie turned on her heels and walked down the aisle of desks in her usual jaunty style. She never was much interested in having two-way conversations.
Draco hoped Alice's location wouldn't leak until the trial. The press had enough information on this story without needing to personally harass her for more. He felt oddly protective of the girl.
That day Draco would continue through his file research, making a decent amount of headway. The mini-break must have been good for him. He had found several unusual cases of potion mishaps that had potential for recombination. He also set up a meeting with Blaise later that afternoon via interdepartmental memo, in order to discuss giving Alice access to some of her personal belongings.
Blaise looked to be in a better mood than usual, most likely due to the fact that he could start a new case, one that didn't involve a muggle or press interference. He was also glad to see Draco, admitting he had enjoyed working with his old classmate the previous few days.
"How is everything? The muggle's not causing too much trouble on the home front, I hope." Blaise said, after they entered his office.
"No, not at all," Draco replied, "I had a request from her, however."
"A request?" Blaise mocked, "Like she's in a position to make request."
"It's a simple enough one," Draco said, trying not to sound defensive. "She'd like access to her things in order to contact her family."
Blaise's one eyebrow cocked slightly, "Well, I suppose they aren't of any use to us. We have all the information we need from them. But, when she does use them, you will need to keep an eye on her actions. We don't want her spilling anymore information to outside parties."
Blaise retrieved the box of electronic equipment that they had confiscated; it included her laptop, mobile phone and netbook. Draco was a bit confounded by the odd pieces of equipment, which looked like incredibly smooth silver and black metal books. Being a pure-blooded wizard, Draco's contact with the muggle world was incredibly limited. He had no clue how these machines worked or what they did. Taking the box, Blaise added another word of advice.
"The press has been trying their best to discover the location of her. So far they haven't expected Malfoy Manor, but keep an eye out."
Draco nodded, realizing perhaps for the first time, such press would add another sensationalist dimension to the story – The Malfoys housing a muggle, but not any muggle, the grandchild of Albus Dumbledore. It would sell papers and might make his parents consider disowning him. Wiping the dangerous thought from his mind, Draco, with the box of muggle technology under his arm, decided to return home to Malfoy Manor a bit earlier than usual.