Disclaimer: I own nothing, just having a good time in the world of HP.

A/N: Thanks again for all the nice comments. I started this story to get some creative writing practice. This chapter is one of my favorites so far so please enjoy!

Alice awoke Friday morning earlier than usual, noting her sleep was not coming as easily as the nights before. The situation weighed heavily on her mind now. At the beginning of this mishap, she forbid herself from lingering on its likely outcome. But the intellectual revelations along with her feelings for Draco crept in making it harder to be strong. Alice was never an emotional person; when her mother died she accepted death as a natural cycle of life and learned to accept tragedy as it came. Her father had worried about his ability to raise her without a mother and wondered if her love of books replaced her love of life. In a way this was true, Alice preferred raw data and information gathering to being socially involved, particularly when she was younger. However, Alice would flourish at university and became socially well-connected in her academic community. She was able to make friends and date, although she was never completely successful at the latter. She never met a guy who she thought warranted the emotional involvement needed for a healthy relationship. Even with Robert, the young engineer whom she dated on and off for almost two years, her feelings were far removed. In a way, finding him cheating with her best friend was an easy way out of an overrun relationship. She often thought it was because she was selfish, only caring about her own ambitions thus not being able to connect emotionally with anyone. At the moment, however, something deeply emotional attracted her to Draco. She noted her comfort level around him, her ability to share information with him that she would never share with anyone, and the amount of trust she currently placed in him. This was new for her. While the heaviness of losing all knowledge of this world troubled her greatly, the thought of ending her time with Draco weighed on her just as much.

Rising from her bed, Alice heard a crack and saw Loister, the scrawny grey house elf, suddenly manifest by the fireplace, placing her breakfast tray on the small round wooden table. With another crack he disappeared. "That's how he does it!" Alice thought astonished, as she finally realized why she never heard the door creak open in the mornings. Above her plate of toast and fruit was a small scroll tied with a dark green ribbon. Opening it she read the impeccable handwriting.

Dear Alice,

I apologize for my parents last night. Please continue to use the library today.

Yours,

Draco

Alice smiled at the unbleached parchment, reading it twice over, again realizing the feelings that welled up inside. After eating, she decided it necessary to meditate to clear her mind before filling it with information in the library. After practicing some yoga, which felt good on her joints after a restless night of sleep, Alice washed up, dressed in one of the outfits she brought from her flat last night, and headed down the corridor and up the stairs to the Malfoy's grand library.

Her stack of books was still neatly piled on the study table. One book, however, had been added, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter. "Curious," she thought, wondering if Draco had pulled it from the shelf for her. The inside flap of the book cover contained information on its writer, Rita Skeeter, a professed author and journalist extraordinaire for the Daily Prophet. "Can't be too on point then," Alice mused sarcastically, noting the newspaper's tact as well as her general mistrust of tabloid writers. In any case, she decided to give the book a read. She knew very little about her grandfather and even what looked like a quickly composed although very thick scandal seller, it would provide a glimpse on a wizard whose reputation certainly exceeded anything she knew of him. Taking off her light grey and yellow trim t-strap heels and placing them next to her favorite reading chair in the library, Alice sat down crossed legged on its cushion and began thumbing the pages of her late grandfather's unauthorized biography, speed reading through most of it.

After about an hour, Fritz had made his way to the library and straight over to Alice, who greeted her furry friend with a quick scratch behind the ears. Alice assumed she would have a reading buddy for the day as the great hound curled himself in front of the armchair, stretching out his long limbs in front of him. It didn't take her long to finish the great tome of a biography, noting that most of it sounded like speculation rather than honest writing. It was written very shortly after his death when the reality surrounding that event was more speculative than known. She wondered if Albus's brother, Aberforth was still alive; if he was he would be her only living relative in the magical world.

Alice went over to the stack of books to peruse the ones left to read. Behind her, she didn't notice that Fritz had awoken from his mild slumber and became very curious in one of her heels. Feeling mischievous, the dog grabbed one heel in his mouth and with continuous wags of his bushy tail, he began prancing around the room hoping to grab Alice's attention. Alice noticed this puppy-like behavior as well as something dangling in the great hound's mouth. Quickly glancing to the side of the reading chair and back at Fritz, she realized it was indeed one of her shoes.

"Fritz!" She yelled, "Put that down!" She ran to grab the remaining heel by the chair, whether to beat the dog with it or protect it from a second theft. Fritz continued to prance through the great room, stopping a few times to goad Alice into following him by placing the shoe on the floor, sticking his tail in the air and hanging his great tongue out of his smiling mouth. Alice followed the dog hastily, "Those are worth more than you!" she cried, remembering how she blew a half a month's teaching assistant paycheck on them last term. She had a hard time being frugal when it came to fashion. Barefoot and with the other heel in her hand, Alice attempted to catch the hound as he jumped in and around armchairs and darted under tables. But with each run and stand-off, Fritz only got more excited; he knew he succeeded in getting Alice to play with him.

Then Fritz did the unthinkable, he ran out of the grand library doors. "No!" Alice muffled her cry and had no choice but to race after the dog. She couldn't bear the thought of one of her favorite shoes being buried somewhere in the Malfoy's incredibly large garden. Quickly rolling up the bottom cuffs of her extra wide leg trousers, Alice ran out the library doors to see Fritz stationed at the end of the corridor waiting for her to follow him. "Fritz! Stay!" Alice said desperately, hoping he would obey her commands. Fritz, however, was not interested in staying. Picking the shoe back up, he wagged his tail and began racing down the steps to the second level of the mansion. Alice followed still barefoot, trying not to trip on her pants. She was determined but apprehensive; she didn't think Draco's parents would take kindly to her running through their home like that. With each corner she turned, Fritz was there waiting for her to catch up.

"This is not funny Fritz! Give me my shoe!" Alice yelled frustrated and slightly out of breath from having just run down a second floor of steps and several hallways. The manor was undoubtedly larger than she imagined and she started to realize even if she did rescue her shoe, finding her way back to the library was not going to be easy. Rounding another corner, she entered an incredible green room with glass ceilings and walls. It was adorned with white wicker furniture and a charming stone fountain whose mellow sound of splashing water would have relaxed all those there for leisure. The airy feeling of this room with its sunlight induced warmth was in stark contrast to most of the mansion, which felt dark and cold like an old museum.

Alice, despite noting the pleasantness of the room, was in no way feeling relaxed. Especially when Fritz ran around the center fountain a few times only to head out a slightly cracked side door that led to the Malfoy's perfectly manicured garden. Still barefoot and flustered, Alice tramped over a freshly mowed lawn of grass where just prior, Fritz had practically run down a very large albino peacock that clumsily flapped itself into the air in order to avoid the dog's charge. Fritz's frolicking stopped for a moment, as he stood in front of an arched entryway in the center of a intricate rot iron gate. He placed the now slimy shoe in front of him and looked at Alice who was standing several meters away in the middle of the lawn. This time, however, Alice did not stop and stare. Instead, she started sprinting towards Fritz who, startled, hastily grabbed the shoe and jumped through the gate's open archway. Alice's flight allowed her to catch up with the hound and she could have almost grabbed his tail when she suddenly slipped on one of her pant's cuffs, which had fallen down during the quick motion. The tumble was exacerbated by two stone steps that were beyond the archways entrance. Luckily she landed in soft dirt, the brunt of the fall taken by her forearms which were now soiled along with the bottom of her pants. "I am going to kill that dog," Alice mumbled under her breath.

The long plot of dirt was the beginning of the Malfoy's exotic flower garden and coincidently, Narcissa Malfoy was there tending to her Eastern snow roses, witnessing the entire pathetic scene from behind the flower bed.

"Oh dear," Nacissa said solicitously, taking out her wand in order to magically retrieve the stolen shoe from Fritz who had stopped to look at his fallen compatriot in hopes that she would get back up and resume the chase.

Alice had propped herself on the stone step she had tumbled over, brushing off her arms and pant bottoms. Luckily nothing was broken or scraped, just dirtied. She also retrieved the one shoe she was carrying before the fall, which had flung in the dirt as well.

From the garden's side came Nacissa, her gloved gardening hand holding Alice's stolen, slimy shoe. Her face showed slight look of concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked Alice, who looked horribly defeated sitting there on the step.

Upon hearing the voice of Mrs. Malfoy, Alice stood up quickly and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I was ah…"

"No worries," Mrs. Malfoy said, "Fritz has already taken and mauled three of Lucius's shoes before burying them in this garden," She said handing Alice back her one shoe. Alice thanked her and after inspecting it, was relieved that it had no badly notched teeth marks in it.

"I had to do three replication spells so Lucius didn't find out," she said with a slight smile. "Believe me, that dog would not call this place home if Lucius knew. But he is still a puppy, what can you do?"

Alice laughed slightly at the thought of this and said, "I'm starting to see the utility of magic."

"You really don't know any magic, do you?" Nacissa asked and Alice shook her head, thinking she would not be in the awkward situation if she did. "What a horrible curse to be put under," she added, her mind not fathoming that a life of a muggle could be pleasant. "Well come along, you should get washed up," Nacissa said, motioning for Alice to follow her back into the green room.

Once there, Nacissa gave Alice a large damp towel, which she used to clean off her arms, feet, pants and shoes. Luckily her pants were a dark grey and the soil left very little markings. She felt much better as she slipped her now clean shoes back on her feet. Narcissa had removed her gardening gloves and was washing her hands in the nearby wash basin. Fritz had also followed, yawning from his current boredom.

"I really appreciate your help, Mrs. Malfoy. I wasn't willing to part with these shoes," Alice said.

Narcissa smiled, "I quite understand that; if Fritz had taken any of my shoes I would not have been so kind either. And those look like nice shoes." If there was anything the two women had in common it was a fashionable sensibility. "I don't normally like muggle attire, but," she said considering Alice's modern sophisticated wardrobe, "Your dress isn't bad."

"Thank you," Alice said taking it as an indirect compliment.

Loister the house elf had appeared holding a tray with a pot of freshly brewed tea. Narcissa told him to return to the kitchen and prepare tea for two.

"Well, sit down," Narcissa told Alice a bit forcefully, after going over to a round glass table with a few white wicker chairs placed around it. "Now that you're here, you might as will join me for tea."

Before she even sat down Loister had returned with a large tray that held all the accoutrements of a traditional English tea, including freshly baked scones.

Taking a scone and reaching for the raspberry preserves, Narcissa asked Alice, "Now who made those shoes?"

The two women talked about the ins and outs of fashion; Alice asking about witch fashion and what was currently in style, while also explaining the broad and fast changing fashion industry in the muggle world. Narcissa, who often acted disinterested to those outside her social circle, was thoroughly enjoying the conversation.

"If you manage to keep your memory, I might make you promise to take me shopping at one of these muggle stores," Narcissa said, actually considering the curious adventure.

Alice smiled at the thought of shopping with Mrs. Malfoy in the West End. The woman was actually more pleasant than she expected and she admired her sophisticated personality. She could tell the Malfoys were old money but they definitely were not old on style.

After a lengthy discussion on fashion Alice said, "I adore this room, it's so different from the rest of the mansion."

"That's because I decorated it," Narcissa said proudly, "Of course, I couldn't overhaul the entire place, it's been in the Malfoy family for centuries, but I demanded to have a space I could tamper with."

"It's perfect," Alice said not lying; the room really exuded the perfect setting for an afternoon tea.

The unexpected compliment made Narcissa quite charmed with Alice. A funny thought came to her mind of encounters with Draco's former girlfriends, which Narcissa occasionally invited over for tea if there was a hint that the relationship was going anywhere. To her they were always complete twats who seemed more impressed with Draco's money than anything else. Not having a daughter of her own, these lunches stood out in her mind and she never truly found herself enjoying any of them until today. Not that she suspected anything between Alice and Draco, however.

"You've toured the mansion, haven't you?" Narcissa asked curiously.

Alice shook her head, "No, not if you count running after a dog touring."

Narcissa laughed slightly and as the idea approached her she said, "Well, let's remedy that."

Having finished their tea, which Alice found to be the best tea she's had in a while, she followed Narcissa into the mansion. Alice could tell Narcissa had done this tour before, since she could describe each room's purpose and history quite well along with its various artifacts; but knowing Alice's preference for her decorating style, every now and then Narcissa would let in a, "It's ghastly, isn't it?" or "I've never really liked this room. Reminds me too much of my mother-in-law." To onlookers, it may seem like they were old friends gossiping.

As they gradually made their way back to the foyer at the manor's entrance, Narcissa said amusingly, "I haven't had that much fun touring this overgrown storage heap before," referring to the manor's plethora of antiques, "You really must join us for dinner tonight."

"Oh, I couldn't impose," Alice replied, thinking Mr. Malfoy may not enjoy that.

"No, I insist," she said firmly.

"Alight," Alice smiled; this day was certainly outweighing her expectations.

"I'll let Draco know when he arrives home," Narcissa added.

Alice nodded and said, "Thank you again, Mrs. Malfoy, I really had a lovely time."

"Call me Narcissa," she said, feeling that the proper title was incompatible with their afternoon bonding over fashion and home décor.

"Thanks Narcissa," Alice said again before going up the stairs.

There were still a few hours before Draco would return home from the Ministry. Alice decided to retrieve a few books from the library and bring them back to the guestroom. As time passed, she decided to change into something more appropriate for dinner with the Malfoy clan. She was actually a bit nervous about this. Even though Narcissa was exceedingly pleasant, her past experience with Mr. Malfoy verged on disastrous. She couldn't imagine he'd consent to this dinner, but undoubtedly with the way Narcissa was, he wouldn't have a choice.