Chapter 21 Someone Who Really Cares

Alex knocked on the door of the Headmaster's office and it opened of its own accord. She entered and found Dumbledore, McGonagall, Mrs. Hinkins, and two unfamiliar people in the room.

"Please sit, Alex," said Dumbledore wearily, "We have much to discuss."

Alex sat in a chair and waited, hoping with all her heart that her plan would work. For the last twenty minutes, Alex and her three Gryffindor friends had been running around the castle asking people to sign a petition to help keep Alex from getting in trouble and keep Mrs. Hinkins' shop open. Once she had explained the plan, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were more than willing to help. While they had taken the fourth to the seventh floors and several towers, Draco had stayed on the first three while pretending to be Alex with the Polyjuice Potion. She knew that she couldn't have done the entire castle by herself and she needed all the help she could get. She only hoped that it was all worth it.

"These fine men," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the unfamiliar people in the room, "Are the legal representatives of the owners of Honeydukes Sweet shop. They are under the impression that you and Mrs. Hinkins are working together to overthrow their business. Is this true?"

"No sir," said Alex calmly, "Why would they think that?"

"We've seen her!" the one man said, a rather portly man with graying hair, "She's been leading our clients' customers out the shop and to that woman's place! We saw it today!"

"They asked to come with me, sir," said Alex, stressing the word, "I found the shop while walking around Hogsmede and gave some of my friends Mrs. Hinkins' fudge for a Christmas gift. They wanted to know where I got it from."

Just as the one man was about to speak angrily, there was a knock at the door. It opened of its own accord and Hagrid stood there, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"Sorry to be botherin' yeh, Professor," said Hagrid, "But this was posted outside the entrance to yer office, the gargoyles were goin' crazy! It's some kind o' petition with names on it."

Dumbledore held out a wrinkled hand and Hagrid gave him the paper. The old man raised his half-moon spectacles and his bright blue eyes scanned the paper, a very small smile appearing on his lips. He raised his eyes to the two men, who were watching with interest and suspicion.

"It seems as if the Hogwarts students have come together and drawn up a petition. It says that Alex should be freed without a spot on any record, Ministry or school, and that Mrs. Hinkins' shop should remain open and in business. There are at least one hundred and fifty names on here, you may see them for yourselves. As members of the legal community, you undoubtedly understand that a petition with this many names can lead to a more, shall we say…violent means of protest."

The two men rose from their seats and snatched the paper away quickly. They read it as well and became very ruffled.

"Very well," the one man said, "Seeing as this caused such uproar amongst our clients' customers, we will…let all charges drop. Good day then."

They each tipped their hats coldly and left in a hurry. McGonagall had the petition in one hand while patting Mrs. Hinkins gently on the shoulder with her other hand. She looked at Alex and, for a moment, Alex thought she saw pride in the old Gryffindor Head's eyes.

"Alex, you are free to go," said Dumbledore, his face full of laughter, "I will make sure Mrs. Hinkins arrives back at her shop safely. I'm sure your friends must be worried about you."

"Professor," she said, sorry she had to dampen the Headmaster's high spirits, "I'm sorry but I have to tell you something important…in private if you don't mind."

Dumbledore nodded and McGonagall left with Mrs. Hinkins. Once the door closed, the Headmaster turned his full attention to Alex. She took a deep breath and relayed to him what she had seen that night of the Yule Ball.

"Well, I was trying to hide from my date outside because…um…he wasn't what I expected. When he found me, he also found his sister with a boy. I think she's younger than him and her date was old enough to go and had asked her. Anyway, he got angry and…and hit her. It seemed like he had done this often before and…I thought that, you know…someone should do something."

The Headmaster nodded and observed her closely. Alex lowered her eyes away from those bright blue orbs, unable to meet his gaze. It was as if he was looking right through her and saw that she was holding something back. He wasn't reading her mind, she would have known if he was, but he had that uncanny ability to tell when someone was holding something back.

"Alex, is that all that happened that night?" he asked gently.

At first, she was going to shake her head and lie. But as she thought back to that night, the memories of Nick dragging her to the closet came rushing back so vividly. Unconsciously, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and bit her lip to keep herself from crying. Once Alex was calmer, she knew that she had to tell Dumbledore.

"He...He managed to get me away from my friends towards the end of the dance," she said in an almost-whisper, "I was still kinda shocked by what I saw that I didn't put up a fight until we were pretty far from the Great Hall. I told him I wanted to go back and he started getting more physical. He s-started dragging me, laughing as I struggled." She closed her eyes before continuing, "Someone heard me and managed to knock my date out. I looked over to where he was taking me and saw it was a broom cupboard. He...well, he obviously was under the impression that he was going to get lucky that night and didn't care whether I wanted to or not."

Dumbledore looked grim and pressed his fingers together, obviously thinking. Alex was quiet so the Headmaster would have no distractions. Finally, he looked at Alex and sighed.

"Alex, I need to know who this young man was and who his sister is as well. We do not tolerate any abuse and assault, both physical and sexual, at Hogwarts and he must be punished."

"What will happen to him?"

"We will talk with his sister and find out if it is true, so that there are two witnesses. The Heads of Houses will review all the evidence and if he is found guilty, he will be expelled," Dumbledore said with a weary look in his blue eyes, "His sister will need to see either myself to Madame Pomfrey once a week until we feel she has made a full recovery from her abuses."

"Is he going to be on trial or something?" she asked in confusion.

"No, not like what Elian had to go through last year," said Dumbledore, referring to when Uncle Monty had to fight his aunts for custody of Alex, "We will listen to the statements of his sister and yourself, as well as some of his other classmates. Then he will have a chance to defend himself and we will decide what to do."

"Will he be there while the witnesses talk?"

"No, we find that having the accused present in these types of situations only makes the process much more stressful," Dumbledore replied, "But I can't do anything unless you help me, Alex."

Alex bit her lip nervously. She'd have to tell Snape, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout all that happened? The thought made her shiver violently as she stared out the window onto the grounds. Could she relive it all one more time if it meant keeping that creep from hurting anyone else again? Finally, she plucked up every ounce of courage and said, without a touch of fear in her voice, "I don't know last names, but the boy is Nick and the girl is Vanessa. They're in Ravenclaw and the boy's in my year and in my Arithmancy class. I'm sorry if that's not enough."

"No, that's fine," said Dumbledore with a smile, "That was a very brave thing to do, Alex. Most people your age wouldn't have done it, since you have him in your class. You're name will not be mentioned in this process and we will wait until the proper time to act, so you won't have to deal with him. Madame Pomfrey or myself will contact you soon about counseling and-"

"Oh no, I don't need any counseling!" said Alex quickly, eyes wide in horror.

"Alex, you suffered through a traumatic ordeal," he said kindly, "You should talk to someone about all of this."

"I've talked to my friends and my dad, I'll even write to Uncle Monty if you want. It's Vanessa who needs the help, not me. I'll be fine, sir," said Alex and, seeing his doubt, she added, "I have much more important things to think about and that will keep me from thinking about that night. I have good friends who are guys that prove to me everyday that not every boy or man is like Nick. But please don't make me have to relive that night every week. I know I won't recover as quickly."

The Headmaster looked at the young woman for a while and then sighed in defeat.

"Very well, Alex. But would you at least mind coming to my office once a month so I can check up on you? To appease an old man?"

"Of course, sir," said Alex with a smile.

"Good, I will send you an owl a week in advance. Thank you Alex, you may leave and go find you're friends."

Alex nodded and hurried out of the office, her mind whirling with the conversation she just had. She was dashing down the hall when someone grabbed her wrist and spun her back around. It was Draco. All thoughts of the conversation flew out of her head as Alex saw the concern on his face. He dragged her into a deserted classroom and closed the door silently.

"Well? Did it work? Did they drop everything?" he asked, looking genuinely worried that Alex couldn't lie to him.

"Yes! I'm not going to be thrown in Azkaban or something!" she said joyfully and hugged Draco.

Alex could hear him let out a sigh of relief as he hugged her back. They separated, both grinning widely.

"This calls for a celebration!" said Draco, "Tomorrow's a Sunday. In the afternoon, before lunch, meet me behind the greenhouses."

Alex agreed and went back to the common room. She told her friend she had gotten off and they were all very happy for her. She told them the final count and Hermione frowned.

"One hundred and fifty plus? How did you get them all in such a short period of time? Between the three of us, we only got about fifty."

"It wasn't easy," said Alex with a smile.

"While you were gone," said Harry, changing the subject as he held up an envelope for Alex, "I got a letter from Bagman. He says we're going to learn about the third task tomorrow evening."

"Any ideas on what it could be?" Ron asked.

"Well," said Alex, thinking as she skimmed the letter, "The last two had to do with magical creatures: dragons and merepeople. Maybe the next one will have one as well."

They brainstormed ideas but in the end, the four Gryffindors were tired and went to bed early.

…...

The next afternoon, Alex was walking toward the greenhouses by herself. She had somehow managed to convince her friends she had something to do outside with Hagrid so they wouldn't follow her. Once she reached the greenhouses, she found Draco waiting for her.

"You ready?" he asked and took her arm, leading her towards the forest. Alex stopped and slipped her arm out of Draco's grip.

"I can't go in there," she said, staring at the forest in front of them.

"Why? You're not afraid, are you?" Draco asked with a playful grin.

"Of course not!" said Alex heatedly, "Last time I went in there, the centaurs told me to never come back onto their land. I would prefer not to anger a heard of centaurs, thank you very much."

"I'll make sure the way we go will be far away from centaur territory, all right?" Draco asked. Alex thought for a moment and nodded, following her friend into the forest.

…...

It was getting dark when the two students crept out of the forest and onto school grounds. Alex and Draco had enjoyed lunch by a small lake in a clearing in the middle of the woods. They spent the time talking about everything from Quidditch to the Tri-Wizard Tournament. No centaurs bothered them, which Alex was very grateful for. She would have hated having to explain to Draco why the centaurs called her "another Black". Even though she trusted Draco with most things, she didn't think he would understand. After all, he had the "perfect" family life, even if his dad was a little off his rocker. At least he always knew who his parents where and had both of them still alive.

They reached the greenhouses and Alex thanked Draco for everything. They said their good-byes and went their separate ways. Alex was walking to her common room when loud footsteps echoed throughout the corridor. She turned and saw a panting Harry appear, looking frightened.

"Harry?" she asked, as Harry ran by her. She rushed to keep up with him and said, "What's wrong?"

"Crouch is mad!" said Harry, not slowing down at all but, if possible, speeding up, "Krum and I were talking and he appeared out of the forest. First he thinks he's at the ministry but then he's going on about needing to see Dumbledore. He told me to find him quickly and I left Krum with him."

"You left him with a madman?" shouted Alex as they reached gargoyles guarding a door, "You're just as crazy! Listen, you get Dumbledore and I'll go find Krum. Honestly, you left him alone? What were you thinking?"

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice!" called Harry as Alex sprinted out the door and onto the grounds.

Alex slowed down for a moment and closed her eyes. She could hear the animals muttering about something being wrong in the forest. The birds were eerily silent and the magical creatures were moving away from the "bad place". Then Alex saw it, right by the Quidditch field was Krum lying on the ground.

Running as fast as she could, she found Krum just like she had seen it before. Cursing under her breath, she got Krum up into a sitting position, listening with all her might. She heard a heartbeat and sighed with relief.

Voices were coming from the castle and she looked to see shadows coming out of the Entrance Hall door. Knowing it was too dark for them to see her if she waved, she pulled out her wand and sent up red sparks. Soon, the figures came rushing over and Alex could see them better. Leading the way was Harry, followed by Dumbledore, Moody, Snape, and Hagrid. Hagrid had his crossbow and was tailed by his bloodhound, Fang. Fang bounded over to Alex and Krum, licking their faces.

"Down boy," said Hagrid, pulling hard at his collar.

"Are you all right, Alex?" Dumbledore asked, looking at her worriedly.

"I'm fine, sir," she said, "But I think he's not. I saw Harry when he was running to find you and heard Krum was by himself with Mr. Crouch. Harry told me Mr. Crouch wasn't…well, and I didn't want Krum to be alone with him. I guess I came too late."

"Professor Moody, see if you can find Mr. Crouch in the forest. He couldn't have gotten far. Hagrid, please take Harry and Alex back to their common rooms right away. Professor Snape and I will take care of Mr. Krum."

Alex nodded and left with Harry and Hagrid. Hagrid was upset with Harry for going off alone with Krum.

"I thought yeh had more sense than that, Harry," he was saying as they reached the common room, "He's competin' against yeh for Merlin's sake! He could've taken care of yeh in the blink of an eye."

Alex thanked Hagrid and told the fat lady the password since it was obvious Harry was trying to keep himself from getting angry at his large friend. The portrait hole opened and they entered the common room. Hermione and Ron were no where to be seen so Alex and Harry said good-night and went to their rooms.

…...

Alex woke up one Friday and got ready for school. As she went to the Great Hall, she found girls giggling and boys looking fully embarrassed. When she sat down next to Hermione, she was fully confused.

"Did I miss something today?" she asked, looking around, "Why is everyone acting so weird?"

"Today's February fourteenth…Valentine's Day…you know, when people exchange little pink cards that say "I love you" on them?" Hermione said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth at Alex's confusion and then realization.

"There wasn't any of this last year," said Alex, jerking her head at a group of Ravenclaw girls who went into a fit of giggles when a Durmstrang boy passed.

"That's because there weren't two other schools full of boys and girls or a dance before," said Hermione, "Now come on, it's still part of the school week. We should be going to class now!"

And so the day went by, full of stupid giggling girls and red faced boys. Quite a few of those boys came up to Alex and handed her valentines, which she proceeded to use to fuel her Potion's fire when Snape wasn't looking. Hermione, however, saw it and frowned.

"I'll bet you those boys worked all night on those," she hissed as Alex put another lacy pink one in, "Imagine how horrible they'd feel if they found out what you did with them!"

"Yes, but they won't find out, will they?" Alex asked, giving Hermione a look. "And besides," she added when Hermione sighed, "I hate pink. Whoever thinks I do obviously doesn't know me well enough to say "I love you" in a card."

That evening, Alex was pulling out her homework books when a piece of folded parchment fell out. She picked it up and found her name written in red, fancy lettering. Curiously, she opened the paper and saw a poem inside.

Your beauty is like the sun,

Never dying, never ending.

Your smile is like the moon,

Mysterious, but wonderful.

Your eyes are like the stars,

Twinkling and bright.

Happy Valentine's Day Alex! I hope you aren't annoyed about getting another valentine, but at least it's not pink! Please excuse this poor excuse for a poem; it really doesn't do you justice. You truly are the most wonderful girl in all of Hogwarts and I wish you were mine.

Love always,

Your Secret Admirer

Alex re-read the note and couldn't help smiling. She remembered getting a note like this during the Christmas holidays, but could it really be the same person?

"What's that, Alex?" Ron asked, seeing the parchment she was holding.

"Just another valentine," she said, putting it in her pocket.

"Who's this one from?" asked Hermione curiously.

"It doesn't say," admitted Alex with a shrug. The others nodded and didn't press the matter.

The four Gryffindors finished their homework and the girls went up to their dormitory. When they entered, however, they gasped.

All on Alex's bed were bright red petals and, on her bedside table, a single red rose sat in water. There was a note beside the vase and Alex picked it up to read it.

You really thought I would just give you a valentine and that would be it? This rose will never wilt as long as I am loving you. I hope to Merlin it never wilts. You can look at it everyday and know that I am always thinking of you. Enjoy!

Love always,

Your Secret Admirer

"Wow," breathed Alex as she looked at the rose. She touched it and knew it was real.

"That is so romantic!" said Hermione with a laugh, "A little cheesy sure, but it's so sweet!"

"How did they get the rose up here?" asked Alex, "They'd have to be a Gryffindor girl to do that and, frankly, I'm a little creeped out by that."

"Anyone could bribe one of the girls to do this for you," said Hermione, still grinning, "All you have to do is give them a couple Sickles that they can go buy make-up with."

Alex turned back to the rose and smiled. It was so sweet for someone to do that, but who at Hogwarts would go to such lengths to do that? Alex pushed those thoughts from her mind and got ready for bed. As she brushed the petals off her bed and into a little jar, she couldn't help thinking gleefully that there was someone at Hogwarts who really cared about her.

Author's Note: I'm back everyone! I know you all were looking forward to Alex's plan and, although not very grand, hopefully you weren't too disappointed. I would like to apologize for taking so long to update. I had to get a new laptop for college since my old one can't hold a charge. So now I'm a Mac! They had to transfer the data from my old computer onto this new one so I didn't have my documents to update with. But I'm back now and am looking forward to trying to do some more regular updating. Yay!

Okay, so who saw the Harry Potter movie? Now how many of you who saw it cried? How many of those who cried did so within the first five minutes of the film? Yep, I did too. If you did see it, I am more than willing to talk about it and bond over our shared obsession with The Boy Who Lived. I won't tell you my favorite part (you'll have to either review or PM me to find out) because I don't want to ruin it for those who may not have seen it, but I will tell you that it was absolute perfection. Even if they did deviate from the book a bit, I still loved it with every fiber of my being. And even though all the posters say that "It All Ends", we Potter fans know that it will never end. We will never let that happen because it means so much to us and has become such an important part of our lives. Okay, I'm done my rant now. ;)

Are you calling me crazy?: Haha, I enjoyed the part with Draco. I just love writing the two of them together; it's way too much fun! I'm glad that you liked the part with Sirius. I feel bad for them as well and I don't know how Harry did it all by himself in the original series. At least he has Alex in this universe. I actually did worry when I didn't see your usual signature so thank you for putting it in another review! And, to quote a character that will appear in the next book, "Don't worry, you're just as sane as I am." Thanks for reviewing! :D

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. My fans and followers mean everything to me and you always inspire me, whether you know it or not. So keep doing what you're doing and maybe even review if you haven't before. I love hearing from you guys so don't be shy!