Author's Note: Yes everyone, this is the FINAL chapter of this story! For the last time (for this story anyway), I only own Alex and the plot points you don't recognize. Enjoy everyone!

Chapter 25 The Start of Change

Alex and Harry were in the Hospital Wing for a grand total of two days. Just like they promised, Ron and Hermione were there everyday for the entire day. Classes had been cancelled in order to give the castle time to grieve for Cedric's death. The twins and Ginny came and went often, staying for a while but giving the four time to be together. They never talked about the graveyard or what Harry and Alex had seen. Instead, they talked about lighter things as they reflected back on their last four years at Hogwarts and thought about the fun times they had shared. Alex was grateful that her friends didn't press her or Harry about what they saw. It was painful enough to have the memories but she wasn't sure if she could re-live them again.

There was one person that Alex was really looking forward to seeing: Draco. She hadn't seen him since before the final task and she missed his company greatly. He was the only person that she wouldn't have minded reliving the horrible memories with. Alex knew that he would listen to her without interruption and offer comfort and advice when she finished.

But he never came to see her; he didn't even walk by the sick ward or make up some excuse to see Madame Pomfrey so he could see how she was doing. To say that Alex was a little disappointed was an understatement. If he had been in the Hospital Wing, Alex would have made it a point to at least pass by and see if he was doing all right. She missed him, plain and simple. Draco was one of her best friends and she wanted to see him just as much as she wanted to see the others who visited her in the Hospital Wing. Why hadn't he at least tried to check up on her? Did he not care? This thought bothered Alex a lot more than she thought it would.

The day that Alex and Harry were released was the day that Alex had to go before the Heads of Houses and explain what Nick had done to her. The other two witnesses, Vanessa and her date, had gone while Alex was in the Hospital Wing so she was the last one who needed to speak. Harry offered to come with her for moral support but she denied the offer, saying it was something she needed to do it alone. So it was with a heavy heart and shaking limbs that Alex went up to Dumbledore's office and sat before Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Snape, and Dumbledore. She told them everything about that night, from the abuse against Vanessa to her being forced away from the dance and almost into a closet. By the time she finished, McGonagall's mouth became a thin line and her lips were white with anger. Sprout looked like she had witnessed the murder of a puppy and Flitwick looked almost tearful. The only one that didn't look unaffected was Snape, but Alex figured as much. It wasn't until one of Flitwick's questions that the Potions Master showed emotion.

"Miss Ratcliff, you said that someone heard what happened and managed to get the accused off and away from you, correct?" Alex nodded and the little Charms teacher continued by saying, "Did you know who this person was? A friend perhaps who was worried about where you had gone?"

"I...uh..." Alex shifted nervously. She didn't want to drag Draco into this and have the Heads of Houses know of her friendship with him. Plus if Snape knew, he'd tell Draco's father and all hell would break loose. She could feel all eyes on her so she looked up and said, "It was kind of dark, sir. I couldn't see their face, but it was a male who helped me. That I could tell because of their build. Whoever it was though, I thank them with my whole heart."

Alex's eyes met Snape's and he looked suspicious. She held his gaze until Dumbledore said she could leave. Alex nodded and went to the door. Just before she left, however, she turned back around.

"Professor Dumbledore," she said nervously, "Did I give you enough to kick Nick out of the school?"

The Headmaster didn't answer aloud but his look told Alex all she needed to know. She wouldn't have to worry about that certain Ravenclaw anymore. Alex nodded and left without another word, heading straight to the Entrance Hall. She needed to take a walk in the fresh air so she turned the knob on her locket to the right and walked the corridors under the cover of invisibility. Alex didn't want anyone stopping to talk to her along the way. Once she reached the grounds, she became visible again and began walking. The sun had just begun to set, turning the sky from bright azure to a crimson red and deep orange.

She went to the lake and closed her eyes, searching for the giant squid. Either he was too deep or she wasn't trying hard enough, but either way she couldn't find him. Sighing, she went under a nearby tree and sat on the ground, fiddling with her locket as thoughts of Harry's conversation with Dumbledore swirled in her brain.

Dumbledore wanted to talk with Harry about the duel with Voldemort. As Harry told her, Ron, and Hermione later when he returned, Dumbledore believed that it would have been impossible for Voldemort to kill Harry that night.

"It has to do with our wand cores," explained Harry as they sat in their normal spot by the fireplace, "Olivander told me when I bought my wand that the same phoenix provided the feather core in both our wands. Because of that, one wand refuses to destroy the other's owner."

"So when you cast the spells at each other..." Hermione started, her voice drifting off.

"That's why the jets of light connected," said Ron, wide-eyed, "The spells repelled each other!"

"Hold that thought!" Alex cried, running up to her dormitory and coming down soon with a thick, leather-bound book in her arms. She flipped through the pages with lightning-fast speed until she found what she was looking for.

"Isn't that my book?" asked Hermione, flipping the front cover up so she could read the title.

"Yeah, I borrowed it for some light reading," Alex said, waving her hand distractedly, "The point is-"

"Light reading? Bloody hell, Alex, you've been around Hermione too long!" Ron said, eyeing the book with raised eyebrows, "Look at the size of that thing!"

"You and Harry share Quidditch magazines, Hermione and I share library books. Pardon me for being a nerd. But this isn't why I brought the book down!" she said irritably, "Harry's explanation sounded familiar and I read about it in this book. It's called-"

"Priori Incantatem," finished Harry, "Dumbledore told me."

Alex looked up from her book, gave him a glare, and muttered, "You stole my thunder." There was a pause and they all burst out laughing.

Someone touched her arm, wrenching Alex from her memories. She leapt to her feet in a flash, pulling her wand out and pointing it at them. It was Draco.

"Merlin Draco," she said, putting her wand away and sitting back down, "You're lucky I didn't hex you senseless. You scared me!"

"Yeah, I gathered that," he said, looking at her curiously, "When did you get out of the Hospital Wing?"

"A couple hours ago," replied Alex bitterly, lowering her gaze so that a curtain of hair hid the hurt expression on her face. However, it seemed Draco could tell that she was upset with him. He sighed as he sat down beside her.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't come to visit you," he said softly, "It's not that I didn't care, I actually was worried sick about you. It's just...you were surrounded by all of your real friends and I didn't want to make it awkward for you."

"My real friends?" Alex said, laughing without mirth, "So what? You're not my real friend? What are you then, Malfoy?" She didn't even wait for him to answer before she continued, "I kept hoping that you would at least walk by the bloody sick ward, but no. Do you have any idea how much I missed you? I had Ron, Hermione, and Harry; my closest friends. The only close friend I was missing was you! And then I had to go through that damn trial after I left the Hospital Wing all by myself. Harry offered to come with me, but I told him not to. As great as he is, all I wanted was for you to be with me! You were with me through the entire process except for this, when I really needed you!"

Alex pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, placing her head on her knee caps as she bit her lip hard. She wouldn't cry; she'd done enough of that already. Alex felt Draco place a hand on her shoulder and she looked up, eyes widening at the sight of her friend. He looked like someone had kicked him in the stomach and the sorrow in his eyes was intense.

"I'm sorry, Alex," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Alex looked at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tight. She felt one hand wrap around her shoulders while the other hand went to her head, holding her close to him. Alex sighed with content; this was what she missed while she had been in the Hospital Wing. Finally, Draco pulled away and they sat side-by-side, looking out at the lake while Draco's arm draped over her shoulder lightly.

"You know," he spoke after a long pause, "I was with Weasley and Granger when Professor Moody took you to his office. What happened to you afterwards anyway? How did you end up in the Hospital Wing in the first place?"

Alex's hand went to her neck as she continued fiddling with her locket, trying to make up her mind about telling him what she saw. His father had been there and had even wanted to know how Voldemort was going to deal with her. Even if he didn't like his father's views, Draco wouldn't be pleased with her knowing that his father was a Death Eater.

"Hey, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine," Draco said gently, removing his arm from her shoulder and placing a hand on her arm, "I understand."

"No, it's that…what I mean is…he's back," she managed to whisper out, throwing caution to the wind.

"Who's back?"

"Voldemort," said Alex without a tremble or stutter that most people had when they said his real name, "I saw him, I was there. Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, was there. He's alive and he brought his master back. Voldemort has a body and everything, he can hold a wand, and…and he can touch us now. He couldn't before because of our mother's sacrifice, but now he can."

Tears filled her eyes as everything spilled out. So much for not crying anymore. Alex found herself blurting out everything she had seen, the horrible helplessness she had felt, even seeing her mother again. She told him about how the real Professor Moody had been in a trunk for the last year and the Moody they knew had been one of Voldemort's spies. Hell, she even told him about the connection she had with Harry as everything she had held back came tumbling out. When she finished, Draco turned towards the lake and didn't speak for a while.

"I'm sorry, Alex," he said softly, "I wish...I wish I could've done something to help you. Maybe if I hadn't gotten Dumbledore..." He trailed off and Alex didn't speak, letting him think in the silence. Finally, he spoke again but the subject had been changed.

"You saw my dad too, didn't you? In the graveyard with the others? It's all right," he added as Alex was about to talk, "I know he was there, he would be the one to go as soon as You-Know-Who came back. I'm not proud of it and I can understand if you hate me for it."

"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Alex asked, wiping her eyes, "You can't help what your father does. No, the only person I hate right now is Voldemort."

"You're really brave you know, for saying his name," said Draco and chuckled, "Or you're really stupid, which I know you're not."

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Alex said with a smile, "That's what Hermione says anyway. Besides, what's to fear in a name?"

Draco looked like he was about to answer, but stopped. He got to his feet, helped Alex up, and the two went back to the castle as the last rays of the sun went below the horizon.

...

There was a memorial for Cedric Diggory in the Great Hall the next evening. There was not a dry eye in the room as Dumbledore gave a wonderful speech. He concluded by telling the students of Voldemort's return and those wet eyes looked either fearfully or skeptically at the old man. Alex didn't think that a memorial was the best time to talk about the rise of a dark wizard and impending doom but, then again, when was there a good time? Mr. and Mrs. Diggory insisted on giving Harry the prize money, who insisted Fred and George keep it.

"I'm not going to use it," Alex heard Harry say to them quietly in the common room one evening, "Use it to fund that joke shop you want to start, or maybe to buy Ron some new dress robes."

The twins thanked Harry, who just waved them off. He returned to his friends, who were sitting by the fire away from the others. Alex was reading her mother's diary while Hermione and Ron were playing Exploding Snap. The mood was surprisingly good. As Harry sat down, Alex looked up, darted her eyes to the twins, and threw him a good-natured wink. He smiled back, knowing that he had her support in his decision.

"Have you all gotten your clothes together?" Hermione asked as she won for the second time in a row, much to Ron's chagrin.

"Not all of it," said Alex, looking up from her book and seeing the boys shaking their heads.

Alex sighed and was about to continue reading when she saw some sixth years watching them. However, as soon as they saw her looking, they looked away and began whispering to each other.

"What's up with them?" she asked to Hermione.

"Well, um…" said Hermione slowly, as if she was regretting saying anything, "People seem to think that Dumbledore was lying…that Voldemort's not back."

"WHAT?" said Alex and Harry together.

"Why won't they believe us?" Harry asked, shaking with anger, "We were there, they weren't. They didn't have to see him return!"

"I'll persuade them," growled Alex, standing up and rolling up her sleeves, but Hermione pulled her back.

"Alex, Harry, does it really matter what a few people think?" said Ron nervously, "We believe you, doesn't that count? And our families will believe you too."

"Well, mine won't because I won't tell them anything," Hermione added in an attempt to make her friends' mood lighten, "But Ron's family will definitely believe you."

Alex and Harry were still angry as they went to bed that night. Yet, even though Alex was furious, she still managed to go to sleep for her last night at Hogwarts of her fourth year. Before going to bed, she took a Sleeping Draught that Madame Pomfrey gave to her and Harry to help them sleep without dreams. Without the draught, Alex had to go through the horror of the graveyard in her dreams. She at least wanted to get a good night's sleep on her last night in the castle.

…

The next morning, as Alex, Hermione, Ron, and Harry found a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Alex saw people whispering as they passed. Finally, when a group of fifth years passed, Alex heard what they were saying and snapped.

"Look, there's Potter and Ratcliff," one boy sneered in what he thought was a quite tone.

"Yeah, I've heard that they've got a one way ticket to St. Mungos…in the insane ward," a girl replied.

"For the love of Merlin!" Alex shouted and threw down her bags, pulling out her wand, "Do you actually think we're deaf?"

"Alex…" said Hermione but Alex continued.

"No Hermione, I'm tired of putting up with this shit! Why would we lie about Voldemort coming back? What's wrong, can't stand to hear his name? Well, you'll be hearing it a lot soon enough so get used to it!"

Sparks flew out from the end of her wand and this coupled with the fire in her eyes caused the boy and girl to leap back in alarm and sprint away as fast as they could. Panting, she put her wand away and went to find a compartment with her friends in silence. Once they found an empty one, she put her stuff away and put her face in her hands.

"They have no idea," she said through her hands, "They really don't understand what we went through. If they did, they wouldn't be so cruel."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Harry standing over her. She let out a sigh and leaned back in her seat. Soon, Fred, George, and Ginny joined them and Alex's happy demeanor returned. While they all played Exploding Snap, Alex sketched them. When the train came to a stop, she showed them her creation after a little bit of persuading. Fred and George loved it so much they copied it with magic so they and everyone else could keep a copy.

Alex got off the train and looked for a cart for her trunk and owl cage. She finally found one, the last one there against the wall, and went to grab it. However, someone practically knocked her to the ground and took it. She regained her balance and turned angrily, finding herself looking straight at Mr. Malfoy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said without sincerity, "Did you want one too?" He looked around for a few seconds and said, "Shame, there's no more left."

"A polite man would have said "Ladies first", but then again, you're not a polite man, are you?" she said with raised eyebrows as she eyed his long white-blonde locks.

Mr. Malfoy was about to reply, with fire in his eyes that made Alex almost regret being rude to him, when Draco came over and saw the tension in the air.

"Father," he said, "Let the girl have the cart. She's too weak to carry her own stuff."

Mr. Malfoy looked at his son with a frown but seeing his son with a look of disgust as he looked at Alex, he agreed and left. Draco gave Alex a wink with a smile and followed his father. Alex shook her head and began trying to lift her large, heavy trunk onto her cart. An extra set of hands helped and, when Alex went to thank the person, she saw it was the girl from the Yule Ball with her date standing behind her. Alex remembered his name was Tommy.

"Thanks," said Alex with a kind smile.

"No, we should be thanking you," Tommy said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, Vanessa was her name.

"My brother got kicked out of Hogwarts," Vanessa said, "Dumbledore said it was for his abusive behavior and I just knew it was you who told him so that there was a reason for an evaluation of Nick's behavior. I tried thinking of ways to get him caught because I was too afraid to tell myself, but I guess that's what makes you a Gryffindor and me a Ravenclaw," Alex felt her face redden and the girl continued, "I love my brother, he is family after all, but I'm glad he's gone somewhere where he can't hurt me. So, thank you for everything.

"Oh listen," she added as Alex opened her mouth to show her gratitude, "By the way, if it makes you feel any better, Tommy and I believe what you and Harry say about You-Know-Who returning. We know that anyone who's as brave and self-less as you wouldn't lie about something like that for your own gain, and we trust your judgment in friends."

"Thank you, that really means a lot to me, Vanessa," Alex said with a smile, "Have a great summer you two!"

She pushed her cart towards where her friends were waiting for her.

"Who were they?" Ron asked as Alex came over, looking over her shoulder at the Ravenclaw couple, who had just gone through the barrier.

"Very good friends of mine," she said, "Now let's go already!"

"Yeah, because I was really looking forward to the Dursley's looking at me like I'm a pile of dragon droppings," said Harry sarcastically.

"We'll get together," said Hermione as they went through the barrier and into Muggle London, "And we'll write often, that's a promise."

"You can come to our house!" said Ron enthusiastically, "Don't worry Harry, you won't be with those Muggles for long!"

"And I'll call you too," said Alex, "I'll pretend to be Snape this time, that'll be enough to scare the Dursley's away from you for a while."

They all laughed as they pushed down the platform. Alex saw Uncle Monty and Erin waving as they ran to her. Uncle Monty drew Alex into a tight hug and she smiled, hugging him back. It seemed that her guardian hadn't told Erin what happened that year because her friend gave her a swift hug as she asked all about her classes. Alex decided she wouldn't tell Erin unless her friend's safety depended on it. Why bother her with issues that may not even pertain to her?

Now that Erin knew Alex's friends were magical, she didn't react with complete shock as much when they didn't know what a computer was or how to drive a normal car. Alex was laughing at Fred's reminiscing on the flying car when she saw Draco leaving with his mum and dad. He stopped walking for a moment, checking to make sure his parents thought he was still with them, and dashed over to her. Alex looked to see that no one would miss her and walked a distance away from her friends and family.

"Write to me, all right?" he whispered so only she could hear, "I don't think I'd last the summer without hearing from someone who I can have an intelligent conversation with…or someone who won't curse my lips together if I ask too many questions."

Alex smiled and nodded. Draco looked relieved, returned the smile, and ran after his parents.

"Isn't that the boy who waved to you last year?" Erin asked, who had seen them talking.

"Yeah, he's my friend," said Alex, "I've only just got to know him this year, actually."

"Mmhm," said Erin with a wicked grin and Alex gave her a playful shove, turning red in the face.

"Come along girls," said Uncle Monty, "Be sure to say your good-byes to everyone!"

Alex gave everyone in turn a hug. Mrs. Weasley gave her a kiss on her cheeks and did the same for Erin, who looked surprised but happy nonetheless.

"You will write to me, right?" Harry asked Alex, Hermione, and Ron almost pleadingly.

"Of course!" Alex said, looking highly affronted, and said in a haughty voice, "Just as long as you give Dudley a nice hex for me, will you dear?"

Everyone laughed and waved good-bye. As Alex walked with Erin on one arm and Uncle Monty on the other, she knew that things were going to change. But, with the help of her friends and family, she felt she was ready. Yes, there were scary times ahead, but as long as she had such wonderful people around her, she felt that things would turn out all right when it was all over.

Author's Note:

Dear Readers,

And so ends Alex's fourth year of Hogwarts! As you can tell, the stories are starting to get a little darker now. We had our first death and it will certainly not be the last. I can't believe we're moving on to the fifth book already! The fifth book in this series is probably my second favorite of the ones I've written so far. I haven't written the seventh book yet (don't worry, it's all planned out!) and my favorite is the sixth book. Anyway, the next book is going to be a roller-coaster ride full of lots of different emotions. I really think you all are going to love it as much as I do.

I would like to take this time to thank everyone who reviewed my story. Special thanks to Natsuki-chan2912, Are you calling me crazy, Peanut7890, madscientist128, MsPaigeMeadows, AmyakaLuke, x Jen bbe x, ILoveReadingAndWriting, Aileen Autarkeia, and LoneFairytale for reviewing almost all, if not all, of my chapters. You guys are absolutely amazing and (dare I add this pun in?) magical! I always look forward to hearing from you all and the fact that you take the time to review so often truly means the world to me. I would also like to thank Tempest NightMoon, Artemis1922, nine-tails8, Nizuna Fujieda, WisdomEyes, ExotikaHollow1379, dragonzap93, SketchMeExtraCoulorful, azuresilver, MiakaKyle, GinnyWho, c7a7t7, mysterygirl123, ZebraPotter18, 0Goddess Nyx0, Fruityloops87, cocogirl198, krasni, RainbowSkittles123, verypotterfan, Tayla Wayland, TsukiLovesSnape, rockerchic143, CountDoom, and LuciferI for all of your reviews. Phew, that was a bit of a mouthful, huh? :P Anyway, all of you guys are incredible and I loved every reviews I received from you. I can't even begin to describe how much joy I felt when I'd open my inbox and see reviews from all of you guys. Now if there is someone I forgot, I apologize and please know that I am thanking you as well. I did go through the reviews and tried to get everyone, but I'm only human...sadly. :(

I'd also like to especially thank two people for all of their love and support. First, to my friend, madscientist128. I can't tell you how much I appreciate hearing what you think of my story and never mind that your reviews are long. :D I also can't tell you how many times you have brought up points that I never even thought about and I've gone back and cleared things up for the readers. So thank you for helping make this story better for all the other readers! Secondly, to my dear sister, missdavinci77. Although you're a tad behind with reading the chapters, I know you'll get here eventually. ;) You continue to be my inspiration for Alex so never stop being your passionate, opinionated, fiercely loyal, occasionally bad-ass self! I love you so much, sweetie and hope that eventually you'll actually get your Harry Potter story up here. Haha! :D

So, that's about it I think. What I'm going to do is take a few days off to make sure the first few chapters are all good to go and then do a massive update for all you all. I'm leaving Thursday to go on a short vacation with a friend and won't be back until Monday night. But don't fret! I will be doing the massive update BEFORE I leave. I'm not the cruel...at least, not this time! ;) Again, and I hate to sound like a broken record, thank you all so very much for your support. I can't believe that we're almost at 200 reviews! Let's see if we can break 200, shall we? The review button is very well trained so I'd like to ask you to take this opportunity to make any final comments about the story before you continue on with your lives. It would make me so very happy! :D So, until we meet again,

With love,

silvermoony77