The weeks following the outburst were tense, chance meetings in the hall met with barely constrained violence. Blaise was watching Alex with growing worry, she didn't appear at meals for long, and when he did see her she was appearing thinner and thinner. She went out into the forest every night when the sun set, and didn't return until dawn. Eirian accompanied her on these outings, frolicking around her in coltish joy.

Draco and Ginny grew even closer as they planned their wedding, and every so often Ginny would look around the commons sadly. Pansy and Millicent were being wonderful, flipping through bridal catalogues with her, recommending catering places, sneaking ice crème up to their room. But it seemed that something was missing, and though she hated to admit it she had grown dependant on the easy camaraderie of the group.

On the sixth Saturday after their row, Ginny finally stood up in the commons and threw her wedding planner down on the table. "I miss Alex."

Pansy and Millicent looked at each other and nodded. It was true that the girl had brought a little more spontaneity to the group, her wild ideas adding a speck of fun in their gray world.

Blaise lifted his head from his homework slowly, "What about what she said, Gin-bug? Can you forgive her for that?"

It had been hardest on Blaise, the mark on his skin burning him every time she had a flare of sadness. Lately it had been a constant burn, causing a permanent ache above his heart. Unable to disobey his house Prince, he had been unable to do more than watch her from across hallways and out of windows.

"I've thought about it these last few weeks, and she was right. If I continue to live in the past, it will haunt me until I die. I can't live like a hunted animal my whole life. Yes Tom nearly killed me, but the fact is…he didn't." Ginny dug a scrunchie out of her pocket and tied her hair up on her head. "Let's find Draco and talk to him. This has to stop."

They all went out to find their Prince, each of them relieved that the tension would soon begin to dissipate.

-.-

It took them all of that night and early into the next morning to convince Draco to apologize. He insisted that they wait until Alex caved and came back to them, but at Ginny's glare he subsided.

"She assaulted you Ginny!" He spat, his arms crossed defensively.

"You threw her to the floor Draco! That's a little harsh don't you think?" Ginny had tossed back, turning her back to him in exasperation.

He came up behind her to lower his head and kiss her neck, "She hurt what was mine. I don't tolerate that well."

Ginny sighed and leaned away from him, "Draco, she was trying to help. Perhaps she was a little misguided, but she was trying to help."

Draco had pulled a face, and rolled his eyes. "Fine. You win. I can see there will be no peace until I fix this. We'll hunt her down tomorrow. Are you happy now?"

Ginny had smiled up at him and hugged him happily., "Yeah, I'm happy now."

-.-

So now they were all standing outside of the new Ravenclaw common room, muddling over how they were going to get in. She'd changed the riddle since the fight and none of the Ravenclaws were keen on helping them. They were about to give up when there was a scream from down the corridor, and they all jumped a foot and took off towards it.

They rounded the corner to find Alex standing over Harry, both of them spattered with blood. Hermione and Ron hovered near them, both of them with horrified looks on their faces. Hermione held Eirian's halter tightly, as he strained to go towards his 'mother'. Alex looked toward the new arrivals, her eyes dull and lifeless. She didn't seem to register their presence, instead turning to look down at Harry; he groaned softly and rolled onto his side. Hermione rushed to drag him away from Alex, letting go of the colt's halter.

Eirian took the opportunity to trot over to her, approaching her without fear and licking the drying blood from her skin. She jumped at the first contact, then relaxed and let him do as he wished. As he cleaned her the cause of the blood revealed itself. Small lashes covered her skin, from cuts as fine as razor blades to gashes that looked like a butcher's blade. As the colt licked them, the blood running from the cuts slowed, then slowly the cuts closed. Alex's eyes slowly focused on the group standing a few feet from her.

Blaise slowly made out that her lips were moving, but she seemed to lack the breath to say anything. Her legs gave out under her and she dropped to the stones silently. Blaise was running before his mind registered the fall, and he skidded to a stop beside her prone body. He franticly felt for a pulse and panicked when he didn't find one. He lowered his head to begin CPR by the time the rest of the group stopped beside them.

Draco was firing questions at the dream team, shaking his head at the answers. "You don't know what happened?"

Ron, pale and shaking, shook his head. "We heard voices, arguing, in the corridor, then we heard a scream. We got here to find her standing frozen and staring down the hall. Harry tried to approach her to take her to the wing, but she just sort of …..flared and he got knocked on his ass. Then you guys showed up and well…." He lifted his hands to show his puzzlement. "But I think we'd better fetch Madame P."

"She's already here Mr. Weasley." The lady in question bustled Blaise out of the way, and performed some bit of complicated medical magic that forced the girl's chest to start lifting again. Her eyes shot open and she bolted up right quickly.

Alex groaned and slumped back down, Blaise's hand assisting her to the floor. Ginny was standing tight into Draco's side, her hand pressed to her mouth. Pansy and Millicent were watching the proceedings with cold expressions on their faces, already running through the 'enemy' list.

Madame P attended to Harry for a moment before gesturing for Alex to be carried to the Wing. Blaise was shaking so bad that he declined carrying her on the principle that he could very well drop her. Draco shook his head as well, holding Ginny up was enough of a challenge. Ron and Hermione moved to take her, but Pansy and Millicent had her up and between them before anybody else could blink. They strode off towards the hospital wing as Blaise moved in a daze after them. Draco said he would fetch Damien and took Ginny off with him.