Draco groaned and threw an arm over his eyes as sunlight flooded the room.
“It’s the weekend “ why does the sun have to be so bright?” he muttered. Suddenly, he remembered “ today was Sunday. Even though he had tons of homework, he was going to see Alanna today again.
I can always do the homework later, he thought. He jumped out of bed and pulled on his clothes quickly. He ran through the common room, shoving Pansy out of the way as she tried to stop him.
“Draco!” she screamed after him, but he ignored her and kept running. Sometimes, I really hate that girl. Okay not sometimes “ all the time, he thought wryly.
He ducked into the Great Hall and grabbed some toast off the table. He would eat it on the way down to Alanna’s.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry looked over as he saw Draco rush by. Instantly, he rose from his own breakfast.
“See you later, guys,” he said, and quickly hurried to his dormitory. He had already told Ron all about what was going on.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ron. “Well? Going to let me in on the secret?” she demanded, and Ron grinned sheepishly.
“Whoops, sort of forgot, ‘Mione,” he said apologetically. “Well, the thing is…” and he proceeded to explain it to her.
Meanwhile, Harry had just thrown the Invisibility Cloak over himself and rushed down the Staircase. Draco had just disappeared through the doors, so Harry rushed after him. He had to keep Malfoy in sight, no matter what.
Malfoy ate his toast in large gulps, then wiped his hands on his robes. He sped up. Harry, following unnoticed, sped up also.
Where is he going? Harry wondered as Draco sped up even more. He never even checks that no teachers are watching.
Thinking of teachers, Harry quickly glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one there.
Draco walked quickly through the streets of Hogsmeade. He slipped into an alley and waited. He only had to wait a bit before one of Alanna’s personal servants opened the back door and beckoned him in. He slipped through the half open door and ran up the stairs.
Harry slipped in just before the servant closed the door, and ran up the stairs after Malfoy.
Malfoy knocked on a door across from the head of the stairs. Harry could hear a voice from within.
“Who is it?” the voice called.
“It’s me,” Malfoy said softly. Harry noticed his voice was gentler than ever before. “Open the door, Alanna.”
Alanna? Harry thought, wrinkling his forehead. Who’s Alanna? He quickly slipped in just after Malfoy when the door opened.
He happened to walk in on a very passionate kiss between a pretty girl he’d never seen before, and Malfoy. Harry felt uncomfortable before they finally stopped.
“Are you sure your mother’s gone?” Malfoy asked, kissing the girl all over her face.
“Yes, I’m totally sure,” Alanna said breathlessly. “Mandy said she left about twenty minutes ago, and won’t be back until ten o’clock tonight.”
“Then we have plenty of time, don’t we?” growled Malfoy, and Alanna giggled. They fell on the bed and started to fool around.
Draco had almost gotten Alanna’s shirt off, when Harry, who had been feeling really uncomfortable, had started to back up. Suddenly, his heel caught the cloak and pulled it down from his head. He grimaced, but the damage was done “ Alanna shrieked, and Draco whipped around.
“POTTER!” Draco shouted, advancing on Harry. “What the HELL are you doing here?” He shoved Harry into the wall, and pinned him with one hand.
Harry struggled helplessly, both in mind and body. But, try as he might, he could not think of a good cover story. Finally, he gave up and decided to tell the truth.
“Well, I saw you twice coming up the stairs late at night, so I decided to find out what you could have been doing,” Harry gasped as he tried to breathe “ Draco had happened to pin him by the throat.
“WHAT?” Draco yelled in Harry’s face. “Why should MY business interest YOU, POTTER? Why do YOU care what I DO?” Malfoy shook Harry then let him slide to the floor.
“Look, Potter, I would love to do this right now, but I’m sort of with my girlfriend,” Malfoy said, his voice low but deadly. “So get out of here, now, and I’ll deal with you at school.”
Alanna, meanwhile, had been hastily buttoning up her shirt while the argument went on. She had freaked out when the supposedly suspended head of a dark haired boy suddenly appeared in her room. She had been shocked when Draco had said his name was Potter.
She pushed back Draco. He tried to hold her back, but she was strong, too, and so got past him.
“Come on, Alanna,” he whispered urgently. “Just leave him “ I’ll deal with him later.” But she shook her head stubbornly and pushed past him.
Placing her hands on her hips, she was an unconscious imitation of her mother. Her pink silk blouse and black skirt were a little wrinkled and out of place from the fooling around, but that didn’t matter.
“So you’re the famous Harry Potter?” she demanded of the boy with tousled dark hair on her bedroom floor. “You’d think you’d be courteous enough to mind your own business. What, you think just because you’re famous, you need to know everybody’s business?” She stared down at him, and he felt a little intimidated.
“N “ no,” he stammered. “I “ I “ I ““ But he never got farther than that, because Alanna had grabbed hold of his hair and tilted his head back.
“Don’t ever follow Draco again, and don’t ever come here again, or I will see to it that you are severely punished. Now LEAVE!” She let his head go, and it banged against the wall. Harry winced, and rubbed the spot as he rose to his feet.
“Leave, now,” Alanna said, pushing him toward the door. Her long red hair whipped him in the face as she turned and flounced toward her bed. Then Malfoy got hold of him.
“Potter, if you ever come near her again, I will kill you,” Draco hissed. “And don’t follow me, or I’ll have to inform my father. You know what that’ll be like.” He pushed Harry out the door and slammed it behind him.
Somehow, Harry had kept hold of his Invisibility cloak through the tussle. Now, he threw it over himself once more, and stomped down the stairs, knocking over a timid maidservant on the way down.
Back in Alanna’s room, she was fuming and raging around the room.
“Who does he think he IS?” she yelled, throwing a few books on the ground. Draco made a grab for her, but she evaded him. “I mean, come on. Just because he defeated Lord Voldemort, he should get to prance around, poking into everybody’s business? I DON’T THINK SO!”
Draco finally managed to grab her, but she was still shouting. He kissed her to shut her up. When they parted, she opened her mouth to rant some more, but he kissed her again.
“Okay,” Draco whispered. “I promise it won’t happen again. I’ll see to it personally. Now, where were we?”
Alanna smiled and pulled him down on the bed. “About right here, I think…”
After Alanna and Draco were done, they talked for a while. Draco mostly talked about Potter, what he was like and such.
“Well, I still think he’s terribly stuck up or “ well, I don’t know how to explain it,” Alanna said. “I don’t like him.”
Draco smiled and kissed her on her pert nose. “Good. Where would I be if you did?”
She laughed and hugged him. “I would never leave you,” she whispered. They kissed again.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Draco asked suddenly. “Since your mother’s not here and everything…”
Alanna shook her head sorrowfully. “I can’t risk it “ only my servants will keep quiet. Hers won’t.”
“Oh, yeah…” said Draco. “Well, I should go. I don’t want to “ believe me, I don’t want to ““ he kissed her again. “But I have tons of homework due tomorrow.”
“Draco!” Alanna said, grabbing him as he turned to leave. He turned back.
“Yeah?” he asked, looking into her face.
She took a deep breath. “I, uh, I realized something last night after you left.” He nodded, and she went on. “Draco, I “ I love you.”
He smiled and bent down to kiss her, deep and long and hard. When they parted, he whispered, “I love you too, Alanna.”
She smiled, and despite her will, tears came to her eyes. One rolled down her cheek, and he wiped it away, smiling.
“Don’t cry, love,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll never be apart. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? Send me an owl if you’re ungrounded.”
She nodded, and they kissed. Then he was gone. Alanna lay back on her bed, and held her hand over her heart.
Her heart felt like it was going to explode, it was so full of happiness.
I hope nothing will ever come between us, she thought fiercely. I won’t let anything come between us.
Draco was thinking the same thing on the road back to Hogwarts.
As he walked up the castle steps, Harry Potter watched from the courtyard. A hate so fierce it bubbled in his veins burned in Harry.
He doesn’t deserve her, Harry thought angrily. She could do so much better than him.
Of course, Harry wasn’t thinking of himself.