Maledictus

Ch.12 - The Face in the Fire

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"DETENTION!"

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Back in the common room that night, Alice was staring into the fire, her eyes still glistening with tears, that she tried not to let fall.

Everyone who was in the common room had gone to bed, but she wasn't the only one who hadn't gone back to the dorms.

Harry was still in detention with Unbridge since dinner.
But of course, Alice didn't know that, so when he walked in she got the fright of her life.

"Sorry, Alice!" Harry exclaimed, as her heart began pounding.

"It was my fault Mr. Potter" she whispered, looking at the ground. "What happened to your hand!?"

Harry looked down at his blood stained hand, and the scar that read, I must not tell lies.

"Nothing" he muttered, pulling his sleeve over his hand.
Alice wanted to persist, but she decided against it.
He already seemed mad, she didn't want to make him feel worse.

Alice stared into the fire, wiping her eyes when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Of course, Mr. Potter, why wouldn't I be?" she lied, laughing nervously, and Harry didn't buy it.

"Look Alice, no offence, but you don't look alright at all!" he exclaimed, getting annoyed.

"I'm fine Mr. Potter!" she replied, glaring and raising her voice.
He didn't say anything more.
It wasn't worth it.
She would just keep lying and lying until they actually begun to believe her.

"I'm off to bed" Harry said eventually, gathering his stuff and headed up to the dorms, leaving Alice alone, the worst thing that could have ever happened at that moment.

As you've probably noticed, Alice was never well.
She didn't eat.
She didn't sleep.
And that can't be good for her, and she only saw the effects now.

She felt as if she was going to throw up.
She didn't feel well and she could tell no one.
So she curled up, staring into the almost extinguished fire.
That was when she saw a face, a face in the fire.

She screamed, covering her mouth to dampen the sound.
And then it disappeared.

She was officially going mad.
She was shaking with fear.

There was so many things wrong with tonight.
Number one, she still didn't have the bloody potions homework done and number two, she just saw a bloody face in the fire.

She moved to the other side of the room, holding a book for protection, and that's how Hermione found her the following morning.

"Alice, are you alright?" Hermione asked, pulling the book down from her face, and Alice nodded.

"Sure?"

"Well apart from the fact that I am losing my mind" she muttered so that Hermione coudlnt hear, but she did.

"How about we head down to breakfast?" Hermione suggested, knowing Alice would refuse, but would drag her down anyway.
But surprisingly, Alice nodded and followed her down to the Great Hall.

"Ms. Granger?"

"Hermione" she corrected Alice, opening the Daily Prophet

"Ms. Granger, what is that?"asked Alice, pointing at a poster with a pumpkin on it. "What does it say?"

"It's about the Halloween feast, it's not for ages, but McGonagall likes to give people warnings"

"Halloween?"

Hermione lowered the newspaper completly and looked at Alice.
She didn't care about answering her questions, but she didn't seem to know an awful lot about everything and anything.

"Please tell me you know what Halloween is?"

"Of course she does!" interjected Draco, with a nervous laugh. "Can I talk to you for a moment Alice"

Alice looked suddenly nervous again, and followed Draco outside.

"What was that?" he asked annoyed.

"What was what?"

"Why did you ask what Halloween was?"

"Well....I guess.....because.....well I didn't know" she answered, hiding behind her hair.

"If you want this plan to work, you can't be asking these stupid, idiotic questions! If you want this plan him work, you need to stay out of everyone's way, including mine" he said, walking off and leaving her alone.
The only problem was, Alice didn't know there was a plan.
So this suggested that Draco new something she didn't.

Looking at her tatty watch, she realised it was almost time to get to class and she still needed to get her homework done.
But she couldn't be bothered.
It was too hard and she didn't even have enough time to even write the title.

After she collected her books, and ignored Harry and Ron, she headed to potions, waiting for the embarrassment to continue.

"Good morning professor" she said quietly, sitting down at her bench.

"Ms. Malfoy, do you have the homework I assigned ready?" asked Snape glaring at her.

"No professor" she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"And why not"

"I couldn't do it"

"Detention!" he shouted, throwing a pile of books in front of her, making her jump. "Five, my office tonight"

"Yes professor" she wimpered, holding back tears.
Soon after, the rest of the class filed in and once everyone was seated, they began to make the sleeping draught again.
This time Alice brought the right book, and tried her very hardest.
But even then, it wasn't good enough and Snape embarrassed her once again.

"Ms. Malfoy, stay back a moment" he said, as Alice headed towards the door.

"Yes professor?"

"Why couldn't you do the potion again?"

"I must've misread the steps sir" she lied, hiding, once again, behind her hair.

"Remeber, my office, five o'clock" he reminded and she nodded, leaving to head to DADA.

Apparently, this Unbridge woman was  a real twat.
Well, unfortunately, Alice got to see her awful terribleness up close.