Allison Riddle & 21st Century Witchcraft

Chapter 7: Answers

The beginning of November brought frost, covering the grounds in grey flurries. People started wearing scarves over their faces and the sky threatened rain. More often than not, I forgot to remove my hood after returning from Herbology and nobody called me on it. Students have had other things on their minds. The news that Harry Potter had been made Gryffindor Seeker spread like wildfire, leaving Draco in a vindictive mood.

I was patient. I waited for it to pass. I said nothing when he preyed on poor Neville Longbottom, or when he'd tell long wistful tales of riding his broom back home. I buried myself in Aveline Malfoy research- which thus far was going slower than honey- and hoped Jane would step in soon, whether to continue our conversation from Halloween or make Draco feel foolish. On the eve of the game, I finally snapped.

"If you don't stop being such a git, I'm not going to the game with you tomorrow!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine by me," And stormed off for the boys dorms.

I huffed and tried to return to my reading, this time a book on Herbology instead- hey,  I had to make up for my lack of knowledge somehow!

The next morning, I stuck to my word. After breakfast, as everyone headed outside for the game, I headed upstairs to the library. I was on the fourth floor when I heard it. In the previously dead silence, a voice emerged.

"Stupefy,"

Thump!

I stopped at a corner, suddenly thankful Hogwarts had so many for easy cover, and drew my wand. The footsteps soon revealed a brunette I was seeing no more of than before Halloween.

His amethyst eyes flickered to my wand, then to my face. "Nice to see you too."

Avoiding his gaze, I stowed away my wand. "What did you stun just now?"

"Just Mrs Norris. She's been following me for two floors and it's getting a bit annoying. What are you doing up here? Thought you'd be at the game."

I rolled my eyes. "Quidditch isn't my cup of tea. I was just heading to the library."

"On a Saturday? Come on, take a break!"

Oddly enough, I couldn't help smiling. "And do what? Go to the game?"

"No, I'll do you one better. We can go hang out by the lake for a while, since it'll be quiet."

"Hmm...I suppose some quiet would be nice. Alright."

He gave me one of his simple smiles and I couldn't help returning the gesture. It was easier to ignore his odd eyes today, or the cold radiating off him as he passed me for the staircase. As we walked downstairs, I tried to starve off my suspicions.

Perhaps giving Alec the cold shoulder wasn't such a bad idea after all. If he still wanted to be around me, then who was I to judge? He was only making my job easier! He wanted attention, no matter how humble he acted- just like every Pureblood. Because his coven- for all intents and purposes- behaved like Purebloods. That gave me a familiar edge.

"So," Alec finally broke the silence. "What do you do outside school?"

"Read, mostly. You?"

"I like exploring."

I raised an eyebrow, finding my gaze flickering to him again. "Exploring?"

"My family owns a lot of land. I reckon that I'll never see the edge of it, but that hasn't stopped me trying."

"You must be wealthy."

"That's what happens when you copy The Godfather."

That puzzled me. Who was the Godfather? His coven leader?