Just like Alexia and Draco had suspected, the latest Educational Decree had been the reason of a large number of jokes among the students. Draco was told at lunchtime that Lee Jordan had apparently pointed out to Umbridge that according to the new rule she was not allowed to tell Fred and George Weasley off for playing Exploding Snap in the back of the class as it had nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts, the subject she was paid to teach. He wanted to discuss these matters with Alexia but when he asked Daphne why Alexia wasn't with her, he was told that she was out in the Entrance Hall arguing with Eva.
"Eva's big mouth might have blabbered on too much on Friday night," Daphne told him, "You should probably ask Alexia what it was Eva spilled." she said.
Daphne didn't mean for Draco to go ask right at that moment, but before she knew it Draco was up out of his seat and hurrying to the Entrance Hall.
When he got there Alexia was talking slowly and surprisingly calmy yet in a threatening voice to a very frightened Eva. "Betrayal is an awful pill, Eskers, but nothing is worse than having blackmail shoved down your throat," she spoke viscously, "and that's the price you pay for being irresponsible with your chatty mouth on Friday night."
"Is everything alright?" Draco asked approaching the girls.
"Now is not the time Draco!" Alexia notified him.
"I believe this involves me though?" he questioned her.
"Enlighten me on how so?" said Alexia.
"I told people you slept together, of course it involves him!" Eva said with annoyance and a slight hint of fear.
Alexia snapped her head to Eva and eyed her down, "You shut up!"
"Is that why you're mad? Because people know we slept together?" Draco asked Alexia.
"Yes!" Alexia said in a pronounced tone.
"Why don't you want people knowing?"
"Draco, I've just been cheated on by Blaise, I can't have people knowing that on top of that I spent the night with the biggest womanizer of Hogwarts!" she exclaimed.
This, Draco surprisingly found offensive. He knew he was a womanizer but was there something wrong with sleeping with him? It never seemed that way with other girls.
"My life would be over in an instant if people knew! It was lucky Eva had been drinking and can use that as an excuse if people ask if it's true or not." Alexia continued.
Draco could not believe what he was hearing. "So you're going to tell people it didn't happen?" he asked.
"Obviously!" Alexia replied as if any other answer was illegal.
Suddenly Draco was angry. If Alexia wasn't a close friend, he knew he would have bragged on to all the guys about how he got the hottest and most popular girl in school. Thinking of this, something came to mind - if Alexia didn't care about his feelings of this situation, why should he care about hers? "See you later," he said distractedly, then dashed off back into the Great Hall with a big juicy secret, involving Alexia and himself, sitting on the tip of his tongue ready to be told to the entire school.
•••
As Alexia walked the through the hallways after her last lesson that afternoon, she didn't question at all why she was getting whistled at by guys or why they were looking fixedly at her with interest. She was about to read through the list of boys that wanted to take her to Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day and she just guessed that they were trying to let her know that they were interested and that she should pick them.
In the Common Room, Alexia spotted Eva sitting in an armchair holding the list. Alexia darted over to her, dumped her bag on the floor and snatched the list.
She scanned over the reasonabley long list. "Is this some joke?" she snapped, showing the list to Eva and pointing a thin finger at the many crossed out names.
"No," Eva said anxiously, "they came up to me during the day saying they wanted to drop out."
"They can't do that!" Alexia declared. "And what are these names doing on here?" she asked now pointing at the last few names that had only just been added onto the list last minute, "These guys are the most desperate guys at Hogwarts! They would've known I wouldn't choose them, I'm too good for them!"
Eva shrugged, "There's still some decent guys on there," she offered, "Cormac McLaggen is still on it, you took fancy of him, remember? Or what about Roger Davies? He's that goodlooking guy who took Fleur to the Yule Ball last year."
"I know, Eva." Alexia said. "I think there's something strange going on here though..."
"Maybe you should just accept the fact that no one wants to take you on a date," Eva courageously said.
Alexia's mouth fell open, she gave Eva a look that could kill, "How dare you speak to me like that Evageline!" she venomously belowed.
"Why not Alexia?" Eva asked, "I used to think you were perfect! I thought you were the most powerful and confident girl I had ever met, but now all I see is a weak, troubled, priviledged and dishonest girl with daddy issues and a serious sense of self-importance. Sorry to break it to you Alexia, but you've really messed your perfect life up lately and you need to fix it, or else you'll be left with no one, not even Draco!"
Alexia stood, gawking and speechless. She felt humiliated at Eva's words. People who were arriving in the Common Room had stopped in their tracks just to watch Eva stand up for herself and even they didn't know how to react.
"Sorry," Eva mumbled, then she grabbed her books and left the room.
Alexia pursed her lips and took a deep breath in. As if she was going to let Eva's words get to her. Eva was a nobody before Alexia took her in, and now she was about to become one again. She could say goodbye to the status and privileges Alexia had brought her, because all of ungrateful Evangeline Eskers' hopes of becoming a true Supreme Slytherin were over.
Alexia had to find someone to go to Hogsmeade with, otherwise it would be showing Eva that she had won. Cormac McLaggen was good enough, so Alexia set off to find the Gryffindor.
She wandered all over the school in search of Cormac. As she walked she realized how stupid she was deciding to take a Gryffindor; it would be yet again another thing gossiped about. But she also thought that maybe people would see that she wasn't just a cruel failure, maybe they would see some good in her.
"Cormac?" she called, spotting him as she rounded a corner on the sixth-floor corridor.
He turned and grinned surprisingly at Alexia, "Hey Alexia!"
Alexia smiled back at him and shuffled closer, "Hey," she said casually.
"I'm hoping you're here about the Valentine's Day thing?" Cormac said.
"I am, and I'm wondering if you want to take me to Hogsmeade." Alexia told him, trying to sound confident.
"Yeah, you bet I do!" he exclaimed, doing a little fist pump to himself.
Alexia pretended to laugh at his immature and slightly stupid gesture, "Great!" she said, "I know people might think it's weird, I mean, you and I are from houses that are complete rivals, so maybe we should keep it a little more quiet for now."
Cormac nodded, "I agree, I'm sure my fellow Gryffindors will pay me out for it too, but hey, I'm Cormac McLaggen and you're Alexia Burke, whatever they think doesn't matter."
"Exactly," Alexia said, cringing at the haughtiness she could hear in his tone.
"You know," he began dramatically, "I was seriously considering taking my name off your list! I thought I would never be asked being a Gryffindor but then I found out what went down between you and Malfoy," he blabbered, "He seems pretty proud about it, so now its time I showed him he's not the only one who can get you."
Alexia chuckled, "Oh what happened between Draco and I isn't true you know?"
"What!" Cormac said suddenly, "You mean he was lying?"
"Yeah- wait... he?"
"Yeah... Malfoy, who else?"
"What?" Alexia said.
"He was going on about it at lunch," Cormac told her.
"The little git!" she said angrily.
"Wait, so is it true?" Cormac asked, completely confused.
"Sorry Cormac, I'll talk to you after dinner tonight. I need to go." Alexia quickly muttered, then bolted off, this time to find Draco.
She stormed down the many staircases and marched through the hallways.
"Hey sweetheart," Sullivan Fawley said suggestively as she walked past.
"Hi Sullivan," she replied automatically, not even stopping or looking up at him.
When Alexia found Draco, she was even more angry than she was with Eva.
"You didn't even bother asking me what I wanted!" Draco had said.
"Well I didn't realise what you wanted was to spread it around the school!" Alexia furiously said back.
"I didn't want that Alexia, but you were so ignorant of me, it was fair!"
"It was not fair! It was completely selfish!"
"Selfish? What I did was selfish? What about you?"
They went on and on until Alexia could not go on any more. She stormed off in a huff and had an even larger feeling of resentment towards Draco than before.
•••
On Saturday morning, it was cold and frosty. Before going for breakfast, she headed to the Owlery to send a letter regarding a dress order she needed for Valentine's Day. The circular stone room was freezing as the glassless windows which allowed the owls to come and go freely, also let the overnight snow and morning wind blow through.
Like always she was extra careful in her designer boots not to step in the owl droppings which littered the straw covered floor. Although the snow was easing as winter started coming closer to an end, some of the higher landings where the owls nestled had a thin layer of ice on them.
Alexia's eagle owl, Athena, had seen Alexia enter the Owlery and flew down from a higher perch to a lower one closer to Alexia. Alexia stroked Athena's beautful coloured feathers, admiring the unique dark splotches and freckles on her tawny-buff body. She attached the letter to her owl's claws, then stood back to let her fly. Athena's vivid orange eyes twinkled in the early morning light, she shook her feathers briskly, then flew off out through the open window and out into the air. Alexia watched the owl vanish into the distance and once she could no longer see the shrinking figure, she turned to leave and go back to the main part of the castle.
She was about to walk through the doorway when she heard a noisey owl come flying quickly through the open windows dropping a letter from its beak and plunging upwards to avoid flying into the opposite wall. Alexia stopped, turned and walked back into the room, bending down to pick up the letter. She turned it over and was surprised to find it addressed to herself. She opened it carefully and unfolded the parchment. It was her mother's handwriting.
Alexia sighed and began reading. Laurel wrote:
To whoever's eyes this lays upon,
Firstly, Alexia, if you are reading this, well done, you've obviously surpassed the new secruity measures that Hogwarts is embracing since the Azkaban Breakout, or perhaps your keeping on the good side of the caretaker there. Secondly, as soon as you have finished reading this letter, you must dispose of it, I can't let anyone know of our personal family business. Thirdly, if the reader of this is not Alexia and does not have any trace of Burke blood in them, I have put a charm on the letter that will instantly make you forget what you've read by the time you read the last word.
Anyhow, my dear Alexia, I apologise for your father and myself's late response to your letter. Unfortunately your father is very busy at the moment with orders from the Dark Lord and is also constantly on the move from the Ministry Aurors, as a consequence he has not been able to contact you though he desires to immensely. When he and the other Death Eaters find a suitable and safe place to stay, he says he will write to you. Hopefully, this will be very soon.
I hope you are well and are keeping to our family standards.
With all sincerity, from your Mother.
When Alexia finished reading, she shook her head and folded the letter, shoving it into her pocket. She always believed her father loved her hugely, she always thought she meant the world to him. But now, he was too busy with his 'work' and 'duties' to even send her a letter. Alexia understood the Dark Lord was demanding and that her father was very loyal, but surely he could find a few minutes to sit down and write a short note and explanation of why he hadn't contacted her yet himself!
Alexia walked angrily back to the Common Room. She was extremely frustrated and it wasn't until she had thrown the letter into the fire and watched it go up in flames and burn, that she found some satisfaction and felt a little less bothered by it.
•••
Yet another week seemed to speed by. Alexia kept her head up all week. The recent events had made her nastier than usual, so everyone seemed to stay out of her way thankfully. By the end of the week only few people knew that Alexia would be going to Hogsmeade with Cormac, Draco had tried to apologise almost everyday for what he had done (Alexia ignoring him each time) and Eva no longer sat with Alexia, Daphne or any of the supreme Slytherins.
On Valentine's Day, Alexia and Daphne woke early to get ready for their day ahead; Alexia's with Cormac and Daphne's with Theodore.
They grabbed their clothes, makeup, wands and hairbrushes before heading to the showers to get in early before the many other girls did. They showered, dried, got dressed in their new outfits that had arrived on Thursday morning by owl post and then began on their makeup and hair.
"If anyone ruins my day today, I think that will be it. I will completely lose it!" Alexia said, as she used a heating charm to warm her wand, then wrapped portions of hair around it to make it curl.
"I don't blame you, Al. You've had a rough few weeks." Daphne replied, putting on her mascara.
"I wonder how things will go today with Cormac. I mean, he's good-looking and is from a decent pureblood family, but he does like to talk about himself a lot and he seems a bit short-tempered." said Alexia.
Daphne smiled, "It will be fine, Alexia!"
"You're right, I mean, it's not ever going to turn into anything serious! I can't do that again! He's a Gryffindor too so that will stop me incase!"
Daphne nodded, "Exactly! Just enjoy the day out, feeling special and looking amazing!"
Alexia smiled at Daphne in the mirror. She was grateful to have someone like Daphne who still cared about her and hadn't hurt her. Most people these days had hurt her in some way and each day she was beginning to feel a little lonelier and lonelier in the great big world she still had to conquer.
As soon as Alexia and Daphne had finished in the bathroom, they headed back to the Common Room to dump their stuff in their dormitory and grab their coats and handbags.
Alexia threw her appropriate light pink coat on over her black and white striped dress. It was a short dress, so she wore a pair of black stockings underneath and added a matching black clutch to carry her money and lipstick.
The two girls walked up to the Great Hall to have a quick breakfast before heading to Hogsmeade to meet their dates. The heels of their boots tapped on the hard, stone castle floors as they walked up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall.
A first-year Slytherin girl saw Alexia and Daphne coming and stepped out of the way. She stared up at them, almost mesmerized, then she muttered "You're outfits are amazing..."
Alexia stopped and Daphne feared she might say something hurtful back to the small girl. Instead she put her hand on the girls shoulder, "Do you want some advice?" she asked the girl softly.
The girl whose eyes were wide, slowly nodded.
Alexia smiled, "Dress like you're going to see your worst enemy everyday," she said, then rejoined Daphne.
•••
By the time Alexia met Cormac in Hogsmeade, it was late in the morning. It was a nice day for the Hogwarts students to visit the small village. It had stopped snowing and the sun was out, tumbling rays down onto the gravel roads which shimmered with remains of ice from the night. Wispy white clouds moved slowly in the sky. They were thin enough to look like stray brushes of white paint on a blue canvas.
Alexia and Cormac walked to Madam Puddifoot's teashop receiving several glances from the people they passed.
"So, Cormac, how are you?" Alexia asked.
"I'm great Alexia, I actually just found out this morning that my Uncle Tiberius is taking me dragon hunting during the Easter break, so I'm pretty excited. Bet you haven't done that before huh?" Cormac said.
"Er... no, I haven't. It doesn't really interest me-"
"I've been once before and it's great fun! Dangerous but great!" Cormac informed her.
"Oh... nice..." Alexia muttered.
Madam Puddifoot's had been decorated especially for Valentine's Day. Although it was very tacky, Alexia did think it was sweet. Many Hogwarts students, holding hands or kissing over coffee cups had already claimed many of the frilly and lacy decorated tables.
Cormac got Madam Puddifoot's attention and she showed them to a free table.
"What could I get you two dearies?" Madam Puddifoot asked.
Alexia was about to order herself a coffee, but Cormac spoke over her, "Two teas please! Maybe a slice of cake each as well, thank you." He said.
"Of course! Won't be long!" Madam Puddifoot replied, then dashed off towards the back of the small shop.
Alexia gazed around at her surroundings; hovering above her was a golden cherub.
"What is that?" Cormac asked, also looking up at it.
"I- oh!" the cherub suddenly had thrown pink and red confetti over the table, giving Alexia a fright.
Cormac laughed, "This teashop is hilarious!"
Eventually Madam Puddifoot brought out their tea and cake. Cormac claimed the chocolate cake and Alexia took the carrot cake, which she didn't mind.
"Hey Cormac, do you mind me asking why you're not in the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year? I heard you're great at flying on a broom," Alexia said as an attempt to make proper conversation.
Cormac finished his mouthful of cake before speaking, "Well, I missed the tryouts," he said, "I was in the Hospital Wing."
"Oh, why?"
"I ate a pound of Doxy eggs for a bet," he explained sounding impressed with himself.
Alexia gasped, "They would've poisoned you!"
He shrugged cooly, "Yeah, but it was worth it!"
"I see..." Alexia said then reached for her cup of tea and took a large sip.
The bell over the door tinkled tunefully and Alexia gazed past Cormac to see Harry Potter arrive with Cho Chang.
"Is that seriously Harry Potter on a date?" Alexia said, checking she wasn't seeing things.
Cormac looked over his shoulder, "Yeah, it is." he said. "Didn't do as good as me still," he added obviously competitively comparing Cho to Alexia. He turned back to Alexia, "Anyway, do you want to hear more about the dragon hunting trip I'm going on?"
Alexia stabbed her fork into her carrot cake, "Sure," she said through gritted teeth as the cherub above her once again irritably threw confetti all over the table, "I'd love too..."
•••
After a good hour, Alexia finally got a chance to speak and make an excuse to leave, "I promised I'd meet Daphne to go shop for some supplies so I better head off soon," she told Cormac.
"Right, yeah," he replied, "We can head off now if you'd like?"
"That'd be great, did you want me to pay?" Alexia politely asked.
"I've got it!" he said.
"Thanks, I'll wait outside while you fix things up," Alexia said.
Alexia passed Roger Davies on the way out of the teashop. He was engaging in a passionate kiss with another girl, and Alexia wondered if she had chosen to go on a date with him, if it would be any better than with Cormac. It wasn't really something she needed to think about too much, because ultimately, anyone would probably be better than conceited Cormac who couldn't stop talking about all his acts of bravery or what Alexia saw more as stupidness.
"Thank you for taking me out," Alexia told Cormac outside, "It was... fun."
"No problem, hopefully we can do it again sometime!" Cormac enthusiastically said.
"Yeah, hopefully," Alexia lied.
Cormac leant in to give Alexia a hug. She hugged him back lightly and as she pulled away she noticed Cormac suddenly moved and went in to kiss her. Quickly, Alexia turned her face and instead he got her cheek.
"I better go! Thanks again Cormac, it was lovely. I'll see you around!" she said all at once with a wave and smile.
Cormac was left standing with confusion as Alexia sped off and finally escaped.
She hurried away and when she was out of sight, her quick pace turned into a slow, gloomy trod through the streets of Hogsmeade, dragging her feet behind her. What she had been expecting to be a lovely Valentine's Day date, had been a completely and utterly huge fail. The only thing she had really enjoyed about it, was watching Cho Chang and Harry Potter fighting, Cho eventually storming out in tears.
As Alexia came to the main street, she headed to the Three Broomsticks in desperate need of a drink. It was much more quiet and emptier than usual which was in comparison to the teashop, but this just made Alexia feel worse; everyone was obviously out walking, shopping or sipping tea and coffee with their Valentine. Everyone but her and a few other lonesome people who decided alcohol was a more reliable and enjoyable option.
Alexia ordered a drink and collapsed onto a stool at the bar. Being bored, she began to fiddle with some muggle-made contraption called a salt-shaker, occasionally taking a sip of her drink.
"I love to see you drown your sorrows. It's very sexy." A voice said from behind her, giving her a fright.
"Sullivan!" she gasped turning to see who it was, "What are you doing?"
He paused, staring into her eyes, then said with a husky and slow voice, "Buying you another drink." He said, noticing her empty glass.
"I don't think that will be necessary." She said, rejecting his offer.
"You'll find I can be very persuasive." He replied. He leant in closer towards her and brushed a piece of hair away from her face.
Alexia didn't move or speak. Sullivan always somehow knew how to please her and his charm was irresistible.
He moved away slightly and got the bartenders attention. He asked for two strong shots, then sat down and faced Alexia once more, "Thought you had a Valentines date?"
"If that's what you want to call it." She muttered.
"Who was the special someone?"
"Cormac McLaggen." She told him. "And don't even ask me why! It was a huge mistake! He wouldn't shut up about dragon hunting and his many acts of foolish bravery!"
"Nice." Sullivan said.
Alexia turned back to fiddling with the salt-shaker and as she did, she felt Sullivan's eyes on her.
"No matter how long you try to be good, you can't keep a bad girl down." He said, shaking his head in a sleepy way as he looked at her with interest.
"What do you mean?" Alexia asked.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Ever since that Zabini kid broke your heart, I heard that you've gone back to your old ways."
"And what are my old ways exactly?"
"Making good use of your power. Making sure you get what you want." said Sullivan. "Being the girl you used to be when we hid in a cupboard and kissed. The girl I like." he added, causing Alexia to look up from staring down at her drink. He bit his lip seductively and he watched her eyes find his lips.
"For a Hufflepuff, you know me well." Alexia admitted with a bad habit smirk.
The bartender gave poured liquor into two shot glasses, then pushed them towards Sullivan and Alexia with a curt nod. Sullivan took his glass and held it up slightly, "To power, to bad Valentine's Day dates, to good memories and to us." he said as a toast.
Alexia took her drink and also raised it, "To power, to bad Valentine's Day dates, to good memories and to us." she repeated, then clinked her glass against Sullivan's.
They finished their shots in one easy gulp, then grinned at each other.
"Shall we go for a walk?" Sullivan asked.
"Please," Alexia replied with a smile, staring into his luring, pale blue eyes, "But first, we need one more drink. My shout."
After finishing one more drink, Sullivan took Alexia's coat from the back of her bar stool and helped her put it on, before the two slowly exited the cosy pub together, causing many of the Hogwarts students and even Hogsmeade residents to stare. It was a well known fact that Laurel Burke did not like the Fawley's. When she had found out Alexia had kissed Mr Fawley's son and on top of that, skipped class to make out with him, she was furious. But as Alexia left the pub with Sullivan, she didn't even care that someone might see them together and tell her mother, she didn't exactly care what her mother thought about anything at the moment.
They had only just walked down to the next corner of the street when Alexia glimpsed the familiar white-blond hair belonging to Draco across the road.
"I think we should turn around," Alexia said, but Draco had seen her and was now crossing the road and walking towards her and Sullivan.
"Alexia, hey," he said as he reached her.
"Hi," she responded plainly.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to go for a walk, maybe grab a coffee, but I see you're already on one with Fawley." Draco said.
"Yeah, she is mate." Sullivan piped.
Draco eyed him threateningly. It was also well known that Draco Malfoy despised Sullivan Fawley. Sullivan was very similar to Draco; they both tended to be cocky and frequently slept around with girls. However, Draco waited for his victims, which wasn't usually very hard for him as many girls were desperate for his attention for one night, whereas Sullivan preferred to chose his victim and hunt them down, even if it took weeks (he found this more entertaining), until finally they gave into him and his charm. He would then settle with them for a week or so before moving on to his next victim.
"Look Draco," Alexia started breaking the spiteful glare between the two boys, "If you're still trying to make up for things, whatever, I forgive you."
Sullivan began laughing, "Never knew you were so soft, Malfoy! Begging for a girl's forgiveness, huh?" he said.
Draco pulled out his wand and held it out in front of him but before he could do anything, Alexia had stepped in front of Sullivan and was blocking the way.
"Just go, Draco," Alexia breathed.
But Draco did not move.
A minute or so passed by as Alexia waited, but still, he didn't move.
"Pretty sure she told you to go, mate," Sullivan said.
"Pretty sure I don't care," Draco replied, his voice almost absolutely monotone but his words spat out with ferocity.
Alexia scowled, "Get lost!" she growled, pushing him backwards in the chest with her hand.
For a minute Alexia was worried he would lash out or send a curse flying at her, but he surrendered and backed away, before finally turning and walking back across to the other side of the street.
"Well, that was interesting," Alexia said, once she had recovered and taken in whatever had just happened.
Sullivan chuckled, "I've never heard of Malfoy taking girls on walks and offering coffees."
"There's a lot of things you haven't heard about with Malfoy," Alexia told him as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Well I did hear something the other day, perhaps it's why I'm feeling tension between the two of you? Maybe what your fighting about?" Sullivan asked.
"Depends what that was you heard," Alexia said.
"It was something that surprised me. Who would've thought... Malfoy and Burke... new year, new you I guess," Sullivan said.
"I guess," Alexia sighed in agreement.
They began walking once again.
"Well, you've been bought and offered a a few drinks today, I take the alcoholic one was your favourite?" Sullivan asked looking smug.
Alexia grinned, "Of course it was!"
"Thought so," he replied.
Alexia looked up at him, "You've changed Sullivan. You're stronger, meaner... sexy."
"I'm glad you've finally noticed." Sullivan said. "Now, come on, let's get away from this busy main street, find somewhere more private."
•••
A/N: so I ended up choosing Cormac! I knew from the start of the chapter that I wanted the date to be terrible for Alexia, and with Cormac as her date I was able to do that with his personality. Alexia is someone who would much rather be the one talking (especially about herself) rather than listen, so this was great to use. I don't think she would have ever considered going with a Gryffindor but I guess this shows how much she's changing and how desperate she was.
Apologies for the wait and long length of this chapter xx