A week passes before Fred speaks a word to me since I pushed him out of the way from the tree trunk that could have ended his life.
"Alexia, wait up!" My feet stop in place on my way back to my common room to take a break before Potions later. Fred quickens up his pace to catch up with me since he was at the other end of the hall.
I stand still as I look at the redhead, waiting for him to say something, yet he doesn't initiate. "Yes?"
Fred looks around before wrapping my left wrist, pulling me towards an empty classroom. I have a feeling this may take a while, so I sit on a desk, crossing one leg over the other. He sits down on a desk across from mine.
His hands fidget as he stays quiet for a moment. He takes a deep breath, and I can hear how fast his heart is beating. He finally speaks up, "I've been trying to figure out for days now what to say to you..." My face remains neutral as he pauses before continuing, "Obviously I owe you a huge thank you for saving my life after I made a dumb decision."
My voice is nonchalant, "Of course, I'm glad I was at the lake." He doesn't need to know that I was there out of curiosity about him and Angelina.
He chuckles dryly, "Otherwise, I would have been a goner."
I shake away the thought of him dead since he is alive now, so there is no need to worry, "Thankfully that is not the case."
Fred's eyes lock with mine, searching for something, or anything, to explain why I would have helped him since we had it out for each other before.
I answer an unspoken question, "Fred, I don't hate you anymore and helped you because I wanted to."
His voice is quiet as his body finally relaxes, "I don't hate you anymore either." I smile a bit, content with our conversation. "Why did you hate me so much?"
I look incredulously at him, "You were an arse, but I thought you were trying to find out everything about me and expose me."
Fred asks jokingly, "You have something to hide?"
"Maybe."
"Like how you were able to run that fast in order to save me from my impending doom?"
My body tenses slightly but goes unnoticed by Fred. I smile as I shrug, "It's a gift."
"A gift I am more than grateful for. I'll do anything you want!" He jokingly praises me with a bow.
I pretend to think about it, "Hmm...I'll let you know."
We share a laugh, his personality uplifting my mood tremendously. This is much better than the cold glares and snarky comments. "You know, I much prefer this Fred."
"You're not too bad yourself."
I offer a challenging look, "You know I'm amazing!"
He holds his hand up to his chin, pretending to weigh the options. I roll my eyes at this but enjoy our playful interaction.
We go quiet for a moment after the laughter dies down. We make eyes contact, but the look makes me turn away and instead look out the nearby window.
"You make him really happy you know." His voice forces me to peel my eyes away from the forest to give Fred a questioning look. I know what he is talking about but am surprised we are talking about it. "George seems really happy, so don't worry about me getting in the way anymore."
I take in his words, unresponsive for a slight moment. For some reason, I hold doubt about the last part of his sentence. "I'm glad, and I think I'm happy as well."
Fred's tone is curious, "You think?"
I feel exposed somehow by the way his eyes stare, wanting to know more. "I don't let myself feel, but I want to."
His face turns to one with no emotion at first, making it difficult for me to read him. "What are you waiting for?"
No answer comes to mind, and I feel stumped by the question. I take a moment to think because aside from the obvious fact that I would remain stronger with my emotions turned off to challenge Niklaus, there isn't a huge reason for me to remain unfeeling. I offer the best answer I can give, "Feeling safe."
The next words that come out of his mouth are straightforward yet mean so much more to me, "You can trust us."
Warmth fills me, and I find myself pulling my body up from my seat on the desk to make my way over to Fred. I wrap my around around his neck in a hug as his hesitantly wrap around the small of my back to huge me back. I whisper, "Thank you."
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Nothing eventful, or bad for that matter, happened in the past month. Draco still bugged me constantly about not giving him a chance over George, much to my dismay. I set Hermione and Viktor up on a date in the astronomy tower last week, and I know another one is bound to happen.
George has gone our of his way to make my day, and to make me smile as much as he can. Sometimes he surprises me by pulling some type of prank where Ron is normally the target. Fred always comes up to talk to e in between classes, slowly getting to know me, yet it almost feels like we never had it out for each other.
"Alexia," a voice calls out for me in the hall.
I stop in my tracks on the way back from breakfast. A certain blond, grey eyes boy runs up to me in the empty hallway.
"What's up?"
Draco nods his head towards the direction of the dungeons, so we both start walking to our common room. We walk in silence, and I brace for another round of him trying to convince me that he is better than George and that I am secretly in love with him. Both are untrue.
I make myself comfortable on one of the black couches in front of the fireplace by placing my feet on the arm of the sofa and putting a green pillow under my head.
Draco's eyebrows raise, chuckling as he asks, "Comfy?" He sits on a large chair, facing me straight on.
"Very," I respond with a cheeky smile.
He gives a small smile before looking at the fire, his eyes glazing over. I can tell he is zoning out, thinking about something that must be worrying him.
My voice is quiet as I cautiously speak up, "Draco..."
The second he hears my voice, he snaps out of it, trying to pretend to be fine even though we both know that is not the case, "Why are you with Weasley?"
I immediately know he is avoiding what is really on his mind.I groan at his words and choice of topic though, "Draco, not this again. I'm sorry I did't fall for you like you thought I would but-"
Draco cuts me off, "No, it's not that. I meant why are you with someone who makes you lowers your guard?"
My eyes look to his, confused at his question and searching for answers about what exactly is going on in his head currently. I sit up from my comfortable position to meet Draco at eye level, "I never thought I would be with someone here, but I think that I subconsciously know that I deserve some happiness. I've been through so much, so to have someone who makes me smile and laugh is welcomed."
Draco starts to chuckle, catching me off guard since what I said was serious and sincere. My eyebrows raise to question him, so he finally responds, "Have you told him yet?"
"Tell him what?"
Draco shakes his head at me, snickering, "That you're in love with him."
My mouth falls open and my eyes widen at his words. I think about it, closing my mouth, and wonder if there is any truth in what he said. "We haven't been together that long..."
"So? I've seen the impact he has on you. You used to be so cold and closed off and now...you genuinely smile. You've changed and he's a huge reason why."
I've noticed a change in myself but didn't realize that someone like Draco would notice. Part of me knows that this change makes me weaker but I would be lying if I said I didn't like my friendships and relationships with others.
"But love? I don't think-"
Draco rolls his eyes at me, annoyed with my stubbornness, "Love is a funny thing. It's funny that you love Weasley and not me." I lightly kick his foot and he jokingly cries out in pain before regaining his composure, "There isn't a timeline for love...when you feel it, you feel it."
I stare at Draco in awe, "Wow, that was deep. Who knew you had a heart."
"Did my romantic attempt on you prove otherwise?"
I let out a laugh, "Romantic? More like annoying."
He smiles, one that is small but noticeable. "Draco Malfoy smiling?"
In an instant, the smile falls off his face, caught in the act. "If you tell anyone about this I will-"
"Ooh, I'm scared." I laugh as I say this before turning serious again, "Smiling looks good on you." The corners of his lips twitch upwards at my comment.
A smirk appears on his face as he winks, "Is my smile irresistibly charming?"
I let out another groan at yet another comment trying to get me to fall for him. "Draco," I say, drawing out the 'o.' He opens his mouth to make a comment, one that I already assume to be inappropriate. "Don't you dare say anything."
"You know, you may be the only one here that has seen me smile and not just from messing with other people."
I joke as I say, "I'm honored!" Curious, I ask him, "why don't you let others see this side of you?"
Draco's eyes immediately look with mine, "I have a reputation to uphold, and I have things to hide...as do you."
I open my mouth to protest, yet he cuts me off again, "You and I both know that you're not who you say you are."
My body sits up straighter as I cross my arms over my chest, "You know nothing."
He puts his hands up in defense, "You're probably right, but you know about my parents and my fate. I think it's only fair you share your darkest secret."
My eyes narrow but he seems curious, not approaching this with bad intentions. I decide to test telling someone other than Ron since I can just compel him afterwards. It's like practice for telling George eventually.
"Fine." Draco leans forward, awaiting my secret. I keep my voice as even as possible and void of any emotion as I say, "I'm not just a witch...I am a vampire as well."
His eyes start to widen, but he tries to remains neutral, "Interesting."
"Interesting? That's what you have to say?" I am a bit surprised that he isn't scared.
"Does anyone else know?"
"Only two people as of right now."
Draco nods his head, taking it all on. No further questions are asked, so he stands up to walk towards his dorm. On his way up the stairs he say, "Your secret is safe with me."
Our wifi in our apartment went out for a few days, so I wasn't able to update. This is a bit of a filler, and then I think only two (maybe three) more chapters in part 1! Part 2 will still be updated on this book and I already have a bunch of chapter written, so be excited. X