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"YOU ALRIGHT?"
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Time flew by as Christmas came nearer and nearer.
No one had spoken a word to Alice since Ron had last tried.
And Alice liked it that way.
She finally had peace.
She stayed up every night, practising her handwriting and it was getting more readable each day.
However, her reading was not improving.
She couldn't recognise anything, and that was the hardest part.
Most of the Gryffindors were packing and exchanging gifts for Christmas.
Alice on the other hand was in bits.
She didn't want to leave.
She knew that as soon as she walked into the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, there would be hell to pay.
She had made Harry, Hermione, Ron and the twins Christmas cards.
She didn't know what they said, but it's what everyone wrote on the cards, so she assumed it was Merry Christmas or Seasons greetings.
She drew a small picture of herself with a piece of holly beside her.
She couldn't muster the courage to go and hand the cards to them, so she slipped them into their pockets the morning they were due home.
At breakfast, she ate her usual breakfast consisting of toast and a glass of pumpkin juice.
While Ron eyed her a few times, wanting to put more on her plate.
On the Hogwarts Express, Alice sat with Neville and Luna Lovegood, an odd girl, but very loveable.
They talked amongst themselves, hardly noticing that Alice was there.
She just looked out the window, not even getting excited when she saw a horse or a cow.
As the train came to a halt, her face fell pale.
She said goodbye, and went to find Draco.
"You alright?" Draco asked, leading the way.
"Brilliant" she answered, dragging her light case behind her.
"He won't hurt you when I'm around" he assured.
"Didn't stop him last time" she mumbled, wincing as she stepped on a sharp rock in her bare cold feet.
Draco pretended not to hear her and kept walking.
Alice didn't know how they were getting back to the manor, but she didn't dare ask for the sake of keeping her life stable.
"You will be alright" he said softly.
"If I believed that, I would be believing lies" she whispered, clutching her arm and keeping an eye on Draco's wand.
He noticed this, and felt instantly guilty.
"I only hurt you so that you would learn, I won't do it again. I had to do it for the plan to work"
"What bloody plan!?" she shouted angrily, looking as if she was going to slap him.
But she should've kept her mouth shut, because just then Lucius turned around and grabbed her by the hair as they aparated back to the dreaded Malfoy Manor.