‹ Prequel: Different Letters
Status: Back on for real

Love Made Us Blind

Chosen Side

"Alice... Alice! Alice you have to wake up!"

Alice felt as if she just fell asleep. Which judging by the sky she probably did. For a second she was a bit disoriented, wondering why wasn't she in her bed. Alice and Draco had spend the whole night talking, trying to resolve some of their issues. They also cuddled and whispered sweet things in each other ears until they got so tired that they fell asleep for a few hours.

"Oh no..." Alice whined, sitting up.

"We have to get back to our common rooms. Class is going to start soon."

"Yeah I think I'm just going to skip the first few classes." The girl was in no condition to go to class and listen to a teacher. She would just lie and say she isn't feeling well and ask for someone, probably Hermione or Hayley to copy her notes from. She got up and looked at her boyfriend, smiling.

"We should definitely do this again. Maybe not on a school night..."

"I'd be fine with that." Draco responded, standing up. He kissed Alice slowly and carefully, glad she wasn't pushing him away. With a good behaviour, he was convinced he would win her back completely and she wouldn't feel the need to hang out with Potter and the mudblood. All he needed was a couple of weeks.

They picked up their stuff and headed downstairs. They walked in the halls carefully, the very last thing they both needed was to get caught. After a final peck they both separated. Alice didn't feel the need to put on the cloak or take out the map, it was way too early for anyone to be walking or patrolling. After waking up a very grumpy Fat Lady, she snaked back into her dormitory and went to bed. She was woken up later by her four dormmates getting ready for the day. After mumbling something about being too tired for class, the girls left and she fell back asleep. Hunger eventually woke up the girl for good a couple of hours later. She glanced at the time and was satisfied to notice that lunch had just started. She changed into her uniform, proudly tying her red and gold tie and prepared the books for her afternoon classes. She quickly went into Harry's dormitory and left him his cloak and map, scribbling a thank you note on a piece of parchment before heading down to eat something. As she walked to the Grand Hall she noticed that Umbridge had issued a new degree which was posted throughout the school. Rolling her eyes, she slowed down a bit to read it.

"Not allowed reading the Quibbler?" She read to herself "But what in the...?"

She wasn't that familiar with the magazine and all she knew was that it was for people who were a little... well strange. It was famous for publishing stories that no one would ever belief about creatures and facts that were most likely false. She continued walking a bit faster, scared she was going to miss lunch. When she finally got there, she immediately went to sit down at her table besides Harry and a group of his friends.

"So what did I miss? Any exciting news this morning?" She asked, putting a whole bunch of food on her plate, hoping she had time to finish all of it.

"A lot actually..." Hermione said in a exciting voice. "Addie... just please don't take this the wrong way but..."

Hermione looked up and stopped talking, staring at something behind Alice. Before the black haired girl had time to react, she felt someone grab her under her arm pit and pull her off the bench.

"You need to come with me now!"

"Draco!" The aggression in his voice and the way he took hold of her shocked her. He had been so gentle and kind just mere hours ago. "Draco let me finish my lunch!"

"I need to talk to you right now!" He said, still not letting her go

"Malfoy let her go!" Harry said, standing on the other side of the table

"This is none of your business Potter!"

"Somehow I have a feeling that this is actually my business!"

"Calm down both of you! Especially you!" She said looking at the blond, getting up from her seat. "I'm starving, can we just go to your table then?"

"No, I need to talk to you alone, now!"

"Fine!" Alice took an apple from the table, trying not to look at the delicious plate she prepared for herself. Draco would never come up to her at the Gryffindor table if it wasn't for an emergency and by the looks of him it sounded like one. "I'll see you guys later"

"Oh no you won't" Her boyfriend responded as he took her by the wrist and started dragging her out of the hall.

"What is the matter with you!" Alice yelled once they were a couple of hallways away. "The last thing I wanted was a scene in front of the whole school but if you treat me like that one more time I swear to Merlin, Draco Malfoy I will-"

"Do you know anything about this?" Draco cut her shoving a magazine into her hands.

"Transfiguration Monthly? No I don't know-"

"Read the article!" The blond cut her once again which was starting to seriously infuriate the witch who was close on losing a nerve with him.

Alice started reading the article. It surprised her at first that it was an article about Harry and she was sure it was going to be a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But as she read on she realized that this was Harry's words and Harry's version of what happen last June. He recalled the events that happened after he arrived at the graveyard spoke of Voldemort and named the Death Eaters that were with him. Naturally that included Draco's father. Alice felt herself become pale.

"This changes nothing." Addie said after a long silence "Nobody will believe this."

"People already have started believing it." Draco responded. His voice was low but it was nonetheless filled with fury "I've how a few of them looked at me this morning..."
Alice took her boyfriends hands into her and squeezed them, trying to give him some courage.

"So Potter gave an interview? Who cares? He still has no proof, it's still the ministry's word against his. Like I said nothing has changed." Alice said peacefully trying to soothe him. She wasn't sure if she believed in her own words but she had to calm the boy down.

"Yes but now thousands have access to Potter's words. And the students too, and I can't even defend my father because we're not allowed to admit we read the stupid article." He said as he threw the magazine. "Alice... my father can't go to Azkaban."

"He won't." She wrapped her arms around him and brought him close to her. She wasn't used to seeing him so vulnerable and she was shocked to see how much this article was affecting him. "And if the worst happens, if he is discovered as a Death Eater, he can go to France. My family will protect him."

"But we'd lose everything here. Our status, our privilege..."

"But he'd still be free. Look, we may be the children of Death Eaters but we are not. If your father gets caught, we move away, change our names and find a place where they won't recognize us. We've only got less than two and half years here..."

"Thank you." Draco whispered as he pulled himself away from his girlfriend's hold. "I love you."

"I love you too." Alice smiled a little. "Just remember, everything will be the same as before. No one in the ministry will ever believe something published in the Quibbler. Harry's probably done himself more harm than good by it." Alice faked a smile for his benefit, relief that he wasn't exploding in anger like he was.

"I hope you're right." He answered by closing in his lips on hers and gently kissing her. He pulled back shortly after and with his voice low and calm he said. "You know this puts an end to your friendship with him."

Anger rose in Marie-Adelaide and if it wasn't for Draco being emotionally unstable at the moment, she probably would have reacted differently. But she didn't want to agitate him more so she took a silent breathe and calmly asked.

"And why is that?"

"This is an attack on my family Alice. Do you want to stand by him while he tries to drag my name through the dirt?"

"No, I'll always be on your side but for now I'd rather stay neutral-"

"And will you stay neutral when he's dragging my family to Azkaban. He doesn't have any power now but what about in five, seven years. He's the boy who lived Alice, there are some people who are always going to be loyal to him, what if he starts an army, one that Dumbledore will help create... Alice you need to pick a side. This is all hard for me and I need you. We consider you a part of our family. Are you going to hang out with him after this?"

Alice had always been touched when the Malfoys showed that they thought she was one of them. And they were her family, much more than her cold mother and absent father. And this day had to come, she knew she would have to serve all bonds with one side.

"You're right. I always said when it came to it I would chose you over anyone. So I will Draco."
♠ ♠ ♠
:)
thanks for reading
ilu
xoxo