Broken: a Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 2 - Secrets & Lies

"Has that skirt been taken up Miss Burke?" Professor Snape said slowly as Alexia, Daphne, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, Pansy and Draco entered the Great Hall for the beginning of year feast.

Alexia looked down at her skirt which should of sat below her knees. instead it was hitched up so it was resting on her thighs, "No," She said, "I must of just...grown." she shrugged, smiling and showing off her long, thin legs.

They walked into the hall and sat on the Slytherin table with other Slytherin students in their year. To the teachers at Hogwarts, Alexia appeared to be a model student and exceedingly polite and trusted. This reputation earned her the respect of her teachers and she cunningly used her beauty to charm many of the teachers, as well as other students - boys in particular. She was no doubt one of the most beautiful girls at Hogwarts. But, she was also no doubt, the most unavailable girl. Even her rivals, the Gryffindors, had to admit she was stunning. Though, she wasn't all good-looks. She was dark, fearless and unafraid to do things a lot of people would cower from, but, ever since she had began dating Blaise, she had shown a more compassionate and softer side to her usual self-centered and manipulative self.

When the first year sorting was finally done and everyone had finished eating the huge feast of food, they all set off to the Slytherin dungeons to go to bed. On the way she passed Sullivan Fawley, the Hufflepuff boy she had seen on the train. He winked at her playfully and she shook her head, then continued down to the Dungeons.

She entered the familiar, dimly lit Common Room and followed her way to the girls dormitories behind Pansy and Daphne. The two other girls that they shared the room with had not arrived yet, but each of their belongings sat neatly at the end of their four-posted beds.

"I thought they would have gotten new bed covers by now," Pansy sighed looking down at the dingy dark green sheets.

Alexia nodded in agreement, "I told my mother to write to Dumbledore about them but I don't think shes had time. I'll remind her though."

Each of the girls unpacked their belongings and tidied their trunks. Alexia placed a box filled with makeup and jewellery onto the old dresser that sat in the corner of the room. She opened one of the drawers to put away her hairbrush and noticed several photos from last year lying in the drawer.

"Look at this!" she said, "These are still here!"

Pansy took the photos. There was one of her, Alexia and Daphne out in the grounds during winter, rugged up in beanies and scarves as they shivered and laughed. The second one was a photo of Blaise kissing Alexia on the cheek before the Halloween Feast, when the two had just started dating. The last photo was Pansy and Alexia dressed in their beautiful gowns before the Yule Ball. They were smiling and waving at Pansy as she stared at it.

"I remember this!" Daphne said, interrupting Pansy's silent thoughts and taking the photo of all three of them, "This was just before Crabbe and Goyle decided to have a snowball fight with us."

"And what a bad decision it was!" Alexia laughed remembering the day too.

"Wow, you two looked gorgeous that night." Daphne said looking over Pansy's shoulder at the photo she held still.

"That was a fun night," Alexia sighed looking at the photo too.

Pansy quickly handed the photo back to Alexia, "I need to finish unpacking!" she exclaimed suddenly and rushed back to beside her bed and began unpacking several books onto her bedside table.

•••

After Double Transfiguration and History of Magic the next morning, Alexia couldn't wait to get outside at lunch break. The September sun shone down and filled the grounds with a struggling warmth.