Broken: a Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter 21 - Queen of Hearts

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.