Alex Weasley: Book 3

1

A/N- usually I post ASAP, but my phone died before I could post. SORRYYYYYYYY

"Are you seriously never going to tell me why you were in the hospital wing?" Draco whined.

"Never say never."

"But you said we were friends."

"I said we could possibly, one day, maybe be friends."

"Why?"

"For one, I don't really want friends. Never did. At least when I say no to you, I won't be totally betraying myself."

"That's stupid."

"It makes me feel weird, okay? And secondly, let's be real. Your dad and my dad would absolutely throw a hissy fit if they found out we were friends. So we can't be." Draco had to concede to that point. "Thirdly, you would definitely spill the beans. You have a problem keeping your mouth shut, so I can't tell you."

"I can keep a secret."

"You like to brag and boast. Very loudly."

"I can keep a secret." He repeated

"Like your dad's secret chamber underneath the drawing room?" She perked a brow.

"How do you know about that?"

"You rant and talk and basically say things you're not supposed to either intentionally or unintentionally."

"Fine, you have a point. Don't tell me." He sniffed, looking miffed. He quickly moved on. "Wanna go to the potions lab and blow stuff up?"

"Snape said not to go into his study or potions lab."

"Of all people, I had to be stuck with a Hufflepuff?"

"House discrimination." She scolded. "And also, you know Snape will have warded them. So unless you want to get stuck in a trap, let's not break in."

"Do you have to be so logical all the time?"

"Someone has to be." Draco just sneered.

Snape returned less than ten minutes later with dinner- pizza.
"It looks... very greasy." Draco inspected the slice he was holding, carefully. "Why are we eating something so muggle?"

"The journey to pick the both of you up didn't leave me with much time to prepare you dinner."

"Has your delicate elitist diet been offended?" Alex teased before taking a small bite of her own. She was used to having some at Hogwarts sometimes. Clearly it wasn't served at the Slytherin table. He glared at her before a determined look took over his face and he took a bite of the savory dish.

"Will the two of you at least pretend to get along?" Snape asked.

"We do get along." Alex said.

"It's been a while since she's threatened to hex me. That's progress." Draco added.

"It really is. I don't even think about hexing him anymore." She agreed. Snape shook his head.

"Just eat." Alex and Draco looked at each other with a smirk.

"Can we check out the potions lab after?"

"Not until you eat." He said and Alex turned back to her slice. Draco was biting at his crust while she was yet to take a second bite. She nibbled on it.

"I'm not really hungry." She mumbled.

"Alex, try to finish one slice at least." She sighed but nodded. She could try.

"Look whose delicate diet's been offended, now." Draco muttered and Alex rolled her eyes.

By the time Draco had finished his second slice, crust and all, Alex was nearing the end of her first. She was aware of her uncle glancing at her every few seconds as though to make sure she really was eating. Draco took a third.
"I'm done." She said. Snape looked pointedly at the crust she'd ignored, but said nothing.

"Take some time to rest. We'll work on potions in an hour." He said and she left the table. She hesitated as she walked past the bathroom. It was too close- she was sure Snape would hear her if she threw up. She didn't have the beast to blame anymore. She walked into her room, laying on the bed and taking out her mirror. Hermione could distract her for an hour.

"I thought we were brewing potions?" Alex asked, as Snape led them to their

"Any self-respecting potioneer must pick their own ingredients unless necessary. It builds character and is the mark of a true scholar of the arts." Draco quoted. "He has a weird thing about it."

"Potion making is about more than simply flicking ingredients into a cauldron. The best potion comes from ingredients that you've grown yourself."

"Technically, you grew these. Not us."

"I can send you back home if you'd prefer." Alex shrugged.

"And send me right back to dealing with the twins? Are you really so cruel?"

"You're so dramatic." Draco laughed.

"And you are so clearly an only child." She shook her head. "Siblings are torturous, Draco. Count yourself lucky."

"You can't compare having siblings to being tortured if you've never been tortured in the first place." Draco said, and Alex tensed. Snape looked at her worriedly as she stayed silent the rest of the way to the greenhouse.

It wasn't until the next day that Snape actually let them into the potions lab. He decided to test them with a protection potion from a book they didn't teach at Hogwarts. First he had them make educated guesses about which ingredients they might use. He'd stocked a table with 30 jars and vials and made them pick out the ten they might think would be a good fit for a protection potion. They managed to collect six so far.
"What about these?" Alex picked up a jar of crocodile scales.

"Why?" Snape questioned.

"Well, it sort of acts like a bezoar, right?" She asked. "Absorbs whatever unfriendly spell is cast on you. With the right combination, it can transform the negative energy from the spells into something else. Like more energy for one's own magical core."

"What book did you inhale that information from?" Draco asked, looking more annoyed than impressed. She shrugged.

"Kind of a mix between what I know from the ingredients we've already selected and some research I did with Bill once when he did arithmancy."

"Is that something you're interested in for your third year?" She shrugged. "Well, continue. You still have three more ingredients." It was Draco's turn to browse. He looked through the ones left and selected cockroaches. Snape looked at him for an explanation.

"If Alex is right and the crocodile scales can be used to absorb negative energy from a magical attack, then one would be vulnerable for a moment. Dark magic isn't supposed to be harbored in your blood. Not without proper protection. The cockroaches would keep one alive until the negative energy is converted into positive energy." Snape smiled.

"Good deduction." Alex said.