Alice is just 11 years old when she finds out she's a witch and has to attend a magic school. Her life's been pretty ordinary; although she has never known her true family, she's found one in her foster parents. However, everything will change when...
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There was only one week left for the Yule Ball and everyone at Hogwarts felt it. At every moment, Alice found girls crying because they hadn't been asked by the boy they liked or boys stressing out for being rejected for the second or third time. As for her, she wasn't planning on going to the dance. She would have considered it if she could have paired up with Daphne, but unfortunately Cassius had already asked her out. They had actually been the first Slytherin students to couple up, since everyone in the house was so proud to make the first move. There was only one person who Alice feared would ask her and she had been avoiding him for weeks.
Alice wanted to apply herself to the end of the term tests instead of worrying about the ball. She had been going to the Great Hall during her free periods to study, since it wasn't too crowded. She noticed how Pansy Parkinson sat opposite to her in the Slytherin table, but she decided to pay her no attention, although Pansy was making it difficult.
"Psst! Prince!" She called her in a low voice. "Has anyone asked you to the dance yet?"
Alice sighed without looking up from her book. "No, Pansy..."
"Do you know if Draco has asked anyone?" Parkinson asked. "I really want to go with him, but he won't ask me. Maybe he's looking for the right moment. Right?"
"I don't know..."
"Could you talk to him? Maybe encourage him to talk to me?" Pansy had gotten Alice to look up from her textbook. Already irritated that everything at Hogwarts revolved around the dance, and aggravated by the mention of Malfoy, she closed the book and got up from the table in one quick movement.
"If you want to go with him so badly, ask him yourself, Pansy. It's not the end of the world if a girl asks a boy out." Alice gathered her things and left the Great Hall at a brisk pace, in the direction of the library. It had bothered her quite a bit that Pansy asked her to speak to Draco to ask her out. Something had twisted inside her, but she supposed it was irritation at the exaggerated importance everyone attached to the stupid dance.
And to top it off, as a stroke of bad luck, she was stopped by the last person she wanted to see. "Prince!" Malfoy said as he picked up his pace, since Alice didn't consider stopping. "You've got a moment?"
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
The blond got a book out of the inner pocket of his robe. "You forgot this in the Hospital Wing." Alice paused her march to read the cover of the book and find out it was her imprint of The Healer's Helpmate, which Draco had given her, in fact.
"Oh, yes!" She took it before resuming her stride. "Thank you."
"Also..." He turned, walking alongside her. "the Yule Ball." He smirked as Alice rolled her eyes. This was the moment she had been dreading. "You and me: what do you say?"
"Absolutely not." She didn't think twice.
"C'mon, it won't be so bad." He drawled, trying to convince her. "I promise not to say anything to your Gryffindor friends for the rest of the year if you come with me."
Although the offer was tempting, her mind was already set. "I said no, Draco."
"Who are you going to go with then? Goyle?"
"I'm not sure I'm even going." As soon as Alice said that, Draco's face was filled with disappointment. The girl tried to disregard the way he was gazing at her, although he was making it hard. "I-I think you should ask Pansy. She won't shut up about how much she wants to go with you."
"All right..." He nodded, sounding a bit disheartened. Alice couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Still, she knew this was the right thing to do. Even if she knew that going with Draco to the Yule Ball wouldn't be as catastrophic as she wanted to think, she knew he had ulterior motives to take her. "I'll see you around." Now Alice was the one who stood paralyzed as she saw Draco walking away. She felt horrible after rejecting him, and not only because of his reaction. Why on earth did she feel so bad?
"Alice!" Alice didn't realize how long she had been gawking until someone called her. She was definitely not making it to the library today. She turned to find Potter jogging toward her. "Please, tell me no one has asked you to the dance."
"Oh, I wish I could say that..." She suppressed a tired laugh. Harry's face when she said that was much worse than Draco's. His eyes were as wide as plates and he literally looked as if he was going to choke. "I said no, though." Harry then breathed again.
"Can you come with me?" He said quickly, stunning Alice, and he was quick to add a pretext. "I'm one of the champions, I can't go alone. I'm begging you." He even dropped down to his knees and shook his intertwined hands in front of Alice to implore her. "Please..."
Alice thought she wouldn't withstand the guilt for declining both guys. At least, she said to herself, she would only go with Harry as a favour. So, defeated, she accepted to be his date. "Okay."
"Thank you!" Harry jumped as his face lit up with excitement and relief. "You're the best!" He told her as he walked away the same way he had come.
It looked like Alice was stuck going to the stupid dance, and with one of the champions, no less. Now it was impossible for her to escape from it.
