Peppermint; Draco Malfoy [2]

ELEVEN

ALEXIS' P.O.V.

"So? What happened?"

"He asked me out... on a date."

I'm sitting on my bed in the dorm rooms with Thea after lunch. She took me aside and said that we needed to talk. And we do.

I haven't said a word all morning. Not since our Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Not even to Theo after he asked me out.

I've been too stunned... by the boggart and his request. I feel like it's just one thing after the other, and my mind is on a nonstop roll.

"And???" she naggers, waiting for my answer.

"I said yes."

"Then why do you sound like he forced you into it... did he force you?"

"No, no. I just... I don't know. We've been hanging out a lot, but I don't know what he sees in me to ask me out on a date. I mean, he's Theodore Nott, the quiet Slytherin, the mysterious one. All the girls want him."

"But not all the girls are you. Is that what you're problem is? You don't think you're good enough?" asks Thea. Her voice is surprisingly gentle.

"I don't think I'm normal enough," I whisper.

Thea climbs up to the top of my bed and hugs me, positioning herself behind me. I nestle in her arms and thank God that I have her with me.

"Lexi... you're not normal. But that's a good thing. Normal is boring, trust me. Why do you think I have blue hair? I don't want to be normal, the same as every single person in this school. That's not me. And deep down, it's not you either."

I listen to her words carefully. She's right, as always. We're not normal. We just have to find our way in the world. Of course, her path is much easier than mine. She's trying to emerge from her family's shadow, I'm trying not to have a complete meltdown and take the school with me.

Which brings me to my next problem.

"I'm scared."

It's the first time I've said it aloud. Ever. I think I'm only comfortable saying it to Thea. No one else.

"I know. But the boggart you saw is just a play on your fear. It doesn't mean you'll burst into flames just like it did. I don't think that's even possible. Plus, you've gotten way better at stopping it before something too bad happens, and that's great."

I don't reply, struggling to reason with myself. I have gotten better... but at stopping it, not controlling it. There's a big difference. I'm scared because I have no idea to what extent my powers go, and I've never been willing to find out. I'm at a loss with myself.

"Besides, Theo asked you out on a fricking date! You're like, the first girl in our year to get asked out. All the girls are going to be so jealous.. and so are the boys."

The boys...

"Harry's been acting weird lately. Awkward around me. Have you noticed?"

"You mean every time you touch him he freezes up like he's been petrified? Yeah, I've noticed. Has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, he likes you? As in, more than friends..."

"Like a crush?" I ask, looking up at her. She nods and gives me her wicked I-know-it-all smirk.

"Nooo, he does not. It's not possible..."

"Not anymore it's not, because you'll be dating Nott soon enough," she hums, squeezing me tightly in her arms.

At that very moment, the door opens revealing Theo and Quinton, both with their eyes closed.