She is the carrier of an unforgivable blood curse.
Circus, Manor, Cell.
Sold, bought and tortured.
Hogwarts.
An escape from reality.
Henry Adair.
The faithful brother.
David Baxter, Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort.
The sellers, buyers and torturers.
Pain.
...
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"YOUR REAL OR FAKE FAMILY?"
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Alice opened the letter with shaken hands. She knew this couldn't be good.
Henry's name was signed at the bottom with the usual messy handwriting. But there was no picture of him. It was a large tree covered in red apples.
In her last letter, Alice asked why he was there, and now he sent her a picture of an apple tree. It made no sense. Never the less, she kept the note in her chest pocket.
She didn't know what to write back, how could she write anything back? There was nothing to write. So she signed her name, and drew a huge heart.
Ron helped her send it this time and she could feel Harry's jealous eyes burning the back of her head.
"Alice you do know if you have a problem you can come to us, right?" Ron said, kneeling down to her level.
"Of course I do Mr. Weasley. But how can I tell you my problems when I don't have any?" she replied, trying not to look at him.
"Alice, I know about the note and I don't think it's for a comic. I know you don't want help, but at some point you will and we will be here for you" he said softly.
This made Alice smile. He didn't pester her about needing help, he just simply said it.
She flung her arms around him and he hugged back, feeling nothing but bones. He felt if he held her hand too hard, it would snap off her wrist. She eats a slice of toast in the morning, and a very small bowl of mash potatoes at dinner. It was an improvement, but she still wasn't at a healthy weight.
"Alice, why don't you stay with us for Christmas?" Ron asked kindly, knowing his mother would stuff her until she was a healthy weight.
"Sorry Mr. Weasley, I have to be with my family at Christmas" she said, very disappointed she couldn't stay with Ron.
"Your real or fake family" he urged.
Alice didn't answer. She looked for something else to talk about. But the owlery was a very much boring place, and there wasn't much to talk about. So she stayed silent.
"Alice?"
Alice still didn't speak. As much as she trusted Ron, she didn't know whether or not she trusted him enough to keep it a secret.
"Shall we head back to the common room?" he finally asked, making Alice nod quickly.
Once Ron had helped her back onto her beloved windowsill, he headed back to his friends.
"Where were you?" asked Harry annoyed.
"With Alice, I helped her post a letter" he replied, still weary around Harry.
"What did she tell you?"
"Why is it any of your business Harry?" asked Hermione. "Maybe Ron just brought her to the owlery and back!"
"Exactly!" said Ron, happy Hermione took her side.
"I know Ron, I believe you" she replied, turning back to her essay.
Soon enough, it was only Alice, Ron and Hermione left in the common room.
"Right, I'm off to bed" yawned Hermione, packing up her knitting needles and wool.
"Goodnight!" said Ron.
"Goodnight"
Alice was still up on the windowsill, staring at the stars, waiting for a shooting star. If she saw one, she would wish for her life to be back to normal. At the moment, she was living a fake life that wasn't hers.
"Alice?" said Ron, making her jump. "Come down a minute"
Alice climbed slowly down, knowing he'd ask the same question again. Your real or fake family. On one hand, they weren't technically her family, but with the fake identity, they were her family.
Her only real family by blood, was Henry. And Henry, was in trouble.
"I need you to be conpletely honest with me" he said, as Alice sat down and she nodded. "Are you related to Draco Malfoy?"
Alice again stayed silent. He said to be honest, well, if she stayed silent, she wasn't being honest or dishonest.
"Alice?"
"How do I know you won't go around telling everyone?" She asked, staring into the fire.
"You won't, you just need trust me" he replied softly as Alice thought all this over. She trusted him. And if he knew, he could help find Henry.
"Who are you really?" he asked.
"I'm Alice Malfoy, and no one else" she replied walking off. She couldn't tell him, as much as she trusted him, she couldn't. No one can know. Not even Ron.
