Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 14 - The Basilisk

Lucky you guys - I'm actually posting for once! I've got a two week break from any school work at the moment so I'll do my absolute best to update as much as I can! :)

 "I did it! I made seeker!" Draco exclaimed as he ran towards Al's table in the library. She was busy reading up on the Defence work that she'd decided to work through. Madame Pince glared over towards them and Al produced a meek smile in return that was ignored.

 "It's a library Draco. Quiet down," she said to him, "But well done," she added, giving him a hug.

 "So, are you not coming down to the feast?" Draco asked her, indicating the books.

 "Jesus, I forgot about that!" Draco threw her a puzzled look, "The muggle version of Merlin," she explained, packing her things away.

 "How would you know about that?" he sneered. Oh, no!

 "I...uh," Al stammered, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

 "Well duh. Not if it's a secret," he promised, as they began to leave the library.

 "Ok, well," she said in a hushed voice. She took a deep breath before continuing. She knew Draco hated muggle-borns, for whatever reason. And even though she constantly reminded him they'd done nothing wrong, Al wasn't sure she'd changed his mind yet. "I'm a muggle-born."

 Draco stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock or fear, "What?" he said.

 Al shushed him, "keep your voice down, it's a secret." She made to pat his shoulder but he took a step away.

 "You came into my house!" he shouted.

 "Draco!" she started, but he interrupted.

 "Stay away from me, mudblood! You're a disgrace to Slytherin house!" And he stormed off in the direction of the great hall. Al stood and watched him go, without protesting. She didn't really feel upset or angry, surprisingly enough. She supposed she was in shock.

 She decided she ought to make her way down to the Great Hall for some food, so she set off. When she arrived in the Great Hall, no one gave her any odd looks, so perhaps Draco hadn't said anything? She plonked herself down near the end of the table, without bothering to look up to see if he'd got there.

 The feast was great, but she didn't much enjoy it and by the time dessert came around, Al just wanted to go to bed. So that was where she headed. She thought she might fall asleep walking as she headed down into the dungeon.

 Suddenly, a sharp hissing noise came from behind her. Al turned around, her hand tightly grasping her wand, as she looked over her shoulder and met a menacing pair of yellow eyes. She recognised it as an enormous basilisk - at least fifty feet. "Oh my god," she breathed. But it couldn't be a basilisk - their stares were fatal. She wasn't about to find out.

 Firing a cutting charm to distract it, she sprinted past it, figuring it wouldn't be able to turn round too easily, given its size. Blood drenched her hair and shirt, but she kept running. She reached the second floor corridor, which was completely flooded. Without giving time to further inspect it, she kept running, before tripping over something small and dark. Mrs bloody Norris!

 She stood to get back up, ready to face her attacker once again which cast a large shadow around her. As she turned, she heard a wail, "NOOOOOOO!" and a misty white figure darted in front of her. A ghost! She made eye contact again through the ghost and then all of a sudden, she couldn't move.

*****

 Al gasped and then choked on the bitter, syrupy liquid that filled her mouth. "Alright, alright," Madame Pomfrey told her, interrupting her coughing fit and passing her a glass of water. Al glanced around the hospital wing, surprised to see most of the beds full.

 "What happened?" she asked, feeling a little ill at all the petrified figures in the beds.

 "That basilisk has been running around all year, " the matron explained, "you were the first of eleven attacks."

 "Eleven?" Al repeated, and Madame Pomfrey nodded.

 "I've given you a mandrake restoritive potion and there's a nutrition potion next to you," she told her, indicating a small purple vial on her bedside table, which was crammed with sweets and notes from various people. "And please tell me all that blood wasn't yours," she asked with concern, "I couldn't find the wound anywhere."

 Al shook her head, downing the purple potion, "It was the basilisk's," she said to a very surprised matron, "I managed to hit it with a cutting curse as I ran past it."

 "You...what? You ran past a basilisk! You could've died!" said an outraged Pomfrey.

 "No, its eyes didn't work on me. I looked right at them and nothing happened," Al said.

 "I...that's impossible," Madame Pomfrey said dismissively, before moving onto another patient.

*****

 Al spent all of her time in the hospital wing meticulously reading through her textbooks and making notes on them. Three days straight of work and meals, she'd managed to get through a sixteenth of the work. Five chapters down, seventy nine to go.

 After all the students had been revived, visitors were allowed in. Harry popped by to say hello and explain what had happened. It seemed as though he was having these amazing adventures while she was hospitalised every single year. "That was so brave of you Harry," Al told him whilst eating a chocolate frog.

 He shrugged, "not really. I was absolutely terrified," he admitted with a little smile.

 "That's what makes you brave though," she said, "not the absence of fear. Just facing up to it." Harry shrugged and bid goodbye before joining Ron at Hermione's bedside.

 Al sighed and went back to her textbook, when someone else appeared next to her. Draco was here, "Uh, hi," he said awkwardly.

 "Not sent you to Azkaban yet for all these attacks?" she asked sarcastically.

 "Al, I'm so sorry for what I said. I felt awful seeing you stood there, all covered in blood. And this year without you sort of helped me realise - it doesn't matter about your bloody parents. You're my best friend and I..." he trailed off, looking to her for help. She just raised her eyebrows. The argument might have been a year ago for him, but it was three days ago for her. "I've missed you, ok? It's not been the same without you!" And then, to Al's surprise, he burst into tears.

 "Oh, god Draco! Stop crying, it's not that bad," she said in a poor attempt to comfort him. "The Weasel's looking!" Sure enough Ron was looking over with a picture of confusion painted on his face.

 Draco looked up at her, his tear-stained face now a bright pink, "You didn't tell me they were here," he hissed, making Al laugh.

 "You didn't ask," she retorted, making him smile back at her.

Ok, so I know I put all of year 2 into three chapters, but I'm lazy and I really struggle writing year 2, whereas year 3 is the best sooooo.....sorry not sorry ;)