Alice's Travels

Within a few days, the school was empty, and the holidays came again.

Hermione and Ron made a full recovery and left Hogwarts with Harry.

The campus became empty, and Alice was alone.

Malfoy never spoke a word to her until he left.

Alice didn't understand why she was feeling so bad—or maybe she knew it and just didn't want to admit it.

The situation in the wizarding world is obviously bad, and Voldemort's comeback will undoubtedly bring war again-it seems that even Dumbledore has nothing to do with him.

War, what a terrible word.

In the past, Alice must have been hiding far away early in the morning.

People in peacetime, no one would want to experience war, nor could they bear that kind of cruelty.

However, now she has nowhere to go—nowhere to go.

The struggle is to defend her homeland—but what about her homeland?

She is just a lonely soul with no belonging, and her only landing point is Hogwarts—the place where she has lived for almost six years.

Only Hogwarts can maintain the calmness of water.

The warning from the Ministry of Magic and the actions of the Death Eaters have already caused chaos outside.People panic.

What exactly Voldemort will bring, Alice dare not think.She would sometimes wake up suddenly in the middle of the night and keep her eyes open until dawn.Seeing the sun rise slowly bit by bit, it seems that the warmth will come sooner or later, and the haze will always dissipate.

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Alice no longer maintain correspondence. Alice knows that they must stay in Dumbledore's camp, and Harry needs to be closely protected.

They will be the main force against Voldemort, and Alice realizes that Harry's title of savior is definitely not groundless—there must be some kind of power hidden in him that can compete with Voldemort.

There are more things mixed between all people, and the communication between people can no longer be as pure as before.

Dumbledore has never explicitly wooed Alice, but he has always given her an inexplicable trust and tolerance, as if he has a deep understanding of her—or has seen through her soul.

At the beginning of the new semester, Snape finally got his wish and became the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts.The potion class is taught by Horace Slughorn, an old man who once taught at Hogwarts.

Slughorn looked about the same age as Dumbledore. He was a fat old man with a big belly and a sleek look.

Alice returned her gaze to Malfoy, only to find that he was avoiding her gaze once again.

She pursed her lips and lowered her eyes.

Snape sat on the teaching bench with an undisguised joy on his face, obviously elated that his wish had come true.

Dumbledore seriously warned all the students, everyone must pay attention to their own safety.

Alice missed the OWLs exam last semester, so she will be busier than others this semester, with more courses and preparations for make-up exams.

The three of Harry also seemed very busy, and their too many secrets formed an invisible barrier, preventing them from talking and doing things as they wished.

Malfoy's behavior style has obviously changed, he is no longer as high-profile as in the past, and he no longer finds fault with Harry from time to time.He seemed to be very busy, and Alice hardly saw him except in class.

Slughorn's snobbishness was soon revealed. He invited those students who were either from prominent families, related to celebrities, or with outstanding talents to join the Slug Club he founded. Harry, who has the title of "Star", is extremely fond of it.

At this time, Malfoy, whose father was imprisoned in Azkaban as a Death Eater, seemed to have fallen from a high position, and would no longer enjoy the preferential treatment in potions class in the past, nor would he get the favor of Slughorn. Look at it differently - in fact, Slughorn had already ruled out Malfoy.

The blond-haired teenager's pride was shattered.

Every class, Alice always felt a little pain in her heart.

Harry seems to have got a powerful Potions Notebook, which made his performance in Potions class particularly outstanding, even surpassing Hermione and Malfoy, and made Slughorn more convinced that Harry inherited his mother Lily -Harry's mother had been Slughorn's favorite student in the past.

Malfoy was angry, but also silent—every time Harry got a compliment from Slughorn, he sneered, but stopped laughing.

Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was also excellent - he was indeed a classy, ​​excellent professor.But Alice found that Malfoy was still acting numb, there were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin seemed to have become a little dull.

He looks a lot thinner, Alice thought, clutching her heart.

Finally, after the Potions class ended that day, Malfoy packed his things and left in a hurry.Alice couldn't help but followed.

Malfoy walked quickly up the stairs, stopping abruptly as he turned a hallway.He turned around and stared at Alice coldly, his lips pursed tightly.

"What have you been up to lately?" Alice asked in a normal tone after a pause.

"None of your business, what are you doing with me—" Malfoy seemed to think of something, and said with a grim expression, "Are you here to spy on me for Potter, huh?"

"I'm not," Alice said, taking two steps closer, looking seriously into his eyes, "you trust me, okay?"

Malfoy didn't move, didn't speak, just stared into her eyes as well, with an unpredictable expression on his face.

"I guess, you have some plans to go on?" Alice continued calmly after Malfoy was taken aback, "I know you won't tell me—but, I just wanted to ask—that there will be Is it dangerous?"

Really, do you have to stand there?

There was water in Alice's eyes, and she suddenly felt a deep sorrow welling up, drowning her in an instant—there were too many things between them, and she had no position and could do nothing at all.

"It's none of your business—" Malfoy gave her a deep look, turned around and said, "Stop following me."

Alice's lips twitched, and she stood there in a daze, watching his back disappear quickly.

Time seems to have arrived in December in the blink of an eye, and winter has come.

Alice tried her best to put her body and mind on her studies, and kept her ears to the outside world-although she still found that Malfoy started skipping classes, except for his once favorite potions and defense against the dark arts, almost all other classes There was no sign of him.

Slughorn sent invitations to some of the students, inviting them to a Christmas party.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron would all be there, of course, and Alice had received an invitation.

They could have invited a friend to the Christmas party, but Harry and Hermione were surprisingly unanimous in inviting neither.Ron's face was a little sour, although he finally invited Lavender Brown, a Gryffindor girl in his year.

Malfoy was still missing all day.

Alice rushed from the library to Slughorn's office before eight o'clock, and the inside had been decorated to look like a bright meeting place.I don't know if it's because of the magic, but his office looks much bigger than ordinary teachers' rooms, like a lively red tent with golden lights shining.There was loud talk, laughter, and music everywhere.

Alice immediately hid behind a crimson curtain—it was a slightly secluded place.

But after a while, Harry and Hermione also got in.

"Oh, you're here too," Harry said to Alice unnaturally, his face was hot as he was still holding Hermione's hand, "we also think it's too noisy over there ..."

"How is your preparation for the make-up exam?" Hermione said, pulling her hand out, her face blushing slightly, "I think you can handle it—is there anything we can do for you?"

"It's okay for now, it just takes more time." Alice glanced at them and said with a smile, "I want to go out for a drink, so I'll leave this here for you—"

Hermione's face flushed instantly.Alice smiled at her, lifted the curtain and went out.

However, as soon as Alice walked out, she saw Malfoy being grabbed by the collar by the school administrator Filch and walking towards the house.

"Professor Slughorn," said Filch wheezingly, with that frantic gleam in his eye when he catches a student misbehaving, "I found this boy hiding in the upstairs corridor. Invited to the party, and said he was delayed in his departure. Have you sent him an invitation?"

Malfoy wrenched free from Filch's grip, looking distraught.

"Professor, he's here to pick me up—" Alice walked quickly towards Slughorn, and said before Malfoy could speak, "Because I'm a little unwell tonight, I wanted to tell you, but look You have been chatting pleasantly and it is not easy to interrupt, I didn't expect him to come so soon—”

Malfoy's eyes flicked to Alice's, her expression unchanged.

"It's against the rules!" Filch said angrily. "The headmaster said no walking around at night without permission!"

"It happens for a reason," said Alice quietly. "You will understand, Professor?"

"It doesn't matter, Argus, Alice is right," Slughorn said gently, waving his hand. "It's not a crime. Since Alice is not feeling well, Draco, you take Let her go back."

Alice thanked Slughorn immediately.Filch turned around with an expression of indignation and disappointment, muttering and walking away.

Alice stretched out her hand to hold Malfoy's arm, and his body seemed to freeze for a moment before relaxing.They made their way around the crowd quickly and out into the hallway.

Walking all the way to the last classroom in the corridor, the sound of conversation and music in Slughorn's office could hardly be heard at all, and Alice stopped and pulled her hand back.

She took Malfoy's arm and dragged him into the empty classroom, and finally hugged him tightly according to her heart.