(DISCLAIMER: All characters and the whole Harry Potter franchise - except for Jeremiah Hallysworn, Mallory Evans, Alice Urie [plus a few other more characters I haven't decided to get into the story yet] - belong to none other than J. K. Rowling)

Alice was invited by several people from her house and a few occasional ones from both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor - some of them were the Gryffindor prefect who assisted her to Dumbledore's office, a boy named Dallon who was a Hufflepuff that sat with her once in Herbology, a Ravenclaw -his name's Ryan-who's her partner in an upcoming project in Muggle Studies, and a Gryffindor who went by the name Spencer that helped her once pick up her quill when she had dropped it along the hallway- to go to the Halloween Ball.

Jeremiah invited Zeina, the female prefect, and she accepted. Mallory was invited by another fellow Ravenclaw, by the name Elias. Alice didn't know if Mallory accepted, though she hoped she would. Unless, of course, she had been expecting someone and hopes for that particular person to ask her. That is, if ever she does have someone she likes in that way.

The Ball was nearing, just a few days away, less than a week to prepare. Alice had ideas running all around her head and into the vault where she keeps all her "significant" ideas. Usually, they would pop up when she had her sleepless nights - she really needs that Eye-Opening Potion - and went all 'Eureka' over it, throwing up her hands and raising all the papers with her previously written ideas which were now categorized as "useless". When all the fifth year Ravenclaws were sat inside an empty and unused classroom, Alice had talked with Zeina and Jeremiah, although he was informed of the concept prior to that, the plans for what the decor would be.

The book, Pride & Prejudice, indeed was a brilliant trigger for Alice's latest and 'most useful' ideas. She made a note to thank her own cousin when she comes back for Christmas.

"Jeremiah Sanger Hallysworn! You get back with my book this instant!" Alice scornfully yelled at her friend riding a broom hovering about 15 feet from the ground.

"I can't, love! A sixth year Ravenclaw named Alice Urie is a bit off today and I am not giving back the book until she tells me why!" He shouted back.

Alice glared at him before waving her hand and muttering a Confundus Charm under her breath. Immediately, the effects of the spell took place on the boy riding the broom and she had summoned her beloved fictional book back into her hands.

"What the- Hey! That isn't fair!" Jeremiah exclaimed before landing just in front of a smug Alice.

Alice laughed before clamping his shoulder and looking him in the eye with a smirk, "There were no set rules on fairness, Jem. I think that was pretty fair for someone who didn't even have a broom round that time."

Jeremiah huffed in annoyance before sticking out his tongue and stalking off back into the building.

Oh yes, Jem, that's real mature, Alice thought to herself as she decided on doing the same and started to walk back into the castle.

Roaming around with her book in hand, Alice was just about content with her life for once in a long time. She had such kind friends. She had no worries whatsoever. And the fact that she just finished a wonderful book written by a Muggle author just soothes her nerves further.

And of course, as fate has it, she just so happened to cross paths with the boy who was heading towards the Quidditch Pitch for some unknown reason Alice didn't really care about.

They stop once they see the other standing right across from themselves. Alice gives a nod, meaning nothing by it as the nods she give off usually do. In a response to that, Tom Riddle simply gave her a sneer every Slytherin was made known to have.

Alice resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes at the boy, considering the fact she should be used to this by now. It was expected of him to do the sneer from time to time, and if not, always. It was expected from every Slytherin. It was all expected.

And as if you could sense temperature visually, the whole surrounding of Alice became colder. There was an ominous gleam in them. One she could recognize greatly.

Have the effects of last time's conversation lasted much more than how she had expected them to? Probably not, this boy had some type of hatred for her one way or another.

Alice turned away, wanting to get out of vicinity but stopped, just about a second, in an angle to let him see her lip curl.

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"Are you sure you aren't going? Al, you planned half of all this!" Said Jeremiah as he tried to fix his suit.

"I am even half surer than you are, Jem. Tonight is to be enjoyed by anyone but me and anyone but me is going to enjoy tonight, I don't spend parties trying to gather all the thanks people have just to give me credit," Alice replied monotonously. She hopped off his bed and went to fix his tie herself.

Alice felt a noticeable shiver emit from Jeremiah's body when she accidentally brushed her hand against the exposed skin of his neck.

"Sorry," she muttered with an awkward and barely audible laugh. The silence covered for the unsaid conversation. It was deafening to Jem's ears, but to Alice, it was nothing but silence - the lack of any type of sound or vibration producing it.

"Alice," he said her name with such uncertainty that she worried what it would be about.

She kept her eyes fixated on her own hands, doing what was supposed to be done by the boy before her. It was quite unlike him, being so wriggly like a worm that's about to be fed to a bird. She knew something was up with him. She knew something was going on. Although she wasn't quite certain what it was, she knew very well.

"I have to confess-"

"Do not say what you do not mean, Jem. Believe me, it's been quite a repeated mistake for me." She was done with his tie and simply fixed his collar. Again, he shivered under her touch and it she wanted to tear up because of it. She did not like him in any way that he liked her. And the worst part was that she knew how it felt for it to be like that. It was truly a painful day.

"Please, just hear me out." He whispered, just audible enough for him and Alice to hear.

Alice did nothing and removed her hands from anywhere that was in contact with his skin.

"Ever since I first met you in Arithmancy, or actually, just saw you, and you sat beside me, I had started to feel something." He reached up to her face and brushed a couple of stray hairs behind her ear, "Something very addicting."

Alice was still staring at his tie, it was in a perfect knot, all those times of fixing her own brother's paid off - and the fact that he reminds her so much of Brendon can sometimes be too much.

"Something worse," she trailed off, starting to trace the outline of his tie," . . . than nicotine or tobacco?" She said with an emotion very undistinguishable.

"Much, much worse," he responded slowly.

"But I know," his voice was pained now, "I know you don't feel the same. You don't look at me the way my mum looks at my dad. It's different."

Alice could hear very much the desperation in his voice. The way he sounded like he was pleading with her, begging for a chance.

Alice took this opportunity to look at him in the eyes, piercing blue eyes, they were in such an intense stare that it made her so guilty. She gulped, "I'm sorry if I can't look at you the way you want me to."

Jeremiah was able to produce a smile - a small one, but a smile nonetheless. This was definitely a sad one, he was pained and it felt so bad for Alice because she knew she was one of the reason's for it.

"I don't blame you," his words came out soft and Alice shook her head. He does blame me, he's just too polite to tell me.

"Yes. Yes, you do blame me." Alice was guilt tripped to an unknown extent that she had a fistful of Jeremiah's clothes tightly held in her hand. She held her head down low, not wanting to see the very eyes she had caused to be in such a body with a pain that one could not subside easily.

"I don't. But may I do something before this encounter ends?" He spoke firmly and yet it was the gentlest sound in Alice's ears.

"Of course, it's the least I could do." Alice whispered shakily.

Jem put one of his hands on Alice's hand which was currently holding onto his suit and another under Alice's chin, using it to raise her head and his warm breath mix with her own.

"Is this alright?" Jem sounded hesitant now and it just made Alice hate herself more.

"It's fine, Jem." The tears in Alice's ducts never had wanted to flow as much in such a long time.

She knew what was going to happen. She was going to give one of the most cliché yet important and memorable experiences one would or would not have in his or her life. It was going to be very different for Alice. So different from all the books she had read about fantasies, romance, comedy. The climax was never meant to be like this. If this was even considered as one.

"I want you to be the one to do it, Alice." He requested, his voice sounded so rough, Alice questioned how could she ever be able to do something like that without actually intending it.

Alice wanted to cringe at his request but put it aside as she brought her lips to his and closed the area between them.

He kissed back, his lips seeming to have this as a familiar experience.

There were so many reasons for Alice to be infuriated of Jeremiah. But she wasn't. She wasn't infuriated. For she knew that nothing of her infuriation could compare to the pain of what the boy she was kissing had felt.

That was my first kiss, Alice thought to herself.

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Alice was walking through the halls leading to the ball. She was not attending, she was just passing by.

The music, planned by Flitwick (as usual), was something Alice thought she would hear in the ball scenes of Pride & Prejudice. Everything was in place in her mind. Everything the way it was and everything the way it should be.

She wasn't sad about the fact she did not want to attend. She was instead glad about it. The Common Room was quite quiet when the first and second years went to bed and the rest went to the ball. Everyone of the higher years, in her house, went but her. She did not know if there were people of the other houses who did the same as her.

Probably not, though. She understood that most people have gone through much schoolwork this past semester, including her, and that they deserve some sort of event to loosen all the uptight nerves after much much schoolwork and tasks throughout the past weeks. Alice herself was a bit indulgent in fatigue. It was a distraction from all that she felt since a certain incident in the library.

For Alice, speaking any Italian word was like handling poison in her mouth. It was something that can cause her own mind to go somewhere she dare not go. It wasn't necessarily written in her personal information, but she lived sometime in Italy. A few days after her brother's demise - six, Alice thought, she remembered exactly what had happened after that day - the family, now having lost one member, decided to move to the UK and settle down there as Grindelwald's forces hack off in bellicosity wherever they are at present.

For two years, Alice gave into the sadness. For two years, she had a room all to herself. For two years, she hadn't smiled a smile that was not forced and pained. And for two years, she never found such a simple fact to under up as an impossible predicament. She was able to adapt easily to the ways of the English. She had obtained an English accent and preferred to use it, as to not raise questions of her past. She transformed into something numb, like how a hand felt if left in ice water too long.

Tonight was the night she cleared her thoughts. It was the night she would organize her vault, despite all the gunky memories all dusty-ed and faded to grey. The once golden orbs of the memories have turned into a dull shade of silver.

She knew in her mind that all of her golden days have been spent and that she had to grow at some point, leaving all the pain and suffering behind. She has mentioned it before. Either there were no challenges at all right now, or the challenges were so extreme to some extent that she became numb.

"Why aren't you in dress robes, Miss Alice?" A voice behind her sounded. A few months ago, this voice would have been foreign, but occasionally, Dumbledore has been a friendly spirit and greets her when they meet. It was almost as if she was monitoring her. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. We'll never truly know, for Dumbledore is one of those people who have child-like antics and humorously curious habits Alice would smile at upon mention.

"Sir, I wasn't going to attend the ball. I was simply passing by the halls before I hit the sack in a few moments from now." She replied with a slight smile which the Transfiguration professor returned.

"Oh, you are not? Aren't you responsible for why the ball looks as magnificent as it is tonight?" The professor's eyes twinkled as he spoke.

"I assure you, sir, that it was not solely put by me. Although, I took very little part of the task and I think that isn't enough for the credit my house has been giving me." Alice spoke with words she truly meant. One more thing about her is that she is one of the few people whose words boast of humility.

"I think, Miss Alice, that it is just right you see what was yielded of the ideas shared by yourself, don't you think? Just a little glimpse wouldn't hurt, yes?" The man's eyes were twinkling and at that point, Alice knew she had to agree.

So, she shrugged her shoulders with a soft smile. This made the man laugh and put a hand against her back and lead her to the door.

Once it was opened, Alice almost squealed in delight. It was exactly as how she pictured it. The theme, everything! From the way every decor was done to every note that came from Flitwick's orchestra, everything screamed "Mideival." She felt as if she was Elizabeth Bennett, getting all cosy as she anticipates on ways to get her sister out of range from her suitors. She laughed to herself in delight and the professor observed her reaction.

"Very nice, hmm?" Alice could her the smile in his voice.

"I am quite proud of what I have contributed, sir. I wish to see more of it, but I best be going and rest for the night." She nodded at the professor before continuing, "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore, for giving me this privilege to see what I had contributed to."

Dumbledore smiled meekly at the girl, "Alright, have a good night's rest, will you?"

Alice nodded once more before she went away and Dumbledore shut the doors to the Great Hall.

But just before her view of the room was cut off, she felt those brown eyes she was more familiar with than she had cared to admit looking back at her own icy ones.

Alice wondered what Cinderella felt she left her shoe. What if Cinderella did that on purpose? She was smart enough to know that the prince would go looking for her. She wasn't insensible like most people would think her to be. That was exactly why when she had crossed paths with Riddle, she knew there was something. It was a dubious action. She knew.

Just as Alice was about to get off the place where she was sat (she was sat at a window, trying to figure out what to do with the new thoughts she'd uncovered in her mind), an owl flew in.

It was a brown owl, Alice noted. It seemed perfectly tame and it looked as if it were to pass as bird royalty. Regal looking and perfect, that to Alice 'described' only one person she knew.

Tied to its leg was a roll of small parchment, and contained a very concise listing of information.

'Seventh floor, 12:00 midnight.

-T.R.'

She knew.

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SHJSKDNDSJNFIEME HOLY SMUDGEHOLES OMG OMG

SO MANY READS, SUCH VOTES, MUCH WOW.

Honestly, I'm surprised you people even like my work.

I know I'm only starting out, but holy cow, that's a lot of readers and it's only Chapter Nine!

I'm sorry for not updating lately, we just finished a huge concert my club organized and yeah, life's been busy. So I'm not yet done writing Chapter 12 by now, by the time I've went through half of Chapter 13, that's when I'll publish the next part (hopefully).

Thanks for all the votes and the comments! Do it more often, I like hearing your thoughts (:

all the love as always, tuffhufflepuff xoxo

P.S. Chappie Unedited

P.P.S. also Louis Tomlinson plays Jem (;