Alex gasped loudly as she ran as fast as her legs would take her. She had no idea where she was, but seeing that she was in some kind of dark forest, she had to guess it would be the Forbidden Forest. She could only hope that she didn't run into Aragog's children like she had the previous year with Ron and Harry.

Stopping for a second to take a breather and lean against a tree, she glanced around before hearing footsteps coming right toward her. Not wasting another second to rest, Alex took off further into the woods, ignoring whoever was running after her.

Eventually, Alex's luck ran out and she tripped on a tree root, falling face-first into the dirt with a grunt. She groaned before sitting up to hear the person, who had been chasing her slowing their own pace before finding her, an evil smirk on his face as he came clearly into the dim lighting of the forest.

She was staring into the eyes of her crazy father.

"Well, well, well," he spoke softly, walking towards her as he withdrew a wand.  "I finally have you in my clutches."

Alex immediately pulled her wand out and pointed it at him, ready to defend herself, even if it was futile as he was far more experienced in dueling than her. She scooted back as far as she could from the ground, but a boulder blocked her escape and she felt terror creeping up her back.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked tearfully. "I thought you cared about Mum and I thought you cared about me. Was it all a lie?"

Sirius couldn't help but roll his eyes at Alex's pathetic attempt to humanize him when he was clearly so gone.

"It's complicated," was his reply.

Before she could react, he lifted his wand and uttered the unforgivable curse she was fearing. A scream escaped her lips as she lifted her arms, attempting to cover herself as the flash of green light made its way to her, even though there was no saving her.

☽

"Alex!"

A loud gasp sounded from her as she opened her eyes to find that she wasn't in the Forbidden Forest, but rather in her dorm room. Hermione stood over her, worry etched on her features as she looked over her best friend, who had just woken everyone in the dorms up with her screams.

"What happened?" Alex asked, rubbing her face to be clear of the cold sweat.

"I heard you mumbling in your sleep and before I could react, that's when you began screaming," Hermione told her. "I tried to get you up as quick as I could but mostly everyone was awake before I could."

A few seconds later, a female prefect rushed in, wand out before a quick scan of the room made her realize that there was no immediate threat in the vicinity. She groaned before looking over where the other girls were pointing at Alex, who was sitting up now, rubbing her forehead.

"What is going on in here?" She snapped, her tone annoyed and rightfully so.

"I had a nightmare and screamed," Alex mumbled embarrassingly. "I'm sorry."

"Same Alex, different year," Lavender Brown grumbled angrily before laying back down to get some more sleep.

The prefect ignored Lavender's sarcastic remark. "Do you need to go and see Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," Alex immediately spoke. "I'm fine, but I'll go down to the common room so everyone can get more sleep."

"Do you want me to come keep you company?" Hermione asked.

"No, you get a few more hours of sleep," Alex told her. "I'll be okay."

The prefect nodded before Alex grabbed a blanket and made her way out of her dorm to find that her screams had woken up all the girls. She was worried that they had woken the boys up as well. As she walked by, she apologized and made her way down to the common room.

From the boy's side of the dorms, several boys were peaking their heads down, Percy among them. "Who screamed bloody murder?" He grumbled sleepily, his Head Boy badge gleaming on his pajamas.

"Me," she responded. "I'm really sorry."

The boys grumbled before walking back up to get a few more hours of sleep since it was only three in the morning. She claimed a spot on the couch and stared at the crackling fire. Sleep didn't seem like a good idea because of the nightmare still plaguing her mind. She knew she'd be exhausted on the first day of classes.

"Another nightmare?"

She turned her head to the sound of the familiar voice to see Fred making his way down the stairs. A smile made its way onto her lips as he claimed the spot next to her on the couch. "Was it not obvious by the sound of my scream?" She asked.

"No, though if want the Slytherins to hear you next time, maybe up the octave a little more, okay?" He joked, causing her to grab a pillow and chuck it at his face as they both laughed.

"You should go back to sleep," she told him. "I promise I won't scream again, no matter how tempting it would be to have the Slytherins groggy the first day of classes."

Fred laughed again. "No, I'd much rather prefer your company than to go back to sleep."

The low light of the common room hid the blush that formed on her face at that comment. It most likely had no romantic undertones like she was thinking. Fred had never shown interest in her before past being a friend. They didn't even really become friends until the previous year when she made the House Quidditch team. It had never progressed past being friends and teammates, even if they were only just a year and half apart.

They fell silent as they listened to the crackle of the fire and watched the flames dance across the room, casting shadows. Alex thought of her nightmare and the idea of her father getting to her. If anything, she was just grateful that it was her who he had gotten to in the dream and not Harry. All she could hope was that if it came to real life, she would be there to protect Harry.  She let out a shaky breath, causing Fred to glance over at her as she closed her eyes for a second.

"What was it about," he asked, "that is if you feel like talking about it?"

"No," she stated firmly, staring into the fire. "I don't want to dwell on it or it will be stuck in my mind and it's already haunting me."

Fred held his hands up in slight defense.  "Just thought I'd offer," he replied.  "I hate to see you with that far-off look in your eyes."

All she could do was shrug in response. "I prefer to keep my emotions bottled up so I don't burden others with my feelings."

"But you're more likely to explode, which could end up not being pretty," he informed her, causing her to roll her eyes, but playfully.

"I know that," she told him. "I just don't anyone to see me as weak."

Fred gently placed his hand on her knee.  "Everyone is weak every once in a while, Alex," he whispered.  "No one expects you to be your strongest at all times."

She looked at where his hand was before looking up into his eyes, the light from the fire making them appear almost gold, even though they were more dark brown.  A lump formed in her throat before she cleared it and looked away.

"Yes, well, I've had to do that since my mum left," was her reply, her tone ending the short conversation. "Severus Snape is not exactly someone you can vent to."

Fred chuckled slightly before sitting back and they both looked into the fire, the common room falling silent once again.  He was thinking of some way to jumpstart the conversation before a sniffle left Alex and he looked at her to see a few tears had escaped from her welled-up eyes and were sliding down her pale cheeks.

"Hey, you don't have to cry," he told her, scooting closer to put his arm around her shoulders. "C'mere."

She could only shake her head, the lump in her throat getting bigger and making it incredibly hard to speak. A sharp breath left her and she clung to Fred's side desperately, which he let her, just pulling her closer as more silent tears slipped from her eyes.

"Shhhh," he whispered, gently rocking her.

All she could do was let the tears slip from her eyes, occasionally a quiet sob left her mouth, but she didn't care and Fred didn't seem to mind either. He simply held her there until he felt her body go slightly limp and looked down to see her crying had exhausted her and she had fallen asleep again. A smile graced his lips before he pulled her closer to him, closing his own eyes for the time being.

☽

"I have never been as exhausted as I am right now," Alliana groaned as she followed Sirius into their bedroom.

The new parents of a baby girl had quite a long day as their child did not want to go down for a nap and didn't sleep much the night before unless one of them was holding her. What made it even more difficult was the fact that she was colicky, according to what the healers had told them. This resulted in her crying constantly from the pain and there wasn't much they could do to offer her relief.

"Thank heavens for that enchanted pacifier that Lily got us for her," he reminded her, collapsing on the bed. "It seemed to do the trick."

Alliana nodded sleepily before collapsing next to him, snuggling into her pillow. Sirius was barely able to wrap his arms around Alliana before the familiar cries were heard from across the hallway.

"Oh no," Alliana groaned before she burst into tears, the exhaustion overwhelming her. It didn't help that with just recently having a baby, her hormones were very out of order. No one could blame her for feeling emotional.

Sirius looked at his distraught wife before standing up from the bed. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I will take care of her. You get some sleep."

Alliana tearfully thanked Sirius before collapsing back into her pillow, falling asleep within seconds. Sirius smiled before rushing to the baby's room as she was still crying. He walked in to find that the pacifier had fallen out of her mouth, which is what had woken her up.

"Hey, it's okay," Sirius cooed as he took his wailing daughter into his arms.  "Daddy's here."

Instantly, the baby quieted down as she seemed to register that it was her father that was holding her. He took a spot in the rocking chair in the corner and began to rock back and forth as she whimpered quietly.

"Don't you worry about anything, especially something as pointless as a pacifier, angelus meus," he whispered as Alex fell back asleep in the comfort of his arms.

Sirius couldn't help but softly stroke her face softly as he admired her features. A smile pulled at his lips as he watched her breathing slow down. He couldn't believe that she was half of him and half the woman he loved more than life. She was the one he would love with all his heart and protect her with everything he had. All he wanted in the world was for her to be happy and safe. It seemed impossible at the moment because of the war looming over their heads.

"I will always protect you, Alex," Sirius whispered as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Alliana awoke the next morning, a sense of panic immediately settling in her stomach as she realized that she hadn't woken up once to the baby's cries and Sirius hadn't returned to bed with her. She scrambled across the hall quickly, her mind immediately thinking the worse with the war going on outside the door.

However, the sight she came upon immediately eased her mind as she found Sirius asleep in the rocking chair, his feet propped up and the baby sleeping peacefully on his chest. Alliana couldn't resist as she quickly grabbed the camera and snapped the picture of the father and daughter sleeping.

The sound of the camera clicking caused Sirius to stir awake and look over to where Alliana stood, a smile on her face as she held the camera in her hands. He smiled at her before seeing that he still had Alex on his chest and showed no signs of waking up soon unless they moved her.

"Did you sleep okay?" Alliana asked.

Sirius nodded, his eyes going back to Alex's peaceful features. "I sleep okay as long as she's safe."

☽

Alex opened her eyes, only to see the fire in the common room still going. A quick glance around the room showed her that no one else had woken up quite yet as the sun was barely beginning to peak over the mountains surrounding the castle. She couldn't help but let a sigh of contentment leave her over the fact that she got a few more hours of sleep.

She went to get up from the couch to begin getting ready for the day when the cushion she was laying on stirred slightly as arms wrapped tighter around her. A soft gasp left her mouth as she looked to see Fred asleep underneath her, his arms secured around her waist. She couldn't help the smile that tugged on her lips over the thought that he fell asleep while comforting her earlier that morning.

Slowly and carefully so as to not wake him, she gently pushed herself up and got off the couch. She quickly replaced a pillow where Fred had his arms wrapped around her. He stayed asleep as she ran back up into the dorms to get ready for the day, fighting the blush.

As she entered, Hermione was getting up as well and spotted Alex, a knowing look on her face. "You fell asleep down in the common room again," she pointed out.

Alex smiled and gave a small shrug before gathering her bathroom things and uniform to get ready for the day. As she stood under the showerhead, her mind wandered to the dream she had. She was unable to tell if it was her mind's way of trying to create a positive image in her mind of her father or if it was an actual memory. She left those thoughts in the shower, otherwise, she'd be in there the entire day.

After quickly drying her hair, she pulled it up into a ponytail, so it was out of her face for the first day back.  Then she changed into her uniform and quickly gathered all of the books and supplies she would need for the first day back. Hermione finished getting ready as well and they both went down to the common room where they waited for Harry and Ron.

As they entered, Alex couldn't help but give a quick glance around the common room, noting that Fred was no longer asleep on the couch like he was when she had left. Hermione noticed Alex glancing around the room as a few other students sat around before settling back and twirling her wand in her hand.

"So tell me," Hermione began, "how come you fell asleep in the common room?"

It didn't take long for a noticeable blush to flush on Alex's face as she looked in the opposite direction of where Hermione was. "Um, I-I think it must've been the fireplace," she stuttered slightly, "ya'know, the warm environment and low lighting."

"And you're sure there's nothing else that might have contributed to it?" Hermione asked, interrogating Alex, causing the blush to worsen on her face.

Alex opened her mouth to respond but immediately went silent as the twins made their way down from the boy's dorms. Fred looked in Alex's direction and smiled, causing the blush to worsen to the point where she was sure it was matching his hair color. Hermione followed Alex's gaze and a smirk made its way onto her face. Alex immediately looked away, twirling her wand around to distract herself.

"Did Fred keep you company?" Hermione asked as soon as the twins were out of earshot.

"Wh-What?" Alex quickly stuttered as she scoffed. "No! I told you, I was just staring into the fire and fell asleep and that's all that happened!"

Hermione still gave Alex a knowing smirk before Harry and Ron came down the stairs, saving her from any further interrogation. The four of them ventured down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Alex could feel her heart pounding as they made it into the Great Hall and instantly spotted the twins.

As they made their way over, Malfoy began taunting Harry and Alex as he pretended to faint. It didn't help that Pansy Parkinson began taunting them both, claiming that the dementors were coming for them. Alex was very tempted to send a hex her way, even if it meant a definite detention on the first day back.

The group made their way over to where the twins were sitting and to Alex's embarrassment, the last spot open was next to Fred. Hermione glanced up to see Alex blushing furiously as she sat down, immediately grabbing some toast to focus on rather than Hermione's smirk.

"New third-year course schedules," George told the group as he handed them over. "What's up with you, Harry?"

"Malfoy," Ron told them bitterly.

"That little git," George grumbled as he shook his head. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Come running into our compartment, didn't he, you two?" George motioned to Alex and Fred.

"Nearly wet himself," Fred added, causing Alex to snicker as she recalled how scared Malfoy had been before looking down at her schedule.

"I wasn't too happy myself," George told them, causing Alex to look up, "they're horrible things, those dementors."

"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" Fred questioned Alex, who could only give a small nod in response.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry asked.

"I did," Alex stated like it was a common fact. Her tone indicated it wasn't any different than saying 'The sky is blue,' or 'You're a wizard, Harry.'

Harry looked alarmed at her confession. "Why didn't you say anything?" He questioned.

"I was completely fine, right?" She gestured to the twins, who nodded in confirmation. A quick glance at her watch caused her to quickly stand up. "I'm going to get a headstart for Muggle Studies, see you in Transfiguration." With that said, Alex stood and made her way out of the Great Hall.

As she made her way out, the sound of someone running behind her caused her to turn around. Fred slowed his pace as he walked up to where she was standing, the same blush heating up her face. Just being in his presence, she was reminded of them falling asleep together on the couch.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure I didn't freak you out," he told her. "You were gone when I woke up and I was just making sure I didn't freak you out because we fell asleep together."

Alex laughed nervously. "No you didn't, I promise," she told him. "In fact, I think it might've been the best sleep I've gotten in a while."

Fred smiled cheekily. "So you're saying we should do it again sometime?"

The blush on Alex's face got worse as she began sputtering about how that wasn't what she was implying before Fred laughed. "I'm just pulling your leg, Alex," he assured, causing her to smile. "I don't know if I'd ever see you in that way."

And with that, Alex's chest tightened as her smile dropped. He just said he couldn't see her that way. She knew there was basically no point in trying to pursue something with Fred, especially with how he worded that. Luckily, the bell rang, saving her from the awkward silence they had entered after he said that.

"Well, I've got to go," she quickly told him. "Muggle Studies is calling my name."

Before Fred could respond, Alex was walking down the corridor, not daring to look back as she felt the knot in her stomach to worsen. She knew it was futile. He probably only saw her as Ron's friend and nothing more, maybe he even saw her as a little sister.

That thought just felt so much worse.

☽

I have a few more chapters written, so I'll probably post them this weekend or maybe even later today, but I have a lot of cleaning to get done, as well as laundry.  Yay for weekend cleaning! (Yes I'm being sarcastic)

Don't forget to vote and comment!

Love you guys!

-Squid☽