TAINTED BLOOD!
peculiar outcasts.

        𝐀 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. The already bustling Castle was now constantly filled with chatter and whispers in regards to what many considered to be a cheating act performed by Harry Potter. Wherever one ventured, the sole topic of conversation seemed to be the same; a never-ending list of conspiracies was shared amongst students within the wall of the Castle and escaping them was much like attempting to escape the talk of the 'chamber of secrets' two years before.

Alexandra Grindelwald did not wish to entertain her peers' latest gossip, therefore she found herself spending most of her time either on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, the library or her very own room – although the latter had quickly proven to lack the silence the witch longed for.

The sun had barely risen when Alexandra woke up, the only noise that filled the room being the soft snores let out by some of her roommates. Being careful as not to wake up any of her roommates, the young Grindelwald made her way towards the shared bathroom, wincing ever so slightly as the door creaked and caused one of her fellow Ravenclaw to stir in her sleep.

Alexandra quickly hung her robes on a bronze hook before ridding herself of her nightgown and slipping underneath the scorching hot water that slowly started turning the blonde's pale skin into a red canvas. Alene Grindelwald had often expressed her worries in regards to the witch's hot showers, yet, while her mother recoiled from the burning sensation, Alexandra never showed any sign of distress.

As her muscles slowly relaxed, Alexandra's thoughts drifted towards the odd and eerie dreams she'd been having ever since she had first taken the potion given to her by Dumbledore. With each passing night, the teen felt herself getting closer to what could only be described as a powerful magical barrier within her own mind. Her surroundings often changed; Alexandra had found herself walking among abandoned shacks, burnt grounds and empty cities, yet – no matter how clear the details of the environment – she was yet to come face to face with whoever had been visiting her in her sleep.

"Enemies walk amongst you." The unknown person had told her the previous night, their tone stern yet charismatic at the very same time. Their voice still echoed in Alexandra's mind. The warning caused a shiver to run down the blonde's spine, bringing the teen to lower her head underneath the steady stream of water as she placed both hands against the cold tiles of the stall.

Her short shower had managed to fog up each mirror within the large bathroom, yet Alexandra didn't bother to wipe it right away. She quickly dressed in her Ravenclaw robes, the soft and warm material bringing a small smile on her lips. Once fully dressed, Alexandra finally neared one of the many mirrors, her hand wiping the surface in slow circular movements.

Alexandra's morning was usually uneventful, yet that very morning, when the blonde's eyes landed on her own damp hair she couldn't help but gasp as she stumbled backwards. The teen brought her shaky hands to her hair, her fingers curling around a lock on her right side. Her once even blonde hair was no more, for on the right side of Alexandra's head stood a single lock of white hair.

There was no plausible explanation for such change, yet the teen couldn't help but wonder what could have stripped all the pigment of a lock of hair in her sleep. It had not been a prank, that much the witch was sure of, for she had immediately cast a spell she'd learned thanks to the Weasley twins, only to find herself with the lock of white hair still in between her shaking fingers.

The reason why this had happened was simple, yet Alexandra found it hard to accept it, for it simply meant that such change was irreversible. The change had been caused by the very potion she took each evening and the nightmares that haunted her sleep.

Forcing herself to inhale deeply to calm her nerves, Alexandra gritted her teeth as she muttered a simple spell to dry her damp locks before throwing her hair in a simple updo that would have hidden her white lock from the rest of the school.

The witch refused to give others more to gossip about. No matter how unnerving and truly frightening such turn of events was, Alexandra's eyes slowly fluttered open, only to stare at her own calm and collected façade in the mirror before her.

Alexandra's eyes, along with her temper and silver tongue had already piqued the interest of the fraud that was Rita Skeeter. Skeeter was famous for having no boundaries and for stopping at nothing in order to publish any kind of story that would have gained her more fame. It was only a matter of time before the reporter published something about Alexandra and she refused to give the blast-ended skank yet another thing to add to her piece, let alone something that made her look a lot more of a freak than she already did.

While, from an outsider point of view, she might have looked as calm as a clear blue sky, Alexandra's mind and feelings could only be compared to the surface of the sea during a heavy thunderstorm. Fear twisted Alexandra's insides and the teen found herself doing what she knew best; turning her fear into anger, for while there was no controlling fear – a feeling that was much like a ticking time bomb – anger was something Alexandra had learned early on to deal with and to contain.

All Alexandra could hope for, at that point, was that nobody would notice the lock of white hair she'd meticulously hidden with her intricate updo. She was well aware that her new hair-do would have risen some questions on behalf of Freya, for the blonde teen had always denied her best friend's requests to style her hair, yet Alexandra couldn't find a better way to tackle the situation at hand.

After all, it was only one lock of hair, wasn't it? Surely things couldn't get worse.

Oh, how wrong she was.

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   "Don't you look like a ray of sunshine today?" Freya sassily observed as she took a seat beside Alexandra, who snorted at her best friend's remark.

"You look like you've just been hexed, Potter." Blaise was quick to add as he sat next to the boy in question.

"Don't get me wrong," Alexandra remarked while neatly folding the latest issue of the Daily Prophet and covering the moving picture of a rather smug Rita Skeeter with a plate of pig sausages. "I am sure Harry enjoys your company as much as I do, but what are you doing here?" The witch raised a single brow, her eyes scanning her best friends' faces, only for the two to brush her question off as they proceeded to pile toasts and sausages on their plates.

Alexandra had never hesitated in showing her support for Harry; the morning following the announcement of the Triwizard's champions, the blonde had managed to shock half the school by joining Harry for breakfast. Over the following days, Harry and Alexandra had found themselves spending much more time together, something that the raven-haired boy deeply appreciated, for the witch had managed to make him feel less alone in the mess he currently found himself in.

The young Grindelwald was aware that both of her best friends believed Harry to be innocent as much as she did, but she couldn't find it in her heart to fault them for having chosen to stay away from the drama. Alexandra would have never expected Blaise and Freya to change their mind and take such a public stand, yet here they both were, neither of the two showing any sign of distress over the whispers that started taking over the Great Hall.

"We're outcasts." Freya shrugged before taking a sip of her tea. "It's obvious Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet. I'd rather spend my breakfast and lunch on the shunned end of Gryffindor table instead of being surrounded by people dumb enough to believe Harry cheated his way into the Tournament."

"You know I am sitting here, right?" Harry queried in a rather amused tone.

"Yes, Harry." Blaise huffed, rolling his eyes in mock-annoyance. "Now, I'd eat something if I were you – hurry up before Freya ends up claiming half of what's on this end of the table."

"I bet Salazar Slytherin is currently rolling in his grave." Alexandra snickered before clearing her throat and gesturing towards Harry and Blaise, purposely avoiding Freya's less than amused look. "A Slytherin student who's fully and openly supporting a Gryffindor one. If he wasn't already dead, I think he'd bite it because of this very moment." A brief silence followed Alexandra's statement, the quiet surrounding the four coming to an abrupt end when Harry burst into laughter, only to be followed by the three best friends.

"You know that people will start picking on you too, right?" Harry was quick to burst the happy bubble, his question causing the laughter to cease.

"Let them, it's nothing new to any of us." Alexandra quickly dismissed Harry's worries while waving a hand absentmindedly in the air. "What are they going to say that we haven't heard already?" Her words must have struck a chord in Harry, for the corner of the boy's lips quickly tugged upwards, something he tried to hide, yet failed miserably at it.

"I mean, I am a muggleborn, for heaven's sake." Freya threw her head back as she let out an exasperated sigh. "If I had taken every insult thrown my way to heart, I'd have ended bawling my eyes out with Moaning Myrtle at the beginning of our first year."

Blaise simply hummed nonchalantly as he straightened himself on the uncomfortable wooden bench. "According to half of my house I am a blood-traitor, but if you ask Avery I am simply an insult to Slytherin house." Alexandra couldn't help but notice how Harry's expression morphed into one of pity, something that apparently didn't go unnoticed by the dark-skinned boy either. "Don't feel sorry for me, Harry. Those apes can say whatever they want; at the end of the day, I have friends I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. They can keep their prejudices."

"Yeah, and shove them up their arses since they're at it." Alexandra huffed, twirling her fork in her hand.

Many people failed to see Blaise's unwavering loyalty and undying devotion to his friends, for the boy could often come across as simply vain and detached. It was Blaise's moral compass, along with his bravery to stand up against his own housemates, and his continuous support, that had caused even the Weasley's family to welcome the dark-skinned boy into their family with open arms. Many found it odd, for usually, Gryffindor and Slytherin students did not get along, however, Blaise had managed to destroy any existing stereotype by simply being himself.

To say no one had seen Alexandra and Blaise's friendship's coming would be nothing but the truth. The two had been raised fairly differently; while Alexandra was taught to be open-minded and encouraged to spend time amongst muggles, Blaise had spent the first eleven years of his life listening to his mother preaching about the importance of purebloods.

Blaise's mother, a woman who'd managed to collect a rather impressive number of marriages – all of which had ended with a rather 'unfortunate accident' that claimed the life of each husband – had ordered her son to seat with 'kids of his status' before they ventured to Platform 9 ¾ in order for the dark-skinned boy to take the Hogwarts Express for the very first time.

In retrospect, one should have seen Blaise's rebellion coming, for as soon as the boy had boarded the scarlet train he had done his best to avoid the offsprings of his mother's friends and sought cover in a compartment he thought to be empty. His act was not simply driven by his desire to defy the woman Blaise had always refused to call 'mother', but also by his desire to find something he had always lacked and was certain he wouldn't have found in the kids selected by 'his mother'; true friends. Alexandra would have always remembered Blaise's aghast expression once his eyes found hers in that very compartment of the Hogwarts express, for it was a joke in regards to his reaction that had brought about a friendship the two now cherished beyond belief.

Blaise and Alexandra – later joined by a rather outspoken and unabashed Freya – had been inseparable ever since they first met on the Hogwarts Express. Their bond had brought about Blaise's rebellion towards his mother's beliefs, his acts of defiance based on his very own strong moral compass, and, subsequently, his decision to cut all ties with the woman he couldn't help but loathe.

"I guess this leaves you no other option but to add two more members to your support team, Doom." Alexandra stated in a teasing tone, causing Harry to crack a smile and shake his head in disbelief. "You're not in this alone. To hell with what people think, you're innocent," The blonde continued as she locked eyes with the raven-haired boy, her stare both stern and caring. "And no matter what life throws at you, the three of us will always back you up and help wherever we can. We don't turn our backs on our friends.".

"Look what you've done, Harry." Freya placed the back of her hand against her forehead, eyes fluttering closed as she released a dramatic sigh. "You've turned Alexandra sappy." Alexandra rolled her eyes before slapping her friend upside the head. "Ouch! Hey – what the hell is going on with your hair? Heaven's sake, what is this even supposed to be, a bun?"

"A what?" Blaise immediately questioned, only for Freya to wave him off as she stared at the eldest Grindelwald twin sitting beside her.

Alexandra stiffened in her seat. She'd hoped no one would pay much attention to her hair, however, she should have known better than to think that it would have gone unnoticed by Freya.

Freya Solarin was known for being trend-driven, her neverending passion for fashion causing many girls to flock to their shared room to receive advice in regards to their date-outfits and whatnot.

"It's nothing important."

"Says Alexandra Grindelwald, the one who threatened to hex me when I tried to give her a hair-cut during our third year." Freya scoffed, her perfectly shaped brow slightly raised and fingers tapping against the wooden table.

"Is everything okay?" Harry sounded truly worried as he directed his gaze towards the blonde who was taking slow and deep breaths.

"To hell with this." Alexandra suddenly stood up, motioning for her friends to follow her. "I need to tell and show you something." While the witch would have preferred to keep the turn of events to herself, she knew that confiding in someone would have only improved her chances to find out what it all meant, let alone relieve the pressure that had never left her chest ever since she first noticed the white lock of hair.

Once the four had entered the empty Charm class, Alexandra didn't waste any time in locking the door and casting a quick 'muffliato' charm before swearing her friends to secrecy. None of them even hesitated to promise to keep Alexandra's secret, and that was why the witch was quick to let her hair fall down onto her shoulders.

"Who did that to you?" Blaise was the first to speak up, anger and venom lacing his words, a clear sign that the dark-skinned boy was ready to fight whoever had messed with the witch he'd grown to consider as a sister.

"More like what." Alexandra sighed, running a hand across her face. "I think you better sit down."

The four spent the morning talking, none of them showing any desire to leave the classroom. Blaise, Freya, and Harry listened to Alexandra as she explained what had transpired during her meeting with Dumbledore, recalled each nightmare she'd had ever since she started taking the potion the Headmaster had given her and how she'd woken up with an odd white lock amongst her blonde mane of hair. Much to Alexandra's relief, her friends did not recoil at her words, nor did they look at her differently; they merely promised her that they would have helped her in figuring it all out.

If only any of them had known back then how much those seemingly simple interactions would have forever impacted their lives. That morning marked the day Alexandra, Blaise and Freya became much more than friends of the boy-who-lived; they all became part of something far bigger than any of them could have ever anticipated.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

alexandra gets an overnight new hairdo, blaise and freya join the 'harry potter support group', a little insight on the life of blaise zabini and his friendship with alexandra - along with how said friendship has impacted his life - and our girl spills her secret to her best friends and harry.

this is a fan fiction! please, do keep this in mind, aye?

i have noticed that this story is getting less and less reads and it's kinda making me real sad because it's my baby. if you can (and want to), share it with your friends! i am not gonna abandon it just because of the low number of reads, this is not who i am, but still..

any kind of constructive feedback is always welcome! let me know if you like the chapter; leave a comment, vote, share, all the shebang!