This was what I wanted wasn't it?

She was persistent in getting what she wanted. So why wasn't she here? I didn't go anywhere strange. I wasn't hard to find at all. Somehow, she still never came. I found myself searching the halls for her between classes. Searching the faces of every student I passed. It was as if she had simply disappeared.

I knew she was real.

I knew I wasn't imaging the weight of her legs over mine. I knew I wasn't imaging those brilliant beautiful blue eyes. I couldn't have been imagining that ridiculous request. Those 6 months, 2 weeks and 3 days couldn't have been my imagination.

It just couldn't have and yet...

It's been a whole month and she hasn't shown up once. A heart I never knew I had was aching. Something was telling me that something bad had happened to her. I had a nagging feeling that she was hurt. I didn't know why I cared about her. I really didn't know all that much about her except...

She was from a muggle family - I shouldn't care. She was definitely a Slytherin - impressively manipulative. She was extremely persistent - her behaviour was so predictable. She loves sweet stuff - maybe that's why I thought she was sweet. She was the only person not afraid of me - that's what I liked most about her. She wanted me to smile - that made me happy.

I found myself walking towards the hospital wing instead of the Great Hall. The school was closed now. I was an orphan with nowhere to go so Dumbledore allowed me to live in the castle. There was no one else around. Still... I stood in front of the hospital wing doors, short of breath.

I sighed and pushed the doors open. If Madam Pomfrey couldn't tell me something about Alicia, then I wouldn't know what else to do. There was no one else to talk to, nowhere else to look. This was my last... Chance? Why was I so worried?

"Madam Pomfrey? Are you here?" I asked.

She stepped out from behind a curtain, and I frowned. No one else was supposed to be here. All the students had left over a week ago. So, who was behind the curtain?

"Mr Riddle, is there something I can help you with?" She smiled.

I nodded my head towards the curtain and raised an eyebrow. Madam Pomfrey smiled but said nothing. Professor McGonagall walked out from behind the curtain. Someone was there and I wasn't too happy about it. Why wouldn't they tell me who? I marched over and ripped the curtain away.

My eyes went wide, and my jaw fell slack. I had never lost my composure before, but my mind couldn't process what I was seeing. The girl I had been looking for, Alicia, was just laying there. Her skin was a sickly pale white colour. Her brilliant blue eyes were closed. If it weren't for the slow steady rise and fall of her chest, I would have sworn she was dead.

"What... What happened to her?" I found myself asking.

"Someone threw a sleeping beauty curse at her." I think it was McGonagall who had spoken.

"A what?"

"It's not a well-known curse and we don't teach it. It makes the target fall into a death-like sleep. A little worse than the potion since there's no known cure for the spell." That was definitely McGonagall speaking that time.

"How long ago?" I asked, my eyes never moved from Alicia.

"A month or so. We've been trying to find a way to reverse it." Madam Pomfrey said.

I couldn't quite understand why I felt so pissed off. Sure, I've felt anger and I've been angry my whole life. This was different - very different. I was angry that someone other than me had hurt her. I felt like she belonged to me and no one else had a right to touch or hurt her.

Madam Pomfrey tried to get me to walk away. Her hand rested on my shoulder and I shrugged it off. McGonagall tried and I did the same thing. I turned to face them and glared.

"Leave me the fuck alone." I sneered.

I had never seen the Medi-witch nor Professor McGonagall scared before. The look in their eyes and their expressions were clear though. They feared me and for whatever reason, I was actually happy about it. I wanted them gone. If it meant getting expelled, I didn't really care. They kept this a secret from me, and I was not happy about it.

"Get away from her and just leave!" I yelled.

I had a reputation for being the best in class, but I also had a reputation for being ruthless and scary. There was no doubt that they didn't believe it until just now. I could see the sudden shift in their eyes. They weren't going to test me and I didn't care to know exactly why.

I caught my reflection in the glass of the cupboard. My eyes were completely red. My skin, a few shades paler. It was almost like I was looking at a different version of myself. A version I could somehow understand but also didn't know existed. A version of myself that was full of hate and anger. The future version of myself if Alicia didn't wake up.

While I was staring at my reflection professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey had left. My anger was no less dampened as my attention was drawn back to Alicia. I couldn't understand how this happened. I couldn't understand what I was feeling.

I... needed her to wake up. I needed to see her eyes again. I didn't understand my sudden need to have her around me. I needed her to explain what that meant. She had explained before when I was confused. She needed to explain again.

I sighed as I sat down next to her bed. I hesitated before grabbing her hand. It was icy cold - something like death. It only managed to anger me even more. I was literally ready to kill someone. Pretty much anyone or everyone.

"Still here?" I turned around and glared at Madam Pomfrey.

I didn't say anything as she walked around and sat opposite me. She smiled gently although there was still fear in her eyes. She wasn't like Alicia, no one was. Alicia wasn't scared of me no matter what I said or did.

"May I tell you a story?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"What good will that do?" I grunted and rolled my eyes.

"Let me tell you and you can decide afterwards."

"Whatever." I grunted.

"I'll just give you the short version of it. There was a princess who had been cursed when she was born by a wicked witch. When the princess turned 16, she pricked her finger and fell into a deep sleep because of the curse. Nobody knew how to wake her up, but eventually, a prince came to the castle. He kissed the sleeping beauty, and she woke up. The kingdom celebrated and claimed that it was only true love that saved the princess. So, the princess ended up marrying the prince."

I rolled my eyes at Madam Pomfrey. "That was pointless."

Madam Pomfrey shrugged and stood up then walked away. I was seething at this point. What good was a stupid pathetic little story like that? Muggles were stupid, blind, unworthy little maggots. It's no wonder Alicia fell prey to a fucking curse.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder about that story. Would kissing her do something? The days she spent hounding me played in my mind. Kissing her had actually become an increasing thought in the back of my mind. I wanted to kiss her so she would shut up. I wanted to kiss her because her lips always drew my attention. I wanted to kiss her because...

I wanted to kiss her so she would leave me alone.

I suddenly realised that I was keeping myself from smiling. Smiling meant she'd actually stop bugging me. Suddenly I didn't want that. I didn't want her to stop being there. This last month had been hell for me and up until now, I hadn't realised why. Alicia's presence had been missed greatly.

"You have to wake up," I mumbled. "You haven't seen me smile yet. Wasn't that your goal? Aren't you determined to get a genuine smile out of me?"

I stood up and walked around the area. My mind buzzing with so many things. In these last few months, this girl made me forget my hate and anger towards my father. Towards the life I had before. My attention had unwillingly been drawn to her and her alone. I hadn't cared that she was a muggle.

I sighed, hating not knowing how to help her. That stupid story was stuck in my head. I was no prince - at least not in the good way. The more I thought about it the more I thought of her as a princess. I was completely furious. When I find out who did this they are going to pay. I was going to make them suffer.

What was I supposed to do? I was supposed to be the most powerful wizard in the world. That was my ambition, my end goal. Yet here I was unable to help the one person I... I cared about. The one person who wasn't afraid of me.

That thought hit me like a well-thrown hex. I actually genuinely cared about her. I shook my head as I leaned over her. I didn't know why I was doing this, but if it worked then I wouldn't be so worried. I wouldn't hurt the way I was hurting right now. If it worked I'd have her back.

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat and leaned down further. My lips brushed over hers. Her lips were soft but ice cold. That heart I found out I had felt like it was about to crumble to dust. I pressed my lips against hers and closed my eyes as I thought about never seeing her pale blue eyes again. I thought about the stabbing pain in my chest. She was so cold, so lifeless, so... so dead.

A cold hand brushed against my cheek. Cold lips moved against mine. I pushed up from the bed ultimately breaking the kiss. I opened my eyes and was met with pale blue eyes. Her brilliant pale blue eyes. My heart was racing in my chest.

"Hi." Alicia's voice cracked.

"Hey." I replied.

She laughed although it sounded extremely strained. "I finally got a response from you."

A tear fell onto her cheek and I realised that I was crying. I had never cried in my life. I had never felt emotions, never showed an ounce of weakness. Yet here I was slightly crying as my heart pounding in my ears. I was relieved that she was awake, yet I couldn't help the broken feeling inside of me.

Her hand brushed through my hair. I was still just leaning over her unable to move. Another tear fell onto her cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut and my voice finally broke through. I started properly crying. I felt cold arms wrap around my neck and I was pulled down against an equally cold body.

"What happened?" The voice came from behind me. "Oh! You're finally awake! That's great."

(1915 Words)