Title: Being Helpful
Characters: Angelina Johnson, Fred and George Weasley, Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet and mention of other minor character.
Summary: Sometimes help can be a good thing, sometimes it's bad. Angelina finds herself being helped in several ways.
Rating: PG13

Thanks to leviathan0999 and thesteppyone for their input and betaing skills.One night while I couldn't sleep and I started to write this. I have mourned the lack of -good- stories about the twins and their friends and wanted to add my own contribution, especially as Angelina is one of my favourite minor characters (along with Bill). Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it.

Chapter 1

Knowing When to Accept Help

Grimmauld Place, June 1997

Angelina tapped her wand rhythmically against her palm, her lips pursed and her eyes focused on the wizard at the head of the table. A few weeks ago Hogwarts had been attacked by Death Eaters and their leader, Dumbledore, had been killed. The Order was on high-alert. Everybody else at the table was listening as the wizard at the head of the table wrapped up his report. Everybody, that was, but Angelina. All that was on her mind was the fact that the Weasley twins were missing from this meeting.

She felt a poke in her thigh from under the table and she broke out of her attempt at fake concentration. Lee sat next to her, an eyebrow raised in concern and then he looked down at her wand-tapping hand. She stopped, embarrassed, realising that for him, it was a tell-tale sign that she wasn't really paying attention. That's what you got for sitting next to a boy who had watched you develop the habit over seven years of lessons together.

He leaned in. "I'll catch you up later. It's nothing too important right now," he whispered in her ear, smiling at her knowingly. Angelina felt her face get hot and she was thankful for the fact that her complexion didn't allow a blush to really show. She had been caught in the act of ignoring Mad-Eye during an Order of the Phoenix meeting. Sometimes she had to ask herself what good she was doing there when she couldn't even pay attention. She was surrounded by these people who were obviously the best of the best, chosen by Dumbledore. Sooner or later they'd realise that she wasn't worthy to be there. She sometimes had to remind herself how she ended up here in the first place.

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The Previous Year, 1996

Angelina had been ecstatic in April when she had received her letter from the Harpies, inviting her to join their reserve team after she'd left Hogwarts. She had celebrated with Alicia, who had received her pre-NEWT result admission to the Healer training back in February. However, that joy had been short-lived when news of You-Know-Who appearing at the Ministry had come out. She had known, in the back of her head, that things were headed to shit with the Ministry. What with "Umbitch" and her Educational Decrees of Useless Tripe. But she had hoped that things would be normal for a while, just a little while. Was it so bad that she just wanted to play some professional Quidditch without feeling guilt about being so frivolous?

But no, even as she started training that summer, the disappearances had begun. Every day the Prophet printed news about who had gone missing this time. Where had the "Dark Mark" appeared today? Playing Quidditch had once filled her with joy, but everyday she went out on the field to practice with the girls, a deep unease filled the pitch.

It had all come-a-shambles for her that day in October she heard about Katie being cursed and rushed to St. Mungos. Alicia, whose little sister was still at Hogwarts, had appeared at the practice pitch as soon as she'd found out. Even with her pre-healer clearance, all Alicia had been able to find out was that Katie was in a coma and had been cursed that way. Angelina had felt enormously guilty. Katie had been owling her constantly over the months of training, trying to keep in contact. She had been like a little sister to Angelina over the years, and a great part of the chaser dynamic that they had shared with Alicia. Angelina had been a bit too busy to do much other than send a few short notes about how busy and tired she was. It had been a very sobering time for her as she went to visit Katie while she laid in a deep coma. It became apparent that Katie had been put under the Imperius and had almost been killed by a cursed dark object. Angelina hated the fact that this darkness had brushed something dear to her but was at a loss at what to do about it.

It wasn't until late November that she had run into Lee and she had been given the chance to do anything about the way she felt. It had been after a very dismal day at practice. She had almost wished that she hadn't signed that contract saying that she'd stay alcohol free on practice and pre-game days. She had taken a very forlorn detour to a pub near to the practice grounds to taunt herself with the lure of a good hard drink and had walked straight into the mess that was Lee Jordan's dreadlocks.

As they sidled into a booth at a nearby restaurant, they had fallen back into their old camaraderie.

"Aha, you see," Lee had smirked confidently, "I knew that all I'd have to do was to be patient and one day you'd find yourself saying yes to going on a date with me."

She had rolled her eyes. This sort of blustery flirting was part and parcel with Lee. Residue of a hard-held and stubborn crush he'd professed to have had on her while they were at school.

"I'd have to protest, Lee. I never said this was a date. Unless of course you intend to take me to someplace much more appropriate than the Holy Harpies Nest. I don't think you'd want to tarnish your reputation that much."

He had waggled his eyebrows in amusement and they'd continued their catch up with each other. Lee was now a lowly sports copy writer at the Prophet. He shared enough anecdotes about the life of a non-trepid reporter at a newspaper wholly concentrated on what they were and were not allowed to report under the new ministry. Lee had noted how things had changed a bit after Fudge left office, but it hadn't exactly become better.

"Bureaucratic dragon-dung that's what I'm telling you," Lee shook his head. "Minister Scrimgeour might not be as much as a useless prat as Fudge was, but he surely isn't in the mood to tell people the truth about this whole mess." Lee sighed. "It seems like government is deathly allergic to the truth.

"Then why work for the Prophet?" Angelina had asked. "I mean, if it's such a waste of time?"

"Lifelong dream, need for attention, my mother made me… all that rot." He had leaned back in his chair and viewed her with a quizzical expression. "What about you? I'd have thought I'd never been able to shut you up about the Harpies, and now you seem... I dunno, sort of glum about the entire thing."

Angelina had been caught unawares by this line of questioning. Was it obvious that she was disenchanted? She realised that she'd let his query lapse into a questionable silence and she tried to recover. "No, no… I love the Harpies. You know, lifelong dream and all that, although my Aunt isn't too impressed with it yet." She smiled at the thought of her Auntie Anita who had married a Muggle and gone off living cut off from the Magical world for years now. "I don't know, I guess… with everything that's been happening now and what happened to Katie, everything sort of pales in comparison. What is the point of Quidditch if people are too scared to come watch the games? How am I supposed to resist the Death Eaters if they attack at a game one day? Throw a Quaffle at them? I just feel as if I'm standing still while all the insanity happens around me. It's all useless."

She stopped when she realised that she'd been rambling to Lee. He, strangely enough, looked thoughtful. And then those words had come out of his mouth.

"Have you spoken to the Twins lately?"

She sat there and her pretty mouth twisted into a scowl. The "twins" were a sore point for her. "Oh, you can't be referring to those people we went to school with who ran off in the middle of our last year to start a joke-shop and never said goodbye and forgot I existed?"

Lee sighed. "You aren't still angry with Fred are you?"

Her expression didn't change. "Whatever would give you that idea?"

"You know, we all missed them when they left. I was their bloody best mate you know." Lee looked slightly annoyed with her.

"And they are gigantic prats who only think about themselves and would do anything just for a bleeding laugh!" she said, feeling her head throb with the feeling she always got when she thought about the Weasley twins. Really it was specifically focused on Fred Weasley, but George had done his part to earn her annoyance as well.

"I wouldn't go that far. Haven't you even seen their shop? It's doing quite well. All their work and research put to good use. They've also been finding ways to make themselves useful in other ways, as have I."

Angelina snorted. "Useful?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest and made the sound with her teeth that she always had when she was annoyed and shook her head.

Lee laughed. "I swear, I've only ever seen you and my mum do that. Must be an Islander thing."

Angelina threw her napkin at him.

At that moment their food arrived and their conversation halted after that one little outburst. Angelina, recovered her napkin and dug into her food, trying to ignore the thoughts that her conversation with Lee had brought up. She finally settled on his last statement about the "Islander thing".

"Your mum's from Jamaica, if I remember correctly," She picked up the conversation as she cut through her meat. "Have you ever been?"

"Not at all. Have you ever been there?"

"Not that I know of. Just Barbados, although I was born here. I just spent most of my childhood there. I haven't been back since I was rather young."

"I was born here as well and mum's never been back since she married my dad. I suppose she thought it was better here, safer." He snorted at the irony.

Angelina smiled at him. "Well my Aunt cut herself off totally from the magical world here, and for a while that worked. I think she's always had a negative view of the way this world works, from when she was growing up. I guess after what happened to my mum, she didn't trust the government."

"I can't understand that. How can you be a witch and deny it? It's like cutting off your arms or something. It is a part of you. I'm still surprised that she let you come to Hogwarts when the letter came."

"She almost didn't. But it was my mother's wish that I have a proper magical education. That's why she sent me back here in the first place. After we lost her, I don't think my Aunt could go against it. For all her disgust with the way Purebloods treated her when she was going to Hogwarts, she never broke her wand. I just think she didn't want to have to deal with another level of prejudice towards her. My Aunt was always a little rebel."

Lee had grinned and speared a piece of fish. "So that's where you get it."

Angelina flicked him in the head with her napkin this time.

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The day after she'd met with Lee was Friday. She'd been more on the ball during practice and had done rather well. Rose, a fellow reserve chaser had teased her about it, but Angelina didn't let it get to her. It had been a one off run in with an old friend. It had been pleasant. It had therefore come as a shock when Lee was waiting outside the practice grounds for her after practice. She'd just come straight from the showers and her braids had been undone so she could wash her hair. He didn't seem recognise her with the setting sun casting deep shadows and the fact that her hair was tied down to dry naturally as she was walking to the Apparition point with Rose.

"Lee, what are you doing here?" She'd stared at him incredulously.

He'd been a bit startled by her appearance. "Oh! I knew you'd be off soon and I wanted to catch you before you ran off. I hope you don't mind."

Angelina knit her brows. "Um, that's alright." She turned to Rose, "I'll catch you next week. Have a good weekend."

"Have a fantastic weekend Angelina. Don't do anything I wouldn't do three times." Rose gave her a knowing look and continued on to the Apparition border.

Angelina rolled her eyes and turned to Lee. "She thinks we're shagging," she said demurely.

Lee broke out into a full grin, "Well… don't dissuade her too soon. It's good for my image."

"You slag!" She linked her arm with his. "So, why are you here? Two days in a row? Are you back to your old tricks of trying to seduce me or something?"

Lee looked affronted. "Who told you these were old tricks?"

She sniggered at him. "Really though, why are you here?"

Lee started walking towards the Apparition border. "I had an idea that might help with how you said you felt yesterday."

"Hmm? Really? What's that? Does it involve chocolate? Because you know… I've got to watch my figure."

"No, no chocolate, but I also like to watch your figure. Maybe we can have some type of schedule for it?"

Angelina rolled her eyes again. "You really are too much."

They reached the borderline where it was safe to Apparate from and she realised that he hadn't told her where they were going.

"Uh… Where exactly…"

"Diagon Alley, near to the Leaky Cauldron."

She looked curious. "Alright then." Then she turned on the spot and popped away. A few seconds later she was standing outside the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. She had really avoided this place since the attacks had started. It was depressing how changed the surrounding were; Closed shops, advertisements for protective amulets and Ministry declared warnings everywhere. Lee appeared next to her and pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. She followed his lead and pulled her hood on as well, obscuring her face from cursory view. "Lee? Exactly what are we doing here?"

He took her arm and started walking in the direction towards Gringotts. "Just a meeting with the past."

Angelina scowled as she followed along with Lee. She was starting to get an idea what he was planning. After a few minutes walk, she could see that they were approaching a storefront that was now clearly lit up in the dusky sky. A minute later and they had come to a halt outside 'Weasleys' Wizardly Wheezes'.

"Number ninety-three, Diagon Alley," she read under her breath. She sighed, pulled back the hood of her cloak and glared at Lee. "I hope you know that I still have a good right hook."

Lee slipped his arm from her's. "Look, I'm telling you that you should talk to them… to him. This isn't the time to keep at silly arguments.

She pursed her lips and looked at the darkening sky and stepped towards the entrance, pushing the door open "Alright then, what can it hurt?"

Those proved to be somewhat fatal words as the door opened, she heard a muffled explosion, saw something headed towards her face and then, darkness.

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