He really shouldn't have been outside. He certainly shouldn't have been at a Quidditch match and the moment it started to rain he should have gone straight inside and back to bed, but Albus was not missing his cousin's match, to hell with the stomach flu!
He stood in the crowd next to Dominique, Louis and Hugo as they cheered on Rose, one of the Hufflepuff Beaters.
It'd been quite surprising when Dominique was placed in Hufflepuff and two years later it was just as much as shock that Albus and Rose were sent there too.
Hugo was a Gryffindor, like his cousins but when it came to cheering for his cousins on Gryffindor or his sister on Hufflepuff he'd gone to hide out in the Hufflepuff stands. Same for Louis, even though he'd been sorted into Gryffindor he'd rather be with his sister then amongst all his cousins cheering on the few on the Gryffindor team.
That did not mean however that the two weren't sporting all their normal Red and Gold gear.
Hugo cheered as someone scored, more likely to have been one of the Hufflepuff Chasers than Fred or Molly, and Albus groaned.
He kept his bucket clenched tight to his chest as his stomach rolled.
"You need to go inside, Albus." Dominique chided him worriedly. "You're not well and the weather's not helping."
"I'm not missing one of Rose's games." Albus said determinedly. "I haven't so far and I won't now."
"You've come, you've seen." Dominique reasoned even as his head disappeared back into the bucket. "You don't have to stay till the end, it's not like she's the Seeker!"
"Point stands." He groaned, wiping his mouth with the handkerchief Dominique handed him.
"Is Albus gonna be okay?" Hugo asked worriedly from Dominique's other side.
"For now." Dominique assured her cousin. "But once he's better I'm going to borrow Rosie's bat and beat him over the head with it."
Louis giggled and covered his mouth as Albus glowered at him.
The rain was extremely cold by now and Albus was shivering harder than before.
Dominique sighed and pulled off her own cloak, wrapping it over his shoulders leaving her in just her uniform and outer robes.
"You'll get sick too." Albus protested weakly.
"Then you'll have to tend to my every need because you'll have caused it." Dominique stated plainly though a smile tugged at her lips. "I'll get my revenge...and some of Grandma's soup because if she knows one of us is sick she'll send supplies. She always does."
Albus smiled back weakly then groaned and disappeared back behind the bucket.
Dominique made a noise of disgust and tried hard not to inch away, rubbing his back soothingly instead like her mother always did.
He sat backwards on his seat and groaned loudly, "I feel like I've already been beat with a bat."
"Look like it too." Louis piped up.
Albus glared at him again. "I will hurt you."
Dominique sighed and brushed Albus' hair back from his forehead, surreptitiously checking his temperature. He was way too hot, especially since they were standing in freezing rain.
She bit her lip and looked around at the stands and her eyes sought out relatives. All but the three Chaser cousins for the other team were in the stands cheering to the far left of them.
She examined the field. Out of 14 players, only five were girls; Rose, Molly, the Hufflepuff Seeker, Keeper and one Chaser. That made things easier.
Dominique sighed heavily again and began unbuttoning her robes, showing her normal uniform underneath.
"What are you doing?" Louis exclaimed, "It's too cold to not wear robes. Maman would yell!"
"She's about to yell for worse." Dominique muttered, stripping off the robes and placing them over Louis who snuggled into the extra warmth.
She leaned over and flipped down the brim on both Hugo and Louis's wool knit caps. As their hands went up to fix them and they started to complain she smacked both their hands lightly. "Fix them and I glue you to the ceiling and take away 10 points each. Keep your eyes covered."
They grumbled but their hands went down again, not daring to disobey their cousin and sister respectively; the fact that she was a Prefect just added on to it.
"What're you doing?" Albus asked shakily, eyes watering and face flushed.
"Ending the game early." Dominique replied, pulling her vest over her head and laying it on the seat behind her. She tugged at the top of her skirt, pulling it upwards by a few inches and rolling it over to secure it in place.
She undid her tie and glanced at it. "C'mere."
Albus blinked at her in confusion until she wrapped it around his eyes and tied it at the back. "You're going to get in trouble if you do this." He said, understanding her intent finally.
"Yeah, well I'll get in worse if you die because you got sick." Dominique replied sarcastically. "I am responsible for you, you know."
Albus didn't respond, his head had disappeared into the bucket once again.
Dominique shivered in the cold that was much more noticeable now that she didn't have any external coverings. She unbuttoned the top three buttons on her shirt, pulling it apart slightly. Albus was right, she was going to get in a lot of trouble for this, but if it got him out of the rain, inside and medicated...
She concentrated her attention on the Seeker for Gryffindor and swayed in place slightly, willing him to look at her.
It didn't take long, within a few minutes he was close enough he caught sight of her and was unable to do anything but stare. Unfortunately several others near her had been caught up too but she concentrated on the field.
A few moments later a second Gryffindor froze in place.
It was working!
"Looks like something's got Finnigan and Jones' attention. Can anyone tell what they're looking at?" The announcer, Cindy Thomas, called out.
With that said by Cindy it was only seconds before two more Gryffindor boys, and unfortunately two of the Hufflepuff boys, were ensnared as well.
Merlin, it was cold! But Dominique kept up her efforts, skin shimmering with a soft glow that no one that wasn't right next her would notice. She danced a little quicker now, moving just a bit more in an effort to keep their attention and to keep warm.
"There go the other boys! Seems the only boys left flying are Potter and Weasley! What on Earth are they doing?"
"You're really in trouble." Albus commented, unable to see but not unable to comprehend.
"I'll take this trouble over you getting sicker." Dominique replied quietly, concentrating on the other team's Seeker.
James, Freddie, Molly and Rose had all looked over as well as the girls from the Hufflepuff teams and their reactions were vastly different.
James and Freddie looked horrified, James nearly fell off his broom; Molly looked murderous; The captain of the Hufflepuff team, a lovely seventh year named Dianne, smiled and gave a thumbs-up in her direction, their Seeker sent her a smile and went back to searching the skies, the Keeper was giggling some, her opposition currently stunned into staying still as their Chaser took advantage and scored; Rose too almost fell off her broom but that was due to how hard she was laughing.
Rose was nearly laying on the broom, clutching it and her bat to keep from falling.
"Ah...I do believe that'd be a Hufflepuff Prefect dancing half-naked in the rain. Sneaky house them, you never know what they'll - Harris has seen the Snitch. Come on, Gryffindor, WAKE UP!" Cindy yelled as the Hufflepuff Seeker set off after the snitch.
Temporarily distracted by both the announcer, Louis's yelp at the announcers words and the snitch being seen Dominique's charm dropped.
The boys on the field quickly came back to their senses and, she noted with amusement, two fell of their brooms while another was hit by a bludger sent by Rose.
"It's no use, Finnigan can't catch up...HARRIS HAS THE SNITCH! Game set at 200 – 390 in favour of Hufflepuff! Now someone get that girl a shirt!"
"'Nicky!" Louis said in protest as Dominique reclaimed her robes and quickly tossed them on.
"Hat's up boys, let's go!" Dominique said quickly, taking her tie back from around Albus' eyes.
She grabbed Albus' hand to lead him off and lightly shoved at the two first years. "MOVE!"
If she wasn't quick she'd be accosted by cousins and relatives. Why the hell did her whole family show up for matches? Honestly, you'd think everyone was playing by the crowd...Damn close knit family!
"GO WEASLEY!" Was the cheer throughout the common room when Dominique reappeared from tucking Albus into bed.
She blushed somewhat at the cheers and wolf-whistles.
"Never again will I doubt your commitment to Hufflepuff glory." Dianne proclaimed, hugging her tight despite the fact both of their clothes were soaking wet.
"I didn't do it for glory!" Dominique protested. "I did it because Albus has the flu and wouldn't leave till the game was over."
The room went silent for a minute till the cheers got louder.
"That's a true Hufflepuff!" A seventh year yelled loudly, gaining yells of approval right back.
"You're so dead." Rose said even as she hugged her cousin tight.
"Totally." Dominique nodded.
"Your Prefect status might be revoked." Rose warned, not letting go.
"Ah, family is more important than being Prefect." Dominique said, pressing a kiss to the top of Rose's head and stepping away. She cupped her hands over her mouth, "Shut up!" once she had everyone's attention she cleared her throat, "If anyone at all mentions I did this because my cousin is sick I'll personally make sure they wake up in the middle of the lake. That being said, if anyone asks why I did it, which they probably will, you WILL Tell them for glory of the Hufflepuff name or because I thought it was funny. Understood?"
"Understood." several people called out, but most just nodded.
Louis and Hugo came over and tugged on her wet robes.
"What's up?" She asked.
"Did you really get naked?" Louis asked, clearly worried.
"No." Dominique assured him, "I had my uniform shirt and skirt on, I swear."
Louis bit his lip but nodded and hugged her. "I won't tell anyone why, I promise."
"Me too." Hugo declared, hugging her as well, "You did it for Al and Rosie."
"Yeah...Now," she cleared her throat again, "If anyone needs me, which they better not, I'll be in the shower!"
She was just starting to get warm again a few minutes later when she heard someone call her name.
"Um, Dominique? Your family is requesting your presence outside."
"Ugh." Dominique growled as she rinsed shampoo out of her hair. "Tell them to go away, I'm busy."
A few minutes later the girl returned. "Dominique? They say um...Get your butt to the hospital wing within ten minutes or they'll come drag you there personally."
"Oh for the love of Merlin." Dominique shut off the water and reached outside the curtain to grab her towel.
When she stepped out into the common room a minute later she got catcalls from around the room. "If I'm getting yelled at I might as well go for the gold." Dominique declared, striking a pose wearing only her towel.
"That's a lot of skin." Rose said with amusement. The towel covered from just below her armpits to just above her knee but still...
Dominique raised an eyebrow, "Are we pretending the entire school didn't just see me dancing outside in freezing rain while wearing a white dress shirt and what amounts to a mini skirt cause if so...actually, I like that plan."
"Are you doing this just to annoy maman?" Louis asked curiously. He was use to seeing someone walk through the house in their towel and wasn't really phased, but Hugo currently was shielding his eyes and looking at the floor.
"No, that's a fringe benefit." Dominique said. "Besides, they said 'within ten minutes' and it is a bit of a walk. Their fault I don't have time to dress properly." she said cheekily."If I can make them angry enough I doubt I'll have to explain myself."
At the edge of the passage near the door she turned and smiled at the room. "If I do not return don't touch my stuff! Oh and someone make sure Al gets the rest of his potion in," she checked her watch, "Thirty minutes please. Louis, don't touch the punch." she called over her shoulder causing laughter.
She laughed quietly to herself as she walked through the school, most everyone was still in their house Dorms changing after the cold weather of the game so she didn't run into too many other students. The few she did run into whistled or gave a cheer as she passed.
Her only regret was not putting on some sort of shoes; that stone floor was cold!
Why the hospital wing? They couldn't know Albus was sick, if so they'd have sent for him too or Aunt Ginny would have come to check on him. That was part of the reason she'd ended the game as they had. Albus was determined he'd be sick on his own without his mother rushing to the school to baby him because he was a teenager now and he could handle being sick and he 'wasn't delicate!' Rose and Dominique were too nice to point out that instead of Ginny babying him he now had Dominique doing it.
Hospital wing...
Wait...were they planning on actually hurting her for this? That could be bad but...they wouldn't...would they?
She froze in the hallway suddenly. Crap...she had made a few fall off their brooms and Rose had hit one with a bludger...Hell, had she actually really hurt someone?
She could hear them yelling before she ever entered the hospital wing and steeled herself for the onslaught. Be sarcastic, be flippant, be lewd but don't let them know about Al. She repeated the inward mantra and shoved the door open, walking in as if she owned the place.
Words stopped for a moment as all eyes turned to her.
"Dominique!" Her father howled in outrage. "Where are your clothes?"
"What?" she looked down as if surprised. "Well, I was told you said 'under ten minutes' and it's a hell of a walk." she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Barely had time to brush my hair and grab my badge." She indicated the badge she'd pinned to the top of the towel for fun.
George, who was nearest, took off his own robes and handed them over to her without looking much. Was she imagining things or was he trying not to smile?
"Ugh, they're orange." Dominique protested. "And who knows what pranks you've got on them."
"Put them on." Bill said warningly.
Dominique sighed as if it were a big chore but pulled them on and did up the front. She looked around the room, all her relatives – bar grandparents – including several cousins...Three boys in hospital beds still in Quidditch uniforms and James looked like he'd been hit as well...Not bad. Not bad at all.
"Explain yourself!"
"I was in the shower." Dominique purposefully misunderstood them. "You guys said under ten minutes." She repeated.
"I meant the match." Fleur said tightly.
"You cheated!" James pointed at her clearly indignant.
"Yeah!" Freddie agreed.
"Show me where in the rulebook it says I can't do that." Dominique retorted.
All eyes turned to her Aunt Hermione who practically had the rules memorized after all her years of breaking them.
"It isn't...since she's not on the team." Hermione said as if it pained her to do so.
"Hah!" Dominique pointed back at James. "So you can take your 'cheater' and shove it -"
"Dominique!" Bill was turning colours she hadn't seen him turn since he'd caught Victoire and Teddy snogging over summer break.
"What?" She asked innocently smiling as she sat down on one of the beds on the opposite side of the boys to keep her feet off the cold ground and look a bit more uncaring. The robes inched up slightly to show off a bit more of her legs and she tried hard not to laugh at the glares Freddie, James and Molly sent her. "You heard Aunt Hermione, I didn't do anything wrong."
"Technically only." Angelina muttered, annoyed at the cheating that had gone on. It seemed all former players in the room were upset about her cheating that wasn't cheating.
"You took off your clothes at a Quidditch game!"
"Did not! I had a shirt on and a skirt." Dominique protested. "Though that was plan B if plan A didn't work." Choking noises all around, people turning colours. Wow, this was fun even if it was a countdown to her death or lifelong grounding at this point.
"Plan B?" Yup...her mother looked like she was going to have a stroke. "You can not use your 'eritage to win some silly game!"
Dominique nearly smiled at the protests amongst the fans in her family at the 'silly' remark and looked affronted instead. "Hey! Who said I was using anything Veela? I could just have used my God given assets." she gestured to herself. Ooh, dad's eye was starting to twitch...Uncle Ron was purple, Uncle Percy looked near strangling someone, Uncle Harry was choking and...Hah, Uncle George was trying hard not to laugh too! Her Aunt's all looked torn between murder and lecturing...Oh, mum might just kill her this time.
"'Nicky!"
She turned her head to the doorway in time to see Louis and Hugo come dashing in both now in dry school uniforms, minus the robes, Louis clutching a bundle of clothing.
"What are you two doing here?" Dominique asked. "You're supposed to be with Rose!"
"Rose sent us." Hugo said, out of breath.
"Did you run the entire way?"
"Most of it." Louis agreed, handing her the clothes.
"I think we've been forgotten." Ron said dryly.
Both boys whirled on the spot, attention shifting from Dominique to the others in the room.
"Dad!"
"Maman!"
Dominique rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed, stripping the robes off and tossing them over it with distaste before ducking behind one of the privacy curtains Madame Pomfrey had to shield patients in their beds from public view.
Oh Merlin...Those were so not her trousers. The jeans were a little low and a little too tight. They looked about a size smaller than what she was use to and were clearly not hers. 'Rose...' she closed her eyes and counted to five.
There was a sweater as well, also not hers, that was yellow with a black stripe mid chest. Not too small but obviously going to be form fitting. This she recognized as Dianne's and was already plotting murder, then she noticed something that made her groan.
"Louis, didn't you bring me any pants?" Dominique called from behind the curtain.
After a moment of silence Louis called back guiltily. "No..."
"Why not?"
"Rose said we didn't need to." Louis said.
Dominique growled lightly to herself. "Did she happen to mention why she thought I didn't need underthings?"
"Rosie said not to bother bringing any cause you don't wear knickers anyway." Hugo said on behalf of his sister, she could hear the nervousness and underlying pride at being used as a messenger without seeing his face.
This time the groan was out loud, but masked by several yells and curses from the other side of the curtain. With reluctance she tugged on the trousers anyway and noticed something folded in the pocket. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a piece of parchment.
'Helping to add fuel to the fire since Al puked on my shoes. XO Rose'
'Little witch'. "I think everyone at the game can attest to the fact I do to wear them." Dominique yelled back.
She heard a slight snicker amongst the yelling as she pulled the sweater on, fixing her badge to the front of it. It rode a bit high and the trousers a bit low leaving a good three inches of skin around her stomach exposed. No shoes either? Oh, Rose was going to pay.
As she pulled back the curtain again, tossing the towel towards a hamper haphazardly, she realized Rose had indeed added much more fuel than she'd realized. Either that or Rose was a really horrible person.
Between her father's loud words, her mother's yelling in French and the rest protesting in some way or another her Uncle George's voice rang loud and clear.
"You know, in my day we called 'em 'Hufflesluts'."
A resounding crack echoed around the room and George winced, rubbing the back of his head. Dominique didn't notice who had hit him but there were several people near him.
"What's a 'Huffleslut'?" Hugo asked after the unknown word with a frown.
A second smack, this one from Hermione.
"So, did you get out of it?" Rose asked eagerly as Dominique entered the common room.
"YOU are a horrible person." Dominique said, pointing at Rose with her index finger, clearly perturbed. "These are NOT mine." she gestured to her clothes.
"Al threw up on me." Rose said plainly, "You're the one who told me to check on him. You must suffer."
Dominique glared at her and stormed off to her dorm to change.
"What'd they say?" Rose asked, following after her. "Any questions on why?"
"They seemed to stop caring about the time I put this on and Uncle George used the term 'Huffleslut'."
Rose choked and sat down on Dominique's bed. "What?"
"Yes. I think he finds this all way too entertaining." Dominique scowled as she changed clothes. "I'm pretty sure my mum is going to ground me till I graduate. I think dad's looking into convents."
"It was for a good cause." Rose said.
Dominique sent Rose a very annoyed look. "I'm relatively certain there were cameras at that game."
"A really good cause?"
"Where our whole family was."
"Really, REALLY good cause?" Rose said hesitantly.
"And it's only a matter of time before my Grandmothers hear about it."
Rose paused, thinking it over. "We'll kill Al when he's better. I'll let you use my bat."
Dominique rolled her eyes and tugged on her shoes before walking out, leaving Rose to play catch up behind her.
"It can't be too bad! You got away."
"Only because they got distracted and told me to go change." Dominique countered, changing paths and heading towards the boy's dorms.
"Well, are they staying?" Rose questioned. Usually after games or anything that caused multiple family members to visit Hogwarts they'd all get gathered together for dinner. Usually in the Room of Requirement since no where else seemed to fit them all.
"Unfortunately." Dominique paused at the 3rd year dorms. She knocked on the door briskly, "Better be decent in there." There was no response so she opened the door and walked in.
The Dorm was empty bar Albus who was curled up shivering in his bed still.
"How're you feeling?" Dominique asked softly, bending over his bed slightly to feel his forehead with her hand. Still a bit too warm.
"Not good." Albus groaned, not opening his eyes.
"Heard you threw up on Rosie's shoes." Dominique had to smile at the noise of disgust Rose made. Rose sat down on the end of the bed and watched the two.
"Uh...Sorry?"
"No you aren't. You thought it was funny." Rose said, brushing her hair over her shoulder and adjusting to sit crosslegged on the end.
Dominique laughed, "Probably was intentional. Can you sit up for just a minute? You need to drink something."
"Oh guess what!" Rose said with undisguised glee, "Frank and Dianne got a picture frame with a glass front and hung your knickers up on the wall."
"What?" Dominique demanded even as she poured a glass of water for Albus.
"Yup. Something about 'memorialising what helped us win'." Rose smiled and made a mental note to warn the eldest Longbottom boy to keep hidden for a few days.
"Ugh." Albus mumbled as he drank the water.
"Look at it this way, with Dominique in trouble for her little dance and you getting sick every twenty minutes you won't have to go to dinner." Rose said brightly, knowing full well Albus loved it.
Albus groaned as he sat up partway.
"Don't worry, I'll bring you back some quiche or something." Rose's voice was sweet if venomous.
Albus' groan turned darker and a retching noise was heard.
Rose yelped and moved backwards, falling off the bed onto the hard ground.
Dominique clenched her teeth and took some solace in the fact Rose had just hurt herself even as the warmth sunk into her shoes.
"Sorry." Albus said weakly.
Rose sat quietly next to Hugo with her parents across from Louis and his parents at the rather large table they put up in the Room of Requirement which was absolutely not to be used for any nefarious purposes at all proclaimed their parents.
Ah, ten aunts and uncles crammed along with nine cousins , Rose included, it seemed almost small. Too bad they were missing four cousins and an uncle.
Rose had whispered the tale from Hufflepuff that Hugo and Louis had missed to them as soon as they'd gotten together, and though they seemed a little put off by the idea they couldn't help but agree Frank's prank was funny.
"We seem to be missing some kids." Harry commented, looking around. "I could count Dominique as sulking, but where's Al?"
"He's hiding cause he's sick." Hugo said without thinking.
"Sick? How's he sick?" Ginny demanded quickly with concern.
"He-" Louis wilted under Rose's warning glare. "He got sick after they put Dominique's knickers on the wall?" the voice was hesitant and his story wasn't much better, but it wasn't a lie either.
"What?!" Bill nearly roared, "Someone stuck her pants to a wall?"
"No, they're quite nicely framed." Rose said evenly, trying to avoid punishment but also wanting to stick up for her House mates. "And it's not in the Common Room any more, Professor Bones made us take it down. We got points for creativity but she said it didn't fit the décor." Rose didn't feel the need to mention that the frame was now inside the Hufflepuff Locker rooms and would be added too once they could get hold of Tomlin Creevey's film from the game.
"So he's just embarrassed?" Ginny asked to make sure, even as George devolved into a coughing fit trying to hide his laughter.
Rose tried to find a different way to put it. "Sure." why not?
"Who decided that was appropriate to do? I'll kill them." Fleur decided in a voice that was way too serene.
Hugo realized his mistake by now and stayed quiet, same for Louis.
"I think Dominique might do it first. I don't think she minded bar the fact she's complaining she liked that set. Dianne said they'd buy her some new ones though so hey, it might get put back up."
Why was it so fun to get your cousins into trouble?"
"Why do you think it's fun to get your cousins into trouble?" Dominique demanded as she helped Albus drink his potion.
"Same reason you do. I get to start the flame, stand back and watch the explosion with glee as someone else takes the heat." Rose shrugged, "I was serious though. Tomlin's photo is so going in next to them. It'd be cool if you signed it. Future generations can look back and all that."
Dominique glared at her, "I'm not signing any photos of me from that game."
Rose rolled her eyes, "You say that now but those could be worth a fortune if we win the Cup."
Dominique just scoffed and as she went to walk out the dorm and back to her own she sneezed. Loudly.
"Uh oh." Rose giggled, hands over her mouth.
Dominique turned and levelled a glare at Rose and Albus.
"I'm going to kill you."
Four days later
"Ugh, someone just kill me already." Dominique groaned, clutching her stomach as the muscles ached. She'd been nauseous and sick for three days now before Rose and Albus had finally hauled her up to the hospital wing that morning.
"I don't think I'm allowed to." Louis said with what sounded like regret. He'd been quite cute, sitting at her side all day alternately fetching her water, reading to her and singing lullaby's. She'd almost forgiven him for telling their parents about the newest decoration in her common room.
"I don't think it would help matters."
Dominique opened her eyes and nearly groaned again as she spotted her mother and father standing at the foot of her bed. "How come you're here?"
"Despite my annoyance at you, you are still my daughter." Fleur replied, sitting on the oposite side of the bed from Louis. "Why would you wait three days when you're this ill to go see the 'ealer?"
"Embarrassment?" Bill suggested. "This is what you get for dancing in the rain."
"No, she got sick from Albus." Louis defended his sister without thinking.
"Albus was sick after the rain?" Fleur asked, Albus was prone to getting sick.
"No, he was sick before it. That's why 'Nicky ended it early, so he'd go inside. He wouldn't leave when the match was going cause Rosie was playing even though he was throwing up." Louis was so intent on defending his sister that he didn't notice her pale skin rapidly turning red.
Dominique grabbed her covers, pulling them up over her head, "Traitor!"
Louis's eyes went wide and he clapped his hands over his mouth in horror.
Bill blinked repeatedly, trying to process that idea. "That boy has been around his Godmother way too much."