Chapter six

Alice POV

The place – purely amazing. Eleanor – absolutely wonderful. She's like a mother, honestly. She cooked breakfast for us on our first morning, and has ever since, fussing over us, trying to make us comfortable. The grounds are full of green. Fields of grass circle around the mansion and I can't believe they actually have a quidditch pitch...

But then again, this is where the fantastical idiot that is Oliver Wood lives. Which, by the way, I still can't believe. I mean, where are all the quidditch ornaments and what-not? I thought that was all he ever thought about.

This place is actually... nice. And for the entire seven days that we've been here, I've never felt more like I was in a... home. Somewhere I could live comfortably without fear.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. And my good mood ended on the eighth day when Eleanor announced that she would be picking up her darling nephew in half an hour.

She turned to us with a stern look on her face. "I'll be tellin' Olly the same; but I want you to all behave yourselves, or there'll be trouble." We all nodded, Emily looking especially amused. "Now, he doesn't know that you're all here yet. And I wanted to tell him on the way. So I'd want to be scarce if I were you when we get home."

I bit my lip. "Eleanor," I started, she looked at me curiously. "Why haven't you told him, yet?"

She grinned. "Because then he wouldn't want to come home and see his aunty." She chuckled evilly and Helena and Emily burst out laughing, Marcus, Adrian and I looking quite serious.

"Oh, it'll be fine, guys." Helena scolds. "He's only Oliver Wood. He won't bite. Besides, he can't be all that bad. He's still human after all."

Of that, I'm not so sure. Eleanor leaves us and Emily grins wolfishly, turning to Helena. "Well, you've got to admit. He'll be great company." I raise an eyebrow, knowing that I'm probably wearing the same facial expression as the two boys. "For me, anyway."

"Oh, I bet." Hells agrees, sharing a grin with Em. I roll my eyes. "'Hung like a horse', and all, eh, Alice?" My face reddens. Oh, Merlin. I can't believe I actually said that.

Emily and Helena snort with laughter. I glare at them and stand from the kitchen table, making my way out of the kitchen, ignoring the laughter of my best friends and the shocked faces of the boys.

But I can't help but smile as I hear, "What do you mean, 'hung like a horse'? Julius, you weren't perving on the enemy, were you?" coming from Marcus.

I stop just long enough to hear Emily's hot retort. "Well, it's certainly better than perving on anything that looks like your ugly mug." I give off a snicker and continue on my way up the halls, remembering the time she had made sure he had an ugly mug.

I bounce up the large staircase and head in the opposite direction to our rooms. I find myself wandering the halls of the mansion, feeling light on my feet again and bouncing around. I look out every window I come across, marvelling at the view. The grounds, green as far as I can see; the sun high in the sky. Peaceful.

Suddenly, there's a very loud yell. More like a screech. But y'know, technicalities. "YOU WHAT?!" I know that voice. I stop, leaning into the rare shadow of the hallway as stomping steps can be heard coming my way.

"I've taken them under my wing, Oliver. And I've told them to behave themselves, and you should do the same, boy, or I'll have your head!" She yells after him.

"Aunty El! They're SLYTHERINS!" He scolds, I can hear them coming closer and closer, the yelling becoming louder.

"They're also human beings, Oliver!" She shouts back. They come into my view and I push myself more into the wall, not wanting to be caught in the argument, though I would love to give that good for nothing, idiotic, ridiculous, stupid arse –

"They're murderous little blighters! Who think the world should be perfect without those who aren't pure!" He spits. "Why would you want them in your house?!"

"Everyone makes mistakes, Oliver. You know that more than anyone." She says calmly. They're standing outside a door now, the one I assume is Wood's room. Eleanor waves her arms around, her hair falling from its bun. "You canna judge someone on their past!"

"I can and I will! You know how much I despise them! Yet you bring them HERE! Of all places!"

"They're SAFE here, Oliver!" She shouts back. "And whether you like it or not, they stay. They aren't going to be kicked out or treated like rubbish in MY HOUSE!" My heart warms at her words and I feel the attachment grow. "You will NOT disrespect them here, Oliver Heath Wood! They are here for a new start, a new life! You canna take it away from them!" She shouts and storms off in a rage.

Wood lets out a yell of anger and I flinch. "ARGH! DAMN THEM!" His fist connects with the stone walls and I can't help but let out a gasp. His head snaps up at the sound and his eyes search the hall until they land on me, against the shadowed wall. "What do you want?" He spits.

I scowl and step out of the shadow, calming myself. "Certainly not to be near you." I spit back, turning from him.

"Then why don't you just leave?! Go back to where you came from!" He shouts.

My blood heats up to boiling point and I feel the anger fill me. I turn around, glare fixed in place. "Do you think I want to be here, Wood?" I ask venomously. "Do you think I want to be on my knees, begging for a new start, to get away from all of that?"

"I don't think you're here for a new start," He says in the same low voice. "I don't know why you're here, but it's not good. I don't know what you're planning, but I will stop you before you can kill more of my family."

"How dare you?!" I suddenly shout, the anger getting the best of me. "You assume that we're here to what? Wreak havoc and kill you? HAH! Why can't you get it through your thick skull that we're not all EVIL!" My chest is heaving. "I've come here to get away from the prejudice, get away from everything that involves those idiotic purebloods, who think they own the world!"

"You're all the same! Liars! Bastards! How do I know you aren't here to finish the job one of your daddies started?!"

"Look, I know you've probably been hurt, and probably by someone my parents know, but I am not like that! Marcus, Emily, Helena and Adrian are NOT like that! You have no idea what we've been through. We've probably seen more horror than your small mind could ever imagine!" I screech, suddenly feeling my sanity slip away. I have no control now.

"What YOU'VE been though?! Hah! You have no idea what I'VE been through! My parents were murdered in front of my eyes! My sisters raped and my brothers decapitated! I was the only one to survive because I was shoved in a secret door!" He shouts, brown eyes filled with, what I guess is identical anger to mine.

My stomach twists, my heart panging with sympathy. But as he glares at me, I realise I'm not done yet. It was NOT my fault. "That doesn't mean we're all like that! You think that just because you've been through hell, that we can't have gone through something just as worse?" I scoff loudly. "From the age of six, I was beaten. When I was twelve, I was crucioed for refusing to use it on my sister! You're NOT the only one who has suffered!"

"You know NOTHING of suffering!" He retorts angrily. "You've only ever been beaten! I lost almost everyone I loved! I watched them die!"

"My life has been HELL because of the people who SHOULD love me! I've been so close to death, but never able to reach it, because I've been wrongfully revived! How DARE you assume I've had a good life! Not everyone has to SHOW that they've grieved, that they've been hurt so badly it's hard to breath just thinking about it! Get over yourself!"

"Why don't you just do the world a favour and finish the job?!" He spits disgustedly.

And I don't know what possessed me to do it. I really would not have a clue. My hand just moved on its own and collided with his left cheek with a painful sounding slap. And I start running, not taking the time to look at the stunned face of Oliver Wood.