Chapter Ten: Wickham's Tale

"So, then Professor Longbottom finally showed up. Apparently the Tentacula had given him a hard time."

"Uh huh."

"And Ariana and Jason hadn't noticed that he'd come in, so they just kept making out on top of the knotgrass."

"Uh huh."

"… and then Longbottom snapped and murdered them, along with the entire rest of the class because we were witnesses."

"Uh huh – wait, what?"

"Merlin, Lizzy, what is wrong with you today?"

I shook my head to try to focus. Charlotte was glaring at me, and I realized that I'd become distracted while she was talking.

"Nothing, nothing."

"It's that Wickham guy, isn't it? You're looking for him."

"I am not!"

I betrayed my words by casting my eyes around the snowy path again.

"You are, too. We left late, he's probably already there."

I nodded, and focused my eyes forward. Thankfully, the snow had stopped falling before we left, so I didn't have to worry about that clouding my visibility. I hadn't actually planned to meet George at Hogsmeade, per se, but there were hints okay? Hints!

"It's the last trip before winter break, Lizzy. Try to enjoy it instead of mooning over some guy you barely know."

"I am not mooning over him. And I do know him!"

"One conversation does not mean you know him."

"You weren't there, Char. He poured his heart out!"

"Uh huh. You keep saying stuff like that, Lizzy. What exactly did he tell you? And don't pretend like you don't want to, you've been bursting to tell me all week. We're finally alone. You can tell me now. And I want details."

"Okay, okay."

…..

It was a week before the Hogsmeade trip.

We had finally gotten a break in the constant snow, and I was taking advantage of the temporary lapse to be outside. I was sitting under my favorite tree by the lake, bundled up in two thick jackets, my Charms textbook open on my lap. I had my wand pointed in front of me, trying very hard to make a leaf float without saying the spell aloud. Damn silent spells.

"Hey there, Lizzy."

I screamed and whipped around, my wand now pointing at – George! Oh, gosh.

"Don't shoot!" He put his hands up in mock surrender, doing that crooked smile thing.

God, he looked so cool, leaning up against the tree like that, and here I was, screaming and pointing my wand at him like an idiot.

"Sorry! You startled me."

I lowered my wand, futilely fighting off a blush.

"Is it alright if I sight down?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course!"

I scooted over so there was room to lean against the tree trunk.

He slid down the tree, leaving one leg stretched in front of him, and the other bent at the knee. He rested his arm against it, which very conveniently pushed up his bicep.

"So, what are you studying?"

"Um, Charms. Silent spells."

We made small talk for a little, while I tried to think of something cool to say, but for some reason my normally conversational mind was drawing a blank. Probably because all I could think was how the hell do you know Darcy?

Definitely not something I wanted to just blurt out, though my curiosity radar was on full alert. Thankfully, he actually brought it up himself! Like he knew I was just itching to ask.

"So, you know William Darcy, huh?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

George laughed. "Thank goodness! I was afraid you were friends and I was gonna have to pretend not to hate his guts!"

"Fat chance. He's an insufferable, egomaniacal jerkass."

"Wow. You know, I've rarely met anyone who felt the same way about him as I do."

"Really? Seems like everyone would hate him."

"Not everyone is as sharp as you, Lizzy," he winked. "Or as pretty." Hoo, boy.

My formerly receding blush was now back. I wasn't normally one to be flustered by compliments, but I rarely received such blatant ones from guys I actually liked –

…..

"Ha! I knew you liked him!"

"Char, I'm telling a story here."

"Right, sorry."

"Anyway, as I was saying; I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just laughed a little and got back to the topic."

…..

"I know him because my sister is dating his best friend, but how did you have the misfortune to make his acquaintance?"

His smiling expression dissolved into a darker one, and looked away from me out towards the lake.

"It's a… it's a long story. I don't want to forever ruin your chances of getting along with the guy."

"Noble thought, but they were ruined within five minutes of meeting him, trust me."

His dark expression lightened a bit, and he settled back more against the tree trunk.

"So, you really don't know that much about him, do you?"

"Not really. Just that he's rich, he's Bingley's best friend, and he's got a little sister. And that he's an asshole."

George grinned. "It really is nice to have someone share my opinion."

"Yeah. I guess no one else really seems to hate him as much as I do. Anyway, on with the story! How do you know Darcy?"

"Alright, alright," he chuckled a bit at my impatience. "His father is my godfather. We've known each other since we were babies. You seem surprised – we didn't exactly greet each other like old friends, did we? Well, you know I don't like him, but he hates me even more than I hate him, I imagine. "

"Why?"

"To put it bluntly, it was because his father loved me more than him. And I understand that's gotta hurt a person, especially a little kid, so I suppose I understand somewhat. But I didn't even realize until much later that I was his dad's favorite, so it's not like I flaunted it or anything. Anyway, my dad was Darcy's dad's best friend, and he died when I was eleven, the summer before me and Darcy's first year – it's okay, Lizzy, it was a long time ago. Since Mr. Darcy was my godfather, and he loved me, he took me in. Darcy hated that. He tried to convince his dad not to, said I would destroy the home or something like that. Of course, Mr. Darcy didn't listen to him, and that made Darcy furious. Needless to say, we didn't get along well, though I always tried to be nice to him for his father's sake. And Darcy did put on a good front when his father was around, but that wasn't that often; he works a lot. But Georgiana, his little sister, adored me, so I usually had a friendly face around. I used to go back there during every break, like it was my home, too."

He frowned, staring off across the lake again.

I let him lose himself in his thoughts for a moment, then asked: "Used to?"

"Yeah. Two years ago, my fifth year, Darcy finally got his wish, and convinced his father I was unworthy of his love and home."

My heart sped up. Oh, god, what did he do?

"I'll admit, I wasn't exactly an angel, but I never did anything really bad, you know? I skipped class sometimes, I forgot to do assignments, I snuck out of the common room after hours. That doesn't make me a bad person though, right?"

"Of course not! I do that, too."

He smiled at me. "Anyway, one night, a friend of mine dared me to sneak into Hogsmeade, using this secret passage – you know, the one behind the one-eyed witch, that was supposed to have been sealed up? It's not. He wanted me to bring back something from Zonko's as proof that I'd done it. So, being a sixteen year old kid, I couldn't refuse a dare. It wasn't curfew yet, so I could still walk around the castle without getting in trouble. Once I got close to the one-eyed witch, guess who I ran into?"

"Darcy?"

"Yes, but not the one you're thinking of; it was Georgiana. She still liked me, even if her brother didn't. She actually had a crush on me, I think, and she was happy to see me in the hall. She wanted to know what I was doing, and if she could go with me. And I really hate to speak ill of another Darcy, since their father was so kind to me, but she is headed the same way as her brother, personality wise. Very proud, stubborn, self-interested. So, when I told her no, she couldn't come with me this time, she was not pleased. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I went to the statue, she followed me, all the way through the path, keeping behind me just enough so that I wouldn't see her if I turned around.

"Once I got out of the tunnel and out of Honeydukes, which was just closing up, she came out with me, and was very pleased with managing it. I realized then that I'd have to get her back to the castle, but when I tried to get her to go back, she threw a fit. Screaming and crying, and the kicker was that she busted out her wand and lobbed a fire ball at Zonko's."

I gasped. "I remember hearing a rumor about a break in at Zonko's in my fourth year!"

George nodded soberly. "Yeah, that would be the one. She didn't really know what she had done, just stared at the building, and I tried to put it out, but I'll let you in on something: I am terrible with charms. I couldn't contain it. That alerted the shop owners of course, and basically the entirety of Hogsmeade, so there was no way to get away at that point. We were caught."

"Oh my god. What happened?"

"The Headmaster flooed to Hogsmeade himself to come get us. He was furious. He walked with us back to the castle in silence, to punish us I think – make us wait longer to find out what our real punishment would be. And Georgiana was in tears by that point, basically incoherent, because she finally realized some of what she'd done. When we got to the castle, he started in on yelling at us – you know how Professor Forster can be - and threatening expulsion.

"We got just outside his office, and guess who was waiting for us in front of the entrance?"

"Darcy?"

"Bingo. He was furious, though you might not have known it by looking at him. Guy retains his outward calm, but I knew him well. His eyes were practically black. As soon as he saw Georgiana, he rushed over to her, making sure she was okay, and the Headmaster seemed so surprised to find him there that he didn't say anything. I'm still not sure how he knew we'd be there, actually. I assume one of the teachers must have been with Forster when he found out, and told Darcy about it."

He paused here, and looked at me; his eyes seemed to be searching mine. "Are you sure you want to hear this next part? This is the part where Darcy basically ruined my life."

"I'm sure, George. I can handle it."

He smiled slightly, and sighed heavily.

"Now, I'm not sure if Darcy actually believed what he said, or whether it was just to get back at me for being preferred by his father. I lean towards the latter, but you know, maybe he really thought this was what happened. Before I or Georgiana could say anything, he asked Forster what he knew so far, and, I don't know if I told you this before, but Darcy's dad is very influential in the Ministry. He's really high up in the International Confederation of Wizards, and Forster knows this of course, so he treated Darcy with more deference than I think he would normally have.

"He told Darcy that he'd caught me and Georgiana vandalizing Hogsmeade, basically, and this made Georgiana cry even more. Darcy glared at me the entire time, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone look so cold. The expression in his eyes was scary, I'll be honest. Once Forster was finished, Darcy calmly explained that I had tricked Georgiana into going out there with me to get her in trouble, and couldn't he see how distressed Georgiana was? She'd clearly been manipulated, and she was just a child after all, blah blah blah.

"Forster believed it all, of course. Georgiana was quite young, and her tears probably helped her case. But there was no proof, Forster said, and we'd both been out there, and there was a lot of building damage that it was going to take more than magic to repair. Darcy said his father would pay for all the damages if Georgiana wouldn't be expelled. At the mention of Darcy's father, Forster agreed."

"So what happened to you?"

George turned sad eyes back on to me again. "Mr. Darcy disowned me."

My horror must have shown in my expression, because George schooled his features. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel sorry for me, Lizzy."

"Well, it can't really be helped, can it?" I put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he smiled a bit. "So, I take it that means Darcy's father believed his little story about what happened?"

"Oh, yeah. Forster flooed his message to him right away, you know when you stick your head in the fireplace? And Mr. Darcy flooed over all the way from India. I'm not sure he would have believed Darcy, except there was more than his word working against me. The headmaster believed it too, and I had been having some problems at school – nothing major, but it looked bad when you stacked it up with this. Georgiana just nodded along with everything Darcy said –"

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I tried, once I was allowed to get a word in edgewise. I tried to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, to spare Georgiana and Darcy from blame in front of their father, but when they asked me to explain fully, I couldn't. Georgiana was only a first year at the time, and I knew that if Forster ended up believing me, she'd be in huge trouble. I didn't want to ruin her life when she was just a kid."

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my rage at Darcy under control enough to continue the conversation. "So, what did Mr. Darcy do?"

"Well, once it became clear that they all believed Darcy's version of events, he turned to me with the most betrayed look on his face; you have no idea how much that hurt me. He thought I had manipulated his daughter, and betrayed him and his son. He spoke to Forster, but he was looking at me the entire time with that angry, hurt look on his face. He told him that yes, he'd pay for all the damages, and that he wanted this kept as quiet as possible, and that meant not expelling either of us. Darcy looked upset that I wouldn't get expelled, but he didn't want word getting out that Georgiana had done something like this, whether he thought she'd been manipulated or not. Forster agreed, but said he'd have to punish us. He'd say we were only caught sneaking out in the castle, and gave Georgiana two weeks detention, and me three months –"

"Oh my god!"

"I know. But I would have gladly spent the rest of my life in detention if I could have avoided what Mr. Darcy said to me next. His eyes went cold, and I knew at that moment that I'd never see his affectionate expression again. He told me to never come to his house again, to never speak to him or his children again, and consider myself formally disowned.

"And then, once he left, and we were back out in the hall, Darcy sent Georgiana on ahead of him, and turned to have it out with me."

"Merlin, what else could he possibly hope to do to you?"

George chuckled darkly. "Just wanted to rub salt in the wounds, I suppose. He said if I ever went near his sister again, he didn't care what he'd have to do, but he'd get me expelled and make sure every witch and wizard in the country knew what a scoundrel I was."

I couldn't decide what I felt more at the moment; anger at Darcy or sympathy for George. I gave up trying to decide and gave in to both.

"I am so sorry, George. I can't imagine what that must have been like."

He shrugged. "Aw, you know. You can't let stuff get you down for too long. I still miss Mr. Darcy sometimes, but … I feel better having talked about. Thanks for making me open up."

He gave me a smile, which I returned. The way his head was titled, he was so close to me… I thought for a moment he was going to kiss me, and my heart sped up at the possibility, not sure if it was something I wanted yet. But he just turned back to the lake.

…..

"Gees… that was some story."

"Yep."

"So, then what did you talk about?"

"Oh, you know… just stuff."

I blushed furiously, but turned my head away from Charlotte, hoping she wouldn't see. I didn't want to tell her that we had basically flirted shamelessly for the next five minutes. Not because I didn't want her to know, but it just seemed strange to say. Eventually he left, but not before saying he might see me at Hogsmeade.

We had reached the entrance to the village by now, and I scanned my eyes around briefly, but I didn't see George.

"See what an asshole Darcy really is now?"

Charlotte lifted an eyebrow. "Lizzy, how can you be sure everything George said is true?"

"How can you even ask that? I can tell, Charlotte. I can read people, and George was so… so full of emotion and, and… just, I know Charlotte. It goes along with everything I thought Darcy was before. I see no reason to doubt his honesty. Besides, what possible motivation could he have for lying?"

"I don't know, Lizzy. Just try to remember that you don't know the guy that well.

I was saved from replying by the appearance of Jane, who had noticed us as we passed by the Three Broomsticks and came running out, smiling.

"Jane! Where's Bingley?"

"Oh, he's inside with Darcy and Caroline."

Her smile didn't reach her eyes quite as much as it usually did, and she glanced back at the door, as if contemplating it.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"What? Oh, no, no! Charlie was just a little preoccupied today. He's probably just worried about an exam. I asked him if he wanted to come meet up with you guys, but he said he'd rather stay inside, and that I should go on ahead if I wanted to.

"So, where are we off to?" Her not-quite-right smile widened, and I decided distraction would be the best route for her, anyway.

"Let's just walk around, stay outside for a little –" I ignored Charlotte's eye roll at what she perceived to be my transparent motives "- I have got such a story to tell you!"

…..

"Oh, Lizzy! Surely, it has to be some sort of misunderstanding!"

I laughed; that was exactly the reaction I'd expected from Jane.

"I don't know about a misunderstanding," Charlotte said. "But I do think Lizzy may be a teensy bit biased because she's so hot for George's body –"

"Hey! That has nothing to –"

"Oh, definitely," Jane giggled, eyes sparkling. "Pretty easy to see that, Lizzy."

I glowered as we walked along. I had given Jane the abridged version of the story, so we had only reached the Hog's Head by the time I'd finished. I hadn't seen George on the street, so I suppose he must have been in one of the shops, and we didn't see him when we glanced into the windows.

"Miss Lizzy!"

Oh, come on.

"Lizzy. Just Lizzy," I grumbled, turning to see Collins running towards us, the ear flaps of his hat flapping ridiculously. Too bad they weren't bigger, he could have become airborne.

"Miss Lizzy, I am so glad I caught you –"

"Bill! Seriously, please just call me Lizzy! Just use people's names, okay?"

He looked shocked, and I almost felt bad for my outburst, but come on, can you blame me? It was getting seriously annoying.

"Not everyone is as formal as you, Bill," Charlotte said gently. "Just try it."

Bless her. Seriously. How she managed to keep her calm and get people to do what she wanted, I wish I knew.

"Alright, Lizzy," he chocked comically over the word. "Hello Jane, Charlotte."

Jane gave him an encouraging thumbs up, and I even managed a grimace. He turned to me and started anew.

"Lizzy," he began, straightening his posture unnecessarily. "I believe the Gryffindor Christmas party is approaching next week, and –"

"George!"

In my excitement at seeing him, I yelled much louder than I needed to, and he turned around, surprised, and smiled when he saw me. He was just exiting the Hogs Head, and he walked quickly over to us. I ignored Collins' confusion, and Jane and Charlotte's barely restrained giggling.

"Hey, Lizzy," he looked uncertainly at the others.

"Ah, Mr – er, George!" Collins winked at me after his deliberate use of first name only, and I cringed. "I believe we were introduced briefly not too long ago!"

"Er… yeah… I recognize you from my Herbology classes, though."

"Ah, yes! How could I forget? Those class sessions spent outdoors – Catherine DeBourgh always says that getting outdoors on occasion is of the utmost importance –"

"Bill!" Charlotte said loudly. He turned to her, startled. "Why don't you escort Jane and I over to the Three Broomsticks?"

"Well –"

Without giving him a chance to answer, Charlotte grabbed him by the arm and began tugging him away. Jane looked startled as well, but at Charlotte's rather obvious nod in my direction, she seemed to get it, and grabbed Collins' other arm to help drag him away. He was still talking to me as he went.

"Goodbye, Lizzy! I hope to see you this Saturday! I remember dancing being a rather time-honored tradition at these types of festivities and –"

At last, he was too far away to hear, and I turned back to George, blushing and hoping he didn't mistake my association with Collins. But he just looked slightly bemused, and then grinned at me.

For lack of anything else to say, I gestured vaguely forward. "You want to walk that way, too?"

"Sure," he nodded agreeably, and we were off, walking at a slower pace than Charlotte and Jane, who were practically running as they pulled Collins along.

"I forgot the Christmas parties were coming up," he said after a moment.

"Right…" Ask him Lizzy. "Well, you know… I know Slytherin is having one too and all, but that's on a different day, so I… there's always a lot of other people from other houses at ours, and it might not really be your scene, but… are you gonna go?"

"Do you want me to go?" He asked, with a sly smile on his face that led me to believe he knew the answer.

I wonder what it's like not to blush all the time.

"Er… well, it should be a lot of fun, and you're… definitely invited!"

Get it together, Lizzy, just tell him to come!

"I mean…"

"I'd love to come," he chuckled, interrupting my ramblings. I sighed in relief. But then a thought occurred to me.

"Oh… I should warn you, Darcy is probably going to be there. Bingley and Jane are going, and the guy goes everywhere with Bingley, I swear. I understand if you don't want to run into him."

"Nah," George shrugged. "He's the one who totally screwed me over. He might have a reason not to want to see me, but I have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm not gonna let him stop me from going to a party with a gorgeous gal."

"Great!" I said loudly, hoping I didn't sound as flustered as I felt.

We made it to outside the Three Broomsticks, and I was about to invite him to come inside, when it occurred to me that Darcy was likely still in there, and I thought maybe I shouldn't push it. I couldn't come up with anything to say, and he just stood there smiling at me. Was it my imagination or was he inching closer?

"Lizzy!"

I wish I had an invisibility cloak.

"Yes, Lydia?"

My youngest sister had just popped her head out the door of the tavern, grinning almost maniacally.

"You've got to get in here, you'll never believe what Kitty is – oh, hello!"

Her grin somehow widened even more as she caught sight of George. Oh, boy. Lydia and hot guys were a rather dangerous combination.

"Who is this?" she addressed the question to me, but her eyes were all for George. He smiled politely at her.

"George Wickham," I said reluctantly. "George, this is my little sister, Lydia."

"Nice to meet you, George," she practically purred, stepping all the way out from the door to offer her hand. George glanced at me, and I gave him an apologetic shrug, before he shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Lydia."

"Lydia, I'll be in in a minute, okay?" I told her, when she showed no signs of leaving. She looked at me then, and huffed dramatically, recognizing the dismissal.

"Fine. See you around, George," she waved her fingers before strutting back inside.

"Sorry about her," I said contritely.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'd better get headed back to the castle –"

"Already? We've still got an hour, are you sure you don't want to stay?"

He looked at the door, and I thought I saw something in his expression shift for a minute… darken, almost. But a second later I decided I had only imagined it. I was about to tell him we didn't have to go in there, but he spoke first. "No, I don't like it much. I prefer the Hogs Head – I know it's seedier, but it's much quieter. I like to be able to think while I drink my butterbeer."

Damn, that sounds sophisticated. What a freaking package.

"Well, I'll see you at the party, right?"

"But of course, madam!" He grabbed my hand then, and bent over it to kiss it.

"It's at 8 o'clock on Saturday!" Yeah, my voice was definitely a little squeakier than usual.

"I'll be there."

And with that he turned and walked off into the gathering snow.

A/N: Phew! This chapter ended up being longer than the others. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews! :)