Oliver, accompanied by Sean, left the gala early, claiming Healer Mayweather had ordered him to return by ten o'clock sharp. Katie didn't protest; she'd seen the way he still winced whenever he placed anything more than slight pressure on his leg and how pressing against certain spots on his torso elicited a small hiss of pain. He'd stretched his limits significantly by coming to the gala, and she didn't want to hurt him further. Once he left, she sought out either Amit or Alicia but actually found Kira first, or rather, Kira found her.

"So," said Kira, sidling up to her casually, "you and Wood are good friends then, huh?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "We were teammates at school, and now we're friends. I've been visiting him while he's been in St. Mungo's, and I didn't even know he was going to be here tonight."

This clearly wasn't the answer Kira had been hoping for, but she hid her disappointment quickly. Instead, she opted for a new channel of discussion. "What even happened to him? We were told at first that he was sick, then that there had been an accident and he wouldn't be returning for the rest of the season. Some people from the team have visited a few times, but I barely knew him. We were only teammates for a few months, and he's not the most outgoing person."

"No, he's not," agreed Katie. "He prefers to maintain privacy, especially regarding personal information." Katie looked around the room, assessing her surroundings before speaking in a low voice. "I'm telling you this because Alicia is my friend and I trust you can keep a secret." Kira nodded fervently. "Oliver was attacked by several wizards, and until the investigation has been completed, the true nature of what happened to him is being kept quiet."

Kira clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh Merlin! That's terrible!" she exclaimed. "What…I mean, is he going to recover fully?"

Katie shook her head. "It's unclear, but he's made good progress so far according to the healers. They landed some pretty nasty curses on him which made healing more difficult, but he told me he's supposed to be released sometime next week."

Kira nodded solemnly, but horror still tinged her expression. "I can't believe…Alicia never mentioned…"

"Like I said, it's being kept quiet. Alicia knows what happened, but nobody is spreading it around. I feel fine telling you because if Alicia trusts you, I trust you, and I know Oliver trusts me. Besides, it's a part of my job for now. I've been looking into the attack."

"You're being careful, then?" said Kira worriedly. Her concern touched Katie, who other than during her first encounter with Igor, hadn't felt much fear for her own safety. Nothing now compared to how it had been last year.

"Don't worry, I'm being careful. If I'm not, I have friends who are on my case immediately."

"Well, good," said Kira. "I'm glad to hear that." She hesitated before speaking again. "I also wanted to ask you a question, and I hope you won't take this the wrong way."

Suspicion coiled in the pit of Katie's stomach, but she said, "Fire away."

Kira fidgeted with the hem of her dress and her eyes slid from side to side. "Do you think…do you think Alicia is going to be ready to tell people soon?"

Oh. A pit replaced the suspicion in her stomach. "I think that's a question for Alicia."

Kira sighed. "I know, I know. I thought, maybe since you're her friend and the only one who knows about us, she might have confided something in you. I don't want to pressure her, but it's hard to hide. I don't know what she's afraid of. Plenty of Quidditch players are gay. Gwenog Jones has been with women before, publically too."

Katie placed a hand on Kira's elbow and gently guided her to a secluded area in the corner of the ballroom. She too assessed her surroundings before speaking any further. Only a rather portly gentleman with a monocle sat nearby, and his gentle snores convinced Katie he posed no threat to their privacy.

Katie looked at Kira—Merlin, she was unfairly gorgeous—and said evenly, "I don't know more than you do, Kira. She's mentioned you several times to me, and Angelina thinks you two are good friends. My friend Amit mentioned that he noticed you two weren't being particularly 'subtle,' in his words, not mine, but I think he's an especially perceptive person, so make of that what you will."

This information didn't seem to assuage any of Kira's worries, but she conjured up a smile nonetheless. "She did seem looser tonight. I think she almost cares less about people she doesn't know. What does that even mean?"

Katie shrugged uneasily, unsure of how to respond. She was saved from responding by the arrival of Amit, who had spotted her in the corner. He swept over to her and pulled her into a half hug.

"You seemed uncomfortable," he murmured into her ear.

"Thanks," she responded in a low voice, then turned to Kira. "Kira, this is my friend Amit Khan, a journalist at Wizard Sense. Amit, this is Kira Hapley, chaser for Puddlemere."

Amit shook her hand, smiling pleasantly, but Kira squinted at him, trying to puzzle something out.

"Didn't you write for Magic International before? I seem to recall your name in connection with a piece on—what was it?—the rise of illegal magical beast trading? Is that right?"

Amit regarded her appraisingly. "I'm impressed. That was several years ago, and I wouldn't expect anyone outside of the field to remember it."

"Oh no, it was an excellent piece, and I read every copy of Magic International cover to cover. I haven't seen you write anything there recently, though. Isn't Wizard Sense more of a cultural publication? There's not much in the way of politics."

"I switched over a couple of years back. I write about music now, mostly wizarding artists who are adopting more sophisticated muggle technology into their work."

"Like the Talking Banshees? They're wonderful."

Amit appeared even more impressed. "Yes, they are. I found their work when I was in school, tried to find ways to electronically play their music within Hogwarts but nearly blew something up trying to fiddle with the equipment."

Realization dawned on Kira's face. "You were that guy who nearly blew up the Slytherin common room, aren't you? I was just a second year, but someone swore you could feel the blast even in Ravenclaw tower. They were lying, of course. I was there, and you couldn't."

Amit grinned ruefully. "Not my finest hour, but not my worst either, if you can believe it or not. You know, Kira, if you ever decide Quidditch just isn't for you, come find me. Anyone who likes the Talking Banshees would probably do well at Wizard Sense."

Kira waved a hand. "I doubt I'll tire of playing Quidditch, but thank you for the offer. Oh, look there's Alicia. Alicia!" She gestured for Alicia to come over to them, and soon Alicia joined the three of them. The conversation soon devolved into a discussion over some of the newer faces at the gala, people who had been rapidly promoted in order to fill the voids left by deaths, disappearances or firings from the previous years. Both Kira and Amit were extremely well informed, Katie slightly less so, and Alicia simply nodded along with Kira. She'd never expressed any remote interest in politics beyond her support of the DA, but she remained quiet and contented herself with watching Kira. While she displayed some physical affection towards her girlfriend, her expression spoke loudest as her clear adoration poured through. Unsubtle indeed.

As the gala ended drew to a close near midnight, Katie and Alicia bade farewell to their friends and apparated back to the flat. Katie's eyes were drooping and her limbs weighed as much as several bludgers, but before she could slip into her bed, Alicia accosted her in the living room.

"Katie, will you be there when I tell Angelina?" she asked,

"About Kira? If you'd like me to be, I'm all yours Alicia," said Katie.

Alicia gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Katie. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Katie's heart sank a little. "Actually, Alicia, there's something I need to tell you too."

Alicia looked surprised, but she simply said, "Go ahead."

"I'm, uh, I'm moving to Romania. To be a healer. I'm pretty sure about this, at least I told Oliver I would be going there."

Alicia, who'd been in the middle of removing her shoes, froze. "You're taking Sean's offer?"

"I think so," said Katie.

Alicia removed her other shoe, stretching out her toes gratefully. "Is there any reasoning behind this decision? Why now? Are you sure you want to be a healer?"

Katie saw no reason to lie, so she spoke honestly. "It will be a change, but I figure, why shouldn't I try something completely new. Healing, it could be fascinating, and I always loved potions, even with Snape as the Professor. Besides, if I were in Romania, I could also work on the side at investigating Emil Petrescu, this mysterious Romanian man who's probably the reason Oliver was targeted in the first place."

Alicia gave her an unreadable look. "Romania is far away. I know you'll visit, but it's not like Ireland or Scotland or even France. It will be different."

"Different isn't always worse," replied Katie. "Things are already different. I have my job with Lee, but other than that, it's all sort of a blank slate. Now's my chance to do something crazy, something a little reckless and unfamiliar. If I can work in Romania and determine who these people are who targeted Oliver, then I think this is the right thing to do."

"If you say so," said Alicia. "I hope this decision wasn't too impulsive."

Katie thought back to the moment of her decision. Impulsive was an accurate description, but she didn't want to tell Alicia that. Instead, she said, "I've been thinking pretty hard about it. Besides, if I don't like it, I can always come back here, right?"

Alicia narrowed her eyes. "Is this because we started charging you rent? Because you're definitely going to have to pay rent in Romania as well."

"I'm not that petty," said Katie, "although it does make my decision easier."

Alicia nodded. "We'll talk in the morning. You, me, Angelina, we're going to have a serious chat, about everything. Right now, you're about to pass out, so let's get you to bed."

Katie gladly obeyed, and within seconds of her head hitting the pillows, she was asleep.

The next morning, Katie woke up with a slight headache and a very dry mouth. She rolled out of bed and into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and found both Angelina and Alicia sitting at the table, talking quietly amongst themselves. They appeared not to notice her, so she filled a glass with water before heading over to them. As she sat down, they both looked up.

"Ah, perfect," said Angelina. "Alicia said you two needed to talk to me about something." She seemed blithely unconcerned about their conversation as she sipped at her coffee. "I also want to hear about last night."

Katie glanced at Alicia, who nodded curtly. Alicia would begin.

"Actually, it's about last night. There's something I need to tell you," said Alicia.

"You already told me that," said Angelina. "Just spit it out already."

Alicia took a deep breath. "Well, you know how I sort of uninvited Lee and took Katie instead?" Angelina nodded. "I did that…well, I did that because I didn't want to hurt Lee or string him along. It's not that I don't like him as a friend or anything, but there's no way in which we ever get together."

Angelina furrowed her brow. "Is this what you sat me down to tell me? I don't care if you don't want to sleep with Lee or not."

Alicia sighed. "There's a bit more to it." She looked to Katie for encouragement, and Katie grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it reassuringly. "The reason that I will never want to be with Lee is that I will never be with any guy."

"Is this some sort of vow of chastity?" said Angelina. "Because I don't see it somehow."

"Quite the opposite," said Alicia. "I have actually been seeing someone. Her name is Kira."

"Her?" repeated Angelina. "You're saying you're dating a girl?"

"Yes," said Alicia. "That's exactly what I'm saying. We've been seeing each other for several months now."

Angelina was quiet for a long minute. Then she turned to Katie. "Did you know?" she asked her.

"I found out less than a month ago," said Katie. "She didn't actually tell me, I just walked in on her and Kira."

Angelina nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, she yelled, "What the bloody hell, Alicia?"

Alicia cowered beneath Angelina's anger, but spoke in a firm voice nonetheless. "I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I'm not breaking up with her."

Angelina stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "What the—is that why you didn't tell me? You thought I wouldn't like it?" Alicia mumbled something inaudibly, face downcast. "Alicia, I don't care if you're fucking Lee or Kira. What I care about is that you tell me! You know everything there is to know about my time with Fred and that hookup with Roger Davies and every last detail about every relationship I've ever had. I tell you everything, and I thought you did too. Now you sit here saying you've been seeing someone for months and hiding it from me? Did you really think I would, I don't know, cast you out or something just because you're dating a chick?"

"I didn't know what to think," whispered Alicia. "It's all so new to me, these feelings and Kira. I always assumed everyone just sort of went along for the ride with guys, you know. I didn't realize something was missing until I was with Kira, and then everything felt so…wonderful."

Angelina seemed pained as she spoke. "You should have talked to me, Leesh. I don't know exactly how I would have helped, but that's what friends do. We talk about our feelings—about boys and girls and parents and friends. You've been my best friend since day one. Why did you think anything would change that?"

Alicia gulped. "I'm sorry, Ange. I really am."

Angelina closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked at Katie. "And you? What do you need to talk to me about? Are you also hiding some secret relationship I don't know about?" Bitterness tinged every word.

"Nothing like that," said Katie. "I just decided last night, well, you remember how Oliver's brother offered me a spot as a trainee healer in Romania?" Angelina nodded. "I'm taking it. I'm moving to Romania, at least for a year or so for the beginning of my training."

At first Angelina seemed rather blasé about the revelation. "So that's it? That's all you have to tell me?"

"Well, sure," said Katie. "I thought that was plenty of news for one day."

"Of course. One of my best friends is moving to Romania to become a healer, despite the fact that she already has a good job here, despite the fact that St. Mungo's has an amazing training program here if you really do want to become a healer. You're just going to up and leave like it's no big deal, maybe come back in a year." The pitch of Angelina's voice rose considerably at the end.

"Ange, it's not like that. Sean is offering me a spot in his hospital, an apprenticeship with him of sorts. If I wanted to train in England, I'd have to go through a long application process. He's made an exception for me," explained Katie.

"Then wait a year! You're going to Romania? Do you even know anyone there?" she practically shouted.

"Oliver's going to be there. He's going with his brother to get away from England for a while, recuperate in a new place. I'll know him and I'll know Sean."

In retrospect, perhaps she shouldn't have mentioned Oliver. Angelina and Oliver were friends, but usually that friendship manifested itself only in between intense arguments, about Quidditch, about life, about anything. Theirs was a tempestuous relationship.

Angelina's eyes darkened. "So you're going to Romania…to follow Oliver? You're going for him?"

Now Katie stood up. "I'm not going because of him! I'm going because it's a chance to try something new, something I could be really good at. This is also a chance to keep looking into the wizards who attacked Oliver, since one of them is from Romania."

"Oliver, Oliver, Oliver. It always comes back to fucking Oliver," hissed Angelina. "Merlin, even when we were in school you always had such a soft spot for him. You put up with his shit even when you shouldn't have. He's not worth it."

"He's your friend too, Ange. Listen to what you're saying!" yelled Katie.

"Nothing comes before Quidditch for that man. The moment he can, he'll forget about you and about us and return to his beloved sport. That's what he did after Fred, right? He showed up for the memorial service, and then not a word from him. Never mind that Fred was on the same team as him for four years. Never mind the fact that we invited him several times to go out for drinks, to talk, and every time he was just too damn busy."

"Is that what's bothering you, Ange?" asked Katie quietly. "Is it still Fred?"

"Of course it's still Fred," bellowed Angelina. "I used to have five best friends. Five, amazing, wonderful friends. Then one of them died, and his brother keeps trying to follow him into the grave by drinking himself to death. Lee's swamped with taking care of George and being in love with Alicia, Alicia's been lying to me for months and now you're moving out of the country. Everyone is either lying or leaving, and I can't stand it. I can't fucking stand it."

She stormed away from the table and towards the door. Before she left, she turned around to face the two of them. "I hope you two had a wonderful time last night," she spat out. "By the way, George is missing again, and even Lee has no idea where else to look." She walked out the door, slammed it shut, and disapparated with a loud crack.

Alicia burst into tears.

Katie sighed. It was going to be a long day.

After calming Alicia down, Katie began writing several letters. The first was to Sean, telling him she accepted his offer. The second was to her parents, catching them up on her life and promising to visit before she left England. The third was to Leanne, asking if they could meet soon to discuss recent events. She would have written to Lee, but if George was indeed missing yet again, then she needed to visit him in person. Alicia left to visit Kira, while Katie flooed into Lee's flat. To her surprise, she found not just Lee but Angelina sitting in the couch in the living room. She hadn't expected Angelina to come here of all places. When Angelina saw Katie, she stiffened.

"Excuse me, Lee," she said suddenly, cutting him off. "I've just remembered I have something to do."

Angelina brushed past Katie on her way out the door before disapparating outside the limits of the flat. Katie sighed, but resigned herself to Angelina's anger for the time being. She took Angelina's spot next to Lee, whose permanent state now appeared to be combination of exhaustion and frustration.

"Angelina told me everything," said Lee. "And I mean everything."

Katie leaned back against the couch. "What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," said Lee, closing his eyes. "Absolutely nothing."

She waited a few seconds in silence before speaking. "I can still do research in Romania," she began tentatively. "I can track down everything there is to know about Emil Petrescu."

Lee opened his eyes. "If you want to do it on your own time, that's wonderful. You leaving is the least of my worries at the moment. Sure, it's a good story, but you weren't exactly the glue holding my life together. I'll manage."

"I know," she said. "It's the only thing that's under control right now, though. I can't offer you a fix for Alicia or Angelina or George."

"I don't need a fix," said Lee, sounding very, very sad. "I need it to be…sixth year again, I think. That sounds right. This was before Voldemort, before Fred, hell, even before Umbridge. My only worries were getting a date to the Yule ball and trying to outsmart Fred and George and maybe getting Krum's autograph. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"It sounds lovely," she said softly. "It sounds like a dream."

"It does, doesn't it?" he said. "Now this is my biggest problem: George figured out I put a tracking spell on him, broke it, and now I have absolutely no idea where he is. He probably feels like I betrayed him."

"You did what you had to do."

"It's not enough," he said, clenching his fist. "It never is." He put his face in his hands. "Merlin, I wish I could go to Romania."

"I thought you liked your job."

"Oh I do," he said. "But I wish I wasn't so tied down here, you know? I'm only twenty one, I should be able to go where I want to go, not have to worry about whether or not George is going to fuck up permanently this time."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not leaving for another couple weeks at least. Even after I'm gone, you can still ask me for help if you need it. I'll do everything I can."

"I know Katie," he said softly. "You're a good friend. I don't have to worry about you blowing up at me or breaking my heart."

"I can be quite the heartbreaker, I'll have you know, Jordan," she said with fake pretention.

"Even I didn't believe that," he said, smiling back. "You need to work on your lying, especially if you want to keep working for me on the side."

"I think I'll be able to do more work over there, to be honest," she said. "I've exhausted many of my contacts in London, and so many people are ignorant of anything happening outside of Great Britain."

"I'm sure," he said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to figure out what to do about George."

"Oh, if you're sure I can't help—

"I'm sure, Katie," he said, rubbing his hands against his head. "If I need any help, I'll reach out to you, I promise."

"Me before Angelina, maybe?" she suggested. "From the way she blew up at me and Alicia earlier, I'm guessing this George situation has been eating away at her for a long time."

"Her and me both," he said tiredly. "She'll come around. Angie's always had a temper—the fuse has just been a bit shorter these past few months. Keeping her away from news about George won't help, I'm afraid. The best thing for her is for him to get his head out of his ass."

Katie left feeling not particularly optimistic about either George or Angelina, though between the two, she knew Angelina would be the first to recover. Angelina had always been prone to short, fiery outbursts that fizzled away quickly. George had always been the more patient of the two twins, the slow burner. It helped him control Fred when his twin's plans threatened to cause serious harm to others, but apparently his temperament also lengthened the duration of his anger. Merlin knew how long it would take for him to regain his senses.

She returned to the flat, where only silence greeted her. Neither Alicia nor Angelina had returned yet, and in their absence, ceiling stretched high above her, the walls seemed hollow and the whole place felt cavernous. She tried cooking again, but not even the delicious smell of curry could distract her from the remnants of Angelina's fury that still echoed in the corners of the room. She ate her lunch quietly, aching for the return of her friends, any of them, but no such luck. Leanne had yet to respond to her letter, so she apparated to the one place she knew she would find a friend: St. Mungo's.

Oliver seemed surprised to see her when she walked in. He was alone for once, no Sean or Charlie or Healers. She'd run into some of his Quidditch and school friends during previous visits, but today it was just him.

"I thought you'd be sick of me after last night," he said.

"No more than usual," she replied, but without any real bite to her words. He sensed her dour mood.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Drama," she said. "Ange didn't take it well that I'm moving to Romania."

"Oh," he said. He paused, then added. "You don't have to go, you know. I'll be fine on my own."

She bit back the well of frustration that rose within her. "I'm not going for you."

"I know," he said. "But it probably helps, doesn't it? You've always been a better friend than I deserve, more than any of us deserve. A true Gryffindor," he added teasingly.

She sat down the edge of his bed, careful to avoid hitting his leg. "Why does being a good friend suck sometimes? Why can't people just sort out their problems on their own?"

"Are you actually coming to me for advice?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I'm just here to vent. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Oh, well," he said, raising his hands, "vent away."

She sighed heavily. She could tell him about George (again), about Angelina breaking down (again) or about Alicia's romantic drama. Or she could talk to him about something else. "Oliver, what's the craziest thing any Quidditch fan has ever done to you?"

"Huh?" he said. "I thought you were venting."

"Actually, I just want to hear someone distract me for a while. Talk about something else outside of my life."

He regarded her carefully, but made no comment. Instead, he launched into a story. "So my first year with Puddlemere, and mind you, I'd just been made a starter, I…"

As she listened to him talk, she thought, if nothing else, they'd do just fine in Romania.