Oliver paced up and down the corridor outside the main recording studio, looking for all the world like a father waiting impatiently for his child to be born. Having no knowledge of anything to do with the music industry, whether magical or Muggle, he did not have a clue how long this process would last. He had sent off an owl to Sirius telling him the news but he knew that it would be a few days before he got a reply. Alison, for her part, had been too nervous to think of sending her father an owl. Indeed, it was only when Oliver reminded her that she realized that normal people ate lunch at around one o'clock in the afternoon. Not that she could be blamed. He had glanced into the studio, just before Alison had entered, and it seemed like a Muggle lovers dream come true. The room was filled with various metal objects that had looked completely foreign to Oliver. Alison, on the other hand, strode into the room with her head held high and the first thing that she did was enquire about the specifications of one oblong metal object. Oliver had caught the impressed look that flitted across the face of the "music people" as he called them, and he had felt a sudden surge of pride.
Now, nearly two hours later, the pride was fading fast and was being replaced by anxiety. He had made more than five trips to the little coffee shop at the end of the corridor, but the caffeine in the coffee did not seem to be working its wonders anymore. He had only just reached the decision to make one last trip to the coffee shop before enquiring after Alison, when the door opened and she walked out followed by the three Weird Sisters. When she saw Oliver, she smiled warmly at him.
'You didn't have to wait for me, you know…I'm sure Jason is wondering why you're not at practice,' she said.
'Yeah, well, I told him that it was important that I be here to support you in your time of need,' replied Oliver, before wrapping his arms around her and brushing his lips against her forehead.
Alison giggled and was about to say something in way of a retort when she heard Celesta clearing her throat. Staying put in Oliver's tight embrace, she turned to look at the three famous singers.
'We are aware that you and Oliver probably cannot wait to get home and *ahem* celebrate, but we thought that you would like to know that the song will be premiering on the WWN tonight at nine,' said Celesta, raising her eyebrows so high that they were almost lost in her sleek black hair.
Aghast, Oliver broke in, 'Whoa…wait just one second…do you mean to tell me that I, as Alison's boyfriend, don't get to hear this song until its broadcasted on the WWN?!?! How is that fair??'
Giggling, Alison draped her arm around his waist, and whispered coyly, 'Patience, my love, is a virtue that you have yet to master…'
'Well, perhaps you could teach me once we get home…' whispered back Oliver, a grin playing on his lips.
*****
Alison felt for the keys to the front door in the pockets of her jeans, but she couldn't seem to find them. Cursing under her breath, she began the search again. Trying not to smirk at her, Oliver pulled out his wand and pointing it at the door, muttered, 'alohomora'. Slightly annoyed, more at herself than at Oliver, she pushed the door open but before she could step into the house, Oliver had grasped her around the waist and pulled her towards him. she opened her mouth to try and voice her amusement at the fact that he couldn't even wait till they were within the privacy of their own house, but before the words could alight from her lips, Oliver pressed his finger against them. Alison closed her eyes as his lips took the place of his finger and his fingers in turn, began to caress her back. Without warning, he swept her off her feet and carried her across the threshold and into the house, managing at the same time, to kick the front door shut. When their lips broke apart, he murmured a spell under his breath and a beautiful red rose blossomed on his fingertips. Holding the stem of the rose between his teeth, he made as if to carry her into the bedroom, but managed to make it only as far as the living room couch. Gently, he placed her on the soft upholstery. Removing the rose from between his teeth, he ran its petals down the side of her face, inciting an involuntary spasm of pleasure to course through Alison's body. He lowered his lips to hers, caressing, exploring her tender skin. He felt her arms encircle his body and pull him onto her, but did nothing to resist. The kisses grew more urgent and the caresses more intimate with time. Oliver's mind was spinning, he was lost in a fog and he couldn't care less, but suddenly, suddenly, the sound of a door being slammed shut cleared the fog from his mind and his finely tuned Quidditch instincts took over. He attempted to roll off the couch at the very same instant that Alison tried to sit up, and as a result, Oliver went flying into a nearby vase, cracking it in half. The very next second, Alison registered with horror the presence of another wizard in the house, but before she could reach her wand, the two people she had least expected to see came bounding into the living room to see her; her father and uncle Remus.
They both stopped short when they saw both Alison and Oliver's tousled appearances. Alison looked fairly presentable with the exception of her hair that looked very similar to a large porcupine. Oliver, on the other hand, did not look quite so decent. The buttons on his shirt had either been undone or ripped off. His belt was draped across the top of the lamp, its buckle glinting in the light. Like Alison, his hair too, was a mess. As the two father figures in Alison's life took this all in, Alison and Oliver exchanged sheepish grins. Sirius sat down heavily in the nearest armchair, and Remus followed suit almost immediately. A bit unsteady as a result of his head hitting the vase, he walked over to where Alison was sitting, still in a state of shock and embarrassment, and sat down beside her.
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, Oliver chirped, 'How GOOD to see you…what a PLEASANT surprise!' His voice sounded awfully high pitched, even to Oliver himself and as both Sirius and Remus could see quite plainly from the expressions of the young couple that the surprise had been anything but pleasant, this statement went down like a lead balloon. Oliver noticed the slightly thundery expression on Sirius's face and opened his mouth again to try and rectify the damage but before he could say anymore, Alison placed her hand on his and subsequently, Oliver closed his mouth again. Remus took a deep breath and then muttered, 'I told Sirius we should have sent an owl first.'
'Yeah, yeah, but I figured that she would be happier to see me if I dropped in unannounced,' growled back Sirius.
'I AM happy to see you, dad…its just that you took me by surprise. I would have cleaned up, made dinner and that sort of thing,' retorted Alison.
'I don't know what I was expecting…but you're old enough to be responsible for your own actions and make your own decisions…' said Sirius, more to himself than to Alison. Alison grinned and replied, 'Yeah, well, its my decision that we have pasta tonight.'
Sirius smiled fondly at his only daughter and Remus leaned over and hugged Alison. Surprised, she asked, 'What was that for?'
'Maybe we got it wrong, but I was under the impression that you just got a major singing contract…' replied Remus, a little taken aback.
'Oh, THAT! Yeah, it was incredible!' squealed Alison in excitement. Oliver threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. The four talked for through the evening and Remus had them all in stitches of laughter as he recounted the tale of how his parents had caught him in a pub one night and not recognized him on account of the fact that they were so tipsy that they could barely walk. Sirius even told them how mortified he had been when he realized that Alison's mother, his girlfriend had heard him talking about her to James. 'I never lived that one down,' he wheezed through his laughter.
At nine that night, the four of them settled down around the radio set to listen to the premiering of the "latest single by the Weird Sisters, featuring the new sound of Alison Adams!" as the show host proclaimed in what could only be described as a highly animated voice. Alison smiled sheepishly at her father when the host said the word "Adams" but before she could explain to her father why she had thought it best not to use the name Black, he smiled at her and she realized, with utmost relief, that he understood completely. Alison hadn't heard the fully edited version of the song yet, but as she heard the opening chords, her heart began to flutter in anticipation. She studied her companions' expressions but to her disappointment, they were inscrutable. She tried to ignore the sounds of her own voice pouring into the room, but when the three Weird Sisters joined in for the chorus of "Voulez-vous couchez avec moi?', she had to look up at her father to see his reaction. An incredulous look on his face, he glanced at her, but if Alison had been having any misgivings about agreeing to sing this particular song, they evaporated into thin air as the look of astonishment on her father's face was replaced by a look of pride. Remus and Oliver, on the other hand, remained stony faced until the song had ended, and the host asked for the listeners to send in their opinions of the new song.
The first caller, a Scottish girl by the name of Charlotte, squealed her approval of the song. 'It is incredible…definitely their best song yet. Its so upbeat and catchy, I can just tell it's going to be a huge, huge hit!'
'And the new singer, Alison Adams…what do you think of her?' asked the host, and Alison held her breath.
'She is an AMAZING singer. What a voice! She's got talent, and shed loads of it. And with a song as good as this as her first single, I think she's got a great future.'
Alison's heart soared at this evaluation and when Oliver squeezed her hand, and whispered, 'she's right…you've got an incredible voice,' her happiness knew no bounds. Remus smiled broadly at her, and for once, seemed to be at a loss for words, and so instead just hugged her tightly. Sirius, in complete contrast, was much more vocal in his approval. Alison wondered if he could have been more excited had it been him singing on the radio. She reached out to turn off the radio, but Oliver knocked her hand away from the dial. 'I want to hear what the rest of the world thinks of my girlfriend, the singing sensation,' he proclaimed proudly. And so they listened, for close to an hour, as listener after listener praised Alison and commended the Weird Sisters on finding such untapped natural talent. No sooner had the show ended than the head of Celesta Weird appeared amid the flames in the fireplace.
