Oliver's eyes fluttered open in shock as he heard her voice in his ear. His first thought was that he was hallucinating again, that the stress of the upcoming World Cup was pushing him round the bend. But then he heard another person's voice and his mind snapped to attention. The voices weren't really in the room, he realized. They were coming from the WWN. Oliver held his breath as he listened to the voice that he had come to know better than he knew his own.
"How does it feel to be back in the UK again?" the interviewer asked.
"To be honest, I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it until I got in this morning"
"What would you say you missed the most?"
Oliver held his breath, hoping against all hope that she would mention him somewhere, anywhere, even in the most negative sense, just as an acknowledgement of his existence. But he was bitterly disappointed with her response.
"English breakfasts!" replied Alison, without the slightest hesitation. "Bacon, and eggs and toast dripping with butter"
"And not a certain someone? A certain Quidditch player, perhaps?" probed the interviewer.
Alison's tone, that until then had been relaxed and friendly, took on a distinctly chilly edge. "I assume you are referring to my former relationship with Oliver Wood. I've said this a thousand times before, but obviously I haven't made it clear enough. So let me say this again. Oliver Wood and I were never in love. It was a purely physical relationship that ended because the both of us decided that the chemistry between us had faded. And no, it is not about to be rekindled simply because I'm going to stand on the same Quidditch field as he is for about five minutes."
"Indeed…then perhaps it is safe to assume that your pregnancy was the result of this "purely physical relationship" as you call it going awry?"
There was a stunned silence that seemed to stretch for an eternity.
"Perhaps," mused the interviewer smugly, "Perhaps you didn't understand the question…or perhaps you are wondering how and when your well kept secret was unearthed."
Oliver sat up in bed and waving his wand, muttered a spell under his breath. Immediately, Alison's voice grew louder, and Oliver felt an irrational rage towards the interviewer as he heard Alison's voice trembling.
"The answer to the second question does intrigue me…""An anonymous source from the hospital you were admitted at provided us with the information, in exchange for a princely sum of money, it must be said…Now let me ask again, was the pregnancy a result of your relationship with Oliver Wood? Or was there another man…another man that might have been the cause behind the disintegration of your relationship with Oliver Wood."
"There was no other man–"
Oliver didn't wait to hear the rest. With a swift jab of his wand, he turned off the WWN. He couldn't believe that after all of these years she was still clinging to the same lie she had told five years earlier.
He stood up and marched to the door, pulled it open and then made his way down the corridor to Cedric's room.
*How could he have not told me about Alison being back in the country?* he fumed inwardly.
*Because he was worried you would react exactly the way you're reacting right now…like a total maniac* he answered himself.
*And how could she lie …on the air? How could she still be lying after all this time?*
*Maybe she's not lying…maybe she was telling the truth the whole time…maybe the child WAS yours. It has been known to happen. Maybe you were in the wrong!* his conscience countered.
Oliver stopped in midstride halfway along the corridor to Cedric's room. In the past five years, he had never let himself go far enough along this path to reach this conclusion. He leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
*But I can't be wrong…I heard Brett talking to Mark about Alison. I heard them!* he insisted. Even after all these years, he could hear the conversation in his head. He straightened up and shook his head.
*I wasn't wrong. She did sleep with Brett…and even if the child was mine, she WAS unfaithful to me…so I cant have been wrong.*
With that, he began his purposeful march back to Cedric's room, fully intending to demand why he hadn't been informed of Alison's presence in England.
*****
"There was no other man. I would never do that to Oliver–"Alison's voice broke, and she could feel the tears threatening to overwhelm her.
"You say that the thought of cheating on Oliver never crossed your mind? And yet, you insist that yours was a purely physical relationship with no emotional strings attached?", the reporter persisted.
Alison hesitated. She realized that whatever she said now would be of little consequence. The damage had already been done and she could only hope that fewer people had been listening to the show than had been predicted.
"Was your relationship with Oliver Wood a physical one, or an emotional one?", asked the interviewer again.
"It was a physical relationship that was based on a friendship that we had established when we were at school together. That's all I have to say on the matter" Alison finally replied.
"How convenient" mused the interviewer, letting that statement hang in the air for a few seconds. "Unfortunately", and for the first time, she truly sounded apologetic, "that is all the time we have today. This is Cindy Davenport for WWN, signing off."
Alison stormed out of the room without bothering to bid farewell to Cindy. Paul, who had been sitting outside said nothing as he followed her out of the building and into the street. As they walked along in silence, Paul chanced a glance at Alison and saw, to his distress that she was clenching and unclenching her jaw furiously. Her hands were balled into fists, and Paul could see the muscles in her arms tensing. In the five years that he had known her, he couldn't remember her ever being as distraught. Not that she didn't have good reason.
"I'm sure nobody would have heard that broadcast" said Paul reassuringly.
"I can't believe we didn't see that question coming, Paul!" snarled Alison.
"Well, in all fairness Ally, I didn't know that you were ever pregnant," he hesitated and then decided to forge ahead. "After all, I know next to nothing about your life in England. I don't know who your friends were, if you were an alcoholic…I don't even know why you left Oliver. And then there's the huge mystery with your father, the father whom you claim to love and yet…yet, you avoid him like the plague. The prospect of seeing him again seems to fill you with nothing but dread."
He stopped and looked at Alison. He took her hand and whispered, "You're running, Alison. Anyone can see that…but how do you expect me to help you when I don't know what you're running from."
Alison pulled her hand away from Paul's and attempted a watery smile.
"I guess I like having a friend who knows nothing about my past" she joked, but when she saw the serious expression on Paul's face, she added, "not yet, Paul…I'm not ready to tell you just yet…but I will…soon, but just not yet."
She walked on ahead of him. Watching her retreating back, Paul muttered, "and I will wait patiently, just like I have been for the past five years. All I hope is that you're worth it, Alison Adams."
*****
