Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't make money unfortunately.
A/N: This little cookie was prepared not long after OotP came out. It's a missing scene that I thought would be nice to write. But it's not fluffy or romantic. Mainly because during OotP Harry was busy mooning over Cho and being an angst-ridden teen.
At the end I've included a little peek at the next chapter of 'Aren't Little Girls Made of Sugar and Spice?', which is my full-length H/A fic. If you enjoy these cookies you should give the real thing a try.
Angelina had just put the team through another gruelling training session and Alicia was trudging in the general direction of the changing room. As she pushed the door open she heard a familiar voice.
"Harry, is it possible to pull every muscle at once?"
Alicia entered to see Ron lying on a bench as Harry packed his Quidditch gear back into his bag.
"Feeling a little sore, Ronniekins?" she cooed. Ron sat up quickly and, upon seeing it was only Alicia, lay back down.
"Don't call me Ronniekins," he said automatically. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. I thought you were bloody Angelina coming to tell me to do another lap of the pitch. You're absolutely sure she's not trying to do us all in?"
"Don't worry, Ron, your body will become desensitised to the torture soon and you'll just feel numb. Right, Harry?"
Harry looked over at Alicia. "Uh, sorry?"
"Never mind. Are you all right?" She frowned at Harry and took a seat by him. "You didn't get another week of detention with Umbridge did you? Angelina will kill you."
He shook his head and turned his back to her. Ron looked over and gave him a meaningful look. "No, I just finished my last lot of detentions last night."
"That's good. Just make sure you don't get anymore," she said as she pulled off her sweaty training robes. "It's absolutely impossible to live with Angelina at - Harry, what's this?"
"What's what?" he said urgently, without turning around.
Ron sat up and paled as Alicia pulled Harry's glove from his bag. She peered inside it. "There's blood in your glove!"
"Blood? Really?" Harry laughed weakly. "I wonder where that came from."
"Show me your hands, Potter."
"No, thank you."
"It wasn't a request, Harry."
He sighed and turned around. His right hand had a blood soaked handkerchief wrapped around it. "I cut my hand accidentally. It's really nothing."
"I don't think so, mister! That looks serious."
"You're an expert?" he demanded angrily.
"My mother's a Healer at St Mungo's and that's going to need treatment or it will scar. We can go right up to Madam Pomfrey now."
"No way. I've already been through this with Ron and Hermione."
"It's true," Ron put in helpfully. "He got into a right strop about it."
Harry glared at his best friend then turned back to Alicia. "My hand will be fine."
"Perhaps I should tell Angelina. I'm sure she'd like to know that her star Seeker is injured. She'll put you in a full-body bind and drag you to the hospital wing if she has to."
Harry's face reddened as his ire rose. "Look, it's really none of your business!"
"Probably not," she agreed calmly. "But you can't go around losing blood. Even you should know that's dangerous. At least let me bandage it properly."
Harry looked down at the blood soaked handkerchief. "Fine. I'll let you bandage it but you can't say anything to anyone."
"Deal. Sit down and take off that disgusting rag," she said briskly. "Ron, get the first aid kit from the Captain's office."
Ron limped off to retrieve the kit and Alicia helped Harry peel away the handkerchief. "Lord, that's a nasty cut. Looks deep, too."
"Here you go," Ron mumbled and dropped the kit in Alicia's lap. He slumped back over to the bench and collapsed onto it gratefully.
"It'll only take a second," she assured him. She placed his hand delicately on her leg and fished around in the kit for some gauze.
There was a loud snort from Ron at this point and Harry realised his hand was on Alicia's thigh. He shot Ron a warning look and he stifled a giggle. Alicia carefully picked up Harry's hand and began to dab at it to remove some of the dry blood. "You have nice hands. Big enough to make a handy Chaser or Keeper," she commented airily.
"Well, you know what they say about guys with big hands."
"Ron!" Harry interrupted quickly.
"I thought that was feet, not hands." Alicia smiled and shook her head. She went back to work on Harry's hand and frowned. Most of the blood was gone and the cut was very unusual. She yanked him closer to peer at the cut. "What the hell did you do to yourself? Did you write something on your hand?"
"No! It's not writing," Harry said desperately as he tried to pull his hand away. Alicia tightened her grip and pain shot up his arm.
Alicia was already trying to read it. "I…musk? No, must…I must…not…tell…flies? Uh, ties?"
"Lies," Harry sighed.
"I must not tell lies? Why on earth would you cut that into your hand? Did Fred and George give you something? I'll go and knock them both out if they did."
"It wasn't Fred and George," he said softly.
"Then who did it? I'll go sort them out."
Harry hesitated then dropped his gaze to the floor. "It was Umbridge."
Alicia gaped. Well, there would be no 'sorting out' Umbridge. That woman was beyond help. "She cut you! A teacher cut you!"
"Technically I did it myself." He explained all about the quill and Alicia became more horrified by the second. She was still holding Harry's hand between her own and was unaware that it was seeping blood all over her.
"You have to tell Dumbledore or McGonagall! Umbridge can't get away with this!"
"That's exactly what we've been telling him," Ron said.
"I'm not going to anyone about this! I can handle it all by myself!'
"You're fifteen years old!" Alicia reasoned desperately.
"And I've already been through more in my life than you ever will! And I've handled it all by myself!"
Alicia had never seen Harry like this. Ron obviously had because he was looking on nonchalantly. Alicia was alarmed by the way Harry was shaking. "But-"
"No buts," he said firmly. "Now, either you bandage my hand or leave."
Alicia was very inclined to leave when he was acting like this. But the sight of him shaking, sweating and generally seething made her stay. Merlin knows what he'd do if she left. Without saying anything she went back to work on his hand.
She was just fastening the bandage when Harry finally spoke again. Thankfully, he was a lot calmer. "Thanks, Alicia. I'm also sorry I yelled at you."
Alicia just sighed and stood up. She grabbed a small tube from the first aid kit and threw it to Ron. "Here, that'll help with your sore muscles. Harry, that bandage won't last very long and you'll probably need to change it tomorrow. Come and see me if you have trouble."
"Thanks again."
Alicia stared in to Harry's startling green eyes for a moment. Then she shook her head in despair. "Harry, you're either very brave or very stupid. I'm just not sure which."
"I'd say a little of both," Ron said thoughtfully.
"Thanks, Ron. Come on, we get back to the common room before Hermione comes looking for us with one of her lectures." Harry picked up his bag. "Don't tell anyone about this."
"I know."
"All right. We'll see you later, then."
"Yeah. See you boys later."
They walked out (or shuffled, in Ron's case) and Alicia sat down heavily. It wasn't till then that she noticed Harry Potter's blood was smeared all over her hands and clothes. She would keep her word to Harry, but Umbridge was still going to pay.
"Time to call in the experts."
She grinned to herself. Fred and George were never able to resist a challenge.
EXCERPT FROM 'SUGAR AND SPICE.'
A/N. We're at the lunch for the grand final Quidditch teams. Alicia and Harry are both attending, but not as a couple. Alicia overhears a hoard of reporters asking Harry about his beautiful date. Alicia gets rather jealous and is determined to find out who the other woman is. Here we go!
Lee grabbed her arm quickly. "Why would Harry bring another woman to an event he knew you were attending?"
"Because he's a womanising bastard. I should have seen it coming. Damn those eyes of his!"
"Count to ten," Lee advised hastily. "Better yet, count to a thousand. Everything looks better once you've counted to a thousand. Ready? I'll start you off. One…two – say it with me, Alicia – three…next comes four…"
"Do your own bloody counting," Alicia snapped twisting away from him. "I'm not going to let him get away with this."
"Perhaps making a scene isn't the best thing to do. You could talk to him later or even-"
It was too late, of course. Alicia was marching towards the group with a long, determined stride. Lee hurried to catch up with her and offered more useless alternatives that she ignored.
"Excuse me," Alicia said firmly in the ear of a photographer, "I'd like to get through."
"Fat chance, sweetheart."
Politeness was obviously lost on the members of the press. Alicia began to elbow her way through. Lee grabbed the back of her robes and followed her through, apologising as they went.
At the centre of the group it was even harder to get through. Alicia tried her best but no one would budge. She jumped to try and see over the shoulder of the tall journalist in front of her, but all she managed to do was land on Lee's foot.
"Can we get out of here now?" Lee begged, balancing on one foot and trying to fend off photographers at the same time.
Alicia didn't even bother to answer. Lee knew what she would have said anyway. If she couldn't see over them, then she would simply have to see through them. Alicia dropped to her haunches and peered between the two reporters in front of her.
"What are you doing down there? You're insane. Get up before you get stepped on," Lee ordered.
"Wait, I can see Harry. He's not alone." Alicia squinted and pushed the reporter's robes aside. "Harry's with sombla…"
"What? Sombla isn't a word. What's a sombla? Alicia?"
Alicia had been going to say that Harry was with somebody. The last word turned into sombla when she actually saw Harry's 'date'. She was too stunned to answer Lee or even to make a run for it before Harry spotted her.
Alicia was still staring open mouthed when the reporter in front of her decided he had got all the info he needed. He stepped aside, revealing Alicia in her crouched position. Harry saw her immediately, his eyes widening slightly.
"You've got to be kidding," Lee groaned. "I had my foot stepped on for this?"
