AN: I just want to say thank you so much for all of the very kind reviews I have recieved on this story thus far. I appreciate it more than most of you probably realize. I can't help but smile when I read them. So, why not keep that smile on my face and review this chapter too?
Bringing Down Addie
Chapter 3
Fountains and Mud
- - -- -- --
I have never been more excited to eat dinner in my entire life. Ever.
As soon as Harry apparated away I let out the epitome of a girlish squeal. It was brilliant.
I've never been one to be overly detailed when it comes to getting ready to go out, but tonight, tonight was a different story all together.
I showered, dried my hair, painted my nails, went for a run around the neighborhood…I did everything. I had to. Especially after the last time Harry had seen me I resembled something close to a giant pink rabbit. No, I was going to look good.
Finding an outfit was a bit trickier than I had originally planned as well. I must have tried on one thousand different tops only to have them all rejected. Mercifully it didn't take any more than one thousand tries.
I finally settled on a brown sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. As I examined myself in the mirror with an approving nod, I couldn't help but think that something was missing. I found myself soon running my hand over my neck where the locket I had worn for almost five years had hung. The very same locket that Addie had so callously removed from my possession.
But that was beside the point. I was having a nice dinner with Harry, we were going to scheme against his 'girlfriend', and nobody knew about it but us. I had no idea what he wanted me to do, but I already knew I was more than ready to do it. After all, it was Harry.
That thought carried me in a daze to the Three Broomsticks. I entered the noisy bar and scanned the room for Harry finding him huddled up in a booth in a far corner, clutching onto a mug of steaming orange liquid. He didn't look happy.
I approached swiftly and decided to approach the problem head on.
"You don't look happy." I alerted him of my presence.
"Yeah, well I don't suppose you would be all that happy either if you had just signed a contract to attend some stupid Ministry gala, sit with the Minister, be the guest of honor, give an interview – all with Addie latched onto your arm, like some stupid leech." He grumbled.
"Harry, have you been drinking?" I asked politely, taking the seat across from him in the booth and ordering a drink for myself.
"No," He replied sullenly, "I'm just not happy, like you said."
"Regardless of why you're not happy, I think it's time to snap out of it. We have scheming to do." I smiled at him and began to observe my menu while still watching him out of the corner of my eye, tapping my foot against the floor lightly.
Harry looked at me as if I had sprouted an extra head for a few minutes before he smiled back and too looked at his menu.
After we had both ordered, Harry crossed his fingers into a steeple and rested his chin atop them, staring at me intently.
"So Gin," He began. "I've been thinking of the plan, and I think I have a good idea where to start. I pretend to fall back in love, well actually, fall in love with her for the first time. I never got that far with her." He smiled at me sheepishly as he took a sip of his drink.
"Okay, sounds good." I agreed with him. My heart was singing at his last words, "But I'm still confused as to where I come in, in all of this."
"What I need is a partner. Someone who can help me pull stuff off. I need someone who I can run ideas off of, and just I don't know, help me come up with plans and things like that. I have some stuff thought up, like pretending to be properly 'ashamed' that I broke up with her, but I have no clue what to do after that," He said quickly, "But I know you do. I know you Gin, and I know that you can help me, and I need your help. I need it really bad." He had reached across the table and grasped his hand in mine.
I looked into his face. It was earnest and pleading, and I just felt myself melting into him. My throat felt constricted as I watched his eyes dance in the firelight, twinkling with something that I prayed was akin to a deep affection.
"Well…I'll try." I choked out. "I'll try my hardest."
"Thank you Gin. I can't say it enough times." He let my hand fall limply back to the polished wood surface of the table. I snapped back to reality, noticing that the room had become quite hot since Harry had clutched our hands together.
"Oh – I," I blubbered at his words, "Tell me," I felt my mind reach onto a topic that I could concentrate on with passion, "How far have you gotten in the plan? How did you act today?"
"Uh, well, today I acted polite to Addie and Coach Lewis' friend. Then, after lunch I actually carried out the only thing I knew I had to do, which actually you told me to do in the first place…" He trailed off for a few minutes, "Anyways, I told her that I had just been scared at how fast we had been moving, and that I only needed her face again to see reason…" He looked at me, silently asking if he had done well.
I let out a loud laugh, "Did you actually say that?" I wheezed. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Did you really tell her that you only had to see her face to see reason…Merlin Harry, if that isn't…" I was cut off by our food coming.
"Why? Was that bad?" He was ignoring his food and looking at me. His face was clouded with worry.
"No," I brushed it off digging into my stew, the mirth not having fully left my features, "It's actually rather good. Addie told me she didn't like it when you got sappy, she used to complain about it to the point where I just wanted to rip her shiny head right off, and…" My voice began to rise and Harry shushed me immediately.
"I know." He said sympathetically, "I know."
"Anyways," I continued, composing myself and trying not to turn a full beet red. "That line was a tad sappy. But it's only the beginning. Plus, you did good. Instead of acting standoffish you acted polite and apologized with a cheesy pick up line, you must have confused her something awful." I finished with a triumphant smile at the thought of Addie being thoroughly lost and confused.
"I didn't mean to use a pick up line." Harry muttered, his tone sounding abashed.
"No – Harry, you don't seem to get it. That's good. You're not supposed to be playing the perfect gentleman, you are supposed to be subtly sabotaging the spawn of Satan himself!" I corrected him, albeit a little heatedly.
"Funny," He snorted, "I haven't seen any horns on Coach Lewis."
"Oh, it probably runs on her mum's side. You heard her last night? Her mum left her dad." I mused.
"Yeah, that wasn't fun." Harry commented darkly. I raised an eyebrow at him in question. "Coach ran us into the ground for days after it happened." He explained with a small shrug.
"I wonder if Addie still has contact with her…" I pondered out loud, "It's something we might be able to use to our advantage." I looked at Harry for confirmation.
"Don't look at me," He held up his hands in mock surrender, "I'm leaving the planning up to you, I'm only executing it."
Now that Harry brought it up, I realized fully for the first time what I had signed up to do. I especially realized how hard it would be to actually put it all into motion. Plotting was one thing, but destroying and silencing a force that could rival all ten plagues…that was another thing altogether. It wouldn't help that I had Harry as my puppet, the boy was just too good to be bad it seemed. Well, at least sometimes.
"Harry, about this whole executing the plan thing." I brought attention to the subject that had been occupying my thoughts.
"What about it?" He asked.
"In order for this to work you're going to have to be ruthless. No more Mister Nice Guy. Just pretend that it's…Malfoy. Yes, just pretend you're doing it to Malfoy when you think it's too nasty." I explained in broken sentences.
"Gin – you're not making any sense." He laughed.
"You know what I mean though." I said in exasperation.
"It's crystal clear." Harry smirked, "Now, do you have any ideas for what to do first?"
"Yes." I smiled maliciously. "As a matter of fact I do. First you have to do a complete personality switch. From now on when you're around Addie Lewis you are to be nothing but a lovesick puppy. I want you to drabble on and on about how beautiful she is, how you worship the ground she walks on, how lost you'd be without her eternal guidance, blah, blah, blah, and so on and so forth." I felt almost like a Professor lecturing Harry. I felt even more empowered when he pulled a napkin towards him and began taking notes. "What are your plans for this weekend?" I asked.
"Um, well there's an amateur Quidditch tournament that Ron and I were going to go to." He told me.
"Harry, are you bloody mad?" He looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting that reaction, "We're reaching record breaking cold spells and you're going to watch more Quidditch – outside?"
"Er, yeah?" He looked at me in confusion.
"Boys." I muttered under my breath. I was about to start on a rant – not really sure why – when the proverbial light bulb sounded in my head. I knew my smile must have looked manic.
"Gin - ?" Harry started, more than likely a little spooked at my behavior.
"Take her to the game." I whispered, looking gleefully at Harry, "You take her to a freezing Quidditch game, make sure you're in the most miserable of miserable conditions, act like you're having the time of your life, and oh she'll just hate it. And she'll see, that rainy, mucky Quidditch games come with the package that is Harry Potter." His face seemed to brighten at my idea, but it fell just as quickly.
"She'll never do it, not unless there's something in it for her. She wants to be seen with me in the public eye. Besides, I think she's tarting around with at least two other blokes." Harry's gaze stiffened, "It's one of the reasons I broke it off with her."
I felt my heart go out to Harry, but now was not the time. I had to keep reminding myself that this was business. People got bored when they were unemployed. I was unemployed. I was often bored. I was counting on this to offer me a fair level of entertainment value for a substantial period of time. In other words, I couldn't scare Harry off by being a blubbering mess when he already had enough on his plate. It wouldn't be fair to either of us.
"What if…" I felt another light bulb go off in the back of my brain. I really had deserved more NEWTS than they had given me in school. Bloody government. "We told the press you would be there."
"You know I don't like to be in the papers more than I have to." Harry informed me unnecessarily. Of course I knew that. Everybody knew that. But who could really blame him?
"Well, I know." I told Harry softly, "But it would get Addie there. And I suppose I could come too just this once because Ron would be there. That way I could help you out if you got stuck." I rationalized. "Besides, when you start doting on Addie the papers would jump on it. They'd make you out to be sweet, caring, romantic and all that other mumbo jumbo. It would just further convince them that you really are golden." I gave him an impish grin, "But I already knew that." I was a bit startled to see a bit of a blush creeping onto Harry's face, and had to hide my happy sigh.
"I suppose." Harry finally said, however quietly.
"Besides, if you're right and Addie really is buggering other guys, she's going to get a swift kick in the pants if we could expose that, after everyone's seen how devoted you are to her." I explained. Harry had a pensive look on his face as he stirred around his virtually uneaten food.
"That has potential. But I think we need to tell your family what's going on. You know your brothers, they'd just raise a stink if they found out how I was treating her so nicely after she treated us all so – well, you know." He had a point. I had to admit.
"I'll meet you halfway. We can tell Ron and Hermione about the plan because they'll most likely be involved from time to time. But we shouldn't tell them unless they're directly involved and we have to make it clear that they are not to interfere." I'm not really sure what caused me to deflect Hermione and Ron from having more involvement, but something inside of me was telling me that it was a good idea. If I had to put money on it I would say it was my 'I'm bloody obsessed with Harry Potter' something.
"Ah – sure." Harry faltered a bit at first but finally agreed in the end. "I suppose it's only fair."
"Good. Now that we have that out of the way." I felt my shoulders tense as I realized we had covered every part of our master plan that we had thought up so far, and were now devoid of a topic. Harry finally broke the silence.
"So, still not working, then?" He asked. For some reason I didn't feel affronted.
When people commented on my unemployment in public it normally served as a means in which to incense me. After my Hogwarts graduation I had been left staring at a world that was bringing itself back from the brink of war and a family that had been cast into the center of the fray. To make matters worse, I had done poorly on my NEWTS due to the added stress and had no clue what I wanted to do with myself. So, I had moved into Hermione's flat and started working odd jobs as a barkeeper and a waitress. When I wasn't working, I was, there was no other way to put it, lazy.
I'd like to say I was using all my spare time to do something productive, like discover a cure to the Dementor's Kiss. But no. I, Ginervra Weasley, was nothing but a sluggish girl. And I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being able to decide when I woke up and whether or not I would actually do something during any given day. In the future I wanted to start my own boutique, but I liked my life as it was at the moment.
However, despite my comfort in my life in and outside of the workplace I always felt sensitive when people pointed out that I had no real career, and was merely hopping around from bar to bar, hoping to flash a little leg and win over the proprietor of the establishment and get a decent job for a few months. But for some reason, when Harry asked, I didn't mind. To him it was a simple question into my well-being, not a stab at my morality.
"Not right now." I smiled warmly at him, "But I think I might want to do some more bartending. It's amazing what you can learn from a job like that."
"Really?" Harry asked, his face looking light and his shoulders relaxing a bit, "And what are these amazing things you learn, please Gin, regale me with their wonderfulness."
"If you insist." I paused for dramatic effect, "I can spin tumblers in the air, and do these cool trick thingies with a spray bottle, and the cherry on top – I make one killer martini."
"Little Ginny Weasley, make a martini? Now what would your brothers think of that." Harry feigned shock and horror, but his laughter quickly broke through his façade.
"Well what about you Mister Golden Boy. What would the wizarding world say if I ever told them that nobody could make a rum and coke to marvel yours? They probably think you still drink milk with your dinner." When Harry colored slightly I began to break into hysterics, "Oh Harry, you do drink milk with your dinner, don't you?" I wheezed between hiccupping laughs.
"Well, got to keep my bones strong if I'm to stay on top of my Quidditch game and all." Harry said jovially. I was pleased to see he wasn't put off by the comment or the situation. "But you Missy – what do you drink with your dinner?"
"Water." I answered with a straight face, "Eight glasses a day."
"Gin, let me inform you of something. I've tried that whole eight glasses of water a day theory, and I am telling you from experience. No human being can hold that much water in a twenty-four hour time period. It simply can't be done." Harry joked.
"I bet it could." I challenged him.
"Oh really? And how do you plan to prove this little theory of yours, do tell." He said, his smile darting about in amusement.
"Well, I'll just have to show you." I said the first thing that came off the top of my head. "But you have to do it too. We both drink water until we burst, and it will be over eight glasses. I'll prove it." I have no idea why I challenged Harry to what I did. It was common knowledge that I had a bottle of fire-whiskey with dinner every night. I had never, and I mean never, consumed anything more than one glass in a day. But it couldn't be that hard.
"You're on." Harry agreed, calling over a waiter and ordering him to bring two glasses and several pitchers of ice water. Bloody Fabulous mess.
When the waiter brought the drinks I must have looked very stupid. "I've changed my mind." I alerted Harry as he poured me a glass.
"I knew it." He told me smugly.
"No you didn't. You're rubbish in divination." I retorted.
"Does that mean I win?" Harry asked, completely ignoring my previous statement.
"No, because we didn't even try it." I huffed, "Besides, drinking that much water in such a short period of time has to be bad for your bladder. Plus, it makes you pee a lot, and we don't have time to waste in the bathroom. Life's too short."
"Of course Gin. Of course." Harry shook his head a bit as he laughed. "Do you want to catch a movie or something?" He asked.
"A what?" I asked. What in Merlin's name was a movie?
"Oh that's right, that's a muggle thing. I keep forgetting that. It's like a picture show." Harry chuckled a bit. "Well, do you want to go do something in town then? I'm bored and in need of a bit of a – shall we say pick me up?"
"Alright then." I burst out maybe a bit too soon seeing as Harry looked at me odd for a moment before putting some money on the table to pay for our meal.
We didn't say anything else as we left the pub, but I was screaming inside. I was going to spend a night on the town with the boy of my dreams. What could be better? Nothing, that's what.
"If you want to see some shows we could go down to the old performance theatre and see if they have anything going on." I told Harry as we walked down the narrow streets of Diagon Alley.
"Yeah, a show sounds nice." Harry replied, "Let's do that."
And so we did. We went to the old performance theatre and watched overweight men in tight tuxedos sing old muggle show tunes while their women counterparts danced around the stage in frilly pink dresses. It was supposed to be a drama.
Afterwards we had ice cream, and then, then we took a lovely walk around the park while we ate.
"What's your favorite animal?" I asked Harry, as I licked my ice cream. We had been asking questions back and forth for half an hour at least.
"A mix between birds, lions, and stags. Oh, and dogs and wolves." Harry replied, smiling to himself. "What's your favorite animal, then?"
"I like cats. And then I really like giraffes and polar bears." I replied. "What's your least favorite word in the English language?" I asked.
"Work." Harry replied with a smile.
"Hey!" I declared, "You stole mine." I swatted at his arm.
"How do I know you're just not copying me?" Harry asked jokingly.
"Because I don't copy. Copying isn't creative and I pride myself on being creative." I twittered off as I took another lick of my ice cream, "You know," I paused to think, "It's a bit cold to be eating ice cream, don't you think?" Harry let out a guttural laugh.
"What's so funny?" I demanded.
"You are." Harry laughed, "Just the things you say. They make me laugh."
"Oh," I replied dully, "Well, you make me laugh too." I said with more passion.
"Really?" Harry asked skeptically.
"Yes, you don't really realize it but when you mix your innocence and your good intentions with the real world the results are humorous." I rattled off. "But, you'd be even more amusing if you took more risks." I informed him.
"I take risks." Harry interjected.
"No Harry. You've taken life-changing risks in the past, true, but that time of your life is over. Thank Merlin," I started, "But in your present everyday life you take barely any just for fun. You're risks, if they can even be called that, are more like planned challenges."
"Planned challenges." Harry repeated.
"Yes, planned challenges. It's a bit like when I'm being lazy I just tell Hermione I'm being counter-productice. They may have the same general meaning but the differences make them two totally separate things. You see?" I finished off my analysis.
"I think." Harry said slowly, "So, I need to take more risks then." He broke off and stopped in the middle of the pathway causing me to stop as well.
"What are you doing?" I asked a bit impatiently.
"I'm trying to find something I can take a risk with." Harry told me, his eyes settling on the partially frozen over fountain.
"No Harry, no fountains. That's not a risk, that's more along the lines of a death wish." I told him, moving forward to tug on his arm.
"You want to go in with me?" He asked, completely ignoring my protests and turning to look at my face.
"No. Unlike you I'd like to live past thirty." I replied. The boy had lost his mind.
"Come on Gin." He pulled me closer to the fountain. "Where's your sense of adventure?"
"It died." I replied flatly. Harry laughed a bit tugging me closer and closer to the fountain until we had reached the edge of the bloody thing. Harry started taking off his shoes and his socks. Then he moved onto his coat.
I watched him quietly as he rolled his pant legs up and stepped into the freezing cold water. He did a little hoppy dance when he made contact with the liquid, but soon settled down and offered his hand to me.
"No." I told him firmly.
"Yes." He replied just as firm.
"Harry. No." I said again.
"Don't make me pull you into this water Ginny Weasley." He scolded me lightly like a parent would to a child.
"You wouldn't dare." I told him.
"Do you want to test that theory, then?" He asked, his hand still extended and his eyebrows raised a bit.
"It doesn't matter. You wouldn't do it." I replied.
Before I could move I felt Harry's arm wrap around my waist. And before I could scream I felt the freezing water pierce into my skin and heard Harry's laughing from above me.
"That is not funny!" I screeched as I squirmed around in the water.
"Yes it is." Harry contradicted me.
I stared at Harry for a few minutes with my eyes narrowing slightly. He started to look a little nervous. I let out a low growl and lunged at his knees knocking him fully into the water.
"Bloody Hell!" Harry screamed. I smiled triumphantly. After all, it felt a little different to be completely immersed in the fountain's water rather than just standing in it up to mid-thigh.
"Serves you right." I called at him as I made my way to exit the fountain. I didn't get very far when I felt a large burst of water cascade onto my back. "Harry!" I growled.
"Whoops." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me innocently.
"Oh, you'll pay for that one." I snarled bringing my arm back to splash Harry.
It soon escaladed into an all out water fight. Despite the freezing temperatures I found myself laughing more than I had in a very long time. By the flush of Harry's cheeks and his exuberance I was hoping he felt the same way.
As I dodged a particularly large amount of water directed my way from Harry I paused to look at our surroundings. The park lights were on and the tress were sparkling from the reflection of the lights off of the gushing water. It really was pretty, but not quite as pretty as Harry. After all, he was wearing a white shirt. It's hard to find something prettier than that.
After a while we both became fully splashed out and I found myself burrowing into the cold water after finding much to my dismay that the biting wind was much colder now than the water. Harry seemed to have the same thought.
"Are my lips blue?" I pouted.
"No." Harry chattered.
"This was a really, really, really stupid idea." My teeth clicked as I spoke.
"I know." Harry's chilled voice reached mine.
"Then remind me why we did it?" I questioned.
"Risks." Harry answered in one word.
"I say we live nice, safe, indoor lives from now on." I managed to say as my shivering grew to an even more intense level.
"We have to get out of this water." Harry observed, moving to make his way out of the fountain.
"Brilliant deduction." I snapped as I remained crouched in the cold water. Harry, however, seemed to have other plans. He moved forward and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, eventually helping me out onto dry land. "You know Harry, you're a very bad influence." I clacked.
Harry didn't answer, but merely kept his arm wrapped securely around me as he apparated us to the outside of my flat. He pulled his spare key out of his pocket and shoved the door open, helping me inside as well.
I saw Hermione walking down the hall, her nose buried in a book. "Hey Ginny, do you know where you put the new –" She broke off her sentence to take in mine and Harry's haggard appearances. "What have you been doing?"
"Eating dinner." Harry replied moving me towards the bathroom, "She needs a warm bath." He pointed at me before shoving me into the room and shutting the door behind me. I leaned my head against the door trying to make out Hermione and Harry's muffled voices.
I sighed in defeat and gave into my body's need for heat, taking a warm shower and wrapping myself back into my fluffy pink bathrobe. I hoped Harry wasn't still at the flat. Not that I didn't want him to be there per say, I just didn't want him to see me in my bathrobe again.
Just my luck, he was still there. Wrapped from head to toe in towels and sipping a mug of hot chocolate. I smiled when I heard Hermione's voice.
"Please tell me you two didn't do anything illegal?" She interrogated Harry.
"No, nothing illegal." I answered, alerting the other two of my presence.
"You look warmer." Harry offered to me.
"Thank you. You don't." I observed. Harry merely shrugged.
"Yeah. I should probably head back home. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Harry said setting down his mug and folding up the towels he had been using.
"Make sure to get right into bed." Hermione scolded him. "I don't know what you did but no matter what it was you should know that I think you are absolutely insane."
"Lovely to see you too Hermione." Harry smiled warmly at her. "And Gin." He turned his attention back to me, "Thanks for dinner. It was lovely." He gave a small salute and apparated out of the flat as fast as we had come in. He really was one big surprise after the next.
- - - - -
The rest of the week went by slowly, but finally the weekend came. Not that it made much difference for me seeing as how I didn't work, but all the same. I spent my days walking my neighbor's dog and contemplating the wonder that was Harry. That took up enough of my energy.
Saturday morning came musty and gray along with the impending first start to 'BDA' as it was now being called, or in a more long handed version, Plan Bring Down Addie.
I made a not very happy noise as I slipped on jeans and a loose sweater, bundling myself up in scarves and gloves and shawls. It was too cold to be outside, but that was exactly where I was going to be spending the entire day. Some people just aren't lucky.
Harry and I had told Ron and Hermione the outlines of our plans for BDA. As we had imagined Hermione was immediately skeptical of the entire thing and Ron was quizzical, making odd statements every once in a while that seemed to add to my growing list of possible ideas. It had been very informative.
I met Ron, Harry, and much to all of our dismay, Addie at the pitch an hour before the games were set to begin. I had to laugh at what I saw.
Where Harry, Ron, and I were all dressed for outdoor winter Quidditch weather, Addie was not. She wore a knee length pencil skirt with pointed, heeled shoes complete with a thin blouse. She had a tight grip on a leather handbag, and a scarf tied up in her hair to keep the overzealous wind from messing the style up too much. She had obviously dressed to impress, not to survive the elements.
We began walking to our seats when Addie decided to start whining.
"Harry, I thought we were going to a Quidditch game." She huffed.
"This is a Quidditch game." Harry grated out. I frowned to myself and gave him a discreet kick in the shins. He looked at me with a pained expression. I raised my eyebrows at him reminding him of our plans. He gave me a clouded gaze and then focused back on Addie. "I just wanted to share this with you." His voice sounded fake, but Addie didn't seem to notice.
"Whatever." She snapped, "Let's just go to the top box."
"But, dearest," It was obvious Harry was having to struggle with himself to keep up his pretences but he held firm. "There is no top box in amateur Quidditch"
"What?" Addie asked incredulously, "Oh well, it doesn't surprise me. Nobody comes to watch the stupid games."
"We do." Ron spoke for the first time.
"There's no accounting for taste then, is there?" Addie withered.
"Ron, don't be mean to Addie." Harry said slowly, his face looking pained.
We finally made it to our mediocre seats. I stopped Harry letting Addie and Ron go before us.
"You're not doing good enough." I hissed at him quietly.
"I'm trying." Harry protested.
"Well try harder. You're not being overpowering or anything. We have to make her miserable and right now she's only cold and temperamental. That alone will not help you get rid of her." I said in a hushed tone of voice, "Remember, look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow." Harry looked at me oddly before taking his seat between Addie and myself.
As soon as we settled ourselves into our seats I heard the ominous sounds of clicking cameras, and turned to find a dozen or so reporters camped out along where our group was seated. Addie seemed to have noticed too.
It was as if she'd had a brain transplant. She went from exchanging withering comments with Ron to clinging onto Harry, blatantly displaying her 'love' for him in a nanosecond. It made me want to vomit.
"Harry dear, this is so fun." Addie whispered as a reporter approached hearing distance.
"We'll remember this forever." Harry choked back, plastering a lovesick smile onto his face. It really was hard to not laugh at the sight of it all.
The game soon started and Ron and Harry's cheers quickly deflected any of the attention they had been sparing for Addie. Harry, however, did make a show of wrapping Addie in bear hugs whenever the local team scored to keep up appearances. Addie, for her part, tried to look as if she wasn't currently in a place where she clearly wanted to be. At one point she even decided to strike up a conversation.
"You haven't given him up yet." She whispered to me, scooting over so that she was directly next to me in the seats as Ron and Harry rose to their feet watching a Chaser from their team speed her way to the opposing team's goal.
"How can you be so sure?" I replied coldly, receiving a high-five from Ron as Addie received another quick hug from Harry when the Chaser they had been watching scored.
"I just know." She said looking at my face intently, "Something happened between you two." She observed. "What?"
"Nothing happened." I retorted, although with not much force. It was true, nothing had happened between us physically. But something had happened mentally. I had felt myself open up to Harry on that night on the town showing him bits of me I normally kept to myself when he was around. One, for instance, being my habit for pouting.
"I don't believe you." Addie said smoothly. "You know, you're not really so bad." She said as she settled into the seat, sending a photographic smile to a reporter before relaxing.
I felt my mouth literally drop open. Of all the things she could have said that was the one I was least expecting. I was vaguely aware that I had to be looking like a fish out of water at the moment as my mouth gaped open and closed, but I really didn't have much control over my actions.
"I've always respected you." She continued, either oblivious or indifferent to my shock. "You never took any crap from me. Not a lot of people are willing to stand up to me like you are. All of Harry's other friends just defend him, but you fight back. I like that."
I just continued gaping.
"I'm not blind, I've said it before. I see things that other people don't see." Addie just kept on with her impromptu speech. "I'm not so awful that I don't realize how much Harry and the rest of you detest me. I would too if I were you. I mean, honestly, I came in and dictated your life and what you could or could not do. That type of stuff is categorized as vile in most people's books, including mine."
"Wait." I stopped her, "Are you saying you're going to let Harry go?"
"No." She scoffed. "Like I told you, I'm not stupid. Harry is going to be the ticket to my success. All I'm saying is I realize what you all think of me, and to be honest I'm not that fazed by it." She turned to look at me straight in the eyes. "It's a cut throat world Ginny, and if growing up with a professional Quidditch coach taught me anything it's that you have to always be on the offensive. I do what I do for a reason, and I'm not ashamed. Everybody finds a different way to survive, this is mine."
"But I still don't see how you're willing to sacrifice someone's happiness for your plans. Especially someone like Harry who's never been truly happy." I told her calmly. I was still reeling from the fact that I had turned around completely and instead of exchanging heated comments with Addie was having a semi-rational conversation with her into the reasons behind her madness.
"I know what it's like to have things go bad for you. My life hasn't always been a bed of roses. I understand what losing people you love whether to death or otherwise can do to a person, but I'm not sorry for who I am. People like Harry have experienced everything I have and more. If anyone he should be the most vicious. He should be making his own happiness. Just because I beat him to it doesn't mean I'm going to hold a pity party with him as the guest of honor." Addie said softly.
"Oh." I replied lamely.
"We're not friends. You understand that right?" Addie asked without pausing to hear my answer. "I like your integrity and I respect you for it. But it's because of that integrity that I can't be your friend. And it's also because of that integrity that I'm warning you to stay out of my way. Because if you do screw up what I have in store you will be opening a can of worms, and trust me when I say, there will be no way to fix things once you step over the edge."
"You do realize that even if I don't get involved other people will when they find out what's been going on, right?" I challenged her.
"It's not them I'm worried about." She answered with a wry smirk.
I didn't answer, and she didn't say anything else. She didn't need to. She had made her point loud and clear.
The game ended soon after that, the reporters dispersed, and our group made our way back to the apparation point.
Addie declared rather loudly that she had to go use the bathroom and fix her hair before the cameramen surrounded them again, and I sent Ron a look that sent him off back to the flat early. That left Harry and I alone.
"The plans have changed." I told him as we waited around for Addie to come back.
"What?" Harry asked sharply, "What do you mean they've changed?"
"We're switching tactics. Addie knows what's going on. I had a nice long chat with her during the match." I replied quickly. We were pressed for time.
"Alright then, what do we do now?" Harry asked rapidly.
"You keep up your loving routine when the cameras are around, but when they're not I want you to be harsh and mean and awful. I want you to scare her away. Everyone can be intimidated, and I think that you of all people may have a clue as to how to intimidate." I paused for a moment, "I'll think tonight about some sabotage we can throw in as well, but as of now the rules have changed. This isn't a game anymore. This is an all out war." I snarled. Harry looked a bit taken back by the heat of my words but he merely added in assent.
"I think I can do that." He agreed.
"Good. Now, I want you to go ahead. Don't wait for Addie. I need to have a private chat with her." I ordered him.
"Okay." He answered slowly, "I'll see you later then?"
"Definitely, now shoo." I pushed him towards the leaving crowds as I spotted Addie weaving her way back into the fray.
She arrived at my side at the same moment Harry left my sight.
"I need to talk to you." I said pulling her aside. She followed obediently, making disgusted noises as I led her through soggy grass and mud puddles, a wicked smile on my face all the while.
"What?" She asked when we finally stopped. "I'd like to get home, hurry."
"Alright then." I smiled at her before pushing my hands forward and throwing her into a particularly smelly and gooey mud puddle.
She flailed around like she had just been thrown into a frying pan. She screamed and made gagging noises as she frantically tried to push herself out of the puddle, only succeeding in falling back in every time and becoming filthier. She finally settled.
"You! YOU!" She shrieked as she sat covered in mud.
"Yes, me." I smiled at her maliciously. "Be careful Addie, it's a cut throat world, and me…I have the knife." I winked at her, kicked a bit more mud in her face, and left her sitting there in the grime.
I was beginning to like this. This whole bringing down Addie business; it definitely had potential.
- - -
The next morning the paper arrived just as it always did and the cover story on the gossip page made me brighten up just a bit.
Harry Potter: In Love?
Harry Potter is no stranger to attention, even he will attest to the fact. The subject of adoration of countless fans and supporters Potter has always held a special place in our hearts. But the question everyone is asking themselves today is; has someone finally found a special place in his heart?
Reporters confirm that Potter was spotted yesterday at a local English Quidditch tournament with steady girlfriend Adeline Lewis. Other attendees of the match claimed that the couple seemed inseparable and very happy together. One eyewitness who chose to remain anonymous was reported as saying, "They seemed very much in love. When the team would score he would jump up and give her a hug. He never seemed to let her out of his sight."
It wasn't clear where the couple departed to after the match, but we are certain that around the world countless young girls hearts are being crushed. A spokesperson for the Official Harry Potter Fan Club, Elle McGovern was quoted as saying, "I cried when I found out he had a girlfriend. I mean, I knew he dated, but I never thought he was serious with anyone. I think I speak for the entire club when I say that we all hope the rumors aren't true. No one here wants Harry to be in love!"
While support for the couple has been spread far and wide Harry Potter himself has yet to release a statement concerning the subject. "Harry's always been private about his personal affairs. I doubt you'll be hearing much about this from him." Says auror and friend Nymphadora Tonks.
So, with no confirmation of the truth being had, all we can do is wait, and ask ourselves the questions. Is Harry Potter really in love?
I smiled as I folded the paper back down on the paper, more ideas already forming in my head.
The jubilation I had felt from pushing Addie in the muck had not yet evaporated and I was still glowing over the idea of changing the dynamics of the strategy to remove her from our lives.
As far as I was concerned, an eye for an eye, was a wonderful theory.