Lizzie Heart and the Years after Hogwarts.
A/N: This bit is a bit fluffy. I apologize in advance for those of you who don't like fluff. Believe me, I'm one of them.
Chapter Nine: Extreme Emotions
Lizzie stumbled into her flat after a rather uncomfortable apparition from Diagon Alley. Why did I admit to that? Why? She thought to herself over and over as she ran away from him. It was not right for her to still love him, not after what she did. Lizzie honestly felt remorse for what she did, but it was worse then just sleeping with anyone else, worse then cheating on someone. She slept with one of his friends. A fairly close one at that.
Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team before Lizzie joined Hogwarts and then went on to join Puddlemere United and worked his way up to England Quidditch Captain.
That night, the night when Lizzie regretfully deceived Harry. The Chudley Cannons had won the Quidditch League, which was an amazing achievement for them since they were nearly relegated the previous season. As to be expected, it was a night of celebration, a night of cheers, a night of fun, and a night filled with alcohol. Being Captain, Lizzie was bought the most drink from the team as a thank you. She was not going to say no so she drank and was merry.
Oliver came along; he was scouting at the final game as well as being there for his own love of Quidditch. He and Lizzie got talking, and one thing led to another. In Lizzie's opinion, it was more his fault then Lizzie's. But Harry, being as stubborn as he is, didn't believe it.
Lizzie threw herself onto the sofa and waved her wand at the curtains for them to close. She didn't want to see anybody or hear anybody. She wanted to cut herself off from the rest of the world. The only noise she could hear was the muffled sound of the streets outside.
Her living room was, of course, a mess. Lizzie was never one for a clean house. She looked at her floor; old coffee cups and old editions of the Daily Prophet were skewed across the floor. On her coffee table was the odd open book along with the volume Hermione gave her for her birthday. Something else caught her eye, a little prancing version of herself, in Quidditch robes. Then it came to her; she could head to Alex's house.
She pulled herself off the sofa as quickly as she threw herself on and apparated, her stomach wrenching awkwardly as she appeared outside her sister's new house. You'd think after four years of apparating, you'd be used to the discomfited feeling. She took out the key that she had got for her birthday a couple of weeks beforehand and pushed it slowly into the lock.
From the outside, Alex and Remus' new cottage was very antique looking with a thatched roof and little windows with a diamond lead pattern. The large, oak door creaked as it opened and Lizzie smelt a musky scent that reminded her of her Grandmother's house in Italy when she was young.
The hallway was fairly large with a staircase straight in front and boxes piled by the walls. A few framed paintings stood proudly on the walls, photos too. Lizzie casually walked up and viewed them. The most eye catching was one taken in her sister's seventh year at Hogwarts. It was she with Remus' arm wrapped around her waist, James, another fellow Marauder mimicking Remus' action with his own girlfriend, Lily. Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, the other half of the Marauder's were pulling faces at one another and then to the camera. They all looked so happy with their lives ahead of them, obviously not guessing the dark times that lay ahead.
"Oh hello Lizzie," said a familiar voice from behind her. Lizzie turned round to see Remus, the man she had become so close to she thought of him as a brother.
"Hi," Lizzie greeted with a smile.
"What brings you all the way from Cambridge to this neck of the woods?" Remus asked, lifting a box and walking through to the next room where Lizzie followed.
"Well, I had an argument with Harry," Lizzie said in a low voice.
Remus put down the box and opened it and started to empty out the contents, "Ah – boy talk. I think your sister would be better suited for this, don't you?" He asked and Lizzie responded by nodding, Remus smiled, "She's upstairs."
Lizzie thanked Remus and ran up the stairs quickly. Her sister was always the one Lizzie came to when she had a problem, despite the twenty-one year gap between them. It sounds a lot and most people gasp when they realise Alex isn't Lizzie's mum or aunt, but the bond is extra special because of the age difference. Lizzie was a mistake, her mum and dad openly admitted to that and said she was the best mistake that ever happened for them. They also had Alex when they were young, barely even the age Lizzie is now. Lizzie and Alex were close sisters and probably always will be.
Alex heard banging on the stairs and walked out of her and Remus' new bedroom, only to see her sister there.
"Hey sis," She greeted and gave Lizzie a hug at the top of the stairs.
"Hey, I see the move has gone well." Lizzie said, making conversation.
"Well, pointing your wand to transfer an object to another place isn't hard. Got it done within hours. But we have all the unpacking to do now," Alex replied, looking around the room. But then she looked at her younger sister and saw dullness in her eyes. "But that isn't the reason why you came is it?" Lizzie looked down at her feet, Alex reached out and lifted her chin up, "What's wrong?"
"Everything," Lizzie murmured.
"Now that can't be true," Alex said heartily, "Otherwise I think I'd be dead." She smiled widely; making Lizzie smile back but the eyes still didn't shine their ultra-marine colour like they did when she was a baby. "Now what's happened between you and Harry?"
It was as if Alex had read her mind, had known the thoughts running constantly through her mind. "How did you know it was about Harry?"
"Oh come on sis, you've been smitten the past few weeks, ever since the revelation and you two came back on good terms and know your all down, it just had to be. I know you too well." Alex explained, sitting down on a recliner in the upstairs hallway. "Plus the fact Harry was in the fire about ten minutes ago talking 'stuff' with Remus"
Lizzie was silent and sat down on the opposite recliner to Alex. "He was talking to Remus, what about?"
Alex shrugged, "I'm not sure, something about being rude and bloody gob-smacked, he swore quite a bit too."
"Oh" That was all Lizzie could say. She wished so much she hadn't said what she did. She wished that when she did say that it was not to be out of anger or to prove a point. And by Merlin, she wished that he could feel the same way in return.
"So what did happen between you two? I thought it was Hermione and Ron who were having the problems?" Alex asked, obviously intrigued. Her little sister's love life was always interesting, first Anthonio, then Harry, then endless guys she heard about in the papers and now again it was Harry and she was only twenty for God's sake.
"Well, they were – well, I don't know whether or not they resolved them. I was meant to go back there for Hermione…oh shit," Lizzie drifted, "What if they haven't sorted everything through with each other?"
Alex sighed, "Lizzie, what happened between you and Harry?"
Lizzie paused, thinking. How should she put this? Ok, just be frank about it she decided. "I kind of told him that I still like-loved him…accidentally." Lizzie said and a wave of emotion took over her body, she was paralyzed, as if a large dosage of drugs had swiftly rushed through her body and left her immobile, only in thought did she have the freedom to move. She loved him, no – she loves him. She may have said it out loud, but only when she corrected herself did she realise the full meaning of the word. It was true, every time she thought about him her heart skipped a beat, every time she heard his name, she missed a breath, every time she saw him, she produced butterflies in her stomach and every time he touched her, her nerves tingled with excitement as if the blood had a new reason to move. It was amazing yet excruciating at the same time.
Her heart simply ached every time she was away from him.
Alex was speechless; of course, she had loved before and is in love with Remus. But to hear her younger sister by twenty-one years say that she loved someone was remarkable and also made her feel slightly old.
Lizzie looked expectantly at her older sister, wanting her to answer, but yet she was caught in thought.
"What do I do?" Lizzie asked, prompting Alex.
And after a while, she spoke, "I suggest you go and talk to Harry. Remember to not run away but have a civil conversation about how you feel. You can't hide anymore."
A/N: All reviews welcome.