Disclaimer: I make no claim to the characters and I wouldn't even bother suing me. I just spent $200 on textbooks for Uni. Add that to all the fees I have to pay and I'm pretty poor.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Here you go…

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Chapter 30

The first feeling that washed over Alicia was relief. Her parents weren't getting a divorce so she wouldn't have to throw a tantrum! Then immediately following that was excitement. Her big sister was getting married.

"Charlie!" Alicia and Jasmine squealed at the same time.

Erica nearly had a heart attack. "Charlie? You think I'd marry Charlie? I've told you a million times-"

Jasmine frowned. "Then who is it?"

"Brian."

Silence.

"Who the bloody hell is Brian?" Alicia demanded.

"He works in my department at the Ministry. He was the one I went to Paris with."

"I thought that was a business trip?"

"It was," Erica blushed slightly.

"So you decided to up and get engaged?" Alicia folded her arms with a huff, clearly making her thoughts understood.

"We've been seeing each other casually for a while now," she replied tersely. "He proposed last week and I accepted."

Jasmine ran around the table to hug her sister but Alicia remained unmoved. She turned to her parents who obviously already knew. "Mum, dad, you approve of this?"

"Of course we approve," David answered quickly. "Brian is a very organised young man. Your mother and I met him last week and he really has his priorities in order."

Alicia snorted. "So, in other words he's boring?"

"Alicia!" her parents and sisters reprimanded.

"He works at the Ministry!"

"That does not automatically make him boring," Erica said firmly. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with being safe and reliable."

"By safe and reliable you mean boring."

"You are an impossible little brat, Alicia Spinnet!"

Alicia just lifted her chin slightly and turned away. Erica jumped to her feet and stomped to her bedroom. David and Natalie exchanged a glance while Jasmine looked on eagerly, glad not to be the source of friction this time.

"Go and apologise to your sister," David ordered. He hadn't had to tell Alicia off for years and it felt a little odd.

"No."

Jasmine could barely hide her amusement as David's lips thinned and his face reddened. Alicia continued to pointedly ignore him and stare at a spot on the ceiling. Natalie decided to step in before things got out of hand.

"Alicia, that was really unnecessary. It's not fair to judge Brian before you've met him," she said gently.

"I don't want to meet him."

"You don't have a choice, dear. He's coming with us to the Burrow on Christmas Eve. I've already told Molly we're bringing a guest."

Alicia's head snapped around. "But he can't come! That's a Spinnet and Weasley tradition!"

"Perhaps I shouldn't come then," Jasmine interjected.

"You pipe down," David said sharply.

"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my-"

"Enough, Jasmine!" Natalie yelled, surprising everyone, including herself with her sudden anger. "I've really had enough of your attitude towards your father. I know it's just a ploy to get me to reveal whom your biological father is but I'm telling you it won't work!"

"I wouldn't have to do this if you would just tell me about my father!" Jasmine slammed her fists on the table.

Alicia was slightly miffed that the attention had been taken away from her. The youngest always got the attention. Why did she have to be the scorned middle child?

"You want to know about your father? Listen to me carefully, Jasmine. When your biological father found out I was pregnant he told me he wanted nothing to do with you. He said he had his own life and you weren't part of it."

"That's not true," Jasmine said, tears springing to her blue eyes.

"Why would I lie to you? He cast me out and David took me back out of the goodness of his heart. He is your father so I don't want anymore talk about this," Natalie finished definitively.

Jasmine blinked and a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. Natalie reached out to take her hand but she jumped back and fled from the flat. Alicia ran out after her without so much as glancing at her parents. As the girls left, the couple just stared at each other.

"She wasn't ready to hear that," Natalie said softly. She hadn't meant to be so abrupt but she'd been holding on to the truth about Jasmine's father so long that it just burst out in the end. Now Jasmine thought that her father was a horrible man. He hadn't wanted her in his life for several reasons but he wasn't really a bad man. Just proud and stubborn.

Jasmine put her head in her hands and David reached over to grip her shoulder. "Don't worry, love, I'll go speak to Leesh and Jas. You stay here and assure Erica her little sister won't beat up her fiancé."

she peered up and gave him a small smile. "Thanks for giving me the hard job."

Her husband returned the smile and kissed the top of her head. She went to find Erica and he headed downstairs. The two girls were standing by the car and Jasmine was still crying while Alicia was attempting to comfort her.

"Why didn't he want me?" Jasmine sobbed as David approached.

"He's obviously an idiot," Alicia replied bracingly.

"I have to agree with your sister on that one," he spoke up. The girls both turned to him. Alicia scowled and Jasmine just cried harder. "Don't give me that look, Alicia. And Jasmine you have to realise that your real father obviously had a lot going on in his life."

"If he didn't want a baby he should have been more careful!"

"I agree, darling, but what's done is done. But I bet he'll regret letting you go."

Jasmine wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm sorry I was so nasty to you, daddy."

Alicia rolled her eyes and snorted loudly. Daddy? Honestly…

"It's fine, Jas." David smiled and hugged her.

"Fine?" Alicia put her hands on her hips. "After all she put you and mum through? She's suddenly all sugar and spice and you just forgive her?"

"I think she picked that up from you."

Alicia blushed and looked at her feet. Her father pulled her into the embrace as well. By the time Natalie joined them the three were laughing and talking happily.

"Is Erica really angry at me?" Alicia asked as they drove home. They only lived ten minutes away.

"I think she'll be over it in the morning. I suggest you don't annoy her like that again though. I know you're attached to Charlie but it's Erica's life. She can marry who she likes."

"I won't say another word against what's-his-name," Alicia promised. She knew something the rest of her family obviously didn't.

On the ride home on the Hogwarts Express, Fred and George had informed her that Charlie had made a last minute decision to come home for Christmas. That meant he'd be attending the Christmas Eve dinner. Alicia could just sit back and let Charlie talk Erica out of it.

In the days preceding the dinner, Alicia and Erica reached an amiable agreement. If Erica didn't mention Brian in Alicia's presence then she wouldn't call him a stuck-up toff. Thankfully, nobody else had found out about Charlie's surprise visit so everything appeared to be working out.

Christmas Eve rolled around and Alicia was tense and jumpy. What if Charlie wasn't there? She smoothed her skirt down and tottered up to the Burrow in her heels. She didn't mind wearing skirts now that she was older but high heels were still shaky ground. Literally, Alicia thought, as she nearly twisted her ankle on a tuft of grass. As soon as she reached the door she kicked the shoes off and knocked.

"Alicia, you can't just go around barefoot," her mother sighed.

"Watch me."

The door opened and the conversation ceased. As Alicia had hoped, it was Charlie who answered.

"Hi, everybody." He flashed them what Alicia liked to call 'the Weasley grin'. Alicia threw herself at him and he laughed. "You can't have missed me that much, kid."

She released him as he peered around for Erica. Her parents and Jasmine were frozen in the doorway. They all knew the implications of his attendance. Natalie was the first to recover and she forced a smile. "I didn't know you were visiting, Charlie."

He just shrugged and ushered them into the house. "It was really a last minute thing. You know, homesick and all that. But I thought Alicia would have told you since the twins told her I was coming."

"No," David said, turning to Alicia and raising his eyebrows. "She didn't mention it."

"Didn't I? Hmm, must have slipped my mind."

Before anybody could yell at her, Alicia slipped further into the house to be greeted by the rest of the Weasley's, minus Bill, Fred and Ron. Molly was preparing food while Arthur set up the table. George and Ginny were stretched out in front of the fireplace playing a loud game of chess while Percy alternated between shushing them and reading.

Ginny spotted Jasmine and immediately jumped up and dragged her upstairs to presumably talk about a certain green eyed Seeker. Alicia lay down on her stomach in Ginny's vacated spot. "Mind if I play?" she asked George.

He shook his head and tried to ignore the fact that he could see straight down her top when she was lying like that. Happy Christmas, indeed.

Charlie wandered over with his hands in his pockets, whistling a cheerful tune. He paced around for a moment then he sat down and feigned interest in the chess game. Alicia waited patiently then he asked with exaggerated casualness, "So, Leesh, where's your big sister hiding?"

"She should be here soon."

Charlie shrugged as if it made no difference to him. The game continued (Alicia was winning thanks to her opponents lack of concentration) and Charlie resumed his whistling.

"Must you do that, Charlie?" Percy peered over the top of his book. Charlie began to whistle even louder and Percy was about to storm up to his room when he caught sight of Alicia and gave her a thoughtful look. "Say, where's this mysterious guest you were supposed to be bringing along."

"Erica is bringing him."

Those three words had an instant affect on Charlie. He froze, lips pursed, eyes wide. "Him?"

"Yep."

"Who is he then?" George asked, finally managing to meet her eyes.

Alicia shrugged. "Some Ministry swot."

Charlie seemed rather pleased with that answer. "Is he her friend or something?"

"Not telling."

"Alicia… "

"She'll be here soon and you can ask her yourself," she replied firmly.

"Erica would have told me if she had a boyfriend. He has to be her friend then. Right, Alicia?"

She just smiled sweetly and shook her head. "My lips are sealed."

"Oh, come on!"

"Georgie, where's Fred?"

"You can't just change the subject like that," Charlie protested.

George ignored his brother. "He's upstairs moping."

"Did he have a fight with Angelina?"

"Don't ignore me-"

"They had a huge fight. It was so bad that they broke up."

Alicia squealed in surprise and Percy muttered something about inconsiderate people and stomped upstairs. "They broke up?! No way it was that bad. Angelina would have told me."

"Well, according to Fred it was a small argument that Angelina started about nothing. Things got out of hand and she dumped him and Fred didn't even bother to protest," George said. "It only happened late this morning so you'll probably get an owl from Angelina tomorrow."

"They can't just break up like that! Especially not after all they went through to get together in the first place!" Alicia exclaimed in exasperation. "I think I should talk to Fred."

Charlie and George both shook their heads. "Not a good idea, kiddo," Charlie said quickly. "I doubt he's in the mood for female company."

"He's right, Leesh. Fred wouldn't even let Ginny and mum into the room when they went to check on him."

Knowing all about Fred's temper, Alicia decided it would be best to keep well away. They turned their attention back to the chess pieces that were demanding attention and the game resumed. Charlie began to hum this time and Alicia was getting so irritated that she was about to tell him about Brian. Before she got the chance there was a sharp knock at the front door.

Charlie leapt up immediately and effectively ended the game by knocking over half a dozen outraged chess pieces in his haste. Alicia and George were right behind him as he threw the door open. Alicia stared at her big sister and her fiancé from behind Charlie. Brian was smiling pleasantly and holding a bottle of expensive looking wine. Erica looked less pleased. She swore and stepped back and nearly tripped on Alicia's abandoned shoes.

"Merry Christmas!" Brian said eagerly, not picking up on the tension.

Everybody ignored him. Erica had quickly regained her poised and was glaring at Charlie. "You…what do you think you're doing? You can't be here!"

He shrugged. "You didn't want to visit me so I thought I'd visit you."

"A little warning might have been nice."

"I wanted to surprise you."

Erica crossed her arms angrily. "I hate surprises and you know it."

"Everybody needs a little surprise in their lives," Charlie amended.

The smile had long slipped from Brian's face. He'd finally noticed something was wrong. "Erica, what's going on?"

Erica turned to him and jumped slightly as if just remembering he was there. "Oh, I'm sorry! How rude of me. Brian this is Charlie Weasley. Charlie this is Brian Nightingale." The two men nodded but made no move to shake hands. Erica smiled slightly nastily. "Brian's my fiancé."

Alicia couldn't see Charlie's face but she was sure it was the picture of shock. Erica smirked. "Surprise, Charlie."

"What's going on?' Natalie asked from behind George. Alicia turned to see everybody else crowded into the entryway behind them. Jasmine was hopping up and down trying to get a look at Brian.

"Shh!" Alicia hissed. "It's just getting to the good part!"

"You're engaged?" Charlie asked, his disbelief clear in his tone and body language.

"That's right." Erica held out her hand so he could see the large diamond ring adorning her finger. The ring shone and sparkled cheerfully. It had obviously been enhanced with a Glitter Charm. Personally, Alicia found it gaudy. She had a feeling Erica did too but was too proud to show it.

"Blimey, that thing is probably worth more than this house," George whispered.

Charlie was not as impressed. "It's a bit showy, don't you think?"

"I should think so," Brian said briskly. "It cost a small fortune. But I happen to think Erica's worth it. Wouldn't you agree, Charles?"

"It's Charlie and I don't think it's really necessary to give Erica a monetary value."

Alicia was very pleased with herself at this point. Erica was looking less sure of her fiancé every second. Charlie was clearly coming across as the better option.

"Charlie! Don't be so impolite! Let them into the house!" Molly ordered. Charlie stepped aside and everybody retreated so the couple could enter.

Spotting Alicia, Brian suddenly smiled brightly again. Alicia frowned. He wasn't as awful looking as she had imagined. He was pleasant. From a purely aesthetic point of view, of course. She was rooting for Charlie after all.

"You must be Jasmine."

"No. I'm Alicia."

"Ah, of course you are. Erica has told me a lot about you." Brian seized her hand and made a great show of kissing it. Alicia then made a great show of wiping it on her skirt.

Looking slightly perplexed, Brian moved on to greet Natalie and David. David shook hands with him as if he was some old friend he hadn't seen in years. Jasmine introduced herself and Brian kissed her hand as well. She giggled in delight.

"Thank you for letting me join you and your family for dinner, Mrs Weasley," Brian handed her the bottle of wine and gave her other hand the same treatment he'd bestowed upon Alicia and Jasmine.

Molly blushed. "It's no trouble, dear. Thank you for the wine."

"You're welcome. I just hope I'm dressed adequately. Erica told me its tradition to wear casual Muggle clothes."

Alicia looked him up and down critically. He was wearing black dress trousers that seemed to repel wrinkles and an equally crisp long-sleeved, white shirt with a paisley green, silk tie. She was sure she'd be able to see her reflection in his shiny black shoes if she looked hard enough. He had dark hazel eyes and black hair that was sitting perfectly in place. Her future brother-in-law appeared anything but casual.

He was a sharp contrast to Charlie, however. He had opted for a pair of faded jeans and a blue shirt with a picture of a Snitch. His hair defied any sort of order and, like Alicia, he was bare foot.

"You look fine," Erica assured him, sparing Charlie an appraising glance. She didn't look too disappointed, Alicia thought.

"Well, dinner's ready," Molly announced. She suddenly noticed how messy the house was. This Brian fellow obviously lived well and was probably from one of the rich Wizard families. One of those families with twenty house elves.

"George, go get Fred and Percy," Arthur said.

"I'll come with you," Alicia offered. She followed George upstairs and knocked on Percy's door while he went to coax Fred out.

"Come in!"

She opened the door and entered Percy's compulsively neat bedroom. Percy himself was sitting at his desk reading. Alicia wandered over and picked up his picture of Penelope.

"How did you do it, Perce?"

"Do what?" he asked, closing his book.

"Keep your relationship with Penelope a secret?"

"This has something to do with you and Oliver?"

Alicia shrugged and replaced the picture frame. "I just don't know if I can do it. I want to tell everybody."

Percy straightened the frame till it was sitting at a perfect forty-five degree angle. "I really don't know what advice I can give you, Alicia. But you have to realise my relationship with Penelope is serious."

She put her hands on her hips. "Are you implying Oliver and I aren't serious?"

Percy adjusted his glasses. "It's just that Penny and I were more mature."

"What does maturity have to do with it? Have you and Penelope ever kissed in the shower? No? I didn't think so. Don't talk to me about seriousness and maturity."

Percy sighed. "There's no need to get so defensive. Anyway, what are you doing in here? Apart from asking me inappropriate questions and touching my things, I mean."

"Dinner's ready," she replied simply and left his room with her hands still perched on her hips.

By the time she got downstairs everyone was already seated. Her eyes scanned the crowded table. One seat next to Charlie and another across from it next to Brian. The Weasley's and Spinnet's all watched her covertly out of the corners of their eyes. Alicia appeared to survey the empty seats extensively before finally pulling out the chair beside Charlie.

This obvious snub did not go unnoticed. George smirked from his seat down the other end of the table while a very sullen looking Fred watched in confusion. Erica gave her sister a warning glare and Brian's cheeks reddened slightly. Percy finally joined them and everybody began to help themselves to food.

Nobody spoke for a minute or so. Brian was the first to break the silence when he offered Charlie a plate of meat.

"Would you like some turkey, Charlie?"

"I'm a vegetarian."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "Really? I though vegetarianism went out with the sixties."

"It's not some hippie fad. It was my own moral decision. You're familiar with morals, aren't you?"

Erica gulped her glass of wine in two mouthfuls and Alicia looked on eagerly, ignoring her food. George was whispering urgently to his twin, obviously filling him in on the action. Brian looked horribly offended and David thought it was best to intercede.

"This is wonderful chicken, Molly. What seasoning did you use?"

"I didn't use any."

"Oh."

Nice try, dad.

Brian piled more meat onto his plate than one person could ever hope to eat in one sitting. Charlie had about eight baked potatoes on his plate along with half a bowl of salad. Alicia knew that Charlie didn't even like potatoes but it was obviously a matter of principal.

This time it was Molly who attempted to initiate conversation. "So, Brian were you above or below Erica at Hogwarts?"

"I didn't actually attend Hogwarts. I was home schooled. I've found that public schools breed criminals and social misfits."

There was a smothered laugh and everyone turned to George. "Sorry, you just reminded me of Snape for a second there."

"Or Filch," Fred added.

Alicia was the only one who laughed. Brian obviously had no idea who Snape and Filch were but he got the gist anyway. Everybody ate for a while, Charlie munching loudly on his lettuce and Brian chewing his meat like a camel.

"Have you two set a date for the wedding yet?" Arthur asked.

"We were thinking sometime in spring," Brian answered.

"Actually I thought more along the lines of summer. That way everyone will be home from school," Erica said.

"Where will you have the ceremony?" Jasmine asked.

Brian said, "In a Church," at the same moment Erica said, "In a garden."

"I always liked the idea of a garden wedding," Charlie said reflectively. Erica blushed and poured herself some more wine.

"So, Alicia, Erica tells me you play Quidditch?" Brian said, pretending to care.

"Yeah."

"I must admit I'm not much of a fan. I don't get the point really."

"It's sport," Charlie said tersely. "It's not meant to have a point."

"Isn't sport just a chance to flaunt testosterone like cave men?" Brian replied sharply.

"I'm not a cave man!" Alicia cried indignantly. "And I don't flaunt testosterone!"

"I never said you did."

"Yes you did!"

Erica was on the verge of tears when David said, "That's enough, Alicia. Brian didn't mean to offend you."

Alicia wasn't really too sure about that but she shut up anyway.

"When are you heading back to Romania, Charlie," Natalie asked after an extended silence.

"Well, I was planning to stay for a few days and visit some old friends but I might leave tomorrow night."

Erica knew she was one of the 'old friends' Charlie had referred to. It made her feel guilty to know he had come all that way to see her only to find her suddenly engaged.

"Charlie works with dragons in Romania," Alicia informed Brian proudly.

"Dragons?"

"That's right," Charlie said, a hint of challenge in his voice.

"My younger brother has a fascination with dragons," Brian said airily. "He's ten years old."

"My work with dragons is very critical. We provide sanctuary for orphaned or injured dragons."

"That's lovely. I've been looking into a proposal to cull dragons. All they're really good for is body parts after all."

Charlie dropped his knife and fork on his plate with a clatter. Alicia suddenly wasn't feeling very good about this whole situation. Charlie was very touchy about dragons. However, he took the moral high ground and chose to walk away rather than retaliate.

"Charlie!" Erica called after him. Brian looked at her in shock but she just glowered. "Why did you say that to him? You had no right!"

"Excuse me?"

Erica must have just realised she'd just defended the one guy she wasn't supposed to be in love with because she jumped up and fled from the house. The front door slammed and Brian excused himself, thanked Molly again and left as well.

"I think that went well," George commented. Arthur gave him a sharp look and he looked down at his plate.

"Stuck-up git," Alicia said vehemently, stabbing her beef. She expected someone to tell her off but nobody even bothered.

They were obviously thinking along the same lines.

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A/N: There you go. Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long though. Too much going on in my life sometimes.

Anyhow, I'm going to try to write in my spare time (which is sadly dwindling away to nothing) because I still want to get this finished before Order of the Phoenix. Thanks for all the reviews and encouragement. Just one more thing…GO THE KNIGHTS! They're back baby!

Ashlee- No, you probably won't like the next chapter. If everything goes to plan then George will find out. His poor little heart will be broken. So, yes, brace yourself!

Eriador- Ooh! Lots of cuties at uni. Unfortunately the majority don't do my course. Dammit. Stupid Oliver? Hehe. If that's that way you feel. I guess there already is a dramatic George ending in Yule Ball but I can guarantee that Alicia and George will kiss before the end of this story. You'll have to wait to find out the circumstances though…

Star2717- Hopefully he'll find out next chapter. It's going to be a hard one to write. More Percy in this chapter for you! He really is fun and easy to write. The fact that Alicia and Oliver's relationship is so complicated does factor into its demise but there are other reasons, which will surface later. I got a chapter out now you owe me one!

Shenaux- I don't really know if you'd call this (the prequel, I mean) a G/A story considering Alicia is oblivious. But I don't know if you'd call it O/A either. I guess it's up to the individual. Jasmine is a feisty little character, isn't she? She was very mean though but they've made up now so it should all be good. Until the sequel that is! Thanks, I did have a very nice party, by the way. Except it rained.

Oliverwoodschic- I guess you're not happy about the prospect of no more Oliver/Sean? I hope your foot feels better! Well, as you know, Erica isn't engaged to Charlie so we'll just have to wait and see what happens with those two. They're as hopeless as George and Alicia, really! No, her parents won't be getting a divorce now.

Me Myselvez and I- Hiya! Great to see you over here too! I so glad you like my fic. I don't want to deprive you of sleep though. I'll try to get chapters out quicker so you don't become an insomniac.

Tessa- Yay! Someone likes O/A! Glad you're back. Thanks. Uni is going all right. In case anyone is wondering I'm doing a Bachelor of Arts in English, text and writing with a sub-major in Communications. Yay for me.

mystical- Glad you're enjoying Scottish!Olly so much. My characterisation often leaves a lot to be desired but I think it's getting better and there's still a lot more to learn about them. Sadly, she wasn't engaged to a Weasley. Utterly amazing? *blushes* Thank you!

Meredith- Hi! Nope, Jasmine's father is still unknown but there were some subtle hints that may help you rule out certain people. I am having fun at Uni. Hehe. I'm happy for you.

Hopeless Angel- Thanks a lot for all your reviews! I love it when old readers turn up again. I think it's the ultimate compliment when someone remembers your story.

Zephyre- Good to hear from you again! Thanks, Uni is going well. Olly and Leesh were totally in control. But I guess naughty characters like those two are an unavoidable hazard with writing. Sometimes I feel lazy and just let them do what they want.

daiZe- Hello, fellow Alicia! I am having fun. I feel the same way sometimes. Poor George…oh, but Oliver…then again…poor George. Lol.