***TEENY SPOILER WARNING FOR ORDER OF THE PHOENIX IN A/N***
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all the characters, except the ones she doesn't own.
A/N: I know it's repetitive but sorry for the delay. I don't know if it's really counted as a spoiler…but JK has finally decided to tell us that Katie is a year younger than Alicia and Angelina. I'm sure she did it just to spite me. Anyway, it's too hard to change everything now so this story is now kinda AU. Kinda.
Ok, so what happens in this chapter? This is the Quidditch final. I'm not too good at Quidditch games but I figured this was too important to skip. I know how many of you like F/A so there's also some Fred/Angelina stuff in here, though they don't get back together yet. Also, Oliver kisses Fred. Something to look forward to.
This chapter is dedicated to Steph. She sent me a lovely email that motivated me to finish the chapter. You can all thank her for it.
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Chapter 33
"I'm going back to bed," Katie whimpered and tried to turn around and walk back out of the Great Hall.
"No way, Bell," Oliver snatched up her arm and guided her towards the Gryffindor table.
The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws cheered along with the Gryffindors and effectively drowned out the insistent booing from the Slytherin table. Someone from the Ravenclaw table called out "Go, Alicia!" and she almost fainted. People were supposed to cheer for Harry, not her.
"Wave to your adoring public!" George grabbed her wrist and waved her hand about in the air.
"George! Stop it!" She blushed and wrenched her arm from his grip. "You're bloody insane, you know that? We're about to play the Quidditch game of our lives and you're laughing and making jokes! It's not…natural!"
"Leesh, I'm as terrified as you are," he admitted. "I just figure we might as well cash in on all this attention. Oh, hello!" he called out to a small Hufflepuff girl he didn't even know.
Alicia rolled her eyes but couldn't resist a smile. It was the first time she'd smiled all morning and it was a relief. For half a second she forgot she was carrying the hopes of most of the school on her shoulders. Well, half a second of forgetting was better than nothing.
She slipped into a seat between Katie and George and looked around at the food. There was no way she was going to be able to keep anything down. George must have read her mind because he began piling fruit onto her plate.
She clutched her stomach and shook her head forlornly. "I couldn't possibly eat anything."
"Don't be such a baby," George said briskly. "A little fruit won't kill you. What about a grape? You like them."
"Don't like them anymore."
"You were eating them yesterday at breakfast," he pointed out.
"Since when do you watch me eat? You keep a diary of my eating habits or something?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Come on, open up." He poked her in the ribs.
"Oh, don't you dare even try it," she warned.
He blinked innocently. "Try what?"
"I know what you're thinking, George Weasley."
The two were unaware that Oliver was watching them from across the table. He was frowning and obviously deep in thought. Everyone figured he was thinking about the game so they left him alone. But for once he wasn't thinking about Quidditch.
"I guess you know me too well." George smiled and began to tickle Alicia furiously.
"Don't! Stop it!" She giggled and thrashed about. While her mouth was open he popped a grape into it then put his hand over her mouth so she couldn't spit it out again.
"Chew," he ordered.
"Get off me, you git!" she said as she struggled.
Instead, it sounded like, "Goffinagit!"
"Not till you chew and swallow."
Knowing that he was being serious, she groaned then chewed and swallowed obediently. She opened her mouth to show it was all gone. "Satisfied?"
"Immensely." George nodded then started on his own breakfast. He smiled to himself. There's was no way Oliver would ever be able to make her laugh like that. George-1 Oliver-0.
***************
"You remember what we talked about?" Oliver addressed the team. "If we all work together we can win this thing. We all play our parts."
"But we have the biggest part, right?"
Everyone stared at Angelina. She'd never looked so nervous in her life. She was always the one in control. Katie was looking serene but Angelina was looking rather ill. Oliver could only shrug uncomfortably.
"Well, Harry can't catch the Snitch till we're leading by more than fifty so…I guess you could say you have the biggest part."
"Great," she mumbled faintly. Before anyone could offer encouragement she jumped up and fled to the girl's bathroom.
"I'll talk to her," Katie offered.
"Never mind." Fred pulled her back. "I'll handle it."
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Alicia said hesitantly. The last thing they needed was a fight now.
"Don't worry your pretty little head, button. I've got it all under control." He flashed her a confident grin then followed in Angelina's footsteps.
Angelina didn't hear Fred come in. She was leaning over the sink, splashing water on her face when he came in and stood silently behind her. He enjoyed the view of her leaning over for a moment before he spoke.
"You all right?"
Angelina jumped involuntarily. She straightened up and spotted him in the mirror. "I'm fine. What do you want?"
"I often hang around the girls' lavatory for no apparent reason."
"I don't doubt that." She rubbed the sleeve of her robe over her face then turned around. "You better get back out to the team."
"Not yet. I just want you to know that there's no reason to be frightened."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them.
"Frightened?! I'm not frightened! You're an idiot, get out!"
"Ok, relax," he said soothingly and put his hands on her shoulders. "I've got your back. Just remember that, Angelina. Whatever happens out there-"
"What?" she said urgently. "What do you think is going to happen?"
"Nothing. I'm being hypothetical. I'll look after you out there. If Flint so much as breathes on you I'll use his head as a Bludger."
"That's very manly of you," she observed sweetly.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I like to protect what's mine."
Angelina quirked an eyebrow. "Yours? Who says I'm yours?"
"Come on, Angel." Fred grabbed her hands pleadingly. "I like you and you like me. What's the problem?"
"You never took our relationship seriously."
"Yes I did!"
"No you didn't, Fred. I'm sorry but your boyish charm only gets you so far. You have to grow up sometime. When that happens I'll be willing to give it another try," she said. She smiled and pulled her hands away gently. "Until then, I suggest we give each other a little space."
Fred bit his tongue. He wanted to plead and beg. Prostrate himself before her. Anything to get her back. But that wouldn't be very mature. If she wanted maturity then that was what she would get.
He nodded placidly. "Yes, space is probably best."
Angelina's eyes widened in mild shock. She was expecting some sort of protest at the very least. Could this be a new Fred? Further more, did she even want a new Fred? After all, it was the immature, fun-loving Fred that caught her eye in the first place.
Alicia poked her head inside and smiled in relief when she saw that her friends weren't fighting. "We're going out now."
"All right, let's go slaughter some snakes!" Fred pumped his fist in the air.
Alicia and Angelina exchanged a grin. The Weasley Twin Enthusiasm really was contagious. Fred put his arms around both girls and dragged them to join the team.
***************
It would go down as the dirtiest game of Quidditch played at Hogwarts in recent memory. As the Gryffindor team walked out they had no idea what they were in for. Alicia followed Oliver out on to the pitch and she was almost knocked over by the force of the cheering. The stands trembled and the crowd rolled like an angry sea.
It was enough to make anyone weak at the knees but for Alicia is was worse. She didn't like being the centre of attention at the best of times but this ovation made her stumble over her own feet stupidly.
George sidled up to her and shouted in her ear to be heard over the roaring crowd. "Slytherins can smell fear."
She nodded mutely and tried to remain composed. Intimidation was the only thing the Slytherins could hold over the Gryffindor team so when the teams faced each other Alicia eyeballed Montague till he squirmed and looked away. Oliver shook hands with Flint and Alicia mounted her broom with a slight flutter of satisfaction. She'd won the first round.
Madam Hooch's whistle pierced the air and Alicia was one of the few who actually heard it. She got a head start and managed to swipe the Quaffle out of the air and tuck it under her arm. The Slytherins scrambled well and Alicia could sense Flint and Montague behind her. She rolled and zigzagged wildly to try and shake them whilst looking around for Angelina and Katie.
The Slytherin goals were glittering and beckoning as she approached at top speed. She was concentrating so hard on these other things that she didn't see Warrington coming. He dropped in out of nowhere and punched the Quaffle from her grasp. She swore and yanked her broom in a tight circle to turn and chased after him.
She needn't have bothered. She caught Lee's excited commentary over the boisterous crowd.
"WHAM! Nice Bludger work there by George Weasley."
Angelina swooped on the loose Quaffle like a bird of prey and was speeding back down the other end of the pitch before Alicia had time to blink. She flew behind Angelina and tried to draw some of the attention from her friend. It seemed to work because Angelina had an unobstructed run to the goals. She beat the Keeper easily.
Alicia let out a whoop and poked her tongue out at a nearby Slytherin Beater. So far so good. The Slytherins hadn't tried any dirty play yet and they only had to score five more goals. Of course, she'd spoken (or thought, as was the case) too soon.
Flint had smashed into Angelina and only her quick reflexes stopped her from hurtling towards the ground. Flint claimed that he hadn't seen her and Alicia couldn't help but yell out. "That's a load of bollocks and you know it! You hit her deliberately!"
Flint just gave her an evil smile. He stopped smiling, however, when his nose hit his broom. Alicia distinctly heard a crack but she didn't know if it was Flint's broom or his nose. Hopefully the latter. Madam Hooch awarded penalties both ways and Fred protested. Angelina had to fly over and calm him down before he did something stupid. Well, something else stupid.
Alicia was to take the penalty. She was the best at them apparently. She didn't feel very good at them anymore. The crowd fell silent and you could have heard a pin drop. Alicia found that she actually preferred the screaming to nothing. It was so quiet she could hear her heart thumping against her ribcage.
Trying not to imagine the disappointed groans if she missed, she clutched the Quaffle and stared at the goalposts. Visualising. That was the trick.
"Come on, Alicia!"
Alicia smiled and remembered to thank Lee for breaking the horrible silence. She steadied herself then shot towards the goals. The Keeper dove early and all Alicia had to do was aim and throw. The Quaffle sailed through the centre hoop and Alicia was engulfed by Angelina and Katie.
"You did it! Only four to go!" Angelina yelled as she clung to Alicia.
"That's only if Oliver saves," Katie reminded her.
"He'll save it," Alicia said firmly. "He has to."
"YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"
"I love that guy!" Angelina sighed and dove to retrieve the Quaffle that Oliver had so deftly punched away.
Montague stole the Quaffle almost immediately and Katie snatched it right back as he streaked by. She was on her way to goal and looked sure to score when Montague caught up with her and grabbed her by the head. Alicia's heart had jumped into her mouth as Katie barely managed to hang on to her broom.
"THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"
Lee was justifiably angry and Katie couldn't help but feel a little pleased that someone was sticking up for her. She took the penalty and scored their third goal.
"Only three more to go!" Angelina shouted happily.
Alicia was going to reply when Harry suddenly went streaking by. The three Chasers stared in horror. Oliver, meanwhile, looked like he was going to have an aneurysm.
Harry was hurrying towards the Slytherin posts and the rest of the team was screaming at him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"That's it," Angelina said sadly. "The kid's lost his mind. S'pose it was only a matter of time."
"Oh no!" Alicia put a hand over her mouth. Everyone had stopped to watch the Slytherin Beaters zero in on the star Seeker.
"He's going to get smooshed," Katie gasped.
But Harry didn't get smooshed. At the last second he jerked the Firebolt up and the two Beaters collided. The crowd erupted again and the game continued.
Angelina was in possession and Flint was right beside her. Lee suggested that Angelina should poke him in the eye and a sly grin crept across her face. She was obviously contemplating it when Flint seized the Quaffle and was heading towards Oliver.
Alicia chased furiously but she didn't make it. Flint managed to score and her head dropped. Now they had four goals to score. Just when things had been looking up…
There was no time to dwell on it. Alicia found herself back with the Quaffle and she immediately hurried towards the Slytherin goals. Angelina and Katie were getting in to place for the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. That was their favourite move and they did it to perfection. The Slytherins knew this so they resorted to dirty play again. Bole hit Alicia on the upper arm with his bat.
She dropped the Quaffle and clutched at her arm. I wasn't broken but it bloody well hurt. "AAH! YOU GOD DAMN-"
"I thought she was a Bludger." Bole blinked innocently. As innocent as a Slytherin can ever look, anyway.
George was in a rage. While Angelina and Katie were comforting Alicia he flew over to Bole. "Listen here, mate. If you ever hurt her again I'll kill you. Understand me?"
"Protecting the half-blood? Nothing surprising about that, Muggle lover," Bole growled.
George promptly elbowed him in the face. Unfortunately, Flint happened to see him do it.
"Madam Hooch! Foul! Unprovoked attack on my Beater! Madam Hooooooch!"
"Oh, do shut up, Flint!" Madam Hooch snapped
"The Weasel elbowed my Beater, Miss! It was unprovoked! I saw it!" Flint insisted.
"I'll show you unprovoked!" George swung his bat threateningly.
"It's all right, George," Alicia soothed. "I'm fine. Don't give away another unnecessary penalty. Come on, George, Angelina's taking the penalty."
"All right, Spinnet?" Oliver called from his spot in front of his goals.
"No permanent damage done!" Alicia assured him as she moved her arm about to get some feeling back into it.
"I'll get him for that," George vowed.
"Everything's fine. You don't have to do anything to him," she said firmly.
George pouted like a child denied a treat. "Not even a teeny little prank?"
"No."
"You're no fun."
She reached over and ruffled his fiery red hair. "I do appreciate the thought, though."
Angelina got the penalty and Oliver managed to save so the score was forty-ten. A sense of urgency struck the Gryffindor Chasers and they upped the ante. Much to the despair of the Slytherin team.
"Porskoff Ploy!" Angelina ordered.
It was probably the most difficult Chaser play and even the Gryffindor girls often had trouble with the timing. Alicia happened to be in possession when Angelina made the call so she had to do the hard part. She was sure Angelina planned it that way.
Anyway, she flew straight towards the Slytherin goals with Angelina lingering to her left. She deliberately peered over her shoulder to check Angelina was there then she feigned to pass. The Slytherin Chasers all fell for it and they dove to intercept. Alicia dropped the Quaffle and prayed that Katie was somewhere beneath her.
Katie caught the Quaffle and swerved around the stunned opposition to score their fifth goal. Marcus Flint was furious at his team for falling for the ruse, though he had been the first to dive towards Angelina. The girls rejoiced at having pulled of a textbook Porskoff Ploy and Fred and George circled around the three of them, daring the Slytherins to try anything.
They didn't bother to try any dirty play on the Chasers while Fred and George were on guard. Instead, they opted to attack Oliver.
"NO!" Alicia screamed as Oliver rolled in midair and just managed to cling to his broom.
She was by his side so quickly that for a moment he thought she had Apparated. The rest of the team quickly joined her while Madam Hooch lectured the Slytherins.
"Just take deep breaths," Alicia urged as Oliver clutched at his midsection.
Katie held two fingers up in his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Oh, for God's sake," George growled from behind her. "He was hit in the stomach, not the head, Katie."
She just glared over her shoulder. "You can never be too careful, George."
Angelina took the penalty whilst they were fussing over Oliver and the game continued once he could breathe freely again. Alicia was barely containing her anger and she decided to channel it. They only needed one more goal!
A nicely aimed Bludger, courtesy of Fred, knocked the Quaffle from Warrington's slimy grasp and she swooped. She flew straight and fast and took no notice of the Slytherins trying to block her. Angelina and Katie flew alongside her to draw attention away and Alicia was suddenly faced with the Keeper.
She shot for the far right post. The Quaffle was like a red missile and the Keeper didn't have a chance.
"You did it!" Angelina nearly knocked her off her broom with the force of her hug.
"No, we did it!" Alicia corrected her as Katie joined the group hug.
The game continued, of course, but it resumed with less vigour. Everyone was keeping a close eye on Harry and Malfoy and the play paused every time either of them moved more than a few metres. The game literally ground to a halt when Harry went rocketing up in pursuit of the Snitch.
Angelina crossed her fingers. "Oh, come on, Harry."
Harry stretched out his hand and everyone in the crowd held their breath. Alicia was certain her heart stopped for a few seconds. Just when it appeared that the game was over, Malfoy employed a tactic that would go down as one of the most deliberate and malicious in Hogwarts history. He was seeing the Cup slip through their fingers so he lunged and grabbed hold of Harry's Firebolt.
Angelina swore so colourfully and loudly that she would have put the twins to shame if they'd been close enough to hear her. As it was, they were being held back by Warrington, Montague and Flint. Alicia was still seething when Madam Hooch handed her the Quaffle.
Her whole body was shaking when she set herself to take the penalty. She tried to visualise the Quaffle sailing through the hoop but an image of Malfoy grabbing Harry's broom disrupted her concentration. She missed horribly but no one really cared.
After the disgraceful foul, the tables turned and the Slytherin team had the momentum. Their roll continued when Montague beat Oliver.
Katie frowned in concern. "Normally Oliver can fly rings around Montague."
Alicia nodded. She had noticed it as well. Oliver was still struggling a bit. "I think those Bludgers really shook him up."
"We have to end this now," Angelina said firmly. She took off to retrieve the Quaffle.
"Do you get the feeling she's going to do something crazy?" Katie asked worriedly.
"Yep."
They exchanged a knowing glance. There wasn't any hope of stopping her so they might as well help out while she was on her crazy rampage. Angelina had already taken the Quaffle and was approaching the Slytherin goals.
"Oh no!"
"What?!" Alicia demanded.
"LOOK!"
Alicia looked. She made a pitiful squeaking noise as every member of the Slytherin team, minus Malfoy, converged on Angelina. Her mind froze and she looked around desperately. Fred and George were even further away than she and Katie were.
At that moment, a saviour appeared in the form of Harry. He was little more than a scarlet blur shooting towards Angelina. The Slytherin team scattered in alarm and Angelina was left with a clear run to the goals. She scored and the margin was back to sixty points.
The team barely had time to register this fact before Malfoy went into a dive. Harry was still making his way back and it didn't appear that he would make it.
"Oh, it's all my fault! If I hadn't been so stupid he wouldn't have had to save me! I cost us the game!" Angelina yelled at herself and covered her eyes. As you can imagine, it isn't easy to ride a broomstick with your hands over your eyes and she bumped into Alicia.
Katie pointed excitedly. "Look! He's catching up!"
Angelina peered through her fingers cautiously. She literally gaped; Harry and Malfoy were now level. Of course, she had forgotten that Harry was riding the best broom in the world. The girls grasped hands as the two Seekers jostled. Harry managed to knock Malfoy's arm aside and he clutched the prized Snitch in his fist.
For the rest of their lives, the girls would never forget that moment. The moment they won the Quidditch Cup. Alicia had thought the ovation they received when they took the field was momentous but this was nothing compared to it. Katie and Angelina were screaming something but they were completely drowned out by the crowd.
Harry held the Snitch in the air and Oliver flew to embrace him fervently. The girls took off in their direction and they joined the huddle just after Fred and George.
Alicia was finally able to hear what Katie and Angelina were screaming. "We've won the cup!" She joined in the chant happily as the seven of them descended in a big tangle.
"I love you!" Oliver kept yelling. It wasn't really clear who he was addressing it to, though. Probably all of them at once.
"I knew you could do it!" Angelina grabbed Harry and raised his arm in the air.
"Well, I couldn't have done anything without you girls." He blushed violently as they all kissed him on the cheek.
The crowd was spilling onto the pitch now and Harry was whisked away. Oliver turned to his Chasers now.
"You three! That Porskoff Ploy!" he exclaimed, utterly lost for words.
The girls hugged their sobbing captain as everyone surged around them and congratulated them with slaps on the back. They managed to struggle away from Oliver just as Fred and George came over.
"My Beaters!" Oliver beamed.
The twins just smiled and Oliver grabbed Fred and kissed him on the mouth. Fred just stared in amazement as Oliver bounded away and was swallowed up by the crowd.
Fred rubbed his hand over his mouth and spat repeatedly. "That guy is bloody insane! That was disgusting!"
"Really?" Alicia grinned. "I rather enjoyed it."
"Completely enjoyable," Katie agreed.
"Now snog George and all my fantasies will have come true," Angelina said with a giggle.
Fred scowled disdainfully at them. "I'm glad you girls can find amusement in the fact that I'm traumatised for life."
"Come on, we're going to get the Cup presented to us!" George pointed to the stands where Dumbledore was holding the shiny Quidditch Cup.
Oliver and Harry were being carried on the shoulders of the crowd and Fred shrugged. "When in Rome, I suppose."
He ducked down and put his head between Angelina's knees. "Fred what the hell are you doing?!"
"Relax, sugar." He grabbed her hands to steady her then he straightened up and she was sitting on his shoulders. "There we go. That wasn't so bad."
The crowd cheered when they caught sight of her and Angelina threw her arms out as if to embrace them all. Alicia just smiled up at her friend.
"May I put my head between your legs?"
She turned to George with an amused smirk. "Excuse me?"
He turned bright red and tugged at his hair in embarrassment. "Er - I mean, would you, um-"
"Yes, I know what you mean and it's fine."
George followed his brother's example with a little more hesitation. Fred may find it easy to put his head between girls' legs but George wasn't quite as forward. He straightened up and the crowd cheered again. Alicia just smiled shyly.
Katie was now the only Chaser left on the ground and, frankly, she was feeling a little left out.
"Allow me," someone whispered in her ear.
"Lee!" She turned around and kissed him on the cheek.
He hoisted her onto his shoulders and followed the twins towards the stands.
***************
"It's so shiny!"
"I know," Angelina sighed reverently.
It was almost a week after the final and Angelina, Alicia and Katie were in the library trying to study with some of their friends from the other houses. Angelina was showing them the miniature cup that they'd been awarded. It was being passed around the Gryffindor team before it would be put on permanent displayed in the common room. Oliver had reluctantly handed it over to the Chasers that morning and they'd taken it to the library.
"I heard the party afterwards was huge," Cordelia from Ravenclaw commented enviously.
"It was the hugest," Alicia confirmed with a grin, finally abandoning her studying. It was so hard to concentrate when you were in a constant state of euphoria.
"I suppose Wood is happy," Meenal said as she checked her reflection in the side of the cup.
"That's an understatement," Katie said with a laugh. "He's still wandering the corridors and hugging random people."
Alicia seized the opportunity to ask something she'd always wanted to know. She leant her chair back on two legs and put her feet on the edge of the table. Best to look completely casual. "While we're on the topic of Wood…uh, what do you girls think of him?"
Meredith frowned. "I always thought he was a little crazy."
Alicia nodded. She couldn't argue with that. Madeline from Hufflepuff was next to offer her opinion. "I got three words for you. Sex. On. Legs."
Well. Alicia hadn't been expecting anything like that. Her feet slipped and her chair flew back, depositing her on the floor as well. She stared up at the ceiling for a second. Why should it matter if Madeline thought her secret boyfriend was sex on legs?
"You all right, Leesh?" Katie held out a hand to help her up.
"I'm fine," she mumbled and coloured. "Just slipped."
"Anyway, you girls can't seriously expect me to believe you've never thought about Oliver. You've been on the same Quidditch team as him for years. You can't tell me you've never tried to sneak into the showers while he's in there."
Alicia glared at Madeline as she took her seat again. "That would be immoral."
"I did it."
"Katie!"
"It was only once," she said defensively. "Besides, all the boys had already left."
"I did it twice," Angelina said casually.
"Not you as well!?" Alicia squealed. All these girls trying to peek at her boyfriend in the shower was more than a little annoying.
Angelina gave her an odd look, as if sneaking in to the boy's showers was a normal thing to do. "I didn't see anything. The first time I tried it they were all in there. Fred tried to invite me in but I told him to get lost. The second time was earlier this year. Only Harry was there. Scared the hell out of the poor kid."
Alicia remembered her brief encounter in the shower with Oliver, but she thought it best not to mention anything about it.
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A/N: There. Back in business. Don't forget to read the next chapter as well. It's a little different. Ok, next chapter (after songfic) will feature some Charlie/Erica! Yayness! It will be an important chapter. *Sly wink* Don't miss it. Now to my gorgeous reviewers! So many of you!
Tessa: I love Ron, too! He'll probably be in future chapters as well. And Oliver will still feature in future chapters as well. Particularly the sequel. Can't give too much away about that. But their split will be amicable so they will still be friends.
CoolBreeze: Writing replies for my reviewers is probably my favourite part of this whole fanfiction thing. I figure that if my reviewers take time out to read and review my story then the least I can do is take a little time out of my boring life to reply. Sadly, I don't know of a way to make characters come to life. If I did I'd have a house full of Weasleys. And Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. He'd be under my bed. The collaboration story won't be appearing under my name but I have the story (The Project) in my faves list. I think I'm writing chapter 17. Or maybe it's 14. Anyway, you won't see my chapter for a while. And, to answer your last question, George spent a large portion of his savings on the Quaffle for Alicia. That makes it all the sweeter.
Meredith: Everyone seems to want George as a boyfriend except Alicia! Well, there's plenty of time for her to come to her senses. I'm still on my Uni break! I got seven weeks off! I have to go back for second semester next week though. Oddly, I'm looking forward to it.
Oliverwoodschic: We'll find out what happens with Erica and Brian in the next chapter. Not the songfic one. The one after. And Alicia will come to a realisation about Oliver.
ParadiseOrPoison: Yeah, I probably would have done the same thing as you. I just don't think George would do it. Not to Alicia at least. Sometimes it's hard to keep George in character and I know it must be hard to see him being a nice guy all the time when most of you just want him to punch Oliver.
Ashlee: I don't know why I write heartbreak well. I've never really been terribly heartbroken. I really liked the part where George told Alicia off as well. She deserved it and it really gave her a wake up call. I feel bad for George, too. Though probably not as much as you! Lol. What Oliver did was pretty wrong but don't discount him yet.
Mystical: Yes, a little trouble in paradise. Oliver is…confused. Thank you. I like the way I write, too. I never used to write with all the sarcasm and wit so I blame Fred and George for it.
Lil azn mystikal girl: Hi! Someone missed me! I don't think Alicia would mind that George didn't get her a present (though we all know he did). And she probably wouldn't have minded if Oliver didn't get her anything. It was the fact that he forgot her birthday that would have hurt her.
Faye: I hope you enjoyed the F/A interaction in this chapter. They're so much fun to write. I love Australia as well. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. If you get the chance to come to Australia your first stop should be Sydney. But don't come out west where I live. There's only a donut shop and a football stadium. Not terribly exciting. Hehe. I don't really like union, league is my code, but the Wallabies do suck. I think England, the All Blacks or the Springboks will win the World Cup. We certainly won't.
Star2717: There is plenty of excitement coming up. The best part of the story is coming up so hold on to your computer chairs! Alicia will snog George under interesting circumstances. But before that we have the Quidditch World Cup. That will be a big moment. Eek. The thought that some of my phrases are used in everyday conversation is frightening!
Jessica: I loved your review! Honestly, I didn't stop smiling all day. I'm glad someone noticed an improvement. I thought I was just imagining it! Personally, I can't read Yule Ball anymore. That's how much I've improved. I can't even read my old stories without wanting to bang my head on the keyboard. I want to be an author (Working on a manuscript at the moment. Ssh! Don't tell anyone!) one day so the practice comes in handy. I still have a long way to go but at least I'm getting better. You're a shocking reviewer and I'm a lazy writer so it all evens out! Thanks for the wonderful review. I really appreciate it. Especially after the not-so-nice one I got for Yule Ball. *glares* Thankfully most of what the person was a load of crap.
Eriador: Yeah, I finished OotP the day after I got it. I was reading slow and trying to savour it but I still got it done in less than 24 hours. I loved it but I'm sad that it was Alicia's last year. Hopefully she'll still make appearances. I cried my eyes out at the end. I haven't cried that much reading a book before. *Sniff*
Erin: Thanks a lot. The plot is still kinda developing but the characterisation is coming along well. Thanks for noticing.
Stephanie: Your review(s)…no words left to describe it. I blushed and giggled for hours. I even read it out to my brother and he thought I wrote it to myself. Idiot. Being compared to JK…lost for words again. The best you've ever read. You're not the first to say that but I still don't quite see it myself. You've read more than me though so you're better qualified I guess. I promise I won't leave this story just hanging. Sometimes I do feel like just stopping but reviews like yours wake me up. Your second review was what got me writing again. And the email got me motivated to round off the chapter and post. I'm assuming you're the same Steph that emailed me even though you used a different email address. Anyway, I really, really appreciate the kick up the backside. I have fans. Hehe. *Wanders off aimlessly*
Laverne de Montmorency: I've missed your reviews! You're one of my most consistent reviewers and I thought you didn't love me anymore. Lightening?! Lord, I guess I can forgive you for that, if you can forgive me for taking ages to update. The good news is that things are going to get better for George! Finally!