A/N: Many thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed so far. The response has really urged me to continue. Just so you know, I had to go back and change a few things in the past few chapters to amend my timeline. It probably won't make a difference to you but I like to keep things accurate.

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Chapter 4

Alicia blinked several times, but Lee still stood in front of her no matter how hard she tried to wish him away.

"Lee, you're…here? Why are you…here?" she mumbled.

"Happy birthday!" Lee grinned jovially. He was carrying a bunch of daisies and he kissed her on the cheek then handed them to her.

"Oh, daisies picked from my own garden." Alicia looked from the flowers to Lee then back again. "Thanks, I guess."

"Yes, sorry about that. I must admit that I'd totally forgotten it was your birthday. Luckily, I arrived back in England just in time."

"Luckily," Alicia repeated, stepping back and letting him enter the house.

"I arrived at George's place just as he and Katie were about to leave. They let me tag along," Lee said, taking his jacket off and making himself right at home.

Alicia scowled. George. Of course.

"Ok, make yourselves comfortable while I sort out the food." Alicia smiled her happiest hostess smile. On her way to the kitchen she grabbed George by the ear and dragged him along.

Angelina and Katie were busy arranging the pizza on a platter while Fred helpfully watched them and made suggestions. When Alicia pulled George in Katie gave him a sharp look and said, "Go on, tell Alicia what you did."

"It was an honest mistake!"

"George?"

He shrugged innocently and backed himself into the corner of the kitchen, as far away from Alicia as he could possibly be without jumping out the window. "Well, when you and Lee were dating…or shagging - or whatever it is you were doing - I might have kinda told Lee he could stay at our place during the League finals. It was going to be like the good old days…"

Alicia sighed. She saw where this was going. "Except you forgot all about it and Lee has arrived expecting you to put him up."

"Pretty much. But he can't possibly stay in the nursery."

"The sofa then," Alicia suggested.

"Katie says that's where I'm going to be sleeping," George replied sadly. He lowered his voice and leant towards Alicia. "You know Katie's been very hormonal lately."

"George, I'm pregnant not deaf!"

"Yes, dear," he said. "Of course not, dear."

"All right." Alicia rubbed her hand over her face. "Lee can't stay with you and Katie. Ang?"

"Oh, you know I'd love nothing better than to have Fred and Lee under the same roof again, but my sister is coming to stay and we simply don't have room for him," Angelina answered as she poured Butterbeer into glasses. "Surely Lee has other people he can stay with. Family?"

Alicia shook her head. "They all live overseas now. Except his stepfather, but Lee hates him. "

"Friends? He must have other friends."

"You know Lee, he attracts friends like flies. I just doubt he's been in contact with many of them since he left. Besides, it's very short notice."

"I think we're overlooking the obvious choice," George said tentatively.

"No," Alicia said automatically.

"You do have that handy spare room," Fred reasoned.

"No."

"Otherwise he'll have to stay in a hotel."

"He can stay in a hotel then!"

George nodded in resignation. "I guess that will have to do. I'll just have to tell him that he needs to go somewhere else."

Fred looked at his shoes. "Poor guy will be crushed." He peered up at Alicia from beneath his eyelashes. "He was really looking forward to spending time with us. He never gets to see us and he was just hoping to see his old school mates. It's so very disheartening when old friends grow apart."

Alicia glared at him. "I know what you're trying to do."

"He wasn't even going to come tonight," George piped in. "He didn't want to make you feel awkward. It was so considerate and kind. He already thinks you hate him and I guess this will just prove it."

"Stop it!"

"I think they have a point, Leesh," Angelina said. "He was your friend before anything happened between you. Shouldn't that count for something?"

"Oh, not you too!" Alicia groaned. "I can see there's no way I'm going to win this argument with all of you against me. Look, Lee can stay here if you stop the damn guilt trip."

"I knew it." George grinned and put his arm around her. "You're too sweet for your own good."

"And don't worry about Harry, we'll make sure he never finds out you and Lee had a…thing."

Alicia stared at Fred. Somehow she wasn't very reassured. "This is going to be some party."

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Back in the living room no one was talking. Harry could feel everyone staring at him. Oliver was looking very confused and a little put out. The Harpies' Chasers were staring and nudging each other in amazement. And Alicia's Muggle friend was still gawking at him.

Lee was the only one who didn't seem to care much. He was smiling to himself and looking around the room as if every object was of great interest to him.

There was muffled arguing in the kitchen and Harry thought it was best to break the awful silence. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again. It would be too hard to say anything in front of the Muggles. Thus, the silence continued until the food was brought out.

"Come on, you lot!" George said, distributing Butterbeer. "This is meant to be a celebration."

Lee accepted a drink from him and grinned cheekily. "Well, are we going to get a repeat performance from Alicia's last birthday party?"

Everyone except Harry laughed. "What performance?" he asked.

"Last year George got drunk and decided to dance on a table," Alicia answered with a giggle. "Unfortunately, Katie stopped him from taking all of his clothes off. Pity. It would have been a nice birthday present."

"No," Katie said. "Trust me, it wouldn't have been that pleasant."

George feigned a hurt expression. "Just for that I think I may have to arrange a repeat performance."

"Go ahead. Dance around the place naked, see if I care." Katie lowered herself into an armchair with a groan.

"Hormones," George whispered to Alicia and she fought a smile.

"Lee, what about the performance you and Alicia made at her last party?" Oliver asked.

Again, everyone except Harry laughed. He looked over at Alicia curiously. "Did you get drunk as well?"

Alicia blushed and ignored the question. Lee winked at her. "Well, not quite, Harry. Alicia and I-"

"Whoops!"

Everyone in the room turned to Fred. He had spilt his Butterbeer in his lap 'accidentally'. Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. "Relax, I'll get you some napkins."

She scurried off as Angelina chastised Fred. Trust him to come up with such a messy diversion. Alicia returned and threw the napkins at him with a knowing smile. "You should be able to find another pair of trousers in the spare room."

Harry cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, you have men's trousers in your spare room?"

"I always make sure I keep a change of clothes around for Fred and George. When Ang or Katie kicks one of them out they come running to me."

"She's very hospitable like that. Always willing to lend a hand," Fred said and disappeared down the hall.

Alicia frowned. "I don't know about willing. If I don't let you in the house you throw pebbles at my window."

"I only did that once," George protested.

Alicia rolled her eyes and took a slice of pizza. Unfortunately, the only available seat was on the sofa next to Lee. Pretending she hadn't noticed, she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the sofa.

Lee tugged at her hair. "What are you doing down there? There's plenty of room up here, sugar."

Oh, he'd called her sugar. She used to love that. A shiver ran down her spine and she realised she still loved it.

"No, thanks. I'm comfortable right here. Yes. Very comfortable. Besides, I'm not the only one on the floor."

"If you say so."

Fred returned with fresh trousers on and Alicia gave him another grateful look as he reclaimed his spot on the floor between Angelina and Oliver. The group ate in silence for several minutes. Alicia felt a blush creep up her neck. The party was turning out to be a dud. They couldn't talk about Quidditch because of Crystal and Michael and Alicia was too frightened to talk about anything else incase Lee let something slip. So the horrible silence continued and Alicia felt like curling up into a ball and telling everyone to leave

"Presents!" Angelina said once everyone had finished eating.

Alicia sighed in relief. "Right. I'll open my presents before Crys and Michael have to leave."

"Open ours first," Crystal said, handing it to her.

Alicia's spirits rose considerably as she opened the box and pushed aside the tissue paper. She gasped. Everyone leant over to get a closer look and she carefully pulled it out of the box. It was the same dress she'd borrowed to go on her date with Harry. She'd forgotten how lovely it was.

"When I saw you in it I knew I had to buy you one. It's exactly the same size as mine."

"Thanks, I love it." She placed the dress back in the box and put it on the sofa beside Lee. She then went around the other side of the coffee table to hug her friends. On the way back to her place she couldn't resist a glance at Harry. He was smiling in way that made Alicia want to kiss him right there in front of everyone.

"You really wore this?" Alicia turned her attention to Lee who was examining the dress.

"Yes. I can wear dresses if I feel like it."

"He must be some guy," Lee said, a hint of curiousity in his voice.

"What makes you think I wore it for a guy?" Alicia asked.

"Because I know you. You wouldn't go to all that trouble if you didn't think he was worth it."

Alicia didn't say anything and desperately avoided Harry's eye. "Whatever you say, Lee. All right, next present."

Angelina dug around in her hand bag and pulled out a small box "Here, this is from Katie and I."

Alicia opened it eagerly and squealed. "You remembered!"

She handed the box around so everyone could admire the dainty silver bracelet while she hugged Katie and Angelina.

"How could we forget? You wouldn't stop talking about how beautiful it was for weeks," Katie said.

"I guess my subtle hints weren't subtle at all."

Alicia proceeded to open the rest of her presents. She got a gift voucher for Quality Quidditch Supplies from the Harpies' Chasers. Typically, Oliver gave her a book on Quidditch. Lastly, George handed Alicia a small package wrapped in gold paper.

"It won't explode will it?" Alicia looked at it sceptically. At least it wasn't ticking.

"Would George and I do that to you?" Alicia just gave Fred a look. "All right. I promise it won't explode."

Somewhat placated she unwrapped it carefully then found herself wishing it had exploded. "You bought me underwear?!"

George nodded enthusiastically. "We saw them and immediately thought of you."

Alicia held up a pair of white cotton knickers. "This is a joke, right?"

"Certainly not. We thought it was a very practical gift," Fred replied defensively.

"How do you even know my size?"

"That, my dear, is a secret we cannot divulge without fear of retribution from our fiancées."

Alicia just scowled at both of them. "I feel violated."

Everyone in the room seemed to find it funny but Alicia could only shake her head in disbelief. Fred and George had given her some odd things over the years but she drew the line at knickers. Before she could yell at them, however, Crystal and Michael stood up.

"Do you guys have to leave already?"

"'Fraid so. Lauren is probably running up the walls as it is."

They said their good-byes and Crystal had to shake Harry's hand again. Alicia led them to the front door, putting her presents in her room along the way. "I wish you didn't have to leave so early."

"Sorry, love. It's one of the joys of having children," Michael said with a dramatic sigh.

Alicia hugged them both and Crystal grabbed her hand tightly. "I hope you know that I expect to see a thoroughly shagged out Harry sneaking out of your house tomorrow morning."

"Crys!"

"Come on, sweetheart. You're embarrassing the poor girl."

Michael pulled his wife away and Alicia closed the door. Despite her friend's expectations she saw no chance of that happening anytime soon. Especially since Lee would be staying with her till the League finals were finished, which wasn't for another three weeks.

She returned to the living room to find her guests having a discussion about Quidditch. With players from three of the teams in the semis in one room it was quite a heated discussion. Alicia began to clear up as Oliver tried to get her Chasers to confess their largely non-existent game plan.

She was in the kitchen cutting cheese into cubes to arrange on a new platter with crackers when she felt a warm hand on the small of her back. For a terrifying moment she thought it was Lee but a second later she realised who it was.

"Need any help?" Harry offered.

"I'm fine," she said. If he didn't take his hand away she was going to cut her finger off. He didn't take his hand away. In fact, he stepped closer till she could feel his breath on her ear.

"By the way," he said softly, "I wouldn't wear that underwear Fred and George gave you."

"Why not?"

"I think it will bite you."

"Of course. As underwear is wont to do."

She could almost feel him smile. "I walked in on the two of them drawing up plans for their latest invention."

"Let me guess. Underwear that bites people when they put it on?"

"Yep. I doubt there were many volunteers to be test subjects. I wouldn't put it past them to make you an unsuspecting guinea pig."

"I should have known something was up. Thanks for the warning. It was very chivalrous of you," she said sweetly.

He shrugged as if saving people from their biting underwear was a daily occurrence. "No problem. Would you like me to take some more drinks out?"

"Sure," she answered. "There's still some Butterbeer in the fridge."

He finally removed his hand and Alicia was able to steady herself and concentrate on cutting perfect little cubes of cheese. She looked over her shoulder to thank him only to find him bending over while he fished around in her refrigerator. With a view like that it was lucky she didn't accidentally cut her whole hand off.

That would be quite enough cheese, she decided.

Only seconds after Harry left, Fred and George came into the kitchen.

"Things are starting to pick up out there," George said cheerfully and helped himself to some cheese.

Fred suddenly sniffed the air, causing Alicia to give him a confused look. "Can you smell that?"

George made a show of sniffing the air as well. "Yes, I believe I can smell it."

"Smell what?" Alicia demanded, looking around her kitchen in alarm.

"The room's full of it. You better open a window, Leesh."

She quickly did so. Not that she could smell anything. "What is it?"

Fred frowned in deep thought. "It smells like…unresolved sexual tension."

Alicia stared at him. "You twat."

"It's really strong, isn't it, Fred? Almost suffocating."

"There is no unresolved sexual tension in here. You're both being ridiculous."

"Say, wasn't Harry in here just before us?"

"I believe he was," George said. "Funny how Alicia would have been have been alone with him while the room was full of unresolved sexual tension. Unless it wasn't here before. You know, the only way to get rid of unresolved sexual tension is to resolve it."

"That's it. Out of my kitchen," Alicia pointed.

Fred laughed and put his arm around her. "We were only kidding, cupcake."

"Yeah, you know we love you," George added.

Alicia crossed her arms grumpily. "You have a funny way of showing it. Let's see. First, you set me up with psychopaths-"

"Expect Harry."

"Except Harry," she agreed. "Then you bring Lee and talk me into letting him stay. Lastly, you give me biting underwear."

They both winced. "Harry told you about that? Well, we figured he would. Worth a try though."

"I hope you got me a real present."

"Of course we did!" George said, sounding offended.

"We convinced Harry to come so you can consider him your present. All you have to do is unwrap him."

Alicia mouth dropped open then she smiled and shook her head. "You're as bad as Crystal."

"Speaking of unwrapping-" Fred began.

"Harry has been undressing you with his eyes all night," George finished.

"Oh, don't be stupid, he has not."

"Has so. George and I have been keeping an eye on him and he's definitely mentally undressing you. Probably imagining other unsavoury things as well."

"I highly doubt that. Harry is too sweet and innocent for that sort of thing. He isn't morally corrupt like the two of you."

"Our morals aren't corrupt, they're merely dubious."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"So you don't hate us?" George asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure yet." Alicia narrowed her eyes.

"I think I have something that will change your mind." Fred disappeared from the room.

"What's he getting?" she asked George suspiciously.

"Your real present," he replied through a mouthful of cheese.

Fred returned with a small wooden box in his hands. It wasn't rattling, which could only be a good sign. He handed it to Alicia without a word. She eyed it with undisguised suspicion. "If it explodes I'm going to hurt both of you."

They exchanged a grin and Alicia opened the box slowly. It was some sort of crystal ball. Definitely not what she had been expecting. "What is this? You know I hated Divination."

"It's actually a special Portkey," George explained.

"Special?"

"We don't want to spoil it for you. Here are the instructions." Fred handed her a slip of parchment. "Follow the directions and you'll find out where it leads. It's the latest innovation in Portkeys. We thought you and Harry might like it."

"Harry?"

"Trust us, you'll want to take him with you."

"All right. If you say so. Thanks," she smiled and placed the 'special' Portkey on the table. Then she hugged and kissed them both. "Now, you can make yourselves useful and take out some more food."

Fred bowed extravagantly. "Anything for you, darlin'. Just make sure you spray a little air freshener in here. I've heard unresolved sexual tension can become quite distracting if left for too long."

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

It was eleven o'clock when the Harpies' Chasers announced they had to leave. Alicia didn't blame them for wanting to leave early, they had a major Quidditch game to play the day after next.

"We'll see you on Sunday." Sophie smiled and hugged her.

Brianne added, "You better work on some plays. I think Wood is planning to take notes."

"I suppose I had better come up with something impressive then," Alicia said. "Thanks for coming. Make sure you get a good sleep tonight and tomorrow night."

Amaline, who also happened to be the team captain, snapped off a salute. "Sure thing, boss."

Alicia hated it when Amaline called her boss. The woman was almost six years older than her! She said good-bye then closed the door. When she turned around she almost ran into Lee, who must have been standing there for a while.

"Everything all right?" she asked calmly.

He shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me."

Alicia tried to duck by him but he put his arm out to stop her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. "Look, I don't know what's up and it's probably none of my business anyway. I just want to let you know that Katie is tired so she and George are ready to leave. I might not have time to see you at the finals so I guess this is good-bye. I hope you had a nice birthday."

Alicia looked up into the brown eyes that she knew so well. Might as well get it over with. "Lee, you're staying here tonight."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Well. That came out of nowhere. You've ignored me most of the night."

"I'm sorry about that," she said sincerely. It was stupid to avoid him; he was one of her closest friends. Besides, they were both adults and could handle staying together for a few weeks without resorting to ripping each other's clothes off.

"All right, I'll go get my stuff and come right back." He leant down and kissed her softly on the lips. Alicia didn't exactly kiss him back but she didn't pull away either. Lee was so familiar and comfortable that for a moment she forgot where she was.

All of a sudden she drew back and tried to wriggle out of his arms. "I have to get back to my guests. We'll talk later."

"Alicia?"

Over Lee's shoulder she could see Harry and Oliver giving her confused looks. Especially Harry. She trod on Lee's foot so he was forced to release her. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry to interrupt but Harry and I have to leave as well. We both have training in the morning."

Alicia shoved Lee aside and said, "Oh, sure. I'll see you out."

"Still don't want to tell me any of your tactics?" Oliver asked hopefully. Alicia smiled and shook her head.

The three of them stood out in the dark front yard in silence. Alicia wanted to say something to Harry, she knew he had seen her with Lee. She wanted to let him know nothing was going on but she was too shy to say anything in front of Oliver.

Instead, she settled with, "Are you guys going to be at the game tomorrow?"

"Of course," Oliver said. "I have to get a look at the team we're going to play in the final."

"Confident, aren't you?" Harry said, hands in his pockets and his eyes on Oliver, not Alicia.

"Well, we've been working really hard the past couples of weeks. The Bats have never been in better shape."

"Is that a thinly veiled threat?" Harry asked coyly.

Alicia giggled softly. "Boys and their Quidditch. While you're all worried about who has the bigger broomstick the Harpies will snatch the Cup out from under your noses."

Harry finally looked up at her and smiled, his teeth were pure white in the low light. "Now who's overconfident?"

"Me?" she gasped in feigned indignation. "Overconfident? Never!"

"Sure, Spinnet," Oliver said. He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek then stood to the side to wait for Harry.

Alicia looked at her hands. The one time she didn't want Oliver around was the one time he was standing a few feet away. Typical of her former captain. "Thanks for coming, Harry. The present was really sweet."

"Literally or figuratively?"

"Both. Will I see you on Sunday?"

"If I get a chance I will drop by the coaches' box."

Alicia found herself satisfied with that answer. It was all she could really hope for after he'd seen her kiss Lee. With Oliver watching, she hugged Harry and kissed him on the cheek, lingering for longer than was probably necessary.

"Happy birthday, Alicia," he said softly then followed Oliver down the driveway. He peered over his shoulder to see Alicia disappear back into her house.

"Alicia's street is too well lit to Disapparate. There's a park just down the road," Oliver said as Harry followed him down the street.

"That's handy. When I arrived I'm afraid I Apparated right in the middle of the street."

"I doubt anyone saw you but better safe than sorry, I guess."

They walked in silence for a few metres before Oliver chuckled to himself. "That was pretty awkward, huh?"

Harry turned to him. "What was?"

"Walking in on Lee and Alicia like that."

Harry hesitated. He'd been determined not to read anything into it. "I assumed it was only a birthday kiss."

"Maybe." Oliver shrugged and turned into the park he had mentioned. In the semi-darkness the two of them headed for a copse of trees. "It's a little odd considering their history and everything."

"History?" Harry echoed.

"They dated for about two months. Didn't you know? It started at Alicia's birthday party last year. From what I understand Lee was pretty smitten."

"Smitten, huh?"

"He hasn't even been back in the country since they broke up," Oliver said. "I never thought it would get to him so much. I mean, I knew he had a thing for her at school but-"

"Lee had a thing for Alicia?" Harry interrupted. There was just so much he didn't know about her. Now he wasn't sure he wanted to know a lot of it anymore.

"Oh, Lee fancied every one of the Gryffindor girls at some point. I think Alicia saw the whole relationship as a fling but Lee didn't agree." Oliver shrugged. "I don't really know the whole story but it's odd that he should be back only a couple of hours and already kissing Alicia."

Alicia and Lee? Harry's stomach began to twist itself into painful knots at the very thought. He'd taken a chance and made himself available to her and she was kissing Lee only hours after their talk. Perhaps she only wanted to use Harry for a quick fling like she did with Lee.

Then again, she didn't seem the type. Not that Harry had any success when it came to judging a woman's intentions. Harry found himself wishing Oliver had never mentioned it. Ignorance is bliss and he had been quite happy believing Alicia and Lee were only old friends.

Now he didn't know want they were. Nor did he know what he and Alicia were.

"Potter?"

"Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"Just that I'll see you at the press conference tomorrow."

Harry blinked in the darkness, trying to clear his head. "Right. The press conference. I'll be there."

"You better be there. The journalists will all be expecting you to throw a chair at my head so you can't disappoint them and not show up at all."

"Don't worry, I'll be there."

"See you later, Potter."

Oliver disappeared with a crack and Harry stared up at the sky for a moment. The question was, if it came down to that, could he compete with Lee Jordan?

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

It was midnight before Lee returned to Alicia's house. She was sitting on the sofa eating ice cream when he began pounding on the door. Straightening her pyjamas, she stomped to the door and threw it open. "Keep it down, would you?"

Lee only smiled then brushed past her. "Sorry. Since when did you put up full Apparition wards?"

Alicia shut the door behind him then locked it. "Well, it's either that or let Fred and George go through my underwear drawer again. Most of the time I still have the selective wards up so people I know can get through."

"Am I still one of your people?"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you are."

"Just checking. Shall I go put my things in your bedroom?"

Alicia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You're going to be staying in the spare room."

"Oh, come on, sugar." Lee smiled a wide and open smile.

Alicia knew that smile very well. She called it The Smile. It could melt the knickers off a nun. Thankfully, Alicia wasn't a nun.

"Don't sugar me. You're staying in the spare room and there's no point arguing about it," she replied firmly.

"All right. Keep your knickers on, Alicia."

"There are fresh towels in the bathroom if you'd like to take a shower."

Lee dropped all of his luggage right there in the middle of the hallway and folded his arms across his chest. "Do you have a problem with me?"

"No," she said briskly. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, if I told you to keep your knickers on this time last year you would have made a saucy comment about not wearing any knickers and ordered me to drop my trousers."

Alicia blushed. "Things have changed since then."

"Things? You're seeing someone." It wasn't a question.

She raised her chin in defiance. "Maybe I am. I don't want to talk about it." Sensing it was time to make a dramatic exit she stomped back to the living room.

Fifteen minutes later, Alicia was still feeling sorry for herself and eating the ice cream Harry had given her. Lee vaulted over the back of the sofa and landed neatly beside her.

"Ice cream in the middle of the night. Must be bad."

Alicia didn't say anything, but Lee wouldn't take the hint. "Does it have to do with this mystery guy?"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it at the moment. When I feel like discussing it you'll be the first to know," she promised. "Want some ice cream?"

Lee tilted his head. "Depends. Is that your idea of an apology?"

"Yes."

He took the ice cream from her with a small wink. "Ok, we'll talk about something else then. What about Oliver and Harry? It's great that they can be so open about their relationship."

Alicia could only stare at him. "Their what?"

"I read that article in the Quibbler and they left together so I assumed…"

Harry and Oliver? Alicia laughed till her stomach hurt. Perhaps it was the ice cream. Perhaps it was the fact that she'd just turned twenty-three. Whatever it was, Alicia Spinnet rolled around on her sofa in utter hysterics. Lee calmly watched her and ate ice cream. At least she wasn't depressed and sulky anymore.

She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and her hair strewn across her face. "I'm glad you're back, Lee. I don't know what I'd do without you. Good night."

"G'night, sugar."

Lee didn't know what he'd done to cheer her up but he was glad he'd done it.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

The following day came much too early for Alicia. She stumbled out of bed at eleven and headed straight for the shower. She passed Lee eating breakfast in front of the television.

"I see you've made yourself at home," she observed.

"In my defense, I did try to wake you," he said through a mouthful of cereal. "You just mumbled something about Quaffles and rolled over."

"I don't talk in my sleep."

"Yes, you do. You also snort and kick like a startled horse."

"I do not. Well, I guess you might as well help yourself to whatever you like. You know where everything is anyway. I'm going to take a shower."

Lee had finished his first helping of breakfast and was about to get his second. He believed that if breakfast was indeed the most important meal of the day - why not have it twice? Alicia hated that habit and he was pouring more milk when Jasper came sauntering in and stared up at him. Lee had always thought Jasper had the uncanny ability to know when he was doing something he shouldn't be, which happened to be a lot of the time.

Feeling oddly guilty, Lee grabbed a saucer from a cupboard and poured some milk into it. He placed it on the kitchen table and watched as Jasper leapt onto a chair then up onto the kitchen table. Lee smiled and finished pouring his own milk and sat at the table across from the lapping cat.

"All right, I won't tell Alicia you ate breakfast on the table if you don't tell her I had two helpings. Deal?"

Jasper looked up at him for a second with milk dripping from his whiskers. Deal.

Lee swirled his cereal around in the bowl for a moment. "So, you must know who Alicia's mystery guy is."

Jasper didn't reply. Obviously.

"Is it a Weasley? Or a Quidditch player? Muggle?" Lee asked. Jasper continued lapping at his milk and he just shook his head. "God, I'm talking to a freaking cat."

That just showed how desperate he was to know who this man was. Lee had been very worried about Alicia since the debacle with Kieran and he didn't want her to jump into something with the wrong guy just for the sake of it. Like she did with him. Lee could only hope she'd got it out of her system.

Lee was about to go hunt around the house for clues when the doorbell rang. Thinking it could be the infamous guy he leapt up and ran for the door. But no such luck. It was only Harry Potter.

"Hey, Potter," Lee greeted him cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

Harry didn't say anything for several moments. Why the hell was Lee answering Alicia's door in his boxer shorts?

"Potter? You all right?"

He rubbed at his eyes and blinked. Yep. Half-naked Lee was still standing there. "Where's Alicia?"

"In the shower. What can I help you with?"

"Uh, I left my tie and jacket here last night and I have a press conference in a couple of hours."

"Right. Come on in and I'll track down your stuff."

Still clearly disconcerted Harry followed Lee back into the kitchen. Jasper was now lapping at Lee's abandoned breakfast. "Bugger of a cat. Hang on a second and I'll go ask Alicia where she put your things."

Lee wandered off towards the bathroom and Harry stood rooted to the spot. There was a squeal and a dull thump. Lee returned with a large smile on his face. "She threw a bar of soap at my head. It's not like it's nothing I haven't seen before, right?"

Harry made a nondescript noise in the back of his throat. "If I could just get my stuff and leave I'd appreciate it."

"Well, Alicia freaked out before I could tell her you were here. She can be quite grumpy when she just wakes up."

"It's nearly midday," Harry pointed out.

Lee shrugged and began to clear away his bowl and Jasper's saucer. "She didn't get much sleep last night."

Harry's eyes widened at the insinuation. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, she was in a right state last night. Giggling and throwing herself about the place. I know she's one of those people who needs at least eight hours of sleep so I let her sleep in."

Harry had already heard more than he needed to. He could also no longer hear running water coming from the bathroom. He was determined to leave before Alicia came out. "Look, I think she put my stuff in her bedroom."

Lee scurried off to look. He returned a moment later with Harry's tie and jacket. "Here you go, mate. She had it in the closet the whole time."

Harry accepted them and fought the urge to run for the door. "Great. I have to go now. Lots to do today."

Lee walked him to the door. "Sure. I'll tell Alicia you dropped by."

"You do that."

Lee watched Harry march down the driveway and scratched his head in confusion. If he didn't know any better he'd say Harry was pissed off about something. Perhaps he had a row with Oliver. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with him anyway. Time to prepare for his commentary the next day.

Alicia came storming out of the bathroom and found Lee watching television. She stood in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "What do you think you're doing, walking in on me like that?"

He winced at her expression and stance. "Sorry. I didn't think you would mind."

"Of course I mind!" She tugged at her wet hair in frustration. Glaring at him she added, "Are you planning to get dressed anytime today."

"I'm still considering it. I'll let you know when I come to a decision, shall I?"

"Oh, honestly, Lee." She sighed, unable to stay angry with him. Leaving him to watch his show she flounced off to the kitchen to fix herself breakfast. Jasper was sitting on the middle of the kitchen table swishing his tail back and forth. "Get off the table, naughty cat, I'm not in the mood today."

Jasper meowed innocently and obediently jumped to the floor. Alicia had just grabbed herself a bowl from the cupboard when Lee poked his head into the kitchen. "Oh, by the way, Harry dropped by."

The bowl slipped from Alicia's hand and shattered on the tiled floor. "Harry…as in Harry Potter?"

Lee summoned his wand from the coffee table. "No. Harry as in Prince Harry. Of course I mean Harry Potter, you prat."

"What did he want?" she asked, not moving at all.

Lee gave her an odd look as he repaired the forgotten bowl. "He left his tie and jacket here."

"What did you say to him?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! He might jump to conclusions about us!"

"So?"

"So!?" she shrieked. "Harry and Oliver aren't a couple! That article in the Quibbler was a load of rubbish."

Lee frowned. "Then why was he at your party? Unless…he's your mystery bloke!"

"Yes, he is. Or was. Oh, I don't know!" Alicia threw her hands in the air.

"You and Harry?" Lee asked sceptically.

"What, you don't believe Harry Potter would be attracted to someone like me?" she demanded.

"Actually, I didn't think you would be attracted to someone like Harry."

"Well, I am. Now, tell me exactly what you said to him."

Lee tried to remember everything he'd said. There was the…and then…

"Oh, bollocks."

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A/N: Please leave a review. Alternatively, questions or comments can be sent to the email listed on my profile. I don't know when the next chapter will be out. Keep up to date on my profile page.

Harr