Aren't Little Girls Made of Sugar and Spice?

by Jagged Epiphany

Tired of the cliched and overused couples? Then this story is for you! Post-Hog. Alicia Spinnet is tired of the twins setting her up till they set her up with...Harry Potter

8. A Very Strange Day

Disclaimer: The worthless stuff belongs to me.

A/N: Ok. Technically I wasn't supposed to write this chapter. Technically I'm supposed to be finishing Old Faces. I won't tell if you don't. I love this story too much to let it languish.

This chapter has adult themes. Consider yourself warned.

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Chapter 8

Sipping her morning coffee, Alicia unrolled the Daily Prophet and groaned. Oliver Wood was on the front cover again. He'd been boasting and trash talking for days. Alicia knew it was simply an intimidation tactic, but it pissed her off nonetheless.

Alicia shoved the newspaper aside and looked over her game plan. Her Chasers were systematically going to tear Oliver apart. Every movement and every play had been designed to throw the Keeper off his game.

Oliver could gloat and strut around as much as he liked, but he was going down.

Thunderous knocking on the front door caused Alicia to jump and spill some of her coffee on the Prophet. She smiled smugly at Oliver's scowling, coffee-stained picture. The knocking got even louder so she hurried to the door and threw it open to the odd mix of people crowding her doorstep.

Fred and George entered first. Everything Fred was wearing was either black or red and he waved a hand puppet of Barney the Fruitbat in Alicia's face.

"It's always great to know that I have your support, Fred," she commented sarcastically.

"Hey, Oliver's our mate, too. We decided we'd have to keep it fair."

Alicia turned her attention to George who was wearing dark green and gold. He winked at her and said, "It's all about the girl power, baby."

"So, it looks like only one Weasley twin will be attending the post-match party," Alicia said, smiling at George and narrowing her eyes vindictively at Fred.

"That's not fair!" Fred protested immediately. "You said we could all come!"

"Just shut up and get out of the way!" Katie snarled, shoving both Fred and George aside so she could get inside the house.

"How are you feeling, sweets?" Alicia asked, giving her friend a kiss on the cheek.

"Like my bladder's going to burst." With that, Katie hurried past her and headed for the bathroom.

"She only went like five minutes ago," Lee said.

"She's allowed to go to the bathroom as often as she likes," Angelina informed him icily, holding Jordy out to Alicia.

Alicia took the sleepy baby and kissed his chubby cheeks several times. "Morning, handsome. I like your Harpies jacket."

"Poody," he replied solemnly.

"That means thank you," Angelina translated.

"No it doesn't," Fred spoke up. "It quite clearly means 'Poor me. My confused mother has made me wear a jacket made for little girls. Now when I grow up I shall have no choice but to join a boy band and perm my hair'."

Alicia stared at Fred. "Finally lost your mind, have you?"

Angelina sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Just ignore him, Leesh, he's being ridiculous."

"I'm glad you find our son's livelihood ridiculous!"

"You're overreacting, as usual."

Angelina lifted her chin and strode into the house, leaving Fred to stutter indignantly and march after her. Lee could only shrug when Alicia looked at him questioningly. "They've been like this all morning. I'm beginning to think it'll be a miracle if they even stay together long enough to get married."

"Nah, they'll be fine. By the time the game starts they'll be snogging and groping each other like randy teenagers."

"Backa," Jordy said, putting his head on Alicia's shoulder.

Lee nodded. "I agree. It does sound rather gross, doesn't it?"

Alicia giggled and led Lee into the house. "How was Sophie this morning?"

"I wouldn't know. As soon as I started singing she banished me from the house so I went to Fred's place early."

"You know, she really likes you, Lee," Alicia said over her shoulder.

"Well, she is only human."

Alicia handed Jordy to George and pulled Lee into the kitchen with her. "I'm being serious. You need to decide what you're going to do now that the finals are almost over."

"I already know what I'm going to do." Lee sat at the table and examined the soggy Daily Prophet. "What did you do to Oliver's face?"

Alicia snatched the paper away. "Never mind that. I want to know what you're going to do."

"I've already arranged a Portkey for later in the week."

"You're leaving? You can't just leave like that!"

Lee kept his gaze lowered as Alicia sat down beside him. He idly flicked through Alicia's game plays. "I only ever planned to stay if you wanted to be with me. Obviously that isn't going to happen so I'm going ahead with my original plan. How is Harry, by the way?"

"We're not talking about Harry. What about Sophie?"

"When we started seeing each other we were both very clear that it was a fling."

Alicia watched him for a second then snapped her fingers exuberantly. "Except you don't want it to be a fling anymore! You want to stay with Sophie!"

"I never said that. Where would you get a stupid idea like that?" Lee demanded.

"Ha! I can just tell. You should talk to Sophie about it," Alicia urged.

"Stop hassling me," Lee said, looking a little embarrassed. "Are you going to meet up with Harry sometime today?"

"He'll be at the pre-game lunch and the post-game party. We'll see each other…but not see each other."

Lee gave her a sympathetic smile, but didn't say anything because George came into the room. "Are we ready to go, kiddies?" he asked brightly.

"Just give me a minute." Alicia gulped the rest of her coffee and gathered up her precious game plays. "You know, I don't think I should let Fred join us in the Officials' Box. He's a traitor."

"Don't worry, I'm still on your side," Lee said. He stood up and lifted his shirt to reveal a pair of boxers sticking out from beneath his trousers.

Alicia smiled when she saw that they were green and had tiny gold talons on them. "They're very cute, but you're supposed to remain neutral."

"No one will know."

George sidled up to Alicia and nudged her with his elbow. "Want to see my underwear?"

"Feeling a little neglected, Georgie? Katie's hormones will be back to normal soon."

"Yeah, then you'll just have a screaming baby to deal with," Lee added brightly.

"Don't frighten him like that," Alicia scolded. "We're going to be late if we don't get going. I can't be late to my very first grand final."

Alicia ran to her room and grabbed the last of her gear. After she had double then triple checked that she had everything, she joined her friends in the living room. Fred and George had already left with Jordy. They were going to walk to the nearest designated Portkey since Jordy obviously couldn't Apparate and there weren't any fireplaces near the stadium.

"Are we all ready to Apparate?" Alicia asked Angelina, Katie and Lee.

"Can we just go already?" Katie moaned. "I want to sit down."

Alicia gave her friend an understanding smile then closed her eyes and Apparated. When she re-opened her eyes she found herself in the middle of a familiar campsite. The stadium that was used for the last World Cup was still the best Quidditch venue in Britain so it had been selected for the League final.

One by one, the others appeared around her. The event wasn't as huge as the World Cup so the campground was less crowded. Besides, the match wasn't even scheduled to start for another eight hours.

"They better have food in the box already," Katie grumbled as they made their way towards the stadium. "And it had better be good food. Lots of bacon and eggs. If they dare to feed me only crackers and peanuts someone's going to get hurt."

Lee snorted. "Pregnant women are such a joy."

Angelina thumped him on the arm. "Hey, you'd be cranky if you had to carry around a fat-headed Weasley child for nine months."

"Weasleys don't have fat heads," Alicia argued.

"Have you ever had to give birth to one?" Angelina asked pointedly.

"No," Alicia admitted.

Angelina smirked at her friend. "But that certainly wasn't for lack of trying."

"Are you referring to that time we went to the beach with the Weasley family after school had finished?" Lee asked, smirking unnervingly as well.

"I remember that day," Katie giggled, suddenly forgetting how tired and hungry she was.

"Oh dear," Lee shrieked, putting on a high voice to imitate Alicia, "I fear my bikini is too small. Does it look all right, Bill? It doesn't make me look fat does it? Take a good look."

"Shut up," Alicia muttered half-heartedly, blushing a deep crimson.

"Charlie," Lee continued in the same manner, "will you be a sweetheart and rub some lotion on my back? That's right. Just a little lower. Move the strap out of the way. That's it. A little lower. Oooh, Charlie!"

"They both thought you had fallen and bumped your head," Angelina said, her giggles slowly subsiding.

Alicia poked Angelina smugly in the side. "At least I didn't fancy Percy!"

"For the last time, I never fancied him! I just said that he looked better without his glasses on!"

"You stick to that story, Ang. The absolute truth is that I only flirted with Bill and Charlie to annoy George. I was still angry with him for dumping me before he left school. If you remember correctly, he still hadn't admitted that he liked Katie."

Lee, clearly unconvinced, said, "Yeah right. You stick to that story then."

"Go to hell."

"Don't worry about it, Licia. You may not have bagged a Weasley boy, but Harry Potter isn't a bad consolation prize."

"Keep your voice down, Katie!" Alicia looked around anxiously to make sure no one had heard, but thankfully no one was around. "And Harry isn't a consolation either. At least he has a normal sized head."

"Good point," Katie conceded.

A security wizard stopped the group at the gate to check their tickets then let them enter. The stadium was deserted and eerily silent. Only players, officials and stadium staff were allowed in so early.

Feeling particularly special, Alicia led her friends to the Officials' Box, which was located high in the stands. Their tickets were checked once again and they were finally ushered into the Holyhead side of the box. The head coach, Kerry, was already discussing last minute tactics with the other assistant coaches. Unsurprisingly, Alicia was the last one to arrive.

xxxxx

For the next two hours, Alicia stammered her way through her plan to combat Oliver's abundant skill. She got the feeling that no one found her plan particularly good, but she knew it would work.

At eleven, Alicia's colleagues began to leave for the grand final lunch. Lee was the host for the event so he and Alicia showed up together. A huge marquee had been set up in the woods near the stadium. A red carpet lined with reporters and photographers normally greeted the V.I.P guests.

When Alicia and Lee reached the red carpet, however, there were no photographers or reporters standing around. The entire group was congregated in one unruly mob. They jostled, yelled and snapped photos non-stop.

"Well, I wonder who's in the middle of that media scrum," Lee said, sounding amused.

"It's either the Queen, the Prime Minister or the Boy Who Lived."

"Hmm. I heard the Queen wasn't a Quidditch fan."

"And apparently Tony Blair prefers Quodpot. I guess that leaves one person." Alicia smiled and a comforting warmth spread through her body at the thought that Harry was only feet away.

"We going inside?"

Alicia bit her lip hesitantly then shook her head. "I've got to get a glimpse of him. It'll only take a second."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that. Come on, let's go take a look."

Fighting the urge to skip like a giddy schoolgirl, Alicia approached the media hoard. It was then that she heard what the reporters were calling out. They all wanted to know the name of Harry's beautiful date.

Alicia stopped abruptly and turned to Lee. "Date? He didn't mention that he was bringing a date. Why would he bring a beautiful date and not tell me?"

"It's probably just Ginny or Hermione. There's nothing to worry about," Lee assured her.

"But everyone knows Ginny and Hermione. This is someone new. Someone beautiful," Alicia sneered.

Lee grabbed her arm quickly. "Why would Harry bring another woman to an event he knew you were attending?"

"Because he's a womanising bastard. I should have seen it coming. Damn those eyes of his!"

"Count to ten," Lee advised hastily. "Better yet, count to a thousand. Everything looks better once you've counted to a thousand. Ready? I'll start you off. One…two – say it with me, Alicia – three…next comes four…."

"Do your own bloody counting," Alicia snapped, twisting away from him. "I'm not going to let him get away with this."

"Perhaps making a scene isn't the best thing to do. You could talk to him later or even-"

It was too late, of course. Alicia was marching towards the group with a long, determined stride. Lee hurried to catch up with her and offered more useless alternatives, which she ignored.

"Excuse me," Alicia said firmly in the ear of a photographer, "I'd like to get through."

"Fat chance, sweetheart."

Politeness was obviously lost on the members of the press. Alicia began to elbow her way through. Lee grabbed the back of her robes and followed her, apologising as they went. At the centre of the group it was even harder to get through. Alicia tried her best but no one would budge. She jumped to try and see over the shoulder of the tall journalist in front of her, but all she managed to do was land on Lee's foot.

"Can we get out of here now?" Lee begged, balancing on one foot and trying to fend off photographers at the same time.

Alicia didn't even bother to answer. Lee knew what she would have said anyway. If she couldn't see over them, then she would simply have to see through them. Alicia dropped to her haunches and peered between the two reporters in front of her.

"What are you doing down there? You're insane. Get up before you get stepped on," Lee ordered.

"Wait, I can see Harry. He's not alone." Alicia squinted and pushed the reporter's robe aside. "Harry's with sombla…"

"What? Sombla isn't a word. What's a sombla? Alicia?"

Alicia had been going to say that Harry was with somebody. The last word turned into sombla when she actually saw Harry's 'date'. She was too stunned to answer Lee or even to make a run for it before Harry spotted her.

Alicia was still staring open mouthed when the reporter in front of her decided he had got all the info he needed. He stepped aside, revealing Alicia in her crouched position. Harry saw her immediately, his eyes widening slightly.

"You've got to be kidding," Lee groaned. "I had my foot stepped on for this?"

"I'll just repeat it for those of you who didn't hear me," Harry said, glancing briefly at Alicia. "My beautiful date this morning is Emma Stafford. Emma and I met in the children's ward of St Mungo's. Emma mentioned that she was a huge fan of the Holyhead Harpies so I asked her if she'd do me the honour of accompanying me today."

Alicia turned her attention to the little girl at Harry's side. She couldn't be any older than ten and she was looking very shy as she half hid behind Harry. Unfortunately, little Emma also looked rather ill.

Needless to say, Alicia had never felt worse in her life. Lee was still laughing behind her, which didn't help. Without meeting Harry's eyes, Alicia scrambled up and tried to back out of the crowd. No one would move to let her through and she found herself stranded.

"Who do you think will win today's match, Harry?" a reporter to the right of Alicia asked.

If Alicia had been able to look up at Harry she would have seen him smiling at her. "Well, it's definitely going to be a close one. I think, however, that the Harpies have a very slight advantage. I hear their Chaser coach is very good. I believe her name's Alice Spinner."

Alicia looked up and met Harry's eyes. He winked at her and she blushed. At least he wasn't angry with her, which was good considering Alicia was angry enough with herself for the both of them.

"I had better be going inside. Thank you for your time," Harry said, disentangling himself from the scavenging reporters. They continued to fire questions, but he just waved and smiled.

As soon as Harry and Emma left, the reporters stopped talking and began scribbling in their notepads. A moment later someone spotted the Minister of Magic and the photographers and journalists all ran off like a herd of stampeding elephants.

"I hope you learnt your lesson, Little Miss Jumps-to-conclusions."

Alicia sniffled slightly then turned and began to walk back towards the stadium. Lee made a growling sound in the back of his throat and quickened his stride to grab hold of her.

"I can't go in there now, Lee. Not after I made such an arse of myself."

Lee began to drag her unceremoniously back towards the marquee. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure Harry knew you were an arse long before today."

"Great. Thanks. I feel so much better."

"You know what I mean, sugar. It's not such a big deal."

"It's a huge deal!" Alicia insisted, digging in her heels as Lee pulled her further down the red carpet. "I was ready to castrate Harry then I find out he brought a sick little girl as his date. I'm a horrible person! A sick little girl? Can you believe it?"

"It's definitely something Harry would do. You weren't to know, though."

"I should have known Harry was better than that." Alicia nodded frantically. "He's too good for me. I belong with people like you."

Lee raised his eyebrows. "You're obviously in the middle of a psychotic episode so I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Let go of me!" Alicia demanded as she realised they were almost inside the marquee. "I can't go in there. If I see Harry I'll do something stupid again."

"There's no way I'm letting you skip this," Lee said. "I know how it works, Alicia. Tomorrow you'll start yelling at me because you didn't attend your first grand final lunch. You'll blame me for it and we'll fight and you'll cry."

"I promise I won't regret missing it."

"No. Look, you won't even have to go anywhere near Harry. I've seen the seating arrangement and he's at the VIP table right in front of the stage. You're with your colleagues in the middle."

"Really?" Alicia asked softly.

"They showed me the table allocation only yesterday. I promise you're nowhere near Harry. Come on, we're going to be late."

Alicia finally stopped struggling to get away. She really didn't want to miss the event. Lee led her inside the noisy room, kissed her on the cheek, and then ran off to perform his hosting duties.

Alicia surveyed the dozen or so tables. Each table was able to seat ten and most were already full. It wasn't hard to spot the Harpies table as every woman seated at it was wearing dark green and gold robes. An announcer asked everyone to be seated and Alicia hurried towards her table.

The Beater, Seeker and Keeper coaches were chatting with various trainers and medics when Alicia approached. "Sorry I'm late again," she whispered.

The team medic looked up at her with a puzzled expression. "Alicia? We didn't think you were coming."

"Not coming? Why wouldn't I come?" Alicia asked, beginning to feel worried.

"A waiter came by a minute ago and took your place card, seat and dinnerware away," the Beater coach answered, gesturing to the only empty spot at the table.

There was indeed no plate or chair to be seen. Alicia fought down the panic rising in her throat. "Er – what am I going to do? I can't miss this!"

"Well, you'd better sit somewhere quickly," a trainer hissed.

Alicia looked up to find that she was the only one still standing. Everyone else was seated and was watching her patiently. She blushed at the unwanted attention and looked around for help. It appeared in the form of a young waiter.

"Are you Miss Spinnet?" he asked quietly.

Alicia considered saying no and making a run for it. "Yes," she said eventually.

"Please follow me."

Alicia followed the young man as every eye followed her. He took her right up to the stage. Lee was staring down at her quizzically from behind the podium. Two long tables for the players and head coaches had been set up on either side of him.

"Your seat is just over there, Miss Spinnet."

Alicia almost fainted when she saw where the waiter was pointing. He was pointing at the VIP table. Alicia recognised the Minister of Magic and her husband, the President and Vice-President of the League, the Head of the Magical Games and Sports Department, and other equally important people. She also recognised Harry Potter and his new friend Emma Stafford.

Harry was looking up at her with mild curiosity, as was everyone else at the table. She stared at the seat between Harry and the Minister and gulped. Someone was screwing with her already tenuous sanity.

"Who are you?" the League Vice-President demanded. He did not appear to be pleased at the thought of sharing his table with a Not Very Important Person.

"I don't know," Alicia said. Some people sniggered and she realised what she'd said. "Oh no. Uh…I know who I am of course. I just don't know why I'm sitting at this table."

"There's obviously been a mix up somewhere. Find her another seat, boy," the President snapped at the waiter.

"Anywhere will do," the Vice-President added.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there's nowhere else available," the waiter said humbled. "Someone must have mixed up the numbers."

Alicia mind was reeling. So much for Lee's assurance that she wouldn't have to be anywhere near Harry. "It's not a problem. I don't mind standing at the back."

"That sounds like a good idea. Someone may even conjure you a lawn chair and a card table."

Alicia couldn't help but glare at the horrible League bosses. She'd heard stories about them, but she hadn't imagined them to be so bad. She was about to leave when Harry jumped to his feet.

"Come now, gentleman, there's really no need to relegate this young lady to a table of her own. I certainly don't mind if she sits next to me. Do you have any objections, Minister?"

"Not at all," the Minister of Magic answered, smiling up at Alicia.

"If you don't have a problem with it then I guess she can have the seat," the League President conceded. As stupid as he was, he obviously knew that arguing with the most famous Quidditch player in the world would not be good for his career.

Harry pulled out Alicia's chair and smiled graciously at her. "Good. Come and take your seat, Miss…Spinnet, was it?"

"Yes," Alicia muttered, stumbling around the table and falling heavily into the chair.

Still looking rather perplexed, Lee performed the Sonorus charm on his voice. "All right. Let's get the day officially started. My name is Lee Jordan and it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the grand final lunch for the Holyhead Harpies and the Ballycastle Bats!"

And so it began. Before lunch was served each player had to be individually introduced then both Head Coaches had to make speeches. Just as the Ballycastle coach was finishing his speech, Alicia felt a hand on her leg. It caused her to choke on her third glass of champagne.

Everyone at the table looked at her. Harry joined in with fake concern. "Are you all right, Miss Spinnet?" he asked, his hand creeping higher up her thigh.

Alicia calmly slipped her hand beneath the tablecloth and dug her fingernails into his hand. He winced slightly and withdrew it quickly. "I'm perfectly fine, Mr Potter. Thank you for asking."

Harry got the hint and refrained from trying to touch Alicia again. She also kept her distance and only threw him the occasional dirty look. By this point she had realised that only he could have orchestrated the seating mix up. Besides that, her stomach heaved every time she caught sight of little Emma. Oh God, what if she had cancer or leukaemia?

Lee returned to the podium and thanked the players and coaches. That was the cue for the empty platters in the middle of the tables to fill with food. Despite the fact that Alicia hadn't eaten since breakfast, she wasn't in the mood for anything.

"Help yourself to whatever you want, Emma," Harry said kindly. "I've just got to go see someone outside quickly but I'll be back in a few minutes."

Alicia felt Harry's hand brush her own as he stood up. The signal wasn't necessary, however, because she had already figured that she was the person he wanted to see. Harry excused himself from the table and left calmly and casually. Alicia decided she would patiently wait three minutes then make her own exit.

In the end, Alicia couldn't wait any longer than a minute. She didn't bother to make up a story or excuse herself because most of the people at her table didn't even want her to be there in the first place. Harry had said he was going outside so Alicia headed for the exit.

At the door, the same waiter who had taken her to her seat smiled and said, "To the left, ma'am."

Alicia frowned at him, not even bothering to hide her confusion and annoyance. Once outside the marquee she looked left and sure enough, there was Harry.

"That was quick," he commented lightly. "I wasn't sure you had got the message."

"Oh, I got it all right."

"Great. We've got five minutes to spare." Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. "I missed you these past couple of days. I've been dying to see you."

Alicia jabbed a finger in his chest, clearly not swayed by his words. "That was a dirty trick you played on me, Harry. I was humiliated!"

"Do you mean the seating switch? Come on, that was nothing. I thought you would like to sit next to me. I guess you really don't enjoy spending time with me after all."

"Stop pouting like that. Under normal circumstances I do like spending time with you. It becomes completely different when we have to sit at a table full of bureaucratic swots and pretend to be strangers."

"Look, I'm sorry. I can arrange for you to go back to your own table if you want."

Alicia shook her head slowly. "I'm already permanently traumatised so it's pointless now. I just hope you didn't kneecap anyone to get the empty seat at your table."

"Kneecap someone? I'm not in the mafia, Alicia. If you must know, you have Hermione's seat. Ron gave his up to Emma and Hermione didn't want to go without him."

"Then I guess you can tell Hermione I said thank you," Alicia said.

"I'll tell her as soon as I see her. Now, we've only got four minutes left and I don't particularly want to spend them talking."

Alicia turned her head when Harry tried to kiss her. "Did it ever occur to you that we wouldn't even have to sneak outside if you just told people about us?"

Harry sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I haven't stopped you from telling your family and friends, have I? Does it really matter if the whole world doesn't know?"

Alicia folded her arms resolutely. "I think it matters when we have to go around calling each other Miss Spinnet and Mr Potter. It feels ridiculous."

"We won't talk to each other at all then."

"Fine. I don't feel like talking to you anyway," Alicia said defiantly.

"Wait. Why the hell am I feeling guilty? You're the one who thought I had brought another woman along as my date."

"I never thought any such thing ever! Not once ever!" Alicia blustered stupidly.

Harry smirked dubiously. "You usually crawl around behind reporters then?"

"As a matter of fact, it's one of my hobbies."

"You thought I was seeing another woman behind your back. Admit it, Alicia."

"It's your fault for being so noble," Alicia said desperately. "Yes. If you weren't so accommodating and sweet and…and lovely about everything then there wouldn't have been a problem. I hope you've learnt your lesson, mister. Don't be so nice anymore."

"You think I'm lovely?"

"Just like Mother Theresa. Except taller."

Harry smiled and whispered against her neck, "Two minutes."

"So?" Alicia said shakily, trying determinedly to ignore the pleasant feeling of his warm breath.

"Are you ready to go back in there? Can you last without touching me? Are you ready to pretend you don't want me?"

"Who said I want you anyway?"

Harry ran his lips lightly down the side of her neck. "You're panting and clutching my arm. Back inside you were trembling with barely contained lust."

"That was directed towards the League President. Bald, overweight men really do it for me."

"One and a half minutes, Alicia."

"Someone could catch us," Alicia said. As desperate as she was to dissuade Harry, she also needed to talk herself out of it.HarryHf

"I paid that waiter ten Galleons earlier. I told him to change your seat and now he's making sure no one disturbs us."

Harry began kissing his way from her ear towards her lips. Alicia half-heartedly tried to push him away. "Won't he find it suspicious that you're going out of your way to be around me? He could put two and two together and sell the stories to the papers. Ten Galleons won't compare to the thousands he could get from the papers."

Harry stopped kissing her for a second. His hand continued travelling up and down her back, however. "Nothing to worry about. I've already warned him about that. I made it very clear that I have lots of connections that could make his life very unpleasant."

"You sure you're not in the mafia?"

"We're almost down to a minute now. A lot of enjoyable things can occur in a minute, but you'll have to make your mind up quickly," Harry said.

"My mind's been made up since I left the table."

Alicia threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Normally, she tried to be chaste and modest when it came to kissing, but there wasn't anytime for that rubbish. Harry had been right when he said that she wanted him.

It was cruel, really. They were still in that happy, wide-eyed phase of their relationship and they could barely keep their hands or lips off each other. Pretending to be strangers was excruciating and it wasn't going to be possible for much longer. This was the first time they'd really had to do it and they weren't coping very well at all.

Alicia pulled away reluctantly. "Time must almost be up," she said.

Harry glanced at his watch over her shoulder. "We've got forty whole seconds."

They kissed again, still forgetting all pretences. Alicia soon became alarmed at Harry's intensity. If he didn't take a breath he was going to pass out. Alicia pushed him away forcibly. "Time out. You're going to burst a blood vessel if you keep that up."

Harry took a deep, shaky breath. "This rendezvous may not have been such a good idea after all. It's made things worse."

Alicia brushed the back of her hand across his cheek. "If you simply released a statement about us we wouldn't have to rush things like this."

"Just leave it alone, Alicia," Harry said sternly. "You don't understand my world. I'm keeping you out of it to protect you. I don't think you're ready."

"I don't need to be protected from anything. I'm older than you!"

"And how many Dark Lords have you vanquished?" Harry asked snappily. "Hmm. I have a feeling the answer is a big fat zero. This is about experience, not age."

Alicia straightened her robes and hair calmly. "No, it's about you not wanting to commit to anyone after what happened with Danni."

"Leave her out of it."

Alicia wiped lip-gloss marks from Harry's mouth. "I understand what you're going through, but I'm only willing to wait for so long. I'll see you back inside."

Alicia turned and knew that Harry was narrowing his eyes and scowling after her. She hurried past the amused looking waiter and took her seat at the VIP table. She received a lovely welcome from the League President.

"Oh, you came back. I was about to ask someone to take your plate away."

"I don't have anywhere else to go," she reminded him tartly.

The pompous man pursed his lips in displeasure. "Back to the stadium might be a good idea. If it weren't for Potter you'd be there right now. I've always disliked the impertinence of today's youth."

Alicia held her tongue as her cheeks grew hot. The Minister of Magic engaged the President in conversation to take the focus off Alicia. She burned with anger and embarrassment. She heaped some garden salad onto her plate and began to pick at it moodily.

The British and Irish Quidditch League was in real need of an overhaul. It was run by middle-aged, upper-middleclass men, who looked out for the interests of other middle-aged, upper-middleclass men. When the Harpies won the Cup later it would be the beginning of the revolution.

"Vive la revolution," Alicia muttered to herself, stabbing a piece of lettuce angrily.

As she played with her food and waited for Harry to return, she passed the time by coming up with variations for VIP that better suited the people at her table. Very Ignorant People, for example. Vastly Idiotic Pricks. Alicia smiled to herself. Yes, that made her feel a little better. Vainly Imbecilic Ponces.

She glared up at the League President. Voraciously Impotent Prats. Alicia suppressed a giggle, which turned into a snort, which was heard by everyone. Again all eyes turned to her and she dropped her gaze to her salad. She was going to have to start behaving herself or risk being removed by security.

Where the hell was Harry?

"Excuse me, miss?" said a soft, high voice.

Alicia turned to Emma, who she'd completely forgotten about. "Yes?"

"Are you Alicia Spinnet?"

Hurrah! Someone actually knew her real name. "Yes I am."

"Are you the same Alicia Spinnet who coaches the Holyhead Chasers?" Emma asked shyly.

"Yes," Alicia answered, smiling proudly. "Are you a Harpies fan, Emma?"

Emma smiled and nodded weakly. Poor little thing was so pale and thin. "May I have your autograph?"

Alicia frowned. She had a signature, not an autograph. "Are you sure? I could introduce you to the players when you've finished eating lunch. Their autographs are worth a lot more than mine."

Emma's little face lit up. "Could I really meet the players?"

"Sure."

"Thank you, Miss Spinnet."

"Call me Alicia."

Emma flushed excitedly and handed Alicia a small, leather-bound book. "I'd still like to have your autograph."

Alicia flipped through the book and noticed the names of all Harry's teammates and other random Quidditch players. Even Harry, Ron and Hermione had signed Emma's autograph book. Some people had left inspirational messages and Alicia wondered if she should do the same.

What would she write though? Stay in school? Just say no to drugs? Keep it real? Make love, not war? She glanced at the little girl and realised none of those were appropriate. She got a sudden a flash of inspiration and took a pen from her handbag. She began to write just as Harry returned to the table.

"Everything all right, Emma?" he asked as he sat down.

"Alicia Spinnet is signing my book," she said happily. "And she says she's going to let me meet the Harpies players when I've finished my lunch."

"Wow. That's very nice of Alicia Spinnet."

Alicia caught Harry trying to peek at what she was writing so she turned away from him. She signed her name, trying to make it look like the autograph of a celebrity, not just the signature of a random woman.

"May I have a look?" Harry asked politely, knowing that she couldn't very well refuse him.

"Of course." Alicia handed the book to him and looked away.

"The sky's the limit," Harry read.

Alicia wasn't looking at him, but she could hear the smirk in his voice. "Are you laughing at me, Mr Potter?"

"No."

"Good, because I thought it was a very motivational thing to write," Alicia said tightly, daring him to use his smirking voice again.

"It's also clever because Quidditch is played in the sky," Emma spoke up enthusiastically.

"It's both clever and motivational. It's also true," Harry said, handing Emma's book back to her. "The sky's the limit when it comes to a lot of things. Things like Quidditch, life, careers…relationships. Remember that, Emma."

Emma looked up at him as if he was a little off in the head. Alicia smiled down at her salad. Harry was young and very quick to get emotional so it was a risk for her to tell him off. To his credit he'd taken his time, calmed down then returned.

Alicia's appetite suddenly returned and she finished her salad in seconds and reached for various other foods. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Emma hugging her autograph book and looking up at Alicia with hopeful eyes. The baked potato would have to wait.

"Are you ready to meet the Harpies, Emma?"

"Oh yes!"

"Let's go see them now." Alicia stood up and to her surprise so did Harry.

"I'd like to thank you for this, Miss Spinnet." Harry extended his hand and gave her a patented celebrity-talking-to-commoner type smile.

Alicia shook his hand, feeling stupid considering he'd had his tongue down her throat fifteen minute ago. "It's really no problem."

Harry released her hand and Alicia realised he'd left something behind. A folded paper napkin was sitting snugly in her palm. A shiver ran down her spine. She had to admit that furtive glances, clandestine caresses and secret notes were kinda fun.

Emma took Alicia's other hand and pulled her away insistently. They went onto the stage and Alicia explained the situation to Kerry who was happy to take over the introductions. The smile never left Emma's face as the players signed the book, hugged her and chatted to her. Alicia took the opportunity to slip away and join Lee at his podium.

"How are you doing?" she asked conversationally as she unfolded the napkin.

"I'm bored and I hate these functions. No one ever talks to me or listens to what I have to say."

"That's good," she said automatically.

Lee stopped scribbling on his parchment and looked at her. "Even you aren't listening to me. Typical."

"I'm listening, just don't talk anymore."

"What is that?"

Alicia giggled and held the napkin to her chest. "It's a note from Harry. Isn't that sweet? No one's ever given me a napkin-note before. He's adorable."

"If I had known it only took some crap scribbled on a napkin to get you hot, then I wouldn't have tried so hard to get you to shag me last year."

"Shut up. Harry didn't write crap, I'm not getting hot and you didn't try hard last year. Now be quiet and let me read."

Miss Spinnet-

You're annoying but you make a good point. I'll make an official announcement whenever you want me to. I'll do it today. I'll even do it right now. I could jump on the VIP table and make a poetic declaration. If it'll keep you happy and shut you up for a while, I'll do it.

You're old enough to know what you want. Just be ready to be dissected, analysed and stalked by crazy people.

Mr Potter

P.S. I'm looking forward to seeing you back at Harpies Headquarters for the post-match party. You have a private office right? And a sturdy desk?

Alicia smiled to herself and flipped the napkin over to write a reply. "Give me that quill, Lee."

"Go get your own," he muttered, still in a sulky mood.

"Just give me the bloody thing."

"I'm busy."

Alicia peered over the top of the podium. "You're playing hangman with yourself."

"No one talks to me so I need to amuse myself somehow."

"Did you ever consider that people don't talk to you because you play games of hangman with yourself?"

"Go and annoy your boyfriend. Better yet, go and grace Oliver with your presence. I'm sure you two have some more bragging and posturing to do."

Alicia snatched the quill from him. "I suppose your bad mood has something to do with the fact that Sophie hasn't spoken to you yet."

"She didn't even look at me when I officially introduced her. She hates me."

"I doubt it. I've seen her checking you out."

"Really?" Lee asked, looking concerned. Alicia nodded and he straightened up and flicked his dreadlocks away from his face. "Crap. How do I look?"

"Totally hot, of course." Alicia paused in her writing to look up at him. "You know, you could talk to her first."

"And lose all credibility? I'm supposed to be a playboy and we don't chase after women. We smile and they come to us."

"I don't care if you sleep alone for the rest of your life, playboy, I just hope you haven't put Sophie off her game."

"She's more professional than that. Oh, I think she's looking. Quick, start flirting with me!" Lee hissed urgently.

Alicia rolled her eyes and began writing again. "I'm not going to pretend to flirt with you so you can make my friend jealous. Besides, Harry can see us and he'd freak out."

"Some friend you are," Lee said darkly, slipping back into his bad mood.

Alicia ignored him and read over what she'd written.

Mr Potter

I resent being called annoying. I also reluctantly admit that you have more experience with this sort of thing so I'll let you handle it. Whenever you want to do it is fine with me.

But I must say, you are a terrible cynic. Despite your pessimism, I am confident that I will not be dissected, analysed or stalked.

Miss Spinnet

P.S. My office is private and my desk is sturdy. What precisely are you insinuating, Mr Potter? A vigorous game of chess, I'm sure.

Satisfied, Alicia folded the napkin and handed Lee's quill back. "Here you go, sunshine. You better perk up before the game if you don't want the entire crowd to fall asleep."

"I don't need commentating advice from you."

Alicia laughed and pinched his cheek. "Keep your chin up, little soldier."

"Go away."

"I'll start singing Climb Every Mountain."

"Then I'd be forced to cut my own ears off with a butter knife," Lee said blandly.

Alicia slapped him on the arm. "That's the spirit!"

"Look, take your nauseating enthusiasm somewhere else."

"All right, grumpy pants, I'll see you after the game then."

Lee turned his attention back to his solo game of hangman and Alicia went to the Harpies table to retrieve Emma, who was still glowing. As everyone said their goodbyes, Alicia took a moment to whisper in Sophie's ear.

"Lee says he wants to talk to you right now."

Sophie looked up at her with hopeful eyes. "Really?"

Alicia nodded heartily. "Absolutely. He also said you're the most beautiful and intelligent woman he's ever met. He says he's lucky to have you."

"That's sweet of him." Sophie raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "In fact, that's uncharacteristically sweet of him. There's no way Lee Jordan said any of those things."

"Ok," Alicia said, "I paraphrased slightly, but I know that's what he wants to say to you. Trust me, Soph."

"I'm not sure."

"Come on, he's a great guy. I'll admit that he needs a smack upside the head every once in a while, but that's part of his charm. Give him another chance," Alicia implored.

"Well, he does make me laugh," Sophie said slowly. "Plus he's a great kisser."

"Then it's decided!" Alicia tugged on her arm like a tenacious puppy dog. "Go and tell him he's an idiot, then kiss him."

"If you say so," she said, hesitantly standing up and gathering her nerve. "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it," Alicia assured her as she gave her a shove in the right direction.

Alicia smiled brightly as she watched Sophie approach a stunned, but pleased looking Lee. Congratulating herself on a job well done, Alicia grabbed Emma by the hand and led her back to the VIP table, where she casually dropped the napkin in Harry's lap. The League President said something nasty again, but she was in too much of a good mood to pay attention. She'd received a napkin-note from her boyfriend, cheered up a sick little girl and saved her friend from a life of self-induced abstinence.

Not bad for a day's work. Now all she had to do was overcome one more obstacle to make it a perfect day. This particular obstacle was named Oliver Wood and he was grinning down at her from his seat on the stage.

xxxxx

"What's your game plan, Leesh?"

"I bet she's going to bombard Oliver early on."

"Yeah, a Wollongong Shimmy followed by a Hawkshead and a Porskoff Ploy, then a little something of your own."

"Is that what you're planning to do?"

Alicia smiled beatifically at her friends. "As if I'd do something so callous to my first Quidditch mentor."

"The student must succeed the master sometime," Fred said wisely.

"Come on, let us in on your brilliant game plan," Angelina begged. "The match starts in an hour so you'll have to go to the change room soon."

"And we all put money on the Harpies to win so it's not as if we're going to tell the Bats all your secrets," George added.

"What's the plan, coach?" Katie asked, leaning towards her compellingly.

"If you must know," Alicia finally said, "my game plan is to have no game plan at all."

She was met with four identical looks of confusion. "How many glasses of champagne did you say you had?" George asked.

"I'm not drunk. My plan simply involves making it look like I don't have a plan at all."

"Oh God." Fred groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Why couldn't you have told us this before? Like before I put three hundred Galleons on the Harpies to win without catching the Snitch."

"You did what?" Angelina shrieked.

"I thought they were a sure thing with Alicia in control. I wasn't expecting her to lose her mind like this," Fred mumbled regrettably into his hands.

"You won't lose your money, guys," Alicia said, putting as much confidence into her voice as she could. "I know what I'm doing. As long as the Bats don't hit us with any major surprises, we'll be able to win the match without catching the Snitch."

"And how do you expect to accomplish that without a plan?" George demanded.

"I never said I didn't have a plan, you idiots. I said I was going to make it look like I didn't have a plan. I've gone for Oliver's only weak spot."

"I was going to put our winnings towards Jordy's future therapy," Fred said mournfully, ignoring Alicia.

"Oh, get over it, Frederick," Angelina snapped. "Jordy is a baby and he has no idea that he is wearing a jacket I bought in the girls' section of Quality Quidditch Supplies."

"Shh. He could hear you!" Fred turned around and was glad to find that Jordy was still playing at the back of the room with Angelina's sister, who had just arrived.

"You know, with a father like you he probably will end up needing therapy."

"Are you saying I'm a bad father?" Fred shouted, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room.

Angelina shrugged and folded her arms. "If the shoe fits."

"Can't you two stop fighting for five minutes?" Katie asked, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"Are you all right?" George asked urgently.

"Don't think you've been let off the hook, mister. You made the same bet as Fred, didn't you?"

"Yes," he answered meekly.

"As if money wasn't already tight enough. Now you go and throw it away on a hopeless bet. We'll be lucky if we can afford to buy this baby shoes. Do you want a shoeless child, George?" Katie asked icily.

"No, ma'am."

"You might as well put Jordy in a dress and tie a pink ribbon in his hair!"

"Maybe I'll do that! And when he's old enough I'll enrol him in ballet lessons. Would you like that, Fred?"

Alicia could feel her head beginning to spin. Kerry came to her rescue just in the nick of time. "Everything all right, Alicia?" she asked, glancing at the arguing couples.

"My friends are certifiably insane, but other than that everything's peachy."

"Glad to hear it. It's time to go below and see how our girls are doing."

Alicia gave her friends one last look then quickly followed her boss out of the madhouse. The reaction had been much the same when Alicia explained her plan to her colleagues. People immediately dismissed it and began to suggest alternatives. Only Alicia's tenacity and Kerry's faith in her saved her plan from the scrap heap.

Despite everyone's doubts, Alicia knew that her idea would work. She realised it was risky, but it was also their only chance of rattling Oliver. Everyone had readily agreed that the Bats had the far superior Seeker so it was going to be up to the Chasers to score goals. After analysing Oliver's style of play Alicia had an epiphany of sorts. Oliver was a pro at reading plays so Alicia was going to throw some inept plays at him.

She had told her Chasers to deliberately make mistakes early on. They had been instructed to mix up their formations, drop simple passes and forget their signals. The trick was making it look as if they were genuinely losing the plot. Oliver Wood liked order and his years of captaining Alicia in Quidditch had shown her that he was fond of straightforward tactics. He would be expecting her just to throw plays at him. Instead, Alicia was going to have her Chasers throw mistakes at him.

"Are you ready to make history, Spinnet?"

"Huh?"

Kerry smiled as they passed by security and went under the stadium. "After today you're either going to be the worst Chaser coach in history, or you'll be forever known as the Quidditch genius who thwarted Oliver Wood. Are you ready to re-write the history books and show everyone how real women play Quidditch?"

"Save the speeches for the players," Alicia said, feeling her stomach drop.

All of a sudden she wished she were playing as well. She hadn't had a desire to play competitive Quidditch since she graduated from Hogwarts. Now she wanted nothing more than to have a Quaffle in one hand and her broomstick in the other.

In the change room the atmosphere was sombre. Alicia did her best to encourage and reassure her charges, but they were too nervous to heed much of what she said. She only had a couple of minutes to run through the game plan again before she had to get back up to the Officials' Box with the other assistant coaches. Only the head coach, the team medic and the reserves were permitted to be on the sidelines during the match.

"I hope your crazy idea works, Alicia," Erin, the Beater coach commented dryly.

"I hope your Beaters can keep the pressure on the Bats Seeker because my crazy idea won't have time to work if the Snitch is caught early." Alicia added an angelic sort of smile so the larger woman wouldn't snap her like a twig. "If everyone does their jobs my plan will work. Don't worry."

Lee's magically magnified voice suddenly echoed through the packed stadium. Alicia and her colleagues quickened their pace and made it to the Officials' box just as Lee was going through the team line-ups. Alicia was glad to find that her friends had retreated to opposite corners and were trading glares rather than insults. She'd have stopped to talk to them, but she needed to stay calm and speaking to crazy people was rarely a calming experience.

At the front of the box a section had been cordoned off for the assistant coaches to watch the game in relative privacy. Crumpled pieces of parchment were strewn everywhere and there was discarded food and drink lying around. Alicia almost stepped on someone's scrambled eggs.

Alicia swept crumbs from her seat and sat down. "This is gross. We should learn to be neater."

"Hmm."

"Are you feeling all right, Lindsay?"

Lindsay was the Keeper coach and Alicia was closer to her than any of the others. She had been particularly quiet and was now staring off into space.

"I'm thinking about Daisy. I'm afraid we might have put too much pressure on her. This is only her second season of professional Quidditch and we've put her up against some of the best Chasers in the League. Without the Beaters to keep the Chasers in line, she's going to have her work cut out for her."

Alicia shuffled some of her parchments around and found some information on the Ballycastle Chasers. "They're pretty much by the book, so I don't think Daisy will have too much trouble with them. Their timing is precise and their formations are regimental. I dare say Oliver has had a hand in training in them."

"How can you tell?" Lindsay asked.

Alicia shrugged. She didn't quite know how to explain it. "I can just tell he's worked with them a lot. I guess it's like when a dog pees on a tree and another dog that smells the tree will know that the other dog has been there."

Alicia hadn't realised that everyone was listening, but her workmates began to laugh. "So you're saying that you can tell that Oliver has peed on the Ballycastle Chasers?" Erin said.

"Oliver is never that overt," Alicia said snootily. "He has definitely left his mark on them so I believe we can expect some textbook plays early on."

"I can't believe we're relying on your plan to win us the game."

Gradually the tension in the stadium began to rise, mainly thanks to Lee's uncanny ability to make a crowd hang on his every word. By the time the teams took to the pitch, Alicia had bitten her nails right down to the limit. She would reach cuticle if she wasn't careful.

The referee blew his whistle and the grand final began. Despite the build up, the early action was rather anti-climactic. Every time the Holyhead Chasers were heading for goal they would mess it up. The crowd groaned in disappointment as Sophie mixed up her signals and got into position for a reverse pass rather than a Porskoff Ploy.

Alicia watched through her Omnioculars, ignoring the fact that her hands were shaking. As his Chasers went on the offence, Oliver hovered in front of his goals and shook his head smugly at the amateur mistakes his opposition were making. Alicia was beginning to doubt her plan. Play badly on purpose? She might as well hand the Cup to Oliver.

Half an hour into the game, the Holyhead captain called a timeout. This was also part of the plan. Amaline was to make it look as if she were angry with her fellow Chasers. Their heated 'argument' would have definitely drawn the attention of Oliver. When the teams took to the air again, the Holyhead Chasers made a loose Hawkeshead Formation. It was the worst looking formation Alicia had ever seen. Even five year olds could have done better.

Lee was absolutely incredulous and Alicia could tell he was worried. Amaline was at the head of the formation and she kept sporadically speeding up then slowing down. Sophie was further behind her than Brianne, who was flying lower than the other two. Oliver showed his first signs of weakness at that moment. He couldn't make any sense of the mangled formation either.

"Please let this work," Alicia whispered pleadingly. "Just let us get this one. Oliver will start to lose confidence. Oh please. Come on. Please just get-"

The crowd screamed in delight, drowning out Alicia's final words. The Chasers had spontaneously switched to a Wollongong Shimmy. Oliver panicked, switching his defensive position as quickly as he could. A neat reverse pass to Sophie gave the Harpies their first goal. Oliver totally misread it.

"Oh my God," Lindsay gasped. "I've never seen Oliver miss that badly. He dove completely in the wrong direction."

Alicia smiled to herself. That was the whole idea.

"The Holyhead Harpies get their first points! The Ballycastle Bats still lead 40-10, but what an extraordinary passage of play!" Lee exclaimed. "I believe we just witnessed the first ever Reverse Hawkeshead Shimmy! Wood looks out of sorts now. Can the Harpies capitalise?"

The answer to Lee's rhetorical question was yes. Oliver was on the look out for unusual plays so the Chasers threw textbook perfect plays at him. Oliver caught on again and switched back to his uniform defence. As soon as they noticed the switch, Alicia's Chasers followed her orders and swapped back to the unpredictable and haphazard style of play.

"If I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it was possible," Erin said, her voice thick with awe.

"Still think my plan is crazy?"

"Yes, but I'm sure people also told Einstein and Newton that they were crazy," a familiar voice said from behind Alicia.

Before she had time to turn around Alicia was engulfed in a hug from behind. Fred had her in half a headlock and was rubbing her hair affectionately.

"Get the hell off me."

Fred just tightened his grip and gave her a wet kiss on the cheek. "You've almost done it. I didn't doubt you for a second. Knew you could do it."

Alicia snorted as she tried to push him away. "I distinctly remember you saying that I had lost my mind."

"Me? I'd never say such a thing!"

"Whatever, Fred. Just don't count your chickens yet. We still have to score fifty more points if you want to win your bet. Both Seekers are now hunting furiously for the Snitch."

Fred's smile slid off his face. "Tell your Seeker to stop looking for it. Tell your Chasers to work harder!"

"It's too late to get a message to them now. I have a feeling that the game will be over soon."

Alicia's premonition didn't quite come true. The game ended about forty minutes later, and the total time was four hours and fifty-six minutes. The game finally finished when the Ballycastle Seeker caught the Snitch.

"Oh my God," Alicia mumbled to herself as she stared up at the scoreboard.

Ballycastle 210 – Holyhead 220.

Talk about down to the wire. It couldn't have been any closer. Ballycastle had slowly started to fall apart, the Chasers had panicked and pushed their plays and it was an easy task for Daisy to deny them. The Ballycastle Seeker had been reluctant to catch the Snitch, but he had no choice when his rival had gone streaking after it. It was all he could do to save his team from utter humiliation.

The following fifteen minutes were a blur for Alicia. Lee repeatedly yelled the final score over the boisterous crowd. People in the Officials' Box were screaming, and Alicia was fairly certain she was one of them. She was hugged, kissed, pinched and prodded for a good ten minutes before someone suggested they go and join the team.

Alicia was the first to make it down to the pitch. She shoved her team pass in the face of a security wizard and ducked past him. Her team was in the centre of the pitch in an ecstatic huddle. She was going to join them when she noticed that Oliver was sitting by himself beneath the goalposts. His head was in his hands and he couldn't have look any more dejected.

Alicia changed directions and headed for her friend. She had to struggle to wipe the smile off her face and take the bounce out of her step. Oliver would already feel bad enough about losing without her rubbing it in.

Oliver looked up when he heard her approach. He pulled off his gloves and held out his hand to her. "Congratulations, Spinnet."

Alicia shook his hand, trying to look as if winning the League Cup meant nothing to her. "Thanks, Wood."

"Your girls did really well."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You were just doing your job, Alicia."

"I know, but I used my intimate knowledge of you to defeat your team. It just feels a little like I'm being ungrateful. You taught me everything I know about Quidditch."

Oliver grinned up at her. "And that's why you're so good at what you do."

"So you don't hate me?"

"For beating me? No way. Someone had to dethrone me eventually and I'm glad it was you."

Alicia raised her eyebrows at his choice of words. "Dethrone you? You're the king of Quidditch, are you?"

Oliver got to his feet and brushed dirt from his Quidditch uniform. "I was five hours ago. It'll take me a while, but I'll be back. You've taught me a huge lesson today, Alicia, and I hope you realise I won't be so easy to beat next time."

Alicia shook her head in amusement. "You are absolutely incorrigible."

"You don't need to flatter me to make me feel better."

Alicia was relieved to see that Oliver wasn't taking it too hard. A couple of years ago, losing the Quidditch League final would have devastated him. It appeared that he had finally grown up a little and reassessed his priorities.

"I better go join my team. Do you want to come to our little celebration later?" Alicia asked.

"I didn't receive any formal invitation. Funny that."

"I can make sure your name's at the door. Will you come?"

Oliver shook his head, causing droplets of sweat to fly in Alicia's face. "No thanks. I'll just go home and drown my sorrows."

Alicia glared at him and wiped her face with her sleeve. "I know you better than that, Oliver Wood. You're going to go straight home and pull out your tactical boards and come up with a whole new defensive game for yourself."

"Now that you've exposed my weakness everyone will try it. Can't let them get away with it, can I? Particularly not now that the World Cup is coming up."

"I bet everyone in Scotland hates me now."

"Probably." Oliver put his arm around Alicia and hugged her to him as cameras flashed in the distance. "Anyway, what does the hatred of millions matter when you've won the adoration of Witch Weekly's Most Eligible Bachelor?"

Alicia laughed and pushed him away. "You're sweaty and gross, Oliver, and now you've made me sweaty and gross."

He shouldered his broom and winked at her. "Perhaps Harry likes it dirty."

xxxxx

Little black dress: Check.

French perfume: Check.

Hot new earrings: Check.

Ladder in stockings: Bugger.

New stockings: Check

Ear-to-ear smile: Double check.

Evening bag: …

"Whoops." Alicia ducked under her bed and grabbed her shiny silver evening bag.

"You look absolutely spiffing," George said. "Can we go now? We're twenty minutes late."

"It's traditional to be fashionably late to these events. Do you like these shoes?"

"No one's going to be looking at your feet, honey."

"Oh." Alicia looked down at her dress critically. "Too much cleavage?"

"There's no such thing as too much cleavage." George ducked as Alicia swung her bag at him. "Come on, woman, we male escorts charge by the hour."

Alicia checked her hair in the mirror once more. "As if any woman would pay money to spend time with you. Katie's lending you to me completely free of charge."

"Katie just doesn't want me around. She doesn't love me anymore."

"Don't be stupid, George. Katie's pregnant and cranky, but we both know she still loves you."

George pouted and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, that's why she hands me off to her friends for dates."

"You're my escort, not my date and you don't even have to come with me if you don't want to."

"And leave you to the mercy of every man at the party?" George shook his head firmly. "Someone's gotta keep you out of trouble, chickadee."

Alicia locked her front door then turned back to George. "Fred and Lee will be there to look after me."

"They'll be too preoccupied with Angelina and Sophie to pay attention to you. I'm going with you. There'll be free alcohol, right?"

"All you can drink," Alicia confirmed.

"Well, what are we waiting around for?"

Alicia and George Apparated to Anglesey then caught the club's chartered boat over to Harpies headquarters on Holyhead Island. The party was beginning to pick-up when the pair entered. The players hadn't arrived yet and there was a distinct lack of celebrities, but everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves.

Angelina and Fred were snogging in the corner, revelling in the fact that they were having a night out without Jordy. Not wanting to interrupt them, Alicia and George headed for the buffet. Small finger food had been set out to keep everyone going. George grabbed a toothpick and began stabbing hors d'oeuvres.

"Can't you just use your fingers?" Alicia asked.

"That's would be impolite. Besides, eating food with a toothpick is fun."

Alicia rolled her eyes and slipped her arm through his. "You're so juvenile. Let's go and circulate."

George reluctantly relinquished his toothpick and Alicia hauled him around the room. The only people at the party so far were administrative staff and other lesser officials, but they were all in a state of almost hysterical excitement. At first Alicia assumed the Cup win had made them all giddy, but after talking to most of them she found the real source of the excitement.

Apparently Harry Potter had called ahead to confirm that he would be arriving at Harpies headquarters in about an hour.

"Can you believe it, Alicia, Harry Potter is going to be here! And he's single!"

George sniggered and Alicia elbowed him surreptitiously. She smiled at the receptionist who was swaying in barely contained rapture. "Personally, he doesn't do anything for me. I think he's too aware of the effect he has on women," Alicia said haughtily.

"No, no," the receptionist replied forcefully. "Harry's a very nice man. Not that I've met him or anything, I've just heard stories. You already know him don't you? You played Quidditch together at Hogwarts? Could you introduce me? I'd be forever in your debt. Oh, please say you'll do it, Alicia!"

George's entire face was now red from his effort to contain his amusement. Alicia did her best to ignore him and said, "I'd love to introduce you, but unfortunately Harry and I are barely even acquaintances. We might nod to each other in passing but that's the extent of it. I'm very sorry. Enjoy your evening!"

"This is great. I'm so glad I came," George commented as they hurried away from the receptionist.

"They've all lost their minds! How can all these smart, capable women be reduced to quivering messes because of one man?"

"The man you happen to be dating," George pointed out needlessly.

"Yes, thank you very much for that reminder."

"Alicia!"

Alicia looked up to see a woman named Jessica waving at her from across the room. Alicia waved back and mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. "That's Jessica Ridgeway. She works in the PR department and she's known for her numerous liaisons."

"So she's a whore?"

"I was trying to be delicate about it…but yes."

"Then I'd love to meet her. Let's go."

Against her better judgment Alicia took George over to meet Jessica. She was wearing a tiny red dress and standing beside a handsome man, who was looking a little perturbed.

"Hello, Jessica, are you enjoying your evening?" Alicia asked politely.

"Are the rumours true? Is he really coming? He's not bringing a date, is he?"

Alicia groaned inwardly. Whatever happened to civilised conversation? "He's coming and he isn't bringing a date," Alicia answered shortly.

Jessica clapped her hands together in delight. "I knew it! He must be getting back into the dating game. Why else would he attend a party being thrown by a club full of witches? He's going home with one of us tonight. Mark my words, Alicia."

Me! Alicia wanted to scream. He'll be going home with me so keep your filthy hands to yourself!

Instead she smiled angelically and said, "I sincerely hope he isn't going to use our League Cup win as an excuse to sleep with as many of us as he can."

"I hope you're wrong," Jessica said, looking down at her dress. She turned to her angry looking date. "Do you think I'd have time to Apparate home and change my outfit? Should I go for something backless?"

Her date spun on his heel and stalked away in a huff. "Was it something I said?" Jessica asked innocently.

"I doubt it."

Jessica flashed Alicia a smile then ran off after her date. George burst out laughing as soon as she was gone. "This is fantastic. Half the room is going to pass out when Harry arrives! You all right, Leesh?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm fine," she repeated tersely. "Let's go and see if Fred and Angelina have taken a breath yet."

It turned out they hadn't taken a breath. Alicia put an end to the kiss by kicking Fred in the shin.

"Ow! For Christ's sake, Alicia!"

As her fiancé clutched his leg, Angelina jumped to her feet in front of Alicia. "Great. Just the person we were looking for. We need the key to your office."

Alicia looked from one of her dishevelled friends to the other. "Gross! There's no way I'm letting you use my office!"

"It's either your office or over on the buffet table," Fred said.

"You two are absolutely hopeless." Alicia put her hand over her eyes. Visions of her friends making out amidst the crab puffs and cheese squares invaded her mind. "All right! I'll give you the damn key."

"Thank you," Angelina said, hugging Alicia as she took the key out of her bag.

"We owe you one," Fred added, grabbing Angelina with one hand and snatching the key with the other.

"Just not on my desk!" Alicia called after them. "I still need to work there!"

"You know they're going to use your desk, don't you?"

"Shut up, George."

For the next hour, Alicia made George stay in the corner with her. Whilst she was hiding away, no one mentioned Harry to her and she was able to keep an eye on the door from her position. At one point there was a lot of commotion, which turned out to only signal the arrival of the players and Kerry. There was a united groan of female disappointment.

"This is ridiculous," Alicia snapped, angrily pushing her hair out of her face. "They're all acting like randy schoolgirls. Can't they find something better to put their minds to? It's not as if they're-"

"Harry's here," George said calmly, interrupting Alicia's tirade.

"Where? I can't see him!" Alicia stood on tiptoes and jumped up and down, but she couldn't see any one at the door other than the security witches.

"He's over by the buffet table. He must have used another entrance."

Alicia's heart skipped a beat as she turned to the other end of the room. Harry was loitering behind the buffet by himself. In a comical scene, he was standing only feet away from panting women who were oblivious to his presence because they were all intently watching the door. He looked wonderful in a simple dark green shirt and black trousers. Even from across the room Alicia could see that the top button of his shirt was undone.

These women were going to devour him.

"Everyone knows I'm friends with Harry, so let's go say hello."

Alicia tried to protest as George took her hand and dragged her across the room. Her mouth was so dry that the best she could manage was raspy sounds of indignation.

"Don't worry, I'll do all the talking and you can stand beside me and look pretty. Deal?"

"Bad idea," Alicia croaked. "Turn around. No good will come of this."

She was dimly aware that music had begun to play. No one else seemed to have noticed Harry yet and he was standing back, content with watching the room. Alicia couldn't help but wonder if he was looking for her. When they got within a few metres of him he spotted them and smiled. The smile then faltered as he looked Alicia up and down.

"I think he likes what he sees," George whispered.

"Terrible idea," Alicia reiterated, blushing as Harry's gaze brushed over her.

"Nice to see you, George, I didn't realise you were coming tonight," Harry said quietly.

"I wasn't planning to come. Let me introduce you to my date. Harry this is Alicia. Her best friend is having my baby. Alicia this is Harry. He defeated You-Know-Who and did a bunch of other heroic things."

"Alicia and I met at lunch earlier," Harry said. "Congratulations on the win, Miss Spinnet."

"Thank you."

George looked around briefly then lowered his voice. "No one's watching or listening to us."

Harry made a show of smiling and shaking Alicia's hand as he quietly said, "What I wrote on the napkin still stands. Just say the word."

As he held her hand, Alicia briefly considered telling him to do it right then and there. They could kiss and dance and be a real couple. Then she remembered the dozens of women who were waiting for Harry to arrive. "What I wrote on the napkin still stands as well. You know what you're doing."

"Could we meet in your office in twenty minutes?"

"Fred and Angelina are in there," Alicia said regretfully. Damn them!

"Is there somewhere else that we could-"

"Harry!"

"Harry's over there!"

"By the buffet table!"

"Quick!"

Alicia closed her eyes in a bitter grimace. She'd had him to herself for all of one minute. It wasn't fair. Lost in a daze, Alicia let George take her away from the melee. He sat her down on a chair by the wall and snatched a glass of wine from a passing waiter. Alicia gulped the wine and shoved the glass back into George's hand.

"Don't they have anything stronger?" she asked churlishly.

"Like what?"

"Like an entire bottle of scotch."

xxxxx

Alicia didn't get her bottle of scotch, but she did get a headache from the cheap wine and a stomachache from watching Harry dance with every woman in the room. Someone must have leaked the information about Harry attending because all of a sudden dozens of photographers had shown up. They'd been allowed to stay because it was good publicity for the club, but they'd been ordered to stay by the walls. Their presence and their incessant snapping of photos only angered Alicia further.

"Why don't you go home?" George asked gently.

"I don't want to go home! This is supposed to be my party! It's not everyday that you win the British and Irish Quidditch League. I have a right to be here!"

"No need to yell, it was just a question."

Alicia sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry, George. You want to go home to Katie, don't you?"

"No, I really like sitting in the same place for an hour and complaining about men with you."

"George…"

"I miss my cranky Katie."

"Go home then. I can manage by myself now."

"Are you sure?" he asked doubtfully.

"I'm positive." Alicia kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for coming with me."

"It was kinda like the old days, wasn't it?"

Alicia laughed at the memories that came flooding back. "Yeah, expect Filch wasn't chasing us out of broom closets and Angelina wasn't lecturing us about snogging during training."

"Good times," he agreed heartily. "I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure you don't stay out too late."

"Goodbye, George."

George left and Alicia's eyes automatically searched for Harry. He wasn't particularly hard to spot. Just look for the largest gathering of people.

"Had your turn yet?"

Alicia looked up at Jessica. She was not surprised to see that she was sans her unhappy date. "Turn?"

"With Harry. Have you danced with him yet?"

"No."

"I have," Jessica said proudly. "I was the third one. He had quite a grip on my waist."

"I bet he did."

"I'm just going to give it a few more minutes then I'm going to ask him to dance again. I don't want to appear too eager."

"Of course not."

"You know, staring at him from afar won't get him to dance with you. Go over there and ask him!"

Alicia shook her head. "I don't want to dance with him. I'm fine right here."

Jessica shrugged. "Whatever you say. I just hope you don't miss your chance. Remember what I said about him going home with one of us tonight."

Alicia stood up abruptly and walked away as quickly as she could. Tears were stinging at her eyes and she felt foolish. Harry was paying attention to every woman in the room except her and she was the one he was supposed to care about the most. What little of a relationship they had was beginning to crumble.

To keep her mind off her woes, Alicia occupied herself at the buffet table. George had been on to something with the whole toothpick thing. Cheese on a toothpick somehow tasted a lot better than regular cheese. She was beginning to feel a little better about everything. Life wasn't so bad when you had cheese on a tiny stick.

"Well, well, if it isn't Alicia Spinnet."

She didn't even need to turn around. She would have recognised the voice anywhere. Alicia's blood froze in her veins. Her breath caught in her throat. Her heart began to pound. She almost swallowed her toothpick. Of all the people who could have shown up when she was already feeling awful.

"Who the hell let you in here, Kieran?" she snarled, not turning away from the food.

"What kind of welcome is that? I happen to have been invited. People are always desperate to have me at their parties. I figured you had personally sent the invitation."

Alicia whirled around in a fury. "I did no such thing! Furthermore, I'm going to make sure that the person who sent the invitation is fired on the spot. Get out."

Kieran Kingly just smiled charmingly. He pointedly looked her up and down as she did the same to him. In the back of Alicia's mind she couldn't help but notice that he was looking good. He was wearing a tuxedo, which didn't surprise Alicia at all. He always had to stand out. The tall blonde woman beside Kieran was looking particularly beautiful in a long navy blue dress.

"I see you've lost weight," Kieran said lightly.

"I see you're still a tactless arsehole," Alicia retorted.

"I was giving you a simple compliment, Leesh."

"No, you were suggesting that I needed to lose weight when we were together."

"Well, obviously you agreed because you've gone to the trouble of losing it."

Alicia folded her arms and narrowed her eyes to tiny slits. "When I got the job here as Chaser coach I began to train with the girls so it was only natural that I would lose weight."

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'll take that as a no." Kieran gestured to the blonde beside him. "I'd like you to meet my lovely date, Sarah."

"Sally," she corrected.

"Right. Sally, this is Sally."

"You're still dating a different woman every week," Alicia stated. "You're absolutely vile."

"I'm vile?" Kieran barked loudly, drawing attention to himself. "Which one of us is dateless, Leesh?"

Alicia trembled with rage. Why was she standing around letting him treat her like crap again? After he cheated on her she vowed that she would never allow him to walk over her ever again. It was time for Kieran Kingly to get a bit of his own medicine back.

Meanwhile, on the dance floor…

"He had given me the wrong colour! I told the hairdresser that I had wanted my highlights to be ash blonde, not strawberry blonde. Can you imagine how embarrassing that was for me? Strawberry blonde!"

"It sounds awful," Harry said absently, wondering why he had gone to the Holyhead party in the first place. He couldn't openly be with Alicia, so he was left with strange women who grabbed his bottom and whispered lewd propositions in his ear.

"Do you think we could get out of here, Harry?"

"No," he repeated. As if she hadn't heard him the first four times she'd asked that question.

The woman – he thought her name was Jessica – began to rub his shoulders. "You seem very uptight. I could help you with that."

"I'm fine," he answered roughly. The song finally ended and Harry let go of the woman so abruptly that she almost fell over.

"Again?" she asked hopefully, adjusting the strap of her dress.

"No thank you. I think I'm just going to take a break for a while."

Harry walked off before she could protest the decision. He was going to find Alicia and ask her to dance with him. If she refused he was going to lose his mind.

The captain of the Harpies team cut Harry off on his way to Alicia. "Potter?"

Harry didn't bother to suppress his frustrated groan. "I'm not dancing with anyone at the moment. Give me about ten minutes."

"I don't want to dance with you, you conceited twat," Amaline snapped. "I think you should come and see this."

"What is it?" Harry asked, curious despite his unhappy mood.

"Do you know what happened between Alicia and Kieran Kingly?"

"Yes."

"He's just shown up and has decided to he's not done ruining Alicia's life."

"Where are they?" Harry demanded. He was suddenly very alert and ready for anything. It was frightening how easy it was for him to slip back into hero mode.

"They're over by the buffet table," she answered.

Harry took two steps towards the table before Amaline seized his arm and held him fast. "Not so fast, cowboy."

"But she's-"

"She's a grown woman. I'll only let you go over there if you promise to obey the rules."

"The rules?"

"I was just getting to that, Potter. Stop interrupting me." The petite woman maintained her iron grip on Harry's arm as she stared up at him. "Rule number one: don't butt in if you aren't needed. Rule number two: don't let her see you watching. Rule number three: don't start flinging testosterone about like a Neanderthal. Rule number four: don't underestimate Alicia's ability to look after herself. Do I make myself clear, Potter?"

"Crystal, ma'am."

"Off you go then."

Harry took off towards the buffet table, ignoring people who called out to him. If Alicia needed him he was going to be there for her. Forget the dozens of ravenous photographers; he would do whatever he needed to do. A small group of people was watching the confrontation between Alicia and Kieran. Harry found it easy to hide behind them and silently observe. The pair certainly weren't being very discreet about it.

"Firstly, you're definitely the vile one here, Kieran," Alicia said loudly, her face burning crimson. "Secondly, I do happen to be seeing someone at the moment. I just feel it's none of your business."

"Where is he tonight?" Kieran asked. "Off shagging another woman? I guess you're still having trouble holding onto a bloke."

Alicia replied by slapping him soundly across the face. The slap was so loud that it drew even more attention. People gasped and began whispering to each other as Harry smiled to himself. She was handling herself pretty well.

Kieran put his hand to his red cheek and glared at Alicia. "A little touchy about him are you? Are you sure he even exists?"

"Believe what you like," Alicia said nonchalantly.

"I believe you haven't been with anyone else since me. You haven't been able to find anyone who can compare to me in bed."

"You're absolutely right. Sex with you was wonderful," Alicia simpered. A wicked, meandering sort of smile settled on her lips as she glanced at the women watching her. "In fact, I'd say that sex with you was the best forty five seconds of my life."

Harry put his hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter as people around him giggled and muttered sympathetically. Kieran lost his cool and looked around frantically as his reputation dwindled before his eyes. "That's not true, Alicia. Take it back!"

"Am I wrong, Sally?" Alicia addressed his date.

"Yes." She smirked as Kieran nodded gratefully at her. "It's more like thirty five seconds now. Forty on a good day."

"Don't take her side!"

"Have I embarrassed you, Kieran?"

"They all still want me!" he said desperately, gesturing to the women who were clustered around. "Anyone of them would gladly come home with me!"

"Maybe so," Alicia conceded. "Why don't we fix that by letting them in on your other little secret?"

"Keep your mouth shut," Kieran growled.

"I think the woman you go home with has a right to know what she's getting herself into." Alicia turned to the spectators and held up a toothpick. "This is what you have to look forward to, ladies. Thirty five seconds with this."

At first Alicia was met with stunned silence. Slowly all eyes turned to Kieran. Then the sniggering began. "She's lying!" he yelled. "You're a lying bitch, Alicia."

"Am I, Sally?"

"Unfortunately you're a little off again." Sally took the toothpick from Alicia's hand and snapped it in half. "That's more to scale."

"You're both lying bitches!"

A woman stepped out of the crowd. She was wearing a press pass around her neck. "Do you think I could take the toothpick? I'd like to get accurate measurements."

"By all means." Alicia handed the toothpick pieces over and sighed happily. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Kieran."

"You think that's it? You think I'm going to let you get away with that?"

"There's no need to get so testy. I was just delivering a little payback. That was for having an affair in my bed and lying to my face about it. That was for dragging me through hell. That was for making me cry for two straight weeks. Personally, I think you got off lightly." Alicia turned to walk away, her chin defiantly lifted.

Kieran seized her wrist and wrenched her back. "This is far from over."

Harry sensed this was the time to step in. He pushed his way out of the group and stood beside Alicia. "I'm ending it right now. Let her go."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter? This has nothing to do with you."

"Wrong, Kingly. It has everything to do with me. Now let go of my girlfriend."

Everyone who heard this gasped. Even Alicia. Kieran raised his eyebrows sceptically. "You expect me to believe you're Alicia's boyfriend?"

"She told you she was seeing someone, didn't she? Well, I'm the mystery guy."

"Bullshit."

"You need proof? Why don't we give him a little demonstration, Alicia?"

"Demonst-"

Alicia never got to finish the word. Harry grabbed her, dipped her and kissed her. Alicia's mind was clearly a few steps behind, but she soon started kissing him back. Cameras flashed behind Harry's eyelids and he grabbed Alicia's thigh, just in case the message wasn't clear enough. The sound of trouble grew steadily in his ears and he had to break the kiss and set Alicia back on her feet.

"Get ready to run," he told her as she stared at him dazedly.

"Run? Why do we need to-"

"Now!"

The room descended into utter pandemonium. People started screaming and running around. Photographers leapt over tables and chairs in their eagerness to reach Harry and Alicia. Hands grabbed at them as people fell over and were subsequently trampled on. Alicia watched the chaotic scene in horror before Harry yanked her away.

"Come on, that's our cue to leave."

Harry pulled her to a nearby door and pushed her through into the corridor. Alicia recognised it as the corridor that led to her office. "Where are we going?" she asked.

Harry took her hand and began to run down the corridor. "Can we Apparate out of here?"

"Can't Apparate into or out of the compound," Alicia answered, panting as she tried her best to run in heels. "Nearest exit will take us out onto the training pitch. Take a right."

Harry turned right as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed behind them. "Can you Apparate over water, Alicia?"

"Can I what?" she exclaimed. "You want me to Apparate off the island? I can't do that! I'll get splinched and drown! Can you Apparate over water?"

"We'll just take the boat back across to Anglesey."

Alicia was going to ask the question again but they were suddenly out in the cold, evening air. Halfway across the pitch there was a gate that led out of Harpies headquarters. Once out of the compound they would have to act normal, as they'd be out of range of the Muggle repelling charms.

"Will they chase us out here?" Alicia asked, looking over her shoulder apprehensively.

"They're paparazzi, of course they'll chase us out here. I'm just counting on us being a little fitter than them. Taking your shoes off and lets go!"

Alicia slipped her shoes off and clutched them in her hand as she ran across the soft grass of the training pitch. Her day had become crazier and crazier. It had started off normally enough with her morning coffee and the Daily Prophet. By midnight she was running across a Quidditch pitch with a horde of photographers in hot pursuit. Over the course of the day she'd run the gamut of emotions. Everything from anger, happiness, desire, jealousy and sadness.

"Almost there," Harry said encouragingly as she began to slow down slightly.

"This is insane!"

"Harry!" voices shouted in the distance. "Tell us about your new girlfriend, Harry!"

"Can you stop just for one picture?"

"We only want to ask a few questions, Harry!"

Harry and Alicia reached the gate and he began fiddling with the latch. "Right. A few questions will then turn into a hundred and we'll be here for hours."

"I can't believe we're doing this!" Alicia doubled over and began coughing and gulping air into her burning lungs.

"Just a little bit further now. As soon as we get to the boat you'll have to ask the captain to leave before anyone can get aboard. Do you think you can make it to the dock?"

Alicia straightened up and helped him shove the gate open. "What if I can't make it? Will you throw me over your shoulder and carry me? I could hum that song from Chariots of Fire as you run along the shoreline."

Harry hurried her through the gate then it shut with a sharp clang. "If you have the energy to be a smart arse, you can make it to the dock. Get moving!"

Alicia started to run again, weaving and jumping to avoid feet hurting hazards such as rocks and sticks. "Hurry up, Harry. Dun da da da da da dun dun da da da."

"You're crazy," he said incredulously.

"Too much wine and adrenaline. Did you see me humiliate Kieran?"

"It was very impressive."

"I think I was channelling Germaine Greer. Or maybe Margaret Thatcher. Did I remind you of Margaret Thatcher?"

"You should go home and get some sleep," Harry said. They reached the dock and slowed down slightly as they ran across the wooden planks.

"I don't need to sleep. I thought you might like to come back to my house."

"You think you're Margaret Thatcher. That's not normal, Alicia."

"It is for Margaret Thatcher."

Alicia began to giggle and Harry sighed and pushed her along the dock to the Harpies boat. "You definitely need to sleep it off."

"Jerry!" she screeched as she jumped aboard the Harpies boat. An elderly man who was sleeping on a seat near the bow jolted awake. "We need to get out of herenow. There are crazy people chasing us," she said urgently.

Jerry snapped to attention. He recognised Alicia and gave her a toothy smile. He turned to Harry and his mouth fell open. "Merlin's beard. It's Harry Potter."

The old man stooped into a clumsy sort of bow. "Oh, don't do that," Harry groaned. "Just get us out of here."

"Yes, sir. We'll be gone before you can say 'The Boy Who Lived'."

Jerry shuffled off and Harry collapsed into the seat he had vacated. "As soon as we get to Anglesey you should Apparate to Liverpool. Are you sober enough to Apparate home without leaving any bits behind?"

Alicia proceeded to walk in a straight line and touch her nose. "Would you like me to say the alphabet backwards as well? I'll make it home, but it's only midnight. Can't we go somewhere else?"

Harry closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall. "We're going to need as much sleep as we can get before tomorrow."

"What's happening tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's the aftermath, Alicia. Tomorrow we face the consequences of what we did tonight."

Alicia sat down beside Harry and took his hand solemnly. "We'll face it together. We'll take everything they throw at us. We'll fight on the beaches, we'll fight in the hills and we'll never surrender."

Harry scowled at her teasing. "You're Winston Churchill now?"

"Sorry, but you're such a drama queen sometimes." Alicia started to laugh again as the boat began to chug away from Holyhead island. She put her head on his shoulder and hugged him

Harry hugged her back and turned around to see the flashes of the cameras on the shore. "You can laugh at me all you want, but don't say I didn't warn you."

---

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the loooong chapter! It's the longest I've ever written and it was heaps of fun to write. Reviews will help me get the next one out quickly.