Chapter two.

It had taken Ayla and Sarah four hours to find the perfect set of dress robes. Perfect being a set that they both agreed on and were black just like all Ayla's other robes. In that time they also managed to find seven sets of dress robes for Sarah to wear during her pregnancy, along with eleven sets of everyday robes that Sarah was apparently in desperate need of. Ayla had returned home, glad that the shopping nightmare was at last over once again, but still ever so slightly apprehensive about the Quidditch Ball.

News of the Ball, and the fact that Ayla was to be attending had traveled fast through her small circle of friends. Ayla was bombarded with no less than sixteen separate requests for autographs from "any available player". But she made no promises, she knew exactly what her uncle's reaction would be if he found out that instead of getting contacts from the shop Ayla had spent the entire evening pestering Quidditch players for their signatures. Not to mention how desperate she would appear to be.

Ayla spent the rest of Saturday curled up on her sofa trying to read Celestina Warbeck's autobiography, while ignoring the continuous flow of owls her friends were sending her, double and triple-checking that should Ayla get the chance she would mention how wonderful, kind, sweet, pretty (optional of course) and caring her friends were. Especially if either Aiden Lynch or Oliver Wood was within earshot.

Ayla really didn't understand her friends sometimes. She could agree that at times Lynch was quite nice to look at. But Wood? Ayla and her group of friends had been in the same year as Wood at Hogwarts. As far as she could tell he hadn't changed that much. Ok so his muscles made him look bigger, nearly twice the size he was at school. But he was that same Quidditch obsessed boy. Her friends hadn't paid him any mind before, so what had changed now? By midnight the owls had stopped, leaving Ayla to a peaceful night's sleep, despite the fact that her dreams contained a never ending supply of Quaffles. Stupid game.

Ayla was woken the next morning by Sarah's Barn owl landing on her head and dropping a letter in up mouth. The note simply read:

"Are you excited? xx"

Ayla scribbled her reply "Not really. xx." on the back and sent the owl back to its owner.

Twenty minutes later the owl returned this time with a slightly longer reply.

"Why not? I am. I'm still jealous too. What time are you getting ready? I'll come over xx."

Ayla handed the owl her half eaten piece of toast while she thought of her answer.

"I always knew you were a Quidditch groupie at heart, the only reason you're excited is because you think I'm going to introduce you to a Falcon's player. Your eyes will meet, you'll smile at him, and he'll club you over the head and drag you home where you'll be his willing love slave for the rest of your life. NOT getting ready. NOT going. Am staying home to wash my kneazle xx"

Sarah's reply arrived in record time as was similarly sarcastic.

"Damn, you've found me out! It's time you knew the truth dear friend. For some time now I've been lusting after one Marcus Flint, that hair, those teeth, his trollish good looks - I just can't help myself. As soon as the opportunity arises I shall be leaving dear sweet Melvin and shacking up with my one true love. I'm afraid that once this happens we can no longer be friends- you're far too much of a goody goody. I ask you this one favor though. Please take care of Melvin, I'm not sure he could face life with out me.

Enough of this nonsense. You are going, if you don't you'll get sacked and won't be Sales witch of the month. Then what will you do? I'll tell you. You'll have to move back home! Hah hah I win!
Love you pumpkin.

p.s. floo me when you're getting ready."

Ayla couldn't help but laugh at her friend, Sarah had always had a flair for the dramatic and a strange sense of humour too. There was no way Ayla could better her friend's letter and so resigned herself to her fate.

"Fine, I'll go there's no need to threaten me with my parents. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to know I'm going, such a perfect opportunity to find a husband! Yippee. Plus it should annoy my dear cousin Kate no end. I'm going to a Ball and she's not. Hmm every cloud does have a silver lining.xx"

Ayla attached her letter to Sarah's owl hoping that she could finally have a quiet afternoon that was completely owl free. She was however completely mistaken, not half an hour later Sarah's owl returned, looking thoroughly annoyed at being sent to and fro all morning.

"Best news ever. I love to hear of darling Kate being annoyed. Do your best to be extra charming and witty to make everyone fall in love with you. Will make it even sweeter if she thinks she's the second most popular person in your family! Must dash off to see the in-laws."

Kate was Ayla's cousin on her father's side of the family. Ayla's aunt Josephine had married for money, or as she put it security. Aunt Jo had however eventually fallen in love with her husband Mike Green and Kate was the result of that love. Being an only child and the heiress to her father's large fortune meant that Kate was what some people would call spoilt. Ayla on the other hand often said that Kate wasn't so much spoilt as ruined. Always having the best of the best and having it first, Kate prided herself on what her father's fortune could do. "Why be rich if you can't have everything you want?" seemed to be her personal motto.

On getting her Hogwarts letter Kate was given her very own unicorn, which subsequently ran away three weeks later. Her father, owner of a chain of Quality Quidditch Supplies stores had tried to give her a broom to begin with. But anyone could have a broom, how many people had their own magical creature at the age of eleven?

It wasn't that Ayla was jealous of her cousin, who would never have to work a day in her life. Quite the opposite Ayla admired Kate for getting as much as she could during such hard times. Ayla also knew that had her own parents had fewer children, she herself would have been spoilt rotten also.

It was Kate's birthday this coming Monday and Ayla was honor bound to at least make an appearance at her relatives' home at some point during the day. Kate's birthday had always been a big deal. Ayla could remember each one of them as clear as if they had been her own. Especially the year in which Voldemort had been defeated. Kate had told anyone who'd listen that her daddy had gotten rid of You know who so his precious daughter could have the best birthday ever. Ayla shook her head wondering what had been done this yeah to make it the "best birthday ever".

As it happened this year was a rather low-key birthday. Apparently twenty-two was no age to still be having birthday party's. Only close friends and family members had been invited to the Green's home, where the party would take place in the garden of their large estate.

Ayla made her obligatory appearance, gave Kate her card (with a note attached stating that "the above account at Gringotts wizarding bank has been credited with the below sum") and left. Not without assuring her uncle at least several hundred times that she would be on her best behaviour. Ayla also made sure to borrow her uncle's owl to let Sarah know when she would be getting ready. Ayla didn't have her own owl, they were far too messy.

She then spent the rest of the afternoon psyching herself up for what she deemed was going to be the evening from hell. She adopted the phrase 'Quidditch is interesting' as her personal mantra and tried to convince herself that she did in fact believe this.

When Sarah arrived that evening she found her friend pacing her living room muttering "Quidditch is interesting. Quidditch IS interesting. Quidditch is….as interesting as Dragon Pox urgh!" and throwing pillows around the room. She knew that for Ayla this may well be the longest night of her life.