"Well it's official, Kate. My life is one calamity after another."
"I'm sure we can sort it out. What are you looking for, love?"
Alicia slammed another one of Katie's kitchen cupboards shut. "Alcohol of course! I can't re-live last night without a glass of something in my hand. Help a girl out?"
"Just to the right of the cooker," Katie answered, flicking her head towards a high cupboard. "It can't have been that bad."
Alicia gave her a 'just you wait' sort of look then stood on her tiptoes to rifle through the contents of the cupboard. "Tequila and Jägermeister? We aren't eighteen-year-olds at Ibiza. Where's the grownup stuff?"
"That's what I like to drink, you judgemental bitch." Katie stomped over and elbowed Alicia aside. "I think there's still a bottle of red wine at the back if that'll satisfy Her Majesty."
"Perfect. Red wine is exactly what I need right now."
Alicia went and grabbed two wine glasses from one of the cupboards she'd been rifling through earlier. Katie retrieved the bottle then led Alicia back through to the front room. As Katie used her wand to Accio the cork out of the bottle, Alicia claimed a spot on the sofa and curled her legs up underneath herself.
Alicia wouldn't normally drink wine at two o'clock in the afternoon, but the situation was dire. She'd come up to visit Katie after spending the entire morning fretting and agonizing over the events of the previous night. Her second date with George had somehow been even worse than the first and Alicia found herself completely at a loss once again.
Katie handed her the bottle and she eyed the label speculatively. "Merlin's balls, Kate. This is a fifty pound bottle of wine. Where'd you get it?"
Katie shrugged uncertainly. "A Valentine's gift from a bloke I saw once or twice?"
"And who sent you those?" Alicia asked, indicating the red roses in front of them on the coffee table.
"They're from Thomas, the one I met on Friday night. Gorgeous body but exceedingly dull. I don't think I'll see him again."
Alicia sighed and poured out two glasses of wine. "Maybe you've got the right idea. I'm beginning to think long-term relationships aren't worth the hassle."
Katie patted her comfortingly on the leg and said, "Don't talk like that yet. Just tell me what happened. Start from the beginning of the night though because I'll need to get the whole picture if I'm going to help you."
"Okay," Alicia said, then took a fortifying sip of her drink. "I'll spare you the details though since it's George we're talking about."
Katie almost spilled her wine as she half bounced out of her seat. "You two finally shagged? And it was obviously awful. Oh no. Oh you poor thing. What are you going to do?"
"Slow down and sit back," Alicia commanded. "We didn't have sex. That was kind of the problem."
"All right. Just start from the beginning. Where did you go this time?"
"After the disaster that was the café date, we decided to stay in. George came over after he finished work and I made him dinner."
"Cracking idea," Katie said with an approving nod. "You can both relax a little more when you're not in public and there's literally a bed in the next room for when the time comes. Love it. Go on."
"So I cooked spaghetti and meatballs because that's the only meal I can make from scratch with any degree of competency. George said it was great but I think he was being generous. Anyhow, we sat around afterwards and had a few drinks while we watched TV. Ocean's Eleven was on."
"That movie with Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon all together?"
"That's the one."
Katie clinked her glass against Alicia's and grinned widely. "Fucking cheers to that."
"Everything was going great, you know. George kept asking all these adorable questions about Muggle stuff in the movie and I was trying my best to answer even though I know nothing about casinos and heists. The conversation wasn't as forced as last time and we were snuggled up together without any awkwardness. We just spent a good hour laughing and teasing each other. It was exactly how I imagined a date with George would be. In hindsight, we should have just ended the date there on the sofa and gone our separate ways."
"It's all right, love, finish the story," Katie said, reaching over to squeeze her free hand encouragingly.
"I gradually got bored and stopped following what was going on in the film." Alicia blushed and drained half her glass of wine before she hastily added, "So I climbed onto George's lap and we spent the rest of the movie snogging like horny teenagers."
"Don't be embarrassed!" Katie said bracingly. "It's the twenty-first century now, Leesh. Women are allowed to be sexually aggressive if they want to. Besides, I doubt George was complaining."
"It was great, honestly, but we both realised it wasn't going to be enough so we ended up in my bedroom."
"I don't want to hear the details," Katie said quickly. "Or do I? Wait. No. I have to look George in the eye tomorrow."
"He kept asking me if I was all right and it started to get on my nerves. I didn't want to have to keep stopping to reassure him because it was killing the mood for me. He wouldn't even touch my boobs without checking with me first. I stupidly lost my cool after enduring about ten minutes of non-stop questions like: 'Is this all right?' or 'Does this feel okay?'"
"It sounds like he was being rather sweet to you. He just wanted to make sure you had a better time than the night of the Yule Ball."
"I was having a wonderful time! I just wanted to be shagged though, Katie. He was tiptoeing around so delicately that I kind of ended up shouting at him to get on with it." Alicia winced as she recalled her exact words. "I told him I'd had plenty of sex in my life already and I wasn't going to break apart like a paper doll."
"You said that? You said that to his face?"
Alicia nodded morosely. "But I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet. After my stupid proclamation, George stops what he's doing and jumps to his feet. He's suddenly irate and he says, 'By that you mean you've had plenty of sex with Warrington' then he just storms out of the room."
"No!" Katie gasped.
"Yeah! Utter fucking calamity. I followed after him and tried to calm him down but he just said he was sorry and that he had to leave. I let him go because I had no idea what to say or do anyway."
"Have you spoken to him today yet?"
"No. What am I even supposed to say? I need help here!"
"Okay! Calm down and let me think for a minute."
Katie stared off into the middle distance, a contemplative frown on her pretty face. Alicia sighed and refilled her glass. She swirled the wine around idly and stared into its burgundy depths. She'd opened the floodgates now by talking to Katie about what happened. A previously unspoken fear was tickling at the base of her skull.
"What if it isn't going to work out between us? What if we're just not compatible?" Alicia asked softly.
"You're compatible – any idiot can see that!"
"But surely it shouldn't be this hard. Our first attempt at going on a date failed because we got into a fight; our first actual date was mortifyingly bad; then our second date ended with him walking out on me. That's three strikes right there."
"Luckily we play Quidditch, not baseball," Katie said briskly. "You two can't give up on this yet. A few hiccups are normal at the beginning of a relationship. Or so I'm told."
Alicia gulped down some wine then pouted. "I guess I just thought it was going to be easy with George. Like we'd slip straight into the happily ever after portion of our lives."
"You know that happily ever after stuff is bollocks. Don't start comparing your life to romantic books and movies because you'll go insane."
"I can't help it! Everything always turns out perfect!"
"Because a lot of books and movies end right when the protagonists get together! The audience sees their first kiss with the music and the sweeping camera shot then it's fade to black. Same with romance novels. They end right when the couple finally get together and you never know how it works out for them. You never see the hard grind that relationships need."
"But I thought George and I were destined to be together," Alicia said sullenly. "I thought he was the one."
Katie reached out and grasped her arm tightly. "That's the problem right there! You're putting too much pressure on yourself and George. Your expectations are too high."
"Maybe," Alicia said slowly, thoughtfully. "But that still doesn't explain why George was thinking about my shithead ex-boyfriend while I had my hand down his trousers."
Katie rolled her eyes. "Because George is always thinking about something. I told you he overthinks everything. In his mind he's got to prove to you that he's not a fumbling sixteen-year-old anymore. Plus, he's got to outdo Warrington, whom you shagged happily for years. Poor boy must have been a bundle of nerves."
Alicia pressed her free hand to her forehead and moaned. "Oh my God. I can't believe I yelled at him. He's not going to want to have anything to do with me after this."
"I think it'll take more than that to put him off you," Katie said dismissively. "But either way, you'd be better off sorting it out with him today, before we all meet up for the interview in the morning. It'll be much less awkward that way."
The bloody interview. Ginny had ended up having to schedule the team interview with Gwendolyn for the very next morning in order for the story to make the July issue of Official Quidditch. At the moment, Alicia would rather eat a Flobberworm than go along to it.
"This is the worst possible timing for something like this to happen. How am I going to face his ex-girlfriend now?"
"Have you bought a copy of her magazine to check her out yet?"
"No. Should I?"
"I think you ought to be prepared, love." Katie put her glass on the coffee table then ducked underneath it to rifle through a box. "I should have an old copy in here somewhere. Oh. Here you go. There's headshots of all the staff inside the front cover."
Alicia reluctantly put down her own glass and accepted the magazine. She flipped it open and skimmed through the photos till she found the one labelled Gwendolyn Hightower. "Oh. Oh, Christ." Alicia stomach contorted itself into the shape of a pretzel as George's ex-girlfriend smiled and waved at her. "This can't be for real. She looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones."
"That's exactly what I said!" Katie crowed triumphantly. "The purebloods all gave me blank stares of course. But it's even uncannier because Gwen's also Welsh."
Alicia abruptly dropped the magazine onto her lap as if it had burned her hand. "Please tell me she's an awful bitch and now George hates her."
Katie shook her head. "Gwen is probably one of the nicest people I've ever met. And she really did love George. It's just that she doesn't want to have kids and George does."
"That's it? No big fight or heartbreaking betrayal?"
"Nothing remotely like that. They split amicably a few weeks before their one year anniversary. If their lives hadn't been headed in different directions he'd probably have married her."
Alicia flopped back against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. So apparently she was the jealous type. This was new. When she had been with Chris there had been a few instances where the green-eyed monster had stirred slightly. Like when one of his past one night stands appeared unexpectedly and wanted another go. Except that during those incidents she had usually been too busy being angry with Chris for fucking half of Paris in the first place.
Then there was that odd incident when he revealed he'd been betrothed to some other pureblood since he was twelve. Alicia had been appalled and she'd assumed it was because such archaic things still went on in those circles, but in hindsight, perhaps there had been a little jealousy mingled in as well.
It felt different with George though. More visceral. Sure, other girls had flirted with him back at school, but he'd usually been too oblivious to pick up on the signals. She had also been well-positioned back then to run interference. She'd lost count of the amount of times she warned other girls off him. In a way, she felt like everyone else was late to the game because she had realised how wonderful he was back in third year. She figured she deserved to be first in line when he finally noticed the opposite sex.
"You look ill," Katie commented lightly and handed her glass of wine back.
Alicia took a long sip then turned to her concerned friend. "I'm all right. I can't think about George anymore though. I need a distraction."
"Well…"
"What's going on?" Alicia prompted, leaning towards her friend eagerly.
"I got an owl from Oliver yesterday," Katie said hesitantly. "After the interview tomorrow he wants me to go spend a few days at his house in the Hebrides."
"Is that good or bad?"
Katie shrugged. "Neither really. It's just new. He's only ever stayed over here for a night at a time. I'm not sure what his offer means so I didn't give him an answer yet."
Alicia tentatively asked, "Would it be so awful if he wanted to take things a little more seriously?"
"Yes. I don't want to settle down with anyone. Life's too short to wake up beside the same man every morning. No offence to you and Ange," she added hastily.
Alicia suspected she knew where Katie's carpe diem attitude was coming from. Everything could be traced back to that cursed necklace that had almost killed her in her final year at Hogwarts. Before then she had been all about finding her Prince Charming and having a big white wedding. For years Alicia had swapped Muggle romance novels back and forth with her only to find her suddenly unwilling to read another one following her stint in St Mungo's.
"Sweetheart. Do you think maybe you've got the wrong mentality here? Perhaps you need to give it a proper shot with Oliver before you dismiss the idea entirely."
"I know what I want in life and it's not a ball and chain," Katie said, the apples of her cheeks turning rosy as she got agitated. "And what about Lee, huh? What am I supposed to do about him?"
"So it's Lee you want to be with then?"
"I never said that."
Alicia bit her tongue and reached for the wine bottle. Katie wasn't the type to ask anyone for life advice; she'd rather fall flat on her face than admit that she was struggling. Alicia decided to save her breath for now. As she was pouring herself more wine, Katie leapt to her feet suddenly and flounced out of the room.
"Where are you going?"
"Sod wine. Thanks to you I need chocolate now."
Alicia surveyed the spread of mystery letters in front of her on the floor. Including the one from the other week, there was now six in total. The whole thing had started eight or nine months ago and Alicia could clearly see the escalation in tone as she re-read the threats in chronological order. It started with a simple 'Give me my money back', through to the latest letter which stated 'I will find you.'
This sadist was taunting her now and she still had no idea how she could have possibly become embroiled in this nightmare. The first couple of letters she simply ignored because she figured it was a case of mistaken identity. The fourth letter had her full name followed by an ominous threat upon her safety if she didn't admit to stealing the money. Even then, the whole thing had been more of an inconvenience for her than a concern. She worked directly under the French Minister for Magic, so she was always surrounded by security and Jake attended the daycare on the same floor at the Ministry. Her flat was in the middle of a Muggle neighbourhood, so it was pretty off the radar, but she'd asked a friend to put a Masking Charm on it just to be safe.
After that, Alicia didn't receive a letter for two whole months, then she found one slid under her door one day after she came home from work. She moved back to England with Jake less than two weeks later. But she couldn't run away again. Aside from the fact that she had nowhere else to go, that wouldn't be fair on Jake or George or Katie and Angelina.
George. Alicia sighed and let her chin drop to her chest. If there was anyone in the world she would trust with her life, it would be him. But he did have a bad habit of rushing head-long into situations. She'd seen it happen again and again back at school. He threw punches or hexes without thinking things through properly. She didn't think this was one of those situations that would be solved with brute force and bravado.
Christopher, on the other hand, could be discreet when he needed to be. He had the means and connections to get to the bottom of something like this without involving the authorities. Too bad he was a monumental prick and he couldn't give two shits about her anymore. If he ever had given two shits about her, which she sometimes doubted.
So, Alicia had just spent a good half hour staring at the letters and was no better off for it. She still had no idea where to turn; she still had no idea what to do. But she had to do something. That much was becoming clear.
She'd gone over it so many times in her own head before. It made no sense whichever angle she approached it from. She'd never had any amount of money that would lead someone to think she was some sort of thief. Even when she'd been with Christopher she'd never behaved as if his money had belonged to her. Besides, for most of their time together he'd been penniless and they'd lived together in her tiny studio flat. He'd built most of his wealth towards the end of their relationship and then after they'd split.
Sure, he'd spent money on her occasionally, but it wasn't like she'd ever been dripping in diamonds and fur. The most extravagant things she owned were a couple of designer dresses he'd paid for towards the end of their relationship, back when it had been necessary for him to bribe her to attend black-tie events with him. But those functions had only been attended by Muggles Chris worked with and this whole mess was obviously firmly entrenched in the magical world.
Alicia now had the beginnings of a headache throbbing at her temples. She shouldn't have had all that wine earlier at Katie's. She had to go collect Jake from nursery school in an hour. But, Katie was right, she should probably go see George before that. At this point, she really couldn't handle another complication in her life. She'd grovel and beg if that's what it would take to get him to forgive her.
Some painkillers first though. Alicia swept up the stupid letters and bundled them back into a neat pile to be hidden away in her underwear drawer once again. She was getting to her feet when movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to the window. A familiar owl swept into the flat and made a beeline for her.
Alicia scowled at it. The creature hooted sharply and proceeded to drop a rolled up newspaper on her head then wheel around and glide back out the window.
"Fuck you, too, Winston," she called after the bird, rubbing at the top of her already sore head.
She didn't know how it was possible, but Christopher's owl was somehow as much of an arsehole as he was. And the feathery little shit apparently hated her just as much as his owner did. Alicia reluctantly retrieved the paper from where it had landed after bouncing off her cranium. She unrolled it and a note fell out.
You could have at least fucking warned me.
Alicia groaned and tossed it aside. God, what now? Honestly, her life was quickly moving on from calamitous and straight through to irredeemably fucked.
She flicked through the paper, keeping an eye out for anything that would pique Christopher's ire. It smacked her right in the face on page seven. A large photograph of her and George at the Quidditch match on Saturday. Then further down the page, a smaller headshot of Christopher looking dour. Her eyes scanned the article quickly as bile rose in her throat. It was all there. Everyone in Britain would now know that Chris was Jake's father.
The whole piece was largely speculative. The photo of her and George wasn't particularly incriminating. She kept leaning her head on his shoulder and looking up at him adoringly, then pulling back and repeating the move while George smiled. Okay. So it was a little incriminating. But it wasn't like they were snogging or anything. It could be a platonic sort of adoration?
From the angle of the photo, it had to have been taken from one of the general stands in front of the players' box. There was no way either of them could have spotted someone photographing them amongst the crowd of spectators.
Alicia could immediately see why Christopher was pissed off. Rita Skeeter had made a point of mentioning that his father was a known Death Eater. She'd gone on to add that while Chris probably hadn't joined Voldemort's side, that there was no way of knowing for sure. Realising how much he hated being linked to the Death Eaters, Alicia was surprised he hadn't sent her a Howler that screamed and swore in her face.
Like it was her fault that this had happened. She'd probably just ruined her chances with George last night anyway, so the article was moot. Chris could go fuck himself. Rita Skeeter could definitely go fuck herself.
Alicia had officially reached her limit of bullshit for one day. Why couldn't one aspect of her life go right for once? Was this karma getting her back because she had done something wrong at some point? Maybe she'd been an evil dictator in a past life?
Either way, she was over it all. She petulantly flung the newspaper across the room and got to her feet just as her mobile rang. She didn't need to go look at it to know it would be her mother calling. Her parents always received both the morning and evening editions of the Prophet. Her father read it religiously. It was the easiest way for him to access the magical world as a Muggle. He'd recognise the name Weasley even though he had no first-hand knowledge of George.
Alicia could picture her dad coming home from work soon and settling into his armchair with a cup of tea in one hand and the Prophet in the other. He'd likely do a spit-take when he got to page seven. He'd begged her to keep her head down and stay out of trouble after the Battle. Dating someone who'd been in the thick of the fighting back then was not going to go down well with her overprotective father.
Good Godric.
Alicia let the call go through to voicemail then went and switched the phone off. She'd deal with all that later. Right now all she could manage to do was slump through to her bedroom and collapse on her bed. She curled into a ball and lay there staring at the far wall. The feeling of being completely overwhelmed washed over her and she lost herself in a self-indulgent wallow for a while.
Then, when it was time to go pick up Jake, she would suck it up and pull herself together. Just like she'd done after every setback she'd faced in her short life. Because she was a grown woman, a single mum and a Gryffindor; there was no time for self-pity and creeping doubts.
You just get your shit together and keep moving forward.
A/N: Thanks for reading. Please take a second to review if you're enjoying the story. In the next chapter I'll be reuniting the whole team. Reviews = motivation = faster updates!
