There was a delay of about three seconds. Alicia just froze there in the air, shocked and angry. Then the pain hit and it was like a bolt of lightning shooting from her fingertips to her shoulder. Her eyes rolled back in her head and the world spun around her. It was all she could do to stay on her broom. She slumped forward, barely managing to hold onto the handle with her left hand.
"No! Hold on!"
Angelina was there suddenly, taking hold of her and trying to keep her from falling off her broom. The movement jostled her injured arm and a fresh round of searing pain hit. She screamed this time.
"I need your help, George!"
"I'm here! I've got her."
Alicia must have blacked out for a few seconds, because next thing she knew she was heading slowly towards the ground, sandwiched in between Angelina and George. Her arm was dangling uselessly between her legs. When they finally reached the pitch, she stumbled. Her legs were unable to support her. She felt weak and dizzy and ill.
George tossed her broom aside and scooped her up in his arms.
"Careful! Be gentle and slow, for God's sake!" Angelina shouted from somewhere behind her.
The crowd was shouting. Lee was also shouting. Alicia pressed her head to George's shoulder and tried to drown it all out. She had never broken a bone before so she had no idea if it was supposed to hurt this bad.
"It's all right, Leesh. I can see Madam Pomfrey coming out of the medical tent."
Alicia couldn't muster the strength to turn her head so she had to take George's word for it. She did hear a familiar voice a few seconds later.
"Merlin's beard! This was supposed to be a friendly match to raise money for charity!"
"I think my arm is broken," Alicia mumbled weakly.
"My dear, your arm is definitely broken. Bring her into the tent, Mr Weasley, and place her on a bed. Mind you don't bump that arm."
George did as he was told and gently deposited her on a stretcher once they were inside the medical tent. Someone must have cast a Muffliato spell on it as it was substantially quieter inside. The crowd was reduced to a low hum outside.
"Is she going to be all right?" Angelina asked, coming up beside George.
"I'm going to kill him," George said, his hands clenched into fists. He turned to leave but Alicia grabbed the back of his robes.
"You stay," Angelina said firmly. "I'll take care of Derrick. We'll all take care of Derrick. You just make sure she's okay."
Angelina squeezed Alicia's knee before she stormed out of the tent.
"I'm going to cut away your wrist guard," Madam Pomfrey was saying.
"I don't want to look at it." Alicia grasped George's hand tightly. "Will you look for me?"
He nodded. Madam Pomfrey muttered a quick Diffindo and Alicia felt the guard fall away from her arm. She kept her eyes averted to the roof of the tent and asked, "How bad is it?"
"Umm. So it's not exactly…straight anymore. But there aren't any bones poking out of your skin, so that's good."
"Quite so, Mr Weasley. A direct hit like that could have easily caused a compound fracture. Your protective pads seem to have lessened some of the impact at least. It looks like a nasty break all the same, so you'll need to hold very still while I use a diagnostic spell."
Alicia bit her lip and brought her gaze back down to meet George's eye. He looked very pale and sweaty. He gave her a weak smile then a quick kiss on the forehead. Oliver came striding into the tent then, looking positively enraged.
"That fool says he was aiming for the Bludger," he said tightly. He looked down at her arm briefly and winced. "Never mind the fact that the Bludger was nowhere near you at the time."
"I'm going to mistake his head for a Bludger when we get back out there," George muttered.
"Have at it," Oliver said. "I'll save the penalty that you give away. No problem."
"No one needs to get vengeance on my account," Alicia said, feeling a tingle run the length of her arm as Madam Pomfrey rattled off a string of spells beside her. "Besides, I doubt Derrick came up with the idea on his own."
Oliver nodded. "You're right. His last two brain cells are preoccupied with food and sex. Flint had to have told him to hit your arm from beneath to cause maximum damage."
"You've broken both your radius and your ulna, Miss Spinnet. Thankfully the breaks are fairly clean. I'll have to reset the bones first then I'll be able to heal you quick smart. There won't be any lasting damage."
Oliver started mumbling under his breath and began pacing back and forth. Madam Pomfrey tutted and ducked around him to busy herself at a small cabinet on the other side of the tent.
"Don't worry, I'll stay right here till your arm is better," George said firmly. "The team can manage without me for a while."
"We'll play defensive and protect our lead. Have to have a word with Harry…" Oliver muttered to himself, rubbing his chin
Madam Pomfrey returned with a vial of lurid purple liquid in her hand. "Here you are, Miss Spinnet. Straight down the hatch in one go is best. I'll give it a moment to kick in before I start manipulating your arm."
"Uh…but that's a strong pain-relief potion."
"Yes it is," the older woman said impatiently. "You're going to need it if I'm going to reset your bones."
"But if I take that potion I won't be able to get back up in the air," Alicia said. She tried to sit up on the stretcher, but failed when she put her weight on her right side and received a jolt of pain for her troubles.
"That's right. I'm afraid the match is over for you, dear."
A flash of panic hit Alicia and she grabbed a handful of George's robes and pulled herself upright. "No, no. That's not how this is going to end."
"You know the rules as well as any of us," Oliver said.
No flying under the influence. Obviously she knew that. Pain potions messed with you just as much as Muggle medications. Playing Quidditch after a pain-relief potion was about as advisable as piloting a helicopter after a shot of morphine.
"You can reset the bones without the potion, right?"
"Leesh…"
"I can do that, Miss Spinnet, but it's not advisable. It's going to be very painful and it might take more than one go."
"This is absolutely ridiculous," Oliver said, folding his arms obstinately. "There's no way you're going through with this, Alicia. Not for a bloody charity match. We can win this without you…no offence."
"It's not a team decision," Alicia said firmly. "I'm not doing this for Gryffindor or for glory or any bollocks like that. My boy is out there watching me and he's probably worried and upset right now. I'm going back out there for him. And for myself. Only I get to decide when the match is over for me and I'm nowhere near done yet."
"It's still madness!"
"Listen, Oliver, why don't you go tell Lee that Alicia's fine," George suggested. "That way he can announce it to the crowd and Jake will hear it."
"Fine. Just let the record show that I value your well-being over a meaningless Quidditch match."
Alicia gave her captain a weak smile as another wave of pain made her head spin. "Thanks, Oliver. You're off the hook on this one. I'm the one deciding to risk life and limb this time."
"All right. Our time-out is almost over so I better get back out there. We'll hold on as best we can till you're both able to re-join the match."
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" George asked once Oliver had left.
Alicia nodded and lay back down. "I can handle it. I've experienced childbirth remember. This'll be a walk in the park compared to that."
"All right then, Miss Spinnet. I'm going to straighten the bones then use a spell to knit them back together. You must remain very still while I do this. If the bones aren't straight when I heal them you won't have full use of your arm. You'll have no choice but to have all the bones from your elbow down vanished and regrown. That will definitely mean no more Quidditch today."
"I understand," Alicia said. She turned her head toward George. "Distract me. Please."
He clutched her hand and hummed thoughtfully. "Uh, okay. Why don't you tell what it was like when Jake was born? You've never told me the story."
"Mostly I was terrified. He came nine days early, throwing all my plans out the window. My mother wasn't even due to come to Paris for another three days. It was just Chris and I and neither of us knew what to expect. It was just the two of us in an unfamiliar Muggle hospital."
"But you got through it," George pointed out. His eyes flickered over to Madam Pomfrey and he swallowed thickly. "How long did it take? I heard it can take hours sometimes."
"Eighteen all up," Alicia answered tightly. She could feel a set of cold fingers probing at her arm now. "It felt like it was never going to end. Eventually I was barely getting a chance to breathe in between contractions. After hours and hours of labour I knew I couldn't take much more. Neither could Jake. His heart rate started dropping more and more with every contraction."
George was staring at her wide-eyed, seemingly caught up in the story now and forgetting what was going on over on the other side of the bed. "What happened?"
"They gave me one last chance to push before taking me in for surgery." Blinding pain hijacked all her senses for a second, but she held still, teeth gritted and eyes concentrated on George. "I did it. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I did it. Chris said I screamed and grunted and swore like a sailor, but I don't have much memory of that part. It was like an out-of-body experience. I still don't know where I found the extra strength to push."
"You're amazing," George said earnestly, brushing her hair back from her face. "To go through all that without your friends and family around you took more strength than a lot of people have. Not to mention what you're doing now is incredible. I can't wait to see Flint's face when you go flying back out there."
The pain in her arm gradually began to ebb away and Alicia realised Madam Pomfrey must have done the spell already. She relaxed her tight grip on George's poor hand and let out a deep, cleansing breath. "It takes more than a couple of broken bones to knock me down these days."
"I'll run a few more diagnostic spells to be certain, but I think we can call that a success, Miss Spinnet."
Alicia smiled gratefully at the other woman. She then glanced down at her arm, which looked perfectly normal, aside from a little swelling and a bruise on her wrist. "Thank you for healing me."
"All in a day's work, my dear. I've had more than enough practice with that particular spell. How many of your bones do you think I've healed over the years, Mr Weasley?"
"Oh…not that many really."
Madam Pomfrey tutted and shook her head. She went back over to her cabinet and George lowered his head and whispered, "Only because Fred and I worked out how to heal each other's bones in third year."
Alicia chuckled, once again in awe of her boyfriend's magical skills. "Speaking of Fred, you better get back out there. I bet he's struggling to control the Bludgers without your help."
"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting with you some more."
"The team needs you. We can't lose this match now. I'll be back up there as soon as I get the all clear."
"I do still have the urge to hit something…or someone," George admitted. "Don't come back out till you're one hundred percent though. I'll let Oliver know you're fine. See you out there."
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips then jogged out of the tent. Madam Pomfrey returned with a pot of some lumpy paste. She sighed heavily and began to dollop it onto Alicia's arm. "He's going to crack someone's skull, isn't he?"
"Quite possibly."
"Merlin help me."
Alicia dutifully lay still while the matron applied her concoctions then prodded and poked her. She then ran her arm through a series of exercises to test the strength and movement of it. Alicia passed all these with flying colours so was given permission to return to the game. Finally. She had missed a good half hour of play by now.
"Folks, I'm happy to report Alicia Spinnet has just re-emerged from the medical tent and she appears to be fine. Give us a wave, Alicia!"
Alicia dutifully waved at the crowd and gave the commentary box behind her a thumbs up. Everyone cheered, which was still an odd feeling, but it was nice all the same to have the support of thousands of strangers.
"Unfortunately, Gryffindor is behind by sixty points," Lee continued, "and they'll still have to finish the game a Chaser down. Scoring will be very hard for them from now on. We haven't had a Snitch sighting in a while either. This game could drag on for hours yet so settle in!"
Alicia found her broom by the edge of the pitch. She retrieved it and mounted it, waiting for a break in play so she could return to the sky. Eventually Flint scored, having flown straight at Oliver like a human Bludger.
"What's this? Spinnet is back in the game!"
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Flint shouted as she flew past him. "You can't be out here!"
Alicia ignored him and went to join her fellow Chasers. Angelina high-fived her and slapped her on the back. Katie shrieked "That's my girl!" and seized her in a headlock. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Flint arguing with the referee.
"Yes, unbelievable but true. I've just received confirmation that Alicia declined to take a painkilling potion during her treatment so she's free to re-join the match. You heard it here first. A blatantly illegal move all came out to nothing for the Slytherin team. Just goes to show you can't keep a good woman down. Kick some Slytherin arse, Alicia! Wait. Can I say arse? I don't remember what the rules are back here."
"How about a roast turkey now that you're back?" Angelina suggested as the three of them huddled together in the middle of the pitch.
"What about a Yorkshire pudding?" Katie asked.
"Actually," Alicia said, grinning at her friends, "I was thinking we could try a pumpkin pie for old time's sake."
"Are you sure you can handle a pumpkin pie right now?"
"Absolutely."
"Fine. I'll make the call when it's time."
"Why did Oliver have to use food as code for our plays?" Katie grumbled. "I'm fucking starving right now."
Flint lost his argument, as Alicia had done nothing wrong. Play resumed and Oliver threw to Katie. There wasn't any lag this time for Alicia. She was right up to pace from the beginning so she was perfectly positioned when Angelina called the play. The three of them pulled off a textbook Hawkeshead attack and Angelina scored through the centre hoop.
The momentum started to shift back to the Gryffindors bit by bit. Alicia kept her eyes open for another illegal attack, but the Slytherin team didn't seem too bothered with her anymore. They were too busy scrambling to hold their lead. They started making mistakes though, and as Oliver had predicted, they ended up bickering amongst themselves and their erstwhile team harmony imploded.
Still no Snitch though. Even after Harry performed a perfect Wronski Feint, which almost sent Malfoy face-first into the ground. The Gryffindor team had already agreed beforehand that it wouldn't be enough to just win the match; they wanted to outscore the Slytherin Chasers. They owed the paying spectators a good show, after all. So as agreed, Harry was doing his best to keep Malfoy off the trail so that the girls could score a few more.
An unprovoked attack on Oliver while he wasn't in possession of the Quaffle drew a penalty, which Alicia put away with ease. The score was level again. The crowd was in a frenzy, chanting and clapping in unison. Being out amongst that was the best feeling ever and for a moment Alicia regretted not pursuing Quidditch after school. But she reminded herself that it wasn't all fun and glory; Angelina had confirmed as much with her stories.
"We've just hit the two and a half hour mark, my friends! What a match we're witnessing, This is history in the making and I couldn't be happier to be here. Oh! There goes Katie Bell with another spectacular goal. Nice one, Kate!"
In the end the crowd saw it before Lee did. Everyone jumped to their feet as one. Harry and Malfoy were racing across the pitch, back towards the Gryffindor goalposts.
"They've spotted it again! Malfoy is right on Potter's tail! They're neck and neck! Potter makes a desperate grab, almost leaping off his broom."
Alicia was too far away to see for herself. When the crowd erupted though, she knew the outcome and streaked across the pitch. Harry threw his hand aloft, the struggling Snitch held tightly in his grasp. A stunned and dejected Malfoy was shoved aside as the Gryffindor team descended on their Seeker.
"The one-and-only Harry Potter catches the Snitch and Gryffindor wins! What a stunning victory! The team rejoices as one!"
Alicia was in the middle of the tangle of bodies. She heard Oliver behind her, professing his love for Harry. Katie was kissing everyone and whooping like a maniac. Fred and George had already begun singing the team's victory song. Alicia wriggled out of the mass of sweaty bodies and made her way over to the stand that she knew Jake was sitting in.
She spotted him almost immediately. He was sitting atop his dad's shoulders with a Gryffindor flag in each hand. She couldn't wait to squeeze him when she saw him after the celebratory feast. For now, she waved and blew him some kisses before heading to the ground to join her team.
Her feet had barely touched down before George scooped her up in a bear hug and spun her around. She giggled and clung to him.
"We have a surprise for everyone back at the change rooms," he said in her ear. "Fred and I organised some victory robes for everyone so we can stand out at the post-match party. Wait till you see them. They're bright red and covered in pouncing lions."
"Yes! I can't wait!"
George kissed her then and she felt like she had won the actual World Cup this time, never mind the Hogwarts Cup.
"And the Gryffindor team celebrates in style once again," Lee crowed. "I must admit I'm having flashbacks to 1994 right now. Though there does appear to be more snogging going on than I remember last time. Why, even captain Oliver Wood is joining in by…uh…kissing Chaser Katie Bell. Yes. That's what I'm seeing right now. Quite a long kiss it is too."
Alicia pulled away from George in time to see Katie wriggling out of Oliver's grasp and turning to the commentary box, her cheeks pink and her eyes wide.
Christopher glanced at his watch and wondered if it was too early to escape the nightmare he was currently in. Every discussion taking place around the table either involved women, Quidditch, or money. In any other circumstance these would be three of his favourite topics of conversation, but he didn't feel like engaging with any of his former housemates any longer. He'd stoically endured every joke at his expense and he'd been more than gracious given the treatment he'd received over the last few years.
Dinner was finished now and the dancing had kicked off. Alicia's mother would be bringing Jake back from Hogsmeade once they'd finished their own dinner at the Three Broomsticks. Christopher figured he could at least wait to say goodnight to Jake but there was no way he was going to stay at this table any longer.
He was preparing to make his excuses when all conversation at the table suddenly ceased. A hand dropped onto Christopher's shoulder and he knew it was her without having to turn around. He could tell by the looks on all the faces around him.
"What do you want, Spinnet?" Flint sneered.
"Evening, lads," she replied brightly. "Great match today. My arm feels fine, by the way, so no hard feelings there, Derrick."
"What do you want?" Flint repeated slowly.
"I came to ask Chris to dance with me."
"Well Chris doesn't want to dance with you."
"Mmm. I'm pretty sure he's a big enough boy to make up his own mind, Flint."
"Don't you have a weasel of your own to dance with? Go annoy him."
"Hello, Adrian," she said, ignoring Flint's dismissal completely this time. "You played really well out there today. I saw you pull off some pretty stellar moves."
Predictably, Pucey kept his head down and pretended he hadn't even been addressed. He'd had no issues interacting with Alicia when it was just the three of them, like back in France or the other week in the garden, but in front of the other blokes he was reverting to his sycophantic schoolboy routine. Mustn't rock the boat and risk upsetting Flint or Malfoy. Absolute fucking ponce.
"You've still got it as well, Spinnet."
Everyone sniggered at Montague's comment as it obviously wasn't in reference to her Quidditch skills. Alicia's hand tightened briefly on Christopher's shoulder and he cursed himself for not leaving five minutes ago.
"You can fuck right off, Montague," Alicia snapped. "Don't think I don't know when I'm being groped. I was too timid to speak up back at school but I'm not a frightened little girl anymore."
"If my hand accidentally grabbed your tit instead of the Quaffle it's hardly my fault. You should strap those things down when you play," Montague replied, earning guffaws all around and a high-five from Higgs.
Christopher was clenching his jaw so hard it was beginning to ache and his hands were balled into fists beneath the table. But he still didn't step in. He still couldn't tell them to leave her alone. He couldn't defend her honour even though he was sure he wanted to. The words wouldn't leave his mouth and he didn't know why. He probably didn't want to know why.
He was clearly no better than Pucey. Two fucking cowards still submitting to the feeble, de-fanged Slytherin hierarchy.
"You're nothing but a disgusting sex pest," Alicia continued from behind him. "If you ever touch me again I swear I'll hex your dick off."
They all laughed derisively at her threat. Everyone except Malfoy, who had barely looked up from the tabletop the whole time Alicia had been there. Obviously Lucius had told him to be on his best behaviour and an altercation with someone who was practically a Weasley would not look good for their new image.
Montague got to his feet and grinned a lascivious grin that made Christopher's stomach clench. "So that's why you're so cranky, Spinnet. You miss Slytherin cock, yeah? Aaw. Here, since you're clearly desperate you can have a look at mine. No touching though. I don't know what you might have caught off Weasley."
Alicia made a disgusted noise and Montague began to unbuckle his trousers beneath his robes. He might be drunk enough to actually do it, Christopher realised. Before Montague could unzip, he slammed his palms down on the table. "Enough already," he barked, getting to his feet swiftly. "Let's go and bloody dance then."
Alicia, having got what she wanted, smiled sweetly at the glaring occupants of the table. Christopher took hold of her elbow and drew her away before she could say anything else.
She slapped him lightly on the arm as they made their way to the dancefloor in the middle of the Hall. "Oi, why'd you drag me away so fast? I had a great comeback ready for Montague then. I was gonna tell him not to bother getting his cock out because I didn't have a microscope handy. Get it? Because it's microscopic."
Christopher just stared down at her, utterly flabbergasted. "Are you insane? Why would you antagonise them like that?"
"I antagonised them?" Alicia stopped in the middle of the dancing couples and petulantly stuck her hands on her hips. "Are you serious? All I did was come over and say hello and ask you to dance."
Christopher snatched up one of her hands and manoeuvred her into a waltz pose, even though the music playing was a little too fast paced for slow dancing. "What exactly did you think was going to happen when you came over in those ridiculous robes?"
Alicia looked down at her lurid, bright red ensemble. "Oh yeah. Do you like them? We got a set each. Fred and George paid for them actually."
"Well, you literally just waved a red flag in front of some bulls. I'm honestly beginning to worry about you and your need to put yourself in dangerous situations."
Alicia just rolled her eyes, obviously still unwilling to admit she had a problem. "Like they would have done anything in front of all these people. And for the record, I'd rather not be within five feet of any of your housemates. I waited for you to leave the table but you just kept sitting there looking more and more miserable by the minute."
"I'll have you know I was about to leave when you showed up. Now I'm stuck dancing to rubbish music, surrounded by people I hate."
"You're a miserable old tosser, Christopher Warrington. I know your team lost but can't you lighten up a little. Try smiling." Christopher gave his best attempt. Alicia just threw her head back and laughed. "You look constipated."
"Thanks a lot. What do I have to smile about anyway? I missed out on playing in an historic Quidditch match and we ended up getting beaten. Then I almost had to see Montague's hideous appendage."
"Oh, don't worry about him. I've sorted it. He won't bother any women ever again."
Christopher closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Why couldn't she leave well enough alone? "What have you done?"
Alicia gave a little shrug as if it was no big deal, but the huge smile on her face gave away how proud she was of herself. "I noticed he kept sending his pretty young date over to get him a drink so I made some idle chit-chat to distract her while I slipped a little something into his punch. Piece of cake."
Christopher glanced over at the table he'd just vacated and found Montague chatting away animatedly, not looking or behaving any different. "Go on then. What did you slip him?"
"A cracking little potion the twins accidentally created last year. They wanted to come up with a potion that replicates the effects of Viagra. You know, the pill that helps old Muggle men get stiffies. Fred lost the coin toss and had to be the guinea pig for the first batch. Nothing at all happened so he called it a failure and went to bed. He got up some time in the middle of the night to use the loo but couldn't. His poor little fella had shrivelled up to about the size of a peanut."
"Good God," Christopher muttered.
"Yeah. Angelina woke up to find him running around the place screaming 'My willy's gone!' at the top of his lungs. Said it was the funniest thing she's ever seen. He told her to destroy the potion immediately, but of course she bottled it up instead. She gave Katie and me a vial each to use on any blokes who harass us. I'm hoping it kicks in right as Montague's about to treat his poor date to some mediocre sex. Unfortunately the effects only last three or four hours though."
"He's going to realise it was you. You literally just threatened to hex his dick off and in a few hours that's pretty much what's going to happen to him. He's going to retaliate."
"Then I'll tell the Daily Prophet all about his penchant for groping unsuspecting women. We'll see whether the Falcons bother to keep him on the team roster after that scandal."
Christopher shook his head and fought the urge to smile. "And here I was thinking I was going to be the one to bring out your Slytherin side. Turns out it was Weasley who turned you into a devious little witch."
"Maybe I am turning to the green side a little," she said thoughtfully, "because I feel no remorse whatsoever. That dickless wonder deserves to be truly dickless for a while."
Christopher nodded in vague agreement but didn't make any reply. He tried to concentrate on dancing for a while. The tempo of the music was too fast for any steps so they resorted to a steady sway. Couples around them were bopping around excitedly and women were getting spun and dipped. It was far too exuberant for his liking and he was glad that Alicia hadn't tried to goad him into doing anything like that. She would have known he'd flatly refuse to do anything more than slow dance.
The stark reality was that Alicia now knew him better than anyone else in the Great Hall. She also seemed to be the only one there who cared about him. His so-called friends had been content to add to his misery, yet she had put herself in an uncomfortable situation to come and cheer him up. And he hadn't even had the balls to defend her when they started with the horrible comments. He was a piece of shit who didn't deserve her friendship or even her consideration.
Christopher cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "You played really well today. Best I've ever seen you play probably."
Not really an apology, but it was the best he could do given his apparent shittiness as a human being.
"Thanks. I was nervous at first but once I got into the flow it was like I'd never stopped playing. I was really happy out there."
"Is your arm truly fine?"
"Yeah, it healed perfectly. Pomfrey hasn't lost her touch, that's for sure. And I suppose I'm lucky my first major Quidditch injury happened when I was an adult."
"Flint certainly wasn't expecting you to get back out there. He whined about it for a good ten minutes during the feast."
"What about you? Did you think I was down and out?"
Christopher shrugged. "I had a feeling you'd try to return. I just didn't know if Weasley would be able to talk you out of it."
"He didn't even try. He trusted I knew what I was doing. How did Jake handle it all?" Alicia asked.
"He was furious. You should have seen him stomping up and down and shaking his little fists in the air. He seemed to know you were fine though – didn't cry or anything."
"That's my boy. I guess we're lucky he's seen enough Quidditch injuries in his time to know which ones are truly bad."
Truthfully, it could have been much worse than a couple of broken bones. It shouldn't have happened at all though. He'd warned those idiot gingers and Alicia had still ended up being hurt.
Speaking of…
Christopher noticed a familiar face staring at them from a table on the other side of the hall. "Did you not tell your boyfriend you were going to dance with me?"
"No. Why?"
"Because he's giving me a very nasty look right now."
Alicia glanced over her shoulder. She turned back and rolled her eyes. "That's Fred, you twit. You seriously can't tell them apart yet? Jake got the hang of it within about a week."
"Give me a break. They're wearing identical robes and I'm looking across a poorly lit, crowded room."
Alicia glanced left and right then frowned up at him. "It actually feels like a lot of people are staring at us right now."
"I think you're right," Christopher agreed after running his eye over the crowd. More than a few people shirked away when he met their gaze. He suddenly felt like some sort of sideshow oddity. "What's the big deal anyway? We can't be the first Gryffindor and Slytherin to procreate."
"I'm pretty sure we're the first since Voldemort's defeat. Maybe that's why everyone's acting weird."
"Either that or they're waiting for Weasley to come over and give me a bollocking for dancing with you."
"Yeah, I bet that's it. Everyone loved a good fight back in the day. Except George isn't like that though so everyone's going to be sorely disappointed."
Christopher still had serious doubts as to Weasley's supposed sainthood but he at least knew not to voice his opinion. His filtering was almost seamless these days.
"Do you think people will stare even more when Jake shows up? I don't want him to get upset by the attention."
Christopher briefly squeezed her hand reassuringly. "He'll be all right. Besides, I doubt he'll notice anyone else is even in the hall once he realises the amazing Oliver Wood is here. Jake's adjective of choice, by the way, not mine."
"But Oliver did play pretty amazing today – even you can't deny that." Alicia looked up at him, blue eyes large and plaintive, and Christopher knew what was coming before she even opened her mouth. "I'm sorry you didn't get to play in the match. I still don't know what Flint was thinking when he selected the team."
"He was punishing me obviously."
"Well, his pride ended up costing him the match because Slytherin would have stood a chance if you'd have been up there."
Christopher smiled at her, his first genuine smile of the evening no less. "I think you may be overstating my rusty skills slightly, but thanks."
The current song ended and the next began. Alicia tightened her grip on his shoulder as he tried to step away. "Just one more song. Please."
"All right," Christopher said, relenting with very little protest. "But this is absolutely the last one. This music is giving me a migraine."
"Oh, that's a shame. I was actually thinking of finding you someone else to dance with after me."
"Do you have anyone particular in mind?" Christopher asked. He eyed the few women nearby critically. One or two interesting prospects but probably not worth the hassle in the end.
"I don't know yet. I'm narrowing the list down in my head as we speak."
"Cho Chang is still looking quite fit," Christopher said, unashamedly eying the attractive raven-haired witch as she chatted away at a nearby table. "And it looks like she's here without a partner."
"The only reason she came without a date is because she's engaged to a Muggle."
"So you're saying she's technically not married yet."
Alicia wrinkled her nose in that way he'd always found endearing. "Gross, Chris. Please don't be that guy. Try someone else."
"What about the woman she's talking to then? With the curly hair?"
"Marietta Edgecombe? Urgh, no. She's a cow."
Christopher raised his eyebrows pointedly. "Do you think maybe I can decide that for myself?"
"I'm doing you a favour. Try literally anyone else in the room and it will be an improvement."
"Katie Bell," Christopher offered with a knowing smirk.
Alicia narrowed her eyes at him. "If you so much as smile in her direction I will borrow some more of that dick-shrivelling potion from Angelina."
"Relax. I was mostly kidding. Isn't she with Wood anyway? Everyone in the stadium saw them kiss after the match."
"They're not officially together – at least I don't think they are. No one seems to know what's going on there. Including Katie herself."
"Sounds rough. Let her know I'm always available if she needs a broad shoulder to cry on."
"You're not amusing, you know."
"Sorry. I'll take this absolutely seriously from now on." Christopher looked around, squinting as if he was really concentrating. "Okay. How about those twins who were in Potter's year? I've always fancied being with identical twins."
Alicia shook her head and tutted. "That's you taking this seriously, is it?"
Christopher laughed at her exasperated expression. "Come on, you must realise I'm not going to give you a say in this. It's not up to you to decide who I dance with or shag or do anything else with."
"I'm only trying to look out for you," she replied contritely
"It's the double standard that isn't fair. I never got to voice my opinion on Weasley before you went and threw yourself at him."
"You voice your opinion on him all the time!"
"And even if I tell you a thousand times that he's not good enough for you you'll ignore me every single time. Yet I'm just supposed to take your word for it that what's-her-face over there is a cow?"
Alicia sighed dramatically. "Go bloody shag her in an empty classroom for all I care. Just don't say I didn't warn you."
"Believe it or not, I don't want to shag anyone here tonight. Unless of course your mate has decided to ditch that dim-witted Keeper."
"You are impossible," Alicia said slowly, hitting her forehead against his shoulder to punctuate each syllable.
Christopher smiled to himself and pulled her in closer to him. He rested his chin on the top of her head and let himself just hold her for a moment. A conversation like the one they'd just had would have devolved into a screaming match normally. Their relationship was changing – becoming more of a give and take rather than a straight tug of war. It was less exhausting and a hell of a lot more rewarding.
"Chris, can I talk to you about something?" she asked, pulling away and looking up at him.
He tried to read her face, but couldn't pin down whether she was upset or merely anxious about something. "Of course."
"It's about when I left Paris. It's about why I left Paris."
"Do you want to go somewhere private?"
Alicia never got to answer as they were interrupted at that moment. Someone tapped Alicia on the shoulder and her head whipped around.
"Excuse me, Miss Spinnet. Do you think I'd be able to steal your dance partner away for the next song?"
Christopher glanced over Alicia's shoulder to find Narcissa Malfoy smiling serenely up at him. Alicia turned back and clearly mouthed 'what the fuck' to him. That was entirely his sentiment as well. He understood the questioning look in her eye. If he didn't want to dance with the other woman then Alicia would have no problem telling the Malfoy matriarch to leave him alone. But he was curious.
Christopher gave Alicia a tiny nod and she stepped out of his arms and said, "Of course, Mrs Malfoy. I was about to go and find George anyway. Thank you for the dances, Christopher."
"Anytime. We'll talk later."
Alicia gave him one last flabbergasted look then disappeared into the crowd. Christopher extended his hand towards Narcissa as some blessedly slower music began to play.
"Thank you for agreeing to dance with me. I hope I didn't interrupt an intimate moment between the two of you," Narcissa said, slipping one of her small, cold hands into his.
"No. Nothing intimate."
"Lovely. You see, I've been meaning to get hold of you all evening, Christopher."
A/N: Thanks for reading, reviewing and following. The next chapter is nice and long as well and it's almost ready to go. Just needs a few tweaks. Unfortunately, Flint isn't quite done messing with Alicia yet.
And I'm open to suggestions regarding Katie and her love triangle. I can't decide what she should do, which always happens when I attempt love triangles. So if you have a preference let me know and I'll see if there's any sort of consensus. I could go either way with it, tbh. She can also pick neither of them and stick to her guns about not wanting a relationship. What do you guys think?
