Chapter Four

The recreational Quidditch pitch was located out in the country, far enough that muggles never ventured there. While wizards and witches could see a vast field complete with a few stands and changing rooms, muggles could only see a gigantic fort without any indication of how to get in.

That Saturday morning, Kayla found herself sitting in the stands, sleepily sipping her coffee as a considerably sleepier Scorpius Malfoy sat beside her, grumbling.

"You should've brought some for me," he complained. "I just finished an overnight shift and got three hours of sleep."

Kayla closed her eyes and inhaling the coffee deeply. "You didn't tell me, and I am not obligated."

"Can I have a sip of yours?" he begged.

"No chance."

"Please?"

"Never."

Scorpius sounded as though he were about to cry. Kayla opened her eyes to take a peek at him; he was holding his head and yawning.

"Why don't you just go home?" Kayla asked, taking pity and holding out her cup to him. He smiled gratefully and took a long gulp.

"Rose would've killed me," Scorpius said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and handing the cup back to her. "I have no idea why this game matters so much. She got this much sleep as well, but she looks wide awake."

Kayla spotted her in the sky, curly red hair easy to spot. Rose was zooming along on her broomstick; she was playing Chaser, as she did in Hogwarts on the Gryffindor team. Hugo was the other Chaser on their team, and they were passing the Quaffle back and forth as their warm-up. Lily had been made Beater, though she'd never been great with any positions in particular, she was a great flier. Al was Seeker, just as he'd been for five consecutive years at Hogwarts for the Gryffindor team. Al's older brother James had joined to play Keeper and guard the hoops.

It was a small team, but they couldn't always find the extra Chaser or Beater.

On the other team, twins Lysander and Lorcan Scamander were practicing dives in preparation as Chasers. Gemma Thomas was playing Keeper and Ava Bones was the Seeker; they seemed to be discussing their play strategy quietly to each other. Daniel Finch-Fletchy, on the other hand, was swinging his bat in preparation to play Beater and nearly dropped it.

Kayla was slightly embarrassed she'd dated him for two years.

Daniel Finch-Fletchy was a sweet boyfriend, but he could be a bit thick. Kayla didn't see that for a long time, swept off her feet from the attention and her first boyfriend, but it was when things began to go sour that things changed. All of a sudden, she wasn't sure if she could trust her outlook on things to lead her actions. It was probably the reason that she didn't travel or experiment or do any of things she thought she would do after she graduated.

Liam Jordan, the referee, was blowing his whistle and jolted Kayla out of her thoughts. Beside her, she realized that Scorpius was sneaking sips of her coffee.

"Just have it," she told him, eyebrow raised. He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." She watched him gulp greedily from the cup. "Being a Healer sounds really tough."

"In training," he reminded her gloomily. "I'm lucky I have Rose there, otherwise I'm sure I'd go mad."

"And sending Al owls," she added.

"No, that's a bit annoying," he said, and Kayla snorted.

"Your mum mentioned you the other day," Scorpius told her, as though he'd just remembered. Kayla's mother worked as a Healer in St. Mungo's in the Magical Accidents department. "She said she's hoping you visit for tea."

"Oh yeah." Kayla made a mental note to owl her mum. "It's been ages. Our schedules never match up."

"Sometimes Rose and I have that problem," he replied. There was a pause.

"So... marriage." Kayla cleared her throat. "That's huge."

"Is it?"

"Isn't it?" she said, looking at him strangely. "It's a big deal. Lifelong commitment, and all that."

"That's not the huge deal," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know," Kayla muttered, thinking of Daniel. And, most recently, Al. Both were playing Quidditch above them. "I'd probably have to think about it for years."

Scorpius shrugged. "Don't."

He looked up at the game then and his blond hair was glinting in the sunlight. Scorpius had very sharp features, high cheekbones and clear blue eyes. It was obvious why Rose was so attracted to him, though he talked too little for Kayla's taste. She didn't like prying answers out of people.

Kayla spotted Al in the sky, close to his team's hoops. His team had scored thirty points but they were nowhere close to finding the Snitch. She could feel her cheeks colouring as she thought of the night before.

Nothing more had happened, of course. They'd finished their movie and tea with light conversation before he'd gone home. She really enjoyed talking him, which was very new; she'd previously thought they had nothing in common. Turns out they had plenty to talk about, especially when it came to reading and potions.

She would probably never tell him about her writing if she could help it, though.

"The big deal about the wedding is the logistics," Scorpius explained. "Plus it's costing a lot."

"Is it worth it?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "It's something Rose really wants. Plus she wants our families to get along, hence the complications."

"I guess so."

Scorpius looked at her. "I'm getting the sense you're not entirely sold on the marriage concept."

"No…" Kayla began slowly. "I like it. I'm not entirely sold on it happening for me."

"And why's that?"

"I'm not sure I really trust my judgement of men."

"Hmm." He seemed surprised. "Really."

"You just never really know a person," she said. "It takes years, and by that point, you might just break up."

"Or not."

"Or not," she agreed.

Scorpius closed his eyes for a while, and Kayla watched the game. She loved Quidditch and wished she could play. She'd always marvelled at the rush of it all. When she was still at Hogwarts, she'd promised herself that she would get over her fear of flying one day, even if she never played the game.

Why did all of her dreams feel so dead lately?

"Ah, I think Al's got it," Scorpius said grumpily. "Thank Merlin, the game was going on forever."

Sure enough, Al was speeding towards the other side of the pitch, eyes fixated on a glint of gold.

"It's only been about an hour." Kayla's stomach was tangling into knots; she hadn't had a chance to say anything before the game, but she was sure he would say something after the match. He seemed to be very good at saying exactly what was on his mind – something that scared her.

Above her, Al was catching the Snitch and his teammates were cheering. His hair was windswept and his cheeks were pink. Somehow, seeing him in his Quidditch gear, triumphant and assured and alive made Kayla feel even more attracted to him. It was odd that she'd never noticed before, but it was as though she'd never really looked at him properly before. And now she didn't want to stop.

But in the bright sunlight Quidditch pitch, it felt very obvious to her of what was hazy the night before. Al was a confident person. He was handsome, had a great job that he loved and spent time with his family. Of course she was going to be impressed by him and any attention he gave her.

How would she know if these were real feelings or not?

"Let's go, then," Scorpius said, sighing heavily and standing up. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can eat lunch and the sooner I can sleep."

Kayla then had a breakthrough thought. She couldn't risk doing something she regretted (like jumping him, several times), and she was sure she would regret screwing up whatever was going on with Al at the moment. She would just have to keep a little distance between them while simultaneously getting to know him even better.

Perfectly solid plan.

The solidity of the plan lasted about five minutes.

Back at The Leaky Cauldron after the match, many of the group were slowly settling down for a hearty lunch and drinks when Al pulled Kayla aside. The group was strewn across the pub so it wasn't as though it was particularly strange occurrence, but Kayla still saw Hugo looking at them strangely.

"Hi," Al said, walking them to the bar. He was smiling at her and his hair was still windswept. "I have an idea."

Kayla was nervously smiling back; Hugo had gone back to talking to his sister, but kept glancing at them. At least Lily hadn't noticed. "What's that?"

"I know you have work tomorrow morning," he began. This was true; she'd briefly mentioned it the night before. "I was hoping we could do dinner at my place after. What do you think?"

Kayla's eyes snapped to his. "At yours?" She'd been there a few times, but they mostly hung out at her and Kayla's flat.

"Or somewhere interesting," he offered. He seemed calm on the surface, but she could see his ears turning red. For some reason, it comforted her to know he felt a little nervous, too.

"We can go to your place." But as soon as she said it, she realized she was breaking her decision to keep some distance.

Oops.

Al leaned his forearm onto the bar, stepping closer to her. Even that made her pulse quicken slightly. "Great! I mean, I'm not the best cook, but I've been working on it lately. And you could maybe bring those brownies you made once for my birthday. If you have any."

She blushed. "You remember that? It was months ago."

"Yeah." He grinned at her before glancing at the bartender at the other end of the bar. "Do you want a drink?"

"Erm…" Kayla was looking at where Hugo and Lily were sitting. Hugo was still glancing at them, and when he caught her gaze, he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Everything okay?" Al asked, gently nudging her arm.

"I haven't talked to Lily yet," she confessed, looking back at him. "I should ask her if this is okay."

Al looked at her questioningly. "Why wouldn't she be okay with it? It's just a date."

"I know," she said, blushing again. She didn't mean to insinuate more out of it. "But don't you think it would be weird for her?"

He looked across the room to Lily. She still hadn't noticed anything; she was distracted by the food in front of her, though Kayla realized she was dragging mashed potatoes back and forth in her plate.

"I don't think she's going to care, Kayla," he said. "Honestly. And even if she does, it's not as though she should."

He left to go back to sit at the table, leaving Kayla very confused. She turned around and flagged down the bartender.

"One beer please?"

"Make it two," said Hugo, coming up behind her. Kayla turned to see him grinning at her. "What was that all about?"

"What?

"With you and Albus!" he half-whispered excitedly. "Was he asking you out? I always thought he had a thing for you –"

"Hugo –"

"– but he has literally never mentioned it –"

"Hugo –"

"– and this is perfect."

Kayla stared at him as the beers clinked beside them at the bar. "Why is it perfect?"

"For my plan to change your life!" he explained, grabbing his bottle. "Remember? I was thinking I'd have to get you to hit on some random guy or set you up on a blind date."

"A blind –" Kaya cut off, shaking her head and taking a long gulp from her bottle. "I have to tell you something."

"Clearly."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "Last night –"

"This happened last night?"

"Shh!" Kayla scowled at him and Hugo shut up, listening gleefully. "Last night, Rose and Scorpius left for their shift, and Lily fell asleep like always, which is kind of stupid because half the time she ends up picking the movie –"

"You are telling this so badly," Hugo groaned. "You and Al?"

"Right." She swallowed. "We may have… well, you know…"

"Snogged?"

"Flirted!" she said hastily, and she could see Hugo sniggering. "We flirted. And talked. And it was really really nice."

"Okay, okay," he conceded, tipping his bottle towards her. "I can see we are going have to take this ultra-slowly."

"We?"

"It's been a while for you in the dating scene," he pointed out. "You're going to want to relax and play it cool."

"Sure, I can do that." That had been the original plan, anyway.

"But also tell him your last boyfriend was an asshat."

Kayla turned to Hugo in disbelief. She lowered his voice, as her ex-boyfriend was sitting in the other corner of the pub. "I do not have to tell Al about Daniel cheating on me. That's probably something I can keep to myself forever."

"Well, he's going to wonder why you're going so slow, isn't he?" he asked. "He dated his previous girlfriend last year. Your ex was in Hogwarts."

She sighed. "I haven't told Lily yet. She's going to want to know."

"She will," Hugo said slowly, giving her that same questioning look Al had earlier. "But I don't think you should tell her yet. You should only tell her if you decide to make this a thing."

She frowned, considering it. She'd never intentionally kept anything from Lily before. "You think?" she asked.

"Definitely," he said, nodding. "Just in case you go back to being friends. Which you shouldn't."

"If I don't scare him off," Kayla said uncertainly, leaning back against the bar. She caught Al's eye at the table and he smiled at her before continuing conversation. "I just don't know how to act with him. We've known each other forever."

"Why does that have to change?" he replied. Kayla shrugged.

Hugo did have a point.

It was much later, after Al had introduced Gemma to Hugo, Scorpius had dragged Rose home for sleep and most of their friendly Quidditch amateur players had left. Even Lily had disappeared early, just before sundown. Kayla and Al were spying on Hugo and Gemma seated at the bar together; they seemed to be getting on pretty well.

"Look, look now," Kayla said urgently, and Al quickly looked at the couple. Al and Kayla were seated in the booth beside each other and had a great view of them. They might have been a little tipsy as well. "She just flipped her hair again. Sure sign."

"Hmm…" Al raised his eyebrows at her. "I think she's done that three times, now? What are Hugo's moves?"

"Well, he's tall, yeah?" He nodded, and Kayla continued, "So he always does this thing where pretends to rest his arm on one shoulder. Like an armrest. And then when she laughs, he puts his arm around her."

Al snorted into his beer. "That's lame as hell."

"It has worked for all his girlfriends," Kayla pointed out.

"What else?"

"Umm…" Kayla started ticking off her fingers. "He loves playing with their hair. But he usually does that after they've already snogged. Merlin, why does he always tell me this stuff…"

"Moving on," Al said quickly. "What about stuff he'd do at this stage, that we could potentially make fun of?"

"He also spreads his shoulders out." Kayla gestured at Hugo. "Like now, see? He kind of makes himself seem bigger. He's already huge, it's weird."

Al began to laugh. She really liked his laugh – was that strange? "I knew about that one."

"What else…" she muttered, biting her lip. "Oh, sometimes he'll do that thing where he'll keep touching her arm or shoulder. He's told me he'll test it out first to see if she minds it, which is considerate, I guess."

She suddenly realized Al was staring at her. "Don't bite your lip."

Feeling bold, probably from the alcohol, she tilted her head. "Or what?"

Al closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, but slid closer at put his arm around the back of her side of the booth. "What else, then?"

"Well…" Kayla looked back at the couple. Gemma was giggling at something Hugo said. "He compliments them, but differently. He always compliments Lily and I very outrageously and directly, but when he likes a girl, he'll be really subtle about it."

"Hmm." He hummed quietly. "You guys are very close."

"Sometimes he keeps talking even when I don't reply." She turned back to Al, who was watching her carefully. "He kind of saved me in school. You know, because Lily and I weren't in the same house, but Hugo was in Hufflepuff with me."

"Oh…" He trailed off, surprised. "I didn't realize that was hard. But we almost never talked at school."

"Yeah."

"How was it, being in Hufflepuff?" Al asked, touching the end of her hair and playing gently with it. "I loved Gryffindor house. It was always a laugh."

"I loved it," she said, smiling and remembering. "Our common room was very cozy. My friends were very kind, and we were all friends with people from other houses. I think House Unity was bigger for us than other houses."

"Yes," he said softly, still playing with her hair. "You're very shy, usually."

Kayla felt as though her heart was skipping every other beat. "Yeah."

"We thought you guys were softies," he joked, and she laughed. "Your Quidditch team sucked."

"I usually cheered for Gryffindor," she admitted. Al looked extremely pleased to hear that.

"They're leaving," he pointed out suddenly, gesturing with his head. Hugo and Gemma were leaving a few sickles on the bar and hopping from their barstools. Hugo held her hand on their way out. "Looks like they're going together."

"You're a good matchmaker," Kayla teased. She made a mental note to owl Hugo the next day. "I think Hugo was getting a bit restless."

"You think?" he said, looping hair strands around his finger.

"Yeah." Kayla bit her lip again, suddenly worried. "Lily looked very sad earlier."

"She always gets back up," Al reassured her. "She needs to go through her denial and sad phase for a few weeks. Then she'll be back to normal."

"I hope so."

"You really care about your friends, don't you?" he observed. She nodded.

"I was going to make Lily cookies, but she wanted to get pissed instead," she said, and he laughed. Al seemed to have moved closer in the last little while, though she had originally planned for them to get to know each other, fully sober and with a reasonable amount of space in between them.

Plans always went to shit, didn't they?

"I should probably get going," Al said, dropping his fingers from her hair and taking her hand. "I have to have dinner with my parents, plus I want to clean my flat for our date tomorrow."

"Right," Kayla replied, feeling a knot of anxiety at his words. She smiled at him the best she could muster. She couldn't help but wonder if there was more to dinner on their date, but she couldn't bloody well ask, could she? "Yeah, that sounds fun."

"We can do something else if you want," he told her, squeezing her hand. "I don't want you to be nervous. Not that there's anything to be nervous about."

Kayla thought she would melt right there.

"I'm excited for tomorrow," she reassured him.

And she was. She was definitely attracted to him, but she couldn't lie and say she didn't feel slightly intimidated by him. She wanted to get to know him, but she was suddenly worried the more he got to know her, the less he would find. But she really did enjoy spending time with him, so she did feel excited for their date tomorrow. Genuinely.

Things just felt a bit more complicated now.