HI Everyone! First off I want to thank you all so much for the reviews. I truly appreciate it. Especially cause you guys are the first five and I always give a big hug and thanks to those who kick off the excitement for me. The more feedback I get the more confident I feel about my work. So thanks to: FishTowers, Born Mischievous, Sofia666, Lady Mione and Eunice.
Thanks for checking out my fic, and I hope you enjoy this next installment.
Chapter 2
Normally Alicia never found herself in such a frazzled state before. Upon leaving the museum she had taken James out to the ice cream parlor and then forced the young boy to get his haircut. She needed a distraction. Ever since bumping into the man at the museum she had felt wretched about something and she just couldn't shake it. What was making her feel so awful, and why was she trying her hardest to avoid thinking about it. James was even growing suspicious of her actions but decided to take advantage of her weakened state and asked for a new toy from the toy shop. Wanting nothing more then to please her son after such an odd exchange she took him without question. The toy had kept the young boy distracted for a little while, and soon Alicia found herself forcing him to eat something just to keep him from asking any more questions. Something had gotten into her, and she was having the hardest time sorting it out.
"Mommy can we go 'ome now?" James looked up from his sandwich and pointed towards the sky. "The moons out. "
Alicia broke from her train of thought and turned her attention towards her sons extended finger. Had she really kept him out all day? The setting sun was slowly replaced by the moon and Alicia sighed at her stupidity. Cassius was going to be livid that she didn't arrive home for dinner. What was worse was trying to figure out exactly what she was going to tell him as her reasons for staying out so late. She was certain her husband wouldn't want to know that she had been obsessing over another strange man she had met for barely five minutes. She loved Cassius and wouldn't dare want to scar his heart in any way. As much as she hated lying she decided it was the only way to keep peace within the house.
"I'm sorry sweetheart. Come on…grab your toy and lets go home." She grinned as James took the bag of muggle magic tricks into his hand and scampered over towards her. Sometimes he was just far too adorable.
" Mmkay I'm ready." He smiled his toothy grin and proceeded to drag her towards the exit.
Luckily enough with her reputation she was able to nab a transport buggy back to the estate in a matter of seconds. Anything was better then walking a tired five year old home for a good two miles. When the rickety brown buggy appeared in front of her she offered a quiet hello to the elderly man driving. She didn't have to say where they needed to go because most everyone knew who she was and where she lived. It was one of the small perks that came with Cassius when she had married him. Suddenly she had been thrust into a world that was so warm and welcoming to the new wife of the Austrian Diplomat. It seemed like she had belonged to a place like this forever, and she had accepted the invitations with open arms. Now just as much as Cassius was important to the small area they were in, Alicia had developed quite a name for herself as well. Most of the local shops were renovated and cleaned up thanks to the money she invested in the town. Many children of less fortunate families were able to afford books seeing as she started an education fund for children heading to Durmstrang. Perhaps most important was the way she treated people as equals disregarding the fact that she had quite a lot of money to toss around. Well maybe not her money but Cassius' at least. He seemed to think the things she did for the town were galleons well spent and urged her to continue doing whatever would make her happy. Helping needy people out made her happy most.
As the buggy came to a halt at the front of the Warrington estate, Alicia felt around in her pocket for a few extra galleons to give the driver. Making sure that the people in town were supported always made her sleep easier at night. When the man took the galleons with a large smile, Alicia simply grinned right back and helped James out of the small buggy. Her son, a very friendly boy, waved exuberantly at the elderly man as he rode off into the setting sun. "Come on James." Alicia took the small hand in hers and began the walk up the long staircase to the front door. Judging from the dimly lit windows most of the service had gone home for the evening which also meant Cassius was probably busy setting up schedules for the following day of work. She silently hoped he had a decent day so that his sometimes flaring temper was kept down to a minimum.
Pushing the front door open, Alicia ushered James inside and grinned as he instantly began calling for his father. When the small boy received no answer Alicia patted the boys head and gestured towards the staircase. " Maybe he is up in his study sweetheart. If he is he won't be able to hear you unless you go up there and surprise him. " The boy grinned and without another word from his mother he took off up the stairs towards his fathers study. " I'll come up to tuck you in soon James. I want you to say hello to Daddy and then go change into your nightclothes. " Shaking her head as the little brown head disappeared around the corner, Alicia headed towards the kitchen to make herself a quick cup of coffee.
Merlin did she need something to soothe her nerves. The encounter, still weighing heavily on her mind, had taken away her usual comfort levels and replaced it with a strange uneasiness. Yet it still didn't make sense to her. She had figured mulling over it all day would offer some sort of reasoning as to why she was obsessed with this stranger, but nothing had made itself present. Instead she had been zoned out and had the strangest feeling of déjà vu.
Stepping into the wide kitchen space she moved towards the cupboard and pushed herself up on her toes. Her fingers had barely wrapped around the handle when the door to the kitchen swung open and a bold voice followed.
"Alicia?"
Instantly caught off her guard, Alicia made a meager attempt to grab the falling mug and sighed as it came crashing down around her feet. "Shit." Running her hand across her face, Alicia turned to confront her friend Daphne Greengrass who stood smirking in the kitchen doorframe.
" I didn't mean to startle you. Merlin Alicia you look like you've seen a ghost." Removing her wand from her pocket Daphne waved it towards the mess and the shattered glass was repaired within seconds. "Where were you all day? Cassius has been worried sick."
A lifeless sigh escaped Alicia's lips, and she wrapped her fingers around the fixed mug as a way to distract her from what she had been feeling. After all what was she supposed to tell Daphne? It didn't exactly sound sane that her mind had been focused on a complete stranger all day. " We just lost track of time. I took James to the museum and then around town for the day. I hadn't even realized what time it was until the sun started going down."
Daphne frowned. "Nice try, but I ran into James in the corridor and after he tried to make my ring disappear with those silly muggle magic tricks he told me you were in the cafe for, in his terms, a thousandmillion hours." She quirked a brow, "So what caused you to go mental for a thousandmillion hours? Don't try and beat around the cauldron either Alicia…just tell me." A grin found its way to her friends face. It was one thing to try and pull one over the other people that came through the house, but Daphne had learned Alicia's quirks like they were the back of her very own hand.
Alicia glared at her redheaded friend and shook her head. "You weaseled information out of a five year old...real nice Daph. "
"Hey I'm only looking out for your best interest…and don't make it sound like he's such an angel. The boy nearly burned my ring off my finger. Besides Marcus went away on business again so I'm incredibly bored. I need something to focus on besides my own boring life." Turning away from Alicia she grabbed a pot and muttered a simple spell turning the empty container into an instant pot of coffee.
"That's complete laziness you know." Shaking her head at her friends attempt to make coffee Alicia gave in and had the girl pour her a cup.
Not sure whether or not to divulge the days incidents to her best friend, Alicia grew silent as she sipped at the piping hot liquid. Daphne had become a close friend ever since the accident she had five years ago. After all it wasn't everyday that someone was willing to help nurse a person back to health after an almost fatal incident. Alicia had quickly learned that her relationship with Daphne had always been a strong and faithful one, and the healthier she got the more she realized what a fantastic friend she truly had. Which was why she had to tell her. The guilt of keeping secrets was far too much.
"Daph...the weirdest thing happened to me today." Dropping her eyes towards the floor Alicia sighed.
" I knew it! Tell me!" the excited expression now present on Daphne's face caused Alicia to chuckle. How could she have ever kept something so silly from her best friend?
" It was the strangest thing..." Alicia started, flicking the rim of her coffee mug with her index finger. " I took James to the museum just like any other normal Friday afternoon. Everything was absolutely normal until I accidentally ran into this man." Shooting her friend a look when the girl laughed, Alicia continued. " Anyway I apologized and without even getting a chance to say anything else he already knew my name. I of course thought he knew Cassius somehow but when he insisted he didn't and kept harping on how I should know him I got the most eerie feeling."
Daphne's voice hitched slightly. " Oh ... Oh really? That is strange." Shifting her gaze towards the kitchen door she stammered out a few more words. " Was he at least attractive looking?" She let out a forced giggle.
Alicia, not aware of her friends sudden change in mood, shrugged. " he was rather handsome. Sorta tall with a creamy skin tone. Beautiful blue eyes that complimented his reddish brown hair." She blushed, " just don't tell Cassius I said all this."
Daphne shook her head insinuating that Alicia need not worry. " please...if Marcus saw all the ogling I did when he was out of town he would never go out on business again. Its perfectly normal to think another man is attractive." Though in the pit of her stomach Daphne felt a twinge of worry.
"It was more then that." Alicia spoke barely above a whisper in fear her husband would be through the door any moment. "It was like I knew him my whole life but I couldn't put my finger on it!" Running her free hand over her face again, Alicia let out a long frustrated sigh. The more she thought about the things she was feeling the more insane she felt. Now with the way Daphne was staring at her Alicia was certain she had gone mental. " I know…I know…you don't have to look at me like I have a thousand heads. Believe me I already feel like a dunderhead."
Grazing her teeth along her bottom lip Daphne shook her head and reached out towards her friend. Her hand brushed lightly against Alicia's, and she offered a genuine smile. "Ali there is nothing weird about what you are feeling. I get those odd vibes all the time. I think you just had a long day, and your mind started playing tricks on you since the bloke knew your name. Things like that happen, but its not reason to fret over it. Now…" Shifting from one foot to another, Daphne brought her hand under Alicia's armpit and helped her slide off the stool she was sitting on. "Why don't you head upstairs and take a cold shower or something. It will help you relax." Raising her eyebrows to show her seriousness, Alicia began moving towards the door upon the request of her friend.
"But…but what if I'm not just imagining things? What if I didn't have a long day?" Alicia's hand pressed against the swinging kitchen door as she glanced over her shoulder.
"I think you need to go to sleep before you really start thinking kooky things." Chuckling softly to herself, Daphne ushered her out the door. "Now go!" Watching Alicia's retreating back, Daphne let out a nervous breath as soon as she was out of earshot. How the hell had this happen?
There was no possible way George Weasley had managed to find her here after all these years. He thought she was dead! Everyone thought Alicia was dead. Daphne had attended the funeral in disguise back in London just to be sure that everything was going according to plan. There had been no room for error when she had helped Cassius hatch his plan, and now her best friend had somehow managed a run-in with the past. What was she going to do? What was she going to tell Cassius? It had taken a solid year for him to work out every piece of the plan, and to find that his perfect life was suddenly hanging on thin thread was going to send him into a tizzy. Daphne groaned. It was one thing manipulating her own husband, but it was another trying to reassure Cassius Warrington. When it came to Alicia the man was blinded, and she was almost afraid of the lengths he would go to protect her. Hell he had gone to extreme lengths in the past.
Waiting a few more moments to ensure Alicia was safely in the shower, Daphne bolted up the long staircase and made a quick turn down the right corridor towards his study. By now he had put James to bed and was probably back reviewing his papers for the following day of business. It wasn't Cassius' nature to spare a single moment if he had it. Merlin the bloke was a workhorse sometimes. Picking up her pace she ran by the master bedroom and grinned when she saw the door closed with the lights on. Alicia was still in the shower. With the way that girl bathed Daphne knew she had at least a half hour to tell Cassius everything that Alicia had spilled.
Coming to a halt outside the study Daphne paused for a beat before letting herself into the study without even a knock. By now Cassius was used to these invasions considering James did it all the time. Still he looked rather perturbed when he glanced up from his papers only to be greeted with the pale freckled face of his best friends wife.
"What do you want Daphne? I thought you went home over a hour ago?" Placing his quill down on the desk, Cassius stifled a yawn that had snuck to his lips.
"We need to talk…its serious."
Pushing a few strands of dark hair away from his eyes, Cassius tried to withhold himself from laughing. "You know every time you come in here its something serious. What is it now? Get an odd feeling in your stomach about Marcus?" Leaning back into his expensive leather chair, Cassius shook his head. "I told you a thousand times Daph…Flint is obsessed with you. The idiot would never dare sacrifice losing you to some bimbo he meets in some foreign country. You really need to stop -"
"I think Alicia ran into Weasley." She hadn't meant for it to come out so bluntly, but sometimes it was awfully hard to get Cassius to shut up. If she didn't blurt it out she wasn't sure how much longer the poor sap would drone on for.
"What?" His voice had gone lifeless, and the leisurely attitude he had just settled into was suddenly gone. "What are you talking about?"
There was a desperation in his voice, and suddenly Daphne felt utterly guilty about breaking it to him so harshly. "I'm sorry…" She started in a hurried soft whisper. "I didn't mean for it to come out so…so cold, but I don't know how much time I have before Alicia is done in the shower." Reaching for one of the empty chairs, Daphne moved it closer to his desk and sat. Cassius, however, remained motionless. "I was just with her downstairs and she began rambling on about this weird encounter she had at the museum. I let her ramble on about it and when she was done I sent her to freshen up so I could talk to you. So listen…no interruptions…I don't know how much time I have." Taking a breath she briefly glanced into the horrified eyes of the man in front of her before continuing.
"Alicia went to the museum with James today, and she said she accidentally bumped into some man who was standing by her. She made for an apology, but she claimed he already knew her name before she had a chance to say anything. She didn't recognize him, but he swore that she should know him. She thought he knew you, but after a few awkward moments she realized he had no idea what she was talking about. She described him to me and I swear on Merlin… Cassius it was Weasley. There are no other blue eyed redheads that would make her feel so damn strange."
Cassius thought in silence. This couldn't be happening. No! Not when he had been so careful about everything. He had purposely moved to this small town in Austria because of something like this happening. No! Daphne was wrong. It wasn't Weasley at all, and everything was going to go back to the way it had been for the last five years. "How the hell do you even know if your right? It could have really been someone who I met and recognized her from a photo of some sort. Why the hell do you immediately think the worst?" He sneered. "You are just being paranoid, Daphne. Alicia will be fine. I've taken nothing but absolute caution, and there is no possible way I blew it now. " The tone in his voice had risen slightly, and he cleared his throat to mask his sudden anger.
"She had a feeling, Cassius!" Daphne snapped back. "She said she had these weird feelings in the pit of her stomach all afternoon…she said she couldn't shake him from her head." Her voice dropped again. "She didn't remember anything, but what if it is Weasley? What the hell are you going to do Cassius? How the hell are you gonna keep her locked up and hidden after Weasley has laid eyes on her? You shouldn't be so damn passive about this when you know I'm probably right! Damn Cassius…your family could be in danger! Aren't you the least bit concerned? Don't you remember what happened? Don't you remember the reason why you did all this in the first place?"
The stir of emotions that were building up inside of him caused him to slam his fist against the hard oak surface of his desk. "Well what the hell do you want me to do? You want me to go searching through this town for some redheaded strange man who may or may not be Weasley? What are the chances he found her here? What are the chances he came here for some gallivanting? We are in the middle of nowhere, Daph." He threw a glance out the window to their left. "Besides… everyone thinks she's dead. It's not like he found out and traced her here. If I had been so careless with covering my tracks don't you think my family would have figured it out first?"
"Love finds a way, Cassius." Leaning back into her chair, Daphne pointed towards the door. "She loves you Cassius, but there is a part of her that still holds on to some of that past. You can't just whisk everything away with a flick of your wand without some slim possibility that it wont come back. Don't be so damn easy about this. She is your wife…if it really was Weasley….what are you going to do?" Daphne had witnessed a lot of things in her past. Most of the things had been enough to make ones stomach turn, but that was the life of a DeathEaters daughter. Yet there were few things she witnessed that had been able to turn her cold heart into something more. The love Cassius held for Alicia had been one of them.
Cassius' eyes flickered between the two framed pictures on his desk. One had been taken on their wedding day five years ago and the other had been the first photo of James when he was born. Cassius was a hard man to understand. Throughout school he had been labeled deceiving, heartless and cruel. Cassius had been a true Slytherin, and there were moments he looked back upon and wished he had never taken part in. Alicia had never been one of those moments. It had taken him a long time to understand the depth of emotion that Alicia had placed upon him, but when he finally discovered it he couldn't let her go. Glancing between the pictures suddenly reminded him how deeply he felt towards her, and how deeply he felt for James. He would fight for her until his dying breath. "I'll keep her safe, Daph. I have always kept her safe and I always will until the day I die."
Grabbing a piece of blank parchment Cassius picked up his quill again and began writing down something Daphne couldn't quite read. Whatever it was it seemed intense seeing as Cassius' hand was shaking with every quill stroke. When he finished the small note he picked it up and handed it over to her. " What's this?" Quirking a brow she glancing down at the note before returning his gaze.
"Take that down to the PortKey Headquarters and give it to Arnold Van Houstleich. Tell him to pull up the entire days entries and send them back to me before tomorrow night. You need not worry about him asking any questions either. He is quite loyal to me and wouldn't dare try to cross." Pushing himself up from his desk, Cassius stepped around the table and paused at Daphne's side. "Thank you for being a good friend to me Daphne…a good friend to Alicia." His hand clamped down softly on her shoulder. "I'm going to go check on James. You can let yourself out, but I'd use the back so Alicia doesn't grow suspicious that you are still here."
Nodding slightly, Daphne stood from her chair and followed Cassius towards the door. "I just…I just hope that I'm completely wrong about these suspicions. I don't want to see Alicia hurt again…" Growing quiet she slipped through the door as he opened it for her. "I'll bring these as early as I can tomorrow seeing as Marcus will be home before nightfall. I'm sure he'll want to come by when he settles in so I should be seeing you then." Turning on her heel Daphne began backing up towards the back corridor as Cassius turned towards James' bedroom. "Goodnight Cass…"
Lifting his hand to bid her farewell Cassius moved quickly down the corridor towards the young boys room. He had sent James to bed nearly a hours ago, but there was always those few moments he'd go check in and the boy would still be up secretly reading potions books. The boy had developed an odd fascination of concocting absurd things together creating backfiring creations. Nevertheless Cassius encouraged his creative state and often found himself subject to testing his son's finished products. When he approached James' door he placed his ear against the wood and held his breath to listen for any sounds from within. When nothing came to his ear he quietly pushed open the door and stuck his head inside. Curled up in a tiny ball was his son at the very top of his large bed. The image was rather amusing seeing as the boy had plenty of room to sprawl out but remained fixed in the one tiny spot. Cassius choked back a laugh.
Daphne's words had caused a sudden worry inside of him, and now staring at the body of his son only made that worry grow even more. What if Weasley was indeed in the vicinity? Would the man really grasp that it truly was Alicia he had seen, or would he project it off as some sort of disillusion? Cassius felt a nagging pain in the back of his head and cursed silently to himself. This wasn't happening. Hell, it had taken nearly three years for his own parents to even accept the lies he had spun them about Alicia. He had worked so hard to make it all perfect. No one was going to take her away from him. No one was going to ruin what he had found when he had opened his heart to her.
James moved slightly beneath the sheets and Cassius snapped out of the angered visions. He had a son to protect too. He'd be damned before he let something happen to James, and if word began to get out about the past he was certain awful things would happen. Cassius didn't even want to think about it. Instead he crossed the distance and came to the side of the bed closest to his son. Looking down at the small angelic face he couldn't help but grin as he brushed a few strands of brown hair from the boys forehead. "No one is going to find out about you, James." Bending over to plant a kiss on his son, Cassius also readjusted the blankets and tucked him in a bit tighter.
There was too much at stake now, and he was going to see to it that no one ever figure out the things he had pulled. Removing himself from James' room he let his eyes glance down towards the master bedroom and noticed the dim lighting that was now present. Alicia was out of the shower and probably readying herself for bed. Closing the door to the boys room, Cassius moved towards his bedroom and took a breath before letting himself inside. Just as he had suspected Alicia sat with her back towards him while she combed her hair at the vanity he had bought her for her twenty first birthday. With the pale moonlight coming in through the window she looked ethereal sitting there. Cassius felt his voice catch slightly in his throat. Merlin when had he become so infatuated with her?
"I was wondering when you were going to come to bed." She grinned at him while still looking through the mirror. "I missed you terribly today." Spinning on her seat she turned to face him with her patented lopsided Spinnet smile. He used to tease her about it relentlessly when they were in their seventh year, but she never stopped flashing it.
"I had a few things to finish up with before deciding to turn in." His tone was semi flat which was unusual, but the thought of her mind spending so much time on another man had managed to creep back into his head. "How was your day at the museum. James said you two had a grand time…though I think the toys he showed me might have weighed heavily in on his opinion."
Alicia dropped her gaze from her husbands and merely shrugged. "He was rather good at the museum today so I thought I'd reward him. You make it sound like I did something wrong. I can spoil the little bugger if I want. He is my son after all." Bringing her eyes back up to his, Alicia moved from the vanity and approached the enormous bed they shared. "Besides it never bothered you before when I bought him things. Why do you sound so bitter about it today?" She hated when he got like this, and often she'd just go quiet and let him feel like his words were the right ones. It was rare moments like this that usually fueled into larger squabbles. Realizing that it was probably due to stressful work Alicia slid beneath the blankets and dropped her head back on the pillow. Unless of course James had mentioned something about the strange man they ran into. Now that would of course cause Cassius' sarcastic tone.
"I'm not bitter." He started, while peeling his teeshit from his body. "I just don't think it's healthy that the kid get everything he wants." Suddenly feeling as though he was growing too obvious with his concern, Cassius removed his trousers and slid into the bed beside her. "I'm glad you had a good day with him though." Leaning over he planted a small kiss against the side of her mouth.
Once again Alicia chuckled as his mood went from flat to loving. Merlin the man's mood was worse than any woman she had ever known. "We did have a fantastic day…toy and all." Sticking her tongue out playfully she screeched as rolled over and tackled her back against the pillows. His fingers moved slowly at her sides and she screamed for him to stop before he started what she knew was eventually coming. "Don't! Stop!" With that his fingers went furious against her sides and she shrieked in uncontrollable laughter. "I said no!" Squealing again she tried to scramble from beneath him but only managed to pin herself further under his weight.
"You actually said don't stop." He grinned as she realized the misinterpretation of her words. "I'm just doing what you told me." His fingers had worked their way towards her inner thigh and she screamed again. "Shh your going to wake James."
"Your evil!" She pushed up with her arms and wrapped them loosely around his neck. "No more tickling…" Batting her eyelashes ever so seductively, Alicia gave a grin of triumph when he removed his hands and flopped down beside her on their large king size bed. "Hey Cass…" Her head had nuzzled in against his chest, and she delicately placed one hand on top of his.
"Mmm?" His head dropped slightly to the side allowing his semi long dark hair to fall onto his forehead.
Glancing up she noted that his eyes were already closed and he had a very content grin gracing his lips. "I love you…you know that right." She didn't mean for it to come out sounding so pleading, but after the stressful afternoon she had her emotions had been worn thin with worry. " I mean I just want you to know I love you with all my heart…."
"Even my crooked nose…" He joked.
"Even your crooked nose." Kissing the point of his nose that he swore was crooked Alicia leaned back against him and began to let herself drift off into another world. Sleep was already beginning to take over her, and she was thankful that there wasn't any trouble finding a comfort zone. Breathing in deeply she let out a yawn and grinned as she felt her husbands arm pull tighter against her. "Night Cassius."
"Goodnight angel."
Dear George,
You are mental.
Yours truly,
Lee
"There that's nice, blunt and straight to the point." Lee puffed his chest out proudly as he handed the parchment over to Katie. Their was an exchange of odd glances between the rest of them, and it wasn't until Angelina swatted Lee across the back of the head that the man realized he had made a mistake. "What? If I was in George's shoes I would expect you all to be completely honest with me. The poor daft bloke is seeing his dead girlfriend in Austria…and he claims she's married to Warrington!" His eyebrows furrowed in such a way that Fred couldn't help but chuckle at his friends ridiculous actions.
Katie, on the other hand, merely shook her head. "Lee…sweetheart…we know you mean well by being so…curt, but George is in a real sensitive state right now. He's obviously going through something that we just cant understand."
"Let me sound this out for you slowly…WARR-ING-TON." Making overly exaggerated gestures with his arms, Lee glanced between each of them. "Doesn't anyone remember that it was the Warrington family that was suspected in murdering the Spinnets? Or was that just me? Now!" Lee pointed towards the ground. "Now the idiot thinks Alicia's corpse has come back from the dead and married her murderer."
An uncomfortable silence rose between the group of them, and suddenly Lee's rather cruel owl didn't seem so harsh. Yet as Katie held onto the parchment she couldn't bring herself to tying it to the owls leg. Of course they all knew how George exaggerated with his stories, and more often then not they found his imagination constantly running wild. Who was to say that this instance wasn't any different then all those other times? Perhaps sending him away on his own personal vacation wasn't such a good idea. After all the poor bloke was all alone in a foreign town without any reassurance from his family and friends.
"He wouldn't imagine this." Fred's voice broke the silence sending Angelina into a small jump. No one dared speak against his word mostly in fear that Fred would run a fit for anyone speaking against his twin. "It doesn't make sense. I know it doesn't, but I have that feeling. You know which one I'm talking about, right Angelina?" His eyes shot towards his fiancé .
Angelina placed her hand against her chest and slowly nodded her head. She had witnessed the odd connections that Fred shared with George, and more often than not the two of them had these creepy circumstances where they could easily read each others minds. If Fred was claiming that this was what he was feeling than Angelina couldn't dismiss it. Besides why would Fred stick up for this asinine proclamation unless he had a strong feeling that George was being somewhat truthful. Somewhat being the key word replaying in her mind. "He makes a valid point. The two of them share this creepy psychic connection thing…its actually quite disturbing." Shuddering, Angelina made a grab for the owl Katie was holding and turned it over to read the words again.
"Look…" Fred propped himself up against the front desk of the shop which had remained closed ever since receiving the letter. "I'm not saying I completely agree with the bloke, but I'm feeling like there must be some truth behind this. Maybe he didn't see Alicia. Maybe he saw Warrington and immediately thought of Alicia. Perhaps he created her image out of past anger towards Warrington. Whatever the case may be I think we should just send him back an owl telling him to stay indoors and catch up on some much needed sleep."
Katie, who had been busy pacing the floor, came to an abrupt halt and slammed into Lee. "Oh sorry…" Turning towards Angelina and Fred she sighed. "I just cant see any of this as being healthy for him. I mean we were at her funeral! We were there when they lowered it into the ground!"
"But we weren't there when they brought her body out of the house." Lee spoke up, and of course received questioning looks from his friends. "What?"
Angelina felt her jaw go slack, and it took her a moment to actually formulate any sort of words. "Merlins gray beard….Lee's right. No one actually ever saw Alicia's body. Remember when we showed up at the Spinnet home some of the bodies weren't identifiable."
"When did we all go mental?" Katie threw her hands up into the air. "Was it just me or does anyone else recall how destroyed the Spinnet house was? Was I the only one there when Tonks told us we couldn't even go inside for fear we would be scared for life? The Warrington's despised the Spinnets so I highly doubt they got to Alicia and just brushed it off. Could you honestly see William Warrington putting his wand away and gesturing for Alicia to just waltz out of the house? And if he did why the hell has she been in hiding? Why the hell would she have pretended not to know George? And why in the world would she have married Cassius? After all the crap he put her through during school!"
Quirking a brow at his wife's sudden outburst, Lee placed his hand down on Katie's shoulder. " Look Kates we know what your saying. Gods we would all love to actually look at Georgies letter and believe that Alicia was really alive. I mean that small glimmer of hope kind of offers a bit of ease. Course we know Alicia is really dead, but sometimes we can all get so caught up in the emotion that we really do forget that - "
"It plausible." Angelina, who had been sitting behind the front desk suddenly stood. She brought her eyes towards Fred's and smiled briefly in his direction. Why hadn't she thought of something like this before? Angelina cursed silently to herself as the ideas began to formulate in her head. She was usually so quick to think of situations like this, but being blinded by the thought of Alicia's death for five years had managed to blur her sense of thought. "It could be her." She shrugged, and held up her hand before Katie went into a another fit. "Look no one more then me wishes that Alicia was still alive. I miss that girl more each passing day..." Running her hand over her face, Angelina sighed. "But lets for one moment think like Warrington."
Fred, who had been exceedingly quiet, finally opened his mouth. "Bloody hell." As though knowing where Angelina was going he felt his eyes go incredibly wide.
Grinning at her fiancé, Angelina continued. "Now lets say that Alicia had been in that house when the Warringtons attacked. Lets say that Cassius, being the ultimate prat he is, did something to her. Kept her hidden or something. Don't you recall how obsessed he was with her in school?"
"Yeah but he was obsessed with her because he wanted to hurt her." Katie pointed out.
"But he eventually fell in love with her. We all saw it. What if…" Angelina placed her finger against the side of her mouth. " what if the entire thing was a cover so he could claim Alicia for his own. It makes sense."
"Then who's body did The Order find when they went through the Spinnet house?" Lee held his hands up in confusion. "I mean they did find a body didn't they?"
Angelina glanced over at Fred knowing that he'd have the most information on the subject. After all he was semi involved with The Order and his father had informed him of events that had gone over during the Spinnet massacre. "Fred?"
"My dad never told me." Fred let his tongue click against the roof of his mouth. "To be honest…I don't know if they ever found a body. He never mentioned it, and the casket was closed." Suddenly another uneasy feeling settled down upon him. "This is all just too weird. I think George's insanity has begun poisoning us."
Grabbing Katie by the arm, Angelina shook her head furiously back and forth. "Look I don't care how asinine it sounds. Im going to the Ministry archives and I'm getting down to the bottom of this. If a body was found, great, George is crazy and end of story. If there is no proof…well then we have a serious problem."
"Hey!" Katie squealed as Angelina gave a harsh tug on her arm. "Not so hard!"
"And the letter to George?" Lee took the parchment back from Angelina's hand and quirked a brow.
"Just hold on to it until we get back." Without another word Angelina pulled at Katie's arm again and began dragging her outside the shop.
Lee and Fred stood silent in the center of the shop without so much as saying one single thing to each other. For the first time in a long while they were at a complete loss for words.
So we are just getting a very nice view of the current and rising situation going on between our favorite charries. It is within the next few chapters that things are going to begin picking up. The truth about what happened to Alicia will be revealed!!! Chapter 3 will be up soon. Thanks so much and please review for me!! Let me know what you think/feel about WHYB. Love and cookies to you all.