Just wanted to throw out another Thank You to all you guys and girls who reviewed. I really love getting the feedback so thanks. Here's a little bit of info for the next chapter. It will be from James' perspective, and we will see a significant amount of particular personality traits in the little squirt. Lots of love to all of you, and please please leave me a review. I honestly thrive off the feedback.


Chapter 6

" This is unbelievable!" Katie glanced between the few photo's they had collected of Alicia. Sprawled out on the table top were dozens of clippings Alicia had been featured in for all of her charity work in the small town.

Since their arrival at the Jordan house George had taken the liberty of going through every detail regarding the Alicia mystery. At first Angelina was convinced that Alicia was toying with George. There was no way she could have possibly forgotten all of the drama that had gone down between the two. During their last year at Hogwarts everyone, and that meant everyone at the school, had witnessed the drama that Alicia and George had gone through. It had almost cost them their friendship. Alicia never really forgave George for leaving Hogwarts the way he did. Hell, she had barely let Fred off the hook when he had returned to her. Still Angelina silently listened to what George was explaining. She needed some sort of understanding as to what could possibly be going on. It was after his explanation of her house fire did they all begin to see the suspicious light.

" So he kidnapped her? Then wiped her memory?" Fred, who was still dumbfounded, looked over at a very tired looking George. He had noticed since their arrival that his brother looked like he was run over by some sort of mountain troll.

"It's the only thing that makes sense to me. " George tapped lightly against his forehead in thought. " He became obsessed with her. Remember everything he put her through? How he tried to convince her that he truly was in love with her. As much as I love Alicia I know how naïve she was about him. She could have been tricked again. " He corrected himself. "She was tricked again."

The group of them nodded slowly. Angelina would never forget the day she found Alicia alone on the grounds with Cassius Warrington. She had thought she was seeing things. She was convinced that what she had just heard come out of Warrington's mouth was utter rubbish. And yet she saw Alicia eating it all up. There was something different about the look on her friends face. It was as though she was admitting something to Warrington that she had never let any of them in on. She noted the look of excitement in the eyes of her best friend, and Angelina felt betrayed. How could Alicia even stand to be near him? How could she speak to him as though they had some sort of hidden connection? After everything Warrington had done to her, to all of the Gryffindors, she felt nauseous just watching from the distance she was it. Still she didn't have the strength to yell out and stop it all from tumbling into the depths of hell. She went mute.

Then she had heard it.

"I know your hurting because of your father, Alicia. I know because my father left my family due to the Dark arts." Angelina had gagged when Warrington had touched Alicia's face. Like he ever cared about her! "Your secret is safe with me...I won't tell anyone." And then Warrington had closed the small gap between them and kissed Alicia. It was enough to send Angelina into a blind fury. There were a dozen things that had snowballed after that night. Nothing was the same, and everything that they thought they knew about Alicia had been a lie.

She would never forget that moment, or any of the others that had reminded her of Warrington's obsession with her friend. He had been determined to stake claim of her then, and somehow after they left Hogwarts he had accomplished it. Alicia had fallen victim. How could Alicia be so stupid?

" You do remember that they did have a brief fling." Lee piped up from the couch. "Who is to say that she didn't get back together with him and ask for a memory modification?" he shrugged.

The girls shot him an appalling look. " They didn't have a fling!" Katie retorted, " he tricked her into dating him! He tricked her into breaking up with George!" Katie glared intensely at Lee, and afraid of his wife's actions he turned away and began staring out the front window.

George, who had remained awfully quiet, finally cleared his throat. He didn't much want to be reminded of those times. Alicia had broken his heart when she left him for Warrington. Sometimes when he thought back to it he still didn't understand how it had happened. One minute everything had been the way he had imagined it, and the next he was losing his lover to the one man he despised with all of his soul. Sometimes he understood why it happened. He knew she felt lost and alone. Alicia had always felt guilty about letting out problems on her friends. Still he hated to think that the one person she was able to turn to was Warrington. He had taken her from him. Granted it wasn't for long, and he had her back in his life eventually, but it still hurt. To know he was second best to Slytherin scum killed him. " Alicia was always a trusting person. There could be a dozen reasons why she is married to that slimy bastard."

"And she has a kid with him." Fred whistled under his breath.

"Gee…Thanks for the reminder Fred." George, not in the mood to think of Alicia's son, grumbled under his breath. It wasn't that he didn't like James. On the contrary he thought the kid was downright fun. In fact he found himself oddly fascinated with the kid. Still knowing that Alicia had a child with Cassius Warrington sent him into a jealous override.

"Its the truth." His brother stated firmly. "We are here to get Alicia back, but we need to also remember that she has a son with Warrington. Even if we are going to get her back we can't dismiss that fact. For Merlin's sake George she might just be happy with Cassius and her son." The idea of Alicia having any sort of sexual relation with Warrington caused Fred to grimace.

" Of course she's happy. Her memory has been wiped clean. She's been convinced that Warrington has been some damn Romeo." Angelina grabbed one of the photo's Katie was looking at. "She has had the world at her fingertips. He worships her...gives her everything. I know Alicia was never superficial in the past, but this is what she knows now. If she wasn't happy with him now, modified memory or not, she would have left him. Its as simple as that."

Silence. Between the lot of them it never registered that Alicia could actually be happy. That even if she got her memory back and remembered them she could still stay with Warrington. The thought caused Katie to sigh, and suddenly she didn't feel like looking at Alicia's pictures anymore. Katie had been there the evening Alicia told George it was over. She had watched George hand her the heart shaped locket only to get it back in his hand within the next few seconds. It was a devastating event, and Katie didn't know whether she was supposed to scream how stupid Alicia was being, or let her friend make her own mistakes.

"We still need to know. We need to try. I...I love her. I have been in love with her for nearly my entire life. I can't just step down. I thought she was dead...I won't lose her again." George wiped his right hand across his face. "I won't." His words came out desperate, and he wasn't sure if he was declaring war against Warrington or trying to convince himself that he could get her back. Either way he still needed to try. He needed to know.

Fred however understood this torment and placed an arm around his twins shoulder. " we don't plan on conceding, mate." He looked between his friends. " We want Alicia back just as much as you do."

There was a mutual nod, and Katie felt the need to get the somber looking bunch out of the cottage. "Hungry?" She questioned.

"This is why I married you. Always know when to bring up eating." Lee grinned.

"Katie's right. We should drop this right now and get some food in our system. Maybe then we will be able to think of some sort of plan." Angelina moved across the room and grabbed her coin pouch and cloak.

"We know this really nice place in town. Maybe if we are lucky we will just run into Alicia there." Katie piped up again.

"Or maybe if we are really lucky we will run into Warrington. " The glimmer of hope that surfaced on Fred's face was enough to turn the heavy moment into a much lighter one.

"Now that would be something I'd give my right arm for." Angelina returned at Fred's side and linked her fingers in with his. The group of them exchanged smirks, but kept their mouths shut. For some reason none of them could find any better way to express the anger they had towards Cassius Warrington.

There was a scuffle for the remainder of their things, and an awkward silence while doing so. For some reason no one wanted to admit that Alicia could honestly be happy with Warrington. George understood why. He had been at the very core of the drama that year when Alicia went spiraling out of control. Hell, she had been one of the key factors as to why he left Hogwarts without worry. True he had the shop with Fred to get running, but when she had secluded herself from him and the rest of the world he felt like there was nothing else he could have possibly done. He remembered. Oh how he hated to remember, but it was something he could never forget. Every now and then it would show up in his dreams and replay like some sick twisted muggle movie. He hated it.

"Happy Birthday, Lici." He handed over a small velvet black box with a cocky grin plastered to his face. She looked at him silently and then slowly reached out to take the box within her own hand. There was a soft click and the black box opened up revealing a simple gold heart locket looped upon a delicate chain. He had spent most of his savings to get it for her knowing very well that she had been fawning over it in Hogsmeade for the last two months. He just didn't understand why she looked so upset while looking at it. "It's that locket you wanted from Hogsmeade. Remember?" He prompted her as though hoping it would jog her memory and make her smile. Why was she looking at it so funny?

" I - I can't …" Her words broke off and faded into the stillness of the night.

There was a soft crunching of leaves behind him, but George didn't bother looking over his shoulder. He honestly didn't care what may have been lurking behind him. "You can't what?" He tried to catch her eye but she had turned away so quickly.

"I can't accept this, George. I can't…" She held out her hand and placed the now closed velvet box into his hand again. There was another cry that slipped through her parted lips and she brushed her hand over her mouth as if trying to muffle it.

At first he had fallen speechless. Why was she returning something he had bought her? He loved her, and she loved him. Didn't she? "Why?" It came out so soft that he wasn't sure she would even hear it.

"I …George….I just can't. You don't understand. You don't know who I am or where I come from or what my family is. George I can't be with you. I can't be with anyone who doesn't understand me!" The tears she had tried to suppress were now running like waterfalls down her cheeks. He wanted to reach out and brush them away, but he knew what was coming. He knew it and he hated her for it. It was the only time he had ever felt such hatred for her.

"I understand you! What do you mean I don't know who you are? Alicia you've been acting so strange this entire year! What is it? Tell me and we will get through it!" He wanted to slap her wildly across the face, but couldn't bring himself to do it. If Angelina had been there she would have done it without a moments hesitation.

"No you don't! You don't get it, George! The scars, the bruises…the secluded life I live when I go home on holiday! You ask me all the time! You wonder where I am…don't you? Always asking me why I n ever return owls! Don't you get it!" She was screaming at him now. Her eyes were so watery he couldn't tell whether or not she could even see him standing inches from her face. "You all pretend like you know me. You think I'm some wholesome little thing that just gets good grades and plays Quidditch. You don't know! You don't know who he is! What he does!"

The noise behind them had grown louder, and the next thing George knew he was staring across at a tall brooding figure. "Alicia!" It was Warrington's voice that had cut through the thick moment between them.

Alicia glanced once between George and Cassius, and then dropped her head towards the floor. "It was my father, George. He was the one who murdered those muggles for their money. He was the one who gave me the bruises and the scar on my face. He's been the one locking me away every holiday to keep my away from filthy blood traitors." She choked. "My father…." Her voice dropped even lower, and she brought her eyes back up to his. "He was a …is a …" She didn't have to say it. He knew what she was insinuating, and George had nearly vomited at the thought. After all the years of wondering why Alicia was always so defensive. Why he always wondered where her wounds had come from. It all made sense to him now. Her father was a follower of the Dark Arts. He was a Death Eater, and Alicia was subject to misfortune all because she wasn't living in the image her father had predicted. She was a Gryffindor. She was a traitor.

She had told George that she had recently found a friend who lived the same sort of life she did. She had mentioned that her new friend was subject to the same things she endured. He had always expected it to be some silly girl who just had overbearing parents. He had never thought it was something this extreme. Something so horrid that he hadn't been able to pick up on it. He wasn't able to save her from it. Instead it was Warrington. He had somehow stepped between them and pushed George away like he was some sodding animal. It was Warrington who knew the truth about her all along. It was Warrington that understood her. It was Warrington that had touched her in a way that he would never be able to touch her. All because Warrington lived the same bleak life she had lived. "Come on, Alicia." Cassius took her shaking figure and began guiding her back towards the castle. The silence in the air was thick enough to suffocate anyone, and George heard Alicia gag.

How could she do this to him? How could she so easily walk away from him and everything they had gone through? Warrington. He had hated the bloke before but now he felt as though he'd like nothing more then to crush him with his own bare hands. "Alicia…Lici…" He had called her by that nickname so many times before and now it sounded so foreign. She didn't turn towards him. Instead it was Warrington who glanced over his shoulder and shot George a look of triumph. He had known from that split second that Warrington wasn't after Alicia because he cared about her. HE could see it in the slimy gits eyes. There was something deeper behind his motives, and George, despite his broken heart, wouldn't rest until he figured it out.

"Is he dead?"

There was a hard punch against his arm, and George felt himself jump slightly in his place. Had he really zoned out for that long? Exchanging looks between the group of his friends he noticed that they had somehow managed to arrive at one of the smaller pubs in the town. Merlin he must have been completely out of it. Reliving those moments from his past always sent him into another realm of consciousness. "Hey…" He glanced at Fred who was winding up for another punch.

"Nope he's not dead." Lee turned towards the girls who were taking a seat at one of the back booths.

"You didn't have to hit me." George rubbed at the spot and then quickly wound back and slammed Fred in the arm. A smirk triggered at his lips and before Fred could retaliate he took off towards the booth the girls were at.

"If you two brawl right here in the pub would you mind if I did a bit of commentating?" Lee, who had already bought them drinks at the bar, chuckled as he slid in next to Katie.

"Only if you point out what a miserable punch Fred packs." George reached over for one of the spare drinks and brought it towards him.

Scowling under his breath, Fred tipped back the bottle and took a swig of the drink. "Well I'm sorry that you were off in deep space twelve, but we wanted to sit and eat. What the bloody hell were you thinking about anyway? You looked absolutely miffed."

Did he dare confess the memories that were plaguing him? It was bad enough that they had spoke so much about the past at the cottage. Listening to them sigh and moan over more hurtful moments he shared with Alicia would only send him into daze. So he shook his head as though untouched by Fred's question. "I'm just exhausted is all. I haven't really slept in the last few days since getting here. Which I still owe you a thank you for Angelina. " He smirked. "Next time you want to send me on vacation why don't you place me in a caged ring with a mountain troll." They all laughed which eased the tense emotions from earlier.

A funny looking man came scampering out from behind the bar and came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the table. While handing out a few menus he started babbling in German causing the five of them to furrow their brows in confusion. Not really sure how to handle the situation George just looked down at the menu, which was also in German, and then looked back up at Katie and Lee.

"You two lived here for almost the whole summer. Can't you speak German?" George hissed while the waiter continued to speak.

Lee, placed a hand against his chest and made a face as if he was horribly insulted. "You expected me to actually learn something while vacationing?"

"Merlin forbid…"Katie mumbled.

" I was busy practicing my flying skills and sight seeing. We usually just solved the problem by doing this." Lee turned the menu up towards the waiter and just pointed to one of the dishes. Then silently he held up five fingers and pointed to each of them. The waiter nodded, collected the menus, and hurried back off towards the kitchens. "See…it's that easy."

Angelina slapped her hand against her forehead. "What if you just ordered something completely foul?"

"Well then we know not to point to that one next time." Lee puffed out his chest proudly. Katie just shook her head and dropped her face into her hands.

"He's all yours Kates…lucky woman you are." George grinned and brought his drink to his lips again.

There was a young couple at the table beside them, and George could tell that they were arguing about something that was making the witch livid. The best part about it was they were definitely from Ireland so the thick German accents weren't a factor. He hated to take his attention away from his friends, but listening in on other peoples problems was always such a riot. Besides, when he looked back at Fred and Angelina he could tell they had caught wind of the battle across the way and were doing their best to listen in. Leaning slightly to the right, George placed his chin in the palm of his hand and began straining to hear the couples argument.

"I said I'd go with you, but I am not staying for more than an hour!" The mans voice boomed with such a determined tone that Angelina had jumped slightly in her seat.

"This is the biggest event of the year, and we have been invited as special guests! I am not going to show up at such an event and then turn and walk out before the ceremonial renewing takes place. Do you have any idea how much I would be ridiculed at work?" She was waving something frantically back and forth, and the man quickly ripped it out of her grasp.

Lee had started to listen so intently that he fell out of the booth and hit the floor causing the couple to turn towards the group of them. When Lee just smiled sheepishly they went back at each others throats as though Lee had taken away precious moments of brawling.

"Listen Eileen! I understand that this is an extremely large event for you to cover, but don't you have any idea who these people are? I don't want to be associated with the Warrington's or the Flint's. Furthermore I hear the Parkinson's will be attending, and I don't want to get myself close to anyone who thinks half-bloods should be maimed." There was a cough that rose from Fred which caused the man to shoot a look towards the booth again.

"Then you don't need to come!" Taking the pink piece of parchment that was in his hand, the woman, whom they now knew as Eileen, tore the thing in half and threw it dramatically over her shoulder. "And furthermore…" she rose from her seat, " You do not need to come home with me either. If you can't make sacrifices for me then I will find someone who can. Goodbye Liam." There was a huff, a plea from the man, and a knocked over chair before a loud clink sounded from their own table. The food had been placed in front of them, but they all had managed to get caught up in lovers quarrel.

"Rough witch." Fred muttered while poking at the brown substance with his fork. "They were here to see Warrington. I wonder what for?"

George however had his eye on the ripped up piece of parchment that was on the floor. Disregarding Katie who had asked him to pass the salt, George slipped from his seat and picked up the two torn up pieces. He read it once, and then cursed, and then read it once again. Holding a piece in each hand, George slid back into the seat and placed the pieces of parchment down on the table. "Of all the luck that could have been bestowed on us." Pointing to the words he began reading out loud.

"You Are Cordially Invited
To a Formal Gala

Please Join Us

Alicia & Cassius Warrington

As we renew our wedding vows for our five year anniversary.

Please bring this piece of parchment for entry" George tapped the pieces of parchment and looked up at them. " I'm going to this."

"Yeah and I'm the King of Goblins." Fred took out his wand and charmed the invitation. It immediately mended itself and he lifted it closer to his face. "You can't go to this. If Warrington sees you he'd murder you on the spot."

"I don't care. I need to see Alicia. I need to get her out of that place! We need to talk to her, and this may be the only chance we get to do so." Leaning across the table he grabbed the invitation out of Fred's grasp. " She needs to see all of us, and if I go to this thing maybe I can get her alone for a little while."

"I think George had a point." Angelina, who was still playing with her plate of food, spoke up.

"Why thank you, Angelina." George smiled in her direction.

"But I think Katie should be the one going." She finished and placed her fork back on the table.

"What!" Both Katie and George yelled in unison.

"Hear me out before you both blow a fuse." Holding up her hand, Angelina took a sip of her drink and ran her tongue lightly over her bottom lip. "Look if George walks in there he's going to have about four seconds before Cassius, Flint or Daphne Greengrass catch sight of him. Who knows who else is going to be at this party. You heard what that witch said…even Parkinson will be there. One glimpse of George and any chance we have of speaking to Alicia will be thrown out the window. Katie on the other hand …" She turned her focus on her brunette friend, " has changed a lot since Hogwarts. You don't wear glasses anymore, and you cut your waist long hair to your chin. The blond locks are now brown and to be honest Katie you don't have that pudgy look to you anymore. If anything you'd be able to get into that party and swim under the radar a lot longer than George. You'd be able to find Alicia and talk to her. See if you can jog her memory, or even better you could get her out of the house and maybe go for a walk where we would so conveniently be waiting." Angelina nodded approval of her own idea and leaned back into her seat while the others just stared at her. "What?"

"I think that's brilliant." Lee agreed. When Katie shot him a look he put his arm around her and shook his head. "Katie just think about it. You would have such a better chance than any of us. Angelina couldn't go in there because Flint still recognizes her at Quidditch games when his team plays the Harpies. I certainly can't go because I am so devilishly good looking there is no way Greengrass would forget my face. Fred looks exactly like George so its like putting a bulls-eye target smack in the middle of his forehead…it only makes sense that you go sweetie."

"But I can't be discrete about anything!" Katie squeaked. " I can barely walk more than ten steps before I knock something over. And how am I supposed to initiate any sort of conversation with Alicia if she doesn't even remember me. Oh hey Alicia its nice to meet you by the way do you remember how we were best friends for six years? It wont work."

George sighed. "Yes it will." He didn't want to admit it, but it would work. Personally he knew he'd be better off going himself, but Katie would be less obvious in front of the familiar faces. "Katie you look a thousand times different than you did in Hogwarts. All you need to do is go in there and find Alicia. Pull he aside, pretend to be a reporter and ask her to step outside for some questions. She'll go with you. Alicia has too be a heart to dismiss your request. Just do that and we will wait outside for you. Once she's outside we can all question her…find things out."

"I just don't know." Katie looked at Lee and felt her eyes begin to well with tears. "Being sent into a house where there are potential Death Eaters and old rivals is too frightening for me to think about. What if I screw it all up?"

"Kate you are not going to screw it all up!" Angelina pushed her plate away and began rummaging in her pocket for some spare money. "Look lets pay for this brown stuff and get back to the cottage. We can work on a different look for you, and then flesh out a really good plan. The party is in a few days so we have more than enough time to figure things out. Ok?" Already placing money on the table, Angelina pushed Fred towards the side and ushered him to help her up.

"This will work, mate." Lee gave George a look when he noticed the worried expression creased on his face.

"I know it will….I just…" Following Angelina's lead, George placed money down on the table top and offered a friendly wave to the man behind the bar. "There are a hundred things going on inside my head, Lee. A hundred things that I never thought of because I didn't even think something like this was possible. There is so much we don't even know about Alicia…it's been five years mate. Five years!" Hurrying towards the door to catch up with the others, George shrugged. "Its just that all this is unraveling so quickly…and I'm afraid of how far its actually going to go." Bringing his hand up to his head, George pushed away his matted red hair. "What else are we going to learn?"

Lee shrugged and casually looked over at George. His hands were limp on the top of his head, and Lee was almost certain he could see his brainwaves moving a mile a minute. "I don't know, mate." His eyes caught sight of the odd freckle behind George's ear and he chuckled. "I mean we've already had the shock of our lives knowing she's alive and married to that prat. What else could we possibly find out that will shock us more than that?"

They were walking through the streets now, and George could tell that they were all looking at the passing people in hopes of catching sight of their sixth. He nodded at Lee's words, but remained quiet while his own eyes searched the crowded streets. A funny feeling crept up his neck and longer behind his ear for a moment causing him to reach back and scratch it away. "We'll probably get back home and I'll find out Ginny is preggers or something. That might actually kill me." He chuckled, which eased the tense look on Lee's face. Reaching back again he flicked at the freckle on his ear and followed the path back to the cottage.