Unexpected Things
KeysCanHurt: Haha =)) So does that mean I hold the key to your sanity? :P True that. You have it worse in Physics :P Haha, adorable Cookie and Hottie James =)) Yeah, she's somewhat improving... but... yeah :)) Is this soon enough? =)) It's sooner than two months at least :P
MalfoyMaiden: Haha :P =))
crazy-wee-cat: Lol, there's more Dirk here xD Thanks, cat :D
Zee: Haha, yeah. Totally right. Damn Physics. Thanks :D
jcmutt: thanks for Story Alert-ing
Special thanks to KeysCanHurt for helping me proofread.
Chapter Thirty
Truth or Dare?
The wind had become too strong for the Quidditch games to continue, so after Lily earned ten points for Green Team and having them win, they had to stop. It had also become uncomfortably cold. Snow was falling again too.
A lot of people were fetched by parents worrying about the weather. The rest went to the house in the field. Normally, it was just a storage shed, for brooms, old objects and the like.
But Aunt Hermione had turned it into a luxurious home on the inside, with food on a long table, cozy seats and a warm fire burning in the hearth.
Teddy and Victoire, who had been assigned by the parents the task of monitoring the party had been the ones to tell the players to stop the games. While Teddy and Victoire were being babysitters, Dad, Mum, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and others were having a reunion with the Dumbledore's Army back at the Potter's house.
Those children who had remained and were taking seats at the table were the Potters, the Weasleys(except for Dominique and Lucy and Molly, the former in a party for 'older people' and the latter because Molly was coming down with a cold and their parents had ordered them to come home and sleep early, Roxanne too wasn't feeling well, so Victoire made her sleep in a spare room), the Dursleys (surprisingly, Uncle Dudley wasn't coming for them already. Danny still looked tense, and kept asking his sister if she was feeling too cold. Marigold would irritatedly snap at him.), the Scamanders, Scorpius, Dirk (even more surprising that he stayed), Parkinson (Dirk had asked them to invite her, Al wondered if there was anything between the two.), Jacqui, Raph and Paula.
The tantalizing food prepared by Teddy and Victoire was enough to make them forget about their unfinished tournament.
"Now all of you behave, alright? No drinks, no drugs, no hexes, jinxes or curses." Teddy's turquoise hair was darkening at its spiky tips as Victoire wrapped her slender arms around one of his.
"We'll be in the other spare room if you need us." Victoire batted her long eyelashes at Teddy.
"What about you two eating?" Al asked them.
"We already ate." Teddy winked at them before kissing Victoire's cheek.
"Get a room!" James tossed a spoon at them.
The couple ducked before straightening up. "You heard him, Teddy." Victoire tugged on Teddy's shirt. "Let's go."
Letting out a playful growl, Teddy took Victoire's hand and led her over to another spare room. Victoire was giggling as she followed.
"They're so sweet!" Lily's trademark giggled followed the door closing behind Teddy and Victoire.
"Lily, you find a lot of things sweet." Rose commented. "You treat everything like some sort of dramatic love story."
"Do you think our children will be alright?" Hermione fretted.
"Hermione, don't worry! Teddy and Victoire're watching them!" Ron patted Hermione's cheek before taking another swig of firewhisky.
"That's the point!" Hermione's voice rose another pitch. "How can we be sure they're responsible enough to watch over not only our children but other peoples' children?"
"They're both of age." Harry reminded her gently.
"Still…" Hermione insisted.
"I can't help worrying. What about that boy they invited… Derek Crown?" Cho was worrying again.
"Dirk Kron." Harry corrected her.
"Kron?" Luna sounded as if she had just woken up. No surprises there. Luna was Luna. And that's what the DA and any friends of hers had come to love about her. "That name is familiar…"
"Jacqui told me he transferred from Durmstrang." Cho put on a disapproving expression when she said Durmstrang. "She's mentioned him a few times. He's in Slytherin." Cho looked directly at Harry. "Has Albus said anything about him? Or Malfoy's child, has he said anything?" Cho's tone was serious, and it became icy at the last sentence.
Earlier this evening, she had expressed her concern over her daughter's relationship with Scorpius. It annoyed Harry how she still had doubts about the Malfoys. And Ron's obvious relief that Scorpius wasn't Rose's boyfriend also wasn't something Harry approved of.
Ron had no idea though that his daughter wasn't single. Hermione made Harry swear to leave her with the task of updating Ron. She admitted that she wasn't comfortable with the idea of Rose seeing any boy, but she hadn't forgotten how, years ago, Ginny would rant about being suffocated by the Weasley family. That and how Hermione herself had been wise with the freedom and trust her parents gave her helped her decide to let Rose be.
"Al had admitted that he didn't know Dirk well, but Scorpius seems to be friends with the boy. And Al trusts Scorpius."
"Yes, but can we trust their judgement?" Angelina asked.
"Why are you so worried?" Hermione asked, looking at them accusingly. Harry decided against reminding her that earlier, she had been worrying about her children. "Is it just because he's from Durmstrang?" Now Harry knew where Hermione was coming from. She was still exchanging letters with Krum. Ron had complained about it a few times, but it didn't bother him as much as it used to since he knew Hermione and Viktor Krum were just friends. Krum was from Durmstrang, so Hermione would naturally be inclined to contradict whoever disapproved of the school.
"Don't they still teach the Dark Arts there?" Cho asked with a raised eyebrow.
"They paint dark paintingssh? I didnth know dumb strings were artisshtic!"
Harry and the rest of the DA members who came turned to stare at Ron.
The bottle he had been drinking from earlier was now empty.
"Ron, you had a little too much to drink." Hermione took the empty bottle from his hand, glared at it in disgust before setting it on the table, far from Ron's reach.
"What?" Ron looked at his wife, trying to appear innocent. "T'wasshh jusssht a few sips!"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley!"
"Whaaat?"
"We're not related to him." George said seriously.
"He was adopted." Ginny added.
Harry couldn't resist grinning in amusement.
A loud gasp silenced Ron and Hermione's bickering and stopped Cho, who looked like she was about to speak.
"I remember!" Luna exclaimed. "When our family was in Russia during the summer, we were looking for fork-taild havooyixies. It was on their news. The name Kron was mentioned. Rolf didn't understand much of the language, but he said it was about their deaths. Lorcan is good with languages. He picks things up quite quickly. He said that not too long before their deaths, they were in some sort of a fight with some other people… a gang, I think… I can't remember how they died though… or what the fight was about…" Luna trailed off, looking like she was thinking deeply.
When she gasped again, everyone leaned forward, eager to hear more of what she could recall.
"I'm supposed to meet Rolf! We're going to the Philippines to search for and meet a Manananggal! They can cut their own bodies in half and fly off, leaving their lower half and coming back for it later. It sounds very fascinating! Hopefully we'll meet one! Or maybe a whole pack! I should be fetching Lorcan and Lysander!"
Al, Lily, Hugo, Rose, Raph, Scorpius, Jacqui, Dirk, Marigold and Penny were seated on the floor, forming a circle, preparing for a game of Truth or Dare. James and Paula were still at the table. They never finished eating because they spent more time flirting, chatting with other people at the table, or whispering things to each other than eating. Fred and Luis didn't want to play, Al knew they were plotting possible pranks. Dobby Jr. joined the pranksters. Danny was in a corner trying to contact Uncle Dudley with a Muggle device called a selfown or something like that. Lorcan and Lysander were pacing restlessly, waiting for their mother to pick them up.
Lily, bubbly and excited as ever, piped up. "Let's start then!" while her right hand patted Cookie on her lap, her left spun the spoon in the center of the circle.
It pointed at Jacqui.
"Truth or Dare?" Lily asked.
"Truth." Jacqui answered brightly.
They were all going to ask a question, and she would pick which she was going to answer.
"Iv you had to choose between cursing or hexing Scorpius and kissing Vilch, vhat vould you do?"
Jacqui stared at Dirk with her mouth open, most of them did the same, before laughing. Al was was amused, and he began to wonder what he used to find so alarming about Dirk. Sure, the group he wanted to form was a bit… ambitious. But Al's own father, Harry Potter, did the same when he was in school. Now, the DA were respected heroes. Surely, Dirk's gang would mean no harm.
"If you were a vampire, who's blood would you suck?" Marigold asked in a dull tone. Her unpredictable mood and fiery temper were infamous, so no one laughed or commented.
Penny Parkinson took her turn to ask. "What's your darkest fantasy?"
The stare Jacqui gave her was more wide-eyed and open-mouthed than what she gave Dirk.
Al couldn't resist cringing and had a hard time not leaning away from her. What goes through Penny Parkinson's mind?
"I am NOT answering that." Jacqui's laugh was uncomfortable. "Al?"
His turn to ask. Al didn't know. He looked around for inspiration. "Would you join a group like Dumbledore's Army? Like your mum did? Why or why not?"
"Al! What kind of question is that?" Al shrugged as his sister shook her head disapprovingly. "I hope you pick this, Jacqui! List your crushes, past and present! Even the minor ones!"
"I might do that…" Jacqui said thoughtfully. "Hugo?"
"Uh… would you rather eat a live frog or kiss it?"
"Hugo!" Rose sounded like her mother. "That's disgusting!"
Most of the group reacted with amusement though.
"What if Scorpius gets dared to kiss someone besides you?" Rose's eyes widened the moment the question left her lips.
"What?!" Raph stared at Rose before looking at Jacqui. "What if Dirk kissed you?"
"Vot the hell?"
"Raph, are you insane?"
"Maybe." Raph hid behind a grin. He winked at Jacqui, who glared at him.
Rolling her eyes, Jacqui faced Scorpius.
"Actually, I want to know your answer to Lily's." Scorpius chuckled, but Al thught he sensed something was being hidden by his friend.
"Fiine." Jacqui took a deep breath, then exhaled. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She hugged her knees, and, staring at the floor, she mumbled. "When I was about ten… I idolized…" Al didn't hear what she said after, but Dirk and Scorpius did, and they reacted loudly with wide open eyes and mouths.
"What? Who?" Al asked, just as curious as everyone else.
"Your dad!" Scorpius was laughing now. Dirk, Penny and Marigold joined. Al exchanged looks of shock with Lily.
"Then in first year, I… sort of had a crush on you, Al."
"WHOA!" Now that was two surprises thrown at him in quick succession.
"Then I started liking Scorpius around the middle of first year-"
"Hahah! I remember that! We had to drag ye to 'im. It was hilarious!"
"No, it was humiliating! I still hate you for that, Raph." Jacqui stuck her tongue out at him.
"Love ya too, Jacqui." Raph laughed.
"Wait, so you've had feelings for Scorpius alone since your first year?" Lily looked and sounded like she didn't believe it.
"Well… I liked Tiberius McLaggen before he graduated. Then there was…"
"Iago Blair, the Ravenclaw Seeker." Raph added. "She liked him last year."
"I don't like him." Al heard Lily mutter.
"Yes, Raph. But I'm over him."
"Leonato Quirke. Ravenclaw Beater and Team Captain. She was crazy about him last year too, when she joined the team.
"Over him t-"
"Otto Wood. Brady Finnigan. She liked their hair."
"Raph, are you through?"
Raph tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I think that's it…"
His eyes suddenly widened. "This year! For a very short time, she had a crush on D-"
"Shush!" With surprising speed and agility, Jacqui leaped over Scorpius and landed on Raph, covering his mouth. A heavy thud was clearly heard as Raph's back and head hit the floor.
"Get off him!" Rose snapped. She was about to pull Jacqui off her boyfriend, but Raph told her not to.
"Relax, me thorny Rosie. Me'n' Jacqui always roughhouse." Raph didn't stay under Jacqui for long. He managed to wrestle her to the floor.
Now he was the one pinning her down.
"She liked Dirk!" Raph announced.
Jacqui had been trying to free herself, but after Raph's announcement, she stopped and admitted defeat.
"And how long was this?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jacqui avoided his eyes. "Less than a month. It was when you wouldn't talk to us. I tried crushing on others… and then I saw him swimming in the lake with Raph and Rose… and…" Jacqui's cheeks had turned noticeably red. "It didn't last long. Faded quickly."
" I see." Scorpius's tone was neutral, but it became threatening when he addressed Raph. "Would you mind getting off my girlfriend?"
The grin faded from Raph's face.
Wordlessly, he released Jacqui, who went back to her place before looking at Scorpius. "Are you mad?"
Scorpius shook his head, then smiled. Not for the first time, Al got the feeling that it was faked. He seriously had to talk to Scorpius. "I'm not. Your feelings for me were the longest anyway. Right?" He kissed her cheek.
Jacqui smiled back. "Right. And it's only you now."
Al wasn't sure but he thought a very brief negative emotion showed on Scorpius's face. But when Al blinked, Scorpius was grinning and holding Jacqui's hand.
At first Al thought it was sudden, but then he suspected it was because of the abundance of couples in the area… He found himself thinking of Demelza. She'd left already. How was she? Was she thinking of James right now?
"I'm vlattered." Dirk chuckled.
"Shut up, Kron." Scorpius said.
The door opened. Cold air and howling wind charged in.
Everyone looked to see who came in and found Mrs. Scamander with snow all over her hair and clothes. "Come, Lorcan, Lysander. It'll be warmer where we're going."
"Mum, what took so long?
"Dad didn't go ahead, did he?"
"He's still at home, waiting for us. We don't have time for riding or Floo Powder, so we're going to try Side-Along Apparition. Lysander first, you'll come with me. Then I'll be back for you, Lorcan."
Al didn't know the difference between the twins yet, and it was frustrating.
"But what did take you so long, Mum?" Lysander insisted.
"They were asking me about that Kron couple that died or were killed or something when we were in Russia last summer. Now let's go!" Lysander took hold of his mother's arm, and the two vanished.
Now, all eyes were on Dirk.
At the first mention of the name Kron, Al had glanced at Dirk and noticed him wincing.
Now, Dirk's eyes were narrowed and his expression had hardened. His eyes darted around, noting who were staring at him. "Vhat?"
"Wait… Kron! That---That's your name!" Lorcan gasped. "Were… were they your relatives?"
"My parents." Dirk's low, hostile tone made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it. There was anger in his voice… and there was a hint of pain too.
Lorcan didn't seem to notice. "Really? Whoa! In the newspaper, it said that earlier that week, they were in this fight with-"
"An argument that turned into a fight vit ruthless, scum-brained, idotic bastards who attack vhat they misunderstand and think they know all there is to know about meaningvul symbols!" Kron started with a soft tone that picked up speed and volume until he was yelling. The fury was clear in his eyes. His hands were tightly clenched fists. Crouched where he was, he looked ready to spring. A snake waiting to strike. Al hoped not at Lorcan.
It was suddenly completely silent. James and Paula were staring. Dobby Jr., Fred and Luis stopped laughing among themselves. Danny's sellfone was halfway to his ear.
Lorcan opened his mouth, maybe to apologize for bringing it up.
Mrs. Scamander reappeared before he could speak. "Thank you for inviting my sons." She cheerfully waved a hand then faced her son. "Let's go."
"But-"
"Your father and brother are waiting!" without another word, Mrs. Scamander took hold of her son's hand and Disapparated.
"Dirk…" Al wanted to offer comfort, but he wasn't sure how.
"I do not vish to talk about it." Dirk growled, focusing his glare on Al.
Al decided to say the same thing he said to Marigold before. "I'll…" He looked around him. "We'll respect your privacy."
Dirk's eyes roamed the area, before he eventually relaxed. "Thank you."
No one seemed to know what to say, for the silence had not left.
Eventually, those outside the circle resumed what they'd earlier been doing. James continued talking sweetly to Paula. The plotters resumed plotting. Danny's fingers were pressing buttons on the Muggle device.
But the circle was still quiet.
Finally, Lily broke the silence. "Do we… continue?"
"Yep." Marigold nodded.
"Sure!" Penny agreed.
"Why not?" Jacqui asked.
They each voiced their agreement, even Dirk.
"Alright then…" Jacqui spun the spoon.
It stopped at Dirk.
They looked at Dirk expectantly.
"Dare." A smile tugged at Dirk's lips.
"Woohaha! I'm gonna think up somethin' real good fer you, Kron!" Raph had the same expression James had when scheming.
"Snog someone in this circle." Marigold was smiling, indicating being in a good mood.
"Snog two girls in this circle." Parkinson really was starting to freak Al out.
"Vhat do you take me vor? Someone who takes advantage of girls all the time?"
"Maaaybe." Penny spoke teasingly.
"Madam Parkinson, may I remind you ov vhat others think ov you?" Dirk matched her tone.
"Hug Penny." It was the first thing that popped into Al's mind, and he blurted it out.
"Hug that? No! He's not my type!" Penny shook her head, glancing at Dirk with a disgusted expression before looking at Al. "No, Albus! Ew."
"I thought you two were together!" Hugo gaped in disbelief.
"We're not! Who gave you that idea?"
"Al."
As Penny and Dirk glared at him, Al nudged his sister. "What's your dare for him, Lily?"
"Sing!"
"No! I haff a terrible voice!"
"Stand on the table and dance in front of James and Paula!" Hugo laughed.
"No." Kron shook his head. He looked at Rose. "Rose?"
"Wrestle with Jacqui. If Raph can do it, why can't you?" Rose sounded like she was challenging Dirk. Probably, she hadn't forgiven Jacqui for pouncing on Raph.
"No. I vould rather not strike her. Or treat her roughly." The look Dirk gave Raph showed disapproval.
Raph didn't seem to notice, since he went and said the dare he had been waiting to say. "Walk in on Teddy and Victoire!"
"Noo!" Dirk frowned. "McCartney, you just gave me a mental image I vould rather not haff gotten. And I need not see it in real life vit my own eyes."
"Do the singing dare Lily said." Jacqui suggested.
Dirk was silent, looking at each of them with a thoughtful expression. Al saw a smile threatening to change his straight face. Dirk was enjoying putting them through the suspense, no doubt.
"Well? What're you going to do?" Lily was the first to crack.
"Patience, patience," Dirk drawled. "I am veighing my options."
They waited.
Dirk eased out of his sitting position into a crouch, then he crept to the center of the circle.
He looked around, then moved towards Rose.
Al didn't miss how Raph frowned while Rose leaned backwards.
But Al didn't expect what Dirk did next.
Instead of kissing Rose, like Al had suspected he would, Dirk went straight to Jacqui, put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her full on the lips.
"DIRK!" Al couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"He did my dare!" Marigold whooped triumphantly.
Just as Dirk pulled away from Jacqui and took his hands off her face, the door opened again, and someone with messy red hair staggered in.
Uncle Ron shut the door behind him and waved at them. "Wheresshh Vicky and Tedoire… I mean… Viddy and Tictoire…. Or… no… that's not right…. Veddy and Licoure… no…"
"Teddy and Victoire?" Rose said helpfully.
"Yes! Them!"
They pointed at the door to the room.
"Alrightee!" Uncle Ron walked unsteadily to the door, opened it, and yelled.
Victoire's scream and Teddy's shout followed.
Uncle Ron slammed the door shut.
Stiffly, but with a lot more balance than earlier, he walked back towards them. "Erm… The Dursleys arrived to pick up their kids. Cho's leaving soon, Jacqui, she's Apparating here in a while. Erm… basically… party's over." Then Uncle Ron's voice lowered to a whisper. "I think it's best we don't mention this to people… alright?"
It's like 2:30 am here, sorry for any typos and stuff I might have missed xD
Oh, and yeah, I couldn't resist giving mah country a mention :P I thought Luna might be fascinated by Manananggals xD
Mrah. Was this chapter surprising or predictable? xD Oh, and I think this is the longest yet.