Chapter 6
Could it possibly be true? I couldn't think of any other reason Lee would get so upset over Alicia going with Eric Hale. Unless Lee knew Eric was a murderer or something, but that seemed doubtful at best. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I was right. Lee must have a crush- a major one, it seemed like, on Alicia. I'd never seen a sign of it, but perhaps that was just because Lee almost always wore the same expression- happy and complacent. I turned to Alicia, waiting to see if she'd drawn the same conclusion, but she looked as confused as before. The Weasley twins entered the common room before I could decide whether or not I should say something.
"Hey, all," Fred called, as he and George made their way over to the chairs where Alicia, Katie, Leanne, and I were sitting. My heart beat slightly faster at the sound of his voice.
"Where were you two and Lee at breakfast?" George asked. He was looking at me almost sadly, but I was too wrapped up in thinking about Lee's outburst to really notice it. "Did you already eat, before us? Because if you didn't, it'll probably be gone soon."
Katie jumped up. "C'mon, Leanne, we'd better go eat; I'm starved." She turned to Alicia and me. "Are you two coming?"
Alicia shook her head.
"No," I answered. "I haven't eaten yet, but I want to talk to the twins for a bit first. See you later."
"Bye, then," Katie said. Leanne smiled at us as they walked away.
I turned to Fred and George."Did you hear Lee screaming just now?"
"That was Lee?" George asked, incredulous. "We could hear him all the way down the corridor, but we couldn't quite make out the words. We thought it was whoever had eaten the T-" He stopped in mid sentence with a slightly guilty look at Fred.
I rolled my eyes, but didn't bother to ask where they'd planted the Ton-Tongue Toffees. I'd find out soon enough, when some git was stupid enough to eat something lying around Gryffindor Tower. I'd already learned my lesson on the first day of term, when I'd accepted candy from Fred. Madam Pomfrey had not been pleased.
"Wait," George began, "He didn't eat anything, uh, funny, did he?"
"No," answered Alicia. "He got angry at me."
"Lee did?" asked Fred, surprised. "Blimey, I don't think I've ever heard him yell like that- not even at Quidditch matches."
The one thing Lee did get a bit riled was Quidditch, but then, everyone over got riled over Quidditch.
"What happened?" George asked.
Alicia shrugged. "Nothing, really, I don't know why he went off like that. I was talking to Leanne about who asked me to the Yule Ball, and Lee overheard me say that I was going with someone. Lee asked me who it was, and I said it was Eric Hale. Then, he got all mad, and started yelling. He said that Hale was a jerk and that we deserved each other." She all of this flatly, but I could tell she was upset.
"You're going with Eric Hale?" Fred asked, shooting a dark look at George.
"What?" I asked.
"Well," George began, "I don't know why Lee was yelling like that over that, but-"
"Hale is a bit of an idiot," Fred said flatly.
I could tell Alicia was getting less and less upset, and more and more angry. Trying to head off an argument, I said, "Okay, maybe he's a bit of an idiot, but he seems nice to me, really smart-" Hale wasn't my favorite person, but that was only because he was a bit boring and not funny at all.
George shook his head disgustedly. "That's just how he acts around people he wants to impress. He's a total suck-up. Around professors, older students, and cute," here he shot another odd glance at me, "Girls, he's the nicest bloke around, but when no one he cares about is watching him-"
"I've seen him bullying younger students, stealing things and the like. His best mate, that big bloke, Mason, does it too," Fred put in, with an uncharacteristically angry look on his face.
"He uses people all the time, to get help with homework, or more friends or whatever," George said.
I felt slightly sick. Lee saying Hale was a jerk was one thing; if he was jealous of Eric, he'd have a reason. The twins saying Eric was a bully and a suck-up was quite another. I was too upset about this new development on Eric to be flattered that Alicia and I had apparently both been branded as "cute girls."
Alicia didn't appear flattered either. The hurt and bewilderment in her face when Lee had yelled at her had been replaced with anger.
"Oh, shut it, both of you, why don't you mind your own business!" Alicia said angrily to the twins, her voice getting louder with every word. She was talking more slowly as well, which is always a danger sign. It's a funny thing about Alicia- she talks fast normally, very fast sometimes, but when she gets angry, she slows right down.
"All of you- telling me my date is a jerk, but he only acts that way around you. I wonder why?" she said sarcastically, now getting into her stride. The few people who weren't down at breakfast were staring shamelessly. The twins were gaping at her, as though she was a particularly nasty Howler from their Mum. I wondered if Lee could hear her up in his dormitory. Probably.
"What do you care who I go out with anyway? Just mind your own business and LEAVE ERIC AND ME ALONE! Plenty of people- PLENTY OF PEOPLE- would say the two of you are jerks. And him!" she pointed in the general direction of Lee. She was getting angrier every second.
"Alici-" Fred began, but she cut him off with an angry glare.
"But I still hang around with you; I never said anything when Ange agreed to go with you!"
That wasn't true or fair. Alright, Kenneth Towler had never quite forgiven Fred for putting Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas, but hardly anyone thought they were jerks. I wished she would just shut up. I understood why was she was angry, I suppose I'd be a bit peeved too if someone told me Fred was such an awful person (I guess I was, in fact), but still. Couldn't she see we were trying to help her? That Eric was the bad guy here, not us? But I knew what she was feeling. She wanted so badly to believe Eric was perfect for her. It was easier for her to believe that the twins and Lee were the ones who were wrong, especially after Lee had screamed at her.
She was still ranting. The twins made several attempts to stop her, but she ignored them and soon they fell silent. I didn't even try. With Alicia, you have to just let her get it all out, and then wait a bit for her to cool down. Then you can talk to her. She was almost done now anyway.
"-YOUR OWN BUSINESS! I'M GOING WITH ERIC, AND THAT- IS- THAT!" With that, she stormed away, back to our dormitory. I had a weird feeling of déjà vu.
Fred watched her go. "She didn't have to get so mad about it. I swear, Angelina," he turned to me, "I was only telling the truth."
"I believe you," I sighed, "But try to see it from her point of view. Imagine someone told you that, that I was a jerk and that I bullied first years. What would you do?"
He grinned. "I'd smile and say, 'Thanks, but I already knew that.'"
"Oh, ha ha," I said sourly, as the git and his twin laughed. I wasn't really upset, though. Actually, I was quite happy. I had been a bit worried that things would be very awkward between Fred and me, now that we were sort of dating. But, really, things were the same as ever. It was wonderful.
"Seriously, though, Ange," George said, sobering, "Why would she get so upset at Fred and me? I mean, why would we lie to her?"
"And why was Lee so upset before?" Fred asked. "I don't love the idea of Alicia going with Hale myself, but you don't see me screaming about it."
I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I wondered that myself. And then, I thought that, that maybe Lee, you know, was jealous of Hale."
"You think he likes Alicia?" Fred said, frowning.
"I suppose you two would know better than I would," I said. "But it would make sense, don't you think? If he wanted to go with Alicia, it'd make him mad when he heard she was already going with someone, wouldn't it? Especially if it was someone he really didn't like. I think he might have been planning to ask her this morning, actually."
George was nodding. "I never would have come up with that conclusion by myself, but, looking back, it does explain a few things. Like how he didn't want to give her a Ton-Tongue Toffee a few days ago. And… other stuff too, just small changes in the way he's been acting since they announced the Yule Ball."
"It doesn't explain why she was so angry at us, though," Fred said. "I mean, alright, I'd be a bit upset if someone told me y-, my date was a terrible person, but I've known, known you for years, so I'd know it wasn't true. If it was someone I didn't know so well, and my best mate told me that my date bullied first years, I'd be a bit worried!"
"Yeah," I said, "But I think the problem is that even though she doesn't know Eric very well, she kind of thinks she does."
"What do you mean?" George asked.
"I mean, she convinced herself that he is perfect for her! She's infatuated with him. Well, you've seen the way she looks at him."
"No," the twins said together.
"What?" I said, surprised. How could anyone miss it? "Well, you two aren't in Arithmancy, I suppose," I conceded. "But what about in mealtimes? Haven't you noticed she keeps glancing over at the Ravenclaw table?"
They both shook their heads.
"Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter," I said, plowing on. "Everyone in Arithmancy has noticed, even Hale, I think. What I'm trying to tell you is that I think she's set him up to be the perfect boy for her, because, well, he is, quite, um, quite good-looking, isn't he? She's never seen him bully people, or use them. Alicia thinks he's perfect, and she doesn't want to hear that he's not," I finished awkwardly. I was really wishing I hadn't said the part about Hale being good-looking, especially in front of Fred.
After a slight pause, I stood up. "I think I'll try to go talk to Alicia now. Breakfast is probably over anyway."
George had frowned suddenly; I stopped, and looked back, "What?"
"Well, I was just thinking," he said. "I just remembered that yesterday, in Charms, Patricia told me that Eric Hale had asked Kristen Doyle to the Yule Ball."
"Oh, yeah," said Fred, "I remember that too. She turned him down, though."
"Can't say that I blame her," I smirked.
"Yeah," George said. "But don't you think it's a bit odd, though, that he asked someone else so soon? I mean… if... I got turned down, I didn't want to ask anyone else to the Yule Ball."
"What do you mean you didn't want?" I asked.
"Who'd you get turned down by, George?" said Fred, grinning. "C'mon, you can tell us!"
"No, I can't. I mean, there's nothing to tell! I meant, I wouldn't want to ask anyone else."
"Okay," I said, not convinced. "I suppose you're right, it is a bit odd, but it's not criminal…. See you two later."
As I walked up to the girls' dormitories, I couldn't help but shake my head. What had gotten into everybody?
