Untitled
It had been over a week since that kiss between George and Alicia had happened. Her ankle was now fully healed and she had no trouble walking. It was Sunday and she was going to spend the day at the library, she had easily gotten of work today, said that she was sick, which was a lie, but a necessary one.
She locked the door to her flat and turned around to walk down the stairs.
"Leesh…" she heard somebody call for her as she stepped onto the first step.
"Hi Oliver." She said to the owner on the voice.
"Hey, what are you doing?" He walked up to her and fallowed her down the stairs.
"I'm going to the library." She answered.
"Okay." He said and continued to follow her down the street.
"Why are you following me?" She asked him but didn't stop walking.
"I don't know, I just don't have anything else to do today." Oliver answered.
"Don't you have anything Quidditch related to do?"
"No, but now that you mention it." He said smiling and started talking about some Quidditch move he had been practicing on, and if you know Oliver, you will know that when he starts to talk about Quidditch, there's nothing in the whole wide world that will stop him.
Alicia, who was interested in Quidditch, but not that interested, listened to him for about ten minutes, but the stopped.
"Are you done talking?" She asked him and stopped outside an old and worn out Muggle bookstore after they had walked for about half an hour.
"Are we at the London Wizarding Library yet?" Oliver asked and looked around.
"Have you ever been there before?"
"No, I don't really need to." He responded with a smirk. "I'm a Quidditch-player you see, we are not so academically."
"We are here." Alicia responded and walked into the Muggle bookstore.
"We are? But this can't be…" Oliver started and followed her into the bookstore. The bookstore was very small and impossibly couldn't contain all the millions of books that all of their teachers had said that the London Wizarding Library contained.
"Who have actually been at the library? You or me?" Alicia smiled back at him. "Just follow me and watch in awe." She turned and walked over to the counter where an old bored looking wizard sat. "Hello Daily." She said to the old wizard and put up her wand.
"Hello." The wizard answered bored and took the wand and put it under some sort of scanner. After two seconds and the machine made a low beeping noise, the old wizard looked down at the screen and then up at Alicia. "Clear." He muttered and gave Alicia her wand back, and then turned his attention toward Oliver.
Alicia also looked impatiently at Oliver. "What?" Oliver said confused when he noticed that both of them were staring at him.
"You wand." Alicia said.
"Oh, you want me to do that to." Oliver responded and put up his wand.
The old wizard didn't change his bored expression when he took Oliver's wand and put it under the scanner. "You got to be the first Quidditch-Player to be into the library in ages." The old man muttered and gave Oliver his wand back.
"Really?" Oliver responded with a hopeful face.
"No." The old wizard said in the very same dull tone. Which reminded Alicia strongly about the tone that Snape had when a Gryffindor asked him something, but when she thought about Snape she started to think about the ear-less George, which just made her depressed again.
"So what are you going to do? Study?" Oliver asked Alicia when they had gone into the back of the store and through the entrance to the London Wizarding Library, which was hidden in a hanging carpet on the wall in the back of the storage. You just simply walked though the carpet, it felt a little like walking thought a ghost.
"That is the idea, yeah." Alicia answered and opened the door the lead to the actual library.
"Wow." Oliver said quietly to himself and looked around in the library. It had a high sealing and hundreds, maybe even more, bookshelves. In the sealing, fake sunlight came in though painted glass, which resembled different characters from well known children stories. They didn't move though, but it was still beautiful to look at. The actual library was divided into three levels, but in the middle of it all, and where they had come in, it was rounded through all of the three stores and it was above that rounded part of the library that the glass sealing was. Also in the rounded part, there was the main desk, a round main desk. Where two witches sat, one of them was reading the latest issue of the Daily Prophet and the other was sorting books.
"I never knew that this place could be so amazing." Oliver said in awe, still looking around.
"That he says before even looking at the books." Alicia muttered to herself amused, walked up to the third floor and found Percy.
"Hey Leesh, what took you so long? I have been sitting here half an hour, you know." Percy said to her when he looked up from his book.
Alicia sighed and pointed toward Oliver, and Percy got an understanding look at his face. The two of them sat down.
"Do they really mean that they have every yearbook from Hogwarts?" Oliver asked, he had apparently taken one of those information papers from the main desk.
"I think so yes." Percy answered. "Maybe not every yearbook, but at least since our parent's years at Hogwarts, why don't you go and find out?"
"Great idea Perce, I forgotten how smart you are." Oliver said and left the two of them.
"So, Leesh. How much do you remember from the self-transfiguration classes at school?" Percy asked her, Alicia had a two parchment essay about self-transfiguration to hand in on Monday. She had first asked Tonks to help her, but Tonks didn't have to do it since she was a metamorphmagus. So Alicia had to go to Percy for help.
"Nothing, practically, I was busy staring at your brother." She answered truthfully.
"You actually managed to be behind my brother in class?" Percy lifted one of his eyebrows to look at her, knowing that Fred, George and Lee always sat at the back of every class.
"Nope, I was staring at his face." She answered with a sweet smile.
Percy looked her for a few seconds before starting. "So, the basic ground in self-Transfiguration is…"
"Look what I found." Oliver said excited when he returned to their table about an hour later. "Interesting yearbooks." He smiled and put down several books on the table.
"Fun." Alicia said sarcastic as she took one of the books and started to look inside it. "Hey, this is the one from fifth year." She said smiling and looked at the yearbooks year.
"Seventh." Percy corrected her, also looking at the year of the book.
"What?" She looked up from the book. "Oh… It's from when the two of you were in your seventh." She remembered that both Oliver and Percy were two years older than her. "I… Was in my fifth." She turned back her attention toward the book. "Oh look here's our Quidditch photo, I look so horrible." She said, not even trying not to do the so stupid chick cliché. Complaining on herself.
"Then look at this Quidditch photo?" Oliver handed her another book. It was a Quidditch photo of the Gryffindor team, they were holding up the cup. Apparently winning it from the first time in a very long time, since the whole team had smiles on their faces that was didn't gave the sign; 'Oh, we won it again.'
"Is that also our team?" Percy said after just giving the photo a glimpse.
"No, it's from when my uncle was at Hogwarts." Oliver said. "And look who are at the seekers place." He pointed toward it.
"Well, he kinda looks like Harry Potter." Percy said, not looking at the picture any longer than last time.
"Kinda look like?" Alicia started at Percy in disbelief. "He's a spitting image. James Potter, seeker." She read at the bottom of the picture. "That's Harry's dad." She added quietly to herself, biting at her lip as she started at the Harry's 14 year old dad, thinking that it really is unbelievable that a son can look so much like his father.
"Can you really believe that my uncle have been playing at the same team as James Potter, Harry's dad. It's cool." He said smiling.
"Sure." Alicia replied. "Why did you bring the other books?"
"Well, it has pictures of people we know. Like this one." He took up a book that's got to be from about Twenty five year ago. "This one is from when your dad and my dad graduated." He showed Alicia the picture of the Gryffindor Graduates. "According to what I read in this book... our fathers were like me and Perce. Head boy and Quidditch Captain. It's funny actually; maybe you and I, Leesh are destined to hate each other."
"If I would be like my dad, I wouldn't play Quidditch." Alicia said with a smirk. "My dad hates Quidditch."
"My dad was really surprised when I told him that I got you on my team." Oliver said, remembering. "He started laughing, asking me if I was joking, telling me that there was no chance in hell that Johnny Spinnet's Daughter would play Quidditch."
"My dad was a little pissed of with me for playing at the Team. But he eventually came around." She smiled.
Oliver smiled. "There's Charlie." He smiled and showed Alicia another book and another picture of the Gryffindor graduates. At the mentioning at Percy's second oldest brother's name, he looked up from his book and over at his brother.
"Ah..." Alicia said happily. "There's Tonks." She said and pointed on a mousy girl at the Hufflepuff picture.
"Tonks?" Oliver said confused. "Who's that?"
"She is that Auror who's married to the werewolf." Percy said matter-of-factly.
"Still doesn't ring a bell." Oliver answered. "What werewolf?"
"You know Perce; He's a lot more than just a werewolf." Alicia snapped at him. "It's not like he choose to become one."
"But denying it and trying to be a normal person, is something he has chosen." Percy answered back.
"But at least he's not killing, he's far better than Fenrir Grayback." She snapped, she got really mad at Percy for being such a bigot. "And you can't really blame him for trying to act like he's normal. You stupid people at the stupid Ministry have put up all of these stupid restrictions against half-breeds. He can't even get a job nor do anything at all."
"Well you really can't blame them. Just look at Dumbledore, He put him up as a teacher." Percy snapped back. "Amongst kids, children! Do you know how badly that could have turned out?"
"It turned out great." She responded. "He was the best teacher we ever had. Would you rather have Umbridge as a teacher? Or Mad-Eye? I remember that you liked Lupin as a teacher!"
"There was nothing wrong with Umbridge." Percy also started to get mad. "But your stupid Orders precious Harry Potter put up a living hell for her. All he had to do was listen to her, just be out of her way, ignore, but no... He had to go against her. Starting up secret clubs, and riots."
"He's not the only one that went against her and wanted to start riots."
"Right, let's not forget 'The Great Weasley Escape.'" Percy added sarcastically.
"Do you really know how badly it was?" Alicia continued, ignoring him. "You really can't blame him for starting the DA. Almost the whole Wizarding Society was denying that You-Know-Who had ever come back, and he was just trying to make sure that we weren't the next one to die like Cedric Diggory." She put a hard emphasis on the word die and paused a moment to breath, she waited for Percy's come back, but there wasn't one. They just stared at each other.
Percy had changed a lot since school, but he still was that little control freak, wanted everything to be under his control. They usually got along great, but when one of them mentioned something that had to do with either the Order or the Ministry, they could start to yell at each other.
Percy knew well that Alicia was involved with the Order. But the two of them rarely talked about Politics. Both of them were faithful to their sides.
"So..." Oliver said, who had been listening to the whole discussion from were he sat. "This Tonks, she's married to our old Professor Lupin?" He continued, hoping that they wouldn't start again. Since Oliver was not involved with the Order or the Ministry, he was like a middle persona between them. If he wasn't there they could stop talking to each other for day's at the time.
"Yes." Alicia answered short.
"Okay, that's nice for her. Do any of you have anything else to do today, except sitting here?" He asked, trying to change subject. Hoping that sitting in the library wasn't their only Plan, he didn't want to leave alone, he got creped out by the old Wizard Daily
"What in the Merlin's name are you two shouting about?" The librarian that was sorting books by the desk earlier came up to them and asked. Neither Percy nor Alicia had realized that they had spoken in such a loud tone.
"Politics." Percy answered her.
"Bullocks." The librarian answered. "I don't really think three good looking 20 year olds would sit here and argue about politics. I think that you have to come up with a better excuse." She frowned at them and left.
"If you two excuse me, I have to go and do something." Alicia muttered when the librarian had disappeared. "But I'll be back." She took the year book with their Quidditch photo and the one with Harry's dad.
She walked down to the first floor and over to the copy room. It was forbidden to copy from a book that belonged to the library by yourself. "Hello." She said to the young wizard behind the desk in the copy room. "I'd like to copy a photo, two photos actually."
The wizard sighed and got up from where he had sat and lazed himself. He took the books from Alicia.
"You mean these two Quidditch photos? Of Gryffindor?" He muttered, not looking at her.
"Yes." Alicia answered.
"That will be four knuts." He muttered and Alicia paid him for the copies.
When Alicia came back to the table, Percy and Oliver sat by the table and smiled at something that Oliver just had said.
"We have absolutely nothing to do." Oliver said honestly, when Alicia put back the books and sat down.
"Well I need to get a dress for the day after tomorrow, so I could really need a guy's perspective." Alicia answered. Remembering that she had made a silent promise to herself to make George envious, and also making him realize what a catch she was, even though she knew that would be near impossible with all those veelas around.
"Are you going to try the new special-occasions dress robe store in Diagonally?" Oliver said.
"Yeah I was thinking that." She smiled. "Don't forget to return the books Oliver."
When the three of them later walked down the main street of Diagonally, Oliver asked Alicia if she had heard anything from Angelina.
"No, neither of us has been so friendly with each other since the start of seventh year." Alicia sadly informed him; during her last year at Hogwarts she had been avoiding Angelina, Katie, Fred and Lee, which had caused a big interruption in their friendship. "I'm not such a big fan of the word, 'staying in touch'. Everything that happened the year before with George was just to haste, neither of us thought about how it would complicate things if we broke up. Besides, Angelina and I have never really been the best of friends." She rambled on, but later regretted that she said that.
"Okay." Oliver answered, by the time that they came to the shop. "What kind of dress are you looking for?"
"I don't know really, I want something that will make him go… 'Oh'." Alicia said looked around in the store.
"Can I help you with something?" A woman in her thirties came out into the main shop and asked.
"Yes." Alicia said and walked up to her. "I need a dress, something nice to wear at a… Wedding."
"Oh, you are one of the guests to the Weasley-Delacour wedding?" The woman asked.
"Yes." Alicia answered and glanced back at Percy who had lowered his eyes to the ground. Alicia remembered that Mrs. Weasley had almost forced her little to come. She didn't know what had hit Mrs. Weasley, but she seemed so desperate to get Alicia so close to George as possible. But to anyone to think that she and George would ever get back together again was just ridiculous.
"That Wedding has given us some good customers." The woman continued. "I'm Ms Parkman, by the way." She reached out her hand to Alicia.
"Alicia Spinnet." She took the hand.
"So Miss Spinnet, what color would you like to have?"
"I don't know… black maybe." Alicia answered, she had always liked to wear black, the most people, Mica mostly, had nagged at her that it didn't go with her hair color. But she simply ignored it.
"Leesh, you can't wear a black dress at a wedding, you are going to look like you are going to a funeral." Oliver protested from were he had been looking at different dresses. "Thinking about that you are a blond, you should probably wear a blue or possibly a vine-red dress." Oliver continued. "Maybe even a nice yellow/golden colored dress, but lighter and glassier than the Hufflepuff Quidditch robes."
When Oliver had stopped talking and turned around toward the three others in the room holding out a thin green dress, he met three looks. "What?" He asked.
"Nothing." Alicia answered. "I just didn't know that you were so feminine."
"Well Mr…" Ms Parkman said smiling to Oliver.
"Wood." Oliver answered.
"Mr. Wood, you seem to have a great eye for colors." She said, and walked over at him to look at the dress he held out to Alicia.
"Thanks." Oliver said. "What?" Both Alicia and Percy were looking funny at him. "I got two sisters you know." He defended himself. "And four women in my Quidditch team." Reminding them that Puddlemere United was one of the few mixed teams left.
"This dress would look perfect with your figure." The shop clerk said and examined the dress.
"What about the dress you wore at the Yule Ball? It looked nice." Percy said. At Yule Ball had Alicia wore a very light lavender-blue dress, which went all the way down to the floor.
"No." Alicia shook her head. "I don't think that I really want a dress that goes all the way down to the floor, besides, he has already seen that dress."
"So this is about a guy, huh?" Ms Parkman said. "Why don't you go and try out this dress, and we'll start there?" She pointed toward a dressing room at the other end of the room.
"Wow." Oliver said impressed when Alicia came out of the dressing room, dressed in the green dress. "Aren't you afraid that you are going to look prettier than the bride?" He asked her with a smirk.
"Have you seen Fleur?" Alicia asked him. "She's a part veela, so she and her French bridesmaids will stun everybody with their beauty. I'll be surprised if anyone even notices me." She added sadly, hoping that George won't be one of the boys who were going to be drooling over the bridesmaids. "I feel so naked in this dress." She added. Since the material of this dress was made in silk, it felt really thin.
"You look great, but I think that this one will fit your figure and both hair and eye color better." Ms Parkman said and held out another dress. "I think that I have a pair of high healed shoes that will go perfect with the dress." She said before disappearing into the back room.
"How many dresses do I have to try?" Alicia muttered to herself and walked back into the dressing room.
"Oh look, there's Fred." Oliver mentioned when he looked out the window and saw Fred walking up toward the shop.
Percy, who still remembered how well it had turned out between the two of them last time they had met, didn't want to meet Fred. So he got panicked and tried to think of a place to hide.
"Percy!" Alicia said in shock and pulled up her dress when Percy had joined her behind the curtain. "What the hell!!"
Percy tried the hardest he could to repress that he just had walked in on Alicia in her underwear. He put a finger over his lips to tell her to be quiet.
"Hey Fred!" They could hear Oliver from the other side of the curtain. "How are you?"
"Wood, what are you doing here?" The excited and happy voice of Fred also came from the other side of the curtain.
"Oh, I'm a… a…" Oliver stuttered out. "Just helping a friend picking out a dress." He then answered shortly. "What about you? Are you also picking out a pretty dress to wear?" Oliver joked.
Fred laughed. "If there's somebody who is wearing a dress it's Ron." Remembering that it was Ron who wore a dress at the Yule Ball.
"Yeah, I heard about that." Oliver laughed. "I mean really, what brings you to just this shop?"
"Well, you probably heard about that Bill is getting married." Fred started.
"Yeah I heard that."
"So, I'm here to pick up those poncy dressing robes to us men."
"Okay. Well, good luck with that. And say hello to George and everyone for me."
"I'll do that." Fred said and Alicia and Percy heard him walk out of the room.
"He's gone now." Oliver said.
"Great." Alicia muttered and the next thing Oliver knew was that Percy was coming, almost flying, out of the dressing room.
"What the hell were you think Percy?" Alicia said to him when she had completely taken on the dress and walked out of the dressing room. Oliver immediately knew that Alicia was really angry, because she only call him 'Percy' when she was really, really angry.
Percy, who still were on the floor, reached his hand out and fumbled after his glasses that had fallen of him on the way out of the dressing room.
"Sorry it took so long, I had to help another… Oh!" Ms Parkman came out of the storage room, but stopped immediately when she saw Percy lying in his stomach on the floor, Alicia standing towering by his feet holding her wand out and the slightly frightened Oliver.
"Leesh." Percy carefully said and rolled over to his back. "Don't tell anybody about this."
"You know what Perce." Alicia, who was still mad, said. "I think that I'm so angry at you right now that I'm going to tell Fred and George about this."
"No, Leesh, don't. I'll do anything…" He pleaded. "Please."
But after Alicia had thought about his offer for a few seconds her face turned into the 'I-am-so-up-to-no-good-grin' that Fred and George so often had on their faces. Then she turned toward Ms Parkman, the shop clerk. "Do you think that you have a fancy dressing robe in Percy's size?" she asked with a smirk.
