Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
XxXxX
Valentine's Day arrived without much of Aly's notice. She wasn't even aware that the day had arrived until Sirius presented her with a box.
"What is this?" she asked skeptically.
"Just open it," he said shoving it into her hands.
She pulled the ribbon on it and stared down at the gift in the box.
"Sirius," she whispered, "I can't accept this."
"Sure you can," he said, grabbing it from the tissue paper and attaching it with a rough hand.
"Be gentle," she said, breathless.
She let the garnet heart set in silver catch the light. "Sirius, I really can't take this."
"It's already yours. It goes with your bracelet," he explained and took the box back.
He turned and left.
She ate breakfast with Logan, who presented her with a rose and a kiss.
Logan got up in the middle of breakfast telling Aly that he had to discuss something with Professor McGonagall.
"Let me see," Lily demanded once he got up.
"See what?" Aly asked, confused.
"Let me see what Sirius gave you."
"What did Sirius give you?" Logan asked, sitting down. Aly could tell he was trying to be calm.
"Uh oh," Lily mumbled, turning back to Amos, a blush spreading across her face.
Aly ignore his comment.
"Aly, tell me."
She looked at him and told him, "He gave me a note. I left it in my room. I will be more than willing to show it to you after class."
Logan was still obviously peeved, but took this as a victory.
As soon as she arrived to her first class, Aly ran up to Sirius, "Quick. Write me a note."
"Bout what?" His eyebrows were up.
"Logan wants to see the note you gave me this morning," she stressed, not want to give away too much information.
"Ok," he said with a shrug.
Aly presented it to Logan at lunch. He grunted at it. Sirius had scribbled down the time of their next quidditch practice. Logan made sure to be at every quidditch practice after that.
XxXxX
"I need to talk to you."
"Here?" Sirius asked.
"Later," Aly said walking past.
She had had a rough month. Logan had taken to watching every once of food she put in her mouth and followed her around every chance he could. He also had taken to telling off, loudly, anyone who seemed to even look at Aly weird. Aly figured he felt bad for starting the rumors himself and that that was his attempt to make it up to her. She had spent almost all of her time thinking and running over scenarios in her head. What if she broke up with Logan? What if she stayed with him?
She had weighed the pros and cons over and over on each side. She had talked to Logan about what was wrong between them [as much as she could anyways] and had asked Sirius, on the sly, to avoid girls for a week, as an experiment. She had observed the behavior of both boys and, after much deliberation, had made her decision.
"Hey, Aly." Sirius was perched on the window sill in the astronomy tower, waiting for her later that day.
She paused in the door, took a deep breath, and moved to sit across from him. She was nervous as she asked, "So, how'd the experiment go?"
He peeked up at her through lowered eye lids. "I've never been one to do as instructed," he said with a slight smile.
Her body stiffened. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Why?" He immediately sensed the change in her body and tone.
She continued on as if she hadn't heard his question, "But it will make this much easier for me."
"Make what easier?" He had stood and was staring down at her.
She pulled together all of her strength and said strongly, "I can't see you anymore."
He merely changed his stare to a glare and waited.
She raised her eyebrows at him, having nothing else to say herself.
He put his arms across his chest and studied her. "Why?" he demanded.
She opened her mouth the answer, but he cut her off, "Is it because of him?"
"No," Aly answered quickly.
He snorted in disbelief.
"It's not because of him," she insisted.
"Then why?" he asked.
She took a deep breath and plunged into her well practiced speech, "I made this decision on my own. I thought about it and realized that it was for the best if I refrained from talking to you anymore. I have weighed the pros and the cons very carefully, and I feel that this is for the best."
She finished with a nod at her feet.
He seemed to sniff in a few short bursts and finally said, "That explained nothing to me."
Motion ripped through her as she tried to find the words to explain. She sniffed as tears filled her eyes. "You couldn't stay away from other girls for a week," she whispered.
It was his turn to let out a sigh.
"One week. That's all I asked." The tears were freely flowing, silently.
He said nothing.
"Fine," Aly snapped as she grew tired of waiting on him to say something. "The point is that I picked him. Logan is loyal. He wants me. He treats me ---"
"Like crap!" Sirius snapped.
Aly closed her eyes very tight and continued, "He treats me like I am special. Like I am more to him than just one girl among many."
"You aren't just one among many!" his arms flew up into the air. "Aly, you're my Aly."
"No, no, no. Don't do this to me," she pleaded through her tears. "I can't do this. I've made my choice. Just let me leave."
He nodded to himself, and finally said, "I understand. You can go."
She nodded and wiped her face with the back of her hand. At the door, she didn't turn to look at him as she said, "Tell Remus for me, will you?"
"Yeah."
"What's wrong?" Logan asked jumping up as she entered the Hufflepuff common room.
Her eyes were puffy and she lied quickly, "My allergies."
He kissed her forehead and had her sit down on the couch with him.
XxXxX
The school year came to an end without any excitement. Aly feel back into the monotone that was life with Logan, but she happily fell into it. At least it was a constant. She let him guide, pull, and direct her through every aspect of her life. She barely noticed that she missed her time with Sirius and Remus. It only occasionally caught her off guard. She would be laying awake in Logan's bed, which is where she spent most of her nights, and she'd remember something that Sirius had said. And then she'd remember Remus' reaction. After this happened, she'd often fall to sleep with silent tears running her face.
After some time, she fell into a walking coma. Her mind was almost always a complete blank. She did start going to her meetings with her dad. Originally, it was to keep her cover story in place. As time went on, it became just another part of her routine. Her dad seemed to notice a change in her, but never questioned it, much like Lily.
Summer came quickly, and her dad allowed her two weeks at the Evans'. They were to take place at the beginning of August.
All of July, Aly spent her time working at the Ministry. Her dad had pulled some strings and got her the job sorting through papers that had been misfiled. She sat in a cubical, by herself, all morning; ate lunch with Logan, who had a summer internship; and then went back to her cubical and sat by herself til she took the Floo network back to Hogwarts to spend the evening alone.
Aly would've cared about the monotone her life had taken, but she didn't notice. She felt nothing and rarely heard anything people said when they talked to her. She had imbedded the right automatic responses to the typical comments she heard.
July ended and Aly packed to go to Lily's. Lily was more than excited to see her. She pounced upon her and proceeded to jump up and down, shrieking. Aly merely smiled at her, one of her automatic responses. Lily had her job at Dairy Queen again. With her mom still in remission and back at work as well as her dad that made Aly's choice of spending the day between home alone with Petunia or at DQ with Lily. There really was no question.
So, Aly sat in Dairy Queen eating free ice cream all day. There was rarely anyone in the store during the day except for the occasional grade schoolers who never ordered anything but water. The only person there with the two of them was Brandon. He was a muggle who usually smelled and looked dirty, and he quickly developed a crush on Aly.
He would push his dirty, hair back and tilt his head to the side to stare at her whenever she would come in [Lily would have to open and Aly would arrive later in the day after sleeping in]. He would then proceed to serenade her, if you could even call what he did singing, with songs he learned the night before from his dad's old 50's records. She learned quickly to ignore him.
Everyday, Lily and Aly would go to the movies or rent a few to watch at Lily's house. By the end of the first week, they had watched over 15 movies. They knew the boys who worked at the local movie rental due to the fact that it took them about an hour to pick out, agree upon, and pay for the movie. Aly, was once again, the object of these boys desires. She normally would've been embarrassed by their attention, but she was still in her walking coma. One her first Thursday night at Lily's, Mike, one of the normal rental boys, asked her out. She, still relying on her automatic responses, said yes. He scribbled down his number when she didn't offer hers and she took it.
She sat in the living room, starring at the slip of paper, as Lily popped popcorn for their movies. For the first time in 6 months, Aly felt something stir inside of her chest. What was is it? She couldn't place it.
"Why are you smiling so big?" Lily asked coming into the room. Aly felt herself crack from within her shell. It was happiness. She had forgotten what it had really felt like.
"I got asked out on a date," Aly told her, holding up the number.
"What?!" Lily tried to yank it from her, but Aly saved it by holding it to her chest. "You can't go," Lily said flatly in response.
"Yes I can," Aly argued as she stared at it again.
"You have a boyfriend," Lily said point blank. "You have a boyfriend who sends you letters everyday. You can't date this guy."
Aly glared at her and realized she was right. Logan did send her letters everyday telling her how much he loved and missed her. She just didn't like to be told what she could and could not do.
"Would it really hurt anything?" Aly asked honestly, not really knowing.
"Yes," Lily said, coming to sit down next to her. "It would. He trusts you. Don't betray his trust."
Aly nodded, but still wasn't 100% convinced. As she laid on the floor in Lily's room, the movie scene sending light patterns on the ceiling above her, she contemplated going out with the boy. However, by morning, she had retreated back to her coma.
XxXxX
Her last day with Lily, before returning to Hogwarts for two weeks of solitary confinement before school started, she sat eating her last ice cream cone of the summer. Brandon came over and hovered awkwardly over her.
"Alyson," he said, clearing his throat.
She merely turned to look at him.
"For you," he presented her with bouquet of almost dead looking flowers. Aly took them, automatically, and figured that they used to be daisies. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up slightly.
She stood, and said, "Thank you."
He smiled hugely and, before Aly knew what was happening, he had taken a huge breath and was kissing her, his tongue all over her mouth.
She grimaced, pushed him away, and smacked him.
"Lily!" she shrieked. Lily had been in the back.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked running out.
"I will see you at home." Aly said storming halfway to the door. She turned back, smacked Brandon with the bouquet, and then ran out.
Lily didn't ask about it when she came home from work, mostly because Aly was leaving about an hour later.
"We love you, Aly," Mrs. Evans said hugging her tightly. "We best see you soon."
Aly promised they would. Her dad was waiting in the backyard. She told him she didn't need him to come get her, but he had insisted.
"See you, Lily!" she called to her best friends.
"You too! I'll miss you!" Lily called back.
"Me too!" Aly called and she was sure she heard Lily yell, "Feel better," as she and her dad disapparated back to school.
XxXxX
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