Chapter Five

Katie's POV

'Are you sure you're okay doing this?' asks Rose, for the tenth time, looking as worried as she has done all morning.

Its Monday- two days after the fateful party, and I've decided that I perhaps should go and inform my parents that I have moved out.

'I'll be fine,' I reassure her truthfully. Over the past couple of days, having been living at Rose's, I've realised there is no reason for me to put up with my parents' rubbish anymore. I'll go and let them know where I'm staying and that's it.

'Well, okay,' says Rose, not looking entirely convinced, 'but, you know my Mum has offered to go and talk to them.'

'I know, but your Mum's done enough for me already. Don't fret, Rose, I'll only be half an hour or so.'

She rolls her eyes, 'Okay see you later.'

I'm just heading out of the door when she shouts after me.

'Oh Katie, Al will probably come round at some point today.'

'Why?' I ask incredulously, 'Surely he'll be too busy snogging whichever random girl he's picked up today.'

She pulls a face, 'Ugh, I know. But the thing is, he usually pops round most days in the holidays, and he probably doesn't have a clue that you're annoyed with him.'

'How can he not realise that?!'

She shrugs, 'I don't know. You have to admit the whole situation is pretty complicated, you don't know if he knows that you like him.'

I'm silent for a moment, trying to work out exactly what she has said. Wow this is one confusing situation.

'Haven't you spoken to Scorpius about it?' I ask, surprised that she's not been in correspondence with lover boy.

She shakes her head, 'Nope, he had a family meal yesterday. I'll owl him later.'

Rolling my eyes, I wave goodbye and head out of the door.

Rose's parents' place is a large but cosy house situated just outside a little country village; Harry and Ginny's home is about ten miles away. Apparently they all got fed up of living in London pretty quickly and just started commuting to work instead.

Now that I'm outside, walking down the stone path that snakes through the pretty front garden, I want nothing less than to go and see my parents. But I feel like I ought to go and tell them where I'm living.

Sighing with resignation, I disapparate and find myself on the dull little street of my parents' house. I notice only my mother's car on the drive, meaning Dad has already gone to work.

Since I doubt they'll find it acceptable for someone who no longer lives there to just walk in unannounced, I knock on the door.

It's opened after only a couple of seconds by none other than Rhia, who stares at me for a moment before flinging her arms around me.

'Okay, okay, relax,' I say, breaking away after a moment; clearly Rhia's transformation into a nice sister has been a permanent one.

'I thought you weren't coming home!' she exclaims, looking almost close to tears.

'Erm, well I'm not. I just came to let you all know where I'm staying,' I say, feeling slightly awkward.

Her face falls, but before she can say anything else, my mother appears in the doorway looking flustered.

'Katie?'

'Yes,' I say irritably; she can't honestly have forgotten her eldest daughter in the space of two days!

'Where have you been?' she demands, looking furious.

'I've moved out.'

There's silence for a moment as my mother looks at me with an expression I can't quite identify.

'Where are you staying?' she asks after a while, in a much quieter voice than before.

'At my friend, Rose's house. I just thought I'd better tell you.'

'Thank you,' she says, her eyes darting everywhere, except towards mine.

I'm not really sure what I'm meant to do now. I've said what I came to say- do I just turn around and go back to Rose's?

'Bye, Mum' I say simply.

She finally makes eye contact with me and I see that her face is rather blotchy, her eyes damp.

'Bye, Katie' she says, turning back into the house, 'let me know if you need anything.'

And with that, she walks slowly back inside and up the stairs.

Well, that's that.

'Are you really leaving?' asks Rhia incredulously, reminding me of her presence.

'Did you miss that conversation?'

'I can't believe it,' she mutters, her eyes welling up, 'I'm so sorry I was so horrible to you.'

I roll my eyes and hug her for the first time in years, 'Don't be stupid, it's not like we won't see each other again. And I'll write to you.'

'You promise?' she sniffs.

I can't help myself but laugh, 'Rhia, if someone told you a week ago that you'd be crying as I moved out, would you have believed them?'

'Yes,' she says defiantly, 'you're my sister.'

I'm not quite sure if I believe her, but I'm too glad that we're parting on good terms to say anything.

'I'll see you soon,' I promise, turning round and heading down the driveway.

I disapparate as soon as I'm out of danger of being spotted by the neighbours, and reappear in Rose's front garden again.

That was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be.

I find I'm not even upset at saying goodbye to my mother. It just feels like a relief to be free of all the stress and upset I experienced whilst living there. Now I can stay with Rose for the rest of the holiday, and when I leave Hogwarts next year and start working, I'll get my own place.

Feeling strangely content, I jog up to the back door and head into the kitchen, expecting to see Rose sitting at the table doing the Potions essay she's been talking about all weekend.

I'm half right.

Rose is sitting at the table, but not with her homework.

Perched on a chair opposite Rose is an incredibly smug looking Charlie Green, her hand entwined with that of Albus bloody Potter's.

I must have only been gone for fifteen minutes! Yet, Al and Charlie have somehow arrived in that time.

'Oh, hi, Katie,' says Rose, jumping up from her seat and looking very uncomfortable.

'Erm, hi,' I say, taking in the scene which wouldn't look out of place in the most terrifying horror film.

Charlie is practically sitting on Al's lap, holding his hand and gazing rather adoringly at him. In his defence (not that he deserves one), Al is looking a bit awkward, as though he would rather be anywhere than here.

'Hi, Katie,' he says, giving me a weak smile.

I'm unable to respond with anything more than a nod. It's one thing to kiss a girl at a party. But it's a whole other thing to parade her in front of me at Rose's house.

'Hey, Katie,' grins Charlie, looking completely over the moon.

Now, I know it's unfair to dislike her, because all she did was kiss a boy she likes. Still, as I watch her play with the end strands of Al's hair, it's a struggle to resist the urge to hex her.

Turning away from the sickening sight, I shoot a glare at Rose that I hope says 'what the hell were you thinking letting them in the house?'

She jerks her head towards the other side of the large kitchen and heads over there. I follow her and watch in amazement as she busies herself with the kettle.

'What the hell are they doing here?' I hiss, the noise from the kettle ensuring my words don't carry across to the happy couple.

'They just turned up five minutes ago,' she whispers, looking guilty, 'apparently Charlie wanted to be introduced to some of Al's friends.'

'Don't be stupid, it's not serious.'

Rose raises her eyebrows and glances over at Charlie who is looking at Al as though he's the best thing in the world, 'I think she would disagree.'

'Argh!' I exclaim frustratedly, 'I want to kill that boy!'

Well, I don't know if I want to kill him or kiss him. I've still not made my mind up.

'To be fair, it does look pretty one sided,' observes Rose as she subtly looks at them, 'I bet Al is just too scared to dump her. Or maybe he doesn't want to look like a bad guy.'

'Fair enough. But why did he ever think I'd want to see him with her?'

'Well, we don't know if he knows you like him.'

'Okay, let's not go into that again, I'm still confused from trying to work it out earlier.'

'And he had no idea you were here,' points out Rose.

Having been making tea for a good five minutes, we both realise we're starting to look a little odd. So, very reluctantly, I grab some cups and head back over to the table.

'Erm, so are you alright Katie?' asks Al in what he obviously assumes to be a casual voice.

'Oh yes,' I say sarcastically, 'I've had to move out because I was so miserable at home, and my mother wasn't even that upset when I said goodbye to her.'

A very nasty silence settles around the table as everyone searches for something to say.

'Did you have a good night on Saturday?' Charlie asks me, apparently oblivious to the awkwardness.

'Not really, I left early.'

'Oh yeah, I remember Scorpius telling me that now!' exclaims Al, more to himself than to me, 'Why did you leave?'

My eyes meet his, which are looking hopeful about something. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing it was because of him that I left.

'I felt ill,' I answer bluntly.

'Oh, okay, I thought… well, never mind.' He slumps slightly in his chair and looks thoroughly dejected about something.

Why am I making myself sit through this? I wonder. I've not done anything wrong. It's Al's inability to keep his tongue to himself that has caused all this.

'Well this was nice,' I say, in as polite a voice as I can muster, 'but I have some homework I really need to do.'

And with that, I get up and walk quickly out of the room.

Albus' POV

'That was nice,' smiles Charlie just after we apparate back to my house, 'I've always wanted you to introduce me to your friends.'

What does she mean she's always wanted to be introduced to my friends? We've only been 'seeing each other' for two bloody days!

Yesterday morning I woke up with a pounding headache (made all the worse by Lily screeching in my ear that we had an hour to put the house back together before Mum and Dad got home) and a resolution to put the events of the party behind me.

The flaw in my plan was that Charlie evidently wasn't thinking along the same lines, and she showed up Sunday afternoon acting as though we were officially together. I managed to get rid of her, only for her to reappear this morning and ask to be introduced to my friends. So, taking the cowardly route out, I took her to Rose's, hoping my wise cousin could help me. Of course I had no idea that Katie was staying there.

That did not help the situation.

'Erm, Charlie?' I begin, feeling incredibly awkward, 'you do know we're not going out don't you?'

'Of course I know that,' she says, rolling her eyes and pouting at me, 'for now anyway.'

I audibly gulp and feel my cheeks redden slightly. Damn it, why am I too polite to tell her I'm not interested? Curse my parents for bringing me up to respect women.

Clearly interpreting my blushing as growing feelings of love towards her, Charlie grins and kisses me, biting my bottom lip none too gently.

'I've got to go home now,' she sighs, glancing at her watch, 'but I'll see you soon, Albus.'

'Charlie!' I call out to her as she's heading out the door.

'Yeah?' she smiles, turning back round towards me.

I take a deep breath, 'listen Charlie, you're great but I don't want a girlfriend at the moment. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have led you on at the party.'

She looks slightly disappointed for a moment (which of course makes me feel like the worst guy in the world) but then she shrugs, 'That's fine. You just think you don't want a girlfriend, I suppose I'll just have to try and change your mind.'

I begin to protest, but she presses her lips to mine again, and then disappears out of the door, winking at me as she goes.

'Arrgh!' I scream and bang my head against the wall in frustration.

Ouch.

'Is that your lovely lady friend?' winks James, appearing in the doorway with his trademark smirk plastered on his face.

'Piss off.'

'That's not very friendly, Albus,' he grins, 'She's hot, what's the problem?'

I give him what I hope is a withering look, 'that's irrelevant, James. I was wrong to kiss her on Saturday. I shouldn't have led her on.'

'Oh is that the one you were snogging at the party?' he asks, looking insultingly surprised.

'Yes!' I exclaim, 'you were there, for God's sake!'

He shrugs unconcernedly, 'In case you didn't notice I was a tad drunk. I can't remember anything that happened. God knows what I said to people.'

'I wish I couldn't remember anything,' I mutter darkly.

'How does Katie feel about the new lady?' he asks, watching my reaction carefully.

Upon hearing Katie's name, my mood plummets even further. She clearly wasn't happy when she saw me and Charlie together earlier. But does that mean she fancies me or is she just annoyed at me being- let's face it- a bit of a twat.

I shrug as way of a response to James' question.

I can tell he's about to say something else when our father appears in the hallway, looking at us suspiciously.

'I need to ask you two something,' he says, looking half bemused and half annoyed.

'What's up, Dad?' asks James in the fakest innocent voice I've ever heard.

To my horror, Dad produces one of the homemade bottles of alcohol that James' teammate brought to the party. Besides me, James clears his throat uncomfortably.

'May I ask why I found this under the sofa?' asks Dad, looking shrewdly at the pair of us.

'Erm,' is my articulate reply.

'It's Lily's,' says James quickly, 'I'm worried about her, Dad. I think she has a drinking problem.'

I give him an incredulous look, partly because he's putting the blame on the sister he absolutely adores, but mainly because he clearly thinks Harry 'I defeated Voldermort and am now Head Auror' Potter is going to believe him.

'Nice try James,' says Dad, who looks as though he's struggling to fight the temptation to burst out laughing.

Then, to my complete surprise, he merely rolls his eyes at us and says, 'Don't tell your mother,' before heading back out of the room whistling.

James is the first one to break the shock induced silence, 'Okay, I think we may have the coolest Dad possible. Seriously, I don't think even Uncle George would have been that relaxed about us having a party.'

'Tell me about it,' I whistle, hardly daring to believe our luck.

'So, what are you going to do about Charlie?' asks James briskly, after a few moments.

'Who's Charlie?'

Oh dear God.

Dad was evidently waiting in the next room to hear our reaction, because he's stuck his head round the doorframe with a confused look on his face.

'Charlie is a girl Albus got acquainted with on Saturday,' laughs James, giving me an evil grin.

Ground, please swallow me up now!

Dad pulls a face, 'I do not need the details, James.' Then he turns to me, 'I thought you liked Katie?'

How the hell did my Dad realise I fancied Katie before I did?!

I gape at him for a moment, unsure what exactly to say. James has no such reservations.

'He does, Dad. But he doesn't know if she likes him- even though I'm sure she does- so he decided to be a twat and kiss Charlie instead. But it turns out she's something of a fan girl and now he can't get rid of her.'

'Thank you for that,' I snap at James.

Dad shakes his head at him and then turns to me, 'I'll keep it simple Al because I was even worse with girls at your age than you are, so I'm not in a position to give advice. But, it's obvious that you and Katie like one another, so end things properly with Charlie and ask Katie out.'

Great, so my love life has gotten so tragic that my forty-something year old father has to give me advice.

'Wait a minute!' I gasp suddenly, 'you think Katie likes me as well?'

Dad rolls his eyes in a very James-like way, 'Yes, Al.'

'So what should I do?' I ask pathetically.

'Ask her out!' both James and Dad yell at me simultaneously.

I think for a moment, with the wisdom of their words slowly dawning on me.

I should ask Katie out! It's not as if Charlie and I are together (I've made that perfectly clear) and it's Katie who I really like.

I need to apologise to her though, I realise instantly. I need to have a long talk with her and explain how I was an idiot to snog Charlie. I need to ask her if she's okay about moving out of her parents' house and listen to her if she wants to discuss her family. I need to wrap my arms around her and tell her that I love her…

Okay, maybe that last one should wait for a bit.

I'm so fired up that I'm ready to apparate back round to Rose and talk to Katie right there and then. What could go wrong? Even if she doesn't feel the same, at least we'll both know where we stand.

'Right, I'm going to see her,' I say forcefully, earning appreciative looks from James and Dad.

But then, as if some force out there hates me, the doorbell rings.

'Oh hell no,' I mutter, knowing fully well that Scorpius is busy today and that it won't be Rose or Katie.

Feeling as though I'm walking to the gallows, I pull open the door and feel a wave of despair wash over me as I see Charlie standing on the doorstep.

'Hello, Albus!' she exclaims as though she's not seen me for a year.

Behind me, I notice James and Dad exchange a significant look.

'I did go home,' explains Charlie, throwing her arms around my neck, 'but I couldn't stop thinking about you.'

Someone kill me now.

If only Charlie hadn't turned up again… ;)

Okay, I know I've kept you waiting for a while, but I promise there will be a bit of Albus/ Katie romance next chapter, and they'll also be some Rose/ Scorpius (my favourite pairing!) pretty soon as well.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

Let me know what you thought of the chapter by reviewing :)