Albus Potter was a good man. At least that's what he wanted to be. And he tried so hard. He fought for the oppressed; he stuck up for his friends, he had even figured out how to get along with his insane family. But when it came to Sophie he just couldn't be a good man. Because from whichever angle he looked at it, he was the bad guy in this situation. And not only was he a bad guy, he was a bad guy so many times he had lost count.

But one thing Albus Potter undoubtedly wasn't was stupid. Except kissing your brother's wife in his house while there was a raging party going on was definitely a stupid thing to do. But when he had Sophie in his arms it was very easy to forget about the wrongness and general stupidity of what he was doing.

"We should get out of here," he said into her ear.

"Don't worry," she said, not moving her hands away from him.

"There are so many people here," he said, nervously. "Someone's going to see…"

"Fine," Sophie said, with bad grace. They apparated to the Smiling Hippogriff and Albus looked around furtively to make sure there weren't any journalists about.

"You're much more worried about this than me," Sophie noted.

"Oh yeah I'm just sleeping with my brother's wife. Why wouldn't I want anyone to know that," he said, sarcastically.

Sophie just pursed her lips and got them a room key. They walked upstairs in silence and Albus was glad she didn't try to make conversation because he didn't know what to say. What do you say when you're being torn apart by guilt anyway?

Sophie was entirely aware of Al's inner turmoil. She had never really had any qualms about sleeping with other people. She knew her marriage was largely a sham. But this time she had twinges of guilt. Because she knew that she could potentially damage relationships far more important than this one. Whatever people though, Sophie wasn't a bad person. She might enjoy luxury and occasionally sleep with inappropriate men but she didn't really mean to cause serious trouble. And she was well aware that this could cause a lot of trouble.

But then Al would push her hair away from her face as he kissed her and she just couldn't help herself.

Sophie fit the key into the door and Al, almost as if he was unable to help himself, put his arms around her waist. And she pressed herself into him feeling safe. The way she always felt safe in his arms. They found their way to the bed and Al quickly pulled his shirt off. Sophie ran her fingers across his chest, which was so different from his brother's. Sitting in an office all day did nothing for Al's physique, and where James was well muscled and incredibly tanned, Al was scrawny and rather pale. Their faces on the other hand were so similar Sophie often wondered if she secretly had serious issues. Because apart from the slight difference in the shape of their jaws and of course the evident difference in the shape and colour of their eyes, they could be twins.

But as Albus carefully unzipped her dress and pulled it down, she knew they were nothing alike. Al was far more cautious than James. There was a sense of urgency that always accompanied sex with James that was entirely absent here. Which was strange, because as torrid affairs go, this wasn't all that torrid. It wasn't quite like anything Sophie had ever done before.

Lucy Weasley had a good life. She was extremely happy. She had just won four different journalism awards for her work in Africa and she was the press secretary on Scorpius Malfoy's campaign. And if she won she would be the Minister For Magic's press secretary. She was happy and successful. And therefore she decided to take the night off and let her hair down for one night. And James' party was definitely conducive to the letting down of one's hair. And there was literally no one who knew how to have a good time better than her cousin Rose. Except that Rose seemed oddly uptight this evening for some reason.

"Look at him," Rose said, gesturing towards her boyfriend who after drinking far too much was spinning a blonde witch around the dance floor.

"Why aren't you the one being swept across the room?" Lucy asked, with a throaty laugh. "Given his reputation I would've thought you'd make sure he'd be far away from anything that was even remotely female."

"You've been away from home too long," Rose scoffed. "And besides I'm far too good in bed to give up."

"That's lovely," Lucy murmured.

"What about you?" Rose asked. "Heard you got nominated for a 'Cuffe'."

"I did," Lucy said. "I probably won't win though."

"Been doing quite a bit of winning lately though haven't you?" Rose said. Her tone was slightly pointed and Lucy immediately knew what she was getting at.

"Look Rose," she started.

"I'm not saying anything," Rose said, holding her hands up defensively. "I'm just saying you should probably give that idiot a call. Considering he just blew up a long and seemingly happy relationship for you."

"I don't want a relationship," Lucy said, a little harshly. "And I certainly don't want a relationship with my cousin's ex-boyfriend. I'm sure it's fine for some people." She looked at Rose rather pointedly. "But it's not my cup of tea."

"Oh get over yourself," Rose said (rather rudely in Lucy's opinion). "Do you think anyone's missed those longing looks over the pudding when we all meet for family campaign time?"

Lucy gasped at the unfairness of this statement. "I do not look at anyone longingly," she said.

"Oh yes you do," Rose said, sharply. "And it's driving Lily up the wall. So either you do something about it or tell that boy that you don't want to have anything to do with him."

"Like you care about Lily," Lucy said, snidely.

"You really have been away a long time," Rose sighed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucy asked.

"I don't hate Lily," Rose said slowly. "I don't hate anyone really. Except for maybe Skeeter. I've grown up. And it would be lovely if people around me could do that too."

"Well speaking of people who haven't grown up," Lucy said. "I think Lily just went upstairs with your boyfriend's campaign manager."

a/n: Well this is the last of the party chapters. I've actually finished the next two chapters but I'm really not very happy with them. But please tell me what you think :)