Thanks to all my reviewers! I love to hear feedback from you guys so let me know how I'm doing, if there are things you like/don't like about the plot or the characters... I had a hard time with this chapter because I don't have a clear idea of where I'm going with this - everything seems to be writing itself.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Alicia couldn't remember a time when she'd so looked forward to a Hogsmeade trip. Even her first visit couldn't have been nearly as welcome. The past two weeks had been strange. Her friends had tiptoed around her for a good part of it, everybody apparently having heard of her little breakdown, and she and Cassius had all but ignored each other, as though the events of the first two weeks of school hadn't existed at all.
It had been easier than she'd originally suspected, despite the added challenge of getting their weekly reports handed in and progressing on their project. In class, they sat at opposite ends of the room, and they'd miraculously avoided each other in the corridors by losing themselves in the crowd whenever the other was around. It'd become like second nature, like unconsciously skipping over the trick stairs, or avoiding Filch and Mrs. Norris. They managed to work on the assignment by correspondence even, writing up their own Arithmantic profiles and sending them by owl. The method had proved so successful that they did the same with the weekly reports - Alicia wrote the first one, and Cassius, the second. If anything, they advanced faster individually than they had working together. While Alicia had the disadvantage of lacking the secondary materials, she'd gotten rather comfortable with Carson Bishop and Peter Kapur, both of whom were sympathetic towards her unfortunate group situation.
When the last Saturday of the month finally arrived, Alicia was as hyper as a five-year-old with a Honeydukes gift card. Today was going to be her day. Katie had arranged their fittings with Gladrags, and afterwards, they were to present themselves at the Hog's Head for the first secret meeting of Harry's defence club. As an added bonus, the girls were going to get their hair and nails done Charmed Life, and Angelina, who was eighteen, was going to buy them their first legally-purchased bottle of fire whiskey.
The girls were among the first to clamber into the horseless carriages, the first of which left at eight o'clock sharp. Katie had booked them appointments at Charmed Life for eight-thirty, then for Gladrags at nine-thirty. It'd been nearly impossible to get a Gladrags appointment for the three of them at the same time, but Katie's cousin's best friend's mother was the head seamstress, and had made the impossible quite possible.
By the time the girls' hair had been washed, cut and styled, Gladrags was already packed with upper-year students browsing for accessories while awaiting their fitting. The schedule was tight - a minute late, and you were too late; thus, the students milled around, for fear of missing their appointments.
"Hi, is Esmerelda here?" Katie asked breathlessly, as they crammed their way to the reception desk.
"She's booked all day, you'll have to make an appointment for -
"We've already got an appointment, nine-thirty. Bell, Johnson, Spinnet."
"Right on time, then," said the red-haired receptionist, looking utterly unimpressed. "Through the frosted door, then."
Katie grinned, and grabbed Alicia and Angelina by the hands, and forcefully shoved her way towards the frosted glass double-doors at the opposite end of the room.
"Ooh, look at that tiara!"
"Focus, Katie! We can do that after!" Angelina barked.
They made it to the glass doors, and Katie knocked sharply, five times.
Alicia grabbed her by the wrist, laughing.
"I think that's enough."
As if on cue, the doors swung open, and a flustered looking blonde woman ushered them in, after confirming their identities.
Alicia nearly turned and fled.
"I hope you don't mind," the woman, Esmerelda, was saying, "We normally only service three people at a time, but because of the added traffic, we've had to take on extra clients at once to get everything done. We'll put up a screen, of course -
Alicia shifted her gaze from the three Slytherin boys who were already standing on platforms in front of large floor-to-ceiling mirrors, drowning in lengths of fabric, resembling three little boys playing dress-up in their fathers' Sunday best. She could feel Cassius' hard stare, burning into the back of her head through his reflection on the mirror.
She felt better, noticing that Katie and Angelina both looked just as aghast at the sight.
"A screen would be much appreciated," Katie said. "Yes, a rather large screen, if possible."
"Of course," said Esmerelda, "We do apologize. Yule preparations are always madness... the Paris branch has had to hire seasonal staff -
"Oh, we can only imagine," said Katie sympathetically. "We just, er, wouldn't want anybody seeing what we're wearing in advance and all."
"Yes, quite understandable. Anne-Lise, the screen - put it up, quickly - we are already running behind," said Esmerelda. "Yes, the silkscreen - be a dear and enlarge it, will you? Is that a suitable size, ladies?"
The chinese silk screen, which had clearly originally been intended for single-person use, had been enlarged and extended to stretch across the room, effectively dividing most of the room in half. While Cassius, Montague and Pucey were still visible from the doorway, they would not be able to look at each other once the girls were on the platforms for their fittings.
The girls nodded, and Esmerelda clapped her hands together.
"Excellent. In that case, step right this way. You may leave your belongings on the chaise-lounges here. Would you ladies care for a drink? We've martinis or wine."
The girls exchanged gleeful grins.
"Martinis," they said simultaneously.
Cassius glanced at the silk screens through the corner of his eye, torturing himself by watching the shadows of the three girls undressing themselves as three other silhouettes danced scrambled around in the background.
"Mr. Warrington, arms up if you please."
"Bloody striptease, I'm telling you," Montague muttered. "That one's Spinnet, I guarantee it."
Cassius froze, but couldn't turn, for the tailor, Bernardo, was measuring his arms, and pins were flying in and out of the fabric, rearranging themselves as Bernardo flicked his wand back and forth.
"How can you tell?" he said casually, as giggles burst out from the other side of the screen.
Pucey and Montague smirked at him through the mirror.
"Don't tell me you don't recognize her bent over like that. Even in silhouette, that is one fine fucking ass."
Cassius felt his jaw clench, but he forced himself to calmly nod.
"And that one in the middle's Bell for sure," said Pucey, grinning like an idiot. Cassius peeked at the screen again. Sure enough, the middle silhouette was slipping off a skirt, pulling them down legs that looked to be a mile long. The third silhouette was no doubt Johnson, for it was the tallest and the leanest out of the three. And there was, of course, Alicia's silhouette, shorter and rounder than the three, arms stretched up as one of the scurrying shadows slipped something over her head.
"Legs a little more separated, please, Mr. Warrington - Mr. Pucey, please stop fidgeting or I'll have to redo the hem."
"For merlin's sake, I fucking hate fittings. I don't care what this one looks like, I'm taking it. If I have to try on another set of dress robes -
Pucey's rant was cut off by more giggling. He made a gagging noise.
"How much longer?" he moaned.
"Oh, Alicia, you look absolutely gorgeous! I knew that was the perfect dress," said Angelina, gushing as soon as Anne-Lise finished shortening the hem of the dress. "Look at that back, I knew it, I just knew it was the one!"
Alicia giggled.
"It's a debbie dress, not a wedding gown."
"Still! It's the one," Angelina gasped.
"Try it with the accessories," said Clarisse, one of the seamstresses, bringing over a tray that elegantly displayed an assortment of jewellery. The girls oohed and ahhed, agonizing over the accessories.
"I'm having this tiara," said Katie firmly. "Please, please tell me you still have some in stock -
"Our policy for debutante balls is that we only sell one of each item so that no young lady is seen in the same thing. This tiara is the only one like it -
"Done. And these gloves? Oh, and these earrings - is that overkill? This is so difficult!"
The girls let out a squeal of excitement, just because.
"If I may make a suggestion, I think for you, Miss Spinnet, these poplar hair pearls would look fabulous with you hair, especially -
The seamstress flicked her wand a few times, and Alicia's wavy hair flew into an updo, with strands that gently framed her face. The tiny pearls were strewn about in an almost crown-like formation, and the girls gasped. "- with these earrings, and these gloves, I think you look exquisite. Try them on. And for you, Miss Bell, if you have your heart set on the tiara, these little studs here would not be too distracting, and this little necklace is just enough to add some detail, all without taking away from the dress and the tiara. With gloves of course. And for you, miss Johnson, I strongly suggest these earrings here, but I would advise against a necklace. Perhaps a hairpiece similar to Miss Spinnet's -
"Done, done and done," said Bernardo, clasping his hands together. "We will send these over to your parents' homes as soon as possible for approval, and we shall contact you if there are any problems. If you have any questions yourselves, do not hesitate to contact the shop. I thank you for your patience. I know fittings are not the easiest things, especially when one is uncertain of what to wear. I do think, however, that you have all made the right decisions."
"Thank you, Bernardo," said Montague smoothly.
"It's been my pleasure, gentlemen."
The boys followed Bernardo away from the mirrors and the platforms all too eagerly, happy to get their legs moving once again. It had been a long hour and a half, and Cassius thanked the gods once again that he was born a wizard, for he could only imagine the pains of having to simultaneously fit three people into a dozen dress robes in under ninety minutes.
He suddenly noticed a deafening silence, whereas previously, the air had been filled with chatter. Just as Bernardo reached out to open the frosted glass doors leading to the mayhem outside, Cassius craned his head over his shoulder, and felt his heart drop to his stomach. He caught Her eye, and she stared back at him with a frosty, distant expression, the first time they'd directly exchanged eye contact since the last Incident. She turned away, just as the deafening roar from the other side of the doors took over the room, and Cassius caught a final glimpse of her back before he was ushered out of the fitting room, only to be replaced by Bastard Bishop and two of his gawking companions, Dickhead Davies and Kiss-Ass Kapur, all of whom openly gaped at the three girls like they'd never seen formal wear before. Cassius ignored the fact that he was a hypocrite.
"They clean up pretty nicely," said Montague grudgingly as the boys shoved their way through the crowd. "I could fuck Johnson for days if she wasn't such a bitch. I didn't know Spinnet was going... must be a charity thing... thought she was a mudblood."
"I'll wager Bell and Johnson had to beg their parents to fund her," Pucey commented, still chortling from Montague's charity comment. "You seen those school skirts of hers? I swear she's had the same ones since third year... not that I'm complaining, mind - I don't think she's realized she's grown a bit over the years. Hell, I should start dropping knuts around, just to see her bend over to pick them up."
Cassius let out a sharp breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and his friends shot him a funny look.
"You alright there, mate? You look like you're choking on a dung beetle," said Pucey.
"I'm fine," Cassius snapped, feeling even more disturbed by his venomous reaction.
Pucey and Montague exchanged glances.
"You sure? You've been all out of sorts for a bit..."
"And don't think I haven't noticed you've been smoking, mate - I swear, if it fucks with your performance -
"Oh sod off, I've been running fine, haven't I? Anyway, it's nothing. It's just my mother. Keeps sending me bloody letters about my future and whatnot," Cassius lied.
The boys shook their heads.
"Rotten luck, mate, who've they picked out for you then?"
"No one yet... just a few potentials. Just the usual bloody threats, but you know... This time, 'they mean it'."
Pucey scowled.
"That's it? Just a few potentials and you go off your rocker? At least you don't have a solid fucking contract in the works!"
"So it's happening then?"
"Might as well be, the way the way they're going about it... The Flints this and the Flints that... If I don't find anybody by graduation, I'm fucked. If anyone should be going off the deep-end right now, it ought to be me."
"Yeah, well... I'll get over it," Cassius muttered.
"You better," Montague warned, "Or take it out on the Weasel twins. I hate those pricks. I swear, if I find another one of those bloody puking pastils or whatever bullshit they've come up with next in my pudding again -
Cassius tuned out Montague's rant, relieved by the change of topic. His friends didn't often delve into details regarding his personal life - talking about feelings was something they chose not to participate in on a regular basis - so the fact that they'd even brought it up was... disconcerting, to say in the least. Even more disturbing was the way he'd reacted to his friends' earlier comments about Spinnet, because he'd been schooling himself on the art of apathy in regards to her for the past two weeks. The past hour had utterly ruined his day.
"Hang on a bloody second, isn't today the 1st? It's your bloody birthday!"
It was, wasn't it? Another delightful year, come and gone. Here he was, another year closer to the end of his life.
"Well don't look so happy about it," said Pucey sarcastically. "C'mon, mate, cheer up! Here, go buy us some liquor - you're legal now! Circe, I can't believe you didn't say anything. We need to throw you a party."
Cassius cheered up at the word liquor. That's right, he was legal now...
"Well I'm not going to buy me my own birthday drinks, if that's what you're thinking," he announced. The boys threw him a handful of coins, and Cassius grinned.
"Well there's the first smile I've seen on you in two weeks... when did you become such a lush, Cash?"
The Hog's Head was packed with students, which was an unusual sight indeed. The girls nursed their butter beers in awkward silence amongst the mixed crowd, as Harry and Hermione took turns speaking. The mood was sombre as the discussion turned to Cedric Diggory's death and you-know-who's return. Alicia automatically avoided glancing at Cho Chang, who looked like she was about to cry as some fourth-year tosser argued that you-know-who couldn't possibly have returned. Mercifully, he shut his mouth when Harry made it clear that they weren't going to discuss the matter any further, and that the group was going to meet for one purpose only: to actually practice Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Dumbledore's Army, they would be called. Alicia didn't hesitate to sign her name on the list as soon as it was passed around, though she couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding... it was juvenile in a way, this little secret club of theirs, but it also existed to fill a need... it existed to provide them skills to protect themselves in case of danger. Was danger so imminent that they had to resort to such clandestine measures to learn basic skills? The fact that Umbridge refused to teach practical knowledge in her class was a sign of the times... A dark storm was brewing somewhere in the distance, and it was coming along fast.
"I don't know about you," said Angelina as soon as they left the pub, alongside Fred and George, "but I need a bloody drink." They all voiced their agreement, and Angelina took drink orders from them. She disappeared into The Magic Neep, the local greengrocer's who also sold alcohol, and came back carrying a couple bottles of wine and two bottles of fire whiskey, one for the twins and one for the girls to share.
"I say we head over to the Three Broomsticks to eat. I'm starving," said Alicia.
"Yeah, alright... I could go for some shepherd's pie right about now," said Fred.
"Mm... that would be perfect."
"So what do you guys think about it? Bit strange isn't it, how all those people were there?" said Katie, as they settled down into their booth.
"Yeah, well, just goes to show we're not the only ones who think the world's going to hell," Alicia replied.
"Optimistic as always, Alicia," said Angelina sarcastically, grinning playfully.
"Yeah, well... I dunno. It's a really good idea and I think it's cool of Harry to take it on... I'm just - well, think about what it means."
"It means Umbridge is an idiot," said George. "Nothing else to it."
Alicia rolled her eyes.
"You know that's not what I'm talking about."
"Oh, we know what you're talking about, but what's the use in going on about it? We'll just have to wait and see what comes, and we'll just have to act when the time is right."
"Mum said during the last war, all muggle-borns had to go into hiding, and even half-bloods... people disappearing left, right and centre... curfew in all the magical communities, even muggles being killed," said Katie grimly. "Not to mention, spies all over the place, and the Ministry all up in the air... Even St. Mungo's was off-limits to non pure-bloods. Mum had a cousin whose wife was a muggleborn... she actually died in labour because they couldn't get a private healer to risk a delivery."
Alicia shuddered, but couldn't help but feel like some patterns were starting to repeat themselves... they'd all heard vague whispers about disappearances here and there during the summer - which was nothing out of the ordinary in the muggle world - but not being able to track somebody in the wizarding world was always a bad sign. That the Ministry was taking such an active interest in the ongoings at Hogwarts was also a bad sign, not to mention, Angelina's father's constant warnings set off alarm bells that even within the Auror's department, things were starting to look bad.
"We should probably talk about something else," said Angelina suddenly. "There are a lot of people in here... wouldn't what the wrong sort to overhear."
They discreetly glanced around the room, taking toll of who was present. The booths were filled with students settling down for lunch and a pint, happily chatting and comparing their morning purchases. Alicia waved at Evangeline Frank, who was sitting a few booths down and across from them with a couple other Hufflepuffs. The door opened and the little bell tinkled, announcing the presence of newcomers. Alicia looked over, and Carson Bishop, Roger Davies and Peter Kapur made their way in, cheeks pink from the cold. Carson caught her eye and grinned, waving her over.
"Just a sec guys," said Alicia, "I'm going to go say hi to Carson."
"Ooh, Carson," Fred and George sang, laughing like idiots. Alicia rolled her eyes. They made kissy faces, and howled with laughter. Alicia ignored them, and stalked over towards the bar, the only place with seats left, next to a few local regulars who were eying the students disdainfully.
"Hey guys," she said, leaning against a pillar by the bar. "Guess you got your fittings done?"
"Yeah, a right pain the arse it was too," Peter complained. "I don't think I've ever been stabbed so many times in my life!"
"He's ticklish," Carson explained, reaching out towards Peter's ribcage.
"Oi! Fuck off!"
"Hey, so I didn't know you were going to this thing. When did that happen?"
"Oh... er, it was sort of a last-minute arrangement," said Alicia awkwardly. "My, er, grandparents kind of forced it on me."
He nodded sympathetically.
"It's bollocks, eh? My girl, she goes to WADA but she's only a sixth year, so she isn't coming out 'til next year, which means I have to go with somebody who's coming out or who's already out. Have you got a date already? I haven't gotten round to asking anyone yet, I've just been so busy what with school and all, but I mean - not as a last resort or anything, if I wasn't with Luce, I'd ask you out in a heartbeat - but you know, if you haven't got a date yet, do you wanna go with me?"
Alicia blinked stupidly. "Oh! Yeah. Yeah, why not? To be honest, I hadn't really given it much thought either..."
"Yeah, me either. A lot of the girls take it seriously - most of 'em have had dates lined up since sixth year. Kind of ridiculous, yeah?"
Alicia laughed.
"Oi, Carson, what do you want to drink?" Roger asked, interrupting the conversation.
"Er, just a pint. Maybe a shot... you lads down for shots? How bout you, Alicia? On me."
"Yeah, sure. Who turns down free drinks?"
"Alright," said Carson, looking over at Roger, "Make that two pints of butter beer and shots all around. Chinese fireballs?"
They groaned simultaneously, but accepted the challenge.
"Hey, Rosie," said Roger, "how bout it then? Four pints and a round of Chinese fireballs! Care to join us?"
"Oh sweetie, how many times do I have to tell you, I can't drink with you - your father would kill me, even after all these years!"
Roger laughed, and winked.
"Ah, but I still say I'm much more fun than my father ever was."
Rosmerta shook her head, grinning as she poured out the pints.
"You don't know your father like I do, my dear. Are you all eighteen, then? Cheers!"
"Argh! And I certainly hope I never will," Roger replied, passing down the flaming shots of liquor. "Cheers to making it out of Gladrags alive."
"I'll cheers to that!"
Alicia blew out the green flames that rimmed the shot glass, and raised it to her lips in sync with the boys. The spicy, smoky liquor slipped down her throat about as easily as Skelegrow, and she picked up her pint of butter beer to drown out the taste.
"I don't know why we put ourselves through that."
Alicia blinked, for the world suddenly seemed to be tilted at a forty-five degree angle.
"Because it gets you sloshed like that," Roger slurred, waving his arms about. "Whoa."
Alicia giggled as wisps of green smoke rose out of Roger's nostrils.
"I should get back to my table," she managed to say, before bursting into giggles. "A-are you sure you don't want me to pay?" she slurred. "I know they're bloody pricey -
"Dunwurryboutit," Carson replied. "See you later A-Aleesha."
Alicia laughed hysterically.
"It's A-lee-cee-aaaaa," she enunciated, waving her arm about to each syllable like Flitwick conducting an orchestra.
"B-bye A-lee-cee-aaaaa!"
"Look at those assholes," Cassius muttered sullenly into his pint, glaring at the bar where Bishop, Davies and Kapur were laughing like hyenas. "And look at Spinnet, she looks like a bloody drunken trollop."
The girl in question tottered back towards the booth section, a silly grin on her face, laughing at herself as she breathed out little tendrils of green smoke.
"Oh, we should do some of those!" Pucey exclaimed. "Look how fucked she is! Oi, Spinnet, how much for a ride?" He tossed a knut on the floor in front of her as she started walking towards her booth. Cassius clenched his fists under the table as she looked down at the knut in confusion, then around. Suddenly, she saw him, and froze, looking like a hypogriff about to be run over by a train.
"Aren't you going to pick it up?" asked Montague innocently.
"Pick up your own d-damned nuts - knut," she slurred.
Where the fuck were her friends? Why weren't they here, pulling her away, defending her, threatening to curse them?
Cassius peered over his shoulder. Her friends sat four booths behind him; he could see the back of the Weasel twins' heads, and Bell and Johnson were too engrossed in whatever the twins were saying to notice that their drunken friend had run into trouble. Meanwhile, Alicia had stumbled her way over to them, and she leaned over, her palms pressed down on the edge of the wobbly table for support.
"Whoa!"
The boys snatched their drinks off the table before anything could spill. Alicia steadied herself, and glared at them.
"We were just kidding, Spinnet," said Montague, "Even if it is Warrington's birthday... you could offer us free services and we'd still tell you to go to hell. Go back to blowing the Weasels, I'm sure they accept mediocrity. And charity."
"Ibetchuknow all about sucking dick, that why there aren't any girls on your team again this year? H-Happy birthday, by the way, you have amaaaaaaazing friends -
Cassius stood up, before Montague could throttle Alicia to death.
"Don't get us kicked out, mate, it's my fucking birthday," he hissed. "And I really don't want to spend the rest of term working Runes alone."
"Get her the away from here then," Montague snarled. "Fucking harpy bitch. You're just lucky Warrington's your partner -
Finally, the Gryffindor idiots had realized there was some sort of commotion going on, and the whole lot of them came rushing over, wands drawn.
"Take her," said Cassius in disgust, pushing Alicia towards Johnson, who looked more like a Chinese fireball than her drunken, smoke-exhaling friend. "Some bloody friends you are, letting her get sloshed with those pricks."
Johnson opened her mouth to say something, but instead, focused her attention on Alicia, letting the twins to deal with the Slytherins. Cassius sat back down and knocked back his drink, ignoring the commotion around him. The twins finally backed away once they caught sight of Rosmerta's quick movements from the behind the bar, having come out from the back room and noticing the scene.
"Dunno how you deal with her," Montague bit out, breaking the tense silence that had settled over. He and Pucey broke out into an argument about which Gryffindor was the worst.
Cassius stood up. "Goin' to take a piss," he grunted.
He walked over towards the men's pisser, and accidentally-on-purpose rammed into Bishop, who was standing by the bar. He'd turned the corner before Bishop could see who the culprit was.
Fucking Spinnet. Seemed like the two most common words in his vocabulary over the past couple of weeks. Hadn't she been getting cosy with Bishop over at the bar, laughing and flipping her hair... flirting. And what kind of asshole ordered Chinese fireballs at noon anyway? Shots like that were for special occasions. He scowled. Yeah, like his birthday. He scoffed.
He washed his hands and left the washroom. Noticing the little door with a window that looked onto an alley in between the men's and women's washrooms, he pushed it open and stepped outside.
Having left his cloak inside, he was freezing in his robes, but he fished out his grandfather's flask to warm himself up, as well as his new pack of Chasers. He leaned against the wall, unhappily. What a fucking birthday, he thought grimly. A fantastic start to a new year. A sign to come; adulthood was going to suck.
He flinched, startled when the door suddenly opened, revealing a no-longer-smoke-breathing Spinnet standing in the doorway. She quickly stepped out, shutting the door behind her.
"I didn't know you smoked," she commented in a clear voice. Her drunkenness had evaporated with the green smoke. He shot her a dirty glare.
"What the fuck do you want?"
"One of your smokes," she replied, ignoring his rudeness. He blinked, and she repeated her request. "Or at least a hit off yours. Never had a magical cigarette."
"It isn't magical," he sneered.
She rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean. A not-muggle cigarette. Whatever."
She reached out and plucked his from between his lips, and strangely, he didn't stop her. She examined it as though she'd never seen anything like it before, and shrugged before popping it into her mouth.
"Hm. Tastes better than a muggle smoke. What's that then?" She gestured at his open flask.
"Go back inside, Spinnet, before somebody comes looking for you," he said warily.
"I forgot it was your birthday," she said solemnly, looking like a sorry child.
"It isn't your business to know that it's my birthday," he replied, lighting a second cigarette for himself.
"You're right," she admitted, looking perplexed, and he realized that her boldness came from liquid courage, for her eyes were shining brighter than usual, darting back and forth like a nervous unicorn's despite her considerably more sober appearance. "But I do. Isn't it odd?"
"Listen," he snarled, "As stimulating as this is, I'd rather be alone right now. So please. Fuck. Off. The last thing I need is to wake up in the goddamn Hospital Wing next week because one of your asshole friends decided I was harassing you. We haven't spoken in what, two weeks? It's been fucking amazing. Let's keep this up."
She looked at him, hurt and astonishment in her eyes, and he felt like a slimy prick. Circe, she was so fucking honest, not at all like the sorts of people he was used to, so unable to hide embarrassment or happiness, even pain. It made him ache for her, in a way that made him sick. She nodded mutely, and stamped out the cigarette, avoiding his angry gaze, a chastised kitten instead of the wild lioness he competed with on the pitch. When she disappeared into the warmth of the pub, he kicked the door shut behind her with a slam, feeling like he'd just kicked a puppy instead of the hard metal door.
Cassius took another burning sip of Ogden's, letting the burn of the whiskey slide to the back of his throat. It was no match for the burn left by Spinnet's soft lips upon his own chapped ones.
"You okay?" asked Katie when Alicia slid back into the booth next to her, ten minutes after having left for the bathroom. "Urgh, you reek!"
"I went out for a smoke," she admitted. Katie cast a charm, scowling - she hated smoking - so that the odour evaporated.
"Why the hell would you go out and do that for? And where on earth did you get a smoke?"
She shrugged.
"Dunno... bad habit from London, I guess. I always crave smokes when I get drunk."
"Where'd you get it?" Katie pressed. "I know you don't smoke regularly, and you better not start - I swear, if you bought a pack -
"Yeah, I know - sorry, Katie, smoking's a terrible habit and all that... it's just, I saw it in the bathroom dispenser," she lied.
"Hmph. You better throw it out, or I will for you... had us worried there for a second, thought you'd gone off to be sick or something."
"Sorry, yeah, I'm feeling loads better." It was true. The world had stopped spinning, and now she just felt... empty.
"We can tell," Angelina remarked wryly. "No more green smoke. I swear, I'm going to kill those idiots -
"Which ones?" Katie muttered.
"All of them. Fucking Davies, Montague, the whole lot of them. Men. Good for nothing."
"Oi, we're sitting right here!" Fred exclaimed.
Alicia turned her head away from her friends, sensing the burn of a stare upon her. Instinctively, she glanced over towards the little corridor by the bar where the bathrooms were. Cassius had returned, though when she caught his eyes, he frowned at her but didn't look away. She shifted her gaze elsewhere, and landed on the three Ravenclaw boys who were still sitting at the bar, Carson Bishop waving her over with a friendly smile.
Alicia stood.
"And where do you think you're going now?" said Angelina with a disapproving look.
Alicia rolled her eyes.
"I'm better now, mommy. I'm over to see Carson -
"Oh no you don't," the girls chimed firmly.
"Oh, relax," Alicia grumbled, "I won't be doing another one of those for awhile yet. Anyway, I could do with a glass of water." She slid out of the booth despite her friends' protests, and walked over towards the bar. Cassius brushed past her without a word, though she could see a storm brewing in his eyes. She felt his gaze following her like lasers in her back. She held her head high, ignoring Montague and Pucey's insults as she passed their table.
"Hey, you feeling okay? We just wanted to make sure - well, we saw what was going on with Montague and his lot," said Carson with an apologetic smile.
So what, you didn't feel like coming over?
"It's alright," Alicia replied with a shrug.
"Yeah, Rosie's kind of mad now," said Roger, "Said I betrayed her trust and whatnot."
"Yeah, how come whenever I try to order anything she always checks my ID?" Peter complained.
"Well, I can tell your right now, it's butter beer til your birthday from here on," Roger replied.
"They didn't give you too much trouble, did they?" Carson asked, glancing over at the Slytherins.
"Er, no. I mean, nothing I can't handle. To be honest with you, I can't really remember what they said."
"I'm really sorry we didn't come over, it's just - well, you know. I kind of caught the tail end of it as your friends were dragging you away, so I figured something must have happened." Suddenly, he grinned. "You must have said something quite nasty, though, because Warrington looks like he's about to rip your throat out!"
Alicia scowled, and discreetly looked over at the Slytherins through the reflection off the bar taps. She could just make out Cassius' face, twisted into a cold sneer. Prick.
"Might have said something along the lines of they like to blow each other," Alicia admitted.
Carson laughed, and even she managed to let out a giggle.
"Well I heard Terrence Higgs sort of leans that way, which was part of the reason why they let Malfoy take his place so easily."
"Pfft, yeah, that and the bajillion galleons his father spent on redesigning their entire locker room."
Carson raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah - well, Filch made me clean out the locker rooms for detention, and yeah - looks like a bloody mansion in there, marble flooring and all."
"Hmph, yeah, that would be right up their alley. The ball's at the Flints this year, according to my mother - invites are going out tomorrow, so we'll know for sure. They're pretty big on marble flooring from what I've seen at their firm... guess they don't like things being so different from home," he said wryly.
Alicia looked at him, alarmed.
"Invites? Already?"
"Oh, well, they're late on it this year, aren't they? Normally they're out by the time school starts, but, well, I guess things have been sort of hectic everywhere, haven't they?"
Alicia felt a slight wave of panic take over her for a moment.
"Listen, Carson, do you mind if we, erm, talk in private for a moment?"
He looked at her, surprised.
"Er, yeah. Okay, sure..."
She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down the little corridor with the bathrooms and the door to the alleyway.
"Outside? Really?" he said, looking amused.
"It's... very private," she said quickly, shoving him out the door.
She leaned against the metal door, shutting it behind her.
"So... what's up? You want to back out?"
"No! No, nothing like that. Well. I mean, sort of. Well, er, more like you're the one who's probably going to be backing out - erm... yeah..."
Alicia shoved her hands into her pockets and looked at him awkwardly.
"Why would I want to back out?"
Alicia shrugged.
"It's - well, I might as well tell you, since everyone will know by tomorrow... I just wanted to tell you in person - erm... I dunno. Er, you do know that I'm a half-blood, right?"
He frowned. "Alicia, you do know that I don't give a shit about that sort of thing, right? If that's what's got you worried -
"No! Of course not, I know you're not like that. It's - it's just that, my mum - well, I'm... er, sort of a bastard. Er... and I mean that literally. My mum's... er, well, she's - her name is Aurora DeWitt, and I suppose tomorrow when everybody finds out who I am, there's going to be a bit of a... a scandal. I mean, at least, that what my grandmother keeps saying, even though she's the one who's sponsoring me - well, my grandfather is, really, he's the one with all the money, I suppose - and - and, am I talking too quickly? I know it's a bit much - obviously, I understand if you don't want to be seen with me at the ball -
"Alicia. Shut up," said Carson lightly. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. "I don't care. Other people might, but as far as I'm concerned, you're a good friend and a good person. Yeah, it'll be a bit of a scandal, but so what? Everything's a scandal at those sort of events. Trust me, you being a bastard - and I use the term lightly - isn't even at the top of the list of things that have happened over the years... I mean, there've been elopements and kidnappings -
"Kidnappings?" Alicia exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah, well I mean ages ago, and you're definitely not the only person who's been in this position. Obviously people will be watching you a bit closely, and all the Slytherins and their sort will definitely give you the cut, but as long as you keep your head straight, you should be fine. Anyhow, DeWitt's a big name... if you're the DeWitt heir, then a lot of people will be looking to make sure you don't sink, so to speak..."
Alicia groaned.
"I knew I should've paid attention to all those lessons."
"Yeah, well... if you want, we can practice all the dances, and I'm sure Angelina and Katie can help you with etiquette and whatnot."
"Great. How fun. And why would people care if I'm the DeWitt heir? Which, by the way, I don't even think I am -
"Oh, you are," Carson assured her. "You have to be... haven't you started on your History of Magic Readings yet?"
Alicia shrugged sheepishly.
"Tsk, tsk, Alicia," he teased. "Well, I'll give you a little summary. You have to be the heir because of blood magic - everything is passed down through a combination of blood magic and through wills. If there aren't any direct descendants, then a will takes precedence when it comes to inheritance, although I can tell you right now people have been in and out of court for years, contesting wills that put estates and whatnot into the hands of non-blood relations."
"Hmph. No wonder they're putting me up to this, then..."
"Oh, yeah, well you know what they say... networking is everything... but, er, if that's all you were worried about, then let's go in, cause I'm getting bloody cold out here!"
Cassius was properly wasted by ten o'clock in the evening. His housemates, as well as a handful of people (mostly girls) from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, had ensured that his sour mood was alleviated by piling him with drinks, and even the occasional hit off a joint. Snape had been curiously absent, though he tended to turn a blind eye to birthday parties and to quidditch parties as long as things didn't get too rowdy.
"Oi, Cash," Montague shouted over the blaring music, "We couldn't get you a stripper, but we got you the next best thing!"
"Wassat?" Cassius slurred, stumbling his way over to Montague.
"C'mon, then, we got you a bit of a gift!"
Even in his drunken state, Cassius eyed his best friend suspiciously.
"If it's another -
"Watch your step, and no, I promise, you'll actually like what we've got for you this year."
Pucey stood at by the stairwell to help Montague drag Cassius down the stairs to their dorm. Pucey rapped on the door, and it swung open. Cassius peered in. Six girls stood in a row, one by each bed, each scantily clad in a variety of different uniforms; two Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs and two Slytherins, all dressed as slutty variations of maids and fairies and the like.
"Where are the Gryffs?" Cassius asked, and Montague and Pucey burst into laughter.
"What a joker, good to see you've got your humour back, mate! Now have fun! These ladies have promised to do anything you want. See in the morning, mate!"
The door slammed shut, leaving Cassius in the dimly lit room with six of Hogwarts' sexiest, sluttiest girls.
"Oi, don't you have a boyfriend?"
PS
I've been thinking about changing ratings to M but obviously I don't want to alienate anybody reading this... How do you guys feel about this?