Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews!
Peanutbutterjamjellyyy - I will always mark off explicit chapter titles with a 'rated M' so that you can get a heads up. Hopefully this is okay with you? I'm glad you found the last chapter good nevertheless, I was quite nervous about it. And obviously I'm not out to offend anybody...
Guest - I'm glad you liked the last chapter as well. Please let me know in the future if you find it becomes trashy smut, which is something I definitely want to avoid...
.serpent - I can definitely try to work something in from Alicia's POV in the near future :P
Anyway, here's the next chapter. Read and Review!
As Cassius lay in bed staring into the darkness, he silently contemplated a list of all the girls who would potentially be willing to part with a stopper. He knew they wouldn't have more than one each because stoppers were not only pricey, they were regulated... they weren't a method of birth control, and taking too many in a short period of time could have the disastrous effect of rendering the user sterile. There were birth control potions for a reason... because prats like him forgot to cast a simple charm every so often. The stopper was a last minute recourse, one that the girls he screwed had never needed. At least, not with him. Not until now.
The only problem with the girls, and it was a rather large one, was that they tended to not believe in the word 'discretion', and Cassius desperately wanted to avoid becoming the newest headliner in the school's gossip mill.
At breakfast the next morning after a gruelling practice during which Montague spent half the time barking at him to stay awake, Cassius was grimly pleased to see that Alicia looked as dead as he felt. His pleasure dissipated, however, when Bishop sauntered into the Great Hall like the great tosser that he was, and wandered over to the Gryffindor table to give Alicia a quick peck on the cheek. His displeasure multiplied when the imbecile settled down next to her, while her friends tittered from the sidelines. She was avoiding his gaze, he thought irritably. The word bitch came to mind. He'd only spent the entire bloody night trying to think of a way to sort out their little... issue.
Their.
Now that was a problematic word if there ever was one, but there was no denying it now... they'd crossed the line between enemy camps when Cassius had buried himself into her with a pleasure that haunted him still, and of course, things had been better in real life than they had ever been in his fantasies, fantasies which never should have existed in the first place.
He stabbed his kippers with such violence that hot grease sprayed up and scorched his hand.
"What's the matter with you?" Montague demanded, glaring at him before inspecting his sleeves to see if they'd been stained by grease.
Cassius dismissed him with a blank stare. He'd already spent an hour listening to Montague insulting his lacklustre performance during practice, that another one of his comments melted into the background chatter of hundreds of teenagers getting ready for another week of classes. Mondays. Cassius hated them.
"No, seriously," Montague insisted. "What crawled up your arse and died?"
A hush rippled across anybody within earshot, and Cassius threw his friend a disdainful glance before silently returning to his meal. He could practically feel everybody let out a collective sigh. Argument averted. Montague could be vicious, and Cassius could be irritably unresponsive. The two friends didn't argue often, but when they did, it tended to tilt towards the epic side, with Montague's voice rising in pitch with Cassius' every emotionless blink, until one of them finally snapped.
After breakfast, Montague confronted him in the loo, glaring at a couple of first years who quickly forgot about drying their hands and scampered out of the bathroom. Cassius waited for his friend to say something, as he knew Montague inevitably would, impatient with the silence that Cassius could carry on for an eternity.
"Why've you gone off the deep end?" Montague finally demanded, his eyes hard and scrutinizing.
"I haven't -
"Cut the bollocks, mate, you've been all - all moody for the past month, I'd say. Since Hogsmeade at least -
Shit, had it been that obvious?
Of course it had been. Montague wasn't an imbecile, he'd been made captain of the Slytherin team for a reason. And anyway, hadn't they been best friends practically since birth?
"I need a stopper."
"I know you do - what?"
Montague stared at him incredulously. If he'd been expecting Cassius to lay down some big secret, that hadn't been it.
Cassius crossed his arms and gave him a curt nod.
"You heard me."
Montague gaped openly at him. The door opened suddenly, and a fourth year tried to step in, though he quickly backed away after noticing the two Slytherin seventh-years throwing him death eyes.
"Why - what happened?"
Cassius didn't bother to grace the question with an answer. Montague gave him an irritated glance.
"I know what happened, you twat, I mean - what happened? Merlin's balls, mate, that's - it's you, we're talking about... No... no, it isn't, is it?" Montague paused and stared at him with an accusatory expression on his face. "It's a bird -
"It bloody well isn't a bloke," Cassius snapped.
Montague let out a low chuckle.
"You're in love," he said mockingly. "That's why you've been all -
"I'm not in love," Cassius snarled, to which Montague replied with another cold laugh.
"That's fine," he chuckled, "Quite frankly I don't give a damn whether you're in love or not, though it bloody well explains a lot."
"I said -
"I'm not in love!" Montague murmured, a sly expression on his face. "I suppose you aren't going to tell me who it is."
"There's nothing to tell," Cassius replied through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, Montague's face took on a grave expression.
"It isn't a mudblood, is it?"
"Circe, no." Worse, he thought grimly.
Montague nodded.
"When did it happen? You know how it works, obviously."
Cassius shrugged.
"You're the potions master... that's why I'm asking you," he said pointedly.
Montague looked at him appraisingly, then leaned back against the sink.
"Well, I'd say... you're shit out of luck. It takes fourteen days to brew from scratch. And it's supposed to be taken within three days of, well, yeah... after you shag."
Cassius felt his blood drain from his head, and Montague patted his back in mock sympathy.
"Why doesn't she just go to Pomfrey? Old bat stocks more than St. Mungo's, what with all the slags around here..."
"I wouldn't have asked you if that were an option," Cassius answered numbly.
Montague suddenly propped himself upright, and gave Cassius a serious look.
"How bad is it?"
Cassius looked at him dumbly.
"How bad is what?"
Montague laughed frostily.
"She's not a third year or anything like that, is it?"
Cassius gave him a look of disgust.
"I'm not a bleeding pedo -
"Just making sure... not one of those religious girls, either, eh?" Montague replied smoothly, giving him a cold look. "We've been friends long enough, you and I, and I know when something's up. So don't fuck with me, Cassius, or I'll make things... difficult for you. What. Did. You. Do."
They stared each other down, and Cassius had the uncomfortable sensation that Montague already knew everything, and that he'd been toying with him the entire time. Maybe it was the triumphant glint in his eye, the slight smirk that tugged at his lips -
"Go on," said Montague encouragingly.
Cassius licked his lips. The taste of copper shocked his tastebuds. His lips, perpetually dry, had cracked. He licked them again.
"I won't help you if won't help yourself," said Montague tauntingly.
"And how the bloody hell are you going to help me?"
Montague smirked.
"Don't you remember who helps Pomfrey on Sunday afternoons? How do you think I know that she stocks so much of it?"
Cassius looked up sharply.
"So. What's it going to be, mate? You're running out of time here. We've class in five minutes, and I'll wager your girl is running out of time too."
"It's Spinnet," Cassius muttered under his breath.
"What's that? I didn't hear you."
Cassius clenched his fists and stared into Montague's glittering green eyes.
"I said, it's Spinnet."
Montague gave him a curt nod, a full blown smirk now apparent on his face.
"That's what I thought."
The words echoed across the bathroom, and Cassius felt horror churn in his gut.
"You can't tell me you're all that surprised... you're usually rather discreet, so I couldn't help but notice that you've been quite... pre-occupied as of late. And, well, I know you went to go work on that project of yours with her last night... you're losing your touch, mate. Even Adrian's noticed you've been... well, out of sorts. And that's saying something."
Cassius felt sick, and Montague gave him a sly look.
"I'll have it for you by tonight."
He watched silently as Montague headed towards the door.
"What's the price?" he called out suddenly.
Montague turned around and gave him a mocking smile.
"No price. I just wanted to hear you say it."
Cassius let out a sharp breath.
"By the way, Cassius... if I were you, I'd sort this thing out while there's still time. I'm not going to say anything cause you're my best mate, but I can see where this is headed, even if you can't."
"Oh yeah? And where's that?" he said scornfully.
Montague looked at him with a serious expression on his face, and Cassius tensed.
"A graveyard... DeWitt or not, her mother's still a blood-traitor, and you know what's happening right now, just as well as I do... you have until we graduate if you're lucky, and even that isn't much time. But then again... you did say you weren't in love, so I guess it doesn't really matter, hmm?"
Cassius scowled, and Montague blinked back at him.
"Why are you helping me?"
Montague gave him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Quid pro quo, mate. One day, I'm going to ask you for a favour... and you better deliver."
Alicia sat anxiously as Carson babbled on about his future plans to work for the IWC, the International Wizarding Council, with hopes of securing a paid internship upon graduation through an uncle who worked as a diplomat in South America. She kept her eyes on the door, waiting for Cassius to make an entrance, but he never did. When Babbling shut the door and asked somebody to collect the weekly progress reports, Alicia halfheartedly resigned herself to another two hours of waiting for a confirmation on the status of the stopper.
After class, Carson asked her if she wanted to accompany him and the boys to watch their practice. The Ravenclaw-Slytherin match was coming up around the corner, and Roger had them practicing during the pre-lunch breaks. Though she wanted to refuse, she found it hard to say no to Carson when he flashed her his big warm smile, and especially with the guilt that had been gnawing on her insides since the previous night. While they hadn't even gone to Hogsmeade yet, and it had only been two days since she'd snogged him in the corridor to spite Cassius, she had a horrible feeling that the poor boy was semi-infatuated with her. He'd been nothing but kind, and Alicia had already gone and... well, essentially cheated on him, if he thought of her as his new girlfriend. Not to mention... she felt bad enough as it was besides all of the above. While she'd stayed awake thinking all night, it had suddenly occurred to her that Carson might have broken up with his girlfriend over her, even if they'd only just been friends at the time... though it was clear to her now that he hadn't regarded her as 'just friends' for a while, if ever...
Alicia cast a warming charm on her robes and sat on the bleachers in the Gryffindor stands, watching as the Ravenclaws flew around the pitch. She cast a disdainful glance at the usual silly group of girls who giggled from the sidelines... was it just her or were they getting younger every year? Or maybe she was just getting older... A group of third year Gryffindors, much to her embarrassment, were two bleachers behind her, and Alicia was astonished by the crassness of their comments. Did she ever speak like that at their age?
She let out a groan. She was starting to think like an old lady.
Suddenly, the girls behind her began tittering simultaneously, all giggles and and sly whispers. Alicia glanced behind her to glare at them, when she caught sight of Cassius heading towards her, a brooding expression on his face.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed, hoping to god that Carson didn't see them together. The third years behind her were bad enough, and one of them dared to inform her in a loud, dramatic voice that she was "consorting with a Slytherin."
Alicia shot the girl a dirty look.
"Keep your comments to yourself, you little snot," she snapped. "We're talking business, not that it's any of your concern."
"And what sort of business would any decent Gryffindor have with a Slytherin?" the girl shot back, before glancing smugly at her giggling friends. "Even if he is rather fit."
Cassius coughed uncomfortably, unsure of how to react to the bizarre situation. He'd never had confrontations with younger Gryffindors before, with the exception of Potter and Baby Weasley who were Quidditch rivals more than anything... if he did get into confrontatns with Gryffindors, they generally weren't any younger than in their sixth year, fifth years maybe if he was in a bad mood. These girls, despite their amateur and liberal use of glamour charms, were unable to hide the fact that they couldn't have been more than thirteen. He uncomfortably recalled Montague asking him if he'd shagged a third year. He watched with some amusement as Alicia told the girls off, with no less animosity than when she was dealing with Slytherins.
"We're talking business, you brats, because we're partners for a bloody project. And take that cigarette out of your mouth before I report you -
"You're going to tell on me?" the girl with dark hair exclaimed incredulously.
Cassius almost laughed. It was like watching a mother deal with a particularly snotty teenaged daughter, except in this case, the mother was only four years older, and just as bad. Cassius recalled Alicia's drunken Hogsmeade escapade with some irritation, as he caught sight of Bishop flying towards them.
"Oi, are you girls alright?"
Fucking Saint Bishop, knight in shining armour, always to the rescue.
The girl with the dark hair had stamped out her cigarette, and was now beaming up at Bishop.
"Oh, we're fine," she said, standing up. "I'm Romilda by the way, Romilda Vane -
"Alicia?" said Bishop, cutting the girl off, "What's he doing here?"
Alicia sighed in frustration.
"Nothing. We were trying to discuss the assignment but these little shits wouldn't shut up."
Carson looked at her in surprise.
"Alicia, they're only second years -
"Er, we're actually third years."
Carson shot them an irritated glance, and Alicia looked at him pointedly to say, See? They're little shits!
"Alright," he said grudgingly, "I should get back... though you'd better take him away before Roger thinks he's spying."
"I'm right here, Bishop," Cassius announced, "So if you've got something to say -
"Warrington, you've got three seconds to get the hell out of here, before I send a bludger to your face."
The girls gasped at the sight of drama.
"Cassius!" Alicia exclaimed, and all heads snapped in her direction. She felt her face flush at the verbal slip-up. She glanced at Carson, who was staring at her, astonished. She rolled her eyes in irritation.
"What?" she said defensively, "It's annoying referring to someone by their last name every two seconds when you're working with them. And anyway, Warrington is three bloody syllables long!"
Cassius shot Bishop a smug glance, but Alicia shoved him back towards the exit before he could say anything to antagonize the prick any further.
Alicia glanced back apologetically at Carson, who was bobbing up and down on his broom, looking irritated.
"You'll be okay?" he asked her, and she felt even worse as Cassius snorted under his breath.
"I'll be fine," she replied reassuringly, giving Carson a bright smile. He threw Cassius another dirty look before flashing her a grin.
"Alright, I'll see you later then."
"Wanker," Cassius muttered.
"Why do you always have treat him like that?" Alicia asked angrily.
"Like what?" Cassius shot back. "He's a tosser, if I ever met one. Anyway, he's the one who flew over looking for a fight."
Alicia glared at him disdainfully.
"Yes, because you're a Slytherin! And you're on the team! Obviously they would think you were spying or something, and anyway, I wouldn't put it past Montague -
"Don't talk shit about him," said Cassius coldly, cutting her off. "You have no idea what kind of bollocks you'd be in right now if it weren't for him."
"Me?" Alicia said incredulously. "What are you talking about?"
She fell silent, as they passed by a group of Slytherin girls, who eyed her with suspicion. Alicia sighed in irritation. This would happen. The girls gave her the once-over, and Alicia could only imagine what they were thinking. Slytherin bitches were worse than their male counterparts... the boys were more openly aggressive, all about quick duels and shoving matches on occasion. The girls liked to fight dirty, fans of the school of thought that said revenge was a dish best served cold. More than one girl who had crossed their path had ended up with a surprise period a few days later, telltale streaks of blood staining the backs of their skirts, or pimples and warts that simply wouldn't disappear no matter how many glamours were cast or potions taken.
"Cassius, what're you doing with her?" said Charlene Cartel, the leader of her snooty little pack. She was the prettiest out of the four, a tall auburn-haired girl with long, lean legs, an ample chest, and big eyes that led one to believe she was the most innocent creature on the planet. And then she opened her mouth, and she spewed nothing but nastiness.
"We're working on a bloody assignment," Alicia snapped, annoyed at having to repeat herself at anyone who looked at them. Admittedly, they made an odd sight, the two rival chasers walking side by side in an almost amicable-seeming manner, but still!
Cartel threw her a filthy look.
"I'm not asking you, you fat halfblood bitch," the girl sneered. Her friends laughed, and Alicia reached for her wand. Cassius grabbed her wrist, and she glared at him angrily.
"Let go of me, you prick!"
"Shut up," he snapped. "I'm saving your stupid arse from detention so that we don't screw up our next report like you undoubtedly did this one."
The girls burst out laughing, and Alicia found herself shaking in anger.
"I'd watch myself if I were you, Spinnet," said Charlene coyly, as she and her friends walked by. Alicia snarled obscenities at her the girls walked away, still laughing.
Cassius dropped her arm when the girls were out of sight.
"Fuck you," Alicia hissed. She rubbed her wrist angrily. "You bloody bruised me!"
Cassius looked down at her wrist, and sure enough, there was a bruise... and it was much too set to be recent. He looked at her darkly.
"I might have bruised you," he said in a low voice, "But that isn't from today."
Alicia flushed, and Cassius smirked at her. They walked in silence, until suddenly, they couldn't move anymore.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alicia snarled, looking up angrily. "This is rot, absolute rot - how is anybody supposed to bloody walk around this place until the holidays?"
"Just kiss her already, mate," somebody drawled from behind them.
Alicia felt the blood drain from her face. Montague. She suddenly remembered what Cassius had said about not shit talking Montague, something about how she would have been in trouble if it weren't for him... But no... of course he couldn't know, Cassius wouldn't tell - would he? No, of course not... He'd have more to lose than she would - she didn't have a family waiting to cut her head off for shagging somebody of different 'blood'...
Cassius cursed the prefects, and Yule and all of its stupid traditions as Montague sauntered into sight.
"Go on then, what are you waiting for?"
"Fuck off, Montague!"
"Watch your mouth, Spinnet," said Montague maliciously, "Or you might find yourself in a rather... unfortunate situation... what is it they say again? Oh. Right. History repeats itself, I believe the adage goes? But then again, you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong... I dropped History of Magic to take... Potions."
Alicia's eyes grew wide with shock, and she glanced at Cassius whose face was grim. So. He'd told.
"Or maybe you should do the kissing, Spinnet, seeing as to how you're so good at it... I'm sure you gave Bishop the best snog of his life the other day."
Cassius tensed next to her, and Alicia scowled as Montague circled them like a shark before leaning against the wall, looking as though he were waiting for a show to begin.
"Don't tell me it takes you two this long to get started... no wonder you've been in such a shitty mood, mate. What, did Spinnet here not put out 'til yesterday?"
Alicia flushed in anger, and Montague gaped at her, wide-eyed.
"Well, well, you don't say..."
Alicia quickly pecked Cassius on the lips, and pulled away once she felt the charm's binds release them. Montague clapped slowly.
"You're a prick," Alicia hissed, glaring at Montague.
"My, my, aren't we thankful? How's this for a deal... how 'bout you give me a kiss and maybe I'll forgive you. And maybe I'll even give you a little gift. Three guesses for you to tell me what you think it is."
Montague whipped out a tiny glass vial filled with a murky purple liquid and smirked at Cassius.
"I figured you've never had any problems with sharing before," said Montague. "So you won't mind if Spinnet here gives me a kiss to apologize for her rudeness, do you?"
There's always a price, Cassius thought angrily, recalling their earlier conversation. Montague's eyes glittered as he turned to Alicia, who looked horrified by the thought. But her eyes flickered between the little glass vial and Cassius, who stared back at her with a stony expression. Montague smirked.
"What are you looking at him for, Alicia, he doesn't care if you snog me or not... we could shag right here, and he wouldn't give a damn, isn't that right, mate?"
Cassius gritted his teeth, but said nothing. Fucking Graham and his games. He'd made his point and he knew it. Cassius was trapped between admitting that he had deeper feelings for Alicia (which he bloody well didn't!), or watching them snog. And knowing Montague, it wouldn't be a chaste peck on the lips. After all... he'd denied having any feelings for her, and Montague was right in calling him out on not usually caring about sharing his girls. He swore inwardly.
"So what's it going to be, hmm? I don't want to miss lunch, and you can understand that I don't want to be seen snogging you when class lets out..."
"Then why do you want me to kiss you at all?" Alicia demanded incredulously.
Montague smiled coolly.
"Oh, well it'd be fun! Don't you ever plays chess, Spinnet? Drives you mad, doesn't it, but when you win..."
Alicia glanced back at Cassius once more, but his face was still unreadable, though his eyes were radiating flames. She looked back at Montague, who'd pocketed the vial and was standing now, arms crossed in front of her. Alicia swallowed uncomfortably.
"Fine," she hissed angrily. "One kiss. No tongue."
"You don't make the rules," said Montague, "But I agree. One kiss. Like... hm, like you kissed Bishop the other day, and not that pathetic display I just saw. With tongue. And if you bite me or do anything unpleasant in any sort of way, deal's off. Hell, you might as well enjoy it, Spinnet... I know I will."
Montague threw Cassius a smug look, and Cassius clenched his fists in his pockets, fingers stroking his wand and his grandfather's flask. Fucking Montague, mother fucker -
Alicia struggled not to feel debased as Montague's tongue creeped past her lips, and she kissed him back in shame, feeling hot tears of anger pricking at her eyes as her tongue brushed against his thin, unfamiliar lips.
Cassius' mind went blank with rage as he watched his best friend cup his girl's face with one hand and grab her ass with the other, tongue shoved down her throat as he kissed her.
Your girl? Really?
Fuck off!
Montague finally pulled away after a torturous eternity, then looked straight into Cassius' eyes, expression blank but severe.
"Sort your shit out," was all he said as he handed him the glass vial from his pocket, before silently strolling away.
A dry, choked sob broke the silence when Montague's footsteps disappeared into the distance as he turned the corner of the corridor, and Cassius turned around, shaking in anger.
Alicia wiped furiously at her eyes, and Cassius could hear her erratic breathing as she tried not to cry. It was a sorry sight.
They heard a door slam somewhere in the distance, followed by the distant chatter of two dozen students pouring out of a classroom. The bell rang as if on cue, and the corridors roared to life as other students escaped their classes for a much needed break.
"C'mon," Cassius muttered, pushing Alicia forward.
Alicia walked quickly with her head down and her hood up, following behind Cassius, who walked while keeping his eyes on the ceilings for mistletoe. They dodged trapped students squirming uncomfortably as their friends and passer-bys laughed, until they found themselves pushing against a tide of Hufflepuffs leaving their common room, on their way to the Great Hall. Alicia followed at a distance, unwilling to be seen too close to a Slytherin. There'd been too many close calls already, and she had friends in Hufflepuff. Mercifully, with her hood up, nobody stopped her, and Alicia soon found herself standing by the giant painting of fruit that led to the kitchens.
Cassius reached up and tickled the pear, which was the oddest sight Alicia had ever seen, but she was too upset to laugh. The pear squirmed and giggled, and transformed into a doorknob.
"After you," he grunted, pushing the door open wide, revealing ninety-nine scrambling house elves running back and forth, shouting at each other in their odd English as they sent food up to the Great Hall for lunch.
"Mr. Warrington!" one of the elves squeaked in fear, eyes flickering back and forth between its hurried colleagues and Cassius' frowning face. "Why is you not in the Great Hall?"
"If I wanted to eat in the Great Hall, I would be in the Great Hall," he snapped irritably.
"No need to be so rude," Alicia muttered disapprovingly.
"So, she speaks," Cassius retorted, as the little house elf led them towards the large brick fireplace at the other end of the room.
"Don't bow," said Alicia as house elves stopped working to bow and scrape before them when they passed through the room. "No, it's okay - just, er, get back to work."
She could never get used to the idea of ordering people about. Or house elves, for that matter. It just... didn't feel right. Lord... maybe Hermione had gotten to her on some subconscious level.
"Dobby wil bring sir and miss food and drink."
They sat in silence by the fire, listening to the hustle and bustle of the house elves, and the clattering of the pots and pans.
Cassius stared blankly at Alicia's face, and all he could picture was Montague's teeth grazing her lips, tongue slipping into her mouth as he'd been forced to passively watch like an imbecile as she'd kissed him back, teary eyes wide open in anger and shame. In a fit of angry jealousy, Cassius tilted her chin up and pressed his lips furiously against hers. He could have sworn he caught a whiff of Montague's aftershave against her soft skin, and he felt his blood boil in his veins. He kissed her harder still, and she kissed him back with a desperation that made him sick to the stomach.
Alicia melted against him, frantic for the familiarity of his lips, his smell and his taste. She hadn't realized that the taste of Montague had been in the back of her throat, the feel of him haunting her, until Cassius had kissed her, and it occurred to her with a sudden freshness what had transpired in the past ten minutes or indeed, in the last twenty-four hours. She revelled in the feel of him against her, the familiarity of his perpetually dry lips, which were fuller than Montague's soft thin ones. Cassius' smell took over her senses with a speed that she was grateful for, his warm heavy woody scent overwhelming the fresh coolness that Montague had left on her skin.
They were interrupted by a tiny, bashful squeak, and Cassius pulled away long enough to shoot a dirty glare at the house elf, Dobby. Alicia gave the elf an apologetic smile.
"Thank you, Dobby is it? It's really nice of you to bring us all this food, I know you're all so busy right now -
"Don't think him, it's his job," said Cassius. "And anyway, he'll just go and run his against the wall if you do. They don't like it when you thank them."
Dobby had scurried away, sensing a brewing argument, and Alicia glared at Cassius.
"Look what you did!"
Cassius rolled his eyes.
"I have house elves. I'm telling you, I know you think you're being kind or whatever, but they don't like it. Alright, maybe that one does, but he's the exception."
Alicia looked at him strangely.
"And how do you know that? Not all house elves are the same, just like humans aren't all the same -
"Seriously? You want to argue about house-elves? Now?" said Cassius incredulously as he picked up a mini pot pie and put it on his plate. "And anyway, I know that house-elf, and I'm telling you, he's the exception."
"What do you mean you know him? He's yours?"
Cassius wrinkled his nose.
"No, he used to belong to the Malfoys."
Alicia made a face, and a sympathetic noise.
"Eat," Cassius muttered after a heavy silence, noticing that Alicia hadn't touched her plate.
"I'm not really hungry," Alicia replied.
"I wasn't asking."
"Well you're not the bloody boss of me -
"Alicia," said Cassius in a stony voice, setting down his fork and knife. "If I'm telling you to eat, it's not because I get my jollies from watching you shovel down a bloody pie, OK? So stop being so fucking difficult and eat your goddamn food, or you can spend the next three hours over the sodding toilet spewing out bile and potion and merlin knows what else. And then you know where that'll leave us? Back to square one. And I doubt that Montague will be inclined to be so fucking generous with his offer the next time."
Alicia looked up at him with a stricken expression on her face, and Cassius shut himself down, refusing to feel bad. He stabbed at his pie and shoved a forkful into his mouth to avoid having to speak.
They ate in silence.
Ten minutes later, Alicia shoved her empty plate forward, and slammed her fork down next to it, announcing, "There. I'm done."
She was being trite and she knew it, but she was angry and humiliated. She remembered the feeling of Montague's lips over hers, his horrid grip on her ass, and most of all, Cassius' stonewall of a face when Montague had oh so casually asked him if it bothered him to share. The barely perceptible shrug. The acquiescence.
What did it matter?
Of course it didn't. Who the hell was she to assume that it would? No Romance, she thought icily, Cassius' favourite words. You're just another one of his slags. He likes to share.
Fine, let him treat her like a slag. She'd spent two summers sleeping around without a second thought. She was a slag. Let him be another faceless, nameless fuck. It didn't matter. It didn't bloody matter because she didn't like him anyway. He just shagged better than the others, that was all.
Keep telling yourself that.
I don't care.
"Here," Cassius muttered, sliding the tiny vial across the table. Alicia stared down at it with a blank expression before reaching out for it. The vial was warm to the touch. She popped open the top and gagged at the smell, an indescribable odour that reminded her of her great-grandfather's retiring home.
"I just drink it?"
"That's the idea."
"No need to get snippy," Alicia sneered. She plugged her nose and knocked it back, gasping at the foul taste. It was a thick syrupy liquid, warmer on her tongue than in the vial, and it burned on its way down, tasting worse than it smelled.
"Any nausea?"
"Did you smell that thing?"
Cassius stared at her blankly, unimpressed.
"Stomachache, cramps? Anything?"
"No," she muttered. "It's bloody disgusting though."
Cassius stood up, and rubbed the back of his neck, yawning. Exhaustion suddenly fell upon him as though he'd been hit by a bludger. Alicia felt sleepy just looking at him. They looked awkwardly at each other.
"You going to History?" she finally asked, for lack of anything better to say.
Cassius snorted.
"Like we have a choice. Good place to fall asleep, though."
Alicia nodded in agreement.
"So..."
Cassius sighed in irritation then crossed his arms over his chest.
"Look, let's not make this any more awkward than it already is, alright? If you want to keep shagging... then fine. We can work something out... And don't worry about Montague, I'll deal with him later. If you don't, then that's fine too. We finish the assignment and that's that. Back to normal. We pretend like nothing ever happened."
Alicia stared at him incredulously.
"You want me to make up my mind now?"
"If not now, then when? I don't want to prolong this... this intermediate waiting business. I've had enough of it. We've spent three bloody months of it, so you need to make up your mind. We've already shagged, so now you know what it's like. Yes or no."
Alicia remembered the previous night's events, which had gotten them into this mess in the first place. She put her hands on her hips, then looked up at him. Typical Cassius, as expressionless as ever, she thought scornfully.
"Well what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Stop being difficult," said Alicia mockingly. "You know what. What do you want to do?"
"I asked you first."
"Really? You want to play that game?"
"Just answer the question, Alicia."
Alicia looked at him with a smug smile.
"You want to keep shagging," she said.
He rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah? Been taking divination, have we? And how do you figure that?"
She smirked.
"You said so yourself, everything goes back to normal if we stop... stop whatever it is that we're doing."
"So?"
"So, Cassius, if everything was back to normal, you wouldn't be standing here right now. You would have said answer the question, Spinnet."
"That's what I said," he retorted impatiently.
"No, you didn't." She paused, then looked at him in the eyes. "You called me Alicia."
That night, Cassius stumbled his way over to see Montague in his captain's office, and was unhappily reminded of that feeling he always had when summoned to his father's office at home. It ticked him off to no end.
He knocked sharply on the door, and waited for Montague to come to the door.
"Thought you might show up at some point," said his friend, looking utterly unsurprised by Cassius' impromptu visit. He frowned suddenly, and peered into Cassius' eyes, sniffing slightly.
"Are you pissed, mate? Circe, you smell like a bloody tavern." He smirked. "Well. This should be interesting."
Cassius scowled at him. Montague simply crossed his arms and looked at him with an amused expression on his face.
"You going to just stand there all night, or did you come here to say something?"
Cassius stared angrily at Montague, then hissed, "Why did you do it?"
Montague smiled coyly.
"Do what? I only did as you asked... I got you the damned potion, didn't I?"
"Fuck you, Graham, you know what I'm talking about."
"Swearing at me won't get you very far," Montague replied silkily as he went around his desk to sit down in his chair. He motioned for Cassius to sit, and again, he was reminded of his father's chastising summons, and it chafed his nerves.
"Why," said Cassius through gritted teeth, "Did you make her kiss you?"
Montague leaned back in his chair and took a swig out of a bottle of butterbeer sitting on his desk.
"I'd offer you one," he said casually, "But looks to me as though somebody's already drank his way through a brewery. What were you saying again? Oh, right. That. Well, as far as I'm aware, I didn't make Spinnet kiss me, she did it voluntarily."
"She never would have if you hadn't threatened her," Cassius snapped.
Montague smirked.
"You think so? She seemed pretty eager to suck the life out of Bishop's face the other day... you should really watch out for girls like that, you know, if you want to get all possessive."
"I'm not bleeding possessive!"
Montague let out a laugh.
"Exactly my point. You're not possessive. Not normally. So why's Spinnet any different? Hell, we've shagged girls together and you never gave a damn."
He took another sip of his butterbeer, then looked seriously into Cassius' eyes.
"You might hate me right now, but I just did you the biggest favour of your goddamn life. I could see why you might want to keep her all to yourself, though it's rather selfish of you... Pucey's been all over her arse since fifth year, don't you know? And she's quite good at kissing, I know I was surprised. Does she suck cock just as well? Sit down, Cassius. You want to look at me now and tell me that you still don't love her? That it didn't bother you to watch us have a proper snog?"
Cassius said nothing, willing himself not to strangle his best friend to death, and Montague nodded, standing up to meet his gaze face to face.
"That's what I thought. Think about it this way, mate. If I didn't come along when I did, you'd probably still be in denial 'til graduation. Then you'd really be fucked. I just sped up the process."
"And how is that in anyway a goddamn favour?"
"Because. Now you can work on cutting her out of your life before it's too late. And something tells me that six months from now would have been too late." He paused, then looked gravely into Cassius' eyes. "I don't know, though. Maybe it already is."
Thoughts?