Author's Note: I've always loved MandyinKC's works, but especially her story "A Girl Like Her", which hooked me on the Alicia/Adrian pairing years ago. I know she has a longer A/A (Spucey) story in her head, and I so hope she finishes it one day. But for some reason, right before I went on a vacation in Summer 2024, my Muse randomly latched onto this pairing and I wrote a fanfic loosely based off of her fanfic (which I usually do not do because that weirds people out sometimes). That fic, which was meant to be a stand-alone, eventually became a chapter (The Art of Exacting Revenge) of this suddenly much-longer story that was never supposed to be a story...because my Muse just decided to do what she does best (re: ignoring me), and to hell with anything else. Thank God Mandy has been super sweet and understanding about all of my random writing, because before I knew it, this was waaaaay out of my control, LOL. She was very encouraging of me to continue writing what was in my head, even though it was so far off from her head canon.
As a matter of fact, the first chapter here was not even supposed to be a part of this story when I originally wrote it. I had re-read PoA, I made a note that this would be a good "missing scene", but I didn't quite know what approach to take until after I wrote The Art of Exacting Revenge and my Muse remembered how much she loves Spucey.
Disclaimer: I am obviously not JKR, and let's face it, none of you thought I was. I'm just playing in the sandbox like several thousand others.
~EA
Inspiration:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Chapter 9: Grim Defeat
The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling.
Missing Moment: Night Patrol, Halloween '93
Halloween Night - October 31, 1993
Alicia Spinnet felt a twinge of nervousness and fear as she accompanied her fellow Gryffindors back to the Great Hall. The very idea that Sirius Black had found a way into Hogwarts Castle despite the many protections around the structure and the grounds was unthinkable and terrifying.
All around her, the same questions echoed through the throng of Gryffindors: How did he get in? Why didn't he kill anyone? Immediately next to her, Fred and George were (for once) more serious than usual as they debated possibilities with Lee, Angelina, and Katie. Alicia half-listened, but there was so much talk around her that it was hard to focus on just one conversation.
And then, just before they got to the marble staircase, Kenneth touched her shoulder.
Kenneth Towler was her fellow Gryffindor prefect for their year. He was of medium height and she supposed he was good-looking enough — he had light-brown hair, brown eyes, and wore glasses, but Alicia had never been attracted to him that way. For one thing, he was rather boring and dull. In all honesty, she felt a bit sorry for him, because it couldn't possibly be easy to be a normal, run-of-the-mill guy in a dorm with Fred, George, and Lee. Next to his three dorm mates, Kenneth was simply lackluster and faded into the background. Throw in the fact that he preferred studying to goofing off (something that had never been lost on the other three Gryffindor boys) and he often found himself on the receiving end of Fred and George's jokes. She supposed he had been the obvious choice for Gryffindor prefect in their year, but Alicia was positive he had no ability to exercise control over his dorm mates.
In a voice of annoying superiority, he said, "I suspect the Head Boy and Girl will want all the prefects to gather around as soon as we get to the Great Hall."
Alicia felt a wave of irritation ripple through her. As if he really thought she hadn't figured that out on her own? Cripes, but Percy Weasley would be in his element! She didn't even grace Kenneth with a response. Instead, when he glanced away from her to see how the crowd was moving, she rolled her eyes and turned to Angelina.
In a low voice, Alicia said, "Percy will want the prefects to help out when we get to the Great Hall. I won't be able to join all of you there."
Fred snorted. "Please. Big Head will probably want to take on Sirius Black himself. He wouldn't want anyone else stealing the glory."
Alicia rolled her eyes again. There was a certain element of truth in Fred's statement, but for tonight, Percy would have to be content just ordering everyone else about. Because it wasn't as if Professor Dumbledore would actually allow him to help search for Black; he was still a student, after all.
Just as she and Kenneth expected, Percy called all of the Gryffindor prefects to gather around him as soon as they entered the Great Hall. He did at least wait for the other houses to arrive before issuing orders, though — partly because he needed Gemma Farley, this year's Head Girl to assist him, and also because Gemma would be highly annoyed if Percy started without her.
As soon as everyone was within the hall and Dumbledore had explained to the school just what was going on, he locked them inside and Percy announced to the prefects that they would be patrolling between the rows of squashy sleeping bags to make sure no one was talking — a task that, Alicia felt sure, was going to be next to impossible.
"Weasley and I will be putting you into pairs," Gemma called out importantly. "Listen up!"
They partnered the fifth-year prefects first, and Kenneth was told to patrol with the soft-spoken, pretty blonde Hufflepuff Chrysanthe Hayden. Alicia's heart leapt almost into her throat; maybe Percy would partner her with Cedric Diggory! Merlin, but he was fit. She shared Charms, Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy with him, but she had never been partnered with him to patrol before. He had always been attractive, but it was far more noticeable now in their fifth year than ever before. All the girls in their year had noticed Cedric.
So it came as a bit of a letdown when Percy consulted his clipboard and said, "Alicia Spinnet, if you'll go with Adrian Pucey. Cedric Diggory, you'll be with Viola Bradford, and Ernest Styles, you go with Courtney Vanhausen."
Alicia sighed and turned away from the group. Adrian Pucey walked up to her, and she tried to smile at him. Best to be friendly if she was going to be partnered with him for the majority of a very long night. And at least he was better than Ernest Styles, the Ravenclaw male prefect of their year. Ernest was short, had acne, was an insufferable know-it-all, and would likely irritate the always-refined Slytherin prefect Courtney Vanhausen until she hexed him just to shut him up.
Adrian's expression, however, was blank and shuttered, which wasn't terribly surprising — the whole Slytherin versus Gryffindor rivalry had always run deep. He glanced at her once, but said nothing as he began walking between the rows of sleeping bags. Alicia fell into step beside him and racked her brains to remember what little she knew about him.
Well, first, they shared four classes together, yet she had never really spoken with him. Originally, they'd only shared Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but since their third year, they had also shared Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. He was brilliant in all of his studies.
And truthfully, he was as good-looking as Cedric, but with an entirely different appearance and attitude. Cedric had brown hair, Pucey had black. Cedric was warm and friendly, Pucey was quiet yet confident. However, he was also aloof and haughty — though, now that she thought of it, she had never seen him act cruelly towards anyone, as some Slytherins did. She couldn't remember him bullying any Gryffindors in Potions or Defense, which was what Warrington and Bletchley and the other Slytherins in their year were apt to do. Pucey just sat quietly and did his work, occasionally answering questions to earn points for his house.
She knew, too, that he had been a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team and that he was a damn good flyer, but more importantly, he played fair. Just as it was unusual that he didn't bully others, so was how he acted on the pitch. Most of the Slytherin players didn't play fair against Gryffindor. Maybe that was why Flint had taken him off the Slytherin roster this year and placed him in reserve, despite him being such a good Chaser.
Finally, he was a pureblood, which wasn't anything surprising. Most Slytherins were, though there were a few half-bloods (and, even rarer, one or two muggle-borns). But Pucey was from an old family, like many of the others.
Well, if he wasn't going to talk to her, she wasn't going to say anything to him either, even if it made for a boring night. Though, silence would be better than him making snide remarks, she supposed.
But then, much to her surprise, he suddenly cleared his throat and said quietly, "So...was the Fat Lady's portrait really slashed to ribbons?"
Alicia glanced at him and nodded. "I didn't see it because I was too far back, but yes. Her painting was apparently very badly damaged."
He frowned slightly and tilted his head towards her just a fraction. "Was she injured herself?"
"Peeves said she ran out of the portrait just before Black attacked it. She fled through the other portraits in the castle. The last I heard, she was hiding in one of them."
He nodded to show he'd heard her and fell silent again. Students were finally starting to crawl into their sleeping bags, but there was still plenty of talk. Alicia knew it was a lost cause to try and stop everyone from gossiping just yet.
Percy, however, clearly believed otherwise. At that precise moment, he bellowed for everyone to be quiet and go to sleep as he bustled down the center of the huge room.
Pucey rolled his eyes and muttered, "Weasley's an idiot if he thinks everyone's just going to stop talking because he says so, especially after something as big as Black breaking into the castle."
Normally, she would have stood up for a fellow Gryffindor, but this time, she had to agree with Pucey. "That's Percy, for you."
They had reached the end of the Great Hall, where the professors' table normally stood. As they turned to walk back up another row, the Bloody Baron materialized next to them. Alicia shivered internally but tried to keep her face neutral. She knew less about the Slytherin ghost than she did about Adrian Pucey.
"I'm afraid it will be a long night, Mr. Pucey," the Baron said stiffly, gazing unblinking at the mass of sleeping bags concealing whispering students.
Pucey asked quietly, "Did any of the ghosts see Sirius Black in the castle?"
"No, unfortunately."
"Do you have any idea how he could have gotten in, sir?" Alicia asked politely. She wasn't certain how to address the Bloody Baron — it wasn't as if she knew his real name. Your Lordship? That sounded stuffy and pretentious, but she didn't want to be rude, either.
The ghost frowned. "I do not. Hogwarts is so well protected, this year more than ever. The secret passageways are covered and there are dementors at the gates. It should have been impossible, but he has done it. We ghosts have discussed theories, but we have no concrete ideas."
"Dark magic, I suspect," Pucey said grimly, and the Bloody Baron nodded in agreement.
Percy yelled again for everyone to stop talking and the lights went out all at once; in the now-dark hall, only the stars from the ceiling and the glimmering ghosts gave off any light. Alicia shivered again.
Pucey noticed, even though they were in near-total darkness. "Are you cold?"
His tone was polite, but there was still a current of haughtiness beneath it that she couldn't read. On the surface, it seemed friendly, but there was something else, something lurking out of sight, and that nettled and annoyed her for some reason. She didn't like not being able to read him.
"A little, but I'll be fine," she said. "I can cast a warming charm if I need to."
"Are you afraid?"
This question, too, was polite — there was no malice lacing the words as there would have been if any other Slytherin had asked — but it still put Alicia on the defensive.
"Of course not," she answered, her back straightening instinctively.
To her great surprise, the Bloody Baron interrupted. "Then you are a fool," he said dispassionately.
Alicia and Pucey both stopped walking; Alicia felt her anger flare, but before she could speak, Pucey — who was between her and the Bloody Baron — turned to face the ghost. "What do you mean?"
The Bloody Baron floated around to face both of them, but his hard gaze fell upon Alicia. "Gryffindor students often mistake the reason for their placement in Gryffindor House," he said stiffly. "They believe being a Gryffindor means they must always be brave and courageous, and nothing else. But bravery is not the absence of fear — far from it. It is perfectly acceptable and normal to be a Gryffindor and to also be afraid of some things — contrary to the prevailing, misguided belief. What sets you apart," he went on, seeing Alicia's mouth open to argue, "is that most Gryffindors rarely allow fear to prevent them from being noble and taking a stand for what they believe is right. They do it despite their fear, but not because they don't know fear. Sirius Black is a mass murderer with far more experience than any student here, and indeed, more than many of the professors here. You are allowed to be afraid of him if you choose, and no one should make you feel otherwise."
Alicia closed her mouth and mulled that over. It was true; within Gryffindor House, all of the students were eager to prove their bravery, which often manifested in the form of recklessness. None of them wanted to admit being afraid of anything because it could so easily be perceived as a weakness. Being told — by a Slytherin, no less, even if it was the house ghost — that fear was not the absence of bravery... that made her feel a bit better about the situation at hand.
The Baron continued, "I say this having been close comrades with men and women placed within Gryffindor House when I was alive. It is a ridiculous misconception that dates back centuries; it is nothing recent. Yet, even Godric Gryffindor was rumored to fear certain things."
Curious, she asked softly, "What would Godric Gryffindor have had to fear?"
The Bloody Baron's expression did not change except for a slight curl of his lip. "He lived during a time of constant, sporadic warfare, had a massive falling-out with the other Founders of Hogwarts, and was a staunch champion of muggle-borns. If I recall correctly, he feared for the safety of his students more than anything else."
At that moment, Gemma Farley passed by. "Baron," she said coolly.
"Miss Farley." He inclined his silver, transparent head.
She frowned at Pucey and Alicia. "You two — keep moving, please. Baron? Will you join me for a moment?"
The Bloody Baron nodded to Alicia and Pucey before drifting off after Gemma, and Alicia and Pucey resumed their patrol, but neither of them really had the heart to tell students to stop talking. Most students hushed as they passed, only to start whispering again as soon as they were a few paces away, and Alicia didn't want to be labeled a bossy prefect like Percy Weasley. She and Pucey passed Kenneth and Chrysanthe at one point; Kenneth was hissing at students to be quiet, just as he'd been instructed. Alicia suspected the students were all rolling their eyes at his orders and bad-mouthing him behind their hands, though she supposed his following orders so closely might earn him the Head Boy slot one day.
She noticed Pucey roll his eyes as he glanced back at Kenneth, who was telling off a fourth year Ravenclaw for talking.
"Is he like that in your common room, too?"
She stifled a giggle. "Sometimes. If he's trying to study and students are being loud."
"That must be a joy to live with."
"Well, he has to room with Fred, George, and Lee, so..." She shrugged. "I sort of feel that makes up for the times he gets on my nerves."
Pucey almost snickered; it was more of an amused puff of breath. "Bloody hell. I can't even imagine living with those three."
"Yes," she replied in an arch whisper, the next statement coming out before she thought about it, "I'm sure living with Warrington and Bletchley is so much better."
At that, his face became blank and expressionless once more. He ignored her remark and muttered, "It's a wonder Towler has any sanity left after four years with those three."
Privately, Alicia agreed, but this time she remained silent.
They reached another row and Pucey held out an arm to stop her from walking up it. "Let's go back the other way," he suggested quietly, his tone unreadable.
"Um...okay...? Why?"
He steered her around to head back towards where the Hufflepuff table normally stood. "Oakfield and Warwick have that aisle, I saw them coming from the other side."
Alicia glanced behind her. Bess Oakfield was a Hufflepuff six-year prefect and Nigel Warwick was a Slytherin six-year prefect. She didn't know much about either — Nigel was arrogant and always sneering while Bess was pleasant and always smiling. They seemed like an odd match for patrol, but then again, Alicia supposed she and Pucey didn't look like they belonged together, either.
She wanted to ask him if he was deliberately avoiding the rows of Slytherin students because he didn't want to be seen with a Gryffindor, but she held back. She hadn't been too keen on walking down an entire aisle of green and silver, all glaring at her Gryffindor robes and prefect badge. Maybe it was for the best that he had steered them away from that row.
They patrolled in silence for another hour; it took that long for the whispers to die down, but finally most students were drifting off to sleep. And then, from a distance, Alicia saw Professor Dumbledore re-enter the Great Hall and speak briefly to Percy and Professor Snape. She wondered if the professors had found Black.
A few moments later, Gemma approached them a second time and told them that Sirius Black had escaped yet again. Alicia felt her stomach drop. He had snuck into the castle and then escaped — how was that even possible?
Gemma looked irritated too, but she merely whispered, "Weasley and I are relieving all of the fifth-year prefects first. The sixth and seventh-year prefects will continue to patrol for a while longer as a precaution. The prefects' sleeping bags are behind the head table. You are free to go to bed and get some sleep. If we need you, someone will wake you up."
Alicia and Pucey nodded before heading for the teachers' table.
And then, out of nowhere, Pucey suddenly whispered, "That was interesting, what the Bloody Baron said. About Gryffindor students."
"What do you mean?" To her irritation, she felt defensive again. Was he about to take the mickey? That would piss her off, certainly.
"That bravery is not the absence of fear. I never thought of it quite that way before." It sounded more like a contemplative observation, not that he was laughing about it or making fun of her.
Alicia relaxed a fraction. "Neither had I. Many Gryffindors don't want to admit they're scared of anything because they're afraid they'll be teased for it. Myself included," she admitted, though not even sure if she should.
"And many Slytherins don't want to admit they're brave because they think they'll be teased for it," he answered cryptically.
They reached the head table and both picked up a rolled sleeping bag. For a moment, Alicia stood and looked at him in the dark, but she couldn't make out his expression. It was probably just as masked as ever and wouldn't matter even if she could see it.
He glanced to his right, towards the sleeping rows of hundreds of students, and said softly, "Towler and Hayden are almost here. All I meant was... I wouldn't make fun of you. If you were afraid of Sirius Black, I mean. I wouldn't be that callous." He hesitated. "Maybe...we're all a little afraid, you know. He's a mass murderer. It's...unnerving...to think he got into the castle and out again without getting caught."
And, without waiting for a response, he stepped back just as Kenneth and Chrysanthe reached them.
Alicia flushed at his words, but quickly turned and found a spot near the back wall to unroll her sleeping bag. Chrysanthe joined her, smiling in the darkness. "Do you mind if I sleep next to you? I don't want to go find my dorm mates; Percy might get upset if I wake them and we started talking."
Alicia had always liked Chrysanthe; they shared the same subjects that she and Cedric shared, sans Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, and she had always gotten on well with Hufflepuff prefect. "No, you know I don't mind."
Together, they crawled into their sleeping bags, side by side. She expected Kenneth to lay down on her other side — she felt someone toss a sleeping bag down next to her — but when she turned to ask Kenneth how his patrol had gone, she was startled to find Pucey climbing into the sleeping bag and turning on his side to face away from her. Kenneth, it transpired, was staring at the three of them, particularly at Pucey, but then Viola, Cedric, Courtney, and Ernest had just stepped behind the table to get sleeping bags for themselves and Kenneth didn't get a chance to tell Pucey to move. Viola unrolled her bag next to Chrysanthe, while Courtney claimed the spot next to Viola.
Ernest quickly darted forward to lay down next to Courtney, but she shoved him away and, in an angry whisper, told him to go somewhere else before she hit him because she was damned tired of being around him for the night. Alicia thought she heard Pucey cough slightly from his sleeping bag, almost as if he was about to laugh but disguised it at the last second. She felt her lips twitch in amusement.
Cedric stepped forward, the peacemaker as always. "Here, Styles, you sleep at the girls' feet with Kenneth. I'll sleep on this side. That way, they're protected by all of us and the back wall. Not that Black would break in again...but...you never know." He sounded slightly worried.
Ernest's shoulders dropped but he did as Cedric suggested, and Courtney seemed perfectly fine with the change in arrangement, because Alicia distinctly heard her ask in a carrying whisper if Cedric wanted to move a little closer to her. Viola snorted from her sleeping bag as though annoyed.
Then, unexpectedly, Chrysanthe leaned over and whispered in Alicia's ear, "Lucky you, getting to patrol with Adrian tonight. He's so fit! Did he talk any? He's usually quiet and doesn't really say anything."
Alicia had no idea what to say to that. Yes, he was handsome enough, but she didn't like him that way, did she? She hardly knew him and besides, he was a Slytherin. Sure, he was certainly better to patrol with than Ernest, and she would absolutely rather patrol with Adrian than Courtney, who was one of those Slytherins who looked down her nose at nearly everyone else. He had been polite, but the haughtiness annoyed her. He hadn't teased her or bullied her, though. And she had a distinct feeling that perhaps he'd been a bit afraid too. She wished they had had more time to talk before the other fifth-year prefects joined them to sleep.
Uncertain what to say, she whispered back, "Yes. We talked a little."
She could hear the smile on Chrysanthe's words, barely audible as they were. "Well, that's more than he's talked to me, then. Maybe he likes you, 'Licia."
Well, that seemed absurd. Alicia was about to say as much, but Chrysanthe burrowed down into her sleeping bag. On her other side, Alicia heard Pucey's bag rustle as though he had shifted, and she wondered with a wave of dread if he had overheard the conversation. Unable to turn and look at him, she kept curled up on her side facing Chrysanthe instead, her fingers curling tightly around the edge of her sleeping bag. No way, she thought, yawning and trying to get comfortable. He was polite to everyone; it wasn't as if...
The trouble was, she fell asleep before she finished the thought.
Morning - November 1, 1993
The sun wasn't up yet; it was still quite dark outside, judging by the lack of light in the Great Hall and the steady breathing all around, punctuated by an occasional snore.
Adrian slowly opened his eyes. Despite the darkness, he realized something critical: he had rolled over on his other side at some point and he was facing...
His breath caught.
Merlin. She was so pretty. He'd thought so ever since he saw her on the platform on September 1 this year.
She had twisted onto her other side during the night and was now facing him, but she was still asleep. He could just make out her mouth in the darkness; those full, pouty lips that belied how even more gorgeous she was going to be in another year or so.
Her ponytail was caught under her cheek, a few long strands spread across the squashy sleeping bag in his direction. He wondered if her hair was as soft as it always looked.
It was foolish to do what he wanted, but it was almost as though he couldn't help it. Slowly — so very slowly — he reached out until he could just slip a long strand between two fingers and gently rub it, while holding his breath and praying to whatever deity was listening that she wouldn't wake up.
Her hair was just as soft as he imagined. He slowly released the strand and pulled his hand back into his sleeping bag. He didn't need to push his luck.
He knew there were plenty of guys who would say she didn't stand out. Not that she was ugly or plain, just that she wasn't the prettiest girl in school. Not like Courtney, those daft guys would say, with her dark blonde hair, slender face and figure, and the way she carried herself so elegantly. Her hair was always perfectly styled every single day; her robes immaculate and pressed. And of course, half the male population of Hogwarts thought Chrysanthe was the most beautiful girl in school. Her hair was the color of morning sunshine and her eyes were sky blue. Her skin was always glowing and her figure was curvaceous. A lot of guys thirsted for Angelina Johnson, too — with her very noticeable breasts and those long legs that went on forever.
But Spinnet... Alicia... She had something the others didn't. Chrysanthe was kind and sweet and gentle; Courtney was arrogant and expected the world to fall at her feet; Angelina was cool and confident and fun. But Alicia had fire and grace and strength mixed with kindness. To him, she was more beautiful than any other girl in school. Her figure was starting to curve in all the right places, her skin was every bit as pretty as Chrysanthe's, and her deep brown eyes were so...soulful, perhaps? It was like he could see right into them, right to who she really was.
She was smart, too. She was currently giving him quite a run for his money in Potions. It was Potions that made him see just how that fire inside of her burned. Whenever Snape bullied the Gryffindor students, the Weasley twins and Jordan got angry and invariably lost points. Johnson seethed and grit her teeth, and she'd been known to lose a few points by opening her mouth when she couldn't take it anymore, too. But Alicia took the bullying very differently from her classmates. She threw herself into working steadily. Her eyes had a slightly different fire from Johnson's — while Johnson's flashed and flickered dangerously, Alicia's were more low-key, but they burned like hot steel. Whenever Snape bullied them, Alicia stubbornly dug her heels in and always produced such a brilliant brew that the Potions Master was literally forced to accept her work. Even Towler couldn't compete with Spinnet in Potions, though not for lack of trying. Adrian barely could. Merlin, but some weeks, he lived for the time they spent in the dungeons as a class, just so he could watch Alicia brew.
She wasn't bad in Defense, either. Not that they'd had great teachers so far — though Professor Lupin was doing really well in Adrian's eyes. Many of the other Slytherins were disparaging of their new professor, but Adrian rather liked the young man who looked too old for his time. He was practical, all logic and sense, and Adrian was glad for it. He'd learned more from Professor Lupin than all of his previous professors combined.
Alicia was also very good at Arithmany and Ancient Runes. He sat next to her in Ancient Runes, which was probably why he wasn't doing as well as she was in that class. Not that he blamed her at all. That was all on him. He spent more time watching her from the side and daydreaming than he did translating properly.
However, he needed to stop daydreaming at the moment. He didn't need to stay curled up on his side, staring hungrily at Alicia's sleeping face. It was nicely etched into his mind; he'd have enough fodder for his fantasies for weeks between waking up next to her and having the opportunity to patrol with her and chat with her the night before, even if his heart had been about to pound right out of his chest the entire time. Surely she had seen how nervous he was, but maybe he'd pretended to be cool enough that it had escaped her notice that he was practically shaking while they'd walked together.
The only things that really bothered him were, first, what he'd said to her right before Towler and Chrysanthe had gotten to the head table. He'd practically admitted he was scared of Black bursting into the Great Hall and murdering half the students. Did he sound lame admitting that? Cripes.
And secondly, while he liked Chrysanthe as an acquaintance, he hadn't realized she thought he was attractive. And, even worse, she'd somehow figured him out! How had she done it? Surely she wasn't a Legilimens; he hadn't gotten that impression off of her in the past four years. But she'd told Alicia the truth, even if Alicia hadn't really responded to the statement.
Maybe he likes you, 'Licia.
Unwillingly, his heart rate increased and his skin suddenly felt clammy. Had he been too obvious by throwing his sleeping bag down next to her the night before?
The thoughts crowded into his brain too fast and thick. He needed to get out of here for a bit, run to the loo, and splash water on his face. Very quietly, he pulled out his wand and whispered, "Lumos..." from inside the sleeping bag, then ducked his head under the flap to check the time on his watch without waking anyone else. It was 6:08 in the morning.
As slowly as he'd done anything else, he extracted himself from the sleeping bag and quietly went down the middle of the room, past all of the sleeping students, until he got to the doors. They were unlocked, and when he pressed one open, he realized that Professor Lupin was standing on the other side.
The man watched him with a serious expression but didn't speak until Adrian had closed the door to the Great Hall. Then he murmured calmly, "Loo?"
Adrian nodded, and Professor Lupin said, "Stay on the first floor, Mr. Pucey. Professor Sinistra is guarding the entrance to that corridor. And come straight back, okay?"
He nodded again and hurried to the bathroom. Five minutes later, he came out and glanced up and down the corridor. There was no one around; Professor Sinistra was around the corner. But before he could start back to the Great Hall, someone else rounded the corner for the loo: Kenneth Towler.
Adrian was about to nod to him out of politeness, but Towler stopped him.
"Pucey," he said, barely above a whisper as he glanced behind him to make sure Professor Sinistra couldn't overhear. "Wait a moment."
It was then that Adrian really saw the other boy's face in the flickering torch light from the wall: Kenneth Towler looked... a bit cross? That was odd. Before Adrian could piece it together, the Gryffindor prefect steeled himself.
"Stop messing Alicia about," he said bluntly.
Well, that wasn't what he'd been expecting. Adrian's lip curled and he fell back on the arrogance that Slytherin House was so well known for. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Kenneth's jaw rippled and his face turned slightly red. "I know what you Slytherins think of us Gryffindors, but Alicia's a good person. So stop being mean to her, like sleeping next to her just to annoy her —!"
Fury flared behind Adrian's eyes, but he controlled it and said in a bored voice, "Sod off, Towler. I don't have time for this."
That just made Towler angrier. "I'm not kidding, Pucey! If you upset her in any way, you'll have me to answer to."
"Oh, now I'm scared," Adrian drawled sarcastically. "You know, I'd be more scared of her than you. She's better at dueling than you are, or haven't you been paying attention in Defense? Like I said; sod off."
He started to leave again, but Towler hissed after him, "I know you're only doing it for a laugh. It's not as though you actually like her. But I'm not kidding, Pucey —"
That touched an even more serious nerve. Adrian turned to glare at him and said coldly, "Neither am I. You don't own her, Towler," he sneered. "She can make up her own mind without your help and she'd let me know if I was bothering her. Besides, I just happened to crash next to her last night; it's not as if —"
Professor Sinistria walked around the corner at that moment.
"Boys? Is everything okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," they both answered resentfully, still glaring daggers at each other.
Adrian turned on his heel and walked straight-backed to the Great Hall, his temper boiling just beneath the surface. How dare Towler! And the worst part was, Adrian couldn't admit he actually fancied Spinnet — he couldn't afford to deal with his classmates if that got out, and his parents expected him to gravitate to some lovely Pureblood witch. Towler really was the world's biggest prat! How dare he!
As Adrian crawled back into his sleeping bag, what he mostly wanted to do was hex Towler's arse so bad, the Gryffindor prefect would end up in the hospital wing for a day. That was really tempting. How could he pull it off without getting caught?
He didn't have any time to contemplate a plan though, because even as Kenneth returned from the loo, several professors came into the room and signaled a wake-up call. All the lights came on and glared against the still-dark windows. Professor McGonagall loudly informed the students to return to their common rooms before breakfast so the Great Hall could be reconfigured for meals. Students all around were swearing under their breath at the abrupt interruption to their sleep, grumbling and muttering and yawning that it was too early. Adrian sighed and sat back up. He'd have to think about hexing Towler later.
As they rolled their sleeping bags up, Towler and Adrian resolutely did not look at each other. But as Adrian was halfway through rolling his, he heard Chrysanthe say desperately, "Oh, my hair is a mess! And all my elastics are in my dorm!"
"Here," came Alicia's voice — melting over him in a way that made him fumble slightly — "I have an extra one."
"Oh, thanks! I'll bring it back to you in Charms, I promise!"
He chanced to look up at the two girls; Chrysanthe was pulling her sunny-blonde hair back into a high ponytail, but Alicia had pulled her elastic free and was shaking her long hair out, combing her fingers through it, presumably to put it back up.
Adrian's mouth went completely dry. Great Circe, he'd never seen her with her hair down like that before. It was so pretty down! All long, shiny, soft chestnut tresses that fell nearly to her waist. She stood up at that moment, not realizing he was blatantly staring, and she brushed her rumpled robes out. He quickly started to put his sleeping bag back where he'd gotten it the night before.
"Ugh," she muttered. "My robes are so wrinkled."
"Mine, too," Chrysanthe agreed, getting to her feet.
Alicia then stripped her robes off, revealing her pleated skirt, her button-down shirt and the sweater over it, and her Gryffindor tie. And it wasn't as if he'd never seen her in her uniform sans the robes before. But what Adrian really noticed at that second were her breasts and her legs. Sweet Salazar, those knee high socks clung to her calves and her legs were so curvy, all the way up to those nice hips and that small waist of hers, and with her hair down and long like that, and her sweater clinging to her breasts...
Fuck. He needed to get back to the common room and get a cold shower. The realization hit him as though he'd walked into a stone wall. Flushing dully and eternally grateful for his own very wrinkled robes, he hurried past Towler and didn't bother speaking to anyone as he left the Great Hall. With any luck, he'd get back before Miles, Cassius, Graham, and Ian, and could get in the bathroom before they did.
Afternoon - November 1, 1993
It was much later in the day that he happened to overhear Kenneth in the corridor just ahead of him. They had just left Arithmancy, and Kenneth grabbed Alicia by the arm. He didn't realize Adrian was six paces behind him.
"Alicia, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"What did...you and Pucey talk about last night?" Kenneth asked, trying (and failing) to sound nonchalant.
Adrian felt his anger fraying again, but it was tempered somewhat by the fact that Alicia had to answer Kenneth, and he had to know what she had to say. He couldn't risk them seeing him, though. Shite.
Alicia shrugged. "He asked if the Fat Lady's portrait had really been damaged and if she was okay."
Kenneth frowned. "Surely you didn't talk about just that for an hour."
"No. We patrolled for an hour, just like you did." She sounded slightly bemused. "What did you think we did?"
She stopped and faced him, not caring that they were in the middle of the corridor. Adrian ducked into a niche and pressed against the wall, hoping to Merlin they hadn't seen him.
"I didn't mean anything like that!" Kenneth sounded horrified. "I just wondered what were you talking about, right before Chrysanthe and I got our sleeping bags! I could see the two of you talking —!"
There was a pause, and when Alicia spoke again, she sounded incredulous. "What are you on about, Kenneth?"
Kenneth took a deep breath. "He's a Slytherin, Alicia, I just want you to be careful —"
"He's also a prefect," she said quietly, but Adrian could hear the steel in her voice. "And he didn't say anything snide or hateful to me, if that's what you're wondering. Some Slytherins are really nice —"
"I know that! But he's not! He's an arrogant —"
"He was perfectly nice to me! We talked with the Bloody Baron about Sirius Black. That's all! What brought this on, anyway?"
Now Kenneth sounded sullen. "I just know how some Slytherins are."
She laughed. To anyone else, it probably sounded cheerful, but Adrian caught a note of derisiveness in it. "Oh, as if I don't? I play Quidditch and I'm a prefect. Stop acting like I just got to Hogwarts yesterday."
"I know you didn't —!"
"You know what I think? I think you're jealous. And for no decent reason at all."
"I am not jealous!" Kenneth interrupted hotly. "I just don't want anyone being mean to you!"
"He wasn't mean to me! How many times do I have to say it?"
Adrian could hear her footsteps, but he didn't dare leave his hiding place. Their voices grew fainter down the corridor.
"Okay, okay! I just wanted to make sure, that's all!"
"Geez, you're as bad as Fred, George, and Lee!"
"I am not!"
They rounded the far corner and he couldn't hear them anymore. But something deep in his chest relaxed and he felt a bit light-headed.
Spinnet had defended him and put Towler in his place.
A small smile pulled at his mouth.
Alicia Spinnet had defended him.
Author's Notes:
1. Gemma Farley is a Slytherin prefect who appeared on the old Pottermore site, iirc. Her exact entry into Hogwarts is narrowed down to about three years, but not entirely specified; it's noted that she was a prefect when Draco started his first year. I figured I'd just stick her in Percy's class and have done with it.
2. I did make up the names of the other fifth-year prefects and two sixth-year prefects for this story, sans Cedric Diggory and Kenneth Towler (who appears in passing in OotP; Fred mentions that Kenneth is his, George, and Lee's dorm mate and he and George pranked Kenneth once).
3. The comment the Bloody Baron makes about Godric Gryffindor fearing certain things is a reference to a story I wrote called The Last Enemy.