Stupid Decisions

October 5, 1996 — Saturday

The twins never did anything by halves, especially parties. Their flat was packed with people — mostly former Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, but a few former Ravenclaws, too — and they had plenty of alcohol and snacks because they were raking in galleons. It wasn't the first party they'd thrown since July, but it was the largest. And Alicia was more than ready for a night of partying after the shite month she had had in the Healer program. She was tired, grumpy, and frazzled, so naturally, the first thing she did when she walked into the twins' flat was grab a shot of Firewhisky, which earned a laugh from Fred.

"Seriously, 'Licia? Rough term?" he teased, pouring her another.

"I'm surviving," she responded dryly. "That's about all I can say."

"Well, you aren't allowed to think about studying tonight," he insisted emphatically, guiding her into the crowded apartment. "Tonight is about cutting loose. Having a good time. Letting your hair down."

"Yes, it's always up in a ponytail," George joked, appearing at random beside Fred and pulling the velvet mauve scrunchy out of her hair, so her tresses fell like a waterfall down her back.

"Hey!" Alicia yelped and whirled around to grab it back from him, but she couldn't snag it and hold onto her shot of Firewhisky at the same time. George stepped back and held it out of reach with mischievous eyes. Alicia was just about to grab her wand out of her back pocket and hex him when Angelina nicked the scrunchy back, having come up from behind them. Angie even hit the palm of her hand on the back of George's head, which made him yelp in surprise, before she snapped, "You two lay off. Alicia's doing something worthwhile with her life, you know —"

Fred looked highly affronted. "Excuse me?"

"So are we!" George sputtered.

"What the fuck do you call the Triple W, then?"

"We're helping a new generation of students cause mayhem at Hogwarts!"

"That's highly worthwhile!"

Their voices were hot by that point.

"Come on," Angelina said haughtily, ignoring both the twins and tugging Alicia's arm, pulling her further into the flat. She also took the shot of Firewhisky and threw it back.

"Hey, that was mine," Alicia protested, nudging her in the ribs.

"You took too long." Ang grinned. "Besides, I'm sure we can get another."

The wireless was blaring music and several people were already dancing, including Kenneth and Karen, which made Alicia giggle. It was rare to see Kenneth let go and he wasn't the world's greatest dancer, but Karen didn't seem to mind. She was laughing and flirting with him something awful as he twirled her under his arm and brought her up close to him, but then, it was no secret that Karen was completely enamored with her boyfriend.

However, Alicia's giggle was followed by a brief flash of concern: Was Gil here? Gil and Kenneth were best mates, so it stood to reason that Gil might come if Kenneth had.

When she and Gilbert had parted ways back in mid-September after their disastrous kiss, he'd assured her they were still friends and he would still like to hang out. But there was just one little problem. She hadn't seen him but once since the Harpies-Falcons game. And the one time she had seen him, he hadn't even spoken to her. Alicia had gone out to the Gryphon a week earlier with Angelina, Fred, George, and Lee for drinks, and Kenneth and Gil had passed by their table late in the evening. Naturally, Kenneth had stopped to speak to his fellow Gryffindors, and Alicia had tried to catch Gil's attention to see if he wanted to join them, but he'd refused to look at her. He'd kept his gaze averted and he'd been bright red the entire time, and since then, she hadn't heard a word from him. She was starting to get a little worried, and if she was perfectly honest, she was also getting rather angry at his childishness. Maybe he was taking her rejection a lot harder than he'd claimed. But she had tried to explain, damn it. She'd wanted things to work between them — she really had! He was a nice guy! He just… wasn't the right guy.

She scanned the crowd in Fred and George's flat, but she didn't see Gil's head of golden-light brown hair anywhere. She did, however, see Oliver — who was standing off to one side looking a bit grumpy. Alicia made her way over to him with Angelina in tow.

Oliver straightened up and nodded when he saw them, but then he suddenly looked a bit confused. "You didn't bring Royle? I thought you two were —"

"Just friends," Alicia said shortly, cutting him off.

Oliver frowned. "Oh. But…"

Angelina arched an eyebrow. "But?"

"I thought they were seeing each other. No?" Oliver looked between the two of them curiously.

"We're just friends," Alicia repeated.

"Who's just friends?" Lee asked, appearing out of nowhere. He had a shot of Firewhisky, too.

Alicia inwardly groaned. "Never mind."

Lee glanced between the three of them before he said, with a trace of panic, "You aren't seeing someone, are you, Al?"

"No, Lee. When would I have the time? Do you realize how much studying I have to do to stay in the Healer program? I can barely eat and sleep right now."

"Good," he replied, grinning at her. "Well, I mean, it's not good that you have to do all that studying — that sucks. But you're not allowed to date anyone but me. You know you love me, Al."

"Would you stop calling me that? And did I not just say? I don't have time for anything but school! And especially not for you, Lee."

He merely laughed and summoned another shot of Firewhisky, which he handed to her. Alicia didn't bother to think twice — she threw it back and swallowed the burn. Damn, she needed a few more of those.

"How many is that?" Oliver demanded.

"Two," she snapped. "Lay off, Ollie."

"That's your limit," he warned. "Jordan, do you hear me?" he added, glaring at Lee. "Don't give her anymore. Two is her limit."

"Fine, fine…" Lee smiled, tilted his head, and held his hand out. "Wanna dance? Might help you forget about studying for a bit."

As a matter of fact, she did want to dance. Dancing sounded fun. Alicia let Lee lead her into the small group of dancers in the middle of the sitting room. All of the furniture had been vanished to make more space, but it was still a bit snug, so she was forced to dance close to Lee. He wasn't as tall as the twins, and her chunky heels made her slightly taller than him. The two shots of Firewhisky zinged through her, but instead of mellowing her like alcohol normally did, they made her think of how much she preferred Adrian's height. Even if she was in heels, she would still be shorter than Adrian. Annoyed, she tried to squash that little voice in her head and focus on Lee.

Then she remembered: Lee was an exuberant dancer. He was all over the place, nearly whacking into other people. How was it that lately, she seemed to dance with men who didn't dance with her just right like Pucey had? Gilbert had been too reserved; Lee was too unreserved. She should have remembered that from the Yule Ball when she had been sandwiched between him and George for nearly the entire night.

So, after only one song, when Lee was looking the other way and laughing at something Dawn Haywood had just said, Alicia ducked out of the crowd. She was determined to get another shot of… anything, really.

Two drinks later, she felt much better. Oliver was glaring at her from the sidelines, but she ignored him. He was probably just sulking because Katie wasn't around. She looked about for Angelina, only to notice her in a corner laughing with Corey Brogan, the guy she'd met up with in the Gryphon a month and a half ago. Alicia knew Angelina wasn't seriously dating Corey — Angelina never really dated anyone exclusively, and especially not now that she was on a professional team — but Corey was pretty damned good looking, Alicia thought, and Angelina deserved a good shag with all the work she was putting in on the Quidditch pitch.

However, she could feel Oliver's eyes watching her like a hawk, so Alicia squeezed between Chrysanthe Hayden, Danny Youngman, Jane Ramsey, Solas Anston, Will Richardson, Dave Fraser, Patrick O'Malley, and Lacy Clowers, who were joking and throwing back shots and draped all over each other. For fuck's sake, was everyone paired off tonight except her, Oliver, and Lee? It suddenly seemed like there were couples everywhere! Maybe there would be someone single on the other side of the stupid, crowded flat. Surely Fred and George had invited some singles, damn it…

But when she got to the other side of the flat, she somehow ran into Lee again. His face lit up when he saw her and he grabbed her hands without even asking if she wanted to dance again. For a brief second, Alicia wondered if it was some kind of Fate that Lee was right there when she was trying to find someone.

Isn't that what Katie would say? she thought distantly. Katie had always been going on about her and Pucey being Fated.

A nasty little voice in the back of her head replied, And where is Pucey now, hmm?

Alicia scowled. She had no idea, damn it, and it didn't matter because things were over between them. She'd told herself to find someone new.

Lee suddenly leaned close, one hand skimming up her side, his thumb rubbing against the curve of her breast. "What's wrong?" he said loudly over the music, near her ear. "You look mad! Did I do something?"

"No!" she answered as loftily as she could while slightly drunk. "I'm mad at someone else, not you."

"Do I need to hex someone for you?"

He momentarily looked so fierce and ready to fight that Alicia laughed. "No. But we can dance."

Lee's face broke into a big grin and he pulled her close, despite dancing a bit too wildly. Alicia mulled his expression over as he spun them around. For all he was loud and obnoxious, he was also loyal and true. He was always there, whether she wanted him to be or not. Maybe that was what she needed: Someone who wouldn't leave her side and disappear into thin air as soon as they'd graduated.

Thirty minutes and three more shots later, she was still dancing with Lee, who was practically holding her up — because by that point, she could barely walk. She thought his hand was on her arse and the other was squeezing her right breast, but it probably didn't matter. She wasn't really sure about anything much at the moment, except that Lee was warm and sweaty and he smelled like Firewhisky. He was also a lot shorter than Pucey.

Wait, hadn't she already thought that once tonight? Bollocks, she couldn't remember. But it felt odd, not having her arms up higher. Pucey had been so deliciously tall…

"What are you thinking?" Lee asked suddenly, leaning into her and kissing the side of her neck. "Your face just went all blank, Al…"

Alicia jolted as his mouth and tongue meandered below her ear. She squirmed a little; his lips were wet and sloppy and they just felt… odd.

"Nothing," she mumbled. She could hardly remember what she was doing. Dancing with Lee? Oh, right. Lee. She liked Lee's smile. She liked how loyal he was. What would it be like to kiss him? Did she want to kiss him? She might as well. It wasn't as if Pucey was around. She'd been saying she needed a good snog, right?

Lee leaned closer to her, his lips skimming her jaw as he squeezed her arse and rubbed against her. "What's that look for?"

His voice sounded like he was aiming for sexy, but it wasn't low or deep enough to make her toes curl. He was hard, though. She wondered if she liked that or not. It meant Lee found her attractive, right?

Alicia scrunched her eyes shut. Pucey had been so fit, she thought distantly. So incredibly sexy… and he smelled like… the forest, maybe? Not Firewhisky. And his voice was so deep and sultry, it made her wet just to hear him talk, especially if he was leaning close to her… Merlin, she wished she'd shagged him. He hadn't let her feel up his cock like Lee was doing though, even though she'd tried…

What came out of her mouth was, "'M jus' so… tired. That'sall." She felt really sleepy all of a sudden. Could she lay down on the floor and go to sleep? That sounded like a good idea. She felt her limbs go slack and her body shift downwards before Lee snagged her under the arms.

"Hey, don't pass out on me!" she heard him stutter. "Come on, let's go lay down."

She didn't object. Laying down sounded nice.

Remember when you were laying in that bed in the Room of Requirement with Pucey? her brain mused. You could smell his cologne… and he was so warm and strong… all those delicious, lean muscles under his shirt…

Godric, that was a nice memory. One of her favorites. She blinked and tried to focus again, and became dimly aware that Lee was supporting her towards a door. A bedroom, maybe?

Pucey had lifted her in his arms and carried her to that bed in the Room of Requirement… Fuck, he had been strong… hadn't she been heavy? She hadn't thought to ask… Lee seemed like he could barely support her… was she too heavy? She wasn't training at Quidditch anymore… Maybe she should lose weight? Ugh…

And then suddenly, two people were in front of her and Lee, blocking the door.

"What the fuck are you doing, Lee?"

Alicia rubbed one of her eyes with her free hand. Kenneth? Why wasn't he dancing with Karen?

"Al said she was tired and she nearly passed out on me," Lee answered. "I was going to let her lay down a bit."

Another voice growled, "Don't pull that innocent act with us."

Oliver, she thought vaguely. He was still here, too?

Alicia mumbled, "'m jus' sleepy. Lee was gonna…" What? What was Lee going to do? She wasn't sure, actually. She faltered, "Put me t' bed. I think?" Or were they going to shag? A shag might be nice… How had she not managed a shag yet?

"Lee," Kenneth's voice was tight. "What were you going to do?"

Lee hesitated. "Nothing."

"Aye, nothing is damned right." Now Oliver sounded pissed. Alicia felt a sudden strong grip on her arm. She tried to protest, but Oliver cut her off. "Come on, Spinnet. I told you, your limit is two, damn it. How many has she actually had?"

Lee complained, "Come on, anyone can handle more than two, even Al!"

"I've seen her down at least four," Kenneth replied darkly. "She's probably had closer to six. Maybe even eight. Lee, I swear to hell," he added, throwing a hand up to keep Lee from coming near Alicia and Oliver, "I will hex you!"

"Come on, I wasn't going to do anything!"

"How many has she actually had?"

Lee glowered, and finally muttered, "Seven? I think?"

Alicia's brain tried to wrap around that as her hand fisted in Oliver's shirt to stay upright. Had she really had seven drinks? She couldn't remember. They had been good, though. Maybe she needed another…

"I ought to hex you just for that," Oliver snarled. "I told you not to let her have more than two!"

"I wasn't giving her drinks! It's Fred and George's party, damn it! Don't blame me!"

Alicia tried to focus on Kenneth. He was really rather fit too. She, Angie, and Katie had thought that last year, too… But he was dating Karen.

Off limits, Spinnet. Kenneth is off limits.

A muscle twitched in Kenneth's jaw. "Right. Wood, if you want, we can take her back to my place, since Angelina left with Corey. Karen can come with us."

"Aye, good idea."

"I can help," Lee started, but Oliver and Kenneth both turned and glared at him.

"The fuck you can."

"Go sober up, Jordan."

As Oliver moved again, Alicia leaned against his strong frame. He was as tall as Pucey, she thought. That was nice. Closing her eyes, she asked, "Where're we going?"

He was warm, which also reminded her of Pucey. But he was much broader and he smelled different. Oliver smelled like broom polish and Quaffles and Keeper's gloves, and he should be with Katie. He loved Katie and Katie loved him. Why weren't they together? "You should write Katie," she slurred, poking him in the side.

"Enough, Spinnet. You're trashed."

Lee spoke up again; he was clearly following them. "Listen. I wasn't going to do anything, just let me help —"

"Lee?" Kenneth growled. "Shut up before I fucking hit you."

"Did you swear this much when you were Head Boy?" Lee fired back, his temper finally coming out.

Alicia didn't quite catch it, but she thought Kenneth flipped Lee off. In the meantime, Oliver half-carried her back to the door and the crowd parted around him.

"Oi, Wood! What the hell?"

Fred? Or George? She wasn't sure which. Probably didn't matter. They were the same, weren't they?

No… no they weren't, George wasn't quite like Fred…

"Out of my way, Weasley," Oliver snarled. "Now."

"What happened? What's wrong with —?"

That was the other twin… whichever one, it didn't matter.

"If you don't get out of my way, I'll hex you."

"Move, Fred," a new voice — a girl's — snarled. "Or I'll hex you."

Alicia thought vaguely she should know who the girl was, but she couldn't place the voice right off. The next thing she knew, she felt cool air as Oliver stepped onto the landing, and she heard Kenneth's voice again.

"Number 43B Diagon Alley, Wood. The Apparition restriction doesn't apply to the landing, but you've got to be precise."

"Right," Oliver said gruffly.

The dizzying sensation of Apparition hit Alicia. As soon as they reappeared, she gasped, staggered unsteadily, doubled over, and threw up. She heard Oliver swear angrily, but then everything went black.

When Alicia woke up, her head felt like it was about to split in two and she groaned in pain. She had no idea where she was and she didn't remember much of anything.

A party… At the twins' place, with alcohol and dancing. But after that, everything was a blur…

"Awake?"

The voice was gentle and quiet, but Alicia still winced and croaked, "Kill me, please. Just kill me now."

The girl giggled softly. "Here. Hangover Potion tastes like cat piss, but it'll help."

"Cat piss? Really?" Alicia muttered, as someone pressed a little vial in her hand.

"Well, that's what Chrysanthe told me, anyways. I've never actually taken it myself."

Must be a Hufflepuff if she's friends with Chrysanthe. "Cheers," Alicia grimaced. She kept her eyes closed, pushed up on one elbow, threw the liquid back despite the dizzy sensation she got from the motion, and then she instantly fell back against whatever she was laying on — a sofa, maybe, judging by the armrest and pillow under her head.

Hangover Potion did, in fact, taste like one of the absolute worst things she'd ever swallowed. It was positively vile! Alicia sputtered, coughed, and rubbed her hands over her face. "Godric's arse…! Please never let me get this drunk again!" she moaned.

"It takes a few minutes to kick in," a guy's voice said. A slightly deep voice, though not as deep as Pucey's.

Alicia squinted up from where she was lying to see two blurred forms. "Where am I?"

"My place," the guy said. "You were really trashed. Lee was about to drag you into a bedroom. But he was drunk, too… so…"

Alicia fought to remember and closed her eyes again. "Lee?"

"You were dancing with him," the girl said. "He was kissing all over you and feeling you up just before he started leading you to one of the twins' bedrooms."

"Oh fuck, seriously?" Alicia muttered. "I was about to have drunk sex with Lee Jordan? Great Godric…"

The girl giggled softly. "That about sums it up."

The Hangover Potion suddenly kicked in and Alicia felt her head miraculously clear. She gasped and blinked. The two people came into focus: Kenneth Towler and Karen Pickford.

Karen grinned. "Ah, there it goes. It's always fun to see the moment it negates the alcohol content in your blood."

"Bloody hell," Alicia moaned, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Was I seriously going to shag Lee in one of the twins' bedrooms?" Horror washed through her at the very thought. Merlin, she had been really, really stupid tonight. What on earth had possessed her?!

A muscle twitched in Kenneth's jaw as he crossed his arms and looked away. "Apparently."

"I'm sure Lee will regret it when he's sober, too," Karen chided. "Lee's a good guy. He wouldn't hurt Alicia like that if he really knew what he was doing."

"Well, that's just it. He was drunk. And he's a guy," Kenneth reminded her. "And us guys…" He flushed. "We do tend to get pretty horny when we're around the girl we like —"

"Is that the voice of experience speaking?" Alicia joked weakly.

Karen grinned. "Girls get horny too, you know. No alcohol needed."

Kenneth was bright pink, now. "I didn't say you didn't, or that alcohol was a requirement. I'm just saying, I know what was in Lee's head."

Karen turned back to Alicia. "Honest to Merlin, I thought Kenneth and Oliver were going to hex Lee's arse off right there. And then the twins tried to get involved…"

"…and Karen threatened to hex Fred," Kenneth added with a sudden, slightly mischievous grin, "which was my personal favorite moment of the evening. I think it was Fred, anyway." He frowned a bit. "Roomed with those arseholes for seven years and I still can't tell them apart half the time."

"Who can?" Alicia grumbled. "So… how did I get here?"

"Oliver Apparated you," Karen explained.

"And as soon as you landed, you threw up all over him," Kenneth reminisced, his grin returning. "Wish I'd had a camera, it was great. My second favorite moment of the evening, that. You owe him, Alicia. You really owe him."

Alicia groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Merlin's arse. Well, this night has been bollocks, hasn't it?"

"I'd say that's an accurate assumption." Kenneth's smile faded. "Listen, you're welcome to sleep here if you want, or I can Apparate you back to your flat."

"I appreciate the offer to stay, but if I'm going to sleep off a hangover from hell, I want to be in my own bed. And I need a shower." She was sure she rather grossly smelled of vomit.

Karen suddenly looked concerned and she squeezed Alicia's hand. "Why did you get so drunk in the first place? It wasn't like you. That's what worried me the most."

Alicia sighed. "It was several things, really. It all just piled up, I guess. This Healer program is killing me. Chrysanthe, too. We're barely keeping our heads above water, you know? It's been rough, I haven't been sleeping well, and I'm exhausted. And…" She hesitated before plunging on, "I'm trying to forget someone I fancy, and it's just a little harder than I thought it would be. I don't want to be that weepy girl who cries because she can't have the guy she wants. I won't be that girl. But still… it's just… harder than I thought," she finished lamely.

Karen's mouth dropped. "But I thought you and Gil were getting on really well —!"

"What?"

"Gilbert! Weren't you seeing Gilbert Royle? I thought —"

Alicia quickly waved her hands. "No, no! Gil and I… we're just friends. It's someone else, actually. I fancied someone else before graduation and…" She blushed and trailed off, then sighed, ran her hands over her head, and muttered, "Never mind. It's bollocks, really. All of it."

She realized, belatedly, that Kenneth had looked at her in surprise when Karen said Gilbert's name. She thought Kenneth and Gilbert were best mates, but maybe he hadn't known that she and Gilbert had tried dating each other?

And then suddenly, Kenneth's expression changed. Alicia couldn't read it at all, and that made her feel slightly wrong-footed. It made her think of when she'd first tried to get to know Pucey, and she hadn't known what was going through his head half the time because he kept putting up that front to hide his real personality.

Karen broke her thoughts. "Why don't you contact this guy and tell him how you feel? Maybe he feels the same way about you."

Alicia shook her head. "No. We agreed together to end things when we left Hogwarts."

Kenneth spoke up, but his voice was quieter than Alicia expected. More thoughtful. "Maybe that was stupid," he said softly.

She stared at him. "What?"

He met her eyes, but his expression was still unreadable. "Maybe trying to break things off was stupid."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "You sound like Katie. She told me something similar back in June."

"Well, maybe she was onto something."

"Listen, I don't even know where he is right now. And you don't even know who it is. But none of it matters." Alicia stood up. She felt a little wobbly, but that wasn't surprising after the night she'd had. "Merlin, I am never getting drunk again," she swore under her breath.

Kenneth flushed and shifted his weight. "I'll Apparate you back."

"I think I can do it —"

"No," Karen cut her off. "Let Kenneth. We don't need you to splinch yourself."

Alicia groaned. "Yeah, I did that during our first-ever lesson, back in sixth-year. Can't say I want to do it again." She sighed and met Karen's eyes once more. "Sorry, Karen, I need to borrow your bloke for a bit."

Karen laughed. "Go on. I know you aren't interested in him. But I am insanely curious to know who you do like. Was it someone in our graduating class, since you both mutually agreed to break it off in June? That would narrow the field considerably."

Alicia instantly felt the warmth in her cheeks. "Please don't try to figure it out. Neither of us wanted anyone to know. It was too dangerous —"

One of Karen's eyebrows lifted and her smile became slightly indecent. "Ah. So you had to hide it. In that case…" She hesitated thoughtfully before stating decidedly, "My money's on a pureblood Slytherin who couldn't openly date a half-blood Gryffindor. And really, there was only one fit, nice Slytherin in our class."

Alicia gaped at her. How the hell had Karen guessed that quickly?! Fuck, if it was that easy, how many other people had guessed?! Had the wrong people guessed?!

She mouthed wordlessly for a moment before she turned for the door and said flatly, "Let's go, Kenneth."

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he called out to Karen. "Lock up and don't forget to ask a security question when I get back."

Alicia barely heard Karen's cheeky, affirmative reply before Kenneth grasped her arm and Apparated.

Seconds later, they landed on the quiet, dark fire escape at Number 106B Tansley Alley. Alicia winced as she stumbled into Kenneth, but he caught her and pressed her wand into her hand.

"Do you know the charms to get in?"

She nodded and tapped the doorknob, and she staggered inside as soon as the door opened. Kenneth stepped in behind her and cast Homenum Revelio, but there was no one else there. Angelina wasn't back yet.

Alicia looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearly two in the morning. She wondered how long she had been passed out.

"Bloody hell," she muttered. "I'm so sorry, Kenneth."

"Don't be." He put a hand on her shoulder, albeit rather awkwardly. "I'm sorry you're going through all of this."

She shrugged. "Just how it is, you know? Thanks for getting me out of there safely. You're a good guy, you know."

"Cheers," he muttered. "Listen, Alicia…"

She looked up at him, and he hesitated. She thought there was something in his hand, but it was too dark to really see it. She tilted her head and frowned, and suddenly she realized it was a small, square mirror, a little larger than a girl's make-up compact.

"What is that?" she asked curiously.

He stiffened and slipped it into his pocket. "Nothing. Never mind. Listen, get a shower and go to bed. You don't have class because it's the weekend, right? Sleep in and sleep the potion off. You'll feel better if you do."

"I will. Thanks again. I'm so sorry —"

"Stop apologizing. Do you think I would have allowed Lee to do something like that to you, even if he was drunk? You weren't capable of giving consent, Alicia. Oliver and I would never have let anyone do that to you. Not even Lee Jordan."

"You and Oliver, no. But the twins might have," Alicia said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself.

Kenneth sighed. "Get some sleep, Alicia. Send me a Patronus if you need anything. Yours is an ocelot, right? We use Karen's to send messages because it's smaller than mine."

"I remember. Hers is a cattle egret, yeah?"

He nodded. "Yes. Reach out if you need us."

Then he stepped outside before she could say anything else and gave her a mulish look that indicated he had no intention of talking further. Resigned, Alicia carefully closed the door and replaced the charms and wards, but just as she turned away to go to the loo, she wondered again what the mirror had been.

How odd.

Author's Notes:

1. The hardest thing for this chapter: coming up with random people's names at a party.

2. Second hardest thing? Writing Alicia drunk. The last time I had a hangover was 20 years ago and it was a challenge trying to remember how that went down. (Though I do distinctly remember the horrific headache the next morning.)

3. My favorite part of this chapter? Karen about to hex Fred. Yes, she's an OC who was only meant to help move the story along, but she evolved into a serious part of the story about halfway through my writing it. If you want to read the outtake spawned by this chapter, go to AO3 and look up the story there. The outtake is NSFW.