Author's Notes:
1. This is the longest chapter of SM2, coming in at just over 10K words. It was also the chapter I wrote first.
2. The end of this chapter is slightly NSFW; there is some nudity, but not the way you're thinking.
.
~EA
A Chance Meeting
Friday — January 3, 1997
How had he ended up here? Adrian thought sourly.
Ah yes. His mother needed some things, but Diagon Alley was dodgy as hell these days, and his father was in Paris, finalizing an investment and helping Atticus set up a Fidelius Charm. So his mother had made a list and asked if Adrian would go to Diagon, while at the same time begging him to be extremely careful and questioning if he was sure he didn't want to wait until his father returned and could go with him. She really preferred him to wait. His father would be home within a week, after all.
Adrian had rolled his eyes and reminded her that he would keep the hood of his cloak up to prevent being recognized. There was absolutely no reason for his father to come, and he was desperate to get out of the house. He wasn't that concerned about going to Diagon Alley alone; most purebloods were given deferential treatment in these current times, and he wasn't about to let the trash that hung around Diagon Alley bully him. Death Eaters wouldn't likely be hanging around in the cold anyways, and his mother fortunately hadn't read the paper while his father was away, so she was unaware that there had been a small breakout from Azkaban only two days before. It hadn't been Death Eaters that had escaped — they were under tighter security, thank Merlin — it had been a handful of lesser-known criminals. Still, Adrian certainly wasn't going to let his mother go into Diagon Alley knowing that, and if running errands was what it took to keep her safe, so be it.
Unfortunately, accomplishing the list took longer than he anticipated. She needed a number of different things, including some very random, almost nonsensical potions ingredients, which Adrian found odd. She also gave him strict instructions to get different ingredients at different apothecaries, in different quantities, and to be very discreet. He wondered if his father was planning to brew again, which also made him wonder if he, Adrian, shouldn't spend some time brewing as well. He would need to look through his Advanced Potions textbook at some point and make a list of needed ingredients himself; he could eventually go to the apothecaries in Hogsmeade to get some more items.
He enlisted Salsby's help to take the purchases back to Pucey Villa for him after each stop so he wouldn't be carrying everything from place to place — but even so, Adrian soon felt his patience wearing thin. It was a combination of factors: the seedy feel of Diagon Alley, the dirty slush underfoot, the persisting fog from out-of-control Dementors — it was all wearing on him. Merlin, but the place was damned depressing.
He was only halfway through the list, in fact, when he ran into some of the very trash he had been hoping to avoid.
"Need us t' carry any o' your purchases, guv?"
The question was sarcastic as hell and there was a round of quiet laughter from four men standing just inside a dark, grimy space between one of the apothecaries Adrian had to visit and a boarded up building next to it.
"We might if you pay us," another threw in.
A third sneered around a fag, "Bollocks. He's dressed too plain to have money."
It was true that he was dressed very plain today, wearing black trousers and a dark gray button-down, a thick, woolen black cloak that trailed almost to the pavement with the hood pulled up, and plain black boots. But plainness did not equal middle class; it simply meant he was trying to avoid drawing attention to himself.
"A filthy mudblood, then?"
The mood shifted instantaneously; the men started to step forward.
Under his hood, Adrian's lip curled in fury. He absolutely loathed the term mudblood, but he needed to get out of this situation before things escalated further. He kept his voice deliberately as low as possible so the men couldn't hear him, and murmured, "Salsby?"
Salsby cracked into existence in front of him. The elf started to speak, but broke off and glanced furtively towards the alley. The four men immediately stopped moving forward. Despite their hoods, Adrian could sense their narrowed gazes.
Salsby reached up to grip Adrian's cloak, even as Adrian shifted to stand in front of Salsby to protect him.
"Master called?" the elf asked darkly, his eyes still glaring malevolently around Adrian's leg towards the men in the alley.
Quietly, Adrian ordered Salsby to take the apothecary purchases back home. Salsby looked as though he wanted to take Adrian with him, but he could not defy his orders. He did as he was told, vanishing with a crack.
"Huh." One of the men stepped forward and pushed his hood back, revealing scraggly, matted dark hair and a leering expression. He looked and smelled like he hadn't bathed in months. "Sorry about that, guv. We didn't mean…" He trailed off slightly, as though he wasn't sure how to address the fact that they had assumed something completely wrong regarding Adrian's blood and social status. Calling the wrong person a mudblood could have very easily gotten them killed, after all. It was still a distinct possibility in Adrian's mind, if he was being completely honest — or at the very least, subjecting them to a damn good dose of a Cruciatus Curse to keep the upper hand. He didn't want to appear weak, and hexing them might actually be the right thing to do in this instance. A Death Eater certainly would.
The silence stretched unpleasantly as Adrian internally debated. He said nothing, nor did he lower his hood so the man could see who he was. However, he did grip his wand tightly between his cold fingers and raise it slightly, just so they could see it and recognize the possible threat as his knuckles turned white in his anger.
He had just made up his mind and pointed it at the man when the arsehole backtracked and said hastily, "What I means is, we know only a pureblood would own a house elf. Deepest apologies, sir, for suggesting you was… anything else. We appreciate you not killin' us!"
He wouldn't grace this piece of filth with a verbal response. He cast a strong, nonverbal Knockback Jinx and a Stinging Hex back-to-back just for good measure, sending the man flying into the alley wall with a thud and a howl of pain. Then, careful to keep his wand visible, Adrian merely strode off for his next errand, casting a silent shield around him as he did so, just in case they had wands. Putting his back to them made him uneasy, but they wouldn't do anything to a wealthy pureblood without risking Voldemort and the Death Eaters' wrath, and they knew they had made a mistake in calling him a mudblood. Still, he didn't exhale until he turned the corner, and then he hurried into the next shop (a jewelry store where his mother was having a necklace cleaned) before they could follow him.
By the time he finished all of the errands on the list, it was dark outside and the fog was even thicker than before. The slush underfoot was turning to ice, making the uneven cobblestones quite dangerous. It was only 4:50 in the afternoon, but it felt like much later, and the cold was seeping into his boots and trousers despite the warming charm he'd cast. To make it worse, it was beginning to sleet.
It was unwise to be in Diagon Alley after dark, even for a pureblood. Best if he stopped at the Leaky for a pint, and then Apparated his arse back home. He called Salsby to him one last time, gave him the last package, advised the elf to tell his mother that he would be home within an hour, waited for the elf to disappear, and then started for the pub.
The problem was, he suddenly noticed two figures step out of the shadows ahead of him, walking in the same direction he was.
Both were wearing long cloaks with their hoods up and both were quite slender, but they were entirely different otherwise.
The slightly shorter wore sensible, flat boots with fashionable buckles on the sides.
The other, however, was easily as tall as he was, because she was wearing the most lurid pair of golden-yellow, pointed-toe high heels he had ever seen. In the dim light, they looked as though they had a faint pattern of scales all over them. How bizarre.
But as the two women passed beneath one of the flickering lamps, sleet dotting their shoulders and the tops of their hoods, it suddenly occurred to him who they were, even though their backs were to him.
He had seen an article in Quidditch Monthly a few issues back. The Holyhead Harpies had recruited Gryffindor Chaser Angelina Johnson over the summer as a reserve Chaser, and there was a quote in the article about how she loved fashion — in particular, she'd claimed that shoes were her greatest weakness.
Which at least explained the gaudy yellow heels that were completely inappropriate for mid-winter, and also explained the pattern of scales. They were meant to represent the harpies' talons. Merlin's arse, he thought in annoyance. Not even a hardcore Hufflepuff would wear those hideous things.
But then he realized something else. If the tall girl was Angelina Johnson, then the shorter girl had to be…
His breathing suddenly grew shallow.
He hadn't seen Alicia in over six months. He had been deliberately avoiding being anywhere she might be, because Dumbledore had asked him to play his part silently. And yet, somehow, here she was, just when he least expected her — walking a mere ten paces ahead of him, in step with her closest friend, her wand at her side. His heart was pounding as hard as it ever had at Hogwarts when he'd been around her, if not harder, and he found he desperately wanted to see her face.
How easy would it be to dart forward and speak to them, to ask her how she was doing? They could go for drinks together, he could hug her close, snog her good-night for a few minutes in some shadowy place, remember that heady, hot feeling he'd always experienced whenever he kissed her, make her completely forget all about Gilbert Royle and Lee Jordan and any-bloody-body else she may have gone out with in the past few months —
No, he told himself quickly, as his hand twitched with the desire to reach out towards her. Absolutely not. You can't. You can't speak to her, you can't hug her, and you definitely can't kiss her. You both agreed to make a clean break back in June. It's too dangerous. She doesn't know what you're doing for the war.
And, in reality, he knew very little about what she'd been doing during the past few months, either — only the little things that Towler had let slip, like the fact that Dumbledore had asked her not to join the Order yet and instructed her to complete her Healer training, or the fact that she had gone on a few dates with Gilbert and almost slept with Lee at a drunken party. Towler had also said she missed Adrian, but Adrian didn't dare allow himself to hope for that. Furthermore, she knew nothing about what he'd been doing at all — and that was far worse.
His shoulders dropped slightly. He needed to let her go. He needed to focus on his family and helping Dumbledore. Those were his priorities right now. She was just a dream he couldn't have; one of several, it seemed. At least not yet.
But as he slipped into the shadows to wait for the girls to move into Diagon Alley proper so they wouldn't realize he was behind them, he noticed movement ahead of them.
Four men stepped out of a small, narrow side alley to block their way.
Adrian sucked in a cold breath that seared his lungs. Bloody fucking hell, no.
Both girls stopped walking. One of the men stepped forward, the same one who had a disgusting lack of hygiene and long, matted hair, and who had somewhat apologized to Adrian for mistaking him as a muggle-born.
"Well, well, well," the piece of slime leered. "What have we here? Bit late to be out all alone, isn't it, girlies?"
A second man in the group chuckled darkly. "We might be happy to escort you to wherever you're going… if you make it worth our while."
There was coarse, slightly drunken laughter from around the group.
The taller girl snorted. "Get the hell out of our way," she warned, raising her wand, "or I'll blast your bollocks off. And I'll enjoy it."
The laughter instantly stopped and all four men stiffened threateningly.
"What the fuck did you say?" the leader snarled.
Adrian watched as Alicia's fingers tightened around the handle of her wand and her back straightened. Merlin's arse, how many times had he seen her back straighten like that when she was in a defiant mood? She and Johnson were seriously going to pick a fight with these criminals!
Shite. He was not going to let this happen. He wasn't. To hell with Dumbledore's orders.
Adrian pushed himself forward, though he was also careful not to run. When he emerged from the shadows, his movement caught the men's attention, but he couldn't be bothered with them just yet. He hurried to the shorter girl's side and put his hand on her shoulder in a familiar gesture. She jumped so badly that he thought for a split second she might jinx him, and he clamped down on his grip and said in a quiet but concerned voice, "There you are. I was worried when you didn't show up at the Leaky at 4:45 like we planned. Are you both alright?"
Both girls froze and stared at him from the depths of their hoods. Tension hung between the two groups, the silence broken only by the crackling of the sleet around them, peppering the iced cobblestones.
Adrian then glanced towards the four arseholes across from them, pretending to only just have noticed them. His skills at Legilimency were not helping. Their thoughts were very close to the surface, so he didn't have to try hard to see what they were imagining — and what he saw mostly made him want to kill the whole damn lot of them right then and there. But he'd never cast Avada Kedavra before, and his mother would probably be very upset if he did. So, in the most arrogant, disdainful voice he could pull off, he sneered, "Something wrong, gents?"
The leader stiffened. "Listen, pretty boy —"
"Actually," Adrian cut him off coldly, raising his wand, "you don't know exactly what I look like, now do you? Or who I am. Want to risk it? The only thing you know for a fact is that I'm a wealthy pureblood. Your move, arsehole. I'm already thoroughly pissed about your little comment earlier. You're damned lucky I didn't kill you all then, and it absolutely crossed my mind at the time. So give me another reason. Go on, and I will."
The men hesitated, shifting uncomfortably, looking at their leader to tell them what to do.
Adrian added hatefully, "And if I find out you've bothered these two ladies at any point in the future, I'll make certain to kill you. No questions asked."
The leader immediately backed off and said in a bitter voice, "Apologies, sir. It was just a misunderstanding." Turning to the others, he added in a low voice, "Come on." They slunk into an alley between two boarded-up buildings, glancing back several times to watch Adrian and the girls. After a few heavy moments, the darkness swallowed the men completely.
"Let's go," Adrian muttered, keeping a firm but gentle grip on the shorter woman's shoulder. He had broken out into a cold sweat.
What if they'd…?
No, he couldn't think about that. He wouldn't think about that.
"What the hell is going on?" Johnson asked in a low tone.
Alicia's soft voice came from beneath her hood even as she reached her arm under his cloak and behind his waist. "…it's fine, he's a friend," she answered quietly.
Adrian nearly slipped on the slick pavement. It wasn't just hearing her voice again, it was her arm around his waist and that calm trust she put in him. Merlin, didn't she know what she did to him? Bloody hell, just her touch alone, even through layers of winter clothing, sent tingles through his extremities in a way the cold couldn't possibly do. But it was also the fact that she trusted him implicitly, even though they hadn't spoken in months, and that really felt like a punch to his gut. He didn't deserve her after he had avoided her for so long, even if it had been on Dumbledore's orders.
His stumble made her gasp in surprise and she tightened her grip. "For Merlin's sake, don't fall!" she whispered.
He almost laughed. "That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? Though not as embarrassing as some other situations we've found ourselves in." Realizing she hadn't moved her arm, he put his around her shoulders to pull her closer to his side. She fit right into him, just as he remembered, and he swallowed and said, "Thought you were going to hex my bits off a moment ago, when I first got your attention."
"I would never," she said, both loftily and very quietly. "I have an immensely high respect for your bits. I've been fantasizing about them for two solid years."
All of his blood rushed south and his mouth went completely dry. Fuck, had she really just said that? Salazar help him…
"Besides," she went on, oblivious to his raging hormones. "I've nearly fallen twice tonight already, so I wouldn't laugh if you did. I don't know how she's wearing those stupid heels and not slipping all over the place —"
Johnson had been distracted throughout this part of the conversation; she had been looking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. But now she interrupted in a quiet murmur. "…are you going to tell me who this guy is? You haven't asked him a security question, and you're hanging off of him and talking about his bits like he's your boyfriend, when I bloody well know you don't have a —" She broke off suddenly and her voice dripped with relish. "Oh, I do know who he is."
"Look," he hissed, while filing that little bit of information about Alicia's love life away for later, whether he needed to examine it or not. "Will the two of you just act like this was planned? Like we had arranged to meet for drinks or something? I don't know if those arseholes are still around, but I suspect they are."
"Fine," Johnson huffed. "But I'll have you know I was going to enjoy blasting their bollocks off. You ruined my fun."
"I have no doubt about that. I know you're both extremely skilled at Defense. But that's not the point."
"Oh? What is the point, then?"
Alicia moaned and grasped Angelina's arm with her free hand. "Just keep walking."
"Those shoes give you away," he added quietly, still addressing Johnson as they hurried down Diagon Alley in the heavy fog and worsening sleet, past shops that had shuttered at the close of the day and the many other shops that had closed down completely in the past few months.
"I happen to like my shoes, thank you very much."
"What he means," Alicia explained in a barely audible voice, "is that everyone knows you have a flair for fashion. Quidditch Monthly said so when they did that spread about you joining the Harpies in October. Those men back there may recognize you again based on your shoes."
"And if they do, I'll curse them. But seriously," Johnson added, waving her wand and casting a privacy spell around them. "Ask him a security question. Better safe than sorry."
He still couldn't see Alicia's face, but she whispered, "Fine. How many Bludgers hit you in the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game last February?"
Remembering how she had snuck into the locker rooms and how that had both got his blood going and terrified him all at the same time, he barely managed to answer. "Five."
"Happy?" she asked Angelina.
"I should ask you one," he said, before Johnson could respond. "What happened to the note we were passing back and forth in Ancient Runes a few days after that game?"
Alicia almost slipped on the ice and he pulled her close to him to steady her. Breathlessly, she said, "You set it on fire."
Johnson's voice came from the depths of her hood, clearly amused. "Oh, now I must know what this note said."
"Never," Alicia answered firmly. Then she turned her head slightly in his direction and murmured, "So… who were those men? I haven't seen them before."
"I don't know." He felt his nerves twist. "There was a small breakout from Azkaban a couple of days ago though, and that's what worries me. If it's them, they may not stay in Diagon long, just to avoid recapture, but who knows. I assume you are both going to the insane joke shop up the road?" he asked dryly. "Because that's where I was planning to take you. I know you'll be safe there."
Johnson said, "You assume correctly. Going to walk us all the way to the door? Fred and George would probably love that. Though, we could use another drinking buddy…"
"Forget it. I'm walking you to their door, yes, but I am not hanging around to drink with those two." Merlin's arse, he could only imagine what things would be like if he hung around to drink with the Gryffindor Class of '96… though he would sadly enjoy it a lot more than some of the parties he'd found himself at over the past summer. But, the Gryffindor boys of '96 hated him, or at least three of them definitely did, so it was entirely out of the question. Those arseholes would probably spike his alcohol with something horrid, if they didn't hex him first.
"Seriously," Johnson replied. "You don't have to walk us to the door. Like I said, we can handle ourselves." Then, in a disgusted voice, she added, "We live nearby, you know. We're sadly getting used to seeing the trash around here."
"I know I don't have to. But I'm going to. It's safer if I do."
They had turned down the narrow gap between Number 98 and Number 96, and they came out of the gap into a back alley where the bins were located, as well as a set of outside metal stairs that led all the way up to the Weasley twins' third-floor flat. He sighed and looked around, but they were completely alone and well concealed from Diagon Alley behind the building.
Reluctantly, Adrian took a deep breath, glanced around, released Alicia, cast another privacy spell, and lifted his hands to his hood. He pulled it back just enough that she could see his face better, though he didn't take it off.
Before they could speak, he said grimly, "Happened I ran into those arseholes earlier today. They thought I might be a muggle-born at first and were hoping to attack me. I was able to prove I was a pureblood without revealing my identity, though. They left me alone after that."
He just could just see the surprise in Johnson's face under her hood. "How did you do that?"
"I summoned one of my family's house elves." He knew his smile was a bit twisted. "Only wealthy purebloods have house elves. They backed off immediately, but I hit them with a couple of hexes just to be on the safe side, so they would leave me alone. When I saw them harassing the two of you, I knew I could step in and stop them. They wouldn't cross me; they would be risking too much to cross an elite pureblood, even if they didn't know who I was. It was too much of a gamble for them, and they knew I was already pissed."
"That was clever," Johnson agreed. "I suppose we should thank you. You did help us back there."
He rolled his eyes at her haughtiness. "Don't mention it."
Alicia, however, quietly said, "Thank you."
"I'll wait until you both get inside," he replied, glancing up at the landing. There was a light on over the landing, but otherwise there were no lights in the back alley behind the shop. It was quite dark and isolated. He needed to make sure they got inside safely.
Angelina nodded and looked at Alicia, but Alicia merely looked up at her friend for a moment. She didn't speak or move.
What was she waiting for? He couldn't see her expression because of her hood, and he wasn't sure what sort of silent conversation the two girls were having. Did they do this often? Were they communicating via Legilimency? Or was it just something girls did?
After a moment, Johnson said quietly, "I'll cover for you. I'll tell them you ran into a classmate and needed to discuss something about one of Ecclestone's assignments. Hurry up though. You know Lee will start asking questions if you take too long. And they'll probably get mad at me for leaving you alone." With that, she headed to the stairs, silencing her footsteps with her wand as she hurried up the three flights to the landing. She knocked and waited a few moments before the door opened; then Johnson stepped inside and the door closed behind her.
Left in the dark with Alicia, he turned to look at her. Her hood still covered her face, but she had been watching Angelina as well. Now, she cast a shield that shimmered and vanished around them to protect them from being seen or discovered.
The silence grew heavier, as did the sleet. It was bloody well freezing, and he could barely breathe. Alicia was right in front of him. They were alone after months of being apart, and they were so close. She'd made sure they had this brief moment together. Why? Was she angry with him and wanted to berate him for ignoring her? He could feel his defenses crumbling. He hadn't seen her in so long, and he was craving any interaction with her more than he cared to admit. A few minutes in Alicia's presence would go a long way, even if she was angry.
Unfortunately, it was the middle of winter and it was freezing, the sleet was stinging his exposed skin, a group of dangerous criminals was on the loose, and there was disgusting Dementor fog everywhere. He couldn't imagine a less-pleasant scenario for running into her after six lonely, miserable months.
To his further surprise, she stepped closer to him and whispered, "I have one other security question, please. What was the last thing you said to me before we left Hogwarts in June?"
He looked down at her, his heart hammering against his chest. She slowly slid her hood back just enough to look at him properly, her eyes large and dark brown and worried in the faint flare of the dim porch light three stories up that barely lit anything. Her face was pale and drawn. This wasn't a security question, he realized. She needed the validation that he still cared about her, despite having not seen her for six months.
Hoarsely, he said, "We were in the Hogwarts library after the Leaving Ceremony. We asked each other not to get killed in this stupid war. And I kissed you goodbye." He reached forward and brushed the backs of his fingers along her cheek. He had kissed plenty of girls, and had sex with a few during the past six months, but Alicia had always, always been different. Did he actually love her, like his father had suggested? Something clenched in his chest.
Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Unable to resist, he crushed her to him, breathing in her scent. It was the same light floral scent he remembered from their school days. He'd missed it far more than he liked to admit.
"Thank you," she mumbled, her face buried against his neck. "For helping us back there. We could have handled it, but I'm still appreciative that you stepped in."
"It was nothing. I just didn't want them to hurt the two of you. And I figured the Harpies wouldn't want one of their reserve Chasers in Azkaban for cursing a few of the Dark Lord's supporters."
He did not tell her what he had seen in those arseholes' minds. He didn't tell her he'd really wanted to murder all four of them for the thoughts they'd had about two unsuspecting girls in the street after dark. He wasn't sure how she'd take that. Instead, he merely held her tighter and took comfort in her body against his. She was safe for now. For this one brief second, tight in his arms, she was safe and she was his and no one could take this from him.
He whispered, "Are you well? I've… missed you. Merlin, you have no idea how much I've missed you. I can't believe you're right here…"
She leaned back enough to meet his eyes, but when she spoke, there was a trace of hurt in her voice. "Did you really miss me? You vanished, Adrian. You vanished for six months. I thought we were at least friends —"
His gaze was locked on those beautiful lips. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her again. He was desperate to kiss her again. He held back because he knew he shouldn't. Dumbledore had told him to keep secrets from her for the sake of the war. If he kissed her, how was he supposed to let her walk away from him? It had been nearly impossible in the Hogwarts library. And besides, did he even know her anymore? A few stolen moments throughout their seventh year at Hogwarts wasn't like the friendship and constant companionship she shared with Angelina, Lee, George, and Fred — or even Kenneth, Gilbert, and Chrysanthe.
Her brow creased worriedly. "Adrian?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to vanish. Please believe me. I know I've given you absolutely no reason to believe me," he said desperately. "But things are… really complicated right now."
Her shoulders dropped a bit. "I know."
"Alicia. Please be careful. Those arseholes… they're scum, and they may target you again because I stepped in, just like Umbridge did when I hexed Bletchley…" He swallowed. "I hope they don't, but…"
Fuck. It suddenly occurred to him that he had interfered with this situation just as he'd done over a year ago at Hogwarts when Bletchley had hexed her, and in doing so, his actions could possibly have dire consequences. This was a lot worse than protecting her from some Slytherin students in the dungeons; these men tonight were murderers and criminals, and he had put them in their place by simply being considered higher up in society than they were. He had even hexed the leader for good measure to prove his point. Would the prick want revenge and take it out on Alicia because he was pissed over Adrian's actions?
Alicia must have seen the panic in his expression, because she reached up, cupped his face with her hands and rubbed her thumb over his lower lip and chin to make him look at her. His knees nearly went out from under him. Her fingers were like ice and he had the insane desire to warm her up.
Quietly but firmly, she said, "They don't know who you were. They don't have your name and they didn't see your face. It'll be okay. They don't know my name and they didn't see my face, either. I'll be careful. I promise."
"Merlin, I've missed you," he whispered again, covering one of her hands with his. "I know it's selfish and it makes me an arse and I've been a prat, but I've missed you so much —"
She abruptly pushed to her toes, pulled him down, and kissed him before he could finish the sentence.
Her lips were cold. So were his. And he didn't remotely give a damn. He'd missed this. He'd missed kissing her, holding her, just being near her. How had he survived the past few months without her? He had no idea.
His hands instantly went under her cloak, pulling her tight against him. He angled his head and kissed her more deeply, refusing to let her slip away from him just yet, insisting wordlessly on heating her blood a bit in this brutally cold weather. It felt just like he remembered: hot, licking flames curling through his gut, his skin burning, his heart nearly bursting out of his chest. Her mouth opened, their tongues touched desperately, and she arched into his hands. Even through the heavy layers of winter attire he could feel her figure; the idea of peeling her clothing off was so tantalizing…
"Fuck," he muttered, before kissing her deeply again. He clutched the jumper she was wearing under her cloak, bunching it up enough that his fingers could skim her soft skin, and he went dangerously close to her breasts. He could feel the curves under his thumbs, the satin of her bra caressing his hands. She jerked in his arms, pressing closer as she gasped and moaned into his mouth, her tongue tracing his.
After a long moment she drew back a fraction and teased softly, "Well, a fuck isn't entirely out of the question anymore."
He stared at her for a moment, gob-smacked — and then they both started laughing quietly. Circe, he missed her cheek. He missed everything about her. He couldn't help it; he kissed her again, grateful their hoods were still up, because it was sleeting even harder and he didn't want anyone to look out of the door three stories above and recognize him. The Weasleys and Jordan would probably start firing hexes down on him without warning.
After a long moment, Alicia drew back a second time, her lips damp and plump from snogging him, and she whispered against his mouth, "You know… I won't lie — lying in front of a fire with you on a freezing cold night like this sounds… really wonderful." She exhaled slowly. "And incredibly sexy…"
Her fingers were playing with the hair on the back of his neck, spearing up across the base of his skull, and his brain was disengaging.
"You're trying to tempt me. Please don't." He went back to kissing her, open-mouthed and hungry.
Between kisses, she arched against his hands again, which were still under her jumper, and she moaned, "We aren't in school anymore. We could, you know. No one would know…"
He sighed. "Except things are worse than ever," he murmured, growing serious, his hands sliding reluctantly back to her waist. "We're at war, Alicia. I was never friends with the Slytherins in my year as you are with the Gryffindors in yours, but that doesn't mean I don't occasionally have to interact with them or their families even now. It's too dangerous just yet. I don't want to hurt you or put you in danger. That's part of why I vanished, even though I didn't want to."
He suddenly felt exhausted. The Dementor fog was catching up with him, it was sapping his strength and happiness, and he felt useless. He hardly knew who he was or what he was meant to do in life, all of a sudden. Quietly, he admitted, "Some days, I feel like I won't ever be happy again. The last six months have been so miserable. I've missed you so bloody much, and I hate not being around you…"
Alicia stood on her toes, pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth, and mumbled, "Expecto Patronum…"
A flare of silver light illuminated the quiet alley and her Patronus was suddenly playfully pouncing around them. Instantly, he felt warmer, lighter. He sighed gratefully, sinking into her embrace, and laughed rather weakly.
"You're stronger than I am. I don't think I could have cast one right then." He watched the little ocelot for a moment before it dissolved into the night, as there were no immediate Dementors in the area for it to keep at bay.
She shook her head. "I'm not stronger than you. You've just had a very long day and you're tired, that's all. Actually, I'm not sure I trust you to Apparate home. Do you want me to take you somewhere?"
"No, I can manage."
"Or you could come upstairs; I will make Fred and George let you use the Floo —"
"Absolutely not."
"Adrian, I'm serious." She frowned. "I don't mind Apparating you back home. Just tell me where I should —"
He kissed her chastely, lingering against her lips and sliding his fingers down her cheek. "Alicia," he mumbled against her mouth. "If you Apparate me home, we will absolutely end up in bed together. And as bloody fantastic as that sounds, and as much as I would love to wake up to you naked beside me tomorrow morning, I won't risk whatever we have between us for one night at the beginning of a war that may last for years… whatever else, we are still friends, and I don't want to ruin that anymore than I already have by vanishing out of your life for six months because I had to. Just know this: I didn't want to vanish. I wanted to find you so many times… But I also want to protect you, and I —"
"You're so noble," she said gently. "Are you sure you shouldn't have been in Gryffindor?"
He smiled wistfully as he remembered. "The Sorting Hat took a bit longer with me than I — or my classmates — expected. It actually told me I would have done well in any of the houses."
"Then why Slytherin?" she asked curiously, coming off her toes and looking up at him, as though they hadn't just been having an amazing snog in the dark. As though she was truly interested in learning more about him. Which made this whole decision to not get involved with her even harder.
He sighed. "Because I'm from a pureblood family, and my entire family has been in Slytherin. How do I explain it?" He paused, keeping his hands firmly around her waist so she wouldn't back away from him. "If I had been sorted differently, my family wouldn't have loved me less. They would have readily accepted whatever placement I was given. But Slytherin house would have seen me as weak. They would have felt they were robbed. Sort of like Gilbert Royle — he's perceived as weak because he went to Hufflepuff when everyone expected him to go to Slytherin. Did being sorted into Slytherin make it difficult in other ways? Yes. But it's also what made me strong."
"So… what was the Sorting Hat's reasoning for putting you in Slytherin, ultimately? Aside from your own wishes?"
"It said Slytherin would enhance my ambition, cleverness, and cunning and pave the way for me to be great. It said I knew how to use a situation to my advantage, and that I looked for opportunities, sometimes in unexpected places or circumstances. But then it suggested I would do well in Hufflepuff because I had a strong sense of fairness and justice. And then," he laughed softly at the memory, "it said I would succeed in Ravenclaw because I had a brilliant mind. And as I was trying to process all of that, the bloody thing said that perhaps I should go to Gryffindor because I was noble, brave, a little reckless, and a bit fearless." He smiled wistfully. "Gryffindor was my second choice; I seriously contemplated it for a few seconds."
"Adrian Pucey!" she hissed. "Do you mean to tell me that we could have been in the same house this whole time?" There was a definite trace of annoyance in her voice.
He shook his head. "No. In the end, I asked to go to Slytherin. It took my wishes into account. Back then, I didn't understand what bravery meant, really. It was a long time before I truly understood. On Halloween night of our fifth year, actually —"
Her eyes widened. "Oh! When we were patrolling. I remember, too. The Bloody Baron told us —"
He smiled at the memory. "Yes. Though I certainly didn't understand what being fearless meant until seventh-year. Fearlessness and bravery are a bit different. And to be honest, for my first few years at Hogwarts, I thought the Sorting Hat had been taking the mickey on the whole Gryffindor thing. But now, I know it was being serious. And as I get older, I seem to become more reckless."
"The Sorting Hat didn't debate like that with me," Alicia said thoughtfully. "As soon as it touched my head, it sent me to Gryffindor. It didn't even ask me where I wanted to go. It just said, Ah, I know exactly where to put you! and that was that…"
"It did not make a mistake." He traced her lower lip with his thumb. "You're the bravest, strongest, most amazing girl I know."
She reached up with her hand behind his neck, pulled him back down, and kissed him softly but fully again. "Be careful Apparating home, please. Do you know how to send a Patronus with a message?"
He did, but she couldn't know he knew that. So he tried to look surprised and said, "…what?"
"A Patronus with a message," she murmured against his mouth, before dragging her lips over his yet again, warm and slow and sensual, her hands fisting in his cloak.
Sliding his hand up her back beneath her jumper against her skin, he muttered into the kiss, "How?"
"Too bad we don't practice Defense together anymore. I could teach you…" She was still slowly snogging him, almost grinding her hips against him through the layers of clothing, and he could think of a lot of things he suddenly wanted to practice with her besides bloody Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Alicia," he huffed, pulling away for a moment. "You've got to stop kissing me, or I'm going to drag you to an Apparition point and take you with me. And we can't do that. The war, remember? Just… tell me how to send a Patronus with a message, please."
She smirked, pulled him down, and breathed in his ear, "First you have to think of what you want to say to the other person. Project your thoughts, and nonverbally cast Expecto Patronum Loqui ad, followed by the person's name. It's meant to be cast nonverbally only. The Patronus will leave your wand, but disappear almost immediately. It will reappear before the recipient almost immediately. Depends on the distance, though. The greater the distance, the longer it can take to arrive, but usually not more than five minutes. Unless it has to travel overseas; then it takes longer, I believe. I've never tried that, though."
She stepped out of his grasp.
"Once you master it, you can send me one with a message if you need to. I know what your Patronus is and what your voice sounds like, after all. Patronuses are unique because when they speak because they use your voice. So I'll recognize it. Just as if you saw my ocelot and it spoke with my voice, you'd know it was me." Then her expression suddenly grew serious. "Please stay safe, Adrian," she whispered. "Please. I need you to stay safe. I miss you too, you know. So much."
With that, she turned and hurried up the fire escape stairs to the third landing before he could stop her. She looked back down at him once, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. He waited in the shadows until she entered the flat.
The air suddenly felt colder without her pressed against him, but there was still a burning, bright warmth in his chest. He smiled. She thought she had given him homework, because she knew he wouldn't be able to resist. Which meant he would have to go home and practice, even if he already knew how.
And it meant they could send Patronuses to each other, whether Dumbledore wanted them to or not. Maybe that would help, he thought. Anything would be better than not talking to her at all.
"Where the hell have you been?" George snarled, the moment Alicia stepped into the flat. "Surely it doesn't take that long to catch up with a classmate from the Healer program, does it?"
Kenneth watched as Alicia pushed the hood of her cloak back and unfastened the sleet-damp garment while George locked the door. She shrugged and replied, "Sorry. We were talking about Ecclestone's course this term."
"I did tell them that," Angelina said sourly, glaring at the twins.
"Yes, but you could have stayed down there with her," Fred snapped. "Why the hell didn't you? And you stopped us from going down there! Do you two even know how fucking dangerous it is to be alone in Diagon Alley after dark?"
Alicia glared at him. "First of all, I wasn't alone. I was with someone I knew. And it was a classmate, Fred, not a Death Eater. Calm down." With that, she tossed her cloak onto the back of a squashy armchair and flopped into the seat.
Kenneth interrupted, before the twins could really get going. "At least you're okay. Just please don't do it again, Alicia. We were all a bit annoyed that Ang left you down there." He glanced at Angelina, who rolled her eyes.
George agreed with him. "What Head Boy said. It's far too dangerous right now."
"Who was it, anyways?" Chrysanthe asked curiously.
Alicia shrugged. "Francine Howard. You know, she's a year ahead of us?"
"Oh, a girl classmate? How old is she?" Fred asked, his eyes lighting up as he seemingly forgot all about the fact that he had been annoyed just two seconds earlier. "Is she hot? She sounds hot."
Chrysanthe and Alicia both rolled their eyes and ignored him. But as Alicia settled into her chair and the twins fetched drinks, Kenneth glanced at her again. Truth be told, she looked a bit dazed, and for a split second he wondered if she had been Imperiused. Damn, why had Angelina not stayed with her? He caught Alicia's eye and silently cast Legilimency just to make sure she wasn't under that awful curse.
The problem was, the image that seared across his brain was not what he expected.
He almost didn't maintain control of his expression. Looking away quickly before she realized what had happened, he tried to make sense of it. What the hell? She'd been down in the back alley snogging some guy? But she and Angelina had both said Alicia was talking to a classmate! A girl classmate. Was she dating some guy in the Healer program and didn't want the twins and Lee to know? Is that why she and Angelina had lied?
A little unwillingly, but morbidly curious, Kenneth looked at Alicia again. She was still staring off into space while the twins, Lee, Angelina, Karen, Gil, Chrysanthe, and the others were chatting and cutting up, and he silently cast Legilimency again.
The image reappeared; she was blatantly snogging some guy in the alley. After a couple of seconds, Kenneth abruptly realized who it was. He quickly broke the contact again, but this time, he couldn't help smiling behind his hand.
"What's that look for?" Karen asked, noticing his expression.
"Nothing," he lied.
Alicia jolted suddenly and stared at him, almost as though she were just seeing him there.
"Kenneth?" she asked warily.
"Hm?" He kept his expression bland, hoping she hadn't realized what he had done. Her eyes narrowed on him, and he carefully blocked his mind just in case, though he didn't think Alicia knew Legilimency herself.
"What's going on?" Lee asked.
Kenneth tried to sound concerned. "Are you okay, Alicia? You look a little out of it."
Alicia's face relaxed just slightly. "I'm fine. I thought…" She trailed off, straightened, and said briskly, "Never mind. It's nothing."
Angelina and Alicia exchanged a glance at that point, and Kenneth realized something else: Angelina was perfectly aware of what had happened and who Alicia had been with. There was never a classmate in Diagon Alley, Alicia had been perfectly safe, and if Kenneth were honest, he was damned glad that Pucey had finally crossed paths with her. He'd been fucking tired of Pucey's listless attitude lately. It didn't affect Pucey's work for the Order, but it was still depressing, and Kenneth had long-thought Dumbledore was mental for not allowing Pucey and Alicia to at least interact a little. Maybe this random encounter would get them back together again. The fact that they had snogged for twenty-some minutes out in the sleet was a positive sign, at any rate. If nothing else, that would put Pucey in a better mood for a while.
"How are classes going?" Gil asked, catching Alicia's eye.
Alicia smiled. "A little easier this term, hopefully."
"Aye," Chrysanthe added. "At least Ecclestone isn't giving us so much homework we're snowed under like we were last term."
Kenneth exhaled silently. He was also damned glad that Gil and Alicia were on speaking terms again. October had been a shite month, but after learning exactly what was going on between Gilbert and Alicia, Kenneth had deliberately dragged Gilbert to the Gryphon in early November when he knew Angelina and Alicia would be there one evening. He'd insisted that the four of them have drinks, and while Gilbert had still been embarrassed and a little awkward, the interaction had at least broken the tension between them. Alicia was gracious and clearly wanted to remain friends, and Kenneth had been correct — she'd been a little hurt that Gilbert had refused to talk to her for nearly two months.
Gil was doing a lot better now that it was January and he'd had several more group interactions with Alicia, though Christmas had definitely put him in a bit of a bad mood. His grandfather, Quincy Royle, had apparently spent the entire holiday dinner touting about blood purity and the Dark Lord, trying to get a rise out of Gil or his mother, and that kind of thing never sat well with Gil.
Fortunately, being around a bunch of friends for the night seemed to help Gilbert as much as everyone else. The twins eventually started up a drinking game, and by the time they were halfway through the first round, everyone was having a good time, and everyone promptly forgot that Alicia had been missing from their group for twenty minutes beforehand. For that, Kenneth was rather grateful. He wasn't sure he wanted the twins and Lee to know about Alicia's involvement with Pucey just yet. They definitely wouldn't understand.
"Merlin, I didn't think the twins would ever let us leave!" Angelina complained, the moment she and Alicia were inside their flat.
It was almost eleven and they were both tired, but the twins had been in high spirits. Slipping away had been next to impossible. Alicia had honestly been worried that Fred and George would keep them there until past midnight, but Angelina had finally insisted on leaving by stating that she'd had a rough week of practice in the brutal cold and she wasn't going to stay up until midnight getting trashed because Fred and George were in one of their moods.
Of course, the hardest thing had been getting a second alone with Chrysanthe to tip her off that Alicia had not been talking to any classmate in the Healer program before she entered the flat. The last thing Alicia needed was for Chrysanthe to ask Francine Howard about an encounter that had never happened. She'd just managed to say something on the way out the door. Chrysanthe had hissed that she wanted details come Monday, and Alicia knew she would have to tell her. But that was a small price to pay; she could trust Chrysanthe.
Angelina stripped her cloak off and hung it on the hook by the door; then she turned to Alicia and demanded eagerly, "Well? What happened? You have to tell me!"
Alicia couldn't help it; she grinned giddily and bit her lip. "We talked," she said evasively, deliberately teasing Angelina.
Angie moaned. "Oh my God, don't stand there and make me drag it out of you, 'Licia! You snogged that lad — I know you did! I could see it on your face when you walked in!"
Alicia laughed. "Alright, yes! I snogged him. Merlin's arse, Angelina, it felt so good to snog him again. I forgot how bloody fucking brilliant he is at it." She sighed and allowed herself a moment to remember the way his hands had gone under her jumper, the way his fingers and palms had burned decisive paths across her back and up her ribs. Every touch had been like fire, contrasting so sharply against the cold and the sleet. She'd honestly hoped he might Apparate them back to his bedroom somewhere and shag her senseless like they both clearly wanted, but she had to give him some credit for his resolve. He'd always been good about pulling away and not taking things too far, too fast. Regardless, it had still felt incredible just to snog him again, just to see him and talk to him…
"Are you going to see him again?"
At that, Alicia's face fell slightly. "I don't know," she admitted. "It's odd. He told me that he had to vanish for a while. I don't know what he meant and he didn't explain."
"That is odd." Angelina frowned. "Do you think he's doing something to help the war effort, and he can't talk about it?"
"I don't know." Alicia shook her head. "Merlin, I hope not. His classmates and the Death Eaters would target him if he did something like that."
"You don't think he joined the Death Eaters, do you?"
Alicia gave her an annoyed look. "No. He absolutely hasn't joined the Death Eaters. He hates them. He wanted to be an Auror, actually. But he didn't apply for the Academy because he knew Robards wouldn't take a Slytherin recruit right now."
Angelina looked thoughtful. "Maybe he did apply, but he has to stay quiet about it?"
"That's not something they could keep quiet, though. If he had been allowed to join the Academy, others would know."
"True." Angelina fell silent.
"But," Alicia said, "I did tell him how to cast a Patronus with a message in hopes that he might contact me that way. I guess I can't do anything but wait and see if he does."
"Or send him one and see if he responds to you."
She nodded. "I probably should. He said he really missed me and he hadn't wanted to vanish like he did. That made me feel a bit better. At least he didn't just forget about me the moment we graduated."
"If you believe him on everything else, you need to believe him on that, too."
Alicia blushed. "I know."
Angelina tilted her head. "I think Katie was right, Alicia. Pucey is mad about you. He'll come back around at some point. Just be patient."
At that, Alicia laughed. "God, that reminds me of that stupid tarot card reading Chrysanthe did back in sixth-year! Telling me to be patient and all that rubbish."
Angelina lightly whacked her arm. "It's not rubbish! It happens to be pretty accurate sometimes! You even said so yourself that day."
"Maybe," Alicia said doubtfully.
As they headed for the sitting room, Angelina teased, "So… did he feel you up while he was at it?"
Alicia playfully swatted her. "What makes you think I would tell you that?"
"Because I told you that Ross Simon shagged me ragged on New Year's Eve," Angelina reminded her.
"You did." Alicia grinned. "And you said he was a very good shag."
"He was. Not as good as Corey, but we had fun." Angelina leveled her with a smirk. "So? Please tell me Pucey at least felt you up."
Alicia sighed. "Sort of. His hands were under my jumper, anyways. Godric, I can almost feel them, still. I think he was pretty close to taking me back home with him. Sort of wish he had, but then the twins and Lee would have panicked and all hell would have broken loose."
Angelina rolled her eyes. "Too true. They were getting edgy as it was; you were out there for over twenty minutes."
Alicia headed for her bedroom as Angelina went to hers. At her door, Alicia turned and smiled. "Thanks for covering for me, Ang."
Angelina waved a hand aside as she stepped into her room. "Of course. That's what friends do, right? Just send him a Patronus before the night's out, yeah?"
"I will," she promised.
Angelina's door closed behind her and Alicia stepped into her own room. Licking her lips, she began to undress, taking her jumper off first and skimming her torso in the darkness as she remembered his hands on her body. Merlin, Adrian had firm hands. She sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment before she refocused and shifted her arms around her back to unhook her bra.
And then, out of nowhere, a burst of silver flashed in front of her and a goshawk appeared, floating in her room on tendrils of light.
Did I do it right? the goshawk asked, his voice low and deep and so incredibly sexy.
Alicia was so startled that she nearly toppled back on the bed. The goshawk vanished, leaving the after-image burned in her eyes. Breathing hard, she suddenly grinned. He had actually sent her a Patronus. Tonight. He hadn't waited.
Alicia grabbed her wand from her back pocket and cast a Patronus in response with a return message. Yes, and thank Merlin I was already back at my flat. The twins and Lee would have murdered me if you had sent that while I was still at their place!
Heart pounding, she hurried back to her door, wrenched it open, leaned into the hall, and called out, "Angelina!"
There was a moment of silence before Angelina's door opened and her friend looked down the narrow, short corridor. "What's wrong?"
Alicia grinned at her in the darkness. "Guess he couldn't wait. He just sent me one. Before I sent him one."
Angelina laughed. "I told you that boy was mad about you! Listen, tell me tomorrow at breakfast if you carry on a conversation all night. I'm knackered, yeah?"
Alicia laughed, too. "I will. Night, Ang."
She ducked back into her room and stripped her bra off. Just as she was tossing it into the laundry basket, the goshawk appeared again.
It was good to see you tonight, Alicia.
Merlin, but she was grinning like an idiot. She cast another Patronus back to him. It was good to see you tonight too, Adrian. And to snog you. You know I'm in the middle of undressing for bed, right? I just took my bra off.
She didn't have to wait long. About the time she got her pyjamas on, the goshawk reappeared.
Bloody fucking hell, Alicia. Don't tell me stuff like that. Are you trying to wind me up?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I wish you'd Apparated me with you tonight. I would have shagged you, you know.
Good night, Alicia.
Good night, Adrian.
Author's Notes:
1. It's never specifically stated in the books when Scabior and his mates get out of Azkaban, so I took some liberty with that and set it up to happen at Christmas 1996 when security might be a little lighter on non-DE criminals.
2. "Expecto Patronum Loqui ad... [insert person's name]", literally means "I await my Patronus, speak to... [insert person's name]".