The Broadcast Raid

February 1998

As January wore into February, Alicia decided it was time to unpack her trunk and make use of the large wardrobe in her new bedroom, since it didn't seem she would be moving back to Angelina's flat any time soon. In the middle of the process, Alania knocked on her door to check on her and, seeing Alicia sitting there with the trunk's contents spread out around her, asked if she could come in. Alicia didn't mind, and Adrian's mother sat down on the floor beside her.

"I'm glad you're making the room your own," Alania said, smiling as Alicia sent her healing textbooks to the built-in bookshelf next to a large desk on the opposite side of the room. "I know you miss being with Angelina, though."

"With Katie in France, and me here, and Angelina at her flat, we're all truly separated, now. I do miss them," Alicia admitted, pulling out a box full of Gryffindor memorabilia. "Please don't think I'm not grateful to you and Adrian's father for letting me stay here, because I really am! It's just a bit lonely without Angelina and Katie, though."

"I can understand that. You've been friends with them for a long time. But, we're happy to have you here. I would worry, otherwise. Oh, look at all your rosettes!" Alania said fondly, picking one out of the box.

"Supporters often gave them to us after our games. Especially if we won. Angelina, Katie, and I were very popular." She smirked cheekily.

Alania laughed. "I know you must have been. Having seen you fly, I can just imagine the three of you together on the pitch. I'll bet the boys were panting."

Alicia laughed. "A lot of them were."

"I know my son was."

Alicia blushed a bit, and didn't answer. Instead, she pulled out an old Gryffindor pennant and held it up so Alania could see it. "I won't hang this, since you were all in Slytherin, but I kept it over my bed in my dorm for years."

"Oh, but you should hang it here! Put it above the desk."

Alicia bit her lip. "Can I?"

"Of course you can!"

She got up and walked across the room to attach the pennant on the wall, and artfully charmed all the rosettes all around it. Then she stepped back to admire her work. It was awfully kind of Adrian's mother to let her decorate this room, even if Alicia was actually sleeping in Adrian's room. She was rather glad his parents didn't care about that, either. Of course, she wasn't sure if they knew that, either.

When she turned to walk back to her trunk though, it was to find Alania holding Adrian's Slytherin tie with a surprised, yet wistful expression. Alicia instantly blushed; she had forgotten it was in that box.

"Oh. Um…"

Alania rubbed the silk with her thumb and brushed her other hand to her eye. "Forgive me. I noticed the green and it caught me off guard, I suppose. I didn't realize the two of you traded ties. But that makes me so happy. Does he still have yours?"

"He does. It's in his room, hanging on the wall by his desk."

"I never traded with anyone. No one at Hogwarts ever caught my attention. I had plenty of admirers, of course. At least ten boys asked for my tie when I graduated. But I refused to trade. I knew when I met the right person, I would simply know. And I did. I knew the moment I met Alexander's eyes across a room in Monte Carlo."

"I had one other boy ask for mine, but I wouldn't trade with him. I've always thought of him as just a friend." Alicia winced. "He doesn't know I'm dating Adrian yet, either. He was in my Gryffindor class, and I just… haven't figured out how to tell him."

Alania squeezed her hand. "The right time will come. You know," she added thoughtfully, "When you and Adrian get married, I want to hang these ties somewhere at the ceremony. To represent how far you've both come since then."

Alicia's blush got worse. "We're still too young for that. We haven't even talked about it! And the war —"

"— won't last forever." Alania handed the tie to her. "Hang it over your desk, ma chérie. With your Gryffindor things."

The packets from Courtney continued each Saturday morning, along with short little notes. Alicia instinctively knew that Courtney didn't want her to respond every single time, but it was hard. What little contact she had with the outside world was a relief, and she rather felt that Courtney was a kindred spirit at that point, sending abrasive but encouraging little notes, telling her to hang in there and keep studying. She wondered if she and the Slytherin prefect could have been friends at Hogwarts if things had been different. She'd always thought Courtney would have hexed her just as soon as not, but now Alicia really thought Karen was right: deep down, Courtney was on their side of the war, even if Kenneth didn't believe it.

On February 8th, Lee planned to hold another Potterwatch. Kenneth and Karen visited for tea that afternoon and let Alicia, Adrian, Alania, and Alexander know, and Alania asked them to stay for dinner so they could all listen to the program together. She and Alexander had found the illegal broadcast particularly engaging, not only to hear what was really going on and what the Order was doing, but also for the tips and tricks that Fred, George, Lee, Kingsley, Remus, and a handful of others often shared.

That night was no exception. Lee started by reading the names of the latest victims of the war — muggle-borns who had been killed or imprisoned, muggles who had been tortured and killed, and random witches and wizards who had been targeted for one reason or another.

He was just starting the main part of the program, in which Kingsley was sharing some tips for surreptitiously protecting nearby muggles from harm without bringing attention to oneself, when something odd happened.

There were some weird sounds, like knocks. One of the twins muttered, "What the hell?" and then they heard half of an explosion, before the broadcast went eerily silent.

Everyone in the room tensed.

"Oh, shite," Adrian muttered.

Alicia sucked in a quick breath. "What just happened?"

Kenneth rose from his seat, his face pale. "It sounded like a raid."

Adrian instantly stiffened and said sharply, "Don't you dare, Towler. I know what you're thinking, because they're your classmates and friends, but if you try to Apparate to wherever they are right now, you'll end up in the middle of a firefight!"

Karen grabbed his arm. "Kenneth!" she gasped. "Listen to Adrian!"

"But…" Kenneth was clearly at war with himself, and Alicia knew exactly how he felt. It was a repeat of Death Eaters showing up at Bill and Fleur's wedding, only this time, instead of Alicia and Angelina keeping Lee from racing to make sure the twins were safe, it was Alicia, Karen, and Adrian making sure Kenneth didn't dive headfirst into danger.

Alexander was fiddling with the radio, tapping it with his wand, but after a couple of minutes, he shook his head and said, "They've been completely cut off. They're not even broadcasting anymore."

Kenneth was pacing, now. "Damn it," he muttered, raking his hands through his hair. "I don't like this! They're in a lot of danger; they could use another wand —!"

But before he could finish the sentence, a lynx Patronus materialized in front of them.

Adrian, Alicia! I need you both at safehouse one. Alicia, bring whatever medical supplies you can.

Alicia had already stood up before Kingsley finished, and she summoned a bag of medical supplies that she kept in her room upstairs. Adrian summoned their coats and scarves.

"Wait!" Alania said forcefully. "I don't know about this —!"

"Kingsley needs us," Adrian said firmly, meeting his mother's eyes while handing Alicia her coat. "We have to go, Mum."

"I'm coming, too," Kenneth said, summoning his own coat.

Karen stared at him. "Kenneth, no! Kingsley didn't ask for you, and the twins and Lee don't know about your involvement in the Order!"

Kenneth turned to face her. "I'm sorry, love. I have to go. We're a small class. I need to check on them, too. Dumbledore is dead, and I can't keep this from the twins and Lee any longer."

Much to Alicia's surprise, Adrian agreed.

"Alright, Towler, but stay behind me. Don't get mad, but you aren't as good at Defense as I am. Cover us as best you can, but let me do any fighting if it comes down to that. Understand?"

Alania interrupted. "I can go instead of Kenneth. Karen doesn't want him to go, and —!"

"No," Kenneth said gently, smiling at her. "It needs to be me, Mrs. Alania." Then, turning to his girlfriend, he said in a grim voice, "I'm not going to fight, love." A twisted smile curved his mouth. "I'm going to make sure the twins and Lee don't kill Pucey."

Adrian hated to admit that Kenneth had a damned good point, but he did. Whatever had happened was bad enough to warrant bringing Alicia to wherever Fred, George, and Lee were at, because at least one of them was injured. And the Weasley twins and Lee had no idea Adrian and Alicia were together. It would be a difficult dose to swallow on top of their broadcast getting raided.

Adrian, Alicia, and Kenneth buttoned up their coats against the frigid February air, stepped outside together, and flew to the Apparition point, where Adrian Apparated all three of them to safehouse one: the large, two-story Victorian that had multiple rooms.

When they reappeared in the silent, dark lane and started to walk towards the porch, Adrian said quietly to Alicia, "Cast a Patronus. Let Kingsley know you're here."

Alicia did as he instructed. A few seconds later, the door opened and Kingsley stepped onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind him. His entire posture was rigid and tense.

"Alicia. Adrian," he said sharply. "Thank you for coming so quickly." Then he suddenly noticed Kenneth. "Why is —?"

"He's here to keep them from murdering Adrian," Alicia said grimly, stepping up on the porch. "He and Karen were with us when you sent your Patronus; we were all listening to the broadcast together. You don't need to ask security questions."

Kingsley inhaled and nodded. "Very well. Inside, all of you. Angelina is here, too. I contacted her because I had the same thought: they're probably going to have a hard time understanding Adrian's involvement. I haven't mentioned him yet, just that I contacted you to heal them. Remus is on his way; he's doing damage control. I'll wait out here for him."

"Let me go first," Kenneth said firmly to Alicia. He stepped around Kingsley, through the front door, and strode into the sitting room.

Adrian was still facing the road, watching for possible Death Eaters, even as he stepped up onto the porch and Kingsley went to stand guard on the lane. However, Kenneth left the front door partially open, enabling Adrian and Alicia to hear the conversation from inside.

"Kenneth?!" one of the twins sounded shocked. "What the hell?"

"How do you know about this place?" Lee demanded.

Kenneth's voice was quietly commanding. "How about the three of you shut up and listen to me for once, please?"

To Adrian's surprise, there was silence for a second, before one of the twins stammered, "Shite. Kenneth is in the Order…!"

"Damn! How did he keep that a secret from us?"

"Why did he keep that a secret from us?"

"We specifically asked you if you were in the Order!"

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

Lee sounded stunned, too. "What the hell are you doing for the Order?"

"Angelina!" One of the twins must have turned to the oldest Chaser. "Did you know Kenneth was in the Order?"

"Yes."

Based on her tone, Adrian could envision the way her eyebrow quirked up disparagingly.

"What the hell?! You told Ang and not us, Kenny?!"

Adrian slid an arm around Alicia's waist. He felt the slight trembling in her frame — the worry that she was about to upset three of her oldest friends with her decision to be with him. Gently, he pressed his lips against the side of her head. She relaxed a fraction, but he could still feel the tension rippling through her body.

Kenneth ignored the questions. "Alicia's about to come in and heal the three of you, but my partner in the Order is protecting her because Alicia's all we have for a Healer right now, and we don't need Death Eaters honing in on her. The thing is though, my Order partner isn't someone you'd expect, okay? And your first instinct is going to be to lose your tempers and do something stupid. Don't. If you try to throw a hex or a curse at him, Alicia herself will hex all three of you without thinking. She's… very protective of him. And it should go without saying that his involvement in the Order has to stay completely secret. Just like mine."

"Er, okay? What is your involvement in the Order?"

"Never you mind," Kenneth said evasively.

"You sound like Percy."

"And who the hell is in the Order that we'd hex?"

"Yeah, we're kinda grateful for whatever help we can get at the moment."

"I suggest you keep that in mind. Alicia?" Kenneth called out. "Come on in."

Alicia entered first, and Adrian followed her. Instantly, Fred, George, and Lee's eyes snapped to him as he gingerly closed the door and kept his wand up. The tension seemed to ratchet up a notch, thick and heavy.

Angelina was standing next to Kenneth, and both of them were watching the Weasley twins and Jordan, who were all crammed on the sofa. Jordan was bleeding profusely from the side of his head, holding a towel to the cut to try and staunch the flow, but Fred and George only seemed to have a few cuts and burns. However, the three of them looked absolutely shocked to see Adrian, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Angelina gave Adrian a ghost of a smile. "Hey, Pucey," she said in a casual tone. "Thanks for taking care of Alicia since her parents were killed."

Adrian nodded. "Johnson."

"Er… what the actual fuck is going on?" Fred's eyebrows were at his hairline.

Alicia was doing her best to ignore the way the twins and Jordan were gaping, and the way the tension continued to spiral. She had a job to do, after all. She sat on the tea table to face Jordan, who was clearly in the worst shape. Her knees bumped into his as she took her medical bag off her shoulder and cast a diagnostic spell to see what was going on with his cut.

Except Jordan wasn't looking at her at all. He was now staring at Adrian with something akin to hatred in his eyes. "I don't understand," he said scathingly. "What the hell is that minted Slytherin arsehole —?"

Alicia cut him off, both reproachfully and with some exasperation. "Lee! Stop. He's protecting me in case Death Eaters show up, like Kenneth said."

Jordan snarled, "Except he's a damn Slyther—!"

Kenneth intervened. "I already told you, Lee. He's a member of the Order, just like I am. In fact, Pucey and I have been working together, directly for Dumbledore, since July of '96. Right after we all graduated. I can vouch for him. So can Kingsley and Remus."

The twins stared at them both and one of them stammered, "Shite. That long?"

"Pucey's been in the Order as long as we have?"

"Kenneth's been in the Order as long as we have?!"

"You're right, that's probably more shocking."

Kenneth rolled his eyes and gave the twins a two-fingered salute. "Thanks for the fucking vote of confidence, Fred," he drawled.

Kenneth's sarcasm was probably one of his best qualities, even though Adrian wouldn't have said that three years ago. Now, he rather looked forward to it.

Alicia, meanwhile, was reviewing Jordan's injuries and still trying to ignore the tension in the room. After a moment, she asked in a worried voice, "Lee, what the hell happened? That cut is awful! What kind of curse was it?"

It was George who answered. "Not sure, actually," he said darkly. "A few Death Eaters decided to make a house call while we were broadcasting. No idea how they traced us, but…"

Fred scowled. "And then Lee insisted on grabbing all of his equipment, as if we couldn't have rebuilt the station! We could have all Disapparated and gotten the fuck out of there without getting into a fight, but no…!"

Jordan glared at him furiously. "I have a system! I don't want to rebuild it, damn it!"

Alicia's mouth set in a grim line. "So you nearly got yourself killed for equipment that Fred and George could have replaced? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"I didn't want those bastards to get my equipment!" Jordan answered hotly.

"Take that towel down and let me see what's going on," Alicia ordered.

Reluctantly, Jordan took the towel away from the side of his head.

"It looks like an Uno Impeto Curse," Adrian volunteered in a grim voice. He'd only read about it, but it was pretty obvious. "Same theory as Diffindo, but the cut is significantly worse."

"Good thing someone paid attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Fred mused sarcastically. Adrian ignored him.

Alicia pursed her lips together before she said, "That one prevents blood from clotting properly. I only have one vial of Sanguis Coagulationis Potion, but I'm going to have to give you all of it, Lee. Otherwise, you'll slowly bleed out. Adrian, would you hand me —?"

But all three Gryffindor boys suddenly stiffened.

"Adrian?" Jordan spat incredulously."Are you fucking kidding me? Al, surely you don't call him by his first —"

"Do you want to be healed?" Alicia asked, her teeth gritted. "I can leave, you know."

"He's a Slytherin!"

"Yes," Alicia snapped impatiently. "You've said that two or three times now, Lee. Except the world isn't divided into good people and Slytherins, now is it? Kenneth and I explained he's in the Order and that he's protecting me! If that's good enough for Remus and Kingsley, it should be good enough for you, too!"

Kenneth added, "As a matter of fact, Pucey's the one who set up this safehouse."

Jordan protested. "That doesn't mean Al needs to call him by his first name, like they're friends, or something!"

But at that, everyone fell silent.

After a couple of seconds, Fred said in a gobsmacked voice, "Oh, damn. They aren't just friends, are they? They're something more."

"That's impossible," Jordan said dismissively, pressing the towel back to the cut on the side of his head, because it was dripping blood onto his shirt. His eyes flashed hatefully. "Al wouldn't be stupid enough to date a snake."

That comment cut Alicia a little bit more than the others; Adrian could tell. He thought it was odd — while at Hogwarts, Jordan had clearly disliked Slytherin students, but he had always seemed friendly and cheerful to his own classmates. And Adrian knew Jordan had a fancy for Alicia in particular. Was this current abrasive and cynical attitude simply because Alicia had turned him down for Adrian, or was it something deeper? Adrian didn't know Jordan well enough to guess.

However, even Kenneth and Angelina had stiffened at Jordan's remark — Adrian noticed Johnson's lip curl dangerously and her hand twitched as though she wanted to hex Jordan, but she hung back because Alicia was still miraculously managing to keep her temper.

Without speaking, Adrian summoned a vial each of Sanguis Coagulationis, Blood-Replenishing, and Wound-Cleaning from her medical bag for her.

"Lee," she said coolly. "I won't tell you again. Take that towel down so I can heal you properly."

George must have realized Alicia wasn't going to say anything about the obvious elephant in the room (which for once, wasn't Towler's massive Patronus). He looked at Kenneth and Angelina. "Well?" he asked. "Is Fred right? Are they actually together? Is that the real reason she's so protective of him?"

It was Angelina who answered. "Yes. They snuck around together for a bit at the end of seventh-year, and then they started dating in secret this past summer."

There was another long stretch of silence. Adrian held his wand ready, just in case, because he couldn't see how this could end well. Even Alicia had tensed again at Angelina's comment — this was the moment the twins and Lee either accepted her decision or not.

Jordan let out a puff of humorless laughter. "No way. That's a joke, right? You wouldn't actually —"

Alicia jabbed her wand; the cork came out of the Wound-Cleaning vial and she directed the potion into the deep cut on the side of Jordan's head with a bit more force than necessary. Jordan swore violently as the potion seared and burned into the wound to sterilize it, and she followed it up with the blood clotting potion, which also earned a yelp from Jordan.

"Well." Fred stared at Adrian. "I'll be fucked. How did we not know about them?"

"I'm kind of impressed, if I'm honest," George said. "We never guessed at all!"

"That explains why they were always patrolling together and she kept saying he wasn't bothering her…!"

"He even had Head Boy here fooled!"

"He's got bollocks, I'll give him that. Sneaking around with one of the famous, fit Gryffindor Chasers behind our backs."

Alicia rolled her eyes, started to heal Jordan's cut despite his yowl of pain, and muttered, "I happen to particularly like his bollocks. Lay off, all of you. I'm a big girl, you know."

Through gritted teeth, Jordan said hatefully, "That's disgusting, Al —"

She glared at him. "Really, Lee? Considering how many vulgar remarks I've heard come out of your mouth since first-year, I find it astonishing that you would dare tell me not to make a crass joke."

Kenneth tried to interject again. "Enough, Lee. Let Alicia finish healing that cut. Fighting with each other is about the stupidest thing we can possibly do right now. And that includes trying to fight with Pucey."

Adrian wondered if Towler had been just as unsuccessful at making these three see reason during their time at Hogwarts, too. Probably even more so, if he had to guess.

"She's out of her mind!" Jordan ranted. "Makes me wonder if he has her under Imperius or some shite —"

Kenneth's lip curled and Adrian felt his own anger spike. Had Jordan really just said that?! Even the twins winced and looked at Jordan as though they felt he had crossed a line, and in Adrian's mind, he damn well had. Alicia's knuckles turned white on her wand, but it was Angelina who finally lost her temper. It seemed one could only get away with insulting her best friend for so long, and she'd been putting up with Jordan because he was her friend, too — and because he was one of the Gryffindor Six of '96 — but her patience had clearly reached an end when he suggested Adrian had been using an Unforgivable Curse to take advantage of Alicia.

"Of course he doesn't," she said snarled coldly. "I cannot believe you even just said that. Stop being such a fucking prat, Lee. You're just pissed because you've fancied Alicia since sixth-year, but she didn't choose you. Nothing you say is going to change her mind. And honestly? Considering how you're acting at the moment, I can't blame her."

Kenneth scowled. "I'm with Ang. That was completely untrue and uncalled for. You're bang out of line at the moment, Lee. I don't give a damn if you do fancy her."

"You two danced at the Yule Ball," George said suddenly, looking at Alicia and then to Adrian. "That's when it started, wasn't it? I remember, because Alicia left us, and then Lee and I saw the two of you dancing —"

"Shite!" Jordan's mouth dropped open. "So when she stormed outside that night —?" he demanded.

Feeling vindictive, Adrian gave Jordan a slightly malicious smile; his diplomacy and patience had reached an end when the arse accused him of using Imperius on Alicia. "She met me outside, yeah."

Alicia didn't deny it or correct him. He had found her outside, she hadn't met him. But if anything, her cheeks turned pink and gave her away. Jordan abruptly stood up to face Adrian, anger etched across his features, but then he swayed slightly and had to grab his head with a wince.

"Seriously, Lee," Kenneth snapped, clearly annoyed. "Sit down and let her finish healing you!"

"I don't care about that!"

Angelina stepped around Adrian and went around the end of the tea table, grabbed Jordan by the collar, and with surprising strength, shoved him back on the sofa. Her teeth were bared. "Lee. Sit the fuck down and let Alicia heal your arse before you pass out. You lost a lot of blood —"

"I don't want her to heal me!" Lee shouted back.

"Now you're just being stupid," Angelina spat.

"I can kind of see why she didn't tell us," Fred mused conversationally, looking at his twin.

George nodded once. "We would have been a little pissed. I mean, we are kind of pissed. No offense, Pucey. Order member or not, you're still a minted swot —" He broke off when Alicia glared at him, and hastily amended, "What I mean is, it'll take us some time, you know. Getting used to you. If you're really an Order member. We only know you as a Slytherin."

Angelina turned to face the twins with fire in her eyes. "A Slytherin who never fouled us out on the pitch, who set up this safehouse, who's been protecting Alicia for months and literally saved her life and mine the night her parents died, who hasn't left her side since that night, and who's been helping Kenneth with his tasks for the Order for a year and a half!"

Fred and George looked at each other and conceded.

"That is true."

"It is."

Fred rubbed the back of his neck and said darkly, "The thing is, Dumbledore said Snape was an Order member, too. We just weren't expecting another Slytherin. We thought they all went the other way."

"Or," George said, "That they were taking a neutral position to try and avoid conflict."

"Which is just as bad," Fred agreed.

"Like Alicia said," Angelina stated baldly. "The world isn't divided into good people and Slytherins, damn it. Just because Snape turned out to be a double-crossing bastard doesn't mean Adrian is. In fact, he's done nothing but help us, and I've had the chance to watch him and Alicia together since last June. I like to think I'm a pretty decent judge of character, you know."

George sighed. "I suppose you are. Damn."

Alicia turned back to Lee and thrust a bottle of Blood-Replenishing potion at him. "Here, drink that. You're going to get woozy again if you try to do anything too fast. You've lost quite a bit of blood." She waved her wand and started cleaning up the blood on his person.

"Stop it," he snarled, looking away from her. "I don't want your help, Al."

"Now you're just being sulky and angry," Kenneth muttered.

"Of course I am! I fancy her, I have for years! And she picks a fucking Slytherin —" Lee broke off and inhaled sharply. "And I'm pissed at you too, Kenny! Why the fuck are you standing up for him?"

There was a long pause before Kenneth said quietly, "Because he's my friend. We've been working together for a year and a half at Dumbledore's request."

Adrian rolled his eyes. Wouldn't his mother just love to hear Towler say that.

"Oh man." Fred gaped. "This just keeps getting weirder, Forge. It's like we've entered an alternate universe or something!"

"I dunno, Gred, I can kind of see it. They're both swots —"

At that moment, Kingsley suddenly re-entered the room with Remus Lupin.

Remus frowned at them all. "What's going on?" he asked shortly.

"Well," said George. "Let's see. The station got raided, we all nearly died because Lee here had to save his damn equipment, and now we've found out a bloke we've never really even liked is a member of the Order. Does that sum it up, evil twin of mine?"

"Don't forget that he's secretly been dating one of our Chasers," Fred threw in.

"Oh, or that he's secretly best mates with Towler —"

"That's going a bit too far," Adrian muttered, but the twins ignored him.

"— who is also secretly in the Order —"

"We're a bit overwhelmed, really. There are a lot of secrets we're finding out all of a sudden."

"We always prided ourselves on being in the know, after all."

Alicia joked, "I can give you all a Calming Draught, if that would help."

"Where did you get all these potions?" George asked, frowning. "You were amazing at Potions, but Ang's flat doesn't have a stillroom."

Remus answered. "Adrian's father secretly brews them for the Order. He has a Potions License."

"Oh." Fred looked surprised. "That's…"

"Also very unexpected," George admitted.

A part of Adrian wanted to tell them that his parents weren't Death Eaters; that they had always sided with Dumbledore. He wondered if that would gain their trust. But just his luck, it probably wouldn't. He would wait on it until he knew them better.

Alicia, however, was clearly worried about his parents, because she said quietly, "His family is in a lot of danger, actually. They had to go under a Fidelius Charm."

"That's where I took Alicia after her parents were killed," Adrian decided to explain, though he directed this statement mostly to the twins, because it seemed like they were coming to terms with this whole thing a lot faster than Jordan was. "I knew the Death Eaters wouldn't be able to get through my mother's Fidelius Charm to find Alicia. And Johnson's flat was a target, so we couldn't go back there."

"So she's living with you and your parents? Aren't you the lucky bastard?" Jordan muttered.

Remus interrupted. "Lee. You're damned lucky to be alive. Stop picking a fight with Adrian. And unfortunately, I think setting up the station again is going to be too risky —"

"But I have to set it up again!" Lee looked horrified at the idea of not continuing Potterwatch. "It's boosting morale, damn it!"

"I happen to agree with Lee. The station does help boost morale," Adrian said, but Lee rounded on him furiously.

"Shut up, damn it! I didn't ask you to agree with me, wanker!"

Adrian rolled his eyes and let his polite mask drop a fraction. "Oh, snappy comeback, Jordan. I really don't know where you think of them."

Kingsley inhaled as though hoping for patience. "Knock it off, Lee. Adrian, I know it's hard, but don't egg him on."

At that, Adrian grit his teeth. Taking lip from Jordan was hard, damn it. And Jordan had been lobbing enough ugly remarks at Alicia in the past fifteen minutes. Adrian rather wanted to return the favor. If he was perfectly honest, he actually wanted to hex Jordan.

Fred explained to Remus and Kingsley, "Lee's fancied Alicia for a long time. He's not taking this well. Though, I suppose that's pretty self-explanatory."

Remus frowned. "Petty school rivalries won't do anyone any good right now."

"The real enemy," Kingsley reminded them, "is out there. Like Remus said, Lee. Stop picking a fight with Alicia and Adrian." Kingsley then looked at Remus as though exhausted, and said, "I think Lee and Adrian are right, though. The station does boost morale, and that's pretty low at the moment. But we need to plan a new location very carefully. Adrian and I can work on that, since he set up the safehouses."

Nervously, Alicia said, "They're after him too, though."

"I'll be careful," Adrian assured her. He could tell the idea bothered her.

"Alicia," Kingsley chuckled with a slightly wistful smile, "they're after all of us. And I have a feeling we're going to need your services a few more times before this is all over." He turned to the twins and Lee. "The three of you need to stay here for a few days at the least."

"What about our store?" George demanded.

"It's going to have to stay closed for the week. In fact, it's probably best if you close it down and only run an owl order service, which is pretty much what you've been doing anyways, right? Angelina, I know you have to report to Holyhead tomorrow morning. Be careful. Can you bunk with Oliver Wood for a few days? I don't want you by yourself at your flat."

Angelina nodded. "I can stay with him or the Weasleys for a bit."

"Good. Alicia, you're at Pucey's place, yes?"

"I am," Alicia said.

Lee muttered under his breath, "Do you have your own room, or do you just sleep with him?"

The whole room tensed, but Alicia said coolly, "I really don't think that's any of your business."

"Which means you are sleeping with him," Lee snapped. "Fucking hell, Al, that's —"

"Alicia's not a child," Angelina interrupted. "She's nineteen, Lee. She'll be twenty in April. Lay off, already."

Lee looked away, his teeth gritted tightly. "I didn't say she was a child. But I don't see how you can fuck him —!"

Kenneth bristled and interrupted before Alicia could respond. "Seriously, Lee? Saying things you'll regret later won't change anything."

At that, Lee got up, swore angrily, stormed around Alicia and Adrian, and stomped up the stairs to one of the bedrooms without looking back. After a few moments, they heard a door slam.

The twins winced.

"We'll work on him," Fred offered, looking at Kingsley and Remus. "Might take some time, though."

George sighed. "He's pretty pissed."

"We'll think of something."

Alicia's shoulders dropped. "Which is why I never told any of you."

"Since seventh-year, though? Really?"

"Hey!" George suddenly sat up straight, a maniacal grin crossing his face. "I just realized something, Gred!"

Adrian wondered, not for the first time that night, if they always called each other Gred and Forge. Salazar, he didn't know what to make of that.

"Realized what?"

"He hexed Bletchley after the Gryffindor-Slytherin game that year! It was retaliation for how Bletchley hexed Alicia before the match!"

Adrian jolted. How the hell had George remembered that?

Fred's eyes lit up as he looked at Adrian. "Shite, he did! Those spikes going down his throat, that was brilliant!"

"I remember thinking," George said fondly, "I'd like to thank whoever did that! I wish we'd thought of it. Bletchley was such an arse."

"Thank him? Hell, I want the fucking hex. We could have used that tonight against some of those Death Eaters."

"Yeah, well," Adrian said shortly, "I did more than hex Bletchley, recently…"

Alicia tensed. "You don't have to tell them that."

Fred inhaled sharply, his eyes widening. "Oh fuck! He was the one who killed Bletchley?"

Adrian's lip curled. "Bletchley was trying to kill Alicia and Johnson. I sort of lost my temper."

To Adrian's surprise, the twins looked at each other, had some kind of unspoken conversation between them, and then turned to face him. Even more shocking, Fred said sincerely, "Thanks. For keeping them safe. We appreciate it, Pucey."

"Yeah." George swallowed. He looked slightly unnerved. "We'd be a bit of a wreck if we lost them. We've been friends for a long time now."

Adrian noticed George's gaze flickered once to Johnson, and Johnson averted her own gaze so she wouldn't have to meet George's eyes. Were those two a thing? He'd never thought so, but it was suddenly obvious to him the younger twin fancied the oldest Gryffindor Chaser.

Adrian finally lowered his wand, raked a hand through his hair, and decided to admit something to the two of them.

"It must be nice."

"What?" Fred asked.

"Being friends with each other. I wasn't close to anyone in my class like the six of you are. Hell, I killed Bletchley just two months ago."

"Well, Slytherins are different, aren't they?" Fred reasoned. "I wouldn't want to be best mates with Montague, Bletchley, Warrington, and Dankworth, either."

"Definitely not," George echoed.

"Wankers, the lot of them."

"Not exactly sure how you managed to room with them as long as you did."

Adrian gave them a grim smile. "It wasn't easy."

Kinglsey sighed. "Well, at least you two came around." Turning to Alicia, he added, "Heal Fred and George so they can get some rest, please. And then you, Adrian, and Kenneth need to get back."

Alicia nodded and began healing the twins.

Kingsley turned to Adrian. "I'll be in touch about setting up a place for the wireless broadcast. Will you be at your parents' for a few days?"

"Yes. Alicia and I don't intend to leave there," he replied.

"Good. I'll send a Patronus when I need you. The three of you stay safe going back. Let me know if you need me. Remus, I'm going to patrol the area a bit, just to make sure we're alone, and then I'll help the twins with bringing Lee around. Can you make sure Angelina gets back safely, please?"

"Of course," Remus assured him.

Kingsley left, and Angelina sighed. "I need to get back to my flat and grab some things if I'm going to stay with Ollie or Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for a few days." She cast a Patronus, which disappeared, presumably to the former Gryffindor Keeper.

Alicia finished healing the twins and said quietly, "Let me know if there's anything I can do about Lee. I didn't want to hurt him. But I'm in love with Adrian, and that's not going to change."

Fred and George sighed and looked at each other.

"You're making our life difficult, Alicia, but we'll see what we can do."

"Could be worse. She could have picked Montague."

Alicia hit Fred on the side of his head and he yelped indecently before he laughed.

"Sorry, 'Licia! Couldn't help it."

"Knock it off," she said, but at least she was smiling and recognized Fred's remark as a joke. With that, she rose, hugged Angelina (who hugged her back tightly), and whispered, "Let me know when you're safely with Ollie or the twins' parents, yes?"

"Of course. Let me know when you're safely back at Pucey's parents'."

"I will." Alicia turned and slid her medical satchel back over her shoulders, then wrapped her arm around Adrian's waist. She turned and smiled. "Come on, Kenneth. Karen's probably worried sick."

Kenneth sighed and cast a Patronus to his girlfriend. "She probably is. And I don't think I was much help, here."

Fred stood up and stretched. "Of course you were, Kenny."

"Yeah," George agreed. "You've been working with Pucey for a year and a half, right?"

"We know you wouldn't have done that if you didn't trust him."

"That helped bring us around, if you must know."

"Hate to admit it, but it did."

"Eh, Kenny's not quite as much of a swot these days as he used to be."

"Night, Kenny." Fred smiled. "Let us know when you get back safe, too."

Did they always call Kenneth "Kenny"? Adrian wondered. He would never call Kenneth anything but Kenneth. Or Towler.

"Sure that elephant won't freak you out?" Kenneth drawled.

Fred laughed. "Godric's balls, it's the biggest fucking Patronus we've ever seen. But still. Just this once we can put up with it."

As the twins headed upstairs, Adrian, Alicia, and Kenneth left together and Apparated back to Pucey Villa. Only when they stepped off of Chessy's grave into the Fidelius Charm did Kenneth run his hands over his head.

"Merlin," he groaned. "I think I'd rather face Death Eaters than do that again."

Alicia burst into laughter and gave the former Head Boy a one-armed hug. "I think you may be right. Come on, let's get back up to the house. Alania and Karen probably are worried sick."

Adrian sent a Patronus to let them know they were on their way. He hated that his mother and Karen had sat around for so long, worried sick. He or Kenneth should have sent a Patronus faster, but they hadn't thought of it. He sighed. He was going to have to work on paying more attention and handling things better, damn it. And preferably before a major battle erupted.

Author's Notes:

1. Special thanks to Mandy for acting as a sounding board for this chapter. Writing several characters in the same room is always hard, and I wanted to make sure I got everyone right.

2. I based the twins' reaction to Adrian off of how they so readily welcomed Percy back when Percy showed up just before the Battle of Hogwarts and admitted his wrongs. Fred accepted the apology on the spot and didn't give Percy grief, so I took my cue from that scene in Deathly Hallows. Granted, Adrian isn't family and is a Slytherin, but I think saving Alicia and Angelina would go a long way in their minds.

3. If you're wondering why the twins would remember Adrian hexing Bletchley from an earlier one-shot in the first part of Stolen Moments, I borrowed the idea from something that happened to me in real life. Last fall, a friend of mine from high school told me she remembered a dress I'd worn to a 7th grade dance, 31 years ago. I couldn't believe she remembered! It was true I had a small high school class, but I still couldn't fathom how she would remember my dress in particular. She told me, "It's because all the girls wore black to that dance, but you wore dark green, and it really stood out. I thought it was so pretty." We never know what memories stick with other people, and I figured Adrian's hex stuck with Fred and George, who are pranksters.