buaidh no bas

*hates to admit, even to herself, that she's relieved to step outside into the night air* *the Castle, after Hermione's and Harry's speeches, had felt too tense to her, and she's glad to be outside*

*she pauses to light a cigarette--her first in weeks--and promises herself she'll run an extra mile tomorrow to make up for it* *her hands aren't quite steady, it seems to her that the stakes have gone up exponentially (how in hells would you find a horcrux, let alone recognise it for what it was, let alone get it when it's bound to be so well-guarded, let alone...) and she's at an utter loss as to how she could be even remotely helpful to the Order under the circumstances*

*she starts walking slowly toward the gates and looks back when she hears footsteps behind her* *her smile is genuine, if a bit distracted* Angie.

*she opens the door and all her nerves evaporate as Ethan walks in, picks her up and swings her round, hugging her hard* *it's just like it used to be, before she went crazy; he finally dumps her on the sofa and makes a beeline for the drinks cupboard and they have a cocktail (regular for him, all but alcohol-free for her), then another, then another, and they talk*

*they talk about the match tomorrow and they talk about Braga--what brooms they fly, their strengths, their weaknesses* ( *at one point, he conjures a tablet of paper and a marker and starts drawing diagrams* )

*she gets home from practice really late, and rushes into the shower, then rushes out of the shower and into her closet, then rushes into the kitchen and roots through the refrigerator for something to eat and settles on the takeaway Chinese left from the night before* *she eats it standing up at the counter, then grabs her purse and heads out the door, already lighting a cigarette because she's a little nervous but Katie's back and that's the best news she's had since Katie's owl about Butch, which seems like it came years ago*

*she said she was all right* *it's the only thought that she can hold onto, so she does as she walks to the bar and in through the doors* *the music is so loud it's almost a physical assault, and it makes her relax, a bit, as she winds her way through the crowd and up to the bar, ordering a pint and looking round for Katie*

*has spent the last half-hour in Quality Quidditch Supplies bad-temperedly sorting through quidditch gauntlets; her spare pair seems to have disappeared, which makes no sense as she only just saw them a day or two ago on their shelf in her wardrobe*

*between not hearing from Katie in over a week after that odd (Sparky?) owl, and Angie, and the really bad practice just over--she's got bruises on top of bruises to speak to that--and now her favourite pair of gloves completely destroyed and her unprecedented losing of her second-favourite pair, she's in a terrible mood* *she had to remind herself to be polite to the shopkeeper* *as she walks out the door, she really really hopes she managed it, and turns toward the apparition point*

*and comes face to face with Angie*

*her face, if possible, tightens more, and she says, flatly* Oh. It's you.

*has made sure the cats are closed up in her bedroom, with all their toys, all their food and water, their box, and a bunch of treats put in afterward by way of apology* *she's been torn between lying round doing nothing but moping, and between bursts of activity--as she has been ever since she'd seen Ethan on Wednesday--and now she's lying on the sofa, the apartment sparkling clean and organised within an inch of its life*

*she hasn't been sleeping very well and it shows, a little* *she's debating between getting up and lighting a smoke and can't seem to decide which to do when she hears the knock on the door*

( Private )

Angie,

If you're free at all any time in the next week or so, can we get together? Something's come up, and I sort of need a sounding board.

Hope everything's okay where you are!

Thanks,
Ally

( Why are you being like this? )

( owl post to Roger Davies )

Who? Oliver and Alicia
When? New Year's Eve, before midnight
What? A little dancing between friends

( I get the feeling you got her something cheeky and you don't want to tell me. I'm not your Dad, Ally. )

Who? Alicia and her big brother
When? Christmas morning, and Ethan's wedding day
Why? Because war does strange things to your mind
note? special thanks to Res for Ethan-ing me out of writer's block

( How're you doing, little bit? Seriously -- everything all right? )


***

Who? Alicia and Katie
When? Oliver's New Year's Eve party
Why? Need you ask?

( I reckon this year's going to be a bit better, don't you? )

*laughing, drags Oliver onto the dance floor, ignoring his protests about 'talking to this one' and 'need to see that one' and 'need to check on that'* *for the benefit of the person she pried him away from* It's a party, not a training session, Ollie. Have some fun.

*she thought he hadn't looked entirely excited about talking to whoever the tall dark-haired man was in any event, so she simply kidnapped him, because girls at parties can get away with that sometimes, whereas guys never seem to be able to do it without irritating the other person involved* Who was that? Was it that bloke from Appleby, the seedy one? *cranes her head round Oliver to get a glimpse of the man* He looks seedy anyway.

So, great party! As always.

*she's dancing with Katie to a Weird Sisters cover, and when the song stops, there's just silence for a long moment* *she automatically looks down at her watch; it's nearly midnight*

*grins at Katie, letting the man beside her jostle her closer, making it fairly obvious that she was going to move closer anyway and this is just a convenient excuse* *excited and laughing and perhaps a tad pissed and definitely more than a tad wanting, she stands very close to Katie and leans in to say in her ear* Almost time!

Alicia: *checks on Katie, and is guiltily pleased she's still asleep* *closes the door softly and sneaks down the stairs, avoiding the one seventh from the bottom that squeaks* *it's chilly and the house is still dark, but as she walks down the hallway she can see flickering light coming from beneath the parlour door* *grinning, she makes her way down the hall--unaware she's tiptoeing--and opens the door just enough to slip through* *and he's there, just like she knew he'd be* *her grin threatens to split her face* Happy Christmas, big brother!

Ethan: *has just tugged open his stocking, curious to see what's been stuffed inside, when the door opens* *turns and grins at her, abandoning the stocking to rise and step forward, scooping her up in a playful hug* *swings her around, just because he can* *softly, so as not to wake the household* Happy Christmas, little bit! *grins at her and puts her on her feet again, dragging her toward the stockings hung from the back of the sofa*

Alicia: *giggles, and hugs him hard* This is going to be the best Christmas ever. Going to be hard to top you giving me a sister. *as though that's the only reason he's getting married* But I'll work on it for next year.

Ethan: *chuckles and releases her hand as he flops gracefully down onto the sofa, sprawling comfortably across the closest arm and dragging his stocking to him* *peers into it, then grins up at her, at her words* *wickedly* ...going to give me a brother to match?

Alicia: *laughs, and shakes her head, sitting down cross-legged on the rug in front of the fire with her stocking* Maybe a sister to match. *pulls out an orange, sniffs it, sets it down on the carpet beside her, and digs in again*

Ethan: *frowns* Not a brother? *mock pouts at her, though his eyes are serious* What about that one bloke... the red-headed one. Weasley, right? Or, wait -- ! *grins at her* Twins, yeah? *reaches out and pokes her with his foot to make her look at him* Can't beat twins.

Alicia: *laughs; busy rooting through her stocking, she doesn't notice the look in his eyes* I'm only one woman, Ethan. They'd be too much for me--singly, even. *the idea makes her laugh again, while she pulls out a silver watch and exclaims over it, studying it and turning it all round to look at it from different angles before putting it on and turning her wrist this way and that to admire it* Besides. The guy thing? I don't think it's for me.

Ethan: *coughs out a laugh at that, half choking on a piece of hard candy he'd just slipped into his mouth*

Alicia: *looks up, surprised, then grins sunnily and goes back into her stocking for a cinnamon drop*

Ethan: *surveying her, ignoring his stocking for the moment* *seriously* How're you doing, little bit? *pauses, then, gravely* Seriously -- everything all right?

Alicia: *looks up and blinks, caught off-guard* I'm good. *after a moment of still-slightly-sleep addled thought* Oh. I'm good, really, Ethan. *lies, and hopes the firelight masks the tips of her ears going pink* I'm not really involved in all that. I play quidditch. It's safe as houses.

Ethan: *looks both amused and doubtful at that* ...You have lead balls trying to knock you off your broom at high speeds and enourmous heights, Bit. *the faintest hint of a laugh flavours his tone* ...that's not exactly what I'd call 'safe as houses'. *fights to keep the smile off his face, knowing his sister is very serious about her profession -- the sobers a bit more* How about your friend? *quickly amends, broadening the question* Friends? ....are they -- *pauses, looking for a word, then shakes his head* ...safe? *suddenly very serious, watching her carefully*

Alicia: *has to set her stocking down to look over at him* You mean the twins? They're safe. *nods* I'd trust them with my life. *manages to make that sound like she's someone who's never had to actually do that*

Ethan: *scoffs, tone light, though his eyes are serious* Oh come on, Bit. *grins at her* I'm sure you have more than just two friends.

Alicia: *grins, to hide the fact that the expression in his eyes is starting to make her nervous, for reasons she can't quite pinpoint* *hoping she sounds a touch naive rather than utterly stupid* I've loads of friends, yeah. I tend to stick most to the ones I could trust with my life. You know--Angie, and Katie, and the twins, and Lee. All that lot.

Ethan: *smiles and nods, peering into his stocking and beginning to drag things out* *pulls out an apple of unusual size, considers it seriously, then tosses it at her with a grin* Catch! *doesn't wait to see if she catches it or not before he's digging into his stocking again, pulling out a small wooden puzzle, a handful of nuts, and a tiny wrapped gift* *examines the gift, eyes flicking up to consider her a moment before returning to the shiney paper* *rattles the box by his ear, using the motion to look at her once more, eyes dark and thoughtful* *frowns slightly when he catches her looking back, and quickly turns to opening the small box, exclaiming over the cufflinks inside*

Alicia: *catches the apple neatly and sets it next to her orange* *smiles a hey-it's-Christmas-morning smile, but part of her suddenly feels cold at the way he's watching her, but especially at the way he doesn't seem to want to be noticed watching her* *the growing pile of little gifts at her feet--more candy, a new quill dyed Puddlemere blue and gold, a tiny crystal witch in robes on a broomstick, a silly collapsing paper bouquet of flowers from a Muggle joke store--do little to lighten her thoughts, despite her smiles and exclamations* These are great, Ethan. *warmly, gesturing at it all, trying her best to push her dark thoughts away*

Ethan: *smiles brightly at her, pleased that she seems pleased* Nothings too good for you, little bit. *suddenly leans forward, catching her chin in his fingers* You know I love you, right? *intently, sincerely* I'm so glad you are here.

Alicia: *smiles, telling herself she must be mad, and hugs him hard* I love you, big brother. I wouldn't miss being here for the world.

Remus,

About the matter we discussed earlier? Lunchtimes would be best.

Thanks,

Ally

*is relieved this isn't pre-Falmouth week, as she'd never have been able to squeeze this meeting in, as she passes through security at the gates and up the path to the front doors of Hogwarts*

*checking her watch, she hurries through the castle, waving at Professor Flitwick, who waves back and pipes 'Hello, Miss Spinnet!' as she walks by, making her grin*

*she finds Remus' office without too much trouble and checks her watch again before knocking on the door, quelling the feeling she's showing up to detention as she waits*

*the bottle of wine is sitting open on the kitchen counter, the salad's made, the ravioli's just waiting to be boiled, and she's sneaking a cigarette by the window in the living room when she hears the knock on the door*

*she hurries over to the door, looks through the peep, and uses her wand to undo the locks before pulling the door open, grinning* Come on in. *gives Angie a hug*

*then immediately concerned* You look exhausted. And *considers a little, then remembers Angie's earlier owl* ...as though you've seen your Mum.

Angie,

Can you pop over tonight? I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't meam to yell, really, but I'm so worried about you! Did Fred look at your wards? I can look at them if you didn't.

If it makes you feel any better, I almost got taken off by broom by a bludger right off the bat this morning.

I'm sorry again, but this is a really big deal, Ange, you can't treat that necklace like it makes you totally safe, I know Fred's good, but could we talk for a bit? Without the yelling?

Ally

( an owl flies in through Angie's window just as she's getting to sleep, drops this off, and flies like hell to get out of the way )

( owl post to Fred Weasley, heavily warded )

***

( owl post to Remus Lupin, heavily warded )