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Author: St Margarets Story: Lee Jordan: Tour Guide Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 22 Words: 142,091
In between tours, Lee spent the next day at the Quidditch Museum compiling a list of all the names that Coach McCain mentioned in his diary. Some like Roderick Plimpton were very famous – others, like Horace Harley, the water boy, were quite obscure. But the person Lee became more and more interested in was Daisy, the girl from the village that the coach married. He hadn’t noticed it on the first read through, but most of the entries mentioned her at least once – even if the reference seemed as pointless as “Daisy doesn’t like the food in Bulgaria.” Lee still didn’t know if he was writing a book or not. He didn’t know what he was doing, really. But it helped pass the time and it kept him out of trouble with Mr. Mann. Not that he or Larry saw much of their boss – he spent the entire Friday holed up in his office with representatives from the Ministry. Larry thought something dire was up, but Lee wasn’t going to worry about it. It was Friday – the start of the weekend. Even though he had to work tomorrow, he could still have fun tonight. His evening didn’t start out as he planned however. “Holly’s not here,” Angelina informed him over the Floo. “She’s gone out with a group from St. Mungo’s.” “Oh,” he said, feeling unaccountably disappointed. “She should go out with them and meet new people,” Angelina continued. “If she’s always going around with you –” Lee cut her off. He wasn’t in the mood for a lecture from Angelina. “Right. I’ll pop in on Fred and George then.” “Aren’t you going to ask me how my trials went?” Lee smiled. “You’re a Kestrel, aren’t you?” Angelina laughed. “I’m a reserve member – but I practice with the team and I go to all of the matches.” “Which Chaser is going to suffer an unfortunate ‘illness’ during the next match?” “Fred already offered anything from their entire inventory.” The way Angelina said ‘Fred’ told Lee that they had patched up their differences yet again. And he was glad for them. “That’s great, Angelina. When are we celebrating?” “Tomorrow – let’s all go to The Club,” Angelina said, her dark eyes sparkling. That sounded like something to look forward to. Everyone would be in a good mood because Angelina was happy and surely Holly would come along and then he could see what kind of dancer she was…. * Since the shops of Diagon Alley stayed open until nine on Friday nights, Lee didn’t Apparate over to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes until half-past eight. He didn’t mind watching Fred and George wait on customers, but today he didn’t feel like being used as a demonstration model. Luckily, the few customers that wandered in the last half hour were in the buying and not browsing mood. They only had to turn away one customer who was looking for a joke book. “You should write one, Lee,” George said. “Yeah – you know enough jokes to fill a book.” Lee laughed uneasily, wondering what on earth his friends would say if they knew he was thinking about writing a real book. Fred and George were in high spirits when the door shut on the last patron. “A good day,” George said, opening the register and deftly sorting the coins into piles of silver, gold and bronze. “About time. We need some cash so we can restock before the Christmas rush,” Fred said, sliding Galleons five at a time into his hand as he counted the proceeds. “Christmas! That’s ages away!” Lee was just getting used to the idea that summer was over. “Have to plan ahead in retail,” George remarked and then went back to counting under his breath. “Lee, put the Knuts in piles of thirty-eight.” Once the money was counted and dropped in the safe, Fred made his excuses. “I’m taking Angelina out for a fancy meal to celebrate. Did you hear, Lee? She made the team.” “I did. It’s great news. Angelina wants us all to go out tomorrow.” “How did –” “On the Floo – I was looking for Holly.” Fred and George exchanged glances. “Oh,” Fred said. Lee really hoped he wasn’t going to echo Angelina’s comments about Holly, but Fred only shrugged and said, “I’m off.” “You want to listen to the match here?” George suggested, moving into their tiny back room. “Sure.” Lee wasn’t surprised that George didn’t want to go to a pub. He was more of a homebody than Fred – even when home was a twelve by twelve room. “Who’s playing and where’s the beer?” “Arrows and Wasps. Under Fred’s bed.” “Excellent.” Lee sat on Fred’s bed and pulled out the case of beer. There were only two empties. “Is this the lot we bought last week?” “Yeah.” George settled on his bed and conjured more pillows to lean against. “You lot are slowing down.” George snorted. “Speeding up, more like. We’ve been filling orders all week. And then with the Or –” He didn’t meet Lee’s eyes. “Toss me one, mate.” Lee handed him a bottle across the small space and selected one for himself. George flicked on the Wireless with a jab of his wand. The sounds of the Waylon Wizards filled the room. “Oh this is their new song! Have you heard it?” He rotated his wand and turned up the volume. Since all country music sounded alike to Lee, he couldn’t fathom how George would know this song was new by hearing the first few bars. Still, the lyrics were memorable. He left in the gloom “Catchy,” Lee said with raised eyebrows. “You have a heart of stone,” George said. “That’s about a wizard going off to war.” “Is it? The lyrics were so nuanced I’ll have to listen again.” “Music of the people, Lee.” “Then the people are depressed.” That’s why he didn’t like country music. If it wasn’t love gone wrong it was about everyone fighting. At least the fighting songs were happy. George didn’t say anymore; they had been disagreeing about music since Hogwarts. Luckily, the match started right after the last twangy note of “On His Broom.” Lee listened to Jim McGuffin’s play-by-plays with a careful ear. He was an excellent announcer, objective, yet he had enough passion for the game to make it interesting for the fans in the stands. Unfortunately, the Chasers for both teams were off of their games and the score was twenty to twenty when the Arrows called their first time out. “Oh, this is going to be a slow match, I can just tell,” George groaned. Lee could barely hear him over the loud advert for the latest broom. “The Skywayman – robs all other brooms of their speed records!” Then a breathless female voice, cried out, "Who was that masked man?” Lee flicked his wand at the Wireless before he had to hear the disingenuous testimonies of Skywayman owners. “Merlin help the poor sod who buys one of those,” George said. “I heard the Ministry is investigating their factory. Seems they’re using new wood and the brooms are cracking as soon as you bring them in next to the fire.” “But I read in Which Broomstick that they were the fastest selling broom in Britain this summer.” George shrugged. “I reckon that will change once word-of-mouth starts. But it’s amazing what a few adverts on the Wireless can do.” “Fool and his money…” Lee began. “Can visit Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes,” George finished with a grin. “We’re going to put some adverts on in November. “Wow.” It seemed strange that Fred and George had a business, but it was stranger still that Fred and George had a business that everyone was going to know about. Somewhere there was a boy growing up that would always remember Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. The match ended an hour later when the Wasp Seeker caught the Snitch. It was one of the lowest scoring matches Lee could ever remember. “We didn’t finish the lot,” George said indicating the half-full case of beer. ”Match was too short. Just as well, I have to work tomorrow.” “It’s eleven o’clock,” George said, looking at his watch. “We’re turning into little old ladies.” “And won’t your mirror be happy?” Lee asked with a grin. * Even though it was a pain to work on Saturdays, it was the best time to tour-guide since it was busy the entire day. This was the part of the job that he loved, explaining everything to interested people and answering their questions. But his best audience by far was Holly. She showed up an hour before closing, looking slightly disheveled. “I Apparated here!” she announced. “From the Modesty Rabnott Golden Snidget Preserve in Somerset.” “You Apparated all the way from Somerset?” “I had the guidebook – you know the Let’s Go: Magical Places in Britain. And it gives very clear instructions on Apparating. I took it in stages to get there – but I decided to go for broke and Apparate back all at once.” She made an appealing picture, as she smiled up at him, flushed with pride, clutching her guidebook. “Our little museum is going to seem pretty tame after your wild adventures.” “Well, I wanted to see the letter Modesty sent Prudence, after seeing the preserve and those beautiful birds.” Her eyes were glittering. “Their feathers – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that exact color of golden brown before.” Lee thought perhaps her eyes were that color…. He shook himself. He was going to have to stop thinking about her like that. “Do you want the scripted tour?” he asked, leading her into the first room, which showed the progression of the broom. She looked sideways at him. “As much fun as it would be to hear you rattle off your speeches, I’d really rather hear what you know.” They quickly made their way through the broom room, but slowed down in the Quidditch Celebrated in Words and Pictures room. Holly was very disappointed in the famous painting of Jocunda Skyes landing after she completed the first trans-Atlantic broom flight. “The perspective is all off. And why is the light coming from below when it’s supposed to be a moon-lit night?” “No one has ever mentioned that before,” Lee said grinning. “Oh,” she blushed. “I sound like a terrible snob, don’t I?” “The Quidditch snobs always point out that the twigs shouldn’t be bunched that way because of the prevailing winds over the Azores.” Holly blinked and looked back at the painting. “If this upsets both the art snobs and the Quidditch snobs, then why is it so famous?” “Because it was painted by the son of the founder of Comet brooms. They had this picture in every Comet advert for years. The reliability of the Oakshaft with the speed of a Comet was their motto.” “Ah.” Holly also enjoyed the Creaothceann room where everyone had to strap foam cauldrons on their heads and try to catch the paper rocks falling from the ceiling. Holly caught the most – ten “rocks” in five minutes. “A fine Scots tradition, that,” she said in her broadest accent as they continued on to the basket room. “It’s funny about these baskets, but some of the older patrons can remember their parents or grandparents boycotting Quidditch because they installed hoops on all of the Pitches.” Lee shook his head at the perverse loyalty of the basket sect. They continued on, through the team room, which housed memorabilia from all the British teams. “So where is this diary of Coach McCain?” Holly asked after she saw Modesty‘s letter. “It’s still in the storeroom – right over there,” he said, pointing down the corridor. “Oh.” “I can show it to you if we can sneak by the boss.” “I don’t want to get you into trouble,” she said, pulling on his sleeve as they passed the closed door that said: Richard Mann, Head Curator. “He’s left for the day,” Lee said. Once Holly had the diary in her hands, she didn’t read it, but looked closely at the handwriting. “See how small and careful the script is in the beginning? His words are angry – but his writing is controlled. Then look at this.” She flipped through the pages until she found the entry where he wrote that Daisy was going to marry him. “Here he’s so excited that his letters aren’t as carefully formed. Look at the D in Daisy and the loop on that y.” “Why wouldn’t his writing be more like that when he finds out that the team voted to keep him on as a reserve? I mean – that’s just as happy of an event. And it changed his whole life – allowed him to stay doing what he was doing.” Holly frowned. “You’d have to look it up – see if the dates correspond. Maybe he wrote about being a reserve player weeks after it happened.” “I don’t think so – because it’s in September and it’s not too long after his accident.” “Then maybe Daisy meant more to him than his career,” Holly said, closing the book and putting it carefully back into the trunk. “Do you think so?” This was a new concept for Lee. Always he had the thought the principle drama for Black Jack McCain was the story of how he stayed and triumphed in Quidditch – and how he helped other players stay and triumph in Quidditch. Lee’s heart sank at the thought. He might be able to write a story about Quidditch, but he didn’t think he could handle a story with a romantic angle. “Lee?” “I don’t know, that sort of changes everything, doesn’t it?” He shrugged, not sure if he could explain. “I had something straightforward in mind when I thought of what I wanted to write.” She was regarding him with that thoughtful tilt to her head. “I mean, how would I find out if it was true that Daisy meant more to him than his career? And if I did find that out, then I’d have to find out what kind of person she was and all that.” “You’ll have to contact some people. Go to their village.” “It’s on one of the Western Isles, Holly.” “Even better, she said coolly. “You go to the local pub, buy everyone a pint and listen to the stories. I hear they’re right friendly in the Hebrides.” Then she smiled. “Once they call off the dragons.” “I’ll just pin a smile on my face try to blend in,” Lee said sarcastically, moving to the door. “It’s just an idea – and I could be totally wrong about Daisy.” Lee held open the door. “No, you’re probably right. It makes sense of some of the entries.” He sighed. He didn’t think this writing thing was going to be so difficult. “So are you coming with us to celebrate tonight?” she asked as he walked her to the entrance. “Of course. I’ll stop by and collect you around eight.” “Okay.” She smiled. “Thanks for the tour.” “It’s my last one of the day,” Lee said, pointing to the clock. “Only five minutes until closing.” “I was here an hour?” Holly laughed. “Why does time fly when I’m around you?” “You know the old saying,” he answered lightly, thinking that it was really true in this case. “Time does fly when you’re having fun,” she agreed. Suddenly Lee had the idea for a title or a summary or something for Black Jack’s book. The idea of happiness being so fleeting but so wonderful had to be in there somewhere. And the flying was a logical connection to Quidditch. And the idea of time…. “Lee?” He must have been staring at her while he was thinking about happiness and blue skies and flying. “Sorry – I just had an idea for that story.” She smiled warmly. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets absorbed whilst creating.” “I haven’t created anything yet.” “You will,” she answered. * Holly was laughing when she opened the front door at eight o’clock that night. Lee laughed too even though he didn’t know the joke. The music from the Wireless was blaring and he could hear Angelina singing along with the tune at the top of her voice. “Hi, Lee,” Holly said a bit sheepishly. “We’re being silly. Alicia just colored Angelina’s hair red.” “She did? Why?” Lee was horrified that Angelina would do that to her hair. “Oh, she’ll change it back before they go out. It’s an old trick we used to play in the dormitory,” Holly said, reaching for her cloak. “She doesn’t have freckles now, does she?” Lee asked, catching on. Holly giggled. “Maybe.” “You look nice,” Lee said before he could decide if it was appropriate for friends to say that to each other. Holly blushed a little, but answered easily enough, “Thanks, my Grandmother made this dress out of my old Beauxbatons robes.” “She did?” They looked nothing like any school robes he had ever seen. The fabric was some sort of floaty, light blue stuff. “Grandmother added the ribbon to define the silhouette a bit more.” Lee didn’t know what defining a silhouette meant, but Holly’s grandmother had sewn dark velvet ribbons around the bodice and criss-crossed in front so that the fabric shirred and emphasized her…silhouette, he told himself sternly. “And she changed the hem line for dancing.” Then Holly twirled around so that the slits in the full skirt opened to show a glimpse of her legs. Her very nice legs, which matched her, very nice…Lee took a deep breath…silhouette. “What’s your grandmother’s name again?” Holly frowned. “Kirke.” “No, her first name.” “Anastasia,” she said wrinkling her nose. “It’s an awful name isn’t it?” “Tell Stacy she did a fine job.” “Stacy,” Holly sputtered. “Do you remember that time when you and Fred and George kept calling Professor McGonagall ‘Minnie?’” Lee laughed. “And Professor Dumbledore was ‘Al’ and Flitwick was ‘Phil’ and Snape was ‘Sevie baby.’ I don’t know why we needed the baby on the end – but we did.” “Who finally got the detention for being disrespectful?” “I did.” “Well?” She tilted her head. “McGonagall heard me say ‘Slytherins are going down down, Sevie baby’ at a Quidditch match,” Lee answered. “I reckon she laughed after she finished telling you off.” “I’m sure she did – but she never let me know that.” Holly wanted to Apparate to The Club because her high heels hurt her feet and she didn’t want to compound the problem by walking. Lee didn’t bother commenting on this because the love of uncomfortable shoes was yet another inexplicable thing about women – and he knew that even Holly wouldn’t be able to make sense for him. The Club was on a side street off of Diagon Alley. Its counterpart, The Other Club, was on the opposite side of Diagon Alley, close to Gringotts. Fred and George said The Other Club had to be so close to the bank since the place was ridiculously expensive. Lee thought The Club was just as good as The Other Club. Fred and George liked the bar separate from the dancing, since it was quiet enough to make contacts and conduct business. Before midnight, the Masters of Ceremony created several different settings for the dance floor. Lee had danced in an ice palace, on a sandy beach, in a moon crater, and on top of a snowy mountain. After midnight, The Club was different. The couples left and the fast crowd arrived. Wizard MCs in phosphorescent robes would play music that was so loud it swirled around you until you felt you were swimming in a sea of sound. The wizards would transfigure items from the dancers into music makers. A girl’s necklace would start ringing or two wands would start clicking together. It was all very strange and surreal even if you weren’t drinking any of the herbal potions offered at the bar along with the usual alcohol. They found George leaning against a large round table between the dance floor and the bar area. He was talking to a thin wizard with glasses and a blotchy complexion. “Lee, Holly,” George greeted them. “This is Tim Tremlett.” Lee shook hands, thinking he looked familiar. “Tim was two years ahead of us at Hogwarts, in Ravenclaw,” George added. Then it clicked in Lee’s mind. This must be the bloke Alicia met the other night. “Did you hear the news, Tim?” George asked when the introductions were over. “Angelina is a reserve player for the Kestrels now.” Tim nodded vaguely and craned his head to see the entrance. “That’s who we’re meeting here tonight,” Lee said. And then he added to see if he was right about Alicia, “And Alicia, of course.” Tim swung around and his eyes lit up behind his spectacles. “Alicia is meeting you here?” he asked in a reedy voice that just fell short of cracking. “Why don’t you join us?” George asked. “Isn’t your brother a big Kestrels fan? I’m sure he’d be happy you got to know the newest player. “Kestrels?” Tim asked vaguely, his eyes sliding to the entrance. “Who is your brother?” Lee asked. “Donaghan Tremlett,” Tim answered, not looking at Lee. “He’s the bass player for the Weird Sisters.” George started talking about the song Donaghan Tremlett had written for the Kestrels, but Lee dropped out of the conversation. Hearing about The Weird Sisters brought everything about Amy back to his mind. He hadn’t thought about her all week and this worried him as much as anything. How could he be so “in love” with a woman and then forget her in a week? He must be the most weak-minded, shallow person ever…. “Do you want to dance?” Holly tugged at his sleeve. Lee tried to shrug off his sudden bad mood. “Sure.” He gave her a grateful smile. Holly was obviously trying to distract him from the talk about the Weird Sisters. Ironic, because Holly probably thought he was feeling bad because he was missing Amy, but he was feeling bad because he wasn’t missing Amy. It was still early, so the dance floor was not crowded. The MCs had created a rather romantic setting with dusky lighting, glittering stars on the ceiling and a cool breeze so that it felt like they were outside on a veranda, rather than in a rundown building in London. They were playing fast songs, saving the slow songs for later. Lee and Holly watched the dancers from the edge of the dance floor until the song ended. Some people were ad-libbing – flailing around to the beat of the music and not touching each other. That was a fun way to dance, but not as fun as dancing with a partner, matching steps and seeing what the other could do…. The song ended and Lee grabbed Holly’s hand and pulled her to the middle of the dance floor. The steady beat of It’s Magic, by Ariel, started. “This is a good song,” Holly said, starting to sway to the music. It was a good song for a first dance, not too fast and not too slow. Lee put his right hand on Holly’s waist and held her left hand; then he started to move a few steps at a time to see if she would follow. She did – lightly and gracefully. He moved away and so did she – and at just the right time, they came back together. The music swelled to the chorus and it was time for a turn – would she know what to do if he pulled her hand up? She must have seen the question in his eyes because she laughed right before she spun around, in perfect time, the folds of her robes swirling around her legs. Her spin was perfect, but he didn’t put his hand back on her waist in time, so they lost some of the rhythm. She laughed again, one hand on his waist, the other linked with his, as they went back to their safe, little steps. They stayed for the rest of the set, dancing to one familiar song after another. Holly must have heard these songs at Beauxbatons, because she seemed to know just where he was going to lead. Of all the girls he had danced with, Holly had to be the best partner and when he realized this, about four songs into the set, it didn’t surprise him at all…. “The last number before we take a break is new to the UK, but an old favorite in France,” the MC announced. Lee hadn’t heard this song since the Yule Ball, but he remembered that he had liked it, even though he had no idea what the lyrics meant. “What’s this called?” he asked, as they started moving slowly, so close together that the top of her head grazed his chin. “Song of the Dance,” Holly said with a dreamy smile. “They played this a lot at Beauxbatons.” The music was smooth and lush, the lyrics mysteriously beautiful. La main ouverte t’invite à partager, t’invite à danser….. This was a slower song, so they danced closer together. Un pas, deux pas, tourner, retourner, pour connaître…. This was one of those dangerous moments – when you could be swept away by music and moonlight and a pretty girl in your arms. Holly seemed to know this, too. “Look at Fred and Angelina,” Holly said into his ear. Lee rotated so that he could see them over Holly’s shoulder. He didn’t want to be too obvious that he was watching them, but he needn’t have worried. Fred and Angelina, their foreheads touching, entwined in a swaying embrace, were oblivious to everyone in the room. Le cœur ouvert invite la beauté à démeurer…. For the entire time Fred and Angelina had been together, Lee had rarely seen them hug or kiss. But tonight they seemed to be hanging on to each other just a little desperately, as if they both knew that when Monday came, and Angelina went off for training, everything would change. “Wow,” Lee said, turning his back on the couple. “I know,” Holly murmured sympathetically. Alicia and Tim were dancing hesitantly in the corner, their eyes locked on each other. Lee decided that he had better lighten the mood a bit. “Here’s a quiz: find the lovesick swain,” he said, turning so Holly could see in the other direction. “Duane, the lovesick swain,” Holly chanted softly. “His name is Tim.” “If you can call my Grandmother ‘Stacy,’ I can call Tim ‘Duane.’” Lee groaned. “I just know I’m going to call him Duane now – thanks a lot.” The music stopped and he dropped her hand, but didn’t move away. Holly giggled. “Why did his mother name him Tim when he’s such a Duane?” “How could she have been so mistaken? Let’s Floo Mrs. Tremblett and ask.” “What are we asking?” Fred and Angelina, hand-in-hand, stopped in the middle of the dance floor as the rest of the crowd straggled out toward the bar. “What everyone wants to drink,” Lee answered, not wanting to explain the joke. They settled with their drinks around the table George had been saving the entire evening. Lee thought George looked more cheerful since he wasn’t forced to be paired with Alicia. That had happened often in the past. Even though George and Alicia liked each other well enough, they never really connected. Alicia was too quiet and elegant and George was just…George. “I found a supply of feathers for the exploding quills, Fred,” George said excitedly. Angelina rolled her eyes at hearing more business talk. “Great,” Fred said, giving his brother a significant look. “Time for toasts,” Lee cut in before Angelina could get seriously annoyed. “To the newest Kestrel,” he said, grinning at Angelina. “And may one of their Chasers fall in love with the water boy and disgrace herself in The Quibbler.” “Here, Here.” They clinked glasses. “May one of their Chasers be suspended for back chatting the Captain….” The dire wishes for the Kestrel Chasers continued, until Lee’s head was swimming with tossing back so much alcohol in such a short time. Tim was looking confused. “Why are they saying all these horrible things about the Chasers?” he asked Alicia. “I thought they would want the Kestrels to win?” Alicia started to answer, but Lee piped up, “Because Angelina’s a reserve player, Du–“ Holly kicked him in the ankle. “Er– Tim.” Tim’s serious face cleared a bit. “Oh.” Then he frowned, as if he didn’t agree with that sentiment, either. The music started again, so they were spared trying to assuage Tim’s sensibilities. Obviously he thought them an outrageous lot, but then they were sometimes, Lee thought fondly. Lee took Holly’s hand and started toward the dance floor, wondering what the MCs had come up with for this set. “Lee? You don’t have to dance with me all night, you know,” Holly said. Lee stopped, wondering where this had come from. “I want to dance with you – is there someone here you wanted to dance with?” He had a horrible feeling that some bloke from St. Mungo’s was already interested in her. “I was thinking more of your fan club,” Holly said dryly, indicating a knot of girls standing by the entrance to the dance floor. “Hi, Lee!” A tall, dark-haired girl wearing a lot of makeup called. Then she made her way through the crowd. “I haven’t seen you around lately,” she said breathlessly, using her shoulder to make a wedge between Lee and Holly. Lee stepped closer to Holly. “I’ve been busy.” “Oh. The MCs have just conjured an underwater reef. It’s brilliant,” she continued. She gave Holly a sideways glance. “I’ll try to save you a dance.” “Right.” She flounced off at Lee’s noncommittal tone. “Who was that?” Holly asked. “She didn’t go to Hogwarts, so you wouldn’t know her. She works at the sweet shop. Brenda. George calls her Brenda-big-b –” Lee stopped himself just in time. “Bum?” Holly asked. Lee was going to say Brenda-big-boobs, but now he was curious if Brenda’s bum had suddenly grown and he used all of his will power not to turn around and look. “Do you think that part of her is big?” Holly snorted. “I suppose you lot were all drooling over her front and missed the back – and why am I talking about this?” Lee laughed. “We’re usually pretty thorough – so I don’t think we missed the back. And why are you women always concerned about the size of your bums when it’s the shape and –” He caught himself again. “And why am I talking about this?” “Because it’s like visiting behind enemy lines,” Holly answered, giggling. “The mysteries of the other side finally revealed. And,” she pointed out, “you’ve knocked back about six drinks in an hour.” “You were toasting the Kestrel Chasers too.” “I only sipped each time.” “The curses won’t work if you don’t drain your glass.” “I highly doubt that one of the Kestrel’s Chasers is going to have Cornelius Fudge’s love child,” Holly retorted, “no matter how many glasses you drank.” “Never know.” He shrugged. The dance floor was indeed a coral reef. Brightly colored fish swam to the beat of the music in-between and around the dancers; a dark stingray glided over their heads. The turquoise world the MCs had created was perfect for the reggae tunes they were playing. “Lee!” Fred called over Angelina’s shoulder. “You need your dreads back!” Then he took out his wand and cast a spell. Lee felt the familiar weight on his head at the same time three burly wizards swooped down on Fred. “You know the rules. No magic inside The Club,” the heavily-tattooed one growled. “We’ll have to ask you to leave,” said another. “It was just a little conjuring,” Fred said, spreading his hands. “Yeah – he wanted to me to match the music.” With his dreads back, Lee felt he was at Hogwarts again, trying to get out of yet another detention. “No harm done.” “Put him up to it – did you?” The security wizard flexed the muscles in his arm. “You leave, too.” “That’s hardly fair!” Holly exclaimed. “This ain’t The Fair, it’s The Club,” said the tattooed wizard to the chuckles of the others. “You can leave too, Missy.” Lee knew it was time to cut their losses. It was bad enough that he was kicked out – but now Holly was, too. “Okay – we’re gone.” “Dat’s right, mon,” said the tattooed wizard. “Find some smoke and forget your troubles.” Lee wanted to punch the sneer right off of the security wizard’s face. Just because he had dreads didn’t mean he was a lazy, drug-addled…. He felt Holly tugging at his sleeve. “Let’s go,” she pleaded. He followed her off the dance floor, weaving around the other dancers who had by now lost interest in the confrontation. Fred and Angelina trailed behind. “What’s up?” George asked, as they retrieved their cloaks from the round table. “I’ll tell you what’s up!” Angelina hissed. “Shut it, Angelina!” Fred said under his breath. George looked to Lee. “Fred gave me some dreads.” Lee shrugged. “The security wizards liked my hair the other way. Tell Alicia we’re leaving.” “I’ll go too,” George said standing up. “No –” Fred began. Lee didn’t wait to hear what George decided to do. The security wizards were hovering about, waiting to make sure they left. Out on the pavement, in the cold fresh air, Lee’s ears still rang from the music. “Just like old times,” Fred said, chuckling, as he and Angelina joined them. “Great. We’re still back at Hogwarts,” Angelina burst out. “When are you going to grow up, Fred?” Fred wheeled around. “What do you want from me? First you tell me I’m working too much and I’m not any fun. And now you’re telling me to grow up! You can’t have it both ways!” Holly was again tugging on Lee’s sleeve. Realizing he didn’t want to hear this row, he walked with her towards Diagon Alley. They didn’t speak until they had reached the corner and had turned out of view of Fred and Angelina. “What do you want to do?” Lee asked, feeling the evening had just taken a depressing turn and not knowing if he could salvage it. “Is it wrong of me to still want to dance, even though Fred and Angelina are rowing?” she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly. He laughed in relief. “What we do won’t affect them, now will it?” She smiled. “No, it won’t. Besides, you’re looking whimsical again; you just got in trouble for a minor infraction. I’d say that it would be wrong to lose the momentum.” “I don’t have one dung bomb or Weasley Wizard Wheezes product with me.” “Too bad.” Holly laughed. “Let’s go to The Other Club.” “Okay,” Holly said eagerly. “Myron was telling me about it.” “Who’s Myron?” “He’s a Muggle-born Healer at St. Mungo’s,” Holly answered. “His father is a Muggle Healer. What do they call them?” She frowned in concentration. “I don’t know,” he answered shortly, “You took Muggle Studies, not me.” “Doctor – that’s it,” Holly said, ignoring his disgruntled tone. “He traveled all over the world when his father was in the Muggle army. So he went to a lot of different magical schools. He even went to Beauxbatons, but not when I was there.” Lee didn’t want to hear anymore about marvelous Myron. “Well, you’ll see the glories of The Other Club for yourself.” “I don’t know if I will,” Holly said in a strange voice. “Look.” There were groups of young witches and wizards huddled in the street outside of The Other Club. Some of the witches were crying and others gazed blankly at the ground. “What’s going on?” Lee asked a witch with pink hair standing alone under the streetlight. “Dementor attack,” the witch answered briefly. “Swarmed in about an hour ago. Don’t think they Kissed anyone, but they sure shook the place up.” “What’s going on now?” Holly asked, moving closer to Lee. “Aurors are going through the building – trying to figure out how security was breached and if there are any more Dementors about. Most of the crowd has gone. I think this lot,” she indicated the knots of somber club patrons, “are trying to shake off the effects before they Apparate home.” Now it was too late to salvage the evening. Not only was The Other Club closed, but all of Diagon Alley was depressed. Holly had the haunted look in her eyes that Lee hadn’t seen since their fifth year when Dementors had roamed Hogsmeade. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go to your flat.” Holly broke out of her reverie. “That’s a good idea. But I shouldn’t Apparate. I’ve been drinking.” Lee didn’t want to tell her that he Apparated after drinking all the time, so he agreed to walk. “What about your feet?” he asked, remembering why they Apparated in the first place. “I’ll take these off and conjure a pair of trainers,” Holly said, grabbing his arm to steady herself as she stood on one foot and then the other to unfasten her sandals. “Here.” She gave him her shoes to hold and took out her wand. Lee looked at the lightweight bits of leather and lethal-looking heels, wondering who ever invented such a thing and why. “Voila,” Holly said, indicating the light and dark blue trainers she had conjured. “Good job,” Lee said, impressed. “I’ve improved my conjuring this week too,” Holly explained, taking back her shoes. “Since there is only the settee for me, I have to conjure a bed every night. The first night it only lasted for about three hours – woke me out of a sound sleep. Of course, I had tried to conjure something really soft and luxurious.” She smiled ruefully. “Do you know that narrow, hard beds last longer than four posters with satin and lace?” “You don’t seem the satin and lace type.” “Maybe not the lace – but satin is so smooth against your skin,” she said dreamily. Because he was still feeling the effects of the toasts they had drunk to Angelina, Lee allowed his thoughts to wander freely into the world of satin and skin…. He stumbled on a paving stone, waking him from his daydream. This was another dangerous moment. “Holly, do you know how to do a Patronus?” he asked abruptly. “Yes,” she answered a bit breathlessly, because they were walking briskly. “But I haven’t practiced in awhile – and I really should since I’m going to sit the NEWTs this spring.” “You are?” “I’m fully qualified in France, but I need to be here, too,” Holly explained, picking her way carefully over the uneven section of the street. “Professor McGonagall said I might be able to take them at Hogwarts. She was going to look into it.” “Oh.” Holly was going to be very busy, Lee realized, if she was going to try to revise for NEWTs and work. “I can do it,” she reassured him. “My job at St. Mungo’s is sort of an experiment – they’ve only funded it for six months. Then they’re going to reassess.” “Oh.” His brain seemed to be working slowly. “So where are you going to live after your job is finished?” “Grandmother’s in Hogsmeade,” she stated flatly. “With Stacy?” Lee didn’t think Holly was going to be happy there. “With Stacy.” She smiled and shrugged. “It’s the only way I can be qualified in Britain.” Lee didn’t know why this made him feel depressed. Maybe because Holly was going to be so far away while he was still in London. “We’re here,” Holly said – probably to wake him up again. He had been in a daydream for the rest of their walk. “Listen,” Lee said impulsively. He really wanted to see her again and he had just thought of an excuse. “My mum does this Sunday stew thing where people drop in and stay for a visit. Why don’t you come around and then we can go to the park and practice some of the things you’ll have to do for the NEWTs?” Holly’s eyes widened. “You don’t think your mum would mind? I mean Sunday is family day.” “Mum’s view of family is somewhat elastic,” Lee answered. If Holly came over she would see that this was just a friendly, casual invitation. “Okay,” Holly said, smiling. “It would be lovely to eat homemade stew. The food at the hospital is awful.” Lee grinned. The dangerous moment had passed and he was going to see her tomorrow. “I’ll tell Mum to make extra since you’re coming.” She playfully chuffed him on the arm. “You do that.”
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