59Alyssa never thought that such a gigantic place like the Ministry of Magic could ever change so much in a matter of three years. When she had previously been there – two weeks before she had left Hogwarts – it was a rather dark and gloomy place. Witches and Wizards were dressed in dark, heavy cloaks as they walked by speedily and kept to themselves. But now everyone seemed happy and ready to chat with anyone friendly looking that was passing by, and the Ministry itself seemed to have brightened up several notches. Alyssa couldn't tell if it was because of the end of the war, or an entirely new renovation that had been the cause to such a change.
"So who's running this gig now?" Alyssa asked Ginny as they walked through the main hall.
"Oh, who knows?" She said with a shrug, "It's become quite the democracy after our fair share of crap Ministers. Harry's been nearing the top, though, with what he's been doing for the Auror department. He's been training nearly every Auror that's in top shape at the moment, not to mention how incredibly he fought during the war. He might as well try to become the Minister himself." She ended with a grin.
"What about Ron? How's he been doing?" Alyssa continued curiously.
"Well, as you know, he's been active in the Auror department alongside Harry; no surprises there. But he's been extremely busy with Hermione so we haven't seen him that much lately."
She could see Blaise smirk in the corner of her eye, "Actually, we reckon she's pregnant."
Alyssa stopped dead in her tracks, Blaise and Ginny still continuing a few steps forward. "What?" She shouted, causing many heads to look towards her and then, after realizing who she was, doing a double take. Ginny glared at Blaise and shook her head.
"That's the family rumor that's going around, but obviously no one knows for sure; although mum's having quite the bloody fit."
"They really don't miss a beat, do they?" Alyssa pondered in astonishment. Hermione and Ron wasted no time after the school year ended and got married straight away surprising everyone. Of course they all knew they would always be head over heels for each other, but no one thought they'd just straight up get hitched at the age of eighteen. It was a very quick and quiet wedding, considering it was right before leaving for the fight; so it merely included the family and extremely close family friends.
"C'mon, let's get this elevator." Blaise said, ushering them to the side. They stepped into the large elevator that was only occupied by three other people. A woman clad in dark purple robes, and two men in matching, expensive looking suits. Once the doors slid shut, it jolted upwards and everyone grabbed the railings on the side. Alyssa subconsciously began tapping her foot on the floor as anticipation took over her senses. Ginny and Blaise both observed her as she seemed perfectly oblivious to the annoyance she was creating.
"Ugh, how many levels do we have to go?" Alyssa said in a low tone, it was more to herself than anyone, and no one bothered answering anyway.
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Could you just chill? You'll get there."
"But I wanna get there now." Alyssa wined.
"You're like a little kid." Blaise mused, "'Are we there yet?'" He mocked with a smile.
The lift finally stopped at their floor, and the bell sounded as the doors slid back opened. The three Wizards already occupying the lift stayed in, while Ginny, Blaise and Alyssa headed out. Alyssa stayed close to Ginny's side as they walked speedily through the unfamiliar surroundings. Their shoes clicked on the tiled floor and she looked around curiously as they traveled down the aisle. The walls were wooden and had several portraits of Witches and Wizards decorating them. It was a wide area, and back near the elevator was the main desk for the Auror department. The floor was mostly covered with multiple desks but there were offices as well, where people were busily walking in and out of.
"Hullo, Ginny." A woman to their left said as they walked by; Ginny waved at her.
"Do you pop around here often?" Alyssa asked.
Ginny shrugged, "Every now and then; plus everyone knows that you're coming so they've been expecting you." Alyssa furrowed her brows and turned back around to see the woman still watching them, as well as other people on the floor.
"At this time of day," Ginny said, walking a few inches ahead of her, "Harry's probably in the gym training people. He likes to get a head start on things." She looked back at Alyssa and sent her a grin which only amplified Alyssa's anticipation.
They walked further down the aisle and made a quick right. This hallway was a short one, which only led to two thick, oak doors. Ginny didn't even bother knocking and pushed the doors opened and they all stepped inside. There were many people in the gym; all of them were training. The floor was padded, as were three quarters of the walls, the last section was a solid mirror that went from end to end. The walls were adorned with many different kinds of weapons including staffs and swords. On the farther side of the room were weight benches and pads and gloves were strung up on the wall. Alyssa looked through the busy room for that familiar face and that bright red hair, but it was difficult to see anything through the haze of thrashing bodies.
"Ah, there they are." Blaise said, pointing to the corner of the room.
Alyssa whipped her head to the side, her eyes widening slightly. Ron and Harry were both training alongside each other. Ron was dueling with another man and laughed as they deflected jinxes off one another. Harry, on the other hand, was practically wrestling the man he was with. It seemed he was talking him through some different moves. Harry put his hands up as the man threw punches at him. As he dove forward with one punch, Harry dodged it, placed his hand on his chest, hooked his leg around the back of his knee, and shoved the man to the ground.
"I always love watching this." Ginny said bouncing gleefully on her toes.
As Harry helped the man off the ground she could hear him say, "That's you're problem right there. You put too much weight forward; try bracing yourself with your knee." Harry demonstrated by jutting forward while stomping onto the ground and locking his knee into a bent position. "That way you still throw a swift hook but with all the support you need."
"Oy, Harry!" Ginny shouted suddenly. "Look who I've got!" Harry turned around surprised, not expecting to hear his name and his jaw dropped as Ginny pulled Alyssa forward by the arm and obnoxiously pointed at her. Before she knew it, Harry was charging at her full speed and she was lifted off the ground in a bone crushing hug. She squealed as the air was squeezed from her body, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck not even caring he was covered in sweat.
The other men in the gym all stopped what they were doing and started cheering Harry on.
"Oh, stuff it, you tossers." Ron snapped at them as he headed over as well. Harry set her back on the ground and ran his hand through his sloppy hair as a bright red color rose to his cheeks. Alyssa turned to Ron to give him a hug as well and he commented on how it'd been to long since her last visit at 'bloody' Christmas about two years ago.
"You both look so… different." Alyssa said bewildered. And in truth they did, it seemed their whole bodies had changed except for their faces.
"I hope you mean that in a good way," Harry said smiling.
Alyssa shook her head, "Of course in a good way!" Ron was the same height as he had been before but he had filled out a lot more. And Harry was an entirely new transformation. He had grown a few inches at least and in turn his shoulders were much broader, his chest much fuller. His black hair was still messy, and his green eyes were even more beautiful than she remembered. He also had a new thin scar on his jaw towards his neck.
"Did you just get here?" Ron asked, draping a towel over his shoulders.
"Yep, pretty much."
"And she demanded that she come here straight away." Ginny said patting her on the shoulder. They fell into a comfortable silence and Blaise, Ron and Ginny watched smiling as Harry and Alyssa didn't say anything but looked at one another while grinning from ear to ear.
"So," Blaise said trying to break their trances of each other, "Everyone's good for dinner tonight?"
"What?" Alyssa said, landing back on earth, "Oh, yea. Well obviously I'm just gonna follow you guys around. This is your home not mine."
"Just let me shower and we'll be out of here." Harry said nodding in agreement. "We'll go to my flat so you can drop your stuff off and get comfortable, yeah?" Alyssa nodded.
"Okay, I'll stop home, shower as well, and grab 'Mione. We'll be at your place later, Harry." Ron said. "See you, Alyssa." He said with a grin, and walked out of the gym.
"We'll just wait for you in your office," Blaise said. He looked back at Alyssa who looked reluctant to move, but once again, Ginny grabbed her hand and eventually pulled her away as she sent a last smile.
"So you say you don't want to touch the subject, but then you pull a stunt like that?" Ginny demanded Alyssa once they walked through the gym doors.
"Well, excuse me for wanting to see him." She looked longingly back at the doors, "I feel like if I don't turn back now I'll never see him again."
"You will – in fifteen minutes, actually!" Ginny said rolling her eyes.
"He looks so different." Alyssa said more to herself than anyone.
Blaise and Ginny shared a look and rolled their eyes again. "He's in shape, yes."
Alyssa ignored that bit, "He has his own office?"
"Well he is the head of the Auror department," Blaise said, "So yea, I'd imagine so." And just as the words left his mouth, they arrived at a door with the label Harry Potter: Head of Auror Department. It was Alyssa's turn to roll her eyes. They let themselves into the office; it was a rather plain area, save for the fact that his desk was an absolute mess. There were stacks of parchment, folders, and quills spread all over Harry's desk. He had a coat rack in the corner of the room where his cloak and tie were presently hanging, and there were two cushioned chairs in front of his desk. Blaise and Ginny sat down in those chairs, and Alyssa continued to walk around the desk to sit in Harry's own chair.
"So how's he been doing lately?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"He works a lot." Blaise said monotonously.
"Any love life?" She continued.
"He dates every now and then, you know him, though." Ginny said giving a shrug, "He doesn't like to settle down." Alyssa nodded her head slowly and looked at the contents of his desk. They were mostly just case files packed together, two issues of the Daily Prophet, and some other parchment she couldn't positively identify.
"He had this one girlfriend for like three months or something," Ginny began to say, "But he didn't like her very much. I could tell why though, she was so bloody clingy and would complain if he had to work too much, then she kept asking him to propose because she wanted kids and he had to say…" She trailed off as she realized Alyssa wasn't paying any attention at all. In fact, she seemed very intent on one of the Prophet issues that had been sitting on Harry's desk. Ginny lifted her chin only to read the familiar headline 'Dead or Alive?' It had been the only article every person in the Wizarding world read the day it printed.
"Oh," Ginny said uneasily. "It's…"
"Draco," Alyssa said quietly looking at the paper. It was the front cover story that printed two months after Draco's disappearance; it was when he was presumed to be dead.
Ginny looked panic stricken and turned her head towards Blaise asking for help. He didn't really know what to say either so he said the first thing that popped into his head. "Um, y'know… Harry's been doing everything in his power to find him. But -"
"The odds aren't that high," Alyssa said, "I know." Her stomach clenched uncomfortably as she remembered the first day she found out that Draco had gone missing. It was towards the end of the war so everyone could only have high hopes. He had been in the front line with Harry – who was the last person to have seen him. Apparently, he had gotten injured badly and Harry told him to hold back with a few of the others. When the rest of the team doubled back, he was gone. No body was found, so obviously a search went out; but there was no sign or trace of him.
The three of them fell into an uncomfortable silence as Alyssa continued to read the article. She looked up momentarily to find the pairs eyes trained on her expressing their concern.
"What?"
Blaise shrugged slightly, "It's just – after what happened between you two it's weird to see you freely reading that article." He explained, "I even have trouble reading it."
Alyssa dropped the issue of the paper and looked up again towards Blaise. She opened her mouth to say something but as she did, they could hear Harry's voice passing through the hall and to the front of his office. He shouted 'Have a good night,' to whoever he was talking to before opening the door. He was dressed in new clothes; a pair of jeans and a grey sweater, and hair still looked slightly wet.
"Ready to go?" He asked Alyssa, smiling brightly.
"Definitely." Alyssa said enthusiastically. She stood up from his chair and pushed it in and grabbed her sweater to put it back on. He walked to his coat rack and put his cloak on as Ginny and Blaise stood up as well.
"We'll do side-along since you don't know where we're going." Harry said. "I live in the Muggle part of town so we'll get to a safe spot a bit down the street from my place."
The four of them left the office to go to an apparition spot in the building. Once they got there, Ginny and Blaise left first, and then Harry put his arm around Alyssa's waist and they disappeared with a pop. A few seconds later they all arrived in an empty alley. The sun was still shining but the skies were becoming filled with clouds and Alyssa had a small feeling it would start raining soon.
"C'mon." Harry said, jutting his head towards the street. He held Alyssa's hand and led her to the sidewalk, Blaise and Ginny following closely behind. "My house is just a block down." He added.
Alyssa looked around the neighborhood, "This is really nice, Harry." She said. All of the houses looked bright and cheery, most of which were two stories high. Picket fences lined the divider between the front yards and the sidewalk. The street was relatively busy; it was still the afternoon so most people were outside. Children were playing games with their friends on their lawns while their parents watched them. Harry, Alyssa, Blaise and Ginny didn't stick out at all as they passed the busy houses. Towards the end of the block, the street widened into a court and there were four hidden driveways that were practically invisible because of the tall trees and bushes that towered over them. The only thing pointing out that there was houses were the mailboxes.
"That's mine right there," Harry said, pointing to the farthest driveway. They crossed the court and walked down the long, dirt driveway and as they reached the clearing of the trees they finally got a wide view of Harry's home. When Alyssa was told she'd be staying in Harry's flat she thought it'd be more like an apartment… not a large, gorgeous, two-story white house. The driveway ended in front of a garage which – very surprisingly – had a black car sitting in front of it. Alyssa knew how to drive but her knowledge in cars was rather low considering she'd been apparating everywhere.
Harry noticed her curious look and said, "The neighbors come around a lot to say hi so I thought it'd look more normal if I had a car."
Alyssa nodded as she continued to observe the house. From the driveway there was a stone pathway that led to the white steps in front of the front door of the house. There was a small patio in the front that was adorned with two chairs and a bench; and the overhead of the patio had lights dangling above to light up the entire area. Harry took out his keys and unlocked the door and they all walked inside. The entrance room was small; there was a closet to their left which they eventually hung up their cloaks in. Stairs were to their immediate right which would obviously take them to the second floor where the guest room, office and extra bathroom was. More towards the back of the house was the kitchen, dining room and living room. Harry seemed to like the Muggle lifestyle; in his living room was a big screen television and the kitchen necessities like the oven, stove and microwave were all electric – he even had a coffee maker.
"Living the Muggle life, eh?" Alyssa said looking around the place.
"It's not so bad," Harry said rubbing the back of his head, "I kind of missed the TV from the Dursley's." he added with a laugh.
"I thought Muggle stuff was supposed to go haywire with magic."
He shrugged nonchalantly, "There's not much magic around here, really. Save for the wards around the property and the small spell here and there,"
"Well, I must say, Harry," Alyssa said giving her nod of approval, "This is an awesome house."
"We expected nothing less." Blaise said sarcastically. He loudly clapped his hands together, "Now when's dinner?"
Harry laughed and walked towards Alyssa, "Here, lemme take that – I'll show you you're room." He grabbed her duffel bag off of her shoulder and walked back towards the stairs where she followed suit.
"Oy!" Blaise shouted seriously after them, "I wasn't joking!" As they reached the top of the staircase they could hear Ginny snapping at him to stuff it. They took a right at the stairs and there was a short hallway before they reached a door. Harry opened it and flicked on the light, stepping out of the way so Alyssa could come in.
"Sweet; I like." She said smiling. A queen sized bed was opposite the door and against the wall adjacent to them was a full length mirror and an empty closet was on the left. The room was decorated in regular colors so there wasn't much of a preference with a male or female. The floors were wooden and the walls were painted a tan color. The bed was also wooden with white pillows and a thick, burgundy comforter. A window was on the wall next to the bed and the fading sunlight was peeking through the curtains.
"Yeah, I figured I should get one. People randomly spend the night here every now and then." He replied.
"Oh, really?" Alyssa asked cocking a brow.
Harry walked over to the closet and set the bag down saying "You can unpack whenever if you -" but was momentarily cut off when Alyssa came up from behind and wrapped her arms around him. "What's going on?" He asked warily.
"Nothing," She said sighing. "I just really missed you."
"Oh," He said lightly, "Well then let me turn around so I can hug you righteously." She loosened her grip and he turned in her arms to wrap his own around her shoulders in a tight embrace. "I missed you, too." He said. They stayed that way for who knew how long before –
"OY!" Blaise shouted again from downstairs causing Harry and Alyssa to break apart with a start, "I'm bloody hungry! What're you doin', havin' a shag?"
Harry rolled his eyes and shouted back, "Untwist those knickers, you tosser!" He looked at Alyssa apologetically and muttered "Sorry about that," before hurrying out of the room and going back downstairs.
Alyssa shrugged her shoulders and moved to her bag. She didn't know how long it would be till they were going out but she might as well start unpacking. The first thing she grabbed was the picture of her, Brad and Jason and put it on the nightstand. Then she opened the closet doors; there was lots of hanging space with hangers, shelves and drawers. The space was completely empty for her to fill. She opened her duffel bag and took out the shrunken suitcase, quickly casting the charm to make it its normal size. She pulled out the shoes first, placing each pair on the shelves, and then moved to hang up her shirts and dresses. After that she took out the jewelry box and placed it on her nightstand as well.
Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door and a familiar voice said, "Well if it isn't Alyssa Bennington in the flesh."
Alyssa whipped around and shouted, "Hermione!"
Hermione laughed and smiled, and barely made it a step into the bedroom before Alyssa dashed over and greeted her with a strong hug. "God, it's so overwhelming to see everyone in one day." Alyssa commented laughing. They pulled apart and she added, "You look great."
Hermione's bushy hair softened out a lot over the past three years, it seemed. It fell in thick curls and waves down to her elbows. She was dressed casually for dinner; jeans and a blue sweater.
"Thanks," She said smiling, "You do too. You seem… taller?" She questioned cocking an eyebrow.
"Once inch exactly." Alyssa replied before laughing. "Did you and Ron just get here?"
"Yup," Hermione said nodding, "He was having a right fit because I was apparently taking too long to get ready." She said shaking her head.
"Men and their food," Alyssa said in agreement. She walked back over to her suitcase and started pulling out the multiple pairs of jeans she brought. Hermione, meanwhile, made herself comfortable on the edge of Alyssa's bed.
"So how has it been in Romania?" She asked curiously.
Alyssa shrugged her shoulders slightly, "It's been pretty good. I'm glad to have a break from all that dragon work, though. I'm still recovering from some bruises." She paused to shove the jeans in the closet. "But yea, it's been nice. I've met some really interesting people, and I think the job suits me. It's a great area to work on my handy-dandy magic skills." She said flexing her fingers.
Hermione laughed softly, "Yes, I'd imagine so." She looked Alyssa up and down as she continued unpacking, "You might want to change for dinner, it's getting a bit nippy outside."
"Oh, really?" She replied absentmindedly. "Hey, where are we even going, anyway?"
"I don't even know," Hermione said with a shrug, "The men are discussing it, of course."
"Of course."
"All right, kids, let's dash." Blaise said suddenly appearing in the doorway. "We've found a place to eat so get your kit on and we're leavin'." He said enthusiastically.
Alyssa quickly pulled a random set of clothes she had just hung up and rolled her eyes. "Just give me a second, will you?"
"Shake it!"
She rolled her eyes again and moved around him to get to the bathroom. She was amazed by how much he hadn't changed. That, and the fact that he'd become such good mates with Harry over the period of time she was gone. If someone had told her while she was still at school that that was going to happen, she would've laughed outright in their face. But it was nice to see, and relieving. Alyssa quickly changed into black dress pants and a red sweater and slipped her boots on. She would've made even more adjustments with her appearance but Blaise began knocking impatiently on the bathroom door rambling about how he was nearing death because of the lack of food.
"I'm ready, I'm ready. We can go," Alyssa said exasperatedly. The three of them went back downstairs to find Ron, Harry and Ginny sitting around the kitchen table having what looked to be a serious discussion. At the sight of Alyssa, though, they stopped the conversation and looked up with bright smiles plastered onto their faces.
"Ready to eat?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Yes, but could someone please tell me where we're going?"
"Nothing fancy," Ron answered. "Just where we can relax and eat good food."
"And drink." Ginny added; Ron scoffed at her.
"That, too." He said. The six of them exited the house and walked back down the block to the alleyway where the safe spot to apparate was located. The arrival point was in a small, lit up town and given the size, was surprisingly busy. The sky turned cloudy and it was relatively colder than it had been earlier so they all walked briskly down the sidewalk, eventually making it to a cozy looking restaurant. They stepped inside and were immediately enveloped in heat; the place was pretty packed but they were all seated after a ten minute wait. The waitress took them to the back of the restaurant; after stepping down three steps from the entryway, they took a left into a more secluded area and were seated at a large, round table.
Right off the bat they ordered two bottles of wine, ready to get a jump start on the evening.
"I propose a toast," Hermione said raising her glass, "To Alyssa – it's so great to have you back; really, it was too long to have gone without you." She tipped her glass at Alyssa, "And to Ginny – who will soon be the future Mrs. Zabini." Ginny beamed in her seat as she and Blaise shared a smile.
"Cheers!"
After taking their first sip of wine, they opened their menus and sat in silence while they went over what they wanted to order.
"Of course we had to go to a heavy-weight restaurant," Ginny mumbled to Blaise, "Couldn't go to a place that won't throw on extra pounds that I can't afford. I have a bloody wedding!"
"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Alyssa said with her eyebrows lifted in surprise.
"Get used to it," Blaise said monotonously, "She's been like this for ages now, I've sort of developed and immunity to it now," He said with a wolfish grin.
"Well you're not the one who has to fit into a wedding dress are you?" Ginny asked with a glare.
Blaise rolled his eyes, "I hope not, love."
"When are the dress fittings again?" Alyssa asked sipping from her glass of wine.
Ginny looked astonished at her, as if Alyssa should've had every detail of the schedule memorized by now. "In four days."
"Did you pick out your dress yet?"
"I've narrowed it down to three, actually."
"This is so exciting!" Hermione said bouncing in her seat, "All this planning – Ron and I didn't get to do all that because ours was just short and simple."
"Someone fill my glass please?" Ron asked shaking his glass in midair. Harry, who was sitting next to him, reached for the bottle and poured wine into Ron's glass, leaving him with a satisfied smile on his face.
"So, Alyssa, have you really been back to America since school?" Hermione asked curiously. Alyssa hadn't been able to keep close touch with anyone, what with most of them going off to fight in the war, so she wasn't caught up with what had happened to them or vice versa.
"I went back once for a few months. My mom had the sudden urge to want to bond with me."
"Well, I'd imagine so, after you were nearly killed and everything." Blaise said matter-of-factly.
They all chuckled around the table as Alyssa continued, "She actually got time off from work and everything so after I got settled with Brad I was shipped back off to America for a little bit."
"How is Brad, by the way?" Ginny asked. "I haven't really seen him at all since school."
"He's doing really well, actually. He and Elizabeth have this ridiculous blossoming romance," She said dramatically. "Who knew?"
"Yeah, well, from what you tell me she seems all right." Ginny said.
Alyssa nodded and gave a slight shrug, "She'll do." She said sarcastically. "Oh and he's definitely coming to the wedding." She added. There was a murmur of surprise and more anticipation was added to the event. A waitress came around and they all ordered food.
"What shall we do after this, mates?" Harry asked. No one said anything and slowly looked down at Harry, one by one. "My place it is, then." He concluded rolling his eyes and raising his glass to his lips.
When they got back to Harry's, Ginny let herself in immediately and dashed to the fridge to get out more drinks.
"Someone crank up the fireplace," Blaise said, "It's bloody freezing outside."
"I'm on it," Hermione replied, trailing into the living room.
"I'm gonna change into pajamas, I'll be right back." Alyssa said. She crept up the stairs and into her room and went through her suitcase until she pulled out a pair. She put on a nice, warm pair of fleece pajama pants and put a sweatshirt on top. She looked up and nearly screamed at the top of her lungs, but instead shouted "Oh my God!" for there was a large brown owl perched on the outside of the bedroom window.
"Everything all right up there?" Harry shouted from downstairs.
"Yea, sorry about that!" She shouted back holding a calming hand to her chest. After further inspection she realized that the owl was Oliver's, and there was a small piece of parchment tied to its leg. She opened the window murmuring to the owl, "You scared the crap out of me, bird."
She pulled the parchment off its leg and read the contents:
Alyssa,
How are things in England? I hope they're well and once again send my congrats to the future newlyweds. I was writing you because I had taken your proposal to coming to England rather seriously. But to no surprise the Quidditch season has been acting up again; me and the other captain saw that the future game schedule is going to be twice as busy as the last one, so practices need to bulk up as well. So, much apologies, but I won't be able to make it over there. I'll be extremely busy over the next few months and I'm not sure when I'll be able to see you next, but a trip to England seems to be a near impossibility.
Hope you're having fun, I'll write again soon,
Oliver
Alyssa sighed and rolled her eyes, thinking how ironic it was that she was just thinking about ending things with him. As much as she did like him, she wasn't sure how much longer she could withstand these major gap periods in between being with Oliver; and she was definitely sure she wasn't going to wait to find out.
"One second," She muttered to the owl who was busy cleaning its feathers. She went back to her bag and grabbed a quill to write a quick reply. She turned over the parchment and wrote:
I'm not going to lie when I say I'm pretty disappointed you can't make it over. I was looking forward to that possibility, but alas time goes on. I was going to wait to see you to talk about this, but as it seems I won't be seeing you for a few months I guess I'll just write it out – as lame as that may be. I was thinking maybe we should take some time apart… we hardly see each other as it is, and now it seems that things have only been further complicated. It's been really fun, and I really like you, but what kind of relationship could we have if neither of us are there for it?
"Alyssa, hurry up!" Blaise shouted impatiently.
"I'm coming!"
Anyway, I know you're really busy right now so I'll understand if you don't write me for a little bit. But good luck with Quidditch; everything is fine here and I told Ginny and Blaise you said congratulations.
Alyssa
She tied the parchment back to the owl's leg and it took off without a moment's hesitation. She sighed looking out the window and shut it back tight as a gust of wind passed through. She went back downstairs saying, "All right, all right, who's got the booze?"
An hour later, things finally quieted down. Ginny and Blaise had fallen into a dead sleep right in front of the blazing fire while Hermione and Ron were falling asleep on the couch watching an old movie that was on TV. Harry and Alyssa, on the other hand, were in the kitchen washing dishes and clearing the place up.
"So how was the first day back?" Harry asked.
Alyssa put the towel aside as she grabbed another plate from the sink. "It's been a bit overwhelming, actually. Y'know; seeing everyone at once. But it's so great to be back. The whole time I was in Romania I knew I had to come back here. This is the only place where I've lived that I actually wanted to come back to."
"Really?" Harry asked curiously as she handed a plate to him, "Not even America?"
"Not even America." She replied shaking her head. "I'm getting a drink, you want one?"
"Yea, sure." Alyssa put down the towel again to grab two bottles of beer out of the fridge. She popped them both opened and handed one to Harry while raising the other to her lips. She looked over the room and where Hermione and Ron were slowly fading away. "So rumor has it that she's pregnant," she said softly, jutting at the pair with her bottle. "Things certainly do change."
"It's strange, isn't it?" Harry said agreeing. "You figured she'd be the last person to get hitched straight out of school; she surprised us all, to say the least."
"Yeah, I thought Blaise and Ginny would be the ones to do that." Alyssa said smiling. She hopped up on the table and swung her legs back and forth thinking of how much puppy love went on between Ginny and Blaise back at school.
Harry chuckled softly, leaning back on the table. "What?" She asked. Harry shook his head. "Nothing; I was just remembering how she used to have a crush on me. That seems ages away."
Alyssa nearly choked on her drink, "Wait – what? Ginny had a crush on you? When?"
"She didn't tell you?" He laughed again, "It was way back in the earlier years that I was at Hogwarts."
"That's hysterical." Alyssa said seriously, and then she burst out laughing.
"What's so funny about that?" Harry asked trying to look offended.
She tried sobering up yet was failing miserably, "Oh – nothing. No, it's not funny." But she couldn't stop laughing. "It's just – I'm trying to think of that; could you imagine? Oh, dear." She kept saying mostly to herself. Harry rolled his eyes as he put the last dish away as she started to quiet down. He looked over at her to see she was wiping a tear from her eye and suddenly lurched forward grabbing her knee and tickling her.
Alyssa squealed loudly, and her eyes flew opened surprised at what he'd done. "Harry, no!" He reached with his other hand and began tickling her knees and she laughed and screamed loudly, "Stop, stop! I wasn't making fun, I promise!" She hopped off the table in an effort to get away from him, but her first step was right into a soapy puddle and she slipped and landed hard on her bum. "OW!"
This time it was Harry's turn to laugh, and he bent over holding his side as he roared with laughter.
"Wass goin' on?" Ron asked tiredly from the couch. "What happened…. S'everythin' all right?"
"Shh!" Harry put his index finger to his lips as she rolled over and rubbed her soapy bottom while moaning, though he was still having trouble containing himself. "C'mon, let's go outside." He mumbled helping her up with a smile.
"I was just thinking it'd be weird 'cause you're like brother and sister!" She hissed, still rubbing her bum. Harry chuckled while he grabbed their drinks and led her to the front porch. Alyssa pulled her sweatshirt tightly around her as they were greeted with the cool air. They perched themselves against the front banister, their drinks dangling from their hands.
"It's really nice that you're back." Harry said softly as they looked up at the sky. "It was weird finishing the year without you."
Alyssa nodded and said, "I wish I had never left." Ever since that last day she wondered if she truly had done all she could to stay in England after the school year. What could the Ministry truly have done if she hadn't complied with them? Sent her off to Azkaban? She had absolutely every reason to stay… so why didn't she?
"How's Romania, anyway?" He asked curiously sipping his beer.
"It's pretty good," She answered unenthusiastically. "It's tiring stuff, though, being beaten up by dragons every day. But I've been living with my brother which is really cool; and I've met some pretty cool people."
"Like Oliver Wood?" Harry asked with a smirk.
"Like Oliver Wood." She answered, she chuckled softly and added, "Man, I should really make a 'frequently asked questions' thing. That seems to be the topic of the day."
She looked over at Harry and saw as his smile slowly faded away. "Y'know… we were all really surprised when we found out you were dating again. We kind of thought… with what had happened that you'd be all detached or something."
Alyssa shrugged, for she had surprised herself even. "You know me, I'm not one to sit around and mope. It was hard to recover from though; every time I thought about it I felt like I was being socked in the stomach. And I didn't want to feel that way forever…" She paused taking another sip from her beer, "Besides, it's not that hard meeting people in my line of work."
"Oh, yeah? Who else were you dating?" Harry asked curiously.
"This other guy I work with, Alex. He's an odd one, though. And you don't even wanna know about the other."
"Then why'd I ask?" Harry said calmly.
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Smart-ass," She muttered with a glare. "Fine, but you asked." She looked at him to see if he had any other protests but he said nothing so she continued. "There was this other guy who I went on a few dates with, right? And at the same time I was hanging out with Alex a lot 'cause I was just getting to know him. So this guy – who remains nameless – starts having real trust issues with me, even though he has no claim over me or anything, so we start fighting a lot. Well, he gets really wasted one night and he's the blubbering idiot kind of drunk so I took him home. We get there and suddenly he just snaps. He starts accusing me of all this crap and starts yelling at me so I'm ready to leave." She paused again making sure he was all right to continue and still, he said nothing.
"So I head for the door and he grabs me and I turned around and told him to get his filthy hands off of me." She knew from Harry's look that they were sharing the same thought – bad move. "I saw it happening before he even raised his fist, and I just hit the floor. I was so shocked I didn't even think of defending myself and he did it another time. The only thing was it wasn't bad as the first, so I regained my composure, sent him flying, and split faster than you can say 'apparate'." Alyssa shook her head to herself remembering perfectly clear how it happened. "But what really put the icing on the cake was that I was still getting over what had happened from school and then I met that prick." She rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her beer.
"I'm slightly sorry I asked." Harry said looking sadly at her. "I don't really know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," Alyssa said with a shrug. "But anyway, enough of that topic."
"I agree."
They stood in silence for a few moments staring up at the sky. It was dead silent outside. Earlier, kids were still playing in their yards and could be heard through the tress; but now it was a still, peaceful silence.
"Harry?"
"Yea?"
"What was he like… after I left, I mean." It'd been the one thing she was dying to ask.
Harry sighed heavily and dropped his head from the sky. "At first, it was pretty bad. And we were worried about him. He kept to himself for a bit and only came out his room to eat and study. The only person who he really talked to was Blaise." Alyssa winced as he spoke; she was responsible for that. "It was a sudden blow to him and he didn't take it too well. But he did get better."
Alyssa sighed in relief.
"I think what happened was that he realized he was capable of being truly happy. You taught him how to do that, y'know." He told her. "You really got to him, more than you know. He realized he could reach out to people without being vulnerable, and what's more, he learned he could be happy on his own, without needing to depend on someone."
Harry looked over to her and rubbed her arm comfortingly. She looked him directly in the eye and asked, "What about everyone else? How were they?" What she really meant was how had he been after she left. She was afraid to ask about him specifically, fearing that maybe she hadn't done that much for him; but he got the message and she was extremely relieved to hear his answer.
Without breaking eye contact he said, "They were really sad. You may not know this but you're really easy to talk to and relate to more than anyone else. And losing that connection was about too hard for them to endure."
He cracked a smile and turned his head to look back up at the sky and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Alyssa held onto him as well, as if she was leaving again tomorrow.
"Were you upset that I didn't say it back?" Harry asked suddenly. She was confused at first but then realized what he meant.
"Slightly… but I knew you felt the same way." She replied.
"Good." He said, and then added, "I still do."
"Me, too."
He clenched her shoulder a bit before saying, "Let's get inside, it's getting cold out." Alyssa agreed for her teeth were even starting to chatter and they headed back inside. They decided to watch a movie but since everyone had fallen asleep in the living room they went to his room instead. Harry changed into his pajamas and they snuggled under the warm covers with the television on; Alyssa fell asleep that night happier than she'd been in years.