Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 86: Caught Red-Handed
"Where did you end up finding your wand?" asked Marlene as the girls prepared for their first day of classes.
"My wand?" echoed Alice, checking her hair in the mirror while dreamily reminiscing about her post-dinner rendezvous with Frank.
"Yeah," said Marlene, "your wand. You know, the one you had left in the Great Hall but took an hour to find?" She glanced at Alice and added, "And since when do you care so much about your hair? That's the tenth time you've checked it this morning!"
"What's wrong with wanting to look nice?" asked Alice.
"Are you sure you're okay, Alice?" asked Lily. "You've been acting 'off' since last night."
Alice picked up her books and said, "I'm fine. Stop worrying." Checking her hair one last time, she walked toward the stairway to the common room, her step having a slight bounce.
Marlene and Lily glanced at each other for a moment before Lily asked, "Was she humming?"
"Is that what that was?" asked Marlene with a grimace. "I thought it sounded like a kneazle who had its tail stepped on."
At breakfast the students received their schedules. The sixth years were happy to see they had some free time between their NEWT level classes.
"Not taking Divination anymore?" asked Marlene.
"Nope," replied Lily. "I'd rather just continue with Arithmancy. It at least makes more sense than Divination."
"I guess," said Marlene. "Maybe I should've dropped Muggle Studies."
"I thought that was supposed to be your 'easy class'," teased Alice.
"I did okay on my O.W.L.," protested Marlene. "I passed, at least."
"Having a hard time figuring my people out?" asked Lily.
"I'm amazed you survived until your eleventh birthday, Lily," Marlene dryly replied. "Muggles are so complicated. They have to have a little invention for everything."
"Well, they can't use magic so they have to find ways of making life easier," explained Lily.
"C'mon," said Alice. "We have to get going if we're going to make it to DADA on time. Plus, I'm curious about the new teacher."
"It's really odd, isn't it?" commented Marlene. "Another new DADA teacher. It would be nice someday to have the same teacher for more than one year, wouldn't it?"
"Depends on who the teacher is," said Alice. "I mean, we wouldn't want to have Professor Dover again, or Professor Riddle for that matter."
Lily grimaced and walked a little faster. As they neared the classroom they could see Professor Grazynska standing outside greeting the students as they walked inside. She was dressed in perfectly tailored charcoal robes, her dark hair swept up in a similar style to the previous evening.
When the professor's eyes met Lily's, Lily felt a slight shiver pass down her back, but it was soon settled by the calming, melodic voice of the professor. The woman looked Lily over and soon smiled, saying, "You must be Lily Evans."
Lily, surprised, stuttered, "Y-Yeah. How did you know?"
"Red hair, sixth year," replied the professor. "I was told about you."
Lily, taken aback, said, "Told about me? Who?"
The professor's smile widened a bit and she replied, "I'm a professor, Miss Evans. I make it my job to know outstanding students, especially ones who are prefects." Her hand fluttered in the direction of Lily's prefect badge, which was displayed on her robes.
Lily let out a sigh, realizing that, of course, Professor Grazynska would need to know who the prefects are, and with Lily's badge, she wasn't exactly hiding who she was.
"That's an interesting accent, Professor," commented Alice. "Where are you from?"
"My father was Polish, but he died when I was very young," said Professor Grazynska. "My mother is from Greece." She glanced down the corridor, noticing the arrival of several boys. Lily, Alice, and Marlene took this as their cue to enter the classroom, especially after seeing who was arriving.
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"Cut off his hair?"
"Nope, too simple," replied Sirius.
"Stick him to the ceiling while he's sleeping?"
"Not bad, yet not bad enough," said Sirius.
"Sticking charm in his skivvies?"
"Eurgh! Tempting, but too gross," said Sirius.
"For crying out loud, Padfoot, what do you want to do to him?"
"Prongs, he'll get what's coming to him, as soon as I figure it out!" snapped Sirius. "Genius takes time."
"Fine," said James. "You figure it out on your own, then!"
"Have you guys seen my new DADA book?" asked Peter, nervously searching through his bag as they walked toward their first class.
"You lost it already?" asked James.
Peter let out a frustrated sigh and said, "I could have sworn I put it in my bag this morning!"
Sirius snorted and said, "Uh oh, Wormtail. I heard that if you don't have your book with you on the first day the new teacher might fail you."
Peter, too busy searching under his Herbology text for the thousandth time, had not heard the sarcasm in Sirius's voice. At his words Peter's eyes watered slightly and he was close to going into full panic mode.
"Relax, Wormtail," said Remus. "He's just joking."
"Where is it?" Peter exclaimed, ready to empty his bag in the middle of the corridor.
"Hello boys," came the melodic voice of the professor from classroom entrance.
The boys paused and looked at their new teacher, almost forgetting what they had been talking about seconds earlier. The next thing they knew they were standing in front of the elegant professor and shaking her hand.
Looking at James and Sirius she said with a slight smile, "Are you two the troublemakers I was warned about?"
James suddenly felt like he had forgotten to go to sleep the previous night. His eyelids felt slightly heavy and all he could hear was Professor Grazynska's voice. He blinked a few times and noted that his head had nodded in response to her question. The next thing he knew Remus was guiding them into the classroom.
"What was that about?" asked Remus.
"Hmmm?" asked Sirius, looking toward the doorway.
"Why are you three acting so strange?" asked Remus. "Wormtail, sit down!"
Peter was standing by his seat, staring at the doorway with an odd look on his face. As soon as he heard Remus's voice, he started a bit, then shook his head as if to clear it. Sitting down, he glanced again at the doorway.
"What is it with you guys?" asked Remus, wondering what was so intriguing about the new professor.
"What are you talking about?" asked Sirius.
Remus watched them for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Never mind."
"Good morning class," called Professor Grazynska as she entered the classroom. Her voice had a lighter air to it, and she got straight to business. "I am Salomea Grazynska, but you are supposed to call me Professor Grazynska. I will be teaching you Defense from now on. We have a lot to cover, even though your N.E.W.T.s aren't until next year. Let's start by opening up your texts to the chapter on advanced shield charms…"
At lunch, the students were abuzz with information and opinions on the new professor. There was a wager about how long she would last, wondering if she would finish the year like the other DADA professors or if she would wash out sooner.
"She didn't seem that bad," said Peter.
"Really?" smirked Remus. "Could that be because you couldn't take your eyes off of her during the entire lecture?"
"I was just paying attention to what she said!" protested Peter.
"Then explain why you offered to clean the entire classroom after lecture finished," challenged Remus.
Peter turned a shade of pink and shrugged his shoulders, replying, "I was just trying to be helpful."
Sirius smirked and said, "I think our Wormtail has a crush on the new professor!"
"I do not!" insisted Peter.
"It's about time Wormtail," mused James. "We were beginning to wonder if you liked girls."
"Hey!" exclaimed Peter. "I do too like girls!"
"So you admit you like Professor Grazynska?" prodded Sirius.
"No!" exclaimed Peter.
"Did I do something to offend you?" came a familiar melodic voice from behind the boys.
Peter froze for a few seconds before slowly turning to see, in horror, Professor Grazynska standing behind him. "I…uh…" he muttered. "I…uh…"
Remus kicked him under the table.
"I-ow! What I mean to say is…uh…no…you're…erm…you're perfect…" Peter trailed off.
The professor raised her eyebrows and with a slight smile walked toward the staff table.
After several moments James, Sirius, and Remus burst out laughing, noting the deep scarlet shade of Peter's face.
"You're perfect!" mimicked Sirius dramatically.
"Shut up!" countered Peter.
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Classes continued and the sixth year students soon discovered their latest task was learning how to perform magic without saying the incantations. James, while having a natural talent for magic, found that he was having a difficult time performing this task. He had a difficult time concentrating and found that life was not quite as carefree as previous years due to his frustrations with Lily as well as Sirius's mood swings.
The first full moon passed and James was relieved to have the chance to focus Sirius's attention on their monthly adventures. They had gotten close to Hogsmeade, but had been able to control Moony and keep the werewolf from attacking anybody. The next day had been trying since they had been so tired. Snape had taken the opportunity to question their whereabouts, claiming to have seen them sneaking around after curfew. Sirius looked ready to throttle Snape, but oddly enough he didn't. Instead he seemed thoughtful, brooding about how Snape would receive his comeuppance someday when he least expected it.
Besides his worries about his best mate, James hadn't been able to figure out how to act in front of Lily yet that year, so all that was left was to avoid her whenever he saw her nearby. Sometimes, if there were other people around, he could tell they expected him to do something so he acted arrogant or standoffish, at times making suggestive comments. She generally responded with a snappy comeback, otherwise she avoided him like he avoided her.
One night he and Sirius decided to sneak out to Hogsmeade and hang out at the Three Broomsticks, finding different ways to charm Madame Rosmerta and make her laugh. Remus had to patrol the hallways that evening and Peter had decided to stay behind and study for DADA, since that seemed to be his new favorite subject that year. On the way back, Sirius decided he wanted to make a run to the kitchen for a snack and took the map, allowing James to sneak the rest of the way to the common room with the invisibility cloak.
Once James entered the common room, he noticed he was not alone. He saw Lily sitting by the window with her back to him, looking down at something. He debated taking off the invisibility cloak, but realized that she must have recently returned from patrols, and would realize he had been out after curfew. He wasn't in the mood for a detention or an argument and realized that, even though she didn't know he was there, this was the first time they were alone together and she didn't appear to have some sort of guard up around him.
James soon found himself trying to silently make his way toward her, but she seemed to sense something and turned around, causing him to freeze in his tracks. As she looked straight through him, he noticed a different expression on her face from the one he usually saw when she was with her friends. It seemed more troubled, and it made him more curious to see what she had been looking at. As he was debating approaching her again to get a better look at what she was holding, he heard a voice coming from the stairway to the girls' dormitory.
"Lily?"
James looked and saw that the voice belonged to Marlene, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs wearing a dressing gown, her eyes tired and her hair a little mussed, most likely from sleeping.
Lily quickly shoved what she was carrying into the pocket of her robe, and turned to face Marlene, her previously troubled expression gone. She had a slight smile as she teased, "What are you doing up? I should give you a detention for being down here after curfew."
Marlene yawned and retorted, "Then you can join me, seeing as you're also down here after curfew."
"Touche," conceded Lily, smiling. "What's up?"
"Alice isn't upstairs," said Marlene.
"Are you sure?" asked Lily, glancing up the stairway behind Marlene.
"Yeah, I'm sure," said Marlene. "I woke up and noticed she wasn't in her bed. She's not in the loo, either. I just wondered if you saw her during your patrol."
"No, I didn't," replied Lily. "But it's a large castle. She could be anywhere."
"Something's up with her," insisted Marlene. "She keeps disappearing on us and when we ask her about it she gives us lame excuses about where she's been."
"You mean you don't believe her story about getting locked outside of the castle during lunch?" asked Lily.
"It was raining outside and she was completely dry," countered Marlene.
"She could have used a drying charm," suggested Lily.
"Maybe," said Marlene. "But how in Merlin's name does one get locked outside of the castle? And why didn't she use an unlocking charm, like alohomora?"
Lily shrugged, and suddenly turned and looked behind her, her eyes studying the expanse of the common room.
"What is it?" asked Marlene.
"I don't know," said Lily. "I thought I heard something. Didn't you?"
"Nope," said Marlene. "Nothing's there, Lily."
James still stood under his invisibility cloak, holding his breath and hoping he wouldn't get discovered. He hoped that Sirius would be smart enough to check the map before entering the common room. He cringed as he saw the portrait hole open up.
As soon as the new occupant walked in, he froze at the sight of the two girls, who were both staring at him open-mouthed.
"Frank?" asked Lily. "What are you doing out after curfew?"
"Erm…" muttered Frank. "I…erm…I fell asleep in the library," he said, indicating the bag of books he carried on his shoulder.
"That's odd," said Lily. "Madame Pince is usually pretty strict about getting students out of there by curfew."
"She must have missed me," said Frank. "I was at a table in the back, and I had a large pile of books that were probably blocking me from her sight." He shifted nervously on his feet and glanced behind him toward the portrait hole.
"Are you okay, Frank?" asked Lily, noticing his nervous behavior.
Frank tugged at his collar before replying, "I'm just embarrassed I fell asleep, that's all. You aren't going to give me a detention or anything, are you?"
Lily studied him for a moment before shaking her head and replying, "No, not this time. Just make sure you get back before curfew from now on, okay?"
Frank smiled and said, "Thanks, Lily. You're the best!"
Lily glanced at Marlene and said, "We should head upstairs. It's late, and I need to get up early and finish that essay for Herbology."
"Good night, Frank," said Marlene as they headed upstairs.
"Good night," replied Frank, looking somewhat relieved. He let out a sigh and started walking toward the boys' stairway, pausing as he heard the portrait hole opening.
James held his breath, hoping that Sirius was still paying attention to the map, though he doubted that Frank would turn him in.
In stepped Alice, and James wondered where she had been off to and why she hadn't told Lily or Marlene. James had heard about the debacle at the train station between Alice and Frank, and he didn't want to witness any awkwardness between the two, but he was unable to escape since Alice was by the portrait and Frank was by the stairway. James inwardly cursed himself for not going to the kitchens with Sirius. He was instead stuck standing very still in his invisibility cloak trying not to draw any attention to himself.
Alice looked at Frank for a moment before Frank smiled and said, "It's okay, nobody else is here."
Alice smiled and walked toward Frank, giving him a hug and thereby confusing James. "I missed you," she chirped.
Frank grinned and said, "It's only been about ten minutes since I last saw you."
Alice pulled back slightly and said, melodramatically, "Ten long minutes."
James all but fell over when he saw Frank lean down and kiss Alice, seeing her kiss him back just as enthusiastically.
Frank reluctantly pulled back and said, "I should get upstairs. I think James and Sirius snuck out and I want to get back before they do. Don't want to give away our secret romance, now do we?"
Alice let out a sly grin and said, "It's been kind of fun, hasn't it? It's driving Lily and Marlene mad, wondering what's going on with me."
Frank chuckled and said, "I don't have that problem. All of my roommates are clueless. They still think I'm the same old dull Frank Longbottom."
Alice leaned a little closer to him and whispered, "Trust me honey, there's nothing dull about you."
James was torn between being indignant at the term 'clueless', laughing at the situation, and wanting to gag at the sight of their lovey dovey-ness. For the time being, all he could do was stare at the floor, trying not to watch the goodnight snog that was taking place nearby. It seemed like an eternity before the lovebirds finally tore themselves apart from each other and headed upstairs to their respective rooms.
As soon as they were out of sight the portrait hole opened up and Sirius entered the common room. He glanced around and said, "I know you're in here, Prongs."
James removed the cloak, relieved to see Sirius. "I take it you've been watching the map."
"Yeah," replied Sirius, flopping down on one of the couches. "I saw you weren't alone, so I opted to hide behind the statue of Norman the Nearsighted until the coast was clear."
"What happened to the food you promised me?" asked James, noticing his mate's empty arms.
Sirius shrugged and replied, "I had to wait a while and I got hungry."
James walked over and playfully smacked Sirius on the back of the head before saying, "That's okay, I guess. I kind of lost my appetite anyway. You'll never guess what I just witnessed."
"I'm not sure, but from what I could tell, Alice and Frank's dots on the map looked pretty close," said Sirius, rubbing his full belly and letting out a belch.
"Okay, so maybe you could guess what I witnessed," mused James. He shook his head and said, "They're having a 'secret romance' and Frank said that his roommates are pretty clueless about them."
Sirius snorted and said, "Well, it's not so secret anymore. At least it won't be once we're through with them."
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The next morning at breakfast, James and Sirius clued Peter and Remus in on what was going to happen. Remus, while a little apprehensive about what his friends had in mind, did not appreciate the 'clueless' comment and decided to allow James and Sirius their fun. Besides, Sirius's moods had been unpredictable lately so it was refreshing to see him acting more like his usual self.
The boys had to quickly hush their plans when Frank sat down with them during breakfast. He smiled and started piling some toast onto his plate.
"Frank!" exclaimed Sirius, giving Frank a slap on the back and causing a piece of toast to escape his hand and fly across the table, hitting Remus on the forehead. Before Frank could apologize, Sirius said, "Sorry to hear about your breakup with Amy."
Frank shrugged and said, "Thanks."
"How've you been doing, mate?" asked James, trying to look concerned and not mirthful.
"I've been doing okay, all things considered," replied Frank. "That all happened a few weeks ago, anyway."
"True," said Sirius. He paused, taking a bite of his breakfast, appearing deep in thought, before snapping his fingers and saying, "I know what you need! You should get back out there, Frank."
"Out where?" asked Frank.
James nodded in agreement and said, "You should get back out on the market. You know, ask someone out."
Frank let out a nervous laugh and said, "Oh, I don't think I could do that."
"We could help you," piped in Peter.
"Great idea!" said Sirius. "I know just the girl for you, Frank! She's a Ravenclaw, but she's pretty well developed, if you know what I mean."
"Huh?" muttered Frank.
James had to suppress a laugh at the look on Frank's face as he added, "Yeah, she'll be a great way for you to forget about Amy."
Frank held up his hands and shook his head saying, "Oh, that's okay. I don't need that kind of help."
"Nonsense!" said Sirius with a grin. "I bet she'd be thrilled to meet you. I'll go find her and see what she says." Before Frank could stop him, Sirius stood and raced toward the Ravenclaw table.
Frank watched helplessly as Sirius sat next to a curvaceous brunette and start talking. Sirius grinned and pointed toward Frank, causing her to look straight at him and study him for a moment. She looked back at Sirius and they spoke for another minute before she nodded and gave him a big smile.
By the time Sirius returned, Frank was trying not to frantically glance down the table in Alice's direction.
"Good news, mate," said Sirius as he sat down and gave Frank another firm pat on the back. "She said she'll have lunch with you today. She said she thinks you're cute."
"That's great!" exclaimed James.
Frank tugged at his collar and said, "I don't know if this is such a great idea…"
"Why not?" asked Remus. "I don't see any problems with her, unless there's some reason you can't date her?"
"Erm…" stuttered Frank.
"That's what I thought," said Sirius. "You're just nervous about dating again. Don't worry. I told her not to ravage you on the first date," he added with a wink.
"W-What?" muttered Frank with wide eyes. He suddenly stood up and said, "I have to…erm…send a…erm…a letter to my mum. I wrote it earlier and forgot to go to the owlery. I-I'll see you guys."
As soon as he was out of sight, the four boys broke out into raucous laughter. Sirius paused to wave at the Ravenclaw, telling his friends, "She said she'd do it. Serenity's always had a great sense of humor."
"I can't wait until lunch," said a sniggering Peter.
Remus glanced down the table at Alice and her friends and asked, "Do you think we should get Lily and Marlene in on the joke?"
Suddenly, Lily's words started to play through James's head again like they sometimes did whenever he got into mischief lately - 'You make me sick!' He paused, trying to force the words away before replying, "No, let's just let this play out how we already planned."
"I agree," said Sirius. "The last thing we need is McKinnon and a prefect messing things up." At Remus's expression Sirius added, "Present company excluded, Moony."
"Gee, thanks," Remus said sardonically.
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"Where were you last night?" asked Marlene.
"I just needed to get some air, so I took a walk," answered Alice.
"Outside?" asked Lily. "After curfew?"
"I guess I just lost track of time," lied Alice. She and Frank had been sneaking around for a few weeks, initially because Frank had just broken up with Amy. After a few days, they had found it fun and exciting to keep things secret. Alice snuck a glance at Frank, who was trying to catch her attention. Every time she had snuck a peek at him that morning he had been in a nervous state. She wondered what was going on, but was unable to find some alone time with him since Marlene and Lily continued to grill her about her whereabouts.
"Lost track of time?" asked Marlene, suspicious. "I could have sworn you were in bed when I first fell asleep. Then I woke up and you were gone."
Alice shrugged nervously, but was relieved to see Professor Sprout enter the greenhouse and call everyone's attention. She was saved from Marlene's interrogation for now, but lunch was coming up and Alice feared she would be given more of the third degree.
"What are they up to now?" whispered Marlene, watching James and Sirius sniggering behind their fire-breathing cactus.
"Same as usual, I would expect," whispered Lily. "I suppose I should be worried. I hate having to deal with them like that. It's not like giving them detentions or taking away points will stop them from getting into more trouble."
Alice glanced at Frank again while Lily and Marlene speculated about the Marauders' latest plot. Frank seemed on edge, and once again met her glance with a pleading look. He mouthed the words, 'Meet me after class' at her and she mutely nodded, wondering how she would escape Marlene and Lily. During the last hour of class, Marlene was not paying close attention to her plant and burned her arm. Lily volunteered to accompany her to the nurse, so Alice's first dilemma was solved.
When class ended Alice cleaned her station and looked for Frank, noticing he had already left the room. She walked toward the Great Hall, wondering where he wanted to meet her, a little concerned about his weird behavior. As she was rounding a corner toward the stairway up to the Great Hall, she felt someone grab her and drag her into a small dark space.
Ready to scream, she felt a hand cover her mouth followed by Frank's whisper, "Shhh. I don't want them to find us."
Removing Frank's hand, Alice asked, "Who?"
Frank let out a frustrated sigh and said, "Sirius, James, and…"
"What do they have to do with this?" interrupted Alice.
"First things first," said Frank. He grabbed her and pulled her into a big hug, taking a moment to enjoy the scent of her hair.
Alice giggled as his breath caused her hair to tickle her neck. Pulling back slightly she gave him a kiss, momentarily forgetting why he had pulled her into the closet they were in.
Suddenly a gush of air and light hit them as the closet door was opened. Standing before them, to Frank's horror and Alice's confusion, was the Ravenclaw girl Sirius had set Frank up with for a lunch date.
The girl put her hands on her hips, giving Frank a severe look. "Aren't you supposed to be in the Great Hall right now? I thought we had a date!"
"A what?" asked Alice, looking from the girl to Frank and back to the girl.
"But…" stammered Frank, unsure of what to say. "How did you find us?"
"A date?" asked Alice incredulously.
"I didn't…" started Frank, desperately trying to appease Alice before she blew up at him. "We didn't…I never agreed to a date!"
"That's not what Sirius said," said the girl, impatiently tapping her foot, her arms now crossed.
"What does Sirius have to do with this?" asked Alice, her mind spinning. "And what's she talking about…a date?"
"Sirius told me that Frank wanted to go out with me," explained the girl, "so I agreed to have lunch with him today."
"Really?" scoffed Alice, glancing at Frank and noticing the pleading look in his eyes. Looking back at the girl, she said, "Lunch won't be necessary. Frank is not going to go out with you."
"Why not?" asked the Ravenclaw girl. "Last I heard Frank was unattached. Has that changed?"
"Yeah, has it?" chimed Sirius, walking around the corner with the other Marauders, all sporting sly grins.
"Alice, what on Earth are you doing inside a closet with Frank Longbottom?" asked James.
"Erm.." said Alice, "I'm…that is, we…"
"Yeeessss?" asked Sirius.
"Oh for Merlin's sake, we were snogging!" exclaimed Frank. A little quieter, he muttered, "Or trying to, at least…"
"I KNEW it!" exclaimed James.
"What do you mean, you knew it?" asked Alice.
"Let's just say you weren't as good at hiding your relationship as you had thought," said Remus.
Frank, understanding forming in his eyes, asked, "So this was a setup?!"
The four Marauders burst out laughing and Sirius said, "Caught red-handed, mate!"
"Guess we're not so 'clueless' after all, eh?" said James.
"Sorry," said the brunette Ravenclaw, smiling alongside the Marauders.
"Thanks, Serenity!" said Sirius.
"She was in on this, too?" asked Frank.
"'fraid so," said Remus.
"I should get going before lunch is over," said Serenity.
Sirius grinned and threw an arm around her shoulders. "No sense in leaving you without a lunch date, right?"
Serenity smiled and said, "Good point."
As the other boys walked away, Frank stopped James and asked, "How did she know where to look?"
James shrugged and shook his head, walking away and grinning as he thought of the map tucked safely inside his robe pocket.
Alice and Frank looked at each other, still a little confused about all that had just happened. "I guess the cat's out of the bag, eh?" asked Frank.
"Yeah," said Alice. "No sense in hiding our feelings now, right?"
Frank smiled and said, "Actually, I think it'll be a bit of a relief. While it was fun, I'm tired of not being able to see you whenever I want to."
Alice happily grabbed his hand and said, "Let's go get some lunch, together."
They had barely made it to the Gryffindor table when Alice heard the dulcet tones of Marlene, who had apparently snuck out of the hospital wing after her burn treatment. "What's going on?!"
Alice and Frank glanced at each other and smiled, before Frank pulled Alice closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. Alice looked at Marlene and Lily, who sat there momentarily stunned. Alice shrugged, smiling and saying, "Frank and I have been dating since school started."
After a few moments, Marlene exclaimed, "I KNEW something was up!"
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A/N: Had some fun with this chapter - mainly the Alice/Frank part. As for my decision about adding the professor from HBP, I've heard differing thoughts on the subject and finally decided to just exclude him. While I want to be true to canon, I'm already pretty deep into this story and I have a lot coming up. It wouldn't do him justice to add him at this point because he would barely be in the story. So…that means this is still a 'Pre-HBP' story.
Thanks to my latest reviewers: LarryTrotter (x23), PottersPrincess, michelle, Anonymous (x5), Mani12191, Dificult (x10), madhu893, divya, Jo Bob, Calypso, Eternal Love LJ (x14), Incendia, sExYaZnBlOnDy, loonymoony8, stranger, God'sgirl, Golden Phoenix, cutie claud, German Wings, whichrightwitchwrites, phillygal, Dilna, and vittala.