A/N: Thanks to my reviewers of the last chapter. And sorry for the longer wait for this installment. This is the last of the beta-ed chapters so the wait might be longer next time as well. To be honest, I can't wait for this thing to be over so I can jump back into the true canon of the Harry Potter series. Thanks for reading along, and muchas gracias to Liss for beta services.
XVI
There is a curious phenomenon of climate in which places that get extremely cold winters conversely get extremely hot
summers. This requires the people who live in those places to develop, if not a love, then a tolerance for both
extremes. Indeed, after a bitterly cold winter, most people relish the heat of summer and by the time winter comes back
around, it is welcomed with open arms after the summer's scorching.
Or at least, that's what the person across from Emerson had been saying when her mind began to wander. It was the first Sunday afternoon in July and she was seated on the patio of one of the many coffee shops in Harvard Square, under a wide, green and white striped umbrella, sipping a slushy and delicious coffee concoction. From all around came the happy, carefree chatter of liberated people, freed from the demands of their studies for another weekend.
Em was no different. It had been a grueling week of work and study for her, which had also been made progressively uncomfortable by someone she considered a friend. Even thinking about him made her uneasy now, but she hadn't mentioned it to anyone, not even the person in question.
What is it about him that bothers me, though? she mused, staring unseeingly at the people strolling up and down the busy plaza. I'm from a very physically expressive family. Giving and receiving hugs and other such gestures is the norm for me. So why is this-
"Earth to Em!"
Her head snapping up, Emerson looked across the small round table. "Uh? I'm sorry, what was that you were saying, Ben?"
"Never mind," her brother replied, looking at her curiously. "Where were you just now?"
She waved her hand vaguely and smiled at him. "Sorry. I was just thinking about something. But go on. People get used to weather extremes and-"
Ben laughed. "Em, I left off that subject a good few minutes ago."
"Oh." She pinked up a little, silently cursing her inattentiveness. She was really happy to have her brother visiting, even though it was his second visit in as many weeks. He, as well as her parents, Budget and Vina, had come over the weekend before for her birthday celebration. Davis, Lyna, Marc and Marissa Weasley, and the Shriver brothers, Will and Arnie, had all come over, too. Her grandparents had flown over for the weekend as well, their first visit to her at Harvard and their first in a long time to the New England area.
And Brandon.
Thinking about him and the fun they'd all had, together with the new friends she'd made at school and work, had Emerson sighing happily. It had been a fantastic weekend and no price could be put on how wonderful it had been to be with her whole family again. She and Lyna, for one, had spent hours excitedly catching up. Em had been unable to resist touching Lyna's growing belly again and again, drawn to the bulge like a magnet in spite of the pangs of guilt and grief that shot through her every time, as if the infant within were repelling her touch out of solidarity with its departed contemporary. It had been so hard to not blurt everything out to her best friend. But always when it became too much, Brandon had been there, his dark eyes full of understanding and his arms ready to hold her tight.
Em sighed again and heard her brother snort. Looking up, she arched an eyebrow quizzically. "What?"
"You're thinking about Wood, aren't you? I can tell from that lovesick expression."
Aware of her face heating up, she nevertheless gazed at him defiantly. "So what if I am?"
Ben grinned. "Nothing. It's just a bit pathetic, is all. And he's the same way when it comes to you."
"It's not pathetic, Ben," she replied archly. "There's nothing pathetic about being in love. And I can't wait for when you're like this over some woman. Rest assured, I will not be merciful."
He laughed and Em marveled for the millionth time at how much he looked like their Dad. The only feature of their father's that Ben hadn't inherited were Dad's emerald eyes (Ben's were hazel), but everything else, right down to the sound of his laughter, were Harry Potter's. Yet, at the same time, Ben's personality was so distinctive that he had never had to fear being a mere facsimile. He was brilliant; genius, really. Already as a freshman at Oxford, Ben was becoming known to the entire school as someone to keep an eye on and his professors apparently couldn't get enough of him.
"You've come a long way from snogging pretty boys in Jamaica, though, that's for sure," her brother was saying. "I'm happy for you. Brandon's a good man."
Em smiled at him. "Yes, he is." Sighing, she took a sip of her drink before looking up again. "But enough about me. Tell me about you. Like, what's up with you and Kady?"
He shrugged. "Nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing?" she asked, frowning a little. "You two seem pretty cozy to me."
"We're just friends."
"Friends with benefits, you mean, right?"
Her brother looked at her sharply. "Where did you hear that?"
Em leaned back in her seat and shrugged. "Kady told me. She wanted to know if it would be all right with me. I told her you're both adults and it's really none of my business." She paused, watching him. "Which I'm sure is what's going through your mind right now."
Ben smirked and she laughed. "It's nothing serious," he said after a while. "I don't have time for a girlfriend, and there really isn't anyone I'm that interested in at the moment."
"Not even Kady?"
He looked uncomfortable. "Well, we talked about it and we're both on the same page about what we're doing here. She knows where I stand and I know where she does."
"Okay," Em answered. "It's just a little hard to wrap my mind around. The arrangement seems a bit strange to me, like how can you two be so casual about it."
He looked both hurt and offended. "So you think I'm a male slut, is that it?"
"What, no!" she burst out, looking shocked. "Ben, of course I don't think that! It concerns me, that's all, because-"
"I was joking, Em, calm down," her brother interrupted, looking amused. Then he sobered. "But what're you concerned about?"
Emerson sighed, closing her eyes for a second. Ever since the horrible ordeal that she and Brandon had gone through, she was very aware of becoming much more cautious and responsible with her health, reproductive and otherwise. The knowledge that her brother was out there having casual sex bothered her and she would never forgive herself if she didn't at least let him know her views on it.
"I'm just worried about you and what you're doing. Look, I know you're eighteen and hormonal and all that, but there are so many things that could go wrong."
"Well, not everybody can be so lucky as to have found the love of their life at such a young age, you know."
She glared at him, feeling a sudden lump of emotion rising in her throat. "I know that! But, Ben, things happen! Things you think could never happen to you, but they can and they do and I-"
"Hey," he said gently, reaching over to touch her hand. "I understand, Sis. Really, I do. Okay? I'll be careful, I promise."
Em sniffled and wiped shakily at her eyes. "Okay."
They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Ben put down his drink and spoke hesitantly. "Did- did something happen to you?"
Tears filled Em's eyes again, blurring her vision as she stared at her hands. Should she tell him? So far, Brandon and Kady were the only people who knew about the miscarriage. Oh, and Dr. Frasier. With Brandon's encouragement, Em had rang up her old psychologist a few weeks ago, realizing that she needed more help getting through the guilt. There was no doubt that talking about it to the kind and professional listener had been very conducive so far. Already, the burden had lessened somewhat, but she wasn't quite over it. She doubted that she would ever be truly over it.
But should she tell her brother? They had a great relationship and she knew that he respected and looked up to her. Did she want to tarnish his opinion of her, disappoint him? But wouldn't it be better to let him have the truth, so that he could learn from her mistakes? She owed him that much, didn't she?
Taking a deep breath, she looked up. "Yes, something happened to me. Only Brandon and Kady know about this, and you have to promise me that you won't utter a word of it to anyone. Not Mum and Dad, and especially not Budget or Vina. Promise me."
"I promise," Ben said gravely.
"Okay," Em said quietly, exhaling another deep breath. "A few months ago, I became pregnant."
A long silence greeted her admission and were not the situation so grave, Em would have been amused by the gobsmacked expression on her brother's face.
"What?" he blurted, gaping at her. He stared for another minute, then his eyes darted downwards and his expression became even more horrified. "You- you- wait, a few months ago? But you're not- you didn't-"
"Of course I didn't, Ben!" she snapped, knowing exactly what he was struggling so hard to say, and feeling a stab of hurt that he would even think her capable of such thing. "I would never do that! But the pregnancy was ectopic."
He sat back, looking suddenly pale. "Oh."
And she found that tears were coursing silently down her cheeks, so that all her dabbing was useless against the flow. "I was so scared, Ben. And I felt like I couldn't tell anyone, not Mum or Dad, not any of you. There was only Brandon and he was so wonderful, but..." Her voice trailed off into nothing and she shook her head slowly, the painful memories swirling inside her head. After a few minutes, she managed to compose herself and looked up again. "It was just inarguably the worst thing I have ever gone through, and add to that, it really strained my relationship with Brandon."
Her brother was silent, just staring at her with wide eyes. "But you're okay now? I mean, your health?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"And you and Brandon..."
Em gave a small smile. "Oh, we're great now. We're happy. But definitely for a while there, I worried that we would break up. If that had happened, the biggest chunk of the blame would've been mine, because I was just horrible to him. But he must really like me, cause he hung in there and luckily for me, I got the necessary kick in the pants before it was too late." She sighed heavily. "But my point is, Ben, you never know. Anything could happen, so just be really careful. Okay?"
"Yeah," he said quietly, his hazel eyes troubled behind his glasses. He hesitated a bit before continuing. "I-I think I understand why you don't want Budget or Vina to know about this, but why do you feel like you can't tell Mum or Dad? This is big stuff. They would want to know."
Em fiddled with her straw, biting her bottom lip nervously. "I know. But I can't tell them. Not yet. Maybe one day I will, but not for a while. I'm just- they'd be so disappointed in me, for my irresponsibility, you know, and... I just can't bear the thought of it right now." She gazed at him anxiously. "So you'll keep it to yourself, right?"
"Of course. I promised, didn't I?" They were quiet for a long moment before he spoke again, sounding determinedly chipper. "Hey, give me a word."
She smiled at him, feeling her somber mood rapidly dissipating, which she knew had been his intention. It was a game of sorts that Ben played with family and friends, wherein he asked for a word and then, using whatever word he was given, he would made up something from scratch. Sometimes it would be a limerick, sometimes a haiku, a short poem, a long one. A couple times he'd even written short stories based on the requested words. It was the gift he'd been given, the gift of the written word and the knowledge of how to use it to the utmost effect. And the best part was how quickly he could produce funny, clever or thought-provoking creations, and always with remarkable quality.
"Okay, let's see," Em said, biting her bottom lip as she looked around for inspiration. The conversations were flowing unceasingly all around, punctuated by the hum of motor scooters across the plaza and various strains of music from assorted shops. There was a slight wind but not enough to provide any real relief from the sun, which beamed down on the whole scene, high above and yet thoroughly interspersed with everything.
Smiling, she looked back at her brother. "Sun."
"Okay," Ben said, grinning. He pulled out a small notebook and pen that he always carried with him ("For when I need a fix", he'd once explained) and began to stare blankly at some spot to her left.
Knowing he was in his thinking place, Em leaned back in her chair and let her mind wander back to the subject that had been bothering her earlier. When she had first met Matt Adler, he had seemed so unnerved by her that he'd almost been a stammering wreck. As the weeks went by, however, he had quickly calmed down and became someone she decided that she genuinely liked and appreciated. But then Kady had cautioned her about Matt, about the fact that he seemed to have developed a crush on her, and to Em's dismay, her roommate had been right. She had gently but firmly laid the facts bare to him, that she was in a loving and exclusive relationship, and Matt had claimed to understand.
Now, though, Em wondered if he really did. She had always had a slight worry in the back of her head which made her forever conscious of her actions around him. From what he had told her, he'd never had very much success with women and the last thing she wanted was to unintentionally give him the wrong idea, and hence add to his bad experiences with her gender. But his behavior of late was certainly cause for concern, she realized.
Sighing, Emerson sipped at her drink again. She knew she was a very expressive person, who enjoyed giving and receiving hugs and other affectionate behavior. She was easygoing and laid-back, not easily offended at all. But the way Matt hugged her, the way he touched her, made her uncomfortable. It seemed he always tried to find some excuse to be in contact with her, to grab her hand, touch her hair. He sat much too close to her, and had rested his head on her shoulder more than once.
But how could she make the distinction? All her friends, male and female, more or less did the same things! How could she single Matt out and tell him that he couldn't act with her the way all her other friends did? Every time she'd subtly shied away or removed her hand from his, he'd acted like nothing had happened and within minutes was right back where he'd been before. It was like he couldn't get a clue, or if he got it, had chosen to ignore it. Em honestly didn't know how long she could try to spare his feelings if he continued to disregard her wishes the way he was doing.
Perhaps she should just lay out her concerns to him, just get it out in the open. They had another study session scheduled for the next day. Maybe she should broach the subject then. She needed to take care of this before it went too far. The last thing she wanted was to jeopardize her relationship with Brandon over this, since her boyfriend had already expressed displeasure at how "touchy-feely" Matt was with her. Even though she had defended Matt out of loyalty, Em knew that Brandon was right because it made her uneasy, too.
"Okay," Ben said suddenly, jolting Em from her unpleasant thoughts. "Here you go."
He handed her the notebook that he'd been scribbling away in, though she'd been too caught up in her own thoughts to notice his progress. Pulling it closer, she read:
Sit on your doorstep
Or in any place
Sit in the sun and lift
your face
Close your eyes and sun-dream
Soon the warm, warm sun will fill you up
and spill over
Em sighed blissfully. "That's beautiful, Ben. You're gonna be a bestselling author, no problem at all."
"Glad you think so," he replied, grinning. "Anyway, didn't you say you wanted to talk to me about Brandon's birthday thing?"
"Oh, yeah!" Em answered. "Sorry, I've had a few things on my mind. But about the birthday, I'm planning a surprise for him. He thinks he and I will just be having a quiet dinner together. Which we will, but first I wanted to have a huge get-together for him. It's his twenty-fifth birthday, after all."
She went on to explain the surprise, which consisted of assorted Quidditch friends of Brandon's, most of whom only knew each other as rivals. They were from all over the world, from countries that Brandon had gone to on assignments for his job. It had been quite a task to get in touch with all those people without it getting back to Brandon, but she'd managed to get the guest list almost finalized.
"Brandon's birthday is the fifteenth of July," she continued breathlessly. "Which is exactly two weeks from now. Dad and Uncle Oliver have agreed to let us use Puddlemere's Magnum Pitch for-"
"You're kidding!" Ben interrupted, his eyes round.
Em grinned, trying not to look too smug. "No. It's incredible, isn't it? Magnum is the best Quidditch stadium in the entire league and it's always a big deal when a game gets scheduled to be played there. They weren't too keen on the idea at first, but then I managed to convince them by pointing out that all these international Quidditch stars will be at the party, and don't they want to show off Magnum a bit?"
"Good thinking," her brother said, chuckling. "Okay. It sounds like it'll be awesome. So what do you need me to do?"
"Well, Mum and Aunt Katie are taking care of catering arrangements and that kind of stuff, while Dad and Uncle Oliver are organizing the mother of all pickup matches using the all-star guest list. But I wanted to also do something a bit more personal. See, I was thinking we could make a team with all family and friends, and Brandon could pick which of his professional buddies he'd like us to play against."
Ben was grinning unabashedly by now, obviously feeling her excitement. "I bet it's been a fantasy of his, to play against some of them."
"Exactly," she said. "He was one of the best Keepers Hogwarts had ever had, and everybody says he could've played professionally if he'd wanted to. Well, if only for one day, he'll get to do that against some of the best in the world. I didn't get a chance to do it when they were here last weekend, so I need you to spread the word to our closest friends and cousins. Especially Marc and Marissa. But at the same time, you have to be really careful that it doesn't get back to Brandon, and that's why I haven't just written to our friends about it. I don't want it to leak. This has to be a surprise."
"Got it," Ben said, looking gleeful. "I'll go out of my way to keep him from getting suspicious, too." He chuckled to himself suddenly. "Man, can you imagine Wood's face when he sees all these foreigners! A quiet dinner for the two of you..."
Em laughed. "Imagine what a racket they'll make, so many different languages and accents. Wouldn't it be funny if he messed up a couple tongues?"
"Wie merveilleux per vederla!" Ben exclaimed. "How wonderful to see you. Except that translation mixes up a German word with a French one and two Italian ones."
They laughed merrily and the rest of the time was spent polishing up the plans for the surprise and general catching up on each other's lives and that of their family. Em focused all her attention on her brother for the remainder of his visit so that it was only after she and Kady had returned from accompanying him to the IMA terminal the next day that her worries about Matt Adler resurfaced.
He would be coming over that night to work on a Microbiology assignment and after an hour or two of agonizing, Em decided that she would simply grit her teeth and settle the matter once and for all, while endeavoring to be as non-confrontational as possible.
That decided, she gathered her books and headed to the living room, just as a knock sounded on the front door. She was almost tempted to ignore it, but Kady was in her room working on a business presentation for one of her classes and the knocking might disturb her after a while. So, exhaling a deep breath, Em put her books down and went to admit him.
"Hey, Emerson!" he said enthusiastically when she opened the door. Before she could react, he'd pulled her into a hug. "How's it going?"
"Fine," she said, pulling away and managing a small smile. "How're you?"
"I'm doing much better, now that I'm here."
Em refrained from asking why, because the way he was grinning at her was answer enough. And once again, she felt a trickle of unease run down her spine.
He must have picked up on it because he quickly added, "Just kidding!"
But she knew he wasn't, not really. As she sat on the floor across from him, with the coffee table between them and their books spread out on it, Em felt a sudden rush of distress. Why was he acting like that, like there was something going on between them? How many times had he sat and listened to her and Krishna gushing about their respective boyfriends? How many times had he seen her hand in hand with Brandon around the college town? Couldn't he tell how happy she was? Couldn't he see how in love she and Brandon were? Why was he setting himself up for such a fall? What did he want from her?
You know what he wants, a voice said in her head. But it's his problem. You've never given him any reason to think he has a chance. Never.
But what if she had? How could she be sure that-
"Hey, you all right?"
Fighting to rearrange her face, Em looked up. "Yeah. Just a bit distracted."
"By what or whom?" he asked, and something about his tone irritated her. It was almost as if he expected her to say that she'd been distracted by him. Which, in fact, she had been, but surely not in the capacity he hoped she was.
"By Brandon," she lied brutally, and felt nary a twinge of remorse at the way his face fell. Served him damn right.
"Oh," Matt said, and turned his attention back to the assignment. For the next quarter of an hour, they worked steadily, speaking only about the task at hand, before he changed the direction of the conversation again. "Say, what're you doing next weekend?"
Em paused in her scribbling. "Er, I dunno. I think I might have to work."
"Actually, you're off," he supplied. At her startled look, he shrugged. "I was double-checking my schedule at Morningside and since yours is tacked directly below mine, I couldn't help but notice."
"Oh, okay. Well, I don't have anything planned, then. Why?"
His face lit up again in one of his wide grins, making him look incredibly boyish with his short, blond hair. "The Red Sox are playing the St. Louis Cardinals next weekend and my uncle at Grafton's gave me tickets. You wanna come with me?"
Em frowned. "Is that like baseball?"
"Of course it's baseball!" he exclaimed, looking incredulous for a moment before slapping his forehead. "Oh, that's right. Being British, your sport is football, aka soccer, right?"
Actually, no. My sport is the one played on broomsticks with balls that try to give you concussions. She'd never gotten around to telling him that she was a witch, and she didn't think she ever would. "Right."
"Well, I can explain all the basics of the game. It's pretty exciting to watch, really. Most of it is the energy of the crowd; you can't help but be caught up in the fervor and baseball fans, especially Red Sox fans, are extremely devoted."
His eyes were shining with excitement and in spite of herself, Em couldn't help but smile. It was always nice to witness others deriving enjoyment from their passions.
"So, what do you say? You want to come with me?"
Em's smile faded as reality returned to focus and she shifted uncomfortably. "Who else is going with you?"
"No one," he said. "I only have two tickets so it'd be just the two of us."
She had to try really hard not to sigh in exasperation. How many times had she declined invitations of his to dinner, concerts, movies, parties where it would've been "just the two of us"? If it were a bunch of people going with him as a group, she would happily accept. But not if it was just the two of them because what kind of message would that send, especially to his already stubbornly misguided mind?
Striving to keep her voice calm and even, Emerson looked at him. "Matt, we've been over this. I'm not going to something with you as just the two of us. If it's a group of you and your friends, then fine. But not just the two of us."
He didn't answer, only leaned over to turn a page in his text book so that for a second, she wondered if he'd heard her. But then he shrugged. "Fine."
They worked in tense silence for a few more minutes and Em fought with herself not to feel guilty. It wasn't her fault that he kept pushing, was it? She refused to blame herself for his disappointment; he'd brought it on himself! In fact, now would be a good time to-
"It's because of that guy, isn't it?" he said suddenly, without looking up.
Em frowned. "What guy?" He remained silent and Em peevishly repeated, "What guy?"
"Look, I'm not trying to piss you off," he said quickly. "It's just, if you were my girlfriend, no way would I have let you move halfway across the world by yourself. I'd have dropped everything to go with you."
"Well, luckily for you, you don't have that dilemma, cause I'm not your girlfriend, am I?"
"Only cause you're with that guy."
Emerson was beginning to get really annoyed. "That guy has a name - Brandon. And are you saying that the only reason you and I aren't together is because of him? Because that sounds a bit creepy to me."
"I'm not trying to freak you out. I'm just saying-" He stopped and sighed.
"What?"
He gazed at her earnestly. "I like you. You are a rare woman, Emerson. You're so beautiful and when I met you that first time, I thought uh-oh. Because in my experience, beautiful women don't give me the time of day. But you turned out to be different. You're as nice and as genuine as you are beautiful. And I won't deny that that makes you very attractive, even more so that if it were just the beauty you had going for you."
Emerson gaped at him, feeling slightly stunned. She certainly hadn't been expecting a speech like that. "Er, well, thank you."
"I'm just trying to see where that gu-, I'm sorry, Brandon, is coming from," he continued in a rush, as if afraid of losing his nerve. "Having a girl like you and just letting you go like that."
"He let me go because he supports me, because he respects my need to do this."
Matt shook his head stubbornly. "Sure, that's fine. But couldn't he support you enough to move here with you? That's what I'd have done if-"
Her surprise rapidly vanishing, Em gave him a cold look. It made her angry to be explaining herself and Brandon to him. Who the hell did he think he was, anyway? He didn't know shit about her boyfriend or their relationship. "The fact of the matter is I needed to do this and Brandon understood that. He respected that. And that's all I'm ever going to be saying on the subject so can we get back to the assignment, please?"
"Okay."
They managed to complete their work without any more distractions and Em was happy to see him go. She fumed for a long time, debating whether or not to write to Brandon and tell him about what had happened. But she quickly decided against it, realizing that it wouldn't accomplish anything other than making him dislike Matt even more.
Which he wouldn't exactly be remiss in doing, a voice added irritably in her head. And you didn't set Matt straight like you'd decided to. You didn't tell him that he'd been invading your space. You chickened out.
"Shut up," Em grumbled aloud and started when Axel suddenly jumped out of her lap. The kitten had been purring under her restless hands but now he curled up on the edge of the bed and glared at her. She sighed. "I didn't mean you, Axel."
Axel turned his head away and ignored her, but she knew he would forget all about it soon enough. She only wished she could forget her own troubles as easily. But human beings aren't afforded that luxury, and as the days went by, Em had to force herself not to think about the situation with Matt Adler. He was awkward and sulky around her but she was still angry with him herself, so any thoughts about making peace were promptly squashed. Instead, she threw herself into school and work, as well as planning Brandon's birthday surprise, and finally July fifteen arrived.
It was a hot, muggy Saturday and Em was happy to be leaving Boston for the weekend. Brandon's party would begin at three o'clock in the afternoon and she was supposed to keep him distracted until then. Which wouldn't exactly be an unwelcome burden because Em was so looking forward to seeing him, it wasn't even funny.
"I really wish I could go with you," Kady sighed wistfully as the two of them waited for Em's Portkey to be called. "It sounds like it'll be so awesome!"
Em hugged her. "Yeah. But I know you'll be brilliant with your presentation. Are you all done with the preparations?"
"Pretty much. Just needs a little polishing here and there."
"That's good. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Hey, thanks for keeping Axel for me."
Kady smiled. "No problem. I like that cat; he's a sweetheart. If a bit greedy."
Em snorted. "A bit?"
They both laughed. The minutes sped by as they chatted companionably and Em began to get more and more excited. She couldn't wait to see him, to hold him in her arms again, to kiss him! At last, the ten-thirty Portkey to London was announced and she hugged her roommate and hurried to the departure booth. Upon emerging from the London equivalent, Em crossed the bustling terminal, her eyes scanning the room for the love of her life.
"Emerson! Over here!"
She spun around and a wave of joy washed over her when her eyes landed on him. He was smiling broadly as he strode towards her, and with a laugh, she ran to his open arms. They clung to each other tightly and her heart pounded with a fierce happiness. His scent filled her nostrils, making her light-headed, but it was when his lips found hers that her senses reeled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back eagerly, and the noise of the terminal all around dimmed to a dull roar. They broke apart gasping, hands cupping each other's face, sharing little lingering kisses before hugging again.
"Brandon," she murmured happily. He squeezed her tighter before slowly pulling away. Gazing up into his eyes, Emerson smiled. "Happy birthday."
He smiled back. "It is now."
You ain't seen nothing yet. With a giggle, she hugged him spontaneously, then, arms around each other, they departed the terminal. Trying to sound casual, she looked up at him. "So, what do you want to do today?"
He shrugged. "Doesn't matter, really. As long as you're there. Our dinner reservation's for eight-thirty tonight, so we have a good couple of hours to burn." He glanced down at her. "Didn't you want to go to Ballynore for a bit?"
"Yeah," she answered. She did want to do that, both to see her family and to get any updates regarding the surprise. Em felt rather guilty that her and Brandon's family and friends had done the bulk of the work, but there was only so much she could do herself from a continent away. They'd all shushed her repeated apologies, saying they were happy to be doing this.
It was only a quarter to eleven, though, and Em ached to spend some time alone with him first. With everything planned for the rest of the day, they likely wouldn't get another chance until that night. "Well, if you're not particular, we could just go to your flat."
There was no doubt in her mind that he'd caught the tone of her voice because he stopped short on the sidewalk and looked down at her. His dark eyes were darkening even more and she smiled. Within minutes, they were in his Denham apartment, west of London, laughing against each other's lips as they stumbled to his bedroom. Em pushed him back on the bed and straddled him, all her nerves already tingling with anticipation. It'd been almost a month since they'd been together and her blood boiled with want of him.
He seemed willing to let her take control, and she gleefully grabbed hold of the reins, divesting them both of their clothing. To further her authority, she placed restraining charms on his outstretched arms and legs, leaving him entirely at her mercy. Her mouth and hands traveled all over his body, revisiting all the sites that she knew drove him wild. She used her tongue, her breasts, even her long hair to stimulate him, all over, until he was begging and her own body was echoing the pleas. Only then did she sink down onto him, moaning as he filled her, before proceeding to ride him so energetically that his toes curled and he shouted her name helplessly to the ceiling, breaking the restraining charms in his throes. Her own powerful release quickly followed and they clung together for a long time before slumping breathlessly against each other.
Brandon laid his head weakly on her chest and Emerson stroked his damp hair slowly, pausing every now and then to drop a kiss on his forehead. He sighed deeply and she smiled.
"There's nothing better," he murmured lazily.
"Better than what?"
He raised his head to look at her. "There's nothing better than being shagged senseless by the woman you love."
"The woman who loves you, Birthday Boy," she amended, kissing him softly on the lips.
He chuckled. "That, too."
They both sighed, and neither of them spoke for a long time, content to simply revel in the joy of each other's presence. Finally, just after noon, they cleaned up and Apparated over to Ballynore.
"Emerson!" Budget exclaimed when she entered the kitchen, hurrying over to hug her. "Did you just get here?"
Em could see Brandon trying not to smirk. "Pretty much. What're you doing?"
"Making a sandwich. You want one?" he asked. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "I'm the only one here at the moment, so I hope you weren't looking for anyone. They all had errands and stuff to take care of."
"That's okay," she answered, trying to sound nonchalant. "And yeah, I'd like a sandwich. You want one, Odie?"
He nodded and walked over to the fridge. "Yeah."
As Em pulled the loaf of bread towards her, Budget leaned over and pressed something into her other hand. Looking down, she saw that it was a shiny Galleon. Puzzled, she looked up at him. "Wha-"
Her brother shook his head quickly then nodded towards Brandon, who was straightening up from peering inside the fridge.
Getting the hint, Em nodded and pocketed the Galleon. Clearly, this had something to do with the surprise. The three of them set about making chicken salad sandwiches, with potato crisps on the side and a nice slice of homemade cherry pie each, washed down with ice-cold pumpkin juice. They ate out on the back porch and Luke kept them in stitches with a long story about how he and Ben had happened upon a cow that had been taught to ride a scooter.
"It was the funniest thing I've ever seen, swear to God," Budget chortled.
Brandon laughed. "Was it real, though? Couldn't it have been some wizard trying to dupe poor clueless Muggles out of their money, for instance?"
"Well, Ben and I had that thought, too, and he managed to discreetly pointed his wand at the cow and cast a Finite Incantatem, but nothing happened. So we knew it was real. That farmer really had trained his cow to ride a scooter."
"That was certainly ingenious of the farmer," Em said, smiling. "I wonder how he did it and how long it took."
Budget snorted. "Nah, I wonder what made him bloody think of doing it in the first place!"
"While you wonder, I'm gonna go get a refill. You need anything?" Brandon asked, standing up with his empty goblet.
Em shook her head and he went inside the house, the glass door sliding shut behind him. As soon as he'd disappeared from sight, Em turned to her brother. "Okay, what's that Galleon for?"
"Oh, yeah. Mum put a Protean charm on it and when we're ready for you to take Brandon to the Magnum pitch, the coin will heat up," Luke explained in a hushed voice. "When he comes back with the juice, I'll 'mention' that Dad is over at the Puddlemere grounds."
Em grinned. "And later, I can say I want to go see Dad, and just take Brandon with me. Perfect. Is there anything else I need to bring, besides Brandon, of course?"
"No, they've got it covered," her brother said. His green eyes lit up suddenly. "But did you hear?"
"What?"
"That hot Brookridge girl is gonna be there!"
She arched her eyebrows. If she recalled correctly, her Dad and Uncle Oliver had tried to sign the Brookridge girl, who was supposed to be really talented, but another team had got to her first. "Really? How come?"
"Apparently, she's dating one of the blokes that you invited," Budget said, shrugging. "Not for long, though, once she sees me."
Emerson laughed and began to tease him good-naturedly about being out to steal another man's woman. Which she didn't doubt he could, she added conspiratorially, and he blushed fiercely. Luke really was a charming and good-looking kid, and she was almost tempted to tell him that Kady had once joked about going to jail for him. The statement had shocked Em when she'd first heard it, but just picturing how it would embarrass him if he knew was very amusing. She was still laughing when Brandon returned.
"What's so funny?" he asked, smiling as he looked from Em's chuckling face to Luke's crimson one and back.
"Nothing," Budget said quickly and stood up. "By the way, happy birthday."
"Thanks, man."
The two of them shook hands, then they gathered up the lunch things and returned to the kitchen. Rather than just leaving the dishes in the sink (like Luke had wanted to), Em bossed them into helping her wash up the Muggle way.
"See what you're setting yourself up for, mate?" Budget grumbled to Brandon. "I bet she bosses you around like this too, right?"
"Sometimes. But it's not so bad at all." Brandon caught her eye and Em felt herself reddening, knowing that he was talking about her earlier domination of him, which he had enjoyed explosively.
Luckily, Luke didn't seem to catch the silent byplay and between the three of them, the clean-up went quickly.
"Did Mum or Dad say when they'll be back here?" Em asked her brother as they headed back to the Apparation spot in the foyer.
Budget scratched the back of his curly head and frowned. "Mum didn't. She took Vina with her and I think they'll be all over the place. But Dad's just over at Puddlemere, if you want to see him."
"Okay. I guess I'll catch them later, then," she said, pulling him in for a hug.
"Ben's gonna come get me for the party," Luke whispered in her ear, and she squeezed him quickly in acknowledgment before they pulled apart.
Em smiled, watching as he and Brandon did that male handshake-hug thing. Checking her watch, she saw that they still had an hour and a half before the party. "So, where do you want to go now?" she asked, once her boyfriend turned back to her.
"How about Portobello Road?" he suggested. "We haven't harassed any vendors in a while."
She gasped in mock horror. "How appalling of us! We must remedy that at once! See you later, Budget."
The two of them Apparated to the sprawling antiques mall in Chelsea, strolling hand in hand among the other shoppers. They both had favorite vendors that they always made sure to visit. One of those was the Highland Store, which sold Scottish and country goods. It was crowded when they entered but they were quickly spotted by their favorite salesperson.
"Emerson!" the short, skinny young man exclaimed, hurrying over. "How lovely to see you, darling!"
Em smiled as she hugged him. "Hi, Rennie. How're you?"
"Just fine, just fine," he said, smiling back. His manner turned shy all of a sudden as he turned. "Hello, Brandon."
"Rennie," Brandon said, nodding at him.
Rennie caught Em's eye and pretended to swoon, and Emerson giggled. The salesman was flamboyantly gay and had never made any secret of his admiration for Brandon. Of course, Brandon had only ever had eyes for Em but he'd once grumbled that he found Rennie a bit annoying.
She loved to tease him about his male admirer, and deciding to have some fun with him now, she turned to Rennie. "Hey, today's Brandon's birthday."
Rennie gave an over-dramatic gasp and clasped his hands under his chin. "Fantastic! Oh, you must have a gift, on me! Come, come."
Emerson snorted at the, knowing Rennie, intentional double entendre. Her boyfriend shot her a look and she quickly adopted an innocent expression. "You heard the man."
Clearly, he wasn't fooled but he allowed himself to be led by the enthusiastic salesman to the section that dealt with kilts. Rennie jabbered a mile a minute, extolling the quality and range of selection that they had. He kept pulling out kilt outfit packages and holding them up to Brandon, exclaiming about how this or that tartan really brought out his lovely eyes, all that green and gold!
"Now, as you know, the proper way to wear these is sans underwear of any kind, and if you need help trying them on-"
"I won't be needing help, Rennie," Brandon interrupted, with a tight smile. "Because I'm not buying a kilt."
Rennie's smile fell for a second before jumping back into place. "Oh, silly man! Didn't you hear what I said before? It's a gift. For your birthday!"
"For your birthday," Em repeated, trying her darnedest not to burst out laughing at the irritated look that crossed Brandon's face.
"Well, thank you for the offer, Rennie," he was saying. "But I won't be needing a kilt."
The salesman sighed heavily and replaced the kilt package he'd been holding up. "Pooper."
"Yeah, pooper," Em echoed mournfully, but her eyes were twinkling with merriment.
In the end, Brandon politely accepted a pair of silver-plated, heathergems cuff links. He shook Rennie's hand and when Em hugged the salesman as they were leaving, Rennie whispered, "I'm never washing that hand again! You are so lucky, Em."
"I know," she whispered back, before laughing. "Thanks, Rennie."
As they left the store and wound their way through the browsing crowds, Em kept grinning up at him and finally, he looked down at her and scoffed. "There's no reason to be so self-satisfied, you know."
Emerson laughed and threw her arms around him. "Come on, it was funny! He wanted to help you get dressed, and-" She adopted a dead-on impression of Rennie's effeminate voice. "-the proper way to wear these is sans underwear of any kind."
Brandon shook his head for a second before laughing with her and they set out again, stopping here and there to greet people they knew. It was wonderful being with him again, and they were having so much fun that Em had almost forgotten about the surprise that all his family and friends had helped her plan for him. For that reason, it took her a few minutes to notice the circle of heat that was steadily warming in her pocket. But as soon as she did, she straightened up from peering at the jewelry displays in Roger's Gallery, feeling excitement bubbling within her.
"I have to go to the loo," she whispered, trying to think of a way for them to abruptly leave the market without him getting suspicious. They had made it this far without him seeming to know anything was up. The last thing she wanted was to tip him off now, at the eleventh hour.
After they'd both been to the bathroom, they met up again and he reached for her hand. Em sighed and laid her head against his chest. He kissed her neck softly. "Tired?"
"A bit," she answered. Glancing at her watch, she looked up at him. "I wonder if Dad's still at Puddlemere. I kind of want to talk to him."
"Want to go see?"
Em frowned. "I dunno. I mean, is there something else you wanted to do? I could just talk to him tonight or-"
"No, let's go over there," Brandon said. "Come on."
She let him lead her out of the mall, trying not to smile. Letting him "persuade" her had done the trick, she thought. They Apparated to Flaunden, northwest of London, where the Puddlemere offices and grounds were located. To the Muggle eye, the place appeared to be an oozy swamp, with rusty, abandoned cars and other garbage scattered here and there. But when wizard folk arrived at the location, what they saw was a soaring, modern-looking skyscraper, thousands of paneled glass windows glinting in the sun. It was set on sprawling and immaculately landscaped lawns and there was a wide, brick courtyard, with a large fountain in the center, leading up to the revolving glass doors. Upon entering the pleasantly warm building, one encountered a front desk that was always busy, regardless of the hour or day of the week.
Today was no exception, as the receptionists at the desk plucked hovering messages from the air and sent others off, all the while conversing feverishly into magically controlled headsets. Puddlemere was the most successful team in the League and all the responsibilities that came with that made for a bustling empire, with multiple departments and their heads. Harry Potter and Oliver Wood were the owners and C.E.O.s, and all major decisions came down to their mutual agreement.
Like the use of the state-of-the-art Magnum pitch for Brandon's birthday bash, and Emerson's heart was pounding as she approached the desk. She had no doubt that everyone in the building knew about the event and the people down in the stadium might need some warning that they were on their way.
"Emerson!" exclaimed one of the receptionists, a tall, middle-aged woman with dark red hair. "How lovely to see you!"
Em hugged her. "Hi, Alice. How's it going?"
"Very well, thank you," Alice said, smiling. Her gaze turned to Brandon. "Hey, you! Happy birthday!" Alice had been with the company since Em and Brandon were children so it wasn't at all suspicious that she knew that it was his birthday.
He grinned. "Thanks, Alice." Leaning over, he pecked her on the cheek.
Alice beamed at him before turning glowing eyes onto Em. "He's quite the charmer, isn't he?"
"Yeah," she agreed, giggling. "Anyway, we're here to see my Dad. We'll just go on up to his office."
"Oh, he's actually down on the Magnum Pitch, seeing to something or other," the receptionist said lightly. "You remember how to get there?"
Em affected an offended look. "But, of course!"
Alice laughed and waved them in the direction of the sleek, silver lifts. The doors closed and Em had no doubt that the woman was hurrying over to inform the crowd gathered on the pitch that Brandon was on his way. The lift stopped and Em had to force herself not to grab him by the hand and drag him along in her excitement. The stroll seemed to take forever, but at last, they were in front of the huge silver doors, with the Puddlemere logo proudly emblazoned across them. Brandon pulled the door open and she stepped inside, her eyes quickly adjusting to the dimness of the interior.
"That's weird," he said, sounding puzzled.
Em looked up at him. "What is?"
He frowned down at her. "Didn't Alice say your father's here taking care of something? So why is it so dark in here?"
As if his words had been the signal they'd been waiting for, the lights suddenly came on in a dazzling brilliance and at least a hundred voices rang out in unison, "SURPRISE!"
The stunned look on Brandon's face at that moment was priceless and Emerson was so happy that she thought her heart would burst. The crowd began to clap and he gaped out at them, his mouth open and his eyes wide. After a few seconds, he turned to look at her in disbelief.
"Wha-"
She laughed. "That's why. Happy birthday, Brandon."
"You did this?" he asked incredulously.
"No, they did."
And what an excellent job they'd done, too! The Magnum Pitch was magnificent enough by itself, with sleek golden walls, rich burgundy carpeting and a ceiling charmed by the late great Professor Filius Flitwick himself. The stadium seated a hundred and fifty thousand and was designed so that the field, a smooth, untarnished green, was perfectly visible from any level or angle. On either side of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high. All around waved flags representing, alternately, Puddlemere United and the British Quidditch League. At the very top of the stadium were flags of every single team in the league, though the Puddlemere and Quidditch League ones were more prominently displayed.
The top box, where the crowd was gathered, had had its seats rearranged so that there was a large circle in the center of the huge space. It had been decorated with streamers and balloons, while colorful confetti wafted down from the ceiling, contributing to the party atmosphere. The confetti was charmed to only land on clothes and hair, magically bypassing the glasses of assorted drinks that most everybody held. A large section on the right had been laid out in a lavish buffet, with chefs in pure white regalia ready and waiting to serve. Uniformed house-elves popped up here and there, refilling glasses as needed. Music played gently in the background and the temperature of the room was completely pleasant. All around were smiling faces, beaming up at Emerson and Brandon as they stood on the landing.
"You did this?" Brandon repeated, gazing down at her in amazement.
Em shook her head. "No, I didn't. They did."
He stared at her and she felt her heart rate speeding up at the look of adoration in his eyes. "But it was your idea, wasn't it?"
"I-I had tons of help, so it-" she began, but her words were cut off when he kissed her, in front of the delighted crowd, who began to make even more noise. Emerson pulled away, blushing, and he hugged her to him.
"Thank you," he whispered.
She smiled into his chest and squeezed him tighter. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and she gestured at the crowd. "You're welcome. Now, go on. Your guests are waiting."
He grinned and turned to the happy faces. "What a surprise this is!" he shouted giddily.
Still smiling, Em watched him bound down the steps. He kissed his mother on the cheek, repeated the action with Emerson's mother and commenced hugging and shaking hands all around. For a long time, she just stood there on the landing, watching the scene before her, as the crowd began to mingle, Brandon stopping every other second to exclaim and hug or shake the hand of some new person. From what she could see, he was astonished by most of the people there, his Quidditch friends from all over the world, and Em was very pleased with herself for having thought of it. His happiness made her feel like she was floating on air.
"Are you just going to stand there ogling Brandon all night?" a slightly peeved voice said from her right.
Em's head whipped around and her face broke into wide smile. "Lyna!"
She hurried down the steps and into her best friend's arms, and the two women hugged each other before pulling apart. "Oh, how are you?"
"I'm all right," Lyna said, her honey eyes radiant and her skin aglow.
She was beautiful. Actually, it wasn't just Lyna's skin that seemed to be glowing; it was her whole being, and Em knew it was from sheer happiness. Lyna was about six months pregnant now, and from what her friend was saying, everything was going very well.
"I feel wonderful and I'm just..." her voice trailed off as she shook her head, her eyes filling up. "I'm just so happy."
Em hugged her again, feeling tears prickling at her own eyes. It was all so wonderful and she was truly ecstatic for Lyna and Davis. Just as she started to pull away, a jolt from her friend's swollen belly made Em freeze.
Lyna laughed. "Yeah, he keeps doing that. Here." She put Em's hand on her belly and after a few moments, the baby moved again. "It's amazing, isn't it? Of course I admit it's not quite so fabulous when I'm trying to sleep and the kid won't stay still."
Rendered speechless for a moment, Em just stared at her hand as it lay on her best friend's firm stomach. If her pregnancy hadn't been ectopic, if the miscarriage hadn't occurred, she would currently be feeling her baby move also. In fact, she would've been a month further into her pregnancy than Lyna was at the moment. Of course she knew that what had happened was for the best, but sometimes it still hurt so much.
Swallowing hard in an attempt to keep herself composed and under control, Em took a deep breath and looked up. "Did you say 'he'?"
"Oh my gosh, I didn't tell you!" Lyna cried, her eyes wide. "It's a boy. We found out a few weeks ago. I'm sorry I forgot to mention it."
Em smiled at her. "A boy."
"A boy," Lyna repeated, her whole face lighting up from within. "Davis was beside himself when the Healer said it. Of course I have no doubt that he would've reacted the exact same way if it'd been a girl."
"I'm sure," Em said, laughing. "So what're you gonna name him?"
Lyna looked furtive all of a sudden. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone. We've told our families that they'll have to wait till the birth to find out the name. But I can't sit on it anymore! I must share it with someone!"
"You know your secret is safe with me, Lyna," Em said, seriously. "This is my godson we're talking about, right?"
Lyna giggled. "Right. Okay, here goes." Leaning over, she whispered the name into Em's ear and pulled back.
"Oh, that's perfect!" Em exclaimed, hugging her again. "I think I know who the middle name is for, but why that first name?"
"Davis and I just really like it, that's all."
"It's a really nice name," Emerson said, throwing her arm around her friend as they headed towards where Davis was standing talking to his father-in-law, Remus, as well as Em's father. "Now, I want you to promise me something, Lyna."
Lyna stopped short and looked at her. "What?"
"Promise me that when you go into labor, you'll send for me. I don't care what time of day or night it is, I want to be there for you. Okay?"
Her friend blinked back tears. "Okay. I promise."
Em was feeling emotional, too, and the two of them took a moment to compose themselves before they continued on.
"Hi, Dad," Em said, beaming up at him.
Her father turned. "Emerson!"
He hugged her to him, and upon her greeting and receiving hugs from the other two men, a lively conversation was begun. Eventually, they all got plates of food and sat down to eat, where they were joined by Brandon's mother, Katie Bell Wood, and Em's mother. Watching her Mum and Dad sneak kisses warmed Emerson's heart and she couldn't suppress a sigh of contentment. The last time she'd seen her family had been about three weeks previous when they'd been in Boston for her birthday. Needless to say, it was beyond awesome seeing them all again, especially her extended family of assorted Weasleys.
After a while, she got up and went to mingle with the crowd that was loudly milling around Brandon. He put his arm around her and introduced her to a lot of people, before being dragged away for some reason or the other. Ben and Andy were having what appeared to be a ponderous discussion with a South Korean Quidditch player who didn't seem to have a very firm grasp of the English language. Her brother caught her eye and waved; she waved back but didn't go over. She'd just spotted something else.
Or rather someone else. She hadn't seen Jack Crenshaw since just before she'd graduated Excalibur University. She'd been the one to break up with him and he hadn't wanted to let her go, insisting that he loved her and they could make it work. He'd been heartbroken by the break-up.
But he seems to have recovered very nicely, Em thought, watching him whisper in the ear of a tall, leggy blonde, who laughed breezily and tossed her head. They made an attractive couple, he with his male model looks and she with flawless Nordic features.
Should she go over and say hi? Em bit her lip indecisively but before she could make up her mind, Jack looked up and saw her. She watched the smile slip from his face before it returned tentatively. He looked so nervous all of a sudden that Em didn't have the heart to approach him. But the leggy blonde, becoming aware of the fact that his attention was no longer on her, took matters into her own hands.
"Who is this?" she asked abruptly in a heavy Russian accent, jerking her hand in Em's direction.
Jack glanced down at her before his gaze returned to Em. "Uh, this is Emerson. Hey, how're you doing?"
Em smiled at him. "I'm doing very well. How're you?"
"I'm all right," he said softly, staring. He jumped when the blonde elbowed him sharply. "Uh? Oh. Em, this is Svetlana. We, er, work together."
Ah, meaning you also shag each other. Got it. "Oh, nice to meet you," Em said, offering a hand.
Svetlana ignored her, choosing instead to glare at Jack. "This is the woman in the picture. Is she?"
Frowning, Em glanced at Jack, expecting him to be looking as bewildered as she felt. To her surprise, he was blushing. "What picture?" she asked.
"Picture in his wallet," Svetlana replied disdainfully. "He say it is friend. Are you his friend?"
Feeling startled, Em stared. "Um, I-"
"No, you are not his friend," the blonde supplied, not waiting for an answer. "You are his past girlfriend, yes? But you are not in love with him still, no? I saw you kissing the man that is the party."
Realizing what was going on, Em smiled. "You're right on all those counts. I used to be Jack's girlfriend. And yes, I was kissing Brandon Wood, the man the party's for. He's the love of my life." So you have nothing to fear from me, Svetlana. Certainly not where Jack is concerned.
Svetlana stared at Em for a moment, then nodded imperceptibly, letting Em know that she'd gotten the silent postscript. Em smiled at her and the blonde managed a slight smile back.
But now Jack was the one frowning. "So I was right, wasn't I? All those times that I thought there was something going on between you and Wood? And you kept denying it."
"That's because nothing was going on. Not at any of those times when you were acting all jealous and possessive," Em answered.
Jack's face hardened for a moment. "I suppose he gets to sleep with you, does he?"
Em gave him a cold look. She'd quite forgotten what an arsehole he could be. His pressuring her to have sex had been one of the main reasons why she'd broken up with him. "That, of course, is none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to attend to. It was nice to meet you, Svetlana. And good luck with everything, Jack. Enjoy your evening."
And she made good her escape, making a beeline for her little sister, Davina, who was chattering happily with some Weasley cousins. She spent the next hour catching up on the lives of her friends and enormous extended family. Every now and then, she caught a glimpse of Brandon, and he was always either laughing or deep in conversation. Once everyone had been sufficiently fed and watered, Em's father and Uncle Ron got the pick-up match underway. The happy crowd headed down to the pitch, and the huge stadium rang with cheers of excitement as the multi-national teams put on a fierce but good-natured battle. In the end, Team Europe and Asia won over Team North and South America, but it'd been a close one and all in good fun.
"All right," Uncle Ron said loudly, gesturing for silence. He was the Head Coach for the Chudley Canons, and had been for more than fifteen years. As such, he had developed a very commanding presence, and the room quickly quieted. "Now that the diplomatic obligations are out of the way-" His words were cut off by a rowdy mixture of cheers and boos. "Pipe down, you lot! It's time now for some down home competition. Brandon, pick your team. And pick who out of these professional hot-shots you'd like to thump."
Brandon laughed. "What?"
"Pick me! Pick me!" Budget exclaimed, jumping up and down with his hand in the air.
Em noticed he kept glancing over at a pretty, dark-haired girl wearing a Wasps jacket. She smirked to herself. Unless she was mistaken, that had to be the Brookridge girl her brother kept raving about. She appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties, much too old for Luke, of course. But that didn't seem to be fazing him any.
"Pick me! Pick me!" shouted Uncle Fred and Aunt Angelina's Matthew, grinning like the demon he was.
His cousin, Olivia, daughter of George and his Muggle wife, Nina, elbowed him aside. "No, pick me!"
Brandon was looking bewildered, and one glance at Olivia was enough to see why. Olivia was decked out in what appeared to be full gypsy costume, a loose and long-sleeved red dress that flowed to her ankles. She was barefoot and wearing a red and black scarf wrapped around her head, tendrils of her vivid Weasley hair escaping about her neck. On her fingers were numerous gaudy rings, matching the countless necklaces around her neck and the earrings in her ears. Her outfit wasn't at all shocking to those who knew her, however, because Olivia had always been wildly eccentric.
No, Em knew that what was confusing Brandon was the fact that Olivia hadn't ever played Quidditch before. Not once. "So, why do you want me to pick you?" he asked.
Before Olivia could answer, however, Marc and Marissa, the twin terrors, joined in the "Pick me! Pick me!" chorus and Emerson snorted as she realized what was going on. They were all taking the mickey with Brandon and as the rest of the crowd caught on, almost everybody began to jump up and down with their hands in the air, imploring Brandon to pick them.
He laughed and for a moment, the whole stadium rang with the merry sound as everyone else joined in. Once they'd all calmed down, Brandon selected Marissa, Andy and Em to be his Chasers. His best friend, Eric Huckleberry and Marc were the Beaters, and Ben was Seeker.
"And I'll be Keeper," he said.
His father, Oliver, slapped him on the back, beaming with pride. "Of course you are, son! Hell, you could've played professionally if you wanted."
Em knew that was true. Everyone had been surprised when Brandon had opted instead for a Ministry job, despite all the teams that had been actively recruiting him at the time. He'd explained to her that although he would've loved to play professional Quidditch, it wouldn't have allowed for him to really maintain and pursue his other passion - languages. With his Ministry job, however, he got to deal with Quidditch and utilize his languages at the same time. It was the best deal for him and she knew he received much fulfillment from it.
Once the other team had been drafted, the match got underway. Em noticed that for the opposing team, Brandon had selected the best English speakers among his international friends, and she felt a rush of warmth for him. She knew it was because he wanted them to be able to seamlessly communicate with each other, even if they all had different native languages. His integrity made her heart swell with love, and she couldn't wait till she could grab a moment alone with him.
It had been quite a while since Emerson had been on a broom, but everything came rushing back as soon as she kicked off into the air. The wind whipping her ponytail around, the shouts of her teammates, the feel of the Quaffle in her hand, the yells from the crowd below; there was nothing quite like it. The game was swift and intense, but in the end, Brandon's team emerged as the winners. Em thought that was probably because although the other team was composed of professionals, they were from different countries and so had different styles; whereas the home team had played together quite a few times, even though it was just for fun, and so had some familiarity with each other's techniques.
"That was fun, though, wasn't it?" Marissa said, grinning at Em as they both made their way back to the top box.
Em smiled at her. "Yeah. There's nothing quite like a good Quidditch game."
The crowd was still murmuring with excitement over the spectacular finish that Ben had made by beating that South Korean player to the Snitch. The two Seekers were currently laughing together near the drinks table, no hard feelings evident. Emerson sipped from her bottle of butterbeer and listened to the boisterous conversations going on around her, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her eyes were scanning the room for a shaggy, brown head and after nearly five minutes, she saw him. He was standing below one of the glowing red Exit signs, talking to Marc and Eric and then, as she watched, he pulled open the door and slipped out.
Being as familiar with the stadium as she was, Em knew that that exit led to the bathrooms and excusing herself, she hurried through the noisy throng after him. Upon closing the door behind her, the silence of the empty hallway was so jarring that she stood still for a second, feeling slightly disoriented. But once she'd recovered, she hurried in the direction of the loos, and stopped in front of the only closed door.
Smiling to herself, she pressed her ear to the rich paneled mahogany. After a minute, she heard the toilet flush, then water running in the sink, and she moved to the right of the doorknob. When the door opened, she quickly stepped back in front of it.
Brandon had been in the act of throwing away his paper towel, his other hand on the knob, but he froze when he saw her.
She smiled. "Hi."
He stared at her for a second before reaching out suddenly and pulling her into the bathroom. His arms came around her and Emerson's heart pounded as she clung to him, her fingers buried in the soft hair at the back of his neck. For a long minute, neither of them spoke, just holding each other tightly.
Finally, he pulled away and gazed down at her adoringly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she whispered. "But really, everybody else did most everything cause there was only so much I could do from a continent away, see?"
"I know. But they all said it was your idea." He shook his head for a second and grinned. "You all got me. You got me. I wasn't expecting it at all."
She giggled. "Good."
"How did you get all these Quidditch people, though?"
She shrugged. "I wrote to them. Actually, I wrote to your boss first and told him of the idea. I made it sound like a diplomatic outreach kind of thing, and he agreed to contact the Quidditch ministers. And it went from there."
"That was a good idea," Brandon said, chuckling. "Diplomatic outreach. God knows old Warezell can never have too much of that, cause he's always pissing off foreign Quidditch officials."
His face turned serious as he gently touched her cheek before lowering his lips to hers and she melted against him with a sigh. His lips were so soft and warm and he tasted like butterbeer and champagne. The kiss deepened, their tongues mating sensually, and Em felt light-headed. They broke apart gasping, before his lips were on her neck, suckling so hard that she cried out from the mingled pleasure and pain.
Brandon pulled away, his breathing ragged. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's all right," she said breathlessly, before pulling his head back to where it had been.
He licked the crimson spot gently and she shivered, her hands clutching his arms tightly. Their lips met again and he pressed her against the wall of the bathroom, his hand cupping her breast under her top. Emerson moaned at his caress, her nipple hardening against his palm. She felt his erection hard against her stomach and knew suddenly what she wanted to do.
Pushing him away gently, she turned them around until he was the one pressed against the wall, her nails dancing over the firm muscles of his stomach. He hissed when her fingers wandered downwards and lightly grazed the bulge in his jeans, and she smiled. Their eyes met and held as she unbuckled his belt, undid his fly and zipper and she watched his pupils dilate when she grasped him. She stroked him slowly, pushing his jeans and boxers down to give herself more access, feeling him harden even more in her hand. After a minute, she dropped to her knees and slowly licked the length of him with just the tip of her tongue, never taking her eyes off his all the while. She repeated the action, base to head, head to base and back again until his jaw clenched.
"Emerson," he groaned.
Only then did she envelope him with her mouth and he made a strangled sound halfway between a gasp and a moan. Which reminded her that they hadn't put any kind of discretionary charms on the small room. She pulled away, grabbed her wand, muttered a Locking and a Silencing Charm and replaced him into her mouth, all within the span of a few seconds. He moaned again and Emerson closed her eyes, marveling at the feel of his firm length and how could something so hard feel so velvety soft all at the same time?
With as much of him inside her mouth as she could manage, she swirled her tongue over the head, which caused him to cry out and push her away. Pulling her up, he kissed her hungrily, his hands pushing up her top and bra. His mouth latched onto her breast and it was her turn to wordlessly exclaim. He moved to lavish attention on the other nipple and Em's knees went weak. If he kept up what he was doing, she knew that she would lose control of the situation. Which wouldn't exactly be a bad thing because she ached for him. But she also knew that they couldn't stay away from the party much longer before someone got suspicious.
Brandon began to unbutton her jeans and, with supreme effort, she grabbed his hands. He looked up at her, his eyes molten with desire. "I want you."
"Later," she whispered, kissing him quickly before returning to her knees.
She took him in again, her hands wandering over his bum, the muscles clenching under her caress. His clean, male aroma and the noises he was making as her head bobbed on him excited her, as did the way his hands tangled helplessly in her hair.
"Emerson. Oh, fuck, yes. Suck me," he whispered in a strained voice.
She sped up her movements, gently cupping his balls now, and he yelled. She felt him swelling in her mouth and opened her eyes to watch him. His head was thrown back, his eyes tightly closed, his mouth slightly open and his face suffused with ecstasy. He groaned deeply as his body began to jerk spasmodically, her name falling from his lips like rain, and she closed her eyes again, focusing now on prolonging his pleasure for as long as she could. It seemed to go on for ages, but at last he slumped back against the wall, gasping and she rubbed his thighs slowly until he calmed down.
Upon tucking him in and fixing his clothes, she stood up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love you."
He gazed at her with glassy eyes, his cheeks flushed. "I love you, too."
"Happy Birthday," she whispered, kissing him lightly again.
Then, straightening her own clothes, she checked her appearance in the mirror, washed her hands, magically touched up her lipstick and slipped out of the loo. She hurried down the hallway and snuck back into the crowded room, grabbing a bottle of butterbeer off the tray of a passing house elf. Taking a deep drag, she nonchalantly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Her body hummed with unfulfilled hunger and Emerson slowly blew out a deep breath, trying not to appear as if, for instance, she'd just blown her boyfriend to within an inch of his life.
"Oh, there you are," Marissa said, striding up to her. "Have you seen Brandon? We're about ready to have the cake brought out."
Em adopted a puzzled expression. "Isn't he with Marc and Eric?"
Marissa was craning her neck over the crowd. "Oh, there he is! Brandon! Get over here!"
She watched him approach, his face carefully composed. And then his eyes met hers and the look in their dark depths sent a delicious shiver down her spine.
"Hey, you," he said, smiling casually at her.
But his dark eyes smoldered still and Emerson blushed. "Hi."
He hugged her to him. "That was fucking incredible," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath raising goosebumps all along her arms. "Don't make any plans for the rest of the night. You're mine."
Her body clenched at his words, her heart pounding within her. He pulled away and took her hand and she allowed him to drag her over to the table where a large chocolate cake sat with twenty-five lit candles burning merrily.
The crowd sang "Happy Birthday", which sounded different than usual because all the foreign guests sang in their own languages, entirely fitting for a man who spoke so many himself. Brandon didn't let go of her hand all the rest of the evening, as they ate cake, drank champagne and laughed at the antics of various Weasley offspring. By the time eight o'clock rolled around, the party was beginning to wind down. It had been going on for almost five hours and most everybody was knackered.
Marc, Marissa, Matthew and Eric suggested they take the party to this pub called The Highball over in Kensington, but Brandon begged off.
"I can't thank you all enough for doing this," he said to the room at large, standing at the top of the landing where he'd first been ambushed. "I'm just so incredibly lucky to know all of you, and I'm just so grateful. This was the best birthday I've ever had. So, thank you!"
The crowd cheered and applauded happily. After that people began to leave, but not before coming by to shake Brandon's hand and hug Em, thanking her for inviting them to such a fantastic bash. Em and Brandon offered to stay and help clean up, but they were told that the stadium staff would be doing that and were shooed out with mild affront. Em said goodbye to her parents and siblings, promising to spend the next day with them at Ballynore.
Brandon led her to the Apparation spot and she wrapped her arms around him and sighed. A thought occurred to her suddenly and she looked up. "Oh my gosh! Don't we have a dinner reservation for eight-thirty?"
"Oh, that," he said lazily. "I guess we'll have to cancel it, eh? Wait, you're not hungry, are you?"
She gave him a saucy smile and stood up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, "Not in a way that any restaurant could satisfy."
He cupped her bottom and pulled her firmly against him. "I think I know just the thing that might help, madam. Hang on."
They returned to his flat and he set to the task of satisfying her hunger in that extraordinary way that only he could. He made tender love to her half the night, whispering his love for her, bringing her to the peak again and again. And when at last they lay sated and spent in each other's arms, Emerson could think of no other thought than of how happy she was, how safe, how loved.
How blessed.
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TBC
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End Notes:
1. The little poem thingie that Ben wrote is something else I memorized when I was young. Ye olde packrat of useless tidbits.
2. The story is winding down. I think there'll be one more all letters chapter, three normal ones and an epilogue. I'm going to try to have it all done by the end of this month. Because come June 1st, I'll be beginning my rereads of the Harry Potter books, in preparation for Half-Blood Prince. Only about seven weeks to go now, whoo-hoo! The epilogue of this story will be the absolute end of the Emerson Potter storyline/universe/whatchamacallit.