Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Amici ed Amanti - With Friends Like These Part 2
~*~
Liam must be the luckiest bloody bastard alive, Murphy thought to himself when a well-toned and tanned blond female opened the door to a rather posh beach cottage. She was not what he was expecting - Liam just out of bed looking like something the cat had dragged in, yes, but a beach goddess, definitely not. Apparently he hadn't been pining over Lucy Ann for as long as he had threatened.
"You must be Murphy," she said in her make your knees buckle, turn your brain to mush, dead sexy Aussie accent. "Liam is at practice and asked me to look after you until he gets back."
He found that all he could do was obediently nod his head and stare. It really wasn't right that a woman like that could walk around in so little. What she was wearing could be deemed indecent. If that was a string bikini, he wanted to see the strings. Too bad she was wearing that little wrap around skirt thing. Did she not have any mercy for the males of the population?
"Let me show you to your room," she said, taking one of his cases and leading him down to the front bedroom just off the main room of the house. It was a comfortably appointed room and decorated in hues of light blue. "Liam apologizes for the view, but only one bedroom has view of the ocean and it's his."
"Thank you," he managed after finally finding his voice again.
"Are you tired or would you like something to eat? I just made banana and mango smoothies. Why don't you get out of those clothes-"
"Excuse me?" He cut her off before she could make an improper suggestion. He was about to be a married man after all. Although....
"And into something cooler," she finished, eyeing him curiously. "It's going to be rather warm today."
"Yes, yes," Murphy stuttered, hoping his face wasn't too red after his gaffe. "Jumpers aren't exactly beach wear are they now?"
The blond goddess smiled then. "No. I'll be in the kitchen when you're done."
He waited for her to pull the door closed behind her before sinking down on his bed, resisting the urge to bang his head against the nightstand. How in the bloody hell was he supposed to tell his scheming fiancé and her best friend that Liam was not sitting around mourning the loss of Lucy Ann as they'd imagined? Had they not seen the numerous articles? What in the bloody hell were they thinking? Silly bints, the both of them. He cursed himself for not having the stones to tell them no when they plotted to send him on this little misadventure. A simple owl would have saved him a lot of grief.
The afternoon was spent sitting at the counter sipping a smoothie while watching Tabitha go about fixing sweet and sour chicken for dinner. He learned a great deal about the little beach bunny - like she moved back home seven months ago to be with her Mum (Samantha) after her father (Darren) passed away while her little brother (Adam) finished up school. She was spending her year off from healer training working part time as a lifeguard and giving surfing lessons. She'd lived there all her life, her father was a Muggle, her Mum taught her how to cook and she could do simple spells and charms wandless by just crinkling her cute little nose a bit and concentrating. Tabby, as she liked to be called, had met Liam when he had nearly drowned after hitting his head on his surfboard. After that, she started giving him lessons and the rest, as they say, is history.
"I hear you're finally making an honest witch out of Mere," Liam said as a way of announcing his arrival home. He dropped his equipment bag with a loud thump on the floor by the front door.
"Yeah," Murphy responded sheepishly, dragging his eyes away from Tabby's arse. "I figured better now than later. I got tired of listening to her parents gripe."
"Sounds like a good enough reason to me."
"Best man?" Murphy knew that asking Liam to be his best man was just a technicality. It was understood they would stand up for the other come time for a wedding.
"Of course."
"You know this means you'll have to face your Mum right?"
"Is she still brassed off?"
"Over you not seeing her while you were in England or that you haven't owled in three months?"
"Probably not my most shining hour, that."
"You think?"
"I tend to muck up everything don't I?"
"You can say that again," Murphy chuckled. "But one look at you and your Mum will forget why she was ever brassed."
"I wish I could do that with all females," Liam said wistfully.
"Then that wouldn't be fair to rest of us now would it? You get your more than fair share of beautiful witches." Murphy's eyes wandered back over to Tabby, who was leaning over checking something in the oven. "Leave us poor blokes a few for the picking would you?"
His blond friend smiled wickedly. "I left you Mere didn't I?"
"That you did and I thank you."
They settled in a quiet evening, eating supper on the deck overlooking a spectacular view of the ocean just as the sun was setting. The old friends caught up on three months of goings on over several ice cold beers while Tabby sat quietly and listened. Murphy told all he knew about the wedding - basically when and where to show and what he was supposed to wear - he figured he was happier knowing just the barest details. Liam was informed of Lucy Ann's love life - there was going to be no repeating of the Tavish Wood Incident, as it was referred to these days. What he didn't see was his best friend gripping the bottle neck tightly in the dark as if he were trying to strangle someone single handedly. When the topic had dissolved into Quidditch with Tabby enthusiastically inserting her opinion, he begged off because by this point all he could think about was a warm, soft bed.
Murphy wasn't sure time it was when a pounding headache woke him from an exhausted sleep. The cottage was quiet and dark as he made his way to the kitchen for a drink of water and some headache potion. Bright moonlight flooded in the kitchen from the still open French doors, making it easy for him to find the bottle of vile potion Snape always made available to Liam to combat his migraines. He was holding his nose and about to down the potion in one swallow when he first heard the quiet conversation between the beach bunny and his best friend.
"Liam," Tabby implored softly. "You have to know that I am in love you."
"I know," he replied with a sigh.
Murphy felt a little guilty for eavesdropping on what was obviously a very private conversation, but he couldn't help himself, his feet rooted to his spot in front of the sink. He might find out something here that would put a stop to the Evil Plan before someone else got hurt. It was bad enough that Liam and Lucy Ann weren't talking - he couldn't stand it if the whole group just imploded.
"Then you know that what I am about say is coming from my heart right?"
Liam set his beer bottle down with a clink on the table. "Go on, let me have it."
"You aren't doing yourself any favors by hanging out on a beach half a world away from where you're supposed to be."
"And how you do know I'm not supposed to be here?"
"Because you're not happy here that is why. You see a different witch every weekend because you are looking for a replacement for Lucy Ann. How many of them have you shagged?"
"None," he replied in a small voice.
"And not for a lack of trying on their part right?" she asked, growing more bold with each word.
"Yes."
"And do you know why?"
"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me."
"Damn right I'm going to tell you big prat because I want save as many broken hearts as I can. You are in love with Lucy Ann and until you work things out with her one way or the other, you will never be happy."
Liam sucked in a sharp breath. "She is my friend, and nothing more."
"Just listen to yourself! Denial will only work for so long and so will hiding. You need to start behaving like the full-grown wizard you are!"
"And chance ruining the best thing that has ever happened to me?"
"Your friendship can't be any more ruined than it is now can it?" she badgered.
"No, I suppose not," he said, sounding utterly defeated.
"Then I suggest you go home to Lucy Ann and do everything in your power to make her yours."
The sound of a chairs being pushed back startled Murphy out of stealth mode and into action, making his way back to his room as quickly as he could without stubbing any toes to avoid detection. He crawled back into bed, headache forgotten as he mulled over what he'd just heard.
So his best friend wasn't shagging the beach bunny or anyone else for that matter. And he was pining for Luce after all. Well, well, well what did he know - Stephie might have been right all along.
The Evil Plan just might work...
~*~
A/N: Thank you to nokomis305 for the beta.
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