Breaking Noses
Saturday morning found the first rays of autumn sunlight stealing through the high arched windows in the Gryffindor common room and illuminating the figure of a small red-haired girl curled up in an armchair by the empty fireplace and once again absorbed in a book that was almost as large as she was. Having woken up early and finding a return to sleep elusive Alice had crept downstairs and taken up residence in her favourite chair, partly so she wouldn't disturb anyone as she struggled to turn the thick parchment pages, but mostly to escape from Lavender's chronic snoring.
Her peace was short lived however as a commotion on the stairs heralded the appearance of half the Quidditch team in varying states of alertness and all in a generally bad mood, with the possible exception of Oliver Wood who strode across the common room like a man on a mission.
"Oliver thinks it's funny to wake people up at the crack of dawn," Fred Weasley yawned as he appeared at the foot of the stairs still struggling to put on his shoes and tie up his robes at the same time.
"Maybe he just wants you to see how the birds feel, to help you with your flying," Alice grinned and ducked the swipe George made at her with his broom before watching their retreating backs exit through the portrait hole. Several minutes later Harry, who looked for all the world as though his legs had yet to inform his brain that he was out of bed, stumbled down the stairs. He almost didn't notice her, and probably wouldn't if she hadn't shut her book with an audible snap.
"Oh… morning Alice… what are you doing up this early?" He clearly thought that anyone who wasn't forced awake by a single-mindedly obsessed Quidditch captain should still be in bed, or else clearly needed their head examined.
"Couldn't sleep, I thought I might do some reading - jog my memory about all the things I forgot over the summer."
Harry snorted doubtfully at this remark, "you've never forgotten anything in your life," he asserted. "Can you tell the others where I am? I did leave Ron a note, but you know what he's like, he probably wouldn't find it unless I pinned it to his pyjamas."
"Sure," she laughed at the thought, "we'll bring you some breakfast down too, is -" But she was cut off as the first year boy called Colin who had been taking photos of Harry the other day came hurtling down the stairs, nearly tripped over his feet and righted himself just in time to avoid crashing into Harry who was standing by the portrait hole looking rather bemused.
"Harry, Harry," he was waving something under his nose, "will you sign this photo for me?"
With a strangled groan and a wave to Alice, Harry turned and disappeared through the portrait hole with the excitable first year bobbing after him like an eager duckling. Alice winced in sympathy, before smiling, and returned to her book. She had managed to read a whole chapter on Joan of Navarre, and how she had managed to use confundus charms to have her conviction as a witch overturned in the fifteenth century, before anyone else came down to disturb her. It wasn't long before the common room quickly began filling up with people collecting belongings they had left lying around the previous evening or waiting for friends to go down to breakfast. Aware of the gnawing sensation which had started up again in her stomach, and unable to concentrate over the increasing hum of voices, Alice went in search of her friends.
"You're up early," Hermione commented brightly as they nearly collided with each other on the stairs. "Have you been down to breakfast already?"
Alice shook her head. "No I've been reading in the common room, I was just coming to find you actually I'm starving."
"You're getting as bad as Ron," Hermione chuckled, "do you want to wait for the boys or do you want to go down now?"
Alice explained that Harry was at Quidditch practice and, much to the satisfaction of her curiosity, was sure she detected a hint of disappointment in her friend's face as she relayed this news. "… but I said we would take him down some breakfast," she continued. "Do you want to go and see where Ron's gotten to? I've just got to put this back in my trunk," she hefted the enormous brown leather book more securely into her arms.
"Sure," Hermione smiled again as she skipped off down the stairs, "poor Harry must be so hungry by now." Alice felt her lips twitch at this comment and forced her face to remain serious until her friend's bushy head had disappeared out of sight. She wondered if Hermione realised that she had a crush on Harry? Probably not, despite being the most intelligent person Alice knew she had a certain propensity not to see what was right under her nose.
By the time she had deposited her book, met up with Hermione, Ron and a very bleary eyed Neville in the common room and made her way down to the Great Hall, Alice was absolutely ravenous. Grabbing a napkin from the table she scooped up several pieces of toast and, after some consideration, added another one for good measure.
"Maybe she's going through a growth spurt," Ron observed sagely as Hermione commented on the amount of food she had procured, "she definitely needs it - HEY!" he complained as Alice swatted him on the arm causing him to nearly lose hold of the bacon roll he was carrying.
"Don't start bickering you two," Hermione admonished causing both red heads to grin at the irony once her back was turned.
As they crossed the grounds towards the Quidditch pitch Alice could vaguely make out the crippled form of the tree Harry and Ron had crashed into in the distance off to her right. The poor thing was covered in bandages and seemed to be swaying slightly as though suffering from seasickness - she wasn't sure who had come off worse from the encounter, the tree or Ron's wand.
"Hey Harry," Hermione waved as they climbed the sun-warmed wooden steps and shuffled along a row to find seats. Scanning the sky Alice quickly identified her friends who all seemed to be racing each other around the stadium and raised a hand in greeting.
"Thanks," Harry smiled breathlessly as he effortlessly drew to a stop in midair in front of them and Hermione handed him some toast. "I'm famished and we haven't even started yet."
"What have you been doing? You've been gone for over an hour."
"Wood's been giving us one of his talks," George pulled up next to Harry as his twin continued to perform aerial acrobatics, "I feel so much more learned now though, now I know what it feels like to be you or Hermione, Evans," he smirked as she stuck her tongue out.
"Oi you lot!" They all turned in the direction of Wood's bellow.
"Oops," Harry quickly wolfed down his breakfast, "better get back to it."
The others settled back in their seats, content to simply relax and watch the practice unfold, with Ron and Alice occasionally explaining certain moves to Hermione. It wasn't long however before the Gryffindor team all abruptly about turned and headed for the pitch.
"Uh oh," Neville sighed as he leaned over the front of the stands to better observe the commotion, "Slytherins."
Hermione, Ron and Alice were instantly on their feet. "That doesn't look good. Come on we better go and see what's happening."
The four of them quickly turned and rushed back down the stairs ignoring the protestations of the ancient planks and rickety looking slats; they had supported hundreds of pupils for as many years, they would manage to hold four running students.
"- for the old Cleansweeps," Alice heard the green-robed captain drawl as they approached, "sweeps the board with them. Who's this?" he turned piggy little eyes in their direction as they ran across to stand next to the Gryffindor team. "More Weasley's?" he queried as he took in Ron and Alice's red hair.
"He is," Alice was slightly stunned to see Draco Malfoy standing in the centre of the team and dwarfed by the considerably larger students standing next to him. "Longbottom's just useless and Granger and Evans are no better than Muggles."
Alice heard identical growls emanate from her left and was fairly certain it was the twins so she shot them a warning look.
"How did you manage to get on the team anyway?" Ron asked defensively, but Alice didn't need to hear Malfoy's reply, the shiny new brooms being wielded by every member of the Slytherin team were answer enough.
"Shove off Malfoy," Harry barked once he had finished bragging about the technical ability of the Nimbus Two Thousand and One. "Quidditch is about talent not money, so it doesn't matter how good your stupid brooms are."
"Keep telling yourself that Potter," Malfoy spat, "but we'll see who's right."
"Harry could beat you hands down any day of the week," Hermione bristled shrilly, Alice wasn't sure if it was her indignation or the fact that the whole Slytherin team turned to stare at her that was making her cheeks go pink.
"No one asked you, you stupid Mudblood."
Alice wasn't sure who moved first, but suddenly half the Gryffindor team surged forwards with a roar and she had to grab onto Ron and Fred's sleeves to stop them diving for Malfoy, similarly the rest of the girls on the team managed to restrain Oliver and George who were both cursing at the top of their lungs. Unfortunately no one managed to grab Harry.
"Ow!" Malfoy reeled away nursing his face in both hands as Harry's fist connected solidly with it.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked running forward to grab his arm as he raised it again oblivious to the threatening stance of the rest of the Slytherins as they coalesced around the injured seeker. For a moment it seemed as though Flint was going to make something of the situation, but apparently even he could count and it seemed he did not like the odds of eleven against seven, even if five of the eleven were considerably smaller than him.
"Just get your stupid team off the pitch Wood," he snarled, "Professor Snape won't be happy when he hears about any of this." For a breathless moment it seemed Oliver was going to challenge him again, but after taking another glance at the blood pouring between Malfoy's fingers he seemed to think better of it.
"Come on," he sighed, leading his team in the direction of the changing rooms and leaving Alice, Hermione and Neville to drag a very reluctant Harry and Ron after them.
"What on earth did you do that for?" Hermione chided the minute they were off the pitch. "You're going to get into so much trouble for that. You punched Malfoy! Now he's going to run straight to Snape and you'll end up being hauled up to McGonagall's office. You were told if you got into any more trouble you'd get expelled!"
Harry was just about to open his mouth to protest when Oliver, who had clearly overheard this last remark, swooped down on them balefully. "Expelled?! You can't get expelled, if you do how are we going to beat them with those brooms? Right that's it," he ordered, arms akimbo and his face turning an intriguing shade of puce, "I don't care what you do or how you do it, but you're just going to have to apologise to that Malfoy kid or grovel to McGonagall or something. Either that or Evans will have to replace you again like she did last year." And without waiting for either first year to respond to these pronouncements on their future he stormed out of the changing room looking aggrieved.
"Well I know which option I'd choose mate," Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder in what was evidently meant to be a heartening manner, "grovel to McGonagall and if she lets you off with it it'll almost be worth getting the detention for the look on Malfoy's face when you punched him." He chuckled, "did you hear him howl? It was like a little girl - no offense," he added hurriedly to Alice and Hermione whose face still resembled a thunder cloud.
"But you could still be expelled! Oh Harry what on earth did you hit him for? Malfoy being a prat is nothing unusual."
Harry's mumbled response was barely intelligible as his face flushed and he stared determinedly at the end of his broom.
"What?"
"I said, no one's allowed to speak to you like that. Ever," he finished emphatically finally looking up in time to see Hermione's face turn a matching shade.
"Oh…" she seemed lost for words, "well then… thank you."
An awkward silence seemed in danger of settling as the two of them stared at each other and Ron began inspecting the patterns on the ceiling not even bothering to hide the grin on his face.
"Well let's not waste a perfectly good Saturday," Alice finally broke in when it became clear neither of them were going to say anything else. "Let's go and sit by the lake or something, there's no point in worrying about it yet. Come on Hercules," she linked arms with Harry and steered him in the right direction whilst patiently explaining the muggle reference to Ron and Neville.
"Hey Harry," a voice called as they were halfway to the lake, "Harry wait up!" Alice turned to see Colin Creevey, his camera swinging precariously close to his head, running full pelt after them. "That was amazing," he beamed as he caught up with them, "you were so brave. I managed to get a photo of it, he insulted your girlfriend and then you were just like… boom," he mimed a slow motion punch in midair.
"Colin she's not my -" Harry started to protest, but then paused, "wait you got a photo of it?"
"Yeah it was brilliant," the first year seemed almost beside himself with joy and oblivious to everything other than Harry; Alice wished she could be that confident in front of older students. "Do you think it'll come out in the moving photo? That'd be really cool seeing it again and again; it'd be like an action movie."
"Hey Colin can I have a copy? I'd pay good money to see Malfoy getting punched repeatedly," Ron grinned evilly, which made him look uncannily like the twins.
"Ron," Hermione admonished as Neville and Colin laughed nervously.
Seeing that Harry looked as though he was about to punch something again Alice spoke up, "maybe you shouldn't develop that one Colin, or if you do don't go showing it to everyone; you might get Harry into even more trouble."
"Oh," this thought hadn't seemed to have occurred to him yet, "right… ok then. Thanks…" he trailed off.
"It's Alice," she supplied.
"Thanks for the tip Alice," he gave her a dazzling smile before dashing off ahead of them towards the castle.
"I'd be careful," Ron warned as they all watched him go, "if you don't watch out he's going to start stalking you as well as Harry."
She turned to look back at her green-eyed friend impishly, "well as long as Lockhart doesn't start up as well I think I'll manage to cope." Harry seemed torn between annoyance and the need to laugh and eventually opted for the latter with even Hermione joining in after a pause.
For the next few hours it was easy to imagine that nothing had happened that morning as the five of them lazed around by the edge of the lake and watched Neville wading for bulrushes with his trousers rolled up to his knees and passing them to Alice who was busily plaiting them into a long line. The tranquillity was broken by their treacherous stomachs which forced them back to the Great Hall for lunch and into the path of a certain stern Transfiguration professor.
"Mr Potter," Harry's face filled with dread as they ran into her coming out of the Great Hall. She was glaring at him, her nostrils flaring alarmingly and the reproachful look on her face compounded by the fact that her glasses were sitting halfway down her nose forcing her to look down at him. "A word if you please. In my office. Now." And without waiting for a response she turned in a flurry of swirling robes and marched towards the marble staircase with a reluctant looking Harry dragging his feet in her wake.
"Do you think I should go after him? Hermione was chewing worriedly on her lip as she watched them disappear, "explain that he was only standing up for me?"
"He'll be fine," Ron didn't sound convinced.
"Professor McGonagall might be strict, but she's fair," Neville added reasonably, "if Harry explains everything she'll be more lenient; she can't expel him over this."
But it was a decidedly more gloomy group that went to sit down for lunch than they had been just ten minutes beforehand. Scanning the Slytherin table Alice could see no sign of Malfoy anywhere, which was probably just as well as she was rather tempted to go and hit him herself just for good measure.
"What did I miss? I heard all about what happened down at the pitch. Where's Harry?" An annoyingly cheerful Ginny Weasley bounced down into the seat next to Ron compounding the irritation that Alice already felt. With an effort she managed to push it aside as Ron began to repeat the tale, and concentrate on the sandwiches in front of her, repeating internally that she was Ron's sister and therefore it would be inappropriate to squash a jam doughnut into her face… much as she might want to.
"I said he was brave, didn't I?" She continued without waiting for Alice to respond, "he'd defend anyone, absolutely anyone." Alice wasn't sure whether or not she imagined the little glance Ginny threw at Hermione, but the stress on the final word was unmistakable.
"Don't start calling him a hero again," Ron complained as he piled his plate with cold ham quiche, "I got fed up of that in the holidays." Ginny chose to ignore his comment and instead beamed up at the twins - who were evidently her favourite brothers - as they arrived at the table.
"I don't suppose McGonagall would listen to you two," she teased, "you're hardly exemplary students."
"We could be -"
"If we chose to be -"
"Which we don't."
"It'd be too much like hard work," Fred smirked as he reached across the table for the pitcher of Pumpkin juice, "but I suppose if we ever really needed to, Evans would manage to keep us on the straight and narrow wouldn't you Evans?"
"Sounds too much like hard work to me," she threw his words back at him with a grin.
"Well we can't all be perfect I suppose," Ginny joked with a chuckle, but the look in her eye told Alice that she was anything but amused; what was her problem? Had Alice done something to offend or insult her at some point and not noticed? She was clearly jealous of Hermione's relationship with Harry, but when they weren't discussing Gryffindor's local hero the two girls got on reasonably well. For Alice though she seemed to reserve a special antipathy so it couldn't be the same situation there, besides what about her could possibly make Ginny jealous?
"So how are we going to rescue Harry?"
Ron was rapidly becoming annoyed by his sister's persistent interruptions, after all she was distracting him from his lunch and that was a cardinal sin in his books. "We're not going to do anything; he's Harry Potter, McGonagall won't expel him just for punching a git like Malfoy, Dumbledore wouldn't let her."
"Aren't any of you going to go and save him?" she queried looking disapproving, "I would if I had been there."
"Yeah, but Gin, we don't all doodle his name inside little hearts all over the back of our diaries," George chortled as his youngest sibling let out a hiss of mingled frustration and fury and stormed away from the table. "That's a shame," he remarked after a moment's silence where they all returned gratefully to their lunches, "if she had hung about a minute she would have been able to ask Harry himself how to rescue him."
All four second years immediately looked up to see Harry approaching the table with a look of weary acceptance on his face.
"How did it go mate?" Ron asked as his best friend took a seat next to a rather faint looking Hermione.
"Alright, it could have been worse. At least she didn't expel me -"
"Oh Harry!" His words were lost amidst a mass of bushy brown hair as Hermione grabbed him in one of her bear like hugs and then just as rapidly dropped her arms as though burned.
"Yeah… well…" Alice watched with amusement as her two friends shifted awkwardly in their seats and looked at anything but each other, "she erm…" Harry cleared his throat and she wondered if he was aware his cheeks were doing a brilliant impression of a stop light. "…well she took off twenty house points," Ron hissed in sympathy, "and gave me a detention every night this week."
This revelation subdued them so much for the rest of their meal that not even Fred and George's jokes about Lockhart's robes - today a brilliant shade of tangerine - provoked a reaction. Hermione couldn't even muster up a critical reproach.
She had recovered sufficiently by that evening however, having convinced herself that Harry was no longer in any danger of being ousted from the school, to chastise him for complaining about his detention that evening. "Well you did break the law," her guilt at her perceived part in the day's events clearly did not extend to his previous misdemeanours, "I should think you got off lightly with just a detention. Besides, you get to spend the evening with Lockhart and understand his psyche."
"Actually," Ron seemed to be reconsidering his earlier complaints about his own punishment, "I don't think I'll mind cleaning the trophy room with Filch so much; getting to know Lockhart's inner unconsciousness sounds about as fun as rounding up Cornish Pixies," he smirked as both Harry and Hermione scowled at him in unison. "Come on," he pulled an unwilling Harry off the sofa, "we wouldn't want to be late."
About an hour after the boys left Hermione, much to Alice's surprise decided she was going to bed.
"I thought you'd want to wait up for them," she said as they waved goodnight to Neville who was sitting at the far side of the room struggling to compose a letter to his grandmother, "you usually do."
"It's their own fault they've got detention, besides what could possibly happen to them that we'd need to?"
Alice had no answer for this, but she had a feeling something would, at Hogwarts it usually did.
Hermione's question was answered the next morning at breakfast as Harry rushed in to tell them about the mysterious voice he had heard, followed by an aching and groggy Ron who interspersed Harry's explanation with juvenile complaints about the pains in his arms from his evening's exertions.
"Oh shush Ron, no one cares if your arm's going to fall off, what did the voice sound like Harry?" Hermione pinned him with steely eyes.
He considered for a moment. "Sort of… cold, cold and empty."
"You don't suppose it's You-Know-Who again do you?" Ron's alarm at the prospect diverted his attention from his own plight momentarily. "I know," he cut in as Alice opened her mouth to correct him, "but you know who I mean, so I don't have to say it."
"Not unless he's found another way to come back again, and I know it's not impossible but it's unlikely - I mean come on, two years in a row?" Hermione sounded sceptical, "besides if it was wouldn't he have done more than just let Harry hear him talk about killing someone? More likely it was Malfoy or someone playing a trick, it is possible to project your voice without actually being in the room at the time you know."
They were prevented from having any further opportunity to discuss the mystery by the arrival of Colin Creevey brandishing his camera in Harry's direction again. "Alright Harry? Do you suppose I could get a proper picture of you with your friends to send home to my Dad and brother? I really want to show them what Hogwarts is like," his pleading eyes looked up at them eagerly.
"Go on," Alice whispered as Harry seemed to want to disappear into his cereal once again, "the poor thing's desperate." Harry seemed on the verge of refusing but then relented and gave an almost indistinguishable nod. It was all the encouragement Colin needed. "Ok say cheese then." Alice found herself momentarily without sight for several seconds as the blinding flash left an annoying after image clouding her vision. As she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear it she heard Colin run off crowing jubilantly about his prize.
"I'm never going to hear the end about this now," a reluctant smile pulled at the corners of Harry's mouth as he rubbed his own eyes.
"Never mind, the day's beginning to look up," Ron nodded in the direction of the doorway and they all craned to see what had attracted his attention. Skulking around the walls of the room evidently trying not to be noticed and sporting an impressive set of matching black eyes was a familiar blonde irritation. "Harry I think you maybe broke his nose," Ron didn't look at all sorry at the prospect.
"I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will have fixed it for him. She probably left the bruises to teach him a lesson," Hermione observed frostily, "serves him right. In justice is all virtues found in sum. Couldn't happen to a nicer person in my opinion."
Alice and Harry glanced across the table at each other, both trying to decide whether or not they felt guilty at the fact that Harry might actually have broken Malfoy's nose. Hermione's savagely delivered closing statement, so unlike her normally, seemed to decide them both and the Great Hall rang with peels of laughter as the four of them collapsed into irrepressible giggles.
A/N: Well there you go again, hope you like it. Joan of Navarre is an actual historical figure, she was the wife of Henry IV of England, and was imprisoned for four years after being accused of witchcraft and trying to poison Henry V in the fifteenth century. Also, Hermione's quote at the end of the chapter is by Aristotle. On another note the "Quartet" seem to eat a lot - more than in the books anyway - I seem to find myself describing a meal in every second chapter at least… oh well, wouldn't want to be accused of starving them!
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