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Oct. 11th, 2010 10:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alicia_spinnet posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
hogwashWho: Ginny & Alicia
What: Dinner, a movie, and not-flirting.
Where: Ginny's flat, Holyhead
When: 8:00 in the evening
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete
Ginny felt a bit guilty about how she had overreacted in front of Alicia before they stopped shagging and talking altogether. Clearly one to fly off the handle without putting much thought into it, Ginny thought she ought to patch things up. Hermione’s recent poisoning gave Ginny a bit of a shock and made her acknowledge the fragility of their precariously constructed peace. There would always be something brewing just behind the guise of complacent normalcy. It was the time to take a chance, wasn’t it? Who better to take a chance on than someone who Ginny felt she had quite a bit of chemistry with and who had nothing in the slightest to do with Hermione Granger?
So Ginny took to finishing tidying up her atrocious flat, even bothering to dispose of rubbish, organise her bookshelf, her magazines, and the moving pictures of the Weasleys, Harry, Neville, Luna and one of her and Hermione(which made her ache to see it, especially after recent events). Pleased that her hard work paid off, Ginny also dressed up and carefully applied some make-up charms--she remembered how Alicia had liked seeing her dressed feminine, so she settled on wearing a sexy, yet casual, simple green dress. It brought out the red of her hair and complemented her skin. Though Alicia had said that there was no chance they would shag, Ginny took care to wear her best knickers anyway.
Moving back into the kitchen, she had already finished preparing the sauce and put it on the stove while she tended to it--and to the long, thin noodles. She had even asked Molly for recipes, which had turned into a whole afternoon of speculation and love-life-prodding by her mother. Wrinkling her nose at the thought of how she had left in an angry huff, Ginny supposed she really did owe her mother an explanation. To get the thought out of her head, she had gone shopping earlier. Remembering the fact that Alicia had favoured red currant rum, she had picked a fresh bottle up at Diagon Alley along with treacle tart(who didn’t like treacle tart?). Ginny hoped Alicia noticed and appreciated all the work and thought she put in.
Alicia spent the afternoon having a grueling private workout with the Harpies’ athletic trainer. Professional quidditch down under was certainly a different animal than playing in the British & Irish League. Sure, she’d done well in her opening match-- even excellent, breaking her own record for number of goals in a game under one hour-- but according to Jones, she wasn’t playing up to her “potential”. Complete bollocks, Alicia thought, though she didn’t dare argue with her coach and signed up for an extra training session straight away, which is not the ideal way to spend an afternoon that she was supposed to have off.
Regardless, it was a brutal but worthwhile workout. She had the pitch to herself (with the trainer, of course) and got to try out her new moves she had been working on in theory. She’d done some quaffle work too, the trainer using his wand to record the velocity of each throw. Ginny was a constant presence in her mind; she’d pictured the younger chaser flying beside her, challenging her throw for throw. She was throwing so hard that she had to ice her shoulder for half an hour after the workout, and was a bit angry at herself when she realised she had almost thrown her arm out over that distraction.
Perhaps I should just go straight there without showering, she thought, wondering if that would be enough to make Ginny not want to have a shag with her. Alicia knew she had to be strict with herself-- they had a match tomorrow, for one, and more importantly, inter-team relationships were strictly forbidden. It said so in the contract she signed. That was only two of the many reasons why she should not be involved with one Ginny Weasley, though she didn’t want to completely repulse the poor girl, so she decided on showering. She arrived at quarter after eight in a pair of black sweatpants and a red fitted t-shirt, her hair thrown up in a messy bun. It was quite obvious that she put effort into not putting effort into her appearance. Sliding into her trainers, she apparated to Ginny’s flat and knocked.
“Hold on, mate!” Ginny called loudly, lowering both flames to simmering heat, before she strode over to the front door. Taking and holding a deep breath(had she overdressed?-she had definitely overdressed-it was only her flat-she was only making pasta--get the door!), Ginny took hold of the doorknob and pulled the door open to reveal Alicia, dressed lazily in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Not minding in the slightest, she hoped that Alicia didn’t make any kind of wild judgments(other than, maybe, that she looked quite good in the dress). Grinning, Ginny waved her in. “Fortunately for you, Spinnet, I took the time to clean my flat. You might’ve been face to face with a pile of Quidditch practise robes had I left well enough alone.”
She knew very well about that nasty little inter-team relationships clause in the contract she had also signed, and she wondered vaguely if Alicia was bothered by it. Ginny wasn’t about to let it, or Alicia’s determination to not want her, get in the way of potential. A smirk toyed at the corners of her lips as she gave Alicia an exaggerated once-over. Even though she was dressed down, there was something inherently appealing about that level of comfort. “You look like you just got off the pitch, Spinnet. Hope you’ve showered and that you’re hungry. I had to listen to my Mum harping on me for hours just to get the recipe, so you’d best enjoy it.”
Sauntering back into the kitchen with a little extra sway to her hips, Ginny started prepping for serving dinner. Waving her wand, Ginny’s cutlery, napkins, and plates all came to life, setting themselves down with care on the modest table. Obviously, she had practiced that charm(if she was honest, she practised quite a lot). Scooping a fair amount of pasta onto Alicia’s plate, she offered her the sauce pan. “Add what you like, Spinnet, but don’t eat too much. Do you want a drink? I’ve got some wine, red currant rum, and Ogden’s Old, of course.”
When the door opened, Alicia’s involuntary reaction caused her bright green eyes to widen and sweep down the length of Ginny’s body. Fuck, is she trying to kill me? Feigning a cough, she cleared her throat and blinked a bit, hopeful that she was natural in regaining her composure. She bit her tongue, wanting to comment on the dress but chose not to, as she nodded and entered the flat. “I did come right from practise-- I’ve been training all afternoon. You’re lucky I remembered to have a shower before coming here.”
It was much, much cleaner than the last time she’d seen it-- not that she’d seen much of it besides the bedroom last time, but it was still noticeably different. “I do appreciate the effort-- now I don’t have to worry I’m going to get bitten by a gnome residing in your couch cushions if I sit down there.” She grinned, visibly relaxing as she walked in, closing the door behind her. “Smells wonderful, but you really didn’t have to go through all this trouble.” Really, she would be just as happy with ordering muggle takeout.
Alicia watched as Ginny turned and retreated to the kitchen, that perfect arse of hers swaying just so. That minx, I’ll kill her... Moving over to the dining table, she watched as the silverware set itself and Ginny returned with a plate full of pasta. “One glass of wine, thank you. I’ll have water after that, and you should watch your drinking tonight too. Big match tomorrow.” She took the plate from her graciously and ladled the sauce on top, looking quite impressed. “Who knew you were so domestic?”
“Well, thank Merlin for that. You’re foul after practise.” Ginny smirked broadly at her, eyebrow arched and her eyes shining mischievously. Though Alicia hadn’t said anything, she didn’t need to, the widening of her eyes and her awkward attempt to seem normal was enough to give Ginny a rush of satisfaction. “Still can’t guarantee that, you know. Just because it looks clean doesn’t necessarily mean it is. ... Ah, well, you save your compliments for after you take a bite, mate. It was quite a lot of effort, you know, so you’d better appreciate every bleeding gram of it.” Her smirk changed into a grin then and she was clearly teasing. Frankly, even though they hadn’t spent much time together before, Ginny enjoyed their easy banter.
Nodding at her request, Ginny moved about the kitchen to fetch two wine glasses and the bottle of White Zinfandel from the refrigerator. Pouring them both a fair amount, she also grabbed two glasses of water. “I’m not that forgetful, Spinnet. I appreciate the reminder about drinking, Mum,” Ginny said sarcastically. “I hate the Falcons more than any other team in this bloody league and I’d like nothing more than for us to start their season off with a crushing defeat. They’re sodding bastards, the lot of them.” She wrinkled her nose and settled back down in the seat across from Alicia. Ginny spooned a good amount of pasta and sauce onto her own plate. “By the way, hope you noticed I put some chicken in the sauce. I remembered you asked for protein.” She grinned, fiddling with the long noodles and the chicken until she got a fair forkful and tried to take a large bite as ladylike as she could manage.
After chewing and swallowing her bite, Ginny raised her eyebrow at the question. “You don’t know me very well, Spinnet. I’ll surprise you a fair bit, I’d reckon.” Secretly, she was intensely pleased at how well the sauce and pasta had turned out. Though she had never been a brilliant chef--she thought of asking Katie for lessons, but that would have been a disaster in this case--Ginny had evidently picked something up from growing up with Molly Weasley.
Alicia twirled the pasta with chicken bits onto her fork and slowly chewed and swallowed, washing it down with a sip of wine. “All right, I’ve tasted it-- I’m impressed.” She reminded herself to eat slowly, though she was quite famished after burning all of that energy on the pitch today. If she talked, she’d eat at at a respectable pace. “You’ve already surprised me more than a fair bit.” Ginny had clearly gone above and beyond here, what with the cooking and cleaning and dressing up. “So where are the candles? The mood music, hm?” She teased, though there was a hint of warning in her tone. “This feels awfully reminiscent of a date.” Alicia clearly wasn’t one comfortable sitting with awkward feelings.
“Glad to hear you like it, Spinnet. And, of course I have. Expect it to become a trend.” Ginny grinned before eating a few more forkfuls. It was nice, she thought, to be sharing dinner with someone. Alicia’s questions stopped Ginny dead mid-chew. Swallowing and wincing at the sensation of the under-chewed bite sliding down her throat, she spluttered and took a healthy swallow of wine. “Oi, we’re not on a date. I just.. well. I really wanted to apologize for everything, Alicia. I, ah, I overreacted.” Glancing away from Alicia, she took another swig of wine to ease her nerves. Apologizing was not one of Ginny Weasley’s strong suits. “Though, if you’d like it to be a date...,” she said, sounding coy now. Flirting, however, was something that Ginny excelled at.
Alicia surveyed Ginny with an expression that could not be mistaken for anything other than sheer skepticism, and she had a few more mouthfuls of that delicious pasta before washing it down with another few gulps of wine. “Mm... an apology dinner. There’s nothing in our contracts that says that apology dinners are prohibited, so yes, this would be acceptable.” That should answer Ginny’s flirtatious question-- of course Alicia didn’t want this to be a date.
Ginny just smirked at her--Alicia was hellbent on keeping with the contract. Well, she supposed that it would prove to be a satisfying challenge when Ginny used her charismatic prowess to convince her otherwise. Leaning against the back of the chair, Ginny took a few more quiet bites of pasta. “So, how was practise today? They sure do give their rising stars quite a lot of attention. I’m surprised you made time for me, Spinnet.” Ginny shot her a friendly grin. Though part of her was still a little jealous, she knew now that it certainly wasn’t Alicia’s fault. The thought of Gwenog Jones made her flush angrily before shaking her head and taking an angry bite of pasta, chasing it with a deep swig of wine.
Alicia shrugged, trying her best to ignore that wicked Weasley smirk that had gotten her into far too much trouble before. “Just a solo training for two brutal hours. Apparently Jones thought I wasn’t playing up to my potential last match...” Even though she broke her own records. Even though they won in a dominating fashion. Even though the newspapers and fans were wild about her performance. Alicia was slightly peeved at Jones’ criticism, but she took it as a challenge, as any true professional should. If she could take her playing to another level, she was up to it. Alicia knew how fragile her career was at the moment, she was terrified of doing anything to risk it-- which is mostly why she sort of wished Ginny would give her the cold shoulder, instead of cooking her fantastic meals.
She finished off her plate of pasta and downed the remaining contents of her wine glass. “So what’s for dessert?”
“Oi, sounds awful, Spinnet. Wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Well, you’ve got to expect that of Jones. She thought I wasn’t playing up to my potential either, clearly, since she replaced me without breathing a word about it. No offense to you, of course. I’ll grudgingly admit you’re brilliant on the Pitch--but don’t you dare tell anyone else.” Ginny grinned brightly at Alicia. She finished off the rest of her pasta and her wine, washing it down with a swig of water.
“Me,” Ginny purred, and a slow smirk crossed her lips with raised eyebrow. Then, after a dramatic few seconds of just eyeing Alicia up, she laughed it off and motioned to the counter. “I picked up some treacle tart just for the occasion, mate.”
Alicia couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of guilt every time Ginny spoke about being replaced. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she’ll never forget that look of sheer betrayal and hatred light up on Ginny’s face when she got the news. It made her a bit sick to her stomach. She reached for her water glass and drank to cleanse her palate. When Ginny replied that she was dessert, Alicia coughed--and water went down the wrong pipe, causing a choking and gasping fit. She better stop that OR ELSE... Not that she knew what “or else” was at the moment, but she’d still better stop. Once she caught her breath and stopped choking, she angrily snatched up her water glass again and drank normally. This was getting ridiculous. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. “Treacle tart sounds just fine.”
Ginny raised her eyebrow quizzically at Alicia’s reaction. “I didn’t know flirting was against the rules, Spinnet. You seem a bit ruffled, yeah? Just taking the piss, you know.” Shrugging noncommittally, Ginny pushed up from the kitchen table and picked up the box of treacle tart. Sitting back down, she handed the box off to Alicia first. Well, perhaps Alicia would be a harder egg to crack than Ginny gave her credit for. She could be patient. “How do you like Holyhead? Did you go back to those shops yet?”
Alicia knew there was a difference between flirting and seriously suggesting... Ginny was walking a fine line. She plucked a few pieces of treacle tart from the box and popped one into her mouth. Treacle tart was her very favourite dessert and she savored her first piece before answering. “Yes, once. It’s much less crowded than London’s streets, I like that. Everyone’s quite friendly. I went down to the pet shop-- thinking of getting myself a cat or a rabbit or something.” It did get quite lonely when Alicia was home, so she figured a pet would be a perfect solution to that small problem.
Ginny cleared her throat and grabbed a piece of tart for herself. While she chewed, she listened intently to Alicia and nodded in agreement. Washing the tart down with a gulp of water, she replied. “I’ve been thinking of a pet myself. Used to have a Pygmy Puff, but...,” Ginny trailed off, looking a bit sad at the memory of Arnold. He had been a brilliant pet, even though all he really did was sit on her shoulder and chirp. “Holyhead’s got a charm about it that I rather like. I haven’t had a chance to visit the shops, though, I’ll have to swing by.”
As the silence stretched on, Ginny felt a bit awkward. At least there were dishes to do. “Er, here, let me clean up, yeah?” Snatching up her wand and using it to levitate them into the sink, she surveyed the cleaning spells to make sure they were thorough. She glanced over at Alicia--she really was pretty, Ginny thought with a grin.
“I had a pygmy puff once! I was seven.” Alicia smiled at the memory and relaxed a bit in her chair. “His name was Stuart and he was the prettiest shade of blue. Bit stupid though-- I tried to train him to do tricks for months and months but he never caught on.” It was nice, Alicia thought, to just have a friendly chat with Ginny. She found herself wanting to ask more questions, get to know her a bit more... which was odd, considering she’d never had any desire to get to know any of her past shags on any sort of friendship level. Perhaps this meant they were meant to be teammates and friends. “D’you need any help with the--” and she turned her head to watch as Ginny used magic to quickly clean up. “Nevermind then, housewife extraordinaire.” She smirked.
“Stuart, eh? Mine was Arnold, he was bubblegum pink. He loved sitting on my shoulder and he clashed horribly with my red hair--not the brightest either, though.” Ginny made eye contact with Alicia and smiled warmly at her. There was something comforting about having Alicia around and Ginny didn’t quite understand what it was about her. Perhaps it was her easy way, or the fact that there was a sort of understanding between them, like the one between her and Katie but very different--charged with something... else. Ginny was curious, though, intensely curious about Alicia’s family, about her life. Clearing her throat, she finished cleaning up by putting away the kitchenware with a flick of her wand.
“Oi, housewife? Do I look like a housewife to you?” Raising her eyebrow challengingly, she turned to Alicia and motioned to her outfit(that smirk was bloody sexy). “I look brilliant. Look at the thanks I get, dressing nicely and cleaning up...” She sighed in an exaggerated exasperated way, obviously in jest. Thinking on her niggling curiosity, she decided that perhaps flirting was the wrong way to approach learning about Alicia. Taking a different direction, Ginny decided to settle on something... tamer. “So, Alicia, listen. I really don’t know, well, anything about you. I’m curious, but you don’t have to really answer. Why were you in Australia all that time? Is it true Australians are rubbish in the sack?”
Alicia rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t look like a housewife, but you’ve got all the right skills mastered for the job!” Laughing a bit more, she started feeling much more at ease with her hostess, and she swirled her goblet of water around as if it were wine before taking another drink. When Ginny asked about her family, Alicia’s face fell and she shrugged. She’d never spoken to anyone about her family, about what had happened when Voldemort rose to power for the second time.
“I sort’ve moved to Australia to get away from everything. My mum died and my dad’s a pompous prick. I actually turned down an Arrows contract straight out of Hogwarts because the sod guilted me into working for his bank...” She shook her head, obviously displeased with her weak will at the time. “I went along with it until I came back for the battle and saw my brother became a Death Eater. After that I’d had it-- had to get away, and Australia was as far away as I could get with a half-decent Quidditch league.”
Her eyes widened when she realized all she’d spilled out without having the excuse of alcohol. Her cheeks flushed a bit and she redirected her eyes to the tablecloth for a moment to regain her composure, before looking back up to Ginny. “Australian blokes are rubbish in the sack. Most are, anyway. The women are typically quite good.”
Ginny sat back down across from Alicia and, as she began to spill the beans about her family, Ginny made sure to simply quietly listen. The bit about her brother being a Death Eater made her stomach sink--she couldn’t imagine how Alicia could have turned out so differently in comparison. “Well, mate, no one would blame you for that, I reckon. It must’ve been hard for you. I’d bet they weren’t so keen on you playing Quidditch, no matter how brilliant you were, yeah?” Reaching across the table, Ginny lightly touched Alicia’s hand with her own. “Oh, well, thanks for clearing that bit up with me. I’ll have to go off and get me an Aussie bird then.” Grinning, she gave Alicia’s hand a reassuring squeeze. Ginny felt rather... trusted and pleased that Alicia had even said anything to her.
“Well, ah, I haven’t got any stories like that. The best I’ve got is I haven’t told my family I’m a todger dodger and I’m not quite sure how they’ll be reacting?” Ginny laughed uncomfortably, leaning back in her chair. At least Alicia wouldn’t judge her for that, she thought.
Alicia smiled appreciatively at Ginny’s kind gesture, and gave her hand a small squeeze in return. “Look at it this way, at least your family would care either way? And I’m sure if your parents take a while to get used to it, your brothers’ll have your back. George will for sure.” The thought of George made her grin. She really missed her old friends; they were the true impetus for her moving back.
“How is Katie doing, by the way? I mean, I’ve talked to her quite a bit since I’ve been back... but we haven’t really talked.”
“Yes, suppose they would.” Ginny still felt uncomfortable, because there was more to her confession than that. If Ron knew how she fancied Hermione, well... Ginny dismissed the thought and smiled at Alicia instead. Something about the way Alicia spoke to her gave Ginny butterflies(how odd). Chuckling at the mention of Katie, Ginny withdrew her hand to grab her glass of water and take a drink. “You know Katie, never bloody changes. She’s brilliant, though. I’d like to think she’s my best mate. But, well, I worry about her sometimes. Seems like there’s something on her mind she doesn’t want to talk about sometimes--not that she talks much about herself as it is.” Ginny shrugged nonchalantly at that, Katie had her way about things and Ginny just simply observed. Katie was patient enough with her that Ginny never thought twice to pry where she didn’t belong.
“I’ll bet you’ve missed them, haven’t you, Alicia? Just judging by what I’ve seen of you, you seem like the life of the party.” Ginny looked at her with a sly Weasley grin.
“‘Course I have, they’re my very best mates!” Even though she completely lost touch with them for years, she still considered them her best friends. “Life of the party? No, that was your brothers, for sure. Out of the witches though, I suppose I could be classified as the least-conservative. I had my moments, at least...” She broke out into a wider grin, brows wagging. “Like that one time I was dared to streak across the pitch in the snow... I don’t back down from dares, not typically.”
“Really now? Well, I’ve got to admit that I’m quite the daredevil, but I’ve never braved the Scottish cold without knickers on.” The mental image of Alicia running starkers made her tingle pleasantly between her thighs. Crossing her legs and squeezing them together to distract herself from the sensation, Ginny smirked coyly at the woman across the table. “If you’re so daring, it’s a bloody shame you’re so worried about breaking contract, Spinnet.” Shrugging, she continued. “Anyway, I know George would be tickled to see you and you really ought to take Katie out. I’m sure she’d love to reminisce or some such thing. I’d reckon it gets terribly boring spending so much time with me.” Ginny said dramatically, but gave Alicia a meaningful look.
“Anything else you’d like to get up to, Spinnet? We could go out on the town for a bit. Maybe go for a fly? I know you’ve practised all day, though.”
Alicia gave a throaty giggle as she reached for another piece of treacle tart. “Ah, not a big deal really. Everything sort’ve goes numb after the first twenty seconds, then it’s easy as pie. However if I do recall correctly, my nipples got a bit frostbitten, so I’d recommend some sort’ve preventative charm for that... didn’t see that one coming...” She snorted. “And yes, I’ve been meaning to owl George. It’s just hard to word ‘Hey mate, sorry I up and left for four years without word and now I’m back, want to get a spot of tea tomorrow?’” Alicia shrugged. “I’m thinking next week I’ll stop by his shop, give him a good old fashioned surprise visit. And I do want to get Katie out, Merlin knows she stays holed up in that flat of hers far more than she should for someone as young and beautiful and talented as she is.”
When Ginny suggested they move onto another activity, Alicia squinted a bit, pondering the options. She really was content just sitting here and talking-- it’s been so long since she was able to do that so freely. “Eh I’d rather not go for a fly, though I do enjoy nighttime broomrides through cities. Could we just stay here for a bit? Have you got any films?”
“Surprising that they’re still functional, then, all these years later.” Ginny grinned at her, obviously enjoying her daring recollection. “Half the time, George can’t be arsed to read and respond to all his owls, so I expect it’s best to unexpectedly drop in on the sod. Speaking of holing up, George does quite a bit of that himself.” Nodding her head in agreement regarding Katie, Ginny exhaled loudly. “Finally! An ally! She won’t listen to a word out of my mouth when it comes to that--says it’s rubbish I tell her she’s good looking, talented, and could easily ensnare some charming bloke with a look and a flash of her arse.”
“Well, maybe next time we spend some quality time together without a tough match the next day, we’ll go for a fly.” Ginny gave her another bright grin. She thought she was doing quite a good job of at least cementing herself another sort-of-but-not date. “Films? Like muggle films? I think Hermione got me some for Christmas one year... I put them on my bookshelf. Don’t think I’ve watched most of them, though.” She gave Alicia a curious look. “Do you know how to, well, watch one?”
“We’ll have to plan something where we get both of them out at once-- plan a fake occasion or something of the sort. I’ll think on it...” She stood up and walked over to Ginny’s bookshelf, admiring her extremely small film collection. She ran her fingertips over the spines for a moment before “Aha! This one!” She pulled the original version of The Count of Monte Cristo off of the shelf and brought it over to her. “Have you watched this? It’s my absolute favourite-- the book and the film. They recently filmed a remake but the original.... it’s unmeasurable in its greatness.”
“Sounds brilliant. I’m sure we can come up with something appropriately devious for the occasion, yeah?” Ginny watched Alicia retreat into her living area, all the while admiring the unintentional allure of her hips. Following her, Ginny waited as Alicia made her selection and furrowed her brow in thought. “Mm, no, I don’t think I watched that one, mate. I’ll trust your taste for now. If you know how to set the bloody thing up, feel free to put it on the television. Since you don’t appreciate my outfit and we’re just going to be bumming around the flat, I’m going to change into something more comfortable.” Grinning at her, Ginny walked into her bedroom and quickly stripped off her dress, slid into a somewhat over sized t-shirt and a pair of long shorts. She kept her lacy knickers on just in case--there might be hope after all.
Striding back into the living room, she hopped over the back of her couch and settled into the niche between the arm and the back. “Is it ready yet?”
While Ginny was changing, Alicia took a few minutes to fiddle with Ginny’s entertainment system. “You know, I’m surprised you even have one of these muggle telly-contraptions, let alone a video player. Clearly it’s wasted on you.” Eventually, she got it working, feeling a great sense of accomplishment when the opening credits lit up on the screen. Beaming with excitement (as she hadn’t seen this film in many years), Alicia kicked off her trainers and moved to sit next to her hostess on the comfy couch, making sure there was a fair bit of space between them. She reached for the knitted blanket over the other arm and draped it across her lap. Staring straight ahead as Edmond Dantes entered the picture, Alicia spoke very briskly so she wouldn’t miss the opening dialogue. “That was a great dress. Smashing.”
“Well, maybe I’d be able to work that ruddy contraption if someone had actually told me how to use it. Hermione just muttered rubbish about a remote control or some such thing and triangles and squares.” Ginny glanced over to her guest and gave her an exaggerated dirty look. Once the image of a man filled the screen, Ginny turned her attention back to the television... until she heard what Alicia said. Feeling her skin immediately heat up, she imagined a flush(which Alicia hopefully wouldn’t see) rising to her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she mumbled back quickly. “Thanks, wore it for you.” Though Alicia had obviously made sure not to sit too close to her, Ginny inched over just a hair. She moved enough where she could comfortably touch Alicia’s hand.
“Well, you shouldn’t have,” Alicia replied, shifting rather uncomfortably on the couch. She wanted to keep bantering with Ginny, as it was quite fun to be with someone who could actually match her quip-for-quip, but she already felt she was treading in water too deep so she bit her tongue. “Now shut your mouth, would you? I hate when people talk during a film.” There, that should take care of that.
Ginny gave Alicia a dirty look for quieting her before she could reply with a retort, but she did as Alicia requested and kept her mouth shut. Though, surprisingly, Ginny found she would much rather be talking to Alicia than lapsing into silence. Maybe things were becoming much more complicated than they should be. Biting her lip, Ginny distracted her mind(which was thinking of taking Alicia out on dates and making an honest woman out of her instead of inviting her over to shag her stupid) by focusing all her energy on watching the movie. However, at every noise out of Alicia, Ginny dared a glance in her direction and was momentarily mentally derailed. She is quite pretty, isn’t she?, Ginny thought and then, damn. Stop bloody thinking about it!
Unbeknownst to Ginny, Alicia was having similar intrusive thoughts, and she consciously focused on the film in order to battle them. It became so distracting, in fact, that Alicia created a little game for herself. In her head, she would guess the dialogue in the film-- she gave herself two points for a direct quote, and one point if she missed less than three words in the sentence. It was all going well for the first hour of the film (she’d racked up seventy-four points, in fact), but eventually, all of the mental effort it took to block out the Ginny-related thoughts and retrieve film quotes from her long term memory began taking toll. The cognitive exhaustion combined with the physical exhaustion she was still feeling from her solo quidditch training session earlier overwhelmed her with sleepiness. Perhaps if I shut my eyes for a brief moment, I’ll get a bit more energy, she reasoned, but after twenty seconds with her eyes closed, she fell into a deep sleep, unconsciously repositioning herself on the couch so that she was sprawled across it, her legs kicked up onto Ginny’s lap.
Ginny was beginning to slowly become invested in the story in her attempt to distract herself, but as soon as Alicia shifted with her legs settled on Ginny’s lap, she was effectively uninterested in the screen. Remembering what a taxing day the brunette must have had, Ginny carefully reached over and snatched up her wand. It wouldn’t be very nice to wake her, after all, Ginny reasoned. Using a few quick accios, she stuffed a pillow behind her head and draped a blanket across both Alicia and herself. Resolving to sleep with her guest on the couch tonight, she shifted to get comfortable and watched the rest of the movie before, like Alicia, she drifted off to sleep.
What: Dinner, a movie, and not-flirting.
Where: Ginny's flat, Holyhead
When: 8:00 in the evening
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete
Ginny felt a bit guilty about how she had overreacted in front of Alicia before they stopped shagging and talking altogether. Clearly one to fly off the handle without putting much thought into it, Ginny thought she ought to patch things up. Hermione’s recent poisoning gave Ginny a bit of a shock and made her acknowledge the fragility of their precariously constructed peace. There would always be something brewing just behind the guise of complacent normalcy. It was the time to take a chance, wasn’t it? Who better to take a chance on than someone who Ginny felt she had quite a bit of chemistry with and who had nothing in the slightest to do with Hermione Granger?
So Ginny took to finishing tidying up her atrocious flat, even bothering to dispose of rubbish, organise her bookshelf, her magazines, and the moving pictures of the Weasleys, Harry, Neville, Luna and one of her and Hermione(which made her ache to see it, especially after recent events). Pleased that her hard work paid off, Ginny also dressed up and carefully applied some make-up charms--she remembered how Alicia had liked seeing her dressed feminine, so she settled on wearing a sexy, yet casual, simple green dress. It brought out the red of her hair and complemented her skin. Though Alicia had said that there was no chance they would shag, Ginny took care to wear her best knickers anyway.
Moving back into the kitchen, she had already finished preparing the sauce and put it on the stove while she tended to it--and to the long, thin noodles. She had even asked Molly for recipes, which had turned into a whole afternoon of speculation and love-life-prodding by her mother. Wrinkling her nose at the thought of how she had left in an angry huff, Ginny supposed she really did owe her mother an explanation. To get the thought out of her head, she had gone shopping earlier. Remembering the fact that Alicia had favoured red currant rum, she had picked a fresh bottle up at Diagon Alley along with treacle tart(who didn’t like treacle tart?). Ginny hoped Alicia noticed and appreciated all the work and thought she put in.
Alicia spent the afternoon having a grueling private workout with the Harpies’ athletic trainer. Professional quidditch down under was certainly a different animal than playing in the British & Irish League. Sure, she’d done well in her opening match-- even excellent, breaking her own record for number of goals in a game under one hour-- but according to Jones, she wasn’t playing up to her “potential”. Complete bollocks, Alicia thought, though she didn’t dare argue with her coach and signed up for an extra training session straight away, which is not the ideal way to spend an afternoon that she was supposed to have off.
Regardless, it was a brutal but worthwhile workout. She had the pitch to herself (with the trainer, of course) and got to try out her new moves she had been working on in theory. She’d done some quaffle work too, the trainer using his wand to record the velocity of each throw. Ginny was a constant presence in her mind; she’d pictured the younger chaser flying beside her, challenging her throw for throw. She was throwing so hard that she had to ice her shoulder for half an hour after the workout, and was a bit angry at herself when she realised she had almost thrown her arm out over that distraction.
Perhaps I should just go straight there without showering, she thought, wondering if that would be enough to make Ginny not want to have a shag with her. Alicia knew she had to be strict with herself-- they had a match tomorrow, for one, and more importantly, inter-team relationships were strictly forbidden. It said so in the contract she signed. That was only two of the many reasons why she should not be involved with one Ginny Weasley, though she didn’t want to completely repulse the poor girl, so she decided on showering. She arrived at quarter after eight in a pair of black sweatpants and a red fitted t-shirt, her hair thrown up in a messy bun. It was quite obvious that she put effort into not putting effort into her appearance. Sliding into her trainers, she apparated to Ginny’s flat and knocked.
“Hold on, mate!” Ginny called loudly, lowering both flames to simmering heat, before she strode over to the front door. Taking and holding a deep breath(had she overdressed?-she had definitely overdressed-it was only her flat-she was only making pasta--get the door!), Ginny took hold of the doorknob and pulled the door open to reveal Alicia, dressed lazily in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Not minding in the slightest, she hoped that Alicia didn’t make any kind of wild judgments(other than, maybe, that she looked quite good in the dress). Grinning, Ginny waved her in. “Fortunately for you, Spinnet, I took the time to clean my flat. You might’ve been face to face with a pile of Quidditch practise robes had I left well enough alone.”
She knew very well about that nasty little inter-team relationships clause in the contract she had also signed, and she wondered vaguely if Alicia was bothered by it. Ginny wasn’t about to let it, or Alicia’s determination to not want her, get in the way of potential. A smirk toyed at the corners of her lips as she gave Alicia an exaggerated once-over. Even though she was dressed down, there was something inherently appealing about that level of comfort. “You look like you just got off the pitch, Spinnet. Hope you’ve showered and that you’re hungry. I had to listen to my Mum harping on me for hours just to get the recipe, so you’d best enjoy it.”
Sauntering back into the kitchen with a little extra sway to her hips, Ginny started prepping for serving dinner. Waving her wand, Ginny’s cutlery, napkins, and plates all came to life, setting themselves down with care on the modest table. Obviously, she had practiced that charm(if she was honest, she practised quite a lot). Scooping a fair amount of pasta onto Alicia’s plate, she offered her the sauce pan. “Add what you like, Spinnet, but don’t eat too much. Do you want a drink? I’ve got some wine, red currant rum, and Ogden’s Old, of course.”
When the door opened, Alicia’s involuntary reaction caused her bright green eyes to widen and sweep down the length of Ginny’s body. Fuck, is she trying to kill me? Feigning a cough, she cleared her throat and blinked a bit, hopeful that she was natural in regaining her composure. She bit her tongue, wanting to comment on the dress but chose not to, as she nodded and entered the flat. “I did come right from practise-- I’ve been training all afternoon. You’re lucky I remembered to have a shower before coming here.”
It was much, much cleaner than the last time she’d seen it-- not that she’d seen much of it besides the bedroom last time, but it was still noticeably different. “I do appreciate the effort-- now I don’t have to worry I’m going to get bitten by a gnome residing in your couch cushions if I sit down there.” She grinned, visibly relaxing as she walked in, closing the door behind her. “Smells wonderful, but you really didn’t have to go through all this trouble.” Really, she would be just as happy with ordering muggle takeout.
Alicia watched as Ginny turned and retreated to the kitchen, that perfect arse of hers swaying just so. That minx, I’ll kill her... Moving over to the dining table, she watched as the silverware set itself and Ginny returned with a plate full of pasta. “One glass of wine, thank you. I’ll have water after that, and you should watch your drinking tonight too. Big match tomorrow.” She took the plate from her graciously and ladled the sauce on top, looking quite impressed. “Who knew you were so domestic?”
“Well, thank Merlin for that. You’re foul after practise.” Ginny smirked broadly at her, eyebrow arched and her eyes shining mischievously. Though Alicia hadn’t said anything, she didn’t need to, the widening of her eyes and her awkward attempt to seem normal was enough to give Ginny a rush of satisfaction. “Still can’t guarantee that, you know. Just because it looks clean doesn’t necessarily mean it is. ... Ah, well, you save your compliments for after you take a bite, mate. It was quite a lot of effort, you know, so you’d better appreciate every bleeding gram of it.” Her smirk changed into a grin then and she was clearly teasing. Frankly, even though they hadn’t spent much time together before, Ginny enjoyed their easy banter.
Nodding at her request, Ginny moved about the kitchen to fetch two wine glasses and the bottle of White Zinfandel from the refrigerator. Pouring them both a fair amount, she also grabbed two glasses of water. “I’m not that forgetful, Spinnet. I appreciate the reminder about drinking, Mum,” Ginny said sarcastically. “I hate the Falcons more than any other team in this bloody league and I’d like nothing more than for us to start their season off with a crushing defeat. They’re sodding bastards, the lot of them.” She wrinkled her nose and settled back down in the seat across from Alicia. Ginny spooned a good amount of pasta and sauce onto her own plate. “By the way, hope you noticed I put some chicken in the sauce. I remembered you asked for protein.” She grinned, fiddling with the long noodles and the chicken until she got a fair forkful and tried to take a large bite as ladylike as she could manage.
After chewing and swallowing her bite, Ginny raised her eyebrow at the question. “You don’t know me very well, Spinnet. I’ll surprise you a fair bit, I’d reckon.” Secretly, she was intensely pleased at how well the sauce and pasta had turned out. Though she had never been a brilliant chef--she thought of asking Katie for lessons, but that would have been a disaster in this case--Ginny had evidently picked something up from growing up with Molly Weasley.
Alicia twirled the pasta with chicken bits onto her fork and slowly chewed and swallowed, washing it down with a sip of wine. “All right, I’ve tasted it-- I’m impressed.” She reminded herself to eat slowly, though she was quite famished after burning all of that energy on the pitch today. If she talked, she’d eat at at a respectable pace. “You’ve already surprised me more than a fair bit.” Ginny had clearly gone above and beyond here, what with the cooking and cleaning and dressing up. “So where are the candles? The mood music, hm?” She teased, though there was a hint of warning in her tone. “This feels awfully reminiscent of a date.” Alicia clearly wasn’t one comfortable sitting with awkward feelings.
“Glad to hear you like it, Spinnet. And, of course I have. Expect it to become a trend.” Ginny grinned before eating a few more forkfuls. It was nice, she thought, to be sharing dinner with someone. Alicia’s questions stopped Ginny dead mid-chew. Swallowing and wincing at the sensation of the under-chewed bite sliding down her throat, she spluttered and took a healthy swallow of wine. “Oi, we’re not on a date. I just.. well. I really wanted to apologize for everything, Alicia. I, ah, I overreacted.” Glancing away from Alicia, she took another swig of wine to ease her nerves. Apologizing was not one of Ginny Weasley’s strong suits. “Though, if you’d like it to be a date...,” she said, sounding coy now. Flirting, however, was something that Ginny excelled at.
Alicia surveyed Ginny with an expression that could not be mistaken for anything other than sheer skepticism, and she had a few more mouthfuls of that delicious pasta before washing it down with another few gulps of wine. “Mm... an apology dinner. There’s nothing in our contracts that says that apology dinners are prohibited, so yes, this would be acceptable.” That should answer Ginny’s flirtatious question-- of course Alicia didn’t want this to be a date.
Ginny just smirked at her--Alicia was hellbent on keeping with the contract. Well, she supposed that it would prove to be a satisfying challenge when Ginny used her charismatic prowess to convince her otherwise. Leaning against the back of the chair, Ginny took a few more quiet bites of pasta. “So, how was practise today? They sure do give their rising stars quite a lot of attention. I’m surprised you made time for me, Spinnet.” Ginny shot her a friendly grin. Though part of her was still a little jealous, she knew now that it certainly wasn’t Alicia’s fault. The thought of Gwenog Jones made her flush angrily before shaking her head and taking an angry bite of pasta, chasing it with a deep swig of wine.
Alicia shrugged, trying her best to ignore that wicked Weasley smirk that had gotten her into far too much trouble before. “Just a solo training for two brutal hours. Apparently Jones thought I wasn’t playing up to my potential last match...” Even though she broke her own records. Even though they won in a dominating fashion. Even though the newspapers and fans were wild about her performance. Alicia was slightly peeved at Jones’ criticism, but she took it as a challenge, as any true professional should. If she could take her playing to another level, she was up to it. Alicia knew how fragile her career was at the moment, she was terrified of doing anything to risk it-- which is mostly why she sort of wished Ginny would give her the cold shoulder, instead of cooking her fantastic meals.
She finished off her plate of pasta and downed the remaining contents of her wine glass. “So what’s for dessert?”
“Oi, sounds awful, Spinnet. Wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Well, you’ve got to expect that of Jones. She thought I wasn’t playing up to my potential either, clearly, since she replaced me without breathing a word about it. No offense to you, of course. I’ll grudgingly admit you’re brilliant on the Pitch--but don’t you dare tell anyone else.” Ginny grinned brightly at Alicia. She finished off the rest of her pasta and her wine, washing it down with a swig of water.
“Me,” Ginny purred, and a slow smirk crossed her lips with raised eyebrow. Then, after a dramatic few seconds of just eyeing Alicia up, she laughed it off and motioned to the counter. “I picked up some treacle tart just for the occasion, mate.”
Alicia couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of guilt every time Ginny spoke about being replaced. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she’ll never forget that look of sheer betrayal and hatred light up on Ginny’s face when she got the news. It made her a bit sick to her stomach. She reached for her water glass and drank to cleanse her palate. When Ginny replied that she was dessert, Alicia coughed--and water went down the wrong pipe, causing a choking and gasping fit. She better stop that OR ELSE... Not that she knew what “or else” was at the moment, but she’d still better stop. Once she caught her breath and stopped choking, she angrily snatched up her water glass again and drank normally. This was getting ridiculous. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. “Treacle tart sounds just fine.”
Ginny raised her eyebrow quizzically at Alicia’s reaction. “I didn’t know flirting was against the rules, Spinnet. You seem a bit ruffled, yeah? Just taking the piss, you know.” Shrugging noncommittally, Ginny pushed up from the kitchen table and picked up the box of treacle tart. Sitting back down, she handed the box off to Alicia first. Well, perhaps Alicia would be a harder egg to crack than Ginny gave her credit for. She could be patient. “How do you like Holyhead? Did you go back to those shops yet?”
Alicia knew there was a difference between flirting and seriously suggesting... Ginny was walking a fine line. She plucked a few pieces of treacle tart from the box and popped one into her mouth. Treacle tart was her very favourite dessert and she savored her first piece before answering. “Yes, once. It’s much less crowded than London’s streets, I like that. Everyone’s quite friendly. I went down to the pet shop-- thinking of getting myself a cat or a rabbit or something.” It did get quite lonely when Alicia was home, so she figured a pet would be a perfect solution to that small problem.
Ginny cleared her throat and grabbed a piece of tart for herself. While she chewed, she listened intently to Alicia and nodded in agreement. Washing the tart down with a gulp of water, she replied. “I’ve been thinking of a pet myself. Used to have a Pygmy Puff, but...,” Ginny trailed off, looking a bit sad at the memory of Arnold. He had been a brilliant pet, even though all he really did was sit on her shoulder and chirp. “Holyhead’s got a charm about it that I rather like. I haven’t had a chance to visit the shops, though, I’ll have to swing by.”
As the silence stretched on, Ginny felt a bit awkward. At least there were dishes to do. “Er, here, let me clean up, yeah?” Snatching up her wand and using it to levitate them into the sink, she surveyed the cleaning spells to make sure they were thorough. She glanced over at Alicia--she really was pretty, Ginny thought with a grin.
“I had a pygmy puff once! I was seven.” Alicia smiled at the memory and relaxed a bit in her chair. “His name was Stuart and he was the prettiest shade of blue. Bit stupid though-- I tried to train him to do tricks for months and months but he never caught on.” It was nice, Alicia thought, to just have a friendly chat with Ginny. She found herself wanting to ask more questions, get to know her a bit more... which was odd, considering she’d never had any desire to get to know any of her past shags on any sort of friendship level. Perhaps this meant they were meant to be teammates and friends. “D’you need any help with the--” and she turned her head to watch as Ginny used magic to quickly clean up. “Nevermind then, housewife extraordinaire.” She smirked.
“Stuart, eh? Mine was Arnold, he was bubblegum pink. He loved sitting on my shoulder and he clashed horribly with my red hair--not the brightest either, though.” Ginny made eye contact with Alicia and smiled warmly at her. There was something comforting about having Alicia around and Ginny didn’t quite understand what it was about her. Perhaps it was her easy way, or the fact that there was a sort of understanding between them, like the one between her and Katie but very different--charged with something... else. Ginny was curious, though, intensely curious about Alicia’s family, about her life. Clearing her throat, she finished cleaning up by putting away the kitchenware with a flick of her wand.
“Oi, housewife? Do I look like a housewife to you?” Raising her eyebrow challengingly, she turned to Alicia and motioned to her outfit(that smirk was bloody sexy). “I look brilliant. Look at the thanks I get, dressing nicely and cleaning up...” She sighed in an exaggerated exasperated way, obviously in jest. Thinking on her niggling curiosity, she decided that perhaps flirting was the wrong way to approach learning about Alicia. Taking a different direction, Ginny decided to settle on something... tamer. “So, Alicia, listen. I really don’t know, well, anything about you. I’m curious, but you don’t have to really answer. Why were you in Australia all that time? Is it true Australians are rubbish in the sack?”
Alicia rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t look like a housewife, but you’ve got all the right skills mastered for the job!” Laughing a bit more, she started feeling much more at ease with her hostess, and she swirled her goblet of water around as if it were wine before taking another drink. When Ginny asked about her family, Alicia’s face fell and she shrugged. She’d never spoken to anyone about her family, about what had happened when Voldemort rose to power for the second time.
“I sort’ve moved to Australia to get away from everything. My mum died and my dad’s a pompous prick. I actually turned down an Arrows contract straight out of Hogwarts because the sod guilted me into working for his bank...” She shook her head, obviously displeased with her weak will at the time. “I went along with it until I came back for the battle and saw my brother became a Death Eater. After that I’d had it-- had to get away, and Australia was as far away as I could get with a half-decent Quidditch league.”
Her eyes widened when she realized all she’d spilled out without having the excuse of alcohol. Her cheeks flushed a bit and she redirected her eyes to the tablecloth for a moment to regain her composure, before looking back up to Ginny. “Australian blokes are rubbish in the sack. Most are, anyway. The women are typically quite good.”
Ginny sat back down across from Alicia and, as she began to spill the beans about her family, Ginny made sure to simply quietly listen. The bit about her brother being a Death Eater made her stomach sink--she couldn’t imagine how Alicia could have turned out so differently in comparison. “Well, mate, no one would blame you for that, I reckon. It must’ve been hard for you. I’d bet they weren’t so keen on you playing Quidditch, no matter how brilliant you were, yeah?” Reaching across the table, Ginny lightly touched Alicia’s hand with her own. “Oh, well, thanks for clearing that bit up with me. I’ll have to go off and get me an Aussie bird then.” Grinning, she gave Alicia’s hand a reassuring squeeze. Ginny felt rather... trusted and pleased that Alicia had even said anything to her.
“Well, ah, I haven’t got any stories like that. The best I’ve got is I haven’t told my family I’m a todger dodger and I’m not quite sure how they’ll be reacting?” Ginny laughed uncomfortably, leaning back in her chair. At least Alicia wouldn’t judge her for that, she thought.
Alicia smiled appreciatively at Ginny’s kind gesture, and gave her hand a small squeeze in return. “Look at it this way, at least your family would care either way? And I’m sure if your parents take a while to get used to it, your brothers’ll have your back. George will for sure.” The thought of George made her grin. She really missed her old friends; they were the true impetus for her moving back.
“How is Katie doing, by the way? I mean, I’ve talked to her quite a bit since I’ve been back... but we haven’t really talked.”
“Yes, suppose they would.” Ginny still felt uncomfortable, because there was more to her confession than that. If Ron knew how she fancied Hermione, well... Ginny dismissed the thought and smiled at Alicia instead. Something about the way Alicia spoke to her gave Ginny butterflies(how odd). Chuckling at the mention of Katie, Ginny withdrew her hand to grab her glass of water and take a drink. “You know Katie, never bloody changes. She’s brilliant, though. I’d like to think she’s my best mate. But, well, I worry about her sometimes. Seems like there’s something on her mind she doesn’t want to talk about sometimes--not that she talks much about herself as it is.” Ginny shrugged nonchalantly at that, Katie had her way about things and Ginny just simply observed. Katie was patient enough with her that Ginny never thought twice to pry where she didn’t belong.
“I’ll bet you’ve missed them, haven’t you, Alicia? Just judging by what I’ve seen of you, you seem like the life of the party.” Ginny looked at her with a sly Weasley grin.
“‘Course I have, they’re my very best mates!” Even though she completely lost touch with them for years, she still considered them her best friends. “Life of the party? No, that was your brothers, for sure. Out of the witches though, I suppose I could be classified as the least-conservative. I had my moments, at least...” She broke out into a wider grin, brows wagging. “Like that one time I was dared to streak across the pitch in the snow... I don’t back down from dares, not typically.”
“Really now? Well, I’ve got to admit that I’m quite the daredevil, but I’ve never braved the Scottish cold without knickers on.” The mental image of Alicia running starkers made her tingle pleasantly between her thighs. Crossing her legs and squeezing them together to distract herself from the sensation, Ginny smirked coyly at the woman across the table. “If you’re so daring, it’s a bloody shame you’re so worried about breaking contract, Spinnet.” Shrugging, she continued. “Anyway, I know George would be tickled to see you and you really ought to take Katie out. I’m sure she’d love to reminisce or some such thing. I’d reckon it gets terribly boring spending so much time with me.” Ginny said dramatically, but gave Alicia a meaningful look.
“Anything else you’d like to get up to, Spinnet? We could go out on the town for a bit. Maybe go for a fly? I know you’ve practised all day, though.”
Alicia gave a throaty giggle as she reached for another piece of treacle tart. “Ah, not a big deal really. Everything sort’ve goes numb after the first twenty seconds, then it’s easy as pie. However if I do recall correctly, my nipples got a bit frostbitten, so I’d recommend some sort’ve preventative charm for that... didn’t see that one coming...” She snorted. “And yes, I’ve been meaning to owl George. It’s just hard to word ‘Hey mate, sorry I up and left for four years without word and now I’m back, want to get a spot of tea tomorrow?’” Alicia shrugged. “I’m thinking next week I’ll stop by his shop, give him a good old fashioned surprise visit. And I do want to get Katie out, Merlin knows she stays holed up in that flat of hers far more than she should for someone as young and beautiful and talented as she is.”
When Ginny suggested they move onto another activity, Alicia squinted a bit, pondering the options. She really was content just sitting here and talking-- it’s been so long since she was able to do that so freely. “Eh I’d rather not go for a fly, though I do enjoy nighttime broomrides through cities. Could we just stay here for a bit? Have you got any films?”
“Surprising that they’re still functional, then, all these years later.” Ginny grinned at her, obviously enjoying her daring recollection. “Half the time, George can’t be arsed to read and respond to all his owls, so I expect it’s best to unexpectedly drop in on the sod. Speaking of holing up, George does quite a bit of that himself.” Nodding her head in agreement regarding Katie, Ginny exhaled loudly. “Finally! An ally! She won’t listen to a word out of my mouth when it comes to that--says it’s rubbish I tell her she’s good looking, talented, and could easily ensnare some charming bloke with a look and a flash of her arse.”
“Well, maybe next time we spend some quality time together without a tough match the next day, we’ll go for a fly.” Ginny gave her another bright grin. She thought she was doing quite a good job of at least cementing herself another sort-of-but-not date. “Films? Like muggle films? I think Hermione got me some for Christmas one year... I put them on my bookshelf. Don’t think I’ve watched most of them, though.” She gave Alicia a curious look. “Do you know how to, well, watch one?”
“We’ll have to plan something where we get both of them out at once-- plan a fake occasion or something of the sort. I’ll think on it...” She stood up and walked over to Ginny’s bookshelf, admiring her extremely small film collection. She ran her fingertips over the spines for a moment before “Aha! This one!” She pulled the original version of The Count of Monte Cristo off of the shelf and brought it over to her. “Have you watched this? It’s my absolute favourite-- the book and the film. They recently filmed a remake but the original.... it’s unmeasurable in its greatness.”
“Sounds brilliant. I’m sure we can come up with something appropriately devious for the occasion, yeah?” Ginny watched Alicia retreat into her living area, all the while admiring the unintentional allure of her hips. Following her, Ginny waited as Alicia made her selection and furrowed her brow in thought. “Mm, no, I don’t think I watched that one, mate. I’ll trust your taste for now. If you know how to set the bloody thing up, feel free to put it on the television. Since you don’t appreciate my outfit and we’re just going to be bumming around the flat, I’m going to change into something more comfortable.” Grinning at her, Ginny walked into her bedroom and quickly stripped off her dress, slid into a somewhat over sized t-shirt and a pair of long shorts. She kept her lacy knickers on just in case--there might be hope after all.
Striding back into the living room, she hopped over the back of her couch and settled into the niche between the arm and the back. “Is it ready yet?”
While Ginny was changing, Alicia took a few minutes to fiddle with Ginny’s entertainment system. “You know, I’m surprised you even have one of these muggle telly-contraptions, let alone a video player. Clearly it’s wasted on you.” Eventually, she got it working, feeling a great sense of accomplishment when the opening credits lit up on the screen. Beaming with excitement (as she hadn’t seen this film in many years), Alicia kicked off her trainers and moved to sit next to her hostess on the comfy couch, making sure there was a fair bit of space between them. She reached for the knitted blanket over the other arm and draped it across her lap. Staring straight ahead as Edmond Dantes entered the picture, Alicia spoke very briskly so she wouldn’t miss the opening dialogue. “That was a great dress. Smashing.”
“Well, maybe I’d be able to work that ruddy contraption if someone had actually told me how to use it. Hermione just muttered rubbish about a remote control or some such thing and triangles and squares.” Ginny glanced over to her guest and gave her an exaggerated dirty look. Once the image of a man filled the screen, Ginny turned her attention back to the television... until she heard what Alicia said. Feeling her skin immediately heat up, she imagined a flush(which Alicia hopefully wouldn’t see) rising to her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she mumbled back quickly. “Thanks, wore it for you.” Though Alicia had obviously made sure not to sit too close to her, Ginny inched over just a hair. She moved enough where she could comfortably touch Alicia’s hand.
“Well, you shouldn’t have,” Alicia replied, shifting rather uncomfortably on the couch. She wanted to keep bantering with Ginny, as it was quite fun to be with someone who could actually match her quip-for-quip, but she already felt she was treading in water too deep so she bit her tongue. “Now shut your mouth, would you? I hate when people talk during a film.” There, that should take care of that.
Ginny gave Alicia a dirty look for quieting her before she could reply with a retort, but she did as Alicia requested and kept her mouth shut. Though, surprisingly, Ginny found she would much rather be talking to Alicia than lapsing into silence. Maybe things were becoming much more complicated than they should be. Biting her lip, Ginny distracted her mind(which was thinking of taking Alicia out on dates and making an honest woman out of her instead of inviting her over to shag her stupid) by focusing all her energy on watching the movie. However, at every noise out of Alicia, Ginny dared a glance in her direction and was momentarily mentally derailed. She is quite pretty, isn’t she?, Ginny thought and then, damn. Stop bloody thinking about it!
Unbeknownst to Ginny, Alicia was having similar intrusive thoughts, and she consciously focused on the film in order to battle them. It became so distracting, in fact, that Alicia created a little game for herself. In her head, she would guess the dialogue in the film-- she gave herself two points for a direct quote, and one point if she missed less than three words in the sentence. It was all going well for the first hour of the film (she’d racked up seventy-four points, in fact), but eventually, all of the mental effort it took to block out the Ginny-related thoughts and retrieve film quotes from her long term memory began taking toll. The cognitive exhaustion combined with the physical exhaustion she was still feeling from her solo quidditch training session earlier overwhelmed her with sleepiness. Perhaps if I shut my eyes for a brief moment, I’ll get a bit more energy, she reasoned, but after twenty seconds with her eyes closed, she fell into a deep sleep, unconsciously repositioning herself on the couch so that she was sprawled across it, her legs kicked up onto Ginny’s lap.
Ginny was beginning to slowly become invested in the story in her attempt to distract herself, but as soon as Alicia shifted with her legs settled on Ginny’s lap, she was effectively uninterested in the screen. Remembering what a taxing day the brunette must have had, Ginny carefully reached over and snatched up her wand. It wouldn’t be very nice to wake her, after all, Ginny reasoned. Using a few quick accios, she stuffed a pillow behind her head and draped a blanket across both Alicia and herself. Resolving to sleep with her guest on the couch tonight, she shifted to get comfortable and watched the rest of the movie before, like Alicia, she drifted off to sleep.
