Chimaera of Judgement



CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Love Is A Battlefield

For quite a bit longer than he'd been expecting, Albus was able to keep the stolen post-match peck Wendelyne had given him under wraps - a fact that was remarkable in and of itself, being that if there was anywhere secrets were not safe, it was Hogwarts, especially if the secret has anything to do with courtship of any kind. Therefore, though he groaned inwardly when it finally happened, he was not at all taken aback when it suddenly became public knowledge - but that isn't to say no one was.

"Al!" Rose shouted across the courtyard one sunny afternoon, plainly up in arms even before she elaborated. "You and Wendelyne! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Er..."

"I had to find out from Kenneth Tate, of all people - was everybody privy to it but me?!"

He reeled. "Merlin, I hope not! I don't think I could take every last person in the castle asking me about this day in, day out!" It was then he noticed how heavily she was breathing, as if she'd jogged all the way there. "Hang on, where were you when you learned this?"

Those mischievous blue eyes narrowed, as if accusing him of changing the subject on purpose. "Muggle Studies, you know that!"

"So... why are you panting like you were down in Hogsmeade?"

"Because... I went to find you in the Great Hall first, but Logan said you haven't been in there yet, so then I went up to- you know what? Let's instead talk about why Albus has taken to keeping his personal affairs so closely guarded these days!"

"Okay, remember when we discussed whether or not we should have absolutely no secrets between us? Well, I think I've found the one big exception."

"You got snogged, so what?" Though she looked away as she said it.

"Aha! I knew it, I knew it wouldn't just be me - makes you feel a bit weird, too, doesn't it?"

"Oh, what of it? Point is, you two are lucky; especially if you do all right from here on in, but I mean, so far so good, right? Meanwhile, I'm the one who's being left in the dark! That's pretty cold of you, y'know!"

Her gaze was still pointed determinedly away from him, and he waited a significant amount of time before asking, "Rose Nymphadora Weasley, are you- are you faintly jealous?"

"WHAT?!" She was certainly looking at him now, and what a look it was; eyebrows so close to her hairline they blended right in, mouth hanging open. "That's- you're- no! What on- can't believe you'd- Al!"

"Well, you act that way!" A distressing thought came to him. "Wait... you couldn't be, because then I'd be-"

"That's not even funny," she said immediately, sensing his thought patterns even before he'd fully recognised what they meant; he shuddered, flesh crawling. Without warning, she took off at a brisk walk, probably to try and discharge some of the odd tension. "I'm... okay, fine, if we must use the word 'jealous', I'm jealous of you."

"Really?" Now that they had put one truly unsettling idea to rest, he could have fun with this again. "I didn't know you thought of Wendelyne that way."

"You want to be hexed, don't you? Is this some new masochistic tendency you're feeling out?" Gritting her teeth, she said, "You got to be the first of us, lunkhead. Y'know, the first who went on a... and then had a..."

"Boy, did I have a..."

Her ears were already pink enough from discussing this sort of thing with a close family member, and reddened further at his last comment; Albus had a feeling if it had been anyone but him, her throat would have closed as a defense mechanism long ago. "What I'm trying to say here, Albie, is that it's almost like you got to grow up first. Like you left me behind."

"Oh, is that all?" He tutted, bumping into her with his shoulder. "Talking nonsense, you know."

She snorted distractedly. "I know, but... I can't help it, that's how it feels. And it's not like I wanted to be first, like it was some mad race, but I still felt I lost anyway. D'you understand?"

"Not in the slightest." When her mouth dropped open again, he laughed, "Yes, I mean, yes! Sorry."

"Lunkhead," she repeated.

"But come off it, you'll be asked out sooner or later, yeah? Won't be long before we're on equal footing again."

"Who says I haven't been asked out?"

It was Albus's turn to be caught unawares, nearly stumbling. "What? But- but when did this-"

"A couple of days before you got asked," she said, her entire face threatening to out-crimson her hair. "Some third-year, can't remember his name - don't really fancy him, that's a cert, so I told him to get lost. Unlike some boys who will go out with people they actively dislike..."

"Hey!"

Allowing herself a healthy cackle, she stopped to lean back against the statue of the nameless hero of wizardkind, chewing the inside of her cheek. "Speaking of... what's your next move?"

"Move...?"

"With Wendelyne! Not that I want to think about this, but she's planted one on you - isn't it your turn to at least broach the subject?"

Albus's stomach began to flutter as he realised how stupid he'd been; this was coming all along, and he was woefully underprepared. A vast plane of imposing possibilities sprung up before him, ploys and clever turns of phrase that could just as equally woo her as backfire and leave him looking like an inept clot.

"Al, you okay?"

"Sure, just... since when was there all this cotton in my mouth?"

Rose sighed dramatically, walking over to snag his neck with her elbow and pull her toward him. "Poor little Albie, hasn't a clue what to do with his new female friend! Guess I'll just have to play Cyrano, won't I?"

"No!" he responded instinctively; as it dawned on him exactly how involved she meant to become, a sense of foreboding spread through him like ice-water. "Please, I- I can handle this myself, seriously, let-"

"Of course you can," she told him in a mock-baby voice.

o o o

Rose did indeed make good on her promise to guide Albus through the murky waters of love, though for all he could determine she was steering him straight into the mouth of Hell itself. Albus didn't much see the point, as Wendelyne somehow circumvented Hogwarts's anti-Disapparition charms whenever he came within a thirty-foot radius of her, but Rose insisted that they need only find the right way to approach her and he could win the fair maiden over. Every day, between and during classes, and moreso at mealtimes and before Quidditch practise, she bounced a myriad of inane schemes off him, each one sounding more dangerous or humiliating than the last.

"Why in Merlin's name would I dress up as cupid?!"

"No, listen, I was thinking about this during practise last night," she gushed excitedly. "You get this toga, see, and I'm sure we can find an old bow and arrow around here somewh-"

"No! A thousand times, no, I will not - it's all I need for Scorpius and the Slytherins to hear I've been parading about the castle in a glorified nappy!"

"But I've got the beginnings of a poem, still eking it out, it's great, listen: 'Wendelyne, Wendelyne, fairest hair I've ever seen; her eyes are like the dawn, it's true, I'd l-'"

"Forget it!"

As the rest of February flowed imperceptibly into the beginning of March, their schoolwork brought new meaning to the word "toil", and eventually Rose's plotting grew more sparse as they renewed their concentration on their studies. This isn't to say there weren't other distractions, including the astounding prowess both Wendelyne and Jezabel showed at staying out of sight (Albus wondered if they were using the same methods), the fact that neither staff member nor student had the barest inkling of what was making the ghosts go haywire, and why Ryan Macmillan sought more and more opportunities to bother Albus. All of these things combined threatened to force them into repeating fifth year.

"We have to do something," said Rose fretfully one night. "This blasted Care of Magical Creatures essay - I didn't think we even did essays in Magical Creatures, can Hagrid even read them, anyway?!"

Albus was so surprised at her he dropped his quill, blotting his own essay. "Rose!"

Squirming ashamedly, she stuck her nose deep into the Monster Book Of Monsters - which Albus thought wasn't exactly wise. "I didn't mean that... blimey, that was low of me, I apologise. But this stress is driving me up the walls!"

Evidently, the stress was also getting to Jocasta O'Quin, who began complaining of terrible itchy rashes later that week. Many wondered if her contagion had come back, but Madam Pomfrey quashed those rumours by blustering, "You can't RELAPSE into spattergroit!" at a worried group of Ravenclaw second-years.

Unfortunately, the same nerves seemed to be manifesting themselves in other students differently - among them being Lily's two lovelorn friends, Tanith Moon and Kayla Sylvanus. These co-conspirators decided to confront Wendelyne out on the lawns one Sunday afternoon after an unwelcome, impromptu Quidditch practise Olivia had called to try out her new strategies, which Albus thought ached as much as their old strategies. Luck was not on their side, however; they had been waiting for her just outside the locker room door, thinking her to be the last one out, and Albus had bent down to do up his shoelace just inside it.

"We'd like a word with you," the voice of Kayla informed her in crisp tones.

"Oh, really?" said Wendelyne coldly.

"Albus Potter." That would be Tanith. Albus could feel his face growing hot already, but he remained calm enough to freeze on the spot, listening intently and not daring make a sound.

"Yeah?" A snort of derision - Wendelyne. "What about him?"

"It's not fair, you tying him up like this when you're obviously not really interested!" Kayla accused her. "Why not let someone else have a go?"

'If only there were some way to crawl back into the showers unnoticed,' he thought miserably.

"'Have a go'? I hadn't realised Albus was a school broom we're supposed to be sharing." In spite of the situation, he couldn't help but grin - that was a sharp one.

"You don't deny you're leading him on, then!"

"I didn't confirm it, either," Wendelyne growled. "What do you know about it, anyway?"

"We've seen the looks you keep giving each other," said Tanith. "And what about that Hogsmeade weekend? You went into the village together!"

"We are both on the House team, you know. Can't fellow athletes enjoy a conversation without the wide wizarding world losing their heads?"

"But he's much too exquisite to keep all for yourself!" Albus would have done anything in the world to unhear Kayla's passionate words, but it was far, far too late - and it soon became clear they weren't at all finished. "Those breathtaking eyes!"

"The way his hair always looks like he's just been for a jog," said Tanith dreamily.

Kayla laughed wickedly. "Wish he would - I love it when he gets all worked up, it's so cute! Remember when he caught us fighting over the quill? Ooh, seeing him sweat like that, I could have-"

"All right, that's enough from the fan club," said Wendelyne. "There can be no denying he's a beautiful man, but he's... kind of spoken for."

"Which is so horrible of you!" shouted Tanith unexpectedly - it was the first time Albus could ever recall hearing the girl raise her voice. "He's barely sixteen, can't you let him window shop a while longer before you tie him down?"

"Wouldn't mind seeing him tied down, either," came Kayla's bawdy comment, which nearly made Albus gasp aloud. Much worse was the way all three of them giggled, and he was busy biting his knuckles to keep from doing anything silly when Wendelyne managed speech again.

"A worthy fantasy, but there's someone... I don't know who, but she must be one incredible witch."

"What are you talking about?" said Tanith through the last of her giggles. "I've never seen him with anybody but you."

"Nor have I, but... but there's a girl out there who's caught all of his attentions. I can feel it."

Kayla seemed to be having a hard time processing her words. "So you and he, you're not... but we heard you kissed him!"

"Well, that may or may not be true," she replied evasively.

"Oh, come off it - did it happen or not?"

But apparently Wendelyne had set off for the castle, as their indignant cries slowly began to fade. Finally, when they had grown entirely silent, Albus breathed a huge gust of relief and slumped against the wall, clutching his heart. 'They're mental,' he thought, 'they have to be - why are they all so fixated on me?'

At the same time, however, he thought he oughtn't be so shocked; he wasn't necessarily ugly, and every bloke had to be fancied by some women in their lives or else the human race would die out. Why was it so strange three vivacious young things had warmed up to him in the same year? But this optimistic (and ego-feeding) logic didn't truly convince him, and he replayed their conversation in his mind, trying his absolute best not to dwell on the lewdest parts and concentrate instead on the information he'd gleaned.

Wendelyne was of the opinion that he fancied someone else. Who? Albus found himself praying earnestly that she wasn't thinking of Madam Chang, and that the annoyingly persistent rumours about he and Rose didn't play any part, either. Beyond those, he was very much in the dark. More importantly, he needed to find a way to convince her otherwise; not only was she comely, but the sparse time they had spent together had been nice, possibly "felt right", and he'd like to explore that. In addition, the way she had just defended his honour made him yet more fond of the Chaser than before - maybe she wasn't perfect, but a good egg, really. He wanted to have another try at going out; why didn't she?

o o o

Without revealing the full extent of its contents and thereby causing all the blood vessels in his face to rupture, Albus related what he'd accidentally eavesdropped on to Rose that evening in the library while they failed to pour over their Divination and Muggle Studies homework, respectively.

"And that's all they said?" said Rose suspiciously; so much for creative editing.

"More or less, and do us a favour and drop it," he muttered. "The point is... all three of them are taken with me for whatever reason, but now Wendelyne's told them I like some mystery girl that doesn't exist. What am I supposed to do about this mess?"

"Right, then," she said, pulling out a sheaf of blank parchment and writing 'ALBIE'S INAMORATAS' across the top in her loopy handwriting. "Let's break this down and attack the easiest bits first. Kayla - what do we know about her?"

"W-well," he said uncomfortably, watching Rose's quill intently. "She's got dark hair, right? Usually in pigtails... sort of upturned nose-"

"No, I mean about her personality! Merlin, Al, you really are a man, aren't you?"

"Oi!" He grunted thoughtfully, stung by her comment. "Kayla, Kayla Sylvanus... well, she hangs around with Tanith and Lily all the time. Never spoken to her much myself. Should we ask Lily more about them?"

"Are you off your trolley?!" she hissed, eyes popping. "Let slip to Lily you're onto them and you'll be fielding it from all sides before you can blink!"

"But Lily won't want to talk to them about this, either," said Albus confidently. "I know I'd rather throw myself off the Astronomy Tower than help Joseph Moran bag my own sister."

Rose pondered that for a moment. "Y'know, that's fairly sound reasoning; your discussing it with me isn't doing wonders for my digestion, I can tell you. But wouldn't that also mean she'd do her nut if you brought it up at all?"

Albus glanced over her shoulder, smiling faintly. "Let's find out. Psst! Lily!"

"What?" Rose hissed. "No way, she can't be right behind- that's- oh, bollocks."

It took a few more tries to get Lily's attention without rousing the ire of Madam Pince, but she eventually slipped away from the table where she was discussing something quietly with Nathaniel Peasegood, a rather gangly boy in her year. When he saw the direction she was headed, he jumped and rushed out of the library, robes flapping wildly.

"What's his problem?" Albus asked.

"Never you mind," Lily shot at him, glancing at Rose. She raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. "What do you want?"

"Well... perhaps you'd better sit." When she had, he leaned over and whispered, "Have er... that is... wow, Rose, you were right, this is odd."

"Have Kayla and Tanith been whispering sweet nothings to each other about Albus lately?" said Rose bluntly, gazing at the ceiling.

"Er," Lily echoed her brother, also displeased at being forced to discuss this; her freckles seemed to darken. "Y-yeah, maybe. I've been trying to blank most of it out."

"What, then?!" they said in unison, leaning in.

"Oh, must I?" she pouted. "It's bad enough having to hear it in the first place!"

"Come on, just get it over with," Rose encouraged her, quill scratching away already. "We're trying to make sense of Albus's situation, here; we need some solid clues."

She continued to squirm. "Well... there've been lots of things. They talk about how great you are at Quidditch, and your 'looks'-" she threw in a "pah" here Albus could have done without "-and how your marks are high but not the highest, which apparently means you're clever but not a workaholic, and therefore 'perfect steady material'. Shall I go on?"

"If you like," said Albus pleasantly; once he got past the fact his sister was telling him these things, they were quite flattering, and he didn't mind basking in it. Meanwhile, Lily continued to look greener.

"Let's see... they did say something yesterday about pinning you down, taking an entire bottle of chocolate syrup and squir-"

"OKAY!" said Rose, quite louder than she intended as Albus lapsed into a coughing fit. "Enough's enough!"

"I quite agree!" hissed Madam Pince from behind a bookcase. "You will please keep it down or remove yourselves from the library at once!"

"Yes, Ma'am," they blurted in unison, slumping down in their seats.

The three of them spent a great deal longer discussing this than Albus had imagined possible, and their summit was punctuated by a wealth of uneasy moments and revelations that should have been left unrevealed. By the time it was all over they'd reached a conclusion that only made him regret ever having asked for advice from either relation - and been chucked out of the library in the process.

"Both at once?!" he said at last, stopping in his tracks halfway along the Fat Lady's corridor. "Of all the- I'm not that kind of wizard!"

"Tell both of them at once," she clarified, eyes squeezed shut. "What a pig."

"That's your amazing plan?" he snorted, still feeling lightheaded at the briefly-pondered prospect.

"It is!" said Rose defiantly.

"Weak; I think your first plan was better."

"Come on, you git, they're both coming at this from the same direction; it'll spare you having to do it twice."

"But Rose, then there's two of them to attack me!"

"They're not going to attack you," Lily sighed impatiently.

"Actually, they might," Rose conceded, frowning. "Kayla and Tanith? Wouldn't put it past them. Fine, I'll hide somewhere, and you can bring them to the spot to do the deed, so if things get out of-"

"Oh, no," he told her hurriedly, waving a hand in front of him as if to ward off a Dark creature. "I'd prefer you weren't there to hear that."

"Listen to him," said Lily in a monotone. "You'll thank us later."

"Hang on... you're having me on."

"Hmm?"

Albus held up the parchment Rose had been taking notes on for Lily, pointing to the last section. "Look at what she's got down for me to approach Wendelyne: 'Ask her to go for a walk.' This is the best you can do?"

Rose was almost shouting now. "It doesn't help when somebody defenestrates all your other ideas! The toboggan, the cupid, the pack of owls-"

"Those were horribly embarrassing notions, Rose! What was that one about running through the school starkers, singing an ancient Weird Sisters song and waving a ribbon like-?"

"Okay, okay, that wasn't my greatest. But the photograph with you lounging tastefully in magenta-"

"Shh," Lily whispered. "D'you hear that?"

They squinted into the dark shadows of the corridor, straining to hear anything, but all was silent. "Is it the sound of your brain trying to function?" Albus whispered. "You might try a Lubrication Charm to get those rusty gears moving agai-"

"Shh!" It was Rose this time, and she pointed toward a dark branching corridor down which Albus had seldom ventured. Shrugging at the two girls, he drew his wand, muttered "Lumos!" and led the way, searching out the source of the disturbance.

"I think this is it," he said superfluously when they reached the quaking suit of armour. Not that it was terribly unusual for plate mail to move of its own accord at Hogwarts, but the suits didn't usually rattle loud enough to be noticed from a great distance, and they'd never heard anything at all from this particular section of the castle. Steeling his resolve, Albus renewed his grip on his wand, reached a trembling hand out and raised the visor.

"Hllph!" a muffled cry bade them, straw-coloured hair almost hiding the being's wide eyes completely. "I cnnh ghhd hnnnt!"

"Holy hippogriffs," breathed Albus. "Ryan?!"

END Chapter Twenty-Four