Amici ed Amanti

Amici ed Amanti

Torn – Part 1

I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
You're a little late, I'm already torn. Torn.
~ Natalie Imbruglia - "Torn"

He stepped out of the British Ministry of Magic after taking a Porkey over from Paris. Somehow he had managed to escape notice by his Grandfather, an aunt and two uncles who all worked in the building. Now, the trick was to get through Diagon Alley. No small feat for someone who was half-Weasley and therefore related to most of the Wizarding population of England by blood or marriage.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see his family, it was just he had other pressing business in town and simply didn't need the distraction. They'd want to see him and have him over for dinner and he just didn't want to be bothered. Maybe later, if things worked according to plan then he'd be more than thrilled to see Mum. Besides, he'd be seeing her in a few weeks for her birthday anyway.

He could see the Quality Quidditch Supplies from where he stood. It was so tempting and he did need new shin guards before he returned to Rome. His team, the Gladiators, was playing for the city championship in a couple weeks. His eyes darted over the crowded street looking for telltale red hair as he weighed his options. After seeing a shock of untidy black hair over near the shop, he decided not to chance it.

He Apparated to a small walled garden just outside of a gray stone building on the outskirts of London. After removing the wards, he promptly made himself at home in Murphy's flat, taking over the second bedroom as his own. He carefully put away all of his this things just in case the afternoon went better than expected and he had company for the night.

He couldn't help grinning at the pleasantness of that thought. Ever since his last night in Pimbino with Lucy Ann, he couldn't stop thinking about her. How she looked, how she smelled, how she felt, her reaction to his touch. And her reaction had very nearly scared him to death - he'd never wanted to be with someone so badly in all his life.

It had taken him a while to reconcile with the idea that he was in love with his best friend - the better part of two months, actually. He regretted how badly the last few days of her visit had gone, but he was determined to set things right now.

Liam couldn't believe how nervous he was once he stepped foot in the British Museum. Women didn't do this to him, well, not after the Sarea Okelani fiasco when he fifteen, but this time it was different. Different in the best possible of ways.

After bullying a security guard and name dropping on to a secretary, he found himself in a long and some what messy work room with offices at the far end. He walked past tables covered with priceless historical artifacts in various states of restoration. It was half past six and the place was nearly deserted.

"Excuse me," he said softly to a young woman who was bent over a canvas very carefully rubbing the edges with a rubber. "Could you please tell where I could find Miss Lucy Ann Honeychurch? I was told she was still here."

"Yes." She looked up then, her eyes going wide in surprise. "Uhm…she's in her office. Follow me." She slid off the high stool, motioning for him to follow her through a set of double doors that led to more offices. She stopped about half way down the corridor. "Lucy? There's a handsome gentleman here to see you."

"Tell him I'll be right out," she called from somewhere in the depths beyond a curtained doorway.

The woman left him alone to wait for his best friend to emerge. He unconsciously straightened his causal deep blue robes and ran his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath, willing the Snitches fluttering in his stomach to be still. The very thought of Lucy Ann was wrecking havoc on his senses. It was all so new and very exciting. Two months of trying to figure out what he wanted and now the moment was here.

Two of the longest months of his life. But today was the day things were going to be set right.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, Tav," Lucy Ann apologized, pulling back the curtain. "I got side tracked with an interesting little piece from the Valley of the Kings."

"Goose?" Liam asked in confusion. He quickly noted she was dressed in the black silk crepe dress that was nearly his undoing in Pimbino. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled as the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

"Liam! What are you doing here?" Shock was clearly written on her face.

"I'm in town for a few days. I thought I'd pop in and surprise you," he said, hoping he sounded unaffected.

"Well, you did surprise me," she responded nervously as she tried to look past him. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be in London?"

"There'd been no surprise then now would there?" He gave her a half-smile.

"Yes, right, no surprise."

"I thought we could get some dinner and catch up."

"I wish I'd known you were coming because now isn't a good time."

It felt like a heavy stone was just dropped in the pit of his stomach. She had always had time for him before no matter what. "I need to talk you, Lucy Ann," he almost pleaded. "It's important. I've been doing a lot of thinking. I've been so stup-"

"Liam," she said softly, cutting him off. "Now isn't the time."

"What do you mean now isn't the time?"

"Lucy Ann, are you ready?" asked a deep voice laced liberally with a Scottish burr from the doorway. "I'm sorry I'm late. I got hung up at practice." A very tall, well built man with brown hair falling into his dark eyes stepped into the office just then.

Liam turned to face the intruder and was met with a questioning stare.

"Tavish!" Lucy Ann said hurriedly, quickly taking up position at his side.

Liam watched as the tall bloke brushed her cheek with a quick kiss while she smiled up at him.

"These are for you," he said, making a show of the dozen yellow roses he held. "You look smashing."

"Thank you, they're lovely. I need to put them in some water." Her eyes locked with Liam's increasingly stormy gray eyes. "Liam, I believe you know Tavish Wood. Tav, you remember Liam Malfoy from school?"

"Yes," they said simultaneously, neither bothering to disguise the immediate dislike they had for one another.

Tavish watched Lucy Ann walk out of the room with the roses before he turned on Liam. "Yes, I remember you. My baby sister used to kick your sorry Slytherin arse on the pitch back at Hogwarts."

"As I recall, we won the Quidditch Cup every year I was on the team," Liam said coolly.

"If you're so good, why aren't you playing professionally?" he taunted. "Daddy couldn't buy you a position?"

"My father doesn't have to buy me anything. I earn what is mine."

"Oh, is that why you're working for Daddy and living in Italy? Don't you play for some second rate city league?"

"I don't have to justify myself to you," Liam sneered as he regarded his rival through narrowed eyes. He would have given anything to hex the bloody wanker six ways to Sunday. His fingers nimbly caressed the hilt of his ebony wand. The only thing that stopped him was Lucy Ann - she probably wouldn't approve of that.

"No, you don't, I suppose, but it matters not. I got the girl."

Lucy Ann's reappearance stopped him from putting that arrogant poncy bastard in his place. There were no words to describe how much he hated anyone with the last name Wood. Erin drove him nearly nutters for four years at Hogwarts with her incessant obsessing over Quidditch. He gladly knocked her off her broom once during a heated match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Wasn't the least bit sorry she was in the Infirmary two days, nope, not at all. Tavish graduated before he could join the team so he had never really dealt with him until now.

"We'll see about that," Liam muttered.

"Offering a bit of friendly competition then?" Tavish asked, a smug smile gracing his mouth.

"You, me, Quidditch pitch. Name when and where and I'll take you down," Liam challenged. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to see that git's face smashed into the pitch.

"William Malfoy! What has gotten into you?" she asked exasperatedly.

"We need to talk," he implored, starting across the room toward her. "Now."

She sighed in frustration. "Can't you see that I'm about to go out for the evening?"

"This can't wait!"

"It'll have to, Liam. If I'd known you were coming, I might have been able to work you into my schedule."

"Tomorrow then?" he said, coming as close to begging as a Malfoy would ever get.

"Can't. I'm going away for the weekend with Tavish."

The prat gave him a slow smile that made him want to just wipe it off the face of the Earth.

"Lucy Ann, please."

"We need to go, Gorgeous, before we're too late," Tavish prompted.

"I'm sorry, Liam, now is just not a good time. Maybe the next time you're in town."

Liam stood and watched in disbelief as she took Tavish's hand and allowed him to lead her out of the office. She didn't look back.

He could barely catch his breath as pain tightened his chest.

This was wrong.

All wrong. Things weren't supposed to go this way.

He had thrown caution to the wind, showed up in London to confess everything. How sorry he was for what happened in Rome, that he was bleeding idiot. He wanted to get down on his knees and beg her forgiveness, convince her that he truly did love her and then snog her senseless. He'd had it all planned out. She'd forgive him and then she'd tell him how much she loved him. They go to his parents to announce their engagement. Mum wouldn't be happy at first, but she'd get over it. They'd marry before the year was out and live happily ever after, maybe even have a couple little witches and wizards of their own.

That was the plan.

And now that plan was now shot all to hell.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he took a couple deep breaths in order to regain some sense of control. It was hard, but he managed to resist the urge to decapitate the yellow roses on her desk before opening a drawer and dropping in the jar of her favorite strawberry jam he'd brought with him from Italy.

The little walled garden was dark when he Apparated back to the Murphy's little cottage, but all the lights were on. He slammed the door and stalked into the living room. "Did you know that she's seeing that Gryffindor bastard, Wood? And he bought her yellow roses! Yellow roses! She doesn't even like roses," he complained bitterly. "Who gives a Slytherin yellow roses?"

He turned to face Murphy, but instead found five pairs of eyes watching him curiously. Murphy was sitting with Meredith on the sofa, Stephie and Ashton were occupying a chair while Gareth lounged on the floor.

"Her favorite flower is heather…" he trailed off, suddenly feeling very self conscious about his little outburst. "Hullo."

"Hullo," Murphy offered, breaking the uneasy silence.

"I hope you don't mind. I didn't want to deal with Mum."

"No, no. Of course I don't mind."

"Mum is going to kill you if she finds out," Gareth warned, getting up off the floor to hug his brother. "But it's good to see you!"

"She's not going to find out I was here." He took turns hugging his friends and catching up for a few moments, taking comfort in the fact that they, at least, still loved him. He shook hands with Ashton, feeling a bit awkward around Lucy Ann's older brother.

"Do you want something to eat?" Meredith asked, hugging him tightly and not letting go. "You must be famished."

"Now, now woman, remember you're with me now and no longer in the William Draco Malfoy fan club," Murphy joked as he pulled his fiancée away from his best friend. "Dare I ask why you're here under the cover of night?"

Liam caught the knowing glance that passed between Meredith and Stephie. He didn't even want to fathom what that could have meant.

"I had some business in town I needed to take care of privately," he replied somewhat defensively.

"Good Merlin, man, no need to get your knickers in a bunch. I just asked a question." Murphy regarded him with furrowed brows.

"It has to do with my sister, doesn't it?" Ashton chimed in.

"Ashton," Stephie said quietly before whispering something in his ear.

"A bloody Gryffindor?" Liam cried in frustration as he began to pace around the small sitting room. "A bloody fucking Gryffindor. And Wood? How could she?" Everyone just stared at him with mouths agape. "I came here to make things right only to find she's taken up with him! She didn't even tell me! I'm her best friend! She tells me everything!"

The only sound in the room was Liam's harsh breathing from his outburst. No one dared to utter a word, but they all continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"You knew?" he accused. "You all knew and didn't bother to tell me!"

He didn't wait for the answer that he was sure to come so he retreated to his room before he gave into the intense desire to hex them all to hell and back more than a few times. He took up position on the widow seat with his arms wrapped around his drawn up knees, rocking back and forth in an attempt to stave off the bitter taste of betrayal.

Lucy Ann was at some function with a handsome Quidditch player wearing a dress he bought for her, having a good time. His so called friends knew all about it, but didn't bother to tell him a thing. Even his own brother was in on it. Everyone had moved on with their lives and forgot to mention it to him.

He'd never felt so alone before in his life.

"You know, you really need to learn stronger locking charms," Murphy said. "A child could break through the one you had on the door."

Liam just leveled his other best friend with a steely stare.

"Yes, right," he squirmed a bit. "Care to tell me what all of this about?"

"I thought she was my friend."

"Luce? She is your friend."

"I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend. What's this all about?" Murphy leaned against the wall next to the window seat.

"I wanted to make things right with Lucy Ann."

"Things having to do with what went down in Italy?"

Liam nodded slowly. "I was stupid and wrong and I wanted to make it up to her."

"She was pretty devastated when she returned home."

"I know." He regretted what happened between them more than he could ever put into words.

"So you thought you'd show up after a while to ‘make things right' between you two?"

"That was the plan."

"Ah, but why are you so upset that she's dating Tav?"

"Tav? You call that bastard Tav?" Liam's voice rose with anger.

"Yeah, Mere and I have been out with them a couple times. He's a good guy. We all like him a lot."

"Well, he's a bloody wanker and doesn't deserve Lucy Ann!"

"Where is this coming from all the sudden? You're not telling me everything. What happened in Italy?"

"Nothing happened."

"Nothing? This doesn't seem like nothing."

"You can just stop your little Auror interrogation tactics."

"I'm just trying to figure out what is going on, nothing more."

"Nothing is going on, at least not now anyway. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what? About Tav? Liam, you've barely spoken to anyone in months."

"You could have owled me."

Murphy groaned in frustration. "And say what? Oh by the way, I know you're all busy brooding, but Lucy Ann has a boyfriend. You used to never care before, all that much anyway. Besides, I can't recall ever seeing Luce this happy."

He sighed. "It doesn't matter now."

"Don't you have a girlfriend - fantastic looking Italian witch with the best set of tits I've ever laid eyes on?"

"Broke up with her."

"What?" Murphy asked in shock. "Why?"

"Bored and she was very nasty to Lucy Ann."

"And now you come here to drown your sorrows with her like always and you've found she doesn't have time for you."

Liam closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window, debating whether or not to just tell Murphy everything. He could unburden his soul. Although deep down he knew that only Lucy Ann could put an end to his suffering one way or another. He had to know. Then maybe he could finally quell his racing mind.

"You should have told someone you were coming," Murphy chided. "You could have saved yourself a good bit of trouble."

"I love her," he said very softly.

"Pardon?"

He picked his head up and looked directly at his other best friend. "I'm in love with Lucy Ann."

"Oh."

~*~