When Fate Has A Say

Alicia awoke with a groan, her head splitting apart with a massive headache. She was laying on her back in her bed, and couldn't think about anything- especially how she ended up here- except how she was about to hurl.

As soon as she groaned, a cool, callused hand was laid on her forehead, stroking back her hair. "Mum?" Alicia managed to ask, keeping her eyes closed. Better that she didn't open them; she was afraid that seeing anything might make her body rid itself of whatever was in her stomach.

There was a low chuckle from the left side of the bed, sounding strangely familiar. "You're pretty far off the mark, Alicia. Wrong age, wrong sex, and most definitely not related to you."

"Fuck you, Harry." She reached up with one weak arm and pushed his hand away, opening her eyes. "How the hell did I get back here? What happened last night..." She trailed off, seeing that Harry was looking at her with concern in every bit of his green eyes.

She could remember everything now- meeting Mandy, how she was impossible to dislike, and how she had tried to find something about the curly-haired girl that she could justify hating. But there had been nothing, and her heart had been ripped out of her chest any time that Harry looked at her.

And then how there had been plenty of strong alcohol, and she had drowned her sorrows in shot glasses... "Never mind." Alicia pulled the covers up over her head, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill over.

There was utter silence from Harry, but no sound of him leaving the room. "Go away, please," Alicia said. How could he do this to her, even if he didn't know what she was feeling?

Still nothing.

"Look, Alicia," Harry's voice was strained, as though he had rehearsed what he was going to say dozens of times in his head. "Fred and George decided to have a celebration party for Oliver and Katie, just for the old team. And Katie asked me to come and check up on you, because she's at Oliver's."

It took a moment for Alicia's mind to clear. "What do you mean, a party for Oliver and Katie?" she demanded, throwing the covers back. God, she had to look like shit. Harry, however, managed to look perfect with his mussed hair and messy clothes. Why was it that he could do that?

"Were you that drunk?" Harry lifted his eyebrows. "It was a big deal. The Prides won, and Oliver called Katie down onto the Quidditch pitch. Then he proposed to her- right there in front of the entire world. Everyone was screaming 'yes'. Katie looked like she was about to die, but she said yes."

Alicia grinned; it was time that Katie and Oliver got married. It would make the flat doubly lonely, but Katie deserved a great guy to spend the rest of her life with. "When is it?" she asked, trying not to think of the great guy that she would never get to spend her life with.

"Tomorrow, accounting for the fact that you wouldn't really be able to come if it was tonight. And, according to George, no dates are allowed. He even has to leave Fleur behind, much to her dismay."

A wave of nausea assailed Alicia, and she fought it back, trying desperately to focus on anything solid. That was just what she needed, to puke in front of Harry. Not that it mattered, she realized. "It wouldn't matter if I could bring a date or not," Alicia mumbled, hoping that Harry didn't hear what she'd said.

She pulled the covers back up over her head. "So you'll come?" Harry asked. Alicia could just imagine him, a smile on his face, looking too damn good to possibly be human.

She said nothing for a long time, hoping that he would leave her to be with her heartache, instead of just making it worse. But, for many minutes, there was no noise that signified Harry leaving. "Fine," she finally whispered, hoping that would be enough for him to go away. "Just leave."

There was a sound of a chair moving, and Harry's footsteps to the door. He opened the door and paused. "Thanks," he said after a long pause, and closed the door behind him.

Alicia buried her head in her pillow and cried.

~~~~~

"Alicia? Are you here?"

Alicia sat up as Katie stuck her head in the door. "Congrats, Katie!" she smiled, taking in the ecstatic grin on the girl's face. "Come on, I can't believe that I was too drunk to remember that- let me see the ring!"

Katie giggled, reminding Alicia of their fifth year, blushing like crazy over Cedric Diggory. She couldn't help but remember that Harry had always been at the back of her mind, despite that. Goddamn him- was he going to haunt her forever?

The blonde sat down on the bed, and removed her ring, still smiling. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Alicia whistled softly. "That had to cost a fortune," she finally managed to say. The ring was delicately made of white gold, a twisting Celtic-type pattern that had a large diamond set in the center. "It's beautiful." She couldn't help but wonder if she was ever going to be laughing, showing a ring off to her best friends. "I heard that Fred and George are throwing a party? What's with that?"

Katie laughed again. "Probably just a chance to turn us all into canaries or something." After the two laughed, she sobered up. "No, they're being really sweet about it. It's just supposed to be a chance for the team to get back together, like old times."

"It's too late to try and make it like old times," Alicia sighed. "You and Oliver are getting married, Angelina's married, George is married, Fred's got a serious girlfriend, and Harry's engaged. And then there's me." Harry engaged. Why wouldn't it go out of her head?

If Alicia was expecting a joke about dating Smith in return, she didn't get it. Instead, Katie was silent for a long moment, and then collected herself. "Look, Alicia. I know that you don't want to admit it, but there's something going on between you and Harry. Mandy noticed- she was a Ravenclaw in Harry's year, so she's quick to get things- even Oliver did, though."

Alicia took a deep breath, not daring to meet Katie's eyes. Had it been that obvious that she was madly in love with Harry? Or did it just like she liked him? It was much more than just liking. "There is something going on between me and Harry," Alicia finally choked out, feeling tears sting her eyes. "But there is nothing going on between Harry and me."

"First big heartache is always the worst," Katie offered, in a small attempt to reassure her.

Alicia almost corrected her; there was a large difference between heartache and what she was going through right now. Heartache required your heart; Harry had stolen hers away, leaving a huge abyss in her chest. "Thanks."

Katie was silent for a long moment longer. "So you really are in love with him, aren't you?" Alicia did not reply, for she was afraid that if she did the tears would well over again. Taking her silence for a yes, Katie continued. "It's odd, I know. I mean, you haven't seen him in what, three years? And all of a sudden you see his picture in the newspaper, and then he's there, standing in front of you. Then there are all of these feelings that you never knew that you had, because you've never had them for anybody. And it's all because of Harry.

"Odd how things work out, huh? I never would have expected George and Fleur to run off together. And I thought for sure that Harry would get married to that Granger girl. But he said- I doubt you remember- that she was seeing that Malfoy git that called her a mudblood in our fourth year. Why she forgave him, I don't know."

Alicia accepted the ramblings as Katie's awkward attempt to try and cheer her up, and managed a response, wondering if Katie had asked Harry to come see her. "Because love does really strange things to people."

Katie fell silent yet again, and Alicia could picture her face, even though she lay with her back towards the other girl. Forehead furrowed in an attempt to think of some clever something that would make Alicia feel better, her eyes full of concern.

Just like Harry's had been.

They did not say anything for quite a few more minutes, Alicia haunted by a pair of emerald green eyes, and Katie by the pain on her roommate's face. "I'm going to be living here until the wedding," Katie announced. "And we don't even know when it's going to be yet. Oliver wants it to be sometime in the next year, but I'm not sure if that's what I want."

"So you won't be leaving me any time soon?" Alicia asked, turning around to face Katie. When the blonde nodded, she laughed. "Good. Because I'd hate to think that I'd have to find another roommate immediately."

"Not for a while," Katie reassured her. "We don't have practice tomorrow, so let's say that we go shopping for clothes before the party. Clothes for the party, that is. You need something new."

"Crap!" Alicia swore. "I forgot to go to the Quality Quidditch Supplies like McGaffin asked me. We'll have to go there, too." And get some really nice clothes so that, if nothing else, Harry will notice me. Even if Mandy is perfect and sweet and deserves someone just like him. She pushed the thought of the curly-haired girl to the back of her mind.

Katie smiled broadly, and Alicia knew that she was thinking that she had cheered her up, maybe cured her of heartbreak. Thinking. "Fine, we'll stop by the Quidditch Supplies first, owl McGaffin, and then go shopping."

Alicia managed the smile that she did not feel in the least.