The Intentional Accident

Sirius and Michael found that married life was not all that different to their lives beforehand. They had lived together ever since leaving Hogwarts, only now the whole arrangement felt more official, more formalised somehow. Not that it mattered to either of them; in their hearts they had been married the whole time. Now it was just down on paper for all to see. The months rolled on, Sirius becoming more and more heavily pregnant with each passing day. With the Cup Final fast approaching, Michael was away at practice almost every day of the week. Not once did Sirius complain about this, though he knew that the Final was not the only thing that was fast approaching. It had to be any day now.

The rest of his team had arranged to take Michael out for a drink after a particularly long training session. The reason was, of course, to celebrate his impending fatherhood. It had taken some coaxing, but they finally managed to drag him down to the Leaky Cauldron via the Floo Network. He limited himself to Butterbeer, keeping in mind what happened the last time he got drunk. He didn't plan to stay long, but all the same, he was finding it hard to leave. For the first time in many months, he was just relaxing and enjoying himself with a group of friends that he relied on and trusted. He was so content in his present company, that he never noticed six members of the Ballycastle Bats sitting at the other end of the pub. That is, not until one of them noticed him. It had been years since they had last spoken, but Scott Finnigan clapped Michael on the shoulder as if those years had never happened.

"Hey Mikey! How you doing, mate?" he slurred drunkenly. His obnoxious features were inches away from Michael's. It was obvious that he had enough to drink not to realise that speaking to Michael was going to end in disaster. Michael forced himself to remain civil, though his grip on his glass became dangerously tight.

"Hello Scott," he said flatly. The rest of his team were surprised at how controlled Michael was, though inside he was fighting the urge to punch his lights out. He was determined not to sink to Scott's level, no matter how wonderfully satisfying it would feel.

"It's been ages, hasn't it? Mind if I sit down?"

"I would mind it very much," stated Michael. The overconfident tone of Scott's voice had dealt Michael's sense of self-control a mighty blow.

"Cheers," said Scott as he sat down next to Michael, amid icy glares from the rest of the table. He had either not heard him or not particularly cared. "Well this is great, ay? How you doing?" he asked for the second time.

"Still as easily upset as ever," said Michael through gritted teeth, remembering the lies Scott had sold to the press.

"What?" There was a slight pause while Scott tried to figure out what he was on about. It suddenly dawned on him. "Oh that? That ...that was uh ... nothing, Mikey boy. No hard feelings, ay?"

"You bastard," growled Michael almost inaudibly. He had to put his glass down for fear of breaking it. "You total bastard. How can you sit there and pretend it never happened? Did selling your bullshit to the press give you some kind of satisfaction after your team lost?"

"Well, there was the money as well. That was good." Somehow, Michael's self restraint was still intact, even though it had taken a battering. His teammates were watching on intently, unsure of whether to intervene or not.

"Get lost," Michael snarled.

"Not too friendly, are we?" laughed Scott. He was either drunk or arrogant, but in truth it was both. "Who reads the papers nowadays anyway, huh? I don't read them all that much ....hey is it actually true that Queerius is having a baby? That was what I used to call him, remember?"

So much happened so quickly. Michael saw red and swung a heavy punch round into Scott's face. Scott tumbled backwards off his chair and landed a few feet away. Michael jumped up out of his seat, knocking it to the floor at the same time. His teammates rose rapidly as well, mingled looks on their faces. Scott scrambled pathetically to his feet, clumsily pulling out his wand, only to find that Michael had done the same. The Ballycastle Bats came over from the other side of the pub. It looked as if an all out fight was about to commence between the two teams. Michael glared into Scott's eyes, staring him down. Scott had begun to sweat, he was anxious.

"All right gents, that's enough, that's enough," sighed Tom from behind the bar. Michael turned his gaze towards the Ballycastle Bats. Thinking of how Sirius would react if he got into a full on battle with these guys, he calmed down and let his wand arm drop to his side.

"You're not worth it," he stated as he turned to rejoin his team. When his back was fully turned, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Although he was drunk, Scott's Stinging Hex had hit its target. Despite the pain, Michael swirled around and blasted Scott with a Stunning spell, sending him flying backwards. He crashed heavily into the table behind him, slumping on the wreckage. Michael turned towards Scott's team; sure that he had now initiated a terrible scrap. To his surprise, they were laughing, guffawing even at Scott. They hadn't come over to start a fight and support their teammate; they had come to see him get his arse kicked. They must have disliked him as much as Michael. Looking behind him, he saw that his own teammates were laughing as well, but they also had their wands out. They had been perfectly prepared to stand by Michael if it came to it. Elated by his teammates, he strode over to Scott, who looked up at him dazedly. "You stay the hell away from me and my family, got that?" He tried his best to sound firm, but even he couldn't hide his chortles as he looked down at the defeated Scott. After repairing the table and apologising to Tom, the Puddlemere United players left for their separate homes, leaving Scott to wallow in his humiliation.

~|~

When he got home, Michael found Sirius in the shower so naturally he joined him. As Michael bent down to run a soapy sponge over his husband's stomach, Sirius saw the burn mark on Michael's shoulder.

"You've been hurt." There was no way Michael was going to tell Sirius about his run-in with Scott. It would only upset him.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a scratch."

"That's more than a scratch. You can't fool me, Mike. Don't forget, I'm a Healer. That looks distinctly like the mark left by a Stinging Hex."

"Well, you can always kiss it better, if you like," whispered Michael. While Sirius proceeded to do so, miles away sat a humiliated young man, eager to get his own back.