The gang arrived home shortly after the Quiddich game , but for the first night since they began their stay, they didn’t sleep in the living room. Holly stomped up the stairs after telling the twins that she didn’t want anyone to follow her. Norah and Maria told this to the boys, and mere seconds later, they heard the door to a guest bedroom slam shut. Mrs Macmillan ran into the room.
“What was that?” the frazzled woman asked. She looked frightened, as if she was under the impression that someone was hurt.
“Holly being…Holly,” Alex replied carelessly. He walked to the living room and collapsed onto a sofa, picking up the remote control and clicking the television on.
“Alex!” Zack exclaimed. “Holly’s hurt, and I have no idea why you’re acting like an insensitive jerk!”
“And I have no idea why you’re acting like a menopausal woman,” Alex replied, not looking away from the television.
Zack opened and closed his mouth several times, as though he had something he wanted to say, before turning around and walking out of the kitchen. Jack counted down the seconds on his fingers before another door slammed.
Mrs. Macmillan looked back and forth between the teenagers remaining in the kitchen. “Would anyone care to tell me what happened?”
It was amazing how fast those kids could run after seven years without a physical education class at Hogwarts!
~*~
The next morning, Holly slowly rolled out of bed, literally. She hit the wooden floor with a resounding thud that she was quite sure had woken the entire house up. She stood up, brushed some dust off of her trackies, and walked to the mirror . She looked at her reflection and groaned. Her hair was quite messy, sticking up at random intervals. Her make up from the night before, which she had forgotten to wash off, was smeared around her eyes.
“Ugh,” she groaned softly. She picked up a hairbrush and ran it through her blond locks, grimacing as the brush caught where her hair was tangled tightly.
There was a quiet knock at the door. Holly set the brush down on the vanity and walked over. She opened it a bit and blinked. “What do you want?”
Zack opened the door all the way and walked in. “I wanted to apologise for dragging you back to the changing room last night. You didn’t seem like you wanted to go, but I wanted my free tickets. I’m sorry.”
Holly smiled sadly and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re so sweet,” she said. “Thank you.” She pulled back and kissed him. “Now I hope you don’t mind, I have to get ready for the day.”
Zack grinned. He turned around and walked out of her room, closing the door behind him. Holly sat down on her bed and smiled.
~*~
Jack, Alex, Maria, and Norah sat in the living room. “So what are we going to do tonight?” Maria asked, folding her hands and setting them on her lap.
Alex leaned his head against the back of the chair. “Oh, I dunno. Why don’t we ruin Holly’s life some more?”
“Sounds spectacular,” Jack said dryly. “Why don’t we make fun of her mother to top off her visit?”
Maria put her hand in front of her mouth to hid a smile. “Well, we shouldn’t go out, I don’t think. Mrs Macmillan probably wants us home today anyway.”
“Why?” Jack asked.
“I’m trying to make a point, dear,” Maria said. “And that point is that we should stay home tonight!”
“We’ve stayed home every night this week except yesterday,” Jack whined.
“I went out two nights ago,” Alex pointed out, referring to when he destroyed the church bells.
“Yeah, but that was just you,” Norah said. “We should do something where we all go out.”
“No,” Maria said firmly. “We’ll stay home, and we’ll play a game.”
“Does it involve a board and game pieces?” Alex asked, feigning excitement. The conversation bored him, and so he turned back to the television.
“No.” Maria rolled her eyes. “Let’s play Truth or Dare! Or a drinking game!”
Alex smiled and snapped his attention back to the group. “I’m beginning to like this idea.”
“You would,” Norah scoffed.
“I don’t see anything remotely interesting about playing a drinking game,” Jack pouted.
Maria laughed. “Jack, that’s the point! It isn’t interesting until you’ve drank!”
“Then everything is interesting.” Alex grinned widely.
Norah rolled her eyes. “Really, Alex? Really? Must you be like that?”
~*~
Holly walked down the stairs to find the group sitting at the kitchen table. “Hey,” she said cheerfully.
“Hi,” Norah replied. Maria smiled. Jack, who was slicing cheese at the kitchen counter, waved using the hand holding a very sharp-looking knife. Alex rolled his eyes and took the knife out of his hand.
“I don’t trust you, man,” he said. “Not at all.”
Jack sighed. “Alex, how am I going to finish making breakfast if you won’t let me slice the damn cheese?”
Now it was Alex’s turn to sigh. “You hurt yourself no matter what you do, even carrying a simple shirt to the laundry room, and you expect me to let you cut cheese with a sharp knife?”
“Fine,” Jack said, throwing his arms in the air. “You finish the omelets!” He stalked over to the table, where he sat next to Maria and sulked for the next few minutes.
Alex set about trying to complete the omelets Jack had began, but after cutting open his finger while trying to cut up a tomato, he gave up and magically cleared the counter. Maria rolled her eyes. “Alex, really? You can’t even cook a simple dish consisting of only eggs, cheese, tomatoes, and peppers?”
“That sounds disgusting!” Norah exclaimed. “I’m glad he couldn’t do it!”
“Well without the cheese and vegetables, it would just be bland and flavorless!” Jack exclaimed. “And if you have issues with my cooking, just keep them to yourselves because I will NOT take it!”
“Okay Jackie, calm down,” Maria said, setting her hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, I thought they sounded simply wonderful.”
“Okay, you two, pack it in,” Zack snapped as he entered the kitchen. “I’m tired of thinking that my cousin and best mate have something going on; it’s just not natural.”
Alex opened his mouth as though he had something to say, then thought better of it and turned his attention back to the television.
“Alexander Jeremy Williams actually exercising self-control? Who else thinks the world is coming to a crashing halt?” Zack asked, raising his hand.
Jack eagerly shot his arm in the air. Maria grimaced and lowered his arm. “Jack, don’t provoke him. Remember fifth year, after the chess tournament.”
Jack’s eyes widened and he seemed to shrink, obviously reliving the time when he had beat Alex for the first (and last) time at wizard’s chess. Jack believed he still had the scars from one of Alex’s curses; no one doubted him.
“So, Zack.” Alex turned to him with a somewhat evil grin on his face. “Where’s your father keep the Firewhiskey?”
“ALEX!”
“Only kidding, Mrs Macmillan!”
~*~
Around six o’clock that night, the gang sat in Zack’s backyard with several bottles of Firewhiskey that Alex had curiously managed to steal. Holly was smiling giddily, even though she hadn’t had anything to drink yet, and Zack was debating whether or not to call the whole thing off.
“Alright,” Alex said, throwing a bottle to Jack. “Here’s the rules of the game. Someone says something they haven’t done. If you have done it, you drink. Understood?”
The group collectively nodded, and Alex smiled. He handed everyone a bottle. “Now, let’s see, who wants to go first. No one?” He asked when none of the friends volunteered. “Okay then.” He lay his bottle down on the ground and spun it around. When the bottle slowed to a halt, its neck was pointing at Zack. “Oh, goodie.”
Zack grimaced. “Okay. For lack of something better to say, I’ve never played a drinking game with my friends before.”
Jack and Alex were the only ones who didn’t life their bottles. Maria looked incredulously at Jack, who merely replied with, “I was a very trusting child, okay?”
“So who’s next?” Zack asked.
Alex pointed to Holly, who was sitting next to him. “We go clockwise, for the purposes of this game.”
Holly nodded. “Okay. I have not wanted to kill Alex at any time that I’ve known him.”
Every other person in the group with the exception of Alex drank. “Hey!” Alex yelled. “I’m extremely insulted by that.”
“Well what did you expect?” Zack asked. “You’re very disagreeable.”
Alex rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless. “So, this’ll be my turn. I’ve never liked one of the Macmillan cousins.”
Maria, Norah, and Zack all drank. Everyone’s eyes shot towards Jack, who looked sheepishly towards the ground. Norah looked aghast and then smiled knowingly. “Ha!” she exclaimed. “Oh-ho-ho, Alex got you good! FAIL!”
Jack scowled over at Norah. “And it’s a wonder it’s not you.”
Holly laughed loudly and fell onto Zack’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s not Maria either! Maybe Zack’s mother’s right!”
The rest of the group burst out laughing, including Jack who seemed to be confused as to what was going on. He stopped abruptly. “Wait…”
“Good God, Jack!” Alex exclaimed. “Just admit it! You like Maria!”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “I will do no such thing! Even if it is true…”
“I win!” Alex thrust his fist into the air triumphantly.
“No, you don’t, you idiot!” Norah groaned. “Now not only do we have to deal with Zack and Hol, but we now have Mar and Jack! They’ll be more insufferable than they are alone!”
Maria giggled. “That could be true.”
Jack smiled. Alex mimed vomiting into the bushes behind him.
~*~
Mrs Macmillan lit a candle on the table. It smelled sweet, like a midsummer’s night with a light rain. Mr Macmillan walked into the kitchen, seeing as it was never as dark as now, and looked questioningly at his wife.
“Tori, what’s the meaning of this?”
“It’s not often we get quiet, what with the neighborhood being so loud,” Tori replied. “I figured I’d take advantage of it.” She smiled at Ernie.
Ernie grinned. “Well, by all means, take advantage of it.”
Right as he made his way across the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Tori narrowed her eyes and groaned. “Who is it?” she muttered under her breath. “Who comes to call this late at night?”
Ernie waited in the kitchen, silently telling himself that it was just a sound from the television and Tori would be back within moments, ready to finish what they started.
“Ernie?” Her voice rang through the hall.
“Yes, dear?” Ernie yelled back.
“It would appear that we have some company.”
“Ah, cripes,” Ernie muttered. He made his way to the front hallway, where he saw, standing under the darkened chandelier, a tall figure wrapped in shadow.
The mystery figure stepped out of the shadows of the threshold, and Tori flipped the switch on the wall into the ‘up’ position. The man had short dark hair, deep brown eyes, and had rather broad shoulders.
“Hi, Ernie,” he said. “Remember me? Oliver Wood?”
~*~
Holly tried hard to keep the disgust off of her face as she watched Maria kiss Jack. Apparently, though, it was evident considering Alex was laughing more at the expression on her face than anything else.
Zack seemed equally as disgusted as Holly, although his reason was much more logical. Alex sighed happily. “Hey, this is good for one reason.”
“Why?” Zack asked.
“Because it opens the door for this: Jack loves Maria! Jack loves Maria!” Alex roared with laughter yet again.
Holly dissolved into giggles, and even Norah couldn’t hold in her laughter. Just then, Zack heard his mother yell for the kids.
“Macmillans and friends, there’s a visitor!”
“Oh, God, who could it be?” Zack asked.
Alex’s eyes widened. “I was never here!” He stood up and waved his wand quickly. With a loud pop, he disappeared.
“Where, why, and what?” Norah asked tiredly.
“Diagon Alley, he’s afraid, and who knows,” Zack replied, shaking his head.
Lacking one of their number, the five remaining friends walked into the house. Holly was slightly tilted to the side, Zack was holding her up (and looking confused about it the whole time, as she hadn’t even drank that much), Jack and Maria had their arms around each other’s shoulders, and Norah brought up the rear with her long brown hair swinging to each side as she walked.
“Yeah, Mum?” Zack asked as he walked into the foyer.
Tori looked side to side before saying, “someone’s here to see Holly.”
Zack shrugged. “Okay, where is she?”
“Er, it’s not a ‘she’…” Tori trailed off. “Oliver?”
Oliver Wood walked into the kitchen, looking at his daughter fondly. “Hi, Holly.”
Holly’s eyes widened and her jaw set into a hard line. “Why are you here?”
Oliver shook his head. “Holly, look. Things didn’t start off too well for us at the pitch last night and I wanted to make up for it. You don’t have a place to live now that Hogwarts is over, so I figured I’d make it a bit easier for you.”
Holly looked incredulous. “What, you think I want to live with you?”
Oliver looked uncomfortable. “Er, no…I was going to buy you your own apartment.”
Norah gasped. “Holly, that’d be awesome!”
“Damn.” Jack nodded in agreement. “That would be awesome.”
Zack smiled. “That’s so cool!” Mrs Macmillan looked at him reproachfully. “I mean…” Zack began. “Er…In a totally innocent way. Like…studying!”
“Zack,” Maria whispered. “We left school.”
“Ah, damn it.”
“So, Holly, what d’you say?” Oliver asked. “Do you want the apartment.”
Holly scowled. “No, I don’t want a damn apartment. I want a father who’s been there for me! I want a father who cared about me! And I want a father who supported me! But I didn’t get any of it, just a father who abandoned me.”
Holly spun on her heel and walked out of the room. Zack was about to follow, but a loud sound similar to that from when Alex disappeared told him that Holly wasn’t in the house or garden.
Tori looked at Oliver. “Well... That was uncomfortable! Would you care for a cup of tea?”
Oliver looked stunned, but nodded nonetheless. Ernie led him to the dining room table, where he sat down with the children.
“So, Oliver,” Zack began. “Would you happen to know how I find someone who Disapparated without a trace?”
“I’m a Quidditch player, not a freaking miracle worker.”
“Oh, that just figures.”
Stay Awake by ringobeatlesfan4
Chapter Notes: Sending a heeeeuge thank-you to my beta, Russia! This chapter was chock-full of Americanisms...So gracias, Russia! Enjoy the chapter; there are only three left! (Although, if anyone wants to persuade me to write a prequel or a one-shot about life after this week...I'm not opposed! I just lack motivation, I guess.... Heh.
Chapter Endnotes: Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review, yes? {BeccA}