Alicia Spinnet {don't get caught on her edges} (moreofarelapse) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-01-11 09:09:00 |
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Like many other students, Alicia looked forward to her Hogsmeade weekends. Like many of them, it was an escape. But while they were escaping classes and the stifling uniforms, she was escaping the knowledge that she would never play Quidditch professionally. The injury had happened years ago, but it hadn’t been until the beginning of her final year that she’d truly begun to accept that it wouldn’t go away. That ignoring Madam Pomfrey’s advice had cost her everything (nevermind that she’d also told her there was a chance it would happen even if she did take the time to heal properly). Now she was forced to deal with that and try and get past it so she could do something else with her life. Normally, the weekends in the village were a very welcome distraction, but this last one before Christmas wasn’t very distracting. Her leg ached from the cold, and by the time she actually got down the long and winding path, it hurt from the uneven ground. What she wanted to do was sit down and have a butterbeer or some hot chocolate and rest, but she had several present she still needed to get for Angelina, Katie, and the twins, so she pushed ahead into the various shops she wanted to visit to find the gifts. It was in the second of those shops that she noticed a man, definitely older than a student, trying to choose between two equally hideous gifts that could only have been for his mother, sister, or girlfriend, and she was forced to say something (look, he was quite fit, alright? And clearly lost at the art of gift giving). “Whoever she is, she’ll throw that on the fire when you give it to her,” she said casually from the next aisle, eyes on the items on the rack in front of her, but clearly speaking to the only person in their immediate section. -- Retrospectively, having chosen Hogsmeade as the place to do his Christmas shopping seemed a bit silly. Higgs had sort of presumed that Hogsmeade would be a quiet choice than Diagon Alley but he hadn’t accounted for the fact that it was a Hogwarts weekend out and thus the whole town was filled with students, excitedly finishing (or starting) their Christmas shopping. It wasn’t particularly helpful either, that Higgs didn’t actually know what he was looking for. Estella was always the hardest to buy a present for, because she actually wanted things she liked and didn’t just pretend to enjoy whatever Higgs got like their mum did (their dad didn’t count, because he always just wanted socks). So now Higgs was stuck in a loop of picking something that wasn’t awful but not being quite sure what that something would even be. When she first spoke to him, he had an ugly-arse plush toy in one hand and an even uglier candle in the other. Girl presents he had deemed them with a distaste. Higgs turned to the girl when she pointed out just how awful they were, intending to tell her that he was actually aware of the fact. And then he got distracted. Because she was incredibly pretty. Young, most likely visiting from Hogwarts, but not so young that it was inappropriate of Higgs to think that she was pretty. “At this point, I’m willing to throw it on the fire and give her the melted remnants,” he finally replied, before throwing both of the awful things back on the shelf. Higgs watched the girl for a moment, weighing up his options of what would make her talk to him for longer, before settling on: “Will you help me pick something?” He asked. Higgs could really probably use the help, he could also probably manage on his own, but having the pretty girl help him seemed like a better plan. “Anything that will be approved of by a,” and he paused here to be very effective in quoting his sister. “young, strong, independant woman,” all of which was placed in air quotes, before Higgs carried on. “I’m sure you will be perfectly situated to advise me,” he added with a grin. Holding out his hand, Higgs offered a more proper greeting. “Terence Higgs,” he said. -- Alicia raised her eyebrows in mild surprise at his name; she hadn’t known him personally, but he’d been on the Slytherin team in the early days of her Quidditch playing, and she’d always thought he was big, dumb, and a purist. Either she’d misjudged him or he’d changed since he graduated, because that man standing in front of her didn’t seem to be any of those things (except big, because Merlin his shoulders were almost a little ridiculous). “I know who you are,” she replied aloofly, neither taking his hand nor giving out her name. The Gryffindor in her thought about walking away simply because he was a Slytherin and a former rival, but as much as she’d deny it to her friends, Alicia was a little intrigued. Distracted, at the very least. “I suppose I ought to help. I can’t very well let horrible gifts like that go to a fellow young, strong, independent woman, can I now?” -- Higgs raised his eyebrow when she said she knew him. He had no idea who she was. At least Higgs wasn’t one of those men who just forgot women, in fact, he had a rather good memory for most people’s names and faces. But they had probably been in school together, she was younger than him and whilst to Higgs school felt like a forever away, it really hadn’t been that long ago. “This is the bit where you tell me your name, pet,” he informed her holding onto her hand for slightly longer than was socially appropriate. “Yes, you must help,” he informed her, false-determination in his voice, as he smiled at her widely. “Solidarity with your fellow sisters, I believe is what my own sister calls it,” Higgs informed the girl with a nod. Estella had recently discovered the great writings of feminism, which in turn meant that Higgs, too, had discovered the great writings of feminism, as narrated by his sister. Perhaps that’s what he should have got her, another book about the female empowerment. Mind you, it was too late now, no matter what happened he was going to let this girl choose, because even if she told Higgs to buy a rock for his sister, he probably would. “I have to say, though, I will be insisting on rewarding any help received,” Higgs told her seriously. “With hot chocolate and you’re not allowed to refuse,” he added offering her another smile. -- She really, really wanted to hate him, but he was being so damn charming that she couldn’t. Normally, the use of a pet name from a stranger would have irritated her a little (she and his sister probably had that in common, based on what he said about her), but for some reason, and against her better judgment, she liked the flirting. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been flirted with in a long time, or because she’d never been flirted with by a stranger like this, but she wasn’t quite ready to tell him to hit the curb. And I mean, who didn’t like a little attention from older boys? She glanced down at her hand that he was still holding, her skin warm and alive, and made the decision not to pull away until he did. When he finally did, she missed the warmth and solid contact. “Not allowed to refuse? That doesn’t seem very respectful of a strong, independent woman,” she countered, moving away from the section of ugly gifts and beginning her search for something she might like herself. There was trouble in trying to pick out something for a stranger that they might like, because everyone was different, but Alicia was going to go for something generally universal. Even among young, strong, independent women. She looked back over her shoulder to make sure he was following. “Do you at least know her favorite color?” -- Higgs didn’t miss how she still didn’t tell him her name, but he let it slip. He wasn’t really in a habit of demanding things from women, even if it was just their name. So instead, he followed her around the shop, because a lack of name wasn’t going to stop him from appreciating that she was incredibly attractive and clearly not too bad to talk to either. She seemed witty, which ranked really quite highly in Higgs’ books. He had encountered far too many women who thought that there was only one way of talking to a man, and it was a way which they presumed pleased him. It didn’t. He far more enjoyed someone who could stand their own ground. “No, you’re right,” he agreed when she said it wouldn’t be very independent of her, she was right after all. “Nonetheless, I would be rather pleased if you did allow me to repay your help with a hot chocolate,” Higgs added watching her carefully. He wouldn’t actually insist but he did rather fancy his chances. She hadn’t left yet. When she asked if he at least knew Estella’s favourite colour, Higgs sighed. “Yes,” he said before frowning. “It’s cantaloupe with a touch of yam,” Higgs informed her, rather aware of how ridiculous that sounded. Estella could be very particular in the choices she made and she was always sure to inform the family of the most inane details. Like bizarre names for shades of orange. -- “We’ll see,” was all she said in response to his hot chocolate. It hardly mattered that hot chocolate and a chair were exactly what she wanted most in that moment; unless he suddenly turned into a giant ass, a warm drink was very much a thing she wouldn’t mind sharing with him. The look she gave him stated very clearly how ridiculous that sounded, even if it did give her a rather vivid and descriptive idea of what color he was talking about. Basically, a muted burnt orange. Alright. Well, they weren’t likely to find anything that color in a place like this--or anywhere, Alicia was sure--so they’d just have to do their best to flirt their way into a decent gift for his sister. “What does she like?” she asked instead, looking through the items available, mostly in vain. “Besides being independent. Anything she likes to do?” Finding a gift that she might use would probably be better at that point than trying to find something she’d like that was in her favorite color. Why couldn’t it have been something normal, like blue or green or red? -- “Swimming, books and hedgehogs,” Higgs listed from a well memorised conversation in which Estella had been rather expressive about her favourite things. It was a talk that he got before every birthday and every Christmas and yet it never particularly helped him in picking a present. One year he had gotten her an actual hedgehog but their parents had said it would be cruel to keep it. Both Higgs and Estella disagreed and hid it in the shed for three months before it escaped, to presumably find more exciting adventures in its little hedgehog life. They walked between the isles, as Higgs watch the girl pick up things and put them back down. He was far more interested in her than he was in anything she might suggest he gets his sister. “So what do you like?” He asked curiously. “Besides being independent,” he added because to Higgs it seemed a rather fair assumption that that was one of the things she did enjoy. She seemed rather strong willed, which was certainly a positive to him. -- Alicia probably wouldn’t have used the term ‘strong willed’ to describe herself, but she was also actively trying to play a little hard to get. She didn’t really know why she was bothering to flirt, but she was. It was nice and fun and exactly the distraction she needed. Even if she could think of only one response to his question. What did she like, besides Quidditch and being independent? “I can work with that,” she replied, still with no idea what she was going to pick out, though she was beginning to feel that this whole thing didn’t have much to do with gift ideas anymore. He was flirting and taking an interest and he wasn’t even pretending to be looking at anything anymore, he was only looking at her, like she was the only thing worth his time in the whole store. That part would probably have been true regardless of who he’d started talking to. “I like Quidditch, and flying, and Potions class, and the color red,” she told him honestly. He’d graduated so far ahead of her that there was no way he’d be able to suss out her identity from that, but maybe he’d have some clever guesses. -- The shop they were at really wasn’t filled with many things that would demand Higgs’ attention, but he also didn’t doubt that even if they were in the most interesting of places, he’d still be more fascinated with her than anything else there. She was young, there was no denying that, and she carried herself like someone who was young, but still not so young that he felt inappropriate for appreciating her. There wasn’t much he could comment on that, however, without perhaps pushing his luck a bit too much. So instead he just followed her, completely oblivious to whatever she might or might not pick for his present. At this point, he really didn’t even care if his sister ended up with the most useless piece of crap in the world for Christmas. “Do you play?” He asked when she said she liked Quidditch. Perhaps if she had just said Quidditch and hadn’t added the bit about flying, he wouldn’t have asked, but usually people who named both tended to at least play in their spare time. He had always enjoyed the flying, the game. Higgs worked well in a team and the Slytherin Quidditch team had also allowed him to make friends with similar interests, even if sometimes he questioned whether they cared for much else than Quidditch. Higgs presumed that from her listing the colour red she was probably a Gryffindor, it was highly unlikely that someone still at Hogwarts would pick red as their favourite if they weren’t a Gryffindor. Higgs, personally, was somewhat partial to red. But then, he would probably not list green as his favourite either, perhaps he would have done when it school but he wasn’t even too sure of that. “I was always rubbish at Potions,” he added conversationally. To be fair, he had been pretty rubbish at all subjects. -- “I used to,” Alicia said casually with a shrug, admitting really for the first time--out loud and to a virtual stranger, no less--that she wasn’t actually playing, even though she was still technically a reserve. She’d played in exactly one game since falling back from the starting position, and it hadn’t really ended well for her. “I uh, fell and shattered most of my leg.” She looked back up at him, her expression turning from somewhat sad and regretful to slightly challenging. “I’ve played against you, though.” The best part about this whole thing was that she knew he’d have no idea who she was, no matter how much information she gave him; third years just didn’t rank anywhere a seventh year might care without being gross and creepy. -- Higgs winced when she said that she had shattered most of her leg, which he presumed was the reason why it now was a ‘used to play’, since it didn’t particularly sound like she was just waiting for the recovery. He couldn’t really sympathise with losing the game like that, since he had just stopped playing after graduating. Higgs had briefly entertained the idea of professional Quidditch but he had very quickly scrapped that idea, deciding that he wouldn’t be very good professionally. Or not good enough, at least. He was going to comment when her expression looked more sad that he really would have wanted it to, but she spoke before he could, not that Higgs was too sure what he could have said. It wasn’t like he could give her the game back and having personal experience of love for Quidditch, he was rather sure that would be the only thing that could realistically get rid of the sadness. Instead, his eyes widened when she said she had played against him. He couldn’t really tell her age, but she had to be either in Sixth or Seventh Year at Hogwarts, which would mean she would’ve been a Second or Third Year during his Seventh. Higgs tried to think back to the Gryffindor team in his Seventh Year. It would have been the year Wood took over from Weasley, Higgs was sure, and he remembered the Slytherin boys saying how he was introducing a harem into the game. Because they were fucking idiots and probably had no idea what the word ‘harem’ actually meant. Not that Higgs was too sure he had at the time. “Spinnet,” he responded finally, raising an eyebrow. He could recall two girls, Spinnet and Johnson and the latter had been black, which by exclusion left the other. Unless, of course he was completely wrong. He also was sure that the name started with A, but wouldn’t put money on remembering what it was. “You played Chaser, right?” He added, because Higgs could just about remember the rest of the players. -- Now it was Alicia’s turn to be surprised. She probably looked like she thought he was crazy, or maybe like she was crazy, but something was definitely crazy. There was no way he’d remember that. Right? She remembered the names of the people on the other teams from back then, but she was also obsessed with the game, and everything about it and her opponents always seemed so vitally important. “How the hell did you remember that?” she asked, abandoning her pretext of looking for a gift. Alicia couldn't even begin to explain why if she wanted to, but she was now totally okay talking to him without the excuse anymore. The conversation was more interesting and far more different than she’d have ever expected from someone like Terence Higgs, and if he suggested right there in that moment that they go get that hot chocolate, she'd have left with him without argument. She just wanted to keep talking to him. --- Higgs couldn’t help but laugh at her expression and question about how he remembered her name. He had always been good with names and faces, the only reason why he probably didn’t recognise her was that he’d last see her four years ago and she had... certainly grown up. Higgs’ only real memories of the Gryffindor Quidditch team during his seventh year was Wood’s obsession with the game, which had been both amusing and entertaining to Higgs, even if Marcus had deeply disagreed. Nonetheless, Higgs remember others being on the team, albeit little and a bit squeaky, but still there. “I’m not going to lie, love,” he finally responded, a smile still on his lips. “I don’t remember your first name,” because he really didn’t, no reason to pretend. She seemed quite impressed with him even remembering her surname, so perhaps that would be enough. Unless, of course, she still didn’t plan to give him her name, because Higgs was sure he could manage to call her by her surname for ever more. “But I just have a good memory for names?” Higgs offered as somewhat of an answer. Well, he did. -- Again, the pet name should have prickled her irritation, she knew it should have, but it didn't. As he didn't seem to be threatening or aggressive, it was kind of nice for someone to take an interest in her. The fact that he could really be creepy and gross was still in the back of her mind, but Alicia was going to give him the benefit of the doubt until she had reason to suspect his intentions weren't as innocent as they were at the moment. “Maybe you're a stalker,” she joked, shifting her weight and crossing her arms over her chest. “Maybe this whole thing was a set-up to get my attention and you've known me all along even though we never spoke before.” --- Higgs laughed, before shaking his head. “I’m not going to deny that you’re fascinating,” he informed her with a grin. “Or very pretty,” he added both because it was true and because Higgs wanted to see if she’d blush. “However, I sadly don’t have the sort of time that would allow me to dedicate myself to stalking,” he explained playfully. It wasn’t even a lie, not that Higgs would ever stalk someone, but even if he wanted, with the way his schedule worked, it would be a rather intermittent stalking, since he was only around for a few months at a time. She seemed to have abandoned the picking of a present, which suited Higgs just fine, because he a) didn’t think this shop had anything Estella would like and b) had decided that he could just get her a book, so instead, Higgs leaned against one of the shelves, making sure not to cross his arms, since he had been told he could look intimidating when doing so. “So how about that hot chocolate, then?” He asked smiling at the girl. Spinnet A.. Who still wouldn’t give him her name. -- She tried not to, but blush she did (a little); she tried to disguise it by rolling her eyes and shaking her head at his lines. Alicia knew what her sister would say to her about him, that he was too old, that she was too close to being jail bait for someone like him, that he was probably not the type of guy she'd want to bring home to her mother. But all the reasons she shouldn't could not overpower how much she wanted him to keep complimenting her. “We didn't find anything for your sister,” she reminded him, biting the edge of her lip as she tried to play it cool. On the inside, her heart was pounding and her whole body felt like it was vibrating with adrenaline, but she didn't want him to know that this wasn't a normal occurrence for her. --- “I honestly don’t give a shit if Estella gets nothing for Christmas at this point,” Higgs commented, the genuinity hard to miss in his voice. He wasn’t a secretive man, not really, and had always ranked honesty as one of the musts in any conversation. Perhaps age and years of experience would change that, but for now he was certainly unaware of why he shouldn’t say exactly what was on his mind. “I much rather buy you hot chocolate,” he admitted offering her a smile. “You can, of course, decline,” Higgs added, recalling her earlier point about she should be allowed the choice. Still, he hadn’t missed the blush, no matter how quickly she had managed to cover it up with an eye roll. There was something incredibly endearing about it, and Higgs was under no illusions that if he wasn’t careful, she could very easily spell his doom. -- It would be a lie to say that Alicia wasn't a little taken back by the ease with which he wrote off his sister's gift, especially since she was so close with her own siblings. But she was also a firm believer in not assuming the worst in people (except when it came to herself, apparently), so maybe he just wasn't close to Estella, or she'd been ungrateful about Christmas and he was just frustrated with her. She didn't know the whole story and she didn't want to ask, so she let it slide. “Well , I was already planning on getting some. I guess now’s as good a time as any.” --- Had she asked, Higgs would’ve assured her that he was actually planning to get Estella a present, not even because he liked his sister, which he did, but mostly because he would never hear the end of it if he didn’t get her a present. Estella had particular notions of how one had to celebrate holidays and majority of those notions involved her getting presents. There was a reason why Higgs knew she liked hedgehogs and a touch of yam in the tone of orange she preferred. He really wasn’t a bad brother, even if his sister could drive him nuts at times. “Well,” Higgs mimicked with amusement rather than mockery. “If you’re sure I’m not inconveniencing you, it would be my utter pleasure to buy you a hot chocolate,” he told her and it really would be, too. “Shall we?” He asked pointing at the door to let her go first, like a true gentleman. The cold air hit him in the face as they left, making him pull his jacket closer around, even if the walk to the nearest coffee shop wasn’t that far. When they got there, he made sure to hold the door open for her as they entered. “Two of your finest hot chocolates,” he informed the barista with a smile, before adding. “Don’t hold back on the little marshmallows or the cream.” When they were finally seated, hot chocolates in front of them, surrounded by the warmth of the cafe, Higgs gave the girl another smile. “So have I earned to learn your name, now?” Because he could probably work on it more if the answer was ‘no’. -- Alicia was pretty sure this was now a date. A date with a really fit, really hot guy. Who had taken an interest in her, of all people. Now, she wasn't so insecure that she wasn't aware she had some looks about her, but she wasn't as used to male attention as other girls she knew. Not to mention, this was another caliber of male altogether. As they sat, Terence doing everything right, just the way all the romance films and books said, she was super nervous. What did adults talk about on a first date? Because although Alicia was officially an adult now, she had yet to actually feel like one. Terence kind of made her feel like she was, and she liked that feeling. “How about you guess?” she asked, trying to appear relaxed and at ease. Okay, so he'd probably earned her name and there was a good chance he'd bore of the game soon, but she also couldn't help but wonder if maybe part of what he found interesting about her was that she'd thus far managed to avoid telling him without outright refusing or being rude. And she didn't want his interest to wane once he had the bit of information he wanted from her. “Since you're so good with names, Terence Higgs. I'll give you a hint. It starts with A.” --- Higgs wasn’t stupid enough not to recognise the game she was playing, but he also didn’t particularly mind. Flirting had never been something he had shied away from or been bad at, so if that was how she wanted to do it, he wasn’t going to object terribly. It was fun, certainly, so he was probably willing for it to go on some more. Spooning his hot chocolate, which really was covered in seemingly majority of the cream and marshmallows available in the cafe, Higgs smirked at the girl. “I rather not guess,” he informed her. “It would be very embarrassing to get it wrong,” Higgs explained. It probably wouldn’t actually be embarrassing, but he also didn’t really feel like it was his fault at not being able to recall her actual name, he had done quite well with remembering the surname, and besides, there had been two girls on the Gryffindor team whose names started with A, which made the guessing even harder. “I can always just carry on calling you ‘pet’, if you prefer,” he added with another smirk. Higgs might have been one of the nicer Slytherins he knew, but if the house had taught him one thing and one thing only, it would certainly been how to smirk. Slytherins, big on smirking that lot. He licked the cream off the spoon, before giving her a more open smile. “So you’re in your 7th Year?” He asked more conversationally than anything else, because he clearly knew the answer if he recalled her from Quidditch. “Got any great plans for after graduation? Or is that not okay to ask?” He was never sure, because he had hated that question, but from what she had said so far, he presumed that she would be graduating with much better grades than he did. -- Alicia took that to mean he was, in fact, bored with the game, and in the interest of keeping his, she decided she better fess up or he'd think she was just a tease and leave. Now that would be embarrassing. “Alicia, and kinda, I guess. I'm applying for the Auror program pretty soon.” To most people, having the grades and test scores to make it into a program like that would have been exciting, and it should have been, but she'd never planned on having to have a backup plan, so she couldn't really muster the necessary enthusiasm for a career that hadn't been her first choice. Maybe she'd find some after actually starting training. --- “Alicia,” Higgs repeated almost as if tasting the name out. He probably wouldn’t have gone with that as his first guess for an A name, but then that also wasn’t particularly relevant, since he now had a name to use. Still, Higgs suspected, that she wouldn’t get rid of him using ‘pet’ and ‘love’ as easily. He wasn’t really sure why the pet names seemed to come so easily when talking to her, but she hadn’t complained so far, so it must be okay. After all, she had agreed to have a hot chocolate with him. “It is very nice to meet you,” he added half raising his spoon like one would a glass to cheer, before proceeding to eat more of the cream off of his hot chocolate, he was yet to make it to the actual chocolate. He nodded when she said Aurors. It didn’t seem to Higgs that she was particularly excited about the prospect, but perhaps a first date, which this definitely was, was not the right time to ask for those reasons. So instead, he just proceeded to be impressed with the fact that she clearly would have had to do quite well in school to be allowed on the program. He, certainly, would have never been allowed on it with the sort of grades had, but luckily, the Muggle army wouldn’t have cared if he had flunked out, much less whether he did or did not get an O in Transfigurations. “A risk taker, then?” Higgs asked instead, watching her carefully. He knew she was a Gryffindor, so there would certainly be a level of risk taking that was just installed in her because of the house, but Higgs also thought that those who ended up in the Auror service had a strong feeling for fairness, which he could certainly appreciate. Risk taking, however, was a part of it. Not that he was going to be one to judge. -- “Not especially,” she responded with a shrug, also spooning up some cream and leveling the extra off the top of the spoon. “I mean, even as a Gryffindor, I’m not really one to break rules or do anything really dangerous.” Flying seemed different to her, because until her fall, she’d never really been hurt like that. A lot of people probably saw the stunts Quidditch players sometimes had to pull as being risky and courageous and/or stupid, but Alicia saw it differently. “I guess McGonagall thought I’d be good at it because I’m not afraid of anything except spiders. But enough about me, what about you, what do you do now? I know you don’t play Quidditch anymore. Or, professionally anyway.” -- Higgs wasn’t particularly sure how he felt about people being suggested Auror profession because they might be good at it due to their lack of fear (except of spiders). Then again, he wasn’t exactly in a position to suggest a different approach, especially not with the choices he had made. But suppose it wasn’t also like McGonagall had had particularly strong ideas for what he should have done, in fact, he couldn’t recall her doing much more than sighing in his career-advice sessions. “I’m sure you’ll do exceptionally well,” he said instead, and it wasn’t untrue. “Unless you have to arrest a spider, obviously,” Higgs added a bit teasingly. “No, never thought I was good enough for professional Quidditch,” he responded honestly when Alicia pointed out that he hadn’t gone on to play. He had always loved the game but realistically, he would have spent majority of his games in reserve. There were far too many people who were much better Seekers than him, even if he hadn’t been bad. “I’m a soldier,” he said, with almost a small shrug. It was always a gamble of how people reacted when you told them you fought wars for a living. Not that Higgs really fought wars, he mostly just sat around in places with next to no roofs. “Muggle military,” he added to clarify. “Enlisted straight out of Hogwarts,” which he had, perhaps because McGonagall had only sighed in his career-advice sessions. -- Her response to him skipped straight over the teasing and moved right onto the subject of the Muggle military. Alicia had actually never heard of anyone doing that--why would they, when there were plenty of jobs within their own community that wouldn’t require them to keep their magic totally a secret? And, somewhat along those lines, she never thought she’d have heard those words come from the mouth of a Slytherin. Although she didn’t usually buy into all the House rivalry stuff and insist that all Slytherins were bad and purist jerks, she still never thought she’d hear one say that he chose to work with Muggles. “What made you want to do that?” she asked genuinely interested in his answer, but also a little incredulously. Because really. The Muggle military? Really? “Isn’t it hard to keep your magic a secret?” -- “I didn’t do very well in school,” Higgs replied honestly. He really hadn’t and perhaps if he had put more effort into his studies, he too could have applied to be an Auror, but realistically, at this point, Higgs wasn’t too sure that would have been better than this. The Muggle military suited him well, it had taught him discipline that he needed and allowed him to fit in. It wasn’t a bad job to have, even if it certainly came with risks. “My mum’s from a military family,” he explained, finally managing to actually get to the chocolate bit of his hot chocolate. After a small sip, he continued. “She’s Muggleborn, so she knew a lot about what the army’s like. Said it might be good for me. She wasn’t wrong,” Higgs added. He did genuinely appreciate the advice his mum had given him, retrospectively, it had been the right choice, even if it had seemed strange to everyone but him at the time. When she asked about whether it was hard to keep the magic a secret, Higgs gave a small smile. “It’s not too bad, you get used to it, learn to do most things by hand,” he said. The first time he had to peel potatoes has been rather awkward, but after peeling more potatoes than he ever wanted to see again, he had become pretty good at it. “Besides, I like driving cars probably as much as I enjoyed flying,” and that was very much the truth. He had had to learn to drive after enrolling but he liked to think he was pretty good at it now. -- “Oh,” she said, suddenly very glad she had, in fact, listened to her mother about her grades outside of Quidditch. She’d always seen the reason behind having good grades to back up an athletic career, ‘just in case,’ but she didn’t know what she’d do if she hadn’t done well and felt her only option was the military. At this point, she could have done whatever she wanted. She just didn’t know quite what that was. “Do you like it, then?” -- “Yes,” he replied with a nod. Higgs did like the army. It worked for him, which was really most anyone could ask from a job. “It’s more rewarding than anything else I have ever done,” which wasn’t untrue. Perhaps because of his inability to be a good student at school, was Higgs so pleased to get acknowledgment. He hadn’t really had it before, with a slight exception of Quidditch and that had mostly been other people’s work. The army allowed him to have something that was more for him, but also plenty of team work so he felt like he was contributing. Higgs finished his hot chocolate, looking at the cup somewhat saddly. If the drink was coming to an end, he presumed that so was Alicia’s time. Which made somewhat of a sad feeling travel through his body. This, this was enjoyable. Not that Higgs had presumed it wouldn’t be, quite the opposite really, but perhaps it was just nice to be proven right. “Can I get you another drink?” He asked even if what he really wanted to ask was ‘can I keep you’. -- As much as she would have liked to (and she would have liked to very much), when she looked down at her watch, she realized Angie and Katie were probably wondering where she was. But maybe that was just as well. If she left now, there would be no more opportunities to make a fool of herself in front of him; she hadn't yet really embarrassed herself, but it was really only a matter of time. “I’m actually supposed to meet my friends,” she replied regretfully. “This was really nice though. I enjoyed talking to you.” Ah there, some embarrassment, even though there was really no need for it. For some reason, she'd just never admitted that to anyone she might have been interested-interested in. --- Higgs was almost surprised by the pang of regret he felt when she said she had to go. It wasn’t like they had spoken for very long or about very much, so really, that pang shouldn’t have been there. But its existence was the thing that made Higgs lean over and press a gentle kiss against her cheek. “It was really nice talking to you, too, pet,” he told her before leaning back, giving her a soft smile. “Would you--” He paused wondering if he should even be asking this. The answer was almost definitely not, but that didn’t seem to particularly matter at all. “Would you like to do this again? Perhaps a different beverage next weekend?” Because Higgs had always been a strong believer in a risk not taken being a potential opportunity lost. And he really didn’t want to lose this opportunity. She was lovely. -- Another slight reddening of her cheeks accompanied the kiss there; she’d sort of been hoping he’d have put his lips on hers instead, but it was very chivalrous and gentlemanly that he didn’t, and Alicia could appreciate that. There was a lot about Terence Higgs that she could appreciate. She bit her lip when he asked to see her again. Limited trips into the village from the school had never been as big a problem as they were now. But before she had to refuse him, she had an idea. She happened to know two of the finest escape artists at the school, and she knew they knew how to sneak out without getting caught; they did it all the time for House parties. “Yeah, definitely. I’ll have to get back to you about when, though. I’d have to sneak out, but I know someone who’ll probably tell me how.” If she promised she wouldn’t give the secret out, anyway. George would understand. He’d tell her, she was sure. --- The thought about her perhaps having trouble to get out of Hogwarts hadn’t really entered Higgs’ mind until Alicia pointed out that she’d have to sneak out. She didn’t say ‘no’, though. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to sneak out, that maybe this was a bad idea, but he didn’t. Because, quite honestly, he really just wanted to see her again. At least he stopped himself from suggesting she sneaks out on other days, too, just so he could spend time with her again. “You can owl me,” he informed her with a smile. She would be able to, he was meant to be home for a while still. “It really was lovely to meet you, Alicia,” Higgs said to her as they stood up, ready to leave. He wasn’t sure how he’d manage to wait until next week, but she was most likely totally worth it. |