I.

In November, during her first year at Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet spoke to Lee Jordan for the first time. All it took was one brief exchange between the pair to trigger the spark that set their relationship aflame with layers and layers of animosity.

"Spinnet, isn't it?"

Alicia looked up from the bookshelf she was perusing near the back of the library, narrowing her eyes. A tall, black boy was standing in front of her, arms crossed and smirking. He was Lee Jordan, she knew. He was the mischievous, barmy little clown who seemed to have a knack for getting on Professor McGonagall's bad side.

"It's Alicia," she murmured coolly, turning back to the bookshelf without a second glance at him.

Lee, it seemed, wasn't the least bit unsettled by her uninviting demeanor. Rather, he grinned broadly at her, leaning back against the bookshelf. "Hi, Alicia."

Alicia eyed him suspiciously. "Hello," she said slowly. There was a moment's silence. Then— "Was there something you needed?"

"Oh, no, nothing," he said cheerfully, giving her a wave. "I'll see you around, Spinnet."

"It's Alicia—" she broke off, giving a little scream, as the pot of ink which had—unbeknownst to her—been hovering above her head for five seconds suddenly tipped over. Ink, cold and sticky, spilled into her hair, trickling down her forehead. Reflexively, she reached up to touch her fringe, and her fingers came into contact with a chilly, oozing syrup. She brought her fingers back down; they were coated in indigo.

It was several moments before she realized, with a surge of fury, that Lee Jordan had disappeared.

II.

In November, during her second year at Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet played her first game of Quidditch as a reserve Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Avery Hawksworth, Gryffindor's lead Chaser, had fallen very ill the night before, and was spending the weekend in the Hospital Wing. Alicia could barely contain her excitement when Charlie Weasley came to inform her of the change in the team's lineup.

Coincidentally, and much to Alicia's displeasure, that very day was also Lee's first game as the new Quidditch commentator. After several coaching sessions with McGonagall, Lee had announced, the night before the game, of his new occupation.

Alicia was furious.

But Lee's voice didn't sound half-bad, she thought to herself, as she soared down the Quidditch pitch, Quaffle tucked under her arm. Swiftly, she passed the Quaffle to Angelina, who caught it effortlessly and shot it precisely at the hoops.

"…and that's Johnson, assisted by Spinnet, scoring for Gryffindor!" Lee exclaimed jubilantly. "Gryffindor in the lead, twenty to zero…"

Alicia grinned, adrenaline bubbling. She clapped Angelina's shoulder, flying out to the middle of the pitch once again to await the Quaffle.

The next several moments were a blur.

She saw Herbert Fleet toss the Quaffle into the air. She saw Nymphadora Tonks soar high above it and secure it under her arm. She saw Tonks zoom towards Gryffindor's hoops. She saw Tonks duck George's bludger just in time, and she saw Tonks bellow in alarm as, unexpectedly, her broomstick spiraled out of control, prompting her to collide with Alicia.

The last thing Alicia saw, before she crashed, headlong, into the commentator's podium, was Lee Jordan's terrified expression.

III.

In November, during her third year of Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet played her first Quidditch match as an official Chaser on the Gryffindor team. The weather was ideal, the team was in high spirits, and with the talented, little Harry Potter on their side…well, Alicia had a strong feeling that the odds were very much in Gryffindor's favor.

Meanwhile, it appeared as though, with every match, Lee's commentary grew more and more ridiculous. Alicia smiled in spite of herself as she heard Lee jump into his routine, his loud, exuberant voice floating over the Quidditch pitch. Swerving sharply around in midair, Alicia gripped her broom tightly. Then, Madam Hooch released the Quaffle, and as always, Angelina flew right towards it, her long fingers closing deftly around the hard, scarlet object.

She was halfway across the expanse before Alicia and the others had even moved.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too—"

Alicia dimly heard McGonagall burst into admonitions. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Angelina roll her eyes. Alicia smirked at her.

But then, inexplicably, she felt a pang of…jealousy? She gave her head a tiny shake. Then, with a brief glance at Lee's excited face, she turned back to the game.

IV.

In November, during her fourth year of Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet collided with Lee on a third-floor corridor in her haste to reach the library to complete an overdue homework assignment for Professor Snape. Tired and miserable, Alicia immediately snapped at him for his clumsiness—despite knowing, full well, that it had been her fault entirely.

"No need to get your wand in a knot, Spinnet," Lee said flippantly, winking at her.

Alicia gritted her teeth, glowering up at him. "I told you not to call me that," she growled, jabbing lee in the chest with her finger. "You just won't listen—"

"No, I can't say listening is one of my better traits," Lee interrupted with an air of serious contemplation. He pretended to scratch his chin thoughtfully for a moment, before turning back to Alicia, whose long, brown hair was now practically crackling with rage.

Closing her eyes, she took a slow, deep breath, and stepped backwards. It would not do her any good to get into petty spats now—not when her first priority awaited her in the library. Opening her eyes, she lifted her chin, brushed past Lee, and began sweeping down the corridor again.

"Hey, Spinnet."

Alicia reluctantly turned back around, eyes narrowed. "What d'you want?" she demanded impatiently.

"There's a Hogsmeade weekend in two weeks," Lee began casually, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Alicia frowned at him, nonplussed. "Er—yeah—I know."

Lee bit his lip. Alicia stared at him.

"Well," he said slowly. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I was wondering…whether you'd like to go with me."

Alicia's jaw dropped. She blinked at him, utterly dumbfounded—and the answer rose to her lips before she'd even understood what he'd said.

"No, thank you."

Then, she turned on her heel and stalked off, unable to understand why her heart was hammering so wildly against her chest.

V.

In November, during her fifth year of Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet visited Hogsmeade with Angelina. They were happily sipping their Butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks, when Angelina brought up a topic that caused Alicia's toes to curl with embarrassment.

"I-I—" Alicia stammered, her face burning.

Angelina raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side. "All right, then," she said slowly. She paused. "I just heard…well, George told me that Lee asked you last year, and I couldn't understand why you turned him down."

"Why not?" Alicia asked stiffly, taking a small sip from her tankard and turning to stare out the window. Unfortunately, this did nothing to aid her mood, for she immediately caught sight of Lee Jordan building a snowman with the Weasley twins on the adjacent lane. She quickly looked away.

"He's not a bad bloke," Angelina shrugged, watching her far too closely. "And I—I thought you might fancy him—"

"Angelina!" Alicia exclaimed, horrified. "I do not fancy him!"

"And who doesn't my dearest Spinnet fancy?" inquired a familiar, wicked voice from somewhere behind her.

Alicia jumped a mile out of her skin, swiveling around in her seat and coming face-to-face with a very familiar fifteen-year-old boy, whose cheeky face was framed by dreadlocks. Across the table, Angelina snorted into her Butterbeer. Alicia threw her a dirty look, and then turned to the window in disbelief. Sure enough, the Weasley twins and their snowman now stood alone.

"You haven't answered my question," Lee said lightly, plunking himself down beside Alicia in the small booth and throwing his arm around her shoulders. Alicia felt her cheeks flush with color. "Who don't you fancy?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alicia asked darkly, shrugging his arm off.

VI.

In November, during her sixth year of Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet watched with bated breath as Harry Potter stepped into the arena, his hair sticking up in all directions, as usual, and his face completely white.

This was most dreadfully unfair, Alicia decided, biting her lip, as Harry raised his wand, his arm trembling visibly. The other contestants had three years of magical education over him; Harry was barely fourteen. Alicia glanced to her right. Angelina was standing on her tiptoes, clasping and unclasping her hands anxiously. Fred and George stood on either side of her, both looking uncharacteristically somber.

"He'll be fine," murmured a low voice. Alicia turned to her left. Lee was sporting a very determined expression. He looked at her, his eyes blazing with certainty. "It's Harry," he said seriously. "He helped take down a mountain troll when he was eleven, remember?"

Alicia gave a strangled laugh, her eyes wandering back to the arena. She gasped. A broomstick—a broomstick!—was flying towards Harry from the opposite direction. Alicia watched in utter amazement as it hurtled into the enclosure and then stopped in midair, precisely in front of him.

A wave of relief crashed over her. Harry had a broomstick. He was saved. "GO, HARRY!" Alicia shrieked jubilantly, along with the rest of the now-delirious crowd, bouncing on her toes. "YOU CAN DO THIS, HARRY!"

She watched as Harry rose higher and higher into the sky, his face nothing but a flesh-colored pinprick. Round and round, he circled. A jet of fire flew from the dragon's mouth, directly at him, and Alicia screamed, seizing Lee's hand, as Harry swerved out of the way, just in time. Hastily, Alicia released Lee's fingers, blushing slightly, but not daring to tear her eyes away from the scene before her.

Suddenly, Harry lunged, speeding towards the ground in a blurry hairpin dive, towards the nest of eggs. In another instant, he had taken his hands off his Firebolt—he had seized the golden egg—

"YES!" Alicia shrieked, clapping her hands together. "YES! YES! YES!"

Angelina cried out in delight. Fred and George gave several piercing wolf-whistles. A deafening, uproarious applause from the stands drowned out the rest of Ludo Bagman's commentary. Alicia felt tears spring to her eyes, as Harry pulled up and landed safely on the ground, windswept but beaming.

A warm, fierce rush of affection overwhelmed her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Alicia turned to her left, flung her arms around Lee's neck, and hugged him tightly.

VII.

In November, during her seventh year of Hogwarts, Alicia Spinnet sank down into one of the warm armchairs by the common room's fireplace. She had just returned from a Dumbledore's Army meeting with Angelina; the other girl had retired to the dormitory, while Alicia had proceeded to the common room to complete some last-minute Transfiguration homework.

Lee looked up as Alicia fell into the chair opposite him. He threw her an easy grin, and Alicia smiled back at him.

"Harry's brilliant at Defense," said Lee, after a moment of comfortable silence.

"He really is," Alicia agreed softly. "Merlin, he makes Umbridge look like a troll."

"She doesn't really need Harry's help for that," Lee said lightly, and Alicia giggled, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head.

There was another comfortable pause.

Then— "I wish they'd kick that bloody toad out of this school," Lee muttered. He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and clenching his left fist. With a twinge of anger, Alicia saw the familiar 'I will not talk back' stand out against his dark skin. "She's ruining Hogwarts, Alicia. I've half a mind to get myself expelled, if it means not having to see her stupid face every morning."

"You don't mean that," Alicia gasped, shocked. She scrutinized Lee carefully. "Besides, there are some things that haven't changed, yet."

Lee looked up at her, his expression incredulous. "Like what?"

"Well…" Alicia slowly, grinning. "You've still got me, I suppose."

Lee stared at her for a moment. Then, quite unexpectedly, his face split into a warm smile.

"You're right, Spinnet," Lee grinned back at her. But a second later, his smile faded. "And I swear, if Umbridge tries to take you away, too, I will not think twice about getting myself expelled."

Alicia turned back to her homework, cheeks burning.

Author's Note:

My entry for WeasleySeeker's "Seven Years at Hogwarts" Competition. :) My character was (obviously) Alicia Spinnet.