Demon Days

Saturday July 1, 1995
I've decided that this is going to be best summer holiday of my life since the Apocalypse or something like it is right around the corner.

Ever since the final task of the Triwizard's Tournament there's been a dark cloud of impending doom hovering over everything. Despite what people are insinuating, Cedric was killed by You Know Who. Harry Potter isn't insane. Hogwarts used to be a safe place until he came. Basilisks, weird DADA teachers, and the list goes on. The only person who would want Harry dead is You Know Who or someone like him. Doesn't matter really, because there's a threat. It won't be long before things like what happened at the Quidditch World Cup become commonplace.

So, the world is going to end soon and all I can do is have a bit of fun before the big event. I don't want to die regretting anything. This summer is going to be about happy memories and doing all the things I've always wanted to. There's nothing stopping me. My parents are so wrapped up in themselves and each other that they hardly notice when I'm around. I've access to my own Gringotts vault, which is filled all that money my grandmother gave me because she didn't want Mum to have it. Why haven't I thought of doing this before?

Monday July 3, 1995
Alicia and I have been best friends since we were five. Mum couldn't be bothered to tutor me at home so she asked Dad to find someone willing to do so. I never got along with any of the tutors they hired—I was a right cow to them. They all quit after a few weeks. It so happened that Dad heard one of his co-workers talking about the little school his wife ran out of their home and the next day Mum dressed me in my best clothes and sent me through the floo to the Spinnets.

I didn't like Alicia at first. She was so bubbly and happy and she just wouldn't shut her gob. She was always asking me if I liked this or if I liked that and what were my parents like? I didn't understand her. What did she have to be so happy about? At five, I knew that I had to choose my words carefully, that I had to think about things before I did them. Alicia was free and I envied her. My jealousy got so bad that I deliberately set out to hurt her. While we were playing in the yard and she was chattering on as usual, I screamed at her to shut up. I told her that I didn't want to listen to anything that she had to say because she was stupid and annoying. Alicia burst into tears and ran in the house. Her mother came out afterwards. She didn't yell. Calmly, she called me a spoiled brat and ordered me to apologize to her daughter. I'd never been ordered to do anything before.

I still clearly remember Mrs. Spinnet looking down at me, barely controlling her anger. Everything changed for me at that moment. I believed that Mrs. Spinnet hated me and I wanted to do anything for her not to feel that way. I liked Mrs. Spinnet. She was the first adult who didn't look at me like some little doll to be dressed up or ignored.

Alicia was in her bedroom, still crying. She didn't believe me when I said I was sorry. I told her I wasn't leaving the room until she did. I stayed in there for an hour. During that hour I kept poking around at her things. I found some cards and asked her if she wanted to play. When Mrs. Spinnet came to announce that it was time to go home, she found us flicking the cards at each other.

It's partly due to Alicia and her family that I am the way I am. I doubt that I would've been sorted into Gryffindor if it weren't for her. When I was sorted, my parents wrote me, their disapproval evident in the seemingly innocuous words they used. They would've preferred Ravenclaw, or maybe even Slytherin. They didn't see how Gryffindor traits would help me make my way into the world. Being brash and loyal was well and good for people who didn't plan to go anywhere and do anything. You needed cunning and intelligence if you wanted to be someone.

When my parents choose to get involved in my life they've always left me with the feeling that they're disappointed in me. I've gotten used to it, but it still hurts. Alicia always knows just what to say to make me feel somewhat like myself again.

Because Alicia is the closest person to me I can't go about my plan without telling her and at least trying to involve her. She needs a bit of fun in her life. Alicia spends most of the hols at home with her mum, taking care of kids and generally being bored. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't try to help her out?

---

The Spinnet's home is just as I expect it. There are children outside playing in the yard, screaming and throwing things at each other. Mrs. Spinnet is with them, keeping a watchful eye. She sees me through the window and waves. I wave back and start up the stairs to Alicia's room.

"So, why aren't you outside helping to look after the little bastards?" I ask as I push Alicia's door open.

She's at her desk, scribbling frantically on a piece of parchment. She smiles briefly at me before starting to scribble again. "I told Mum that I'm not interested in helping her this year. I told her I deserve to choose what I want to do for the summer. She didn't like it but she didn't complain."

I arch my brow as I move to the desk. "So what's really going on?" I ask as I quickly scan the parchment. It's a letter. I catch words like "love" and "miss you" before Alicia quickly folds it.

"Alicia's got a boyfriend," I sang. "Who is it? George or Lee?"

"Why would you think it's either of them?"

"I have eyes. It was like you were trying to decide between fish or chips. Just put them together I say."

"You are disgusting." Alicia laughs. "It's neither of them."

"It's someone else? Interesting."

Alicia begins to turn an alarming shade of red. "I wanted to tell you about it sooner, but I didn't because I thought it would be best to keep it a secret while we were at school. It wouldn't have been a good time."

I stop smiling. This is starting to sound serious. "Who is it?"

Alicia takes a deep breath. "I know you'll be mad, but I hope you won't be so mad that we'll have a huge row about this."

"Who is it?" I repeat, holding my breath.

"Marcus Flint."

I'm too shocked to speak. A hundred images of Flint's sneering face come to my mind. I'm caught between anger, disbelief, shock and a strange need to laugh.

"We sort of met up during Christmas hols and he was different, civil, and we started talking and then there was kissing."

"Kissing? What about his teeth?"

"There are ways to get around them. Kissing him is different." Alicia smiles.

I have to sit down. "I cannot believe I'm sitting here talking to you about kissing Marcus Flint." I shuddered for dramatic effect. "Tell me you're having me on. This is all some joke."

Alicia shakes her head.

"How can you go out with him after everything? The things he did during our matches, the insults. Not to understate things, but Marcus is not one of the most pleasant people on this planet."

"I know." Alicia sat down beside me. "He has these moments where I just want to hex him, but he's a good person. He's not like he was in school. He's grown up. He doesn't have to pretend for people like Malfoy anymore."

"Alright, maybe he's not as bad as he seems, but there's still the issue of him being a Death Eater in training."

Alicia's reaction is immediate. "He's not a Death Eater and he's never going to be!" she shouts. "Just because he was in Slytherin doesn't mean he's going to be a Death Eater."

"Well, I'm quite sure he doesn't believe in welcoming the Muggle-borns to our world with open arms."

"Marcus doesn't know what he believes on that subject. He's just got out of school and he's figuring things out on his own. For the first time in his life there's nobody telling him how to feel and how to behave. The whole world has opened up for him." Alicia looks like she did when she used to fancy Gilderoy Lockhart, all wide-eyed and tragic. It's love.

I shake my head. "I don't know what to think right now."

"I'm not asking you for your blessing, but I am asking you to understand a little and to try to get to know him."

"Get to know him?"

"I told him we were going to come see him later on this week." I'm about to protest when Alicia puts on her pleading face, the one where she makes her eyes large and her lips tremble. "We'll make a day of it."

I curse under my breath because I've already given in.

Alicia and I spend the rest of the day in her room, reading Witch Weekly and listening to the Wireless. She lets me see the letter. I make fun of it half-heartedly. This is not how I imagined spending the first day of summer.

Tuesday July 4, 1995
MARCUS FUCKING FLINT!

Alicia owled me. Marcus is free on Friday. Friday it is.