Hogwarts Alice

Hello, my name is Alice, and I'm a 6th year. I'm so glad to meet you. If you need help with anything, I will do my best. But Herbology is really my strength when it comes to classes. You can find me in either the greenhouses, the library or the Gryffindor common room if you need anything.

[alicemurphy]

Locked In || Frank & Alice

[headboylongbottom-deactivated20]

Frank had to chuckle at her mention of their not-date. It seemed a little silly now that he’d been so insistent with Fabian, and himself, about it not being a date. Clearly, it had been more of a date than Frank was willing to admit at the time. Understandable, but now… well, now everything was different. Wonderfully different. Here they were. She’d kissed him. And now they were talking about going on an actual date. Frank could barely contain his joy behind a smile. “You’re right," Frank said, giving Alice’s hand a gentle squeeze. They should do something together. “And if studying is out of the question, I s’pose we’ll have to get creative."

He thought a moment about what sort of things he and Alice could do together, his brow wrinkling when nothing popped into his head. “We could…" Frank was having a bit of trouble coming up with something. Honestly, he was terrible at this. “Uhm…" Oh there had to be something they could do. Frank ran his free hand through his hair while he thought. What were things that other couples did? Frank wasn’t sure, honestly, he’d never payed much attention to them. And the only dates he ever got told about were the ones the twins went on. And none of those sounded like something Alice would be remotely interested in doing. “We could, uhm… go to Madame Puddifoots?" he suggested unconvincingly. It had to be the worst idea Frank had ever come up with. Everyone knew that place was awful. But he couldn’t for the life of him actually come up with anything good.

[alicemurphy]

"Well I'm not saying that we can't study together sometimes, but we should do other things too. I mean, I wouldn't want to distract you from your studying. You do have NEWTs at the end of the year and all and you still need to do well on those." She glared at him playfully before dissolving into giggles. She did want him to do well to make sure that he could accomplish his goals. Hopefully she would be a help there instead of a hindrance, but it was hard to say. "But I don't mind being a little creative either." She tried to think if any of her friends had been on interesting dates, but she didn't have any information to pull from. Molly, Angora, and Lily didn't have much experience with dating, and any of the Marauder dates didn't really...seem like a good idea for the two of them. Maybe later when they knew each other better. Or maybe not. They'd see. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Madame Puddifoot's? I didn't think you'd enjoy a place like that." Everyone knew that Madame Puddifoots was overly floral, ridiculously cheesy, and even Alice could make better teas than them. Still, their hot chocolate wasn't bad all things considered, and most couples did go there at least once. It was practically a rite of passage, or a required stop on the couple bucket list. She wouldn't mind experiencing it, but still, that wasn't quite what she had had in mind for spending time with Frank. Anything they did there would go straight into the gossip mill, and that was already going to be bad enough between the Twins and the Marauders. "We could certainly try that. Or we could try stargazing one of these nights. Or we could go dancing. We could trade music sometime soon. Or - I'm sure I could come up with something else soon, or get advice. But we have lots of time so we can try all of them eventually right?"

[alicemurphy]

In the Greenhouse || Alice & Sirius

[dissentiousdog-blog]

Sirius listened to her words of comfort, fuming. She made sense, and that made it harder. He didn’t want to be calmed down, he wanted to be angry, to let all of his rage out.

Thinking like Alice’s was too reasonable for this moment. Sirius didn’t want to understand, he wanted to blast his father into the wall again, along with his mother, and this time leave for good. Instead, he sighed. “You’re right, Alice. I can’t change them because they don’t want to get off their damned high horses."

"But they’ve poisoned Regulus, and I didn’t escape it because of some inherent kindness within me," Sirius laughed, the self-mocking clear. “I was lucky enough to sit with James on the train before I was completely indoctrinated. If that hadn’t happened, where would I be? Probably in a broom closet fucking Alecto and cursing James with Snivellus."

Sirius paused, disgusted by his words. It was too true, and too possible, that he could have sat with his cousins and became just a disturbed as Bellatrix. Pure luck is what kept him out of his family’s mindset, nothing special within him. He was no different from his family, really. He just hated them instead of Muggles. “It could get better, though. But I don’t even have the balls to walk out on them- What a good fucking Gryffindor I am."

[alicemurphy]

She winced at his words, hating the picture he painted almost as much as he probably did. Imagining James and Sirius without each other was too painful and it just seemed sort of wrong somehow. They had been attached at the hip for as long as she could remember and they always got in and out of mischief together. Still, it hadn't happened and it wasn't going to happen. She just had to make him see that.

"It wasn't luck that got you sorted into Gryffindor, and it wasn't twenty minutes with someone on a train either. If you won't agree that there is kindness within you, fine, but there is more to you than your family and you know it. I am sorry about Regulus though. He-he can be kind sometimes, but he has been with your family for a while and it shows." She definitely recalled that abortive conversation on top of the Astronomy Tower last year. It had been perfectly pleasant until he made a chance comment at the end. But Alice wasn't about to mention that now and possibly further inflame Sirius. "I wish I could help there, but I think that is more up to the two of you."

She took a deep breath. "And if you think that doing the brave and difficult thing right in this instant, especially when it involves family, is the only thing that makes someone a Gryffindor than most of our house would be disqualified from Gryffindor." Merlin knows she still hadn't stood up to her own grandparents, and on much smaller issues than Sirius's, and with much smaller consequences. "Anyway, thinking like that just makes you seem like a bigger idiot than you already are."

[alicemurphy]

Locked In || Frank & Alice

[headboylongbottom-deactivated20]

Frank couldn’t help but smile a little wider when Alice adjusted his shirt. Somehow, she’d managed to get it to sit right when he’d been trying to the do the same thing since she’d showed up. He allowed her to lead him over to sit at the window, listening to her speak. “Alice, you…. you won’t mess anything up,” he said, chuckling slightly. She was obviously concerned though, so Frank tried to reassure her. “And even if you do… I’m sure it won’t be anything too terrible. I’m honestly more worried about me messing something up…”

Frank hadn’t exactly had too much experience with dating himself. And what little romance there was in his past wasn’t anything he’d like to repeat. It had been too big a mess the first time around. But Alice was… well she was wonderful. And Frank felt certain that she would remain wonderful. Frank reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind Alice’s ears and smiled at her. “You don’t have to worry so much about that. Whatever happens, we can work it out.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I promise.”

[alicemurphy]

She was surprised when he admitted that. What did he think he could do wrong? Not when he was so sweet and considerate to her all the time. Especially since he was so patient with her sort of avoiding talking with him all summer and then putting up with her being so odd and unreasonable. She hurried to reassure him. "I don't think you'll do anything wrong. But I guess we can both learn together right?" She looked down at their joined hands. This was a feeling she could get used to. It just felt really right in a way that she hadn't expected, although maybe she should start getting used to surprises like that. If this was any indication, she would have a lot more of those. 

She bit her lip and looked up at him, smiling when he tucked the hair behind her ear. It felt wonderful. "Okay. Okay." She sat for a minute running her thumb over his knuckles enjoying the silence and the comfort that came with it. "We should do something together soon. Something that isn't just studying and maybe more than a not-date." Alice smiled, convinced now that the day they had spent together had meant far too much to both of them to be categorized as something just between friends, even if they hadn't officially said it was a date at the time. Molly had certainly been right about that. Now she wanted to do something with him officially and planning that seemed like a good way to pass the time until they could leave the tower. 

[dynamic-dedalus-diggle]

The Great Outdoors || Dedalus & Alice

[dynamic-dedalus-diggle]

Dedalus had to chuckle at Alice’s enthusiasm. It was a good marker of how good the book was though. She always got all excited when a book was good. It was nice to see her so excited. “Brilliant,” he said, “And I have read Amulet but it’s been quite some time. I’ll be honest; I don’t really remember much of what happened. But maybe, now I’m not hitting the textbooks so hard, I can get some Chevalier in the mix.” It would be a nice way to spend an afternoon or two as well an excuse to talk to Ally-cat some more later on. She’d done a good job of piquing Dedalus’s interest in the book.

They were nearing the castle now and soon they’d be through the doors and parting ways. But Dedalus wasn’t quite ready to quit the conversation just yet. There was something else he was curious about. “So,” he said, avoiding a rut in the path that had been there for as long as he could remember by guiding himself and Alice off the side of the path and back on once the danger was past, “Teddy’s made tons of new friends this year, what about you? Has the Ally-cat been out and about with anyone new?” Not that Alice really needed new friends, Dedalus was honestly just curious. Besides, Alice was so nice, there was a good chance she’d become friends with someone equally nice. And it was always nice to know about nice people.

[alicemurphy]

She nodded. It did make sense that he had been spending so much time studying that he hadn't done much else. "Well, if you do get a chance to read it, you should tell me what you think. I haven't been able to talk about it with too many other people. Angora's been hiding in the library just like you did, and Molly isn't big on reading books like that." Remus was a good possible candidate, but he was also busy with his OWLs, so she didn't want to pressure him into reading a book for fun until he had more time. Plus he never seemed to lack reading material, what with entire muggle libraries open to him. So being able to talk about the book with Dedalus would be nice. 

She blushed lightly. "I haven't really made new friends, not really. You know me, between Molly, Angora, and keeping track of the Marauders, I'm swamped. But, um, I have been talking to Frank Longbottom more recently." After an entire summer spent puzzling out what that Hogsmeade trip had meant, and what her feelings were, she had finally talked to him the other day. And it was wonderful. All wonderful. But she wasn't exactly sure how to talk about it just yet, even with someone that she was comfortable with like Dedalus. How did people introduce a topic of conversation like that? With Molly it had been fairly easy because, well, the two of them talked about everything. But she was going to have to practice talking about this. 

[alicemurphy]

In the Greenhouse || Alice & Sirius

[dissentiousdog-blog]

Sirius smiled at her comment, but the question that followed a moment later wiped the smile from his face. He had never considered confiding in anyone, really, unless he was likely to be put out of the house. And Alice… he barely knew her, although James did occasionally call her Mama Marauder. If he was to trust anyone, he may as well trust his “mother”. She was nicer than his real one.

She turned away, and Sirius respected her for it. Being stared at when you were trying to make a difficult decision infuriated him, it added much more pressure. And heaven knew Sirius didn’t need anymore pressure in his life.

At that thought, the boy’s resolve snapped. “No, everything isn’t fucking alright. How could you expect it to be, with my damned family?” He raged, pulling on his hair. His hands fell to his sides, still balled into fists. The desire to punch a wall ran through him, but he tried to hold back, the room was made of glass, after all.

“They think they’re so superior, because of their blood. Ha! I’ve seen Evans brew a better potion than my father ever could, and she doesn’t have an ounce of ‘pure’ blood in her veins!” He kicked a flower pot, watched the dirt spill out, then kicked it again, stomping on the flower for good measure.

“I don’t fucking get it! How could anyone be so close minded?” Sirius leaned against the greenhouse wall, his face in his hands. “God damn it.”

[alicemurphy]

Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to face Sirius when she heard his outburst. Of course she knew that things hadn't been easy with his family. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Sirius was very different from the other Blacks, and Alice knew first hand how rarely diversity was tolerated in pureblood families. But she thought this might be the first time that she had heard Sirius speak of it to directly. Most likely the other Marauders knew about this, but it was obvious how upset he was if he was willing to talk about this to her. She just hoped she could be worthy of the trust he had just given her. 

She let him get the initial rant out, wincing slightly when he kicked over the pot although she did her best to hide it. Later she would clean up the dirt, just like she had so many Marauder messes over the years. The flower was a lost cause but it wasn't one of the ones required for a class or even any important potion making, so that was all right. She would dispose of it later. Right now, it was far more important to focus on Sirius, the plants could wait. Besides, she had heard that a little destruction helped some people work off their anger. Hopefully this helped. 

Alice walked over so she was in front of him, although she didn't touch him just yet. She wasn't sure he wanted her to, so she would wait. "Some people are so convinced that they are right, they'll ignore any evidence they're wrong," Alice responded quietly. "They are sure they know best, and it's easier to keep thinking that, especially when you have other people to tell you that you are right. Sometimes, if you've lived so long one way, it makes it almost impossible to live any other way." She had no idea if what she was saying was helpful, but it was true. And maybe a little of it would make sense. 

"But you're right. Lily is a fantastic witch, better than most, and that has nothing to do with blood. Just as your kindness has nothing to do with your family. That doesn't make it any easier on you though, and for that I'm sorry. I wish I could say that I thought it would get easier, but it probably won't. Not now anyway." She fell silent, wanting to give him time to think over what she'd said and see if that helped at all. She might have just made things worse, but at least it would give him a chance to rant at her which was safer than exploding at any of the members of his family. She sat silently, waiting. 

[alicemurphy]

In the Greenhouse || Alice & Sirius

[dissentiousdog-blog]

Sirius just wanted to be alone. He didn’t want to explain to James why he couldn’t flood the Slytherin common room, or why he hadn’t blasted Bellatrix into next year and out of Hogwarts when she was harassing a new Muggle born first year. He didn’t want his friends to pity him, or try to help. His issues were his issues, and he could solve them by himself.

Sneaking away from his fellow Marauders, however, was not as easy as he had wished. A full moon was coming up, so they would need to meet to plan, and the map would make it even more difficult to be unnoticed. Somehow, Sirius had managed to steal the map from James- asking to borrow it was much too suspicious. James would have wanted to know what he was up to. And now he was off to the only place he was sure no one would want to go, the greenhouse.

Keeping to side corridors and in the shadows, Sirius made it to the greenhouse without being seen. Logically, he should have checked the map for any surprise visitors, but the marauder was too strung up to be thinking clearly. Why would anyone want to visit this greenhouse anyway? Tea and healing plants barely interested Professor Sprout.

Sirius pushed through the door, trying to remember which leaves were used in a Calming Draught, but he heard a voice call out. 

“God damn it,” Sirius groaned, irritation seeping into his tone. He scanned the room for the offender, and, seeing it was Alice, silently took back his damnation. Alice, he knew, was quick enough to know when people did not want to be messed with.

“Oh, sorry Alice. I thought it might be someone worse.”

[alicemurphy]

Alice blinked in surprise at the swear word accompanying the entrance of Sirius. First, because Sirius was one of the last people she expected in the greenhouse. Most of her close friends knew she could be found here, and Remus occasionally visited her, but it was rare to see James or Sirius down here. James had once made some comment about how the greenhouse reminded him too much of studying, and she had rather thought the statement had applied to Sirius as well. Still, maybe she was wrong. Maybe. It could happen. 

Although she couldn't imagine what would cause him to swear at her. Had she done something recently? She didn't think so, school had barely started. And they generally got along fairly well, even if she didn't know him as well as she did James and Remus. She had thought time would fix that, as she did want to get to know him better, but maybe she should change that plan. If he didn't want to talk to her, she wouldn't force him. When he apologized though, she had to grin. "It's all right. I suppose I can understand that reaction. Most people beyond Tilden and myself don't choose to be in the greenhouse." 

She looked at him a moment longer though, and her smile dimmed just a touch. He looked-sad. Or frustrated. Maybe both? Granted, they weren't that close so maybe it wasn't her place to pry. Still, she didn't like to see someone she cared about looking sad, not if she could help. James had once jokingly called her Mama Marauder, and as embarrassing as it was, she enjoyed the nickname. Maybe it was time to earn it a little. "Um, Sirius, is everything all right? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But if you need to talk, you can. I won't repeat anything you say, I promise."

She carefully turned back to her plants, tying off the last bundle of leaves and picking up the pruning shears. With Sirius here, it probably wasn't a good idea to work on her tea anymore. But she could get a little of the more mundane work done at the same time, and maybe if it looked like she wasn't pressuring him, he'd be more likely to talk. Or he'd feel less bad about telling her to piss off. Either way. 

[marlene-mcbadass-blog]

I'm bored.

[marlene-mcbadass-blog]

I can’t really argue with that. That’s why I need you Alice! You keep me in line. 

[alicemurphy]

All right, all right. So what is it that you're in the mood to try?

[marlene-mcbadass-blog]

I'm bored.

[marlene-mcbadass-blog]

Oh Alice have more faith! I can be good…sometimes.

[alicemurphy]

I know you can be. But somehow when you're bored you...forget. 

[marlene-mcbadass-blog]

I'm bored.

Anyone up for an adventure?

[alicemurphy]

You always seem to start trouble with that phrase Marlene. 

[alicemurphy]

In the Greenhouse || Open

Alice was in an absolutely wonderful mood. It had only been a few days since her talk with Frank, but she could already tell a difference. One of the most important aspects being the fact that she could focus again without that constant background of worry. Sure, she'd gotten all of her homework done and she had still worked a fair amount in the greenhouse. But definitely her social life had suffered. It had been too difficult to try and balance her concerns over the relationship with her other conversations. Mainly because almost everyone she had talked to either was in a relationship, wanted to be in a relationship, or was determinedly avoiding a relationship. Which meant that it was a major topic of conversation. 

Now though, she didn't have to worry about avoiding the awkward questions. She and Frank had reached a kind of understanding, and the rest they could figure out themselves. In this moment, the best part of her clearer mind was that she had a few new ideas about her teas. Working on the tea was impossible when she was frustrated, and frankly she was running low on that strength tea that she usually left out for the Marauders on full moons. She wasn't sure what it was, but if she wasn't absolutely focused on the process of drying the leaves and balancing the blend, the resulting brew either wasn't as strong as it usually was or it ended up having effects opposite to what she had originally planned. 

She took a deep breath, letting the steady glow of her happiness with Frank settle to the background of her thoughts. She wandered slowly through Professor Sprout's herb garden, lightly touching a leaf here, a flower there, occasionally trimming off one of the more promising stems. Some people had asked her why she chose one leaf versus another one, but she never had a good answer. She just knew which ones wanted to go into the tea and which ones weren't ready. She had assembled all of the ingredients and was starting to tie them into the bunches they would be in for drying when she heard the greenhouse door open. Confused, people rarely came in at this time of day, she called out, "Hello?"

[hogwarts1975memories-blog]

“These aren’t bad for muggle made.”

“Well the muggle world thanks you, oh firework master.”

“You bet your ass I am!”

Alice Murphy, Emmeline Vance, and Kingsley Shacklebolt having a fun beach day and night. Taken by John Dawlish circa summer 1977

[hogwarts1975memories-blog]

“Frank, we should probably go back before your parents start wondering where we are.”

“Just a minute. This is a neat waterfall.”

“That’s the waterfall we came out here to see? It looks like someone left the tap running in the bathroom.”

“Well, you can go back. You don’t have to wait for me.”

“Or I could just be waiting for you to turn around and kiss me.”

Frank Longbottom, showing Alice a waterfall during a family outing taken by an unimpressed Alice circa 1977

[hogwarts1975memories-blog]

“Are you sure you don’t want some of the Earl Grey?”

“No, the chamomile is fine for me.”

“Then how come my tea keeps disappearing?”

“It’s only when the aurors call you away. I miss you then.”

Frank and Alice Longbottom, circa 1978. Photo taken by charmed camera. 

[hogwarts1975memories-blog]

“Molly, you made this?”

“It’s too much isn’t it? I got a little carried away.”

“No, it’s amazing. You’re just really happy aren’t you?”

“I’ve never been happier.”

Alice and Molly taking a picture of Molly’s newest creation, circa 1976. 

[dynamic-dedalus-diggle]

The Great Outdoors || Dedalus & Alice

[dynamic-dedalus-diggle]

“Oh I will, don’t worry,” Dedalus said with a smile. And he would. Bludgers were not fun when they hit you. After a particularly nasty run in with a bludger back in fourth year, Dedalus started to be a bit more careful about them when he was playing. He still sometimes got hit, but never too badly.

Dedalus  thought for a moment. “Books…. books…” The only books the poor boy had even laid eyes on recently were textbooks. And somehow, he didn’t think that was exactly what Alice was looking for here. Sure, she’d probably not say anything bad about textbooks, but Dedalus wasn’t going to suggest them anyway. “Uhhh… Sorry, Ally-cat, I don’t think I’ve got any for you. I wish I did, though. I could probably use a nice story break.” Dedalus wasn’t an avid reader. Certainly not as avid as Alice was. But he did enjoy a good story every now and again. Normally that meant asking Alice for a book, actually. Funny how it was the other way around this time. “Did you ever get through Diamond Eye?” he asked, vaguely remembering her saying something about it. It had sounded like a good one, and Dedalus thought maybe he’d give it a try. But studying had gotten a bit in the way.

[alicemurphy]

Alice shrugged and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll find something." And she would. She could always ask Lily. Lily had lots of interesting books and she knew lots of muggle stories that Alice might not have been able to find otherwise. That would certainly be a change of pace from everything she had been reading recently. Or the Hogwarts library. That place was massive and even if she spent all her life trying to read the books in it, it would be impossible to run out of books. She could possibly look to see if there were any newer books on grafting and plant cross-breeding. Or maybe another book on tea blending and the health properties of different plants. She did want to try and refine that strength blend she had started working on...

She pulled herself back into the conversation. Now wasn't the time to start planning. She brightened up when he mentioned Diamond Eye. "Oh I devoured it. It was absolutely wonderful! I'm hoping that his next book is at least this good, but if he follows the previous trend and improves again, Chevalier is going to be absolutely incredible. The ending was a huge surprise, I'm not going to give anything away though. And Diamond's speech at the end-oh I got chills. If someone ever said something like that to me, I would turn and run. Terrifying and absolutely brilliant. It isn't nearly as slow as Amulet. I can't remember if you've read that, but if you have you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, no matter." She realized how much she'd been rambling and she caught herself. "Sorry. Long story short, yes I did finish the book."

[alicemurphy]

Locked In || Frank & Alice

[headboylongbottom-deactivated20]

The silence stretched between them. Well, this wasn’t fun. Frank fidgeted a bit, once again trying to fix his shirt hem while he awaited some sort of response from Alice. The waiting was the worst part. It was pins and needles and anxiety mixed with a knot in the stomach that wouldn’t untie and a remarkable urge to do something besides just stand there awkwardly. Well, at least Frank had done it. He’d told her. He’d talked to her. He’d done what he’d promised Fabian he’d do. Bane would have to keep his big intervention to himself. No bothering Alice. If there was any silver lining to be seen at the moment that was it.  Oh why wasn’t she saying anything? Anyone who thought silence was better than rejection was an idiot.

Needless to say, the kiss was a surprise. But Frank got over that rather quickly, melting into Alice’s embrace as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And, well, to Frank it was the most natural thing in the world. Merlin, it felt so good. Relief swept over Frank, and at the same time the warmth of Alice being so near started to block out all that awkward silence that was just there a moment ago. When they separated, Frank was smiling what was probably the biggest smile he’d smiled ever. “It’s, uhm, it’s a good answer,” he said with a small laugh.

[alicemurphy]

She relaxed further, matching her smile as best she could. She let her hands slide to his shoulders, but she couldn't resist straightening out the line of his shirt. It was a small enough move, and yet she enjoyed it for what it meant. There, now his shirt sat evenly, smoothing out the hemline. She glanced up meeting his eyes, giggling slightly at the mess she had made of his hair. She liked the look on him though. She felt that horrid tight knot that she'd been carrying inside her relax and fade away. Whatever the future brought, wasn't it enough to know that she wasn't bound to her parent's fate? She could make of it whatever she wanted, and she wanted to see what would happen with Frank. 

She took his hand and led him over to the window seat so that they could sit more comfortably and talk. It sounded like the door was still locked, since she hadn't heard it unclick or anything, but she had no desire to leave anytime soon. Once she was sitting there though, it was harder to get started. "Listen, I've never really done this before. Dating I mean. There's been a variety of reasons for that, but they aren't important right now." She would make them unimportant. Somehow. "But I do want to try to make this work with you, and I'll do my best not to mess anything up. If I do something wrong though, please tell me."

[dynamic-dedalus-diggle]

The Great Outdoors || Dedalus & Alice

[dynamic-dedalus-diggle]

“Thanks, Ally-cat,” Dedalus said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Her compliments on his playing were always appreciated, if not strictly necessary. Dedalus was perfectly sure he’d do fine at the game. And, his slacking usually took the form of not being as competitive as ol’ Gwen would have liked. But, Dedalus did well at Quidditch because he had fun with it. It was when people let the competition become more important than the fun that they started to do poorly. Not to mention, they stopped having fun. And that was never a good thing. “It’ll be a game to remember, I’m sure!” Dedalus beamed. The Hufflepuff team had a bit of a new strategy to try out. Besides, all Quidditch games were exciting.

[alicemurphy]

"Games always are. Well, just in case I don't see you before the next game starts, I wish you luck. May you score lots of points and not get injured. Watch out for those bludgers." The bludgers were actually Alice's least favorite part of the game. She'd seen too many people end up with broken bones that Madame Pomfrey had to fix because of those flying menaces to ever be comfortable with them. Sure the Beaters enjoyed their part of the team, and most of the other Quidditch players could come up with some reason to justify them. But Alice found nothing enjoyable in waiting and hoping that her friends didn't end up attacked by the bludger. 

"Just out of curiosity, do you have books to recommend to me? I know you've spent most of your time studying, but you know me - always on the lookout for new stories." Alice still had a few of Frank's suggestions left, but she wanted to try something completely new. Even if it was something school related. If Dedalus didn't have any suggestions, she would probably wander around the library until she found a title that caught her attention, but she would rather hear from her friends first. That way they could talk about it later. "If you don't that's fine. I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask."