There Ain't No Moonlight, After Midnight

Vicki was sure she managed some sleep that night. It was a situation where it felt she lay awake all night, but time was moving too quickly for her to have been awake the whole time and morning ended up coming around. When Vicki could see small rays of sunlight coming through the tent flaps she heaved herself off the bed she was laying in and ventured outside.

It was barely past six and the majority of the campsite was already emptying out. A few tents had now disappeared and even more were in the process of coming down as families were doing their best efforts to scurry away as soon as possible. It made sense to Vicki. Although the danger had long-since passed, many families would be waking up to the news about the World Cup attack. Everyone would be wanting to return back to their families to let them know they were safe. It was also a depressing thing, to have to remain at the camp when such awful things had happened on the very ground they stood on just a few hours prior.

Arthur Weasley was no exception, he came out of the men's tent not too long after Vicki stepped out.

"We'll be heading off very shortly, I was just about to wake you girls. We're going to have breakfast at home, so it's just a matter of getting dressed and packing up." Arthur explained.

"Thanks for letting me stay last night." Vicki stated with a small smile on her face, awkwardly shifting her weight side to side as she felt uncomfortable talking to an adult she didn't know very well.

"You're more than welcome to grab the portkey with us and have breakfast at The Burrow, but I assume you'll want to go back to your family and let them know you're safe." Arthur offered to Vicki.

Vicki mused on it for a second. She was still wanting to avoid Roger and transporting with the Weasleys would be a good way to delay their inevitable talk they would have today. She also knew the Weasley family lived somewhere near Ottery St Catchpole, as she once heard Amos Diggory mention it to her father. Vicki lived in London with her mother, but her father was one of the wizards who lived in the Ottery St Catchpole community. Therefore she could technically go back with the Weasley family and then go visit her father after.

"Thank you for the offer that's very kind, but I should probably go find Roger my boyfriend. He must be quite worried." Vicki responded. It made sense for her to treat this like a Band-Aid and rip it off – she would get the talk with Roger over and done with.

She also knew her father would be at work so it was pointless to hang around his house. Her mother would also soon be waking to the news about the attacks and would be worried sick about Vicki if she didn't return home all day.

Vicki offered to Mr Weasley that she would get the girls up and help pack the smaller tent. She was unable to use her wand as she was still underage but she loosened the tent pegs and Percy came over to do the rest. She was then standing in front of the Weasley family who were all packed up and ready to go.

"Once again thank you for your hospitality Arthur." Vicki politely thanked Mr Weasley.

"You are more than welcome Victoria. I appreciate you assisting my family last night." Arthur stated as he nodded his head towards the twins and Ginny.

"Well I best go find Roger. I'll see most of you at school." Vicki stated as she sent a wave to the family. Just as she went to walk off back into the campsite she heard Fred call out to her.

"Oi Vicki!" Fred yelled and Vicki turned around to await what he had to say "Come and see us on the train in a week. You don't have a near death experience with someone and not become friends afterwards."

Vicki smiled brightly and promised she would definitely seek him out on the Hogwarts Express and she made her way through the campsite. She left Fred smiling even brighter. Twenty four hours ago Victoria Hartwell was a girl he pined for from afar who he thought he would never speak to. Now she considered him a 'friend'.

***

"I don't see why we couldn't ask someone to help us take this tent down with magic. The Weasleys took less than five minutes to get two tents down. We'd be home right now." Vicki huffed as she crossed her arms.

She watched Roger and could read his expression. She knew he was uncomfortable that she had spent the night in their tent but he knew he couldn't speak up considering it was he who was in the doghouse. If he uttered a word about it he knew Vicki would start a full fight.

"Yeah well the tent is down. It's an expensive one. My father would have a fit if I let some stranger wreck it taking it down." Roger stated but let out a sharp breath as he feared this would make Vicki angry.

Instead it did the opposite. It softened her. Roger was in the same position as her. He had parents at home worried sick about his safety. They would be anxiously waiting for him to walk through their door and hoping they would see him again. What had happened the night before was a huge event, and Vicki was busy being angry rather than looking at the big picture. She and Roger had gotten out safely. That was more important than who was in the right and who was in the wrong.

It was at that moment she decided to drop this. As long as Roger knew what he did was wrong, she could forgive him. He was an important part of her life and she couldn't stand to lose him. She really did love him. They had dropped the "L" word early in their relationship but it was times like these she knew she meant it.

"If you're sorry, I forgive you." Vicki blurted to Roger as he was packing the last of the tent into his backpack.

"Well I am sorry I couldn't get us out of here faster." Roger responded, misinterpreting what she was trying to say.

Vicki gave him a soft look. It was one where her face softened but she raised her eyebrows. Anyone else may not have known what was going on with one look, but Roger knew. He knew his girlfriend's ways, but he was also quite clever himself. She wasn't just talking about the tent. He knew it was time for him to gush.

"Oh Vicki I am very sorry. I should have taken you when I went over. No, wait. I shouldn't have gone at all," Roger blurted, as he grabbed Vicki's hands to get her to face him to show sincerity "I am truly sorry for the hurt I caused you. I promise it meant nothing and nothing happened. Which is why this is so bad. I hurt you, for nothing."

Vicki didn't respond for a few moments as she studied Roger carefully. She could tell he was being truthful. He did appear sorry. Vicki knew his genuine remorse meant that she could move on and stop the fighting.

"Nothing definitely happened?" Vicki asked. She knew she was giving him a free pass to lie so she quickly added on "Because if something did happen with those witches now is the time to tell me."

"No. Nothing happened," Roger admitted as he shook his head vigorously "Did anything happen between yourself and any of the Weasleys?"

Vicki looked at Roger in horror and held herself from snapping at him again. She didn't like that now Roger thought he was in the clear he felt it appropriate to start to throw accusations out in the air. She however gulped down her anger and decided to give him an answer. If it satisfied any weird feelings he was having and he didn't say anymore, it would be okay.

"Of course not. I stayed in the girls tent anyway with the youngest one, Ginny as well as that really smart fourth year that hangs around Harry Potter, her name is Hermione." Vicki responded casually.

She noticed Roger sigh a breath of relief and his entire demeanour changed. His shoulders also dropped, he was relaxing. Vicki was glad she stopped herself from an outburst as the anger disappeared. It was probably understandable that Roger was wondering if something happened considering she was angry at him, and spent the night with other people.

"C'mon, let's go grab a portkey and get out of here." Roger stated as he took Vicki's hand and led her to the end of the campsite.

The crowd was quite thin at this point so they didn't have to manoeuvre their way around too many people. They also weren't held up any acquaintances as it appeared there weren't any left to stop and talk to.

Vicki blinked as she looked around. Less than twenty four hours ago it was a cheerful campsite full of happy people. Now it was deserted and depressing. She was glad they were getting out of there.

Vicki let Roger talk to the wizard handing out portkeys. They didn't have to wait for anyone else as it was decided they'd grab a portkey to London so Roger could safely deliver Vicki to her mother. As the magic community had to live in secret most had settled their own communities in country areas. Therefore Roger and Vicki didn't have to wait for any families to join them, and there were plenty of Central London port keys left over.

Moments later Vicki and Roger found themselves on the ground of a football pitch near Vicki's home. Vicki composed herself and flattened her clothes as she picked herself off the ground. Roger on the other hand looked around amazed at the surroundings. As he was not a muggle born (or in Vicki's case brought up in the Muggle World) a football pitch seemed interesting to him.

"Oi, are you lot drunk? My children are here to kick around a football with their dad, not here to see trashy teenagers passed out from the night before." A woman yelled at the two from a few metres away, hands on her hips.

Vicki had held herself together when Roger left her alone the previous night. She had dealt with the much older Bagman flirting with her. She survived a terrorist attack and she held herself together to fix things with Roger. It was however a silly muggle woman who made her snap.

"No we are not drunk. We have had an awful night and ended up here. So don't judge us. We're about to leave anyway." Vicki snapped and turned to leave but the muggle woman kept going.

"No respect from teenagers these days. I don't come here to have to see teenage misfits. This neighbourhood has really gone to the chavs." The woman snarled.

Vicki stopped in her tracks. She may have grown up as part of the magic community but she had grown up partly in the muggle community as well. Before Hogwarts she successfully finished primary school and her mother's house was in a muggle neighbourhood. Therefore Vicki knew all about social and economic statuses and knew exactly what this woman was calling her.

Vicki bit down her anger and tried to keep cool. If she lashed out she knew she would be playing into this woman's argument that she was trash. No, she needed to keep cool and hit her where it hurts.

"Oh, I agree. Poor people really have taken over. Look at you, your clothes look like they cost all of about two quid. In my childhood only women who went to the effort to dress up left the house to come here and see their kids play. Shame." Vicki grinned as she watched the woman seethe.

The woman didn't back down and shrieked insults in a high pitch voice. Vicki didn't bother responding and she only giggled as she grabbed Roger's hand and they began to walk towards Vicki's house.

"I have no idea what just happened," Roger admitted as he studied his girlfriend's face "I don't know what a chav is, and while I think 'two quid' is muggle money, it still means nothing to me."

"Oh, she was basically calling us lower class trash. Rather than proving her right and getting angry and lashing out, I insulted her right back. It's all about reading the enemy and getting under their skin rather than having the last say." Vicki grinned.

"This is how you became the most popular girl in school last year." Roger joked, placing a kiss on his girlfriend's head as the small townhouse Vicki lived in came into sight.

Vicki gave him a small smile. This statement bothered her, and she didn't know why.