Thursday Night:


Alicia didn't know exactly when to expect Cormac to arrive, but she knew that he had probably never done Yoga before. She was planning on taking him through the simple poses of the Sun Salutation, but she was far past that level herself. She decided to go ahead and start doing her poses.


Her body stretched, and eased the stress of the day from her mind. All thoughts of how she was going to have to choose soon whether to continue this insanity of juggling two full-time jobs were wiped from her mind as she focused on her breath. As her body moved through the poses, she slowly moved to one of the most challenging poses she'd done yet. Moving from Downward Facing Dog, she placed her forearms and palms flat on the floor and walked her legs as close to her torso as possible. One at a time, she lifted her legs to above her head, so they were touching all the way along from her thighs to her toes. Inhaling deeply, she lifted her head and lowered her legs towards the floor, entering the scorpion pose; knees apart, toes together, and her body arched into a spiral. She was so caught into her breath and the feeling of her limbs holding the pose, that she didn't even hear the soft pop that announced Cormac's arrival.

Bloody hell. I'm dreaming. I'm doing an awful lot of that today. Either that or I've Splinched myself and I'm dead. That must be it. Where's the light I'm supposed to walk towards? Cormac took a deep breath and marveled at the sight before his eyes. So flexible, he nearly moaned aloud before he caught himself, biting down on his tongue in the process. What was proper protocol when one entered a beautiful woman's flat and found her literally head over heels? "Breathe, Cormac," he said softly to himself. He took his own advice, and took a deep breath. He noticed-among other things-that Alicia had no shoes and socks off, so he took his trainers and socks off as well.

"Alicia, love? Don't get me wrong-you look simply amazing like that, but there's no way this body is going to get in that position without a few hexes hurled at it."

Alicia jumped at the sound of his voice, and lost her balance. She leaned instinctively to one side and was able to uncurl herself, landing on her side. She lay there a moment and then looked sheepishly at Cormac.

"You startled me," she said, still a bit shaken from her fall. Had she hurt herself it could have been devastating to all she had worked for the past four years of her life. She sat up and looked away from Cormac, ashamed of the tears that were threatening to spill over, especially since she was upset for such a silly reason. She had just seen everything slipping away as she fell and despite being fine, she was a bit of a wreck. Pull yourself together, woman! Her inner voice snapped the command, and Alicia jutted her chin out, wiping the errant tears away. You're fine and all's well that ends well.

Cormac noticed the sadness in Alicia and he was confused. "Er-Alicia? Are you all right? Did I do something? Say something? What's wrong, love?" He kneeled down beside her and gathered her in his arms.

"I apologize for that little bit of silliness, Cormac." She smiled, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I thought I'd do my advanced practice while I waited for you, because we're doing basic stuff tonight. I just got a bit scared when I fell, is all. Before we get started, though... How was your day? Did anything interesting happen?" She sat on the floor and pulled him down to sit beside her, taking his hand in hers and starting to massage it.

"If you call being stuck in the office all day interesting, then yes, it was an entirely scintillating day." He smiled. "How was yours? How was practice?

She laughed. "My day was great until I was doing my yoga and some weirdo half scared me to death." She giggled and pressed a kiss to the palm of the hand she'd been massaging. She picked up the other and started kneading it softly. "If you're not going to tell me more details about your day at the office, perhaps we'll start working on breathing. Everything in yoga is connected to the breath. And what with the tension you have emanating off of you, focusing on your breath would really help. It can do that even at work. When you get frustrated, or upset, you just inhale slowly and deliberately thorough your nose." She inhaled, demonstrating. "And then exhale slowly through your mouth."

She grinned cheekily. "You wouldn't believe the number of times that has kept me from killing Oliver."

She wants me to breathe. This is how she wants me to 'make it up to her'? By breathing? Can do. He felt his eye twitch and immediately let his face go slack before he ended up rolling his eyes. Dear Merlin, help me. "Well, if it stops me from shamelessly murdering people..." Cormac did as Alicia had instructed; he breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. He looked up at her, smiling. "And step two?"


She laughed at him. Outright, bust a gut, laughed at him.

"Dear Merlin if you could see your face!" She did her breathing again, calming herself. "Don't worry, Cormac, most men feel stupid the first time. Then again, most men have an entire class just on breathing. We're going to move faster than that." She grinned again, and joked, "So would you humor me and do it again, preferably without the 'eyeroll that almost lived'?"

Grimacing slightly, Cormac realized there would be no faking this. Rolling his neck around in a circle, he forced himself to relax. The perfect student this time, Cormac took a long, slow breath in through his nose and then slowly exhaled through his mouth. This time, when he looked up at Alicia, his smile was genuine. "Better?"


"Much," she giggled, unable to contain it. "You know... If this is too hard..." Her eyes danced, and a smirk played along her lips. "Come on, we'll get to the actual movement."

She stood and placed her hands in front of her as if she were praying, and waited for him to copy her. "I'm going to take you through the Sun Salutations. They're a series of movements, but that'd be easier than me saying 'here's a pose now do it'. Each movement is aligned with that breath I forced you to take. Now, do this with minimal eyerolling and perhaps you'll get a treat." She grinned, and then on her inhale, raised her arms. "The first pose was Tadasana, and this, well it's called Urdhva Hastasana, which is a fancy way of saying arms raised up. Good so far?"

Cormac, very interested in a treat, was the model student. He copied her moves as precisely as he could and then held the same the position she was in. "Are my arms supposed to be stuck over my head like this? I'm very interested in doing this correctly. I'd like a treat, Alicia."


Alicia's rich laughter filled the room. "Dear, dear Cormac, you are amusing tonight." She exhaled and then, on the inhale, dropped her torso so she was bending at the hips and placed her palms on the floor on either side of her feet. "Okay, I'm going to get you blocks to rest your hands on." She pulled her wand out and two blocks appeared beside Cormac's feet, making it easier for him to complete the bend. "You have to be careful to not strain yourself. Yoga is about control... Something I would imagine would make it rather appealing to you."

Cormac snorted, but used the blocks to assist him in holding the pose.

She moved to a lunge and then, moving her front foot back to join the other, she pushed herself into Downward Facing Dog. "This is one of the most common poses, we call it Downward Facing Dog. If your calves feel really tight and you can't put your feet flat on the floor, that's okay. You can help stretch that out by 'pedaling' your feet... Like this." She demonstrated what she meant, slowly stretching her calves, hands and feet still forming a triangle with the floor.

Does she realize how wonderful her arse looks? Do not attack her. Do not jump on her. No. Control. Yes. Yoga is about control. Sod it. She means to torture me. That's what this is about. Not breathing, not relaxing. She's still miffed about the other night and she's trying to kill me. He copied the move Alicia had done until it looked as if his backside was as far in the air as hers. "Like this, love? Exactly how far in the air is my arse supposed to be?"

Alicia looked at him, "I think you're okay for height, but don't jut your arse out, you goof. Here, stay put, I'll come fix you." She stood and walked over to him. "It's like a push-up, only instead of pushing your shoulders and torso, you push back, keeping your feet planted. So your legs are straight, and your back is flat, but you're bent at the hips. It gives a stretch in the lower back." She ran her hands along his body lightly, showing him what she meant as she spoke. Then she smiled. "That's better. Do you feel the stretch?"

He shivered involuntarily as her fingers ran across his back, hips, and down his legs. "I feel it," he said. I'd like to be feeling something else...

"Great. You're doing really well, Cormac. Thanks for doing this with me. Now I'm gonna get back into pose and we can continue." She ruffled his hair lightly and walked back to her mat and resumed Downward Facing Dog.

The hair ruffling caused Cormac's will to deteriorate. He loved having his hair played with (as much as he would never admit it upon pain of death). And there was sweet Alicia, oblivious to his obvious discomfort, arse in the air, stretched out for the taking. It was just too much for any guy to handle. He broke his pose and was trying to figure out the best way to get her attention without scaring her half to death like he had done earlier. Although, this time she wasn't wrapped up like a pretzel in midair, so he figured it would be safer.

Coming to stand behind her, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her up to him, he said, "Now this is much better. Wouldn't you agree?" He turned her around before she could answer and, placing his hands on either side of her face, captured her lips in a fevered kiss. Stumbling slightly, he fell on the couch, pulling her with him. They continued kissing; Alicia nibbling slightly on his ear and working her fingers through his hair, while he nuzzled her neck. When they both came up for air, Cormac looked at her flushed cheeks and swollen lips and smiled. He had done that. The tousled look suited her, suited her very well. "I think I like yoga," Cormac said, smiling mischievously.

Alicia smiled, gave him a quick kiss and stood. "Me too; I especially liked your variation on Downward Facing Dog. Come to the kitchen, I've tea ready to go, I just need to boil the water. And even though you cheated a bit, I'll still give you your treat."

Cormac followed, wondering what this treat she was talking about could possibly be, and was greeted with biscuits.


"I hope you like chocolate chip, I baked them just this afternoon, after practice," she said, motioning for him to take a seat. "How do you take your tea?" she asked the question while pouring the boiling water into her teapot. Swiftly she opened the cupboard and snagged two mugs with one hand, grabbing the tea in the other and joining him at the table.

"I know being a man, I'm supposed to say I like it black, but I'd prefer lots of sugar if you have some, please," he said, smiling.

"Sugar it is. I guess that means that since I take my tea black, and my coffee black as well, that I must be the man here?" She smirked as she set the sugar in front of him, and pushed the plate of biscuits in his direction. She sipped her tea and studied him as he stirred. "Cormac. Let's play twenty questions... It's where you each ask the other twenty questions, and you can use them to get to know the person. I'll go first, and start easy. What's your favorite scent, and... why? See, now I have two questions gone."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Vanilla." He grinned. "It's you. My turn?"

Her breath caught in her throat and she nodded. I'm his favorite scent?

"What's your favorite thing to do on a day off? Besides Quidditch and yoga?"

"Mmm," she chewed her bottom lip as she always did when thinking. "I guess baking or cooking. Ooh! Or dancing with Katie and Angie!" Satisfied with her answer, she looked at him and carefully considered her next question.

"Did you have pets, growing up? If so, names and species are required."

"Mr. Tinkles. Chihuahua. You laugh, I leave. Favorite food?"

"Mmpf," Alicia choked, literally on the laughter that had threatened to spill out of her. She started coughing, and finally was able to take a drink. "Lovely choice of names," she quipped, straight-faced. "Anything Indian or Thai. Spicier the better. Hmm, best memory from Hogwarts?"

Cormac paused, he could feel his face fall slightly. Not a plethora of happy memories to choose from there. Mostly, his Hogwarts years had been spent in a haze of alternating despair and fury, dealing with his father's murder and feeling as if he didn't quite belong. Most happy memories involved watching and playing, however briefly, Quidditch, or befriending Katie. Seeing as how he was with another woman, he promptly answered, "Quidditch. What's your favorite position? Quidditch position." He smirked.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, seeing his face fall, and realizing that had been a hard question, "I guess, I have so many good memories of Hogwarts... I kind of assume everyone does. Favorite Quidditch position? That's the easiest question EVER." She quirked an eyebrow at him, "I can't believe the great Cormac McLaggen couldn't come up with a question that had a less obvious answer. Chaser, of course. Favorite Quidditch team?"

"Talk about easy questions. Puddlemere, now. What do you sleep in?"

Alicia smirked. "My bed, of course." She looked at him as his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, did you mean clothes-wise?" She chuckled. "An old Puddlemere jersey I stole from Oliver back in my Hogwarts days, and my knickers. What about you?"

Cormac's jaw dropped. "That's exactly what I sleep in. You stole a jersey from Oliver, too?" He laughed. "Actually, just boxers. Do you really enjoy teaching children yoga, of all things?"

Alicia's eyes lit up. "Okay, I fell in love with Yoga when I went to India. And then when I came back and was desperate for a job, I decided to apply there... I actually started with teaching adults, but after too many men tried new variations of Downward Facing Dog, I resigned myself to teaching children." She looked at him for a moment, and watched the shock register on his face. "I'm kidding! Nah, the going to India and applying at Stretch yourself is true, but I started with kids. I've taught some adult classes though, so I do know what it's like, to compare." She grinned. "The kids are way less likely to roll their eyes at breathing. It's a lot of fun... I get to jump around and play follow the leader with kids. It's great. Not a rush, like Quidditch, but definitely fun." She sighed, "But I think I may have to quit. I'm already starting to burn out from being full time Quidditch... And the studio has taken to asking me to cover every extra shift. And I don't have the heart to say no."

"How are the biscuits? Do you need more tea?"

"Biscuits are perfect. Yes, please, to the tea. So did those count as two more questions? Once we're done the twenty questions can we go back to the couch?"

"Well, you just used up three more. And it doesn't matter if we don't actually make it to twenty... The point is to get to know each other. It generally bodes well for a friendship or whatever-the-hell-ship if you know something about the other person." She smirked, and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "One more question, at least, though. Would you like a ticket to my first game? The team gave me the top box to put family in but my parents can't make it." She paused, wondering if she should say anything about why they wouldn't be coming, and decided against it. No need to announce to the world your heritage, after all. "There's a buffet and wet bar... I'd love it if you'd come to support me... My friend Angie will be there too... You remember her, Angelina Johnson?"

"I'd love to come watch you. Watch you play, I mean. And yes, I do remember Angelina. I hear she's singing at Avalon now, right?"

"Yeah, she's the best one there. She dances too." Alicia stifled a yawn. "Oh Merlin, I'm tired. I'm sorry, Cormac, but I don't think I have the energy for round two on the couch. Forgive me?" She looked at him with sleepy eyes, hoping that tonight he'd leave on good terms, though the flowers had been nice. She looked over at them and smiled.

Cormac noticed the flowers he had sent. "I'm happy to see you didn't toss them in the garbage. I am sorry," he said, while wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her lightly. "I'll let you get some rest, but I will be thinking of you in Oliver's old jersey and your knickers..." He kissed her once more. "Goodnight, love."

{Summary: Alicia introduces Cormac to Yoga. This date ends on a much better note.}