Freddie groaned as he felt a kick at his side. The effects of the stunning spell were wearing off and he was beginning to feel the pains from the beating he had obviously taken while sleeping. Through groggy eyes that seemed to be looking through frosted glass he caught sight of the stranger in the white cloak and seeing the next kick coming caught the boot and twisted it. The stranger came crashing down next to him at his level. In an instant he had sat up and had his arm thrown back about to strike when the hood fell back and revealed Madison.

"Maddy what the devil do you think you're doing?" Freddie asked.

He got a slap in the face for his pains. He caught her hand though as she came to strike again.

"Seriously, woman, stop!" He exclaimed. "That hurts!"

"Not as much as it will when I break your lying jaw, you piece of ..."

Freddie didn't know what possessed him at that moment but he well knew, at least his father had told him once, the best way to shut up a woman was to kiss her. So he did just that. Madison tried to bite his lips but even though she struggled she gave in to his tender entreaties. She fell back on the ground and he lay over her kissing her and enjoying it immensely.
Madison for her part was amazed that Freddie was such a great kisser, for such a shy boy.

His lips parted from hers as he caught his breath. Smiling at her he expected her to smile in return but instead she headbutted him and sent him crashing back onto the ground.

"First of all, don't you ever kiss me without permission!" She shouted.

"Dow. Thithter id'll be a long while before I dry to kiss you again," he complained through a throbbing nosebleed.

"You're an idiot, Freddie Valentine!"

"If you'd just let me explain," he said, but before he could finish she was talking again.

"Secondly, who do you think you are standing me up? Me? As if I don't have more important things to be doing with my time than waiting on you to ..."

"Madison, please. I ... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Teddy got me into this fight and ... well afterwards we went to a pub and ..."

"Isn't it usually you went to the pub first and got into the fight afterwards? Maybe you need to work on your story Freddie."

"Maybe you need to stop talking and start listening!" he exclaimed.

It was an odd sight. The boy sitting on the floor bleeding all over his face, the girl standing around in a white cloak yelling at him in the middle of an empty street at night. Any passerby might have taken them for a couple of overexcited adolescents who had been out on the town too long and needed to get to bed. But in truth they were simply a couple of love sick kids.

Madison with her arms crossed, her back turned to him and her wand out and ready to blast him again stood quietly listening as he explained everything. Fighting her urge to drown him in Veritaserum she turned to look at him and as his story progressed she sat next to him and listened more intently so that by the end of his sad little tale she was dressing his wound and cleaning his face.

"I finally got so tired of him and everyone knows that Teddy can't be drunk under the table by anyone ..."

Madison interjected, "Ottery says he drinks petrol sometimes."

"Exactly. So I took a bottle of firewhiskey and smashed it over his head instead. And I came running here to see if I could still catch you. I didn't realize it was so late until ..."

Freddie didn't get to finish his sentence because just then he was stunned again. Only this time it was by Madison's kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. Though all his ribs hurt and he would have liked to have gone to an infirmary just then to make sure he had no internal bleeding, Freddie didn't mind the pain because Madison's kiss was working as a pain reliever.

"Oh, Freddie you poor sweet boy," she said, kissing him and playing with his hair. "If I had only known. Where do you hurt baby?"

"Right now? Everywhere," he replied with a dazed expression on his face.

♥

Meanwhile back in Ireland

Reginald paced up and down the front of her house. The others gave him funny looks but he ignored them. He didn't want to talk to them, he didn't want to go for walks in the early mornings with them and he didn't feel like looking for worms either no matter the time of day. All Reginald could do was pace in front of her house and wait. He kept thinking of that song from his favorite musical, My Fair Lady, and he started singing.

Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour Out of ev'ry door?
No, it's just on the street where you live!
And oh! The towering feeling
Just to know somehow you are near.
The overpowering feeling
That any second you may suddenly appear!
People stop and stare. They don't bother me.
For there's no where else on earth that I would rather be.
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live.

The other chickens might laugh, but Reginald Rooster would wait. He would wait forever if he had too, for his plucky love ♥ Clucky. He knew she was out there somewhere likely romancing that sandy haired fool Seamus, but he didn't care. Once she got her fill of adventure she would come home to his loving wings and together they would settle down and start a nest of their own. Who knew maybe Lenin the pig or Money in your pocket could be the best man at the wedding.

♥

When last we left our intrepid hero Giovanni he was *ahem* well let's see, shall we?

O: Funny how nobody cares about the red head *pets Giovanni* but Freddie everyone loves because of his dark wavy hair ... *ahem* *puts on narrator suit again*

Having been caught off guard, Giovanni could not fire a spell to defend himself. Nor did he need to when he saw who it was that had him pinned down.

"Laura? What are you doing here? And can you get off me please?"

"I came all this way to have you tell me 'get off'? I don't think so," the girl exclaimed. Then letting him go she spelled him, and he lay struggling on the ground tied up in ropes.

"Now you're going to listen, and you're going to listen good, okay, Gio?" the girl asked.

"Fine, Laura but why do I have to be tied up to listen?" the boy asked.

"Don't make me gag you, just listen. This is going to be hard enough as it is."

From the bushes nearby Prince laughed, rolling around on the grass trying very hard not to give away his presence. He knew Laura and he knew Giovanni and he knew what this was likely about and how good an idea it was to have him tied up because otherwise he wouldn't really listen.

"For a very long time now, Giovanni I've liked you."

"I like you too, Laura but this isn't how friends play," the boy struggled against the ropes in a futile effort.

"I like you the way girls like boys, Giovanni. Not just like friends," she said very quickly hoping that perhaps he wouldn't hear it.

"What are you talking about?"

"Not like brother and sister you idiot, she has the hots for you!" Prince exclaimed from where he was hiding in the bushes.

"What are you doing hiding there shouldn't you be helping me? Wait a minute ... Laura ..." Giovanni turned to look at the girl who was standing there with her heart in her hand unable to face the boy she'd grown up next to, whom she'd played with since they were old enough to walk and whom she'd now followed to another country just to declare her love. "Are you kidding, me?" he asked.

Laura watched the boy in horror for a split second and ran away crying down the street. Prince glared at the boy and tail and nose in the air proceeded to walk away.

"No, wait. I didn't mean it like that ... Laura!" the boy yelled. "Help me out of here you silly cat!" the boy exclaimed. But too late, Prince had already climbed the tree and was not listening. So, getting on his knees first and then hopping to his feet Giovanni, completely tied up, went running after Laura the girl next door, the girl he had played with since they were old enough to walk, the girl he'd grown up next to and who had now followed him to another country to declare her love. He had crushed on Laura when he was six and then again when he was nine but thinking girls were icky he had thought his love for her gone but it lay only dormant and he suddenly now realized how happy her words would make him, if only they were true.

Still, if she'd thought he was joking with her she'd never forgive him and if she never forgave him she would never look at him and if she never looked at him then he'd never be able to apologize and if he couldn't apologize he couldn't tell her he liked her back. Giovanni hopped after her as Prince watched from a tree top laughing. Love was funny but this was ridiculous.

♥

Draco was sitting at a corner table alone in Ottery's Pub, which Blaise had quaintly taken over and likely not bothered to inform Ottery was even now giving Teddy all that he could drink free of charge. He sighed. Draco had to pay for his drinks but Teddy could get them free. Obviously, Blaise was bribing the muscle. Somehow he knew this assignment would go down one way or the other. There was no point in his backing out. Besides which from what Blaise had said, after the sale of the piece, they would all be leaving with substantially large sums of money. While Draco didn't have a problem in that department he did not have access to large sums of galleons without question. However much money he needed Narcissa would easily supply, but the price was always interrogation. Draco had plans for this money, which involved a certain blonde haired Ravenclaw?

Honestly, he didn't know. But ever since that day he'd run into LoOny Luna at Madame Curie's shoppe he could not stop thinking about her. There was something oddly mesmerizing about that girl. Of course, she was just a girl, and a silly little Ravenclaw at that but that was just it. Who had ever heard of a silly little Ravenclaw? You did not get housed in Ravenclaw for being a fool. Perhaps she was only playing one to get at something. Maybe she liked being underestimated so she could strike without mercy when it was least expected. Whatever the case, Luna Lovegood intrigued Draco Malfoy and he wanted very much to get her somewhere alone so he could gauge exactly how smart she was or at least, what her game was.

The Slytherin boy took a drink from his butterbeer and sat in silence alone with his thoughts of Luna Lovegood glad that no one around could hear his thoughts. His father would think he was a fool. Mother wouldn't object, after all Luna was a pureblood wasn't she?

♥

This All-Love Post is lovingly dedicated to my Kellybear. Because she is my love. ♥

Replies: I'm tired if I'm not coherent my apologies ...

KellyBear OT: So long as you're there that's all the romance I need *smoochiesloves*

Kellybear: I gave Madison some love ... per your request.

Connie: You're sweet to worry about Adam but I wouldn't ... not for much longer anyways

I don't know Connie ... I'd say Freddie caught the best brake of all. Love. I was sure you'd all remember Madison's white cloak

I've decided to slow down the pace Connie ... I know, I'm weird. This story, Human Nature, I'm gonna start another thread in a few days, my assignment writing on my Lj AND Nanowrimo. I love pain don't I? or writing ...

Luna will indeed make her modifications to her dress ... which you will see, at the Ball and yes you will see what's been keeping Ron, Harry and Hermione so busy from this story ... maybe I'll throw in some Sirius if y'all are good. remember this takes place between HP3 & HP4 so ...

Love you two for being here so often and I love ALL MY READERS for reading so loyally ... I hope you all enjoy the new, slower paced and hopefully more romantic Love in the time of Whooping Cough ♥ A Series of Adventurous Romances - Sa13+