—————A—————

Harry had been quiet all day, and if Ron was to be believed, even stayed behind to speak with her dad after class. So, when he asked all of them to meet in the Room of Requirement before dinner, Aurora had a feeling it was important. Maybe it would be about the nightmare that had made him scream loudly enough that Fred and George claimed to have heard it in the seventh-year dorms.

The Room of Requirement provided a simple space, though she snickered to herself at the round table with a throne-like chair. Harry went to it, his head down, looking like he was miles away. Ron sat beside him to his right, Draco on his left, and Aurora joined him, Neville beside her. Ginny and Luna couldn't seem to decide where to sit, giggling before settling so Luna was a buffer between the siblings.

After a few minutes of silence, Ron leaned around Harry to look at Draco, the two of them silently arguing over who should be the one to snap Harry out of his mood. In the end, it was their gesturing that did the trick, and Harry mustered a small smile before clearing his throat.

"I've had secret Occlumency lessons with Snape."

"How bad are your headaches?" Aurora asked quietly.

"They aren't that bad, actually," Harry said. "The lessons were to keep... Riddle out."

Aurora frowned, but it was Neville who asked, "Out how?"

"It's not like what happened to Gin. Snape says that I'm linked to him through my scar. We didn't know until not too long ago that it isn't possible to-to block him out. I guess I'm getting pretty good at Occlumency. Kept Draco out. Can keep Snape out for a while, too. But nothing I do can keep out Vold—Riddle. I had a vision last night. Maybe it wasn't a 'vision' so much as a...reflection of what he's doing. And... he's after something in the Department of Mysteries."

"We knew that already," Ron said. "'S why Dad got attacked."

"Yeah, but whatever it is... I don't think just anyone can handle it. There was a man, Rookwood, one of the ones that escaped Azkaban. He told ... him that Bode wouldn't have been able to go for it. Even under Malfoy's Imperius curse."

Draco snorted and shook his head, but Aurora could see the nervous shame in his eyes.

"It's not like you did it," Ron mumbled, glancing at Malfoy as if he were too scared to make eye contact.

Draco shrugged one shoulder. "No, but it's the name, isn't it? I get that my father believes in blood purity, and our ancestors did as well. I get that they wanted to preserve the old ways. But Imperiusing a man to get a weapon for a psychopath? Sending him to his death when he couldn't do it? Despicable."

"You're not your father, Draco," Harry said, and the blond raised his head to look at Harry incredulously. "No one here is ever going to think that. Even if we still call you Malfoy, it doesn't mean we're thinking of you two as one and the same."

Harry gave Draco such a warm, earnest smile that Aurora felt uncomfortable, feeling like she was invading a very personal moment. She wasn't the only one either, and it seemed the boys had no idea what was going on around them as they remained frozen for a moment.

"So, what do you think it is?" Neville asked, and that broke the connection.

"I don't know," Harry said. "I talked to Snape about it. He said there was a meeting last night, that he was there, that... someone was punished for some bad information. He seemed relieved I lost contact with Vol—Riddle before he did anything about it. He also said he was fairly certain he knew what the Dark Lord was after, but he couldn't say. Not until I perfected my Occlumency."

"Why not?" Ron asked.

"Because good ol' Dumbledore has been buggering around in our minds without our permission," Draco said. "I never noticed until Uncle Severus pointed it out, but afterwards, I've felt the faintest little niggling in the back of my mind whenever I'm around the headmaster. I keep thinking that maybe I forgot something, and that's why I felt odd. Now? Well, the old goat was just trying to get some inside information, wasn't he?"

"Come to think of it," Aurora said, "I know what you mean. I hardly noticed it before."

"If you never noticed it, then how do ya know he's doing it?" Ron asked.

"He might not be to us," Ginny said. "And if he was, would we really notice?"

"I tend to think of some of my favorite creatures when he pops into my head," Luna said dreamily. "Nargles in particular. He doesn't stick around long after that."

"So, Snape knows and thinks you should know, but doesn't want the headmaster to know you know? Why not?" Ginny asked.

"Because if Dumbledore wanted me to know, he'd have told me," Harry replied bitterly.

"How do you know it's not something that you shouldn't know? Like, at all?" Neville asked nervously. "Maybe he's not telling you for a reason."

The table was silent as everyone waited for Harry's answer, which came at barely above a whisper. "Because I trust Snape more than I trust Dumbledore." He shrugged. "Don't be so surprised. Who taught us nonverbal Defense over the holidays?"

"You learned that from Snape?" Neville asked.

Harry nodded. "And he's... he's always tried to be as forthcoming as he can be, whenever I ask. His wife is my godmother, and while I don't know her, Sirius talks about her as if she could defeat Voldemort with nothing more than some stern words. Dumbledore sent me to live with the Dursleys because he didn't want me living with Sirius. Snape fought for it."

"How do you know?" Ron asked, not as suspiciously as Rory would have expected.

"Because Sirius told me. He said that despite what it seemed like that night in the Shack, they were mates once. And that I should trust him."

Before more could be said, the pop of a house-elf drew their attention. A table appeared and a small buffet of food was laid out.

"Many apologies, Harry Potter, sir. But Dobby had been thinking that maybe Harry Potter and his friends would be getting hungry. It is dinner time, sir."

"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said.

The little elf beamed, his eyes flapping merrily before he disappeared.

"One of these days I'll have to get you back for freeing my favorite elf," Draco said as he got up from his chair to head over to the buffet. "There aren't any others as great as he was."

"Oi, who said you could just get up and waltz over?" Ron said as he clamored to his feet.

"My stomach, Weasley. If I let you get to the food first, there wouldn't be any left."

Rumors were flying throughout the school about what happened the day before, but Harry had been a witness, so he offered them a firsthand account.

They had been in the Room of Requirement, practicing their nonverbal spells and their Patronuses. The DA's momentum was fading, and they wouldn't have to meet as a group for much longer. About half the members hadn't even bothered showing up, whether because of homework, Quidditch practice, or lack of energy. As it was, she and Fred had snuck out early, wanting some quiet time for his birthday. George hadn't even shown up, nor had Katie.

They were in the Astronomy Tower, thankfully not snogging, when Luna, Ginny, and a Hufflepuff girl came up. They did their best to not seem out of breath as they leaned on the rail, appearing as though they'd been looking up at the stars all night. When Crabbe and Goyle lumbered their way up, they were huffing and puffing way more than the girls had been, and therefore (for reasons Aurora couldn't fathom at the time) let them be.

They heard what happened the following morning: Marietta Edgecombe had ratted them out to Umbridge and had triggered the jinx on Ginny's parchment. She was apparently confined to the hospital wing with the word "Snitch" written across her face in purple, painful-looking pimples.

"Malfoy shoved me into an alcove," Harry said, his cheeks turning a bit pink. "But I Disillusioned him when it was clear there was no way we weren't going to get caught."

"Bloody idiot, is what you are!" Draco sneered.

"I was protecting you," Harry snapped back. "It was your housemates coming after us."

"And you think I need protecting from them?"

"How would it have looked if you were caught colluding with Harry?" Aurora asked. "Either because you were with him while running from the room or because you were found in an alcove together."

Draco looked somewhat sheepish despite the sneer still plastered on his lips.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "I was taken to the office. Fudge was there, and Percy."

"Prat," the Weasleys all said together.

"We were ratted out by Marietta, I guess that's how she got the," Harry said, looking at Ginny as he waved a hand in front of his face.

"Damn right it was," she hissed. "Anyone else who betrays us gets the same treatment."

"Why would she?" Ron asked.

"One would think it was because her parents both work at the Ministry," Luna said. "But I suspect it's because Harry hasn't returned Cho's affections after she kissed him before Christmas."

"Cho Chang kissed you?" Draco said, no hint of emotion in his voice.

Harry shrugged. "She sort of sprang it on me. I'm not sure why she did it, she was crying the whole time."

"She fancies you, even back when she was with Cedric. But now that he's gone, she's been torn between feeling like she should move on with you and trying to stay faithful to Cedric." Luna looked around at each of them, serene as ever. "When you didn't pay much attention to her, she wasn't your biggest fan. Marietta's her best friend, she did what she thought would cause you the most pain."

"Cho wasn't there," Ron pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Harry said, waving it all off. "Whatever her reasons were, she did it. She didn't say exactly what was going on, anyway. Just that there was a meeting that Umbridge would be interested in knowing about. So I was pulled up to the office and Umbridge tried to make a case that I was the leader of the group, but for whatever reason, Marietta started denying she knew anything. I think someone hexed her, there was something funny in her eyes. And Umbridge was getting agitated, and Fudge was getting uncomfortable. He calmed Umbridge, and then he started asking me if I was the leader of our group and was leading a 'revolt against authority.' When I said no... Umbridge pulled out the list of our names. I guess Pansy Parkinson got into the room, found it on our board."

Draco cocked his head. "She's much smarter than many give her credit for."

"Yeah, well, her smarts had us all under suspicion," Harry said, giving Draco a meaningful look. "I think it may be best if you don't go home for the Easter hols."

"Probably not," he said, swallowing.

"Then, things got... funny. See, we had 'DA' on the parchment, but not what it stood for. Dumbledore took the blame. He said that he was the leader of the elicit group. That 'DA' stood for Dumbledore's Army, and that tonight was supposed to be our first meeting. That he was going to have us rise up against the Ministry. Fudge tried to arrest him, but...he escaped."

"And that's why the toad is headmistress now," Ginny said, glaring at the school as if she could pierce the walls.

"Except, I don't think the school accepts her ," Aurora said, and everyone looked at her curiously. "Haven't any of you read Hogwarts: A History ? It was practically mandatory reading at my house." Draco snorted, but the rest of them just looked wistful for a moment. "Anyway, it says that Hogwarts has the right to accept or deny a headmaster or headmistress. That no one can enter the head's tower while claiming the title unless the school allows it."

"It's not like Dumbledore died, he just fled," Neville pointed out.

"Which could be construed as abandoning his post, which other headmasters have done in the past. The successor was still granted access in that case. But even Aunt, er, Professor McGonagall won't be allowed to enter his office because she's not claiming the title. As there is no alternative, the tower is on lockdown."

"Blimey, you reminded me of Hermione for a moment," Ron said.

"Think she's already paired off with a Weasley," Draco snickered.

"Oi, not like I want to date her, anyway. She's a Snape. My brother's mental for it."

"What the bloody hell is wrong with being a Snape?" Aurora growled.

"Nothing, really, just wouldn't want to deal with your dad. And it's not like I want to date Hermione, either."

"Right, you just send her letters and flowers, invite her to attend a ball with you that's thousands of miles away from her," Draco commented.

"And whine about how she isn't around anymore," Ginny offered.

"Doesn't mean I like her like that, all right? She's my friend. Just my friend."

"Then why are you blushing?" Neville asked quietly. Ron scrunched up his face, about ready to say something, when a loud BOOM echoed from inside the castle.

Everyone looked around at each other, while Aurora spotted her father in the shadows of the courtyard speaking with Aunt Min, both looking at the castle. They took off running when a loud BANG resounded again, and the group scrambled to their feet and followed them inside.

It was instant chaos and Aurora knew precisely who'd done it. Fred had whispered in her ear that morning at breakfast that it would be a good idea to be very visible during lunchtime.

Some of the fireworks spelled things in the air as they whizzed above their heads and exploded.

It was quite impressive, but nothing compared to the utter shock and disbelief on her friend's faces when they heard her father's deep laughter over the explosions.

They reappeared somewhere with a crack. Not a loud one, but enough that they had to have been noticed. And yet there was utter silence.

"You can open your eyes," Fred teased, but Aurora hesitated.

"Where are we?" She'd tried to get him to tell her where they were Apparating to, but Fred was quiet on the subject. George was with Katie, Ginny had gone to visit Luna across the meadow, and Ron had gone to see Harry at Grimmauld Place. Instead of staying under Molly's smothering eye, Fred had convinced her to get away. Only for a moment, no one would notice. And Aurora, desperate to get away from Molly's inquisitive glare, was more than willing to go.

"One way to find out," Fred said, stroking her hair.

She pulled away from him and finally opened her eyes. "Oh," she said breathlessly, looking up at the multi-story menagerie of joy and mischief. "Wow," she added, her hand coming into contact with a banister as she mindlessly moved down the stairs to the first floor.

Aurora looked around, seeing the spots yet to be filled with merchandise. It wasn't quite ready, but it was close. She moved to the front counter where the register was set up and ran her fingers along it.

"So, this is what you and George have been up to," she said over her shoulder, taking in Fred's proud stance and smug smile.

"Of course. Not everything in life is about mischief. Besides, we needed a safe spot to make more of the Wildfire Whiz-bangs."

"I quite like those." She smiled as he came down the stairs toward her.

"Glad to hear it," he said, hoisting her up onto the counter once he was close enough. He stepped between her legs, and she leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back, but despite being alone, he didn't push any further. When he pulled back, he ran his hands from her waist to her ribs, back again, looking her in the eye.

It was an intense moment that had Aurora's heart in her stomach, her chest compressed, her lips eager to return to his lest they say what she shouldn't even be thinking.

"I," Fred said, his eyes taking in her face. He swallowed. "Rory, I—" he stopped again. It was so clear on his face, the way he felt at that moment. It was clear because she felt the same way. Everything she felt for Fred was reflected back at her in his eyes. She was falling in love with him, if she wasn't already.

"George and I probably won't be at Hogwarts much longer."

His words stopped her, and her mouth snapped closed as she looked at him in confusion.

"All right," she said slowly. "Well, that makes sense. You're in your final year, you'll be taking your N.E.W.T.s in June."

"We might not make it to June," he confessed, and everything inside her went cold.

"What do you mean? Why aren't you going to finish?"

"With Umbridge as headmistress? Proclamation whatever says there will no longer be any recreational activities - Quidditch included. Hogwarts is quickly going to the toads, and we're not sure we want to stick around for it."

"And your education?"

"Don't think there's much more we're going to learn, at this point. Most of our classes will start N.E.W.T.s review after the break."

"So that's it?" she demanded, forcing Fred to step back as she slid off the counter. She glared up at him. "

"What would you have us do, Rory? We're expected to be open for the summer, and school eats up at the time we could be making merchandise. We already have a waitlist. We need to hire help but can't post a job listing stating interviews will be held at Hogsmeade on Hogsmeade weekends."

"And if the business fails? What then?"

"Don't believe in us?" he asked stiffly.

"It's not that!" Aurora protested. "There's a war, Fred! A war that might not let your business flourish!"

"I think the war is exactly why it's going to flourish," he said calmly, picking up a knickknack from the counter and throwing it up in the air. "People are going to need a reason to smile. Seems like a pretty good life, giving people what they need."

Well, she couldn't argue that point.

"Rory," he said, setting the knickknack back down and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stay where she was and look at him. Not like she would or could flee. "I promise, we're thinking it over carefully."

She scowled. "You had best."

"Careful, your Hermione's showing," he teased, and she smacked his shoulder. "It's not a bad thing. Now, if your Snape was showing..."

"Oh, shut it!" she said, grabbing his lapels and kissing him to make him stop laughing. It wasn't the best tactic, he was still chuckling against her lips. He moved his hands back down to her waist, and she slid her hands around his neck as she pulled back to look at him. "Careful, Weasley."

"Why?"

"Because you might just have me saying something I don't think I'm ready to say yet."

His eyes glittered, not with mirth, but with something else. "What would that be, then?"

"Won't say."

"Could it be an emotion that stems from right here?" he asked, taking one hand away to place his hand over her heart.

"It might," she said, chewing her lip.

"Think it might be contagious, then. Cause I have a similar feeling right here," he said, taking her hand off his neck and placing it over his heart. It beat rapidly, like hers, and her breath caught at the implication.

"If that's the case, it doesn't matter if you leave Hogwarts now or in June. It's going to be hard without you."

He drew her into his arms, and she embraced him back as reality caught up with her.