Disclaimer: I don't own a single thing from Harry Potter

September

Morag MacDougal, seventh-year Ravenclaw, sneaked down the hallway, her only cover the amateur Disillusionment Charm she had cast on herself. It wasn't much protection, as, if anyone looked closely, she would be discovered. The only good it would do was that, if someone was at the other end of a corridor and did not approach, she would not be seen. Mentally, she was cursing her own idiocy. What was she thinking, meeting up with Seamus in an empty classroom so they could catch up? The Carrows weren't shy about punishment; it was after curfew, and she would be in lots of trouble if she was caught.

Although her mind knew that what she had done was stupid, her heart didn't regret it. Her and Seamus had become friends on the train, since they had shared a compartment, but then they had been Sorted into different Houses- her into Ravenclaw, him into Gryffindor- and they hadn't been able to spend as much time together. He had grown close to Dean Thomas, she to Lisa Turpin. But this year, both Dean and Lisa, being Muggle-born, had not been able to attend, leaving Seamus and her to reconnect.

It had been fun. They reminisced about old times, brought each other up to speed on the events of their respective Houses, and engaged in some good old-fashioned Carrow-bashing. Unfortunately, they had lost track of time, and it was after curfew when they had finally parted. In any previous year, it would not have been that bad had they been caught- so what, if they got a few points deducted, or had to write lines? Now, though, with detentions being the Cruciatus Curse…well, things were a bit different, and getting caught was a definite no-no.

She shook herself free of her thoughts and continued walking along, stopping when she heard muffled sobs coming from an empty classroom. Her instinct was to move on- she wouldn't put it past the Carrows to set a trap like this- but she was finding it more and more difficult to resist going in and seeing what was the matter. She may have been logical, but she wasn't heartless. She crept closer, carefully opening the door of the classroom.

It didn't seem like a trap. The only person there was a dark-haired girl- a fifth-year by the looks of her- with a red and gold Gryffindor tie haphazardly thrown on. The girl was crying quietly in the corner, stopping only when Morag reversed the Disillusionment Charm. The girl stood up, drawing her wand. "W-who are you?"

"I'm not going to turn you in," Morag said quietly, closing the door and casting a protective charm over the room so they would not be heard. "But what are you doing here alone, after curfew? It's dangerous."

"I know that," the younger girl snapped, but she then had the decency to look abashed.

"Sorry. It's just…my boyfriend. He's on the run- he's Muggle-born, you see, so he had to- and he just managed to write me, and it was…he broke up with me."

"Oh." Morag felt awkward; not only had she never been in a relationship, and couldn't really understand, but a virtual stranger had just revealed personal information. "I'm sorry." She felt woefully inexperienced; she had never dated anyone, even though a few boys had asked her out. "I'm Morag, by the way."

"Romilda." The dark-haired girl smiled weakly. "Sorry to dump all that on you. It's just no fun to go through." She still looked sad, although she had ceased crying. "I'm glad you weren't a Slytherin, coming to report me."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad you weren't a trap, designed to lure in anybody who's out after curfew." Morag couldn't help the words that flowed from her mouth. She felt comfortable around Romilda, even though they hadn't known each other for that long yet. She supposed it was the closeness between most of the Hogwarts students this year, united, apart from many Slytherins, under the Carrows' reign. Students had a camaraderie with one another that hadn't been there before.

To Morag's surprise, Romilda laughed. "Who else but a Ravenclaw would think of something like that?" They smiled at each other.

"Hufflepuffs would automatically try to help, because they're kind," Morag said. "You Gryffindors would barge in, wands drawn, and Slytherins…they wouldn't bother to help unless they'd get something from it."

"Yeah, pretty much." Romilda smoothed her clothes and stood up. She was exactly Morag's height. "I don't know if I really want to leave just yet, you know? I'm enjoying talking to you."

"We could stay for a while longer, I suppose," the older girl said slowly. It was already past curfew no matter how they looked at it, and if they got caught at that time, the punishment would be no different than if they were caught an hour or two later. They sat down, cross-legged, apart from one another, and Morag began to regale the younger girl with all the creative terms she and Seamus had come up with for the Carrows, all which involved either cussing or rude words. Romilda added a few of her own that she had picked up from sixth-year Ginny Weasley at D.A. meetings.

It was past midnight and nearing one in the morning when the girls said their goodbyes, making promises to meet up again soon. Morag headed back to Ravenclaw Tower, feeling even happier than she had after seeing Seamus. Which, in itself, is odd, she thought. She had known Seamus for over nine years, and this girl only for a few hours. Just as, she thought, it was odd how she found herself rethinking of Romilda's dark hair, smooth-looking skin, and pink, pink lips. It was then she knew, without a doubt, she absolutely had to see Romilda again.

October

It was a week later and into October before Morag even caught a glimpse of Romilda Vane, and even then they didn't get a chance to talk. The younger girl was in a small huddle of Gryffindor fifth and sixth years, who were all quietly discussing the unfairness of a recent occurrence. From what she overheard, a Slytherin student had hexed a Hufflepuff, unprovoked, and not gotten in any trouble. She was tempted to stop and add her opinion, but she didn't. Her next class was in ten minutes, and she forced herself to think that was the reason why she didn't stop. It absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that she was a mess, with her clothes and hair disheveled, thanks to the last period-Dark Arts- in which the Cruciatus Curse was practiced yet again. It wasn't because she didn't want Romilda to see her like that.

It was because she didn't want to be late. Because she didn't want to be late. She repeated the thought in her head, simultaneously smoothing the back of her hair in case Romilda looked by- why did she care so much- and hurried off, hoping to push out the more-than-friendly thoughts toward the younger girl by focusing on the complicated class that was Arithmancy.

It's not right, she told herself when classes let out. She hadn't known Romilda that long and already had developed some sort of crush on the other girl. Not to mention that they were two years apart and in different houses. Not to mention that she had told Terry Boot just the other day that she wasn't interested in having a relationship with anyone. She was trying to get through her last year of Hogwarts, that was all, as she wanted to leave the school (and, preferably, the country) as soon as possible. She wanted to get away from all that, not be tied down to the place.

Her thoughts shifted once again to Romilda- Romilda laughing ,Romilda smiling, Romilda hugging her goodbye…she sighed as she allowed the realization to fully hit her, and stopped denying what she had known since that first day.

Morag MacDougal, Ravenclaw, pureblood, top-of-the-class student in all non-Carrow classes since Hermione Granger was gone and Padma was incredibly busy with D.A. meetings, officially had a crush on Romilda Vane.

She was thinking about it for most of that day, so much so that, at dinner, both Su and Padma asked her what was wrong, as she had been staring blankly at the food. She blew it off, muttering, "Fine," instinctively, not wanting to discuss it at dinner. What could she say? "Oh, I'm fine, except I just realized why I haven't been dating boys, because I have a crush on a girl, Romilda Vane. Could you pass the pudding?" That definitely was not how she wanted to address the issue.

Right after dinner, Morag headed to her dormitory, meaning to work on two essays which she would have done during her free period, had she not been so distracted. She found Su, however, already there, looking very concerned. "I know something's up," the Asian girl said quietly. "I realize you and I were not as good friends as you and Lisa, but you can tell me."

"It's just..." Morag paused, again confronted with the situation of telling someone what was going on. "I, er, fancy somebody, but I don't know if that person likes me back, and I know that if I, um, went for it, and they didn't like me back, it would be really awkward and...ugh." She groaned. "And if that person miraculously fancied me back, everyone else would find it weird."

"I understand what you mean." Su took a deep breath. "That's why Lisa and I kept it quiet."

"You and...Lisa?" Morag's mouth dropped open. "But she didn't say anything to me..." She felt slightly hurt that her best friend hadn't told her such a thing, although she realized the reasoning behind it. There was still prejudice against people like them even in the Wizarding world, although the prejudiced people tended to turn their noses up at anything out of the ordinary anyway. "How long has this been going on?"

"The summer between fifth and sixth years. Nobody knew about it- you're the first person I told, so I understand where you're coming from, anyway."

"It's Romilda," Morag blurted out. "It's Romilda Vane, from Gryffindor."

"I don't believe I know who that is." Su wrinkled her forehead in concentration.

"She's a fifth year."

"That's why. Is she pretty?"

"Very." An automatic mental picture of the younger girl sprang to the forefront of Morag's mind. "I don't know what to do- I can't imagine her even liking me like that. She has a boyfriend, not to mention that she's beautiful and I'm just plain old Morag MacDougal."

"You're not plain. If this girl has any sense, she'll go out with you. Just ask her to go to Hogsmeade with you and take it from there."

November

It took a while before Morag plucked up enough courage to ask the younger girl out. They had been meeting up at least once a week, sometimes after curfew, sometimes before. Romilda filled the hole in Morag's heart left by Lisa's continued absence, and Morag did the same for Romilda, whose Muggle-born boyfriend Colin had also been forced not to attend Hogwarts either. Anyone who saw the two girls knew they were close-it was obvious in the way they acted around one another.

They were in the library, talking, although they were supposed to be studying, when the subject of Hogsmeade came up. Romilda groaned. "Snape-Professor Snape-" she nervously looked around her "-is so unfair. He took away my Hogsmeade privileges for the rest of this month and a little into December, just because I may have called him a greasy old dungeon bat. Can you believe him?"

Morag couldn't help but laugh at her description of Snape, which was completely accurate. "That's horrible. So you can't go on any of the trips apart from the last one, right before Christmas?"

"Yeah, it totally sucks." Romilda pouted. "Not to mention I won't even have anybody to go with. Ginny's already lost privileges for the rest of the year. Demelza...I think she's seeing someone older and meeting them there, and all my other friends are paired up. It'll be so boring."

"Come with me, then," Morag said impulsively, feeling rather Gryffindor-like at the moment. "We'll go together."

"Like a date? Morag Alyssa MacDougal, are you asking me out on a date?" Romilda's tone was lilting and teasing, but her cheeks were tinged pink.

"Well..." Morag let the sentence trail off before she even had said much, again faced with a situation in which she had no idea how to respond. It seemed as though her life, recently, was comprised of these situations.

"Because, you know, that would be great." The younger girl smiled. "And I accept...Merlin, you were asking me out, right?"

Morag was pleasantly surprised at Romilda's response. "Yeah," she managed to say.

"Yeah, I was. It's a date, then?"

"It's a date."

December

Morag threw another robe behind her, narrowly missing Su, who seemed quite amused by the whole situation. "I don't know what to wear," Morag moaned, then stood up. "I did not just say that. Erase that from your mind, please-I never said that. I am not freaking about about this. In fact, I am quite calm. Except I would be much calmer if I bloody knew what to wear!"

"Let me help you by saying that this is no different from other Hogsmeade weekends, in which school uniforms are required." Su set the uniform on Morag's bed. "The only thing you really can do is comb your hair and put a little make-up on. Anyway, Romilda already likes you for you, not because of your looks. You'll be fine."

"I guess you're right." Morag pulled the school uniform on and let the other girl carefully apply a tad bit of makeup before gently smoothing Morag's slightly messy hair. "Are you going, anyway?"

"Nah. I gotta catch up on a few things, unfortunately. But you have to tell me all about your date when you come back-I'm dying to hear about it."

"All right, all right." Morag stood up. "Do I look okay?"

"You look lovely, hon. Have a great time-argh, if only Lisa were here, we could have double-dated. Why did you have to finally find someone you're interested now, of all times?"

"Don't make me throw something else at you," Morag half-joked. "Anyhow, I'll see you later."

Morag met her date at the Entrance Hall. Like her, Romilda also had put a bit more effort into her looks, although it was impossible to tell whether her flushed cheeks were from make-up or from the date. "This is going to be fun!" the younger girl said once they reached the village. "Where do you want to go? I gotta pick something up from Zonko's..." She looked around furtively and lowered her voice to barely a whisper. "D.A. business, you know? But other than that...I'm totally free."

"Three Broomsticks is always good," Morag said. "Quite crowded, of course, but they do have the best butterbeer."

"Yeah, definitely." Romilda grinned. "Let's stop there first...my errand can wait."

The Three Broomsticks was crowded as a few snowflakes had just started to fall outside, but the girls successfully managed to snag a table for two near the back, where it was a little quieter. They sipped butterbeers contentedly, making small talk as they did whenever they met up, in no rush to go anywhere. Just being there, together, was enough. Morag saw numerous other students from Hogwarts in addition to the Hogsmeade patrons of the pub-Demelza was sitting with a few other people, one of them a tall black girl Morag vaguely recognized as a former Gryffindor Chaser, Seamus and Neville appeared to be arguing about something, and Luna was sitting by herself, staring at the empty seat next to her with great interest.

They wandered around Hogsmeade once they had finally finished their drinks, talking and laughing. Occasionally, their hands brushed, and after the third time Romilda grabbed Morag's hand and held it firmly, not letting go until they got to Zonko's and they split up-Romilda to get her D.A. product, and Morag browsed curiously, having only been in the store twice, both in her third year. They met up again once Romilda was done, although she must have been hiding the object, as Morag could not see it anywhere. "What did you do with it?" she whispered.

"I shrank it and stuffed it in my bra," the younger girl whispered mischievously. "Even the Carrows and Filch's Secrecy Sensors don't really go there, not to mention it's small anyway."

Oh-good thinking."

Romilda nodded. "Ginny taught me that, after one of our D.A. meetings."

They walked back to the castle, once again hand-in-hand.

January

Morag was relieved when she finally met up with Romilda for the first time since before Christmas break. "Merlin, that was horrible," she exclaimed once they had cast a protective spell over the classroom in which they were meeting. "Not to mention boring. The whole time, either my mother was making me listen to her rants about how Hogwarts attendance is mandatory, or I was up in my room, staring at the ceiling. I missed you so much while I was there."

"I missed you, too. My break wasn't a whole lot better-my parents invited every relative they knew over, and I had no time to myself. I wanted to invite you, but then I got yelled at-according to my mother, Christmas is 'a time for family,' blah blah blah. I tuned out half of it, honestly."

Morag grinned. "In my book, Christmas is not just a time for family. If it was...well, I wouldn't have gotten you this, would I?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in red paper, handing it to Romilda. "Open it-I want to see if you like it."

Romilda tore open the paper eagerly, most of which fell carelessly to the ground. She slowly opened the box's lid to reveal a thin silver chain, from which dangled a beautiful heart inscribed with the word "Love." "Wow...this is beautiful. Best present I ever received-can you fasten it?" She handed the necklace back and lifted her dark hair above her neck, allowing Morag carefully to fasten the necklace around her neck. "I have something for you, too." She, too, reached inside her robes and pulled out a small box, this one wrapped carefully in light blue paper.

Morag ripped open the wrappings and carefully opened the lid to find a gold bracelet, with several charms dangling from it-an eagle to represent Ravenclaw, a book, and a heart. It was easily the most wonderful gift that she ever had gotten from anybody. She tried twice to clasp it herself and failed, allowing the younger girl to do so, clasping it gently around her left wrist. She turned it back and forth, admiring how it glinted in the light. "Oh, thank you! It's...it's just...perfect." Sure, both their gifts had been a little cheesy...oh well. They were adorable, anyway.

She looked up from her admiration of the bracelet to see Romilda standing very close, her face right next to Morag's. They leaned forward at the same time, pressing their lips to one another as their hands pulled each other closer until they were locked in an embrace. Morag deepened the kiss, and Romilda eagerly went along until they broke apart at last for breath and smiling shyly at each other. The younger girl grinned rakishly. "I think these meetings are going to be even better now," she joked right before they touched their lips to each other's once again.

February

Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day. The words beat a rhythm in Morag's brain as she struggled to concentrate in Arithmancy, knowing that the Hogsmeade trip was only hours away. She and Romilda had made plans to meet for it-of course, as any two people in a relationship would-but she had no idea what to do. Was she supposed to get a gift? How would she get a gift, considering that they were going to Hogsmeade together, and she couldn't exactly bail on their date to get a present? She had been with Romilda on all the Hogsmeade weekends between Christmas and now-she had no time to get anything. What was she going to do?

She meant to ask Su but couldn't find the other girl anywhere, leaving her to meet her date for Valentine's Day without a single present. She was glad to see, however, that Romilda did not appear to be holding anything either and so presumably had not found anything. This suspicion was confirmed, then, when the dark-haired girl said, "I'm so sorry, Mor, but I just couldn't get you a gift-we've been with each other at every Hogsmeade weekend, and I couldn't exactly get you a present with you there..." She looked shyly at Morag through her long, dark eyelashes. "Please don't be angry..."

"It's good, actually, because I didn't get you anything either, and I was expecting to have to make that speech to you." Morag slipped her hand easily into Romilda's, and the girls began the short trek toward the village. "Besides...I'm pretty sure that spending an afternoon with you is a fine gift for me, better than anything that you could buy." She wasn't sure exactly where the words had come from. Pre-Romilda, she hadn't been much of a romantic at all, but something about the other girl brought it out in her.

"Aww." Romilda leaned in for a quick kiss before pulling away. "You know what? Let's buy a box of chocolates from Honeydukes and split them. That'll be our gift to one another."

"Perfect!" Morag smiled. "I'll beat you there!" She took off at a half-run, warming herself up from the frigid air, when she felt something cold land on her back. Whirling around, she saw Romilda about five feet back, holding the remains of a snowball. "Oh, I'm going to get you for this..."

They did end up running the rest of the way to Hogsmeade, as they were both so cold from the snowball fight that had just taken place, laughing most of the way. They shook the snow off in Honeydukes, much to the obvious annoyance of the owner, who did not seem happy at all, although his mood improved quite a bit when they bought a rather large box of chocolates. They took them to the Three Broomsticks, which had become their hangout and, since it was Valentine's, was mostly empty, allowing them once again to have their special table in the back. "Best Valentine's Day ever," Morag said around a mouthful of chocolate.

"I'll second that."

March

"Please," Romilda begged, looking at Morag with puppy-dog eyes. "I really want to see you tonight."

"I'd love to," Morag said, hating herself for what she was about to say next, "but I really do have to study. I have mounds of homework, and N.E.W.T.s are coming up. Maybe some other time."

"It's only going to get harder," the younger girl replied. "You're not going to have any time then, and neither am I, since I have O.W.L.s."

"I know, and I really, really want to be together tonight, but I'm so busy. Please? Don't be mad."

"We haven't had any time together in so long, Morag, you know that. You're always studying."

"I don't want to fail my N.E.W.T.s. I wouldn't put it past the Carrows to-"

"You're always worried about them," Romilda said. "Be spontaneous for once."

"Well, I'd just rather not be Cruciated any more than I already am in class," Morag shot back. "I'm going to study, like it or not."

"Fine, then." Romilda whirled around, as did Morag, both girls stomping off in opposite directions. At that time, Morag was angry, but it was barely five minutes later that she began to regret what had just happened. They hadn't really fought before, at least nothing big like this. Their relationship, up until that moment, had been like something out of a romance novel-pretty much perfect. Now...it wasn't, to put it simply. She had been snappish, and she knew that she wasn't fun sometimes, especially compared to impulsive, always-Gryffindor Romilda. She wasn't spontaneous. They hadn't had time together.

But, the snarky little voice in her head-her conscience?-whispered, It's Romilda who started this fight. 'Please, please please. Forget about the Carrows. You're always worried about them. Be like me, spontaneous and impulsive'. She should know by now that you're not a Gryffindor like her.

Morag shook her head to clear it. She didn't want to be in a fight with Romilda, no matter who was right and who was wrong. She needed to fix this, sooner or later, before this became irreversible.

It was barely a day later that she saw Romilda in the library-that, in itself, was unusual-head bent over a three-foot-long stretch of parchment, furiously scribbling things down. She approached quietly, clearing her throat once she got closer. "Romilda?"

"Oh," the younger girl said, not even putting her quill down-although she did look up, at least. "It's you."

"Listen...I'm sorry. I really don't want to be fighting with you. I care about you, about us, more than I care about anything else right now. You...Romilda, you're more important than anything else I have right now. I can't...I can't not have you in my life. I was a jerk, and I'm extremely sorry. Please...please forgive me."

"I'm sorry, too. I was just, well, I was disappointed we hadn't gotten to see each other in a while, and I pushed too hard when I knew you wanted to study. I accept your apology, because I have one of my own. You're not completely at fault for that argument. Don't blame yourself." Romilda stood up, pushing her chair back and walking around to face Morag. "I'd miss you way too much if we weren't together."

April

"It's so beautiful out." Morag lay on her back, staring up at the sky. Romilda was right by her, although she seemed to be staring more at Morag than at the cloudless, blue sky. "It seems impossible that the sky could still be so beautiful when everything around us has just fallen to pieces. Look at the Ministry, look at Hogwarts...look at Britain in general, really. It's so crazy and evil, so dark, but then there's still that." She gestured upward. "I guess there is light to be found, even in the darkest times."

"Exactly." Romilda pushed closer to the other girl, resting her head on Morag's shoulder. "Mor...what are you going to do? When you're out of Hogwarts and...you know. I'm still here, for two more years."

The thought had occurred to Morag multiple times. Before she met Romilda, the answer of what she was going to do after Hogwarts had been a simple one. She was going to leave the country, probably go to America, and stay there until either she died or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated, whichever came first. Now, however, things had changed. Leaving Romilda here, at Hogwarts, in the hands of Snape, the Carrows, and various Slytherins who wholeheartedly supported the new regime...well, that just couldn't happen. She had meant what she said the previous month, after their fight. "I care about you, about us, more than I care about anything else right now." It was true. She'd risk her life for the younger girl, even though the logical part of her thought she should still get out. "I'd stay at Hogsmeade. Either that, or we'd run away together. But I wouldn't leave you."

"Really?" Romilda raised her eyebrows. "Merlin, I thought you Ravenclaws were ruled by your head."

"Maybe I'm an exception," Morag whispered. "Because it's not my head that wants to do this." She rolled on top of the other girl and captured her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss that left both girls wanting more.

"Maybe...we should go somewhere else?"

"That's a very good idea."

They ran for the castle, into the first abandoned classroom that they could find.

May

Harry Potter was at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters and Voldemort were going to attack. Morag's feet creaked loudly on the floor as she ran, but at this point, she didn't care who saw her. Her main focus was finding Romilda and getting the hell out of there before they were both killed. She headed to the seventh floor, where she knew most people were gathered, and found the younger girl arguing with Demelza.

"I'm staying, too," Demelza insisted. "I've just got to find Angie."

"Who's Angie?" Morag asked.

Demelza blushed. "Um...just a friend. Anyway, Romilda's under the impression-" -here she glared fiercely at the dark-haired girl- "-that I cannot defend myself against a Death Eater and that I would be dead within seconds."

"Seriously," Morag said. "You're a fifth year. You probably would be. You should really get out, along with...whoever Angie is." This caused Demelza to blush again, leaving Morag to imagine that Angie, despite what Demelza said, was not "just a friend".

"Romilda, come on. We can get out through the Room of Requirement."

"I'm staying," Romilda said matter-of-factly.

"You can't!" Morag's heart was racing. "Please-"

"I have to fight, Mor. Do you think I was in the D.A. for nothing?" It was the first time that Romilda had said the name of the rebel group in a normal, non-whispering tone, but by now, it didn't matter if anyone overheard. "You can go, I'm not going to stop you. But I have to stay."

"Then I'm staying, too. I can't stand not knowing if you're dead or alive. We fight together. We keep in each other's sight. Otherwise...then I use my seventh-year knowledge and make you get out of here."

"Fine by me."

They made a good team, it was obvious from the start. Romilda was quicker at dodging and more impulsive, while Morag, although slower, was logical and could often figure out what an opponent's next move would be. She also had a greater knowledge of spells, being two years older, and, despite how she disliked using them, a small ability to perform a few curses that she never would have dared try before this year. The Dark spells, however, she kept to a minimum, only using that if utterly necessary.

Then it was over. It seemed to have finished as quickly as it had begun. Harry Potter had defeated You-Know-Who. It seemed nearly impossible, then, that this lean teenager with a world-weary look in his green eyes could have destroyed one of the most powerful Dark wizards ever to walk this earth, but it had just happened. Romilda grabbed Morag in her arms and kissed her, taking her breath away. Morag didn't care if anybody was watching.

In that moment, she didn't care about anything but the girl who was holding her in her arms.

A/N: Thanks so much to the amazing mew-tsubaki for beta'ing this for me! Also, all credit for the pairings of Su Li/ Lisa Turpin and Demelza Robins/Angelina Johnson goes to her and Mor, the creators of Mew and Mor's Weird Pairings. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!