The next morning, Auden met Fred in the common room and walked with him and George down to breakfast. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were already there. Hermione was going on about how excited she was to get their schedules and how it was O.W.L year.

"Don't remind me," Auden groaned as she sat down next to Ron, with Fred on her other side, and George across from Fred. It was only the first day back and the last things Auden wanted to think about were schoolwork and their OWL exams.

"We get to have meetings with our heads of houses too so we can discuss our future careers," Hermione added.

"I have no idea what I want to be," Auden said. "I guess being a Professor here wouldn't be so bad. Either that or a writer for the Prophet, although hopefully by then the writers will be spewing out a bit more truth and less lies," she added.

"I was thinking of being an Auror," Harry said, chewing his bacon thoughtfully.

"Yes, I was thinking about that too," Hermione nodded. "It's a very good career choice. I'd like to either be an Auror or a Healer."

"What about you, Ronniekins?" Fred asked his brother. "Going to become an Auror too?"

"I don't know," Ron mumbled. "I'd like to but I don't know if I'm cut out for it."

"Why wouldn't you be?" Auden asked.

Ron just shrugged.

"Oh, look," Hermione squealed. "Here comes Professor McGonagall with the schedules."

Auden looked at her schedule when Professor McGonagall handed it to her. Today, she had Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and Potions. Tomorrow, she had Divination, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Oh, joy," Fred said sarcastically from beside her.

"What?" Auden asked, peering at his schedule.

"George and I have Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions first and second this morning back to back."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't usually such a bad class," Ron said.

"Yes, but I don't want to look at that ugly pink toad for a whole class period," Fred answered.

Auden quickly compared her schedule to Harry's, Hermione's and Ron's. They had all of their classes together. The only classes Hermione didn't have with them were the two extra classes that she was taking.

"We should head off to Transfiguration," Harry said. "It starts in fifteen minutes and the last thing we need is a detention from McGonagall on the first day."

"And we'd better head to Defense Against the Dark Arts," Fred said gloomily.

"You'll have to tell me all about the toad later," Auden said, leaning over to give him a kiss. "With any luck, she won't be as bad as we think she'll be."

In the entrance hall, they split up into two groups and headed off to their classes. Auden took a seat next to Hermione in Transfiguration, while Harry and Ron sat behind them. Professor McGonagall took a huge chunk of class time lecturing them about their upcoming exams.

A folded piece of paper suddenly zoomed past Auden's head and landed on her desk. She unfolded it as quietly as she could and read the words written in Ron's messy handwriting.

Can you believe it? The first day back and she's already droning on about exams that I don't want to think about until they get here. Of course, Hermione's paying attention. I wouldn't expect anything less from her, though. If I take a nap, do you think she'll agree to fill me in on what I missed later?

Auden smiled and began to discreetly write a note back. I agree. So boring, she wrote. And perhaps Hermione will agree after a lot of persuading on your part. You know how she is about not paying attention in class.

She tossed the note over her shoulder and when Professor McGonagall's eyes darted in her direction, she moved her hand to her neck and scratched casually. She heard Ron snort quietly from behind her.


"Umbridge is the biggest, most annoying git this school has ever had," Fred announced that night as he plopped down next to Auden on the couch. She hadn't gotten the chance to speak to him all day, considering how busy their schedules were. Auden had even had to miss dinner to go to the library in search of books she'd need for her homework later. The teachers were really piling it on this year, and it wasn't fun in the slightest. Fred, however, the amazing person that he was, had just returned from nicking Auden some food from the kitchen while she stayed in the common room to do her homework.

"How so?" she asked as she put her Transfiguration book down on the table and took the food Fred had brought her.

Fred leaned in and gave her a swift kiss as George sat on the arm of the couch. Hermione, Harry, and Ron sitting in their own chairs next to the couch, leaned in closer to listen.

"We aren't allowed to do any magic in class at all for one thing," Fred stated.

"No magic? None at all?" Harry asked in disbelief as Auden nearly choked on the bite of her sandwich she had just taken.

"Nope, none," George said, shaking his head. "Right off the bat she passed out a 'Ministry approved textbook' that weighs about a ton. Then she told us to put away our wands. And that stupid annoying throat clearing thing she does! By the end of class I wanted to strangle her."

"We could always give her a Nosebleed Nougat," Fred said to his twin.

"Are you just begging for trouble?" Hermione asked.

"Begging for trouble? No, Granger, of course not," Fred said with a grin. He leaned back on the couch, wrapped his arms around Auden's waist and pulled her back so that she was lying against his shoulder.

"Are these Snackbox things even safe?" Hermione asked.

"Well, we've tested them ourselves, and once you take the curing half, you stop whatever symptoms you have. But…"

"We don't know how others will react to them. Everyone reacts different, you know," continued George. "So, we thought of the perfect idea."

"Which is?" asked Hermione.

"We're going to start a testing group of whoever wants to join. Would any of you like to sign up?" asked George.

"No way," Ron said immediately.

"Harry?" George asked.

"Sorry, guys, but I'm going to have to say no."

"Hermione?"

"Absolutely not!"

"What about you?" Fred asked Auden, looking down at her.

"Um, no, I don't think so," she answered, smiling.

"Don't you want to support your boyfriend and his dreams to open his own joke shop full of the best products imaginable?"

"Of course, but how would you feel if I vomited all over you and wouldn't stop because I had a different reaction to it than you did?"

"Fair point," Fred shrugged.

Auden laughed. "I'll try one when you're absolutely sure they work the same on everyone, but until then the answer is no. I also worry that everyone else besides the first years are going to be to smart to test anything you try to give them."

"Well, then we'll have to just test on first years, then," Fred shrugged.

"You know," Hermione said. "You really shouldn't be testing these products on anyone here at school, especially first years. Testing on yourselves is one thing, but on others…"

"Are you going to report us?" George asked.

Hermione sniffed. "No, but…but I will write to your mother."

Fred and George shared a horrified look. "You wouldn't!" they said together.

"I would," Hermione answered. "So be careful."

"Did you just tell Fred and George to be careful?" Ginny asked, coming over to them. "That'll never happen, so save your breath."

"See, Ginny knows how we operate," Fred grinned.

"Well, I should. I am your sister, or did you forget?"

"Sometimes I try to," Fred answered with a grin as Ginny stuck out her tongue. He looked back at Hermione. "If you write to Mum, she'll figure out a way to throw out our supplies again," he said. "It'll lead to another blow up between us." His voice was reaching a slightly hysterical note, and while he tried to hide it, Auden picked up on it. She rubbed her thumb over his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Hermione let out a puff of air. "If one student gets injured, Fred, I swear..."

"They'll be fine," Fred said, breaking out into a grin again. "We promise."

The next day, Auden took a seat next to Hermione in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Harry and Ron took a seat across the aisle. Umbridge hadn't even arrived yet, and the class was chatting away while they waited for her to arrive. Someone made a paper airplane and enchanted it to fly around the room. Suddenly, the paper burst into flames and turned to ashes that fell to the floor.

The class turned around to see Professor Umbridge standing at the back of the room, wand in the air and dressed in her usual pink outfit. She was wearing a smile that seemed as if she wanted it to look cheery, but instead it made her look like she was constipated.

Then, like Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Auden had been expecting, Umbridge began a speech about how magic wasn't to be used in class. Then, she passed out the textbook to the class.

"Is there anything in here about using defensive spells?" Hermione asked, as her hand shot into the air. Everyone's eyes were glued to Hermione's face.

Umbridge gave one of her signature high pitched giggles as everyone looked at her, awaiting her reaction. "Using spells? Why on earth would you need to use defensive spells?" she asked.

"Well, in case someone tries to attack us," Harry chimed in. Umbridge turned her eyes to face Harry.

"In my class, we raise our hands when we wish to speak, Mr. Potter," she said giving him her constipated smile. "And who would ever want to attack you?"

"Hmm, well let's see, maybe Lord Voldemort?" Harry retorted. All eyes were on him now and Auden widened hers. He wasn't going to do this, not now. She heard Hermione groan from next to her.

Umbridge was silent for a brief moment before laughing girlishly again and addressing the silent class. "You have been hearing a rumor that a certain Dark wizard has returned. This. Is. A. Lie."

"It's not a lie!" Harry exclaimed angrily.

Auden closed her eyes and sighed. She wished she could send Harry telepathic messages telling him to put a sock in it. He was only going to get in trouble.

"I saw him, I fought him!" Harry was saying now. "You think Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?"

Auden winced. She had become sort of accustomed to not talking about Cedric, especially with Harry. Now, hearing him speak up about Cedric's death was odd.

"The death of Cedric Diggory was merely an accident," said Umbridge.

"No, he was murdered by Voldemort!" Harry protested.

"Detention, Mr. Potter," Umbridge screamed, "for telling lies in my class!"

"I'm not lying!"

Auden chewed her lip. She was already furious with Umbridge. How could she call Cedric's death an accident? What did she think happened to him? That something in the maze had simply fatally wounded him? How could she even believe that?

"Now you've earned yourself a week of detention," Umbridge snapped, "starting tomorrow night at eight o'clock in my office. How does that sound?"

Finally Harry was silent, but he was still seething. Auden almost couldn't blame him. He knew better than anyone that Voldemort's return was the truth and then there were idiotic people-like nearly the entire Ministry of Magic-who were calling him a liar and, in turn, failing to protect the rest of the wizarding world.

Later that evening, Auden entered the great hall for dinner, expecting to see Fred and George, and eager to vent about Umbridge, but they weren't there when she arrived. She had already filled her plate and started eating when Fred slid into the seat next to her and George on her other side.

"Where were you?" Auden asked as Fred kissed her cheek.

"Making these," Fred answered, holding up a stack of flyers and handing Auden one.

Wanted: A group of Gryffindor testers for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. Contact Fred or George Weasley to sign up or with any questions.

"We're going to hang them in the common room tonight, and in some other locations around the school," George said, filling his plate with food.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Auden asked, handing back the flyer to Fred.

"It's going to be the name of our joke shop," Fred said.

"Have you bought a place yet?" Auden asked.

"No, but we're looking at a place in Diagon Alley," Fred answered.

"It's nice," George added. "There's even a flat above the store where we can live."

"That's great," Auden smiled. "I'm proud of you two."

"Yeah?" Fred asked, grinning at her.

She nodded. "Of course. You're both well on your way to actually opening your very own joke shop. You've wanted to do this for years. There's no way I couldn't be proud of you."

Fred blushed. "Thanks, Aud. So, how did your first class with the toad go?"

"Awful," Harry said immediately, his tone flat.

"She accused him of being a liar and gave him a week of detention," Auden explained.

"That's rough. Sorry, Harry," George said as Fred nodded sympathetically.

"She also said Cedric's death was a mere accident," Auden sniffed, stabbing at her plate with her fork. "I don't know, maybe it's just me, but...that makes it seem like he wasn't as brave as he was, or strong and talented enough to make it through the maze. He would've tied for first if it hadn't been for You-Know-Who."

"I'm sorry, Aud," Fred whispered. "That must have been hard for you to hear."

She shook her head. "I know it's not the truth, but it's absurd how this woman can honestly believe the nonsense she's spewing!"

"I agree," Fred said, kissing her cheek. "But with any luck, this woman will be gone by the end of the year."

"I can only hope," Auden muttered.

After dinner, Auden sat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione around the common room fire, working on her homework. They were being given a lot, which was expected with it being their OWL year and all, but Auden had been doing really well with completing it all. She was a little surprised, actually. She thought she might have been distracted now that she had a boyfriend, but Fred and George had been busy as well with their products and creating order forms. She still had to work hard, but at least her work was getting done.

On the other hand, Harry and Ron were slowly slipping behind. Auden didn't know how Harry was going to manage when Quidditch started. Auden was on the team as well, but she figured she could probably handle it. Hopefully, anyway. Harry, on the other hand, had a habit of slacking off.

"I don't know how they're going to do it," Hermione said suddenly. Auden looked up to see her gazing at Fred and George, who were testing their Skiving Snackboxes on a group of first years, who, like Auden had predicted, had been the only ones to sign up to test the products. Everyone else knew Fred and George's reputation too well.

"Do what?" Auden asked.

"Start a business. I mean, where are they going to get the money?"

Auden glanced at Harry. "I don't know, but they'll figure something out," she said, going back to her work.

"Hey, so I was thinking," Ron said suddenly. "Well, I was thinking that I'd like to try out for the Quidditch team as Keeper. Wood's gone now and all, so I figured I would try." He looked rather embarrassed.

"That's great, Ron!" Harry and Auden said at once.

"Yeah, you should go for it!" Hermione added.

"You think I could make it on the team?" he asked.

"You have as good a shot as anyone else," Harry smiled.

Ron grinned back at him. "Thanks, Harry, but you know Fred and George won't let me hear the end of it when I show up."

Auden smiled. "I'll talk to them, but don't expect any miracles."

"I heard someone mention Quidditch," said a voice. It was Angelina. She had been appointed the new captain that year, which Auden thought was great. Angelina had been hoping for the position for a while and Auden knew she would be great at it.

"Yeah, Ron's trying out for Keeper," Harry said, beaming.

"That's great!" Angelina smiled.

"When are tryouts?" Auden asked.

"This Thursday," Angelina answered. "I want every member of the team there."

Harry's face paled. "Thursday?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" asked Angelina.

"I have detention with Umbridge every day this week," Harry answered miserably.

"Seriously, Harry?" Angelina asked with an exasperated sigh. "I wanted every member of the team there."

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, turning bright red.

"Try to stay on Umbridge's good side, okay?" Angelina answered as she walked away to tell Fred and George about tryouts.

"I'll tell you all about the tryouts, Harry, don't worry," Auden said, trying to cheer Harry up. "I'm sure you won't miss all that much."

The next night was the first night of Harry's detentions. Auden was on the couch with Fred and George. Ron and Hermione were in their usual chairs. Hermione and Auden were all caught up on their work. Ron wasn't, but he had given up on his Potions essay and was now playing around with his chess set. Hermione was reading a book, and Auden was laying curled up against Fred's side with his hand in hers.

Harry looked absolutely miserable as he finally joined them by the fire.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Hermione said at once. Merlin, that girl was observant. Auden hadn't even noticed anything, but once Hermione spoke, her eyes immediately tried to figure out what her friend had seen.

"Nothing," Harry answered quickly, holding up his right hand.

"Your left hand," Hermione said, rising from her chair and kneeling by Harry. She picked up his hand and when it was in the light, Auden could see that it was red and covered in dried blood.

"What did she do to you?" she asked in horror.

"It's nothing, I just had to write lines," Harry answered.

"Yeah, in your hand with a knife it looks like, mate," Fred said, looking concerned.

"It's a special quill. It writes with my own blood," Harry said quietly.

"That's sick," Ron said.

"Wait right here," Hermione said as she ran upstairs to her dorm.

"Tell Dumbledore," George suggested.

"No, I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction and plus Dumbledore has enough on his mind," Harry answered as Hermione returned with a bowl filled with a clear liquid.

"It's essence of murtlap," she explained as she picked up Harry's injured hand and placed it in the bowl.

"Ah, you're a genius, Hermione," Harry said, sighing with relief.

The six of them silently stared at Harry's hand, submerged in the liquid. The combination of the liquid and the bowl made the words etched in his hand larger and more visible. I must not tell lies.