A/N: I'm baaackkkk! A million apologies for the delay! I have a ton of excuses which include my stupid job, leaving my stupid job, moving to Colorado with my husband, a dead computer, and the inability to upload anything to .

I'm back with a vengeance and a mammoth chapter! This one has it all – standoffs, narrows escapes, and snogging!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows! I am loving hearing your theories on what's going to happen and hearing about your favorite parts! Keep it coming!

Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter. God, I wish I did.

Chapter 6 – In Fighting Form

When Kate was a little girl, she would sneak into her father's study when he was gone for a shift. Every nook and cranny contained a myriad of treasures. Books lined the shelves, two deep and full of history, spells, and diagrams. Sometimes Cara would sneak in with her and they would lay on the thick rug behind her father's desk, flipping through her father's healing books and making faces at the gory pictures contained within. Kate loved to play with the various trinkets her father amassed over the years, creating imaginary worlds with his paperweights and toying with the antique medical equipment.

Perhaps Kate's favorite item in the whole of her father's study was the globe. Set in an antique claw-footed stand, Theo's globe spun on a shining brass axis. Kate loved to run her fingers reverently over the lacquered dark cherry wood, tracing the details of mermaids and dragons carved into the surface. The globe itself was a thing of beauty, laying out seven continents, their countries and pinpointing every major capital and city in the world, muggle and magical alike.

Kate whiled hours of her childhood away by spinning the globe, closing her eyes, and waiting until it stopped beneath the tip of her index finger. Upon opening her eyes to reveal her destination, Kate would try to imagine a life in those locations. From foggy London to the sunny beaches of the Polynesian islands to Kangaroos in Australia, Kate pictured what she would do in each place. She had her favorites, a list of countries and cities and landmarks she wanted to see. The Great Wall of China, the Pyramids in Egypt, and the Great Barrier Reef topped her list and Kate would tell anyone who would listen that she was going to see them all and a hundred more.

Kate didn't know why, but as she stared into her glass, all she could think about was the globe that still stood in her father's study. Lately she felt as though she had the same level of control over her life as she did on where the spinning stopped beneath her pointed finger. Alicia's musings and prodding about Kate's future with George only further served to highlight that fact.

"I'm so sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject," she said.

Shaking her head, Kate shrugged. "It can't be a sore subject if we haven't talked about it yet. It just seems there's so much going on right now that what George and I are going to do after graduation isn't really a priority."

All around them, the Founder's Day Party reached its zenith. Their classmates were all in varying states of drunk and then some. In and out of the crowd, Kate could see her friends. Angelina held court with the other quidditch players, likely sharing stories from training camp. Meanwhile Kate could see Ian entertaining her sister and some of her friends, pointedly ignoring the gooey-eyed expressions from Cara's less than subtle comrades. The boys continued to sell their product. Fred and George were completely in their element, surrounded by their adoring fans and showing off new material with zeal. As far as Kate knew, the twins had no idea that their friends had arrived. Kate found herself out of the party spirit. Not that she'd been in much of one to begin with.

Alicia picked up on it fast. "Do you want to get out of here? This party is kind of rubbish."

Slumping in relief, Kate nodded. "Total rubbish," she agreed. "If we leave now I bet we can avoid most of the teachers, they won't come out till later."

Rising to her feet, Kate left her wine behind and together the girls started across the kitchens towards the door. Their trek to the door was slow going with both girls waylaid by friends they hadn't seen all summer, avoiding Angelina and keeping an eye out for Justin Boot so Alicia didn't have to speak to him. By the time the door was only a few meters away, Kate estimated they'd wasted a full half an hour just trying to leave.

"Merlin's beard, don't look now," muttered Alicia under her breath.

An entire gang of Slytherins took of residence at the end of one of the long tables nearest the door. A mixture of students from all years, they were all casting imperious glances and sneers across the party. Girls leaned across each other to exchange gossip and point nastily at girls in other houses, including Kate and Alicia as they drew closer. With the exception of a few of the younger Slytherins, the house tended to keep to itself which suited everyone in the school just fine. Kate never expected much trouble from them. But a face loomed out from the crowd and her stomach twisted in a knot.

Pierce Hollifax was a Slytherin seventh year who could often put Draco Malfoy's strut to shame. An unabashed and opportunistic bully, Pierce often took great delight in harassing first years in the corridors and throwing his pureblood status around like it was a crown. Kate knew him from St. Mungo's where his father was a healer and had a reputation for his less-than-accommodating bedside manner. Kate and Pierce had grown up being thrown into the children's room at fancy healer's parties and running into each other at the hospital on occasion. For a long time growing up Pierce assumed that because the Kelleys were purebloods they appreciated his pomp and swagger. He had no idea all of the awful things the Kelley girls said behind his back.

At school, Pierce ignored Kate almost as she ignored him. Yet, every once in a while he took it upon himself to throw in particular barbs or cause her trouble. This had been especially true after she left her father's house and he spent endless potions lessons torturing her about it under his breath, knowing that Kate would never tell anyone lest her secret be exposed for everyone to know. As a result, her general dislike of Pierce had turned into outright disgust. They hadn't had a run-in since the previous year, but the look on his face as he spotted her told Kate that those days were long over.

Pierce broke away from the girl he'd had his arm around and slid to a halt directly in front of Kate and Alicia, cutting off their exit. His sapphire blue eyes leered at Kate, dragging lazily from the top of her head down to her feet and back up again. A svelte grin pulled at the corners of his lips and he crossed his arms loosely over his chest.

"Surely you're not leaving, Kelley. The party's just getting good," he took a step closer. Alicia's hand shot out and grasped Kate's wrist, as though she could already read her mind. Pierce sneered at Alicia. "Why don't you ditch your extra and we can catch up."

Kate's fingers curled into a fist and she didn't bother with hiding her repulsion. Alicia's grip on her wrist tightened. The atmosphere between them was so icy, Kate was surprised she couldn't see her breath as it came out in very purposeful measures. The other Slytherins were watching with mild curiosity and Viola's high-pitched giggle reminded Kate of nails on a chalkboard. "Just ignore him," growled Alicia under her breath.

"Don't be like that," he crooned, moving a hand to rake his fingers through his dark hair, swept away from his pale skin. "After all I'm just dying to hear about how you came to your senses and went crawling back to daddy."

Her entire body stiffened at Pierce's sickening tone. "Shut it, Hollifax," she snapped and started to let Alicia tug her away. They began to side step him when his voice drifted back to her ears.

"Did you beg him to let you back in? I can just picture you on your knees," said Pierce gleefully.

Kate whipped around just in time to see another figure push away from the knot of Slytherins and join him. She had very little experience with Draco Malfoy, but she knew enough from the twins to know he wasn't worth the air he breathed. "I don't see any other way," said Draco loudly with a smirk. "Though I don't know how he can stand the shame of having a daughter who shacked up with a Weasley."

Alicia's fingernails bit so hard into Kate's wrist that she almost drew blood. That same blood boiled in Kate's veins. "Kate, come on," said Alicia imploringly.

"Wow, Hollifax," said Kate, lifting her jaw to a proud angle. She cast a belittling gaze to Draco and smirked. "I didn't know you needed little fifth years to fight your battles, although if didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous. After all, does your father even know your name? Or is he too busy shagging that St. Mungo's receptionist behind your mum's back again?"

Draco turned a furious shade of pink and his eyes narrowed to slits. Pierce seemed to hang between offense and amusement. His sharp laughter rang out and he pointed menacingly at her. "I'd forgotten how funny you are, Kelley." He drew a little closer so he stood within inches of her body. Pierce's breath, heavy with fire whiskey, washed over her face but Kate didn't dare back down. "Besides, you've got it all wrong. Why would I be jealous of the unwanted daughter of a blood traitor? I know all about your family and its allegiances. Besides, I'd never take sloppy seconds from a Weasley."

Very little offended Kate, but his words did the trick. Anger burned through her so white hot she couldn't see straight for several seconds. For a moment she wasn't sure which part of Pierce's statement bothered her the most, but it didn't really matter. A litany of curses and hexes reeled through her mind as she started to reach for her wand in her back pocket. Alicia's iron grip came to good use and she stopped Kate. A bitter taste welled up in the back of Kate's throat, building with the slew of crude comebacks that unleashed themselves from her brain. Kate opened her mouth to speak but a smooth voice cut her off.

"Is there a problem here?"

George had appeared out of nowhere at Kate's other side. His arms were crossed over his broad chest. The temperature of the air immediately dropped to somewhere in the vicinity of below frigid. It was no secret that the twins weren't fond of anyone sorted into Slytherin, including Pierce. But George took particular offense to people who were rude to Kate, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. Kate could see the hamster wheels turning behind Pierce's dark eyes. His foot slid back a pace, back to where Draco had appeared to regain his composure.

"Ah Weasley, so nice of you to join. Perhaps you can explain to all of us what it takes to control that girlfriend of yours. Just so testy," snapped Pierce, dark amusement dancing in his eyes.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Kate could see George's face remain almost perfectly still. The line of his jaw hardened and a vein jumped out just beneath, the only indication that Pierce's words were having an impact on him. An unamused half-smile turned up the corners of his mouth. They'd faced taunting about their relationship before, but never to this degree. She half expected George to haul off and hit Pierce, she certainly wanted to.

"What's the matter, Hollifax? Having trouble going toe-to-toe with Kate? I guess I get it, you don't have much practice talking to intelligent women."

Kate was vaguely aware that the Slytherins had closed in and Fred now stood on Alicia's other side along with Lee. Angelina and some of the other Gryffindors had come over. "She can't be that smart if she's with you," snapped Draco, butting in again. Pierce glared at the fifth year, clearly displeased that he'd been interrupted. "After all this time next year you'll probably be cleaning out the waste bins in Diagon Alley. But you'll still make more money than your father."

The Slytherins burst into laughter, Pierce included. George only went slightly pink and Kate cut him off. "Maybe you should muzzle your lapdog, Pierce. I'd hate for him to steal your thunder."

Draco went silent and Pierce raised his eyebrows, the humor gone. A darkness settled over the pair and there was something about Pierce that she could no longer read. He was sharper and more threatening, as if he knew terrible things that she didn't. A shiver slipped down Kate's spine as his mouth drew into a thin, menacing line. "You can mouth off all you want but you're going to have to pick a side, Kelley. What does your blood and family name mean to you?" He looked her up and down once more.

Kate's distaste for Pierce bloomed into full-on hatred. "I know where I belong," she said coldly unwilling to back down. "It's right next to George and Alicia and Fred and everyone else standing behind me. And as far as I'm concerned, you can go straight to hell, Hollifax. And take your pet with you."

George and Fred led the laughter that chased a magenta-faced Draco back to the Slytherin table. Pierce shot Kate a look that clearly said he wasn't done with his taunting but he slowly turned on heel and sauntered back to the Slytherins. Relief flooded her system as Alicia let go, allowing circulation back to her hand. Flexing her stiff fingers, Kate found George and Fred staring at her.

"What the hell was that about?" Fred asked, the tops of ears red, likely from Draco's insults.

"Hollifax and I go way back. Our dads work at St. Mungo's together," said Kate with a shrug, determined not to let it get to her. Still, she felt a fresh wave of irritation roll through her. Kate found herself disbelieving that after radio silence all night, George and Fred decided to show up right when it would make her look the weakest in front of Pierce Hollifax. "Although you two didn't need to butt in, I had it handled," she added irritably.

Both Fred and George's faces morphed into identical expressions of surprise. Neither of them had been expecting to be rewarded with Kate's temper for their attempted rescue. Somewhere in the rational recesses of Kate's brain she knew that she was being unfair. The twins had always had supported their friends and that included standing up to bullies, but it was hard to feel grateful for their help when they hadn't said a single word to her all night long. In fact, Kate was certain that had her spat with Pierce not happened, Fred and George would still be blissfully oblivious to her presence at the party.

"Well excuse us for wanting to stop you from doing something stupid," said Fred sarcastically. Kate's eyebrows raised. Normally she and Fred got on famously, but she'd managed to push the wrong button.

"Why would I do something stupid?"

"Because the last time you lost your temper you ended up assaulting Stephen Delancourt and wound up with a ludicrous amount of detention and we lost a ton of house points! I don't think you need to hex Pierce Hollifax into next week to prove a point," said Alicia reasonably, hesitant to wade into the fight.

"Besides, you can't expect me to not step in when those gits are insulting my girlfriend and my family," said George. Kate intrinsically knew that George was right, he had every reason to defend the people he loved including his family which had endured enough derision at the hands of the Slytherins. His remark was enough to put her temper to a grinding halt, enough to let her see George clearly. Hurt flashed in his hazel eyes and she could see he was struggling with his own temper. She knew that his temper rose in the face of familial insults because they dug into the root of George's own insecurity. For his entire life he'd been told he wasn't good enough by wizards with more money and status and even occasionally by his own parents. To have Pierce and Draco drag their relationship through the mud again certainly didn't help those issues.

Kate knew the mature thing to do would be to have an honest conversation about the problems they'd been facing. But she could see that George wasn't ready to have that conversation. She'd hurt him by questioning his right to stand up for her and she was still hurt by his neglect. Sighing, she reached out and took his hand, hoping that the physical contact would lessen the tension. George's fingers curled around hers and he mechanically squeezed her hand.

"I'm sorry," she said gently. "I can't stand the thought of Hollifax getting a one up on me and I haven't seen you all night."

George looked taken aback. "All night? What the bloody hell are you talking about, Kate? I literally just saw you when you were fighting with Pierce."

Kate's mind went momentarily blank. For several painfully protracted seconds she wondered if she'd stepped into an alternate universe. George's hand came to rest on her shoulder, but Kate shrugged it away. The white hot anger she still felt cooled into disappointment. "George we've been here for nearly an hour," she said.

The tension was palatable. George's face took on several expressions conveying just how surprised he was by this new information. He really had no idea that Kate had been at the party for so long. All about them the chaos continued to rage, but Kate had had enough. George started to reach out and touch her again, but thought better of it and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry, Kate. Why didn't you come get me?"

It then occurred to Kate that this was a markedly better plan than sulking in the corner with Alicia. Dropping her head to hide her embarrassment, it was her turn to feel ashamed for her behavior. "I didn't want to bother you guys while you're selling."

"You're never a bother. I-" but a hand clapped his shoulder. Fred, clearly displeased with how the night was going, gave George a gentle shake.

"The more the merrier, Kate! In fact we could use your help now to help close a few more sales before our classmates get too sloshed to properly count. Then you and Georgie here can sneak off to a quiet corner and snog each other's brains out per usual."

Kate loved Fred like family, but sometimes his tactlessness made her want to jinx him into the next week. His words were the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back. George read her immediate shift in attitude and glared so fiercely at his brother Kate was surprised Fred didn't immediately burst into flames. She found Alicia hovering a few feet away, watching the exchange with open fascination. Holding a hand out, she was glad when Alicia took it.

"As tempting as that offer is, Fred, I think you'll do just fine without me," she said and shook her head. "Alicia and I are calling it quits. I'll see you guys tomorrow I suppose."

George tried to stop her but Fred and Lee's hands fell on his shoulders. "If you insist," he said but didn't seem the least bit concerned that Kate turned him down. "Then I suppose that you don't mind us borrowing George for the rest of the night."

A light shone in George's eyes telling Kate that he was no longer angry and legitimately sorry for missing her arrival and for not seeking her out sooner. He silently begged her step in so they could steal away for a little while. But Kate's disappointment carried her past the point of simply bending to his begging and charm. Ignoring the large part of her that wanted for nothing more than to sneak into a dark corner of the castle with George, Kate instead gave Fred a leisurely wave of her hand. "As you were, gentlemen."

Fred's boyish grin widened into an evil grin. "Much obliged Miss Kelley, I promise to return him to you in one piece."

Kate rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Alicia who watched the entire exchange, mouth slightly agape. "That's it?"

"What's it?" Questioned Kate.

"Nothing," said Alicia, shaking off her surprise. "It's nothing. You ready to get out of here?"

Kate looped her arm through Alicia's. "Lead the way!"

Together the two girls hurried back to the kitchen exit and slipped through the painting opening, back into the atrium. The stillness and darkness enveloped them. "I don't remember doing this last year," murmured Alicia as they began to climb the steps, careful to stay in the shadows. Kate kept her free hand curled around her wand.

"That's because you were fall-down drunk," she muttered in response. "We never would have made it to the prefects bathroom if Stephen Delancourt hadn't created a distraction for us."

"Ah Stephen Delancourt," murmured Alicia. "Did you know I almost forget the two of you dated? I'm so used to you and George being so sickeningly perfect." Kate swallowed her unamused laughter. They were so far from perfect, to the point that she was beginning to resent the characterization.

The girls made it to the top of the stairs and stood at the edge of the cavernous main entrance. Kate paused long enough to remember what George and Fred had told her about the passages through the castle. Teachers typically patrolled the main corridors, but they could take a shortcut through the classroom corridor and up the back stairs to the seventh floor. Pursing her lips, Kate tried to run the risks in her head. Smarter professors like Snape would maybe think to patrol the back way, especially if it meant catching Gryffindors trying to sneak in late. But it was worth the risk, thought Kate grimly.

"Come on," she said under her breath and together the girls stepped out into the open. Picking up her speed, she and Alicia hurried across the atrium, their footsteps echoing just barely across the flagstone floor. Kate's heart pounded as they ducked back out of sight, taking shelter behind a suit of armor. Torches still lit the halls and Kate tried to look in the swath of light for any movement. Next to her Alicia pulled her wand from the back pocket of her trousers.

Slowly, they crept back out into the hall and started their way past the lower year charms, transfiguration, and defense against the dark arts classrooms. "If all else fails we can break for the fifth floor and hide in the prefect's bathroom," whispered Alicia under her breath. Kate nodded, hoping they wouldn't have to spend yet another miserable night on the uncomfortable marble floor.

"Damn," said Kate under her breath as they reached the landing for the back staircase. "We should have just crashed in the News Dungeon. Ian and I keep cots there for when we pull all-nighters."

A creaking noise near the girls turned Kate's blood to ice. As one they whipped around. Nobody was immediately there. Kate snatched Alicia's arm and drug the girl around the landing and into the pitch-black alcove beneath the stairs. "I expect the first students will be trickling upstairs any moment," said a painfully familiar girlish voice.

The urge to vomit all over the floor swelled into Kate's stomach. Covering her mouth with her hand, Kate tried to quell the fight-or-flight response that kicked in, telling her to run as hard and as fast as possible. "We'll be ready for 'em," said Filch in response. "Always catch a couple but not this year. This year we'll get them all."

The sound of footsteps above them prompted Alicia to push Kate and herself flat against the wall. Kate didn't dare breathe. "And Severus is waiting to catch Potter and his little friends?"

"He's patrolling the third floor stairwell to catch 'em," said Filch.

"Excellent," said Umbridge her girlish voice silky and threatening.

Alicia turned her face to look at Kate. In the dim light, her eyes reflected Kate's confusion. "Did they go?" she mouthed silently. Kate shook her head. When they'd left earlier in the night Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were miserably trudging through their homework under Hermione Granger's beady watch. It seemed the one time Harry followed the rules fell to his extreme benefit.

The footsteps stopped. Kate's heart hammered against her breastbone, instantly regretting leaving George's side. Maybe she was upset with him, but he always knew how to get out of these sticky situations. What if Umbridge didn't leave this hall all night long? What if she and Alicia were stuck trying to get back upstairs? Was this the sort of behavior that Professor McGonagall warned would get Kate 'silenced'? Maybe Kate didn't need George to rescue her from Pierce Hollifax, but she could have used his years of ingenious escape plans right about now.

For the first time in her entire life, Kate found herself asking what would Fred and George do? Looking at her surroundings, Kate tried to discern a way out. Her entire body began to hum with nervous energy, only further egged on by Alicia as she began to bite her nails. Ahead of them, Kate could see the narrow corridor that connected the classroom hall with another main hall. At the very end stood a suit of armor. The word bloomed into Kate's head just as she heard a mewling that curdled her blood.

Diversion! Thought Kate desperately and without a second thought, she raised her hand and flicked her wrist. The jet of magic rippled through the air but Kate didn't see that the levitation charm hit the suit of armor until it rose fast in the air, slamming against the ceiling. Shouts filled her ears as the harsh impact caused the entire suit to disarticulate and scatter the pieces everywhere. Two blurs zipped past them. "Hurry Filch!" Shouted Umbridge.

As soon as the pair were out of Kate's immediate danger zone she started to move, but Alicia seemed rooted to the spot, terrified. "Come on!" She snapped and gave her friend an almighty heave. The jerk pulled Alicia back into reality. The girls rounded the corner on the stairs and took them two at a time, sprinting up as fast as they could. Neither of them stopped until after they reached the landing on the seventh floor and raced along the corridor to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Mimbulus Mimbletonia!" Gasped Alicia.

The portrait swung open and the girls fell through to the other side, startling a group of nearby third years who were engrossed in a game of gobstones. "Never, ever again," said Kate as they both drug themselves towards the girl's staircase.

As they began to make their way up, Alicia cast a fearful glance over her shoulder. "I hope everyone makes it back okay."

Kate's stomach lurched uncomfortably as she thought about Angelina, Lee, Fred, and George, all still down at the party. "They've gotten out of worse scrapes before. They'll be fine."

The pair slunk into their dormitory. They stayed up late waiting for Angelina and talking about what it meant that Umbridge was specifically trying to catch Harry Potter. Kate was thankful that Alicia gracefully chose not to talk about the fight with Pierce Hollifax or the unpleasantness with George. Fitful sleep eventually overtook Kate.

X X X

The next morning Kate rose earlier than expected. For a while she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of the night before. Since they'd started dating, Kate couldn't remember a time when she didn't want to be around George. He'd gone out of his way to give her as much attention as she'd wanted, often willing to forego nights of mischief with Fred and Lee just so they could waste hours alone together. Last year the business had been a fledging venture, but now it was an entirely different monster.

Kate knew she was pouting as she dressed herself for the day. If she was being really honest with herself, Kate knew that George had spoiled her beyond belief and now she was feeling the consequences of soaking up all that undivided attention. But she didn't want to be that honest yet, so instead she continued to sulk as she tugged on a wide-necked sweater over a pair of jeans and a tank top. All of her hair fell down her shoulders in a torrent of messy waves, held back by the pair of tortoise shell glasses she perched on the top of her head. An entire stack of paper work had been piling up since Wednesday and it beckoned to Kate, providing the perfect excuse to do what she did best: run and hide from her problems.

Blowing out a sigh, she stooped to pick up her bag when her compass necklace slid out from beneath the gaping neck of her sweater. The gold charm caught the light and she closed her hand over it, opening her fingers to reveal the charm laying in the palm of her hand. The needle quivered briefly before moving to point in the general direction of the boy's dormitory. Biting her lower lip, Kate wondered if George made it back okay last night or if he'd been caught. Upset with him or not, Kate didn't want him to end up with a whole month's worth of detentions, that would only further cut into the already painfully limited time they had with each other. Frustrated and confused, Kate hoisted the leather strap of her bag onto her shoulder and started to make for the door when a voice halted her.

"Kate?" Alicia sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Breakfast, then the News Dungeon. I've got a ton of work to do before I even start in on my homework," she said briskly.

A frown turned Alicia's lips downwards. "Is everything okay?"

Kate offered what she hoped was a sunny, devil-may-care smile. "Everything's great. Sleep in! I'll see you later."

Without another word, Kate opened the door and let herself out into the hallway. Shafts of weak sunlight fell across the flagstone floors, catching the lazy specks of dust that floated along the morning air. The torches were already put out and instead the hall was bathed in the golden glow of daybreak. Hurriedly, Kate slipped down past the other dorms and the staircase. The common room was mercifully empty, devoid even of the usual crew of first and second years that hadn't yet learned to enjoy the glories of sleeping in until ten in the morning.

Kate hitched the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and had almost made it to the portrait hole when yet another voice halted her. "Kate, wait up!"

Stopping, she whirled around to see George on the opposite end of the common room, jogging down the last couple of steps from the boy's dormitories. He fixed his watch on his wrist as he did so, looking remarkably fresh for seven-thirty on a Saturday morning. A feeling akin to anxiety wormed its way into her stomach, filling her with unease. The sentiment didn't settle well with Kate, she much preferred life when she wasn't irritated with George. "What are you doing up so early?"

George's lips quirked, begging to take the shape of that annoying know-it-all grin. "I took a lucky guess that maybe you didn't sleep too well either?"

"I have a lot of paper stuff to do," she said by way of explanation. "I figured I'd get it out of the way early."

George stood next to her by now and he held out a hand to her. "Mind if I keep you company for breakfast?"

Disappointed or not, Kate knew better than to refuse his request and run the risk of doing more damage. "Of course not," she murmured and slipped her fingers across his palm.

As George led them out into the hallway, Kate knew that the hand-holding was part of his grand plan to make her forgive him for his transgressions. It was hard to be mad at George in general, but even more difficult when her hand fit so perfectly in his. Walking so close to him, Kate caught the scent of fresh soap and that wonderful deep, woodsy scent that was all George unto himself. The familiar rush of hormones accompanied the insane want to bury herself in George's arms and just pretend like nothing ever happened. "I take it you and Alicia made it back okay?"

"Yeah, almost got caught by Umbridge and Filch though. I had to use a levitation charm to smash a suit of armor to distract them long enough for us to get away."

George's fingers tightened over her hand and he let out a low whistle. "Impressive!"

Against her will, a tiny smile tugged at Kate's lips and she bumped her shoulder lightly against his. "Well, I learned from the best. What about you guys?"

George shrugged, his gray and white striped long-sleeved shirt pulling at his shoulders. "Fred and I got caught by Flitwick so Ang and Katie could make it back safe with Lee. He gave us a week's worth of detention. Though that's better than what some of the other kids got. When Fred and I made it back there were a few sixth years that got caught by Umbridge. Three weeks every night."

It was Kate's turn to let out a low whistle. "We heard her talking to Filch last night, apparently she set Snape to the task of catching Harry Potter and his friends."

Rubbing the back of his neck, George couldn't keep the dark expression from marring his handsome face. "That old bat's really got it out for Harry, doesn't she?"

"Looks that way. I'm glad you and Fred got off relatively easy."

"Me too." An uneasy silence settled over them. It seemed that neither of them knew how to talk about the fight with Pierce or the misery that followed after. Kate kept her head down and wondered what George was thinking. He steered them into the Great Hall which was sparsely populated with a few handful of younger students and a couple of the teachers.

George led her to their usual place at the Gryffindor table and they started to load their plates up with eggs, sausages, and toast. Kate absently picked at her food thinking about all the work she had to push through today before she could think about relaxing later in the night. A warm hand came to rest on her knee and instinctively, Kate leaned against George.

"What are you doing later?" She asked at length.

"Quidditch practice in the afternoon and then detention with Flitwick tonight," he said grimly. "Though I don't fancy going to practice. Angelina is on the warpath. She and Fred got into a huge row after you left."

"So a normal Friday night, then?" She asked, feeling the first spark of good humor all day. George chuckled and nodded. "I guess it's going to be a full week."

"Yeah, but maybe after detention this week we can find a couple of hours," he offered, his voice weak over the words. Flitwick's detentions were known for being easy on the workload but ungodly long and Kate didn't hold much hope of seeing him before eleven any night in the coming week.

"Yeah, maybe," she echoed.

George read her hesitance. As a couple they were no stranger to public affection to a certain degree, but even George surprised Kate when he cupped her face and kissed her softly. "I know we've had a rough start back, but it'll get better, I promise," he said between another kiss.

Mollified, Kate nodded and smiled when he fell into light non-controversial conversation about how Lee was so drunk he tried to serenade the Fat Lady when they got to the portrait, much to Angelina and Katie's horror. She let him entertain her through the remainder of breakfast when they parted ways with another lingering kiss. Kate watched George walk away towards the common room to wake up Fred with a lingering feeling of dread in her stomach. George said things would get better, but she couldn't shake the notion that things were only going to get worse.

The thought nagged her all the way down to the scroll doorway to the News Dungeon. Absently she rattled off her credentials and walked into the room. Kate lifted her head to make her way to her desk and stopped dead in her tracks. All of the papers in her arms fell to the floor with a 'thud' which separated the amorous couple that had been furiously snogging only milliseconds before.

Ian's face was flush and his hair was a wreck as he took in Kate with wide-eyed terror. He disentangled himself from his partner, holding his hands up defensively.

"Kate, it's not what it looks like," he said, dragging out the oldest line in the book.

Yet, both of them knew it was exactly what it looked like. Cara was trying to smooth her wild hair behind her shoulders her lips swollen and clothes an absolute mess. Kate's jaw hung open in irreverent shock. She'd just walked in on Ian Haynes snogging her little sister.

A/N: Pierce Hollifax (he's going to be important later on!) is a jerk! George an Kate in a rough patch! Ian and Cara OMG!

I hope you liked it! Please, please leave some love, constructive thoughts, favorite parts, predictions, questions etc.! Much love – Brose