Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; I just play in the sandbox and dream.

Note: Sorry about the long breaks. Life is getting in the way and I dislike it greatly. School mixed with romantic drama is not fun, but this is! I'm trying my hardest to make time for it, fitting it in between studying and working and pulling my hair out! Enjoy!

Their carriage made it to the front of the steps without blowing over. The storm had become so strong Evie was convinced some of the first years would end up in the lake. Fred and George helped Angelina and Evie out of the carriage and up the steps. They were all relieved to be inside Hogwarts castle and out of the rain. That is until all four of them were hit suddenly by water balloons. Looking up they saw Peeves, the school's poltergeist, holding a bag full of water balloons.

"Peeves! We're already wet! Isn't this a bit overkill?" Evie laughed.

"NO NO Potter-girl!" Peeves cackled as he zoomed to a spot over the entrance to the Great Hall. "Just kill enough!"

They all laughed, except Angelina, she'd always loved Fred and George's pranks, but Peeves went way beyond what she thought was acceptable. The four students ran into the Great Hall and narrowly avoided being hit again.

Professor McGonagall was rushing out of the hall as they entered and took their seats.

"Looks like Peeves' fun is about to be cut short." George laughed.

"Shame, wonder what has him in an uproar?" Fred wondered as they were joined by a soaking wet Hermione, Ron and Harry.

"Hope they hurry up with the Sorting! I haven't seen one since my own." Evie said.

"I, for one, just want to hear the news about what's going on here this term." Fred said.

Evie almost jumped out of her seat when she felt the light tap on her shoulder, but turned around to find her friend Jane standing there.

"Jane!" she squealed as she jumped up and hugged her friend from Ravenclaw. Jane happened to be Seamus' older sister and had played a large roll in Seamus forgiving Harry after he hexed him last year.

"Missed you at the cup!" Jane said letting her arms drop back to her sides. "Saw those three."

"I was with those three." Evie laughed pointing to the twins and Ginny.

"I should have known." Jane laughed "Well, I should get back to the Ravenclaw table, see you little brother!" she added to Seamus.

As Jane sat down at her table Professor McGonagall led the first years in for the sorting. She felt that the song that year was more beautiful than the one it sung at her sorting, leaving her feeling rather jealous. Gryffindor got plenty of new students and soon their plates were filled with food.

"Lucky you have a feast at all." Nearly Headless Nick told them as he appeared in an empty seat next to Ron. "We had some trouble in the kitchens earlier."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Peeves, naturally," he told them. "He wanted to attend the feast, but you all know how uncivilized he is. Thankfully the Bloody Baron put his foot down and told him no."

"That explains the mood he's in. What'd he do?" Fred asked as he piled more onto his plate.

"His usual, had the kitchens swimming in soup before he was done, terrified the house-elves." He said.

Hermione dropped her goblet on the table, spilling pumpkin juice everywhere.

"House-elves at Hogwarts?!" she breathed horror-struck.

"Uh-oh…" Evie whispered to Fred. "I know that face." She watched as her friend pushed her plate away and refused to eat.

"What face is that? Disgust?" he asked.

"She's planning something. Mark my words; she'll disappear to the library more than usual." She said stealing a bit of treacle tart from his plate.

"Oy! Get your own food!" he laughed as he pretended to be appalled and protect his plate. Evie laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.

"SO!" Dumbledore's voice rang out through the Great Hall causing all eyes to meet his.

"If I may ask for your attention once more, there are a few notices. As always, Mr. Filch has asked me to tell you the list of banned items has been extended. For the full list, some four hundred items, can be viewed in his office on the ground floor." he continued on about the forest and Hogsmeade.

"I must also, painfully, inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch cup is not to take place this year." He paused here to listen to the sounds of outrage. He gave a silent chuckle to see the Fred and George too upset to speak.

"Due to an exciting even taking place at our school this year! It is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be hosting an even these coming months, one that has not been held in a century. The Triwizard Tournament!"

"You're joking!" Fred exclaimed sending the hall into fits of laughter.

"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, I am not joking," he laughed. "Though I did hear one this summer you would enjoy." McGonagall cleared her throat at this. "Another time perhaps."

He went on for a few minutes longer about the history and purpose of the tournament before informing them that only students 17 years of age could enter. She had never seen Fred and George so outraged.

"They can't do that!" said Lee.

"We'll be seventeen in April, why can't we give it a go?" George said.

"Well they're not stopping me." said Fred. "Think of it George, a thousand Galleon prize money!"

With that they headed off to Gryffindor tower. The whole way up, Evie helped Fred and George plan ways to fool the impartial judge Dumbledore had mentioned. Hermione seemed lost in thought the whole way up and didn't bother to lecture the twins about the dangers of the tournament or the ludicrous idea that they could fool a judge with aging potion.

"Password?" said the familiar portrait of a fat lady in a lavish pink silk dress.

"Balderdash." said George.

They all climbed through the hole behind the portrait and entered the common room. Everyone had already made it to bed, but a warm fire still blazed in the fireplace. Hermione gave a grunt of disapproval and stormed up to the girl's dormitory.

Harry and Ron climbed the staircase to their dormitory, leaving the trio downstairs planning the gradual theft of the necessary ingredients from Snape's private stores. Before long George left for his bed and left Fred and Evie alone in the common room.

"If this works, and you're chosen, you'll be careful, yeah?" Evie asked taking George's spot next to Fred on the one couch in the common room.

"What could be more dangerous than sneaking around behind your brother's back?" he asked. "If I can do that, then I can battle any creature or take on any challenge."

"Sometimes I think you are too sure of yourself." She told him.

"Only when you're looking." He winked at her. Fred pulled her onto his lap and had her facing him before she knew what was going on. "I'll be careful, for you."

He kissed her then, but this was so much more than before. The kiss in the wardrobe had been tentative and shy, on the train it was mostly for show. This kiss however was packed with meaning. It felt like a promise with all its passion and she could feel herself melting into him. When they finally pulled away from each other, she couldn't think straight.

"I…that was….you….wicked." she said straining to complete a thought.

"Yeah… we should…bed?" he asked just as speechless as she was.

"Yeah, sleep is good." She nodded climbing off his lap and getting to her feet. Fred got to his feet then too and walked her to the door to the girl's dormitory.

"G'night." He said smiling down at her.

"G'night Fred." She said before disappearing behind the door.

Evie danced her way to her four poster bed, passing the sleeping forms of Hermione, Parvati, Lavender and Erin. Evie had never clicked with Lavender or Parvati but Erin was a close friend. She'd grown up in the same little hamlet in Ireland as Seamus and Jane.

Evie quietly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Before she fell asleep she envisioned Fred standing before the whole school that was cheering and chanting his name. He'd won the tournament and she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck and kissed her champion.

Evie woke up early the next morning and woke Erin up shortly after. Erin de Cogain was three inches taller than Evie and had the darkest auburn hair Evie had ever seen on anyone. And her eyes were the deepest green, almost the color of the rolling hills her country was so famous for.

"Erin! Wake up!" she said shaking her friend's shoulders.

"Gah! Evie?" Erin started awake and smacked her eager friend in the face in her fright.

"Ow! You hit hard!" Evie moaned as she cradled her face in her hand.

"Sorry, luv, but you know waking me comes with its risks," she yawned. "Why are you waking me up so early anyway?"

"Because Jane is always up early and I have something to tell you two! So get up!" she said throwing Erin's robes at her as she left the dormitory. She walked into the common room to find it empty except for a few nervous looking first years. She turned when she heard Erin's grumbles behind her.

"This had better be good Evie." She said as she followed her friend out of the portrait hole.

They saw Jane sitting by herself at the Ravenclaw table when they entered the Great Hall.

"Morning Jane!" said Evie as they sat down on either side of her.

"Well you two are up early." replied Jane.

"Evie has something to tell us." grumbled Erin.

"Yes, I do," she said buttering some toast. "But if I tell you, you can't tell Harry."

"Who is he?!" Erin asked suddenly sounding more awake.

"I thought that was obvious, Erin." Jane commented. "Our Mr. Weasley has finally made his move."

"George?" Erin asked.

Erin was not a morning person and became easily confused if she didn't get a full ten hours of sleep.

"No!" Evie cried gaining the attention of the small group of Hufflepuffs that had just entered the hall for breakfast. "Not George, Erin, Fred."

"Oh… that makes more sense." said Erin, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"We've decided to keep it secret until we find a way to work Harry up to the idea." She told her friends.

"Good luck with that." laughed Erin.

"Well, what about the Yule Ball? Have Fred take you, telling Harry it's to protect you from other boys?" Jane suggested.

"Yule Ball?" questioned Evie as the crumbs disappeared from her plate.

"It's part of the tournament. It takes place on Christmas Eve. It's why dress robes were on our lists this year." Jane explained.

"Great, just what I need. A ball when I can't dance…" Evie lamented.

"I'm sure they will teach us something, Evie." Erin added.

"Either way, your brother and your secret boyfriend just entered the hall." Jane said pointing over Evie's shoulder to the entrance.

"I should join them, just don't tell anyone about me and Fred." Evie said leaving the Ravenclaw table and heading to the Gryffindor table on the far side of the hall.

Reaching the table, Evie took a spot between Ron and Fred so she could bounce between conversations. Fred, George and Lee were discussing the aging potion plan, while to her left Ron, Harry and Hermione were discussing their course schedules.

"Ugh, Double Divination this afternoon." Ron moaned.

"You should have dropped it like us, shouldn't you?" Hermione chided him while gathering a small breakfast on her plate.

"Ariththmancy is much easier and more practical." Said Evie before turning to join the twin's conversation.

"I'm not sure the aging potion is the way to go," Lee was saying. "Stealing from Snape is never easy, and often times not worth the risk."

"Are you telling me that a thousand Galleon prize and eternal glory aren't worth the risk of Snape catching us?" George asked astounded.

"Don't worry Lee, that's where I come in," Evie said jumping into the conversation. "I'll nick it for you so none of you risks being caught." She smiled. Now that she knew he couldn't stand her, she wanted nothing more than to gain his favor.

"That's our Evie!" said George as Lee snickered.

Evie's heart felt flattened upon seeing Lee's snicker. She'd never done anything to him so why was he so against her? She went into her own world, replaying the past three years in her head. She was only vaguely aware of what was going on around her as she searched for a moment in time that she was ever less than friendly to him. A moment, it was beginning to become clear, had never happened. She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sudden feel of a hand on her right leg. She looked up at the owner of the hand and found him looking at her then back down to his hand meaningfully. She looked down at his hand and saw a small bit of parchment peeking out under his hand. She tried to tone down her excited smile as she placed her hand over his as he was slowly sliding it off her leg, leaving behind the note hastily scribbled on the parchment which was no bigger than the palm of her hand.

Meet me in the Trophy Room after classes

The excitement at the thought of secretly meeting Fred was almost too much to contain.

"Oy, Evie! It's time for Herbology, get a move on!" came Erin's voice from behind her.

"Have the others gone already?" she asked looking around to find the rest of the fourth years exiting the Great hall already.

Evie gave a hasty goodbye to the twins and Lee, making sure to smile at Lee before rushing down to the Herbology Greenhouses. She would make him like her if it was the last thing she did.

"As a welcome back present, you will be receiving no homework!" Professor Vector said ending the class early.

Evie raced out of the classroom on the seventh floor, ignoring the calls of Hermione to join her in the library, and heading straight to the bathroom on the seventh floor. As she was checking her reflection in the mirror Angelina Johnson's reflection joined hers.

"Meeting someone special?" she asked breaking the silence in the bathroom.

"What makes you say that?" Evie asked, sounding like a frightened person hiding a secret.

"Evangeline Potter, I shared a carriage to the castle with you and Fred, you really think I didn't notice?" she laughed.

"Please don't tell anyone!" begged Evie.

"Why not? Does he want to keep it secret? Evie, you shouldn't stand for that! You should tell him…." Angelina started, but Evie cut her short.

"Nothing like that Angelina! I thought you knew the twins better than that! It's Harry…" she explained. "Harry is, well… overprotective. Even when we were kids, a boy so much as held my hand; he thought they were trying to steal me from him. It was hard growing up with just each other in a house filled with people who both feared and loathed your very existence. We don't want him to know until we find a way to ease him into it."

"Well, I'm sure he'll come around if you just tell him. But I won't say anything if you tell me one thing." She bargained.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" Evie asked impatiently.

"Does George fancy anyone?" asked the suddenly very nervous looking Angelina.

"Not that I know of, but let me do some digging," she laughed. "I've got to go meet Fred."

"Thanks Evie!"

Evie made her way to the third floor quickly. She passed the statue of the one-eyed witch on her way to the trophy room. When she entered the room all she saw were the familiar cases of trophies. She found herself drawn to the cabinet that housed the Awards for Special Services to the School. Harry, Ron, Hermione and herself had received them after their second year. But the one that drew her attention was that of Tom Riddle's award. It still had not been removed from the cabinet.

"Well, Ms. Potter, glad you could make it." Fred said coming up behind her and putting his arms around her waist.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming." She told him as his lips planted tiny kisses along her neck line.

She leaned back into him as she brought her hands up and tangled them in his hair. She became aware of his hands moving up her body so slowly that it felt like he was leaving a trail of fire behind them. Up her body they went, then up her arms and his hands found hers and brought them down before he turned her around to face him.

"I missed you." He murmured before capturing her lips in a kiss.

"I… mis-sed…mmmm…you…too." Evie managed to get out between kisses.

As their lips moved in time with each other, Fred backed her up against one of the cases of trophies and let his hands roam her body. She let out a small moan as his hand grazed her breast on its way up to her hair. As if he had suddenly remembered something important he broke away from her, leaving her flushed and confused.

"I've got something for you!" he said by way of explanation. He pulled out two pieces of parchment. Nothing seemed to point to their being anything but ordinary, but Fred had enchanted them. "I call it the Vamoose Intimation parchment." He told her.

"You write on yours and it will appear on mine." He explained after she gave him a look of pure confusion.

"Vamoose? Really Fred?" she laughed.

"I thought it was funny…" he pouted.

"Are you trying to distract me from my studies?" she asked.

"Oh, you'll manage." He said kissing her again. "I need to go conduct a little business before dinner, see you in the Great hall?"

"Yeah, I need to go catch up with Ron and Harry." She said heading for the door leading to the corridor.

Evie was heading toward the grand staircase when she passed the one-eyed witch statue again.

"Well, well, well." came the slimy voice of the Potions master, Severus Snape. "What are we doing alone on the third floor by the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor? Planning on sneaking into Hogsmeade again?"

"Not at all, Professor." said Hermione who had just come running up behind Evie. "She's been in the library with me."

"Is that so ? And what were you looking for in the library on your first day of classes?" he asked hoping to catch them in their lie.

"Elf rights." They said together. Snape's face fell instantly.

"Get along to dinner then. But don't let me catch you sneaking around here again, Ms. Potter." He seethed.

"Oh, you won't Professor. I have permission to go into Hogsmeade village this year." She said before skipping down the stairs to the ground floor.

"How did you know what I was doing in the library?" Hermione asked once they were out of ear shot of Snape.

"Hermione, I'm not as thick as Harry and Ron." She laughed.

"So what were you doing up there? You ran out of Arithmancy so fast!" she asked.

"Meeting Fred." Evie whispered as they came up alongside her brother and Ron.

"Miserable old bat!" Ron was saying.

"Lots of homework?" Evie asked linking arms with her brother. "Professor Vector didn't give us any!"

"Good for you two." grumbled Harry.

They had almost reached the queue to get into the Great hall when the most unpleasant voice rang through the hall.

"Weasley! Oh, Weasley!"

The four of them turned to see Malfoy standing at the base of the stairs flanked by his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle.

"What?" said Ron.

"You're Father's in the paper, Weasley!" Malfoy laughed as he unfolded his copy of the Daily Prophet. He began to read aloud from an article written by Rita Skeeter.

"Imagine that! They didn't even get his name right!" he crowed before finishing the article about Mr. Weasley rushing to the aid of their new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Mad-eye Moody, the morning before.

"And there's a picture! You're parents standing outside, what is that? Is that your house?" Malfoy jeered. "Your Mother could do with losing some weight, couldn't she?"

Ron was shaking with fury, which usually meant he was seconds away from doing something stupid so Harry and Evie jumped in. Harry grabbed Ron's arm as he told Malfoy off.

"You two were staying with them this summer, tell us, is his Mother really that fat or is it just the camera?" Malfoy asked.

"Let's talk about your Mother," Evie said as Harry and Hermione held Ron back. "That expression she has, like someone's holding dung under her nose? Was it because you were around, or is she always like that?" Evie asked as she watched Malfoy go pink.

"Don't insult my Mother, Potter." He growled.

"Then keep your mouth shut!" said Evie before turning around.

She had barely turned her back than there was a loud band and she felt something white hot graze her cheek and the smell of singed hair filled the room. A large chunk of her hair fell to the ground as she reached for her wand. Before she had pulled her wand from her robes and turned around another bang filled the hall and she dropped to the floor and spun around to find herself staring at a white ferret exactly were Malfoy used to be.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!"

Professor Moody was hobbling down the staircase, wand out and pointing at the small ferret cowering on the marble floor.

"Did he get you?" Moody asked as his normal eye searched her over for injuries, but his magical eye was pointed back in his head.

"No, just my hair." She said indicating the large portion of hair that was now several inches shorter than the rest.

"LEAVE IT!" he roared causing Evie to jump.

"Leave what, sir?" she asked more frightened than ever of her new professor.

"Not you…" he growled turning on Crabbe who had been attempting to pick up the ferret. As Moody started limping toward them, a streak of white told Evie that the ferret was running away to the dungeons.

But Moody was too quick, and with a flick of his wand the ferret was bouncing around the entrance hall while Moody shouted things like, "Coward!" and "Never attack a Witch or Wizard when their back is turned!"

The scene had gathered quite a bit of attention and there were cheers as the ferret bounced round and round the hall.

"Professor Moody!" a shocked voice broke through the loud cheers.

"Hello, Professor!" replied Moody.

"What are you doing?!" she cried.

"Teaching." growled Moody.

"Teach – Is that a student, Alastor?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Technically it's a ferret."

Evie watched in disappointment as Professor McGonagall changed Malfoy back and Moody escorted him to the dungeons to await Professor Snape and punishment.

"Don't talk to me." Ron said quietly as they sat down to dinner. "I need to fix that in my mind forever."

"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret!" Evie cried out for the entire hall to hear.

Hermione tutted her disapproval and started wolfing her meal down so she could get back to the library.

"Don't tell us you're going back to the library!" Harry said.

"Got to, loads to do!" she smiled as she jumped up from her spot next to Evie.

No sooner had Hermione left the Great hall than her seat was taken by Fred, George and Lee taking the seats opposite him and Evie.

"Moody!" said Fred. "How cool is he?"

"Beyond cool," Evie said remembering the encounter in the entrance hall moments before.

"We had him this afternoon." Lee said.

They sat and discussed the lesson with Moody in length as they ate their dinner. When Malfoy finally walked in, looking still disheveled and glared directly at Evie, Fred noticed the chunk of hair missing from Evie's head.

"What was that about?" he asked looking from Draco to Evie. "And what happened to your hair?!" He tried to hide to some of his outrage, but failed.

"Malfoy was being himself so she set him right with a comment about his mum." Ron said.

"And her hair?" George asked expressing deep interest in the rest of the story.

"Well, Malfoy didn't like what I had to say, so he tried to hit me with a shot from his wand while my back was turned. I'll just have Erin fix it when we get back to the dormitory." She said calmly.

"He attacked you when your back was turned?" Fred burst.

Evie immediately grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed.

"Moody took care of it. Malfoy won't be trying that again anytime soon." Harry said.

"Turned Malfoy into a ferret and started bouncing him around the entrance hall." Evie laughed, trying to convince Fred to calm down.

Evie was glad that Ron and Harry were busy relaying the story to George and Lee so she could be checked over by Fred for any damage other than her hair.

"Fred, I'm fine, really." She said grabbing his hand that was now on her cheek. "Erin will just cut it all the same length."

"But he could have hurt you." He said.

"And if he ever does, you have my full permission to set him straight. But for now, let it go. He was a ferret for ten minutes; I think that is enough to make him think twice before trying to attack any of us while Moody is around." she said.

Once they had finished dinner Evie found Erin de Cogain right away and they headed up to the dormitory to fix her hair. Once Erin was done Evie looked into the mirror and saw her now jaw length hair and smiled. It was a big change from her mid-back length hair, but she looked good.

"I like it." Was all she said before rushing back down to the common room to show off her hair.