After Fred and George's surprise visit, things at Hogwarts went back to normal. Harry was attending his lessons with Dumbledore, although they were often spaced very far apart. It was rumored that Dumbledore had been leaving the school. Nobody knew where he had been going, not even Harry.

During Harry's lessons, Dumbledore had been taking him into memories that showed bits and pieces of Voldemort's past. Just hearing Harry retell the story of a young Voldemort, back then Tom Riddle, sitting in the orphanage as Dumbledore told him he was a wizard gave Auden goose bumps. Back then, nobody knew that such a small, good looking boy would grow up to do such horrible things.

On top of it all, Harry wouldn't shut up about Malfoy. He was so sure that Malfoy was up to something; that he had been given a secret mission to do; that he was a Death Eater. Ron and Hermione were clearly fed up with Harry's constant prying into Malfoy's business. Auden didn't know what to believe. She had to admit that Malfoy was acting weird. Harry had shown her how Malfoy would disappear from the Marauder's map completely and Malfoy had been looking quite ill during classes. Still, none of this proved that he was a Death Eater. It all added up, but there was no proof.

The first Quidditch match of the season arrived and Auden was excited beyond words. She couldn't wait to get out onto the field. Ron, however, looked as if he felt quite the opposite. He looked slightly green as he sat down to breakfast on the morning of the match.

"Eat something, Ron," Harry said urgently. "You need to eat."

Ron shook his head.

Auden sighed and picked up Ron's fork. She put some scrambled eggs on it and made whooshing noises. "Here comes the broomstick of scrambled eggs, flying into your mouth!" she said cheerily.

"Don't mention broomsticks," Ron said quietly, grabbing Auden's wrist and gently moving it away.

Auden shrugged. "It always worked when you wouldn't eat your mashed peas when we were babies."

"I hated mashed peas," Ron said.

"I know, and your mum always got you to eat them by pretending the spoon was a broomstick." She paused. "Harry's right. You do need to eat something."

Ron shook his head again. "I can't. It'll probably all just come right up anyway."

Auden wrinkled her nose slightly. "Lovely, Ron."

"At least drink some pumpkin juice," Harry said as Hermione sat down across from them. He slid Ron's glass towards him.

"Harry!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, giving him a death glare. "Did you just do what I think you did?"

"What?" asked Harry, looking at her innocently.

"I'm confused, what did Harry supposedly do?" Auden asked. She hadn't seen Harry do anything. Either Hermione had gone bonkers, or Auden had missed something.

"Don't drink that, Ron," Hermione warned, but it was too late. Ron was already gulping down the pumpkin juice.

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked, setting it back down on the table.

"Harry put something in it."

"Don't know what you're talking about," Harry said. "Come on Ron, Auden. We should get down to the changing rooms."

Auden kept glancing at Harry suspiciously the whole way down to the changing rooms. She had figured out what Hermione was getting at, but she didn't want to say anything. She didn't know what to say, to be honest. She also didn't want to confront Harry in front of Ron. It would only make him feel even worse about himself and the upcoming match.

"Guess what?" Ginny asked as they reached the changing rooms. "Malfoy isn't playing today."

"Why not?" Harry asked, looking interested.

Ginny shrugged. "Who knows, but he's been replaced by someone else. I forget his name. Anyway, I don't think Crabbe and Goyle are playing either. Don't ask why, I don't know," she said as Harry opened his mouth.

"Wow, that's fishy, isn't it?" Harry asked as Ginny walked away.

"Lucky, I call it," Ron said. "Hey! Lucky!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"He said lucky," Auden said, raising her eyebrows. Looked like the cat was out of the bag now and Ron had figured out Harry's secret all on his own.

"You put Felix Felicis in my drink at breakfast!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth falling open.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said, shrugging. "Come on, we have to get onto the field."

Ron and Auden looked at each other as Harry walked away. Auden shrugged and followed Harry as Ron just looked confused.

The match began a few minutes later and Ron played wonderfully. He missed very few goals and played with a confidence that he never had before. Gryffindor ended up winning the match. Ron was overjoyed and wouldn't stop talking about it in the changing rooms.

Just as they had finished getting changed, Hermione burst into the room. "Harry!" she hissed, even though the only other people in the room were Ron and Auden.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You know what you did is illegal right?"

"Are you going to turn him in?" Ron asked.

"Ron, he put the lucky potion in your drink! That's why everything went right. Oh, Harry, didn't you hear Slughorn? This is bad."

"Hermione, calm down. Nobody has to even find out," Auden said. "We don't have to let anyone know about this. It was probably just a one time thing. I'm sure Harry doesn't plan on doing it again."

"But that would be like lying, wouldn't it? I mean, it isn't right!" Hermione exclaimed, wringing her hands nervously.

"Says the person who Confunded McLaggen," Auden whispered so that Ron wouldn't hear. Hermione grew red and shut up enough for Harry to finally chime in.

"I didn't put anything in Ron's drink," he insisted, picking up his bag.

"But I saw you!" Hermione cried. "I saw you do it with my own eyes!"

"You thought you saw me," Harry corrected. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial Slughorn had given him. It was completely full and tightly sealed.

"You mean you didn't really put it in Ron's drink?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry said. "I wanted him to think I did so that's why I pretended to pour it in when I knew you were looking, Hermione."

"So everything that happened today…?" Ron began. "The weather, Malfoy, my saving every goal."

"The weather and Malfoy not playing was just chance, but you saved every goal yourself. It was all you."

"Wow, you're brilliant, Harry!" Auden exclaimed. It was honestly a great idea. Clearly, nothing else had worked to raise Ron's confidence, but this had. It had gotten him to think that he was really a good Quidditch player.

Ron nodded in agreement before turning to Hermione. "See? I can play Quidditch! I don't need luck to play well."

"I didn't say you did," Hermione answered, looking shocked at Ron's sudden anger.

"'Ron, he put the lucky potion in your drink! That's why everything went right!'" Ron mimicked in a high pitched voice, before pushing past Hermione and heading towards the common room.

Auden bit her lip. That certainly wasn't good. She knew how Ron felt-having one of his best friends seem to doubt him so much couldn't have been a good feeling-but Hermione hadn't meant to come across that way. She already thought he was good and was more concerned about Harry doing something illegal.

"Er, well, there's going to be a party up in the common room," Harry said. "Are you coming, Hermione?"

"No, not just yet," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm rather upset with Ron right now."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Auden asked gently.

"No, no, you two go on ahead. Enjoy the party, you deserve it."

"Okay," Harry said slowly. Auden followed him from the room, glancing back at Hermione as they left. She hated leaving her alone, but if she didn't want company then there wasn't anything Auden could do.

"So did Fred like the toilet seat?" Harry asked as they headed into the castle.

"Yeah," Auden said, giggling. "He and George hung it up in their flat."

"They did not!" Harry answered with a laugh.

"They did," Auden grinned. "It's to the extreme left of the fireplace, actually."

"Why didn't they center it?"

"I don't know, this is Fred and George we're talking about here," Auden shrugged.

They reached the common room and found it crowded with what seemed like the entire Gryffindor house. Someone had taken up Fred and George's job of sneaking food from the kitchen's and it was lying on tables around the room.

"Harry, there you are!" yelled Neville from across the room.

"How does it feel to have won your first match as captain, Harry?" Colin Creevey asked, snapping a picture with his camera. Auden laughed. The kid hadn't changed a bit.

"Er, great," Harry said, blinking from the flash.

"It's so great you were made captain. Do you like being captain? Is it fun? Would you take a picture with me?"

Auden laughed again and Harry gave her a look. "What? He's funny," she shrugged.

"Will you take the picture?" Colin asked Auden, sticking the camera in her hands without waiting for an answer.

"Smile!" Auden said cheerily as Colin excitedly stood by Harry. Harry looked less than thrilled but he managed to force a smile as Auden took the picture.

"Thanks for encouraging him," Harry said with a small smile as Colin ran away. He wanted to develop the picture right away.

Auden grinned back, before turning towards the fireplace. What she saw made her mouth drop open. "Harry, look!" she tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the middle of the room. Harry's mouth dropped open as well. Ron was standing there with his arms wrapped tightly around Lavender Brown and they were kissing furiously.

"Noticed him, have you?" Ginny asked, coming over to join Auden and Harry. "What a hypocrite."

"What are you talking about?" Auden asked.

"My dear brother walked in on me and Dean last week and he almost had a cow. I told him off for being the only one who thinks kissing is disgusting and now here he is, gluing his lips to Lavender's. It looks like he's eating her face, doesn't it?" Ginny shook her head and walked away as Auden burst out laughing. It did look like Ron was trying to swallow Lavender's head whole.

There was a sound like a quiet sob from behind Auden. She and Harry turned around to see Hermione standing at the portrait hole, staring at Ron and Lavender. Then, she turned and ran out of the room.

"I'll go," Auden said, grabbing Harry's arm to stop him from following Hermione. "You stay here. Socialize, have fun." She grinned at Harry before leaving the room.

Hermione was in the first empty classroom that Auden checked. She was sitting on a desk, sniffling and her eyes were red. Circling her head were four little yellow birds.

"I was practicing," Hermione said quietly, gazing up at the birds.

Auden sat down on the desk next to Hermione. "Is there something you want to share with the class?" Auden asked. "And by class, I mean me."

Hermione was silent. She continued to stare up at the birds before looking at Auden. "I like Ron," she whispered. She looked at Auden as if she expected her to laugh.

"That's not a surprise," Auden said, shrugging. "I'm glad you finally admitted it to me though. Admitting you have a problem is always the first step to solving it." Auden grinned.

"I'm serious, Aud, this is no time for jokes," Hermione said, continuing to sniffle.

"No, I suppose it isn't. So you like Ron, but Ron is-,"

"Kissing Lavender Brown, yes," Hermione finished.

"I suppose this is how he felt when you were with Viktor," Auden said fairly.

"Not help-, wait you mean he was jealous?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I always thought you two liked each other, even if neither one of you realized it," Auden shrugged again.

"But he's with Lavender now! He's clearly moved on even if he did like me before," Hermione began sobbing again and buried her head in her hands.

"Ron's not very smart with girls. I've known him for years, so trust me when I say he probably has no idea how you feel."

"And that's good?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it means he's not intentionally trying to hurt you or make you jealous," Auden pointed out.

Just then, the door opened and Ron came in, pulling Lavender by the hand. Really, the boy had wonderful timing. Out of all the classrooms he could have picked at any time, he had to choose this one and he had to choose now.

"Oh, sorry," Ron said awkwardly as Lavender giggled and backed out of the room. "Did I interrupt something? Girl talk?"

"Yeah you did, actually," Auden said simply. She didn't know if she was happy for him or annoyed with him. If he genuinely liked Lavender, that was great. But something told her he didn't and that was what annoyed her. Hermione was a much better option.

"But we're through here now," Hermione sniffed. "Come on, Auden." She grabbed Auden's arm and pulled her to the door. "Oppugno!" she yelled, pointing her wand at the birds. They sped towards Ron and began pecking and scratching at every exposed bit of skin.

Before Auden could do or say anything, Hermione pulled her from the room and past Lavender without a word.

The days turned into months and eventually it was the beginning of December. There was less than a month until Christmas, something that Auden had not yet failed to remind Fred every time she wrote to him or talked to him through the mirrors. Auden was especially cheery on the first Hogsmeade trip of the month.

"Where should we go?" she asked as she set off down the village street with Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Hermione and Ron were speaking again, but just barely. Ron still couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. Like Auden had said, he was an idiot when it came to girls. She refused to say anything when he pestered her about Hermione's anger. Half out of loyalty to Hermione and half because she thought Hermione should tell him herself when she was ready.

"Honeydukes," Ron said in response to Auden's question. "It'll be warm in there, and it's the closest. Plus, I want to buy some Every Flavor Beans."

"Of course you do," Auden said with a smile.

They stopped in Honeydukes and Ron bought his Every Flavor Beans. When they were done, Harry suggested they go to the Three Broomsticks.

"What did you buy Fred for Christmas?" Ron asked, his mouth full.

"Well, since it's Christmas and our anniversary kind of at the same time, I couldn't decide if I should get him two separate, smaller gifts, or one really nice gift. In the end, I chose to get him one really nice gift, so I ended up getting him a new broom. I know he doesn't play Quidditch anymore, but he really needed a new one. His Cleansweep was pretty beat up."

"He'll love it," Harry said comfortingly. "What kind of broom did you get him?"

"A Firebolt," Auden answered.

"Blimey, Aud, where did you ever get the money to pay for that?" Ron asked.

"I've been saving up. In the end I was a little bit short, so mum and dad helped out a little."

"I thought you were saving up to buy yourself a new broom?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I was, but I decided to get one for Fred instead," Auden admitted. "I can get one another time."

"Wow," Hermione said. "That's really sweet of you."

Auden smiled at the compliment as they entered the Three Broomsticks. As usual, it was crowded with students. They had just gotten their drinks and sat down, when Lavender came out of nowhere and jumped onto Ron's lap. "Won Won!" she yelled, planting a kiss on his cheek. Auden spit a mouthful of butterbeer back into her glass as she laughed.

"Er, hey Lavender," Ron said, grinning, although rather awkwardly.

"I've told you a million times, Won Won," Lavender said. "We're dating. You should have a pet name for me, like Lav Lav."

"Lav Lav?" asked Hermione dryly. This time, it was Harry who choked on his butterbeer.

Ron and Lavender were kissing now, and Hermione looked like she wanted to set one of Hagrid's skrewts on Ron this time, but instead, she stood up. "Come on, Auden, Harry, let's leave them alone," she said, pressing her lips together.

"Er," Harry began, and Auden saw his problem. He was on the inside of the booth and Ron and Lavender were on the outside, preventing him from leaving.

"Don't worry, Harry, I've got this under control," Auden said. She cleared her throat before yelling "Oi, lovebirds!" Ron and Lavender jumped apart. "Harry needs to get out of the seat."

"Oh," Ron and Lavender slid out of the booth to let Harry out.

"I told you I'd get you back for interrupting me and Fred," Auden added, smirking at Ron.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"Back to school," Hermione said at once.

"I'll come too," Ron replied quickly. "Er, Lavender, you don't mind if we continue this later on?"

"Oh, okay," Lavender said with a pout. "I'll see you in the common room!"

"Great, wonderful," Ron smiled as Lavender skipped away to sit with Parvati and her twin sister, Padma.

"Come on, let's go," Hermione said icily, leading the way out the door. To break the somewhat awkward silence, Harry brought up the subject of Malfoy once again. He still had been disappearing from the map and that added to the fact that he had missed the last Quidditch match had made Harry even more suspicious of him. Auden had noticed changes in Malfoy too. He was even more sullen than usual and rarely made his usual cracks at the Gryffindors. It still didn't prove anything, though.

As they were talking, Auden noticed Katie was walking ahead of them with one of her friends, whose name was Leanne. They were clearly arguing and Katie wasn't acting like herself. She was almost yelling at Leanne and Katie wasn't one to pick fights and she rarely yelled.

Auden told the others to be quiet so she could hear what Katie was saying.

"I told you, Leanne, I'm supposed to deliver this package to Dumbledore. It's important!"

"But you said you just found it in the bathroom. How do you know you're supposed to give it to Dumbledore?" Leanne asked.

"I just do!" Katie snapped.

"Katie?" Auden began, walking faster to try and catch up. "Katie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Katie snapped again and Auden recoiled. Something was most definitely wrong.

"Katie, give me the package," Leanne said. She tried to take it from her, but Katie pulled it away. The package ripped, revealing an opal necklace.

Suddenly, Katie began floating in the air. "Katie? Katie come down!" Leanne screamed.

"Katie, what's going on?" Auden yelled.

Katie either couldn't hear them or couldn't answer them, because she remained silent until she was well into the air above them. Then, she began screaming a horrible, bloodcurdling scream.

"I'm going to get help!" Harry said, running the other way.

Leanne was crying now and Auden couldn't blame her. Part of her wanted to start crying out of shock and fear, but the stronger part of her told her to stay calm and she did. "Katie, can you hear me?" she yelled. There was no answer. Katie just continued to scream before she fell to the ground.

"Don't move!" Hagrid yelled, coming into sight with Harry in tow. Auden had just started to run towards Katie, but froze when she heard Hagrid's voice. "What happened?" he asked Leanne.

"We were arguing," Leanne sobbed. "We were in the Three Broomsticks when Katie said she had to go to the bathroom. She came out carrying that package saying that she had to deliver it to Professor Dumbledore. She wouldn't tell me who gave it to her. I don't even know if she knew, she just said she found it." Leanne began sobbing harder and she couldn't even speak.

"Then," Hermione picked up the story where Leanne left off. "Leanne tried to take the package from Katie, but it ripped, and Katie floated into the air and began screaming."

Everyone looked down at the now unconscious Katie before Hagrid scooped her into his arms. "I'm bringin' her ter the hospital wing. Harry, I want yeh ter take that necklace. Be sure not ter touch it. Use yeh scarf or something, and bring it ter Professor Snape, right away. Leanne, yeh should go with them so you can tell Professor Snape what happened. Auden, come with me."

"What do you need me for, Hagrid?" Auden asked. She was still shaken up by the attack.

"You should sit with Katie in the hospital wing. Yeh know, in case she wakes up, she'll want to see a friendly face," Hagrid said gruffly. "Besides, you'll need to tell Madame Pomfrey what happened."

Hagrid dropped Katie off in the hospital wing. Auden explained what had happened to a horrified Madam Pomfrey. "How would she have gotten such a cursed object inside the castle?"

"Well, she never got that far, so nobody knows," Hagrid shrugged. "I best be going now. Keep me updated, Auden."

Auden agreed and turned back to Katie as Hagrid left. Madam Pomfrey was poking and prodding at Katie's unconscious figure with her lips pressed together. Auden bit her lip. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

Madam Pomfrey looked up to meet Auden's eyes. "I don't know, dear, I just don't know. It appears that she only touched the object through a small hole in her glove. It seems that the magic was so strong that if she had touched it with completely bare skin, she would have died instantly."

Auden paled. "But she didn't, so she'll be okay, right?"

"I'm not sure. Her condition is still very serious. We're going to have to send her to St Mungo's."

"Why? Can't you do something?" Auden asked frantically.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "This type of injury is out of my hands. The Healers at St. Mungo's should be able to fix her completely. I do hope…"

"What?" Auden prompted.

"I do hope it isn't fatal. It's hard to tell with magic like this. She did touch the necklace with the tiniest amount of skin, but this magic appears to be strong, like I said before."

Auden paled even further as Madame Pomfrey hustled off to contact St. Mungo's. The next thing that popped into her mind was George. Should she write him and tell him or leave it to someone else? Either way, he was going to be devastated. If she were in his position, if it were Fred lying here, she would want to know right away. Auden decided to write to the twins now. They deserved to know, especially George.