Enjoy!

Aurelia lay on the grass, utterly exhausted. "Can we stop now?"

Oliver gave her a critical look that made her cringe. "So you're telling me that you're tired?"

"No, no!" She backtracked, jumping up and brushing some dirt off her broomstick. "It's Saturday, Oliver, and we've been training for four hours."

"You need some improvement in your technique."

"That's what you said four hours ago!" she protested indignantly. "And my Herbology homework's due Monday, Oliver, please," she added.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. But I expect you to practice. You have potential, and if I were you I wouldn't waste it. Mind you, if you actually get onto the team I'm going to stop training you."

"Because you don't want to mess up Gryffindor's chances of winning the cup," Aurelia droned in an irritated voice. She'd heard this many times before. "I know, I know. D'you mind if I just fly around the pitch once? You don't have to supervise me or anything."

Oliver nodded. "I'll put the Quaffle away."

He hurried off the pitch, and Aurelia mounted her broom and flew.

Her eyes were half-closed from exhaustion and overexertion, and more than once she nearly slipped off the broom. But finally she grew tired of the wind in her face and pulled the broom to the ground in a soft landing.

She stumbled dazedly to the weeping willow tree under which Fred and Priscilla were reclining (both had been watching with smiles and cheering her on for two hours, and for the other two they gave up and played Twenty Questions) and promptly collapsed into Priscilla's lap.

Priscilla attempted to give Aurelia a stern look, but failed miserably. "Get off, Aurelia. I need these legs to run away from Fred when he's in one of his moods."

"Thanks a lot," Fred scoffed faux- indignantly. "I'll keep that in mind when you need help running away from Andrews."

"If you would just share that stupid map," Aurelia retorted playfully, scooting away from Priscilla to lie sprawled under the tree, "we wouldn't have any issues. By the way, did you get your Charms test back yet?"

"Oh, um, uh," hedged Priscilla.

Fred made a face. "Her and her evil perfect grades. I shall have to murder you, Miss Hathaway."

Priscilla laughed. "Je dois vous dire que je suis assez difficile a tuer!"

Then she gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. Fred and Aurelia stared at her with bemused looks.

"Was that...French?" Aurelia asked hesitantly.

Frantically, Priscilla shook her head and replied, "No! No, it isn't French, it isn't! I-"

She looked like she was about to burst into miserable tears. Hesitantly, Fred asked, "What's wrong?"

Priscilla got up and hurried away, towards the castle. Her shoulders were shaking slightly.

"What," asked Fred with an utterly confused expression on his face, "was that all about?"

Aurelia shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know why she's so upset," Aurelia finished miserably. "She didn't talk to me when I entered the dorm, it's like she's afraid of something."

She took another generous handful of Ginger Newts.

Minerva adjusted her spectacles with a small frown. "I have no idea why Priscilla would be acting this way. It seems most unlike her, at least from what I have seen of her. Perhaps you might do better asking Harry for advice."

"Why?" replied Aurelia curiously. "I love Prongslet, but...what would he know about this?"

"The facts you have told me sound like one who suffers from emotional trauma," Minerva told her. "And although I would hate to think that such a sweet girl would suffer abuse, I have a feeling she was once mocked for speaking French."

Aurelia nodded thoughtfully. "And that would explain why she was so upset when it slipped out. I still don't remember what she said, though. Je dos...voo...something of other."

"Je dois vous?" Minerva echoed. "That would mean 'I owe you'. I'm pretty sure you've forgotten some of it."

"You know French?"

"My friend Patience was quite adept," replied Minerva. "Don't look so shocked, Aura, I did once have a life before you-" -although it was emptier, she finished silently and affectionately.

"You're the best, Mum, thanks a million and five!" cried Aurelia. "But I'll write Harry anyhow."

As the excitable young witch exited, Minerva wondered lovingly why one would need to add five to a million.

Aurelia sealed the letter and hurried towards the Owlery. If she wanted it to get there in time for an answer from Harry by this evening, she needed to be prompt.

"Eury?" she called when she was halfway up the winding staircase. The owl had amazing hearing, and she wanted to give her pet some advance warning.

To her great surprise, Eurydice swooped down from the rafters and snatched her letter impatiently.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do know I've been sending a lot of mail to Prongslet, but you don't have to get all huffy and think that this one's for him too."

The owl gave her a look.

"Okay, fine, it's for Harry, make your face, that isn't going to change anything." Aurelia dropped a kiss on her owl's feathered head, turning because Eury had landed on her shoulder. "Be safe, all right?"

Eurydice hooted impatiently.

Aurelia giggled and hung out the window, watching the brown owl become a dot in the misty gray sky.

She was in high spirits for the rest of the day, trying to talk to Priscilla five times during History of Magic before giving up and whispering to Fred, "Try standing on your desk and singing 'A Cauldron Full Of Hot, Strong Love' really loud."

"And how in the name of Merlin am I supposed to do that without getting a detention? You do it."

Aurelia giggled rather sadly. "I wish. Mum would kill me, and then she'd reincarnate me to kill me again. Besides, didn't you say you were trying to set a record for most detentions?"

Fred grinned and stood up on his desk.

Professor Binns didn't even look up from his notes.

The class burst into peals of startled laughter, Aurelia and Priscilla among them, the laughs growing louder as George stood up with him.

"Twins do everything together, don't they?" Aurelia giggled to Priscilla, hoping that her plan might work. "That's why I asked Fred to-"

"And he listened?" gasped Priscilla. "Mon Dieu! The idiot, he'll get at least a dozen detentions for this-"

She abruptly stopped, realizing what she'd slipped, and Aurelia hissed to her, "Don't you dare turn your back on me, Priscilla Jeanne-"

"Oh, come and stir my cauldron,

And if you do it right,

I'll boil you up some hot strong love

To keep you warm tonight!" Fred and George sang together in high falsettos.

"I don't care if you can speak French, don't you get it?" breathed Aurelia, who was now trying desperately hard not to laugh at the expression on Professor Binns' face. He actually looked mildly interested.

Priscilla sighed. "I'm just...I used to speak only French when I was five, and lots of older kids would make fun of me because I moved to Britain a few months before and didn't know any English."

Aurelia felt a twist in her stomach. "I'm so sorry. You know I'd never make fun of anyone, I'd only help them."

"I know that now." Priscilla managed a small smile and took Aurelia's hand. "I know that now."

George pivoted on his heel, and suddenly pulled Priscilla onto the desk with him and began to waltz. Priscilla laughed shyly and followed his lead.

Aurelia grinned, and hopped onto Fred's desk.

"Come on, loverboy," she teased, flipping her red hair out of her eyes (now it tickled her shoulder blades, and she was ever so thankful for that) and accidentally knocking her glasses off. "Eek!"

Fred laughed and began to twirl her around randomly. It was evident that he, unlike George (who was actually doing a fair job of dancing with Priscilla) had no idea what he was doing. "Let's do this, then," he whispered to peals of laughter before breaking into song again.

All four of them got a week of detention.

Reviews?

-The Eclectic Bookworm