"What happened the other night at the Yule Ball, I thought you were going to save me a dance?" Vicki fake pouted towards Bagman, but continued to dart her eyes around the packed pub in hopes of catching Fred's eye.

"You looked too good sweetheart. I don't think I'd have been able to keep my hands to myself with you in that dress. Although let me say, you look ravishing even in your plain old school robes. Say, how long until you're seventeen again?" Bagman growled lowly in her ear.

"Seventy-four days. Could make a joke about the fact I'm counting down by saying 'but who's counting' but yes, I am totally counting down." Vicki grinned.

"I certainly expect you to come and seek me when you're of legal age. I too could make many jokes about why, but the fun is to come later." Bagman quickly responded as he sent one of his well-known winks her way.

Vicki let out a large gulp as she felt nerves inside of her begin to rise. As Bagman had started to get bolder in each interaction with her, she had started to feel more uncomfortable each time. But now his suggestions were not merely suggestions. His advances were starting to get out of control and Vicki felt it was becoming too much. But she wanted her boyfriend and his twin to get their money back and she was committed to the cause.

Which is why she let out an involuntary gasp as a lightbulb moment went off in her clever Ravenclaw mind. If Bagman was going to be dirty in every way possible, she'd have to stoop to his level. She was going to play dirty herself.

"In the meantime there is something you could do for me." Vicki spoke up, hoping she sounded flirty and not forced and awkward – the way she actually felt inside.

"Oh? What could that possibly be?" Bagman asked her as a huge grin spread across his rosy face.

"Every time you have an inappropriate thought about me, write it down. Send them to me through owl post. I want to know exactly what kind of ride I'm in for – before I turn seventeen. I need to be prepared." Vicki coyly requested.

She watched Bagman intensely as nerves rushed through her body. She was in a busy pub so she knew he wouldn't lay his hands on her. But if he did there were plenty of people to come to her rescue. She wasn't afraid of what he could do to her. Instead she was feeling anxious about tipping her toes over the point of no return. Up until now she had been lightly scheming with the twins in order to get their money back. She had only been slightly using Bagman's perverted nature against him to lure him alone.

But now it was getting serious. She wasn't doing anything illegal, but it was getting far too immoral. If anyone else caught wind of what she was doing, her reputation would be ruined. She would be branded a whore for seducing a much older, well respected man. She also risked angering Bagman and feeling his wrath should he ever find out this was all purely to get the Weasley twins' money back. She knew he had many friends in powerful places who could essentially ruin any future aspirations.

Vicki reconsidered her involvement for a brief moment as the risk factor finally hit her for once. But she remembered what Fred meant to her and decided to press on. He was more than worth it.

"Oh, you naughty girl. Challenge very much so accepted." Bagman purred in her ear quietly. Vicki was disgusted at this action but she had to contain her giggles at just how inappropriate Bagman was.

"Great. The sooner the better, so I'll be departing you. If you watch my behind as I leave it might give you some inspiration to get one of those letters into my hand." Vicki winked with an enthusiastic head nod before turning around and stalking off to disappear into the busy crowd and out of Bagman's sight.

She manoeuvred her way around the bustling pub and eventually found the twins at a standing table, finding them due to their fiery hair contrasting against the black robes of the sea of students. To her relief Lee wasn't with them, it was good for Vicki as she wanted to immediately tell them about what had just happened with Bagman.

"Where's Lee?" Vicki curiously asked the twins after she joined them.

"Said he needed go to the lavatory." Fred matter-of-factly-responded.

"But looks as if he's decided to go annoy poor old Ange." George grinned loudly.

Vicki whipped her head around to where the twins were nodding and saw the Gryffindor Quiddich Team girls – Alicia, Katie and Angelina sitting at a table. Lee had pulled up a chair and was next to Angelina trying to make her laugh. Angelina was trying hard not to give Lee the satisfaction that she found what he was saying entertaining, but she was unable to continue to stifle her laughter and she began to laugh heartedly at his words.

"Does Lee actually have feelings for Angelina? I know he always compliments her during his Quiddich commentary and goes on about how attractive she is. But I thought it was all just a bit of a fun." Vicki asked curiously.

"Kind of. He does think she's really good looking, but it's mostly superficial feelings. He'll flirt with her here and there but he doesn't do too much chasing." Fred responded.

"What my dear twin brother means is that on a scale of one to 'Fred Weasley and Vicki Hartwell' it's a solid five, maybe a six on some days." George teased with a large grin.

Fred shoved his brother out of embarrassment but stopped being annoyed at he looked at his girlfriend who was smiling brightly towards him. Vicki would never tire of hearing about how Fred felt about her. Especially as she was so oblivious to his long courtship of her before they got together. Vicki felt she missed out on something really special building, so she liked hearing about it in retrospect.

"Hmm. I better write to my muggle friend Sarah and see how she feels about him. They fooled around together once over summer, remember? She hasn't mentioned any feelings to Lee in any subsequent letters but she did ask me to pass on some er, photos of her." Vicki spoke up.

"The naked ones." George bluntly pointed out.

"Yes, the naked ones. Did you see them?" Vicki sharply asked George but darted her eyes between the two twins.

"I didn't go looking for them, honest. Lee shouldn't leave stuff like that leaving around! Kenneth Towler was the one who found them, and showed all the boys in our dorm," George responded but then quickly added more on when he saw Vicki's face fall "Fred refused to look. He made some excuse on why at the time, don't remember what. But now it all makes sense. He'd rather look at you."

Vicki focused her attention onto Fred, who she realised was being very uncharacteristically quiet for a topic that could be considered a goldmine to a prankster like him. His face had heated up to match his hair and he wore a forced smile on his face. Vicki could see Fred was clearly embarrassed.

Vicki reached out and grabbed the hand of her boyfriend to show him some affection. She understood all these feelings were new to him and he had most likely never opened up in this way before to anyone. He had to be nurtured and not ridiculed. The best way to do this in front of George right now was through non-verbal cues.

Fred understood what his girlfriend was trying to do and returned her affection by lighting circling his thumb against her palm as their hands were entwined. Vicki enjoyed the moment of romance as she knew things were about to get heated with what she was about to bring up.

"So er, Bagman is here. I just ran into him at the bar." Vicki mentioned to the twins.

George's head shot up at this revelation whilst Fred dropped Vicki's hand out of shock.

"Should we charge over and accost him? It'll be hard for him to slip away with all of these people around." George suggested.

"Did Bagman try to talk to you?" Fred asked Vicki, ignoring George's suggestion completely.

"Yeah…he did. Before you ask and get worried and all of that, yeah he was his usual creepy self. But a goldmine is coming our way." Vicki explained quickly.

"How was he his usual creepy self?" "What's the goldmine?" the two twins quickly asked Vicki.

Vicki looked in between Fred and George and saw their different expressions. George was looking curious but there was still a mischievous glint in his eye. Fred had even more emotions apparent on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance, but also out of slight worry for Vicki.

He no longer wanted her to be part of their scheming as it was proving that Bagman posed a danger to Vicki. Fred also knew that Vicki had high hopes for the rest of her academic career, and even beyond school she had bright aspirations. If they got caught getting too involved doing things they shouldn't be doing it wouldn't end well for Vicki. Vicki had been telling Fred the two known contenders for Head Girl next year were herself and Mildred Tate. If Vicki were exposed scheming with the twins to claw back their winnings from illegal gamblings, at the very least they'd all have to suffer the next year having a Hufflepuff Head Girl with the personality of a wet blanket.

"His usual creepy self was, well his usual creepy self. Flirting, less-than-subtle-suggestions. The usual," Vicki sighed to appear non-chalant but then a naughty grin appeared over her face as she leaned in to whisper the rest "But I convinced him to start writing down those thoughts and sending them to me. In writing"

"Why would we want to read Bagman's creepy perverted thoughts to you?" George snorted at Vicki's comment.

Fred was silent as he seemed deep in thought but then he clicked his fingers. He was always just a tad more daring than George and thus he could understand his girlfriend's intentions immediately.

"Blackmail. We'd have something a lot more substantial as it would be in writing." Fred spoke up.

"Bingo. He's a high ranking Ministry wizard with a favourable view in the public eye as an ex-athlete. Imagine if it came out he was sending inappropriate letters to an underage school girl. It would be game over for the ex-Quiddich player." Vicki grinned.

Fred was left flabbergasted. In any other circumstance he would be immensely proud of his girlfriend for her clever thinking and her willingness to get her hands dirty purely just to help him. Normally he would grab her in a big kiss and fight the urge to confess to her that he loved her.

But this was different. He was still very much impressed but also worried. Very worried.

"I-I don't know how I feel about that. I think this is turning into a bit too much." George stuttered around, the first to speak after Vicki revealed her plan.

"Well that's Bagman's issue. Shouldn't have shadily taken money off school boys. Or shamelessly flirted with school girls. All I'm doing is collecting evidence of activities that he voluntarily chooses to participate in." Vicki defensively shot back as she crossed her arms. She wasn't expecting such hesitation from the twins.

"It's brilliant. But hopefully it won't be needed. You're only collecting this evidence to threaten him with, right? You're not going to actually go public with this information if he still refuses to pay off?" Fred asked Vicki.

"Merlin, of course not. My reputation would be ruined forever. But he doesn't need to know that we're not serious. But the evidence will be there if you need it. You don't need to use it." Vicki responded.

Fred shot a look towards George. They were both uncomfortable about this situation for different reasons. Unlike George, Fred had no qualms about blackmailing Bagman. Vicki was right – Bagman was the one who got himself into this situation. But Fred was still worried about Vicki's involvement.

He wasn't sure whether he should vocalise his feelings or not. He also wasn't sure if he were to speak up about his hesitations – whether he should wait until they were alone or just get it off his chest now. He decided to just go for it, even if George was present.

"You're a big girl and I know you can handle yourself. But if possible I would like for you to include George and I in every one of your dealings with Bagman. It makes me feel uneasy how unstable the situation is and how easily things could go out of hand." Fred requested.

George remained silent but sent a swift nod towards Vicki. He didn't want to get involved in any relationship dramas but Vicki was a friend to him, and he too worried about her safety.

To both of their delight Vicki sent a smile their way. She wasn't angry.

"Of course. I couldn't do this without both of your support. Besides it's more funny if we're all involved. We can laugh at the cheesy stuff that he sends me and you can help me with response," Vicki smirked but noticed the two twins still held stone faces "But let's worry about this later. I don't want Bagman ruining the rest of our Hogsmeade visit."

The tension in the air was soon lifted. Vicki immediately shifted the topic and made George forget all about Bagman and their plans to potentially blackmail him. Lee also joined them again after getting nowhere with Angelina. Even though the rest of the group were laughing and joking, Fred still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.

It wasn't anger towards Bagman or even anxious feelings about Vicki's safety. There was just a nagging feeling at the back of his mind and he couldn't work out why.

After a quick study session in the library and a long shower, Vicki sighed happily as she flopped onto a couch in the Ravenclaw common room next to Stephanie Fawcett. Both girls were clad in their pyjamas. Both Vicki and Stephanie had no qualms about lounging around the common room in their pyjamas. Vicki had restrictions in that she would only do it after nine pm and if she had no plans to leave the common room, but it wasn't uncommon to see her and Stephanie gossiping and giggling in the corner late at night wearing comfortable attire.

Vicki had just finished telling Stephanie about her Hogsmeade visit (omitting the parts about Bagman) when a fellow Ravenclaw student appeared.

"Hey, can I join you?" Cho Chang asked nervously, making a bee line for the two older girls after climbing the stairs into the common room suspiciously right on curfew time.

"Sure!" Vicki said suddenly as she moved over to make room for Cho, but Stephanie stared her down with a mock glare.

"You're more than welcome to," Steph agreed before adding a condition "So long as you change out of your robes and get into your best pyjamas."

Vicki glared at Stephanie as Cho scampered off to get changed.

"What? She knew I was joking. We're all friends with her. She's pretty cool, for a fifth year. She knows we have no qualms with hanging out with her. We've also raised her social standing ten fold since letting her hang out with us. She won't be mad at us." Stephanie defended quickly.

"Actually, I think the fact that she's Cedric's girlfriend has raised her social standing. We're the ones who should be happy she lets unimportant and no longer relevant plebs like us sit with her. But that's why I want to have a chat with her. I want to make sure I can smooth over today with her." Vicki hissed.

"Oh cheer up. She's gone to get changed into her pyjamas. She hasn't gone to write a metre long Potions essay. She'll be back in about two seconds." Stephanie stated rolling her eyes at Vicki's dramatic statement.

Stephanie was correct. Moments later Cho re-appeared wearing striped pyjama pants and a matching button up top. She took a seat next to Vicki and sent the two older girls a small smile.

"See, isn't that much more comfortable than sitting around in your school robes?" Stephanie asked matter-of-factly.

"Yes, it is." Cho shyly responded.

"Apologies about Steph forcing you into them. She meant well, even though her execution came across as bitchy. She wanted you to be comfortable. If you haven't already worked it out, she can be a little blunt at times." Vicki explained.

"It's okay. This does feel a lot better. Thank you." Cho responded as she darted her eyes between Vicki and Stephanie.

Cho had now spent a lot of time with Vicki and Stephanie so she no longer felt nervous in their presence. Out of all the popular sixth years they were the ones she felt the most comfortable around, especially as they had started to get to know her before she became Cedric's girlfriend. But she was still getting used to a lot of their quirks and habits. Stephanie, as Vicki had stated, was often blunt and would blurt out inappropriate questions or statements. Vicki would grab something said in conversation and go off on a tangent. They weren't things that Cho disliked but the two girls were very different to her best friend Marietta who often kept to herself. It was taking a lot of getting used to.

"Anyway, now that's all out of the way. Vicki is worried that you and Cedric are mad at her for ruining your double date today. So, are you?" Steph asked suddenly.

"N-no, of course not. Why would we be? Besides, it was Fred Weasley who got you both kicked out. I know you had nothing to do with it." Cho responded.

Vicki felt relief wash over her. She was glad that Cho and Cedric held no ill feelings towards her. However Vicki then processed Cho's response the same time that Stephanie looked towards her and gave her a look.

"So you blame Fred?" Both Vicki and Steph asked at the same time.

"No! Of course not. That Slytherin girl was vile and I haven't told Cedric this, but I think what Fred did to her was funny. I just mean to say that I don't blame you for getting booted out of the teashop. It didn't ruin our date anyway, we just continued on." Cho explained fully.

A smirk twitched at Vicki's lips as she could read between the lines. Cho was too polite to outwardly admit it, but the Hogsmeade visit improved drastically after the four of them split up. It was an awkward encounter and it was obvious to them all that Fred still was yet in a position to be civil towards Cedric for reasons unknown to all of them. It was something Vicki would need to discuss with him, and have Fred overcome these ill feelings before Vicki would try to get them all together again.

But for now she was just glad that Cho and Cedric were not mad at her.

"So, we cool?" Vicki asked to confirm.

"Of course, we're fine." Cho beamed.

Apologies for the lack of updates and all. I'm doing the hardest subject of my CPA course that I've already failed once, so I've been focusing on studying for the past few months (exam is tomorrow, fingers crossed I pass this time!). I also got a promotion at work and it's really been taxing and time consuming fixing the mistakes of the person I replaced. But I'll have a lot of spare time to finally move this story on from here onwards.