Only a few short days of summer vacation remained, and Winona spent them drawing and swimming in the lake near the Burrow. She taught the twins to play Marco/Polo, which they absolutely loved, to nobody's surprise.
One day, when the twins were de-gnoming the garden as punishment for getting caught saying a string of naughty words, she forced herself to flick through one of Lockhart's books.
"I'd rather study Potions every day for the rest of my life than read another line in one of these bloody books," she told the twins emphatically that night, and they practically choked on their laughter.
Finally, it was the night before the first of September, and Mrs Weasley made the most brilliant dinner. By happenstance, Winona ended up being placed next to Harry, and at one point during the night while everybody else was engaged in conversation, she found Harry staring at the family with a wistful smile and slightly misty eyes.
"It's pretty great here, huh?" Winona asked delicately, spearing a piece of broccoli with her fork and smiling at him kindly.
"I didn't know it was possible a family like this could even exist," Harry sounded awestruck as he watched Mr Weasley and Ron laugh at some joke the twins had cracked while Mrs Weasley tutted affectionately, cutting up Ginny's food despite her complaints that it wasn't necessary. "Do you think I'll have this, one day?" he asked with a yearning that sounded far too old for someone so very young.
Winona chewed on her food, considering. "Why ask me?" she finally asked, resting her chin on her fist and watching him thoughtfully.
"You're the Seer, aren't you?" Harry said it so matter-of-factly. As if occasionally getting confusing glimpses into the murky waters of the future was enough to give her any authority on the matter.
"Well, as a Seer, do you want me to tell you the truth?" she asked, and Harry nodded eagerly. She leaned in as though about to tell him a great, tremendous secret. He copied her, hope lining his round, youthful features. "You already do," she whispered softly, winking at him when he stared back wordlessly. With a final grin she turned and let Fred and George to drag her into a retelling of the time Lee broke his arm falling through the trick step at Hogwarts.
The twins disappeared as the table was being cleared and a few minutes later, there was a loud crash and the room filled with beautiful light. Winona gasped, diving out of the way of a stray firework, settling into a corner to watch the colours splash across the room.
Red and blue stars bounced from the floor to the ceiling, sparkling prettily, and she longed to reach out and touch one, but was worried they would burn her hand. Fred noticed and reached out, snatching one from the air, kneeling to the floor and presenting it to her like a ring.
With a brilliant laugh she took it, running her fingers over its temporary surface as it continued to shimmer and sparkle in her hand.
It went on for at least a half an hour, and finally, once all the lights had faded and the excitement melted into contented exhaustion, the kids all headed up to bed, preparing for an early start the next day.
That morning was a rough one. Winona was woken by Mrs Weasley's shrill, anxious voice at daybreak. She groaned, rolling reluctantly out of bed and heading for the shower. Somebody was already in there, so she waited outside the door, almost falling to sleep again up against the wall until Fred walked by and flicked her with a hand towel to wake her up.
She dressed quickly in jeans and a blue button up, slipping on her favourite (only) sneakers and making her way back to the bedroom to pack her things in record time.
"Can't wait till we're seventeen," George was muttering when she passed him on the stairs, a piece of toast hanging limply from her mouth. "Don't know why mum 'n dad can't just wave their wands and do it themselves."
Winona was tired and also not in the mood to run around the Burrow like a headless chook, hurrying to get her things in order, but she didn't wanna deal with grumpy 6AM George either, so she ripped the toast from her lips, shoving it ruthlessly into her dear friend's mouth before slapping him hard on the back in a wordless consolation and continuing up the staircase.
They reached Kings Cross at a quarter to eleven (thanks to George, Fred, Ginny and their terrible, horrible capacity for memory), and it was yet another mad dash to get to the platform.
"Percy first," Mrs Weasley ordered, and after taking a cursory glance at the surrounding Muggles, Percy strode casually (as casually as one could walk smack into a brick wall) through the barrier, disappearing in seconds. Mr Weasley went next, then Fred and George, and finally she urged Winona through. With a nod, she glanced at the Muggles, made sure nobody was watching, and disappeared through the barrier, reappearing on platform nine and three-quarters.
Glancing up at the large clock sitting on the wall, she noted she barely had two minutes to be on the train. Rushing, Winona found the twins waiting by the carriage, and they were quick to help her lug her trunk onto the train. The blonde turned, waving gratefully at Mrs Weasley, who was fussing affectionately over Ginny, then turned and hopped onto the train.
Being so late, there weren't any compartments empty, but she was more than relieved to find Angelina, Alicia and Lee had secured one towards the middle of the train.
"Hey, you lot," she greeted them, slipping inside, trunk dragged after her.
"Where're the twins?" Angelina asked once she was inside and her trunk was shoved up and out of sight.
"They were right behind me," she replied just as the door burst open and their two redheaded cohorts burst into the compartment.
"Alright?" Lee asked them, standing to help them with their trunks.
"Mum wanted us to get Ginny settled," George told him as Fred took the spare seat beside Alicia.
"How was your summer?" Angelina was asking them excitedly, reaching up to brush back her dark, frizzy hair in a move that reminded Winona of that that in Diagon Alley with Adam, making her cheeks warm with the memory. Thankfully nobody noticed, too busy listening to the twins retelling the story of their dad's brawl with Lucius Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts.
The train pulled away from the station, and Winona cast a look at Mr and Mrs Weasley, who were waving to someone in another carriage – undoubtedly Ginny. She wished suddenly that she had parents of her own to see her off, then just as quickly shook it off and thought sternly that wishing never did anybody any good.
Lee produced a pack of Exploding Snap which the twins eagerly engaged in, while Alicia began to tell Angelina and Winona about her vacation to Italy over the summer.
It was a half an hour later that there was a knock on the compartment door and Hermione poked her head inside the carriage, a frown fixed onto her face.
"Salutations, Granger," George greeted her cheekily just as the pile of cards between them exploded, making Hermione flinch at the sound and the twins break into cackles.
"Have any of you seen Harry or Ron?" Hermione asked, a concerned frown furrowed at her brow.
"Nah," Fred told her as the others shook their heads.
"Have you checked all the compartments?" Winona suggested, frowning herself at the thought of Harry and Ron not being on the train. It was like there was something important about this fact, sitting just out of reach of her consciousness – surely it couldn't be that important, though, otherwise wouldn't she have Seen it?
"I've been up and down the whole train twice!" Poor Hermione was beginning to look terribly frazzled. "Where could they possibly be?"
"Maybe they missed the train," Fred joked with another careless cackle. Winona roll her eyes.
"It isn't funny," Hermione said grumpily, frowning at them all in sharp disapproval.
"They'll be fine, Granger," Alicia told the younger girl kindly. "Fred's right, they've probably just missed the train."
"They'll just Floo to the school or something," Angelina added, trying to help.
"Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?" Fred asked, half distracted by the game of Exploding Snap that had yet to cease, despite Hermione's entrance. Winona wished he hadn't said that, because now something was guaranteed to go wrong.
"I suppose," Hermione murmured, unconvinced.
"Do you wanna sit with us?" Winona offered, shuffling closer to Alicia to make more room.
"No, it's fine," she replied, casting a wary look at the rambunctious twins. Winona smothered a wry smile of amusement.
"Why don't you go and find Ginny?" she suggested. "I'm sure she could do with a familiar face."
Hermione brightened, shooting them all a small, grateful smile before stepping from the compartment and letting the door click shut behind her. Lee shouted at the twins for cheating, which they loudly and adamantly denied, and Alicia dove into the fray, clearly on Lee's side.
Sensing an opportunity for peace, Winona pulled messenger bag closer to her, rustling in it for her sketchbook and a pencil, then curling up in the corner and beginning to work on one of her older sketches.
The boys and Alicia were loud, yelling over each other with laughter interspersed throughout. Winona was content to half listen, finding the buzz of noise comforting – it was her school background music, the sound the carried her through long nights of horrible studying before tests, and walks around the lake filled with lighthearted arguments and uncontrollable laughter.
If you were going to be friends with the twins, after all, you'd had better get used to the racket that came with them.
"Is that Adam Bradley?" Angelina spoke up. Mercifully, her voice was soft, ensuring the noisy quartet on the other side of the compartment wouldn't catch it.
Winona looked up sharply, like she'd been caught doing something she wasn't meant to. The older Ravenclaw's face was quite clearly sketched on the sheet of paper, done with metallic pencil, showing him with that crooked grin that she found so attractive.
"You still like him, huh?" her friend asked mischievously, a kind but playful glint in her dark eyes.
Casting a glance over at the distracted group by the door, Winona contemplated admitting to what had happened in Diagon Alley.
Usually she'd have told the twins – they always told each other everything – but this wasn't daydreams of taking over the planet or murmurings about their worries over money; this was boys. She wasn't sure they even wanted to hear her talking about her infatuation with the Ravenclaw prefect. She decided not to bother them with it; besides, they would likely fall into their default response – merciless teasing.
Still, this didn't mean she couldn't share it with anyone.
If she wasn't going to confide in the twins, then Angelina was probably next on her list.
"I saw him in Diagon Alley the other day," she revealed quietly, casting the others another glance to ensure they weren't eavesdropping. The twins were yelling at Lee, using large, exuberant hand gestures, and Lee and Alicia were gripping their stomachs as they howled with laughter.
"Really?" Angelina sounded intrigued. "What happened?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet too, sensing Winona's need to keep this between them.
"He, uh...well, he sort of...asked me out," Winona finally admitted with a hint of awkwardness, a wince on her face as she spoke, hoping telling Angelina this wasn't going to come back to bite her.
"What?!" Angelina shouted, but thankfully the others seemed to not notice over their own howled conversation, and they remained undiscovered. "When? Where? How?"
"He asked me to Hogsmeade when the first trip comes around," she told her gently, turning back to her sketch if only for something to do with her hands.
"Wow," Angelina seemed shellshocked.
"You could sound less shocked," Winona threw in, half playful, half snide.
"I'm so happy for you!" Angelina told her, rather than rise to the bait. "What are you going to wear?!"
"Uh, hadn't gotten that far," Winona replied with a frown.
"You can borrow something of mine," she assured her, and for a moment Winona was insulted. Was she insinuating that her own clothes weren't of a high enough calibre to go on a date in?
Frowning, she cast her outfit and glance, taking in her holey jeans and old, unimpressive button up.
...Perhaps borrowing something of Angelina's wouldn't be totally astray.
"What're you two whispering about over there?!" Fred shouted so abruptly that both girls turned to look at him in surprise. Feeling a flare of panic, Winona turned to Angelina with a pleading stare.
"We're discussing which one of you we'd most like to see naked," Angelina replied without missing a beat. Winona practically sagged with relief.
The boys all puffed up like peacocks. "And which was it?" George asked, flexing his arms a little as though this might sway the vote.
"I voted Alicia," Winona supplied playfully, shaking off her stupor and falling into their regular, comforting routine. Alicia threw her head back and laughed, while Lee, George and Fred all looked terribly put out.
"Well, if you're just going to be mean..." Fred murmured sourly, acting miffed.
Lee made a lewd joke that took the focus off of them, and she was relieved, allowing the twins to coerce her into a round of Exploding Snap, shutting her sketchbook and slipping it away, shuffling over so she sat beside Fred and began to play. She felt good, happy and light, like she was on her way home...
If only she didn't have such a terrible feeling about the year they were about to embark on.
The feast was beyond brilliant – Winona particularly liked the butter chicken. She had her mouth full when she felt eyes lingering on her face, a quickly looking up warily to find Adam Bradley looking at her from across the room at the Ravenclaw table.
Squeaking around her mouthful, Winona swallowed so largely that her throat ached and lifted a hand in a weak wave. He grinned at her, the expression gorgeous and crooked. Someone beside him said something, and his attention was diverted, leaving her staring at him like an idiot. Quickly looking away, Winona hurried to take a deep swig of pumpkin juice to soothe her now-sore throat.
Winona noticed Snape had disappeared towards the beginning of the feast, then later, Katie nudged her when he returned only to collect Professor McGonagall.
"What's going on, do you reckon?" the younger girl asked, turning around with excited eyes.
"Maybe there's another troll loose in the castle!" Fred suggested from opposite them, halfway through his plate of mashed potatoes and carrots. "How brilliant would that be?!"
"A girl can dream," Winona agreed.
A few minutes later, Dumbledore too was standing and sweeping from the room. Although confused, Winona was content to fill her stomach and catch up with all her friends rather than worry about whatever drama was going on at Hogwarts this time round.
"Did you hear?!" a fifth year appeared at their side as the feast was concluded and Dumbledore sent everyone off to their dormitories.
"You'll have to be more specific," George deadpanned, but the fifth year was unbothered, looking about ready to shoot up into the air from excitement.
"Harry Potter and your brother flew a flying car here, instead of taking the train!" he revealed, barely able to contain himself. The twins could do no more than gape in sheer, utter disbelief, while Winona's eyebrows hit her hairline, the words simply not computing. "And that's not all! They crashed into the Weeping Willow!"
Winona's insides swooped. "Are they okay?!" she asked worriedly.
"Apart from getting expelled, yeah," the guy laughed, then turned and raced away, eager to keep spreading the news amongst his curious peers. The twins were rarely rendered speechless, but the pair seemed unable to find words as they processed this information.
"Well, I guess that explains why they weren't on the train," Winona murmured, reaching up to scratch at her temple. "Why would they do that, though? It doesn't sound like them."
"These are the kids who fought a mountain troll and a three headed dog in their first year alone," George argued, seeming to find his voice.
"But why would they take the car when the train was right there?" she countered. "They're brave, not stupid; your dad could get in serious trouble."
"Shit," Fred cursed. "Didn't think of that."
"Still," George added cheerfully. "That's pretty bloody brilliant."
"If anything, we're just mad they didn't take us with them."
"What if they really are expelled?" Winona asked, frowning at the thought. Why would she have so many visions of Harry's future if the kid was never going to set foot inside the castle again? Surely Dumbledore wouldn't throw Harry out for this. If it were just Ron, then maybe, but would he really risk sending Harry out alone, unprotected, into the big bad world?
"Worth it," the twins replied, utterly uncaring. Winona rolled her eyes as she gracefully leapt over the trick step and continued to climb towards the Tower. They didn't have to say the password, a steady stream of students already flowing into the common room, and when they stepped inside it seemed all anybody could talk about were the antics of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
"Best thing to happen since you two dyed Nott's hair red in second year!" Lee was howling to the twins, and they laughed along, animatedly answering questions about Ron from their curious housemates.
Winona felt the urge to disappear up to her dorm and shower, dress in her most comfortable clothes and curl up in bed to sketch until she felt tired enough to sleep – but the pull of excitement in the common room was just enough to keep her down there.
She chatted with Katie and Angelina, all squeezed onto the large armchair in the far corner, until finally the portrait door opened and the boys-of-the-hour arrived, the whole room going mad with exuberant cheers.
Harry and Ron looked blindsided by the welcome, but they quickly made their escape up to their dorm, leaving the action in the common room to abruptly fizzle out, much to Winona's relief.
The next day at breakfast she ate her porridge and listened to Katie talk about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts, slyly adding in lewd comments about Oliver Wood that made her friend flush red. The twins were sitting further down the table, chatting with Lee in quiet undertones, which she knew didn't bode well for the rest of the school's inhabitants.
"-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU! I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-"
Winona whirled around, dropping her spoon to slam her hands over her ears, Mrs Weasley's wrathful voice booming throughout the Great Hall. From further up the table, Ron had turned a deep crimson, sliding down further in his seat like it might somehow make him invisible to the hundreds of eyes staring at him.
"-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED! I'M ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!"
The Howler promptly ripped itself up and burst into a small ball of flames. Ron looked like he was desperately hoping for the sweet release of death. From down the table, Fred and George were in hysterics, and Winona had to grin at the predictability of her closest friends.
"Miss Andrews," McGonagall's stern voice distracted her, and Winona looked up from where she was watching the twins, turning to her Head of House respectfully. "Your schedule," she said curtly, handing her a sheet of parchment, then seeing Alicia sitting beside her, gave hers out as well.
"Thank you, Professor," she replied politely, taking it and watching as the teacher gave a terse nod and left to give Angelina hers.
"Charms, this morning," Alicia proclaimed happily. "Then the whole day free!" She cast Winona an abrupt flat look. "Suppose you'll want to spend it sketching or something, though," she added in fond exasperation.
"Hadn't thought about it," Winona replied. Honestly, she'd hadn't considered it, but now that she had, that certainly did sound like a perfectly spent afternoon. The pair climbed to their feet, scanning the hall for their friends before silently agreeing to merely meet them at class.
"What do you suppose the afternoon has in store for us, ladies?" Fred and George had appeared behind them just as they were exiting the Hall, one each throwing an arm over their shoulders, dragging them along playfully.
"Winona wants to bury herself in her sketchbook," Alicia made a point to complain.
"What's new?" Fred asked mischievously. Winona rolled her eyes as she knocked his arm off of her shoulders, ducking out from under him and moving away before he could retaliate.
"Well, I'm open to better offers," she quipped lightly.
"We could sneak into Hogsmeade," George suggested eagerly.
Alicia turned to look at the pair in horrified exasperation. "It's the first day of classes," she reminded them shortly, as though they might have somehow forgotten.
"Exactly!" crowed Fred. "Best get the year off to a good start and all!"
Alicia muttered something that might have been either a curse or an insult before abruptly dragging George along after her towards the Charms classroom, leaving Winona and Fred scrambling to keep up.
Class passed quickly – Flitwick merely had them going over the course outlines, reminding them that OWLs were coming up in 'only two short years', and that it was best they focused on their studies more intently than ever before. She had a feeling she'd be hearing this speech often throughout her next two years at Hogwarts.
Next thing Winona knew, she was wandering out of the classroom, halfheartedly listening to Lee as he chattered on about needing to study up on the Seize and Pull Charm, since they would be doing a revision of it in the next lesson they had with Flitwick.
"What're your plans?" she asked Fred and George, who exchanged mischievous grins at the question. Winona tried not to sigh. "Does it involve something illegal?" she asked, somehow already knowing what the answer would be.
"'Illegal' only comes into play if you get caught," Fred winked. Winona rolled her eyes. She was sure whatever it was wasn't 'illegal' per se, but she could guarantee it went against school rules, and she wasn't in the mood for a detention on the first day back.
"Okay then, you two," she said, already digging in her messenger bag, checking that she had all her supplies and didn't need to run up to the common room for anything. "I'll see you later," she told them absently, leaving them to their plotting and wandering from the hall, heading deeper into the castle, looking for a view that was worthy of her first session of the year.
The astronomy tower was her usual destination, but she wanted something different this time, and instead wandered around to the west side of the castle, where she could look out over the mountains without climbing so many stairs.
She settled herself onto the large, flat windowsill, pulling out her materials and getting to work. The whole school was silent – or so it seemed, from her own little corner of the towering castle. It was warm, but the sun was hidden behind a thick bank of clouds, and she found herself wishing it would rain. The white-noise the weather made would have made the whole scene perfect.
She lost herself in her work for hours, using simple coloured pencils this time, trying to get the red shade of Dumbledore's phoenix familiar, Fawkes, just right.
"Winona!" a pleasant voice exclaimed so suddenly that she flinched, just barely stopping herself from accidentally ruining her sketch. She turned, blinking at Adam in surprise, watching as he smiled crookedly.
Was he ever not smiling?
"Adam," she greeted him calmly. "Hi." Pausing, she scanned the hall they were in, nobody else in sight. "How did you find me?" she asked, wondering how, out of the entire castle, he was able to find her in this tiny, secluded alcove.
"Saw the Weasley twins, thought they might know," he told her charmingly. Winona internally cursed. She was going to be hounded with questions when she saw them next. They must have consulted the Map and let him know where she was. "Do you mind?" he asked, suddenly seeming unsure.
"Not at all," Winona assured him, sitting up properly and dragging her legs under her, leaving room on the large windowsill for the Ravenclaw prefect to sit too.
"What are you studying in Charms at the moment?" he asked. She was kind of surprised by the choice of topic, but she didn't let on, lifting her shoulders in a shrug as she answered.
Thus began a long-winded conversation about the year four course load compared to fifth year's and beyond. It wasn't the most engaging topic he could have chosen, but he seemed entertained by it, rambling on about some essay he'd gotten top marks on in his fourth year.
Winona listened, not really taking in any of his words, but rather just taking in his form. Her fingers longed to etch his likeness onto parchment. She wanted to draw the regal slope of his nose and spend hours getting the fluff of his hair just right. He really was a lovely specimen.
He suddenly looked less preoccupied by the topic of Silencing Charms and more focused on her, and she realised at once that he'd asked her a question. "So?" he prompted her. "What do you think?"
"Uhhh," she floundered. He stared at her expectantly. "Yes?"
"My thoughts exactly," he beamed, so apparently she'd said the right thing.
From overhead the bell rang, signalling the beginning of dinner, and Adam was up like a rocket. Winona got the feeling he didn't like to be late to anything, ever.
"May I walk you to the Great Hall?" he asked hopefully. A little bit flustered by the politeness of the question, Winona quickly nodded her head and climbed to her feet. Adam kept talking as they made their way towards the Great Hall, but Winona didn't mind. It meant she didn't have to think of something clever to say. "Well, this is where I leave you," he said as they wandered through the large double doors.
"Thanks for walking with me," she said, because it seemed like what she was supposed to say. "I had a nice time talking to you."
Adam grinned wide, his teeth perfectly straight and sparkling like pearls. "Any time," he told her, and she got the feeling he really meant it. Shooting him a smile of her own, Winona made her way towards the Gryffindor table, holding her bag close to her chest, hugging it tight like it might grow arms and hug her back.
Her head was still up in the clouds when she found her friends, taking a seat beside Alicia, opposite Fred and George. The twins began to make singsong 'oohing' sounds the moment she sat down, and so she picked up a bread roll from the pile and launched it in their general direction. They remained unperturbed, snickering devilishly at her flushed cheeks.
"Was that Adam Bradly we saw you walk in with?" asked Alicia, eyes wide.
"Yeah," she said, doing her best to seem unaffected. "We're friends, so what?"
"Don't be coy, Winnie," said Angelina from across the table. She turned to the twins, mischief in her eyes. "He asked her to go with him to Hogsmeade on the first free day of the term."
The twins' jaws popped open and they made their eyes go comically wide. Winona ignored them, beginning to pile steamed vegetables onto her plate.
"Our little Winnie's growing up," George playfully sniffled.
"Soon enough she'll leave us to go procreate with that Ravenclaw prefect, and we'll have nothing but our memories to keep us warm," Fred cried out woefully.
Winona swiped up another bread roll, tossing it at him with flaming cheeks. She watched with satisfaction as it smacked him on the nose, and he scrunched his face at her indignantly. "Don't be gross," she ordered him, still red with embarrassment.
The twins only sniggered, and Winona turned to Angelina with a scowl.
"You're the worst," she told her darkly. Angelina shot her an innocent grin and went on cutting into her lamb cutlet.
The next day was Gryffindor's first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson for the year, and the class was divided into the people dreading it and the people who simply couldn't wait to get a closer look at the wonderful Gilderoy Lockhart.
Winona was one of the ones dreading it. Dragging her feet all the way to class, Fred and George had to forcibly yank her along after them to ensure they wouldn't be late.
"Come on, Win," George said encouragingly. "At the very least, it'll be a laugh."
He was right about that much, so, although she grumbled reluctant obscenities under her breath, she went willingly. Lockhart was already in the classroom when they arrived, a short ten seconds before the bell rang throughout the great castle, signalling the beginning of the lesson.
"Hello," Lockhart greeted them with a large, toothy smile once Winona and Fred had taken the remaining desk in the back of the room – the front completely filled by eager witches, Angelina and Alicia among them. George rolled his eyes at them from where he sat a desk in front of Winona and his twin, beside an exasperated Lee. "My name is Gilderoy Lockhart," the teacher told them dramatically, adopting a stance with his fists pressed to his hips that reminded Winona perfectly of the old Superman comics she used to steal from the local store and read as a kid.
Imagining Lockhart in spandex caused her to give a snorting laugh that she covered by pretending to cough. The professor – and she used that word very lightly – didn't appear to notice, but the twins certainly weren't convinced.
"Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award," the tosser continued with distinct pride, shooting them a grin that was all teeth and zero charm. He was attractive, objectively, but his personality made it impossible to like him the moment he opened his mouth.
Winona would be having words with Angelina and Alicia, who had both sighed audibly at his so called 'charming smile'.
"To start off, I thought I'd hand out a little quiz; I've given every year level the same one, just to see how well you've all read the required books."
Leaning back in her chair, Winona waited impatiently for him to wander around the room, passing out the sheets of parchment with the quiz on them.
"You have half an hour," Lockhart announced. "Beginning...now!"
With a tiny sigh, Winona flipped open the parchment, dipping her quill in ink and reading the first question. Only to do a rather cliche double-take when she read what was written.
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?
Winona blinked in disbelief, turning to stare wide-eyed at Fred and George, both of whom were sniggering into their arms in pure, unrestrained glee.
"He can't be serious," she hissed to them, but they only continued to laugh. She turned back to her quiz, debating what to do.
Indignation surged through her. Sure, maybeshe wasn't the best student in the world, but that was her right as a student. These people were paid to teach them, and DADA was such an important class – she'd seen the things coming, seen what the future held, and the man put in place to teach them how to survive was beginning his position by asking about himself?
"Motherfucker," she whispered, and Fred, who sat closest to her left, let out a loud guffaw that he masked as a coughing fit when Lockhart looked up. "Screw this," she added, and he turned to look at her curiously.
What was his favourite colour?
Puke yellow, she wrote in flowery, elegant script.
Fred laughed again when he saw what she wrote, and this time there was no mistaking the sound. "Something funny, young man?" Lockhart asked from where he was leant against his large, ornate oak desk.
"Thinking about one of your many brilliant stories, Sir," Fred responded innocently, and Lockhart beamed in response.
"The time I convinced that ghastly vampire to bite itself?"
"That's the one," Fred agreed, and Lockhart too broke out into reminscent chuckles. The classroom went silent again, and Winona turned back to the task she'd assigned herself.
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
To become part of a same-sex, figure skating duo, she wrote without a moment's hesitation, and Fred beamed at her brilliantly, something like pride on his expression that made her warm. She grinned back, shooting him a playful wink and nudging for him to return to his quiz, seeing that he, too, had taken on the task of making the answers as ridiculous as humanly possible.
What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?
Although some wonderfully awful things came to mind, she did have some sense of self-preservation, and knew if any of these sentences made their way back to McGonagall, she'd be in deep shit.
Surviving his shallow, mindless fan club, she wrote instead, and it continued on that way for the next twenty-five minutes, the answers getting more and more brilliantly snide as time wore on.
Finally he called the end to the quiz and she and Fred handed in their parchment. Lockhart stood up the front, scanning each quiz and shaking his head in disappointment. They knew when he'd reached theirs, when his eyes went wide and he shot them the first expression other than a constipated smile that he'd given all lesson.
"I must say, I am severely disappointed in all of you," Lockhart tutted. "You all must go back and re-read my collection. Nobody could name my favourite colour – which is lilac," he added firmly, "and nobody knew that my childhood ambition was to be considered 'debonair' by Witch Weekly."
He sighed, like someone awfully troubled.
"Oh well," he said sadly. "We'll work on it." He paused, turning to narrow his sparkling blue eyes at Fred and Winona, who both sat smirking proudly in the right corner of the classroom. "Weasley and Andrews, was it?" he asked, having to glance down at the roster of names to know. "You may both see me after class."
He focused back on the quote-unquote 'lesson', but Winona and Fred high-fived while his back was turned.
"I was going to let you handle a cage of some of the most foul, devilish creatures known to wizard-kind," he said with great theatrics. "Freshly caught Cornish Pixies! Unfortunately, there was something of a mishap with my second years yesterday, and that will no longer be possible."
There was silence from the class, but Lockhart smiled and waved a hand as though there had been a great outcry of disappointment.
"Not to worry," he told them assuredly. "Today we will be studying creatures known as Erklings! And then, in the coming weeks, once I feel you've learnt all you can to defend yourselves, I will release them onto you, and we'll see how you fare!"
The class was silent again, bewildered by this man's teaching method.
Winona turned to Fred, feeling oddly depressed. "What was George saying about this being a laugh, again?"
When it came to Friday, they had History of Magic (or, as Winona, Fred and George liked to call it: nap time) first, and then, well rested, they moved on to Charms, which was easy enough, and finally, double fucking Potions.
The Dungeons were, safe to say, Winona's least favourite place in the entire castle. The only good thing about them was the kitchens, but even then the trip down was never fun; they tended to run into Slytherins heading to and from their common room – it led to more fights than were strictly necessary, or enjoyable.
It was the last class of the entire week, and Winona had never been looking forward to the final bell ringing so much as she was by the end of that class.
"You know, the poison antidote we're studying will really come in handy for the, y'know, thing that we're working on," George was saying to Fred as they meandered back up to ground level, heading for the common room to wash off the stench of chemicals that clung to Snape's classroom like a smog.
Fred agreed and the two lowered their heads, beginning to mutter eagerly about something or other involving their inventions. Winona was too tired to bother keeping up. She was failing Potions anyway, so she doubted she would have understood.
"Hey Winona," Ron and Harry met up with her on the way to the Tower, leaving Fred and George to themselves when they saw they were occupied. "Can we ask a favour?" Ron continued, looking hopeful.
"Shoot," she replied, reaching back to tie up her hair, noting absently that it needed a good wash.
"Will you help us with our star charts for Astronomy?"
Surprised, Winona came to a stop, letting the twins wander on ahead of her, already halfway up the staircase. "Me?" she asked, bewildered. "Why not ask Hermione?"
"She's already helping us with History of Magic," Harry explained. "And Potions…and Transfiguration…"
Winona frowned. "I think you guys should consider hiring a real tutor," she murmured. They didn't acknowledge the suggestion, but just continued to stare up at her pleadingly. "I don't know, guys," she said with a sigh, casting the stairs a longing stare, yearning for a hot shower. "What makes you think I'm the girl to come to?" she asked, beginning to walk again, forcing the boys to hurry along after her.
"Fred was telling me how you help them with theirs," Ron admitted.
"Was he, now?"
"He said you're top of the class, even though he has no idea how, since you're failing almost everything else," Ron added casually. Winona cast him a sour look that seemed to make him regret saying anything at all.
"Anyway, we just need some help figuring it out, then we should be able to manage on our own," Harry assured her as they approached the portrait hole, the Fat Lady giving them a cursory glance. "Willow-wood," Harry said to her, and with a scowl the door swung open.
"Come find me after dinner, I'll give you guys a rundown," she relented, and they both beamed at her gratefully. "Am I allowed to go, now?"
The hurriedly nodded and with an affectionate roll of her eyes Winona left and made her way up the stairs to her dorm, tossing her messenger bag on her bed, fishing out a change of clothes and wandering into the bathroom.
Angelina was there when she came out, fresh-faced and damp-haired, sitting on her bed and brushing out her curly hair with an antique, enchanted brush.
"Coming down to dinner?" Winona asked her, tugging at the hem of her Weasley sweater, a soft peachy colour with a golden 'D' sewn into the front, before slipping her compulsory black robe on over the comfortable clothes, which had to be worn during meal times on weekdays.
"Meet you there," Angelina said distractedly. Winona realised a copy of Witch Weekly lay open in front of her. With a shrug, Winona returned to the common room to find it half-full, people slowly beginning to filter out, heading down to dinner.
She spied Lee chatting with Katie by the portrait hole and made to go meet them, only to be stopped halfway across the room as a small, blonde boy leapt out in front of her, an exuberant expression on his face, little body practically vibrating with excitement, much like a Chihuahua.
"Yes?" she asked when he said nothing, beaming at her in an intense silence.
"You're Winona, right?" he asked eagerly, continuing on before she could answer. "A fourth year and close friend of Harry Potter?"
"Uh, I guess so," she murmured, bemused by the strange little boy. She probably wouldn't label herself as a 'close friend' of Harry Potter. She liked the kid, they had a bond in a way she couldn't quite describe, but it wasn't exactly like they met up to play Gobstones every other evening. "What's up?" she asked the boy, impatient to get down to dinner, stomach crying out for food.
"Well, Harry was going to sign a photo for me-"
"Harry, was going to sign a photo, for you?" she repeated slowly, trying to understand what he was saying. Had she somehow stepped out of the shower and into an alternate reality where Harry suddenly gave a shit about his fame?
"Uh-huh," the kid nodded happily, beaming like this was the greatest thing to ever happen to him in his entire life. "But I can't seem to find him anywhere," he said, glancing around the room again as though he might have accidentally overlooked the Boy-Who-Lived. "Do you know where he is?"
"…Probably down at dinner… Where everyone else is heading."
"Right!" he grinned like she'd said the most clever thing on the face of the Earth. "Well, when we see him, can you take a picture of us together? I tried getting one of him before, but it's not enough proof that I've really met him, you know?"
"Um..."
"I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be in the same House as him! It's incredible!"
Winona was perplexed. "What did you say your name was?" she asked, guessing he must have been a first year, judging by his size and the sheer fact that the novelty of Harry's celebrity status had yet to fade.
"Colin!" he answered her happily, looking thrilled that she'd asked for his name. "Colin Creevey!"
"Okay, well, I'm sure Ron or Hermione will be pleased to take the photo for you," she said carefully, glancing over at Lee, trying to come up with one of her famous escape plans, but she was coming up dry.
"But you're friends with him too, aren't you?!" Colin asked fervently.
"Yeah, but I don't see him that often," she replied, and Colin leaned around to get another look around the common room, searching for everyone's favourite Gryffindor. She glanced over at Lee, who was now waving at her come join him. "There's my friend!" she said to Colin abruptly. "I gotta go, see you round?"
"Oh, right! Of course!" Colin nodded enthusiastically, practically lighting up like a Christmas tree, like she'd suggested they get together once a week to play chess.
Shooting him a final smile, she turned and got the hell out of dodge, making a beeline for Lee and all but shoving he and Katie out the portrait hole. Colin seemed like a sweet kid, but he seemed just a little too intense for her tastes.
Winona couldn't find either Fred or George the next morning at breakfast, but when she noticed that Alicia, Katie, Angelina and Harry were all missing too, she put the pieces together.
"Wood's a real slave-driver, isn't he?" she asked Ron and Hermione conversationally as she slipped into place beside them, Lee already sitting on the other end, chatting with Seamus and Dean from second year.
"Made them go out at dawn," Ron replied, mouth sticky with marmalade.
Winona rolled her eyes, quickly downing a helping of porridge before wrapping up some hash browns and toast for the twins. "I'm gonna head down there, make sure the twins aren't dead on their brooms," she said casually. "Wanna come with?"
The duo agreed, stocking up on enough toast to last them and following her down to the pitch. The weather was nippy, but Winona was kept warm in her thickest jeans and jumper.
The team wasn't even out on the field, but still in the locker room. Hermione and Ron murmured between themselves about Snape and something he'd said the other day, Ron using a word that made Hermione gasp and Winona smirk, when finally the team appeared from the locker room, all looking bored to tears.
Ron began to call to Harry, but Winona quickly descended the stairs, coming to a stop by the twins, whose eyes were still swollen from the early-morning wake up call.
"Here you are," she said to them, and they blinked in surprise, not having noticed her until she was directly in front of them. They looked from her face to the handful of wrapped food she was holding out and just about collapsed in sheer relief.
"You're our favourite bird of all the birds there are," Fred told her, snatching his share from her and scarfing it down like he hadn't eaten in weeks.
"I know," she replied patiently, rolling her eyes fondly as George took his too, grinning at her and devouring it in an impressive three bites.
"Andrews!" Wood shouted from across the field. "Stop distracting my team!"
Winona poked her tongue out childishly, patted both twins squarely on the chest in encouragement, then took their used napkins and headed back up into the stands.
From behind them, Winona heard a furious clicking as that Colin boy took photo after photo. Ron rolled his eyes at the sound.
The team were barely in the air three minutes before another distraction came knocking, this one in the form of the Slytherins who marched across the field like they owned it, donned in their emerald robes, proud sneers on their ugly faces.
The Gryffindors landed, striding across to meet the other team in the middle, then a conversation was had in low tones that Winona couldn't hear. She kept an eye on Fred and George, and when she saw them tense, she knew it was time to intervene.
"I'm going down there," she announced abruptly, standing to her feet and making her way to the stairs.
"Me too," Ron agreed.
Hermione made a sound of weak protest, but just ended up sighing and following close behind.
"What's happening?" Ron was asking Harry the moment they were close enough. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"
Winona made a beeline for the twins, stepped in between them securely, letting her keen eyes sweep over the Slytherin team, all of whom were wearing triumphant leers.
"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," Malfoy said smugly, and Winona wanted to slap him so hard that he lost the ability to sneer. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."
Ron gaped, openmouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him. Winona glanced down, taking in the sleek black Nimbus Two Thousand and One's they held in their hands, feeling the twins radiating contempt from behind her.
"Good, aren't they?" Malfoy continued to unwisely goad them. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."
The Slytherin's all howled with laughter, like that was the absolute most clever burn they'd ever witnessed in their pathetic little lives.
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," Hermione said with endlessly sharp wit. "They got in on pure talent."
Malfoy's confidence wavered, but he regained it with a furious snarl. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat. Winona went somehow numb and hot at the same time, a boiling fury overtaking her.
"You pointy-faced, motherfucking-" she began to swear, taking a step closer and prepared to fight, her hands already tensed into fists. She usually didn't hit kids younger than her, but she'd sure as shit make an exception for Malfoy.
Arms wrapped around her middle and firmly yanked her upwards. Her feet left the ground as she struggled, but her captor was persistent, gripping her tightly and spinning around as she lashed out in an attempt to clip Malfoy in the side of the head.
She held a simmering rage in her gut, but she knew it was for the best that someone had stopped her. Putting Malfoy in the hospital wing was more trouble than it was worth. Once he was sure she wasn't going to leap at the Slytherins again, Fred lowered her feet back onto the ground. Pulling out of Fred's arms with unnecessary force, Winona crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Malfoy with such a terrifying ferocity that the kid flinched back at the sight of it.
"How dare you!" Alicia was screeching, Angelina the one to hold her back.
Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand and yelled, "you'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" pointing it under Flint's arm at Malfoy's stupid face.
A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backwards onto the grass of the pitch.
Everyone was silent in the following few seconds, all shocked by the unexpected turn things had taken. Then Hermione was squealing, "Ron! Ron! Are you all right?"
And the twins were tense, staring at their little brother in anxious concern. Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth, right onto his lap. The Slytherins roared with laughter from behind them, but the Gryffindors paid them no attention, hovering around Ron in concern.
"We'd better get him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," said Harry to Hermione, who nodded bravely, and the pair of them pulled Ron up by the arms.
"Do you need help?" Winona asked them, but Harry glanced up at the twins, who were glaring at the Slytherins with an unmatchable fury.
"Help them," he said, but something told her he wasn't telling her to stop them from inflicting damage, so much as the opposite. She grinned, the expression evil, and Harry turned, helping Hermione in dragging Ron from the stadium and towards Hagrid's Hut.
The Weasley twins cracked their knuckles, and abruptly, Malfoy didn't find it quite so funny. Now that her head had cleared, Winona knew that while revenge was most definitely in order, having a punch up in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch wasn't the most effective of options.
"No," she warned the twins, but they didn't seem in the mood to listen, surging forwards and leaving Winona to dart in between them and Malfoy, saving the pointy little ferret's sorry arse.
The twins were Beaters – they'd pummel him into the dirt. And as much as she'd have loved to see that, it was more trouble than it was worth. All they'd get was a ban from Quidditch and a year's worth of detentions – if they weren't expelled on sight, that was.
"Boys," she said sternly, pressing a hand to either of their chests and shoving them back. "We'll get them," she promised, seeing the dangerous glint to their eyes and knowing it was mirrored in hers. "We'll go right now and plan the greatest, most humiliating revenge known to wizard-kind. But this, right here? This is a bad idea."
This seemed to get through to them, and though the rest of the Slytherins were only just now getting over the 'hilarity' of the situation, Malfoy gulped, seeing the savage glean to their eyes, hungry for revenge.
"Come on, team," Wood ordered, casting Flint a final glower before turning and nodding for the Gryffindors to leave the field.
Winona grasped both the twins' wrists, firmly dragging them away from the situation. They would get even, and Malfoy wouldn't walk away unscathed. She would make sure of it.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed. For those of you who've read Heart of the Storm, it will please you to know I'm working very hard on the sequel. Still have a long way to go, but it's coming together nicely. As for So Close to Magic, things are beginning to heat up. I hope you're all ready. Leave me a review letting me know what you thought of this chapter, and where you think I'm going next. I think I'll surprise some of you in weeks to come ;)