"When you kiss me, heaven sighs

and though I close my eyes

I see la vie en rose."

- Louis Armstrong, La Vie en Rose

Chapter Thirty-Nine – It's Not a Date!

Ankaa had been in the Room of Requirement for a grand total of five minutes before the intense urge to stab Zacharias Smith overtook her once more. He had been nothing but a pain in her butt from the moment she had sat down, and it seemed he annoyed Harry and the others just as much.

"It's good to know that there's at least one person everyone hates more than me," Ankaa mumbled to the twins.

George frowned down at Ankaa. "No one here hates you, Ankaa—"

"They're just not used to having you around," continued Fred, smiling down at her. Almost as if it was natural to him, he reached down and gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

"Need I remind you two that you both hated my guts when you first met me?"

Fred and George smiled.

"That wasn't because you were in Slytherin—"

"Actually, Freddie, remember when—"

"No, Georgie, I don't remember," Fred gave his brother a stern look, but the corners of his mouth tugged up in a smile nonetheless, "And I don't need to be reminded. Neither does Ankaa, isn't that right, sunshine?"

"Actually, I remember quite clearly—"

Fred shushed her quickly by placing his hand over her mouth. "Harry's talking, Ankaa, we don't want to disrespect our leader this way."

Ankaa pushed him away with a slight glare, but he only sniggered at her expression and pinched her cheek before turning to the front.

"… we ought to have a name," Hermione was saying when Ankaa finally looked away from Fred. Ankaa found it comical how Hermione's hand was still in the air, as if she was used to just letting it sit in that position every day. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

"Oh Merlin," Ankaa groaned quietly, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. "We're going to spend forever brainstorming now."

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina hopefully. Beside her, Katie Bell nodded faithfully. Ankaa rolled her eyes at the duo, irritated at the fact that they were even present. Angelina had wasted no time in shooting distasteful looks her way, and Fred's constant touchy-feeling flirting didn't help much to alleviate that distaste.

"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.

"MMAMG for short," snorted Ankaa, "Really rolls of the tongue, doesn't it Freddie?"

Fred pouted childishly before giving her a light shove. Hermione said some stuff about having an inconspicuous name, and briefly, Ankaa wondered how these dolts could ever keep anything subtle and inconspicuous. She wondered if any of them had ever even heard the word inconspicuous, because what they were doing here definitely was not it.

"The Defense Association?" said Cho. "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"

Ankaa looked from Cho to Harry, hoping that someone, anyone (she would even let Smith talk at this point) would say something about how the Defense Association was hardly an inconspicuous name for their ragtag group of people. Obviously, she could have said something, but Ankaa had a feeling any more disruptions on her part would just add fuel to the fire that she shouldn't be here in the first place.

And besides, Fred, George and Ginny seemed excited at her presence, and she didn't want to disappoint them.

Ah, the joys of friendship.

"Let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army," said Ginny from in front of Ankaa, "that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"

Beside Ankaa, Fred nodded, genuinely impressed by his sister. "Gin, you should help us come up with names for our products," he suggested, leaning forward to tug on her hair.

Ginny swatted his hand away with a pout. "I want to get paid for that. I don't work for free."

George gaped at her. "Is being sister to the infamous Weasley twins not enough payment for you? You're practically a celebrity."

Ankaa snorted. "Trust me Gin, you're better off without them. I've been trying to get rid of them for two years now, they just don't seem to get the hint."

When it came time to vote on the name of their Defense Association, Ankaa found her hand in the air along with the Weasley siblings around her. Well, she hadn't really voted. Fred had just grasped her wrist with a smile and tugged it up with his own. Ankaa guessed he just wanted an excuse to hold her hand, which she hadn't really minded.

If only Angelina would stop huffing and puffing.

"Right, shall we get practicing then?" said Harry, once Hermione had scribbled the name onto their piece of parchment. "I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm." Harry looked to Ankaa for confirmation, and she nodded with a small smile. "It's pretty basic but I've found it really useful—"

"Oh please," said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"

"I've used it against it," Harry said quietly. "It saved my life last June."

Smith opened his mouth stupidly. The rest of the room was very quiet. Ankaa could see Harry look at her for a moment as if to see her reaction. She gave him a small smile, a quirk of the lips to show him that she was okay.

"Okay," said Harry, rubbing his hands on the side of his pants slightly. "I reckon we should all divide up into pairs."

George and Lee Jordan paired off, heading off to the side to claim their space. In front of them, Ginny turned to look at Ankaa. She opened her mouth, looking as if she was going to say something before Ankaa saw her gaze shift slightly to her left, where Fred was sitting. Ankaa turned to him just in time to see Fred shaking his head with a smile.

"What—"

"Sorry, Ankaa," Ginny stood with a smile, "I was going to ask you to be my partner, but it seems like you've already got one." Ginny and Fred shared a mischievous smile before she walked off to where Luna Lovegood was standing by herself, waiting for someone to pair off with her.

"Really, Fred?" Ankaa turned to him with an amused look. "You couldn't have let me be with Ginny?"

"Why would I do that, when you're meant to be with me?" Fred offered her his hand as he stood up, and pulled her up as well.

The double meaning of his words was not lost on Ankaa. In fact, she turned her face away from him the moment she was upright. Noticing how close he had pulled her, she stepped away with a slightly challenging look.

"You think you can beat me, Weasley?"

"Why don't we test that theory, Rhyther?"

Ankaa smirked at him, thoroughly enjoying the competitiveness surfacing in him. They stood a few feet away from one another and turned to one another with their wands at the ready. She was glad they were in the corner of the room, blocked from the sight of the many other partners around them. Not because she wanted it to be secretive, no, but because Fred was being unusually energetic in his attempts to flirt with her.

"You know," began Fred conversationally, looking around him at the various people shouting the spell, "This is not how I pictured our first date."

"Expelliarmus!" Ankaa caught Fred's wand as it came sailing through the air. Beside her, George and Lee snickered at the bewildered expression on Fred's face.

"I wasn't ready!" Fred stood there, gobsmacked.

"All's fair in love and war, Fred."

Fred shook his head and crossed his arms, "Oh, no, no, no. That doesn't work on me." He turned swiftly, looking around for Harry. "I want a rematch! Someone call the umpire! HARRY!"

With a laugh, Ankaa threw his wand back at him. "Alright, alright! Don't get your knickers in a twist—"

"Got your mind on my knickers, Ankaa?" Fred winked at her, giving her a pleased smile. He just laughed when Ankaa flushed pink and glared at him. "I had no idea you thought of me that much."

"Are you just going to keep talking the entire time?" Ankaa deadpanned, "Are you just going to bore You-Know-Who to death?"

Fred pretended to consider the idea. "See, I could do that, but there isn't a boring bone in my body," he shrugged helplessly, "I guess that's your job, Sunshine."

"I hate you."

Fred laughed, shaking his head. "Remember, Ankaa, I can tell when you're lying," he said.

"Are you just going to keep cracking jokes—"

"—I'm flirting, they're two different things—"

"—or are you actually ever going to try and disarm—"

"Expelliarmus!" Not even a moment later, Fred groaned loudly, "How did you block that so fast? I was so sure I had you just then."

From beside the duo, George and Lee shook their heads in unison. Ankaa gave them a smile before waving her wand tauntingly at Fred. If anything, Fred's lack of success in disarming Ankaa only seemed to spur him into action. Ankaa laughed as he got more and more competitive and frustrated after every round, to the point where she wasn't even returning his spells anymore. She just stood there and laughed, as Fred grumbled about the match not being fair.

"It's okay, Freddie," consoled his twin, "She would have outshined even the best of us."

Lee nodded, trying to patch up Fred's wounded, blistered, and obliterated ego. A few feet away from them, Ankaa was still laughing.

"You okay, Freddie?" Ankaa asked a moment later as she took a few steps closer to him. George and Lee returned to their own practicing, and Ankaa smiled up at Fred. "Do you want me to go easy on you, Tall-Stuff?"

"No, thank you, Short-Stuff," Fred shook his head determinedly, smirking down at her. Fred cast one look around. Noticing that the others were still completely concentrating on their spells, he grasped the edges of Ankaa's robes and pulled her closer to himself. "Although," he whispered, "I would love some incentive."

Ankaa swallowed the lump in her throat. "What incentive?" she asked, just as quietly.

"A kiss."

Ankaa recoiled from him, completely flabbergasted. The duo stood completely still for a moment. Fred wondered if he had overstepped his boundaries. He knew he had promised Ankaa all the time she needed, but every day that he saw her was another day that he couldn't be with her, and it made him feel incomplete. He had never said anything about flirting with her though, and so far, she seemed to be enjoying it, so he had been enjoying it too.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ankaa smiled up at him. Not a sweet, gentle smile. She was challenging him because she knew he couldn't win. In a show of courage, even though on the inside she was melting at the thought of his suggestion becoming a reality, Ankaa looped her finger into the belt loop of his pants and pulled him closer until their fronts were touching.

"Alright, Weasley," she said in a husky voice that had Fred shivering in anticipation, "If you can disarm me, I'll kiss you. But when I disarm you, you're going to do my Potions homework."

Ankaa watched slowly as a smile spread over his face. He nodded slowly, looking down at her with a look she couldn't fathom. They both stepped away, facing one another as they took a few steps back and held their wands at the ready. Fred was smiling still, but Ankaa could tell by his eyes that he was serious about this round. Ankaa, too, was giving him a challenging smile.

After all, if he hadn't been able to beat her in the last ten rounds, he definitely was not going to get the best of her now.

"On three?"

Fred nodded.

"One… two… thre—"

"Ankaa!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Ankaa watched in horror as her wand went sailing out of her hand in a clean arch, and right to Fred who caught it with a victorious smirk. She blinked at him a couple of times, trying to understand if the sight before her had really happened, or if she had imagined the whole thing. However, the sight of a laughing George Weasley was enough to confirm her suspicions.

"George!" Ankaa shouted, staring at the laughing Weasley. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

A still chuckling George came over to her and gave her a hug, not minding the fact that she was actually hitting him in the stomach. "Sorry, Ankaa," George apologized, still laughing, "but Ginny and I had a bet about when you and Fred would finally do something, and I was going to lose otherwise."

"Well, well, well, well, well." Fred strolled up to Ankaa, holding out her wand and flourishing it with every 'well'. Fred's smile widened in glee when Ankaa snatched her wand out of his grasp and glared up at him. "So, guess who won that round?"

"You didn't win," Ankaa retorted hotly, "George distracted me—"

"All's fair in love and war, Ankaa," Fred leaned closer to her. His eyes seemed to fall on her lips, once, twice, before he finally just looked into her eyes. "And this is love and war. Bet you wish you hadn't played dirty first, eh?" Turning to his brother, the two of them exchanged a high five before sniggering at her expression.

"I don't play dirty—"

At this, George laughed, "Of course you don't, love, and neither do we. So we're even, and Freddie here won fair and square."

"Exactly right, Georgie, thank you very much," Fred bowed. Ankaa hit him lightly on the head with her wand, smiling despite herself.

George wandered away to join Lee once more. Ankaa watched him walk away, wondering for a moment if he felt alone now that his twin was occupied with a girl. Well, not that Fred and Ankaa were occupied enough as a noticeable difference. Still, it may have been a little dismaying to have Fred's attention split between family and friends.

"You look like you're thinking very hard," Fred commented softly, smoothing over her furrowed brow with his fingers. "Is the thought of kissing me really that traumatizing?"

Ankaa let out a breathless laugh, shaking her head immediately. At Fred's smirk, she blushed and pushed his hand away with an embarrassed smile. "I was just thinking about George—"

"Again, odd. You're supposed to be thinking about me."

Ankaa rolled her eyes. "It's not like you think about me twenty-four hours a day," she retorted, crossing her arms.

"You don't know that," Fred spoke softly. For the first time, there was something about his voice that told Ankaa that he was serious. Looking away from Ankaa, Fred's gaze followed his brother, who was pointing his wand at Zacharias Smith and disarming him every time he opened his mouth. "What were you thinking about?" Fred asked, turning back to Ankaa.

Ankaa shrugged one shoulder. Smiling over at George, she turned back to Fred. Softly, she asked, "Do you think he's okay with all of this? I just feel like I might me monopolizing your time, or energy, and he doesn't get to spend enough time with you—"

"When Ceph was dating Florence Lacomb," Fred interrupted, looking down at Ankaa with a complacent smile, "Did you ever think that she was taking your brother away? That if he spent too much time with her, or if she was on his mind all day, it would affect your relationship with him?"

Immediately, Ankaa shook her head. "Of course not," she said, "He's still my brother."

"Exactly," said Fred, tucking a stray piece of hair behind Ankaa's ear. "There's no one on this planet who supports the thought of you and me being together more than George. Well, maybe except me, but yeah. He's been betting on us since day one." Fred turned his head slightly to smile at the sight of his brother, getting an admonishing look from Harry, who had figured out he was the culprit behind Smith's inability to perform.

Turning back to Ankaa, Fred smiled at her. "Don't worry about the bet, okay?" he told her, his fingers slipping down her arm and firmly grasping her hand. "You don't have to kiss me."

Ankaa raised a brow in surprise. "Oh? Is the thought of kissing me really that traumatizing?"

Fred cracked a smile at her joke, looking down at her with something akin to wonder before he shook his head. "I'd love nothing more than to kiss you, Ankaa," he confessed, his voice soft and gentle, "but I want you to kiss me because you want to, not because I won a duel."

Before Ankaa could respond, Fred gave her hand a squeeze before wandered off to George's side. She would have gone after him. In fact, her feet were moving out of their own accord and heading towards where Fred stood. She didn't even know what she'd say to him.

'Yes, Fred, I'd love to kiss you!'

Well, obviously with a little more finesse, but the general sentiment was the same. Unfortunately for Fred and Ankaa, their timing ever since they had met had been completely off. And today was no different. Before she could go up to Fred, and pull him away and out of the Room of Requirement to kiss him, Harry stepped in her way with a smile.

"I need your help," he gave her an expectant look. "I need someone to pair up with Neville. He's been with Ron and Hermione, but I just need you two help him a bit before we dismiss for the night."

Ankaa looked at Fred over Harry's shoulder. He was busy with his circle of friends, which now included Angelina Johnson (who was standing far too close to Fred, Ankaa noticed), Katie Bell, George, and Lee Jordan. They looked to be deep in discussion about something.

Ankaa had obviously lost her chance now.

"Fine," she mumbled to Harry, heaving a sigh. "But I hope you understand that this isn't going to be a regular thing, okay?"

"What isn't?"

Ankaa moved gestured to the two of them, and then the D.A. around them. "This whole, becoming a co-teacher with you and helping you run an illegal Association," Ankaa elaborated with a frown. She crossed her arms over her chest, and said, "I'm only here for today. After this, I won't be in your D.A."

Harry frowned. "Why not? What's so bad about it?"

"There's nothing bad about it, Harry," Ankaa sighed, "It's just too dangerous. And I don't think you guys seem to realize what possible repercussions this could have."

"We're being careful," Harry assured the girl, who didn't seem at all convinced. With a laugh, Harry repeated, "We are! We use the Marauders Map to make sure Filch isn't around, and most of the Prefects from the other houses are here anyway, so even if practice runs late, we have an excuse."

Ankaa just nodded, knowing that there was no point in arguing with him. "You might want to warn your happy troop, though." At Harry's questioning look, Ankaa told him, "Umbridge's been interrogating a few of the Slytherin students. She wants to form her own league of prefects, who'll have a lot more power than these ones."

"She can't do that!"

"She'll find a way," shrugged Ankaa. "And also, if you ever go into her office, you or any of the D.A., make sure they don't have anything to drink. I'm pretty sure she's using Veriatserum,"

Harry gaped at her. "Did she use it in you? Did you say anything?"

"It was a few days ago, but I worked my way around it," Ankaa gave him a proud smile. "Might have used a Puking Pastille in her office. Bet she had a hard time cleaning that up.

Harry laughed, scrunching his nose in disgust at the thought of a vomit-filled office, but the fact that it was Umbridge's office was a consoling thought.

Ankaa headed over to Neville Longbottom, who cowered at the sight of her. Schooling her expression so that she did not seem as frightening, Ankaa gave him a little nod.

"Alright Neville," she began, standing a fair distance away from him with her wand out, "Harry wants me to see how you're doing. Just try and disarm me, okay?"

Neville hesitated. Behind him, Ron and Hermione were looking over the scene in worry. Or rather, Hermione seemed concerned, and Ron was just watching. Ankaa watched as Neville's trembling hands came up. He gulped loudly and nodded to himself.

"Expelliarmus!"

Although the spell hit Ankaa, her wand still remained clutched in her hand. She only staggered back a few steps. Neville looked extremely discouraged, and his face fell at the sight. Ankaa too, could not believe that someone in their fifth year could not properly produce a Disarming Spell, but she supposed that Neville hadn't really had someone to practice with like she did with Ceph.

"Er, not bad Neville," she began uncertainly, trying to sound nice about him absolutely failing. She tried to encourage him by saying, "It's okay for now, Neville, but you've got to work on your technique."

Ankaa left Neville to practice with Ronald. Hermione smiled at Ankaa before coming to stand beside her. Ankaa examined the girl from her peripheral vision, noticing that Hermione was still smiling. It was the sort of 'I-told-you-so' smile that Ankaa absolutely hated on the girl.

"What is it now?"

Without any hesitation, Hermione said, "You and Fred were having a lot of fun, I reckon."

"So were you and Ronald," Ankaa retorted, grinning at the girl. Ankaa knew Hermione would never drop the topic if she denied it, so it was best to just change the topic entirely and make Hermione uncomfortable enough to leave the conversation. "I don't think I've ever seen you so worked up."

"It's not the same kind of worked up you were," Hermione returned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I could feel the tension between you two from here."

Ankaa raised a brow, "Oh? You think I can't feel the tension between you and Ronald? Look, he's still looking at you."

Hermione hesitated then, but turned her head slightly so that she could see where Ron was standing with Neville. Ron glanced at her the moment she looked his way, giving her a pleading look so that she would come over and help with Neville.

"He's not—it's not—He just wants me to help him with Neville." Hermione stuttered.

Ankaa nodded slowly, smiling teasingly. "Right, and of all the people here he just had to partner up with you?"

"You partnered with Fred!"

"So you're comparing yourself and Ronald to me and Fred?"

"Yes! No—no! Not like that!" Hermione huffed in frustration, glaring at the Slytherin girl when she started laughing. Hermione glared at her, "You're the worst."

"I know," Ankaa gave her a cheeky smile. Looking down at her watch, she asked, "When do you end this anyway? You've been at this for two hours."

Hermione nodded quickly. Ankaa watched quietly as Harry finally ended the meeting. They all decided to meet next Wednesday night, and Ankaa made a note to come to fetch her books before then so that she wouldn't have to run into them again. Harry stood by the door, letting people leave in groups of three and four.

Waiting for their turn, Fred, George, and Ginny came to Ankaa at one of the tables in the corner. Ginny stood beside her, looking over her shoulder at the parchment Ankaa was scribbling on.

"What's that?" she asked, peering down at the list of spells.

"I'm in charge of making the next lesson plan for our meetings," Ankaa mumbled, concentrating on the spell she was copying down. "Draco made one for today since I was busy. It's just a rough plan."

"Your meetings in the Common Room?" asked George, taking the parchment from her and examining the various spells and the theory listed beside them. "These are pretty advanced."

Ankaa shrugged. "We usually all practice together over the year anyway," she admitted, "The Common Room's most often filled by some of the younger kids learning spells from the upper years, so we're sort of okay."

The three of them looked impressed.

Fred whistled, "No wonder you're so quick at this." He grinned, "Next thing you know, you'll be doing nonverbal magic and wandless magic."

George narrowed his eyes at Ankaa, when he noticed her secretive smile. "You can already do those, can't you?"

Ankaa laughed. "I wish, but no. Well, I can do nonverbal magic, but I can't do wandless magic at all. Ceph was actually pretty good at it. He was going to teach me…"

The three of them were silent. Ginny gave her shoulder a squeeze before heading over to the door, where Harry was letting her leave with Luna Lovegood and another girl from Ravenclaw. Fred and George took a seat by Ankaa, leaning comfortably in their seats, but they kept their eyes on her.

"Guys," called Harry, "You can leave now."

George waved his hand. "Go ahead Harry, we'll be staying here for a little while."

Ankaa gave him a confused look. She raised a brow at him, but he just shook his head. Harry, who seemed just as confused as she was, nodded slowly. He checked the Map once more before he left the Room of Requirement.

"So why are we staying behind?"

Fred and George gave her identical expectant looks. "We have to talk."

"I hate it when you two do that," Ankaa shuddered, "So in sync."

Fred grinned, chuckling a bit. But then he turned serious once more and asked, "We didn't see you all day today. You didn't even come down for breakfast or lunch—"

"—and don't lie to us and say you ate in the kitchen," said George, when Ankaa opened her mouth to lie, "We asked Dobby and he said he hadn't seen you in the kitchen at all."

"So you didn't eat anything all day," said Fred, "And there's obviously a reason for it."

"And you look like you haven't slept in an age," added George, pointing to the dark circles under Ankaa's eyes. "Obviously something's wrong."

Ankaa looked from one brother to the other. She knew she'd have to tell them soon, but she had hoped to avoid it for as long as possible. Knowing them, once they found out about her vision, they would become overprotective and boggled. However, looking at their identical worried expressions, as much as she wanted to, Ankaa could not find it in herself to lie to them.

These people were her friends, her chosen family.

"Okay," Ankaa released a shuddering breath. Gripping her knees, Ankaa took in a deep breath.

Ten seconds of courage, she told herself, that's all you need. Just get started.

Fred listened intently as Ankaa explained everything about her vision. At first, she had been hesitant, she talked slowly and very to the point, but in the next few minutes, she started spilling everything that had been on her mind. Fred and George exchanged a worried look when Ankaa ran her hand over her face, and they could see some tears starting to spill down her cheeks.

Fred watched as George reached forward and wrapped Ankaa in a hug. Fred wanted to as well, but there was a surge of irrational annoyance in him. He wasn't sure if this annoyance was directed at the circumstances they had found themselves in, or at Ankaa for not telling him sooner. It was most likely the circumstances though, because he knew that Ankaa had told them as soon as she possibly could have.

"You weren't going to tell us, were you?" it slipped out of Fred before he could stop it. George pulled away from Ankaa, giving Fred a look before looking down at the girl.

Sniffling, Ankaa wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her robes. "Not at first, no," she admitted. Noticing the twins slightly hurt looks, she added quickly, "But I changed my mind. You deserve to know, you're my best friends."

George smiled warmly at her. Patting the top of her head, he said, "Don't worry Ankaa, I know you'll be fine. Fred and I will be there with you—"

"—and so will the Order," Fred added, reaching forward and wrapping his hand around hers. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"We'll even help you research this," promised George eagerly. However, he frowned, "Though I haven't been to the library since first year—"

"Pretty sure we're banned from it, mate," Fred guessed, "Did Pince ever forgive us for pretending to rip one of her books apart?"

George reflected on it, his face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to recall whether or not the librarian had banished them from the library, or had simply given them detention. In the end, he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Can't remember, guess we'll just have to find out."

Fred grinned at his brother before his gaze turned back to Ankaa. Immediately, he got up and wrapped his arms around her, and so did George.

"You'll be fine, Ankaa," Fred promised her, "George and I'll make sure you are."

George nodded, his arms tightening marginally around his brother and the Slytherin girl. They both pulled away and looked down at her. George couldn't fathom how someone so young could shoulder so many burdens. The girl in front of him had been through so, so much in the last few years. It would have broken any other.

George looked at Fred over Ankaa's bowed head. Fred was still looking down at her, a worried frown creasing his face. His hand was on her back, drawing soothing circles so that she might relax slightly.

"Don't you guys have to go back?" Ankaa asked hoarsely.

"Don't you?"

Ankaa shook her head, "I've got Prefect duty. Oh, no, actually I don't—we're practicing in the Common Room tonight. I think I should get back."

Fred declined that immediately. Standing up, he said, "I'm going to go down to the kitchens and see if I can find you something to eat. You two stay here."

"Fred, no—"

Fred was already striding out of the door. Ankaa turned to George, who had moved to sit beside her, and asked, "Does he always do that?"

George smiled. "Can't seem to stop him where you're concerned." Quietly, he said, "When we were younger, and Ginny used to have a bad day, he would always insist that she eat something. We'd always sit there and have loads and loads of chocolate frogs until we felt sick. He's also a surprisingly good cook."

"He made me hot cocoa when we were at Sirius'," Ankaa admitted quietly, "When I was upset about Ceph." She could always see how much Fred and George adored their younger sister, and how much she looked up to them. They were all lucky to have one another.

"Thank you," said George, snapping Ankaa out of her thoughts. When she gave him a perplexed look, George elaborated, "Thanks for telling us. I know it's hard for you to share these things because you're used to dealing with everything on your own, but it means a lot to us that you told us."

Ankaa swallowed roughly. Her throat felt dry as if she hadn't had a sip of water in decades. "It's alright," she muttered, "I guessed since you two are practically family anyway, you'd like to know that I'll be dying."

George gave her a stern look, reminding her so much of Mrs. Weasley for a moment. "You're not going to die," He said firmly, "Your mom's probably already three steps ahead of us with planning. Moms are great that way, they always know what to do."

Ankaa smiled half-heartedly. At this point, she desperately hoped that her mother had indeed seen something. And if she had, Ankaa wanted to talk to her and see what she had planned.

Before she could say anything else, the door opened and Fred walked inside once more. He smiled widely and held up a picnic basket. "Dobby was nice enough to pack a few things," he waved the basket around.

"Well, you two enjoy your date—"

"It's not a date," Ankaa denied, glaring at George as he stood up and walked back towards the door.

"Why does the idea of going on a date with me scare her so much?" Fred asked loudly but only looked to his twin for the answer.

"Don't know, mate," shrugged George, "I've never had this problem. I'm clearly the better-looking twin then."

"You're identical," Ankaa rolled her eyes before throwing a cushion at a snickering George.

"Be responsible!" He called as he reached for the door handle. "Be safe!"

"It's not a date, George!"

George turned once more, grinning slyly. "Really? How do you explain that then?" he pointed to the spot behind Ankaa and Fred.

Both of them turned to see a picnic blanket had been spread out over the floor, and there were little candles all around it. There was a small vase in the centre, holding a few flowers. Ankaa flushed and turned to find a laughing George. Mortified, she turned away from the sight and buried her face in her hands.

"You're welcome," George winked at his brother, who had also been turning slightly red. Looking around the room in wonder, George proclaimed, "I think I love this room." And with that, he turned around and left, but not before throwing a sly wink towards Ankaa, who only glared at him.

Fred and Ankaa looked at each other from the corner of their eyes before they both flushed a deep red and turned away. Ankaa was glad that she wasn't the only one blushing. It made her feel good to know that Fred was just as nervous, if not more than she already was.

"So," Fred cleared his throat as he set the basket down on the blanket. "I hope you know that this isn't really our first date," he said, giving her his usual confident smile.

Playing along, Ankaa smiled and sat down on the blanket. "It's not?" she asked. "Such a shame, I thought it was such a unique idea. Way better than Madam Puddifoots."

"Your idea of a good date is a fire hazard," Fred pointed to one of the candles that were dangerously close to Ankaa's robes. He pulled her away from the edge of the blanket, content that she settled down beside him without a fuss. "Setting yourself on fire to impress me on the first date, Ankaa? I like the way you think."

"I thought you said this wasn't a date?"

"Do you want it to be?"

Ankaa stared up at him, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling like a lunatic. Of course, she wanted a date, but was it really the right time? Didn't she have enough to worry about right now?

"I'm just here for the food, actually," she joked, leaning away from Fred and opening the basket. Behind her, Ankaa could hear Fred laughing softly.

"I'm biased towards desserts," Fred informed her as she pulled out three different desserts form the basket, "so there's lots more of those in there." He gave her a sheepish smile.

Ankaa shook her head with a smile and finally pulled out savoury food.

"What did you think of the D.A?" Fred asked her, leaning over and taking one of the chocolate puddings for himself.

"It was alright," Ankaa said after a while. "You lot definitely need the practice," she laughed when Fred poked her side. "I'm just kidding. It's a good idea, I just wish you guys would be more careful."

"I didn't think you'd stick around," Fred admitted. "I was sure you'd sign and leave. I'm surprised you stayed."

"I stayed to make sure that you guys would actually learn something. I figured you and George would come with me, like in the vision, no matter how hard I tried to not get you involved—"

"That's right," Fred said, grinning proudly.

"—so I just wanted to make sure the D.A would actually teach you something worthwhile. And that you'd be able to protect yourself." Ankaa shrugged then, "Besides, it's good fun." Ankaa gave Fred a concerned look, "If Umbridge finds out, it won't be pretty."

"Nothing about that woman is pretty," said Fred. "We'll be careful," he promised her, stretching his legs out in front of him as he turned his head to look at her. "You have to finish it all, Ankaa," he said, noticing that she had only eaten half of the food.

"Don't be such a Mom, Weasley," Ankaa rolled her eyes, reaching for the chocolate pudding. "I'm full."

Fred stared at her with a frown. "That's all you had the entire day," he pointed to the rest of the unfinished food. Taking the chocolate pudding away from her, Fred stared down at her, "You'll only get this when you finish the rest of your food, Ankaa."

Fred watched amusedly as Ankaa muttered something about him challenging a Mrs. Weasley before she reached for her plate and ate more food. She was frowning the entire time as she stuffed herself, and glared at Fred when the had the gall to smile cutely at her.

"This wouldn't be a problem if you just ate properly."

Ankaa rolled her eyes and swallowed before speaking. "I wouldn't have that problem if the universe would just leave me alone and not try to kill me."

Fred's smile slipped off his face and was instead replaced with a worried frown. Ankaa mentally kicked herself for bringing up the topic in the middle of such a fun, lighthearted conversation. Compared to Fred and George, she had had time to mentally console herself. But she supposed for them, it was all rather new and still worrisome.

Ankaa reached out for Fred, and her fingers smoothed over his eyebrows, trying to relax his expression. "You don't look good when you frown," she mumbled, drawing her hand away from his face. Noticing the subtle tension between them, Ankaa quickly said, "Also, I got breadcrumbs all over your eyebrow and I'm sorry."

Fred laughed, quickly dusting away the breadcrumbs. While he was distracted brushing away the morsels of food, Ankaa quickly put away her food (she had left just about a quarter of it, which was socially acceptable) and reached for the chocolate pudding before Fred could stop her.

"Did you finish the food?"

"Nope," said Ankaa, shovelling a giant spoon of pudding into her mouth. "But you can't go back to it once you've started dessert."

"Can't argue with you there." Fred lay down on the blanket and placed one hand on the back of his head as he looked up at her. "So, on our first pseudo-date, don't you think we should get to know each other a bit more?"

Ankaa narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that supposed to be a sexual innuendo?"

Fred grinned slyly at her, surprised. "I hadn't even thought of it like that," he admitted, "I just wanted to know what your favourite colour was, and your favourite flowers, stuff like that. Still got your mind on my knickers?"

Ankaa flushed a deep red and turned away from him. "Okay, so I've had food and I'm leaving now," she said, pushing to get up, but Fred took a hold of her wrist again. With a laugh, he pulled her down beside him.

"Watch your hair," he warned, carefully moving her hair so that it was far away from the candles. They were both laying down now, contently staring up at the ceiling that had now become darker, with false stars twinkling against the night sky. Some of the candles went out on their own so that it wasn't as bright anymore and Fred and Ankaa could look up at the 'stars'.

"This Room is…" Fred trailed off. "Well, it certainly is something."

Ankaa snorted, looking up at the ceiling. "I remember sometimes when I used to stay here late to study, and at the slightest thought of being tired, there'd be a bed that would just pop up out of nowhere. I've slept here sometimes."

"I think I'll start to as well," mumbled Fred, turning his gaze away from the bright stars to the girl beside him.

"I've always loved Astronomy," she said quietly, staring at the ceiling wide-eyed and awed, not noticing Fred's gaze trained upon her. "I always really liked being able to look up at the stars, to chart them and track their movement." She held up her hand, pointing to one constellation, "The Big Dipper, the Muggles call it."

When she turned to look at him, to see if he was looking at the Big Dipper, Fred looked back to the ceiling and nodded, not wanting to be caught staring. Once Ankaa turned away, Fred found his eyes going back over to her, quickly assessing her. Fred tried to commit every single thing to memory. The way her lips quirked a certain way (the left side much more than the right), the way her nose twitched when she prepared to tell a lie (she'd done it a lot to Ron), the way her lips thinned when she prepared to give a sassy response (again, she always did it to Ron), and the way her full lashes brushed the tops of her cheeks every time she blinked.

She was so beautiful.

"… so I'm the only one not named after a star."

Fred blinked quickly as if he was coming out a trance. He watched as Ankaa looked at her watch and then back to the ceiling.

"Do you have to go back?"

Ankaa shook her head, "Not just yet. I'm sure Draco can handle it for a few more minutes, he's got Blaise to help anyway."

Fred pursed his lips. "I've never asked you, but you and Blaise…" he trailed off, almost as if he was afraid to hear the answer himself.

Ankaa turned her head to him, noting that he was already staring at her. With a smile, she shook her head, "No. He told me he liked me in fourth year, but I already liked you by then. He's been trying to make you jealous since then, but I told him it would never work."

Fred chuckled, his hand finding hers in the dim lighting. "You'd be surprised at how well that worked," he admitted, "I never thought I'd be jealous of Zabini of all people."

Ankaa laughed, "Guess you understand what I felt when I saw you with Angelina then… Except you two were actually together."

Fred sighed and looked away from her then, back to the ceiling. The twinkling stars above didn't really seem to mind the honest conversation happening underneath. This was the first time either of them had had the time to sit down and discuss their feelings about one another. Except, of course, the time when they had admitted them. But those times had been different, thought Fred, because they both admitted their feelings and nothing could really happen because the timing was always off.

"I'm sorry," Fred whispered finally. "We never could get our timing right, could we?" He laughed sardonically, sounding a little bitter. "Now that we're finally sort of alright, you're busy trying to find a way not to die."

What a sucky first pseudo-date, Ankaa scolded herself. Way to be such a downer, Ankaa.

"I should be getting back," Ankaa whispered, sitting up and starting to clean up. Fred was a little slow to get up. Slowly, he helped her put everything back in the basket.

"Here," said Fred as he stood up. Holding a hand down for her, he gently pulled up to stand. "I'll take the basket to the kitchens, I'm going that way anyway."

"I'll blow out the rest of the candles," she muttered, "Don't want to set the Room of Requirement on fire."

Fred smiled at her before nodding. It should have felt okay, but there was a feeling in the bottom of her stomach that told her she should do something. Fred was smiling still, but Ankaa could sense the underlying melancholy brought out by her talk of him and Ankaa.

Looking up at the fake stars, Ankaa smiled, "Not a bad first date, Weasley. This is going to be hard to top. Got a second date in mind?"

Fred looked sideways at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Don't underestimate me, sunshine, I've always got tricks up my sleeve." He said. He blinked then as if he had just registered and processed what Ankaa had actually said to him. Slowly, he repeated, "You want a second date?"

Ankaa looked at him, noting how bright it was inside even with no lights on. The white light from the fake stars did just enough to illuminate the room. Ankaa could see Fred's expression clearly. He looked so nervous, but happy at the same time. Ankaa wasn't sure if it was the ambience of the room or the fact that for the last few hours, Fred had been the only thing on her mind. All she could think when she looked at Fred, was that he was the single most amazing thing that had happened to her.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, stepping closer to him slowly.

Fred nodded.

Ankaa took a moment to phrase her question properly. "Why did you back out? I mean, after winning the duel. You didn't kiss me."

Fred's hand came up automatically, brushing away the same strand of hair that was always in her face. "I told you, I don't want to force you. I'll wait until you want to kiss me, not because I cheated—which I didn't, but whatever makes you feel better—to win a duel. I'll wait."

"What if you don't need to wait?" whispered Ankaa. Her trembling hands reached out for Fred's sweater and she grasped the soft material gingerly in her hands. Looking up at him, she spoke softly, "What if I want to kiss you?"

Fred stared at her for a moment, wide-eyed and surprised. Ankaa wondered if she had misinterpreted the signs. Maybe he didn't want to kiss her after all.

But it was too late, and Ankaa wasn't about to back out now.

One of her hands reached for his Gryffindor tie, and she gently tugged at it, so that he would lean down towards her. She tip-toed and met him halfway. Ankaa paused just before their lips brushed one another, giving him the chance to back out if he wanted to.

He didn't.

Fred's arm came around and wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer so that she was pressed flush against him. He could feel his heart beating wildly, could hear it pounding in his ears as his lips finally, finally, descended upon hers. The first brush of their lips was gentle, and exploratory, as they relished in the feel of one another. While it may have been soft and sweet, there was nothing hesitant about their first kiss. Ankaa pulled herself as close to him as she could, relishing in the fact that she was kissing Fred Weasley.

After their first, small, slow kiss the couple pulled away.

Fred noticed Ankaa's eyes were still closed, and she was smiling a soft, gentle smile. The two of them looked to the ceiling, where a branch of mistletoe descended and stopped right above their heads. They both looked away from the flower, and to each other.

"I love this room," sighed Ankaa, narrowing her eyes at the mistletoe, "but it really needs to learn the word 'subtle'."

Laughing, they both came together once again, this time with unbridled fervour. Fred's arms came away from Ankaa's waist, and his hands were on either side of her face, pulling her closer as if she would disappear if he wasn't holding her tight enough. His hands then moved to her waist once more, to pull her up slightly, and his fingers pressing into her skin as if he was trying to leave a mark on her.

Ankaa had her arms wrapped around his neck, a hand tangled in his hair. Ankaa felt as if she was feeling everything in overdrive. She was trying to make sense of everything she was feeling, but she was overwhelmed by the feel of Fred's surprisingly soft lips on her own.

He tasted like chocolate pudding, and that only made her want to delve deeper.

When they broke apart, breathing heavily, neither of them moved away from the other. Foreheads pressed together, they shared a breathless chuckle, both equally as elated to finally have their first kiss together.

"Not a bad first date then?" asked Fred, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, lingering there.

"Not bad at all," hummed Ankaa, turning her head to press a soft kiss against his lips. "I have high expectations for our next date."

By the time she made it to the Common Room later that night, everyone had wrapped up and gone to bed already. Ankaa knew she would hear it from Draco the next day, but she really wasn't concerned with that at the moment. The entire walk down to the Slytherin Dormitories, she had been smiling in glee, her mind replaying the kiss over and over again.

Ankaa didn't really get much sleep that night either. Her thoughts were far too preoccupied with a certain Weasley. As Ankaa lay there in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, she wished she was back in the Room of Requirement, under the pseudo-stars with Fred.

For the first time in a long while, it seemed like everything would be alright.

Notes:

Review!