Upon her arrival in London, Vanessa proceeded to Apparate to her aunt's home in Paris. She had only been there once before but wanted to make the most of her time. She had missed her mother dearly but was happy that she seemed to be doing so well.

"I've missed you so much, Vanessa. You look beautiful. I love what you've done with your hair. Tell me, how has school been?"

"Dreadful. The Ministry has sent this toad of a woman to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, though she believes that we don't need to learn defensive spells as no one is going to attack us. Other than that, I'm just getting ready for my N.E.W.T.s."

"And how are George and Fred doing?"

"Their father was attacked last night. I haven't talked to them since it happened. Honestly, I haven't talked to them much at all this year."

She proceeded to tell her mother about helping the Order of the Phoenix and her involvement in Dumbledore's Army. Finally, she told her about needing to leave earlier than she had planned so that she could be with the Order.

Thankfully her mother understood. Along with her aunt, they spent the next week exploring the city, eating at various restaurants, and even visiting the French Ministry of Magic, where her aunt worked.

Upon the last night of her stay, they had dinner at the house together and exchanged Christmas presents early.

Every year for Christmas, Vanessa and Cedric would always take a new picture to give their mother. This year would be the final time it would happen. She and Cedric had taken a picture together shortly before the third task in the tournament, one she would cherish for the rest of her life.

Upon opening the gift, her mother had started to cry. "Sweetheart, when did you do this?"

"Last school year, we wanted to get it done early. I had no idea it would be the last one we would take together." She gave her mother a long hug before turning to open her present, a beautiful silver necklace with emeralds and black diamonds.

"Mum, this is beautiful."

"I saw it and thought of you, my little Slytherin."

After her aunt went to bed for the evening, Vanessa and her mother stayed up until the early hours of the morning, talking and enjoying their time together. Their lives had changed so much since Cedric's death. They both missed each other but knew they were both doing the right thing for their individual lives.

Vanessa left after a huge breakfast the next morning, promising her mother she would try to make it back during the summer holiday. She wanted to spend more time in the city and see more of the sights.

Paris disappeared behind her as she Disapparated to Grimmauld Place. It looked just as it had the last time she had been there. A shabby home, hidden from Muggle eyes. She tapped her wand to the door and unlocked it.

She left her trunk near the door and took off to see who was there. She knew the Weasleys would most likely be at St. Mungo's still.

Entering the kitchen, she found Sirius, Remus, and Tonks all sitting around the table, talking amongst themselves.

"Vanessa, how nice to see you. I didn't know you would be joining us," Remus said.

"I had promised my Mum I would visit her, so I spent a week with her and my aunt in Paris. Dumbledore told me that I should be here for the holiday, though. Safer to be with the Order and all."

"Well, you're free to take the room you stayed in over the summer. No one is using it," Sirius added. "The Weasleys should be back soon. They went to visit Arthur."

"Is he doing better?"

"Much better. He'll have to stay for a bit longer, but he's slowly getting back to his old self. Moody will also be by later for dinner."

She proceeded to tell the three of them of her progress at the school and the cryptic warning from Draco that she couldn't shake.

"That cousin of mine is a tosser, from what I hear. I don't know if I would listen to him," said Tonks.

"Wait, Draco is your cousin?"

"Yeah, his mum, Narcissa, is my aunt. My Mum's sister. They also have a sister called Bellatrix. She's currently locked up in Azkaban. Tortured the Longbottoms during the first war, with her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr, and Rodolphus' brother Rabastan."

"Bellatrix Lestrange? I've heard of her. One of the worst Death Eaters there was. And the Longbottoms? You don't mean Neville's parents."

"Yes, Neville's parents. That's why he lives with his grandmother, but you must not mention it," Remus said.

"Don't hold the sins of our family against us though," Sirius spoke. When he saw the confused look on Vanessa's face, he proceeded. "Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa are my cousins. You'll find most pureblood families are interconnected at some point."

They continued to talk about the Black family tree and other families they were tied to. Sirius had shown her the family tree when she went upstairs to bring her trunk into her room.

She spent the rest of the afternoon talking and getting to know Tonks, who had told her so many stories about her time at Hogwarts with Charlie.

Vanessa asked Tonks if Charlie had come back to be with his father and spend the holidays with his family. Tonks had told her Charlie had sent his regards but was too busy with things at work and with the Order to make it back.

When the Weasleys had arrived home later that night, the twins were surprised but very happy to see her. George wrapped her in his arms for the deepest hug he had ever given her.

"I've missed you," he said under his breath.

"I've missed you too." She heard the huffing noise over his shoulder and saw Fred standing behind George. "I missed you too, Freddie," she said, pulling away from George to hug his twin.

"Hey, I know I never apologize for that bludger to the arm," George started, "but I was only aiming for Pucey."

"Adrian is just a friend, George."

She and George shared her bed again that night and every night for the remainder of the holidays. She had missed having his body lying next to hers, his warm arms holding her every night as she fell asleep. Sometimes they would stay up for hours, talking about anything and everything or just laying in each other's arms.

When Christmas morning arrived, they both had presents on the nightstand. Fred and George had gifted her with a new quill and pot of ink, while she gave them each an assortment of products from Zonko's Joke Shop and sweets from Honeydukes.

"Shopping at Zonko's? Couldn't wait till we opened up shop?"

"Figured you could use some of it to cause a little mischief. It's been a little too quiet at school."

"Freddie and I have something up our sleeve, don't you worry."

The two got ready and headed down to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley had prepared a delicious Christmas breakfast. Kreacher was back to spewing his hate, and Sirius told him to leave the kitchen. The elf wasn't seen by anyone for the remainder of the holidays.

They all opened their gifts. Hermione had gotten her a book on dragons, and Mrs. Weasley had knitted her a Weasley family sweater, as she had every Christmas for most of her life. She put hers on immediately, always feeling a sense of belonging when she wore it.

Mr. Weasley returned to Grimmauld Place toward the end of the holiday break, much to the relief of his family and the rest of the Order.

Vanessa didn't want to think about returning to school, about having to continue with the facade that she wasn't friends with the Weasleys or Hermione and Harry.

"Do you know how many times we passed under the mistletoe while we've been here?"

"Several times, and I think my dear twin brother is to blame for that." George looked down into her eyes as they were lying in bed that night. "I want to wait to kiss you though, until all this pretending to not be in each other's lives is over."

"But you do want to kiss me?"

"I want to do that and so much more."

"Do you remember in Potions class last school year, when we were studying Amortentia, I never told you what the third thing I smelled was. It was the Burrow. The first place I met you, and the first place I knew I had feelings for you."

"Well, I'm sure you already knew the things I smelled reminded me of you."

"I did. How long have you felt like this, George?"

"Since our fourth year. You were so good trying to help Ginny when none of us knew what was going on with her. And then she was taken into the Chamber, and you were there for us. I don't know how to explain it. I just saw you in a whole different light and knew that my feelings were more than that of friendship. What about you?"

"Fifth year, Christmas holidays. My father and I had gotten into a row about something before we came over, and I wasn't exactly in the Christmas spirit after that. But you found a way to cheer me up and make me smile. And then the two of us just sat in the garden for a while watching the gnomes running around in the snow before we went inside for dinner."

"If I'm being honest, Fred would have gone out with me, but I told him not to."

She smiled, laying her head on his chest once again, as he kissed the top of her head. Until that day came, they would both imagine what it would be like to be with one another finally.

Everyone was packed and ready to go the next morning. Moody had told Vanessa to take off to King's Cross before the rest of them to not raise suspicion by being seen with the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry.

When she arrived at Platform 9 ¾, she was immediately greeted by Adrian, who had arrived shortly before her. The two talked about their holidays, though Vanessa bent the truth and said she had been with her mother the entire time. When the steam engine whistled, she made her way to the Head's compartment and found Roger Davies already there. The two met with the Prefects and gave them their assignments before heading back into their compartment.

She and Roger talked about their plans for the rest of the school year and their excitement for the remainder of the Quidditch season. Unfortunately for Vanessa, it didn't look like Slytherin would be getting the Quidditch Cup this year. Even with the twins and Harry off the Gryffindor team, they were still performing well.

Upon returning to Hogwarts, Vanessa put all her time and energy into studying for her upcoming N.E.W.T.s. She was determined to receive an O in all of her classes, just as she had done when she took her O.W.L.s. Unfortunately for her professors, having Umbridge evaluating them was not helping during classes. She was regularly interrupting the professors, which was annoying for both the professors and students.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was proving to be a worse class than Divination. They were still not using spells, only learning about defensive magic. Umbridge would reiterate over and over again that they did not need to defend themselves against something that wasn't there. With the mass breakout of ten high-security Death Eaters from Azkaban, most agreed that they should be learning to protect themselves. A war was coming, but the Ministry did not want to admit it.

Vanessa, determined to win the next Quidditch game against Hufflepuff, forced the team to practice long hours. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be performing better, though the two only wanted to hurt people and didn't necessarily care about the outcome of the match.

She continued to attend Dumbledore's Army meetings when they were held, much to the annoyance of several other members who had still not forgiven her for the events that happened during the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match. She ignored them all. She was there to learn and to support Harry and the rest of her friends.

Vanessa had assisted Harry in teaching everyone to cast a Patronus charm. She had learned about them several years before and had already been able to conjure one. Thinking of her happiest memories, she was able to conjure her Patronus. The badger scurried around the room, along with several other silver animals other D.A. members had conjured.

When February came around, Adrian had invited her to join him in Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day. She had politely turned him down.

"It's nothing personal, Adrian. I do enjoy spending time with you. I'm just so busy with everything."

"Well, maybe another time then?"

"Of course."

While the rest of the happy couples of Hogwarts took off to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day, Vanessa spent most of the day locked up in her room. She finished the pile of homework she had and read ahead for some of her classes. By the time she finally finished with everything, it was already well past lunchtime. Having not eaten since dinner the night before, she left her room and took off to the kitchens.

The entrance hall was practically empty, except for a few stragglers heading off to the village. She took the staircase down to the kitchens and tickled the pear in the painting of a bowl of fruit. When the pear laughed and the green doorknob appeared, she made her way into the kitchen.

Part of her always felt a bit guilty for going to the kitchens. Hermione had started S.P.E.W., The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, the year before. She wanted to make a difference in the welfare and wellbeing of the house-elves. The house-elves of Hogwarts, however, seemed perfectly content with their lives.

"Miss Vanessa. A pleasure to see you again."

Vanessa looked down and smiled at the house-elf. He had been covered in various articles of clothing, most likely from Hermione.

"Hello, Dobby. How are you?"

"I am doing well, Miss Vanessa. Can Dobby fix you a sandwich?"

"Yes, please, and I could use a Butterbeer too."

"Make that two Butterbeers, Dobby."

Vanessa turned around to see George standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Right away, Mr. Weasley." Dobby hurried away, pushing several other house-elves out of his way as he went.

"I didn't think I would see you today."

"Well, I was up in Gryffindor tower alone and fancied something sweet. So I decided to come down here. Now I'm glad I did."

"Where's Fred?"

"He and Angelina went to Hogsmeade together. Probably snogging each other's faces off right now."

Vanessa sat down at one of the long tables, and George walked over to sit next to her. Dobby arrived a moment later, carrying a tray of sandwiches, two Butterbeers, and several heart-shaped cookies.

"Don't tell the rest of them I gave you those. They are for the feast tonight."

"Thanks, Dobby," they said together.

Vanessa picked up one of the sandwiches and ate it quickly.

"Someone's hungry."

"I haven't eaten since last night. I finished all my homework this morning, and before I knew it, I missed lunch. So that's why I came down here."

"Didn't have a date with Pucey today?"

"He did ask me, but I turned him down."

George grinned before taking a sip of his Butterbeer. "Lucky for me then."

"Lucky for us." She picked up her Butterbeer and took a sip of it before setting it down and grabbing another sandwich. "What about you? No girls asked you out today?"

"Oh loads, I turned down so many girls." He grabbed one of the cookies off the plate and ate it.

"Trying to make me jealous?"

"Is it working?"

"Maybe."

"Because every time I see you with Pucey, I want to smack a bludger in his direction."

"No more hitting anyone with bludgers."

George wrapped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him before kissing the top of her head.

"Can't we just stay down here for the rest of the school year?"

"Classes, Georgie."

"Who needs them? Besides, you could probably not take your N.E.W.T.s and still be at the top of the class."

"You know I couldn't do that. We've only got a few more months. Then we can put this all behind us and finally be together."

"Really?"

"I mean unless you don't want to."

"Shut up, Nessa. You know I want that more than anything."

They spent the next few hours in the solitude of the kitchen. Several house-elves came up to them, asking if they wanted anything else, but they were perfectly content. They had eaten everything off their tray and had several glasses of Butterbeer before they realized how late it was getting. George left first, and Vanessa followed after him several minutes later. Students had slowly started to trickle in from their trip to Hogsmeade. Vanessa went straight back to her room, not needing to go to the feast that evening.

A week later, an article had been printed in the Quibbler, where Harry told his story of the night Lord Voldemort returned. In her usual fashion, Umbridge passed a decree to ban the publication from the school. She also banned Harry from visiting Hogsmeade in the future. Vanessa showed her support for the High Inquisitor, still wanting to stay in her good graces. She started to visit Umbridge for tea when the older woman permitted her. Those times made Vanessa so uncomfortable, but she had to remind herself that she was doing this for the greater good.

After countless Quidditch practices, it finally came time for Slytherin to take on Hufflepuff. Vanessa was looking forward to shutting up Zacharias Smith, who had been the most annoying part about attending the D.A. meetings. She had scored more goals in that game than she had in a long time, and the team seemed to be on their game, but Hufflepuff beat them by ten points.

In her annoyance at the loss, she proceeded to yell at her team once again. Even if they beat Ravenclaw in their next match, there was no way they would win the House Cup. Most of the team cleared out after that, not wanting to get yelled at anymore. Draco, however, lagged behind.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"She's getting close to figuring out your little secret. She doesn't suspect your involvement, of course, but she believes there is a secret society meeting against her direct orders."

"Are you going on about this again?"

"Look, I know you said you don't trust me, and that's fine. But I'm just looking out for you. Despite what you might think about me, you're one of the few people I like and respect around here."

Vanessa let out a laugh that startled Draco. "Sure, Draco."

"I saw you with one of the Weasley twins on Valentine's Day. You left the kitchen separately, but I knew you were together."

She had her wand out and pointed at Draco so fast, and the younger Slytherin had no time to respond.

"Are you spying on me for her? Is that what this is, Draco?"

"No, I'm just trying to warn you. If I saw you, who knows who else could have seen you. Just listen to me, please."

"I'm done listening to you, Draco." She lowered her wand and placed it in her pocket. She grabbed the rest of her things and walked past him, not giving him a second thought as she made her way back to the castle.

When Vanessa saw Hermione patrolling the corridors one night, she mentioned Draco's warning to her. Like Vanessa, Hermione knew that Draco couldn't be trusted, but she found it rather curious that he had stopped her twice with the same warning.

As February turned into March, Umbridge's reign of terror continued. Everyone knew what a horrible woman she was. She had caused permanent scarring on the back of Harry's hand in detention, thanks to her special quill. But it wasn't only the students that were dealing with the horror that was Dolores Umbridge.

There was a commotion in the entrance hall, causing students and teachers alike to see what was going on. Umbridge and Professor Trelawney stood in the middle of the crowd. Trelawney was sobbing.

"You are no longer a Professor at this school. Now, please, see yourself out before you make more of a disturbance than you already have."

"Hogwarts is my home. It has been my home for sixteen years."

"That is no longer the case. Now please, before I have to force you out myself."

"That won't be necessary, Dolores."

The crowd turned to see Dumbledore, who seemed to come out of nowhere. Much to Umbridge's displeasure, Dumbledore had allowed Trelawney to stay at the school, even if she would no longer be teaching. With the help of McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick, they made their way back up to the tower Trelawney's living quarters were in.

Dumbledore's overruling of Umbridge continued when he hired the Centaur, Firenze, to take over as Divinations professor. Most of the female students seemed pleased by this, as the Centaur was rather good looking. Umbridge had made her opinions on the Centaur known. She believed half-breeds were beneath her.

April arrived, and everything seemed back to normal, or as normal as it could be, with Umbridge making everyone's lives miserable. Vanessa spent more time studying for the upcoming N.E.W.T.s and trying to avoid Draco at every turn. He continued to find ways to corner her in the halls and warn her about Umbridge.

Slytherin had beaten Ravenclaw in their final game of the season, but it wasn't enough to advance them to the finals for the house cup against Gryffindor. While she was disappointed, she knew that she had played her best that year, and she did as much as she could with the team she had. Professional Quidditch wasn't in her future, but her last match at Hogwarts was nostalgic for her.

After the game, when all the students and professors had gone back to the school, she walked out onto the middle of the pitch. She looked around and took it all in. After a few moments and one last look around, she smiled and walked off through the tunnel for the last time, and headed back to the school.