Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. Astrid's mine. Yes, yes she is. *mumble*retard*mumble* I'm not a retard. Fine. Fucktard then. Hey that's my word. Priorities anyone? Anyway, this is the ever wonderful saint of a beta, Natalie. Italics denote our lovely authoress. Give Shakespeare some credit. Oh yeah, Billy boy owns the poem. I'm getting him tattooed on my ass. Cool. Now, here's the chapter. We're going to watch Buffy, because we're weird. That needs to be in italics. Actually it's cause I've determined that Zandra needs to get all of the Buffy references I provide. We need a fluff warning too. Sigh.
Caution: Fluff ahead. Have toothpaste and mouthwash on hand to prevent cavities. That's good. Now give them the chapter."Fred, you must be kidding me! It's February! We'll freeze!" Hermione screeched when Fred pulled her to a stop just in front of the door to the roof.
"Hermione, I might not be as smart as you, but I'm not completely stupid," Fred insisted. "Will you just trust me?" He looked at his girlfriend with pleading blue eyes. "Besides, George and Katie are going to their spot and no one else knows about this place, so we won't be found. No interruptions." He raised both eyebrows at her suggestively.
"Okay," Hermione finally relented. She took Fred's hand and allowed herself to be led through the door leading to the ladder o the roof.
"You're going to love your present I think," Fred said, as he opened a door at the top of the stairs. "Now if you could jut close your eyes."
"No roof?" Hermione asked as Fred led her into the room.
"Are you kidding? It's February! We'd freeze!" Fred shrieked. Hermione tried to smack him playfully on his arm. As her eyes were closed, she only managed to brush his side. Fred stopped in the center of the room and dropped Hermione's hand.
"Fred?" Hermione asked nervously.
"Just a minute babe, I'm making a few last minute adjustments," Fred said. Hermione visibly relaxed. She felt her carefully chosen purple Weasley sweater and khaki pants morphing.
"Fred?" she asked, panic edging into her voice.
"Your outfit won't work for tonight's activities," Fred explained.
"And yours will?" Hermione questioned. Fred had donned his school robes especially for the event.
"I'm changing mine too, doll," Fred assured her. At no point did Hermione feel naked, which made her considerably more comfortable with the situation.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" she asked.
"Two more seconds," Fred insisted.
"One," Hermione began counted.
"Done!" Fred cried, before she could reach two. Hermione slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. Fred had put a hardwood floor into the attic, and turned three of the walls white. The fourth wall was covered in mirrors. Fred stood in the center of the floor dressed in a pair of semi tight black dress pants and a blue button down shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled to just above his elbows and the shirt was unbuttoned to about halfway down his slim chest over a white tank top. He was barefooted and held five long stem red roses in his right hand. His hair was gelled into slightly messy spikes all over his head. Hermione glanced at her outfit in one of the mirrors. She wore a black dress, made of a shimmering silken material. The dress was strapless, hugging her torso tightly. The skirt flared out at the waist and stopped just above her bare feet. The dress was studded with sequins in random places. Her hair had been gathered into a ponytail with curls cascading from the elastic and two or three down framing her face.
"It's gorgeous, Fred," Hermione gushed, spinning around. The skirt of the dress flared out as Hermione spun. "But why do I need to be dressed up?" Fred closed the space between himself and Hermione. He held out the roses.
"One for every month we've been together," Fred explained as Hermione smelled the roses. Hermione carefully placed the roses in a vase she conjured and sat it safely against the wall.
"So why do I need to be dressed up?" Hermione asked, returning to Fred in the center of the room.
"It's for the rest of the present. I figured it would be more fun if we were dressed up," Fred explained.
"What's the present?" Hermione asked, looking up innocently at Fred.
"Maybe I should just show you," Fred suggested.
"That would be nice," Hermione urged, smoothing her hands over the skirt of her dress. Fred pointed his wand at the ceiling and muttered a quick spell. The room was bathed in an almost tangible silence for about three full seconds. Fred clasped Hermione's hands in his and moved their joined hands to almost chest level. The sound of brassy trumpets, blaring trombones, hot saxes and a steady drumbeat rushed down from the ceiling.
"What the?" came the only section of sentence Hermione could utter before Fred let go of her right hand and flung her into a wild spin. Just when she thought she would surely careen into the wall, Fred pulled her back to him. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head when she returned to his arms. Then he held their respective right and left hands out to their sides, while his left hand snaked down and rested on the small of Hermione's back. Hermione curved her arm around Fred's shoulders, resting it lightly on the back of his neck. They moved in time to the fast music for a few moments before Fred swung Hermione into several more crazy spins before pulling her close to his chest once more.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Hermione gasped.
"Leah and I have been having dancing lessons for months. As it turns out, she's a quite good teacher," Fred insisted. Just then, his bare toes made contact with Hermione's.
"Not that good," Hermione winced.
"That's why we're barefooted," Fred explained. "I'm still not great."
"But you've improved," Hermione agreed. The music began to wind down. Fred took the opportunity to spin Hermione twice more before dropping her into a perfect dip, ending with a sound kiss on her lips. As the last beats of the song wound down, Fred pulled Hermione back to standing.
"What did you think?" he asked. She pressed another kiss to his lips.
"You're fantastic!" she said, not moving her lips from his.
"Would you like to have food now, or dance a little more?" Fred asked.
"Let's dance," Hermione said, curling against Fred's chest. Fred muttered a spell towards the ceiling. The entire roof turned transparent and Hermione and Fred began their second dance amid silvery stars.
*****
"So," said Ron, looking at the girl seated across the blanket from him. Her face shone in the uneven light of the two candles on the blanket between them.
"So," Mandy echoed, sounding equally nervous. Ron picked up his sandwich and took a bite. A bit of strawberry jelly cascaded onto his chin.
"What kind of sandwich is that?" Mandy asked, touching her chin in the exact spot the jelly rested on Ron's.
"Jelly, banana and cheese," Ron admitted. His quick pink tongue flipped out and removed the jelly from his chin. Mandy looked warily at the sandwich in front of her.
"Don't worry, yours is plain peanut butter and grape jelly. I didn't think you were ready for the delicacy that is jelly, banana and cheese," Ron explained. He took another bite of his sandwich. Mandy took a dainty bite of her own sandwich.
"How exactly did you decide to put those three things together on a sandwich?" she asked. Ron swallowed his sandwich and washed it down with a sip of butter beer.
"Harry, actually," Ron admitted. "When he was younger, he discovered he could eat jelly, bananas, cheese and bread without his aunt and uncle noticing him stealing food. The easiest way to eat those four things is in sandwich form, so that's how these came to be. He introduced me and Hermione to them and they're actually really good." Mandy nodded and took another bite of her sandwich.
"And besides," Ron rambled. "They're one of the two things I know how to make."
"What is the other?" Mandy ventured to ask. Ron instantly turned he shade of red he was most famous for.
"Peanut butter and jelly," He admitted, mumbling slightly. He popped the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth.
"Aww," Mandy gushed, "you made all of this yourself!" Ron's face closely resembled a giant tomato.
"Yes," he said, looking towards the blanket. He quietly picked at a string on the edge of the material.
"How sweet!" Mandy said through another bite of her sandwich. A bit of uncomfortable silence followed. Ron fidgeted with the string until it broke off. Then he began compulsively smoothing his clothes. Hermione and Hannah had taken great pride and several hours in picking out an outfit suitable for the occasion. They had finally settled on a pair of heather grey dress pants borrowed from Dean, a black undershirt taken from Harry's closet and a button down shirt Hermione had literally talked Kyle Burns out of in the common room a few days earlier.
"It looks maroon," Ron had insisted when Hermione presented him with the shirt just after removing it from Kyle.
"Burgundy Ron, burgundy," Hermione had argued. "See the red undertones? There are definite red undertones and that makes it burgundy. Maroon would have brown undertones." Ron had finally accepted the shirt and launched on a string of complaints about how all of his clothes were borrowed. Sawyer had immediately peeled the socks off of his own feet and tossed them at the fifth year. This only worsened Ron's rant, which was arguably Sawyer's intention anyway. Colin Creevey had finally silenced the older boy by offering a pair of boxers to complete the outfit.
"I have bikini briefs too," the fourth year had joked. Hermione had threatened to revoke all talking privileges for that statement.
So Ron sat there on his first real "date" with Mandy wearing an almost fully borrowed outfit. Hermione and Hannah had then proceeded to attack Mandy's closet. They had finally chosen a khaki skirt of Hannah's and a v-necked 3/4 length sleeve lavender sweater form Amanda Princeton's closet that perfectly accentuated Mandy's dark chestnut hair and violet eyes. Hannah had brushed Mandy's hair to a shining smooth perfection and clipped the front bits back with a silver barrette. Padma Patil's jewelry box provided the perfect silver earrings, small balls dangling form a think snake-like chain.
"So what's for desert?" Mandy asked, polishing off the last bite of sandwich. Ron reached for the picnic basket Dobby had provided for the occasion. He pulled out a small container and prized the top off.
"Fred taught me," Ron said, excitedly, holding the dish out to Mandy.
"Should I eat it then?" Mandy asked, looking down at the chocolate dipped strawberry in her hand and thinking of the three days in October she spent with electric blue hair.
"Oh they're perfectly fine. I watched Fred make a batch and then I made these by myself after the house-elves checked to make sure everything was just as it was supposed to be," Ron explained. He chose a strawberry and placed the container halfway between himself and Mandy. He looked around the room he had chosen, amazed at how far it had come. It had started out as a dusty cavernous room that smelled faintly of dog. Ron and an army of first years armed with cleaning charms attacked the room for the better art of a Saturday. Now Fluffy's old lair was a clean cheery room with candles lining the walls. Thanks to a rather nifty charm by Astrid, the entire room smelled like vanilla. She had muttered something about the smell of puppy entrails the entire time she had worked the charm. Hermione had charmed the ceiling to look like a star-filled summer sky. Ron simply hoped Mandy didn't venture into the far left corner of the space. Harry, Jason and Sawyer had charmed a patch of the floor, about twice the size of a king-sized bed to have the consistency of a mattress. The trio refused to tell Ron how to fix the problem and blackmailed Hermione and Ginny into silence. Mandy reached for another strawberry. Ron stretched out on his back. He laced his fingers together underneath his head and stared off at the ceiling. Mandy polished off her strawberry and carefully moved to the other side of the candles. She stretched out next to Ron and pillowed her head carefully on the upper part of his right arm.
*****
"Do you think Ron and Mandy's conversation has gone to Quidditch yet?" Hannah asked, glancing over her shoulder at Harry. She tucked a stray blonde lock behind her ear. Harry wrapped his arms tighter around her and pulled her closer to his chest, blowing her hair out of his mouth at the same time.
"I was thinking maybe we should check the rosebushes," Harry laughed.
"Do you think he'll make it official tonight?" Hannah asked.
"If he doesn't and they snog again, I'm not sure I can handle another two months like the last two," Harry joked. "But I sat him down and gave him a speech about how if he would make things official with her, they could snog whenever they wanted."
"Within reason," Hannah amended.
"Within reason," Harry agreed. "Do you want another s'more?"
"No thanks, two is my limit," Hannah insisted. Harry carefully stood up from his position behind his girlfriend and made his way over to the fire he had started on the bank of the lake. The pair had been sitting in "their spot" for the past hour. The fire shone brightly out onto the lake and made the cold February night bearable. Harry had made s'mores for dinner.
"Your present should be here soon, Harry commented as he roasted a marshmallow over the fire.
"My present?" Hannah asked.
"Yes," Harry said. He carefully smashed the marshmallow between two graham crackers lined with half of a chocolate bar. Three bites later, the makeshift cookie sandwich was gone and Harry's lips were coated with melted chocolate.
"Come here," Hannah instructed. Harry sank onto the blanket next to his girlfriend. She immediately busied herself with cleaning his lips thoroughly with her own. Moments later, a sharp cough sounded from behind the pair. Harry quickly pulled away from Hannah and turned to look at the intruders. Three first years stood just behind the blanket. Two were wearing bright pink robes and large fluffy wings. Wreaths of heart shaped tinsel rested in their hair. They flanked a third first year wearing identical angel wings and not much else save a large nappy fashioned out of a fluffy white towel. The center cupid had a quiver full of heart-tipped arrows slung across his back and carried a bow. The cupid to his right held a dozen red roses while the cupid to the left held a small box wrapped in shiny red and pink paper.
"What are you lot doing?" Hannah asked, taking in the sight of the oddly dressed trio.
"We are your Valentine's Day cupids," The center cupid announced. "We are here bearing gifts and a poem."
"Sawyer, you're going to die!" Hannah shrieked.
"No, I'll be fine," Sawyer insisted "Astrid put a warming spell on the nappy before I came out here."
"Why, may I ask, are you wearing a nappy anyway?" Hannah questioned. Sawyer tugged the nappy back onto his narrow hips and shrugged so the wings readjusted themselves on his shoulders.
"Harry wanted cupids and cupids wear nappies," Sawyer explained.
"The poem?" Jason reminded Sawyer.
"Oh, right," Sawyer laughed. He shoved a hand down the front of his nappy and pulled out a crumpled scrap of parchment.
"SAWYER!" Chelsea and Jason chorused.
"It was between the nappy and my boxers! Where else was I supposed to keep it?" He asked. He flattened the parchment as best he could and held it out in front of him. Chelsea and Jason stepped closer to him. Sawyer cleared his throat rather obnoxiously and the entire trio began to read.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee
"So did you catch all of that?" Sawyer asked as soon as they finished reading. Chelsea and Jason stepped forward. Jason held out the roses while Chelsea slipped the small gift into Hannah's hands. Sawyer deposited the poem back into his nappy.
"Yes," Hannah said. She turned to Harry and dropped a kiss on his cheek.
"Open your present!" Chelsea squealed. Hannah looked over to Harry. Harry nodded at her, so Hannah placed the roses carefully on the blanket and peeled the wrapping off of the small box. She carefully opened the lid and lifted out a thin silver chain. Dangling from the bottom of the chain was the outline of a silver heart. The chain ran through the heart, causing it to dangle at an angle from the chain.
"Harry, it's gorgeous!" Hannah exclaimed. Harry took the necklace from her hands and positioned himself behind her. Hannah picked her blonde hair up off of the back of her neck and Harry clasped the necklace on her.
"Beautiful!" Chelsea gushed.
"Guys, my nappy is starting to cool off!" Sawyer announced.
"Really?" Jason asked.
"No, but I think it's time we make an exit," Sawyer laughed. "Now come on." He turned on his heel and scampered back towards the castle, normal running made impossible by his large nappy. Chelsea shrugged at Jason and the pair followed Sawyer.
"How much did you have to pay them?" Hannah asked, watching the first years disappear in the distance.
"They bet Hufflepuff would win the Hufflepuff/Slytherin match," Harry shrugged. "It was a galleon for each of them if I lost, and them doing that if I won."
"You bet against us?" Hannah asked, looking properly appalled.
"I had to take my chance. You have to admit, seeing Sawyer in a diaper was well worth it," Harry said. "Although he actually came up with that on his own." Hannah laughed and shook her head. She reached up and touched her necklace lightly.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," Harry replied, leaning in for a kiss.
*****
"I'm tired," Hermione announced. Another song had just ended. Hermione curled against Fred's chest and rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
"Me too. I think we've officially danced the night away," he said. Hermione smiled up at her boyfriend and kissed the remnants of a chocolate dipped strawberry away from the corner of Fred's mouth.
"I wonder if your brother has made it official with Mandy yet," Hermione laughed.
"I wonder if Lee has," Fred began. "Wait. I can't say that in case he chickened out."
"What was Lee planning for Marissa?" Hermione asked, nudging her boyfriend with two fingers in his sides.
"I really can't tell. If you want to go back to the common room, we can sit by the fire and watch all of the couples come in and laugh at the really single people and Ron," Fred suggested.
"Sounds good," Hermione said. "I am a prefect after all. I'll run the first years to their dorms."
"Perfect," Fred laughed. He picked up Hermione's roses and led her out of the dance studio.
*****
"Mandy?" Ron asked. He placed his left hand on her right hip and used his right forearm to prop himself up above the girl.
"Yes?" Mandy asked, She brushed her hair back from her face and then reached up and brushed her hand down the line of Ron's jaw bone.
" I've been thinking," Ron began.
"Okay," Mandy said. She tried to pull his face back to hers.
"Well," Ron tried again.
"How about I make this easy on you?" Mandy said.
"What?" Ron asked. He brushed over her hair with his right thumb.
"How about we make this official so we can do this whenever we want," Mandy suggested. Ron leaned in for another kiss. When he pulled away, he flashed a devilish smile at his new girlfriend.
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
*****
"Heya Dray," Astrid said. She pushed aside one of the curtains and walked over to the edge of her brother's bed. She looked carefully at the lifeless form in front of her before climbing up onto the stool Madame Pomfrey had taken to leaving next to Draco's bed for Emma and Astrid. Draco hadn't changed much since the first time she had come to see him. The blood vomiting had stopped, but he was still as unconscious, and his arm was still incased in the cast. Astrid reached over and pushed a piece of hair back from her oldest brother's face.
"How are you?" Astrid asked, knowing she wouldn't get a response. "I wish you could see me right now. My left eye is blue and purple. Madame Pomfrey wanted to heal me, but I decided it could wait until Ron and Harry saw. Hermione will heal it for me." She smoothed her robes over her knees and looked down on her brother.
"I've got detention next week with McGonagall. For the fight. She was not happy, and now none of my dorm mates are really my biggest fans. Jason and Sawyer and Dennis still speak to me. And Nathan and Chelsea. Of course, Nathan is still sort of scared of me. He's actually the one who ran and got McGonagall and Dumbledore when Chelsea and Sawyer and he and Jason found you. But Chelsea, Jason and Sawyer are really the ones who saved you. That really makes me laugh. Chelsea and Sawyer are both muggle born and they saved your life." She reached down and adjusted another piece of Draco's hair.
"I bet you want to know why I got in a fight. Well. It happened today just before dinner."
&&&&&
"I think Sawyer has a crush on me!" Hailey Johnson cried, leaning into the circle created by her two best friends, Karey Finnegan and Madeline O'Conner.
"Did you get a Valentine from him?" Karey asked, examining her polished nails with an air of superiority.
"And what happened to your crush on Seamus?" Madeline questioned.
"Sawyer is just something to do while I wait for Seamus to realize what he's missing," Hailey explained confidently.
"Valentine?" Karey asked again.
"Not yet, but the night is still young," Hailey replied.
"What about Astrid?" Madeline asked. "It seems as though she fancies Sawyer or Jason. After all, she does hang out with them all of the time."
"Well in that case she also fancies Dennis Creevey, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and both Weasley twins. Three of those five have girlfriends. She can't have all of the guys in Gryffindor tower," Hailey laughed.
"So she's standing between you and the best looking boy in our year," Karey began. A mischievously evil look fell over her very Seamus-like features.
"What are you thinking?" Madeline asked warily.
"Do you really think Sawyer is the best looking boy in our year?" Hailey asked.
"For right now, yes, but if Keiran Malfoy turns out like his older brother, then I will date him sometime before we graduate," Karey said.
"Just like his older brother?" Hailey asked, raising an eyebrow at the ringleader of the little group.
"Okay. Like his brother right up to the point where he decides to play potions master only botches up his own suicide so badly that its pathetic rather than tragic," Karey laughed.
"Tragic?" Madeline asked.
"Any day a guy that fine decides to die is tragic. It becomes pathetic when he doesn't manage it, risking his popularity and his looks," Karey explained.
"Karey!" Madeline exclaimed.
"That's Astrid's brother you're talking about. Imagine if it was Seamus!" Hailey added.
"But Seamus isn't that stupid. Seamus isn't that gorgeous either," Karey said, She pulled at a bit of her nail polish before flipping open a magazine on the bed in front of her. Hailey lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, while Madeline buried her face in the stomach of her teddy bear.
"Karey, that's got to be the worst thing I think you've ever said," she mumbled.
"I'll say," said a cold voice from the doorway. All three girls looked to the new person in the room.
"What did you just say about my brother?" Astrid asked, taking two steps towards Madeline's bed.
"Nothing," Karey lied.
"And that's a lie," Astrid continued her slow walk towards Karey. "I heard the entire thing from the landing."
"Well it's the truth. Sawyer and Jason are just your friends because they want to get to know Harry, Ron and Hermione. How you ever got to be friends with those three is beyond me in the first place. Draco's suicide attempt was pathetic because he didn't manage it and I hear he'll never be exactly right again. Too bad because he was gorgeous," Karey said, smiling sweetly at Astrid.
"You bitch," Astrid muttered.
"What did you just call me?" Karey asked.
"I called you a bitch," Astrid said, raising her chin so she was looking down her nose at the bigger girl. Karey jumped off of the bed and closed the distance between herself and Astrid.
"I should hit you for that," Karey said, tucking a strand of sandy hair back behind her ear with her left hand. Her right hand was clenched tightly into a fist.
"You should," Astrid agreed. She formed her own hands into tiny balls and looked defiantly at Karey.
"Is that an invitation?" Karey asked. She didn't wait for Astrid to respond. Instead, she swung her fist directly at Astrid's eye. The right hook caught Astrid squarely in her left eye. The smaller girl took a few steps backwards and rubbed her rapidly reddening eye.
"Good shot, Finnegan," she muttered, willing the eye to quit watering. Karey tried to discreetly shake her throbbing fist out, while turning to smile excitedly at Madeline and Hailey. The moment of distraction was all Astrid needed. She ran directly for Karey, taking her to the floor between her bed and Madeline's. She used her feet to pin Karey's legs to the floor while pinning her hands down with her knees. She clasped her hands around Karey's throat and began applying pressure.
"That's the last word I will ever hear you say about my brother," she hissed menacingly. A few tears from her swelling eye dropped onto Karey's bright red forehead.
"Astrid, you're going to kill her," Hailey cried.
"ALICIA!" Madeline screeched.
"I swear," Karey gasped. "Nothing else about Malfoy."
"Sawyer or Jason either," Astrid spat.
"Them too," Karey gasped. Before Astrid could get her next threat out, she felt herself being lifted off of Karey by the back of her robes.
"What do you think you're doing Miss Malfoy?" Alicia asked. Astrid looked at Alicia through one swollen reddish purple eye and one sparkling silver grey eye.
"She started it."
&&&&&
"So I fought Karey Finnegan because she was saying nasty things about you. Maybe I'll have Colin take a picture of my eye so I can show you when you wake up. Speaking of that, you need to hurry up and get to it." Astrid reached over and clasped her brother's fingers in her own.
"I'm just glad mum and Emma left earlier today. I doubt anyone has told you what's going on. Mum had to go back to the manor because she has news for Lucius that she had to tell him in person. She decided it was time for Emma to go back to school. I'm going to miss that kid. It's been nice having her around here to talk to. I can't wait till next year and I hope she gets these Ravenclaw tendencies out of her system." Astrid arched her back and rubbed at her swollen eye with her free hand before returning to her monologue to her unconscious brother.
"So mum has been getting sick pretty consistently every day since she's been here taking care of you. Madame Pomfrey finally made mum lie down so she could take a look at her. I was talking to Emma right after all of this transpired and Emma said Lucius has wanted an heir for quite some time. Evidently you're not fit and, well, Keiran. Yeah. So Madame Pomfrey looked at mum and Lucius wish is coming true. Maybe. We're getting another little sibling in September!" Astrid announced excitedly, though she didn't expect a reaction from Draco. Silver grey eyes flashed open and the supposedly unconscious boy coughed twice.
"What did you just say?" Draco asked.
"Dray, you're awake!" Astrid squealed.
"Yes I'm bloody awake. Now repeat what you just said," Draco commanded.
"Mum is having another baby in September," Astrid said.
"Bloody hell," Draco mumbled. "We're turning into some sort of Weasleys." Astrid drew her hand back to strike Draco on his leg. "Don't, please!" he cried, a level of emotion Astrid hadn't expected to hear in his voice. She quickly moved her hand to her own leg.
"You could probably break my leg doing that," Draco explained. "They haven't exactly figured out a way to increase my bone density back to normal yet."
"Oh," Astrid replied.
"Yes. It's rather odd. They've put a spell on me that makes me incapable of moving," Draco explained.
"Why?" Astrid asked. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and looked imploringly at her older brother.
"Well, I have no sense of touch. Meaning I don't really realize that I'm here. If I move, I risk rolling over on a leg or arm wrong, and breaking it without realizing I'm doing anything until my bone snaps," Draco explained.
"Oh man, that's horrible," Astrid said.
"Yes," Draco replied. "Thank God your friends walked in when they did though. Another minute or two of lying there and I would have died."
"I think that was the point," Astrid mumbled. Draco closed his eyes softly, silvery lashes resting on pale cheeks.
"I think so too, and whoever did this to me managed to obliviate me before I woke up. I can't remember anything from lunch that Sunday on till this morning," Draco explained.
"So they don't have a clue," Astrid said. "They were relying on your being able to tell them."
"Yes," Draco said.
"So you woke up this morning?" Astrid asked. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"I requested they didn't," Draco explained. He opened his eyes and looked up at his little sister. "I figured it would be a hell of a joke to see how long it would take you to realize I actually was awake. No fair springing news about a new sibling on me like that."
"That's absolutely horrible, Draco Malfoy. I'll punch you for it as soon as I can punch you without risking breaking you," Astrid insisted, squeezing his fingers slightly.
"I don't get to play in the Quidditch match at Beauxbatons next week," Draco said, looking down at his basically useless body.
"Do you still get to travel?" Astrid asked.
"Bone density, arm healing, blah blah blah," Draco said. "What it amounts to is that if my legs can support my weight without breaking and my arm is healing properly, then I should be able to go along and support the team."
"That's good," Astrid said.
"Go along and support bloody Gryffindors?" Draco asked. "I'll go along for the attention from hot French chicks."
"Draco Malfoy!" Astrid cried. Draco smiled sheepishly at his sister.
"What?" He asked, feigning innocence. Astrid shook her head at him.
"They're playing Sanguinis you know," she said.
"Yes," Draco replied.
"Ron was irate," Astrid laughed. "He stomped around the common room for days."
"Good to know he was concerned for my well-being," Draco muttered.
"Hey, I'll have you know that the entire team came to visit you," she said.
"Wood threatened them how much?" Draco asked. Astrid giggled slightly.
"That's completely beside the point," she insisted. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them before continuing her sentence. "He stopped just short of bodily harm."
"Figures," Draco muttered.
"Have you had any other visitors?" Astrid asked.
"Pansy was in here earlier on account of Valentines day and all," Draco said. "I can't believe I've been out for more than 14 days!"
"Yep," Astrid admitted. She reached over and brushed her brother's hair away from his face again. "How did that visit go?"
"Thanks," Draco said. "Well, I played as dead as hell and hoped my cheeks weren't too pink. Damned harpy."
"Draco Cullen Malfoy!" Astrid exclaimed.
"What?" Draco asked innocently. "Why not use this to my advantage if it'll make Pansy go away quicker. Besides, I don't plan on seeing her until I can be sure I'll survive the hug she'll certainly try to give me and the battle to keep her from touching me. Nice eye by the way. Thanks for sticking up for me."
"No problem. Karey is a bitch. I know things weren't supposed to change between us at school. Luckily everyone is blaming my temporary insanity on the fact that you're half dead," Astrid laughed, letting her fingers brush against her bruised eye.
"Ah, I knew this would come in handy," Draco laughed.
"How much longer are you going to play dead?" Astrid asked.
"Promise not to tell anyone? Cause I'd like to try to ride this out as long as I can," Draco said. "To many people coming to visit me would probably result in broken bones for me and I don't much fancy having to wear a do not touch sign on my arse."
"DRACO!" Astrid cried.
"What is it now?" Madame Pomfrey asked, bustling into the curtained enclosure.
"Something the great git said," Astrid explained. "No blood this time."
"Thank heavens," Madame Pomfrey exclaimed, clutching her hands to her chest in an overly dramatic fashion.
"Wait? Blood?" Draco asked.
"You gave your sister quite a scare the first time she came to see you Mr. Malfoy But I'm sure she can tell you all about it during her next visit. You need rest and she needs to get back to her common room," Madame Pomfrey instructed. Astrid hopped down from her stool and looked up at the hospital matron.
"Alright. I'm coming back to see him again tomorrow though."
"That's fine Astrid. You've been in here pretty much every day since he came in," Madame Pomfrey laughed. She reached down and tousled the little girls' hair. Astrid smiled and turned to her brother.
"See you, Dray," she laughed. She leaned over the rail of his bed and dropped a kiss on his forehead before running from the curtains. Just at the edge she turned back to see his face morph into an expression of pure disgust.
"It's a good look, Dray, hope it freezes that way," Astrid said before leaving the enclosure completely.
"My sister just kissed me!" Draco cried.
"Yes Mr. Malfoy, and you're hardly in a position to do anything about it."
*****
"Is Ron back yet?" Harry asked, sinking into a chair next to Hermione and Fred's couch in front of the fire.
"Nope," Hermione laughed, pulling away from Fred and curling against his side. "How did it go with Hannah?"
"Wonderfully. You didn't by chance see Sawyer anywhere did you?" Harry said.
"Well, he and Jason came in a few minutes ago and the middle of Sawyer's robe looked ridiculously bulky. I was going to question him about it, but Jason insisted that he was doing nothing punishable and I didn't really want to know," Hermione explained.
"And Jason was probably right. You know how Jason, Sawyer and Chelsea lost the bet and had to dress up as cupids for me?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Hermione replied. Fred's grip on his girlfriends shoulder tightened and he leaned closer to Harry.
"They had to do WHAT?" Fred asked.
"They bet that Hufflepuff would beat Slytherin in the Quidditch match and they lost so they had to dress up as cupids and bring Hannah's Valentines Day present out to her," Harry explained. "So Chelsea and Jason wore pink robes and wings, but Sawyer most definitely wore a nappy."
"As well he should have. Cupids don't wear pink robes. They wear nappies," Fred laughed.
"Sawyer's point exactly," Harry replied with a sly smile.
"He wore a nappy, outside, in February?" Hermione screeched. Harry shrugged.
"He claimed he had Astrid put a warming spell on it," he explained. Harry slid off of his chair and stretched out lazily on the rug in front of the fireplace. Hermione rested her head on Fred's shoulder.
"I wonder where we found that boy sometimes," she laughed.
"Ah, he's a good kid," Harry said.
"I never said he wasn't. He's just a little," Hermione paused, searching for the right word. "Off."
"Lee!" Fred called, looking directly at a figure crawling in through the portrait hole. "How did it go?" Lee turned a somber face on his best friend. "She said no didn't she?" Fred cackled.
"Fred, don't be insensitive. I don't know what she said no to, but that's not very nice!" Hermione said, whacking her boyfriend's arm to try to silence his gales of laughter.
"And for that, Fred Weasley, you're not going to be my best man," Lee spat.
"She said YES?" Fred screeched.
"Yes, she said yes," said another figure who followed Lee into the common room. Marissa held out her left hand to display a small diamond in a gold setting on her ring finger.
"You're getting MARRIED?" Hermione cried.
"Yep," Lee and Marissa chorused proudly. Lee tossed his arm around Marissa's waist and she lightly kissed his shoulder.
"Now if you'll excuse us," Lee said lightly. The pair headed towards the boys staircase.
"Remember your silencing spells," Fred called after them. Lee turned and deftly extended his right middle finger in Fred's direction.
"Um no," Fred began. He was silenced by a hasty kiss from Hermione.
"So that's what Lee was planning?" Hermione asked, pulling away from the kiss only after Lee and Marissa were safely in Lee's dorm room.
"Yep," Fred laughed. "They've been dating since sometime during fifth year and I personally don't know what Lee was thinking."
"Well they seem happy enough," Hermione commented.
"Hi guys!" Ron exclaimed, staggering into the common room. He sank into the chair Harry had vacated only moments before. His shirt was buttoned incorrectly and it was very wrinkled and un-tucked. His hair had gone flat on one side and stuck straight up on the other.
"So will you be speaking to Mandy again after tonight, or will we have to endure another two months of ridiculous silence?" Harry asked. Ron's lips were red and slightly swollen and his face had a red glow, a far cry from its usual red blush.
"We'll be speaking again," Ron said with a smile. "Oh we'll definitely be speaking." He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"So you finally made it official?" Harry guessed. Ron turned bright red and refrained from looking at his best friends.
"She did," he muttered.
"She did?" Harry asked.
"She did?" Hermione echoed.
"SHE DID!" Fred screeched, loud enough for Gryffindor tower to hear.
"Yes," Ron replied. "She did. I started trying but I couldn't think of anything besides 'let's make this official so we can snog whenever we want' and that didn't seem quite appropriate."
"So how did she go about it?" Hermione asked, wrapping her arms around Fred's waist.
"She said pretty much exactly that," Ron laughed, running his fingers through his flattened hair and making it stand up too.
"Someone's been thoroughly snogged," Astrid announced, stepping around the back of Ron's chair and surveying her older friend carefully through her one good eye. Ron opened his eyes and looked at the girl.
"What happened to you?" he asked, when his eyes finally settled on her eye.
"Karey and I had a little misunderstanding and she punched me," Astrid explained.
"What did you do?" Ron asked, scooting over to make room for the first year to slide into the chair beside him.
"I held her to the floor and choked her until she promised not to say anything else about Jason, Sawyer or my brother," Astrid laughed. Ron reached over and tousled her silvery hair.
"Does that run in your family?" he asked.
"Draco taught me," Astrid admitted.
"How is he?" Harry asked.
"Awake but shhhh. He doesn't want anyone to know yet," Astrid laughed.
"Why not?" Ron questioned.
"Well. Pansy came to visit him today and his answer to that was to, and I quote 'play deader than hell and hope my cheeks weren't too pink," Astrid said.
"Reasonable," Harry shrugged.
"And we're getting a new brother or sister in September!" Astrid announced cheerfully. Ron's reaction was almost identical to Draco's, wide eyes and several sputtering coughs.
"ANOTHER BABY?" Hermione exclaimed, rather loudly.
"Yes, that's what I said, isn't it?" Astrid asked.
"Wow," Fred commented offhandedly. "You all are turning into nothing more than a bunch of Weasleys."