A/N: In celebration of getting into college, here's the next chapter. And Happy Holidays!

September 8

Common Room

Fred and I still aren't talking. This really bothers me, because I'll think of something really funny that happened to me or a problem that I need some advice on. Usually, I would unload all of this on my red headed hottie of a boyfriend but then I must remind myself that we aren't speaking.

Both of us are incredibly stubborn, so neither of us wants to be the first to apologize. I feel a little lost without him. He didn't even sit with me today in DADA or Transfiguration. And in Potions, he got there about five minutes before I did so he wouldn't have to be my lab partner. Alicia offered to be partners with me.

George ended up pairing up with some Ravenclaw girl, to which Alicia wasn't too happy. She was a monster of a girl; almost as tall as George. She looked like she'd never been outside in her entire life and had these big great brown eyes of hers that reminded me of an owl. She kept flirting with George and clinging onto his arm like a static-prone sock. Alicia scowled at the girl. But she didn't say anything about it.

So on top of screwing up my OWN relationship, I am the potential reason as to a row between Alicia and George. This keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

At dinner, he was sitting all the way at the other end of the table. And get this…NEXT TO THE BATHROOM STALKER, AKA THE GIRL FROM THE LOO.

I nearly got out of my seat and went over to drag him away. But Alicia held me back. I could barely eat; I was too busy watching them. It was awful. Fred was throwing her his seductive, sly, "Oh you know you love me" trademark grin that could make ANY girl swoon. Loo Stalker was giggling her head off her and playing with his hair, running her bony fingers through it. She had her hand on his knee. I was about to slap her, I really was.

Fred and I locked eyes. I didn't smile, I didn't glare and I didn't frown. He looked at me as though he were seeing right through me. Then as soon as he'd caught my eye, he went back to flirting with Loo Stalker. Katie and Alicia tried to distract my attention away from Fred and cheer me up with funny stories but I didn't even have the heart to pretend I was listening.

After dinner, I went straight up to my dorm, buried my face into my pillow and willed myself not to cry.

Five minutes later, I thought the tears would never stop.

September 11

Charms

THANK THE LORD. We've made a truce. On my way down to breakfast today, Fred was waiting for me in one of the overstuffed armchairs in the common room. As soon as he saw me, he pulled me aside. I struggled to escape, but he wouldn't let me.

"Angelina, we need to talk."

I felt my stomach drop to the floor like a bag of potatoes. Those are NEVER great words to hear your boyfriend say, first thing in the morning. Anyway, he had let go of my arm and I hesitantly gazed up at him, preparing myself for the worst.

"Start talking then," I softly insisted.

He let out a rough sigh and ran a hand through his hair. For the first time, I realized that he looked truly miserable. His eyes had bags under them, as though he hadn't slept in days. They had lost their usual sparkle and I knew he was just as worn out as I felt. It seemed like he was quiet for years but it was probably only two or three minutes.

"I miss you," he hoarsely whispered.

For the first time in days, I actually smiled. And then I fell into his arms and forgot all about the horrible Quidditch practice and Loo Stalker Girl and the whole reason why we'd been fighting in the first place.

He did too.

September 12

Divination

Now that everything is right and just in the universe of Angelina Johnson, Quidditch Captain and Girlfriend of A Total Hottie, I decided to schedule another practice session for Saturday, around three. I would have gone ahead and made it Friday, but Fred said he was planning on spending some time with me after dinner, so I happily changed the date.

All the teachers are very homework-infatuated, so I have about twenty pounds of work to be done and today isn't even over. And it's only Monday. I mean really, what are they trying to do? Kill us all of stress-induced disease and breakdowns?

McG seems to have tightened up even more this year. She won't cut anyone any slack. After class, she asked me how Quidditch was going and I gave her the sugarcoated version. No reason to alarm her too early in the season.

I said, with the falsest smile known to mankind, "Well, not too bad. Ron Weasley earned the spot of the new Keeper. He had a bit of trouble the first day, but I'm sure as we proceed with training, he'll do just fine. I have the utmost confidence in him," I cordially informed.

She ate it right out of my hand. She fixed me with a tight smile and replied, "Wonderful. Sounds like you're off to a good start, Johnson."

I threw her a grateful smile, as though this comment was the same as, "You have just won a Nobel Peace Prize!"

Then I bid her farewell and went on my way.

As I was walking to Divination with Alicia, I just remembered the scene in the Great Hall, with Loo Stalker having her hands all over Fred. Once it entered my mind, it wouldn't go away. I just had to wonder if that was all they had done.

Looking back at it, they seemed a little too close for comfort, if you catch my drift. It was unlikely, but I hoped he hadn't…kissed her or anything of the sort. I mean, we never talked about it. So it might have happened. Slim, but a small possibility.

And then I started scolding myself. Fred loves me, so why would he do anything to hurt me? You see how much having a boyfriend can screw with your mind? I wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world, though.

I think I'll talk to him about it after dinner. In other news, Lee and Katie are closer than ever. And Ryan Emmerson's broken nose seems to be healing quite nicely. George and Alicia are doing fine as well. Just yesterday, George gave Alicia a bouquet of daises he pulled from outside, near the Quidditch pitch. She nearly snogged him to death when he gave them to her.

Fred winked at me and said, "Maybe I should follow my brother's idea, huh?"

I playfully hit him but was grinning. Ha, maybe he should. Anyway, we're all just one, big, happy family. Right. Wow, if my comment were anymore drenched with sarcasm, I would be eating it.

September 13

Lunch

Fred landed himself in detention tonight, because he slipped a Blood Blisterpod in a pack of gum of this really obnoxious and arrogant Slytherin, Ingrid Tarentino. It was during potions. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Snape obviously favors the Slytherin House, he never scolds her about it. She constantly is cracking her bright, pink, bubble gum in everyone's faces and I nearly hit her because she was three centimeters away from snapping her STUPID gum in my hair.

Fred and I were sitting together and he finds Ingrid even more annoying than I do. This is probably because in addition to loudly snapping her gum, she frequently whips around and bats her eyelashes at Fred, nearly breaking her chunky neck. She's short and overweight, with dishwater blonde hair and gray, squinty eyes. Her robes are always two sizes too small and it always looks like she's going to burst the seams.

She's a midget version of Anna Nicole Smith, minus the one hundred-year-old husband. It's rather odd that a Slytherin girl would be crushing on any bloke from Gryffindor, but I guess that's the astonishing affect Fred has on girls. Anyway, after about the eightieth time that Ingrid had attempted to use her powers of seduction on Fred, he'd had enough.

"Hey, Ange, look at this," Fred whispered, poking me in the knee.

Snape was too busy yelling at George and Alicia, who were at the other side of the room. George had made Alicia laugh so hard, that she'd started snorting. She had tried to calm down but was unable to. Snape took this opportunity to unleash his hatred for all Gryffindors and gleefully took away house points. I gazed under the table and instantly rolled my eyes at what he was holding.

It was unmistakably one of those practical joke sweets but I was unknowledgeable as to which one.

"What's that?" I demanded.

I quickly peered up and observed Snape, who was still engaged in scolding a very amused looking George and a very embarrassed Alicia.

(Insert a very vicious and sinister looking Snape: "This is completely unacceptable and out of line! This is a flagrant violation of the rules!")

His hands had been slammed on their counter top, his greasy hair practically giving off a white glow underneath the lights. I could tell that an atomic bomb would be the only solution to get him to shut up, because spit was flying everywhere like a snowstorm. He was even more livid than the five minutes ago, due to the fact he'd just seen a rather unflattering picture that George had drawn of him.

All of the Slytherins were heckling at George, while the Gryffindors were either secretly laughing at Snape or rolling their eyes and scowling at the Slytherins.

"It's a BloodBlister pod. Somehow, I have the genuine feeling that this will shut Ingrid up for awhile," he snickered, making a tight fist around the object.

I stifled a laugh and threw him a sly grin.

"Just don't say I didn't warn you. Snape looks like he's having a holiday by jeering at anyone that steps a toe out of line."

He smirked at me, raising an eyebrow in question.

"A toe out of line? You sound like my Mum," he teased, his eyes twinkling.

I gently shoved his shoulder.

"Not exactly the best thing to say to the beloved girl that you snog every day," I playfully retorted.

He chuckled and kissed me on the cheek.

"That's the best part of being your boyfriend!"

I laughed and watched as Fred made his move. He quickly peered around the classroom and satisfied that Snape was preoccupied, leaned over Ingrid's shoulder. She was busying doodling on a piece of parchment, her lab partner gossiping to one of her friends on her other side.

Ingrid's trusted pack of gum was on her left side, where Fred was seated. Stray wrappers littered her working space. Fred stealthily snatched a wrapper, snugly packaged the Blood Blisterpod into it and innocently placed it next to the open pack of gum.

As Fred was sitting back down, Ingrid whipped her head up and studied Fred with eager eyes.

"Oh, hello Frederick!" she cooed, batting her eyelashes.

That's another annoying thing about her. She ALWAYS calls Fred, "Frederick."

"Uh, hey," he uneasily replied, fully seated once more.

Ingrid giggled, as though she'd just met some famous celebrity and then blew a huge, gooey bubble. As soon as it was the size of a swollen watermelon, she snapped the bubble and sucked it back into her giant mouth. She gazed down at her left side and picked up the piece of "gum" that Fred had so efficiently planted. She flung the wrapper in my face and I scowled.

"Oh, sorry about that," she cackled, grinning.

Fred smirked and I held back my own mirroring grin. I blankly stared at Ingrid, folding my arms over my chest. Without studying the alleged object, she stuffed it into her mouth. I snickered and she threw me a sneer. Then, without warning, sprouts of thick blood began flowing from her nose and onto the front of her robes.

"OH MY GOD! PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR!" she shrilly screeched, holding her hand under her nose like a cup.

Professor Snape practically sprinted from the other side of the room and to Ingrid, his eyes widening in shock.

"What in the world is going on here?" he proclaimed, his voice never displaying the surprise and slight panic in his eyes.

Ingrid howled in displeasure, now using both hands to catch the blood. Fred and I exchanged looks with one another, not daring to laugh or smile, for the benefit of not being caught. Although this was pretty much useless, since Professor Snape blamed anything that went wrong in the classroom on Fred or George. It was kind of a given, like seeing the sun rise each day.

"She did it! Johnson! That stupid Gryffindor!" Ingrid fiercely wailed, jutting her five chins towards my direction.

I bit my lip, looking at Fred out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't planned on getting in trouble for being an innocent bystander! But I wasn't about to save my own skin and land Fred in detention. It wasn't like I was itching to spend my night with Snape, but I didn't want to rat out my own boyfriend for a harmless prank.

Professor Snape scowled at me, his eyes narrowing.

"Is this true, Miss Johnson?"

Before I could open my mouth, Fred spoke up.

"No, it was me, Professor. Angelina didn't do anything at all," he valiantly corrected.

Professor Snape darted his gaze toward Fred, sneering at him as though he were a bug squished on the bottom of his shoe.

"Miss Rogers, please take Miss Tarentino to the hospital wing," he crisply instructed, his gaze never wavering.

Ingrid's friend nodded and helped Ingrid out of her chair. The pair scuffled down the row of desks and out the door, their footsteps echoing throughout the empty hallways. Professor Snape swished his wand over the spot where Ingrid had been sitting and the random specks of blood vanished. The classroom was blanketed in the buzzing of different conversations, many Gryffindors shooting Fred looks of praise.

Lee, who was sitting behind George and Alicia, was staring at the both of us with anxious excitement. I glanced at Katie, who rolled her eyes, but was unable to contain a wide grin. George gave Fred the "thumbs-up" sign and Fred smugly grinned. This enraged Professor Snape even more. He clenched down on his jaw, his hands tightening into fists, clamped down at his sides like steel beams.

"I should have known this childish act of disruption was of your doing, Weasley. Twenty points from Gryffindor. And you will be serving a detention at 8 PM, sharp in this classroom!" he coldly spat out.

Fred's grin didn't fade. In a flash, he jumped up onto the table and widely flung his arms out. His eyes sparkled with delight as he scoured his audience, his smug grin transforming into a mischievous one.

In a thick, Scottish accent, that would have made even William Wallace jealous, he strongly declared: "YOU CAN TAKE MY LIFE BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE MY FREEDOM!"

Every Gryffindor whooped and cheered with delight, clapping as though they'd just seen a five-star Broadway show. All the Slytherins booed and hissed but it did not overpower our praise. Professor Snape was turning three different shades of red, his eyes turned into little slits.

"Get down this instant! I'm warning you!" he vividly roared.

Fred laughed, took a few bows, and then hopped down from the table with the grace of a cat.

I gazed up at Fred, staring at him in awe.

"You're crazy," I noted, shaking my head a little. He winked.

"And you're beautiful."

I don't know what came over me, but I stood up, wrapped my arms around Fred's neck and gave him a huge but quick kiss. George, Lee, Katie and Alicia cheered even louder. Fred chuckled and swiftly dipped me low, then kissed me even longer. George and Lee shot out wolf-whistles, along with many other Gryffindor males and Alicia laughed in bewilderment. When I broke away from Fred and sat down, Professor Snape sincerely looked like he was out to kill someone.

"That's it, Weasley! You're in for another detention tomorrow night as well!" Snape instantly announced.

Fred casually shrugged, that grin of his still stamped onto his face and plopped back down into his seat. And as much as I wanted to scold Fred for causing unnecessary trouble, I was sort of, in a very weird way, proud. Granted, I wasn't proud that he'd landed himself double detentions, but I was proud in that bona fide way of a girl who's not afraid to boast, "Yeah, that's my boyfriend."