A/N: Last of the marathon chapter upload this week! I'm back to work tomorrow, so uploads will be a bit slower again :( I'm loving writing OOTP though! Thank you for all of your reviews, I love them 3 xx

Chapter 47.

Magnolia walked out of Umbridge's office confused. She hadn't meant to say any of those things, she hadn't wanted to, so why did she? Magnolia felt sick to her stomach the entire evening, barely even eating anything, and trying to keep herself out of conversations in case she kept telling people the truth she didn't want them to hear.

"Mags, fancy a game of chess?"

Magnolia glanced at Theo and nodded enthusiastically, anything to get away from their group of friends and Draco. It wouldn't do at all for one of them to question her and the truth to come tumbling out, what if Draco said something? She had panicked when she saw him walk towards them with Blaise and sit down.

"You looked like you needed time out." Theo told her as he set the chess set up, "Anything I can help with?"

Magnolia shook her head, "I don't think so."

"Has it got something to do with your tea with Umbridge?"

"I'm not really sure what happened." Magnolia huffed, "I just wouldn't stop talking."

Theo's brow furrowed; he was concerned. Magnolia didn't miss the alert in his eyes as he glanced cautiously towards Draco before focusing back on her. She was sure that he hadn't wanted her to see that, but she couldn't hide her own frown at his strange behaviour. She didn't know what was going on, but she was getting annoyed with it now.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Magnolia snapped.

"Doing what?"

"Those weird glances at Draco." Magnolia whisper shouted, although she was sure that Theo had already cast the Muffliato charm when they had sat down, "You just did it. And I keep seeing you do it."

"I don't know what you mean."

Theo wasn't even looking at her now. He was resolutely staring at the knight under his fingers. Magnolia could feel herself getting angrier. Why was he lying to her? What was he hiding?

"Theo. Tell me what is going on."

"I don't know what to say, Maggie-Moo, nothing is going on." Theo spoke quietly.

"Fine."

Magnolia threw her arm across the chess set, sending all the pieces flying across the Common Room, and stood up to walk away from Theo. She could see Theo's shock at her outburst and mentally laughed, that was nothing compared to what she wanted to do.

"Where are you going!?"

Everyone was watching them now, Magnolia storming away from Theo and towards the exit of the Common Room. He had stood from the chess board and was chasing her across the Common Room.

"Out."

"Maggie, you can't go out, it's almost curfew." Theo practically begged, "If Umbridge catches you…"

Magnolia span to look him in the eye, she was getting used to this calm fury that was taking over her now. It was empowering, tingly, it made her feel strong.

"Let her."

Magnolia turned and walked out of the Common Room, leaving a shocked Theo frozen behind her. Umbridge didn't find her that evening, but Blaise did. She hadn't gone too far; she was sat in an unused classroom staring out at the grounds when he found her.

"You know, if you do that again you might give the poor boy a heart attack."

"Theo's bigger and braver than that."

Blaise sat next to her, taking her hand in his, "I wasn't talking about Theo."

"What's going on, Blaise?"

"I can't tell you." He replied, "Not because I don't want to, we do, but we've been sworn to secrecy. Trust me though, we are working on exposing the truth for you."

Magnolia chuckled, "You have such a flair for the dramatic."

"I understand that it's frustrating but trust us. We're trying to protect you."

"I can handle myself; I don't need protecting, Blaise."

Blaise's gaze was intense and his voice quiet, "You do from this."

They had sat there in silence for a couple of hours after that. Magnolia's thoughts were rushing through her head, and it was nice having Blaise with her. Theo liked to make Magnolia talk it out, but Blaise would be happy to just sit with her whilst she worked through her thoughts quietly. He gave her some of the information she needed, just enough to subside her anger.

She still missed Draco though. They could talk about anything. She hadn't realised how much she had relied on him. She sometimes wondered if he felt the same. He looked like he wasn't sleeping well. She thought about that on the walk down to Hogsmeade the following day with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

Magnolia was barely listening to what they were saying, but Hermione had insisted that Magnolia go with them. Harry was looking slightly uncomfortable, so Magnolia had guessed that this was about him teaching them Defence. Was he going to do it in Hogsmeade? Magnolia glanced around as they walked through the village, leaving the popular areas behind.

"Where exactly are we going?"

Her question was answered by Hermione pointing at a rough looking pub a little further down the path. The Hog's Head. Magnolia squirmed immediately; she didn't like the look of that place. Walking inside did nothing to change Magnolia's mind that they shouldn't be there. The outside was tatty enough, but inside was even worse. Magnolia thought it was a good thing she didn't wear her nice shoes; they would probably get stuck to the floor and damaged.

Magnolia sat down with Hermione at one of the tables whilst Harry and Ron went to get the drinks. She should have fought Hermione with Ron and got the Firewhiskey. Magnolia wasn't sure about drinking from the glasses the Butterbeer came in; she wasn't sure the last time anything in this pub had been cleaned.

The four sat waiting for other people to show up, Magnolia had no idea how many people Hermione had gotten involved. Eventually the door opened, and George and Fred sauntered through. George smiled at Magnolia and moved to sit next to her almost immediately.

"Can we talk after this?" George mumbled to her, "Maybe, go to the Three Broomsticks?"

"Erm, sure."

Magnolia wasn't really paying too much attention to George; she had been distracted by the amount of people that had followed him and his brother in through the door. About 20 students had poured their way into the Hog's Head. Magnolia didn't know how Harry was supposed to help all these people or keep his ego in check if he did.

Fred was by the bar, ordering everyone a drink, and people were moving the furniture so they could all sit closer to Harry, Magnolia, Hermione, and Ron. Eventually, everyone had a drink and were sat watching Harry expectantly. It was Hermione who stood up though.

"Er, hi, everybody." She stumbled over her words, "Well, erm… well, you all know why we're here. Erm, well, Harry had the idea… erm, I had the idea that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defence Against the Dark Arts… and I mean really study it, you know… not that rubbish Umbridge is doing with us… because nobody could call that Defence Against the Dark Arts. Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands."

Magnolia looked around the room; the barman was obviously trying hard to not listen to the group, the students were looking at Hermione and each other with a mix of emotions. Some looked excited, some looked nervous, some looked confused, and some looked plain bored.

"And by that, I mean by learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells-"

"You want to pass your Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL too, though, I bet?"

Magnolia narrowed her eyes at the boy who had interrupted Hermione. Michael Corner, she recognised.

"Of course, I do." Hermione replied instantly, "But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defence because… because… because Lord Voldemort is back."

Magnolia was slightly proud of Hermione; she knew how difficult it was for Hermione to say Voldemort's name. She was really trying though, and Magnolia smiled at her. Around them though, not everyone reacted so well. Magnolia heard a couple of shrieks and gasps and rolled her eyes.

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?"

Magnolia knew that boy. Zacharias Smith, he was a Hufflepuff. He was arguing with Hermione and Ron until Harry butted in, Magnolia thought she did very well to stay out of the conversation at all.

"If you've come to hear exactly what it's like when Voldemort murders someone, I can't help you." Harry snapped, "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So, if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."

The group was awkward and quiet after that, Magnolia was practically holding her breath. Until Susan Bones asked Harry about his Patronus. After that, everyone seemed to remember what Harry had done throughout his years at Hogwarts; the Philosopher's Stone, the Basilisk, the Tasks last year.

Eventually everyone had agreed to meet once a week, as long as it didn't clash with anyone's quidditch practice or Prefect patrols. The whereabouts of the meetings hadn't been decided yet, but Magnolia had an idea of a good place for them to meet where no one would find them. She would have to suggest it to Harry later, though.

Once everyone disbanded, Magnolia walked with George back to the main village of Hogsmeade. They walked in awkward silence for a while, until George broke it with an even more awkward question.

"Do you remember what I said last year?"

Magnolia nodded slightly, unable to speak. She didn't want to have this conversation with George right now. He was sweet, he was, but he wasn't Draco.

"I know something's changed between you two." George continued, "And I'm standing by my word, I'll be here to pick up the pieces, show you how you should be treated. Starting with this."

George held the door to the Three Broomsticks open for Magnolia, placing his hand on her lower back as she walked through. He smiled down at her and led her to a table by the window, pulling her chair out for her.

"Do you want a Butterbeer?"

"Erm, sure."

Magnolia watched George walk away, then looked around the pub, noticing her friends sat on a larger table further into the pub. She almost hoped they wouldn't see her. She had wished she hadn't seen them. Pansy was sat so close to Draco she might as well have been on his lap, whispering in his ear.

Magnolia turned back around to look out the window, focusing on anything but the flirty pair. George soon returned with drinks and sat opposite her. They spoke about easy things; classes, George's Quidditch practice and how Ron was still struggling. Magnolia couldn't help but laugh as George explained how Ron had managed to hit Katie causing her to have a nosebleed.

George told her about the Skiving snackboxes, and other ideas he and Fred had for their joke shop. Maybe Magnolia had missed this, spending time with George. It was always so easy and relaxed with George. She didn't have to worry about her brother, or anyone, seeing them together. Although she couldn't tell George everything she had been able to tell Draco, she could still talk to him, still have fun.

Draco's words floated through her mind though, was she just stringing George along? He had made it very clear that he liked her, but Magnolia wasn't entirely sure of her feelings to him. George went to get more drinks, leaving Magnolia to worry about what they were doing. She didn't want to lead him on, but it was nice to be carefree for a little while.

A few hours later, Magnolia and George were stood in the Entrance Hall to Hogwarts. Magnolia had told George he shouldn't walk her to her Common Room, his own was the complete opposite side of the Castle.

"We should do this again." George smiled at her.

"George…" Magnolia paused, "You know this wasn't a date, right?"

"Yeah, I know." George was still smiling, "Until you're ready, we're just two friends hanging out. I know that you need a friend right now, Nola. I'm not going to push you. I told you I'm going to treat you right, and if part of that is waiting for you to feel the same way back, then so be it."

"What if I don't?"

"Well, I'm not thinking about that." George shrugged, "Good night, Nola."

"Night, George."

Magnolia wandered back to her Common Room, finding her friends sat around the fireplace. Everyone except Draco and Pansy. Magnolia frowned, had Pansy already jumped in and attached herself to Draco like she used to? She moved quick. Magnolia pushed the thought aside, instead focusing on her Astrology homework with Daphne.

A few days later, Magnolia walked into the Common Room with Tracey and Daphne to find half the House stood around their noticeboard. The girls hadn't seen much of Pansy since the day in Hogsmeade, and Tracey and Daphne were refusing to talk about it. Magnolia pushed her way through her the crowd to see what everyone was looking it and her jaw dropped when she saw it.

Educational decree Number twenty-four. Umbridge was banning groups. Magnolia had a suspicion that she somehow knew about the Defence group, but she didn't know how she could know. She would talk to Harry later in Potions.

Luckily, the last class of their day came quickly, and Magnolia rushed to Harry's side, sending him a questioning look he just nodded with a small smile before handing her a scroll of parchment. 'Today. Same place, same time.' Magnolia recognised the handwriting as her Godfathers and her stomach sank.

"I can't."

"What? Why?"

"If Umbridge catches me…"

Harry huffed, "Use the cloak this time, no one will know."

"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch Team permission to continue playing straightaway, I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry."

Draco's gloating voice floated across the hallway, causing Harry to grate his teeth and Hermione to try to keep him calm.

"I mean, if it's a question of influence in the Ministry, I don't think they've got much a chance." Draco continued, drawing everyone's attention, "From what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years, and as for Potter, my father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St Mungo's. Apparently, they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic."

Magnolia saw Draco pull a face, and Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy laugh at his cruel joke, and a number of things happened at the same time. Hermione shouted Harry's name, Ron grabbed Harry's arms to hold him back, but Magnolia had her focus drawn by Neville out of the corner of her eye. He was red in the face with anger, she'd never seen Neville like that, and she knew why. He had moved and was heading straight for Malfoy.

"Neville!" Magnolia shouted, launching herself through the people around her to grab on to his arm and pull him back, "No, don't!"

Neville's arms were flying around as Magnolia tried to hold him back, she moved in front of him to try and push him back and called for help. Behind her, she could hear Crabbe and Goyle still laughing, but noticed that Draco and Pansy had fallen quiet.

"He isn't worth it, Neville, stop!"

Neville wasn't hearing her though, he was enraged. Ron and Harry had managed to grab hold of Neville just as Magnolia was thrown to the floor by him, her cheek blooming in pain. The door of the Potions class opened them, and Magnolia heard Professor Snape.

"Fighting, are we? Ten points from Gryffindor. Release Longbottom, Potter, or it will be detention for you all." Professor Snape drawled, "Miss Potter? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Magnolia replied, standing up and brushing the dust off her skirt.

"Mr Malfoy, escort Miss Potter to the Hospital Wing to take care of her cheek."

"No!" Magnolia cried, causing Professor Snape to narrow his eyes at her, "I, erm, I just… I don't want to miss class, sir."

"I'm sure Mr Nott or Miss Greengrass will collect any work or notes you need from what you miss."

He turned then, not leaving room for anymore argument. Magnolia picked her bag up in a huff and watched as the rest of the class walked into the class. Neville paused next to her and apologised, although she could see he was still shaking with anger.

"It's ok, Neville. I know you didn't mean to."

"Draco?"

Magnolia glanced over to see Pansy, Theo, Blaise, and Draco still stood by the Potions room door; Pansy had her hand wrapped around Draco's wrist, and Magnolia thought she saw Theo moving his away from Draco's other arm. Draco just nodded at them, before walking past Magnolia, not waiting for her to catch him up. Pansy, Theo, and Blaise asked Magnolia if she was ok, and she nodded in reply, before reluctantly following Draco down the hall.

"Why do you have to do that?" Magnolia called when they had turned the corner.

"Do what?" Draco replied, "I'm not the one who hurt you."

Magnolia scoffed and mumbled, "Not so sure about that."

She saw Draco pause in his step before his shoulders tensed and he continued walking. He didn't say anything after that, and Draco left her as soon as she had walked into the Hospital Wing. Magnolia ended up staying there for the entire lesson, Madame Pomfrey refusing to let her leave.

Magnolia was sad she'd missed the class when Harry told her that Umbridge had inspected it and made Professor Snape feel very uncomfortable. They were sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, waiting for everyone to go to bed so they could speak to Sirius, and Magnolia was beginning to think she might have to leave herself. George was sat with her, talking, and questioning where the bruise on her cheek had come from. He wouldn't leave. Eventually, Fred pulled him away.

"Sirius!"

It wasn't even 5minutes later when Magnolia saw her Godfather in the fire. She threw herself on to the floor in front of the fire again, smiling at him.

"How're things?" Sirius asked, "No more detentions I hope, princess?"

"How- how did you-"

"Minerva." Sirius replied, "At least one of your Heads of House thinks detention with Umbridge is something I should know about. How's your hand?"

"You know about that?" Magnolia asked, he didn't need to reply; his expression give it away, "It's better now. I've been attempting to be nicer to her, or just keep out of her way."

Harry chuckled, "You're her favourite person now, I don't know of anyone else who's been invited to tea with her."

"She invited you to tea?" Sirius asked, urgently.

"Yeah, it was fine though, nothing happened."

Magnolia didn't want to get into what had happened in that meeting right now, she didn't want Harry and the others to know what she had said. She would tell Sirius at Christmas when it could be just the two of them. He seemed to understand, because he dropped the conversations straight away, asking what else was happening at the school.

"The Ministry's forced through another decree, which means we're not allowed to have Quidditch teams-"

"Or secret Defence Against the Dark Arts groups?"

Magnolia could have laughed. Of course Sirius would know about that. He explained that Mundungus had been in the pub in disguise, watching Harry and Magnolia. Sirius passed on the message from Mrs Weasley, telling Ron he was absolutely not allowed to join the group at all, and that she advised Harry, Hermione, and Magnolia not to as well. Sirius, on the other hand, looked extremely proud of them for doing it.

"So, how are you organising this group?" Sirius asked, excitedly, "Where are you meeting?"

"Well, that's a bit of a problem now." Harry replied, "Dunno where we're going to be able to go."

"How about the Shrieking Shack?" Sirius suggested.

"Actually, I think I have an idea." Magnolia spoke up, "There's a room, that no one can get into unless you want them in it, and it changes to whatever you need it to be."

Sirius smiled at her, "Yes, I know that-"

Suddenly, his smile disappeared and not even a second later, Sirius had disappeared from the fire. Magnolia fell backwards as in his place, a stubby hand groped around the fire. Magnolia hid behind Harry, knowing that that was Umbridge's hand and if she could somehow see them, she would know that Magnolia had been there.

After that, Magnolia quickly left the Gryffindor Tower under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak and made it back to her own Dorm with no issues. She sat in bed worrying though, had Umbridge seen Sirius, was he safe, would she be able to find him?