Penny Perish-

I woke up all refreshed and ready for the class I was most excited for—Alchemy, shortly followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts with the new professor. Then in the afternoon is Arithmancy with Professor Vector and Study of Ancient Runes with Professor Babbling to finish off the day. I was a fan of Professor Babbling, as I heard many great things about her classes. Cho and Marietta had Muggle Studies in the morning, which was the opposite direction from my classroom. We parted outside of the Great Hall and walked to our separate classes. Roger Davies had looked my way this morning when I arrived for breakfast but didn't say anything that really acknowledged my existence. I was hoping he would talk to me again today, to prove Cho wrong, that he actually did like me.

"Hey there, Penny." I heard someone call, catching up behind me. OMG, was that Roger?

No. It was George Weasley. I should've suspected. Maybe Cho was right, and Roger only noticed me because of how scantly I was dressed yesterday. No matter…

George and I chatted as we walked down the halls together. He was nice to talk to, and much less annoying than I had first perceived, but he was no Roger Davies. I was starting to get the feeling that he did like me though, to my surprise. But I was still holding on to the idea that Roger was interested in me. I mean, I waited years for him to take notice of me, so why should I discount him so quickly when he finally does?

"But don't think I'm a one trick pony," George said continuing our conversation.

"Is that right? I don't know, George," I replied in a challenge. "You seem pretty cut-and-dry to me."

"Ha! As if! You just don't know the real me, is all."

Was there really much more to George Weasley than meets the eye? Was there more to the joking banter and prank-pulling? I wasn't sure, but it was a possibility. Maybe he did like me. I mean he was walking me all the way to class and did talk to my brother on my behalf last night. Was it worth the time and effort to see if he was right? Thinking about it, I really didn't know him at all. "No, I suppose not then." I guess I could give him a shot, get to know him better, and see how I like him then. I left him in the hallway and walked into my class.

Professor Babbling was truly a good teacher; she kept the class interesting with stories and metaphors and had the entire group of students hanging on to her every word. Though it was a difficult class, it seemed most interesting to learn. By the time the class ended, none of the students particularly wanted to leave, but I had Defense Against the Dark Arts to head off to. I met Cho and Marietta in the Entrance Hall and we all made our way for our next class. We arrived in the DADA classroom and saw our new professor, decked out in bright pink complete with a little black bow atop her head. She was a stout, plump woman with an odd look about her, but first impression she seemed alright.

"Good morning class," she greeted. A few mumbled here and there as a greeting back. "I said, good morning class," she said with a sterner tone.

"Good morning Professor," everyone said in reply.

"Wonderful. My name is Professor Umbridge and I will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. This year we will be learning about the theory of defending yourself against a dark arts attack." As she spoke, a piece of chalk wrote out her words on the chalkboard, to which we were all expected to copy I suppose. "I will now pass around your new textbooks, which are Ministry approved." Sure enough, a floating stack of books lingered down the rows of desks, distributing out to every student. On the cover read: Dark Arts Defense: Basics for Beginners.

We were beginners? We were sixth years, passed our O. and were soon enough going to be taking our N.E. . This had to be a mix-up. Cho raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss…"

"Chang."

"Miss Chang. You have a question?" the professor asked extremely politely.

Cho continued, "Yes. It says, 'Basics for Beginners,' but we are sixth years. Surely this isn't meant for us." She must've read my mind exactly.

"I'm sure I don't understand you."

Cho explained further, "Well, see, we aren't really beginners in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We have already taken our O. , so shouldn't we be learning more advanced material?"

Professor Umbridge looked slightly surprised by this question. But recollected herself and answered, "The Ministry of Magic feels that every student here at Hogwarts needs to have a proper education on the topic, seeing how you have all had a string of poorly-chosen professors for the subject over the years." She wasn't wrong. Professor Quirrell was good when I had him my first year, but the second year turned out to be in cohorts with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Then Lockhart was an idiot, Lupin was a werewolf, though the best teacher so far, and Moody was actually a convict in disguise. "We will be reviewing these theories from the beginning, and from there you will become better witches and wizards," she finished off with a proud smile.

Theories? Were we not using actual spells then?

I left the class feeling rather unsure of what was to come. Janine and Naomi, who were fellow sixth-year Ravenclaws, as well as our roommates, left the class saying. "She seems nice, but I don't know how we will learn anything using only theory."

Douglas, a sixth-year Hufflepuff, said, "This class is going to be more boring than Professor Binns classes."

I had to agree with both statements, but I couldn't dwell on this now, however. I had more important things to worry about—Roger Davies was sitting in the Great Hall for lunch, once again at the end of the table. He winked at me when I walked by and I felt my heart stop for a whole ten seconds.

Marietta squealed when we sat down, "Oh my, Penny, did you see that?"

"Of course, I saw that Mare. He totally winked at me," I announced in excitement. Roger must be into me. This was the sure-fire sign that he did, right? He noticed me when I was wearing normal clothes, not just the tight-ass outfit I wore the other day. "Should I talk to him? Should I say something?"

Cho stopped me before I could get up. "No, Penny. You need to play it coy. He should make the first move, and if he does, then he definitely likes you. He could've winked by accident. You should let him do all the work."

"How do you wink by accident, Cho?" Marietta asked in disbelief.

"You can wink by accident. It could've been a nervous tick, or a blink."

"You blink with two eyes, but you wink with one. That was an intentional one-eyed wink, I swear it," Mare stated.

I wanted so badly to believe Marietta. Though, Cho did make good sense, and I definitely shouldn't jump into making a move on him.

Cho got weird whenever we talked about Roger Davies lately. Actually, ever since this summer, whenever I mentioned him, she got all awkward. Was it because of Cedric? Did me liking someone remind her of when she liked Cedric? I didn't fully understand, but maybe over time, she would share with me what was wrong. I decided to let her have her space until she was ready, however.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," I started as we all picked up helpings of stew. "Guess who insisted on walking me to class today?"

"Not Roger…right?" Cho asked, looking stunned.

"No, I wish."

"Get out! Is it George?" Marietta chimed in loudly.

"Shh!" I warned. "Yes. He walked me all the way to Alchemy class in the west wing."

"That's odd considering that I am pretty sure he has class with his twin in the greenhouses. We saw him heading that way this morning," explained Cho.

Marietta got excited. "Oh, my Merlin. He so went out of his way to walk with you."

I shook off this idea quickly. "No way. That would be ridiculous."

"Not if he really likes you Pen," Marietta added with a sly smile.

I turned over my shoulder to peep at George. He was sitting there with Fred, noses hidden behind some books, talking closely to each other. It must've been something private, I don't know. But regardless, it was pretty interesting to think George could like me. I never had two guys show some sort of interest in me before. Actually, I never really had any guy show interest before. Last year, I took Michael Corner to the Yule Ball, but mostly because we were both tragically single and last-minute options—not that Michael wasn't a great guy. We just didn't have chemistry aside from our friendship.

George looked up from his book and grinned at me. Shit, I forgot I was still looking! I turned quickly and tried to play it off.

The rest of the afternoon was relatively uneventful. I had Professor Babbling again for Ancient Studies and it was a great class to end off the day. I enjoyed myself at dinner and spent the meal pining over Roger. Afterward, spent the hours before bed, doing homework for my classes, and called it a day.

George Weasley-

The rest of the school week was pretty much the same. I would wake up, try to walk with Penny to her first class, and then continue planning out Fred and my Skiving Snack Boxes. We planned to test them on Friday, after all the first-years were done with classes and we could cash-in on some good research and development opportunities. When Friday did roll around however, I was much more focused on other aspects of my life—like Penny Perish.

"Georgie, did you grab the Puking Pastels from our room?" Fred asked. I didn't respond; I was much too busy watching Penny across the courtyard as she talked to some friends. Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Douglas whatever-his-name-was? Why did she have so many guy-friends? "Earth to George!" Fred yelled waving his wand in front of my gaze.

"What?" I asked annoyed.

Fred laughed, "You've been staring at her for twenty minutes, mate. Just go talk to her."

I slumped against my knee as I sat on the wall of the courtyard. "I can't. Look at her," I explained pointing at Penny.

Fred followed my finger and shrugged. "Yeah? So? You've talked to her everyday anyway," he said.

"Not when she is surrounded by other guys."

Just then, the one person I didn't want to go over to her made his way across the courtyard—Roger Davies. That prat seriously thought she would go for him. This really pissed me off.

"Oh, boy. Georgie, I think you got some more competition, mate," said Fred

If I went over there, I was going to look like a huge idiot. What would I even say? Almost all of them were Ravenclaws, so maybe they were having a meeting about House stuff.

Then, I watched as Davies put a hand on the small of her back and whispered into her ear.

"Shit, mate. He is making major moves right now. That asshole works fast," Fred stated the obvious.

I had to think fast—what would get her attention? OH! IDEA! I quickly reached into my bag to pull out our prototype: Wildfire Whiz-bangs. Fred gave me a devilish smile and nodded. This will get her attention.

Fred and I spread out and light the sparklers with the ends of our wands. They whistled and sizzled into the air and BANGED, lighting up the courtyard. All the nearby students reacted with oohs and ahs. Penny, too, turned to face the commotion. Good, I have her attention. Fred sent a bright pink firework that shot up and exploded into a wheel of color. Now, all the students were coming closer and gathering to see the spectacle. I lit a firework that immediately popped into a big silver star, that whizzed around the courtyard like a ball in a pinball machine. All the students were cheering and laughing as the star flew between them, leaving littler stars in its wake. Penny was giggling and cheering too. Davies looked annoyed and crossed his arms.

As soon as the fun began, it was over—the firework exploded and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Then a little murmur from across the courtyard took everyone by surprise. Ahem! The bone-chilling noise came from the stout, pink professor, Professor Umbridge. "That is not allowed," she stated in a high-pitched, sweet voice and exited.

Everyone looked sad and confused and went back about their own conversations. I looked over at Penny. She looked disappointed, but the good thing was that she was no longer talking to Davies. Instead, he had made his way back inside the castle, and she was left with her friends. At least I got Davies away from her.

Penny Perish-

I was hanging out in the courtyard, talking to Terry, Michael, Anthony, Cho and Marietta about how our first week of classes were. All of us agreed that we had a lot of work this year, but eventually the conversation moved onto our DADA teacher, Professor Umbridge. Terry said that he heard Umbridge was directly hired by the Minister of Magic. Anthony said that Dumbledore didn't want to hire her, couldn't find anyone else to fill the position. Marietta complained how she wished Professor Lupin would come back, even if he was a werewolf. Cho and Michael disagreed with her. All was going well, when an unexpected face joined our conversation—Roger Davies.

"Hey Penny. Hey everyone. What are we chatting about?" he asked politely.

Terry Boot looked at me, and then answered, "The new Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Roger nodded and said, "Yeah, kind of odd, isn't she?"

We all nodded in agreement. Roger looked down at me and smiled. "What did you think of her class, Penny?"

I paused. Me? I blushed and responded, "Well, I really don't think we will learn anything useful. If it's all theory, then how will we know how to use any spells?"

He placed a single hand on the small of my back and leaned in to whisper, "I can teach you a spell or two." I went stiff. Roger Davies was offering to privately tutor me. Son of a witch! I was so taken off guard that I couldn't speak for a moment. And when I finally could I was interrupted by a loud BANG and POP!

What in the name of Merlin was that? Flying around the courtyard were fireworks and sparklers, each making little sparkles here and there, grabbing the attention of all the students around. Kids laughed and clapped along to the colorful displays, and sometime within the madness, Roger pulled his hand away and took a step back. Although the ordeal was a fun distraction, I did want to answer Roger's question. Soon enough, the woman herself, Professor Umbridge came out to ruin the fun. The fireworks disappeared and the cheering died out. I turned to look at Roger, but he had walked away, out of sight.

I stood there upset at the missed opportunity with Roger. Cho tapped my shoulder and said, "What did Roger say?"

"He offered to teach me some spells he knew, but I didn't have the chance to respond," I said, disappointedly looking off in the direction of where he disappeared.

"Are you going to?" Cho asked.

I turned to her. "Am I going to what?"

Cho rolled her eyes. "Are you going to accept his offer?" She looked somewhat sad, or was it nostalgia, but it was weirdly misplaced considering what had just happened.

"Of course, I am going to accept. Roger Davies wants to privately tutor me. Why wouldn't I want to?" I was confused. Was she that upset about Cedric that she didn't want to see any of her friends dating guys either?

I ignored her weirdly sad tones and looked at the Weasleys. Fred and George set off those fireworks just when Roger was talking to me—could it have been a coincidence? Either way, it seemed fishy.