Chapter 5
That summer was very different for me, my parents asked me almost everyday if something was wrong. I kept telling them no, but the truth was I was terrified. Ron wrote me once a week, every letter started with the words, how are you doing? I knew he was worried. The truth is for all our worrying nothing happened. I knew that the strange occurrences that started weren't freak accidents, but nothing suspicious was happening near us. Ron and I came up with a plan, so after I had spent only three weeks at home with my parents I was getting ready to leave, under the pretense of some kind of Wizarding Summer Camp that I was going to with Ron and Harry, the Weasley's were going to pick me up that Friday. I had my trunk packed and I was waiting for them on the Front step. They pulled up in a black car; I wondered where they had gotten it from. Ron climbed out of the back seat and he walked right up to me and hugged me again. When he let me go he once again asked me how I was doing and I said that I was fine. I assured him that nothing had happened in our neighborhood. Fred and George grabbed my trunk and threw it in the car, and Mr. Weasley shook my Dad's hand and my Dad asked him to take care of me, which Mr. Weasley promised to do. As I got in the car Ron seemed to relax, now that I was back in the Wizarding World I was much safer. I asked them where they had gotten the car, and they said they had borrowed it from a friend. I thought this seemed rather cryptic but I let it go. I realized after a few minutes that we were not going the Burrow, I asked Ron where we were going but he said he couldn't tell me. We pulled into a small suburb in London and the parked the car along the side of the road. As we stepped out I looked around at them suspiciously. I asked Mr. Weasley if they had taken someone's car that they had found along the road. They all gave me a bit of a sheepish look and mumbled that the Muggles never even missed it. I glared at them reproachfully but then asked where we were going. Ron handed me a piece of paper that read, the Order of the Phoenix is at Number Twelve Grimauld Place, I read it and then looked at all of them. Ron asked me if I remembered what it said and I told him yes, he took it from me and burned it with his wand then we walked forward. I was surprised to see that a door was growing between houses eleven and thirteen and soon a whole new house was there. They opened the door and we went inside, Mrs. Weasley met us just inside the door and gave me a fierce hug and told me she was really happy that I was safe. I hugged her back and then Ginny bounced up behind her and said she'd show me to our room. Ron followed us up and put my trunk by my bed, he made to leave the room but as he did he told me to come up to his room on the floor above when I was done unpacking. As he headed for the door he stopped and he just looked at each other for a moment before he left, this time I knew what our eyes were saying and it made my cheeks feel warm, Ron smiled and walked out. Ginny looked from me to the place where Ron had been standing and then back, she asked when me when that had happened. I played innocent and asked her what she was talking about but she called me out on the look we had given each other. I told her I didn't know what it meant. She asked if we were dating, and I said no, because we weren't. But I also told her honestly that it looked like things might go that way eventually.
I finished unpacking and headed up to Ron's room, I knocked on the door and he told me to come in. He was lying on one of the two beds in the room so I quickly sat down on the other bed and he sat up to face me, we didn't say anything for a minute we just looked at each other and smiled. Then I asked him where in the world we were, and why we weren't at the Burrow. He began to explain that we were at Grimauld Place because it was the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, which was the resistance group against Voldemort, both his parents were in it, so we were going to be living here for the summer. I was excited, I thought it would be thrilling to live in the Headquarters of the Anti-Voldemort movement but Ron quickly told me not to get my hopes up because Mrs. Weasley had been very thorough about making sure that they weren't allowed to hear anything that happened in the house. I asked him when Harry was coming, and Ron gave me an uncomfortable look, he said Dumbledore had said Harry had to stay with his relatives for a whole month. I was outraged, with the state Harry was in how could they leave him there? Ron told me it got worse, he said Dumbledore had forbidden us from telling him anything about what was going on. I sat there in shock, how could Dumbledore do that to Harry? He was cutting him off from the Wizarding World at a time when I knew Harry would be desperate for information. I said this to Ron, and he said he agreed with me, but that we had to trust that Dumbledore knew best, and he had a good reason for what he was doing. Just then Fred and George Apparated onto the bed on either side of me, giving me a huge fright. Fred made some snide comment about us behaving ourselves, and Ron glared at him and told him to do something very rude. Just then Ginny came walking in and plopped down on the bed next to Ron, she warned us that Mrs. Weasley was on her way to make us clean, I asked what that was about but soon after I found out. Apparently the way Mrs. Weasley was keeping her children from eavesdropping was by making them clean the house. We spent most of the next month in that fashion, we were either cleaning the house or hanging out in Ron's room, sometimes we were with Ginny and the twins, sometimes it was just Ron and I. While Ron seemed to no longer be trying to hide the fact that he definitely reciprocated my feelings in some way that seemed to be as far as it was going, he wasn't making any kind of moves to start a relationship between us. That was fine with me for the moment, it was nice to just know that I wasn't alone in all this. If he wasn't ready to progress our relationship yet I understood, Ron and I seemed to be the type of people who did things slowly. I was also spending a lot of time with Ginny, she was much more outgoing and hilarious than I had previously thought. Her personality was much more like that of the twins, where she was mischievous and high spirited. One night while we were getting ready to go to sleep, I asked her why I had never realized how crazy and funny she was before, she sheepishly looked at me and told me it was because the only other times I had ever seen her were around Harry, and whenever she was around him she tended to get quiet and nervous. I smiled and told her honestly that if she wanted Harry to see what I great person she was, that she was going to have to learn to loosen up around him. I suggested that maybe she try dating some other boys, and just being his friend, that would give him a chance to get to know the real her and give her a chance to deicide if Harry was the one, or if maybe there was someone else out there. I told her that's what I had done. She gave me a teasing smile and said she hadn't realized that I had decided on who was the one. I blushed and quickly lay down in my bed and pretended to go to sleep but I could hear her giggling softly.
The last week of July several members of the Order of the Phoenix went to pick up Harry. I was very nervous about him coming, Ron and I had written to him but from his responses I could tell that he was not happy with us for the very small amount of information that we had given him. Ron and I waited for him in Ron's room and when he arrived I knew that my fears had been well founded, he was screaming at us after only a few minutes, we quietly tried to say we were sorry, but I really thought it was best to just let him yell it out. Once he had finally gotten it all out of his system he let us talk with him. He asked us about the Order of the Phoenix, and we told him everything that we knew. We'd met about twenty of the members of the Order, he asked us what was going on with Voldemort and we told him the very little bit that we had picked up with Fred and George's Extendable Ears. All we really knew was that the order was recruiting. He asked us what we had been up to and we told him about cleaning the house, just then Fred and George Apparated into the room and scared me to death. I snapped at them to stop it. They had been doing this constantly the whole time that I had been there I had a feeling they were trying to catch Ron and I doing something private but nothing even remotely close to interesting had happened. They ragged on Harry for all the yelling he was doing and then said that they were going to go eavesdrop on the meeting with Extendable Ears. Just then Ginny came bouncing into the room and said we couldn't use the Extendable Ears because Mrs. Weasley had Imperturbable Charm on the door. I was very proud of her when she brightly said hello to Harry and then plopped down on the bed with Fred and George. She was obviously taking my advice to heart and trying to just be herself around him. We kept talking about different aspects of the Order. Finally the conversation came around t Percy. All the Weasley's tensed visibly. Percy had gotten in a huge fight with his parents earlier that summer and now he was not speaking to them. Ron explained the situation to him how Percy had decided that Harry was crazy and that Voldemort wasn't really back. Harry couldn't see how he believed that, and I slowly tried to explain to him how the Daily Profit was now pretty much trying to make him out to be a disturbed boy who was seeking fame and recognition by making up stories. He was furious of course, but we calmed him down as best as possible telling him that none of his friends believed that, and we certainly didn't. Just then the twins, who had been listening for grown ups on the Extendable Ears, jumped up and Apparated away, just then Mrs. Weasley came in and told us to come down to dinner. She asked who had thrown Dungbombs at the kitchen door. It had been Ginny, when she was checking if the door was Imperturbed, but she unflinchingly lied that it was Crookshanks. Mrs. Weasley believed her and as she left I saw Harry glance at Ginny with admiration. I smirked slightly I knew that Ginny was already doing well. On the way down to dinner we bumped into Kreacher the house elf, he was old and a bit senile. Ron called him a nutter, which started us bickering. I was still very adamant about house elf rights, and he still thought I was completely crazy. We stopped in the hall to see if we could hear anything as the Auror's were leaving. But then Tonks knocked over an umbrella stand and the painting of Mrs. Black in the hallway began screaming. Tonks was my favorite Auror, she was young and spunky but she was terribly clumsy. We went down to the kitchen to have dinner. After dinner the atmosphere in the room changed. Sirius, seemed to think that Harry should be able to hear what was going on with the Order. Mrs. Weasley on the other hand was completely against it. After a huge fight with Sirius she realized that she couldn't forbid Harry from hearing it because he was Harry's godfather. She told us to leave but Fred and George said she couldn't make them leave because they were of age, and Ron pointed out that Harry would tell him and me everything anyway. So in the end only Ginny was kicked out she was yelling and throwing a temper tantrum the whole way. They told us that the Order was recruiting, which we knew. They said that at the moment their biggest priority was getting the word out that Voldemort was back, especially since Fudge was trying to discredit them at every turn. They told us he was trying to make both Dumbledore and Harry look like they were crazy. I asked why they would do that, and Sirius explained that it was easier for Fudge to say they were crazy than to accept that Voldemort was back. We were furious, but we knew there was nothing we could really do. Sirius began to tell us that Voldemort was looking for a weapon that he didn't have before and Mrs. Weasley cut him off. She said that we had heard enough and she shooed us off to bed. We headed up the stairs and Mrs. Weasley told me to be quiet when I went in because Ginny would probably be asleep. Fred muttered that there was no way Ginny would go to sleep before I told her everything, and I smirked because I knew he was right. I said goodnight to them all, and they all said goodnight back as I turned to head to my room Ron and I caught each others eye for a moment and he smiled as he turned to go up the stairs with Harry. As Fred predicted as soon as I walked into the room Ginny attacked me and made me tell her everything which I did, while she fumed about the fact that her mother wouldn't let her stay. As we got in bed I mentioned that I was impressed with the way that she was being at ease with Harry and she just grinned at me.
We spent the next few weeks the same way we had spent the first. Cleaning the house and spending time with Ginny and the twins. Now that Harry was around Ron seemed to go back to the way things had always been with the three of us. I could tell that what had begun brewing that summer was not gone, but I felt like he probably didn't want to make Harry feel awkward, so he had gone back to treating me like he always had. This was fine with me, I wasn't quite sure that I was ready for Ron and I to start anything yet, I had to figure out how we were going to make it work. Another big thing that was in on the horizon was Harry's trial. Harry had used his Patronus in the presence of his cousin over the break. He had said they were attacked by dementors and we of course believed him, but the Ministry didn't seem to, and he was in violation of two very important laws. The first was the Statute of Underage Wizardy, but the second was much more serious. He had broken the Statute for Secrecy, which meant wizards couldn't do magic in front of Muggle unless it was a emergency. This obviously was an emergency but the question was if the Ministry would see it that way. A few days later Ginny and I got up and went down to breakfast, Harry wasn't there because he had already gone to the Ministry for his trial, I was so nervous I could barely eat breakfast. Ron and I went back up to his room and he began to teach me how to play wizard chess. After an hour or two when I kept fidgeting, Ron looked up at me and smiled. He told me that Harry was going to be fine, and I shouldn't let myself get so worried. I looked up at him and smiled back, I said that I knew that. He didn't look away, he held my gaze but he didn't say anything, after a moment I felt my heart start beating faster there was something in his eyes. He looked slightly scared but he didn't look away, something was happening between us that was very new. He leaned toward me slowly and I held my breath…Just then George and Fred Apparated in and killed the moment, and we both jumped as if we had been caught, even though we weren't doing anything. They looked at us with slight surprise, I don't think they were expecting to actually be interrupting something. George quickly said that it was time for lunch and we headed down to the kitchen. We ate lunch but I again barely ate anything. If Harry got expelled from Hogwarts I didn't know what we would do, I would miss him so much. I what if he went to jail? I couldn't bear the thought of him in Azkaban. I looked down at them table and sighed. I felt Ron put his hand on my knee under the table and squeeze it, I looked at him and smiled, he smiled back but then went back to talking with Fred. Just then Harry came through the fireplace, and I looked up at him quickly, my heart was pounding out of my chest. He smiled and told us that he was cleared of all charges, I felt relief sweeping through me and a put my head in my hands. Ginny, Fred, and George all starting dancing in a circle chanting 'he got off' Harry sat down across from Ron and I. Suddenly he winced and closed his eyes. I looked at him in concerned, but he said that it was just his scar, and that it had started hurting frequently since Voldemort came back. I was worried about him, but I thought that seemed to make sense.
A few days later our school letters came. I got an extra letter which I opened curiously. I felt my heart skip a beat as a prefect's badge fell out, I could barely even believe it, I ran upstairs to the boy's room. When I burst in and saw Harry holding a badge too and my suspicions were confirmed, I ran and hugged him telling him I knew he'd get it. He gave me a funny look, it looked restrained almost pained. He smiled but the smile didn't reach his eyes, he informed me that the badge was Ron's, he had been made the prefect, not Harry. I looked at Ron and before I could stop myself I asked Harry if he was sure. A hurt look crossed Ron's face as he snapped it was his name on the letter. I quickly tried to make amends saying that Ron really did deserve it, just then Mrs. Weasley came in. When she found out about Ron she was beside herself with excitement, she told him that he got a present for getting prefect. He asked her for a broom, and then went downstairs with her to show her which one he might like. I looked at Harry, he still wore the plastic smile as he congratulated me. I wasn't sure what to say to him, I knew he was upset about being not being made prefect and I truly had no clue why he wasn't. I quietly asked him if I could borrow Hedwig to write my parents, he said yes but he wouldn't look at me, after a moment I went over and called her down of the wardrobe she flew down and landed on my shoulder. I took her and was about to say something else to Harry but thought better of it. I walked out of the room and down towards my own. I met Ron on the stairs and he still looked grumpy, he walked past me but then I said his name and he turned to look at me, his face was still slightly sulky. I looked into his eyes and he looked back, I wondered if this was how it was going to be now. Everytime Ron and I were alone together there was a tension hanging in the air between us, like all the things that were unsaid between us were making the air thicker. I told him I was sorry for how I had reacted about him getting prefect, I said I was really proud of him, and he deserved it. He smiled at me and said thanks. I stood there for a second and then I moved to hug him, he returned the hug but then jumped back. I asked him what was wrong and he said Hedwig had bit his ear. I giggled, I forgot the bird was still on my shoulder. We headed back to our respective rooms and I began to write the letter to my parents. We had a wonderful dinner that night, we had a celebration for Ron and I on our prefects badges. Most of the Order came and we had a wonderful evening. The next day was particularly hectic because we were on our way to school, which was always chaotic with the Weasley's but with the new security measures it was even worse. By the time we left the house both Mrs. Weasley and the picture of Mrs. Black were screaming at the top of their lungs. Sirius came along with us in his dog form, which worried me because he might have been recognized but the boys didn't seem to think it was that big of a problem. When we got on the train Harry asked us where we wanted to sit and I had to tell him that Ron and I were expected in the prefect's carriage. His face fell and I felt horrible but we left him to find a compartment with Ginny. We went to the prefect's cabin and found there were six other people from our year there, there were two prefects from each house. The girl prefect from Ravenclaw was Padma Patil, the girl Ron had gone to the Yule Ball with. She gave us a slightly raised eyebrow when we came in together, but she didn't say anything. The Head Boy and Girl explained our duties and told us that we were going to have to patrol the corridors on the train to keep people in line. It took about an hour for them to tell us everything and then Ron and I left to go find Harry. We found him in a compartment with Ginny, Neville, and a pale blond haired girl who was reading a magazine upside down. I knew her name was Luna Lovegood, and she had a reputation for being a bit strange. Harry asked us about the prefects and we told them who they were. I grumbled about how Draco Malfoy was the Slytherin prefect. Ron told him about the rest and Luna looked up and stated that Ron had gone to the ball with Padma. Ron looked at her in shock and said yes he had. Luna serenely stated that Padma had not had a good time because Ron hadn't danced with her, and then went back to reading her magazine upside down. We went back to our usual train ride activities. Suddenly Draco Malfoy came into our compartment, he began being his usual horrible and rude self. The only thing that worried me was that some of the things he said hinted that he knew the dog at platform nine and three quarters was Sirius. I looked at Harry in alarm and I could tell he had noticed it as well.
When we arrived at Hogwarts something else disturbing happened. Hagrid was not there to take the first years across the lake, it was Professor Gurbbly-Plank. We asked her where he was but she wouldn't tell us anything. When we got to the carriages, Harry stopped and stared at them. The carriages had never had anything puling them, they seemed to move on their own, but now Harry asked us if we saw the creatures pulling them. Ron and I looked at each other and then at the carriages, they looked the same as usual to us. This wasn't the first time Harry was experiencing we weren't but it usually wasn't a good sign. We let it go, and decided that unless it turned into something negative we wouldn't bother with it, but it was disconcerting. We got to the castle and pulled our cases in. We went to the Great Hall for the beginning of the year feast. It seemed there was a new teacher, she was a tiny little lady in who looked very stuffy and unpleasant. Harry leaned over and told us she worked for Fudge, he had seen her at the Ministry. The Sorting Hat sang its usual song, but we all noticed that this year it was different, the hat sang a song of warning. Telling us we needed to stand together. I asked Nearly Headless Nick if the Hat had ever sung a warning before and he said it did it when it felt the school might be in danger. I was starting to feel a sense of foreboding building inside me. Danger was growing, even if it wasn't obvious I could feel it inside me. After we had eaten Dumbledore began his speech, he introduced our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Delores Umbridge. He was about to continue when the little woman interrupted him, I was appalled no one interrupted Dumbledore. She began to speak, most of the students zoned out, I saw Ron sitting next to me and staring at his fork absentmindedly. I on the other hand was paying very close attention, in the middle of all her droning there were some very important and unpleasant things being said. She was telling us that the Ministry was going to be interfering at Hogwarts. I explained this to the boys as we were leaving the Great Hall a few minutes later because they hadn't been listening. They seemed to be just as upset as I was about it. When I got to the dormitory that night I was getting ready for bed when I heard Lavender Brown talking about how she was annoyed at Harry for being such a lying big head. I turned and snapped at her to keep her big mouth shut about Harry. She looked at me in shock but slid into bed with a glare at me. In the morning Harry and Ron met me in the Common Room and Harry looked very glum, I asked him what was wrong and he said that he had a very similar fight with Seamus to the one I had with Lavender. I told them I was worried. I reminded them what Dumbledore had said at Cedric's funeral about Voldemort spreading discord and enmity. Ron looked at me with admiration and asked how I remembered things like that. I blushed and simply said that I listen. Then I went on to tell them that it was starting, we were all fighting amongst ourselves, and it was going to make us weak. We spent the rest of our day rather normally our lessons were harder that year because we were getting ready for O.W.L.'s. Ron and Harry were of course not paying attention in our classes, they always relied on me to make sure they passed. After they blatantly began playing hangman in History of Magic I had enough, on our way out I snapped at them that maybe I should just not give them my notes that year and see how they liked it. Ron said they'd fail and then I'd feel guilty. I snapped at him that he'd deserve it because he didn't even try, and he grinned and elbowed me in the ribs. He said they did try, then he gave me a mischievous look and went on to say they just didn't have the brains, or the memory, of the concentration that I did. I knew he was blatantly stroking my ego, but it worked. We went out into the courtyard and I was interested to see Cho Chang come over and strike up a conversation with Harry. He went red when she said hello and they began to talk awkwardly, just then Ron jumped in and inconsiderately began criticizing the pin of some Quidditch team she had on her bag, she got annoyed with him and walked off. I was completely exasperated with him, he had no subtlety what so ever and I told him so. I told him Cho had obviously wanted to talk to Harry alone, Ron and I were grumpy with each other as we went to Potions class, but I saw Harry seemed rather chipper. His mood got much worse as Snape meanly vanished his Potion when he forgot an ingredient and gave him a zero. At lunch I told him that Snape was very unfair, Ron said he still thought Snape was evil, he said something dumb like toadstools don't change their spots. I was still annoyed at him so I snapped at him that I'm sure there was more there then he happened to know. He was about to retort when Harry turned on both of us. He snapped that he wished we'd cut it out, that our constant bickering was driving him crazy, then he stood up and stomped off. Ron and I looked at each other guiltily. He said that maybe we should try to cut back on how much we bickered. I sighed in frustration and told him that it wasn't as if we were trying to make Harry annoyed but we bickered, that just what we did. Ron grinned at me as I said this and chuckled. He asked me if we were ok and I rolled my eyes. 'Aren't we always?' I told him. He stood up and said that he was going to go find Harry, I had class so I told him I'd see him later, as he stood up and walked out he pulled my pony tail affectionately. I glared at him and smiled as he walked out, I picked up my books and headed for the door, but as I was leaving Ginny caught my eye and smirked.
I met the boys in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They sat down next to me and Professor Umbridge began her lesson she told us to put our wands a way and read the first chapter of our book. I raised my hand immediately, Harry looked at me in surprise. I had already read the entire book so when she challenged me I asked her why the book didn't have anything about learning defensive spells. She informed us we would only be learning the theories in her class. This seemed to set quite a few people off, and many people began asking questions. Things got out of control quickly, Harry asked what good theories would be if we were attacked. I knew this was going to be bad. She asked him who in the world who would want to attack him, and of course he said Voldemort. Umbridge stood there in front of everyone and called him a liar, he jumped up and screamed at her that he wasn't a liar. She told him that he had detention, and then told him to leave her class. She wrote him a note and told him to take it to McGonagall. He got up from next to me and left the room shaking with rage. I felt horrible, I whispered that I couldn't' believe he had done that, and that it was my fault for starting with her. Ron looked over to me with his eyebrows raised, he leaned over and told me I'd better not feel guilty. He said that he thought it was absolutely brilliant that I had stood up to her. I smiled at him appreciatively and he scooted closer to me so we could look like we were reading our books while we talked. That night at dinner things were very unpleasant everyone was whispering about Harry, finally I was so annoyed I couldn't eat, I got up with the boys and stormed back to the dormitory. We talked about Umbridge for a few more minutes, I was so angry. How could she be our teacher in our O.W.L year? We'd never learn everything we needed to. Ron said that maybe she was here to spy on us. I snapped at him that, that was obvious and Harry sighed and told us not to start fighting again. I felt bad, I was always more snippy with Ron when I was stressed, but I also thought that our bickering would always be a part of our relationship, no matter what stage it was at. We did homework for the rest of the night, and then I went to bed early. I had a bad feeling that this was going to be a very long year. The next day we had Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures. While I did miss Hagrid a lot, I had to admit I really liked our lessons better with Grubbly-Plank. There had still been no sightings of Hagrid and we were wondering often what might have become of him. By Friday afternoon when Harry had his detention with Umbridge he was completely depressed it had probably been one of his worst weeks at Hogwarts. He left us in the Common Room to head to her office. Ron was in the Common Room with me but then at four thirty he got up and said he had to go. I looked at him curiously but he didn't give me anymore information before he left. I saw Ginny sitting by the fire and I went to join her, then about a half hour later she said she had to leave. She was going to meet her boyfriend Michael Corner of Ravenclaw, I grinned at her and waved to her as she left. It was after dark before Ron came running back into the Common Room grinning from ear to ear. I asked him what was going on, and he told me he had just been made the new Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I beamed at him and I jumped up and hugged him. He hugged me back and laughed. Suddenly I became aware of everyone else in the room who was looking at us curiously. I quickly let him go and we sat down in chairs opposite each other and he began to tell me all about it. A few minutes later Angelina, the Quidditch captain, came in with a few cases of butterbeer and began to hand them out. I took one and watched as everyone sat around talking excitedly. I watched Ron a lot, I was very proud of him. He was having an animated conversation with the twins and Angelina but he would catch my eye every few minutes and smile. The next thing I remember I woke up with a start and realized Harry was back, and sitting next to me. He quickly began to tell me that when Umbridge touched him a few moments earlier his scare had hurt. He thought it was a sign that maybe she had something to do with Voldemort, because that's usually what pain in his scare meant. He told me that she had been making him write lines with his own blood. I was completely appalled. While I thought that his scar hurting might have just been a coincidence, I still thought he should talk to Dumbledore about it. He flatly said no, and told me he was going to write Sirius instead. I quickly told him that he couldn't do that, because mail could be intercepted. He looked thoroughly annoyed and said he was going to bed, I was relieved, if he want to bed then I could too without seeming rude. Harry trumped towards his dormitory and I got up off the couch. On the way to the dormitory I walked by the place where Ron was standing when his brothers and Angelina were distracted I discreetly reached down and squeezed his arm. He looked at me and smiled. I gave him a meaningful look and told him congratulations again, then I said goodnight. He held my gaze and softly said goodnight, I smiled and headed for the dormitory.
Ron and Harry were getting dangerously behind on their homework, I kept telling them that they'd regret it but they didn't listen. A few weeks later they were sitting in the Common Room looking so stressed they might break down with piles and piles of homework. I went over and sat down with them, Ron looked miserable and I began to tell him that he should have listened to me when he snapped that he didn't have time for a lecture. Usually I would have taken offense but I knew how busy he was. Just then we got a surprise Percy's owl Hermes showed up with a letter for Ron. It was basically Percy telling Ron that if he felt like not being associated with someone as unstable as Harry that Percy would support him. This just put Ron in a worse mood and he slumped down looking completely miserable. As I watched him I had a sudden urge to run my hand through his shaggy red hair and tell him it was going to be alright. I blushed at my own thought and settled instead for telling him and Harry I would correct their papers and write intros and conclusions for them. Ron sat up and looked at me adoringly, Harry did the same and I chuckled to myself. I corrected their papers and handed them back for them to copy. Ron smiled at me and told me I was the most wonderful person in the world, and promised he'd never be rude to me again. I smiled and told him he'd be being rude to me again by Monday morning, he grinned and squeezed my knee under the table. A moment later Sirius's head appeared in the fire. It was late so the three of us were the only three in the Common Room, but I was still shocked he would take such a risk. He said he wanted to answer Harry's questions, and I was annoyed that Harry had written him even after I told him it was too risky. We gave Sirius the information about what had been happening at school, he didn't really seem to have any new insights but he was talking about coming to visit us. We quickly told him he couldn't, after what Malfoy had said it was too dangerous. He seemed to take offense to this and he left in a huff, I felt very bad for Harry because I didn't think it was fair that Sirius was making him feel guilty for trying to protect him. It was looking like this might be our worst year ever at Hogwarts, Umbridge was made High Inquisitor, which meant she had the power to fire any teacher she wanted and went around making ridiculous interviews. I was more annoyed than ever with her and started something again in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and again Harry finished it, getting himself another weeks worth of detentions. I was beginning to think that I needed to do something about her, we were not being trained properly and it wasn't fair. I finally decided to confront Harry on it, I told him and Ron that I thought we needed to make sure we learned to defend ourselves. That we should have some kind of club where we worked on learning defensive magic. I told them with frustration that this was more important than homework. They both stared at me in awe, now they knew I was serious. I told them I thought Harry should teach us. Ron thought it was a great idea, but Harry of course said that he didn't know enough to teach us. We pointed out all he'd done and he told us it was just luck, when we smirked at him disbelievingly he got very angry and yelled at us. He told we didn't know what it was like, to be a moment from dying, that it wasn't about knowing things it was about instinct, that he wasn't better than Cedric he was just more lucky and us saying things like that was disrespecting Cedric's memory. Ron and I felt guilty instantly, I quietly told him that wasn't what we were trying to do, but that I knew we needed him. Because we needed to know what fighting dark forces was really like, I asked him to think about it and he said he would, and then he went off to bed.
I let the subject drop for a few weeks and then I broached it with him again. He said he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. I asked him if he would be ok with meeting some people in the Hogshead the coming weekend to talk with them about the club. He finally agreed and I was very relieved. When we got there that weekend it ended up being a few more people than I thought, there were over twenty people there by the end. Harry glared at me and I looked at him apologetically. I called everyone to order and began to speak I explained the plan and no one said anything. Then a blond Hufflepuff boy asked why we should believe that Voldemort was even really back. I said because Dumbledore said so, and he said Dumbledore only believed it because Harry said it. I began to realize many of these people had just come to hear Harry's story. He seemed to think the same thing because he flatly said if that's why they were hear they could just leave. I was relieved when no one left. People went on to ask him about all the things he'd done, and people who knew chimed in with details. I noticed Cho Chang talking him up quite a bit and Harry tried hard to contain his look of happiness. In the end we set up a time for everyone to meet each week and then everyone signed their name to the parchment. I was very happy by the end of the day. After everyone left Harry, Ron and I sat in the pub drinking butterbeer and talking. Ron found out that Ginny was dating Michael Corner and threw a fit. Harry distractedly asked if that's why Ginny talked around him now and I told him yes, but I knew his thoughts were still on Cho. I teased him that she just couldn't take her eyes off him through the whole meeting and he grinned from ear to ear. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than we thought to start the club. The day after we had the meeting Umbridge posted a notice as High Inquisitor that no club was allowed to meet without her permission. This gave us the distinct impression she knew exactly what we were up to. As the weeks went on she tightened security even more and I began to think maybe the club wasn't such a good idea, but Ron and Harry kept reminding me that it was my idea. Then one day Harry came up with a brilliant plan, there was apparently a room on the seventh floor which turned unto whatever the person who found it needed. It was a secret room and it sounded perfect. We called everyone together and we met there that evening. Harry walked back and forth in front of the wall and suddenly a door appeared, we went in and it was a perfect room, it had everything that we might need. We had a wonderful lesson where we worked on the disarming spell, I disarmed Ron several times and he even managed to disarm me a few times, a fact that he gloated about all the way back to the Common Room that night. Harry didn't seem like he even mind us bickering that night, he was two happy about the now obvious romance that was brewing between him and Cho Chang.
Things seemed to be getting much better. Having Dumbledore's Army, which is what we decided to call our club, behind Umbridge's back seemed to make things slightly more bearable. Then one day everything fell apart. There was a Quidditch game, and Gryffindor was playing Slytherin. Things were going alright as the game started, Ron was nervous of course, he always was during Quidditch games. Suddenly after he let a goal in we heard the Slytherins start to sing, they had made up an awful song about Ron. Saying he was born in a bin, he always let the Quaffle in, and so forth. I was beyond furious as I watched Ron wilt in humiliation I wanted to go hex the lot of them. In the end Harry caught the Snitch and won the game, but as they were all landing I knew something was wrong. Draco landed and began to say something towards Harry and the Weasley's. Ron was walking off the field alone, and he didn't hear whatever was being said. Suddenly Harry, George, and Fred turned and ran at Malfoy. Angelina grabbed Fred but Harry and George began pummeling every inch of Malfoy they could get their hands on, soon Goyle joined the fight and Madam Hooch had to pull them off each other. I was appalled at their behavior. I made my way back to the Common Room and Harry came in about twenty minutes later looking worse than I had ever seen him. He hollowly told me that he had just been banned from Quidditch for life, by Umbridge. I had no clue what to say to him, a few minutes later Ron came stumbling into the Common Room. He looked like he had been out walking in the rain for hours. He slumped by the fire looked positively morose, he told Harry that he was resigning the team because he stunk, and Harry told him he couldn't because he, Fred, and George had already been kicked off. This made Ron even more depressed, he looked like he might cry as he said he'd never felt worse in his whole life. I wanted very much to go put my arms around him, but I resisted. I walked to the window and quickly told them I had found something that might cheer them up. They both looked at me dully and I told them that Hagrid was back. We ran quickly down to Hagrid's under the cloak and when I saw him I couldn't help but gasp, he was completely covered in bruises. He told us the story about how he and Madam Maxine had gone for Dumbledore as a liaison to the giants. Unfortunately it didn't go very well, they hadn't had much success and they had come back. Just then Delores Umbridge showed up, we quickly hid under the cloak while she talked to Hagrid. When she left I tried to convince him that he had to be extra careful, I could tell that she was not fond of him and I knew she'd be looking for a reason to fire him. Hagrid didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal, but I kept persistently trying to tell him otherwise. A few days later in Care of Magical Creatures the mystery of the creatures Harry had seen on the carriages was revealed. Hagrid took us into the forest and told us about thestrals. I say he told us, because thestrals are invisible to everyone except those who have seen death. I thought it was fascinating as I watched hunks of meat disappear of the ground with no seen animal eating them. Suddenly Professor Umbridge arrived, she began to talk horribly to Hagrid she humiliated him in front of the whole class and then made him out to be a brainless oaf. By the time the lesson was ending I was literally shaking with rage, I wanted to take out my wand and turn her into a toadstool and then stomp on her. Ron grabbed my elbow to hold me back he leaned down and whispered in my ear, he soothingly said that we had to let it go, doing anything would just make things worse for Hagrid. I stormed up to the school, and was glad we would be having a Dumbledore's Army that night so I could work hard on getting her back.
As Christmas grew closer our homework load got heavier and heavier, Ron and Harry were getting positively frantic because they always procrastinated. I was helping them as much as I could, but I also had my own work to do. Ron and I were also supposed to be helping put up the Christmas decorations as prefects, it was an annoying task on top of all our other work, but it was fun to spend some time with Ron. One night we were framing the doors of the classrooms with tinsel and laughing together. We got to the Charms room and Flitwick walked out and handed Ron a clump of mistletoe, he told him to hang it above the door. Ron took it and his face turned slightly red, he met my eye and I felt my face begin to get warm as well. From that day on we were very careful not to walk into Charms class together. A few days before break we went to the last Dumbledore's Army meeting of the semester, everyone had improved greatly and had learned how to do most of the basic spells. As we all made our way out I saw that Cho had hung back and waited for Harry, I pulled Ron towards the door. He looked back at Harry and then at me as we were leaving. He asked me why we weren't waiting for Harry and I rolled my eyes at him. Understanding dawned on his face, he grinned and began to giggle. We walked back to the Common Room together and sat down on the couch to start our homework, and also to wait for Harry. Yet something interesting was happening, somehow knowing what Harry was most likely doing at that moment was creating a tension between Ron and I. I expected it was because both of us were thinking about it, but it was as if there was electricity in the air between us. My skin was tingling and I felt rather nervous for some reason, I tried to focus on my Arthimancy but I kept stealing glances at Ron. Everytime I looked up at him he would be looking at me and we would quickly look away and blush. Finally after the fourth time this happened I rolled my eyes in a teasing way and said what. Ron smiled guiltily and said he didn't know. He went back to his notes but I caught him looking at me again a few seconds later, and we both snorted in laughter. It was as if we had a private joke that only we understood, he casually shifted his weight so he was closer to me and his arm was against mine. I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach, but at that moment Harry came back into the Common Room and he was grinning happily. I asked him if he'd kissed Cho and he said yes. Ron began to laugh and I gave him a withering look he moved down on the floor next to Harry. Ron asked him how it was and I hid a smile. Harry told him that Cho had been crying. Ron asked if it was because he was a bad kisser, I told him of course it wasn't. I explained how Cho was feeling. She was very conflicted because she felt guilty for kissing Harry because Cedric had just died the year before, and also because her mum was being pressured at the Ministry with her job because of Cho's friendship with Harry, and that she wasn't sure how she felt about Harry and that all of it was very hard to sort out. Ron promptly told me that no one could feel all that, they'd explode. I snapped at him that not everyone was as emotionally incompetent as he was. After a few more minutes of talking I headed up to bed. As I left I heard Ron and Harry still talking quietly and I smiled to myself.
When I woke up the next morning I found that Harry and Ron were gone. Dumbledore found me in the Gryffindor Common Room and asked me to come to his office. I knew something must be terribly wrong. He told me Mr. Weasley had been attacked, he was in St. Mungo's and he was going to pull through but he was terribly injured. I quickly asked him when I could go to where the Weasley's were. He smiled and told me I would have to wait until the term ended officially at the end of the day. He also said I could use his fire to talk to my parents. I quickly poked my head into the fire and said the address of my house. My head spun around and suddenly I was looking at my father sitting in the living room with his morning cup of tea. He jumped when he saw my head sitting in the fire. I quickly told my father that I didn't think that I really wanted to go skiing with them, and that with my O.W.L.s coming up it was probably a good idea that I stay at school to study, he and my mother looked very disappointed but they said it was fine. I told them I loved them and pulled my head out of the fire. I thanked Dumbledore and then ran to pack my trunk. At five o'clock exactly I went out onto the grounds and held my wand in the air, moments later a large Purple bus arrived right in front of me. I had decided to take the Knight Bus to Grimauld Place because I knew no one could pick me up. When the Knight Bus pulled up outside Grimauld Place I pulled my trunk out and I ran to the door and wrenched it open, I left my trunk in the hall and went straight for the kitchen where I heard people talking. When I walked through the door I saw the Weasley's all sitting around the table making a popcorn string for the Christmas Tree, they all looked up at me in surprise, but there was only one Weasley that I was looking at. Mrs. Weasley asked me what I was doing there, wasn't I supposed to be skiing with my parents? I told her I heard what happened and I felt like I needed to be with them more, but all the time I didn't take my eyes off Ron. He stood up not taking his eyes from me, he walked across the room and hugged me, as he did he said thank you, softly in my ear. When I pulled away I saw that Mrs. Weasley was wearing a rather satisfied look on her face and I wondered what that was about. I went and sat down by Ron and he teased me telling me to be honest the real reason I was there is because I stink at skiing. While this was partly true I wouldn't give him the satisfaction so I glared at him, and said I was a wonderful skier I just thought being there for my friends was more important. As I said this I looked around and quickly realized someone was missing, I asked where Harry was and everyone's faces grew somber. Ginny and Fred looked up at Mrs. Weasley who had just moved to the other end of the kitchen to start making beef stew. They leaned in to me and quickly explained that they had been listening on the Extendable Ears outside Dad's hospital wing and heard Moody tell the other Order members that they suspected Harry was being possessed by Voldemort, which is why he had the vision of Dad's attack. Ginny went on to say she seriously doubted it was true, but ever since he'd heard it that morning Harry had locked himself in the master bedroom with Buckbeak, and was refusing to talk to anyone. I sighed and put my head in my hands, sometimes I felt so bad for my poor best friend, he went through so much more than a normal fifteen year old should have to. I quickly told Ginny and Ron to meet me in the boy's room in ten minutes, and then stood to leave. Ron asked me what I was going to do, and I told him I was going to drag Harry out so we could make him talk to us, then I turned and headed up the stairs.
I banged on the door until Harry opened it, and told him to come with me because I wanted to talk to him. As we made our way down to his and Ron's room, I explained how and why I had gotten there, and then we went in. Harry sat down on his bed and I sat down on Ron's with Ron and Ginny. I asked Harry how he was doing, and told him that I had been informed about what had happened earlier that day. He snapped at Ron and Ginny for talking behind his back, and I was just about to chastise him for once again being rude to people who wanted to help him when to my surprise Ginny jumped in. She said back to him that the only reason they were talking behind his back was because he wouldn't talk to them and he was hiding away. They wanted to talk to him about it. He told her he thought they wouldn't understand, and she immediately pointed out that was stupid of him, because she was the only person he knew who had most definitely been possessed by Lord Voldemort so she should be the person he WAS talking to. Harry stared at her like he'd never seen her before and said softly that he had forgotten. She bitterly replied he was lucky he could forget it. Harry softened almost immediately and I was very impressed with Ginny. He asked her how he would know, and she asked if he could remember everything he'd been doing, he said yes, and she told him that meant he wasn't being possessed. He said that when he saw his vision he wasn't watching the snake attack Mr. Weasley, he was the snake. This alarmed me, but I hid it and pointed out to him there was no way he could have left Hogwarts magically without knowing it, that's what the protective spells were for. Ron backed me up, assuring Harry that he hadn't left his bed for one moment. Harry looked around at us and the relief was clear on his face, finally he smiled. Harry's mood seemed to be perfectly cheerful from that point on. A few days later was Christmas, I awoke to a pile of presents on the end of my bed. My mum and dad had gotten me a new brown jumper, and red sweater. Mrs. Weasley had given me a beautiful pair of mittens. Next I got to Ron and Harry's presents. Harry bought me a book that I had been wanting for ages. I picked up Ron's present; it was the first time he'd given me something that wasn't a book, or some kind of sweets. I opened it and found that it was perfume in a pretty little blue bottle, it was sickeningly sweet flowery stuff, and I coughed when I smelled it. Ginny saw the perfume and started to giggle. She teasingly pointed out that she thought the perfume was Ron's attempt to get me something special and even a little romantic. I shook my head and giggled with her, even though Ron had no idea what my taste was I was touched that he had tried. After breakfast we went to the hospital to visit Mr. Weasley we saw that he was doing much better, and the doctor said he could come home soon. After while we decided to give Mr. and Mrs. Weasley a little privacy so we went for a walk, we bumped into the last person we expected to see, Gilderoy Lockhart. He took us back to his room, which was a ward for incurable cases, he seemed rather loopy, and had no clue who we were. I saw Ron watching me the whole time we were with him, no doubt trying to gauge my reaction, but he needn't have worried. Gilderoy held no appeal to me anymore. Just as we were about to leave we saw Neville. There was a very awkward moment as we realized that Neville was there visiting someone. When his grandma, who was with him, realized we didn't know who he was visiting, she told us with pride that her son and daughter had been tortured to insanity by Death Eaters because they would not give up information, she then chastised Neville for acting ashamed of them. Neville said he wasn't ashamed, but his grandmother took him and left. I was horrified, I asked if the others had known. Ron and Ginny said no, but Harry said yes, he said he had seen it in the Pensive but Dumbledore had made him promise not to tell. We all walked back to Mr. Weasley's room feeling rather somber. That night Harry went to bed early I had a feeling that he was exhausted from everything that had happened over the past few weeks. I stayed up with Ron, Ginny, and the twins in the living room. The twins were playing a game of Exploding Snap but being so crazy about it that it was almost more entertaining to watch. Suddenly I jerked awake, I couldn't even remember dosing off, but I was slightly embarrassed because my head was resting on Ron's shoulder. I sat up quickly, but he seemed totally unfazed, I wondered how long I'd been like that. Ginny suggested we all turn in. The twins Apparated to their room, because they could, and Ginny, Ron and I trumped up the stairs. When we got to the landing that led to our room Ginny skipped ahead and left Ron and I to say goodnight, just before she walked in she turned and said we should really be more careful where we stood. We both looked up and realized someone had hung mistletoe over the landing. Ginny grinned evilly and darted into the room and shut the door. Ron turned bright red and asked me if I would mind killing his little sister for him, my face was burning as I told him it would be my pleasure. I met his eyes and it felt like my heart skipped a beat. He leaned down and gently kissed my cheek, and said goodnight. I said goodnight back, and he turned and walked up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, I ran into the room and tackled Ginny who was waiting excitedly on the other side of the door, we squealed and then stayed up almost until dawn laughing and talking.
Before we knew it, it was time to go back to school. The night before we left Harry gave us some interesting news, he had gone down to the kitchen and Snape had been there. He had given Harry the news that Dumbledore wanted Harry to take Occulmency lessons with Snape. I quickly explained to Harry that it must be because Dumbledore wanted him to stop having the dreams about Voldemort. Harry was not encouraged, he and Snape hated each other and any extra time they had to spend together was not something he looked forward to. We took the Knight bus back to school and on Monday evening Harry had his first lesson with Snape. When he came back I asked him how it went and he dismissively said it was fine, but then he went on to say that being forced to go back through his memories, had mad him realize that the room he kept dreaming about was in the Department of Mysteries. Ron was very excited about this discovery and I was as well but I was also concerned. I wasn't sure Harry should be relying so heavily on visions that Dumbledore clearly thought he should try to prevent. Over the next month we were so busy that time seemed to fly by, we had our DA meetings as often as possible, during which it was painfully obvious that Harry and Cho were now a couple. We also had massive amounts of homework leading up to our O.W.L's. Suddenly it was February and there were posters up saying that there would be a special trip to Hogsmeade for Valentines Day. Everytime I saw the sign I felt butterflies in my stomach, I'd learned my lesson from the Yule Ball about expecting things from Ron, but I couldn't help but hope a little. The Wednesday before Valentines Day I was sitting in the Common Room and Ron came in and sat next to me, he told me he wanted to talk with me about the Hogsmeade trip. I looked up at him in surprise, was he really doing what I thought he was doing? He gave me a half guilty half gloomy look and he said he couldn't go because Angelina scheduled an all day practice. I was instantly disappointed, and also happy. I was disappointed he wasn't going with me, but happy that had cared enough to come talk to me about it. He said that he knew Harry was going with Cho, and he asked if I was ok going by myself. I said it was fine, and he grinned and said he'd make it up to me before hopping up and heading for the boy's dormitory. It turned out to be a rather uneventful Valentine's Day. I went to Hogsmeade, and took advantage of Ron's absence to buy his birthday present. I met up with Harry in the Three Broomsticks, a lot earlier than I had expected. He told me about how his date with Cho had been a disaster and I tried to tell him what he had done wrong as kindly as possible. The next few weeks went on without incident the DA meetings kept on going. Umbridge enforced more and more rules, and we resisted her at every turn. The work load got heavier and heavier, and we were under a ton of stress. At the end of March the unthinkable happened, Umbridge fired Professor Trelawny. We were all in shock, she had been threatening to fire teachers for so long we never thought she'd actually go through with it, Trelawny was beside herself. She was sobbing and saying over and over that Hogwarts was her home. Even I, who did not like her much, felt very bad for her. Dumbledore came to her rescue and told her that even if she wasn't a teacher she had his permission to live in the castle. Umbridge looked positively furious, and I knew we hadn't heard the end of it.
Nothing suspicious happened again until Mid-April. We were all in the Room of Requirement and Dobby suddenly showed up looking terrified. He gasped that 'she' was coming. We didn't need any clarification to know which 'she' was so terrifying. Harry looked around at us and bellowed for us to run. We all took off out the door in different directions. Ron and I pelted down the corridor to the left, I heard Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad shouting behind us. I had to think fast, because I knew they would be coming around the corner any second. I pulled Ron into a shadow alcove that was to our right and pushed him down on the bench. I plopped down in his lap and put my face close to his. He looked at me wide eyed and asked what in the world I was doing. I quickly told him I was keeping us from getting caught, and told him to put his arms around my waist and play along. He quickly caught on and did what I asked. I knew if the person chasing us was Malfoy, or someone else we knew my plan would fail. I held my breath and prayed it was a Slytherin who didn't know us. A moment later I heard a girl walk up, she began to yell at us but then she stopped and uncomfortably said never mind before she kept running. When she was out of sight and the coast was clear I jumped out of Ron's lap, I apologized to him but he was grinning, he told me not to apologize that, that was a stroke of pure brilliance, and he couldn't believe we didn't get caught. We went back to the Common Room, but Harry wasn't there. I was completely panicked, he must have been caught, and there was no was he was not going to be expelled. After what seemed like hours, Harry came back into the dormitory. He told us quickly that he had been caught, and I was about to panic when he said he hadn't been expelled. I had no clue how that was possible but he went on. He said they had taken him to Dumbledore and Dumbledore had taken the responsibility for everything. Since the club had been called Dumbledore's Army he lied and told Fudge he had asked us to start it to keep Harry out of trouble. Fudge had tried to arrest him for sedition but he had stunned the entire room and then vanished. I was terrified, Dumbledore was gone, that meant not only could Umbridge do what she pleased, but we were no longer truly safe. The next day we got a welcome relief from the depression that was threatening to overwhelm us all. Fred and George Weasley had been muttering that they were going to do something about Umbridge once and for all and that day we found out just what they meant. I was sitting in my Arthimancy class and I heard a loud bang in the hall. Suddenly a bright blue firework in the shape of a butterfly flittered into the room. Professor Vector opened the door and a monstrous racket greeted us. We ran into the hall to see Professor Umbridge being chased down it by a huge Catherine wheel. I laughed until my sides hurt, I couldn't remember the last time I had felt that happy. That night I was at the front of the line to shake Fred and George's hand. I announced to Harry and Ron that we were going to take a night off from our homework. Ron looked at me and sarcastically asked who I was and what I had done with Hermione. I smiled at him and told him that I was feeling rebellious. Harry laughed and Ron caught my eye, he looked extremely impressed and I felt myself blush. The three of us spent the next few hours talking and laughing with everyone in the Common Room and then we all headed up to bed. I had just climbed in when we heard a commotion out the window, all the girls in the room jumped up and looked out the window, two of Fred and George's firecrackers had collided and created hybrids which were filling the sky. We could see the boys dormitory window clearly from ours and I waved to Harry and Ron, who were cheering from there window. After a minute or two most of the boys went back to bed, Ron was still at the window and he caught my eye. He mouthed, 'still feeling rebellious?' I grinned and nodded, and he mouthed 'Common Room' and held up ten fingers. I grinned and ran to put my clothes back on. As I did Parvati and Lavender, who had witnessed the exchanged, giggled at me as I threw on a t-shirt and sweat pants and headed for the door. I met Ron in the Common Room and Harry wasn't with him, I asked where he was and Ron said he was in bed. I asked Ron where we were going and he said it was a surprise. We snuck out the portrait hole and headed down the corridor, it was a much slower process sneaking around without Harry's Invisibility cloak. Ron took me through a secret passage way and it ended up leading to a balcony on the side of one of the towers, it had a beautiful view of the forest. Ron told me that he had found it when he had been taking a walk after Quidditch practice. We had a great view of the fireworks which were still bursting sporadically in the sky, we stood there in silence watching them for awhile. Ron looked at me and smiled, I told him we should probably head back, as rebellious as I was feeling I didn't want us to be in detention. When we got back to the Common Room Ron said goodnight to me, he turned back to me when he got to the stairs and said that he hadn't told anyone else about that balcony, and he was glad he showed me, then he said goodnight again and went up the stairs. I watched him go, and then ran up the stairs and jumped into my bed, I buried my face in my pillow and grinned.
There was only one more month until our O.W.L.s and things were crazier than ever. Harry was deeply depressed, he and Cho seemed to be fighting all the time, and he was becoming more and more introverted, he never seemed to want to talk to us. Suddenly one day he got it into his head that he had to talk to Sirius, his plan was to sneak into Umbridge's office and use her fireplace because it wouldn't be guarded. I was appalled at him, I had never heard a more stupid plan in my whole life. Yet he was determined, so one night Fred and George set a distraction and Harry broke into her office. It ended up going off without a hitch, and Fred and George decided that instead of accepting punishment for the distraction, they flew out of Hogwarts on their brooms, leaving their education behind them. I didn't even want to think about what their mother was going to say. A few days later was the final Quidditch game of the season, I knew Ron was extremely nervous so I was there extra early. Suddenly as the match was beginning Hagrid showed up and asked Harry and I to leave with him. I was reluctant to leave, but Hagrid begged. We headed into the woods and I asked him where we were going. He took us deep into the forest, he explained we had to be careful because the centaurs were very angry. I was uncomfortable with what we were doing, but I could tell Hagrid needed us so I continued. Finally he brought us to clearing where, to my horror, there was a giant sitting. Hagrid explained to us that his name was Grawp, and that he was Hagrid's brother. Hagrid explained that he thought Umbridge was going to fire him any day, and he wanted us come keep Grawp company if he had to leave. I was completely exasperated, not only was it going to be extremely dangerous, but I had no clue how we were going to find our way back to him. We agreed but I had no clue how we were going to manage it. On our way out of the forest we had a run in with the centaurs, who were very angry that we were in the forest, that just confirmed my fear that seeing Grawp was going to be virtually impossible. We made our way back towards the Quidditch Pitch and saw the game was over. I heard the horrible song about Ron and my heart fell, just then Harry and I began to hear that the song was different, they were singing Ron's praises. I saw the crowd carrying a red headed figure my heart leapt with happiness. It was a few more days until we could tell Ron about Grawp, he was of course completely exasperated with Hagrid as well and we all agreed that we probably wouldn't be able to visit Grawp.
Soon our O.W.L.s were upon us, I was utterly panicked. This was my normal routine, even though I always got perfect grades I always worried that I failed everything. History of Magic was our final exam, we were sitting in the Great Hall and it was very stuffy and hot. I was going over every one of my answers for the third time, Ron was sitting next to me lazily doodling on a piece of spare parchment. Suddenly there was a commotion behind me. I turned around and saw Harry had fallen out of his seat and was writhing on the floor, he began yelling. Everyone jumped up in confusion, and the teachers rushed Harry out of the hall. Ron and I quickly turned in our exams and then rushed after him. We looked everywhere for Harry, we were just about to start retracing our steps when he showed up. He dragged us into an empty classroom, he looked positively frantic. He told us he'd seen a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius, he said if we didn't get there in time Sirius would die. I was trying very hard to stay calm as I talked to them. I asked Harry if maybe it could be a trap, he yelled that even if it was he couldn't take the chance if it meant Sirius could die. I accepted that I was going to have to help him see this through. Just then Ginny and Luna showed up and Harry got even more frustrated, but I told him we could use their help. I persuaded him to use Umbridge's fireplace again, to check and see if Sirius was at Grimauld Place, just to be sure. We hatched a poorly planned and haphazard scheme that I was sure wouldn't work, and then we put it in motion. I was completely surprised when Harry and I actually made it into Umbridge's office. He stuck his head in the fire and called out for Grimauld Place. I thought we were actually going to make it, but then I heard the door, there was no where to hide and even if there had been I didn't have time. Umbridge grabbed me and handed me over to Millicent Bulstrode who grabbed me painfully by the hair and pointed her wand at me. Umbridge pulled Harry out of the fire and soon after the Inquisitorial Squad showed up with everyone else plus Neville, who had somehow gotten himself involved. Umbridge thought Harry had been trying to contact Dumbledore, she was trying to get him to talk but he refused. She threatened to use the Cruciatus Curse on him and I was horrified. I didn't know what to do but I knew I couldn't let her torture him so I screamed that I would tell her everything. She stopped immediately and I was panicked as she came up to me. I told her the first thing that came to my head, I told her we were trying to find Dumbledore to tell him his weapon was ready. Ron and Ginny looked at me like I was crazy, and I didn't even really know what I was doing, I just knew I was buying us time. She told me to take her to the weapon and she grabbed Harry and brought him along too, as we walked he kept giving me questioning looks but we couldn't say anything for fear of being found out. As we passed by a window I saw the forest and had a stroke of brilliance. I took Umbridge out onto the grounds and into the forest, Harry was now looking alarmed. I closed my eyes and hoped against hope this would work. Sure enough hoof beats surrounded us and the centaurs glared down at us. For a moment I was terrified that they might take us along with Umbridge, but then she sent a spell at one of them. Centaurs hate magic, so they all charged her and carried her off, Harry looked at me and told me my plan was brilliant. I smile back at him appreciatively, and we headed back for the castle but there was no need the other four were running down the hill, they looked a little worse for wear but very pleased with themselves. There was then an ensuing argument because Harry didn't want then coming along, but they refused point blank to stay, they said they were part of Dumbledore's Army too, and they were coming. Then we had to figure out how to get there, Luna suggested we fly there, on the thestrals. I immediately knew this was our best option, but I wasn't thrilled about the idea of soaring hundreds of feet above the ground on something I couldn't see. The ride to London turned out to be just as horrible as I had expected, by the time we got to the Ministry of Magic I was so happy to be back on the ground that I could have kissed it, but the feeling of foreboding was also building inside me. Once we were inside we took the lifts down to the Department of Mysteries, we ran down a long hall and Harry told them the door at the end of it was the one in his dream. We went through it and found ourselves in a circular room with many doors. As soon as our door shut the walls began to spin, confusing us so we couldn't exit. Harry told us he would know the right room so we began trying doors, the first room was long and rectangular and held a tank for a brains, I thought it was very macabre. When we left I put a large fiery X on the door so we could know which it was. Next was a large stone room that looked like it might have been a courtroom, and there was archway in the very middle, I was about to leave again when I saw Harry at the archway, he was saying people we whispering on the other side of it. I could see both side's of the archway and no on was there, I also could hear nothing. Luna joined him and said she could hear voices too. I had a very bad feeling about this, they were also the only two people who could see thestrals and I didn't think that was coincidence. I told them we had to go, and reminded Harry of Sirius. He quickly ran back to the room with all the doors, and I put another X on that door. The next door was locked, and no matter what we did to it, it wouldn't unlock. Harry was frustrated because he thought that must be the room, but I pointed out in his vision he could get through the door, so it was unlikely. I put an X on that door and we moved on. As soon as we opened the next door Harry quickly said it was the right place. It was a long dark room filled with shelf after shelf of little glass balls. We made our way to row ninety seven, which is where Harry saw Sirius in his vision. When we got there Sirius was nowhere to be found, this didn't ease my anxiety, it raised it. Just then Ron found a prophesy with Harry's name written on it. I told Harry not to touch it, but he asked what harm it could do. As soon as he picked it up a high cold voice spoke behind us.
We were surrounded by Death Eaters, fear coursed through me as they got closer. We formed a tight circle and pulled out our wands. They wanted the prophesy, because it was about Harry and Voldemort but only one of the two could have retrieved it, and since Voldemort couldn't exactly waltz into the Ministry of Magic, they had laid a trap for Harry. I was scared for our lives, and I moaned in terror and frustration when Harry bean to mock them. I had no clue how we were going to get out of this, I was racking my brain when suddenly Harry pointedly stepped on my foot. I asked him what he wanted under my breath, but just then Lucius Malfoy said something about the prophesy being connected to Harry's scar, and Harry was distracted. I quietly asked him what he wanted again a little more urgently and he was brought back to reality. He whispered to smash the shelves on his go, I quickly passed the message along as discreetly as possible. He indulged their talk of the prophesy for a few more moments and then screamed 'now!' we all aimed our wands at the shelves and sent prophesies flying. In the haze of smoky figures and flying glass we took our chance and tore off towards the exit as fast as our legs would carry us. Somehow in the confusion Ron found my hand and I was half running half being drug towards the door. Then one of the Death Eaters went for Ginny and Ron ran to her, Harry grabbed my robes and kept me running. We saw Ginny, Ron, and Luna print past us but as we broke into the previous room they were no where to be found. I gasped that they must have gone the wrong way, and panic rose inside me, I had no clue where Ron was or if he was even alive. We were about to go look for them when the Death Eaters broke into the room. We got into a duel with them and things were going well we stunned or jinxed almost all of them. There were only two left when one began to call for reinforcements. I quickly put a silencing curse on him and Harry put the other in a Full Body Bind. I turned to congratulate him when suddenly it felt like I had been hit in the chest with a freight train. I felt myself falling and then everything went black. The next thing I remember was waking up in the Hospital wing at Hogwarts. I looked in the bed next to me and saw Ron lying there, he was awake but he was looking up at the ceiling lost in his thoughts. I could tell it was late at night because of how dark it was. I whispered his name and he quickly looked over and his face filled with relief as he said hello. I asked him if everyone had gotten out alright. He told me they were all fine, that the Order had shown up. I could tell that was not the whole story so I pressed him to continue. He sat up in bed and gave me a grave look, he told me that Sirius had been killed. I started at him numbly for a second and then gasped 'no' as I began to sob. Ron jumped out of the bed and came over to sit on my bed, he put his arms around me and let me cry. A few moments later Madam Pomfrey came in. She gave a small snort of disapproval at Ron sitting on my bed, but when she saw the state I was in her tone changed and she told him she would be in her office if I needed anything.
Over the next week I learned most of what had happened after the Death Eater cursed me. Ron had gotten hit with a spell that made him somewhat Confunded, and he had started playing with one of the brains in the tank we saw. The brain had latched on to him and almost killed him before they got it off, he had huge red welts that burned deep into his arms from it's tentacles. Harry was very quiet whenever he was around. In truth I had no clue what to say to him, he had just lost the only family he had ever known, how was one supposed to recover from that? When we got back to King's Cross at the end of the year the entire Order of the Phoenix was there, they all went with Harry to meet his Aunt and Uncle and I was very happy to hear them say that if his relatives didn't treat him well, they would hear about it. Ron and I assured him that he would see us very soon, and then he got in their car and left. Ron pulled my trunk over to my car, as we walked he grinned and asked how soon I thought I could manage to get to the Burrow that summer. I laughed and said I should probably stay with my parents for most of July. He told me to let him know as soon as I could come, and he opened the car door for me. I turned back to him and stood on my tip toes so I could throw my arms around his neck and hug him. He hugged me back and then after a moment we broke apart. He kept hold of my hand as I was getting into the car and gave it a squeeze, then he said goodbye to me and also to my parents. They smirked and said goodbye to him as well. As we pulled away from the station my mum turned from the front seat to look at me and teasingly asked if they were ever going to see Ron for more than a few seconds at the end of every school year. I laughed and told her there was a good possibility.