Disclaimer: If I really owned Harry Potter, don't you think I'd be busy doing the whole Deathly Hallows media circuit?

Author's Note: As usual, you all are awesome. Thanks for the reviews! I'm not entirely sure what I think of this chapter, so please give me some feedback!

Chapter 7: A Dangerous Suggestion

"Why d'you think he went with her?" asked George once the three of us were seated back in the common room, our work completely abandoned on the table in front of us.

"Maybe he's thinking about picking up Divination again," I suggested, although I thought it was slightly unlikely.

"Couldn't be," said Fred, shaking his head.

"Lee hated Divination," George agreed. "He couldn't wait to drop it."

"Could he have changed his mind?" I asked.

"Not after he burned his copy of Unfogging the Future," said George. "Nearly set the dormitory on fire."

"And especially not after Trelawney overheard him calling her a bug-eyed nutter," added Fred.

"Maybe Alicia just wanted a word with him."

"Then why didn't she say so?" asked Fred, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe she didn't want you lot listening in," I suggested wryly.

George grinned. "Well, you can't very well expect us to spend ages developing the Extendible Ears and then not use them."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "Yes, but you can't blame people for wanting a little privacy."

"The question is: what do they want to keep private?" asked Fred with a devious smile.

"It doesn't matter what it is if they want to keep it private," I replied. "If she hasn't told me and Lee hasn't told either of you, then there's a good chance that they don't want any of us to know."

"But for Alicia to make up an excuse to speak with Lee…" began Fred.

"An excuse that we could easily see through…" added George.

"Then she must be rather desperate, and therefore, the information is all the more interesting," concluded Fred.

"Honestly, you two have no respect for other people's privacy," I said shaking my head. "How would you like it if I tried to stick my nose into your private affairs?"

"Ah, Sophie, so naïve," sighed Fred.

"We are impermeable fortresses when it concerns our secrets," stated George.

"Although," said Fred, lowering his voice slightly, "if some Galleons exchanged hands, I would be willing to give you the goods on George…"

George elbowed him in the ribs. "Bloody traitor."

"I was looking out for both of us!" protested Fred.

"How's that?" asked George skeptically.

"It was a business venture," stated Fred. "Besides, I never said it would be accurate information…"

"No matter," I shrugged. "I'm not interested in George's secrets."

Fred raised his eyebrows. "Sophie, I could tell you things that would make your hair curl…"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," I replied. "I imagine if I did look through your dirty laundry, I'd get more than I bargained for."

George grinned. "She's a clever one."

"Takes half the fun out of it if you're already expecting it," said Fred disappointedly.

"Oh believe you me, you will never lose the element of surprise with me," I assured him.

"Excellent," said Fred with a wicked grin.

"I immediately regret telling you that."

"Where is he?" asked George, looking slightly perplexed.

"Maybe he's sitting in on a class," I offered.

"Sophie, for the last time, Lee hates Divination," said Fred.

"He'll take it up as soon as Snape gives his hair a proper wash," said George.

"Well, I'm certain that they would have told us if they wanted us to know," I stated.

"All the more reason to find out," said George with a grin.

"You don't think…" Fred trailed off and exchanged a confused sort of look with George.

"No, definitely not," said George, shaking his head. "They wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" I asked.

"You know…" said Fred cryptically. George looked at me and wiggled his eyebrows slightly.

"You mean…" I paused. "They couldn't be seeing each other?"

"You're right. They couldn't be," said Fred promptly.

"Not at all," agreed George.

I thought about it for a moment.

"Well, I suppose I wouldn't be surprised," I said finally.

"What?" asked Fred, looking confused.

"Well, they went to the Yule Ball together and sometimes it seemed like they were becoming rather close…" I mused. Fred and George exchanged an indecipherable look.

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," said Fred.

"There was a lot of pressure," added George. "Some blokes asked any old girl so long as they weren't dateless."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, George."

"Oh, come off it, you know what I meant."

"I know," I said with a smile. "I just couldn't resist."

"First you mouth off to Umbridge, now this," said Fred, looking slightly impressed.

"You're turning into a rebel, Sophie," added George with a grin.

"Right," I said, glancing at the clock. "Oh bugger. I should start on Snape's essay or I'll hate myself later."

I spent the rest of break working on my essay while Fred and George spent most of their time discussing "business" and speculating on where Lee was and what he was doing.

However, when Alicia returned to the common room with Angelina (and minus Lee, who was "in the library", which seemed unlikely) she effectively managed to distract us from inquiring about Lee's sudden interest in Divination.

"All right, I want to hear everything," she stated, plunking down in the chair next to me.

"'Everything'?" I asked, looking up from my essay, which was not going very well.

"You and Viv," clarified Angelina, taking an empty seat next to George.

"You didn't sit together in class," said Alicia gravely.

"We don't always have to sit together," I replied with a shrug.

"That and you haven't exchanged a word all day," added Angelina. "Normally we can't get the pair of you to shut up."

"So what happened?" asked Alicia earnestly.

I looked at all of them and suddenly felt rather nervous. I focused on my hands.

"We had a row last night," I said quietly, "while you were both in the common room. We, er, had a difference of opinion on how the Ministry's been handling things as of late and we…we both said some things we shouldn't have."

I didn't want to elaborate on what was said. So far, George was the only one who knew exactly what had transpired and I didn't want to relive it for anyone else at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Sophie," said Alicia, patting my arm gently.

"I don't want any of you to get involved, though," I added quickly. "This is between Vivian and me; I don't want you to feel like you've got to pick sides. In fact, I'd rather you didn't pick sides at all."

Fred opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but George nudged him and he was silent.

"Maybe you both need some time away from each other," suggested Angelina.

I shrugged and tried to smile. "Yeah…maybe."

"So Alicia," said Fred in a very kind move to change the subject, "I've got a question about Div—"

"Oh, damn, I completely forgot!" exclaimed Alicia, looking at the clock. "I've got an appointment with McGonagall! I'm supposed to be there right now!"

And before Fred could say anything further, she dashed from the common room and out the portrait hole.

The situation with Vivian did not improve as the week progressed. We both continued to ignore each other and it didn't look like that would change any time soon. I tried to avoid being in the same room with her as much as possible and started taking my homework outside whenever she happened to be in the common room. I didn't feel like I was exiling myself—it was actually quite peaceful. The weather was getting slightly cooler, so the grounds were fairly empty, save for a few like-minded students. The only problem was that I was not always easily accessible to the people I was speaking with.

"There you are," declared George, striding across the grass. I glanced up from my History of Magic textbook and smiled. "We've been looking all over for you," he said, sitting down on the grass beside me. "Viv left a while ago, so it's safe for you to come back."

"I thought I told Alicia I was leaving."

"She didn't know where you'd gone," said George. "Her head's in the clouds these days. Angelina said that if she doesn't keep her head during Quidditch, she'll replace her."

"Is Angelina still in a temper?"

"Yes," George sighed. "I thought it would be a bit of a lark having her as captain, but she's getting more and more like Wood. Though I suppose Harry having detention doesn't make things easier for her."

"I can't believe he shouted at Umbridge."

"From what I heard, she deserved it."

"I wish I had the nerve," I said somewhat wistfully. George grinned.

"My influence is finally paying off."

I laughed. "You wish."

We were both silent for a moment.

"It's nice out here," he said.

"Yeah…it's rather calming," I agreed. A group of six years gathered near the lake suddenly let out a stream of high-pitched giggles. "Well, it's quieter than the common room at any rate." George chuckled. "You know, you don't have to wait out here for me…I was going to come up as soon as the bell rang for lunch."

"No, it's fine," said George and for a moment I felt slightly flattered that he was going to such an extent to keep me company. "Hermione's in the common room, so we can't do much testing anyway."

Oh. So he wasn't out here for me, strictly speaking…but it was still a nice gesture.

"Speaking of which," I said, covering the slight twinge of disappointment, "what's this I hear about you testing Fainting Fancies on my little sister?"

"We paid her," replied George promptly.

"That's what I heard. You're something of a legend among the first years, you know."

"Really?" said George, looking slightly self-satisfied.

"Yes, although I can't imagine why. But if I find out that any of your products are dangerous…"

"Oh, they're not dangerous," George assured me. I regarded him skeptically. "Here…" he began rooting in his pocket and withdrew a small wrapped sweet. "Try one for yourself."

I raised an eyebrow. "The last time I heard that—"

"An isolated incident and a terrible misfortune," replied George promptly. "Go on, it's perfectly safe—Fred and I tested them on ourselves first."

Although common sense was advising me to do otherwise, I hesitantly took the sweet from his outstretched hand. I pulled off the wrapper and held it in my hand for a moment.

"If I die, I will come back as a ghost and haunt you for the rest of your life," I warned him gravely.

"Fair enough, but you won't die," said George.

"You'd better hope not. Cheers," I said grimly, taking a bite out of one end of the sweet. I chewed for a moment and briefly wondered if it really worked when everything abruptly went black. The next thing I knew, someone was patting my cheek very gently and a sweet tasting tablet was dissolving on my tongue. My eyes fluttered open.

"See? You didn't die," said George cheerfully. For a moment I was slightly confused as to what he was talking about. My mind cleared slightly and everything made sense.

"Close enough," I mumbled as I sat up. My head spun slightly.

"How do you feel?"

"All right," I replied. "You're actually going to sell these things?"

"Yes," said George. "Imagine being able to get out of class whenever you fancied!"

"You can do that already, you know," I informed him. "Just say you've got 'feminine problems' and most teachers will let you out."

"Yes, I imagine most teachers would let me out of class if I said I had feminine problems," laughed George.

I grinned. "Fair point. So you're really going to do it, then?"

"Do what?"

"Start the shop."

"'Course we are. We haven't got the premises yet, but there's a nice little shop in Diagon Alley that we're thinking about buying."

"That's amazing." I looked up at the sky. "It's strange to think this is our last year here. After this it's the real world."

"D'you know what you want to do yet?"

I shrugged. "No, not really. I've thought about being a Healer—it runs in the family, I guess—but I can't really see myself doing that."

"Come work for us," said George with a grin. I laughed.

"I'll consider it if I haven't got any other options…and that includes selling stolen goods off the back of a broom."

"It'd be a laugh, admit it."

"A laugh and several trips to St. Mungo's, I imagine," I replied. The bell rang in the distance.

"That'll be lunch," said George, glancing at his watch. I slipped my textbook back into my bag and tried to stand up. My knees wobbled and my head spun rather unpleasantly.

"George…did you forget to mention something?" I asked as I tried to maintain my balance.

George regarded me carefully. "Oh, that one must have been from the bad batch…"

"The bad batch?!"

"Just a minor problem with ingredients, nothing to worry about," said George in what he must have thought was a reassuring manner. "It goes away after a while."

"You are utterly impossible," I stated, trying to take a step forward and stumbling slightly.

"Ah, but you love me," said George with a cheeky grin. "Come on, I'll help you up to the castle."

I suppose I looked like quite a fool stumbling about and hanging onto George's arm as though my life depended on it, but we both managed to make our way safely into the castle.

Viv and I continued to not speak to each other and classes continued on in their usual fashion. Although I was on good terms with everyone else, there was one obstacle that I had not taken into account.

Quidditch.

Usually, Viv and I (and occasionally Lee) would spend time together while the others were at practice. However, this was clearly no longer an option and I found myself mostly alone while the others were at practice. Lee would occasionally join me, but a lot of the time I was by myself. It wasn't half bad, given the way things had been going recently—Angelina was often in a temper or on the verge of being in a temper and Alicia's head was frequently off in the clouds, so spending time with them had become rather difficult. Only Fred and George remained unchanged, which was rather refreshing.

My workload was becoming immense as term progressed, so I suppose that it was good that I had a few hours free from distraction while everyone else was at Quidditch. George was now my partner and seatmate in most of my classes, which was a cheering experience. I'm not sure how he managed it, but even Snape was less threatening when George was beside me making jokes.

Although Fred and George encouraged me to do otherwise, I kept my thoughts to myself in Umbridge's class. Class itself required little more than reading a Ministry-approved textbook in silence while Professor Umbridge observed us with a sharp eye. The furor that had occurred the first day in class seemed to have been a one-time occurrence (save for occasional chaos caused by Fred and George). Everyone had heard about Harry Potter's series of detentions and none of us wanted to spend more time with Umbridge than we had to. However, as much as we hated her, Umbridge's influence at Hogwarts continued to grow at an alarming rate.

"Oh…bloody hell," declared Angelina at breakfast one morning.

"What? Has Harry got another detention?" asked Fred. Angelina wordlessly handed the paper to him.

"'Ministry seeks education reform. Dolores Umbridge appointed first-ever "High Inquisitor,"'" he read aloud from the headline.

"You're not serious!" exclaimed Alicia, snatching the paper away from him and skimming the article.

"Bloody hell," I said, echoing Angelina's earlier sentiment.

"Well, I can be packed in about ten minutes," said George. "We've all got brooms—Sophie, you'll have to share with one of us so you don't end up in another tree. We can be out of here by lunch."

"Don't tempt me," I groaned, pushing my porridge away.

"It says here that she'll be examining teachers," said Alicia.

"Oh no," moaned Lee. "I can't stand one class with her as it is!"

"I hope she sits in on our Transfiguration class," said Fred. "Maybe someone will misfire and turn her into something horrid."

"Would we be able to tell the difference?" asked George.

"Probably not," replied Fred with a shrug.

I had been looking forward to an Umbridge-free morning, but unfortunately, she showed up for our Charms class, which was unfortunate because I normally enjoy Charms. She sat in the back with a clipboard taking notes while Flitwick squeaked his way through our morning lesson. George nudged me and surreptitiously tapped the edge of his parchment where he had written something.

"I wish we were practicing something dangerous today," he wrote. "You can't do a lot of 'accidental' damage with these charms."

"It's just as well," I wrote back. "If you land yourself in detention, Angelina will go completely mad."

As the lesson came to an end, Umbridge came around the classroom and asked a few questions.

"Miss…er—" said Umbridge as she approached Alicia, glancing at her clipboard as though it would give her the correct answer.

"Spinnet," Alicia replied curtly.

"Miss Spinnet," said Umbridge, making a note on her clipboard. "How do you find this class?"

"It's great," said Alicia. "It's probably one of my favorites."

"Why is that?" asked Umbridge.

"I really love the hands-on­ part of the class. I find that teachers who rely solely on textbooks are largely ineffectual and dull. Professor Flitwick makes everything interesting," Alicia said with a completely straight face. Angelina disguised a laugh as a cough while Professor Umbridge made another note on her clipboard, apparently unaware of the hidden content in Alicia's comment.

"I wish she had asked me why I liked the class," grumbled George as we left the classroom later.

"What would you have said?" I asked.

"'I like it because you're not the teacher,'" replied George promptly. I laughed.

"I'm just glad you didn't get a detention, Alicia," stated Angelina, although she was smiling as she said it.

Alicia shrugged. "She asked me what I thought. I couldn't lie to her…that would be wrong."

"It's almost a pity she didn't recognize herself," sighed Fred. "Maybe class would have been interesting."

"I suppose we'll have to plan some sort of diversion," said George sadly.

"It's our civic duty," agreed Fred.

Privately, I was unsure as to whether or not chaos would be sufficient enough to make Umbridge's classes more interesting. However, I was looking forward to the twins' 'diversion' all the same.

The weather grew chillier as the weeks went by. I had started to wear heavier sweaters whilst working outside and I knew that soon I would have to find a new place to do my work. I had taken to going to the library on days when the weather was bad, but I was hoping to find somewhere equally quiet away from the beady glare of Madam Pince. However, it was the best option I had at the moment. George continued to visit me, which was always pleasant, although Madam Pince did not seem to appreciate his boisterous personality.

I could usually hear George approaching, which was why I was slightly surprised the day he quietly slipped into the seat across from me without any warning beforehand.

"Hi," I said, jumping slightly. "You startled me."

"Sorry," he said quietly. I was surprised—usually he didn't bother to use anything but his normal speaking voice.

"Is the common room safe? I left my Charms essay up in my room and I had wanted to finish it today."

"Yes, but I was wondering if I might have word with you," he said.

I wondered if this request accounted for his odd behavior. "Sure. What is it?"

"Actually," he said glancing around the library at other studying students, "it's probably best we're not overheard. Go for a walk with me?"

I frowned, slightly confused. "Sure. Let me get my things together."

I slid my books and parchment into my bag and walked out of the library with George. We went out through the main entrance and a short way onto the grounds where a cold misty drizzle was falling.

"Sorry," he said as I folded my arms together for warmth, "but we can't risk her overhearing."

"Overhearing what?" I asked.

"Listen," he said so quietly that I had to step in closer to hear, "there are some students who want to form a Defense Against the Dark Arts group so we can learn the spells that Umbridge and the Ministry won't teach us. I thought you might be interested."

"Who's in charge of this?" I asked.

"It sounds like Hermione's the driving force behind the idea, but Ron said that Harry would be teaching us the spells," said George.

I chewed on my lip for a moment.

"I dunno," I said finally.

"What d'you mean you don't know?" asked George with a smile. "I thought you were a cert."

"It's just…well…I don't think I'll be on the battlefield when You-Know-Who comes back," I replied.

"Sophie, everyone's on the battlefield," he said, his smile fading. "He doesn't ignore you if you don't want to fight—everyone is fair game. That's why we're doing this."

"I know…I just…" I stopped and chewed on my lip some more. "I suppose it seems like I've gotten bolder because of that row with Viv and then smarting off to Umbridge, but honestly, she frightens me. The Ministry frightens me."

"But you're against them," said George. "Surely if you're against them, you want to fight them."

I shook my head. "I'm not that brave, George."

"I don't believe that," he replied, fixing me with an intense gaze. "You may be shy, but you're not a coward."

I snorted. "That's not—"

"Viv doesn't know what she's talking about," interrupted George. "If you ask me, she's the cowardly one because she's afraid of the truth."

"I don't want you taking sides," I said quietly.

"I've heard the whole story," he replied, "and I'm taking your side."

I stared back at him, not entirely sure what to say.

"We're meeting in the Hog's Head on the next Hogsmeade weekend if you change your mind," he said finally. He paused for a moment, his hand partly outstretched. "You've got some hair in your face." He shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way back to the school.

I brushed the wayward strand out of my face and turned to watch the smooth blue-grey surface of the lake as George left me alone with my thoughts.