A/N: Hello all, I am very happy and surprised at how many of you are reading, favorite-ing and putting my story on your alert list! Thank you to SunshineWitch29 for her review. As a fair warning, this chapter is where the M rating begins to take effect. I know at the moment there's not a lot of Astrid and Neville action, but good things come to those who wait, haha. Oh! I will not be updating for a few days because I will actually be at the Wizard World of Harry Potter on vacation...but hopefully I'll get lots of inspiration so I'll write like a madwoman when I get back! Thank you for reading and please remember to review!

Third Person POV

It was now spring at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and you could say that both love and heartbreak was in the air. Ron and Lavender had broken up; Ron was perfectly fine and dandy to be rid of Lavender…but she was quite upset over it. Luckily this meant that Hermione could resume her friendship with Ron, and so the Golden Trio was reunited once again. Dean and Ginny had broken up as well and Ginny started dating Harry after Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup. Astrid was still with Michael, although their relationship so far was relaxed and nowhere near as heated as Ron and Lavender's had been. Shortly after Christmas break, Neville began flirting back with Hannah and the two were now dating. Many of the students were surprised, especially Hermione Granger. Hermione knew that Neville was only dating Hannah to make Astrid jealous, and it was working…but only on Astrid's subconscious self. Astrid was quite possibly one of the most stubborn girls Hermione had ever known, she was even verging on being more stubborn than Ron which is saying a lot. Hermione often tried to get Astrid to slip up and confess her feelings about Neville, but so far it hadn't worked.

While the days grew warmer as spring was slowly turning into summer; Harry, Hermione, Ron and Astrid couldn't help but notice the growing darkness surrounding Malfoy. When the friends all returned from the Burrow after Christmas break, it was apparent to them all that something had happened to Malfoy, and it clearly had something to with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Malfoy was often seen lurking about the seventh corridor where Harry said Draco would disappear off the Marauder's Map entirely. After a few weeks of stealth work on Dobby's part, Harry learned that Malfoy had been sneaking off to the Room of Requirement. This surprised Astrid, Hermione and Ron when Harry told them; now it was clear that Draco Malfoy was up to no good. One day when the growing animosity between Harry and Malfoy exploded in the form of a duel, Harry ended up badly injuring Draco. This event was what finally convinced Harry to get rid of his Advanced Potion Making book that was once property of the "Half-Blood Prince".

"I'm telling you, he's a Death Eater." Harry spoke quietly to Astrid, Hermione and Ron as they all sat in front of the fireplace in the empty Gryffindor common room.

"Right, I agree with you Harry." Ron said.

"I know that it seems like he's up to no good, but how can you two just say that? I mean it's a bit rash." Hermione tried to reason.

"They do have a point Hermione; the only people who use the Room of Requirement are those who want to keep their business a secret. I mean when we used it for the D.A. we were up to something big." Astrid pointed out.

"That's true, and I'm not saying he's innocent by any means, I'm just saying that I don't think Malfoy has the guts to become an actual Death Eater. That's a major thing to do, even for his standards."

"Yeah, but his dad is a Death Eater and Draco is just a mini version of Lucius!" Astrid argued.

"I don't know…the whole situation gives me a headache." Ron groaned out.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Harry said rubbing his forehead.

"Has your scar been hurting you much?" Astrid asked.

"Like hell. It's been terrible the past few weeks, I expect it has something to do with all the memories about Voldemort I see during my lessons with Dumbledore." Harry guessed.

"Or maybe Voldemort and the Death Eaters are closer than we think? It might connect with what Draco's been up to in the Room of Requirement." Astrid suggested and Harry instantly sat straight up.

"You're bloody brilliant…that has to be it!" Harry said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…Calm down Harry, you can't jump to conclusions. Astrid only made a connection between your scar hurting and Malfoy's sudden activity in the Room of Requirement. We don't actually have any idea, or evidence, of what he's really up to." Hermione tried to reason with Harry.

"I understand Hermione, but I've got this feeling, you know? Malfoy's about to do some big…something bad. I just know it." Harry spoke determinedly.

Astrid's POV

It had been a little over a week since the discussion Hermione, Harry, Ron and I had in the common room where I made the suggestion that Harry's intensifying pain from his scar may be in connection to whatever it was that Malfoy was planning. Of course I had no concrete proof, but sometimes a hunch is all you need. Harry strongly believed this and had been following Malfoy's every move like a hawk. In fact, Hermione, Ron and I were also keeping close tabs on Malfoy as well. Malfoy seemed rather jittery lately and was in the Room of Requirement more often than not.

Classes were really taking up speed and I found it impossible to keep up with school work and Malfoy's doings. I had been spending more time with Neville recently than I had when I first started dating Michael. Unfortunately, all the time I spent with Neville was in the Greenhouses or the library where either he was tutoring me in Herbology or I was helping him write his papers for Potions class. We were pretty lucky that we were each weak in the others strengths. Even though we spent most of our time together talking about which is the best fertilizer for adult Fanged Geranium or how to correctly add in sliced caterpillars to a shrinking potion without it bubbling out of the cauldron, Neville still found ways to make me laugh and smile. Neville always knew how to cheer me up and make me feel good about myself and I always tried to do the same for him.

"Ah, finally finished!" Neville sighed happily as he looked at the large piece of parchment where he had written an essay on the Draught of Peace and its properties. "Thanks again Astrid, I thought I'd never finish that damned essay." Neville smiled at me and put away his essay along with his inkwell and quill.

"No problem Nev; it's always nice to spend time with you, even if it is in the library." I laughed quietly as I looked around at the moderately occupied library. We were seated at our usual table in the back right corner and like always there was no one else at the two other tables in our section. "So, how's Hannah? I haven't seen her in a few days."

"She's fine…a bit worried about all the disappearances, but she's always worried about something." I could sense the annoyance in Neville's voice; sometimes I wonder why he even asked her out; he had never seemed interested and then one day he was suddenly dating her and now every single time I saw the two together it seemed they were in a lip lock. Don't get me wrong, I mean I'm all for romance and affection towards your significant other…but I mean they seemed to always be snogging when I was around, I mean not even Michael and I snogged that much in public. One day, about two weeks ago, it really began to irritate me...I had walked into the library and saw the two talking so I decided to say hello. Literally the second Neville and Hannah saw me, Neville grabbed Hannah and they began snogging right in the middle of the library! It bothered me enough that I mentioned it to Hermione, who told me that she had seen them together loads of times but they were rarely snogging. It struck me as odd, but I decided not to put too much thought into because I always ended up more confused and with a headache to top it off!

"Astrid? Hello Astrid…You there, love?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as I saw Neville waving his hand in front of my face and heard him call out to me.

"What?" I asked quickly.

"I asked you how Michael was and you zoned out on me for a few moments." Neville laughed at me.

"Oh, sorry…um, Michael's great though. He's been busy with his work, so we haven't been able to get together too much. We have a date tonight though." I said perking up.

"Where are you going? It's not a Hogsmeade weekend…" Neville asked a little confused.

"Michael's planned a picnic down by the lake, romantic isn't it?"

"Yeah, sounds nice." Neville replied monotonously before standing up with his book bag in hand, "Well, I've got to go see Hannah, see you later Astrid." And just like that Neville was gone from the library, I didn't even have time to say goodbye he was so fast. I shook my head and stood before heading up to my dormitory to change for my date with Michael that would start in a little over an hour.

Once I got to my dorm I took a warm shower then brushed my teeth and dried my hair with the aid of a quick spell before I combed it out so my loose curls weren't tangled anymore. I put on a little bit of makeup and sprayed on some perfume before heading out of the bathroom and into my room wrapped up in a towel where I tried to decide what to wear. I wanted to dress up nice but not too fancy; I ended up putting on a strapless floral dress with some black argyle tights and my grabbed one cardigan I owned. It wasn't really chilly out, but I didn't feel one hundred percent comfortable with walking through the castle in a slightly revealing dress. I then slipped on a pair of heels and put on some jewelry, including the matching necklace and earrings Michael had given me for my seventeenth birthday back at the end of March. Once I had finished getting ready, I saw that I had about ten minutes before I had to meet Michael on the grand staircase. I quickly grabbed my picnic blanket then dashed out of Gryffindor Tower and made my way to the stairs where I saw Michael waiting with a picnic basket in his hands.

"You look beautiful tonight Astrid." Michael smiled and kissed me on the lips before he grabbed my hand in his and leading us out of the castle and down the grounds to a secluded area on the shore of the lake. It was absolutely amazing out, the stars were brightly twinkling and the air was crisp and sweet smelling. Michael took the striped blanket from me and laid it out next to the picnic basket. He then sat down and I joined him as he opened the basket to reveal two roast chicken sandwiches, one generous slice of treacle tart and two small bottles of butterbeer.

"This looks yummy Michael, thank you." I kissed him on the cheek and then we began eating leisurely while gazing at the stars and discussing our favorite constellations. Once we finished eating and each had emptied our bottles of butterbeer, we lay down and snuggled into each other.

"Michael…can I tell you something?" I asked after a comfortable silence.

"Of course, love."

"I'm scared…"

"Of what?"

"Everything really…you-know-who, the war that's brewing, Death Eaters…but mainly I'm scared for my dad. It seems people from the Ministry are disappearing every day, and with my dad being an Auror...it really has me scared that he'll be killed or taken by Death Eaters."

"I know how you feel, Astrid. These are dark times we live in…and I can't help but be scared too."

"Really?"

"Of course, remember last month a Ravenclaw fourth year's parents went missing, they found his mum a week later, floating in the Thames? That could have happen to any of us...hell, it could have been any of us in the Thames, Astrid. I'm scared out of my wits, but I know I have to keep a brave face for the others, mainly the young ones." I looked over into Michael's eyes as he paused. "One of the only things that's kept me smiling everyday is you."

I leaned into Michael and softly pressed my lips against his. Michael was a good kisser and had perfectly warm lips that I found myself craving the more I thought about them. The kiss started off innocent enough but quickly grew urgent and heated; I opened my own lips and ran my tongue against his bottom lip, asking for entrance which he readily granted. Our tongues battled for dominance and we eventually had to pull back to gasp for air. However we didn't stay parted for long; Michael grabbed my hips as he kissed me fiercely again. I rolled over on top of Michael and moved my hands up to the front of his button down shirt. Michael slowly began rubbing circles into my hips as I undid the top few buttons on his shirt, pulling the material away so I could run my hands on his chest. I then move my mouth down his chin and to his neck, kissing every bit of flesh I found. I sucked and nibbled on his neck, just past his ear; he would surely have a hickey there for a few days.

Before I knew it Michael had flipped us and he was now on top of me, gazing down into my glazed over eyes with passion filling his own. He leaned down and we continued to snog heatedly while he ground his pelvis into my own…it was obvious that he was very aroused and I could feel every inch of him pressed hard against the junction between my legs. Michael moved one hand up to pin both my arms above my head while using his other hand to pull down my tights. I gasped into Michael's kiss as he boldly grasped me through my silk panties. I was in such a state of ecstasy I hardly realized that Michael was now sucking and nipping at my neck and had pushed my panties to the side before he slowly traced my nether lips with his skillful fingers. I bit my bottom lip and thrust my head back against the soft blanket as Michael inserted one finger inside of me. I shut my eyes tight and saw a kaleidoscope of bright flashing colors as he began pumping his finger in and out while rubbing my little bundle of nerves with his thumb. Just as I thought I couldn't get any higher, I felt a tightening in my abdomen before quick yet intense explosion burst through my body right as Michael bit down lightly on my neck.

"Oh god...Neville!" I cried out into the silent night. I hadn't even realized what I had said until everything stopped just as fast as it had started. Michael quickly pulled away from me and looked down into my eyes; his face was full of sadness, which was surprising since I was expecting anger.

"What?" He asked softly.

"I'm so sorry Michael, I didn't mean to! I don't know why I said his name!" I sat up and readjusted my clothing.

"I know why," I looked at him confused. "You love him Astrid, not me."

"That's not true Michael! I care for you so much!"

"But you don't love me…you love Neville. I've been trying to ignore it and convince myself you didn't…I knew you were too good to be true. I knew I wasn't lucky enough to keep you." It was clear to see that Michael really did love me, and I had just broken his heart by calling out Neville's name instead of Michael's.

"…I'm sorry Michael, honest."

"I know Astrid."