It took forever for the last day of vacation to finally finish. I was actually looking forward to heading back to Hogwarts. I wanted to see Harry, Ginny, but mostly, I wanted to see George. I couldn't believe that I had just agreed to date George Weasley, and then I'd had to leave. I hadn't even gotten to kiss the boy before I'd left. So, it was with great excitement that January 8th finally came. I packed my trunk, bid my parents farewell, and headed off to Hogwarts.
I looked through my stuff on the ride over and nearly burst into tears at the sight of the god awful smelling perfume. I would be hexing Ron if I ever saw him again. In all honesty though, I couldn't stay mad at Ron. It had been really mean of him to yell all that at me, but I had just sprung the whole 'I like George' thing on him quite suddenly. I hadn't thought he liked me though. He never acted like it. I just wanted to be his friend again, I just wanted to go back to the way things had been with him.
I arrived at Hogwarts before any of the others, and headed to my room as quickly as possible. Lavender had stayed through the holiday so I wasn't the only one in the room. She kept prodding me with questions, but I determinedly avoided her. It wasn't that I didn't like her; I just really didn't get along with her very much. We had nothing in common. I unpacked my trunk before grabbing my new Number book and heading down stairs to the common room.
I sat on a couch in front of the fire and decided I'd wait for the others to come. Every time the door opened I'd lift my head excitedly and wait to see if it was them, and every time it turned out to be someone else.
Finally, at around six o clock the common room door opened and Harry, Ginny, Fred, and Ron stepped through. Ron froze the minute he saw me and flushed a terrible red before running up the steps to his dormitory. Harry watched him go with a confused expression, and then he saw me. He smiled and said hi before running after Ron. Ginny smiled happily and sat down beside me. I greeted her in return before turning towards Fred. He smiled brightly and sat down next to me.
"Hey 'Mione," he said cheerfully. I smiled at his glee.
"Hey yourself," I said. "Where's George?" He chuckled at that and then promptly looked like he was hurt.
"I'm hurt Mione, a man would think you didn't want to see me."
"She doesn't you silly git!" a voice called from the door way. I broke out in a huge grin and turned towards the portrait hole. George was standing there, leaning against the frame with a big smile on his face. I hopped up immediately and made my way across the room to him. He grabbed me in a hug and I giggled happily as he spun me around. He put me back down on the floor after a moment and I had to grab his arm to stay up. I glanced around the common room and realized it was full of people, and they were all looking at us. I blushed furiously before turning back to George with big eyes. He was still smiling happily, seeming completely oblivious to everyone's staring.
He sensed my discomfort though and gently grabbed my hand, jerking his head towards the door, letting me know he was going to lead me out into the hallway.
We stepped through the hole, still holding hands, and began to walk down the empty hallway.
He remained quiet for a long moment, swinging my hand back and forth with a carefree air.
"So," he finally said, sounding worried, "do you still want to give us a try?" We'd reached a statue of a knight by this point and I pulled him to a stop at that question. He turned towards me and stared at me with obvious worry. I let go of his hand and wrapped both my arms around his waist, pulling him into a gentle hug. He didn't respond for a moment, but then he wrapped his arms around me in a loose hug.
"Of course I do, George," I said, snuggling my cheek against his firm chest. He pulled back after I finished speaking and stared down at me in surprise, eyes bright with delight.
"Really?" he asked. I laughed at that and nodded my head.
"Really." He smiled even wider and moved his hand from my waist to my cheek, burying his other hand in my hair. He leaned down towards me, and I stood up on my tip toes to reach him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Hem, hem."
No way, I couldn't have that bad of luck. George growled slightly before pulling back from me. Sure enough, Umbridge was behind him, a nasty grin on her toad face.
"You are in violation of educational decree number 75, boys and girls must not be within eight inches of each other," she said with her fake sweet voice.
"When did that get passed?" George demanded, letting go of me begrudgingly. I nodded my head in agreement. There had only been fifty decrees before we left.
She smiled widely before replying, circling me and George like a cat circles its prey. "Over the holiday. You'll see that quite a bit has changed since then, Mr. Weasley. " I took a step back from George, putting about eight inches between us. I wasn't going to let George get in trouble on my account-not tonight anyway.
"Sorry Professor," I said, giving her a fake smile. "We were headed towards the great hall for supper," I said with fake pleasantness. I looked over at George and gave him a subtle wink before heading towards the hall. He followed my lead, keeping the mandatory distance.
"You two would do well to read over the new decrees," she said, walking up to us. We stopped walking and turned towards her as she handed us a piece of paper. I grabbed mine quietly but George got a big grin and stepped away from her.
"Uh-uh, Professor, boys and girls aren't allowed within eight inches," he said, holding up his hand to stop her. "I'm afraid you'll have to find some other way of giving me that paper." With those words, and a very cocky grin, he turned around and continued down the hall. I fought back a laugh, clamping my mouth shut and turning away from Umbridge as fast as I could so she wouldn't see the huge smile he'd just caused to light up my face. I followed him in quiet awe down the hallway, biting back another laugh when I realized Umbrdige was following us. We amazingly managed to get to the great hall without further incident, even though she was following us the entire time. We went towards the Gryffindor table where everyone else was already sitting, fighting to keep from laughing at the look of utter annoyance on Umbridge's face. I sat next to Harry, and George sat on my other side next to Fred. Ron was on Harry's other side but he was determinedly avoiding my gaze. I was okay with that; I didn't want to talk with him right now anyway. The food appeared on the table and we all began to fill our plates, chatting happily about our holiday as we did so.
I scanned the list as we spoke, noticing the new decrees that were further restricting our freedom with extreme distaste. I had no sooner finished reading the list than I heard Umbridge's annoying voice bellowing over the loud speakers.
"Educational degree number 24: Music is no longer aloud to be played at any time." I stared at the rest of the table as they all looked up from their plates, equal horror on everyone's face. She continued to list every single decree, and then repeated them.
"Merlin's Beard!" Fred exclaimed after the third loop. "You think she's going to do that 24/7?" I nodded my head in horror.
"I noticed a lot of new speakers in all the hallways and staircases. I didn't see any in the common room or dormitories though," I answered, glaring at the speakers and wishing I could hex them into silence.
"Merlin!" Harry exclaimed, slamming his fork down. "I'm actually grateful I have lessons with Snape. It gives me an excuse to leave early." And with that he hopped off the bench, grabbed his bag, and headed out of the hall.
"Wow," George said, watching his retreating back."I am actually jealous," he said, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Who else is full?" I asked, staring at Ginny, George, and Fred. They all smiled and nodded their heads. We all grabbed a few pieces of fruit, which we stuffed in our bags, and then headed off to our common room, most of the rest of the table following us.
We made our way back to the common room, snatching two sofas and a table before the rest of the Gryffindors could. George, Fred, and Ginny set up a game of exploding snap and I read some from my transfiguration book.
"May I join you?" A hesitant voice asked. I lifted my head and looked at a very nervous Ron. He had his hands dug deep in his robe pockets and his eyes were firmly on his feet. George stiffened beside me but I spoke before he had a chance.
"Yes you can." I gave him a tentative smile, trying to let him know I would forgive him, but we still needed to talk later.
He smiled sheepishly but he sat down in the chair in front of the table. Fred dealt him a few cards and they began a new round.
It was nearly eleven thirty when Harry finally stumbled into the common room. He was incredibly pale, and his scar stood out visibly against his forehead. I sat up on the sofa and signaled him over. Ron got up from the chair, sitting down beside me where I had scooted over to provide room for Harry. George stiffened when his brother sat beside me, but I scooted closer into him, making sure none of me was touching Ron. Harry sat down in the chair Ron had vacated and let a long sigh out.
"How did it go? Are you alright Harry?" I asked with concern. He nodded his head and looked impatiently at me. Why was he impatient with me? He looked awful, I was just worried.
"Yeah…fine…Listen I've just realized something." He leaned forward and told us, all of us, what he'd just realized, that the order was protecting something in the Department of Mysteries.
"So… so are you saying that the weapon You-Know-Who's after is in the Ministry of Magic?" Ron asked in a near whisper. Fred rolled his eyes at his younger brother.
"Of course, we knew it was in the ministry," he said, smacking his brother on the back of the head, "but we didn't know it was in the Department of Mysteries."
"Of course," I said, letting out a breath. Everyone turned their heads and stared at me.
"Of course what?" Ron snapped, still rubbing his head from where Fred had hit it.
"Sturgis Podmore was trying to get through a door at the Ministry of Magic…it must have been that one, it's too much of a coincidence."
"How come Sturgis was trying to break in when he's on our side?" Ron asked.
"You lot haven't learned about the unforgivable curses have you?" George asked, leaning forward in his seat. I nodded my head yes-I'd forgotten all about that.
"The Imperius curse?" I questioned. George and Fred both nodded their heads.
"Oh dear," I said, feeling the blood drain from my face in horror. If Voldmort was turning our own people against us that did not bode well for our chances against him.
"What's in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked Ron.
"I know they call the people who work in there 'Unspeakables' because no one really seems to know what they do-"
"There not allowed to tell what they do, Ron. They aren't even allowed speak about work," Fred corrected him.
Ron snorted in annoyance at the interruption before continuing. "Still, it's a weird place to have a weapon."
"It's not weird at all, it makes perfect sense," I said. "It will be something top secret that the Ministry has been developing, I expect . . . Harry, are you sure you're all right?" He'd just moved his hands to his scar, pressing it hard.
"Yeah . . . fine . . ." he lied, lowering his now trembling hands. "I just feel a bit . . . I don't like Occlumency much."
I snorted at that as I patted him comfortingly on the arm. "I expect anyone would feel shaky if they'd had their mind attacked over and over again." I looked up at the clock before staring at him again. "Perhaps you ought to go to bed. It might help you feel better."
Harry nodded his head stiffly and got up from the chair, grabbing his bag as he rose. He smiled at me thankfully before turning and heading for his dormitory.
I sent Ron up after him, telling him to keep an eye on him. I figured his defenses would be weak after all the stress of Occlumency and I didn't want him to have an attack without anyone around to help. Ginny followed him, heading to her own dormitory. Fred smiled widely at George and then stood, patting his brother on the back as he left. I watched him leave the room and came to the startling realization that the only people left in the common room were George and I.
Thanks to a Ninja Goldfish for betaing this chapter.