I was flustered and horrified for a moment before I realized what he'd just asked me.

"Did you really just ask me to be your memory?" I said, disgust evident in my voice. His face fell and he looked like he was about to back track, but I didn't give him a chance. "That is the worst pick up line I have ever heard. No, I will not be your memory." I turned away from him and towards George, painfully aware that about half the room was staring at us. George was smiling widely, his smile was enough to cause me to forget about all the eyes watching us.

"Okay, we're going to do the Patronus charm today," Harry said, drawing everyone's attention away from George and me.

"A Patronus is a kind of positive force. When you conjure it, it acts like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it instead of you. To make it work you need to think of a memory, a really, really happy memory. Make it a powerful memory, the happiest you can remember. Allow it to fill you up… Just remember, your Patronus can only protect you as long as you stay focused. Once you have your memory just say the incantation Expecto Patronum." The excitement was evident on everyone's faces as we all stood up. We'd been waiting for this lesson for weeks. I stood next to George as I searched through my memories for what would be my 'happiest' memory. I ended up choosing the once from when we'd been at the quidditch world cup. We'd just found our tent and all gone inside it to hang out before the match. Fred and George had constantly been making jokes, Harry and Ron had been playing wizards chess, and Ginny and I had been playing exploding snap. There wasn't anything spectacular about the memory, but I'd never felt so loved, so much a part of a family. It was probably my fondest memory, and always made me feel warm and fuzzy when I thought about it.

I focused on the memory, allowing it to fill me up before I bellowed the incantation. A silvery light issued from the tip of my wand and I nearly squealed with delight. Unfortunately that caused me to lose my focus. The light fizzled out and disappeared. I blushed furiously as I saw everyone else making Patronuses. I was supposed to be the best witch, I shouldn't have been having any trouble. I tried again but couldn't focus and nothing happened. I was beginning to fret when I felt something soft and fuzzy nuzzle my cheek. I could see something bright out of the corner of my eye and would have yelped if I wasn't filled with a feeling of joy. I turned my head and saw that it was a fox, George's patronus.

The fox flipped through the air, and then turned back towards me, swirling around and pawing at my hair. I laughed happily at the sight of it, feeling all the tension leave my body at its touch. It was like being filled with joy, I couldn't stay worried. I gripped my wand in my hand and said the incantation, and this time the light exploded out of the end of my wand, and an otter emerged from the center of the silvery light. Giddiness overwhelmed me at the sight of the little otter and I guided it to George, having it float around him before nuzzling his hair. He laughed at the sight of the little otter and brought his fox over to it.

The room was filled with silvery light at this point, and several full fledged Patronuses were emerging. A sense of joy filled the room and it was nearly contagious, making it almost impossible to be sad.

George and I played with our Patronuses, having them chase each other and us. It was by far the most fun I'd ever had in a DA lesson and I was feeling really sad when it was over. Probably partially due to the fact that the Patronuses and their happiness were gone. I stayed back with George, walking with him back to the common room.

"So," he said once we were away from the rest of the crowd. He was holding my hand and gently swinging it back and forth. I smiled up at him, letting him know I was listening.

"Are you doing anything for Valentines day?"

I paused momentarily in my walking, a thrill filling me. "Not right now," I said, trying not to sound too excited.

"Well," he said slowly, smiling slightly. "They're allowing a Hogsmede tripthat weekend… I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"

I smiled brightly, having to fight not to giggle.

"Of course I'd like to go with you!" I said, my voice light with happiness. He stopped, turning to see if anyone else was in the hall before bending down and capturing my lips in a passionate kiss. I leaned up into him eagerly, loving the feel of his warm lips. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer to him, deepening the kiss. There was nothing in the world like kissing George. It was better than anything else in the world. He kissed me like he could do it forever quite happily, as though I was the best thing in the world and he could never get enough of it. It made me feel wonderful and attractive, making me more adventurous and daring. I normally wouldn't have been doing this, but something about George just made me feel reckless. After quite a while I pulled back, breathing hard and trying to refocus my mind.

I took a deep breath and looked up at George. His eyes were dark with desire and his lips were deliciously swollen. They made me want to kiss them and I had to resist the urge to grab him and snog him senseless again.

"We have to go back. Can't get caught," I said, amazed at how breathy my voice was. He smiled wickedly at me and grabbed me in a hug.

"Yes, because I must not cause trouble." I giggled at the reference, amazed he could make something so horrid funny. That was probably the reason I was so attracted to him. I needed someone to not be so dramatic. Ron was always to quick to get angry, and Harry always took every thing so darn seriously. I needed someone more up beat and lighthearted, someone who could make me laugh.

I needed George Weasley in short.

We walked back to the common room hand in hand. I was on cloud nine, and probably could have cast a Patronus to rival Harry's.

The next week passed by alarmingly fast. I stayed up past midnight every single night, and was up by seven thirty every day. I was getting stressed out, and Harry and Ron weren't helping. They'd never had good study habits, and they were having to fight not to go under from the sheer volume of homework we were having to do.

George was a complete lamb the entire time. He was always around to help me with any studies and even berated Ron whenever he tried to get me to do his homework. He still walked with me during my rounds, and that was quickly becoming my favorite time of the day. I learned more about him during those walks than I had the entire five years I'd known him previously.

Still, I was beginning to feel the stress getting to me. I was ready to snap, and was threatening to do so very soon.

I was heading towards Defense Against the Dark Arts, thanking Merlin that it was only two more days until Valentines day, until my first official date with George. I never thought about skipping a class before, but I seriously considered it with DADA. At least since we weren't allowed a wand I wouldn't be tempted to hex that stupid grin off Umbridge's toad face as she stood in front of the class. It gave me a great satisfaction to know that we were all fighting behind her back, that we were all doing exactly what she feared most.

I walked in first, taking a seat on the far left of the first row. Neville sat next to me, a look of defeat on his face. Ron and Harry took the desk next to us and started to whisper quietly to themselves. The rest of the class slowly filed into the vacant seats, and everyone had the same dejected look on their faces. Once everyone was seated the classroom doors flew open and Umbridge walked down the aisle to the head of the classroom. She took her spot at the front desk and smiled down at us all with her toad face.

"Hem, hem," she cleared her throat with that ridiculous cough. "I believe we have fully covered chapter two, so if you would open your books to chapter three, you can begin reading the material quietly to yourselves." She glanced over at me and saw my wand sitting on the desk. "There'll be no need for wands." I looked up at her and spoke before I could even think. I'd had enough; I couldn't take the defeated looks anymore, I couldn't take the stress, or one more stupid cough.

In short, I snapped.

"What you mean is no need to think." The minute I said it my eyes grew wide. The sound of flipping pages drew to a standstill and Umbridge turned her ugly eyes on to me.

"Detention Mrs. Granger," she said, walking towards my desk. I could feel everyone's eyes on me but I held Umbridge's gaze, ignoring everyone else for the moment. "In my office at 11:30 tonight after you do your rounds." I didn't move or answer, but continued to stare at her with as much disdain as I could muster. She turned back around and headed back to her desk, a look of annoyance briefly crossing her features. I could feel Neville, Harry, and Ron staring at me still but I refused to acknowledge it. I was too mad, too shocked, and too nervous.

What had I just done?

Needless to say, the rest of the class passed by quietly, in a tense silence. Class after class was pretty much the same. I didn't speak out or raise my hand. I just continued to seethe and think of all sorts of hexes I'd like to send at Umbridge. Ron and Harry kept staring at me like they wanted to talk, but were too scared to say anything. Neville looked like he understood, but also didn't know what to say. Ginny looked like she thought I'd cool down if left to my own devices. I knew I wouldn't, couldn't cool down.

I sat down on the bench next to Harry, spooning some soup into my bowl before settling down to eat my meal in silence. The table was quieter than normal, as if all of Gryffindor was feeling the same defeat as me. A quick glance around the table showed me that George, Fred, and Lee were all missing. The prefect in me instantly went on red alert. The rest of me was sad. I could have used their light, carefree attitudes tonight. I really wanted to see George though. I needed his strength right now, I needed his laughter.

I ate as quickly as possible before retiring to the library for a few brief hours of reading before my detention. The time passed far too quickly and before I knew it, it was time for my detention and I was heading down the hallway towards Umbridge's office. I felt like a condemned woman heading to the gallows. I reached the doors to her office a minute later.

It was time to face the music.

Thanks to a Ninja Goldfish who took the time to beta this chapter