"I know how it is when someone disappoints you. It's tempting to see things the way you wish they were instead of how they are."

-Robert (Enchanted)

The next day, around noon, Scarlett was hiding at the very end of the path that Hogsmeade was on. She was standing at the side of the Hog's Head, the last building, and every so often she would peer around the corner and look for Justin in the crowd.

Finally, she saw him. He was walking with Ernie and Hannah towards the Three Broomsticks, which was across the street and a few buildings down. There was no way for Scarlett to get him to see her without bringing unwanted attention to herself. Casting a spell or yelling his name would only cause everyone in the area to see her, which was exactly what she didn't want.

Thinking fast, she did the first thing that seemed to make sense. She picked up a pebble and threw it with all her might at Justin. Amazingly, it hit him on the shoulder, causing him to jump and whirl around in fury.

With her heart pounding, Scarlett stepped out from behind the Hog's Head just enough so that Justin could see her. When he did, his expression became stony.

"Come here," Scarlett mouthed, waving him over. "Please?"

Justin turned to Ernie and Hannah, who hadn't noticed Scarlett and were standing in the doorway of the Three Broomsticks, holding the door open and giving Justin expectant looks. Justin said something to them. They nodded, shrugged and headed inside while Justin walked towards Scarlett.

"What do you want?" he asked curtly as he reached her.

"Come on, you're still in plain sight," Scarlett hissed. She reached out and pulled him behind the Hog's Head so that they were blocked from the main road. "Are you still mad at me?" she asked quietly.

Justin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"Okay, fine," Scarlett sighed, holding up her hands. "I'll just get to the point, then."

"Yeah, please do."

Scarlett glanced quickly over her shoulder before peering around the corner of the building. "My mother found something out," she whispered. "It's something that Umbridge is planning at the Ministry. Nobody's supposed to know, but I had to tell you."

"Well, what is it?" Justin asked, his stony expression fading and being replaced with one of slight fear and nervousness.

Scarlett took a deep breath. "Umbridge is going to start interrogating Muggleborns this August," she whispered.

"She's going to what?" Justin asked.

"Shh, please, Justin, keep it down. She's starting a Muggleborn Registration Commission. She's going to start questioning Muggleborns about 'where they got their magic'." She made quote marks in the air and rolled her eyes. No matter how many times she talked about it, the concept never got any less ridiculous. "The point is that it's dangerous. It's Umbridge we're talking about. I doubt many Muggleborns will make it out without getting their wands snapped."

"So…what do I do?" Justin asked slowly.

"I think you should go into hiding as soon as possible. Choose wisely and pick somewhere secluded, because Umbridge will most likely try to round up any Muggleborns who don't appear to be questioned. Your whole family should go, really, because they definitely won't be safe if you don't show up. I'm also going to need you to tell Hermione exactly what I told you. Today would be ideal. But you can't tell her in front of Harry, Ron, or anyone else. The two of you have to be sworn to secrecy. No one can know."

"How am I supposed to get her away from Harry and Ron? They're going to be suspicious. I rarely talk to Hermione as it is and if I go asking to talk to her alone-"

"I don't know. You can figure something out. Use the old D.A. coins if you have to."

Justin studied her face as if he were looking for something to show that she was making this up. As if he expected her to burst into laughter at any moment. "Why are you here warning me?" he finally asked.

"Because," Scarlett replied, "I'm not going to let you be in danger. Despite what you seem to think, I do care about you."

Justin shook his head and looked away.

"It's true! Why do you complicate things so much?" Scarlett asked in frustration. She took a deep breath. "Look, I'm risking a lot by warning you. If Umbridge finds out that my mother and I knew about this ahead of time, we could both be in huge trouble. That's why you and Hermione can't tell a soul and I hope you understand that. If I didn't care, I wouldn't risk it. Trust me."

Justin simply stared at her, his face expressionless and his arms crossed as he processed everything she had said.

"It's up to you whether or not you want to listen to me," Scarlett continued, "but I just need you to promise me that you won't say anything to anyone besides Hermione. It's important."

"Can I tell my parents the truth when I bring them off into hiding with me?"

"Yes, I suppose you'll have to, but tell them how important it is to keep everything a secret."

"I don't think they'll be able to tell anyone if we're in hiding," Justin said, rolling his eyes. He really was being stubborn about this, but it was obvious that he was worried as well.

Scarlett looked at him pleadingly. "Justin, please," she whispered. "Promise me."

He didn't say anything for a moment. Finally, he just nodded.

Scarlett let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she whispered, beginning to slowly back away. "Like I said, it's up to you whether or not you want to take my advice and believe what I told you, but I just had to come warn you. And I'm sorry for hurting you. I really am. I wish you could understand how badly I feel about everything." With one last look back at him, Scarlett turned on the spot and Disapparated.

Scarlett walked out of St. Mungo's at the end of her shift one night in June, looking forward to going home and relaxing on the couch with a book and some tea, but when she arrived at her flat, she saw her mother and Erica standing outside, anxiously looking up and down the street. When they spotted her, they began gesturing for her to hurry up.

"What's going on?" Scarlett asked. Her thoughts immediately went to Umbridge and she felt her body flood with panic. She was still paranoid about Umbridge, no matter how many times she told herself it was ridiculous. Deep down, she knew that it probably wasn't such a ridiculous concept after all. In reality, her fears were actually somewhat plausible.

"Thank goodness you're here. We have to go to Hogwarts immediately," her mother answered. She pushed open the flat's front door. "Take off your Healer's coat and let's go."

"Why?" Scarlett asked as Erica began pulling on the sleeves of her coat in order to get it off faster. "What's going on?"

"Death Eaters managed to get inside and they're attacking the school," her mother responded in a rush. "The Order's naturally been called over to fight. Everyone else is already there, but I volunteered to come get you and Erica since I knew you'd be getting out of work soon."

Scarlett's mouth dropped open in shock as her brain buzzed crazily. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she knew there wasn't time. Instead she settled on a rushed, "Yeah, okay, let's get going," before she shook her Healer's coat the rest of the way off and tossed it inside. Then, she, her mother and Erica joined hands and Apparated into Hogsmeade.

As they ran towards the front gates of Hogwarts, Scarlett's heart was beating wildly. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears and she felt as if she were on autopilot. She felt as if she had barely had time to breathe since she had returned from work and all she knew now was that Death Eaters were in Hogwarts, battling with her friends. Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Ron—they were all there and most likely fighting. The Order was there as well and that included Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Lupin, Tonks, George and Fred. Now she, her mother and Erica were joining in. Everyone she cared about was going to be fighting and the prospect of losing any one of them scared her terribly. It was her biggest fear that only Fred knew everything about.

When the three girls arrived at Hogwarts a moment later, they were stopped in their tracks by the huge Dark Mark hanging in the air above the Astronomy Tower.

"Does that mean—is someone—oh, no," Scarlett whimpered, bringing her hands to her mouth in shock.

"Come on," her mother said, her voice shaking slightly. She kept her eyes on the Dark Mark for a moment longer before gesturing for Scarlett and Erica to follow her inside. Scarlett noticed her mother's hand was shaking as well.

The three of them started running up staircase after staircase, looking for any Death Eater that they could start hexing. After a moment, they rounded a corner and found what they were looking for. A group of masked Death Eaters were coming their way.

Things started happening so fast that Scarlett barely had time to think. She was firing spells left and right, simply trying to keep up with the spells the group of Death Eaters was shooting at her.

One of the Death Eaters cackled and Scarlett recognized the sound instantly. It was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"I've just remembered," Bellatrix laughed, pulling off her mask, "you're the little brat who used Levicorpus on me at the Ministry last year."

"Yeah, that was me," Scarlett replied through gritted teeth as she dodged Bellatrix's curses.

Bellatrix cackled again. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for the chance to repay you for that."

"No need," Scarlett answered breathlessly. It was getting harder and harder to dodge the rapid spells Bellatrix was shooting at her. She was vaguely aware that they were moving as they dueled and were practically in the next hallway over. Scarlett could no longer see her mother and Erica, which made her feel even more terrified. Battling Death Eaters was scary as it was, but with her best friend and her mother by her side, Scarlett had felt somewhat comforted.

"Oh, but there is," Bellatrix laughed. "There is most definitely a need to repay you."

She had backed Scarlett into a corner and was grinning gleefully while Scarlett was mentally cursing. She had clearly not been paying attention or else this wouldn't have happened. But while the situation wasn't ideal, it wasn't going to stop Scarlett from fighting.

"Stupefy!" The spell was definitely well-aimed, but Bellatrix was too fast and too good. She deflected the spell almost immediately, cackling the whole time. She lunged at Scarlett and pinned her against the wall, holding her there with an arm against her throat.

"Looks like you're in trouble now," she cackled, pointing her wand in Scarlett's face.

"Let me go," Scarlett gasped, squirming as she tried to get free.

Bellatrix cackled even louder and pressed her arm harder against Scarlett's throat. "You know, this might just be a better way to kill you. It's slower and I like it better that way."

Scarlett squeezed her eyes shut and tried to pry Bellatrix's arm off to no avail. The woman didn't look it, but she was pretty strong. Any second Scarlett was going to die. She couldn't breathe, she was struggling wildly to break out of Bellatrix's grasp, and her heart was racing, which wasn't going to do anything to help her. It was only going to make her struggle even more to get air into her lungs. She was going to die and Fred was going to die too. That thought alone caused her to struggle even harder to break free. She couldn't die when her life was linked to someone else's. If she was responsible for Fred's death, she would feel guilty about it even after she was gone, too.

"Stupefy!"

Bellatrix's hold on Scarlett disappeared completely and Scarlett crumpled to the floor. Opening her eyes and gasping for breath, she had just enough time to notice an unconscious Bellatrix before Fred had sprinted over and knelt down in front of her.

"Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly, putting his hands on her cheeks and studying her face as she continued to gasp for breath.

"Fine," she managed to choke out. Her eyes were watering and she didn't know if it was from being nearly strangled to death or if it was because she was on the verge of tears. It was probably a bit of both. "Fred, I'm—I'm so-,"

"No, I know what you're going to say, and don't apologize," Fred said. He leaned forward and quickly kissed her before pulling back and standing up, helping Scarlett to her feet as he did so. "Do you think you need to go to the hospital wing?"

"No," Scarlett said quickly. "I'm fine." She had nearly caught her breath now and she glanced down at Bellatrix. "She's surprisingly strong, you know."

"I'm not sure I am surprised, actually," Fred answered. He picked up her hand. "Come on, let's get out of here before she wakes up."

"Wait," Scarlett said, tugging his hand backwards. "What's going on? I still don't know exactly why Death Eaters are attacking the school. There was no time for my mother to explain it to me. And who died? We saw the Dark Mark when we got here."

"It was there when I got here with George as well," Fred said. "As far as we know, nobody's died, but the Death Eaters sent the mark up anyway."

"Why? And why are they here?"

"Well, I briefly saw Ginny earlier, and she said something about Malfoy letting the Death Eaters into the castle."

"Malfoy?" Scarlett asked.

Fred nodded. "That's all I know. Now, seriously, let's get out of here." He glanced at Bellatrix and took Scarlett's hand again. This time, she went with him without any further questions.

Fred and Scarlett stayed close to one another for the remainder of the battle. Scarlett wished she would run into her mother or Erica again, but things were too chaotic. Even though it was impossible, Scarlett wished that there was a way to know what was going on with everyone else.

At one point, about an hour later, Fred and Scarlett were dueling two Death Eaters at the end of a corridor and a group of Death Eaters ran past that included Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback. Scarlett blinked as she registered that Snape and Malfoy were with them. Bellatrix and Greyback looked gleeful, which wasn't a good sign. Snape looked stony faced and determined while Malfoy just looked shell-shocked.

"Come on, we're leaving," Snape said, gesturing to the two Death Eaters dueling Scarlett and Fred. "It's over. It's time to go."

"They're leaving? Just like that?" Scarlett whispered to Fred as the Death Eaters continued walking down the hallway. "Odd, isn't it?"

"It's almost as if whatever they came here for is finished," Fred answered, looking at her, his eyes wide.

Just then, Harry came tearing down the hallway, racing in the direction Snape and the other Death Eaters had gone.

"Harry?" Scarlett called, blinking. He didn't answer her or even turn around.

"I'd really like to know what in the world is going on," Fred said.

"Come on." Scarlett grabbed his hand and, together, they ran after Harry. They made it to the marble staircase before they were stopped by Tonks.

"What's going on?" Scarlett asked her.

"The battle's over. All the Death Eaters have left."

"Why? It was all so sudden."

"I'm not quite sure yet. I'm hoping to get information on that soon, but I'm actually glad I found you two. Bill's in the hospital wing."

Scarlett felt the color drain from her face and she imagined what she was feeling was no comparison to how Fred felt. When she glanced up at him, his eyes were wide and his mouth was opening and closing like a fish.

"Come on, I'll walk up there with you and explain as we go." The three of them headed for the hospital wing as Tonks began telling them what she knew. "Remus brought him to Madame Pomfrey about halfway through the battle. He was attacked by Greyback."

Fred let out a noise somewhere between a groan and a whimper.

"It looks pretty bad," Tonks said softly, glancing at Fred. "His face is badly scratched and it'll scar."

"But will he be a werewolf?" Fred asked.

Tonks shook her head. "Remus said he shouldn't be. Tonight wasn't a full moon, so Greyback wasn't a fully transformed werewolf. However, Bill will probably have some wolf-like tendencies from now on and his face will be badly scarred."

They had reached the hospital wing by now and when they entered the room, Scarlett saw Lupin, George, Luna, Ron and Hermione gathered around a bed at the other end of the ward. Erica and Scarlett's mother were already there as well and they both let out obvious sighs of relief when they saw Scarlett.

"Scarlett," her mother gasped, rushing to give her daughter a hug. "Are you all right?"

"Fine, mum, really," she said, returning the hug tightly as Fred continued to walk towards Bill's bed.

"It's bad," Scarlett's mother whispered as she and her daughter followed him.

"I heard," Scarlett answered, trying as hard as she could to calm her nerves and swallow the lump in her throat. When she reached the end of the ward and finally saw Bill, she gasped and her eyes widened. His face was terribly cut up and looked awfully bloody despite the fact that Madame Pomfrey was cleaning it.

Scarlett tore her eyes away from Bill to look at Fred. His face had drained of all color and his lip was trembling slightly as he watched Madame Pomfrey treating the long gashes covering the side of his brother's face.

Every occupant of the room was silent and oddly still, except for Madame Pomfrey, who continued to bustle about. It must have been a minute or two later when the door opened again, and everyone turned at once to see who it was.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped, running to hug her friend, who was accompanied by Ginny and looking positively dreadful.

"Are you all right?" Lupin asked.

"Fine. How's Bill?"

Nobody answered. It was hard to give an answer, really. Bill certainly looked terrible, but it was hard to say what the exact effects of the attack were going to be since it hadn't been a full moon. Like Lupin had told Tonks, Bill might be fine except for his scars and a few werewolf tendencies. However, nobody would be sure until he woke up.

"Can't you heal the cuts with a charm or something?" Harry asked.

"No charm can heal these," Madame Pomfrey replied.

"Dumbledore might know something," Ron said, looking around. "I mean, he's the one that called in the Order, wasn't he? He's the reason why Bill's here. He can't leave him like this. Not that he would anyway, but…."

"Ron, Dumbledore's dead," Ginny said.

"No," Lupin gasped, shaking his head violently as if he were trying to get water out of his ears.

Harry nodded slightly and Lupin paled and collapsed into a chair.

Scarlett's brain was buzzing. Dumbledore was dead. It seemed impossible. She had known he was old and certainly not invincible, but at the same time, it seemed as if he would never die. His death must have been the reason for the Dark Mark. But when had it happened? How? And most importantly, why?

"How did it happen?" Tonks asked, succeeding in what Scarlett was failing at—actually getting the words to come out of her mouth.

"Snape killed him. I saw it. I was there. Dumbledore and I had arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was, but then I think Dumbledore realized it was a trap because we heard footsteps coming up the stairs almost immediately."

"So they sent the Mark up before Dumbledore actually died?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah, so they could lure him there to kill him. I was under the invisibility cloak and Dumbledore immobilized me. Then Malfoy came and disarmed him."

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth in shock as Ron groaned.

Harry continued to explain what had happened after that and how Snape and a group of Death Eaters arrived and how Snape had killed Dumbledore, causing him to fall from the highest tower of Hogwarts.

Soon after Harry finished his story, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley barged into the room with Fleur hot on their heels. The worry etched on their faces was indescribable. It was worry and fear of the utmost intensity, something that Scarlett wouldn't wish on anyone.

"How is he?" Mr. Weasley asked as his wife took over Madame Pomfrey's job of treating the cuts on Bill's face.

"We're fairly certain that he'll be okay," Lupin said.

Even at this news, Mrs. Weasley began to cry softly, never tearing her eyes away from Bill's injured cheek.

"And is it true about Dumbledore?" Mr. Weasley asked.

It was Harry who nodded. "I was there. It was Snape."

The room was thrown into silence once again. Mr. Weasley was staring intently at the ground as he processed the fact that Dumbledore was really dead. Mrs. Weasley was still treating Bill's face as tears quietly streamed down her face.

"It doesn't really matter how he looks," she said suddenly. "It's not what's really important, but he was always such a handsome boy. And he was about to be married, too!"

"And what exactly do you mean by zat?" Fleur asked, speaking for the first time. "You thought I would not want to marry heem anymore? What do I care how he looks? I am good looking enough for the both of us, I theenk! Besides, these scars show that my husband eez brave! And I weel do that!" She snatched the cleaning potion from Mrs. Weasley and took over treating Bill's face.

Mrs. Weasley simply blinked a few times. Scarlett found herself holding her breath, waiting for Mrs. Weasley to begin screaming and telling Fleur off. Instead, she did the opposite.

"Our great-aunt Muriel has a lovely goblin-made tiara that I'm sure I could persuade her to lend you for the wedding. It would look beautiful with your hair."

"That would be lovely," Fleur answered, continuing to dab at Bill's face.

There was a brief pause, and then both women were crying and hugging each other while everyone else looked on in amusement and slight shock.

"Mental," Fred muttered as Scarlett's mouth twitched into the tiniest of smiles.

It was decided that Dumbledore's funeral would be held in two days out by the lake. The Weasleys, Scarlett, and her mother agreed to stay at Hogwarts until the funeral. Professor McGonagall promised to make room for them all in Gryffindor tower. Scarlett didn't even bother making the point that she had been in Hufflepuff. Insisting that she go back to her own dorm would mean that she would be spending the night with people she didn't feel like she even belonged with anymore. It would also mean most likely seeing Justin, which she wasn't up to right now.

It was well after midnight by the time Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Erica and Scarlett finally made their way to the Gryffindor common room. Harry had gone with McGonagall to talk in her office and Fleur, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had stayed behind in the hospital wing with Bill. Neville was also staying in the hospital wing overnight due to an injury he had sustained to his leg.

"It's amazing that you managed to stay safe," Scarlett said, glancing at Ron, Hermione and Ginny as they walked. "Luna and Neville, too. It was really some battle."

"I'll say," Erica agreed. "Those Death Eaters are good. I swear, I wonder where I'd be if I hadn't joined the D.A. last year and actually learned the spells I'd have otherwise missed out on."

"Harry gave us his Felix Felicis," Ginny explained. "You know, the liquid luck potion? He won it in Potions class. Anyway, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and I split it between us. I think that helped a lot. We were supposed to call back the remaining members of the D.A. and give some to them as well, but…."

"But what?" Scarlett asked, raising an eyebrow as she wondered what Ginny was going to say. The youngest Weasley looked as if she were unsure if she should say what was on her mind.

"Nobody else showed up when we used the coins to call them," Hermione chimed in, looking at Scarlett.

"I don't understand. Why does it look like you're almost afraid to tell me?"

"Because Justin was part of the D.A. and he didn't show up. None of the Hufflepuffs did," Ginny said. "I thought that would upset you."

Scarlett looked down at her hands. She could feel Fred's eyes on her, waiting to hear if she was actually upset or not. He still didn't know that Scarlett had gone to warn Justin about Umbridge. As far as he knew, she hadn't spoken to her ex-boyfriend in nearly a year.

"Well, I suspect Ernie and Hannah stayed behind because Justin did. They're his closest friends," Scarlett finally said with a weary sigh.

"But that doesn't explain why Justin didn't show up," Ginny mused. "I mean we needed all the help we could get!"

"I know," Scarlett answered, "but I don't think the D.A. meant as much to Justin as it meant to us. Besides, I think he may have thought he'd run into me if he came to help. It would have been awkward, but I honestly don't think we'd have time to even dwell on it. Tonight wasn't about us. There wasn't time to think about us. Bigger things needed to be worried about."

"Was that your way of saying he was acting like an immature, selfish git?" Fred asked, a grin spreading over his face.

Scarlett simply shrugged.

"I'm taking that as a yes and I'm officially thrilled. I never thought I'd see the day where you'd trash talk him."

"I know, right?" Erica jumped in with a snort. "Usually he does no wrong."

Scarlett still didn't answer. She was in no mood to defend Justin or even talk about him anymore. She was tired of it. It was also a constant reminder that she had broken her promise to Fred about warning Justin when she really just wanted to forget it. She chanced a glance at Hermione, who was silent and pretending as if she didn't know anything. For that, Scarlett was grateful. She knew Hermione wouldn't break her word and she also knew she was smart enough to not spill the secret Scarlett had told her through Justin. Apparently, she was also smart enough to realize that nobody knew what Scarlett had done.

"Maybe it's good that he didn't show up," Fred continued. "We don't need his kind of help anyway."

The rest of the trip to the Gryffindor common room was silent. Ginny gave the password to get in and the six of them entered the room.

"I expect there's an extra few beds put up in my dorm for you two," Hermione said to Erica and Scarlett.

"Good, because I'm exhausted," Erica yawned, stretching her arms above her head before turning to her best friend. "Will you actually be taking the bed set out for you or will you be saving the house elves some sheet-washing by sharing with Fred?"

"I like that idea," Fred grinned. He wrapped his arms around Scarlett from behind and kissed her cheek. "I'm all for house elf rights. Spew and all that. Right, Hermione?" He looked up at her and winked cheekily.

"Oh, please, you laughed in my face when I first mentioned S.P.E.W to you. That's S.P.E.W by the way, not spew," Hermione huffed, turning red and crossing her arms.

Fred raised his eyebrows. "Apparently still a touchy subject."

"I don't know, Fred," Scarlett said, rubbing her eyes. "Maybe I'll just go sleep in the girls' dorm."

"We're not going to get in trouble or anything," Fred told her. "Nobody will care."

"I'll care," George teased.

Scarlett simply shrugged. She was tired, but she felt as if she wasn't going to be able to sleep a wink. There was just too much going on.

"Okay, well while you two work everything out, we're going to bed," Erica said. "Honestly, I can't wait around forever." She smiled, dramatically turned on her heel and headed for the dormitory stairs with the others.

"Goodnight you two," George teased in a singsong voice, winking over his shoulder at Fred and Scarlett. "Don't stay up too late."

When the common room had finally emptied, Fred dropped his arms from around Scarlett and looked down at her as she turned to look at him. "Okay, so what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Scarlett did her best to look as if she actually had no idea what he meant. Truthfully, she had a pretty good idea.

"You've been oddly quiet tonight. Usually you never shut up, but tonight….And you didn't defend the Finch earlier either."

"I'm just sick of talking about him, I guess. Why does everything have to revolve around him?"

"It doesn't," Fred answered quickly, looking taken aback. He cleared his throat. "It was just something I noticed."

"Fred, tonight's been awful. I'm just not in the mood to talk. Dumbledore's dead and Bill's been attacked…." She trailed off and walked around the couch, taking a seat on the comfy red cushions. She let out a heavy sigh and sat back, staring vaguely at the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" Fred asked, sitting down beside her. "You know, after Bellatrix practically strangled you."

"I'm still alive, aren't I? That's all I can ask for."

"Have you told your mother?"

Scarlett shook her head. There had been too much going on to tell her mother what had happened. Plus, it seemed kind of silly in the aftermath of what had happened to Bill and Dumbledore.

"It's probably better that way," Fred said, stretching and changing his position so that he was lying on the couch. He wormed his feet behind Scarlett's back and smiled up at her. "Lie down," he said, reaching up and grabbing her arm. He pulled her down beside him and she snuggled against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Remember when we made that pinky promise on this couch last year?" Scarlett asked, her voice quiet.

"Mm," Fred answered as he rubbed a thumb back and forth over her hipbone and gently kissed the back of her neck.

"Can you make me another promise?" Scarlett asked.

"Of course. Anything."

"Promise me that everything will be okay." She knew it was an impossible thing to promise and she knew Fred knew it, too. That's why his answer practically melted her heart.

"I can't promise something I can't control, Scar. Things aren't always going to be okay during this war and we both know it. But I can promise you that I'll do my best to make things as okay as possible. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy."

Scarlett smiled and laced her fingers through his, giving his hand a squeeze as she did so. A few minutes later, the urge to sleep was too powerful and she dozed off with a smile still evident on her face.

A/N: I'm actually kind of nervous about this chapter. It was one of those chapters that just insists on being difficult. I originally wasn't going to have Scarlett go to Hogwarts for the battle, but then I thought why shouldn't she? Besides that, I'm not very good at writing battle scenes either, but I did try my best. Hopefully everyone likes it. :)