Chapter 79: Unfair Punishments

"Good Evening, Miss Emeraude," came a sugar coated voice that caused Zoey to stop in her tracks. It was nighttime and Zoey just wanted to walk around the school before heading of to bed. Her Valentine Date with Fred had ended with her walking out of the restaurant, blushing with embarrassment and was prepared to avoid Fred for who knows how long but was stopped when the said boy caught up with her and apologized, though laughing as he did so. Zoey, being who she was, forgave him but still initiated the rule of 'No PDA in both ways' for her small 'revenge'.

She was stubborn.

Zoey took a silent breath and turned around, a forced smile plastered on her lips. Umbridge was wearing her usual pink wardrobe with her eyes piercing into Zoey's soul, and not in a good way. Zoey felt her heartbeat quicken as she shuffled uncomfortably on her feet.

"Good Evening, Professor," Zoey greeted slowly, cautiously, "I didn't expect to see you here"

"Yes, of course. I don't normally walk around these parts of the castle but from what I know, you don't either, Miss Emeraude," Umbridge gave a giggle, "This is the way to the Gryffindor Tower after all"

"I – It is? I… I didn't know that. I apologize, I was just wandering," Zoey stuttered out, making a quick scan of her surroundings. She had not realized she walked this far. The Emeraude scolded herself for not paying attention to where she was going.

"You know I do not tolerate lies, Miss Emeraude," Umbridge said, her smile widening making Zoey think that the woman was going to open her mouth to release her tongue and catch a fly that was unfortunately flying by.

"But I'm telling the truth!" Zoey said, her eyes wide.

"Really now, Miss Emeraude?" Umbridge said, taking a few steps towards Zoey. Zoey took a few steps back to keep the distance the same. "If I remember correctly, you walked out of the Gryffindor Common Room one night. Tell me, what were you doing there?"

Zoey took another step back. "I was just visiting some friends," she told her, "They… They needed my help and… I did what I could do…"

"Help… you say? Why couldn't you do that the next day in the Great Hall or in the library or even in class? Why must it be in their Common Room, a place that is exclusive for Gryffindors only, Miss Emeraude? Correct me if I'm wrong but you're a Hufflepuff"

"It was Medical problems," Zoey said awkwardly, Umbridge's stare and smile was scaring her. She took another step back. "It had to be treated right away."

Umbridge's smile widened, almost as if Zoey just gave her another reason to bully her further. "Medical? If it was that urgent, why couldn't they have just gone to Madam Pomfrey, Miss Emeraude? Surely, if it was that serious they would rather go to a professional healer rather than ask some friend, who knows a couple of healing spells, to go past her curfew to heal them"

"I'm training under Madam Pomfrey," Zoey blurted out, her brows knitted together as she tried to look for an escape, "I… it wasn't that serious that they needed Madam Pomfrey…but… I… I knew what to do and did what I could."

"Training? You want to be a Healer, Miss Emeraude?" Umbridge asked, standing her ground, hands folded in front of her. Zoey merely nodded. "Does, hmm… your dear Auntie know about your… future profession?"

"I – I never got around to talk to her about it," Zoey bit her lip, "She's awfully busy"

"I'm sure she would make time to discuss the important matter of your future, Miss Emeraude. After all, you are her favorite niece"

"I'm her only niece, Professor"

"Yes, you are, aren't you?" Umbridge looked Zoey up and down, "Is studying to be a Healer your only plan on the future or do you have something else in mind?"

"I'm afraid I don' t know what you mean," said Zoey, playing the ends of her sleeves.

"Marriage, Miss Emeraude. Do you plan on getting married after school?" Umbridge asked, giggling at the end.

Instead of blushing, a reaction Zoey would normally do if asked the question, Zoey paled. She placed a hand over her necklace and clutched the pendant. "I'm a little too young for that, don't you think, Professor?"

"Sources tell me, you're dating this… Fred Weasley boy?" Umbridge then said, "Does your aunt know this?"

"I… didn't think it would be important information for her," Zoey told her.

"I see. Well, I'll take it upon myself to inform her on your progress in school then," Umbridge smiled.

"You don't have to do that, Professor," Zoey felt her panic rise.

"It's no trouble," Umbridge said before turning away, "Well, if you have any business go on and do it before curfew… you wouldn't want another detention, now would you?"

Zoey bit her lip and shook her head, though knowing Umbridge didn't see her action.

"Oh, by the way, Miss Emeraude," Umbridge turned around again, "Has Mister Potter been up to anything… odd?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Professor," Zoey said stiffly.

Umbridge squinted at the girl, not at all convince, and walked away. When Umbridge was finally out of eye and earshot, Zoey felt like she could breath properly again. She brought her hand to her chest and felt her heartbeat begin to steady. She licked her lips and made her way to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she didn't feel like returning to her dorm any time soon.


"Ah, Harry, you idiot," Fred said, placing a hand on his forehead, leaning back a little into the couch, "You shouldn't have said what you did."

Zoey walked further into the Common Room with curiosity at Fred's words. When she fully entered she saw the twins sitting on the couch with Harry at their feet. Fred was leaning back with his hand on his forehead while George was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, looking at Harry. Harry's back was to Zoey as he craned is neck a bit to be able to talk to the twins, looking them in the eye.

"What? What did I say wrong?" Harry asked, genuinely confused.

"You told her about Hermione," George said.

"What's wrong with that? Hermione's my friend!" Harry ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head. At this, Zoey decided to make herself known. She cleared her throat and in an instant, all three boys looked at her.

"Zoe? What are you doing here?" Fred asked, straightening himself and patting the area next to him. Zoey gave him a smile but decided to sit down on the floor, next to Harry.

"The more important question, I think, is how she got here," Harry smiled at her in greeting. "You're not a Gryffindor"

"Obviously," Zoey laughed, "Bridgit told me the password for Gryffindor"

"How the bloody hell did she know that?" George raised a brow.

"She's Bridgit," Zoey said simply before answering Fred's question. "I ran into Umbridge a few minutes ago. Didn't want to leave the area so I decided to pay you guys a visit," she told them.

"Umbridge? She didn't do anything to you did she?" Fred asked, placing his elbows on his knees as well.

Zoey shook her head. "She just interrogated me. Nothing big," she turned to Harry, "Why's Fred calling you an idiot?"

"Because Harry, here, just screwed up his date with Miss Chang," George answered for Harry.

"How?"

"According to them, it was because I was talking about Hermione," Harry said with a shrug. "I don't see the problem. Hermione's my friend and I didn't see her having any bad vibe with Cho or anything."

"Harry, did you not learn anything from our advice?" Fred shook his head.

"You never gave me conversation tips," Harry pointed it out.

"We thought it was common knowledge not to talk about other girls when you're on a date," said George.

"Unless they're your mum or your sister, you can't speak of anyone else," Fred explained further, "It would just get the girl jealous"

"Jealous? Jealous of Hermione? But I just said she was simply my friend! Sister even!" Harry then said.

"Take it from a girl's perspective then," George shrugged. He and Fred then turned to Zoey. "If you were on a date with Fred and he began talking about… I don't know… Angelina or something, how would you react?" George asked.

Zoey blinked at him in confusion before furrowing her brows and biting her lip in thought. She then looked up at them again. "React? I would ask how she's doing," Zoey shrugged, "I mean, if Fred were to bring her up he would either be talking about Quidditch or Lee..."

At this, Fred and George smacked their forehead in unison. Harry then sent them both a 'See! She's not jealous!' look.

"Let's change the situation then," Fred readjusted his position and looked to Zoey. "Say, we were on our first date ever and we haven't confessed to each other or anything yet. We hardly know anything about each other and then I begin talking about Angelina or Alicia and even Katie. How would you feel? "

"Nothing. They're your friends. You're free to talk about them," Zoey shrugged one shoulder.

"No, you aren't seeing my point here, Zoe. You are madly in love with me and you know nothing of my feelings towards you. How would you feel when I begin talking about other girls and saying stuff like: She's amazing or I like her hair or something!" Fred used hand motions to see if he could get Zoey to see what he meant.

Zoey looked Fred dead in the eye and said. "I would think you're gay for talking about her hair," she said bluntly.

"Fred, you're asking the wrong type of girl," George laughed, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder and forcing him to lean back into the couch.

"You mean you won't feel anything? Jealous? Anger? Think I'm rude? Nothing?" Fred continued to ask Zoey.

The Emeraude simply shook her head. "Nothing wrong with talking about friends. I mean, if you did like her or something wouldn't you have gone out on a date with her instead?" she asked.

At this, Harry continued to give the twins a look that said: 'You see! I did nothing wrong!'

"You're not seeing our point," George then said, "I think Cho is the 'jealous type' of some sort. She wanted you to be more focused on her."

Before Harry could say something about Cho wanting his attention, the door of the Common Room burst open and a shoe came flying in, hitting Harry square on the head. The Twins and Zoey, Harry having fallen to the ground from the surprise attack, looked towards the entrance with wide eyes. Echo and Bridgit came bursting in, Echo wearing only one shoe, looking pissed as hell.

"YOU IGNORANT BLOODY EXCUSE OF A REAL MAN!" Echo bellowed.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" Bridgit then asked, "I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE A GOOD GUY!"

"What?" Harry asked, sitting back up, rubbing the back of his head, "What are you talking about?"

"YOU OF COURSE!" Bridgit answered, marching up, "BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID TO CHO!"

"IT'S YOUR BLEEDING FAULT I HAVE TO FACE CHO CRYING A RIVER AT THE RAVENCLAW TOWER!" Echo shouted, "SHE"S DAMN BLOODY ANNOYING!"

Harry was frozen to his spot, his eyes reading terror. Cho was crying? He made her cry? He was about to say something but Echo beat him to it.

"EXACTLY!" Bridgit agreed. "SHE KEEPS ON RANTING ABOUT YOU! IT'S STARTING TO GET ON MY NERVES! I CAN'T BLOODY HEAR MYSELF THINK IN THERE!"

"See, Harry," Fred began, patting his shoulder.

"Look what you do," George ended, patting his shoulder as well.

Zoey then pulled out her wand and waved it around the room, silencing it. She did not want anyone interrupting them. In fact, she was wondering why no one had come down to investigate on the shouting yet. She placed her wand down and looked at her two friends.

"Indoor voices please," she told them.

"INDOOR VOICES MY ARSE!" Echo retorted.

"TELL THAT TO THE SOBBING GIRL IN OUR BLASTED COMMON ROOM! BOY WOULD WE LOVE HER TO SHUT UP!" Bridgit retorted as well. They were both pissed.

"Language," Zoey scolded once more before standing up, "Why are you so angry anyway? Frankly, I think Harry has done nothing wrong"

"Ah, you still didn't get our point," the twins said in unison

"Judging on Bridgit's and Echo's reaction," Fred began

"And what they told us about Cho," George continued.

"Harry did something really wrong," Fred ended.

"EXACTLY!" Echo threw her arms in the air.

Zoey furrowed her brows and pointed her wand at Echo, muttering a spell silently before pointing her wand at Bridgit, doing the same. It was a silencing spell. "I can't hear myself think with all the shouting," she told them, "Sit down"

Echo only crossed her arms across her chest and stuck her tongue out before breaking a few seconds and starts thrashing at everything in her reach.

When the girl began to thrash at everything, George pulled out his wand and casted a Body-Binding Curse at her, forcing her limbs to stick to her sides and making her fall to the floor. He ignored the glare he received.

"Don't take your anger out on our Common Room," he told her, "Not your property"

Bridgit sat down beside the fifteen year old in the room and began to stare daggers at the boy. Harry moved away a bit in discomfort.

"Now, I'm going to lift the spells, the silencing ones not the Body-Binding one, and you two are going to tell us in your indoor voices what's going on," Zoey said pointing her wand at Bridgit and then at Echo, "Now, what's going on? What's Cho saying?"

"Saying that Harry's an insensitive git," Echo glared.

"Because he was talking about Hermione?" Fred asked.

"Yes, Miss Chang has been complaining all night about how, and I quote, 'that bloody prick Potter' can mention another girl during their date." Bridgit said

"I don't see the problem with that!" Harry exclaimed, "We're just friends"

"To be honest, Harry, some think you're more than 'just friends'," George then said, "You guys are awfully close"

"Just make her shut her bleeding trap." Echo struggled against her invincible binds. George lifted the spell silently.

"And who the hell planted in your mind that you talk about another girl during a date with one?" Bridgit asked. "Did you not listen to any of the advice we gave you?"

"According to him, we didn't give him any topic ideas to talk about," Fred shrugged.

"Thought it was common knowledge, to be honest," George added.

"Honestly, I do not see what Harry did wrong," Zoey spoke, her hands folded across her chest. She looked at each and everyone one of her friends dead in the eye. Only Harry shared her confusion as to what he did wrong.

"Zoey, Zoey, Zoey..." Bridgit began in her 'I'm going to explain now so you better listen' voice.

"What?" Zoey then asked, still very confused.

"Have you ever thought that maybe mentioning Hermione, on a date with Cho, while she is still heartbroken from her previous relationship, is rather harsh? What do you think Cho felt? Knowing that Harry's attention was divided between two girls?" Bridgit now said, asking Zoey.

"Ah, now you sound like a Muggle therapist," Echo said, she got up and started looking for her shoe.

"I think I've been the therapist of these couples for so long to be honest." Bridgit suddenly said.

"Still the only single one though," Fred said, coughing after.

Zoey ignored what her friends were saying and blinked several times, processing what Bridgit had just said. "Divided?" she muttered before furrowing her brows, "I honestly don't know how she could ever feel. Is this like, I should put myself in her shoes?"

At Zoey's choice of words, Echo face-palmed.

"Okay, Zoey, let's try this." Bridgit said. "Imagine that you're on a date with Fred," she began, hopefully able to explain to her friend.

"This again?" Zoey asked before nodding her head, "Okay, then?"

"You're both having a splendid time, you're holding hands, walking through Hogsmeade and Fred turns to you with a smile on his face," Bridgit continued, "How do you feel?"

"Blimey, this is therapy," George suddenly spoke.

"Normal," Zoey said bluntly.

"Not much of a reaction from her," Fred sighed before chuckling, "Good luck explaining things, Bridgit"

"Normal? Just normal? No feelings of happiness, romance, maybe even bliss?" Bridgit continued to ask, refusing to believe that her friend was as hopeless as everyone thought.

"Seeing as this is Zoey's problem now, I'm going to go. Thanks guys," Harry said sheepishly before sneaking away and heading to his dorm. No one paid him mind. It was Zoey who was the hopeless cause now.

Zoey tilted her head in thought and looked over to Fred who just smiled at her. She blinked at him before looking back at Bridgit. "Well, you got to understand that me and Fred were friends way before we started dating so his smile is rather normal to me," Zoey then said, not noticing Fred's reaction. The boy felt like he was just hit on the head with a Bludger.

"You become more hopeless every single passing minute, Zoey," Echo shook her head.

"Would have thought you would learn something from all those muggle romance books you read," George added.

"I'm so sorry about that, Fred," Bridgit said, patting the red head's shoulder before looking at Zoey. "Don't you think that's rather harsh, Zoey?"

Zoey's eyes widened a bit before looking at Fred who refused to look at her. "Was I being to harsh? I was just saying the truth"

"My wounds… she's rubbing salt on them," Fred laughed bitterly.

"There, there, Bessie," Echo patted Fred's shoulder. George snorted.

"Seriously, I think you two need couple's counseling. Go find yourself a psychiatrist," said Bridgit.

"Zoey just needs a pot of plant to land on her head," Echo spoke

"I – I'm sorry," Zoey then apologized, "It's just that…. Uhm…. Well, I've fancied Fred since our second year… probably even earlier so… seeing his smile just seems normal to me now. If you want my heart leap with every grin, it's already done that…so… yeah…"

"FINALLY! PROGRESS!" Bridgit suddenly exclaimed.

"That's it. One day a flower pot will land on your head," said Echo.

"Okay, I think I know how to make Zoey understand what Cho felt now!" Bridgit then said, turning to the others.

"Do we need to celebrate?" asked Echo, who was gazing at something far away.

"How?" the twins asked, ignoring what Echo had said, while Zoey continued her curious look

"Maybe," Bridgit answered, she actually took note of Echo's semi-random comment, "If this succeeds we just might celebrate"

"Just tell us how you're going to explain to Zoey," Fred then said, running a hand through his hair

"Right," said Echo.

"Okay...here we go. Zoey, do you remember how you felt when you first began to fancy Fred?" Bridgit asked.

"Err," Zoey looked at Fred and blushed before looking away, "Yes."

"Okay, now think that during those times, when you were a bit confused about how you felt, and let's say...Fred asked you out on a date- no Zoey I don't care if it was all the way back in second year." Bridgit said, stopping her friend from protesting.

Zoey held her hands up in defense. "Just so you know, there wasn't much confusion. I just accepted it," she told her before thinking, "Alright, We're second years and we're on a date. Now what?"

"No confusion? Alright then...so now you're on a date and you're probably nervous. When Fred tries to take your hand, you act shy and blush, and you're still a bit shy about admitting your feelings. In other words you're a bit uncomfortable with the situation. Are you following me?"

"I… I think so, yeah," Zoey nodded her head.

"Now, Fred acts all kind and comforts you and tells you it's going to be okay… how do you feel now?"

"To tell you the truth," Zoey began, her blush returning and darkening with every passing second, "Embarrassed"

"What?" Fred exclaimed but was ignored by the girls and laughed at by George.

"I think and invisible pot landed," Echo laughed.

"It's the truth! I'd be so embarrassed because it seems like I'm the only one nervous about the date," Zoey retorted.

"OKAY! I give up on this angle, let's try this in a different way!" Bridgit now exclaimed.

"Good luck, I think nothing is gonna work," George then said.

"Oh trust me, this will work," Bridgit now said, turning towards Zoey.

"Maybe I'm just dumb in love," Zoey said, looking up in thought.

"Nope… you just don't know how to handle it unless you're placed in that situation," Bridgit answered.

"You want me to talk to Zoey about different girls?" Fred raised a brow.

"Nope, that won't work, but let's try reverse psychology shall we?" Bridgit began. "Zoey, you're gonna talk about different guys in front of Fred."

"G- Guys? Like who?" Zoey asked, seeing the shocked look in Fred's eye

"Oh I would love to see this!" Echo squealed.

"Cedric, Lee, Aiden, hell even Zacharias, just talk about them in front of Fred." Bridgit answered. "Then observe Fred while you talk."

"Wha… what do I have to say about them?" Zoey asked, really wanting Bridgit to make everything clear to her.

"Compare them to Fred," Bridgit said bluntly.

Zoey looked over to Fred and saw that he didn't like where this is going. The Emeraude took a breath before looking up in thought.

"Well, Cedric was a bit more serious than Fred and that was good. Lee, he didn't really take pranks too far, he just took part in them. Aiden can sing and he's really sweet without trying to be… Zacharias….I… I feel like comparing Fred to him would hurt Fred's ego but then again… Zacharias has a pretty big ego too, doesn't he?" Zoey listed, not noticing the shocked looks of her friends and the petrified look Fred's body took as he listened to what Zoey was saying. Little by little, you could hear something crack. Whether it was his heart or something else, no one could tell.

"There's Harry who's very polite and also Ron who's really awkward at times. Oh, wait, Neville is awkward in that cute fashion and I find it well… cute. I just want to hug him at time when that happens. There's also Seamus with his accent oh Oliver Wood and his accent." Zoey bit her lips as a small blush crossed her cheeks. "Percy, well, he's alright I guess. Nothing to compare except Fred's more carefree than him. Charlie works with dragons and that's pretty cool. Bill is pretty cool too and… hmm… who else? Oh! George is also the nicer twin, well, that's what Echo told me…."

"Are you observing Fred while you talk?" Bridgit now asked, turning to Fred.

The Emeraude turned to look at Fred as well and her eyes widened. The boy was bowing his head and fiddling with his fingers. He looked almost like a puppy that was just kicked out of its house for doing something bad. He looked lost and refused to look directly at Zoey. It was obvious that he was hurt; it was simple as that, even someone like Zoey could see that. Zoey gulped and looked at her friends. Echo winced when Zoey looked at her and George seemed a bit angry, Brigit looked sad. Zoey felt her heartbeat quicken and realized what she had done was unforgivable.

"I didn't know you could be so cruel, Zoey," George said, looking at her as he patted his twin's shoulder.

"I may be sadistic, but not too sadistic. So, Bessie, I hope you're okay," Echo then said, patting Fred's knee.

"Now do you see what Cho felt?" Bridgit asked, turning towards Zoey.

Zoey slowly nodded. "I think I know what you guys mean now... from what I see… Fred's feeling a bit insecure now… You guys should have said that in the first place!" Zoey paused, her brows furrowing, "I mean… even I feel it. If Fred were to talk about Angelina, Katie or Alicia personality and looks wise I would feel very insecure because when I think about it, compared to them… I'm just… plain. Angelina is tall, beautiful and funny while Katie is very attractive and kind Alicia is very friendly as well and outspoken but then there's me.

"I'm tiny, scrawny, socially awkward and come with loads of problems, emotionally, physically and mentally. I don't know how everyone else thinks and frankly because of that I cause loads of misunderstandings and such…. I'm just too fragile and weak…" the Emeraude paused in thought, "I should be the one being insecure about this, not you, Fred. Why do you even like me? I'm too much trouble and I'm not even worth it. All I do is cause you pain and confusion"

"I don't like you cause of your physical appearance Zoe, I like-wait no, I love you, because you're you." Fred answered, but still he had a wink of sadness and disappointment in his voice.

"For me? I'm… I'm too broken. How could you love someone like me?" Zoey asked. She didn't care that her other friends could hear her and Fred's conversation right now.

"Cause you're not perfect." Fred said plainly. "You have flaws, and you admit them. You don't try to hide it like most girls do, and you embrace them. Yes, you could say you're broken, but to some degree I love the thought that maybe I'm the person that could fix you."

Zoey's lip quivered and heartbeat quickened. She saw Fred look at her in the eye and Zoey felt nothing but guilt inside her. She bit her lip and looked away.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I… I compared you to all of them and… that was cruel of me. I… I… They may have some qualities that I like but… there's something that they don't have. It's your qualities. I fell for you, Fred, not them. I've known you longer than all of them and well…I like you better. You're fun loving and you know when to be serious. You have a heart and you're mighty brilliant. I could list a whole lot more but I won't cause I'll just be wasting time."

The Emeraude paused and looked back at him.

"What I really admire about you, Fred is that you were always there for me, you know? The others… they don't know what's going on with my life but you do and you still chose to stick by me. You put up with me and my flaws and… and I…" but Zoey couldn't continue. She was already getting dizzy from the intensified heat that was sent up to her face. She looked away from Fred once more, hiding her face.

"It's alright, Zoe… I… I understand and I … I don't hold it against you," Fred said.

"You're too nice to me," she told him before looking at her friends. Echo simply had a placid expression on her face as she glanced at George, who was staring at the two, every few seconds. Bridgit, on the other hand, had the look of guilt written on her face. She felt bad for making Fred and Zoey go through that. The couple was unstable and trying their best to stick together. The Emeraude looked back at Fred and saw that he was simply watching her.

The atmosphere was getting awkward.

Zoey could not handle awkward.

She suddenly made a loud clap of her hands before saying: "Well, since we finally got me to understand this thing after much effort, thanks Bridgit, I have one more thing to say and it's about Harry and Cho once again," she paused, "I don't really feel that bad that it didn't work out between them, you know? I don't find Harry and Cho… fitting to be honest"

"I second that," said Echo.

"Really? Then who do you think would fit young Mister Potter?" Fred asked joining in. He didn't want to be the only serious one now. It was needed but tiring. "I say he would do splendidly paired up with Mister Malfoy"

Zoey made a face. "Eww! Fred, no. He should be with Ginny"

"Harry is supposed to end up alone. Forever," said Echo before laughing.

"The Boy-Who-Lived? Alone? That's unlikely," George said.

"I say he should be with Miss Granger, I mean she was the cause of this fight in the first place." Bridgit suddenly said, stating her opinion.

"But Harry said it himself, didn't he? They're just friends," Zoey then said, "I say he should be with Ginny. She's liked him for the longest time."

"I'd be happy if he stayed away from our baby sister, thank you," Fred told her.

"How about Harry and Snape?" George chimed in, "They could be 'Snarry' or something"

"Why do you keep paring him up with guys?" Zoey asked, her face reading confusion.

"It's fun but moving on," Fred turned to Bridgit, "Why do you think Harry should be with our little Miss Granger?"

"I mean, think about it...who gave Harry his first hug? His first kiss on the cheek? She's willing to drop anything for him! How more obvious can you get?" Bridgit answered.

Her friends stayed quiet for some time.

"She's got a point," George shrugged, leaning back into the couch.

"Yeah," Zoey tilted her head, "But I think she should be with Ron. Opposites Attract after all"

Fred snorted. "Like hell Ron would be able to get someone like Hermione," he said, "You give him too much credit."

"Don't be too hard on Ron," Echo said, whacking Fred with her shoe.

"Bloody footwear," Fred muttered, throwing the shoe back at the Veela.

"She can't be with Ron, Ron is an attention freak, he would want Hermione's full attention, and we all know who Hermione cares for more!" Bridgit then said.

"Right… I would still want him to end up alone," Echo said

Zoey's eyes went wide. "Why are we bashing on Ron? It was just a thought. Not like it would actually happen. We would never know," Zoey shrugged before looking up in thought, "But you know, when you think about it… Ginny could go with Draco. What do you think, Bridgit?"

"No way in hell are we letting that slimy git," Fred began

"Anywhere near our sister," George ended.

"I say yes!" Bridgit exclaimed.

"I don't think Draco's all that bad…" said Echo, "I mean, he's living off his father's authority and fame"

"It would end this stupid family war of yours," Bridgit added.

"I concur," Echo smiled. At that, the two Ravenclaws shared a high-five.

The twins furrowed their brows and made X marks with their arms, making a beeping noise that told them they were wrong.

"We object," they said in unison.

"Fine then, but you have to admit, most Slytherins swoon over Ginny." Bridgit smirked as she said this.

"Why?" Echo snapped, "Draco's just a person. He has a weak side, just like you lot."

"It's just an opinion," Zoey told them with a laugh, "I mean what are the odds? You may never know. You can never control whom you love. Like, you never know, Bridgit could marry a muggle some day"

"Whoa! Why my love life? For all we know, I could end up alone and successful and become Minister of Magic!" Bridgit retorted.

"Oh we fear the day that comes." Fred and George suddenly said.

Echo rolled her eyes. "Bridgit will be better than that pudgy Fudge."

"Point one for Bridgit and Echo," Zoey laughed before she was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. She looked over to the source and saw Harry coming down the stairs, a small blush decorating his cheeks.

"I… left my wand," he muttered, pointing to the ground next to Zoey before approaching it and picking up the fallen item. "Carry on," he said before dashing back up the stairs.

"Uhm… you think he heard us?" Zoey asked, wondering if her silencing spell wore off.

"Nope. Doubt it," Echo smirked

"We would never know," Fred shrugged

"Unless we ask him," George grinned.

"I think he did. Did you see the blush on his face! Man, Fred, I'd watch your back when you sleep, you said he'd end up with Malfoy!" Bridgit suddenly said, causing color to drain from Fred's face

"What? Opposites Attract, right? You can't get any more opposite than those two!" Fred folded his arms across his chest.

"They're the same gender," Zoey told him.

"Talk about opposites." Echo laughed.

"Boy. Girl. We don't judge Harry's taste," George laughed.

"They're not opposites!" Bridgit suddenly said.

"Elaborate," Zoey looked at her.

"Both stubborn, ignorant, trying to prove themselves, come from horrible family backgrounds- yes Malfoy comes from a horrid family I've seen him get beat up by his dad, George, and they both share a hatred for each other." Bridgit answered, smiling.

"I suddenly feel more sorry for Draco." Echo muttered.

"Same here," Zoey muttered before looking at her watch. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet. "It's so passed our curfew," she told them, panic in her eyes.

"I'm in no rush," Echo stuck her tongue out.

"You just realized this now?" Bridgit asked.

"Yes," Zoey said, making her way to the door, "I'm sorry but I rather not encounter another detention with Umbridge. Zacharias would kill me!"

"Why would he do that?" Fred asked suspiciously.

"Why?" Echo raised an eyebrow.

Zoey shook her head. "I don't have time for explanations," she said in a rush, opening the door, "Goodbye!"

And she was gone.


Fred stood in the audience along with George, Bridgit, Echo, Harry and the rest, waiting for the match to start. He hated the fact that he couldn't participate in the game for he had a lifelong ban. If he had his way, he would already be out there on his broom, whacking Bludgers at unsuspecting Hufflepuff's along with his twin. Sadly, he could not have his way. The Weasley looked around his surroundings and raised a brow. It was a few more minutes before the match began and there was no sign of Zoey.

"Where's Zoe?" he asked out loud.

"Uhm… probably in the Hufflepuff stands, she has to support her house, you know," Bridgit answered.

Lee Jordan had already begun introducing the members of the Gryffindor Team; he was going to do Hufflepuff next.

"That's odd," Fred said, "She usually stays at our side even when it's her House Team."

"Well, she needs to show some Badger Pride sometime you know," Bridgit replied.

There was a pat on Fred's shoulder and he looked to his brother who was looking at up in surprise. Fred raised a brow as he vaguely listened to Lee introducing the Hufflepuff Team. "I think you would want to pay real close attention to this match," George told him.

"What? Why –"

"AND INTRODUCING HUFFLEPUFF'S NEWEST BEATER," Lee's voice echoed, "ZOEY EMERAUDE!"

Fred's eyes widened at the name and swiftly looked towards Hufflepuff's side of the field. He took a quick scan of the members before his eyes landed on a girl riding a Firebolt with her hair tied up in a tight ponytail and holding onto the Beater's bat. A look of determination on her face.

"What? Did Lee just say...Zoey?" Bridgit asked.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, not believing his eyes.

"He just did," said Echo.

The elder Weasley didn't say anything, he just watched as the Captains of each team flew closer to each other, shook hands before Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle in the air. The game began.

Zacharias immediately dashed towards the Quaffle, but Angelina had beaten him towards it. She flew towards the rings, with Zacharias hot on her tail. As she threw the ball and passed it towards Katie, Katie threw the ball towards the second ring and scored a shot. Screams like "Go Katie" and "Great shoot!" were heard from the crowd as Lee announced the ten points awarded to the Gryffindor team.

"Do we uhm...cheer for Gryffindor or for Hufflepuff?" George suddenly asked, turning to his friends.

"I have no idea," Fred answered

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Echo yelled.

Zacharias now had possession of the ball and was dashing through the Quidditch Pitch. A Bludger was about to hit him, when Zoey dashed forward hitting the little bugger away from him.

"Yeah! Go Zoey!" Fred shouted, cheering for his girlfriend.

"You finally found your match boys." Bridgit said, wrapping her arms around the twins' shoulders.

"Hey!" They both shouted, making Bridgit move away back to her place beside Fred.

Suddenly, gasps were heard as they saw replacement Beater, Andrew Kirke, fall from his broom. They looked up to find Zacharias with the Quaffle and scoring his second goal for Hufflepuff.

"Cedric would have never done that," Bridgit said plainly.

"Cedric wasn't a Chaser." She heard George retort, making her stick her tongue out at the redhead.

"Go Alicia!" The Gryffindors suddenly shouted, making the four friends turn their attention back to the game, and they saw Alicia pass the Quaffle to Angelina. Too bad Angelina never caught it, for a Bludger made contact with the Quaffle making it go off course and ended up being caught by Zacharias.

Fred, George, Bridgit, Echo, Harry, and the others all turned towards where the Bludger had come from, and was shocked to see Zoey there with a shocked face as well. She seemed surprise to what happened.

"ALRIGHT ZOEY!" Someone shouted from the Hufflepuff crowd, and they realized that it was no other than Jane. The girl had a pretty loud voice or maybe she was just amplifying it with magic. No one took the time to wonder about it for the game was getting rather intense.

"GO ZOEY!" Harry had shouted, now making Bridgit turn to him.

"Way to show your lion pride, Harry." Bridgit said.

"Tsk tsk," Echo said teasingly.

"Hey, blood is thicker than water you know," Harry answered, making Bridgit confused.

"What does blood have to do with anything?" Bridgit asked.

"She's my godsister, technically my relative." Harry replied, making the others shake their heads.

As the game continued, Zacharias and the other Chasers had scored more points than the Gryffindor team, and the Slytherins were once again singing that annoying song, getting Ron heated up in anger.

"Don't mind them Ron!" Fred and George shouted, hoping their brother had heard it.

Angelina was currently in possession of the ball, and the Gryffindors were cheering. She was getting closer to the rings, and Zacharias suddenly shouted towards Zoey.

"Stop her!" Zacharias shouted, making Zoey turn to him with a questioning look.

"How will I do that?" Zoey asked, her eyes wide. She wasn't panicking, no; she was just confused at Zacharias' sudden orders.

"Do whatever it takes! Knock her down if you have to!" Zacharias answered, making Zoey's eyes go wide.

"But...But..." Zoey was saying, but Zacharias gave her a stern look causing the Emeraude to shut up and swallow her excuses.

Zoey could do nothing but follow, so she gripped her bat tight, went nearer to the Bludger, and even if it was against her wishes, hit the Bludger and sent it towards Angelina's way. It hit Angelina's broom causing her to fall off. A Hufflepuff Chaser saw this as an advantage and took the Quaffle as it fell out of Angelina's hands and scored seeing as Ron was distracted by what Zoey had done.

"ANGELINA JOHNSON IS DOWN, DUE TO ZOEY EMERAUDE'S STRONG AND STRATEGIZED HIT," Lee said, shock evident in his voice. "EVEN IF YOU'RE A GOOD FRIEND ZOEY, THAT WAS STILL BLOODY SHOCKING!" Lee continued, making Professor McGonagall send a glare his way. She hated foul language.

"No way Zoey planned that." Fred suddenly said.

"I agree. I bet that was Zacharias' idea." George replied.

"ZACHARIAS SMITH HAS THE BALL, MAKING HIS WAY TOWARDS THE RINGS." Lee announced, making everyone focus on Zacharias and Ron.

Weasley is our King~

The Slytherin's sang in glee and again, causing Ron to glare at the whole Slytherin crowd. His temporary distraction caused Zacharias to score a goal.

"I feel so sorry for Ron." Echo muttered

"ANOTHER TEN POINTS TO HUFFLEPUFF DUE TO ZACHARIAS 'THE BLOODY PRAT' SMITH'S GOAL!" Lee announced.

"Mister Jordan!" Professor McGonagall shouted, but still Lee continued.

"RON GET YOUR HEAD IN THE BLOODY GAME WILL YOU! WE'RE GETTING KICKED OUT THERE! DON'T MIND THE FREAKING SLYTHERIN'S AND PROTECT THE GOALS!" Lee shouted.

"Mister Jordan!" Professor McGonagall shouted once again, making Lee stop shouting into the microphone.

Everyone's attention was now on Ginny, who was going after the Golden Snitch. She followed it, her arm outstretched, trying to catch the fast little golden ball. When her hand wrapped around it, finally catching it, Lee announced it right away. "GINNY WEASLEY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, ENDING THE GAME!"

The Gryffindors cheered, they thought they had won. When suddenly Lee followed up his announcement.

"HUFFLEPUFF WINS BEATING GRYFFINDOR BY TWO HUNDRED FORTY TO TWO HUNDRED THIRTY"

Fred's eyes widened, and turned towards George.

"This is like Ireland and Bulgaria all over again!" He shouted, making George nod. The twins both turned their attention towards the Hufflepuff team, and saw that Zoey was shocked herself.

"WAY TO GO ZOEY!" Jane shouted once again, seemingly to be the most proud of the Emeraude. But she wasn't of course. Who else would be more proud than fellow beater and also her boyfriend...Fred Weasley.

Fred vaulted over the stand, making his way towards the center of the pitch. He waited for Zoey to land on the ground, and when she did, he ran up to her and gave her a strong hug.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in the Quidditch team? A beater no less!" Fred asked, Bridgit, Echo, and George making their way towards the pair.

Zoey grinned before giving them a peace sign. "Surprise!" she laughed. She looked like a kid on her birthday, a grin on her face that could not be wiped off.

"Yeah, but you do know that you're lucky that we weren't the Beaters right?" George suddenly said, appearing beside his brother.

"Oh really? I bet I could beat you guys," Zoey raised a brow, folding her arms across her chest.

"Don't get too cocky, Zoey," Echo smirked.

"And don't forget Zoey, just because you're our friend, doesn't mean that we'll go easy on you." Bridgit suddenly said.

The Emeraude laughed before wiping the sweat from her forehead. "I wouldn't expect you to," she bit her lip, "So how did I do in the game?" she asked them, wanting feedback.

"Oh, very good. Didn't know you had it in you." Echo smiled.

"Bloody fantastic!" Bridgit answered. "But I didn't like you knocking down Angelina, that was such a Slytherin play."

"Captain told me too," Zoey said, looking a bit guilty, "She's not mad is she?"

"It's a game, Zoey. Grudges will disappear," said Echo.

"Not at you, but she'll probably give it to Zacharias when she wakes up," George answered.

"She's not that hurt is she?" Zoey's eyes widened.

"Of course not!" Fred answered. "Don't worry Zoe, Angelina's had harder hits."

"If you say so," Zoey smiled before looking over to her Hufflepuff teammates, "I would love to stay and chat but it seems like they want a celebration."

"Then celebrate with us then!" Fred suggested.

"Sorry lover boy," Jane then said from behind Zoey, hugging her, "But she's coming with us! See ya!"

Zoey began stumbling as Jane dragged her back to the Hufflepuff crowd. The Emeraude was just about to disappear amongst all the black and yellow before she broke free from Jane, ran to Fred, kissed him swiftly on the lips and smiled up at him sheepishly.

"I won. That's my congratulatory gift," she told him indicating the kiss as a gift. She waved at him before running back into the crowd, disappearing.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID NO KISSING!" Bridgit shouted.


Yells filled the air together with white mist as everyone in the DA tried to perfect the latest spell taught to them, the Patronus Charm.

"Expecto Patronum!" Zoey exclaimed, like the rest of her fellow DA members, as she pointed her wand in the air, doing what was instructed, and expected to see a silvery animal shape. Sadly, she got nothing but a white mist emitting from her wand.

"You got nothing too?" Jane's voice said from beside Zoey as the girl pointed her wand towards a random direction and doing what Zoey had just done. She got nothing but mist as well. "I didn't think it would be this hard," Jane admitted, dropping her hand to the side and giving Zoey a sheepish grin, "I'm starting to run out of happy memories"

Zoey gave her a sympathetic smile in return. She then pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose and brushed her bangs away, securing them at the top of her head with her hand as she scanned the room. It wasn't just her and Jane who were having a bit of trouble with the spell; majority of her peers had the same problem. Zoey bit her lip. So far only the teacher himself, Harry, and Ginny had been able to make a proper Patronus. The Emeraude looked at the silver horse with envy before a silver otter caught her attention.

It was Hermione's. Zoey watched as the otter danced around its caster before fading away. Zoey blinked. Only three people were able to get it right. She observed that she was doing exactly what they were doing but it didn't seem to work out for her.

"What do you think your Patronus is?" Jane brought Zoey out of her unintentional procrastination. The latter looked up in thought before shrugging.

"A fish?" She guessed, laughing a bit in the end.

"I'm being serious here," Jane let out a laugh of her own before scanning the room herself. "You know, I'm sort of surprised that the Weasley twins haven't gotten it yet; their Patronus. I mean… Ron got his out."

Zoey followed the Jack Russell Terrier with her eyes before laughing softly when it ran between Ron's legs, shocking him and causing him to fall.

"This isn't exactly and easy spell to do…" Zoey trailed off. She then tried to cast the spell once more. Still mist.

"I know that. It's just that those two are always joking around, laughing, and having the time of their lives. I would have thought that getting a powerful happy memory would be easy for them," Jane explained before looking over to Aiden who successfully casted his, a lion cub ran around his feet. "How come he gets one!" she paused, "And it's cute!"

Aiden, hearing his girlfriend's exclamation, turned to look at her and grinned. He waved at her as his lion cub sat dutifully at his side. Jane pouted at the sight before turning away. Zoey saw Aiden's hand lower as he looked at Jane in confusion. The cub disappeared. The Emeraude rolled her eyes before tapping Jane's shoulder.

"Don't do that. I know you're joking but Aiden got real worried," Zoey told her friend.

"So what? He should be used to that," Jane said stubbornly. The girl took out her wand and tried it again. Nothing. She did it again and there was still nothing. Again and again and again. "Dammit!" Jane threw her want to the floor, "I am a pureblood and he's just a muggleborn! Why can't I do it?"

"Jane!" Harry then exclaimed, shocked at her actions. Jane didn't mind him.

Zoey's eyes widened at her friends actions and turned around the see Aiden making his way towards them. His head was downcast, eyes covered by his bangs. The perfect couple in Zoey's eyes… What was going to happen to them? Zoey always admired them but now, Jane said something unreasonable.

The Emeraude licked her lips and took a step back, watching as Aiden took hold of Jane's wand and handed it over to her. He then reached up to her face and wiped a single tear away. Jane was flustered and looked away from him. Zoey felt flustered as well, just seeing what he did made her embarrassed so she looked away to see that not many people were noticing her or her friends; just Harry, Bridgit, Echo and the twins. That was good.

"Hey," Aiden began in a soft voice, "Why don't we practice together?"

"You don't want that," Jane looked away. The girl was sweet and fun loving but very stubborn when she wants to be. "I just insulted you… I… acted like my parents…"

"You were too stressed," Aiden then said, "You didn't mean it"

Jane violently wiped her eyes. "Stop it. Stop acting so nice! You're like the male version of Zoey!" she said in a whisper. She was mindful that she did not want to attract too much of an audience. "What I just said was out of hand! I just said I was better than you! You should hate me!"

Zoey froze in her place when Aiden looked over to her. She bit her lip and watched as he looked over to Harry next, sending him a message with his eyes. Harry nodded in understanding and Aiden took this as his chance to place a hand on Jane's lower back and led her far away from the trying DA members. Zoey figured that they were going to talk in private. The Emeraude sighed with worry before looking over to her friends.

She saw that Echo was successful in casting the Patronus charm and an interesting bird, a Chickadee, flew around her head before disappearing. George ran over to her, placing an arm around her shoulder and teasing her lightly. Zoey then looked over to Fred and gave him a small smile; he returned it with a grin before trying once again to cast the Patronus charm.

Happy memory… happy memory… Zoey chanted with her eyes closed. In a distance she could hear praises. From what she heard, Luna had successfully casted a Patronus Charm. Zoey figured she would have to ask what it looked like later seeing as she was preoccupied now. The Emeraude pushed away the noises of her friends and the thoughts about Jane and Aiden. All she needed to do is find a happy memory and use it. It shouldn't be hard. She has had lots of good memories ever since coming to Hogwarts. She furrowed her brows and concentrated.

Zoey brought the tiny box to her eyes and gave a nervous laugh. "I don't know why this is making me nervous all of a sudden," she said, facing Bridgit. She then raised an amused brow to see Bridgit surrounded with the gift-wrap; Zoey figured she looked the same.

"Why? Scared it's a ring?" Bridgit asked, avoiding the sudden gift-wrap that made her way.

"Why would he give me a ring?" Zoey asked.

"Oh my goodness Zoey! You are so dim!" Bridgit laughed, falling back with her back on the floor.

"What? Why?" Zoey was genuinely confused. She lowered the gift to her lap.

"Ring! Zoey think! What does it mean when a boy gives a girl a ring?" Bridgit asked, trying to get her laughter in control.

Zoey furrowed her brows in thought. She was quiet for several seconds before her eyes widened. "You mean he's going to propose?" she exclaimed, "But – But We're still so young!"

"I don't know if he's gonna propose, Zee, but what would you say if he did?" Bridgit now asked.

"What would I say? I… I…Uh…" Zoey felt her cheeks warming up and her head spinning. The very thought was getting her all flustered.

"You…?" Bridgit urged on, still laughing at the sight of her, now, red-cheeked friend.

"I… I should open this before I jump into conclusions," Zoey then said ripping the paper and gasping a bit when she held a small box in her hand. She sent Bridgit a side-glance before opening the box only to draw in another gasp.

It was a necklace. It wasn't a fancy necklace with diamonds and rubies. No, this was a simple one with a white dove wrapping its wing around a letter F. She bit her lip, smiling, as she took the chain in her hand and made the pendant dangle in front of her. She felt her heart swell and tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. She was at loss for words.

"Well, not a ring, but still jewelry." Bridgit then said, her laughter now receding.

"It's… it's…it's… wow," Zoey breathed out, still staring at the dove and the letter F.

Zoey's eyes snapped open as she took a deep breath. "Expecto Patronum!" she said in a loud voice, her wand shook a bit before a spraying out a silvery mist that began to take form of a small dove. Zoey's eyes widened as her mouth twitched upward with glee. She watched as the dove flew around her before flying up in the sky joining the bouncing rabbit of Luna. Zoey gave a small laugh before her dove twirled a bit before disappearing. She looked over to Harry who gave her a congratulatory nod and she looked over to Fred who grinned at her, yelling out "That's my girl!" Zoey blushed with embarrassment.

She looked over to Bridgit and saw that the Ravenclaw had successfully caster her own Patronus Charm. It was a dog. Of course. Before the Emeraude could say anything, there was this unnerving sound that was coming from the other side of the wall. Everyone looked towards the wall, inching closer and closer to it, wondering why it was making such a sound. Suddenly, there was a hole in a wall. Harry, being the leader and closest to the wall, looked into the hole and his eyes widened. On the other side of the wall was Umbridge, holding her wand up and wearing a pleasant smile on her face.

"Bombarda," she began in her poisoned honey voice.

"Get back!" Harry ordered, running away from the wall along with everyone else just in time to hear Umbridge say: "Maxima". The wall exploded. Large chunks of the wall fell and smoke covered everything. Zoey coughed a couple of times before squinting towards the direction where the wall once stood.

When the smoke started to ease up, Umbridge stood before all of them, wand still at hand. She looked at each and every one of the DA members before stopping at Harry, sneering.

"Every single person in this room would be having detention with me every night at eight o'clock starting tomorrow," she seethed out, "You are all in big trouble for breaking the rules. All of you… especially Mister Potter and Miss Emeraude"

Zoey's eyes widened at the mention of her name as she looked at Umbridge with fear in her eyes.

"Why is Zoey going to get punished?" Harry glared at her, hand tightening around his wand.

"You all are, she's part of this little… club of yours," Umbridge looked at him.

"But you said her name exclusively along with mine," Harry pointed out.

"Enough!" Umbridge said in a loud voice making her words echo in the now broken room. "You will come with me, Mister Potter," Umbridge began, grabbing hold of Harry's arm, "The rest of you shall follow Mister Malfoy"

Draco walked up to them when Umbridge left and wore a smug look on his face as his cronies stood by his side, each of them puffing out their chests to show the little badge glimmering under the now dim light. Most of the DA members rolled their eyes at what they did while the others reluctantly followed Malfoy as he forced one of the members out the hole Umbridge created. Zoey saw Fred's and George's hands tighten their hold on their wands as they walked out the hole themselves. The Emeraude took a breath and followed.


Zoey looked up at Umbridge with fear in her eyes. It was another detention with the woman and Zoey was slightly glad that she was not here alone. No, she was with everyone in Dumbledore's Army. It was slightly comforting to know that she would not be alone during this detention yet it was also unnerving to think about what they would have to do for that day. Sure, so far they've been doing nothing but writing lines with that dreadful quill but you never know what could be in store, especially with a woman like Umbridge.

The members of the Army would either glare at the toad queen or look at her lazily for they were simply bored during their time with her. It was not like this was their first detention with the woman; no this would be their fifth to be exact. In truth, every single student in the room was used to the quills, the bleeding and the sting and already had the essence of Murtlap ready back in their Common Rooms to ease the sting.

They were prepared for the quills only… today, they weren't going to use quills.

"Today, we're going to do something a little different for detention," Umbridge said with a little giggle in the end. Her hands neatly placed in front of her as she looked at each and every member of Dumbledore's Army with disguised loathing.

"You are all going to witness what it's like to be completely unprepared during a battle," the toad look a like continued, toying with her wand, "You will see how important it is to read the books thoroughly instead of playing around with spells you don't even know how to properly use"

"Then why don't you teach us then?" someone shouted from the Army, "If we don't know how to 'properly use' these spells why don't you show us rather than have us read about them?"

Umbridge's eyes squinted at the student who spoke before her mouth stretched into a smile. "Is that so? Well, we have Miss Emeraude here to prove to us who is right in the matter," Umbridge faced Zoey, "She will go through a little test to see if it is better to see the spell in action or read about it… see how she will use it or how to defend herself against it."

Zoey bit her lip at the mention of her name and from the corner of her eye she saw Fred move a bit, ready to defend her when the time comes. Umbridge saw this and waved her wand in the air, creating an invisible barrier between Zoey and the rest of Dumbledore's Army.

Fred and Harry angrily banged at the invisible wall. They yelled something at Umbridge but Zoey couldn't hear them, Umbridge; however, said something that everyone at the other side of the wall was able to hear.

"Now that I'm sure no one would disturb this lesson. Miss Emeraude would show us the effects of not knowing how to use the correct spell," Umbridge then pushed Zoey to the floor. Zoey gasped when her body made contact with the hard ground. She looked up to see Fred and everyone else in the DA glaring daggers at the woman.

"And now, introducing a good friend of mine, Damiana Emeraude," Umbridge giggled and a beautiful woman opened the door from Zoey's side of the wall and entered. The DA members watched as Zoey's eyes widened at the woman and scrambled to get away from her.

"Damiana, if you please, show these students what would happen to them if are faced against a life threatening situation and don't know what spell to use or how to execute it," Umbridge ended with a sinister smile, taking a few steps away from the Aunt and Niece.

Zoey's Aunt smiled and took out her wand. "Of course, Dolores," she said before pointing her wand at Zoey. A large lightning looking spark came out of her wand and hit Zoey's straight in the chest, Zoey let out a bloody curdling scream at the pain and tried her best to get away from it but was paralyzed by the pain. She couldn't hear the screams of protest from her friends or their banging's on the wall. Her friends; however, could hear everything.

The lightning spell stopped and Zoey took in a deep breath. Tears streaming down her face. Umbridge was telling something to the DA but Zoey could not hear her; all she could hear was a buzzing noise. Her eyes widened when she felt her limbs being glued to her side and she was lifted in the air. Several cuts appeared on her body.

Each and every curse Damiana had casted on Zoey was the summary of everything she used the past years she had been torturing the girl. Zoey did not know how much time had passed or how many spells her aunt has used. All she knew was that she was in pain and it was not stopping any time soon.

Suddenly, Zoey was dropped painfully on the floor and she saw the DA. Fred was angrily banging on the invisible wall, shouting words she could not hear. Several of the girls were crying while everyone else was just doing what Fred was. Zoey slowly blinked her eyes; that action alone was painful for her to do.

"And that's why… number one rule is to always have your wand at the ready," Umbridge ended with a giggle and threw Zoey's wand at her. Zoey thought that was the end, she was free but she was wrong.

Damiana ended the torture with her favorite curse.

"Crucio"


SPECIAL THANKS TO ZOOMSKATER14 AND HAYLEYPARADOX FOR HELPING ME OUT WITH THIS CHAPTER

:D

Also, thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, alerted and read this story. I really appreciate it

I'm really sorry that I wasn't able to update sooner. My chapters are now about a week apart and it hurts me to say that the following chapters would probably be the same.

Today is actually my third day in high school and I am Auditor in my class and part of the "Readers and Writers" Club.

That and I'm sort of sick today.

I'm not used to being sick D:

Hmm… what else to say?

Well, once again, my chapters would most likely be at least a week a part. And if some miracle happens and I update the next day, then YAY!

Sigh… still have homework to do.

Procrastination has begun.

I have lost the ability to end chapters at a happy note once again… sorry for that….

Well, I guess that is all. I have nothing more to say except

I hope you enjoyed the chapter

Please tell me what you thought

Excuse my typos and the like (Even though I, and ZoomSkater14, beta-ed it already)

Don't forget to review and the like

Stay tuned for the next chapter

And

I only own what I own