Author's Note: Hello! First of all thank you for sticking with this story. Even I can't believe how far it's gotten. I want to say that during this time, while I haven't been posting up new chapters, I have gone back and edited a lot of the older chapters, adding some extra scenes, fleshing out more characters and working on the pacing. If you have some time, please feel free to go back.

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~Of Silver & Gold~

Chapter 60: Sabotage

They were being shoved towards the direction of the Headmaster's office. With each step forward, Angel felt dread go through her. She didn't dare fight the direct they headed, but she refused to be touched. There was no point in running at this point, but she would be damned if she was going to let them touch her again. Draco's words still rang in her head and she felt herself in pain at his declaration about her origins. He told everyone there, he called her such ugly words. Her bottom lip wobbled.

A hand reached out to grab hers and she turned to see Harry looking more determined than she had seen him before. His knuckles were swollen; that had been the hand used to punch Draco. Her thumb grazed his knuckles softly, a silent thank you for his actions. It was clear that he was angry at the situation too and he would continue to fight for her.

'We'll be okay' he mouthed her way.

It was such a silly thing to say, especially as Umbridge trotted happily, regaling of the victory of catching them. But she felt like she could believe him; it was clear that it would not be perfect, but it would work out. Squeezing his hand softly, she ignored the sneer that Draco gave them and she simply stared ahead.

…

"Mr. Malfoy, you did a fabulous job. 50 points to Slytherin." Umbridge happily exclaimed. "ʹYou hop along and see if you can round up any more of them," she said. "Tell the others to look in the library ‐ anybody out of breath ‐ check the bathrooms, Miss Parkinson can do the girlsʹ ones ‐ off you go"

It was clear that Malfoy was angry that he was being dismissed. He wanted to bring the downfall to Harry and now it seemed Angel. The hatred in his voice had surprised Harry more than he cared to admit. As it was now only the three of them, Umbridge turned to face the pair.

"Move"

Harry was furious that this was happening; he was probably going to be expelled for teaching students how to defend themselves. Worse of all his girlfriend had been now being brought into this just because she was a target in Umbridge's scheming. She looked so sad as she walked beside him; he wondered if she was simply worried over the consequences, but once glance over from her made him realize that she was just hurt over the words that her former friends said.

'We'll be okay' he mouthed her was all he could say yet it was okay based on her expression. She was scared and it was clear she didn't really buy his words, but the comfort behind them made her smile.

They were at the stone gargoyle within minutes. Harry wondered how many of the others had been caught. He thought of Ron ‐ Mrs Weasley would kill him ‐ and of how Hermione would feel if she was expelled before she could take her OWLs. And it had been Seamusʹs very first meeting... and Neville had been getting so good…he felt dread begin to rise within him.

Yet her hand did not waver and instead tightened around his. There were going to repercussions and if he could prevent the others from getting in trouble, he would do whatever they asked. Hand in hand they both mentally prepared themselves

"Fizzing Whizzbee" Umbridge and they entered to Dumbledore's office.

It was at the proper door that Umbridge tightly gripped his shoulder, separated them and shoved them into the door to see the people waiting for them. The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense and Severus Snape frowning beside her. Cornelius Fudge, was rocking backwards and forwards on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation.

He swore he felt his girlfriend tense beside him, especially when the Minister of Magic was there. Her courage was fading fast. Slowly she seemingly curled into herself and he two felt himself begin to sweat in nervousness. As his eyes trailed from one person to the next, he found himself frowning as Percy Weasley hovered around the office taking notes. Traitor he thought angrily.

Harry pulled himself free of Umbridgeʹs grip he stood forcing whatever courage remained within him as they seemingly prepared to talk. Cornelius Fudge was clearly the one to speak first:

"Well well well" he muttered "Well well"

"They were running" Umbridge explained a gleeful tone was unable to be hidden. "Draco Malfoy caught him trying to running towards the Gryffindor Tower...and this one" Her chubby hands landed on Angel's shoulders and she continued. "I caught this little snake myself running towards the dungeons"

"Really?" said Fudge appreciatively. "I must remember to tell Lucius for the good his son did and for...the unfortunate path the other is taking" Angel shoved Umbridge from her in disgust after these words" Well, Potter... I expect you know why you are here?"

Harry fully intended to respond with a defiant ʹyesʹ: he was not going to show how scared he truly was. He decided then and there he would take all the blame as need be. So his mouth had opened and the word was half‐formed when he caught sight of Dumbledoreʹs face. He was not looking directly at Harry ‐ his eyes were fixed on a point just over his shoulder ‐ but as Harry stared at him, he shook his head a fraction of an inch to each side. Harry changed direction mid‐word.

"I..ye-no" he uttered.

"I beg your pardon?" Fudge asked confused.

He felt Angel looking at him curiously as well but he repeated his words, firmly this time around. It was clear that if Dumbledore was trying to send him a message, he would be sure to follow.

"You're telling me you don't know why you're here?" Fudge re-worded the question.

"No, I don't" Harry said firmly.

It was admittedly amusing to see Fudge and Umbridge looking incredulous at his words but he stood firm in his tone. Shyly glancing towards Dumbledore, he swore he saw him give him a slight nod and a wink.

"So you have no idea," said Fudge, in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"

"School rules?" he repeated. "No. I mean" he looked over at Angel and shook his head. "No"

"Not any Ministry Decrees?"ʹ

"Not that I'm aware of." he said blandly. "Unless snogging your girlfriend after hours is breaking a decree"

A small gasp was emitted by Angel and he felt his own heart hammering very fast. Was it a ridiculous excuse? Absolutely, but he had to figure out a way to minimize Angel's involvement. As quickly as he could he placed his hands on her shoulders and stood stiffly. She in turn did not push him away, but the flush that rose on her face told him that she either embarrassed or not happy at his admission. Her hands in turn intertwined in front of her demurely, horrified at what the implication was.

To her it was clear that the Minister of Magic was furious. She saw how his face turned almost a purple color in anger towards Harry. She had never seen someone be as insolent to someone in power like Harry was. She didn't know what he was playing at, but she stayed quiet. There was no point in adding any words into the mix. And yet, at his admission of their relationship, she noticed how her uncle was displeased and even the Minister look disgusted at the pairing.

"So you're telling me" Fudge began, anger thick in his voice "that this is the first time you're hearing about an illegal student organization exists in this school?"

"Yes sir" Harry said as he rubbed Angel's shoulders trying to appear like a dumb teenager. "I have little interest in that sort of thing, you know more important things to think about" signaling the brunette.

"I think it's best sir if we fetch our informant" Umbridge's sweet and disgustingly sweet tone hid their anger better.

The mention of an informant made both teens tense up. Did they really have someone that spied and told on them? The disgust towards that person rose within the teens and Angel forced her hands to stop from clenching in annoyance.

"Please do that Dolores" Fudge nodded as he glanced maliciously at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. "Thereʹs nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"

"Nothing at all, Cornelius," said Dumbledore gravely, inclining his head.

Silence loomed over the room as they awaited the snitch. Harry now really rubbed his girlfriend's shoulders in hopes of comforting her. This was not something he was expecting; they had all made a promise to keep quiet about the group, so the thought of a student like him betraying them disgusted him. Still, as he felt his girlfriend shiver against him, he remembered how he at least had one year head on her and she dreaded the outcome and the possible house arrest that would come: in the Malfoy Manor.

'Whatever happens, she has to be okay and free from their grasp' he thought.

Slowly he felt a hand reach up and grip his bruised hand once more. She was by no means speaking, but as she refused to move away and sought to intertwine their fingers, to everyone it was clear that she was on his side.

Everyone's attention immediately went towards the door as it turned. Before they could see anyone, Umbridge's fake comforting tone reached them.

"Don't be scared dear, it's alright" as they walked in, they saw who the snitch was. "It's all quite alright now, you did the right thing. The Minister is very pleased with you. He'll be telling your mother what a good girl you've been"

As they took in the girl, they noticed it was Marietta. She was one of the ones that had plotted with Cho to gain Harry's attention. Angel immediately remembered the curly haired girl giggling at the thought of Cho liking Harry. There wasn't much that she knew about the Ravenclaw girl, other than she tended to be quite dim for being in her house and that she tended to mix up her schedule more often than not.

Umbridge happily explained who Marietta was to Minister Fudge who seemed to be feigning interest at the thought of the Snitch having someone work with his government.

"Well isn't that amazing. Jolly good even" Fudge exclaimed. "Like mother, like daughter eh?" he chuckled pleased at his own joke. "Now come on dear, look up, let's see what you have to-"

His words immediately stopped as Marietta raised her head. He reared back in surprise and disgust at the purple pustules on her face. Angel even cried out in surprise, her hand immediately going to her mouth to bite back her exclamation. For as much as the horrible sight, the fact that the word "SNEAK" was formed across her nose and cheeks, she couldn't help but feel pity. She was horribly disfigured.

"Forget about that my dear, please tell the Minister what you told me" Umbridge casually continued the conversation, the pity in her tone gone. Marietta merely covered her face and continued to sob muttering how ugly she was. It was not pleasant to hear and even the adults shifted uncomfortably.

"Very well, I will tell the Minister" Umbridge pushed the girl to the side as she explained. "Miss Edgecomb came to me this afternoon after the luncheon hoping to speak to me about something important. I, of course, let her in and she informed me of the secret room on the seventh floor. The Room of Requirement was what they donned it. Anyway she proceeded to tell me there was something of interest in that room and when I began to question her further, the hex began to attack the young woman" she shook her head. "I tried to push for her but it was clear that once she caught sight of her face, she was too distraught to continue. But you'll continue now as promised right?"

The sobs that came from the girl was clear that she wasn't going to.

"Come now my dear" Fudge encouraged with a fake fatherly tone. "You were brave to go to Dolores, and I assure you, that you did the right thing. But can you please tell me what happened at this meeting? What was the purpose? Who was there?"

Marietta did not speak, her eyes clearly showed that she was scared of more repercussions. The fake empathy that both Minister employees had were clearly gone as annoyance rose within them. Umbridge simply continued her own storytelling, not waiting for the girl to speak.

"If you remember, Minister, I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met with a number of students at Hog's Head"

"What evidence do you have of that? What if it was just a lunch excursion?" McGonagall interrupted.

Harry felt pride knowing that Professor McGonagall was protecting them, at least it seemed pushing to have plot holes in Umbridge's story. But Umbridge was undeterred as she continued her storytelling like if she was gossiping more than informing them of concrete facts.

"Was he not supposed to be prosecuted for setting up all those minor offenses?" Professor Snape drawled out.

"Oh yes Severus you are quite right," Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows nodding. "What an interesting insight into our justice system!ʹ

But Umbridge was undeterred continuing her story telling, her hands waving around clearly trying to create a bigger problem for the teens. Harry in turn felt his stomach turning. What was there to say to the story? It was true, they went to Hog's Head, and someone caught them. He wanted to kick himself for ever going someplace private. Angel at least would be set free since she had not attended. He felt himself feeling defeated, that is until Dumbledore spoke up.

"I think youʹll find youʹre wrong there, Dolores," he began speaking with a soft smile on his face. "While we cannot confirm or deny that Harry was at Hog's Head doing whatever Willy heard, but at that time it was not illegal. If you remember, the Ministry decree regarding all student societies was not put into effect until two days after that alleged meeting. So he was not breaking any rules."

No one said anything for a moment, and Harry felt his stomach losing the knots that had formed. He too felt Angel looking back and forth at the match that had just began.

Umbridge bit back a grimace and responded. "That's all very well and fine Headmaster, but we are six months after that decree and these meetings are certainly are now considered illegal"

"Well they would be illegal that is true, but is there any evidence that they continued after the decree came into effect?"

"Evidence? Did you not hear what I was just saying? Miss Edgecombe is here isn't she?"

" Can she tell us about six months of meetings?" Dumbledore asked surprised. "I was under the impression that she was merely reporting about a meeting tonight"

Everyone's attention turned once more towards the sobbing girl.

"Miss Edgecombe, tell us have long these meetings have been going on. You can simply nod or shake your head, I'm sure the spots won't get worse. Have these meetings been happening regularly over the last six months?"

That horrible feeling was plummeting once more. He didn't know if the hex worked if they did gestures rather than speaking. He closed his eyes; the hope was gone it was clear that if Marietta answered with a nod it was over.

Before Marietta could answer properly Angel interrupted.

"Harry and I met" Angel spoke up angrily. "Just us. I-I think Marietta told you about something of interest because we were out after hours. I-I would never break the rules if there was a student organization such as what you are implying Professor Umbridge. As Harry said we've been together for six months or so, and we..we go to that room for privacy" her face was reddening. "I-I...I didn't want gossip going around about it. And so maybe he had planned some meeting months ago but he wouldn't break the rules like that Professor"

"What stupidity are you coming up with girl?!" Umbridge exclaimed.

"I-I didn't want my parents to find out I'm dating Harry so we snuck around. I'm clearly at fault, not Marietta who I...I hexed" she looked down at her hands. ".but it was because she told on us to get revenge...because Cho likes Harry and they found out he's with me. Isn't that right Marietta?"

Marietta looked surprised at the change not to mention the gossip and nodded. It was an easy out and she knew Marietta feared the hex also going to head movements related to the army.

Angel felt herself horrified at her confessions, but she didn't care so long as they would be okay. She didn't want anyone expelled, she didn't want Harry to be expelled, she just wanted this circling over and over to stop.

"Liar!" Umbridge pulled her and shook her around angrily. Angel struggled and Harry even got involved tugging her away.

"Dolores control yourself!" Dumbledore's voice rose.

"None of my students will deal with any abuse" Severus warned.

"Yes..Dolores control yourself" Fudge said unsure.

"She's lying, you can see it in her face" she spat out staring at the two teens to were holding on to one another. "No matter, we have proof. This group attacked our student leaders. Mr. Malfoy has a black eye, Miss Parkinson has a chunk of hair pulled out, Mr. Goyle in the Hospital Wing for a hex, and Mr. Zabini has a broken nose. This altercation was caused by multiple students not just the two of you. I saw all these students run out. And" she moved to take out a scroll. "Ms. Parkinson found this list of students, I believe that Potter is at the top of the list, along with other students I saw running."

Fudge happily moved over to grab the list and beginning to read. "Potter, Granger, Weasley, Lovegood, Longbottom…" he continued to list the names "..and Ms. Malfoy. What a long list. All for two snogging teens? I am very disappointed in your lying Ms. Malfoy."

Angel lowered her gaze.

"And imagine, calling it Dumbledore's Army" Fudge chuckled.

"Well the game is up" Dumbledore stated."Would you like a written confession from me, does that suffice?"

"W-what?" Fudge asked confused.

"Dumbledore's Army" Dumbledore, "not Potter's Army."

Fudge's expression of disbelief was matched by McGonagall and Kingsley. Severus looked like he knew was coming and looked away his expression hidden.

"Y-you conspired against me?!"

"I did" Dumbledore said simply. "A student army whose meeting was today. I clearly made a mistake inviting Ms. Edgecombe, isn't that right?"

The curly haired girl nodded unsure herself of what was going on. Her gaze seemed fish-eyed more than anything as if she wasn't sure where she even was.

"I knew you were conspiring against me! Percy make a report right now! Send over a copy to the Daily Prophet!" Fudge turned over excited at the prospect of removing Dumbledore from Hogwarts. "You will be removed and relocated to Azkaban immediately'

"No!" Harry screamed in surprise.

He refused to have him be taken away for his mistake. He felt himself deciding to admit to his mistakes… that is until he realized he couldn't. His tongue felt tongue tied and he realized that he had been jinxed. His eyes trailed frantically through the room and saw Severus staring at him. He had been silenced. He closed his eyes in anger. Angel beside him trembled at the implications that were coming to Dumbledore and Hogwarts itself.

"Harry is right. For you see there is a little snag..I will not be going willingly" Dumbledore smiled charmingly. "For you see, I am not planning on spending any time in Azkaban, if you place me there it will be a waste of both of our time for I will merely escape. I'd rather not play this game and not go"

Slowly the Aurors moved closer to Dumbledore. An Auror that had been called Dawlish, Umbridge, Kingsley and Fudge moved forward to take him on. The older man shook his head and smiled kindly.

"I assure you that you will be taken to Azkaban Dumbledore" Fudge said with a warning tone in his voice. "You really think you can take all of us on?"

"I won't attack you unprovoked Fudge"

"And he won't be doing it alone" McGonagall plunged her hand in her pocket ready to duel and Severus already holding his wand out.

"Yes I will. Hogwarts needs you two, now wands down"

"Enough of this ridiculousness" Fudge growled. "Umbridge, Kingsley, Dawlish get him!"

A streak of silver light flashed around the room; there was a bang like a gunshot and the floor trembled; Harry felt him being pulled away from Angel and thrown on the ground. Whatever the large explosion was, he heard screams, and thumps of bodies falling on the ground. He heard Angel cry out and he sought her out only to be pulled back down.

Once the dust cleared, Harry struggled to find his glasses; once on he looked around at the mess. The wreckage was bad, the Headmaster's desk had been overturned and on the other side, Umbridge, Fudge, Kingsley and Dawlish lay unconscious. Across from them, Snape had a very woozy Angel clinging to him. Marietta was beside him and knocked out, it was clear that McGonagall had pushed them down for protection.

"Are you all alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes" McGonagall replied as she got up and dusted herself off.

Severus simply grunted and placed Angel delicately on the floor to come back to her senses. It seemed to Harry that while this was unplanned, both of the professors were very much ready to take action. He looked on as the adults talked about the situation.

"It's unfortunate that Kingsley had to be hexed, but it would be suspicious if he wasn't. Minerva please thank him for me for modifying Miss Edgecombe's memory while everyone was looking away. He was always a bright one." he smiled and walked away from the four figured. "They will awaken soon. I think it will be best if they do not know that we had time to communicate. You must ask as though no time has passed and you were too knocked out. Additionally-"

"Where will you go sir?" Minerva whispered.

"Grimmauld Place?" Serverus suggested.

"Oh no" Dumbledore shook his head. "I am not leaving to go into hiding. Fudge will wish he'd never dislodged me from here, I promise you."

"Professor Dumbledore…" Harry began.

Harry wanted to say so much. He wanted to first apologize for his stupid actions that were going to cause Dumbledore to head to Azkaban and get into this huge trouble. He wanted to apologize for not being brave enough to step up and say move. He wanted everyone to be fine but he made everything worse.

"Listen to me Harry" Dumbledore said urgently. "Study Occlumency as hard as you can, can you do that for me? Do everything Professor Snape tells you and practice every night before sleeping so you can close your mind to bad dreams. You will understand soon enough. But promise me you will do that"

"I-"

"Promise me" Dumbledore squeezed his shoulder.

"He promises sir" Angel said softly.

But before Harry could utter a goodbye, Fawkes circled the office and swooped low over Dumbledore and allowed a feather to be grasped, fire overtook the area and the pair were gone. Silence loomed over everyone. It was but a few moments when they all began to stir.

"Where is he?!" Fudge yelled, as he struggled to get up from the floor.

"Well, he canʹt have Disapparated!" cried Umbridge. "You canʹt do it from inside this school ‐"

"The stairs!"Dawlish cried out and flung himself upon the door with Kingsley and Umbridge following him.

Fudge hesitated, then got slowly to his feet, brushing dust from his front. There was a long and painful silence.

"Well, Minerva," said Fudge nastily, straightening his torn shirtsleeve, "Iʹm afraid this is the end of your friend Dumbledore."

"I think you should leave Headmaster" Severus lowered his tone.

Fudge looked a bit taken aback by his tone but brushed himself off before leaving. Once it was just the Heads of House and the children, they all carefully got up and headed towards their respective spaces. Harry couldn't even look back at Angel, who also seemed to be lost in thought.

…

BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-eight.

Signed: Minister of Magic

Staring at the sign, Angel could not help but frown. The notices had appeared out of nowhere with no explanation as to why it was happening. But the rumors circulated as to what actually occurred in Dumbledore's office. She had heard things such as that Dumbledore viciously attacked Fudge who was resting in St. Mungos, to how he was fighting with a bad case of gout. All these stories made no sense yet what was clear was that the students that were in the office had become somewhat celebrities.

Marietta was still in the Hospital wing, recovering from the pustules on her face. Additionally everyone blamed Angel for her 'SNEAK' injury due to her fib in the Headmaster's office. The curly haired girl even wailed stating that Angel had done all of this to keep Harry and her relationship in secret. That had gotten a lot of interests in people. It was embarrassing and disgusting how the girl loved the limelight, yet Angel neither denied or confirmed the rumor. This was a penance she would pay so long as the secret meetings were protected. In turn in Harry's limelight, everyone asked him for first hand accounts about what happened. In every classroom, every meal time people circulated around him in hopes of getting some information. It was now harder for the two of them to meet, and in turn both agreed to let time pass before properly talking.

"It will be okay Angel, Dumbledore will come back" Luna said confidently from their Care of Magical Creatures Class. "He is far stronger than they give him credit for."

"Luna is right" Neville said as they walked through the grounds. "Ernie told me that Umbridge tried to get back into his office, after searching and everything, and the gargoyle wouldn't let her pass." He chuckled. "The Head's office has sealed itself against her."

"Oh yes, Jessica said she threw a tantrum" Luna added smiling.

"Good" Angel said shaking her head. "Her feet should never walk into that office. It would soil the whole institution. I mean imagine her lording over everyone? That garish, stupid, crazy, old-"

"Do you really want to finish that Black?"

The three turned around to see Draco standing there confidently with Crabbe and Goyle. Automatically she tightened the grip on her books and Neville stood straighter in hopes of protecting her. Her heart clenched at the unconscious actions but this was not the time.

"I see the black eyes isn't healing so well" she commented with malice in her own tone. "Good"

Yesterday night her view on Draco and the family had changed. There were no longer any redeeming qualities in him because if he could not even have any compassion for her then there was nothing in the world that would humanize him. It hurt to admit that she was done protecting him and defending him from everyone, because he outed her. He called her Black, with no qualms of the damage he could do, he did it in front of everyone and she would be damned to deny it now.

"Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw" he drawled.

"We haven't done anything!" Luna exclaimed.

"Ten points for Ravenclaw for talking back, Fifteen points from Gryffindor because...well Longbottom looking at your makes me nauseous" he smugly commented.

It was not secret that there were part of the Inquisitor Squad and working with Umbridge. That was perhaps the most disgusting thing of all. He had no shame in selling his soul to the woman and neither did his lackies. Moving forward, Angel pushed her books unto Neville before really taking a look at Draco.

"No points from me Malfoy?" she asked softly. "Don't you want to remove ten points from me for being a blood traitor?" she took a few steps forward. "For sullying your reputation?" as she was but inches in front of him she grinned seeing his stormy grey eyes shift, "for dating your worst enemy?"

That got him. Without much thought, he pushed her to the ground. She cried out in surprise as his tall stature dwarfed her, but she didn't care. The fury in his eyes was worth the painful feeling of gravel on her back. She saw Neville getting ready to fight, but she instead kicked Draco, knocking him down with her. The anger was palpable within the two of them, and before he could even realize what was happening, Angel formed a fist and punched him.

He cried out in surprise and she felt the pudgy hands of Crabbe and Goyle hoisting her away from their leader. "Let me go!" she cried out, kicking hoping to get her hands on Draco once more. But it was no use.

"Let her go!" Neville pushed the two of the larger boys but it did no good.

Crabbe pushed Neville down and threw Angel his direction. Both groaning in pain of impact, but it was worth it. Luna was calling out for them to stop; and when they didn't she threw a Weasley dungbomb in their direction. One dung bomb thrown into the area, was enough for the Slytherins to run off.

Once they all escape the smell, Angel sat on the ground frowning. Luna was ranting about how inconsiderate her 'brother' was to her and how she should tell someone.

"-And he still has that badge. That is n-not a good prefect. Angel you should march to-"

"Luna" she interrupted, "who do I go to? Headmaster Umbridge?" she scoffed. "His godfather Snape? The system is rigged for him to triumph. Luna there is nothing that can be done while Dumbledore is gone. If he has no shame in ousting me as not-not a Malfoy then that is there to do?"

"So the rumors are true" Neville commented softly.

Looking at her two friends she realized she never confirmed the rumor going around. She could tell by their expression that Luna was hurt that she was not told about this sooner and Neville looked a bit put out. Sighing she knew she might as well tell them the truth. So she began; she told them about her discovery into her origin, the mourning she did, the weight loss, the poisoning of her identity, her heartbreak. She expressed the intertwining history of Sirius' rescue and her fondness for Harry. She found herself just rambling about what she went through, the highs and the absolute lows.

"I-I have never felt so unwanted at my household till this year. I-I would never be loved as much as him because I wasn't him" she laughed, her laughter filled with pain. "I was never able to be myself, to close my eyes and tell myself tomorrow would be better was a lie."

She could feel their eyes softening and she refused to look up. Her hands were never as interesting as this moment as she played with her cloak. She could feel Luna sniffling ready to truly cry over what she was hiding.

"It wasn't until last Christmas that I saw what it really was to be loved" her voice softened. "Sirius… he..he me feel so special. He loved me unconditionally, he wanted to get to know me not my family. He was my family and when...when they broke me, Remus, Tonks and my dad fixed me." One shrug she slowly lifted her head and gave them a shy expression. "I'm here because of them"

...

Neville never truly knew Angel Malfoy. When he first met her she thought she was just like Draco: rude, abrasive, heartless, and evil. And for the first few times, it was clear that she was cut from the same cloth, that is until there were moments of humanity in her. For example whenever she was with Luna, there was a wistful smile on her face; it was never malicious but rather a genuine enjoyment of being around her. And Luna truly loved her. She spoke nothing but good things about how genuine Angel was.

So in falling in love with Luna, he found himself accepting Angel for who she was. She was never really cruel in her teasing, rather they were words that were followed by a teasing smile. She complimented his looks knowing how uncomfortable he was about the change, but she meant it. She defended he and Luna with a lion's heart and supported him when he felt less than. But never in that time did he really grow to love her like a sister until now.

She was honest, raw, vulnerable and so clearly broken. All that she loved, her comfort was taken away from her because of their different ideologies. Her brother who she idolized had rejected her, outed her and made her a pariah in the school, one that she had a handful of years left. He felt anger run through him especially as she curled into Luna so delicately as she finally cried. So as both girls cried, he bent down to her left and wrapped his arms around her too.

"We are your family" he murmured softly. "Next time anyone says anything about you I will hex them" His so-called threat was met with giggles from both girls and Angel wrapped her arms around him thanking him for being so kind to her.

"I don't deserve people like you" she murmured softly.

And she truly didn't think she did, but she was selfish enough to take their love and heal her own way. Curling up against them, they all took in the afternoon chatting about meaningless things. It was nice, for one moment to just be a normal teenager.