A/N: Okay, so we're nearing the end of the part that's already written. To be honest, I have no idea where I am going with this. I also know that I will be having some trouble keeping up my writing, but I will not abandon this story. I simply love this world too much. I hope you'll leave a review! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 11

"You can't tell anyone. It's important. Only us, Harry, Ron and Hermione know."

"Why do they know?"

"They were the reason I met my dad last year. I followed Harry and Hermione when they went to rescue Ron. Dad pulled him into the shrieking shack."

"But why? Why would you be this fond of someone who murdered a lot of people?" He didn't sound mad, just confused and slightly worried.

"He didn't do it. He was set up. Peter Pettigrew is still alive."

"What do you mean, Pettigrew is alive? The only thing they found of him was a finger." His hand had moved to his hair, making his muscles stand out. Amelia put that thought aside and focused back on the problem at hand.

"Yes, and the rest of him lived in your house for many, many years. I believe you even tried to turn him yellow when you were younger."

"Scabbers?" Amelia nodded. "You're meaning to tell me that Scabbers has been Peter Pettigrew all this time?"

"Yes. And yes, I know how my dad escaped. No, I'm not mad at Lupin for scratching me-" She realized her mistake too late. Fred's look turned dark.

"I'll kill him!" He stood abruptly, like he wanted to just disappear on the spot (not like he could, but still…). Amelia jumped up, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards her.

"Don't Fred. Please. He didn't mean to. I'll be okay, I promise." He seemed to calm down, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Okay. I trust you. But if you're ever not okay, no matter for what reason and no matter how we are doing, I want you to come to me." Amelia nodded and relaxed in his arms, thinking about how good it felt to finally tell Fred every secret she had kept from him. She also noticed that being in his arms was making her feel something strange. Something she was trying to fight internally.

X-Harry Potter -X

The last day before the start of the new school year, their group of friends had decided to spend the day together, spending the day in a muggle zoo and having dinner together. It was the last time they would be able to all be together, Oliver included. It was relatively early in the morning, when Amelia was awakened by Ginny and Hermione. The girls had spent the night before talking about going back to school and the day Amelia had planned. And Ginny and Hermione had convinced her to put on a new outfit. After looking through her new wardrobe, they decided on a red dress that reached to a bit above the knee, a pair of black tights and her fashionable heels, which Mrs. Weasley had been kind enough to put a balance and cushioning spell on. The look was completed by her leather jacket and a few light makeup spells, also performed by Mrs. Weasley. When she was done, Ginny and Hermione were smiling broadly, obviously happy that they had talked her into it. Amelia took a look into the mirror, having to check twice, before she was absolutely sure that it was indeed her own face that looked back at herself. Her black hair had a healthy shine to it and her face was starting to get some more color. The wounds on her side had mostly healed, so she wasn't in pain all the time anymore. The only thing she would have left to show for her attack were the scars on her side, her heightened senses and love for rare steak. She was still studying herself in the mirror when the twins entered, with a bunch of noise. When she looked up, her eyes caught Fred's in the mirror, as George let out a whistle.

"Who are you? And what have you done with our sweet little Lia?" Amelia turned and laughed at George's words, though her eyes did not leave Fred's. She tried to gauge his reaction. He raised an eyebrow, before making a show of looking her up and down and letting out the same, flirtatious whistle George had just a few moments earlier. Where George's reaction had been nice, Fred's reaction was the one that brought a blush to her cheeks and made her feel… beautiful. Which was not the reaction she should have to him.

"Shall we head out?" George broke the silence that had followed the second whistle. "We have to be at Katie's in five minutes."

"Yes, of course." They said their goodbyes to Mrs. Weasley and the Girls, before jumping in the floo and heading over to Katie, who lived closest to the zoo they had decided on.

X- Harry Potter -X

It was nice to be back on the train to Hogwarts. It meant that soon she would receive letters from her dad again. And it meant that she could spend her days roaming Hogwarts again. She loved coming back to school after the summer. They had managed to secure a compartment for their little group again. It was strange to be back on the train without Oliver, but somewhere deep down Amelia was happy not to have him there at that moment. The day before had been fun, but awkward. Oliver had been staring at her every now and then, obviously noticing her change of style. They had talked, obviously. They were still friends, after all. But he had also obviously noticed that there was something different between them, so the talks were shallow. She decided not to think about that right now, instead focusing on the friends that were present at that moment. Somehow she had ended up between the window and Fred. All of her friends were talking and playing games, but she somehow couldn't get herself to participate. Instead, she kept staring out the window, thinking about the strange feeling she had been ever since the school year started nearing. Something was wrong, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice her friends falling asleep one by one, until just her and Fred were awake. He turned her way, smiling down on her. He had really grown over the past few years, not quite reaching Charlie's height, but definitely surpassing Percy.

"You thinking about what the year is going to bring us?" Amelia nodded.

"Yeah, I've got a feeling that something big is about to happen." He frowned.

"You mean the thing Charlie was talking about earlier?"

"No, something else. Maybe we should pay a little more attention to Harry this year."

"We will. It's a shame we gave him the marauders' map last year, it would've come in really handy. That boy is everywhere." Amelia smiled, thinking back to the day they'd nicked the map and the two years they had spent figuring it out. She also couldn't suppress a grin at the thought of the one thing she had kept a secret for him. She would surprise them with her knowledge about the marauders when her dad was a free man again. "Are you okay, Lia?"

"Yeah. I'm happy to be away from your brother." Fred laughed, knowing exactly which brother she was talking about.

"Percy's a pain in the arse. Even more than he used to be before." It stayed silent for a moment, before Fred spoke again. "I'm happy you're with me."

"What do you mean, Freddie?"

"That night, after the world cup, I was scared to death, Lia. I keep thinking about how different things could have been. It could've been just me and George right now. I don't want that. Ever. You're my best friend." His ears had turned pink and his confidence had toned down a notch.

"I'm not going anywhere Fred. I promise." After their talk they fell silent, both staring at the sky, which was rapidly turning darker.

X- Harry Potter -X

They were in shock. Why in the world was the school hosting this dangerous tournament?

"Dumbledore has officially gone off his rocker!" Amelia was pacing the common room, as Angelina, Katie and Alicia were sitting on the couch. "Doesn't he realize that this has the potential to cost lives? I just know something's going to happen. And I don't know how yet, but boy wonder's going to be part of it! He always is. And the twins are probably going to enter or die trying. Did you see their reactions? They are turning 17 in April. Thank god for that. I wouldn't know what to do if one of them would be chosen to compete."

"Calm down. Dumbledore is going to make sure nothing's going to happen. Both Harry and the twins will be safe." Katie sounded optimistic and Alicia was nodding along. Both girls looked tired, and it didn't take them long to excuse themselves, before heading upstairs. Angelina stayed in her spot, patting the couch next to her. Amelia sat down with a sigh.

"I know how you feel, Lia." It was strange hearing one of the girls using her nickname. "I'm scared to death about what the twins are planning. It will end in the hospital wing at best. It's not easy liking those two." Amelia turned to Angelina, eyebrows raised. Despite the darker skin tone of the older girl, she blushed a little and Amelia smiled.

"Did you just confess to liking one of the twins?"

"Maybe."

"It's George isn't it?" Angelina looked down at her hands, the blush still visible on her cheeks.

"Yeah."

"George is a good guy, you couldn't have made a better choice. That being said: If you ever hurt him, I will find you." They started laughing, until tears formed in their eyes, ignoring the seriousness that had been in Amelia's voice and the worry they still had about the twins joining the tournament.

X- Harry Potter -X

The other schools were scheduled to arrive that evening, and the excitement was noticeable around the school. Between the first few lessons of the year, trying to deal with the reactions her new look provoked (mainly Slytherins that made crude comments) and worrying about the twins, who were constantly sneaking off, without giving any reason as to why they did. Amelia had lost track of the troublesome twins again, when she was pulled aside by a panting Angelina.

"Hey, what's going on?" Amelia was confused.

"I think I just heard something I shouldn't have."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard Snape mention your name to Dumbledore." Amelia frowned.

"What were they talking about?" This is where Angelina started frowning as well.

"Well.. I don't know if I should say this but… They were talking about… Sirius Black." Amelia felt the color draining from her face. What in the world made them think that it was a good idea to use her dad's name in a castle full of students in the middle of the day?

"Oh."

"You don't seem surprised." Angelina sounded worried, not knowing why Amelia didn't respond to her name being mentioned within the same sentence as that of a mass murderer. Amelia was saved from answering, when the twins appeared next to them, as if they had been called.

"What are you lovely ladies standing around for? It's almost time." George said, as he offered his arm to a blushing Angelina. Fred smiled and put his arm around Amelia. They had been growing closer over the summer and the weeks since that confession during the train ride. Amelia figured he had forgotten about the kiss he had given her, something she should have done as well, seeing as it hadn't been brought up anymore. The four of them walked outside, to a place where they would be able to see most of the school grounds, and sat down. George helped Angelina onto a large boulder, before climbing up next to her, while Fred spread his robe on the ground, ignoring the way the September breeze made him shiver. Amelia was soon pulled down on the spread out robe, sitting close enough to Fred to notice his shivering. She pulled out her wand, casting a warming spell over the two of them.

"Thanks." He said, leaning in a bit closer.

"You're welcome." She turned her head to look at him. "This is nice."

"Yeah." He was just about to say something else, when there was shouting and pointing all around them. Amelia turned away from Fred, looking in the direction everyone was pointing, only to see a large, magical ship appear out of the water of the black lake. There were a lot of ooh's and aah's, as the inhabitants of the ship started filing out, revealing mostly sturdy, handsome young men, all dressed in red and black robes, that looked like they were made to withstand low temperatures. Just as she was about to make a comment about how the testosterone levels of the school were about to go up a whole lot, she spotted something in the sky. She nudged Fred and directed his gaze towards the dot that was getting bigger.

"Guys look!" He called out to George and Angelina, who were still looking at the Durmstrang ship. In the time it took them to take their eyes off of the ship, the carriage had come quite close to the grounds, soaring over the heads of several students, stopping a little distance away from them. The powder blue carriage was quite big, even if it held a bunch of students and they all wondered why. As soon as the door opened, they got their answer, as a giant woman's foot touched the ground, shortly followed by the rest of the giantess, who they would soon find out was Madame Maxine. She was followed by a long row of girls in uniforms that had the same powder blue color as the carriage. The reaction among the male population was immediately noticeable, save for a few individuals. Not exactly knowing why, Amelia turned her head towards George, to see if he was being affected by the French students. She grinned when she noticed he was, in fact, not. After coming to that realization, she decided that she was not waiting for Angelina and George to confess their feelings. She was going to fix them up. And she knew just the person to help her.