A/N: Hello Lovelies, Thank you for taking the time to keep reading this story. After being confined to my house for three weeks, I get to go to my place of work the day after tomorrow. These past three weeks I have been writing like my life depended on it, throwing myself into Amelia's life. I hope you enjoy it! And don't forget to leave a review an make my day!

Love, Leona

Chapter 18

It was the morning of the second task, and Amelia was looking at her cousin, who was very jittery this morning. The fact that both of his best friends had been absent since last night did not help his nervousness in any way. How he didn't connect his friendship with Ron to be the thing he'd miss most, thus being the objective of the task that day, was a question in itself. But where in the world had Hermione disappeared off to? Had she gone to the library without telling anyone? No, that couldn't be it, because her bed hadn't been slept in. Maybe she had fallen asleep in the library? No, that couldn't be it either. Madame Pince wouldn't have allowed a student to stay in the library all night, no matter if it was Hermione they were talking about. Amelia was shaken out of her thoughts when Fred and George sat down on each side of her, Katie and Angelina taking place on both of Harry's sides.

"Are you ready for the second task, Harry?" Katie asked, earning a panicked stare from the bespectacled boy. That really was what he looked like right at that moment. A lost boy. Amelia's heart hurt when she saw him looking so lost. Thankfully George broke the tension filled moment, by commenting that a lot of people had wagers going, betting that Harry would come out in victory after this task. A comment that got all three girls to comment and threaten the twins, for betting on their friend's well-being. All too soon, it was time to head down to the lake, still no sign of either Ron or Hermione.

X- Harry Potter –X

Amelia gripped the railing of the dock, staring intensely down at the dark water where the champions had disappeared into, almost an hour ago. So far Fleur, Cedric and Viktor had all appeared back at the surface. Both men had been successful in saving their 'objects', with Viktor shocking them all by pulling Hermione up to the surface. Fleur, however, had not. Now that the hour was slowly nearing its end, Amelia really started worrying. She was looking so intensely into the water, willing Harry to appear, that she completely missed the fact that both Hermione and Ginny had taken a spot next to her, the former shaking really badly, and the warmth Fred's body gave off, as he stood behind her, peering into the water as well. The air was filled with tension, everyone anxiously waiting for the legendary Harry Potter to appear.

"Come on, Harry. Come on. You can do this. I know you can." Amelia didn't notice her own muttering, her fingers slowly turning white, after gripping the cold, metal bar too hard for too long. It wasn't until Fred's warm hands enclosed her own over the metal that she noticed how the feeling was slowly getting away from her frozen fingertips, and she loosened her grip a little bit, allowing his fingers to slip in between hers, effectively starting to get a little bit of warmth back. Despite this little form of affection, Amelia did not let her attention be pulled away from the dark surface of the black lake. Her fears getting the better of her and imagining Harry crying for help somewhere deep down in that cold water, probably caught in something stupid like the weeds. It wasn't until she noticed the air bubbles coming up, about three or four meters away from where they were standing, that she dared to really blink. The bubbles were shortly followed by Ron and Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's little sister, coming to the surface. Of course Harry had to go and be a hero once again, she should have seen that one coming as soon as Fleur appeared without Gabrielle. However, there was still no sign of Harry. Just as that thought made her way to her head, there was a flash of light, shooting him up to the surface, a triumphant grin apparent on his face.

It wasn't fair. How in the world was is possible that Cedric had gotten a shared place with Harry, while Harry definitely should have won, by bringing not one, but two people up to the surface, within the legal time. Although, she had to admit, it was probably earned by Cedric as well. And if there had to be someone to share first place with Harry, it might as well be the Hogwarts champion himself. This was what kept going through Amelia's head, while they were walking back to the castle, her hand absentmindedly holding on to that of her boyfriend.

"He did really well. You should be proud of him." Fred said softly into her ear, as they noticed a little ruckus coming from a short distance in front of them. Harry's laugh sounded like music to her ears, he deserved a little happiness. Although something inside her was screaming that it wouldn't last all that long.

X- Harry Potter –X

The end of February passed quickly, bringing the first of March along with it. This, of course meant that it was Ron's birthday. If it were up to the twins, they'd 'forget' their little brother's birthday, but Amelia would have none of it, stating that if something were to happen to Ron, they would regret it later on. And they all knew that, whether they liked to admit it or not, that chance was fairly big, seeing as they were all friends with Harry. The way they celebrated Ron's birthday was quite simple, consisting of small gifts and some snacks, which they'd nicked from the kitchens. Of course the house elves had helped them, but there was no need for the golden trio to know that. She enjoyed the fact that they were all together, without any fights of near-death situation looming over them, for once. And judging by the way she noticed everyone looking around with big smiles, taking in the moment for themselves, she was not the only one who was thinking this way.

After most of their group had gone to bed, Amelia was left with Angelina and the twins. There was a comfortable silence between the four of them, as the twins both had a notebook in front of them, probably filled with ideas for the shop. It made her happy to see that just thinking about what would one day be their masterpiece, made the twins stick their nose deep into the little notebooks. She just knew the shop was going to be a success, when they'd figure out the financial part of the process. She tore her gaze away from the redheads, instead looking at Angelina, who was looking at George, a dreamy look in her eyes. With all the drama that had been going on that year, Amelia had forgotten about her solution to get Angelina and George together, and she felt quite guilty about it. So, without a thought out plan, she turned to Angelina.

"So, how are things going for the two of you?" Her semi-whispered words got the attention of her dark-skinned friend, who turned so fast, Amelia was afraid she'd get whiplash.

"What are you talking about?" A grin spread on her face, as it dawned on her that Angelina was definitely not prepared for anyone to confront her about this.

"Oh please, Ange. I think you know just what I mean. You like him. A lot." It was lucky for Angelina that her blush wouldn't shine through too much, or she would have been beet red.

"Fine. I like him. You happy now?" Amelia grinned.

"Not by a long shot. What are you going to be doing about this?"

"Nothing. He doesn't feel the same way, anyways."

"Oh Hogwash. And you know it."

"Can we just drop the subject?"

"Not a chance in the world." Angelina shot her an annoyed look.

"I'm going to bed." Laughing Amelia watched her stomp up the stairs, the look George shot after the girl not going unnoticed at all.

X- Harry Potter –X

The whispers and looks did not go unnoticed by Amelia, as she and Hermione made their way down to the great hall, ready to meet up with their friends. A sinking feeling got hold of the oldest of the two girls, as the whispers increased in volume the nearer they got to the large doors. She could faintly hear Hermione's name every now and then, and the sinking feeling increased, even more so as she noticed a lot of people clutching the witch weekly. It was when the twins came towards them, a mixture of concern and anger apparent on their faces and a witch weekly clutched in Fred's hands, that it clicked. Without another word to Hermione, Amelia walked up to the twins, grabbing the paper and scanning the offending article. She was absolutely sure that there was steam coming from her ears at that very moment. How dare she?! That incredible vile woman was really going to get it the second Amelia laid hands on her. How could a grown woman be as stupid as to slander the name of not one but three innocent students? Why hadn't anyone stopped this gossip story. It bore absolutely nothing of the truth. Nothing! Amelia turned around, grabbing Hermione by the wrist, and stormed out of the great hall, the twins following closely behind.

The empty classroom had been the scene of Amelia's latest temper tantrum, the twins casting the reparo spell every five minutes as she kicked over desks and chairs. It was nothing short of a wonder that no one had come in to check on what was happening. The amount of swear words was unprecedented, as far as they knew. Normally the twins would have tried to calm the girl down, but both of them were quite mad as well. They had been the last to read the article, just before Amelia and Hermione had shown up, and were now trying to calm Hermione down as well. The fourth year's first reaction had been to break down in tears, silently wondering what in the world she had done to deserve being treated like this. The second thing she did, was letting out a few selected words that were almost as bad as those of Amelia.

"I just don't understand. Where is she getting all of this from?" Hermione had calmed down just enough to start thinking rationally, and was now searching her mind for ways Skeeter had managed to come up with a load of crap like this. " Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the Bulgarian bonbon Viktor word yet on how Harry Potter is taking this latest emotional blow. How does she come up with it? Bulgarian bonbon? Really?" Skepticism was clear in her voice. The absurdity of it all started penetrating Amelia's mind and she couldn't help but chuckle, which didn't take all too long to grow into a full-blown laughter. When her laughter subsided, along with that of the twins and Hermione herself, Amelia turned to the younger girl again.

"If anyone gives you any trouble because of this, just come to one of us, okay? We'll deal with it."

X- Harry Potter –X

Later that same evening, Fred and Amelia were talking a walk on the grounds, enjoying the fact that they were alone for the first time in a while. Their heavy snog sessions that had been the beginning of their relationship had definitely taken the backburner, making room for cuddling in front of the fire and soft pecks between classes. Amelia enjoyed those sweet moments, because they didn't feel uncomfortable, like they used to with Oliver, but she secretly missed the way Fred used to pull her into broom closets, whenever they had the chance.

"You're very quiet." He said, stopping underneath a tree in front of the lake, not too far from where Flint had tried to curse her the year before. "Is something wrong?" Amelia shook her head, squeezing his hand a little tighter.

"No, just reminiscing." He grinned at her.

"Let me guess, about how this all started?" She shot him a look, eyebrows raised high.

"How did you know?" He shrugged, looking out at the lake.

"I was thinking about it myself. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to kiss you in the middle of the hallway whenever I want, but I kind of miss those stolen moments and the broom closets." He pulled her against him when he was done talking, both of them enjoying the close contact they had in that moment. Amelia couldn't help but think that she had missed being in his arms. She felt his lips press against the top of her head.

"You know, we could always find a quiet place." She whispered, thinking he wouldn't hear. She was wrong. Before she knew it, he was pulling her by the hand towards the castle.

Once they had reached the hidden passageway, it took him less than a second to push her against the wall, his lips finding hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She answered his heated kisses with a fire of her own, her fingers curling into his slightly too long hair. She felt his arms wrap around her, his tongue slightly pushing against her lips, begging for entrance. This heated kiss, hidden away from everyone, was just what they needed to get rid of some of the stress they'd been under. She let out a soft moan as she felt him lift her up, wrapping her legs around his hips, her back being pressed into the wall just a little bit harder. She felt his lips travel from her lips over her cheek before ending up in her neck, where he found her pulse point and softly started sucking there, making even more moans escape her mouth. She tried to ignore the heat of where their hips met, the pressure turning the butterflies into burning flames. She knew what they were doing was risky and could lead to them going just those few steps too far, but at that moment she didn't care. They were young and reckless, just like normal teenagers should be. Without realizing what exactly she was doing, her hands were finding the buttons of his dress shirt, opening them one by one, showing the formfitting shirt he was wearing underneath. Another moan escaped her when he bit down on her neck, just hard enough for her nails to claw in his back. He groaned loudly, before resting his head on her shoulder.

"Lia, we need to stop. Right now."

"Why?" Her voice was hoarse, not comprehending what exactly he was saying.

"If we don't, I won't be able to stop. And I don't want it to happen this way. Not in some passageway, where anyone could walk in on us." He sounded out of breath, like it was really hard for him to force the words out. "You deserve more." It was then that it dawned on her what he meant. She slowly put her feet down on the ground, taking a few moments to regain her footing, before she pecked him on the lips once more.

"I love you, Fred Weasley." She could not see the smile on his face all that well, but she knew him well enough to know that it was there.

"I love you too, Amelia Black." It was the first time she'd heard him utter her full name, and she liked the sound of it.