7th January

The reasoning for Voldemort's happiness was explained via the arrival of the owl post at breakfast this morning.

MASS BREAKOUT FOR AZKABAN
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT'
FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

Ten black and white pictures filled the front page of the Daily Prophet – nine of the escapees were wizards and one was a witch. The witch looked familiar to me, it was as though I knew her already, underneath her picture was a description that told me that she was Draco's Auntie, Bellatrix Lestrange. That explained a lot. I glanced up across the tables at Draco, who looked delighted.

I started reading the descriptions of the nine men – Antonin Dolohov convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett. They were Molly's brothers. Fred confirmed, the twins had been named after them. The next man looked pockmarked in his picture. Augustus Rookwood convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to He Who Must Not Be Named.

I looked up and saw Neville walking along the table, "Move over George." I said quickly, and I grabbed Neville, "Hey, sit down," I told him abruptly, "I want to tell you something."

Neville looked at me with a hint of apprehension in his eyes, "What's wrong?" he asked.

I handed him the newspaper, "I think you'd rather hear it from me."

His eyes widened and he went very pale, "They – they've – escaped?" I poured him a cup of tea and added a lump of sugar to it. I nodded to him and placed a caring hand on his arm, "everyone's g-going to know…"

"I'm sorry…" I said as Neville turned to read the article on page three.

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.
Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.
'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped.' Fudge said last night, 'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person to ever break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up these criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.

Neville thanked me, handed the paper over and went to join Dean and Seamus, who had just sat down further along the row. I heard Harry, Ron and Hermione bickering in low voices. They were disgusted at the Ministry, or most notably Fudge, at the blame being placed on Sirius. George shifted himself up the bench beside me again, "What was that all about?" he asked.

I simply pointed to the picture of Bellatrix Lestrange and the comment underneath.

"Oh," George said, "Poor chap."

Hermione took the Daily Prophet back off me and continued reading to see if there was anything else we should know about in there. At the staff table, Umbridge sat very happily eating a bowl of porridge. Professor Sprout had the Prophet balanced on a ketchup bottle as she ate her eggs. Her mouth was wide open and the yolk was dripping onto her robes. Further along, McGonagall and Dumbledore were in deep conversation, both looking extremely grave. At one point they both glanced up at me, realised I was already looking at them and they quickly averted their gaze. They must be discussing what I told him last night. Umbridge shot a malevolent glance up the table to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking.

"Oh my -" Hermione said wonderingly, her eyes moving quickly as she read, "It's horrible."

"What now?" Harry said jumpily.

TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER
St Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a pot plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death.
Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr Bode's ward at the time of the incident, has been suspended on full pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement:
'St Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to his tragic accident. We have strict guidelines on the decorations permitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout encouraged Mr Bode to look after the plant himself, unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare which, when touched by the convalescent Mr Bode, throttled him instantly.
St Mungo's is as yet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward.

"We saw him in St Mungo's remember?" Hermione whispered, "He was in the bed opposite Lockhart's?"

"The guy staring at the ceiling?" I asked.

Hermione nodded, "We saw the Devil's Snare arrive. She – the Healer – said it was a Christmas present…"

Harry took the paper and stared at the writing, "How come we didn't recognise Devil's Snare? We've seen it before… we could've stopped this from happening…"

"Who expects Devil's Snare to turn up in a hospital disguised as a pot plant?" Ron said sharply, "It's not our fault, whoever sent it to the bloke is to blame! They must be a real prat; why didn't they check what they were buying?"

I sighed, "Perhaps it was their intention, to send the Devil's Snare, to disguise it as a pot plant, Ron…"

"This was murder… a clever murder, as well… if the plant was sent anonymously, how's anyone ever going to find out who did it?" Hermione said shakily.

"I met Bode," Harry said slowly, "I saw him at the Ministry of Magic with your Dad, Ron,"

Ron's mouth fell open, "I've heard Dad talk about him at home! He was an Unspeakable – he worked in the Department of Mysteries!"

The bloody Department of Mysteries mentioned again! Is there anything Arthur Weasley hasn't inadvertently shown Harry?

Hermione grabbed the paper, stared at something, got up and ran. She was going to send a letter to someone. She gave us no further details.

"I hate it when she does that." Ron grumbled.

"Same." I agreed.

"Would it kill her to tell us what she's up to for once? It'd take her about ten more seconds!" Ron said and he and Harry got up and left.

"Do I smell or something?" I asked out loud to no-one in particular.

14th January

A week on, news of the mass breakout from Azkaban had now filtered throughout school and was all people could talk about. That, and the fact that Hagrid was now on probation along with Trelawney. As you can imagine, Draco was having a great time. I heard more and more stories about his Aunt Bellatrix, how she was so loyal and determined and skilled. He was so proud of the fact that she had tortured Neville's parents. The way he talked about her; he worshipped her. He mentioned that she was one of the very few female Death Eaters, and was probably 'The Dark Lord's favourite'. She sounded like a right nasty piece of work.

I learnt a lot about other students and their family history during the last Wizarding War. First thing that was brought to my attention was during Herbology when Susan Bones, had seemingly gained fame overnight. She informed us miserably that her aunt, uncle and cousins were all killed by one of the ten escapees. It was really starting to hit home to me about how everyone seemed to be affected by the last war in some form or another. We were surrounded in Hogwarts by people on both sides, who had different morals, ideals and principles.

Neville hadn't mentioned a thing about his parents to any of us. But he worked extremely hard in the first DA meeting back this year. He didn't talk, he focused. He was making real progress; his aim was spot on, his spell work was vastly improving and his determination was much to be desired. I knew that his parents would be so proud of him.

Umbridge added her latest decree on Wednesday. 'Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach'.

I am going to ignore that one.

It was now common to see two or three teachers walking along, talking in hushed voices, breaking off their conversation if they saw a student. It was clear that Umbridge had forbidden them to speak freely in the staff room. The decree had also been subject to a number of jokes. Lee Jordan had pointed out to Umbridge that by the terms of the new rule, she was not allowed to tell Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snape in the back of the class as the information is not relating to her subject. When I saw him at dinner, his hand was bleeding badly, I couldn't make out the inscription.

"Katy?" George asked as I came back to the common room late on my own.

"What's up?" I asked.

He directed me over to where he was sitting at the window with Fred and Lee, "Let me see your hand."

There was a bowl of essence of Murtlap on the table and I laughed because I didn't want to cry, "Did Hermione tell you?" I sat in the space George created for me by moving his legs.

"She said that Umbridge was punishing you for talking to McGonagall… What was the meeting about?" George stroked my hair.

"You won't believe this, but we were actually talking about transfiguration." I said, realising my hand was shaking with pain and anger, "McGonagall had misplaced my feedback form for the last essay and asked me to come around after dinner to pick it up from her office. Umbridge thought we were colluding about something whenever she walked in. I swear all McGonagall was doing was reading though her notes on my essay. She also handed me this." I lifted a letter out of my pocket, "But Umbridge could not find what she wanted." I smirked.

"What does it say?" he asked, his hands now on my hips.

I shook my head, "I will read and see how much I'm allowed to tell you."

"I meant your newest inscription?" George smirked, changing his original request.

I must act appropriately in accordance with highlighted rules and regulations

"What does that even mean?" Lee asked, rubbing the back of his own palm.

"She has nothing on me, but wanted to punish me for something." I said simply, I leaned back against the wall, lifting the letter and reading it out of sight of the three boys looking eagerly up at me.

Kathryn,
This is a letter for Harry, but it will be handed to you. So I will write to you and you can tell him what you see fit. Thank you for going to Professor Dumbledore about his recent 'episode', I don't know what else to call them. I know that after what happened in the summer that you, Professor Dumbledore and Snape do not see eye to eye, but I commend you nonetheless for the vital information as it tells us exactly what Harry's mind is exposed to. Please tell Harry to stay safe and to look after himself. Encourage him to keep telling you about his 'episodes' and whatever you do, do not talk about the Department of Mysteries as Voldemort may be able to read his thoughts. I'm sure you are intelligent enough to understand that the more information Harry knows, the more Voldemort can glean from him.
I have also been informed that your next Hogsmeade trip is scheduled for the 14th February. Please tell Harry to be on guard as he is not protected on those visits. My cousin will stop at nothing to provide her master with him.
I know I was ungrateful at the time, but thank you for the walk into London and back, I appreciate the way you thought about me and the way you use your talent for good. If it were me, I'd definitely have used it for worse. I can imagine James, Remus, Peter and I getting into even more trouble and me getting found out, rather than being able to share the secret willingly.
Remus says hello, he told me about how you went green on the Knight Bus, the thought has kept a smile on my face for a while. I can just imagine you lying there, gagging! Sorry, can't help it!
Take care,
Snuffles

Kathryn
Minerva told me to continue writing on this piece of parchment as it would be easier to hand over to you. I hope you are well and that my children are all behaving themselves. If you could even encourage Fred and George to do some work? Please tell Ron that he did forget his new pair of pyjamas and that is why he cannot find them. Arthur is recovering well and has returned to work this past week. I just wanted to check in with you, Tonks mentioned that you were having a hard time back at Hogwarts before the break. Why did you not tell me? Is there anything I can help you with?
The muggle Mr Snow has written to me, he said that he has written to you a number of times, but has always received a dishevelled owl in return with his original envelope. I took on the task to get the information to you and to write back to him on your behalf. The letter informed you that the agreed amount of money is now in your Gringotts account in Galleon form. He also said that his wife gave birth to a baby girl on the 23rd December and called her Ella. He also said that you could contact him at any time if you needed any legal advice. That was very nice of him.
Keep an eye on Ginny for me. She'll talk to you before risking writing to me.
Molly x

Hey Sis!
Sorry for being all stress head the last time I saw you. And sorry for not being able to visit more over Christmas. I was on night shift a lot. Remus told me what you said about me and laughed. He said that the two of us are too similar. In some ways I believe him. He's been spending more time with me in the last few weeks in missions for the Order. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know things at Hogwarts are uncertain and Minerva has told me all about the new education decree. Please stay safe and don't go out at night, not even into the grounds. These escapees are dangerous and I'll be working overtime to try and catch them.
I hope you know how proud we all are of you here in the Order. You are one of the most valuable members. As I've heard from Hermione when we were on the Knight Bus, you are a skilled fighter and are very capable of taking care of yourself and others. She said that you are practicing with her, taking matters into your own hands. She also told me not to tell anyone. I can't help but feel so proud of you. You are so strong and I wish I was as intelligent and talented as you.
Talk soon,
Tonks x

"Are you okay?" George asked rubbing my leg, the only part of me he could reach, "You're being very quiet…"

I lowered the letter, I felt my eyes swimming with tears that I was blinking back, "Yeah, Tonks wrote to me. She said that she is proud of me." I smiled, "And your mother is imploring you two to work. She also said to keep an eye on Gin, with the whole possession thing, I'm gathering… And she's trying to get me to talk to her about this…" I emphasised my hand, "And that's not happening."

"As long as you tell us." Fred joked, "I want to know every bitter detail."

"Frig away off." I rolled my eyes at him, "You've heard it all from Lee."

"How do you know?" Lee asked.

I smirked at him, "It hurts like a bitch, doesn't it? Eye-wateringly bad whenever you're stabbing yourself. Then you always touch it without thinking. And you go quiet, because no one understands how much it takes out of you." I recounted, "But this is my third go now, and honestly, it's nice when you imagine yourself stabbing that woman in the back. Or writing what she is on her forehead for all to see…" I sighed, "I'd love to blow her up, but I imagine I'd be locked up in Azkaban for that, and I don't fancy that quite as much."

"You just do what you need to do to survive." Lee said, knowingly.

"Indeed." I said, "I think I ought to go to bed, considering we're the last four here and I'll be up in… 6 and a half hours. Night." I kissed George's forehead and scurried off to bed.

20th January

"I'm dreaming every night of that door to the Department of Mysteries." Harry said frustrated after his meeting with Snape. His scar was prickling, but this was a common occurrence now for him after Voldemort's return.

"Maybe it's a bit like an illness," Hermione said, looking concerned, "A fever or something, it has to get worse before it gets better."

"The lessons with Snape are making it worse," Harry said flatly, "I'm getting sick of my scar hurting and I'm getting bored with walking down that corridor every night." He rubbed his forehead again, "I just wish the door would open, I'm sick of standing staring at it-"

Hermione's eyes widened, "That's not funny," she said sharply.

"You let Snape hear that at your next lesson." I said, raising an eyebrow, "Harry, I know you have a problem with Snape and he has a problem with you, but you've both got to get over yourselves for this to work. You need to keep your own anger at bay and really concentrate." I shrugged my shoulders as Harry looked as though he'd love nothing more than to strangle me, "You know it's true. All you're doing is opening your mind to Snape and therefore to Voldemort and I know that you don't want him in your head anymore and you'd rather be dreaming of other things…"

Hermione nodded, "Yeah, you're going to have to work harder, Harry."

Harry got even more frustrated.

"Maybe…" Ron said slowly.

"Maybe what?" Hermione snapped.

There was an air of darkness about Ron as he said, "Maybe it's not Harry's fault he can't close his mind, perhaps Snape isn't really trying to help Harry…"

The three of us stared at Ron. Him saying things like that are not helpful.

"Maybe," Ron said again, "he's actually trying to open Harry's mind a bit wider… make it easier for You-Know-"

"Shut up, Ron." Hermione spoke angrily, "How many times have you accused Snape? And how many times have you been wrong?" she snapped again, "all of them… Dumbledore trusts him, he works for the Order, that should be enough."

"He used to be a Death Eater." Ron said stubbornly, "And we've never seen proof that he really swapped sides."

Hermione repeated, "Dumbledore trusts him, and if we can't trust Dumbledore, we can't trust anyone."

I decided not to interject.

2nd February

Today, Harry and I decided that the DA members were ready to learn the shield charm. There was a lot of excitement in the group as we demonstrated the incantation 'protego' and the wand movement (straight down).

"Kathryn?" Harry moved his wand between his fingers, a repetitive motion, "would you care to do the honours?" he smirked, bowing to me as I prepared myself to duel.

"Of course," I said seriously, taking the necessary steps backwards to begin the duel. The two of us stared at each other for a minute, anticipating the other's moves. "STUPEFY!" I shot at Harry.

"Protego!" he countered.

I saw the charm reverberate back at me, "Protego!" I yelled, and as soon as the charm had been deflected I sent, "Expelliarmus."

Harry blocked this and said, "Locomotor wibbly" which I deflected, "I think you lot get the idea," Harry said to the group, "Split into two groups and we can take turns watching."

"And change who you'd usually practice with," I said, "so that they can't anticipate your next move."

That seemed to cause a stir as Neville paired up with Hannah Abbott, Dean against Ginny, Fred challenged Hermione, Ron with Susan Bones, Ange and Zacharias stood forward as well as many other interesting couplings. They soon started shooting spells at each other. Fred went flying backwards almost immediately, Ron lost his wand and Neville used impedimenta on Hannah. Harry and I shared a smile. They weren't perfect, but they were so much better than a matter of weeks ago.

"Katy?" George called out to me at the end of the meeting, Harry ran off to get some homework done, as he had all these extra lessons with Snape and his pile of homework seemed to be getting rather uncontrolled, so I volunteered to practice spells, putting everything back in place again.

I looked over my shoulder, "Oh hey!" I could see both Fred and George standing in the doorway.

Fred took a few steps closer to me, "We got a letter from Jenkins, he said that we can have our second viewing and talk money during our next Hogsmeade visit."

"Georgie?" I looked at my boyfriend who cowered.

"Please don't be upset…" he said, "I know it's Valentine's day… I'll write back and say that I can't-"

"Come here…" I said, beckoning him towards me, I also took hold of Fred's arm and had him stand in front of me, too, "Are you two seriously scared of me and what I'll say?"

Fred smirked, "He is, I'm not."

"I just didn't want to disappoint you…" George said, "I'll not go-"

"Of course you'll go!" I said incredulously, looking between the twins, "Both of you! Since when have I stood in between you two and your dream?" I asked, "Besides, do you not know me well enough?" I looked directly at George, "When did we become the conventional lovey dovey, standard, go-and-make-a-massive-fuss-because-you-feel-you-have-to, even though it's just a massive money-making scheme-of-a-day?"

"You know that I love you, right?" George beamed, wrapping his arms around me, kissing my forehead over and over again.

I rolled my eyes, "Alright, alright!" I pushed him off, "go and make successes of yourselves, or my loneliness on Valentine's Day will be for absolutely nothing."

"Can I just note, in a totally platonic way, that I love you, too." Fred wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight, "You're the best girlfriend George could have asked for."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Too much?" Fred asked.

"Yeah." I smirked, "But I do love you in a totally platonic way, too, Freddie."

14th February

I didn't really see much of Fred and George over the last week and a half, apart from mealtimes and the one DA meeting Harry could fit into his busy schedule. It was now common for fifth years to sit up to midnight working most nights with the alarming amount of homework we were now receiving.

This morning, however, I put on my tartan trousers and matching black jumper and wore my thick hair curly, just as George likes. I felt like I was a bit wild until I put a bit of makeup on to hide just how pale I was. I even put a bit of a brown-beige coloured eyeshadow on my heavy-lidded eyes to accentuate the brown of my eyes before heading down to breakfast.

"Good morning, beautiful." George placed a kiss on my cheek as I sat down next to him, "in the spirit of going against what is socially expected…" he handed me a box, "You had better concentrate when you open it."

I was bemused as I opened the box and was surprised as I was met with a very intricate piece of magic that shot into the air little hearts and the words 'Happy Un-Valentine's Day, Katy" appeared for all to see.

"Thanks, Georgie." I kissed his cheek, "I suppose I'll have to give you this."

"More chocolate on a card?" he crossed his fingers and stuck out his tongue.

He opened the little package to reveal a pressed four-leaf-clover, attached to a piece of card with the words 'for good luck' written, "Okay this is better. So much better." He kissed my cheek gently.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and ate a couple of rounds of toast, knowing that Fred and George were wanting to get down to Hogsmeade sooner rather than later.

Hermione got a letter through the owl post, "And about time! If it hadn't come today…" she said eagerly tearing open the envelope and pulling out a small piece of parchment and reading quickly. She looked grimly pleased as she turned to Harry, "Listen, Harry, this is really important. Do you think you could meet me in the Three Broomsticks around midday?"

"Well… I dunno…" Harry spoke with uncertainty, "Cho might be expecting me to spend the whole day with her. We never said what we are going to do."

"Well, bring her along, if you must." Hermione said urgently, "But will you come?"

"Well, alright, but why?"

"I haven't got time to tell you now, I have to answer this quickly. I'll see you at some point Kathryn?" She hurried out of the Great Hall, letter in hand.

"What was that all about?" George asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I have no idea, she hasn't mentioned a thing about it to me. No matter how hard I've tried getting the information out of her…" I answered honestly, "Shall we be off, then?"

Fred and George stood, both looking well dressed, and displaying an air of nervous excitement, "Let's!"

"I'll see you both down there?" I asked Harry and Ron as I put on my coat.

"I can't go to Hogsmeade," Ron said disappointedly, "Angelina has us doing a full day's Quidditch Practice."

"Oh, probably more interesting than grabbing a butterbeer." I said, "And good luck, Harry, see you at midday."

Fred, George and I went down a side street in Hogsmeade and apparated into Diagon Alley. They were to meet Jenkins at number 93 around 1130, which gave me an hour and a half with the twins. We walked from the Leaky Cauldron end in the direction of Gringotts.

"So apparently I've got to be nice to you," Fred whispered jokingly as we walked into Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, "I was especially warned to do so today… When am I ever not nice to you? Did you tell George that I wasn't nice?"

I laughed, "I said nothing of the sort. Did you tell him something to make him think you don't like me?"

Fred shrugged his shoulders, "I guess you're alright, I mean, he could do worse."

I shoved him, "Rude." I said with a smirk.

"What are you two doing over there?" George asked, he was holding a bag of supplies, I daren't ask what they were.

"Nothing." I said, looking up to Fred who was holding back a laugh.

"I totally get it now Freddie." George said, "That look of pure mischief. Come here, you." He held out his hand for me to take.

"I am even allowed to ask?"

George held the door open for me, "Let's just say Fred and I talk about you."

I glanced at Fred, "I'd believe that rightly."

"Wiseacres next?" Fred asked, listing a number of items they needed specifically from that shop. It sounded like they were wanting to make a giant mess, something explosive and something that smells awful when the container is opened. This had become totally normal for me.

We went into Amanuensis Quills at my request, "You know, what I don't understand is why the wizarding world hasn't adopted the muggle invention of pens. I break more of these things than I care to admit." I grabbed a quill with a purple feather, one with a blue feather and one that was plain black as well as pots of black and blue ink.

"Have you ever stopped to think that you do too much work? That you write too much?" Fred joked.

"You two probably have the same four quills from first year from the amount of work you both do." I joked back.

"Ooooh, burn." George cackled, "We actually got three each for first year."

I laughed a little too loud as the shop keeper looked up from the customer he was serving and gave me a strange look. "You know muggle pens have ink inside them?" I asked the boys, browsing the more expensive quills. I couldn't see how it was possible to use the ones with the large peacock feathers with neat handwriting.

"Self-inking quills?" Fred looked at me in wonder.

"Pens."

"I'm sure we could make self-inking quills? Or charm quills to write for you? Great idea, Kathryn!" Fred was impressed, "And joke spell checkers." He giggled to himself at the thought.

I scrunched up my face and could do nothing else but shrug, I suppose inspiration can come from anywhere.

"D'you wanna get a coffee? It's freezing out here!" Fred asked, pointing at Rosa-Lee Teabag.

I was overcome with a fit of the giggles, "Pretty sure I'm banned from there." I reminisced, "I smashed too many pieces of their precious crockery, remember?"

"I wish I could go back and watch the look on Narcissa's face." George said.

"I wish I could go back and see how angry Kathryn was," Fred corrected his brother, "that would be far more impressive."

"True." George nodded, "We've seen her skills with a wand. She's dangerous. I can only imagine the brutality when she gets riled up."

I stopped on the spot and folded my arms, "What is it today? Take the piss out of Kathryn day?"

"Careful now, Georgie." Fred said, "Approach with caution, she's a ticking time-bomb."

George took my hand and stroked my cheek, "You love it really."

I sighed, reached up and straightened his robes, "Nah, I love you, and because of that fact, I find it difficult to get too annoyed. Not when you look that good."

George's lips curled. I wrapped my arms around George's neck and leaned in. He pulled me in close. Fred coughed. I threw my handbag at him.

"Don't mean to interrupt the romance or anything, I swear," Fred placed my handbag back on my shoulder again, "But it's 1120."

I didn't want to be returned to Hogsmeade, I so badly wanted to be a part of their adventure, but I knew it wasn't my place. Our feet touched solid ground; we were standing in the middle of Hogsmeade village. His eyes searched mine and I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around him, recreating the mood again. Then I pressed my forehead against his and said, "Go get 'em, tiger."

His forehead left mine and he disapparated.

I don't know what came over me. I felt this immense sadness, a sense of loss. It was only then that I realised that it was pouring.

I walked along the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade on my own. I was surrounded by other students running quickly with their hoods up, sheltering themselves from the rain which was getting progressively heavier. I drudged across the pathway and pushed open the door of the Three Broomsticks where I was met with warmth and the smell of stale beer.

"Kathryn!" Hermione called out, "We're over here!" I caught eyes with her and she beckoned me over. I was met with an unusual bunch, Harry was talking to Rita Skeeter and Luna was sitting eating an onion out of her glass of Gilly water. Rita had her quick quotes quill working overtime, but that was the only usual thing about her appearance. Unemployment did not suit Rita well. Her once tight curls now lay limp by her shoulders, her red nail varnish was badly chipped and a number of the false jewels in her glasses were missing.

"Oh, it's you." She saw me staring, "At least you're better than Little Miss Perfect."

"What's going on here?" I asked.

Hermione beamed at me, "Rita is writing an article on the true story of the night Voldemort returned. All the facts as Harry reports them will be published in Luna's Dad's magazine, The Quibbler."

"Wonderful." I was gobsmacked, "It's great that your Dad has agreed to this, Luna."

"Daddy will be happy to publish something so important." Luna said as though she were in a different dimension entirely, but I had grown quite used to it.

"Hermione," I said as I went up to the bar to get myself a cocktail, "I don't think I've ever told you this, but you really are brilliant."

"Hem hem."

I was in trouble. She knew.

"Miss Pink, where are Mr and Mr Weasley?" Umbridge approached me at dinner.

I thought I was going to choke and die on the spot.

"I'm not too sure, Professor," I said, "they could be in the Common Room?" my heart was beating so very fast in my chest but I was like a swan, cool, calm and collected.

"Mr Filch has informed me that Mr and Mr Weasley have not yet returned from the Hogsmeade visit this evening." Umbridge's smile widened, she was looking for a reason to bring me into detention, "Mr Filch also informed me that you were seen leaving with said individuals this morning."

I nodded, "I'm sure they'll be back soon." I looked down at my watch, "they've still got time."

Umbridge continued walking towards the staff table.

"So where exactly are Fred and George?" Hermione asked.

I lifted out my diary and with it, the litteras occlutas, my direct line of contact with George. I scribbled quickly.

K: Umbridge knows you two haven't made it back to the castle yet. Please let me know you're okay. You haven't got much time until curfew.
G: Turn around.

My heart returned back to its usual resting place. Fred and George had just entered the Great Hall and sat down opposite me, beside Harry.

"We were watching the Quidditch Practice," Fred said, "Umbridge can't punish us for watching Quidditch, can she?"

"Ron really is awful," George said with a hint of sorrow for his little brother.

Fred continued, "The whole team is rubbish without us, they're going to get slaughtered."

Harry looked up, "Ron's great when no-one is watching."

Fred rolled his eyes, "Yeah, so every time Hufflepuff get near the Gryffindor posts in a couple of weeks, we're going to have to ask everyone to turn around and talk amongst themselves for a while. Fat chance."

"Ginny's surprisingly good." George smiled encouragingly, "I dunno how she got so good when we never let her play with us."

I smirked, "She's been breaking into your broom shed in the garden since the age of six and taking each of your brooms out in turn when you weren't looking." I answered.

"Oh," George was mildly impressed, "That'd explain it."

"You know, Quidditch was about the only thing in this place worth staying for." Fred said.

Hermione cast him a stern look. She looked to me with wide eyes. I shook my head. They returned to Hogwarts because George couldn't leave me and they both couldn't quit school because of what their mum is going through already with Percy.

"You've got exams coming up!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Told you already, we're not fussed about N.E.W.T.s," Fred said, "The Snackboxes are ready to go, we found out how to get rid of those boils, just a couple of drops of Murtlap essence sorts them, Lee put us on to it."

George yawned, he was knackered, I could see it all over his face, "I dunno if I even want to watch this match. If Zacharias Smith beats us, I might have to kill myself." He picked at his dinner.

"Excuse me?" that hit a nerve.

"Kill him, more like," Fred said firmly, to me.

"That's the trouble with Quidditch," Hermione said absent-mindedly, "it creates all this bad feeling and tension between the houses."

Harry, Fred and George all exchanged expressions of mingled disgust and incredulity.

"Well, it does!" Hermione said impatiently, "It's only a game, isn't it?"

"Hermione," Harry said, "You're good on feelings and stuff, but you just don't understand Quidditch."

Hermione shrugged, "Maybe not, but at least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goal-saving ability."

George slumped off to bed on his own shortly after dinner. He had hardly said a word to any of us.

"Freddie…" I took his hand as he walked past me, "What's going on with George?"

"It's not for me to tell you," He sighed.

I felt my chin wobble involuntarily, "What did I do?"

He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed comfortingly, "You didn't do anything, don't worry." He sat down beside me.

"So something happened in Diagon Alley? After I left?"

"I'd tell you," Fred said slowly, "but he wants to tell you himself…"

I swallowed hard, "Fred, please tell me. What happened?"

He stared at his feet, "There's not a chance in hell we're getting number 93." He sighed, standing "But you didn't hear that from me, okay?"

I stood too, and I wrapped my arms around his middle and hugged him tight, "I'm sorry… If there's anything I can do…" I said as tears streamed down my face, I knew how much this meant to them and their dreams had just been crushed. George was too ashamed to tell me just yet. The news broke my heart, I really had my hopes up for them.