That Saturday was a Hogsmeade weekend, and it seemed every student had the same idea: to start buying Christmas presents for friends and family. Those in the DA in particular were ladened with bags - everyone had made so many friends, it was hard to keep track of who to buy for. Harry was thankful that there was another Hogsmeade weekend two weeks from now - he was definitely needing more time to gage his friends' ideas of what they wanted in order to narrow down what to buy them.
During the DA session that evening, Harry was very impressed that some Patronuses had started to emerge throughout the Senior group. It was mostly among the sixth and seventh years that were getting closer to achieving their corporeal forms, but some of the fifth years were catching up. About halfway through the session, Terry Boot managed to conjure up a Patronus, which took the form of a sparrowhawk. Everyone applauded him, and Terry basked in the praise, rightly so. Next to achieve it was some seventh years; among them Angelina, which he was delighted at. Hermione's took the form of an otter, Ron's a Jack Russell dog, Amelia's a leopard, and Dorea's was an Irish Wolfhound dog - Harry couldn't help but think it looked a lot like Padfoot.
Luna managed to stay pretty focused, as her patronus - a hare, - sped around the room before returning to her wand. Blaise Zabini, on his fifth attempt, managed to conjure up a Patronus that seemed to resemble a barn owl. Ginny produced a spectacular horse. Harry noticed Theo getting a bit stressed out with himself, he was having a bit of trouble. Harry kind of wished Professor Flitwick was here to give advice, as plenty of people were still struggling and he couldn't get round them all. He went over. "Don't push yourself too hard, Theo," he said, placing a hand on his friends shoulder.
"I don't think my memory is happy enough," Theo said weakly, "I'll keep at it though."
By the end of that session, only two more people had managed to conjure up a Patronus, but more and more people had managed to produce ropes of silver from the end of their wands, rather than just little wisps. He stood near the front. "I'm really, really impressed with you all today." He said, smiling, "Next session, I think we'll have a break from Patronuses, and get back to learning more spells. Keep practising at your Patronuses, though! There's no rush at all to get it under your belts. Next week, I think it will be the last session before the holiday's, to give us a break, as there'd be no point learning anything new on the final week before break." The room let out 'aww's' at that, but understood. Everyone praised Harry when the house elves arrived to take everyone back to their dormitories.
On Sunday, which was normally the quieter and less-busy days of Hogsmeade weekends, Harry, Amelia and Dorea went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch with Sirius. It felt weird having something akin to a catch-up, as they had Sirius for Astronomy, and they lived under the same building 24/7, yet both students and teachers had barely a day to themselves nowadays. Sirius was telling them about how his days were basically planning lessons, teaching, marking, eating, and sleeping - a routine repeated five days of the week. "Never become a teacher, guys, it'll consume half your life." Sirius had half-joked as they sipped butterbeer. "How is it, having Remus back teaching?"
"It's so much better, we're finally learning stuff!" Harry replied, the girls agreeing.
Sirius grinned knowingly. He would have invited Remus to their lunch, but he was attending a teachers meeting with McGonagall in his stead - where, unbeknownst to the Gryffindor fifth years, they were actually meeting to discuss each student's marks in classes so far. Sirius made a note to ask his best friend about how the three people in front of him were getting on grades-wise, as fifth year was a tough year, and they looked a bit worn out.
"It's weird how Dumbledore has let you, Fred and George back on the Quidditch team but hasn't said a word about your club - Umbridge didn't reinstate it, yeah?" Sirius said.
Harry, Amelia and Dorea glanced at each other - should they tell Sirius that the DA had actually been meeting, in secret? They didn't quite know how he would react - Sirius was a bit of a rule breaker himself, but they doubted very much he'd done anything so serious and defying it risked expulsion.
They were saved from having to answer him, for Madam Rosmerta arrived with their lunch. Harry noticed Rosmerta eye Sirius in something that was definitely more than friendly, but it was lost on his godfather. He almost smirked.
Sirius seemed to have forgotten he ever asked them a question, as they just carried on talking about anything and everything. He asked them how their future house-mate Theo was coping and getting on. Harry explained that though he seemed fine, he was clearly still divided regarding the matter of his father, and probably felt guilty not being able to protect his mother.
When they finished their lunch and paid, they walked back up to the school. Sirius kept hinting that he'd gotten them really good presents for Christmas, but didn't let slip as to what they were. That only made them more curious, but ever more excited for the Christmas holidays - which were only just over two weeks away now.
When they got back into the Entrance Hall and rubbed their shoes of laying snow, Amelia said that she was going to find Theo - though she said to Sirius that she was going to help him with homework, both Harry and Dorea knew that she was actually going to help him with his Patronus in the Room of Requirement.
Back in the dungeons, Theo was sitting on his bed in the boys dormitory, trying to get all his homework done before he was meeting Amelia in the Room of Requirement at half past two to work on his Patronus. Blaise sat opposite, on his own bed, looking way more relaxed and chilled out. "You, really like Amelia Potter, don't you." Blaise said all of a sudden.
Theo, who was getting a textbook out of his bag, had almost given himself whiplash when he whipped around to face his friend, who was sitting with his legs crossed on his bed.
"Blaise, we are not discussing this now." Theo said, gesturing towards the door, where at any moment, Crabbe, Goyle or even Draco could flaunt in and hear them.
"They never come into the dorm except at bedtime," Blaise reasoned, "and they aren't going to start studying anytime soon, so they're not going to barge in."
"You never know, though." Theo said weakly.
Blaise pointed his wand at the dormitory door, and performed the Locking Charm. "There, does that quell your worries, Theodore?"
He didn't bother replying, and instead tried to get back to writing his Astronomy essay. But Sirius was their Astronomy teacher, and Sirius was Amelia's godfather… "Urgh, I give up." Theo complained, slamming his notebook shut as he firmly gave up on starting the essay. It's not due until next week anyway.
"A certain Potter on your mind?" Blaise said, grinning.
"Yes, alright! She is!" He almost shouted.
Blaise, though he looked surprised at his best friend's outburst, soon barked laughter. "Oh dear, Theodore, I support you, I'm just winding you up."
"It's like something I've never felt before," Theo explained, "Y'know how there's that love you have for, oh I don't know, parents?" At Blaise's scoff, Theo realised. "Well, in my case, at least one of my parents. But then there's a different love, y'know, the one that makes you giddy. Where you cannot take your eyes off them. That's what I'm feeling for Amelia, Blaise."
"I know fine well what love is, Theo, are you forgetting I fancy Amelia's own godsister?" Blaise sniggered.
"Yeah, well at least Amelia is very much single. Sucks for you to fancy a girl already taken." He said, leaning back against his pillows, schoolwork long forgotten.
"I respect her relationship" Blaise added, "but she could do a lot better."
"Like date you?" Theo harrumphed.
"Yes." Was his mate's response. He chuckled again.
They were in comfortable silence then - all they could hear were the talking and laughing coming from the common room. They even heard people head up the stairs from time to time - going to their perspective dorms, he guessed.
He was about to ask Blaise if he wanted to see Theo's new Chocolate Frog selection box his mother had sent that morning when a hammering at their dormitory door gave them a fright,
"Blaise, why is this bloody door locked? Is Theo in there?" A familiar girl's voice said on the other side.
Theo shook his head furiously at his friend. He knew it was Pansy Parkinson. Why is she so obsessed with me?! He thought to himself, I am not interested in her!
"No, he.. Went out for a jog." Blaise replied, and Theo cursed the obvious uncertainty in his voice.
"I know he didn't Blaise, else somebody would have seen him leave. And plus, it's raining!" Pansy snapped, still trying to twist the knob on the locked door. "Now open this door!"
"Sorry, mate," Blaise shrugged, and grabbed his wand to perform Alohomora. Theo cringed.
The door flung open almost immediately, and Pansy stood in the doorway.
"Girls aren't allowed in here," Theo said, and realised that Millicent Bulstrode was also with Pansy.
"I don't intend on coming in, Theodore, I wanted to ask you something." Pansy said, staying where she was, her arms folded.
He got up off his bed and went to stand at the doorway as well. He forced himself to smile politely. "Hello Pansy."
The girl looked at him hungrily. "Good day, Theodore."
He grimaced at the use of his full name. "You wanted to see me?"
She lit up. "Oh yes, I just got a fabulous package from my uncle - a voucher for Madam Puddifoot's tea shop!"
Theo looked blankly at her, knowing where this was going. "Oh, really? That's great."
"It's for two people, y'see, and, well, I was wondering if perhaps… you wanted to go with me next Hogsmeade weekend?" Pansy continued.
Theo's heart fell. He didn't want to outright reject Pansy, but he really didn't want to go on a date with her either. What if Amelia saw him with her? Granted, Pansy was a pretty girl, but he had no other interest in her. "Erm…"
"Oh don't be a sourpuss, Theo," Millicent nudged his arm. "It's not like you have any other plans anyway."
"How do you know?" He retaliated, trying to sound nonplussed. "I may have a packed weekend schedule for all you know. Oh, wait," he turned to Blaise, and held a pleading look on his face as if to say 'please go along with it', "don't we have to do that test for McGonagall?"
Blaise, thankfully, went along with it, "Oh yeah, at midday."
"What test?" Pansy looked between the two of them.
"We missed the last one." Theo said.
"How? You never miss a class!" Millicent glared.
"It's Potter, isn't it." Pansy let out, eyes twitching.
"Eh?" Theo tried to look innocent, but his heart was in fact racing - if Pansy knew, then it would be disastrous.
"You're always spending time with Potter, Theo. Ever since you became apart of that stupid club he runs…"
"It's called having friends. You should try it some time." He blurted out, before he could even think. Millicent gasped.
"Who am I kidding? What on earth made me think that you would ever agree to go with me? I'd be better off asking Goyle to come with me!" Pansy sneered.
Go ask him then, he thought bitterly, I can't believe all this for a stupid voucher at that stupid pink tea shop. Millicent glared daggers at Theo, and led Pansy away by linking her arm.
He turned to face Blaise again, who the whole time had been sat on his bed. "Yikes. Your acting skills need a bit of work." Blaise smirked.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do when she basically asked me out!" Theo said haughty. "Why did she have to bring Millicent along as well?"
Blaise laughed. "I still can't believe you said that! Where did that sass come from?"
Theo blushed. "It literally slipped out before I could even comprehend."
The two boys stayed in relative silence after that, getting work done, even though Theo could hardly concentrate. He was still thinking of Amelia, and grimaced when he accidentally wrote in his History of Magic essay, "To conclude, the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 had a number of different factors regarding its causes; with one of them being Amelia Potter."
As time neared closer and closer to half past two, Theo found himself losing more and more concentration. All his worries came back; what if he really wasn't able to produce a Patronus due to coming from a family of dark wizards? What if he was incapable of producing one because of that, and it was all for naught? A million different possibilities zoomed round in his head.
"Theo!" Blaise snapped him back to reality.
"Sorry, what?" Theo rubbed his temples.
"It's twenty minutes past two, you should hop along to the Room of Requirement and await Miss Amelia's arrival." Blaise said, and Theo jumped off his bed immediately. Grabbing his wand, he strode towards the door, hoping he didn't run into Pansy on his way out. Just as he went to pull the doorknob, did Blaise speak again. "Y'know, it would be a great time to tell her how you really feel, mate."
He turned to his best friend. "Do you honestly think she sees me in that way?"
Blaise pouted and shrugged. "Won't know unless you try."
With that thought lingering in his head, Theo left their dorm, and exited the common room without too much hassle.
"Urgh! It's pointless, Amelia, I'm never going to get my Patronus." Theo said, frustrated, as they were forty minutes into their time together and yet the Charm still wasn't succeeding.
"Theo, you can't give up now! This spell could save your life one day. Maybe it's the memory that's not happy enough?" Amelia Potter persisted. She was sitting on one of the crates.
"Try living in a house with my father, you'll soon realise that happiness seems to be illegal when he's around." He almost snapped, but restrained himself and instead just rubbed his temples.
Amelia gave him a curious look. "Then maybe try to find a memory with your mother… She's not like your dad, is she?"
"No, she's an angel." He admitted, thinking of his mother, Ophelia. How she puts up with dad, I'll never know, he thought, their marriage may have been happy once - before Voldemort, but that spark was long gone.
"Has she ever.. I don't know, done something for you? I'm not quite sure what it's like to have a mum." Amelia said, a bit awkwardly.
"Her, my aunt and granny once took me to Daphne's birthday party when I was like, six." He remembered.
"You knew Daph before Hogwarts?" Amelia looked surprised.
"The Greengrass's are pure-bloods, but they're supportive of muggles. Daph and Astoria's mum went to Hogwarts with my mum and aunt, they're best friends. Of course my dad doesn't let her visit them a lot, but when we do it's really great." He paused, trying to remember the birthday party. "I remember it being so… fun. It was like a special day out. I even went on one of those muggle fairground rides - the carousel, I think? I remember just having a go on the carousel, and when it went faster, I just felt so.. Free. Like a proper child should. There was this really tall slide too - I must've had about ten goes on it. Just the feeling of running around with the other kids - it was so different to the strict home life my father imposed."
Amelia was looking at him thoughtfully. He almost melted. She didn't look pitiful at all - she was just listening, and that was what Theo needed. Somebody who he could rattle off too. Blaise and Barnaby were great, but they didn't understand as much. "Focus on that memory, then. If it made you feel freedom for the first time, then it surely counts as being a happy memory." Amelia instructed. She stood up again and went to stand next to him.
He took that as his cue to ready his wand. He took a few moments to prepare himself. I WILL get my Patronus today! He said to himself as motivation. He wanted that stress off his shoulders, so that he was at the same level as everybody else in the DA.
With the memory of him whooping with delight as he went down the inflatable slide still at the forefront of his mind, Theodore pointed his wand and, focusing so hard on the memory, said, "Expecto Patronum!"
He couldn't believe it - a few ropes of silver erupted from the end of his wand, whereas before it was just wisps. He didn't let that distract him though - he couldn't risk taking his mind off the memory.
"Keep going, Theo! That's it! You're almost there!" Amelia praised him as he heard her clap her hands together.
The memory of him riding the carousel was floating in his mind, and he could almost see it perfectly. He spoke the incantation again, "Expecto Patronum!"
This time, it was more than enough, as more ropes of silver formed together to create a distinct form - his Patronus took the form of an albatross. It flew forward and did a few loops midair around him and Amelia, before it disappeared.
Both he and Amelia were breathless as they looked at each other. He hooted with delight at his success. "I did it, Amelia! I did it!"
"Oh, Theo!" His heart raced even more when she launched herself into his arms and hugged him. "I knew that you could do it!"
He hugged her back, and they stayed like that for a good few seconds. His hand even found her waist, whilst the other found the back of her head.
It was her that pulled back. She looked into his eyes, and he did the same. He could feel his heart warm with love. She's just so beautiful, he thought, it almost hurts.
Tell her! His brain was all but screaming at him, Tell her you love her, before some other boy snatches her up!
"Amelia," he found himself saying, "I-I need to tell you something."
"Oh, do you? Well, go on." She urged him.
Oh god, he regretted even saying that, she's going to reject me, I just know she is! "T-thanks for helping me with the Patronus," he said, nervously.
"Oh Theo, no need to thank me-"
"-N-no, really, I couldn't have achieved it without you." He hated that he cut her off, but she didn't look bothered.
"Theo, you sound a bit shaky? Did it take a lot out of you?" She pondered.
Here goes nothing. "That's because there's something else I need to say."
He couldn't help but notice that her eyes lit up. "Oh, really?"
"Yes." He cleared his throat, "Amelia Potter, you have, truth be told, entranced me ever since the start of fifth year. I cannot stop thinking about you nor looking out for you. I'm sure you've, erm, noticed me staring, and there's a reason for that. You… I don't know how to word this.. You have really blossomed into a simply stunning girl this year. I'm not saying that you weren't pretty before - you were - it's just that.. You've grown, and you no longer look like a child. It's not just your looks that I love, but your personality too. Starting up the DA with your brother - that must've been nerve wracking, especially with some Slytherin's joining, but you showed courage and didn't assume that somebody was evil because of their house or family. All the friends you've made - all of the friends everybody has made, have all been down to you partly."
He paused to take in her initial reaction. She looked stunned, but she was also very touched. He continued. "Can I hold your hand?" he asked, and she nodded right away. Holding her hand for the first time felt magical. Her skin was so smooth, and her fingers so slender. They moulded with his hand perfectly. "You are brave, funny, smart, kind… You are everything I want in a girl. Everyone loves you. I've seen younger students look at you in pure awe as you walk the corridors. Your friends adore you. When I see you walk into the Great Hall every morning, I cannot believe that you are real." He concluded.
Amelia's heart was pounding. She wondered if he could also feel her pulse as he held her hand. He raised his other hand, and delicately ran it through her slightly wavy hair. "These locks of yours.. I've always wanted to run my hands through them." He said quietly. She giggled, and smiled down at the ground. "Theo.." Was all she could say. Even though she had an inkling he liked her, she didn't realise he liked her this much.
"Amelia Lily Potter, will you make me the happiest boy in the world and… be my girlfriend?" Theodore Nott asked her, his voice so gentle, as if he was scared.
She felt happy tears come to her eyes. She burst out into a smile. "Yes!" She answered breathily. "Yes! A thousand times yes!"
He spun her around for a hug. They even let out a few squeals. In a moment of tenderness, Theo leaned in and kissed her cheek. His lips were so soft on her skin.
"Do you.. Want to kiss me?" She whispered to him.
He lit up. "Only if you're willing, my love."
She giggled, and then realised that this would be the first ever time she would be kissing a boy on the lips. Oh gosh, what if I'm really bad? She suddenly fretted.
All those worries went away though, when her eyes closed in pure bliss as he attached his lips to hers. It was as if she knew what to do - but in reality she just did what she felt was natural. It was such a sweet kiss she didn't want it to end.
Amelia had a feeling that Theodore Nott would now have two happy memories to go on for his Patronus to work.
Theo didn't even remember making his way back to the Slytherin common room as he bid farewell to his girlfriend. It felt like he was floating - or as the muggles said, on cloud nine. He was still a bit dazed. As he got to the door, he noticed Professor Snape coming around the corner. "Mr Nott." The man said in gruff greeting.
"Hello, Professor." He said, in a voice a few octaves higher than normal.
"You're far too happy, Theodore." The man commented in his usual monotone voice, and looked at him suspiciously.
"Oh, well, I've just got myself a girlfriend, sir." Theo blurted out. Oh gosh, I shouldn't have done that, he thought suddenly, please don't ask who I'm dating….
"Wonderful." Snape said, but his facial reaction screamed it was anything but that. With that, the Potions master went back into the Potion ingredients storage room without another word.
Phew, thank god for that. He spoke the password for the common room, as stepped inside.
As soon as he stepped into the dorm, he was hounded by Blaise. "So, how was your hour with Miss Potter?"
"Blaise, mate, I asked her out."
Blaise Zabini's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Jesus, mate, I didn't know you had it in you, what did she say then?"
"She said yes!" He chirped.
Blaise all but hooted, and did a few celebrations. "Did you actually learn the Patronus Charm, then, or did you just snog her for the hour?"
"Oh, mate, I did manage to get it this time!" Theo replied, "It took the form of an albatross bird."
"Nice," Blaise high-fived him. "I read something about them once - they tend to have one partner for life."
Theo realised what he was getting at. "So does that mean me and Amelia are going to be together until we die?"
"Barring any hiccups, yeah, most likely. Patronus's have that symbolic meaning, that's why they differ to every person - everyone has different qualities that they might share with a particular animal." Blaise said.
"Alright, mate, that's enough academia for one day. You sound like Hermione." Theo chuckled.
Blaise barked laughter. "And that's not necessarily a bad thing. We should tell Barnaby, wherever he is."
"He said he was finishing off an essay for his Care of Magical Creatures class," Theo said, "but knowing him, he's probably been distracted by something else."
Barnaby was, in fact, revising with Diego Caplan in the Great Hall. When they pulled him aside to tell him, his mouth hung open for about two minutes - probably not even thinking that Theo had it in him to ask a pretty girl out. The three boys had to talk a lot quieter when Professor Black walked past them. Theo then realised; at some point, he and Amelia would have to announce that they're dating, and that included telling not only Harry, Ron and Dorea, but Sirius Black as well. He had no clue how he in particular would react; for he knew he was very protective over both his daughter and godchildren. He figured that he and Amelia could probably do exactly what Dorea and Fred had to do; date in secret.
When Amelia got back to the common room, she didn't realise she was still smiling from her hour with Theo - who, miraculously, was now her bloody boyfriend. She still felt extremely giddy and excited, for her cheeks were sore from smiling and giggling.
"Did you and Theo do it, then?" Harry asked from the couch, pulling her out of her thoughts.
Amelia was confused, and did a double take. "Pardon?"
Harry looked at her oddly. "Did you help Theo master the Patronus?"
"Oh.. Oh, yeah! He did it eventually. His took the form of an albatross bird." She replied, flushing a bit.
"That's great!" Harry smiled.
"It's good he finally got it buckled down," Ron said, happy for Theo, "it was weighing him down - being a bit behind everyone."
Amelia nodded emphatically, and she noticed that Dorea and Hermione were giving her funny looks and smirking. Even Parvati and Lavender were looking at her with an expression of knowing. She gestured to them to follow her to the dorm. Ginny got up and joined them too.
"Amelia Potter," Lavender started,
"You and Theodore Nott are practically made for each other!" Parvati continued.
"If you can't see that he fancies you like mad, you're as blind as a bat." Came from Hermione.
"I've seen you two looking at each other, more than once," Dorea said, grinning, "you're catching feelings."
"You two would be adorable together, Amelia, adorable!" Ginny said brightly, the girls nodding.
Amelia tried so hard not to burst out smiling. Evening her tone out, she said, "I don't know what you're talking about - we're dating."
The girls' faces were priceless. Almost all at once, they let out shrieks and excited noises and started jumping around, asking about a million different questions of exactly how he asked her out. When she told them, they were clutching their chests and pouting, saying how cute Theo had been in everything he did and said. They vowed to keep it a secret and not to mention it around anyone else (in particular: the boys, and Sirius).
The next week seemed to pass quite slowly, and the professors were starting to hit the brakes slightly in terms of teaching. They didn't really go over anything new in their classes (apart from Defence, where Remus was really working them hard), and instead the teachers treated the second-to-last week of term as a revision week. Professor Snape had them brew a Draught of Peace again, and was riddled with anger as usual as Harry, Amelia and Dorea successfully brewed it almost to perfection. Dorea was pleased to see that Neville was gradually getting better; as he managed to score an A, probably his first passing grade in the class. In Ancient Runes, Professor Babbling had them do a quiz; each table was a team, and she gave them scripts to translate each period, and awarded house points to the winning table. Some days she mixed up the teams - especially for the harder scripts to really get them to work together, but it was great fun nonetheless. Fred and George, despite their busy schedule as NEWT students, were still managing to bring out new joke products almost weekly - they started selling Headless Hats, which were freaky at first but very funny. Fred told her they were in the middle of creating a type of bomb; which she was a bit concerned about, but it wasn't an explosive one - when the person threw it on the ground, a swamp would appear, trapping your opponent and causing them distress and distraction. Dorea thought it would be great in a fight with someone; you could easily trap them and send them reeling.
Eventually, Harry was also given his Firebolt back (Umbridge had it locked away for safe-keeping), which was brilliant, as he and Ron started going out to the pitch every morning to improve Ron's Keeper skills - despite there not being Quidditch games until after the holidays. Dorea could tell her god brother was a lot happier now that he had his broom back.
To the delight of everyone, the final week of term rolled around, and it was soon enough the last Hogsmeade weekend before the holidays. Dorea only had a few more people to buy for - mainly Ginny, Daphne and Susan, before her Christmas shopping was done and dusted. Dorea also decided to spend some time with Fred in the quaint little village. Once Filch signed them out, they made their way down the path to the village, seeing some of their friends on the way.
After briefly shopping for their friends, they decided to go to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Upon entering, they froze a bit when they realised that, sitting at the bar having a drink, was Mundungus Fletcher.
"What do we do?" Dorea whispered to Fred frantically. "If he sees us together, you can bet all your money that he'll mention it to the Order, and they'll put two and two together…"
"You go find a table, I'll order us drinks. Is it butterbeer you're wanting?" Fred asked. Dorea nodded and managed to tiptoe to the back of the room whilst Mundungus had his back turned and found a booth for them. Fred got served within a few minutes, though she shook her head and mouthed "No!" at him when he patted Mundungus on the shoulder and said hello to him. The two of them were talking for what seemed like ages, but eventually Fred came over; though Dorea had to do a mad dive under the table when Dung got up and started following Fred to the table, thinking he was sitting alone. Fred did manage to convince him that Lee and George were arriving soon though, and underneath the tablecloth she saw Dung's legs waddle back in the direction of the bar. She deemed it safe to resurface. "Why did you do that?" She gritted at him. "If he seen us together it would have been disastrous!"
"He's not nearly as drunk as I expected him to be," Fred admitted sheepishly as he placed the drinks down. "He wouldn't leave me alone! So sorry. Anyway, how have you been coping?"
"I know OWLs are important, but oh my word, we're all swamped with work." Dorea replied. Fred chuckled. "Wait until next year when you start doing NEWTs, my dear, they're ten times worse."
"You and George only do three each," Dorea chuckled, "me however, I plan to take the same subjects I'm doing now next year."
"What, even Muggle Studies?" Fred laughed as he took a sip of his drink. "It's an easy OWL, so it's probably a ridiculously easy NEWT too. What can they even ask you at NEWT level - "Explain why Muggle's hang their washing outside to dry"?"
Dorea chuckled. "Easy for you to say - you didn't even know what a lawn mower was until last year."
"Don't even get me started on leaf blowers, my dad will probably burst through the door." Fred laughed. Constantly keeping an eye on Mundungus in case he turned around, they carried on their conversation before ordering lunch. More students started filtering in, ladened with paper bags.
That evening for dinner, Dorea sat with all her girl friends at Slytherin table, and it was there they exchanged wrapped presents for each other, since break was starting in just under 48 hours. Dorea received gifts from Amelia and Hermione (obviously), Ginny, Hannah, Susan and Megan. Some of the girls had collaborated on presents - Padma and Parvati had given her something labelled from both of them, Daphne and Astoria likewise. Looking over at the boys, they seemed to be doing the same; Harry had to shrink all the presents so they fitted in his bag he had received that many.
Dorea got the fright of her life when, at midnight, she was woken up by the sound of a large screaming sound seemingly coming from elsewhere. She bolted upright in bed, and could hear the other girls stirring too.
"What on earth is that noise?" Lavender said, going towards the door.
"It sounds like one of the boys." Parvati added, yawning.
It seemed that the screaming sound had woken all of Gryffindor Tower - for people were standing either on the staircase or the landing in their pyjamas, not quite knowing exactly where the sound was emerging from.
The scream seemed to die down, and with that some quiet resumed. The girls got a huge fright though, for Professor McGonagall flew the door open and came striding in, dressed in her dressing gown. "Miss Potter, Miss Black, come with me please."
Dorea and Amelia looked to one another. "What's going on?"
"Come! I will explain everything on the way to Dumbledore's office." Their Transfiguration teacher said with a matter of urgency. Glancing back at Hermione, Lav and Parvati, they followed their teacher out of the dorm.
"Well, Professor, what's going on?" She asked.
"Your brother has had what he insists was a vision, happening right now, of Arthur Weasley being hurt during the course of his work for the Order." McGonagall said in a hushed tone.
They gasped. Dorea's heart fell through the floor. Mr Weasley, hurt?!
"Who on earth would want to hurt Mr Weasley?" Amelia said, sounding frightened. It sounded very serious, whatever had happened.
They all but bundled into the Headmaster's office, and already there were all the Weasley children, Harry, and a worried looking Sirius. There was an air of tension in the room.
Dorea eyed Fred, and her boyfriend looked both angry and terrified.
"Will somebody please give us some clarification?" George said tersely, "Is our dad seriously hurt?"
"If what Harry says is true, your father has been attacked by a snake inside a room at the Ministry, and is possibly very seriously injured with its venom. I can assure you that St Mungo's will be there as quickly as they can-"
"-A snake?" Ron spoke up teetering, interrupting Dumbledore. Ron's face was so pale it was a total contrast to his maroon and white pyjamas.
"Alright, how's a bloody snake gotten into the Ministry?!" Fred voiced, irated. Some of the magical portraits on the wall were going mad, gossiping.
What looked to be an empty portrait beside Dumbledore's head soon had a person reappear in it. They looked worn out. "Did as you asked, Professor," the person said, panting, "I showed the Healer's where the man was. Looked god awful.. Covered in blood.."
"Covered in blood?" Ginny shrieked, sounding very scared for once.
Dumbledore turned to Sirius, who had been silent all this time and comforting the Weasley kids. "Sirius, I feel that we should send them home a few days early."
"Agreed." her father nodded.
"But where shall they go - Grimmauld Place or Black Manor?" The Headmaster asked.
"As much as I hate to say it; Grimmauld Place. It's of far more convenient access to St Mungo's - only a handful of streets walking distance." Sirius said.
"That settles it then." Dumbledore was about to say more, but a flash came from the fireplace. "That is Fawkes' warning. Some of Fudge's old cronies have been alerted and are starting to arrive at the Ministry. I have sent Elphias to deal with them, so they don't start asking questions. Have you all used a Portkey before?" At their nodding, he placed a giant rusted iron key on the table. "This will transport you back to Number 12. Your luggage will arrive by tomorrow, including your pets. I'll tell all your friends you had to leave on grounds of family business. Off you go now. I'll have Phineas Nigellus go between the portraits to deliver any news."
After the count of three, the Portkey was activated, and they found themselves being whizzed around before soon landing in the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, where Dorea hadn't been since before school started.
A/N: THEO AND AMELIA ARE DATING and OMG I LOVE THEM.
I know you're all probably thinking, "How is Theo going to spend Christmas with Harry, Dorea, Amelia and Sirius if they leave early without him?" but don't worry, he'll soon join them, especially when he recieves news regarding his mum and dad...