"You are dating my sister," Harry repeated slowly, as if he didn't believe it; he wasn't sure if he wanted to or not.

"Yes." Theo straightened up and looked him in the eyes. "Look, I know it looks like we went behind your back, mate, but it's not like that."

He suppressed his anger. If their reason for not telling him was genuine enough, he would allow it. "Okay."

"We only actually started dating about a week before Christmas holidays - I asked her out when me and her went to the Room of Requirement to get my Patronus charm mastered. It was there that I, em, told her how I felt. She feels the same. We've kind of been taking it slow ever since." Theo explained, Blaise leaning against the wall of one of the cubicles, also listening.

Harry stared at his friend - who was, in fact, his twin sister's boyfriend. All sorts of thoughts were going through his head; at first, he wanted nothing but to throttle Theo, but now he wasn't so sure. He could understand why they'd been hesitant, but there was no need at all for them to be so secret about it around him. He wasn't a psychopathic type of protective at all; quite frankly, he knew that Amelia could take care of herself, so he wasn't worried about her in that regard, but he didn't quite know if Theo's 'love' was actually love; who knows, it could just be a short-term infatuation, and what if the boy broke up with Amelia the second that pining was over? It would definitely make his twin so upset she would need to be consoled for at least a week.

"Er, right," Harry spoke at last, "this is a bit awkward. You're a good friend, Theo, and I'd like it to stay that way very much. I personally have no qualms at all that you're dating Amelia - for I can tell you're both well suited… Gosh, I sound like a dad so much… just, erm, don't hurt her feelings, ever."

"Trust me, he knows not to ever disrespect her." Blaise snickered.

Harry let out a smile. "What did she say?"

"She'd curse me with Densaugeo for over a week if I ever hurt her in any way shape or form." Theo admitted, blushing a deep crimson. All three of them found themselves laughing at that point, despite the tenseness of barely five minutes ago.

Amelia found herself almost falling asleep by the fire in the common room. Her, Dorea and Hermione were still up, doing Ancient Runes homework due for Monday. They had done battle with it for almost two hours now and were almost done it, but the last section was driving them near mad.

She wondered what was taking Harry so long; he had been gone almost ten minutes now. Though she thought it was unlikely that he was in mortal peril, she still couldn't help but wonder what was keeping him.

The common room door swung open, and Harry entered, thankfully unharmed. He practically skipped right over to them and plopped back down where he had been sitting with them before he left. Harry spoke up all of a sudden. "I know you're dating Theodore Nott, Amelia."

She almost froze in shock, and she could feel Dorea and Hermione's eyes on her. She was just thankful there was nobody else in the dimly lit room except them. "Harry, I…" She found she just couldn't get the words out. Was her brother angry? Was he just seconds away from screaming at her?

Harry, on the contrary, burst out laughing. She simply just stared, both at him and between her best friends. "You're scaring me." She said.

"I'm not mad," Harry said, stifling another laugh, "not at all."

Breathing a massive sigh of relief, she was glad for that at least. "Wait, how did you find out?"

"From Theo himself, though I did eventually work out why you two are so close." Her brother replied, and started chuckling again, "he told me what you told him you would do if he ever hurt you."

Amelia tried to rack her brain, thinking. She almost couldn't remember her own threat… but then it came to her; she had told Theo before Christmas that she'd elongate his teeth for a week if she was ever treated badly. She blushed, and smirked. "Oh, yeah, that one."

Once they finished their work, they finally got ready to head up to their dormitories and go to bed. They said farewell to Harry as he went up the boys stairs, whereas they went up the girls.

They tiptoed into their dorm, which was dimly lit as Parvati and Lavender were obviously asleep. As they got ready for bed, Hermione quietly asked her. "Are you going to tell Ron that you're dating Theo?"

She had a think. "Harry will probably tell him in the morning, but I will if he doesn't?"

"And my dad?" Dorea asked knowingly.

Amelia shook her head fiercely as a response. "He will go mental, Dorea - berzerk. He might even curse Theo in the corridors or something."

"He can't be that protective, can he?" Hermione giggled.

"Trust me, he is." Amelia and Dorea answered at the same time. With that, their candles were blown out, and soon enough the curtains were around their individual beds. Amelia fell asleep within the hour.

The first week of term was concluded before anyone could really blink. That Sunday was spent slightly more relaxed, as none of the teachers really assigned work to do over the weekend. Amelia spent time alternating between her groups of friends and boyfriend. That Sunday, there was a Friendly Quidditch match happening between the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and Hufflepuff's Reserve's - clearly, Hufflepuff were really wanting to get fit before they faced Slytherin on the 17th of February, so Amelia and Theo went to the stands on Sunday at midday to watch the match.

She cheered on Megan and Wayne enthusiastically, as they were the Beater's on the official team. She sent Zacharias some encouragement too - though a tad reluctantly, as even though Zach was a DA member, not very many people actually seemed to like him. As Theo was into Quidditch as well (he was thinking of trying out for the Slytherin team next year, as Montague and Warrington were graduating in June, leaving their positions open for next season), they chatted amongst themselves about the Hufflepuff team and its players.

"Summerby is very broad and strong for a Seeker," she remarked as the burly bloke whizzed past them.

"Yeah, it's no wonder he barely manages to catch the Snitch," Theo uttered.

Amelia barked laughter. "Theo!"

"What? It's true, he's not managed to catch the Snitch once this year, he's always been beaten to it. That's why Hufflepuff are joint last with Ravenclaw in the Quidditch Cup." He countered, smiling.

She decided to joke around. "Aww, is someone jealous that I called some random boy strong and broad?" Amelia said in a mock childish voice.

Theo raised a brow at her. "No, of course not."

She couldn't tell if he was serious or not. "Theodore Nott, are you actually jealous?"

He blushed despite himself. "N-no-"

"-You are!" She almost squealed, and laughed. He insisted he wasn't, and they went back and forth like this for about a minute. They were ultimately distracted when they heard shouting coming from the pitch - Zacharias was furious with the Keeper, for the Reserve's had just scored another goal. They were bickering and shouting at each other so much that members of both teams had to come between them to stop a midair brawl. Madam Hooch gave each player a foul and warned them that they were bound to be sent off if this had been a real game.

"Megan did say that Zacharias and the Keeper hate each other," she pondered out loud.

"I know about it," Theo said, and Amelia urged him to say more. He did, "Bletchley said to us one day that Smith and the Keeper are cousins, but their parents don't get on with each other for some unknown reason. It's really strange and mysterious."

She had expected a more darker reason than that, but nodded nonetheless. "Christmas couldn't have been fun, assuming their family all spent it together." She remarked.

Theo laughed. "Yeah, it was probably miserable for them, just like any other day with my father around."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Have you heard anything regarding your father? Is he out of hospital yet?"

He pouted and shook his head. "I don't really care to know. I'd be far happier if my uncle sent me a letter; maybe a Hogsmeade weekend he could come and visit? I just really want to see him again."

"I know how you feel," Amelia replied, thinking back to the end of third year and all of fourth year, where her, Harry and Dorea had barely seen Sirius and how much they craved even moments with him. She reckoned Theo was definitely feeling the same with his uncle, who was called Proteus.

Out on the pitch, the Hufflepuff Official Team was gaining ground fast. Megan had pulled off quite a spectacular move - the Seeker had previously been getting chased by a Bludger, and Megan, who wouldn't be able to get over in time to beat it away, threw her Beater's bat to the Seeker, who caught it and used it to beat the Bludger away. Though the match was a Friendly, it was far from that; it was getting brutal. Cadwallader, the Captain and one of the Chasers, was constantly bellowing orders that even the people in the stands could hear. Amelia reckoned she'd prefer a mouthful from Angelina than Cadwallader any day of the week, and that was saying something - for Angelina could get scary when she wanted to.

The Official team beat the Reserve's in the end, but only just. Summerby had managed to catch the Snitch ("He's only gone and finally done his job!" Theo had said in mock amazement), and the Reserve Seeker looked gutted. The Friendly match ended just as grey clouds rolled in over the Forbidden Forest, meaning that rain was probably on the way soon.

They jogged back into the safe haven of the castle just before a deluge of rain arrived, chuckling to themselves. They both decided to go to the library, as Theo had a Transfiguration essay to finish off but he needed help with it. They found a desk near a window and got to work - though they did get distracted multiple times. Daphne, Tracey, Astoria and Ginny sat at a desk near them, though they kept jokingly clutching their chests and saying 'aww' whenever Amelia and Theo even looked at one another, which was quite funny. Madam Pince soon came over and told them to be quiet, though, which they had to be in the end else they risked getting kicked out of the library. Once they had done that, they both ventured to the Room of Requirement - for Amelia wanted to get more practise in with wandless magic, whilst Theo just fancied some reading. Harry had shown her and Dorea the time delay feature, which was pretty cool to learn about as it meant they could slow down time and get things done. She only slowed time down for one hour, though, as she didn't want their body clocks getting interfered with too much.

On Monday evening, the common room was quite hectic with the seventh years, as tomorrow marked the start of a two-week long mock exam period, where all seventh years sat tests made by their teachers which mimicked exactly what a NEWT exam was like. The first subject up was Charms tomorrow morning, where they would sit a question paper, and then in the afternoon they had a practical. Angelina and Alicia looked particularly stressed as they wanted to get good marks, even though their results for their mocks didn't really add anything to their actual grade at the end of the year. Some seventh years, such as Fred, George and Lee, looked a bit more laid back; Harry couldn't tell if it was because they didn't really care or were just not as bothered. It seemed that every Gryffindor in the common room, from first to sixth years, were walking on eggshells around them, as they revised every single Charm there was and the theory behind it. Nobody seemed to envy the seventh years at all, and rightly so. When the Junior DA members had just returned from a good session with Harry (where they had started covering duelling as well), Angelina barked at them to be quiet the second the portrait hole was swung open.

Tuesday was a slightly different affair, as it was now mere hours away that Harry was to be alone with Professor Snape, learning Occlumency. He simply hadn't had the chance to read up on it at all, so he was going into it blind and likely going to make a fool of himself. Since Snape barely even taught in his regular Potions class, and just expected everyone to know what they were doing the minute they stepped into his class, the man was likely to just expect Harry to know everything already; which annoyed him to another level, as the man said himself it was an obscure branch of magic that not many can master.

Professor Flitwick was slightly late to Double Charms first thing, as he was giving the NEWT students some last minute words of encouragement before they went in to sit their mock Charm's paper. Harry internally wished them all good luck and hoped nobody lost their cool too much. They finished off perfecting their Growth Charm's and moved on to cover the theory of the Eradication Spell. Double Transfiguration went by almost too quickly for his liking, as it was soon lunch, which only meant that his looming Occlumency lesson was getting ever closer. Thankfully, Care of Magical Creatures went by a bit slower, but time only seemed to go faster when they were in the greenhouse for double Herbology; as before he knew it, the bell rang to signal the end of the seventh period. Harry trudged his way back up to the castle with his friends and surrendered himself to his impending doom that was sure to meet him when he was alone with Snape for god knows how long.

He ate dinner slowly, as if that would get time to pass slower. However, time just kept trickling towards six o'clock. He begrudgingly said goodbye to his friends at five minutes to six, and got up from the table feeling wholly dreadful. Looking up at the staff table as Hermione reminded him how important these lessons would be for him, Remus and Sirius were looking at him too, and were probably urging him to get going, so as not to be late. Snape was not at the table, though Harry didn't notice him leaving at all.

Walking by himself to the dungeons, he had no clue what to expect. He knew Occlumency was to do with the mind, but what exactly did it entail? How on earth was he to protect it from 'external penetration', as Snape had called it? He couldn't even control his nightmares most days, so how was he going to stop people like Snape or Voldemort from accessing his mind?

He knocked twice on the door to Snape's office before entering.

"Close the door behind you, Potter." Snape said when he immediately stepped inside. He did so, and awkwardly made his way over to where his Potions teacher was standing. "I'm sure you haven't forgotten just why you are here," the man continued, "Dumbledore has asked me to teach you the study of Occlumency. I can only hope you master it quicker than you have Potions."

"Okay," was all Harry said to that.

"This may be something of an extracurricular class, Potter, but I am still your teacher and I expect you to still call me 'sir' or 'Professor' at all times." Snape said, his eyes narrowing as he leered at him.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied to be sure.

"Now, Occlumency. As I explained back in your mutt of a godfather's forsaken house, this branch of magic is designed to seal your mind against unknown attackers, who may wish to exploit your memories or your present state for their own gain." Snape said, and it was then that Harry noticed Dumbledore's Pensieve, which he had peered into last year.

"And why is it, sir, that I have to learn this and yet my twin sister does not?" He tried to ask in a neutral tone.

Snape stared at him for a few moments with contempt, as if he had sheer audacity to ask a question during this strange session. "Your twin sister has never experienced her mind being penetrated by dark forces, Potter, so therefore she is exempt from attending these sessions for now-"

"-For now?" Harry cut in incredulously,

"-despite being related directly to you." Snape spoke over him slowly. "However, it does seem likely that the Dark Lord will attempt to possibly try at a later date. She may join us in these sessions if that is the case."

"And Dorea?" He dared to ask, and then added a "sir" quickly for good measure.

Snape snarled at him. "Are you that desperate not to be alone with me for an hour a week, Potter? What's next, you'll want Granger and the Weasley's to also come along to these sessions, and those other friends that yap at your heels twenty four seven?"

"If it keeps them safe, then yes." Harry was defiant.

Snape's eyes went dark as he suddenly stormed closer to him, and was now within feet of his face. "Tough luck, Potter, I do not have time to be teaching the whole school this art, much less you. I am only doing so at the command of the Headmaster. You are taking up enough of my time as it is this evening, so I would prefer it if you stopped talking and we got started." The man snarled venomously.

The two of them glared at one another as Snape finally went to move around the other side of the desk. The man pulled out his wand from his robes, and Harry tensed considerably, not knowing what was going to happen. Harry pulled his wand out too, but was virtually clueless as to what he was going to be doing with it.

"Stand up, Potter."

Harry slowly got out of the chair he was sitting in, feeling all of a sudden vulnerable. They faced one another with only a desk between them.

"You can use your wand to try and disarm me or defend yourself in any way you see fit," Snape explained.

"And what are you going to do?" Harry asked nervously.

"I am going to break into your mind," Snape said, taking position, "we are going to see how you resist. I have been told that last year, you had successfully resisted the Imperius Curse when your classmates did not. You will soon discover that similar powers are needed for this. Brace yourself, now."

After what felt like only a picosecond, Snape thrust his wand forward and said, "Legilimens!"

Harry wasn't prepared in the slightest, so therefore Snape met no resistance. The office disappeared before him, and instead memory after memory was flying before him like paper being flicked quickly.

One second he was about five, watching Dudley receive mountains of birthday presents whilst he and Amelia watched from the side, bubbling with jealousy. Now he was nine, being chased by Ripper the bulldog up a tree whilst the Dursley's and Aunt Marge laughed from below and Amelia cried, Now he was sitting under the Sorting Hat…. Hermione was now petrified in the Hospital Wing… he was now meeting Sirius for the first time, in the Shack… now he was watching Dorea meet Sirius in a different scene, and feeling warm at a father finally meeting his daughter… he was now banishing the Dementor's… Cho Chang was about to kiss him under the mistletoe…

No, Harry's inner conscience seemed to be screaming, you're not getting to see that, you're not watching that, that's private…

He was suddenly yanked back into reality, as the memories had disappeared and he was back in the present - though he was greeted with the cold hard floor. He must've fell under the pressure. Snape was looking apprehensive. "Did you mean to hit me with a Stinging Jinx?"

"No." Harry replied earnestly.

"No, sir," Snape reminded him, "You completely lost control, though you did eventually manage to stop me from seeing more. You wasted time and energy by shouting, though. You have to remain focused."

Harry nodded, though he didn't remember how he sent out the Stinging Jinx. Already he was quite breathless and starting to get hot. "I'm trying to, but you're not telling me how!"

"Manners, Potter," Snape snapped dangerously, "now close your eyes."

Harry shot the man a filthy look before doing what he was told. He could hear Snape walking in a circle around him. "Close your mind, Potter, let go of all emotion…"

Harry's frustration was here to stay, though. The man wasn't even telling him of a method as to how to lose emotion, or better yet stop him from getting into his head. Letting go of his emotions would be akin to asking Dumbledore to give up his powers.

"One.. two.. Three… Legilimens!"

All at once, Harry saw the Hungarian Horntail from last year, roaring before him, beating its huge wings… he then saw his father and mother waving affectionately from the Mirror of Erised… But now he felt like he stumbled, and when he got up, he was leaning on top of Cedric's body, but the boy's eyes were lifeless, staring at nothing…

"NOOOOO!"

He found himself indeed, on the floor again. The back of his head was hurting as if someone had tried to surgically remove it from his head but had botched it.

"Get up!" Snape commanded harshly, "Get up! You are really not making an effort. You are just about giving me unlimited access to things that make you feel vulnerable!"

"I'm trying!" Harry insisted, though it fell on death ears.

"You are not ridding yourself of emotion!"

"Yeah? Well, that's quite tough just now." He snapped back.

"Then the Dark Lord will find easy pickings!" Snape sounded savagely. "Weak people have no chance against his almighty power! He will get into your mind with absurd ease, Potter, and manipulate it!"

"Well, it's quite hard to do if I do not know a method or something to prevent it quicker!" He countered angrily, clutching his scar.

"The only method you need to know, Potter, is how to empty your mind," Snape bit back, rounding on him. "Which you are already incompetent at."

"It's only my second try at this, sir!" He protested, less harshly, "I'm not exactly going to master it in only my first session, am I?"

"Then prove you are not weak by mastering yourself! Control your anger, discipline your mind! Get ready now, we go again! Legilimens!"

He was now observing Uncle Vernon hammering bars to his window during the summer holidays before second year… hundreds of Dementors were now hovering around him in the Forest… he and Mr Weasley were now running through the crowds at the Ministry of Magic, trying to get to Courtroom Ten despite already being late… They were now running down that corridor… When Harry had a realisation.

He must've managed to get Snape out, or Snape stopped, as he was now back in the present and once again on the floor of Snape's office. He pushed himself up onto his feet again and faced his Potions teacher.

"What was that corridor, Potter?" Snape asked slowly.

Suddenly realising that Snape had seen it too, Harry tried to mask his emotion of triumph. That corridor, where the door was - beyond that door was the Department of Mysteries, and that was where Mr Weasley had been attacked by that snake of Voldemort's.

He cleared his face as best as he could and cleared his throat. "I don't really know, I just remember it from my Hearing in August."

Professor Snape eyed him with a close look. "I think it would be best if you… didn't think of it."

"Oh, really?" He asked nonchalantly. Maybe Snape was about to say something important regarding it…

"Yes, Potter. What is beyond that door does not concern you as a student of Hogwarts." The man paused, and Harry internally cheered when the man put his wand away. "I want you back here at the same time next Tuesday. We will continue work then."

"Right," Harry said, reminding himself to remember. He was desperate to get back to the common room to his friends.

"You are to rid your mind of all emotion every night before sleeping; empty it, make it a blank canvas and at ease, do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry nodded, shuffling towards the door.

"But be warned, Potter, I shall know if you haven't been practising that exercise."

Barely listening, Harry gladly opened the office door and made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. When he entered, he was immediately told to be quiet, as once again the seventh years were getting some night-before revision in. The seventh years had a mock exam for Transfiguration tomorrow. He wanted to ask them how their Charm's one went today, but figured he'd get his head bitten off if he even approached Angelina and co, so tiptoed over to his friends.

"Put a Silencing Charm up around us, will you?" Ron whispered as he sat down with them, "if they shush us one more time I think we might actually be yelled at…"

Harry did so, and tested its strength by speaking loudly. None of the seventh years even looked over at them, which meant they could now speak without having to be quiet.

"So, how was Occlumency?" Amelia asked.

"Terrible," he replied, "Snape didn't even teach me how to repel him from my mind at all, he just expected me to know how to do it. It was so annoying, he saw my good memories and the bad."

"But did you manage to eventually keep him out, though?" Hermione practically demanded.

"Yeah, on all of the occasions. Though it took a Stinging Jinx, me screaming, and me falling to the floor to eventually get him out. My head now feels sore, like it's been dragged through a hedge backwards."

"Well, that's a good thing, at least," Hermione said, putting her Arithmancy book down, "you've just gotta keep practising."

He chuckled a bit, unsmiling. "In order to get better at Occlumency, someone's got to be a Legilimens - to get into my head."

Hermione realised. "Oh, yeah, so you do. Well, surely Snape told you some things to do yourself?"

"I have to clear my mind of everything before sleep every night, wipe it clean of thought essentially." He explained. "There's something else…"

He told them about the last memory he'd seen during their session - the one regarding that corridor at the Ministry, and what that room must've been. Even Hermione looked impressed, rather than skeptical, at his reasoning.

"So, are you saying that the weapon You-Know-Who's after… is in the Ministry of Magic?" Dorea whispered.

"In the Department of Mysteries, it has to be," Harry replied, "and that door at the end of that corridor leads directly to it. That's where Mr Weasley was when he was attacked by the snake - the Department of Mysteries."

"Just what is in there though?" Amelia asked, before turning to Ron, "Has your dad ever talked about it? Or mentioned it?"

Ron wracked his brain into action. "He did say once that they call the people that work in that Department 'Unspeakables', which probably means that the work they do is top secret."

"That makes perfect sense for it to be there!" Hermione concluded, "The Unspeakables can't talk about anything anyway, so it's a perfect place to store it!"

Harry once again started losing concentration - he deduced he really didn't like Occlumency all that much. His head and scar were still both hurting like mad. He soon elected to retire to the dormitory, though Ron soon joined him. He reminded himself to clear his mind, though whenever he even thought of Occlumency, he thought of the dreaded Potions master and what he had said - calling Harry 'weak'. He was determined to prove him wrong, but he wasn't exactly progressing when he couldn't even fade his anger correctly.

The rest of January passed at an alarming rate, and soon enough it rolled into February. Both groups of the DA were getting really good at duelling the dummies, and Harry reckoned one more session and he'd be able to let them start duelling one another. He had covered duelling tactics with the Senior group too - ones he had learned from Sirius mostly, such as sending more than one spell out and using your surroundings to your advantage. He planned to also go over defensive and protective spells and how to use them whilst duelling. He was happy that everyone seemed glad to be working at their own pace and ability, and working to better themselves. Neville he was most impressed with - the boy seemed really determined to master the art of duelling, and often than not he was the most focused and ferocious when duelling his magical dummy; he was so fast at casting and seemed to have his own tricks up his sleeve that the dummy was usually losing within a minute of the duel.

Everyone was really progressing well at Defence Against the Dark Arts, too. Remus had his work cut out trying to catch everyone up, but they were already on track to be done by Easter. Their Defence essay's were quite hard work, as they were normally assigned to them on Monday's, and Remus expected them to be handed in by the Friday Defence period, which was quite hard to do, but they all helped each other out. Harry actually had no clue what grade he was averaging at in the class, but he was sure that he was doing fine ever since Umbridge got sacked.

On the morning of the fourteenth, Amelia woke up with butterflies in her stomach. Today, her and Theo were to spend their first Valentine's Day together in Hogsmeade. They decided they were just going to go to the Three Broomsticks and have a nice lunch, along with a few rounds of Butterbeer. She was looking forward to spending time with her boy again; after all, even though she saw him plenty in classes and the DA, they didn't really have time to spend with each other.

She got dressed into a simple sweatshirt and black jeans, and since it was still quite wintery out she wore her Gryffindor scarf and a cute bobble hat Penny had got her. Satisfied, she left the common room and walked down to the Entrance Hall, where hopefully Theo was already waiting for her.

Since it was midday, school was pretty deserted - students tended to go down straight after breakfast so they could go shopping, but neither of them were fussed in that regard, so they were leaving just before lunch. She wondered if Dean had managed to ask Seamus out… She really hoped he had. She knew that Dorea and Fred were spending the day together and had gone first thing.

Just before she came around the corner to go through to the Entrance Hall, she hung back momentarily when she overheard her boyfriend having a conversation with somebody.

"Theo, mate, you're going soft." Was the recognisable voice of Blaise Zabini.

"Flowers, Theo? You're going to the Three Broomsticks on a Valentine's date, not a fancy restaurant for your tenth wedding anniversary." Was the chuckled agreement of Barnaby Lee.

"Come on, guys! Is the incantation 'Orchideous' or 'Orchidea'? I can't remember!" Was Theo's response, sounding slightly worried.

Amelia couldn't help but grin. Theo was going to conjure her a bouquet of flowers? That was pretty sweet. She felt bad that she didn't really get him anything…. But then figured that she could just pay for their food and drinks - her money bag from Sirius was full to the brim.

That was another regard - Sirius and Remus. What if they came into the Three Broomsticks and saw them there together? Sirius would probably go mental, even if the establishment was full to the brim. Remus would be calmer, but still would feel confused or possibly protective. She decided there and then that she would keep a sharp eye out.

She decided to walk through, with Blaise and Barnaby seeing her first. They smiled at her, but they also nudged Theo, who just about whizzed around. He had managed to conjure up a bouquet after all. "Hey babe!" Theo greeted, awkwardly holding the flowers as she approached and they kissed on the cheek. "I, er, made you this." He handed her the flowers.

"Theo, this is adorable!" She nearly squealed, though she'd been expecting it. They looked at one another in mutual grins. "Thank you, dear," she said as she kissed his cheek again, which immediately went beet red, to the delight of Blaise and Barnaby.

"We'll leave you two to it," Barnaby said, smiling, as he and Blaise turned to leave.

"You take care of my boy, Amelia," Blaise said in mock intimidation as he tried to glare but failed, miserably, "He's fragile."

They burst out laughing, to the chagrin and annoyance of Filch and Mrs Norris. Filch told them off and gruffed at them to either stay or go. Within minutes they were signed out and off they went, Blaise and Barnaby walking on ahead as the two lovebirds took it a more leisurely stroll down to Hogsmeade village.

"I don't know if I said or not, but happy Valentine's Day, my darling." Theo said meaningfully.

"Thank you, dear, I'm glad we're finally going on a date!" She replied, grinning like a schoolgirl.

They talked about anything and everything - schoolwork, homework, teachers and personal lives. Mrs Nott had sent a note that morning to Theo, and he told her that apparently his mother had been to visit her sister and mother (Theo's aunt and grandmother) a few times. He'd been quite worried about her doing that, as Mr Nott had been discharged from hospital for a good few weeks now, and he could easily just turned up at his aunt's house and found Ophelia there. She hadn't stayed too long, though, only forty minutes or so before going back to Black Manor. Amelia had an idea that maybe Ophelia's mother and sister could have access to Black Manor via Floo, but reckoned she'd have to ask Sirius.

They arrived at the Three Broomsticks and found a comfy booth near the back, tucked almost out of view. Madam Rosemerta soon popped by to see them catered to, and they ordered drinks and their lunch.

Just as they finished eating, she noticed Theo looking over her shoulder and towards the front of the inn. He leaned in closer. "Why is Harry there with Hermione? I thought he was meeting Cho Chang."

"Cho?" Amelia asked in disbelief, almost snorting on her butterbeer. Her twin didn't mention he was going on a date with one of the schools most popular students at all.

"Yeah, did he not tell you?" Theo looked puzzled.

"It's news to me," Amelia shrugged as she turned in her seat to spy on her brother. "I feel like I should go over…"

"You can if you want," Theo said nonplussed, "so long as you don't leave me looking like a loner for too long."

She rolled her eyes and grinned, and the two of them gave each other a kiss on the lips for some reason. None of them complained though, and soon Amelia strode over to the table where Harry was sat at with Hermione and Luna.

"I thought you were supposedly on a date with Cho?" Amelia said as she sat down, giving her brother a slight fright.

"Oh, well… it was going good, but then I mentioned Cedric and it all fell apart." Harry said awkwardly. "She starts crying over the tiniest mention of him, and expects me to have talked to her about him, and how he died and that."

"The boy only died seven months ago, Harry," Amelia said, "it's not Cho's fault she's upset."

"Exactly!" Hermione piped up suddenly. "It seems people keep blaming her for being sad that Cedric is gone."

Harry harrumphed. "I didn't mean it like that, it's just a bit weird to be crying on a date and that."

"Where's Theodore, Amelia? I thought you were on a date with him too?" Luna asked dreamily.

Amelia gestured to the back of the inn. "He's over there, I just thought I'd pop by and ask why Harry was here, that's all."

They talked only a few minutes longer, and then Amelia got back to her table. Theo smiled brightly. "You've returned from war," he joked.

"Yeah right," she smiled as she sat back down, "Harry and Cho's date was going good according to him, but he mentioned Cedric and she started getting emotional."

Theo almost winced. "Rookie mistake."

She eyed him. "As if you know the in's and out's of dating, Theo. I'm your first girlfriend!"

He barked laughter. "I've picked up a few niches I overheard from Blaise and Draco over the years. I think I'm a dating expert."

They were just about to finish up and head back up to the castle when Theo seemed to freeze. Following his eyes, Amelia saw that Pansy, Millicent and their group of sixth and fourth year Slytherin girl friends had just sat down at one of the bigger tables.

"Pansy asked me on a date to Madam Puddifoot's before Christmas," he whispered to her.

Amelia felt a wave of jealousy. "How are we going to sneak past them?"

"Give me your hat or something, I'll wear it and give it back to you when we get outside." He suggested.

Amelia thought that the sight of Theo wearing a bobble hat would look very comical, but gave it to him anyway - neither of them wanted to make a scene in the middle of the Three Broomsticks if Pansy seen them together. Amelia got her Gryffindor scarf and tried to tie it around her head like a headscarf/hood sort of hybrid, and Theo brought the collar of his jacket around the lower half of his mouth to try and hide his face. Since they had already paid, they could leave without hindrance. They tried to leave as casually as possible, but still power walked to the front door.

They got out and breathed a sigh of relief. With that, Theo took her hat off his head and she unwinded her scarf.

They'd only managed to walk about ten feet from the front door of the Three Broomsticks when they heard a shrill voice call out, "Theo!"

They both froze, and gave each other a wide-eyed sideways glance. Theo looked around whilst Amelia stayed perfectly still. She realised her arm was still linked with his. "Oh… erm, hi Pansy."

"Who is that girl that you're with?" Pansy demanded. A few people were glancing over at them.

"None of your business," was Theo's response, and he urged them to keep on walking.

"Oi, wait!" Pansy shrieked.

Just as they started jogging, Amelia felt a tug on the back of her jacket, pulling her to an abrupt halt. She braced herself. Within a second, Pansy had spun her around and they were now face to face. Pansy Parkinson jumped back a bit, as if she couldn't believe it herself. Amelia had half-expected the girl to start screaming and going berserk, but the girl for now just held a look of disbelief.

"Amelia Potter," Pansy gritted at last, "you're dating Theo?"

"Yes," Amelia held her head up high, "I am."

Pansy still held a look of contempt, and her nostrils were flaring quite significantly. The girl kept glancing between Amelia and Theo. She looked moments away from screaming her head off. "You've been with her all this time, Theo?" The girl asked through gritted teeth.

"Erm, yeah." Was Theo's answer.

Pansy sighed heavily. "Good thing I didn't waste that voucher on you after all." was the girls last words to them as she stomped moodily back to the Three Broomsticks.

"What was that about? I thought she liked Draco." Amelia laughed slightly.

"Me too, but even that predicament seems to change daily. Next week it will be Crabbe, I bet, that she has the hots for." Theo responded.

With that, the two of them walked leisurely back up to Hogwarts, concluding a fab Valentine's Day spent together. Since nobody else was in their vicinity, they shared a few kisses on their way back up the path, gloved hands fitting in one anothers near perfectly.

When they got back into the Entrance Hall, Filch signed them back in begrudgingly and the two of them collectively decided to go to the Room of Requirement to work on duelling. On the way there, they got a shock when they came across Daphne Greengrass and Anthony Goldstein coming back from the library together. She mouthed some banter at Daphne, who flushed so hard her face was a total contrast to her pale hair.

"Who would have thought they'd be a couple, eh?" Theo voiced once they were out of that corridor.

"Surely you would have known? I thought you were friends with Anthony too," she asked.

"I am, but he kept that quiet. Seems he's got more balls than Neville, though."

She perked up at that. "What do you mean?"

Theo pursed his lips together, as if contemplating. "He has a crush on a certain Hufflepuff girl,"

"Theo! Tell me more!" She near shrieked, desperate to know.

"What will it take for me to tell you?" Her boyfriend smirked cheekily.

"A snog." She instantly said,

He perked up. "Ooh, I've been waiting for that one."

With that, they made sure the corridor was completely empty before upgrading their usual kisses to full-blown snogs. Perfect way to end their first Valentine's, after all.

They were only snogging for half a minute, though they were really getting into it. They'd long since forgotten to take into account that anyone could walk on to the corridor and see them snogging their faces off. That would prove very costly to them - as the only thing that brought their attention back down to earth was a voice amos bellowing, "Amelia! Theodore!"

Instantly detaching their lips from one another, they looked with sheer horror, as standing at the end of the corridor, gaping at them and red in the face, was none other than Remus and Sirius.

A/N: Uh-oh, I am so evil for ending it there. It's fair to say that Remus and Sirius are not going to be jumping for joy.

Also, the mock-exam thing that I have the seventh years doing is my own little invention - in my country we have the same thing in January where we sit mock or preliminary exams that are similar to the official ones we do at the end of the year to gage how well we might do.

And finally, even though I've written Pansy to be quite similar to canon, in later chapters I plan to write her more. I actually really like Pansy as a character lol and I might change her personality slightly; meaning she might not be a bully forever.