A/N: Random question: Who else would love it if I made an Amelia/Theodore song playlist on Spotify? I've seen it done with other ships, where you compile songs in a playlist that you think suit the couple and what not. I think it'd be pretty cute not gonna lie.
History of Magic that Monday morning couldn't have been more sleep-inducing if it tried. Binns had finally stopped talking about the Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637 after two weeks of droning on about it, and instead moved on to speak about the International Warlock Convention of 1289. Harry was determined to block out the ghost's voice as he scribbled down notes from his textbook about the topic, Amelia, Hermione and Dorea doing the same. Harry had long thought that Binn's classes could be used as a great method to cure insomnia. Professor Binns even fell asleep at the end of the first period, meaning that that class was sat confused for the first few minutes of the second period. "Has he actually fallen asleep?" Justin asked.
"Must've forgotten that this is a double period, not a singular one." Dean said.
"Gosh, what a pathetic excuse of a teacher." Zacharias Smith tutted. Harry thought that Zach sounded a bit too Malfoy-esque for his liking.
Only a chunk of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff class actually continued doing work, whilst the others treated it like a free period and just sat talking. Harry noted down the last page in the textbook regarding the topic of the Warlock Convention before gladly setting his quill down, his work for that period finished. He hadn't even noticed that Ron had fallen asleep next to him. He carefully turned in his chair to speak to the others. "What are you doing now?" He asked them, stifling a yawn.
"I'm actually going to go along to Babbling's class, see if she's free, and ask her a question regarding one of the translations in the homework." Hermione said.
"Hermione Granger skiving off a class? Well I never!" Dorea gasped and faked a look of shock. Amelia and Harry giggled.
"Well there's really no point in staying here, is there? I've taken notes regarding the topic, and even answered a few of the questions in the textbook, so I'm all done regarding History." Hermione reasoned.
"I see what you mean." Harry said. Hermione packed up and left a minute later.
"Mind swapping seats with Harry, Dorea? I've got something to tell him." Amelia said.
"Oh, sure." Dorea said, and Harry, though confused, swapped places with her so that he was now sitting in Dorea's seat.
"What's up?" Harry asked his twin.
"Adrian Pucey wants to join the DA." Amelia replied. "He came up to me this morning, and I said I'll have to ask you. He knows that he's really late in joining, but reckons he could be able to catch up."
He was surprised. Adrian Pucey was a pure-blood Slytherin, and a Chaser on his house's Quidditch team. Though the boy didn't seem to be a part of the group that Malfoy kept company with, he did seem to be pretty well acquainted with the boy. Now that he thought about it, Pucey seemed to be pretty quiet and reserved, yet at the same time he seemed quite opinionated. He'd ask either Blaise, Theo or Barnaby about him later. "Oh, that's certainly a bit of a decision for him to make."
Amelia agreed. "He came across as honest. Plus, he's in his sixth year, I think he already knows how to cast the spells you taught us all before Christmas, so he shouldn't really have any problems catching up. He's just got to learn how to cast his Patronus and how to duel."
He nodded at that logic. "Yeah, definitely. I wonder if it would be possible to meet him for a one-on-one session in a classroom or something and just get him to perform all the spells he learned, and then have him join the DA."
His twin looked at him. "That sounds like a plan. Though he said he can't be seen talking to you - Montague would kick him off the Slytherin team, so you'll have to find him when he's alone."
"I wonder what class he's in right now…" He pondered, trying to have a think. He knew that Cho Chang and Katie Bell were in Transfiguration right now, but would Adrian also be in that class? A thought came to him then. "You know what? I might go and see if I can find him."
"What, right now?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," he answered, "there's a chance he could have a free period."
"What if he's in a class?"
"I'll gesture to him." He said simply. Amelia looked very skeptical, but waved him on his way.
He left his bag in the class, since he knew he'd be back before the end of the double anyway, but took his wand. He started his hunt for Adrian Pucey in earnest; he figured he could start on the ground floor and work his way up. He wished he'd brought the Marauder's Map with him though, in case he ran into any teachers.
Peeking through the window of every door, he had no luck. He knew that Classroom 11 was virtually unused, so found it unlikely there would be a lesson held in there. He felt like he'd walked a marathon by the time he got over to the side where the Herbology greenhouses were, but when he peeked through all three he had no luck; there was only a second year class in there.
He had to be careful going about the first floor, for when he walked past the Defence classroom and peeked in, Remus had almost spotted him. He quickly walked away, but thankfully didn't hear the door open or his name being called. Harry glanced in the Muggle Studies classroom, even though he knew it extremely unlikely that a pureblood like Pucey would ever take the class. When he walked past, Professor Burbage was teaching a fourth year Slytherin and Ravenclaw class. He was sure he saw Astoria and Liz, but couldn't be too sure.
His search of the second floor was also unsuccessful, and he kept watching the time nervously. There was still thirty-five minutes of the period left to go, but he only had that amount of time to search the remaining five floors of the school. He had to get a move on.
He was making his way back up the Charms corridor when he chanced a peek into Flitwick's classroom - it looked like it was either a sixth or seventh year NEWT class, but he only spotted one Senior DA member in there - Angelina.
"Er, are you okay Potter?" He heard a female voice say from behind him.
He whizzed around, and saw Marietta Edgecombe and another Ravenclaw girl. They were eying him with a look of distaste. Though Marietta was a DA member, she didn't like Harry that much (especially after the Francis Selwyn incident) and only went along to appease Cho, probably. "Oh, sorry," he said, but as they went to move forward an idea sprang to his mind, "wait, before you go in, is there a boy called Adrian Pucey in your Charms class?"
The two girls looked to one another. Marietta answered. "Yes."
"Could you do me a favour? Could you whisper to him that I'd like a word with him right now?"
Marietta looked at him suspiciously. "Erm, okay, but why?"
"He'll know what I want to talk to him about, don't worry." He said.
"Uh, okay." Marietta said, and he moved aside so they could go back into the class. He waited for a minute or so before he heard the class go silent. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he heard Flitwick say, "Of course you can, Pucey, but don't be too long."
Harry straightened up as he saw the classroom door open, and Adrian Pucey shut it behind him. "Hello," Harry said a bit awkwardly.
Pucey moved over to where he was standing in the corridor. "Don't you have a class right now, Potter?" The boy looked amused.
"History of Magic, double period. Binns fell asleep at the start of the second period though, so we're all skiving off." He said.
"Fair enough," the boy said. "I'm guessing your sister told you then."
"She did," he replied, "and I think you'd be able to join the DA. I actually have a list of spells here that we've all covered up until now." He handed Adrian the list. "Can you do most of them already?"
Pucey scanned the parchment paper of spells they had learned so far. "I've done everything except the Patronus and duelling scenarios. My Protego isn't the best, but I can do it. My Hex-Deflection could do with a bit of work."
"Even so, we can work on that. I actually have a proposal so you can go about this." Harry said.
Pucey looked at him. "I'm listening."
"It would make most sense for you to come along to the sessions but whilst everyone else is doing their thing, you could have a little one-to-one with either me or Flitwick to catch you up. We can get the big things - such as the Patronus and Duelling skills, mastered for you first and then you can work on the little niggly problems. That way, you get the hard stuff under your belt quickly." He explained.
Pucey even smiled. "That sounds good! I didn't know Professor Flitwick attended the DA?"
"He's my referee of sorts, and is there to give more qualified advice." Harry responded.
Harry summoned the sign-up parchment and gave it to Pucey to sign. The parchment didn't reject him, so Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He had wondered if Pucey was a spy for someone like Draco, or even Voldemort.
Pucey really had to go back into class then, as Flitwick would likely wonder what was keeping him (Adrian had said that he was going to the toilet, only a floor down), so Harry said a slightly awkward farewell.
When he got back to History, Binns was still asleep - as were half the class. Ernie was frantically studying what looked to be a chart of Neptune. There was still fifteen minutes of class left. Carefully sitting back down, he thought there was no point in doing any revision, and he couldn't speak that loud else risk people waking up. When the bell rang for the morning interval, Harry was almost falling asleep himself.
Harry went out to the courtyard with Hermione, Amelia, Dorea and a freshly-woken Ron. Hermione was busy telling Ron off for sleeping during the class instead of doing something productive, like note-taking, and claimed how Ron was never going to pass his OWL in History of Magic. Harry just chuckled as he watched them bickering like an old married couple.
They had Potions after break, and Snape had told them last week they were going to be brewing either Everlasting Elixirs or an Erumpent Potion. They were almost done brewing every Potion covered at OWL level, as a matter of fact, and after Easter they would be focussing on theory of certain Potion ingredients and brewing everything again. Harry was prepared either way - both he, Amelia and Dorea had brewed all the fifth year Potions at Black Manor.
With five minutes of morning interval left, they were about to head to the dungeons when Daphne and Anthony approached them. "Anthony's just thought of the most brilliant idea, Harry!" Daphne claimed brightly.
Goldstein blushed. "Well, not really, it was just a thought."
"Go on then, tell us!" Ron ushered.
"Well, I was thinking… After Easter, there's only just over six or seven weeks until our OWL exams. I thought that, possibly, different study groups for each subject could be set up… by us?" Anthony explained.
The five of them were intrigued. "Do tell us more."
"Well, I was thinking… Say if there was a Herbology study group - we all know who would be likely to lead it."
"Neville, and maybe Hannah too," Hermione said instantly.
"Yeah," Anthony agreed, "they would chair that group, and together lead it. People could go to their sessions and ask for all sorts of help regarding Herbology - practical stuff, theory stuff, all that. They'd be the go-to people - if they agreed to lead that group, of course. Then with other subjects - I'd happily lead any, but my strong points are Ancient Runes, Transfiguration and Arithmancy, so either of them would be mine. I could lead either of those with someone like Sue or Lisa."
"I'm just thinking - Blaise would be ideal to lead a Potions group." Amelia said.
"Lisa and Tracey are good at Transfiguration," Dorea added.
"Lavender and Parvati can have Divination - though I doubt anyone would willingly want to study for it." Ron said, causing them to laugh a bit.
"I really like the idea of study groups," Harry said, "I already lead the DA, so Defence can be my group."
"I'd be happy to lead the Muggle Studies group, though it's very easy." Daphne said.
"Who's a good choice for Charms?" Anthony wondered.
"Dean or Padma, definitely." Hermione responded.
"Of course, if anyone else in our year wants to lead one they can. It would still work with multiple leaders. The sixth and seventh years could do the same thing but for their NEWTs." Anthony concluded.
"Definitely," Hermione nodded, "I think we should start planning study groups. We all felt how quickly January went; June will be here in no time at all. We need to start studying anyway, if we're to pass with high enough marks."
They had to get going then, for the bell rang to signal that the morning interval was over. Anthony went up the stairs to go to Defence whilst Daphne remained with them to head to Potions. The elder Greengrass sister linked arms with Hermione and Amelia and stuck close to Dorea as they shuffled amongst the crowd of students trying to get to their next classes.
That double period of Potions went pretty well in respect of the potion itself; Snape had said they were brewing the Erumpent Potion and left them to it, like usual. It was a particularly dangerous Potion, since it was explosive and pretty flammable once completed. Daphne was sitting at their table again, due to her falling out with Pansy and Millicent, and Tracey soon filtered over to be near them too.
Just as most of the class were in the latter stages of completing their Erumpent Potion, Snape started growling through gritted teeth and charged over to the Slytherin boy's desk, where an accident was clearly about to happen. Goyle's potion seemed to be the problem - even Draco had snapped, saying: "Goyle, you idiot!"
The boys Potion had started sprouting both odour and fumes. The bottom of the cauldron was also about to give out and melt. Blaise and Theo were very quickly out of their seats and standing far away from the disaster. It was clear that the botched Erumpent Potion was seconds away from exploding.
"CLASS DISMISSED!" Snape all but bellowed, wand out and trying to stem the potion's inevitable destruction. "Note down where you got up to, for I will pause all of your potions and we will continue them on Thursday. Now get out!"
The class scrambled to get all their stuff either into their bags or stacked in their arms. They left the classroom just before a slight bang sound was heard. Hermione hit Ron over the head with her textbook when he wished that the classroom would burn down and take Snape with it.
It was half an hour until lunch time, so the five of them collectively decided to just head to the Great Hall early. There were only a few groups of people in there already, mainly seventh years who had free periods. When they sat down at Gryffindor table, Blaise, Theo, Daphne and Tracey soon joined them.
"What on earth even happened?" Dorea asked.
"Goyle, like the stupid git that he is, added the Exploding Fluid three steps too soon." Theo answered quietly, as the boy in question was theoretically licking his wounds over at the Slytherin table with Draco and Crabbe.
"What an idiot," Tracey mumbled.
Daphne told her Slytherin friends all about what they'd discussed during morning break - the study groups. Blaise sounded very interested, and almost at once offered to lead the Potions group, just as they had guessed. Theo offered to lead it with him and said he could help with the theory side of things whilst Blaise could aid with the more practical side. Tracey said that either Astronomy or Care of Magical Creatures were her strong points and she wouldn't mind starting up either one.
When the bell did ring for lunch, everyone started filtering into the Hall. More of their DA fifth year friends came to sit with them at Gryffindor table, and they started telling them about the idea of the study groups too. Most of them seemed very enthusiastic about the idea, though there was a bit of a confusion regarding the group leaders. In order to make it fair, Dorea got a piece of parchment and wrote down everything, so it was crystal clear. It read, in the end:
"OWL STUDY GROUP LEADERS
Charms - Padma, Seamus
Transfiguration - Hermione, Sue,
Herbology - Neville, Wayne
Potions - Blaise, Theodore
Ancient Runes - Amelia, Dorea
Arithmancy - Anthony, Susan
Care of Magical Creatures - Tracey, Megan
Astronomy - Ernie, Justin
Muggle Studies - Dean, Daphne
Divination - Lavender, Parvati
History of Magic - Lisa, Terry
Healing - Hannah, Mandy
Defence Against the Dark Arts - Harry"
Harry was perfectly happy leading the Defence group on his own; after all, he already led a Defence-centred club and did that with ease nowadays. The only hard thing would be to organise what days all these study groups were running and at what time. That was going to be pretty difficult considering there were so many subjects, and a lot of people had things such as evening/midnight Astronomy classes, DA meetings, Prefect duties, personal study and extracurricular meetings such as Quidditch to take into account. It was not going to be easy, that was for sure. Some people such as Anthony, Padma and Parvati were staying at school for Easter break since they didn't celebrate the holiday, and they figured they could hold sessions during the holiday since nobody would have classes. That was definitely a possibility, and ended in a few people such as Seamus and Justin drafting up letters to their parents explaining they were staying the two week Easter break at Hogwarts.
They were so busy trying to plan time schedules for the sessions that it was soon ten minutes until fifth period, and they'd almost forgotten about eating. Wolfing down soups, sandwiches and scones, along with their drinks, was now their top priority. Even when the bell rang some were still eating as they walked with the scrum of people leaving the Great Hall.
Fifth period was Ancient Runes, and Professor Babbling was starting the last topic of the OWL curriculum with them: the theory behind carving Runes. They were pretty excited to start it, as it sounded interesting, though they would not physically start carving until NEWT level as it was very tricky to do. Carving alone sounded that good that Harry willed himself to do well in the OWL exam so he could advance next year.
That period was also spent learning about Reactivation and Deactivation Spells, which were used once runes were carved to either start them up or to end them. By the end of the lesson, Harry had almost two pages of notes. At the end of the period, Babbling even held him back for a minute or so to say how impressed she was at his progress and commitment to the subject, which pleased him a lot. Double Defence at the end of the day was also a productive period, as they learned a very handy spell in Cave Inimicum, which could be used for all sorts of tactics. Harry thought it would be brilliant to use sneaking up on someone during an Auror mission, especially if the person had to be arrested. They would have no clue that you were there.
On Tuesday after dinner, Harry trekked to the dungeons to have his usual Occlumency lesson with Snape. He was feeling slightly better about it this time - the book Susan had given him was full of really easy exercises to clear your mind and to keep your shield up, and he'd been practising every night. The shield around his mind was getting stronger by the day as well; though he wanted Susan to test it again at some point, it was likely going to take a beating with Snape.
He did want to tell Professor Snape about the fact Susan was now teaching him Occlumency, but fumbled and didn't in the end. Back in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, the Potions master had all but demanded him not to say to anyone that he was studying the obscure magic. The man was sure to get a shock once he saw the shield, though…
"Hurry up, Potter," the man all but barked the second Harry crossed the threshold between corridor and classroom. The man was in a stinking mood tonight.
"I don't even know why we even bother to continue with these lessons, since you clearly have long stopped making any effort to better your efforts, but we go again nonetheless." Snape muttered, sneering in Harry's direction.
Little do you know, Harry thought.
"On three. One, two, three.. Legilimens!"
Harry was pulled into a place where he had a view of both his mind and shield, and felt himself smirk when he saw the spell barrel towards it and come to an abrupt halt. His glee didn't last long, however, as he was pulled out of that state by Snape. Within seconds, the man stormed towards him and grabbed him by the collar. "How have you managed to do that, Potter?" The man snarled. "How have you managed to form an Occlumency shield around your mind, hmm? Answer me!"
Harry flinched when he raised his voice near the end. "I've been doing a spot of reading regarding Occlumency," he said, trying to sound sincere.
Snape eyed him untrustingly. "That does not explain why you have a near impenetrable shield! There is no way you have mastered this art on your own, Potter. You have clearly told someone about how you're learning the subject and they've helped somehow."
He gulped. "I enlisted the help of a close and knowledgeable friend."
Snape rounded on him again. "Who?"
"Susan Bones." He said, straightening up.
Severus Snape's anger flared again. "Miss Bones is hardly capable of even knowing about the subject of Occlumency. You insipid boy, do you know how much you've now endangered her and her family? The Dark Lord will no doubt try and hunt the Bones family at some point, and most likely try and kill the rest of them!"
"Susan is a proficient Occlumens, sir, believe it or not." Harry countered, more calmly. "Minister Bones had the family learn it during the summer to prevent more tragedies, Susan told me herself."
Snape's nostrils flared. "Even so, it was completely irresponsible of you."
"Just why are you angry, Professor?" Harry asked, a bit terse.
"I beg your pardon?" Snape snapped.
"Why are you so angry that I've managed to learn how to shield my mind? So what if I didn't tell you I was learning it in my spare time, big deal, - in fact, it shows that I am utterly committed to learning Occlumency more than anything else!" He tried to speak calmly. "You can't get angry at me for 'not trying', and then berate me even more when I do try! It's quite hypocritical, if I'm honest-"
Snape had heard enough. He rounded close to his face again. "You have no right, no right, to call me hypocritical, Potter."
He shot the Potions master a filthy look. Falling back and insulting me instead of actually standing up for himself, what a prat. He thought. "It's just a bit strange, sir, that's all."
Snape let go of him, though you could tell that the man wanted nothing more than to throttle him. When the man's back was turned he even smirked.
"Since you have finally 'tried' to learn the art of Occlumency, Potter, and you can clearly resist mind penetration, I do not see a need for you to be here."
Harry almost asked him to repeat himself - was this the end of their Occlumency lessons? He could have jumped for joy. "Sir?"
"Did you not hear me? You have learned how to shield your mind from invaders, and dare I say very well, so there is no need for our Tuesday sessions to continue. I'm sure you're as delighted as I am." Snape said slowly.
Something came to him then. "But Susan said that Occlumency is a lot more than just shielding your mind… she mentioned memory stores-"
"-which you have no doubt already started learning without my tuition." his teacher replied.
"Well, she gave me a book to read about it, but that's it." Harry then paused. "What do you know about memory stores, Professor?"
Snape was clearly a bit taken aback by Harry's sincere sounding question. He didn't speak for a few moments. "That they're more difficult to perform. It involves selecting a memory, thinking of it once, and then sealing it away behind a door-like pocket in your mind."
Harry didn't like the sound of that particularly. "I think I'll wait a while before I attempt that."
Snape seemed to agree with him in that regard, but then went back to being horrible. "Well, you clearly know what to do and what to practise. Now get out."
Picking up his bag almost too joyfully, Harry made for the door. His Tuesday evenings were now totally free up! He uttered a thanks to Snape, yet when he turned around the man was facing what looked to be Dumbledore's pensieve. He saw him extract memories from the basin of it, but didn't really question it. With that, Harry exited the office for the last time.
In the Room of Requirement, meanwhile, Amelia was once again trying to get to grips with her wandless abilities. Theo was with her, and though he was mostly doing homework, he was giving her some encouragement.
"Urgh! This is so hard!" She complained after twenty minutes. She felt like crying - she couldn't even perform Wingardium Leviosa - a first year spell, - wandlessly. That was surely embarrassing.
"I'm not really qualified to say anything else except 'keep at it', babe." Theo said, looking up from where he was sitting, quill feathers hanging near his mouth.
She sighed. "This is my eighth attempt now! The inkpot hasn't moved an inch horizontally, much less vertically!"
Theo came over. "Maybe you need something lighter? How about a spare quill?"
She considered. "Perhaps."
He handed her one of his, and Amelia took some deep breaths. If it doesn't work this time, I'll move on to another spell, she thought. Readying herself, she prepared. Concentrating all her energy on saying the spell in her head, she stared at the quill, willing it to start floating.
After five minutes she really thought she was getting nowhere and almost gave up, but then it happened.
Amelia felt a wave of magic pulse through her arm and out of her hand. She didn't dare tear her concentration away now - it would be a failure. She couldn't help but squeal as she watched the quill levitating a good metre in the air.
"See! I told you you'd do it!" Theo complimented.
Satisfied, she broke her concentration and let the quill fall back down. "That was a bit easier. There's still the rest of the first to fifth year curriculum to go though."
"I reckon you'll get it mastered in no time. It's strange how the library doesn't have books on wandless magic." Theo said.
"If in doubt, there's always the library back at Black Manor." She replied, smiling. "And there's always Easter break."
"I don't know about you, babe, but I'll probably spend Easter revising." Theo inclined his head, "I do want good marks, after all."
"So do I, but there's still plenty of time until June even after the holidays." She said, "And there's the advantage of having the time delay feature here when we get back, so we could do eight hours of study in one sitting if we're careful."
"I suppose," her boyfriend said, going over to check the clocks. "Will we stay for half an hour more and then get back to our common rooms?"
She nodded. Amelia felt the urge to start on a different spell then, so scanned her list and decided to work on the Knockback Jinx. She wheeled one of the dummies out but didn't place it at any setting - she just wanted to practise on it. Her early attempts were pretty fruitless - nothing seemed to happen, but after ten minutes of internally screaming she got a result: she felt the magic leaving her in a cold sensation, and within seconds the dummy had wheeled back a good few feet. Theo had jumped. "Did you do it again?"
"Yup," Amelia said, pleased. She checked the clocks, and realised they still had just over fifteen minutes left. "Since I'm on such a roll, I'll try and get another one mastered before we go."
Scanning down the list again, she decided on the Severing Charm. She did a lap of the room to try and find something she could sever, and found a rope. Placing it in front of her, she sat back down and got to work.
Unsurprisingly, it took a bit longer. The clock let off a chime to remind them they had five minutes remaining, which didn't help her confidence that much. Come on, her mind screamed, you can do it!
At literally the last second, the rope was slashed in half. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief, but found that her head was hurting a bit from all the concentration. Making to stand up, though, she suddenly felt very light-headed, and started seeing stars…
"Woah, 'melia!" She heard Theo say, and heard him moving quickly towards her. She had almost slumped to the floor when he caught her. "Jeez, you alright?"
"Yeah," she groaned out, rubbing her eyes so that they'd come back into focus. "Stood up too quickly, that's all."
Once her strength returned, she gradually stood up more straighter, though Theo, being the darling that he was, didn't let go of her just in case. His hands on her hips were nice and warm. "Maybe you practised wandless magic a little too hard, and that's why you're tired." He said, looking into her eyes with slight concern.
"Well, the back of my head does hurt a bit," she said, but simply took her wand out and performed the Headache Reliever spell that Madam Pomfrey had taught the Healing lot, and found the pain dimming almost right away. She still felt a bit tired though, but reckoned she could just get an early night.
Theo, being the gentleman, walked her to Gryffindor Tower. As they neared it, Theo seemed to come to a halt. She looked back at him, "Theo?"
"I just realised something," her boyfriend replied.
"What?" She wondered.
"I don't think I've ever told you 'I love you'."
Amelia looked at him weirdly. "Oh… Well, it's not that big of a deal, Theo, I know that you love me already-"
"-But it's taken me months!"
"It's really not that bad, Theo, you show me that you love me every single day and for that I am grateful." She insisted, as Theo looked extremely guilty.
He looked at her then. "Well, better late than never - I love you, Amelia Potter."
Amelia couldn't help the giddy feeling that came over her when he said that. He'd just said those three words that mean everything in a relationship to her. The way he was looking at her almost made her legs go jelly too. He's really all mine, she thought. "I love you too, Theodore Nott."
They spent seconds just staring at one another then, as if to really take in that they'd just declared their love for each other. They seemed to break out in smiles at the same time. "Oh, come here you," she said joyfully, opening her arms. Theo gladly skipped forward and pulled her in for a hug. After a few spins, she pulled his face in for a kiss. It was filled with a bit more passion than any of their other ones, but still had the same level of adoration behind it.
Almost too soon, Theo pulled back, saying it was only a few minutes until curfew. Before he left, he did pull her in for one last peck on the lips, which left her giggling. She watched him walk away back down the corridor before telling the Fat Lady the password and stepping on through.
She briefed Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dorea on what spells she had managed to cover wandlessly before heading on up to the dorm. She really was feeling drowsy..
Entering the fifth year girls dorm, she saw that Lavender must've been sleeping or studying, as she had the curtains drawn around her bed. Parvati looked like she was finishing up on some homework. "Evening, Amelia," the second of the Patil twins yawned.
"Hello," she replied, trying to stifle a yawn as well. "What's up?"
"Just finished some Divination homework, I'm knackered now." Parvati replied, getting off her bed.
She agreed with the latter part, saying how it had been a long day. Getting changed for bed, she said goodnight to Parvati before drawing the curtains around her bed. Concealed from view now, she couldn't help but grin as she got into bed. Theo had said he loved her, and she had said it back. She had meant it as sincerely as he did. I guess we're pretty serious now, Amelia thought, we're in love, after all. She wondered if her boyfriend, probably in his dorm, was thinking the same as her... Within ten minutes, Amelia had fallen asleep.
Harry had woken up slightly later on Tuesday morning, as he was the last of the boys up. Quickly putting the appropriate textbooks and notebooks into his bag, he got dressed and quickly headed down to breakfast.
When he entered the Great Hall behind some Hufflepuff seventh years, he was a bit confused when he noticed a good chunk of people from all houses staring at him. He wondered what rumour was spreading now - could Fudge or Umbridge be starting up their own smear campaigns against him, despite those two no longer being in their jobs? He thought it possible. Them two in particular were probably peeved about the recent attacks on muggles (which were almost certainly carried out by Death Eaters), and were wanting to get the public's attention off of that by giving them a juicy story.
To be safe, he sat down at Gryffindor table beside his twin and across from Ron. Hermione was instantly cornering him. "Harry, haven't you seen?"
"Seen what?"
"The new and improved Daily Prophet, of course!" Hermione exclaimed, and shoved a copy down the table towards him. He grabbed it, and was drawn to a certain part of the newspaper which caught his eye. On the front page, his name was mentioned: "A well-earned apology to Harry Potter - page ten."
Wondering what on earth this was all about, he flipped the paper open to the relevant page. What he read both shocked and touched him:
"First Foreword from Chief Editor, Duncan Fawcett
Now that we here at the Daily Prophet have all our new staff members in place, we find it apt in our new first edition to issue an apology to Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.
It's very fair to say that the Prophet under Rita Skeeter was nothing short of embarrassing and diabolical in terms of journalism. Gossip in every edition, pure speculation in others, and reporting non-newsworthy stories only begins to cover it. It's really no wonder that readers of The Quibbler increased almost four-fold. Even though the newspaper has since faced a dramatic overhaul of almost all its reporters and editors, we find it appropriate to make a few things crystal clear.
The wizarding world is, in our opinion, about to face a Second Wizarding War. We do believe that Lord Voldemort has returned to a functioning human state, and is planning both a coup and a dictatorship that can only bring one thing to our society: Oppression.
We are not just saying these things because we are employees of Minister Bones - we all believe that these events are to occur.
So to Harry Potter we say this: We are very sorry for the bad name our predecessors tarnished you with. We believe every word you say - whether it's regarding Voldemort's return, what happened the night Cedric Diggory tragically died, everything. We will do everything in our power to report real news to wizarding Britain, and to tell the wizarding public everything they need to know, whether they like the truth or not. You have our utmost word on that.
These are strange times we live in, yet we at the Daily Prophet all know that very soon, it will only get darker. You can count on us to be reporting everything as it happens - no corners cut, no information omitted deliberately, just true to the word. This apology can also be extended to Professor Albus Dumbledore; we have every faith in you as well, Headmaster, and we are all at your service to relay whatever people need to know. It may take time, but we will work around the clock to deliver up-to-date and accurate information in all of our departments. If you as a reader are saddened to hear that no more silly gossip is going to be printed - other publications, such as Witch Weekly, are available for you to fawn over.
To everyone else that is serious about current affairs:
You can count on us."
Harry almost couldn't believe it. The new Prophet now believed him?! This was surely great news - people would hopefully start switching sides now, or at least back him up.
"Hey, don't the Fawcett's live not far away from us?" Ron said, leaning forward to speak to Fred, George and Ginny, pulling Harry out of his state of wonder.
"That they do, Ronnikins," George replied. "They appear to be on the right side, too."
"Oh, this really is great!" Hermione looked thrilled still. "I might just resubscribe my membership!"
More people in school were becoming less hostile throughout the day. At morning interval, Fay Dunbar and her friend (who were both in Ginny's year and were previously amongst those that believed Harry and Dumbledore to be raving lunatics), had come over and declared they were wrong to believe Rita Skeeter and Cornelius Fudge. Harry accepted their apologies fervently, saying how it was very easy to be manipulated by folks in positions of power. At lunch, Marietta Edgecombe and a few sixth and seventh year Ravenclaw girls came over and said the same; saying they had to go along with the words Fudge had printed in the press so that their parents didn't lose their jobs. He brushed off their worries and said it was all okay now. He was surprised at dinner when both Andre Egwu and none other than Skye Parkin approached him and asked for a word with him alone.
When they had gotten to the Entrance Hall, they both said that they were now ardent supporters of Dumbledore and Harry both and said how stupid they were all along. The two of them even expressed wishes to join the DA. He let them join, and the two of them signed their names. He gave them a parchment each of spells they'd already covered in the Junior group and told them to come along to the Junior session next Monday to see which group they'd best fit.
Andre agreed, and said he'd see him there before heading back to dinner. Skye Parkin stayed with Harry a bit longer though. "Better late joining than never," the Scottish girl remarked, grinning.
"Yeah, I suppose," he said back.
"My dad believes you as well in this whole regard - well, he always did, but he was politely reminded to keep quiet about it." Skye added.
He perked up at that. "I'm honoured that the legendary Ethan Parkin believes me. How is it that he wasn't allowed to express his opinion?"
"Since he's a professional sports player, it would be considered 'silly of him to be speaking about political matters', according to the regulators." Skye said.
Harry could definitely see that happening - in muggle sports, athletes were usually told off by both reporters and the general public for speaking their mind openly regarding any world issues, so he figured it was much the same for the wizarding world. He still felt thrilled that one of Britain's Quidditch ace's, and his daughter, were firmly behind him though. He might even start mildly supporting Wigtown Wanderers…
They walked back into the Hall together, and just before they departed, he nudged his new acquaintance. "Good luck playing Slytherin in March."
She smiled. "Cheers, Harry. I'm afraid even I will need all the luck I can get. Who knows, if we score more than 400, me and you might even be playing against one another in the Quidditch Cup Final in April."
He smirked playfully. "Gonna need more than luck."
Skye faked a look of horror, but then nudged him back. Giggling, she went back to Ravenclaw table. "I'll see you on Monday, Potter."
Satisfied that he had two new members signing up to the DA mere hours after the Daily Prophet's apology to him broke, he sat back down with his siblings and friends. He was content that more and more people were flocking to his side rather than Voldemort's, yet there was still work to be done.