You Are Loved

@ killian jones.
Charlie shrugged, "Probably write a billion times what a terrible person I am." She said with a laugh before she shrugged again, "I honestly have no idea, and I don't even care. It was so worth it." She laughed. She wasn't at all shocked she had received detention again within a matter of days. She was prone to getting detention. She was just surprised that it wasn't with Fred or George.

---

Draco sighed once they finished the task and he gathered his things before walking out of the class with Aubree. He waited until they were a safe distance away and that nobody would hear them before he took Aubree's arm in his hand, "What's wrong with you? You've been quiet and looking upset all day. Are you okay?" He asked curiously.

Aubree wasn't really all that surprised when she felt Draco's hand on her arm. She stopped walking and turned to face him. "No, I'm not." She told him honestly. "Harry was waiting up for me in the common room last night. He started questioning me about what I was doing roaming around the castle so late at night. I didn't tell him, but we need to be more careful, Draco. We can't be sneaking out as often anymore." She frowned. She didn't like the idea of not being able to see him as often, but she knew that it would be for the best.

---

Fred chuckled. "All you did was tell her the truth, that's not being a horrible person." He told her. He knew that that was likely what Umbridge would have her do though. It sounded like something old Toadface would have any of them do in detention. Writing lines wasn't exactly the worst punishment out there. He didn't think that there was anything that would ever top Snape's detentions. "When do you have to go?" He asked her curiously.

@ killian jones.
Charlie laughed and nodded, "I thought I was being a good person by telling her she didn't have to hide her toadiness anymore." She said with a shrug before she sighed at his next question, "After dinner. Can you believe that she's making me wait until after dinner for this. Although I am glad she was decent enough to not have it during dinner. That would be literal torture."

---

Draco frowned at her words, "He doesn't suspect anything though, correct?" He asked. That's just what he didn't need was Potter sticking his nose where it didn't belong, like always. Draco raised his eyes at her following words before he sighed, "Aubree we hardly see each other as it is." He said, "If we see each other any less I don't think we can be considered dating anymore."

Aubree shook her head. "I don't think so." She said. Harry hadn't said anything that might allude to the fact that he knew of her relationship with Draco, but he still suspected something was up with her, and that was bad enough as it was. She frowned slightly at his later words, her heart sinking slightly. "What are you trying to say?" She asked quietly. She didn't want to end things, she still wanted to try, but she knew that he was right. They did hardly see each other as it was.

---

Fred chuckled slightly. "I think you were being a good person, but she mustn't have seen it that way" He said, obviously still pretty amused by the whole thing, and how could he not be? It was all extremely amusing in his opinion. He frowned slightly at her later words. "So you won't be at tryouts tonight then?" He could see why she was relieved that it was after dinner, but in the haste of it all she must have forgotten about tryouts.

@ killian jones.
Charlie's eyes went wide at Fred's words, "Bloody hell! It completely slipped my mind. Maybe I can make both. What time are tryouts?" She asked. If things went her way and tryouts were before her detention, she could make both. She was close enough with Harry that maybe he wouldn't mind if she had to slip out early after she had done her part. She could just have Fred tell her if she made the team or not.

---

"What I'm trying to say is that we don't need to see each other less. We just have to...rethink when we see each other." He said and took her hand, "Aubree I'm not going to lose you." He stated before he thought about it, "What if we just changed the time when we saw each other and for how long. Then nobody would get suspicious."

Aubree nodded. "That could work." She said quietly. She knew that Harry was going to be paying even closer attention to her now than he had before, and she probably hadn't made things better with acting how she'd been acting all day, but she didn't really care. She didn't want to lose Draco and the relationship that they had. "Maybe if we met up earlier it would be less noticeable? I'm not sure where we could meet, but I'm sure we'll find something." She smiled slightly.

---

"They're after dinner, I think." Fred told her. He wasn't surprised that she'd forgotten about tryouts what with everything she'd dealt with in her first class. "You could always talk to Harry about it? What time did Umbridge want you down there tonight? You could always try to do both? I don't think that Harry will mind if you left a little early." He hoped that she'd still be able to try out. He knew she'd make it if she did.

@ killian jones.
Charlie smiled at Fred's words, "You and I are on the same page. I was thinking the same thing. I will talk to Harry at dinner. Umbridge doesn't want me in her office until 7:30. I should have enough time to get done what I need to get done at the tryouts, and then Harry can just tell you if I made it or not, and you can tell me." She explained.

---

Nothing was going to keep Draco from Aubree. He knew that, "I'm sure it could work. Potter is a bit thick anyway so I'm sure he won't notice if you're gone earlier and not for as long a period of time." He said with a smile before he realize he insulted one of her friends in front of her again, "Sorry. It just kind of slipped." He apologized with a small smile.

Aubree nodded, honestly not really paying any mind to the insult that had left his lips. "So, that's what we'll do then. Change up the times and how long we're seeing each other." She said quietly, a small smile gracing her lips. She shook her head in response to his later words. "It's alright, no harm done." She assured him. She knew that he had been trying his hardest not to talk badly about her friends around her, and she really did appreciate that, so she wasn't about to get upset with him for letting an insult slip here and there.

---

Fred smiled. "I'm sure Harry won't mind you leaving early. Just talk to him at dinner like you said." He told her. He couldn't really see Harry being upset with her for needing to leave early. She had detention with Umbridge, so it wasn't like she had much of a choice, and he didn't really see Harry being that much of a hard-ass anyway, so he highly doubted that she had anything to worry about at all.

@ killian jones.
Charlie smiled at Fred words before nodding, "I think that's what I'm going to do." She replied before class started and she turned to the front. She smiled to herself slightly because she loved that her and Fred were still the same. They were together now but they were still the same best friends that they were before they got together. Only now they could kiss and do other things that couples did together.

---

Draco nodded, "I think that we can probably figure this out. There's no way I'm not going to see you outside of classes. I just can't do it." Draco said. He knew he was a bit dramatic, but what he was saying was essentially true in all ways. He wasn't going to give up on this relationship. He couldn't. It was the only good thing that he had left.

Aubree smiled. "I don't want to go without seeing you outside of classes either." She told him. She was certain that this was something they could figure out. They just had to be more careful this time around and make sure that they weren't so obvious about sneaking out. She knew that Harry would be keeping an eye on her for a while now, so that was all the more reason to change when they'd meet up and for how long.

---

Fred was happy with how things were going so far. He knew that he didn't have much to go on, they'd only been dating for a short amount of time, a few hours really, but he liked that it hadn't changed things between them in the slightest. They were acting just as they normally would have and he hoped that was something that wouldn't change with time.

@ killian jones.
Charlie took notes during class, thinking about how tryouts and detention later. One was a bit more scary to her than the other. Of course she didn't know what detentions with Umbridge were like, so she really couldn't say she wasn't a tad bit nervous. Charlie really didn't care that much though. She was more focused on Quidditch tryouts.

---

Draco knew that they would be able to figure things out, it would take some time, but things would work out. He didn't care that Potter was getting suspicious. It would only be when someone suspected something between the two that he would start to worry. Nobody could know about their relationship, as much as he hated it, it was true.

A few weeks had passed since Harry had confronted Aubree in the common room. She and Draco were still attempting to find a better place to meet where they likely wouldn't be found until very recently. They were still able to meet up between classes, but they had avoided meeting up after dinner as Aubree knew Harry would take notice if she continued disappearing from the Great Hall in the evenings, and she wouldn't put it past her friend to follow her under the protection of his invisibility cloak. Unexpectedly, Aubree had found just the place. On her way up to the Gryffindor common room one afternoon she'd been deep in thought about finding a new place for her and Draco to meet up each afternoon, and other odd times during the day, when it appeared. One second there was nothing but the cold stone of the castle walls and next thing she knew there was a wooden door in its place. Glancing around briefly, she saw no one around and decided to walk inside. The interior was very similar to one of the common rooms. There was a fire place and couches and carpeted floors. She didn't know what this place was, but it was perfect.

That evening, she sent Draco an owl, telling him to meet her the next day after potions class.

---

A few weeks had gone by since Fred and Charlie had decided to try things out. Most of their friends weren't surprised at all, and the most common response was "It's about bloody time!" Fred supposed that he really was as thick as he joked about being if everyone else had noticed Charlie's feelings except for him. He supposed that they could have given this a go much sooner if he had picked up on her feelings, but it didn't matter anymore. This term had proved to be a great one despite old Toadie and her ridiculously poor excuse for a DADA class. He, George and Charlie had suffered through a few of her detentions already this term, though Charlie had really managed to piss the old hag off this time. He was seated in the Gryffindor common room with George and Lee, waiting on his girlfriend to return from detention. He assumed he'd just hear about some tedious task Umbridge had left Charlie to do for several hours after dinner, that was how most detentions went after all.

@ sam winchester.
Charlie sniffled as she headed toward the common room. She couldn't believe what she had just went through. It was awful and painful. She had thought she was just going to end up cleaning up the defense room and then leaving, but Umbridge had a different plan this time, "This is your fourth time in detention in the past few weeks, Ms. Rhodes. Clearly you're not making any progress, so let's have you do something else that might help you change your mind about speaking out in class." She scolded and made Charlie sit down at her desk, handing her a quill and some paper. When Charlie pointed out about not having any ink, the toad smirked and said she wouldn't need any. Charlie shrugged and looked down at the paper, "I want you to write out 'speak when spoken to' as many times as it takes for you to remember not to speak out." If looks could kill, the look Charlie was sending Umbridge would have blown her to smithereens.

At first it started out as a pinch in her hand, then it started to sting. By the fourth time writing the line, it was one of the most painful things that Charlie had ever experienced. She looked down at her writing hand to see "Speak When Spoken To" scratched into her hand in the same handwriting she had written it down on the parchment. Charlie couldn't believe her eyes, "I think one more line should be enough for you to understand, Ms. Rhodes." Umbridge said as she peered over Charlie's shoulder. To say that writing that last line was utter hell was an understatement. Charlie had started to cry from the pain and didn't stop even as she left the toad's office and headed to the common room. She knew her eyes were puffy and red, but at least the tears had somewhat managed to stop by the time she said the password for the fat lady and entered the common room. She instantly saw Fred, George, and Lee, and she wanted to turn right back around and walk out the door, not wanting them to see her like this in this state, but there was no turning back now.

---

Draco had been on edge recently trying to sneak around with Aubree, ever since her having been called out by Potter. He couldn't ignore the glances that he had been getting during potions from the Golden Trio. He had been trying to not make any snarky comments about the looks. He wanted everything with Aubree to stay as private as possible. Which is why when he received an owl from Aubree telling him to meet her after potions class, he was a bit confused and nervous. He was nervous that she was going to tell him they needed to stop sneaking around. He had no idea about the Room of Requirement and what it meant for their relationship.

All night he tossed and turned thinking about what was going to happen the next day when he met Aubree. He didn't want to end their relationship, but he also knew that she didn't like sneaking around despite the fact that it was critical for their relationship to continue. Draco couldn't be open about their relationship though, as much as he wanted. His father would disown him and he would be putting Aubree at risk. It was almost forbidden for a Slytherin to be in a relationship with a Gryffindor. Nobody would accept it. Nobody. Draco didn't want to put Aubree in that position. So he would do whatever he could to make sure their relationship stayed secret.

Aubree knew that she hadn't said very much in the note she'd sent Draco, but she couldn't exactly go into specifics. She didn't want to risk her owl being intercepted and having their relationship be found out by the wrong person. She hated sneaking around, but it was for the best on both ends. Draco's family would likely disown him if they discovered he was seeing a muggleborn and her friends, namely Harry, would probably blow up if they discovered she was seeing Draco Malfoy of all people. They just wouldn't understand that he was different with her. He wasn't the same person that they'd known for four years in school. They wouldn't get it.

She could tell that Draco was on edge the moment he walked into potions class the next day. That and he looked like he hadn't slept a wink all night. She hadn't wanted her letter to jar him that much, but she hoped that the small smile she sent his way when she was certain no one else but him would see him would help to put him at least a little bit at ease.

---

"There she is! Just the one we were looking for, we're having some trouble coming to a mutual consensus about the next Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product and we need your input, Charles." George was quick to speak the moment that Charlie walked into the common room, not even taking notice to the expression on the blonde's face. But Fred had picked up on it the second he saw her. He could just tell that something was off and when it almost seemed as though she was trying to avoid the three of them and make a beeline up to the girl's dormitories he knew that he was right in thinking that something was wrong with his girlfriend.

"Charlie? What's wrong, love?" He asked, frowning slightly as he stood and approached her, shooting a look George and Lee's way. There would be no talk about new products, not right now anyway. Something was wrong with Charlie and he wanted to know what that something was. What had happened in detention with Umbridge? He could only assume that was what had made her so upset.

@ sam winchester.
Charlie would have smiled at George's words and would have jumped right on the chance to talk about new products, but not tonight. When Fred approached her, she hid her hand from him so he wouldn't see, even though she knew that her face was giving away that she wasn't okay, "I'm fine." She mumbled, not looking at him. She knew that it was the worst lie ever, and she hated lying to Fred, but Charlie knew that if she were to look at him, she would break and possibly start crying again.

"I'm just tired." She stated. She could see George and Lee shift in their seats, so they were more attentive, obviously knowing now that she was upset, "Charlie, why are you hiding your hand?" Lee questioned and gave a pointed look at Fred. Charlie wanted to shoot him a glare, but could feel Fred's eyes on her. She took a breath and looked up at Fred, instantly feeling tears burn the back of her throat, "It was awful, Fred." She said quietly, her voice cracking from the tears, "Just plain awful." Charlie blinked and felt one of the tears slide down her cheeks. She hated crying in front of people, Fred and George the most.

---

Walking into potions class had Draco on edge. He hadn't slept more than two hours the night before and on top of that he now had to see Aubree but couldn't talk to her about what her note meant for risk of other people over hearing. He wasn't sure if he would be able to focus during class, which is why he was thankful that Snape was teaching today instead of making the students brew the potion he was talking about. Draco was sure he would have blown something up and looked like Finnigan from Gryffindor. That was something he really didn't need today. He tried his best to take notes and pay attention, but he knew he would end up having to get someone to tell him what actually Snape was talking about because even though he took notes, Draco couldn't tell anyone anything about today's lesson.

After class he told his friends he would meet up with them later and headed down the opposite hall from them towards one of the hallways that nobody ever goes down. It was the main hall that Aubree and Draco used to meet up after potions to talk about where they were going to meet that night and at what time. Draco leaned against the cold stone wall as he waited for Aubree to come down the hall, making sure she wasn't followed. When he finally spotted her, he instantly started asking about the note, "What's wrong? Why did you wanna meet? You never send an owl? Is there something going on?" He rambled before shutting himself up to let her speak.

Aubree could tell that Draco wasn't focused at all throughout Snape's lesson, that much was fairly obvious. She hadn't wanted him to worry when she sent him the letter the night before, they just hadn't planned on meeting that day after potions and she'd wanted him to meet her afterwards so she could take him up to the room she'd discovered on the seventh floor. She took notes throughout the lesson, paying a bit more attention than Draco was, likely knowing that she'd be giving him her notes for that day.

Once the lesson was over and Snape had dismissed them all, she told the trio that she needed to go grab a book from the library for her Charms class. Hermione had offered to come with her, but Aubree politely declined her friend's offer and waited for them to head in the opposite direction before walking down the hall to where she knew Draco would be waiting for her. "Nothing's going on, everything's fine." She assured him. "I just found a place for us to meet from now on and I wanted to show you after class today. I'm sorry I worried you."

---

Fred knew that she was lying. She was most definitely far from fine, and it was very clear that she was rather upset about something. "That's not true, you and I both know that it isn't." He said, frowning slightly as he exchanged looks with George and Lee who both looked equally as concerned about the blonde. When Lee made the comment about her hand, Fred noticed that she was hiding it behind her back and that was also when the floodgates sort of seemed to open.

"What happened, Charlie? What did that hag do?" He asked, getting more and more worried by the second. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Charlie this upset, she hardly ever cried in front of him and George, and he could tell that this was obviously really bad if she wasn't trying to mask her emotions. "What's wrong with your hand, love?" He went to gently grab it from behind her back but decided against it.

@ sam winchester.
Charlie frowned at Fred's words and shook her head, "She had this quill and she made me write. Told me to write it until the message sank in." She started, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks, "At first it was sort of like a pinch in my hand, and I didn't notice it very well. By my third line it was a stinging. When I got to my fourth and fifth line, it was the most unbearable pain I've ever felt. That's when I noticed what was happening. Then the evil woman made me write one more line to make sure I clearly understand the message." She cried. When she noticed Fred reach for her hand, she pulled it out from behind her back and showed it to him.

"Speak when spoken to." She said angrily as she let a could more tears slide down her cheeks, "It was her quill, Fred. The bloody thing somehow managed to scratch what she wanted me to write onto my hand!" She choked out a little sob as the pain still resonated in her hand from the session, "Bloody hell!" Lee yelled when he caught a look at Charlie's hand, "She did that to you?!" George asked, not expecting an answer in return, "It was the worst thing I've ever felt in my life, Fred."

---

Draco let out a sigh at Aubree's words, "I guess I just over worried myself." He stated with a small laugh and gave Aubree a smile, "So you said you found a place for us to meet?" He asked, "Where is it?" Draco had been all over the castle and he didn't know of anywhere besides the astronomy tower that was private enough for them to meet and not have anyone follow them. He, of course, knew that there were probably places that Draco didn't know about. It was Hogwarts after all and it was impossible to know every nook and cranny of the castle.

As they walked toward this meeting place that Aubree was talking about, he tried to think about where it could be and if he had ever come across it before, "So tell me about this room." He stated and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked over at her. He would love to just have a place where they wouldn't have to worry about anyone following them or accidentally coming across them. Draco couldn't trust anyone at this school not to let it spill and for someone to hear and then his father hearing about it. He couldn't imagine what his father would say to him if he was to ever find out.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd worry that much." Aubree said, mustering a sheepish smile. She hadn't really given much thought to the fact that her note might have caused him to overthink it and worry all night. "It's on the seventh floor. I came across it last night on my way back to the common room after dinner." She explained, knowing that her response was a bit vague, but realistically that was all she could really give him. She had kind of just stumbled across the room completely on accident. One moment it wasn't there and the next moment it was.

"It was kind of just there. I was walking past thinking about how we hadn't found a new place to meet up and the door sort of just appeared." She told him as they made their way up to the seventh floor. "It was right about here I believe...maybe if we both think about it it'll work..." She really had no clue how this worked, she was only going off what had happened the night before. "Just walk past this area here..." She thought about the room that had appeared to her last time, and hoped that it would work. She smiled when she saw that the door had in fact appeared. "I don't think I've ever loved magic this much." She let out a quiet laugh as she opened the door and walked inside. It was just as it had appeared to her last time, much like one of the cozier common rooms, and the perfect place for them to hide out without having to worry about being found.

---

Fred really wasn't sure what Charlie was getting at at first. They had written lines during many detentions before this one, so what had made this one with old toadie any different? He knew it had to be something big for Charlie to be this upset though. He really couldn't think of very many times when she'd been this upset before in front of him and George. She wasn't one to cry like this ever. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the state that Charlie's hand was in and the message that was carved into it clear as the light of day. He didn't know if that was really allowed. Part of him wanted to march down to the old hag's office right then and there and give her a piece of his mind, but he knew that wouldn't do much good. Charlie was upset, she needed him right now.

"We'll find a way to get back at her, love. Don't you worry about it." He assured her as he pulled her into a tight embrace, knowing that his response would likely be a bit of a shock to George and Lee. They were probably expecting him to freak out, and he was, but he knew that comforting Charlie was more important than dealing with Umbridge right now.

@ sam winchester.
Charlie let out a couple more sobs when Fred pulled her into a tight hug. She hugged him back just as tightly. Charlie just couldn't believe what had happened, but it happened right in front of her eyes, and the proof was right there on her hand, etched in for the whole world to see. She sniffled a few times as her crying calmed down. She wanted to be tougher in front of Fred and George, but it was just too much for her to handle. It was one of the few times that this had happened.

"I just want the pain to stop, Fred." She sniffled and wiped away her tears. She had never had pain last this long before. Even when she broke her wrist when she was fooling around with the twins a few years back, Mrs. Weasley was able to get the pain to stop, and even then, Charlie didn't cry. She looked down at her hand once more, the writing was still pretty fresh and had a red ring around the black writing of where the irritation was on the skin. She knew it was bound to leave a long mark so she wouldn't forget the message that toadie didn't want her to forget.

---

Draco listened as she spoke about the room being on the seventh floor. Draco didn't go up there very much, but when he had, he hadn't remembered there being any room in which they could meet that would be private. When she continued to speak about how the door just appeared, he had no idea what she could possibly be talking about, but knew that it had to be true just because it was magic and it was Hogwarts so there was no way it wasn't true. When she said to think about it with her, he tried his best to think about them finding a place where they could be alone and wouldn't be disturbed. Then he saw the door appear in front of them.

"Aubree this is bloody brilliant!" He cheered as they walked inside the door. There was no way they would be found in a room like this. It was about as big as one of the common rooms only with a lot more stuff in it, so even if someone were to come across this room, the two of them could easily hide without being found, "I can't believe this room exists! This is perfect for us!" He stated as he looked around the room.

"I thought so too, I think the door disappears on the outside once people enter. That's what I'm assuming anyway. It isn't very likely that anyone will find us here." Aubree said with a smile. She couldn't believe how perfect this room was for them. If they had come across it sooner, they might have been able to avoid the whole Harry getting suspicious ordeal. Possibly anyway. But it didn't matter now. They'd be able to come here without having to worry about anyone, not even Filch, finding them.

"You look exhausted." She said frowning slightly as she turned to face him, tracing the dark circles under his eyes lightly with her thumb. "I really didn't mean to worry you when I sent you that owl last night. I was just really excited that I had found this place, and we weren't planning on meeting up after class today..."

---

Fred held her close and didn't say anything for a while. He simply rubbed what he hoped were soothing circles into her back as he held her and murmured the occasional word of comfort to her. He hated seeing her like this, and he was beyond angry about what had gone down in detention with Umbridge that evening, but he wasn't going to let his temper get the best of him right then and there, not when Charlie was this upset. He'd seen her upset on very few occasions and even then he was certain that she had never been this upset.

"I know, love. I know. Let's just sit here for a while, shall we? Christmas will be here soon. You're coming back to ours for part of the holiday, aren't you?" He asked as he pulled back and led her over to one of the couches. He took a seat and pulled her down onto his lap as he held her close. He knew that the question was slightly off-topic, but that was what he wanted. He wanted to distract her from what had happened as best as he could. "Mum'll have your head and mine and George's as well if you say no." He chuckled slightly.