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They slid out of the portrait hole, “TUT TUT,” said the Fat Lady.

Fred and JC giggled and quickly ran down the steps and down the flight of moving steps to the third floor corridor.

“Come on the coast is clear,” JC said peaking around the corner.

Fred pushed JC into the wall and she pushed him back. Fred’s back hit the suit or armor and toppled it over. The clanking of the armor rang in the hallways, “Who’s there,” called an eerie voice, “I heard you, no need to hide!”

JC and Fred ran out of the corridor and into the one-eyed witch passage, quickly they shut it and stayed quiet.

“Stupid brats,” the voice muttered.

JC recognized it as Filch’s voice; they stayed quiet as his footsteps faded away into the distant, “He’s gone!”

“Good,” she heard Fred whisper.

He put both his arms around her and kissed her lips lightly, “What was that for,” JC asked him.

“I don’t know,” Fred said and kissed her again.

JC smiled and pulled back, “I like it when you don’t know things.”

Fred kissed her again, “Come on, all we have to watch out for is Snape and Mr. Prefect Boy Diggory.

JC took her wand out and quietly opened the passage door. Gladly, the halls were clear. Fred led JC back to the staircase and they ran down to the ground floor to the kitchens.

It wasn’t the first time she had been down to the kitchen late at night, to get in all you had to do was tickle the pear in the painting next to the Great Hall doorway. Once they stuffed their pockets with candies and sweets, they walked out.

“And what do you two think you are doing?”

Fred and JC stopped in their tracks; it was Diggory’s voice behind them.

“I got this, “JC muttered and gripped her wand in her pocket.

“What does it look like, we got hungry, duh.”

“No need for the smart ass talk,” he said taking a few steps toward her.

He gave her one of his ‘pretty-boy’ smiles, “I can’t believe you don’t fall for my good looks.”

Fred took a step towards him, but JC held him back.

“EXCUSE ME, Fred looks way better than you, don’t even try that shit on me, my boyfriend is standing right beside me and you have the balls to say that to my face,” JC kicked him hard in the groin.

“Learn something, Mr. Pretty Boy, I hate you,” she said to a whimpering Cedric who was now down on the ground in the fetal position.

Fred laughed, “I had something better in mind.”

“Aw, I’m sorry, there’s always next time, hun.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hannah awoke the next morning to the all-too-bright sun peering in through her curtains. George had forgotten to close them when he left that night, or more than likely, left them open just to annoy her. He had taken to lying in bed with her, chatting or humming, sometimes even singing, until she fell asleep. She moaned and rolled out of bed, then preoccupied herself with getting ready to start another day. Luckily, it was Saturday, so she had the whole day to goof around. She wasn’t about to let George get away with that rude awakening though, so as soon as she deemed herself ready, she went down to the common room to plot. There she found Harry, fast asleep on the couch.

She tiptoed over to him and shook his shoulder gently. “Harry. Harry get up. Come on, it’s a new day.”

He groaned and rolled over and looked up at her. “Morning.”

She nodded and poked his shoulder, “Get up sleepy head.”

“Hannah, you’ll have to forgive me if I’m not exactly in the best mood today. My best friend hates me for something I didn’t do and it makes me feel weird to sleep in my own bed.”

“Oh calm down, you know Ron. He is just jealou; he will get over it. You’re his best friend and he knows he won’t be able to stay mad at you forever.” She sighed. “I swear, you boys say we girls are the cause of all drama.”

He smacked the back of her head jokingly and turned over to look at the ceiling. “I’ve missed this place so much. It is so good to be back home, even if it means putting up with my insane sister. But home just doesn’t feel like home with Ron so pissed off.”

“Like I said, he’ll come around. Until then, just be patient with him and focus on preparing for the tournament. You know I’m worried about you with all of this.”

“Yeah, I know, and I wish you’d stop worrying. Worrying isn’t going to help anything, and Dumbledore seems pretty confident.” He said, seeming to be trying to reassure himself more than her.

“Well you know, I’m here for you if there’s anything you need help with.” She glanced to her left and found that George had managed to sneak down the steps without her noticing. She sighed, said her goodbyes to Harry, and went off with George to start their day.

“Dear, I’m worried about Harry. I don’t know what I would do if he got hurt while doing this… and I don’t even want to think about if he were to die! Moreover, of course right when he needs and deserves all the support in the world Ron is lying around pouting and blaming him for it. This is so ridiculous! Why don’t you and Fred try to make Ron see sense? I’d really appreciate it.” She ranted as they descended the steps toward the Great Hall.

“Well Hannah, you know I’ll try, and I’m sure Fred will too, but Ron is stubborn and hard headed. Not to mention he thinks Harry figured out how to enter on his own and didn’t even mention it to him. Think about it… that’s like me or Fred or even JC going and pulling a huge prank on Draco without even consulting you about it.” He reasoned with her.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t accuse any of you until I had proof, unlike Ron.”

“What do you want me to say love? That you are smarter and more mature than Ron is? You already know you are.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m afraid that we’ll all just have to wait for Ron to come around.”

“I suppose you’re right. I hate it when you’re right.” She teased. By this time, they had seated themselves at the Gryffindor table and they both dug into their breakfast. The tables were relatively deserted because most students were either sleeping in or already out enjoying the day.

“What do you want to do today my love? I’m up for anything.” George asked after gulping his pumpkin juice.

“Why don’t we take a walk around the grounds for a change? Just the two of us? We haven’t done that yet, and I’m not in much of a pranking mood. After that we could go back to the common room and try to help Harry…” She trailed off.

“Sounds like a plan.” He laughed. Soon Lee Jordan arrived and took a seat across from George and Hannah. He kept them there for a little over an hour joking and carrying on. He also whined quite a bit about the lack of Quidditch this year, which made Hannah sigh. She had never liked the sport. It could be entertaining to attend games. The atmosphere, the rivalry, the fierce spirit of everyone there, it energized her, but the game itself seemed too dangerous. She was glad she wouldn’t be watching George risking his head every time the Slytherin beaters decided they needed to get rid of him and Fred. Eventually he excused himself to chase after a girl he had been eyeing over dinner the previous night and Hannah and George were alone again.

They walked out onto the grounds hand in hand, admiring the beautiful day. There were students scattered about the grounds, some laying in the grass sunbathing, others skipping stones on the lake where the giant squid could be seen occasionally tossing them back, there were even kids in the trees, swinging from branches. Hannah and George made their way to a shady area where the lake met the Forbidden Forest and settled in. Hannah took to her wolf form and snapped at a crow that had the nerve to perch on a rock nearby, growling and pouncing back and forth, while George sat in the grass watching and laughing. When the crow finally flew off, obviously annoyed, she prowled back toward George and, when she was close enough, she pounced, changing form in midair. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She pecked his cheek and turned to look out over the water.

“It’s days like this that make me know without a doubt that I’ll never forget this place.” Hannah said.

He squeezed her shoulders, “I know dear. When Fred and I leave here, it will be grudgingly. It’s a shame we can’t live here.” He laughed.

“I know, I’d do anything to just never have to leave,” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “but hopefully I will be able to live with my father soon, so perhaps those feelings will change.”

“I’m glad you’re looking forward to it. I personally am dreading the day I find out you won’t be living with me anymore.” He laughed and kissed her.

“You know what I mean love, it would be nice to get a taste of what my childhood could have been like.”

“I know dear, it would just hurt not having you with me.” He looked away across the lake, and for the first time Hannah saw pain spread across his face. Not the physical kind of pain, she knew those faces too well, from when they tested some of their products over the summer. This was deep emotional pain.

“Love, I won’t go anywhere without you by my side. You’re part of my life now.” She said, pulling his face to hers. She knew she was lying, but she wanted it to be true so badly that she didn’t care. George was important to her, and even though she knew that eventually she would have to follow Harry wherever he may go to defeat Voldemort for good even if it meant away from George, she was willing to pretend it wouldn’t happen.

A peaceful silence grew between them and soon they drifted off, sleeping the sweet morning away in each other’s arms. Before Hannah knew it, the sun was looming overhead and students were rushing past to make it to lunch. She and George made their way toward the castle slowly, joking and pushing each other playfully.

“Uh-oh…” George said looking directly ahead of them. Hannah looked and saw Draco making his way toward them. He looked furious.

“What did you do?” She whispered as he approached, wondering what could have him so angry with them.

“Nothing as far as I know.” He said.

“Hannah!” Draco growled coming to a stop in front of them.

“Draco?” She asked nonchalantly.

He glanced angrily at George then back at her, “Can I have a word with you…. Alone?” He asked, nodding toward George as he said the last word.

She nodded at George, “I’ll catch up with you dear.” He squeezed her hand worriedly and continued slowly toward the castle, looking over his shoulder at them.

“Could you make this quick please? I do have plans today.” She asked as she crossed her arms.

“Well I’m sorry if I’m such an inconvenience to you, but this is important.” He seemed to be trying to look angry.

“Draco, we used to be friends, you don’t have to pretend to hate me and everything I say.” She said. In truth, she knew there was no way they would ever be friends like they used to be, but it would be nice to have one less enemy.

“Look, that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. You keep trying to revert to the old days. Things are NEVER going to be the way they used to be between us. You are a Black, and a pure blood! But you go running around with mud bloods and half bloods and Potter,” He spit Harry’s name, “and worst of all, those sick Weasleys. They don’t even act like pure bloods! Why can’t you be like Bella? She knows what it means to be a pure blood. She’s proud to be of the noble house of Black.” He looked down his nose at Hannah and observed as her blood boiled.

“Draco, Bellatrix is a sadistic killer! She and your father and so many other pure bloods have lost track of what it means to be a pure blood, not to mention they’re all death eaters!” She whispered that part. “Being pure blood doesn’t make us any better than any other witch or wizard, it just means we can trace magic back to our oldest ancestors. Nothing more, nothing less. I have no desire for things to be the way they used to be. We were little and you’ve changed a lot. You were twisted back then too, just not as much. I just hate that we keep fighting.” She ended yelling.

“You know… father used to think well of you. He used to…” Draco trailed off and looked at Hannah, then glanced off at the lake.

“I know what your father thought Draco. Pure bloodlines are getting thinner and thinner. He thought we might end up together since we are not closely related. Nevertheless, obviously that is not going to happen. In addition, as for what your father thinks about me…. I don’t give a damn. He’s not MY father!”

Draco looked taken aback at her reaction. “Hannah, we really aren’t that closely related…” He said, and then looked away, “But I understand. You want the blood traitor. Just keep in mind that was your decision. I cannot protect you from the death eaters now that you have made your choice. I can’t be held responsible for anything that may happen to you either.” He said angrily, then turned and stormed off.

Hannah was steaming. Part of her felt sorry for Draco, she knew his father or mother, or both for that matter, had pushed him to make an advance. She also knew that there had always been part of him that had hoped for the same thing. Guiltily she acknowledged the dark part of her that considered what her life would be like if she had chosen him. Only a small part of her felt these things. So much of her was filled with overwhelming rage at the things Draco had said. How he had actually tried to threaten her to make her reconsider! He really was twisted. She stormed into the Great Hall, sat down beside George, and kissed him with such passion that he dropped his pumpkin juice. If that was how Draco wanted to play then fine, at least she knew that his jealousy could make for a good weapon in the future.