With Stars in Their Eyes

Tucked away in the towers, Fred and I were eating Fizzing Whizbees, sipping on butterbeer, and sneaking kisses. It was such a simple, but beautiful moment which is why I knew once the sun came up, it would all come crashing down.

I was expecting the Howler, but I figured I would have at least a week to think of some halfway passable excuse of why I broke off my betrothal to Caelum. Instead, I received the bright red letter the very next morning.

"Sophia Annalise Travers! You have disgraced your family by turning down such a fine man as Caelum Warrington. Your father and I are absolutely mortified with your behavior, especially after the careful planning that went into arranging this match. You shall be wed the day after your graduation, and we will no longer be so generous and allow you to have a say in our choosing."

Immediately after the angry huff at the end of the shrieking lecture, the crimson letter burst into flames and fell as ashes onto my breakfast. I felt every eye turn to me as the Great Hall fell silent.

Howlers weren't terribly uncommon at Hogwarts, but the matter was normally about poor marks on exams or unreasonable amounts of detentions. Mine, however, was far more scandalous. There I was, a week away from being seventeen, and already being scolded about marriage.

To the purebloods in the hall, I was given looks that ranged from pity or disgust. All the other students just looked puzzled. And of course, there was Cassius Warrington. His eyes were hard as he stared at me just like he would a blood traitor. I refused his brother, and he seemed to take it as a personal insult.

I was just thankful Fred wasn't there to witness the show.

Burning red from a combination of embarrassment and scarlet rage, I slowly got up and slung my bag around my shoulder. The Slytherin students stuck their noses up at me as I dared to meet a few of their eyes. Adelaide and Keira already had their heads together, whispering vicious things about me, I was sure.

By some miracle, I was able to keep my chin held high as I marched from the Great Hall and into the corridor. I wasn't sure where I was going, but my feet led me further and further away from the dungeons.

"Sophie!"

"Leave me alone!" I hissed before turning to see who the person was. When I spun around, I was surprised to see Neville standing before me. "Oh, Neville… I'm, I'm sorry."

I uncurled my hands I only then realized were made into fists. When I brushed some hair off my face, I could almost feel the fire in my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled while shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "that was… well, it was harsh."

"You should be there for Sunday brunch," I grumbled bitterly. After the words came out, I noticed how more and more I was mimicking Fred's sarcasm. "I know they're my family, and I do love them, but it's like they don't even care about me! They'd rather I be in an unhappy, loveless marriage with a pureblood instead of being with someone I actually care about."

"It's not right," Neville agreed, "you deserve better than that. Better than them, Sophie."

Neville's eyes had some sort of light, the same light that appeared whenever he got excited about Herbology, only this time it was more intense.

Narrowing my eyes, I questioned, "What are you on about?"

"I trust you, so I'm going to take you somewhere." Neville explained. "Do you trust me?"

I didn't even have to question myself. Right away, I knew I trusted Neville Longbottom more than my own mother and father. He gestured me to follow him, and without a word, I did.

We climbed higher and higher until we were on the seventh floor. Neville began pacing in front of a wall, and my eyes grew wide in confusion. It was the same place Fred and I would sneak away to, but as a tall door emerged from the stone, I knew that it was somehow different.

After stepping inside, my lips parted in awe. It was no longer a cozy room with plump couches and soft throw blankets; it was something else entirely.

"What is this?" I whispered aloud.

Neville smiled, "Come on."

He closed the door behind me, and I took a better look around. It was a long mirrored room full of students shooting spells at dummies. My lips parted in awe as I watched students of every house, minus us snakes, come together and perform remarkable defense magic. It was true that Umbridge ruined the class meant to protect us in these trying times, but there they were defying her countless rules and teaching themselves.

In the center, Harry Potter was standing with Fred's younger brother and their bushy haired friend.

Before we stepped much further into the room, a Hufflepuff student I didn't recognize approached us and smiled, "Neville! We were just practicing — wait! What's she doing here!? She'll give us away!!"

The sudden shouting caused wands to drop, along with a few students who'd been in the air, and more eyes focused onto me and my green and silver tie. However, there was no pity in these many pairs of eyes like in the Great Hall; there was only anger and suspicion.

"Get her out of here!" A younger boy barked.

Another girl cried, "She'll get us all expelled!"

Harry Potter approached Neville and I, his eyes guarded, and he murmured to his housemate, "Neville, what were you thinking?"

"We… we can trust her." Neville attempted to assure him.

"She's a snake!" Ron argued. "She'll rat us out."

"Well you'd know all about rats, wouldn't you?"

A tall ginger emerged from the crowd and offered me a kind smile. Even without checking for a mole first, I knew it was George speaking.

"Sophie, why don't you tell us why you're here?" George suggested casually.

The many angry eyes on me made my stomach churn, but then I met a single pair of chocolate brown eyes. As I stared at Fred, a look of surprise and excitement danced across his face.

And just like that, I found my voice.

"I want to learn defense," I answered confidently.

"Just like all of us." George answered. "And who are we to judge her because she's a Slytherin? I mean, just last week, Seamus was calling Harry a liar. And Finch-Fletchey, you were terrified of Harry his second year. Thought he was out petrifying mudbloods!"

"We can't trust her!" Someone shouted.

Another Weasley stepped forward, and though I never spoke to her before, I was equally surprised and touched by her words.

"What we're fighting for, what the Order fights for, is equality. Equality for all people." Ginny said. "If we refuse to accept her, what makes us any better than the purebloods?"

"Will you sign your name?" Hermione asked kindly, handing me a piece of parchment with a long list of names.

I smiled, reached into my bag and produced a quill. "Of course."



After the signing of my name, it was official. I was the sole Slytherin member of Dumbledore's Army. The name alone caused a rebellious smile to grace my lips since I knew the Headmaster to be one of the people my family detested most in the Wizarding World.

It felt so amazing to be a part of something like this, I regretted all those years I spent sticking my nose up at these people. Most of the students were still weary about having a Slytherin in the ranks, but others were kind and quickly accepted me. As I stood among a group of giggling students, I thought back to the first day I ever saw Fred Weasley. He was in the middle of a group of children, laughing and having the time of his life. Could my own Hogwarts life have been like that if it weren't for my prejudiced upbringing?

As my first training session with Dumbledore's Army came to a close, students began to filter out. They were careful about not everyone leaving at once, so Fred and I hung in the back.

"You had a whole army in your back pocket and you didn't think to mention it?" I asked playfully.

Fred grinned sheepishly, "I'm sorry. I didn't tell you not because I didn't trust you, I just didn't want you to get all tangled up in this just in case you felt obliged to."

"No, this time, this is for me. I want to be here." I answered with a small smile. "For the first time in my life, something makes sense."

Bending down, Fred placed a quick peck against my cheek before taking my hand in his, and suddenly, I didn't feel quite as awful about my family's enragement. So long as Fred was by my side, I was sure everything would be okay.