Chapter Twelve

Sorry, it's been a while.

School got quiet. No gossip. No rumors. The school was, simply, quiet. Life seemed to come back the day of the last dinner. I was sitting on the couch, lost in thought, around midday, since I had no classes. Christian came up behind me and hugged me. "I think if any day, that today is the day."

I sighed, "But I'd be cheating on you, if I do."

"It's worth getting you out of your situation," he whispered in my ear then kissed my cheek.

I stood up, smiled at him, and walked out of our common room. I was not sure where to look, but I had thought I would start at our willow tree.

I walked down the corridor, through the halls, and outside to the courtyard. I jogged over to the tree to see if he was there. Before I got there, I stopped. I reached into my pocket of my enchanted cargo pants and pulled out a monocle. I pulled it out and looked at the tree. It was the one George gave me for Christmas our second year. Sure enough, Fred was there leaning against the trunk.

I put the monocle back in my pocket and took a deep breath. I walked over and parted the drooping branches.

He was gone.

I looked up to see if he pulled the trick I had last year. Nope. I walked out from the tree and saw him walking back inside. I sighed and ran after him. He looked back and then broke out into a run as well. I had to speed up because he had longer legs than I did.

We reached the other courtyard, when he turned around and stopped, a smile on his face. I ran right into him before I could stop. I felt the impact of him hitting the ground. He had one hand on his face as he was laughing, and the other on my back. My face was in my hands while buried in his chest, laughing.

I looked up. "Why did you leave from under the willow?"

"You're not the only one with one of those monocles," he chuckled. "I saw you coming and left."

"Then, you decided to have a cat and mouse chase?"

He smiled and nodded. I got off of him and knelt beside him. He sat up. "I know why-"

He was cut short when I brought my face to his. I pulled away. "Now, what was in that chocolate?"

"Well, um…" He went off listing a few things.

One stood out.

"Who the bloody hell puts willow leaves in chocolate?"

Fred shrugged. "To be frank, we didn't know what half of the stuff was until we wanted to make more. It was really the only thing that is weird, but I can make you more for your birthday."

"Sounds good," I smiled.

He put a hand to my cheek and pulled me in for another kiss. At first, I did not resist it, but then I remembered Christian. "Fred…" I said as I pulled away.

"Harry Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived. You-Know-Who is a dark lord. When You-Know-Who was at his greatest, he killed Harry's parents. He tried to kill Harry, but the spell didn't work. Lily Riddle is the Girl-Who-Lived. Right before You-Know-Who killed the Potters, he killed the Riddles. It is unclear what happened to her after her parents were killed." He paused to take a breath. "Now you know."

He got up and began to walk away. "Thanks, Fred!" I called after him.

Christian and I walked to the end of the end-of-year feast together, hand in hand. We entered the Great Hall together. It was decked out in green and silver. Slytherin had won for the seventh year in a row.

Christian and I sat in two empty seats next to Derek. "Did you hear about what Harry and Lily did?" Derek asked with excitement and curiosity in his voice.

"No, what did he do?" I asked, feeling better about the whole Harry/Lily situation.

"Supposedly, he defeated the Dark Lord, again," Christian explained. "Along with Lily."

"That's cool… but wait. Wouldn't that mean that he was here the entire time under our noses?!" I exclaimed.

"Look and see what professor is missing…"

Quirrell.

"Everyone thinks he had something to do with it," Derek said.

The hall grew quiet as Dumbledore arrived. "Another year gone! And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast," he said proudly. "What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… You have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before the new year starts…

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with two hundred and fifty points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

We got second. Everyone cheered. Gryffindor, though, seemed reluctant to celebrate.

"Yes, yes. well done, Slytherin. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The hall was silent while everyone looked around. "Ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I have a few last minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…

"First- to Mr. Ronald Weasley…"

What did he do this time?

"…For the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

The hall, well, Gryffindor to be exact, became really loud, especially Percy.

"Second- to Miss Hermione Granger… for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.

"Third- to Mr. Harry Potter…" The room got quiet. "…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

"Fourth — to Miss Lily Riddle. . ." The room was deadly quiet. ". . . for demonstrating that your family does not determine your fate and showing what it's like to truly care for someone, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

I leaned over to Christian and whispered, "Why is Gryffindor getting all of these points? They are tied with Slytherin now."

The hall was ecstatic at this point. Dumbledore raised his hand to silence them all. "There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies," he smiled, "but it takes just as much to stand up to your friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

We watched as the Gryffindor table went from being two sides of the table in rows to a giant blob on a chubby kid, which I took to be Neville.

"Which means," Dumbledore interrupted everyone cheering the fact that Slytherin lost for once, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands and everything green went red. Everything silver went gold. Everyone went back to cheering, mostly for Slytherin's loss. I got up and ran over to Fred. "Congratulations!"

He turned around and lifted me into a hug. "I can't believe it! We won!" He laughed.

He leaned in as if he was going to kiss me. I put a hand over his mouth. "Fred…" I sighed. "I have a boyfriend, remember?"

Fred placed me back down. "Sorry."

I turned and saw George. "Congrats on the big win!" I said as I gave him a hug.

"It's all because of Ron," he joked with a beaming smile. "And, well, maybe Harry too."

"Slytherin finally lost," I said, pulling away.

"Yes, finally," he said back.

"Well, see you later," I told them as I was walking back to the Ravenclaw table.

"Bye, love," George called back.

I almost stopped in my tracks. I was surprised. I walked back over to Christian with a weak smile on my face. He gave me a stronger smile back, so I gave him a hug, in a tackle kind of way. He seemed to hesitate as he put an arm around me. As I pulled away, I kissed his cheek. "You okay?"

"Hm…?" He said, coming out of his own little world. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I nodded slowly. Odd.

We got off of the train, and I tried to find my parents. I held onto Christian's hand, pulling him along with me, thinking it was as good as a time as any for him to meet my parents.

When I found them, I tightened my grip on his hand. They waved me over. "Hello, Kady!" My mom called me over. "Who's your friend?"

I smiled. "Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Christian," I said happily.

"Hmph," my dad said.

"It's a pleasure to meet the both of you," Christian smiled. "Kady has told me wonderful things about the both of you."

My mother gave me an approving smile. My dad just nodded and pulled Christian over to the side. My mom got closer and said, "This one's a keeper."

"Technically, he's not on the Quidditch team," I joked.

My mom glared at me and shook her head. The boys walked back. "Let's go," my dad said.

"Okay," I sighed. I gave Christian a hug and kissed his cheek before I walked away from him.

The day before my birthday, I got a package. Attached was a note.

Dear Kady,

So how about not saying good-bye to me when you left? I thought we had something… Kidding! Anywho, here's your chocolates. I'm sorry for making you this way. Or if you're glad I did it, then you're welcome! Who's going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? As long as it's not Snape, I really couldn't care less. Ginny's going to start Hogwarts next term. Can you believe we'll be fourth years already? I remember the day we met. Harry, Lily, Hermoine, and Ron met in a similar manner, believe it or not. We've come a long way since then. We aren't eleven anymore. We are fourteen (At least I think you are…). And guess what? I won the bet. Wood wasn't too ecstatic, nor was George. He's been giving me the silent treatmen since he found out. What…ever…

Sorry?

Fred.

I shook my head and threw the note away. I opened the package and saw the chocolates. I hesitated to grab one but eventually temptation took over me. I grabbed one and shoved it in my mouth.

An hour or two later, all of the hair on my arms had darkened and grew a bit longer.

One a day, every day.

End of year Three!