CHAPTER THREE:
GOLDEN DAYS

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FREYA MCKINNON WAS NOT a morning person, not even close. Waking up before 10am nearly always left her in a bad mood, her housemates having long since gotten used to the sight of her blonde head of hair slumped against their table each morning. Micronapping between bites of food, she'd listen to Solana rise-with-the-sun Thomas chattering away in her ear before it was really time for her to face the day.

The third day back to school would be no different, regardless of whether or not it was Freya's birthday. Seventeen and nowhere near ready to face the real world, Freya's morning started with a rough wake-up from Solana.

"Happy birthday," the girl shouted as she jumped onto Freya's bed, crushing the sleeping girl in a tight hug. "Oi, wake up, birthday girl."

"Go away," Freya grumbled into her pillow, voice muffled by the blue cotton material.

"No," Solana scoffed. She adjusted her body so that she was sitting on Freya's back, flicking the blonde girl's ear over and over as she droned, "Wake up, Freya."

"Alright," Freya huffed, swatting her hand away. "Just get your ass off me, I can feel my ribs breaking."

Muttering under her breath, Solana stood up, staring down at Freya as the blonde slowly sat up and yawned. Feeling the heat of her gaze, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sol?"

"Can I give you your present now?"

"Go on," she sighed, sitting back and watching as Solana clapped her hands excitedly, racing over to her bed to rummage through her bedside table. "You know, you didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh please, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't buy you a seventeenth birthday present?" Solana scoffed. She cheered in triumph as she found Freya's present, holding it victoriously in the air before rushing back over to dump it on Freya's bed. "Open it, open it, open i-"

"Alright," Freya chuckled. "Keep your pants on, woman."

She took a moment to look over the gift. It was hastily wrapped in midnight blue paper, flashes of yellow obvious along the edges where Solana had failed to stick the wrapping paper down properly. Taped to the front was a plain white envelope with Solana's chicken scratch hand-writing scrawled across the front.

"You're killing me here," Solana sighed with impatience, dropping to the end of Freya's bed with a dramatic cry that had Freya snorting in amusement.

Reaching for the present, she dislodged the card and set it aside to read later, tearing into the thin wrapping paper under Solana's excited gaze. A wide grin overtook her features as the paper fell away, revealing three objects stacked on top of each other.

"Well," Solana muttered, a nervous glint in her eyes. "What do you think?"

The first gift Freya held up was an oversized yellow knitted sweater. Freya had always adored oversized shirts, especially those in yellow, her favourite colour. She had a whole wardrobe of shirts similar to the one Solana had brought for her but Freya cherished it nonetheless. In her opinion, girl could never have too many sweaters.

The next present was a jumbo bag of Freya's favourite caramel toffees. The sight made Freya laugh, knowing she'd be set until at least Christmas with the amount that Solana had settled on. Not the healthiest snack, but Freya's sweet tooth appreciated it.

The last present made Freya's heart warm. She reached for the leather box with delicate fingers, unclasping the lid with care. Inside was a thin gold chain with a rustic smiling sun pendant attached to it. Freya knew it must have cost a fortune. With a glance up at a now bashful Solana, she could see a silver chain resting around her best friend's neck with a half-moon pendant hanging from it delicately.

"I know it's cliché," Solana muttered under her breath, only be cut off by Freya throwing her arms around her. "Damn, Frey, you trying to suffocate me? Is this your way of saying thank you?"

Freya just chuckled and squeezed her tight. "Thank you. I love them."

"I'm glad," Solana sighed. Her embrace lingered for a moment before they both released each other, Solana plastering on a cheeky grin as Freya looked back down at her presents with a smile. "Now up you get, birthday girl. We're eating with the twins and Lee this morning."

Freya groaned but there was no malice to the sound. She rose to her feet with reluctance as Solana exited the room, shouting for Freya to meet her downstairs when she was ready. With that, Freya retreated into the dorm's adjoining bathroom, tired but surprisingly eager for the day ahead.

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"I KNEW YOU'D LIKE that sweater," Solana beamed at Freya from where she sat scratching Max's head. Freya had a pair of high-waisted blue denim jeans on with her new yellow sweater and a pair of faded combat boots. Around her neck was Solana's necklace, the pendant sitting comfortably between her collarbones.

"How do I look?" Freya cooed with a smirk, spinning around in an exaggerated circle as Solana whistled appreciatively.

"Like a million bucks," she exclaimed as she clambered to her feet. "Now let's go, I'm starving."

Before Freya could say another word, Solana latched onto her wrist and dragged her out of the common room, leaving Max to curl up on an armchair where he'd undoubtedly sleep away the day. Soon enough, the girls were entering the Great Hall, Solana sighing happily at the tables cluttered with food.

"Morning, babe," Fred grinned as she and Freya joined them, Solana dropping into the seat beside him and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. Fred chuckled as she immediately put together a plate of food for herself, catching Freya's own amused gaze from across the table and cheering, "Well, if it isn't the birthday girl."

George nudged Freya's side with his elbow, grinning when she turned to raise an eyebrow at him, "Happy birthday, Freya."

She grinned shyly, "Thanks, George."

"We got you a present," Lee cooed to catch her attention. He reached into his school bag, bringing out a purple and orange checkered box. Freya drew it closer to her, eyeing it warily as she ran a hand over the lid. "Don't be shy, McKinnon, it's only a box."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Mhm, and what have you done to it?"

"Done to it?" Lee gasped like her words had offended him. "Why would I do something to your present, McKinnon? What kind of guy do you take me for?"

"Do you want me to answer that?"

Before Lee could say anything, Fred spoke over him, chuckling into his pumpkin juice, "Don't worry, Freya, we haven't done anything."

"George wouldn't let us," Lee grumbled under his breath, shooting George a glare from across the table.

Freya caught George's sheepish gaze as he scratched at his forehead, "Thought it would be a bit mean to prank you on your birthday."

Freya grinned at him thankfully, glancing back down at the present with a new sense of trust. She unclasped the lid, peering inside when nothing extraordinary happened. Separated into four sections were a range of coloured lollies, seemingly innocent, but if Freya knew anything about the twins and Lee Jordan, these lollies were anything but.

"Uh, thank you?" she frowned, holding a purple and orange sweet between her thumb and index finger.

George laughed at her expression, leaning back in his chair as he said, "They're our inventions. Sweets to get you out of any sticky situation."

"That one makes you vomit," Lee beamed with pride. "And not to worry, we tested these ones."

"Thank you," Freya chuckled, this time a lot more genuine. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need these."

"Any chance we can use them to skip Defence this morning?" Solana grumbled into her toast.

Freya was yet to have a lesson with the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but she along with the rest of the school had heard less than pleasant tales from the younger students about her teaching. For a moment, Freya had forgotten that her first class with Umbridge was today and Solana's reminder replaced her smile with a frown.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," Fred tried to assure her, but even he didn't believe in his words. The group sent a furtive glance in Umbridge's direction, noses wrinkled at her bright pink ensemble.

"Merlin, does she own anything other than pink?" Solana scoffed.

"Doesn't seem like it," Freya sighed.

Before they knew it, it was time to head to class. The group arrived outside the Defence classroom much sooner than they hoped they would, standing around with the other Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors as they waited for Umbridge to arrive. It didn't take her long, her pointed features twisted into a smile that didn't meet her eyes.

"Stand in two lines, please," she clucked in that high pitched voice of hers, stopping in front of the door as everyone slowly did as they were told.

"What is this, preschool?" Freya muttered under her breath as she stood a hair's breath behind George. He and the boys just gave confused shrugs, unsure what preschool was, while Solana grimaced in agreement with her.

"Now, when you enter this classroom, there will be no talking. Wands away, books out, ready and eager to learn. Any questions?"

Several hands shot into the air but Umbridge ignored them, turning on her heel to open the door. Exchanging furtive glances, everyone followed her inside, taking their usual seats in dead silence. Freya could feel her nerves growing as Umbridge patrolled the rows of desks, a stack of textbooks in her arms while a floating piece of chalk wrote her expectations up on the board.

"Wand away," Umbridge cooed down at Solana who was yet to do as she was told. With a roll of her eyes, Solana tucked her wand into her bag. With a pleased nod, Umbridge placed their books down on the table and moved on before either girl could question her.

Freya stared down at the title with wide eyes. Basics for Beginners. Her gaze almost immediately caught Solana's, who wore the same shocked expression on her face. If it wasn't obvious last night that the Ministry was interfering with the school, it sure was now.

"Open to chapter one, please."

Freya naively hoped that the contents of the book would be more than what the title made them out to be, but she was left feeling rather disappointed as she finished the chapter, hearing mutters of confusion erupt from her classmates.

"Silence, please."

In an instant, Solana was snapping her book shut and raising her hand in the air. Umbridge took her sweet time acknowledging her, finally caving in when Solana didn't waver, "Yes, Miss...?"

"Solana Thomas," she finished for the woman. "I have a question about the textbook."

"Oh, you do?" Umbridge raised a thin eyebrow, looking thoroughly unimpressed with her. "What could possibly be so confusing, Miss Thomas?"

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells."

"Miss Thomas, I can't imagine why you would need to use defensive spells in my classroom," Umbridge giggled, the sound sending chills down Freya's spine. Before Solana could respond, she continued. "Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven, but you'll be pleased to know that from now on, you'll be following a carefully structured Ministry approved course of defensive magic."

Freya's heart sunk. From behind her, Fred slammed his book shut with a scoff, "We're not doing magic?"

"Students will raise their hand if they wish to speak in my class."

Fred's hand and several others shot into the air. Umbridge sighed and gestured over to Fred, "Yes, Mr Weasley."

The amount of distain in her voice jarred Freya. Unlike with Solana, Umbridge did not need to ask his name, catching sight of his bright red hair and the identical boy beside him and immediately knowing who he was. Her undisguised glare made Freya uncomfortable and it seemed she wasn't the only one. Solana was fidgeting in her seat, a sneer of annoyance twisting up her usually cheerful features. Freya reached out to grip her hand tight, which didn't do much to ease her nerves but helped her stop moving so much.

"What's the point of learning about magic if we're not going to use it? How are we supposed to defend ourselves?"

"You won't need to defend yourself in my classroom, Mr Weasley," Umbridge snapped, scoffing as if the idea was ludicrous. "It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all, is what school is all about."

"But that-"

"I won't have any more chatter," Umbridge interrupted Solana. "Open your books, Mr Weasley and Miss Thomas, we will return to reading chapter one." And with that, she turned her back on the room, leaving Solana and Fred to open their textbooks with reluctance. Solana and Freya turned in their seats to glance at Fred and George, the four wearing the same grim expressions.

Whatever they'd expected from the Ministry's presence at Hogwarts was far worse than any of them had initially thought. Freya knew she was in for one hell of a final year.

If only she knew just how crazy it would be.