I quickly make my way down the mahogany staircase. The crimson and gold that decorates the stairs shine in the light my wand makes. Is in the dead of the night and everybody is asleep. The other Gryffindor D.A members are still asleep, except Hermione. Her bed was already empty. She told me this morning that she had to prepare something.

I know they, Hermione and Harry, are going to be teaching us. I silently make my way towards the round hole in the wall, that is our exit. Luckily the Fat Lady is fast asleep as the portrait opens with a shriek. Still, on my tippy toes and the light of the wand, I make my way down. 'B!' Thomas whispers loudly. He walks towards me, dressed in his casual clothing. His wand illuminates his handsome face. 'The others?' I whisper. 'Some are still asleep and I saw Luna and Cho reading in the common room. I told them that I was going to you' I smile. 'Thank you, I thought about waking the other girls too, but I suppose we are just early'

'We are eager, that is something else' Thomas answers and we giggle. Together we walk towards the seventh floor of Hogwarts, that is where Neville told us to find the room. I still don't the Room of Requirement but as long as we have a place to gather...

'B!' Thomas suddenly says as he pushes me behind a pillar in the corridor. 'Nox!' I whisper and my light goes out. 'Ridley!' That is Filch's voice. Thomas winks at me and his light grows bigger so he illuminates the corridor. 'What are you doing out of bed in the midst of the night..?' Filch grabs Thomas by his shoulder. 'Those bloody children' I hear him mutter. 'I report to Filius Flitwick that you are walking around in the hallways!' He says irritated as he pushes Thomas back to the Ravenclaw common room. I stay hidden behind the pillar until I can't hear them anymore. I know that Thomas is coming back so I just wait. It feels like an hour has passed as I hear footsteps again. It is dark but the figure is unmistakably Thomas. 'B!' He whispers and I come out of my hiding place. 'What is your punishment?' I whisper as he takes my hand and pulls me with him. 'I don't know yet. He is going to report me to Flitwick in the morning' He laughs. 'Maybe it cost us ten points. I don't know. But I do know we are late. The others were already gone'

Oh.

We rush through the hallways and up the stairs. When we arrive at the seventh floor, the doors are visible. 'Come on' I say. Thomas releases my hand and together we walk inside. The doors disappear again and when I turn around, I see the others. Ron smiles at me and I feel my cheeks turn red.

We stand together in a line as Harry stands before us. 'Glad to see all of you could find this place all right' He says while smiling. 'Hey, Harry' Neville says. 'What is all of this stuff' Pointing towards the devices scattered around the room. 'Loads of Defense Against the Dark Arts' equipment. Hopefully, we'll be able to get all of it before the end of term' Harry answers as he paces in front of us. 'You need to understand something before we start, though. Defending yourself from the Dark Arts has less to do with magical ability and more to do with thinking fast and with a lot of luck' Harry pauses and takes a deep breath. 'We'll be doing Expelliarmus tonight, though hopefully, we can move on to other things if we have time'

'Oh please,' A boy I know as Zacharias speaks up. 'Professor Lockhart taught us that in the second year'

'Lockhart didn't teach as much as prune himself' Ron says with fire in his eyes, staring at the boy. 'Besides, it works. I used it against You-Know-Who last June. It saved my life' Harry states and Zacharias falls silent. 'Right. Well, let's split into pairs and give it a go' Harry announces. 'I, Hermione' Thomas says and I giggle. 'You have to ask Ron' Thomas whispers as he walks towards Hermione.

Great.

But when I look at Ron, he is already making his way over to me. 'Beatrice, shall we-'

'Yes' I answer him too quickly and I start to laugh. Ron grins and we stand opposite of each other. 'You first' Ron says and smiles. I feel a tingling in my stomach as he does that and I smile at him. 'Expelliarmus!' I shout and Ron's wand flips from his hand across the room. 'That was great Beatrice!' Ron says happily as he gets his wand back. 'Your turn' I say. Ron grins at me and again I feel that same feeling again. ''Expelliarmus' He yells and now my wand flips from my hand through the room. 'That was a good one, Ron!' I say as I get my wand. So it goes on for a couple of hours. Harry is always there, teaching us, encouraging us. 'Well done Neville!' I hear him praise. 'Look here, you lot!' He shouts at the rest of us. 'Neville's really got the hang of this one' Harry turns to Neville. 'Go ahead again' Fred tosses Seamus his wand to Seamus and Neville swirls his wand. ''Expelliarmus!' And Seamus his wand flies through the room. 'I did it! I did it!' Neville shouts enthusiastically. Harry claps him on the shoulder. 'Never forget this spell, Neville. It could save your life one day' Harry smiles at him and moves to the front of the room again. 'Okay, everyone. We've done a lot today, and I've seen some great improvement. That's it for now. We'll meet back here, same time next week!' He says as the doors open and the members disappear into the hallway. I linger, waiting on Thomas and Ron. And of course also Hermione and Ginny. 'Come on B!' Ginny says as she hugs Ron and her tired eyes light up as she gazes upon Harry. I do not know what time it is, but i do know that today is going to be hard. Outside the Room of Requirement, I embrace Thomas tightly. 'Goodnight' I say and he smiles. 'Sweet dreams B' He whispers as he looks at me and then at Hermione. She smiles at him and looks at her shoes. 'I hear Filch!' Ginny suddenly whispers. The only thing I hear now is our heavy breathing as we stumble through the dark hallway towards the stairs. Thomas has to go left to reach his common room. I feel his gaze upon me as we rush to the hallway, away from Filch. I stumble but Ron - again catches me- 'Sorry' I stutter as I feel his hand on my waist. 'It's okay, I will always catch you' But when he says that, his face turns bright red. I do not know what to say, so i just smile happily at him. But Filch's footsteps are coming closer and because I stumbled, we are far behind the others. 'I know a shortcut. Come on' Ron grabs my hand tightly in his and pulls me with him through another corridor. But Filch is following us, I can hear his muttering through the quiet hallway, and that we are rushing does not help. Our footsteps are ringing clear in the hallway. 'In here!' Ron suddenly opens a door and pushes me inside. He closes the door quietly behind us. It is pitch black inside. 'Ron' I say, trying to keep my voice low. 'Where are we?'

'The broom closet' Ron grins sheepishly. I take a step back, but my back is already against the stone wall. Ron his hands are holding my waist tightly. We listen to the sound of Filch muttering and walking past us. I breathe out. But now we have to go back. It is now that I notice how close we are to each other. 'B' Ron whispers. When he says my nickname like that, I feel goosebumps all over my body. He comes closer and I move my hands without thinking so I put my arms around his neck. Pulling him closer, he breathes out and I have to stand on my toes. Ron looks down on me and he smiles. 'You know, I think that you are beautiful Beatrice' Again I blush, not knowing what to answer. I pull him closer and my lips find his. We stand like this, frozen. But soon it involves a lot of tongues. Breathing heavily, we pull back. I smile probably like crazy. But I never felt this happy. 'So' I start but Ron pushes me again against the wall and kisses me again. 'I waited so long to do this' He says out of breath. 'Every summer, and when you and Thomas became friends. I was afraid at first that you liked him'

'I love him like a big brother Ron. The same as I do for Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George. And I suppose also Percy' Ron chuckles a bit, remembering the fights I had with Percy as prefect. 'Good, because I like you. A lot' He says as he bows forwards and kisses me again.