ONE

BY RORY'S FOURTH YEAR SHE had a reputation. It wasn't necessarily a bad one, but it all depended on who you asked. Ever since she became George and Fred's best friend, her life was adventurous and rebellious. She pulled ridiculous pranks and got detention as a result, but sometimes she could talk her way out of it. Whichever it was, regardless of her punishment, she was the girl who most people adored. With her sense of humor and bright aura, the students at Hogwarts all knew who she was. Along with the twins, she was a legend of sorts.

The girl was sorted into Gryffindor with a consideration for Hufflepuff for her kindness and Slytherin for her ambition, but the hat decided she'd thrive in the scarlet and gold house with her bravery and nerve.

Rory had several immediate friends. It was her, the twins, Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson, and Marina Dobbs. Marina was the only out of the group to not understand how to play Quidditch, so for the past few years, Rory and the other four Gryffindors had tried teaching her. So far, the results remained unpleasant.

The brunette watched her friend grip the wooden broom and kick off the damp grass. Next to Rory, Angelina continued shielding her eyes and wincing in fear. Marina's straight black hair was blowing lightly as she only got three feet off the terrain and nearly crashed into the stands. George was flying above her, verbally coaching her to fly higher, which she wasn't physically doing. After nearly three minutes of Marina hopelessly wobbling in the air, she collapsed on the dewy earth.

On first instinct, Rory ran towards her, even though she knew her friend survived. Fred came over as well and helped Marina get off the ground and back on to her feet. The Gryffindors laughed and realised sometimes people don't possess athletic ability, Marina especially.

The rowdy teens were soon interrupted by a loud, over-confident sounding voice Rory could only identify as the close-minded bigot of a professor named Gilderoy Lockhart.

The blonde man had a scowl on his face and spat, "And what are the six of you doing out here?"

"We're practicing Quidditch, sir," Rory said, disdain in her voice.

"Funny. Now, do you have permission to be out here?"

"No sir, you see, we don't specifically need permission to play Quidditch," Fred defended.

The narcissistic professor laughed to himself in a tone Rory read as both sarcasm and amusement. "Never talk back to your superiors. You two, come with me. The four of you, leave this field before I have you expelled."

"You can't make that decision, Prof — sorry," Rory began, but instantly shut up, not wanting double detention. Lockhart glared at her before walking away from the field, Fred and Rory following him. Eventually, the three reached the professor's office, which was filled with moving portraits of himself. Nothing else covered the walls except him. That was the first thing to set Rory off.

"You two," he spoke, rummaging through his desk drawer for something, "will help me answer fan mail. Spending an afternoon with me isn't exactly punishment, but I just have so many unanswered letters it'll surely cramp both your hand and your style."

"After you answer the letter, put it in an envelope and add it to this small pile I already started. I'll let you go by dinnertime."

Rory uneasily sat down on one of the chairs placed opposite to the one on the desk. Fred took a seat next to her in another chair. In front of them, Lockhart placed a large pile of letters tied together with twine. The brunette sighed and undid the string, letting the loads of letters spew out on the desk. She picked one up and began reading.

Dear Gilderoy,

Your autobiography was so fantastic! I loved hearing every detail of your life! Cornish Pixies are terrifying, you're right about that. Also, my favourite colour is lilac, too! Oh, I do hope you read this letter, although you may be busy teaching at Hogwarts. Which by the way I'm thrilled to hear those students will be getting an education by only the best, you!

With love,
Bella Reed xx

Rory cringed as she closed the letter and got a plain sheet of parchment. She dipped her quill in the ink and began writing something about how the Leanna girl had a pretty name and lilac was a fantastic colour. That was essentially what Rory wrote for every letter after that. She looked over at Fred, who was drawing odd doodles in each letter, not really anything kind to the poor sender either. She laughed to herself as she watched the ginger boy write the letters and crumple them into envelopes without a care in the world.

Hours later, detention was over. After reading letters from the pitiful fangirls, boys, and middle-aged women, Rory had a headache. The loud children in the Great Hall didn't make it any better, but the good food and company of her friends made her soon forget.

"How was detention?" Marina giggled as she served herself an odd looking blue pudding.

"'Dunno Mar, how was falling on your arse on the Quidditch pitch?" Fred joked.

Marina rolled her eyes, but Rory could tell she was biting back a smile. "You guys ready for the match tomorrow? Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor."

"I'm so excited to play Hufflepuff!" Rory smiled. She truly was. They were her favourite team to play. Probably because there was the least pressure on them. Their first game was always against Slytherin, which was not only the first of the entire season, but against their rivals. And the last match was always Ravenclaw, which determined if they won the season or not. But Hufflepuff was right in the middle, first weekend of March.

"Yeah, can't wait to spike a Bludger at Pretty Boy Diggory." George said, swinging his arm to mime the action.

"Oh, shut it." Angelina rolled her eyes. "Don't let Oliver hear you say that."

"Yes, because we're so incredibly threatened by Oliver Wood. Think his defenses are a bit down after having us practice every single night after dinner." Fred joked. As he said that though, Rory noticed he took a quick glance around to make sure he wasn't in earshot.

"Hey, Rory, check this one out." George said, nudging her. He had under the table a piece of parchment that, to them, was much more than that. It was a map. The Marauders' Map. The map that showed every movement of every person in the entire school along with the secret passageways.

George pointed to two names on the map, tucked away in a hidden corridor. Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater.

"That's why old Perce isn't at dinner," He said. "Off hooking up with the Ravenclaw Prefect."

Rory gasped, "Percy? With a secret girlfriend? Sneaking off? Are we sure he hasn't been possessed or something?"

It was completely out of character for the Weasley boy to be off doing something like that. He was all about law and order, not sneaking around and having a hidden girlfriend. Rory, for a moment, was a bit jealous. Not of Penelope, but of the both of them for having someone to be so adventurous with. Maybe one day Rory would sneak off with some boy and exchange kisses around the school where no one could see them.

Oh please, Rory, don't be silly." Fred laughed, "He's just going through his rebellious phase."

Rory smirked, snapping out of her fleeting second of sadness. "So if being rebellious is a phase, what's the deal with you two?"

"Yeah, yeah, very funny." George rolled his eyes. "That reminds us, can you distract Pretty Boy for us? We're gonna slip something in his drink so his hair turns purple."

"Not funny," Rory said defensively. "He's a very nice boy. At least do it to someone who deserves it."

"Yeah, like Lockhart." Marina said, agreeing with Rory. "By the way, what was your detention?"

Fred and Rory exchanged a glance and smiled. "Answering fan mail." The girl replied, shaking her head.

"That's it?" George asked, sounding mildly offended, "Last detention I had to clean out Mrs. Norris' litter box." He shuddered at the memory and pushed away his half eaten dessert plate with disgust.

Rory chuckled and stood up from the table. "Well, I'm off to bed. In case you blokes forgot, there's a match tomorrow and we've got a potions essay due next class."

Fred shot a smirk at Marina and the dark-haired girl rolled her eyes in response, "Absolutely not again, Weasley. I'm not doing your essay for you."

The boy pouted and tilted his head slightly. "Please?"

Rory giggled and walked off, knowing that exchange could go on for hours. And it honestly might have. By the time Rory fell asleep, neither Marina nor Angelina had joined her in the dormitory. And so, alone, she dreamt of Quidditch and beating Hufflepuff.

[][][][][]

SOME DREAMS DON'T COME TRUE. Rory learned that the hard way the next morning just as she mounted her broom. Professor McGonagall came to announce the match had been cancelled. Oliver Wood was especially devastated by the news. When they all returned to the common room, he was in distress.

"I can't believe they've cancelled Quidditch!" He said, running his hands through his hair. She truly did feel bad for the boy. His one passion kept being disrupted by various events occurring at Hogwarts. "We had it all figured out. Hufflepuff spent more time being scared of Potter than working out how to beat us."

"Is anyone going to tell us what's happened?" Angelina asked, also very upset.

"Considering McGonagall isn't here and hm... I don't seem to see Ron or Harry. It can't be very good, can it?" Rory said, taking a seat on a velvet couch. "You think there's been another attack? I don't see Hermione either —"

"You'd be right, Rory. A double attack." Percy interjected. The common room went quiet and listened to him. "Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater. I can't believe they'd attack Pe..." he paused, "a Prefect." He couldn't say much after that.

Moments later, McGonnagal entered with Ron and Harry behind her. The woman held out a roll of parchment and began speaking.

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock each evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." She rolled up the parchment and continued speaking, this time with tears swelling in her eyes.

"I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward." Without saying anything else, the woman walked out of the portrait hole, leaving a room of confused students to talk amongst themselves.

"You okay, Ron?" Rory leaned over and asked the boy.

He looked down and nodded, "I'll be alright." He said, looking a bit detached, "Thanks, Rory."

" — Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherins? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin — why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" Lee Jordan went off. Other Gryffindors seemed to agree with his monologue was greeted with scattered applause.

Rory rolled her eyes. She didn't think it was very productive to blame every Slytherin, even if one was responsible. He made a point, but the idea of ridding the school of all Slytherins wouldn't do anything.

"How about instead of putting all the blame on who did it we be a little more compassionate to everyone." Rory said to him. "It's a scary time for anyone who's not pure blood and friends of those who've been petrified. And trust me, nobody wants to see school shut down!"

"I wouldn't mind it, Ror." Fred shrugged. Rory glared at him and he quickly put his hands up and said, "Only joking."

"Mmhm." Rory mumbled, "Just look at Percy, he's nearly beside himself with shock. And Ron — where's Ron?" Rory and Fred looked around the room to see Ron and Harry were no longer with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"That kid is really gonna spoil the family reputation." He joked.