TWENTY FIVE

FRED LOOSENED HIS BODY and the girls let go as Harry and George left the pitch silently. Fred didn't say and word and marched towards the locker room. Rory groaned and followed him as Angelina and Katie stayed behind to talk to Madam Hooch about what had happened.

"Fred!" Rory shouted, walking slightly behind the boy. She entered the locker room which was once again only occupied by the two of them. It seemed Ron had left rather quickly, not wanting to talk to anyone out of disappointment.

"Fred Weasley!" She snapped, he turned to face her, his chest rising visibly from the heaviness of his breath.

Katie and Angelina entered, and Fred shot Rory a look that said, "We'll talk later." She nodded and began undressing. It seemed Katie and Angelina could read the room, and they left the changing area rather quickly.

Fred sat down on the bench in the middle of the room and Rory sat next to him.

"Fred. Talk to me." She said quietly, placing a hand on his leg.

He nodded and took a slow, deep, breath, "I'm not really in the mood to talk. Not right now."

She leaned in closer and could nearly hear his heartbeat against his chest. Her hand that wasn't on his leg, found it's way to his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his and she placed a soft kiss on his lips.

He kissed back with a bit more force, his heart still beating ferociously. Rory loosened her frame and matched the passion of his kisses which moved from her lips to her cheek to her neck then back to her lips.

She went along with it, and nearly forgot what had just happened moments prior as his hands graciously explored her body, one of them finding it's way gently placed around her neck. Kissing Fred always made her feel good. He was always so focused on Rory. Every little thing he did, he did for her. Ever since they'd began dating, Rory often found them exchanging passionate kisses when no one was around.

The girl really didn't mind. She always saw herself as very innocent. The thought of anything like she was doing used to terrify her, that was until she started dating Fred. He went out of his way to make sure she was comfortable with anything and everything they did. She felt safer in his embrace than she did anywhere on earth.

But she knew it wasn't right, as much as she enjoyed it, she knew he was better off talking through his anger than taking it out on Rory, even if it was in the best and most... polite way. Although his kiss often made her forget her own name, she suddenly remembered where they were.

"Fred," she said lazily against his lips, "Fred. We should continue this later. Back at the castle? We should be there when Harry and George get back from McGonnagal's."

The boy pulled away and sighed, "Yeah, alright."

She smiled, nodded, and began tossing her uniform into her bag. Fred seemed in a much better mood, however as they got back to the castle, they soon discovered that would not last.

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"BANNED," SAID ANGELINA a in an empty voice, late that evening in the common room. "Banned. No Seeker and no Beaters... What on earth are we going to do?"

Rory was a mess. She was anxiously pacing around the common room, tears in her eyes. On the way back up from the pitch, McGonnagal had pulled Fred into her office and said Umbridge had banned him from Quidditch and he needed to turn in his broom. And he hadn't even done anything wrong. Rory was furious. She nearly turned in her Head Girl badge and quit the team herself to give Umbridge a piece of her mind. However, Fred talked some sense into her and she decided against that idea.

"It's just so unfair!" Rory said, throwing herself on a seat next to Fred. "I mean, what about Crabbe and that Bludger he hit after the whistle had been blown? Has she banned him?"

"No," said Ginny miserably, "He just got lines, I heard Montague laughing about it at dinner."

"Fred didn't even do anything!" Rory said, grabbing a pillow to get her anger out on.

"It's not my fault I didn't," said Fred. "I would've pounded the little scumbag to a pulp if you three hadn't been holding me back."

"And we should've let you! If they were going to ban you anyways!" The girl groaned.

"I'm going to bed," said Angelina, getting slowly to her feet. "Maybe this will all turn out to have been a bad dream.. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and find we haven't played yet..."

Rory left her spot by the fire and started pacing again. Fred followed her while George went to bed. The boy sat in an armchair in the corner and extended his arms to Rory. She sighed and took a seat in his lap, his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"I'm so upset Fred," she said.

"Me too," he sighed, "At the same time... I'm not though."

She gave him an odd look, "What do you mean?"

He shrugged, "Part of me really doesn't care. I mean... being on the team is just a small blip in the timeline of my life. Now I have more time for working on the shop, and for my amazing girlfriend."

"What? You don't care you got banned from Quidditch for life for absolutely no reason! That's it!"

He nodded and planted a kiss on her forehead, "Please don't worry about me. You have way too much on your plate, darling."

She sighed and buried her head in his neck. He hummed softly and played with her hair. She began to feel a lot calmer. Although, it bothered her that she seemed to care and be more upset than Fred was. At the same time though, she was glad he wasn't upset because she hated seeing him unhappy.

"You mean so much to me, you know that?" She sighed, "I just want the best for you."

He nodded, "I know. And what's best for me is that you take care of yourself, stop worrying so much, and let me touch your — "

"Fred!" She rolled her eyes, "Alright, I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

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DECEMBER ARRIVED WITH HARSH snowfalls and the sudden lack of sunlight. There was no Quidditch for a few months, so all Rory had to look forward to were DA meetings and Christmas (which was quite a lot). Her eighteenth birthday went by, Fred and George had snuck into the kitchens and baked her a cake with the help of the House Elves. It was a lovely way to celebrate. Her Head Girl duties, although busy, were a bit fun. She and the prefects were called to supervise the decoration of the Great Hall, survey the corridors, and watch over the younger students on their free periods.

Just before their last DA meeting before the end of term, Angelina came to breakfast with a grin.

"What're you so happy about?" Marina said smirking.

"Well — Rory, remember how you suggested I ask Cleo and Zane about replacing Fred and George? Said how you'd seen them play during free periods and they were good?" Angelina said reaching for the bacon.

Rory nodded.

"Well..." the girl smiled, "I've asked them to join and they said yes! And then I've got Ginny to play Seeker!"

"Wait a damn minute!" George whined, "You've got other twins to replace us? That was like, our gimmick, though!"

"Yeah well your new gimmick is beating up Malfoy and getting banned from Quidditch so— " Angelina said bitterly.

"Nonetheless," Rory sighed, "I'm sure Harry will be glad to know the team has still got a shot."

Just then, the McDowell twins sat near them at the breakfast table and George looked at Marina and rolled his eyes. The girl giggled and nearly spilled her apple juice.

"Oi! Archer!" Zane grinned, "Thanks for telling Angelina to put us in, it means a lot."

"Don't mention it!" Rory shrugged, "I was just thinking about the good of the team."

The McDowell twins were intimidating. They both shared the same sharp jawline and amber eyes that strongly complimented their dark complexion. Both of them had an attitude that would get them in trouble, but a charm that would always get them out. They were pure blooded and fiercely wealthy. Rory knew they'd be the perfect fit for Beaters, given any player would be mad to cross them on the pitch. Despite them being obviously fraternal twins, they looked nearly identical. Zane even had hair the length of his sisters, but kept it in a bun on most days.

"Want to head up now, love?" Fred asked, "Get some homework in before the meeting?"

Rory nodded and her and Fred went back up to the common room and worked on Charms. They had been getting heavy loads of schoolwork with N.E.W.Ts approaching in just a few months.

Later that day, they found themselves in the Room of Requirement, where all their meetings were held. A room in the castle that only appeared to those who need it and would fit the user's specific needs.

"Okay," Harry said, calling them all to order. "I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three-week break —"

"We're not doing anything new?" said Zacharias Smith, in a rude whisper loud enough for everyone to hear. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come..."

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," said Fred loudly.

Rory chuckled as did many others in the room.

"We can practice in pairs," said Harry. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

Rory paired up with Fred as she always did. George with Marina, and Lee with Angelina. It was often hard for the two of them to get through the tasks at hand without giggling their way through it, which usually made it difficult to cast the spell they were practicing.

"Impedi – Rory!" Fred laughed, "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?" She said, breathlessly through a giggle.

"You two," Harry sighed as he walked around to check on everyone, "Get it together."

Fred forced a straight face and stood up straight, "Yes, sir."

When Harry turned his back they laughed even harder, but much quieter than before. About ten minutes later, Harry instructed them to practice Stunning spells. However, due to limited space, they had to split into groups and observe while the other group practiced. Rory and Fred were in the second group, and watched the first batch stun their partners.

Rory saw Aaron had partnered up with Luna Lovegood, who seemed to almost enjoy every time the boy successfully stunned her and let out an airy giggle each time she hit the pillow. The groups switched and Rory and Fred practiced Stupefy on each other. They had each successfully stunned the other each time which was a bit improvement from where they had been just weeks prior. At the end of the hour, Harry called the meeting to an end.

"You're getting really good," he said, beaming. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff — maybe even Patronuses."

Rory smiled and eagerly bounced on her heels at his words. She simply could not wait to finally cast a Patronus. The room emptied in groups of twos and threes, people wishing Harry a Happy Christmas as they left. It seemed Cho Chang had purposefully left herself alone as her friends exited without her.

"Thanks for everything, Harry!" Rory smiled, "I'll see you at the Weasley's!" She shifted her eyes to Cho and back to Harry and shot the boy a wink before leaving.

As Rory drifted off to sleep that night, she never expected to be woken up by Professor McGonnagal in the middle of the night and rushed to Dumbledore's office with Fred, George, and Ginny.

"Potter is claiming to have had a vision of your father being attacked," the woman explained to the Weasley children as they all walked quickly out of the common room, still in their pajamas.

"A vision?" George asked in a worried tone, "Is he a seer now or something?"

McGonnagal sighed, "There isn't much time to explain, here - Pumpkin Pasties," she spoke the password and the statue in front of Dumbledore's office moved. The four of them followed her inside and saw Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore.

"Harry — what's going on?" asked Ginny, who was slightly out of breath and had a fear in her eyes. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt —"

"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore with a strange calmness. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

"How're we going?" asked Fred, he was holding Rory's hand and she could feel him slightly trembling. "Floo powder?"

"No," said Dumbledore, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back... I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you —"

A bright flame flashed in the middle of the office and a gold feather lightly fell towards the ground. Rory furrowed her brows, still processing it all.

"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your beds... Minerva, go and head her off — tell her any story —"

Professor McGonagall left swiftly.

"He says he'll be delighted," said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas appeared in a painting. "My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests..."

"Come here, then," Dumbledore said to the children. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us..."

Rory and the others gathered around Dumbledore's desk.

"You have all used a Portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and they nodded, each reaching out to touch some part of the blackened kettle. "Good. On the count of three then... one... two... three."

The feeling of being jerked around by a rickety fair ride travelled through Rory and after a few seconds of it, her feet touched the floor of Grimmauld Place.

A/N

obligatory spice at chapter 25

fun fact: potterblacks and i became besties in a groupchat helping expectoremus write chapter 25 of her book "stain" (which is the smut chapter, 10/10 recommend) also don't worry there's gonna be real smut later on down the line <3 just not until both characters are 18 !!!!

also the mcdowell twins are naomi scott and avan jogia btw