The next few weeks were nothing short of idyllic. Aubrey hadn't realised how much she was getting stressed out by the plan so to just take a few weeks of and focus on something else so positive was nice. Over that time, she discovered much about Fred, which brother was his favourite (George, followed by Charlie), how his one sister was probably deadlier than them all and his Muggle obsessed father. It appeared Fred actually liked to talk a lot and Aubrey loved it.

Even nicer was the fact that when Aubrey was happy, Saskia's antics seemed to go down - she too was calm. In fact, she was almost pleasant to be around, even Lexy seemed to notice this, her mood increasing significantly, especially now that her two best friends politely nodded at one another in the corridor rather than ignored each other. The positivity was contagious too, it seemed as one day, Lexy came rushing down the corridor, a few days before the Hogsmeade weekend.

"AUBREY! SASKIA!" The two girls turned to her, stopping on their way to Muggle Studies, "Oh my God, I have something to tell you!"

"What's up, hon?" Aubrey asked, cocking her head to the side, "You alright?..."

"Yeah, I'm really good actually," Lexy replied with a grin, "Um ... I can't stay long, got Care of Magical Creatures next but ... um, well ... George sort of asked me out just yet and you can guess what I said?"

"Yes?"

"No?" Saskia guessed, quickly changing her answer as Aubrey spoke, "Yes ... I didn't really know what that meant..."

"Like going on a date," Aubrey whispered.

"Ah, going around with, right."

Lexy nodded vaguely, "Yeah, that ... anyway, I said yes! I have no idea when but it was cute, he was just hanging out on one of the walls with Fred and Lee but sort of leapt down."

"Did he hurt himself?"

"No, Saskia, he didn't, why do you look so gleeful?" Lexy replied, "He landed a bit wobbly but I don't know, it was very valiant so yeah, I said yes! I'm not sure what we're doing yet but probably going to get tea, that's what most people do on dates, I think. Anyway ... I have to go now, don't want to be late but yeah, just thought you might like to know that! ... bye!"

With that, she'd sped off leaving Aubrey in an even better mood than before. As it turned out Lexy didn't want to attend Harry and Hermione's meeting in the Hog's Head, slightly concerned that with everything going on, being part of a secret club would put a bit of a target on her back. She agreed to wait in the Three Broomsticks though with some Ravenclaws she hung out with in Care of Magical Creatures until they came back. Even though a secret club wasn't exactly her cup of tea, Fred made it sound so good that the idea of rebellion was starting to sound sort of fun to Aubrey as well as completely nerve wracking.

• • •

Never before had Fred been so excited for a Hogsmeade Weekend before, there was a lot resting on this one, for both him and George. That morning, he woke up surprisingly early so was surprised to see a figure looming over him. For a second, paranoia kicked in and without thinking, he kicked upwards, hitting the figure in the groin.

"Fred, don't do that!"

The voice was familiar and Fred's hands jumped to his mouth, "Kenny? Bloody hell, why are you standing above me like that?"

"I was seeing if you were awake," Kenny groaned, taking a seat on the side.

"In the most way creepy way possible," Fred pointed out, pushing himself up into sitting, "May I ask why you had to talk to me so urgently?"

"Um ... I had to do it before Ang wakes up. Remember when I said I wanted to talk to you before? Well, this is it," Kenny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his shoulders twitching, "Apparently there's this Defence organisation thing happening in Hog's Head, right?" Fred nodded slowly, "Well, the thing is, I want in ... my parents are muggles and our house is ... well, not in a great area with even worse security. Last year, someone came in and nicked our stereo whilst we were out ... sorry, not the point. The point is, I want in and Ang doesn't."

"What exactly do you want me to do? Sounds like you know a lot already."

"Well, Ang won't let me go. She caught wind of it and said her Mum would be angry if she joined so neither of us could go and I just went along with it," Kenny admitted, his shoulders shrugging again as the nerves intensified, "So I agreed to go shopping with her for Mum's birthday. Would you sort of ... write my name down for me if there's a list or something and tell me what happens?"

"Sure ..." Fred's brow furrowed as he remembered something Aubrey had said, "Wait, are you and Angela not doing so well? She seemed to think you were fine when she and Aubrey last spoke."

Kenny laughed weakly, "We're ... fine. It's just she's a ... big personality, if you know what I mean. I don't know, I should probably speak my mind a bit more but when she makes decisions well, it's easier just to go along with them."

"Even if it means ignoring Aubrey?" Fred countered, "I could see on the train you way back you didn't agree with her, Kenny."

Kenny paused, his mouth hanging open, "Well ... she was off most of last year, Ang was pretty upset - "

"But were you?"

"Well," He shrugged purposefully, before promptly avoiding the question, "I don't know, I guess I'm glad she has you at least so she's not lonely. I'm just happy she's doing okay, that's what matters. Anyway, will you do it for me?"

Fred nodded, "Sure, mate."

"Thanks ... mate," Kenny smiled sheepishly, "Well, I'd best be off ... I'll remember not to loom over you next time..."

"Yeah, thanks. Bye Kenny."

Whilst the encounter with Kenny didn't darken his morning, it did leave some unanswered questions. When the twins met up with Aubrey and Lexy later, she immediately seemed to pick up on this the moment they met.

"Where's Saskia today?" George asked, smiling at Fred before making a beeline for Lexy.

"Working on a super, secret project apparently," Lexy giggled, looking over her shoulder at Aubrey, "Aubs, did she tell you anything else?"

"Nothing except it didn't involve hanging off trees today thankfully," Aubrey replied, linking her arm around Fred's, "Fred, everything alright, hon? You look a bit troubled."

"I am a bit. This morning, I ended up chatting with Kenny of all people, and I don't know, he seems off form."

"His tic returned," Aubrey added, "That's never a good sign really, it takes a lot to bring it back."

"It's more than that though..." Fred said, "Come on, I'll explain on the way."

Their serious conversation stood in stark contrast to George and Lexy who were joking around the whole way which was definitely a good start to a first date. By the time they arrived at Hogsmeade, Aubrey was solemn as was Fred. It appeared that Kenny and Angela weren't as happy as Angela had led her to believe but if Kenny was going to show up to the meetings, that gave her the perfect time to talk with him.

"Fred, how long will this meeting take?" Aubrey asked after a nice stroll around the village which made them both feel like old people, "It's just it would be nice to get a table at the Three Broomsticks so if it's an hour, I might duck out early just to dibs one."

"Shouldn't be long, Hermione's concise," Fred assured her, "And we can send Lee instead, he gets restless so will probably offer."

"Oh, Lee's coming too?"

Fred nodded, "Angelina, Alicia and Katie will be there too, I think. If it gets too intense, we can just pretend it's a bunch of friends hanging out."

"I thought you made jokes or threw dungbombs when things got too much," She giggled.

"Yeah, that actually works too."

The moment Fred entered the Hog's Head, both him and Aubrey got vivid flashbacks to drinking with Ludo the year before.

"Don't go all angry Badger on us this time," Fred couldn't help but whisper as they walked over to Lee, Angelina and the girls who waved at them to come sit.

"For the love of Merlin, that was one time."

"Multiple times, actually."

"Oh shhh," She replied, raising an eyebrow at him as they joined George and their friends. Angelina greeted them with a smile, striking up a conversation with Aubrey about natural hair and braids which was definitely seemed to ease her nerves about the meeting slightly. More and more people began to arrive, which only seemed to make Harry, who was stood at the front with Hermione and Ron, look even more nervous. He offered Harry a kindly smile and thumbs up, public speaking wasn't easy.

George was one of the last to arrive when Harry had already started speaking, creeping in across the front. He was very apologetic, sitting down right in between Aubrey and Fred.

"Did your date get a little too hot, George?" Lee teased whilst Fred nudged his brother.

"Something like that," He whispered back before grinning at Aubrey, "Hey, remember this place? ... don't go all angry badger on us again!"

"That was one time!" She repeated angrily.

"Multiple times," The twins corrected in time before Ron shot them a look and they continued to focus on what Harry was saying.

It was clear the boy was very stressed as he spoke about what was out there, everyone falling a bit silent as they remembered how much he really had overcome and the people who'd lost their lives right in front of him. Aubrey and the other Hufflepuffs, in particular, fell silent as Cedric seemed to cross their mind making Fred take her hand in his. George, caught in the middle, essentially ignored this violation of personal space other than an eyebrow raise.

After it was done, he was prepared to have a discussion about with Aubrey just in case she'd changed his mind. Instead, she was one of the first people to write her name down on the paper, using her elbows to get to the front. When they left the Hog's Head, both seemed to be a little nervous yet excited.

"So ... the Three Broomsticks?" She murmured, "That place is so dark and gloomy..."

"You can say that again," He replied, shivering as he looked back at the pub, "Let's go!"

There were plenty of tables to go around when they arrived so the two ordered their drinks and took a seat.

"It's sort of exciting really, defying Umbridge like this," Aubrey said, taking a sip of her butterbeer, "Although if she catches us, I reckon me and you will get a harsher punishment that anyone else."

"Just bring Saskia out and avoid it. Anyway, I reckon she hates Harry just as much as us, just in a different way," Fred replied, "Speaking of Umbridge, I've been having a think about your plan."

She tried hard to hide her excitement, "Oh, that little thing? We don't have to talk about that."

"No, let's," Fred replied to which she grinned.

"Good, because I've been thinking too," Aubrey replied excitedly, "I'll let you go first."

"Alright, I think Umbridge is a good place to start but books is not - she's not important enough for that," Fred said, unable to restrain from adding in a jab at her, "So we need to speak to people. We don't know who she went to school with or who was her ... but maybe we do: ghosts."

Aubrey's eyes were wide, "I was about to suggest the same thing, it's like you're still in here!"

Fred shrugged, "Even Barty can't break the bond between us."

"True," She giggled, "Which house was she in?"

"Slytherin, it's got to be."

"I don't know," Aubrey winced, "She could be a Hufflepuff. Think about it, she's loyal and hardworking even if she's an arse about it."

"... fair point," Fred nodded, "Alright so Fat Friar and Bloody Baron are our main choices ... this should be fun..."