Before the eyes of a large group of students, Filch hung the ultimate decree, the one they dreaded the most:
Dolores Jane Umbridge has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sarah passed it again that evening, and shrugged. She turned the corner and crashed into someone, dropping every book and paper sheet she was holding on the ground.
"Shit!" she heard a familiar voice, and looked up to find Alexander.
"Oh, you-" she got out her wand and pointed it at him, he held up his hands, eyeing it.
"I can explain, please, Sarah," he pleaded.
"For the sake of our seven years of friendship. Give me your best shot at this," she said, frowning at him.
"It's my dad-Umbridge told me she'd send out for him if I talked. And I didn't do it the first time, but I swear she slipped me something, Veritaserum. I know the taste, because I know how to make the Antidote, you know that. We both know, but I swear-"
She lowered her wand, "Okay, okay. I believe you. Wait- Your father?"
He sighed, rubbing his eyes, "The second I told her about the DA, he stumbled on our front porch, my mum sent me an owl. We had spent the holidays without him and he showed up bloodied and hurt-"
"Oh my God..." she whispered. It made much sense now, but it didn't make it any easier.
"It's fucked up, and I'm sorry. I need to tell the others," he breathed out, and the light flickered over his face, his eyes were hollow, his face pale, his eyes didn't hold that joyful feeling they always did. He hadn't slept in a while.
Sarah took him into her arms, "I'm sorry about your father. And the serum. I'll tell them, it's best if they don't see your face up close until they know."
She walked with him into the common room, arms around him. He needed a friend, and by the looks of it, she was his only one right now.
They entered to find Sarah's friends gathered around the fire, they turned around. Alexander winced, taking off his arm and gently squeezed her shoulder before going up to his dorm, "Thanks."
She nodded briefly and he left. She turned to her friends, Harry, Hermione and Ron were glaring at her, George and Selena were staring wide eyed, and Fred wasn't looking at all.
"It's not what you guys think," she said plainly, walking towards them.
"Depends on who you're asking. They think you're being nice to a traitor," said Selena, pointing at Harry, Hermione and Ron, "And we think you two were snogging." She pointed at George, Fred and herself.
"You all right?" Sarah asked Fred, he was tense, jaw clenched, like about to be sick.
"Totally," he mumbled with a shrug.
Sarah pursed her lips then turned to frown at Selena, "That 'traitor' happens to be one of my closest friends-"
Selena hummed, "You see, I'm worried now, because you aren't denying either of them."
Sarah scoffed, "Selena! I'm not snogging AZ, what's wrong with you?"
She sat on the ground, looking up and Selena, George, and Fred, who was doing his best impression of a cool face, hoping it would work.
"Then?" asked Hermione expectedly.
"He explained to me what happened. The Ministry must have been involved with what happened with his father, and Umbridge slipped him Veritaserum. She's still the villain in this, not him," she explained.
Selena backed away into her seat, they were the only ones who knew about his father's disappearance.
"Are you serious?" whispered Selena concerned, making the others a bit confused.
"The second he gave us away, his father stumbled upon their front porch."
Selena covered her mouth, bringing her knees up, "D-Do you think they'll go after parents, now? If we mess up, will they h-" she cleared her throat, "Will they hurt our parents?"
Selena was Muggleborn, her parents were doing nothing wrong, they weren't even from this world...George put an arm around her, and brought her closer.
"I don't know," spoke Sarah quietly, sneaking an arm around Harry's neck, and rested her head against his. She exchanged a look with Hermione, Ron and Fred.
They all thought about their families. The actions they were doing here had consequences outside of Hogwarts, and they hadn't signed up for that. They were ready to face punishment themselves for whatever they were doing but their families? No, they shouldn't be punished for this.
Where was their world going?
_
"What do you have now?" asked George, he, Selena, Fred and Sarah were walking through the corridors, getting out of their Charms class.
"Arithmancy, right?" said Selena, leaning her head to direct the question at Sarah.
"Yes. But Umbridge changed the class, we have to go through the second floor all the way to the Northern side," said Sarah, watching as Selena frowned, remembering that fact.
Umbridge changed almost everything Dumbledore fought so hard to maintain. The comfort and well being of students wasn't a priority anymore, but all about the Ministry. They really went out of their way to alienate every person they could.
"We'll walk you," said George and Fred in synch, respectively putting an arm around Selena and Sarah's shoulders.
The girls chuckled and shook their heads endearingly at them.
They'd made it to the Northern side, when the four of them felt something push them apart. More like smack them apart. Sarah and Selena crashed against the opposite walls and Fred and George were pushed forward.
Sarah opened her eyes to see Umbridge pointing her wand at them, "Eight inches, Messrs Weasley and Weasley. The rules are quite clear."
She chuckled sickly and continued her way down the corridor, opposite to them. George and Fred split to help the girls up.
Sarah dusted her robes, rubbing the shoulder she crashed against and huffed, "She could've sent us backwards, that mean old chav."
"Yeah, the walls weren't necessary," said Selena, rubbing the arm that cushioned her blow.
"As if she wasn't already the worst, she needed misogyny atop of it all," said Sarah, rolling her eyes.
The boys walked them to their class, and after George checked the corridors were clear he pecked Selena's cheek, making her smile sweetly.
"That's adorable. But we need to go," said Sarah, pointing at their Alchemy class. Everybody had sat down already and the teacher looked like he was waiting for them.
"Come on, lover boy," teased Fred, putting an arm around George's shoulders to make him step away from Selena. Fred exchanged a look with Sarah, who was also carrying Selena out of sight. They always did whenever they got caught up between Selena and George, like there was an inside joke, deep down wondering what it would be like if it were them.
_
Hogwarts became empty, Filch had gotten rid of all the talking paintings, the halls were naked. Hardly any laughs were heard around the corridors, Fred and George tried to keep the morale up in the evenings, once the Gryffindors reconvened in the common room, but even that ended up being difficult at times.
The people involved in Dumbledore's Army were scheduled for detention with Umbridge. They were sitting in the Great Hall in straight rows, writing with those quills, while she watched them suffer with a smirk on her face. She was deranged, there was no arguing there from anybody now.
It was tough, every week, as soon as the scars didn't hurt anymore, they were at it again. And with the culmination of the NEWTs coming up in three months, it was awful.
Before they left for their respective dorms, Sarah applied on those from other houses the ointment so they'd heal more quickly and with less pain. Once back in the common room, they all sat down around the fire and she treated her friends one by one, and one by one they went up to their dorms.
"Thanks," whispered Harry before he went up with Ron.
They were the last ones, thankfully. She watched them go up and joined Selena, Fred and George on the couch, they needed five minute with each other before going to sleep, too.
She couldn't help but blame herself for this. She'd pushed Harry into this and now everyone got hurt, everyone was hurting. No one saw this coming, of course, and taking all the blame doesn't help anybody. But she looked down at her hand and thought, unlike Fred, Selena, George and everybody else, she deserved this pain she was feeling. She hesitated in treating it, but it was equally pathetic to play martyr. She couldn't change what was happening, she could only do everything she could to not worsen it.
Fred took the recipient from her hands, sliding closer on the couch.
She shot him a quizzical look, and he gently took her hand in his. "You took care of everybody else. I've got you," he whispered, looking down and applying the treatment.
His fingers were grazing over her skin, and now was the worst time to gush over that. She watched him, red locks falling over his forehead, thoughtful and delicate. She saw this side of him an awful lot lately, and it made something spark inside her chest, more often than before, now a single look was enough. And his touch, too.
She looked down before he glanced back up, "Thank you."
His gaze trailed over her, a small 'You're welcome' smile and she realized he hadn't let go of her hand only when she got up.
"Good night, guys," she told everyone.
She heard their meddled replies when she turned the corner, walking towards what looked like a restless night, and she was fine with that, because she had some important affairs to tend to.
_
"Honestly, this is one of your greatest ideas, yet," said Harry, holding the red velvet cinch bag.
She was fumbling with the files, walking hastily towards the common room because it was past the curfew and if they get caught, the whole plan just crumbles down.
"Hope they agree with you on that," she said anxiously, climbing the stairs up to the entrance.
"They'll go crazy, you're literally handing them their dream on a silver platter," said Harry encouragingly and walked through the portrait hole.
"Guys!" said Harry cheerfully, surprising the whole room because it was a rare emotion these days.
Sarah smiled, looking at him sit on the floor, excited he could at least do this for his friends. Sarah glanced over at Selena, and the three of them sat down in front of Fred and George.
"Are we some gods or something? Why are you kneeling?" said Fred, looking at the three of them, grinning at the thought.
Sarah rolled her eyes, hit his leg with her files and he just smiled wider.
"You've ruined it, let's go," she said, getting up with Selena and Harry.
"No!" shouted Fred.
"Wait!" yelled George at the same time.
They stopped and turned to face them again, less cheerful than before, expressionless.
"Let's rewind. What was that about?" said Fred, smiling playfully at them, locking eyes with Sarah.
"Do we even bother?" whispered Sarah to Selena.
Selena squinted at Fred and her boyfriend, taking a second to consider it, "Yes, second chance. So, Harry, you start."
Fred and George looked at Harry intently and he held up his velvet bag, shaking it a bit then threw it on the couch next to George.
"These are my winnings from the Triwizard Tournament last year. I can't have them. Amos wouldn't take them, and I figured they'll find a purpose in your hands," said Harry casually. "I've been wanting to give them to you for a while, but with everything that happened-"
Sarah set a hand on his shoulder and nodded at him, "Either way," Harry snapped out of it, "It's yours."
George and Fred were puzzled, they looked as though they didn't believe him until George opened the bag and saw gold in there. He quickly closed it and tossed it back to Harry, "Get out of here, mate, we're not taking it."
Harry tossed it back to him, the gold coins clicking inside, "I'm serious. You either take it or it gets tossed. You can make the best of it, with your shop."
"Look at it as an investment. In good laughs, in jokes, in you both," said Sarah, holding the files, the next part to follow.
Fred and George looked at each other, probably wondering if they should even consider it.
"Don't second guess it, guys. I'm not negotiating with you. You either take it or I hex you," said Harry looking between them and seeing how it slowly hit them that they could finally do it.
"Sarah, it's your turn now," said Harry, taking a step back, gesturing to her.
"Part two of your present. Here, I am holding files," she turned them around, showing them, but it didn't mean anything without context. "Right, I should explain. Yours truly, here, has mad social skills and made loads of acquaintances in Ireland. And I bet you'll regret mocking me for it-"
"Hm...not sure about that, McCauley," said Fred grimacing teasingly at her.
"Shut up or I swear I'll take it all away," she threatened and that made Fred grin devilishly.
"Inside these files are contracts, paperwork for two of the best venues I managed to set aside for you. Regretting it yet?" she smirked glancing at Fred and then looked over both their faces. They leaned forward on their seat, George was clutching the bag on coins, both staring wide-eyed at her.
She handed them the files, "They're both on Diagon Alley, and it really holds it all. Place for the shop and space for you to live upstairs."
They opened and ruffled trough the papers, there were pictures, notes, descriptions, everything they needed to know about them, because she didn't do things half way.
"I helped the owner's children get through the summer in Ireland, they love me. I can get you direct contact with them for you to visit and make a decision," she continued, her lips splitting into a shit eating grin at their fallen faces.
"And it's not over," added Selena.
"Are you serious?" they both shrieked, gripping to each other, ready to jump up from their seats.
"Whatever you choose, I'll ask you to let me know," continued Selena, "So I can transport there a whole set of leather bags and trunks I've ordered with your logo on them, because I snooped around your sketches at Christmas and planned to gift them to you, anyway."
Sarah watched Fred and George's brains compute, and they brought their hands over their mouths.
They got up and grabbed Harry's shoulders, shook hands with him, "Thank you, mate."
They pulled him into a tight hug and ruffled his hair, laughing, they started jumping up and down, screeching in joy.
"I'll leave you with the masterminds of this operation," said Harry, stepping away with a wide grin. Fred and George turned to Sarah and Selena. They hugged the girls tightly, jumped up and down cheering, absolutely gleeful. And then each brother turned specifically towards their girl.
Fred stared at Sarah, at a loss of words, hands on her arms, all sorts of rushes coursing through his mind and system when she smiled at him.
"Mark the date, folks. Fred Weasley is speechless," she said, looking up cheekily.
He shook his head in disbelief, still holding her gaze, "You really did this for us."
"Your shop better be worth it," she joked, getting a bit thrown off because his look had that intense feeling again, one that made the blood rush into her cheeks. "I'm kidding, I know it will. And of course I did. It's your dream, Weasley."
She was inches away from him, and all he could think about just that. "Thank you, this is-Thank you," he picked her up and spun her around, both chuckling.
When he put her down, he cupped the side of her face and kissed her cheek, and her heart full on stopped.
"My God, you're brilliant, Sarah," whispered Fred against her hair. She might have let out a gasp or she hoped she muffled it.
She closed her eyes, feeling his lips linger for the slightest of moments and she forgot to breathe for a second, for a few seconds, actually, overwhelmed by literally everything about him right now. His cologne and firework smoke scent, his hold on her waist, on her face, his kiss on her cheek, because it didn't feel like a friendly peck, not to her, although that must have been his intent. It felt electrifying, heartfelt, and it made her heart race. It was Fred, Fred, exactly, and now she realized that if she could go back in time a few seconds ago, she would turn her head and let him kiss her lips instead. He pulled away and she could feel her mind racing after him, wanting for him to come back.
"So," she cleared her throat, looking away nervously. "Let's get you to choose the venue first, they'll need an answer soon."
George came to them with Selena and they all hugged again, "I knew there had to be a reason we'd kept you around," said George.
"Ha! Right, like you would've lasted a day otherwise," retorted Sarah with a cheeky grin, one she'd learned from both of them and that they wore now, too.
"All jokes aside for just a second, thank you. For believing in us ever since we've started and helping us getting there," said George gratefully, in a serious manner that made Sarah tear up.
"It wouldn't have happened so rightly if it weren't for you," said Fred, resting his cheek atop her head.
She chuckled softly, shaking her head, "That's not true, you would've made it happen."
"Not this quick, not like this. You're truly the best best friend we could've asked for," George squeezed her tighter and she felt Fred nod.
Her heart swelled up, because she knew they played a big part in helping her deal with all the horror she'd seen before meeting them and every year, "You guys, too."
"You girls are quite frankly the best thing that's ever happened to us," said Fred truthfully.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Freddie," said George, squeezing Selena and Sarah tightly. It was such a heartfelt moment, that was so perfect, nothing could ruin it. Expect maybe one of the twins, because George spoke again, "All right, the second's up. Don't you dare expect discounts on anything, aye?"
Selena smacked his head, "You just had to ruin it, didn't you?"
"I'm with George on this one," said Fred cheekily.
Sarah scoffed up at him but he just grinned wider than before, and winked at her, "Oh, you love us, admit it."
"I will do no such thing," she said dismissively and sat on a chair next to the couch, breathing in and out slowly to cool down the hotness of her cheeks. The girls explained in more detail what exactly everything was, helped them weigh the pros and cons of each venue, eventually backed away, because it concerned them only and they simply watched lovingly from afar how they stared building their plans.