A.J RYAN IN THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Chapter 23 - Spared From Detention

The story of the escaped Death Eaters had spread right through the school over a period of a few days. Multiple rumours had sprouted, and the mutterings of the students seemed to lean towards Harry and Professor Dumbledore's theory of Voldemort being back.

Amongst the mutterings were teachers, in small groups, conversing in corridors, unable to talk in the staff room.

A new Educational Decree had been placed on the notice board in the common rooms late in the night of the Daily Prophet article, for students to see the following morning;

BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS

Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-six.

Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor

Lee had tried to throw the rule back at Professor Umbridge in Wednesday afternoon's Defence class.

She was telling Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snap at the back of the classroom.

"Exploding Snap's got nothing to do with Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor! That's not information relating to your subject!" Lee yelled out.

He was given detention that night, along with Fred and George. As it was too many students for her office, Umbridge was in a classroom with the three of them writing lines with a Black Quill each.

A.J marched into the room, as the three boys stared at her.

She sat on a desk in front of them and smiled. The three boys looked to Umbridge and back to A.J wonderingly.

"She can't see or hear me. You can stop writing." A.J told them.

As they each let the quills go, A.J had them start writing of their own accord.

The boys watched in shock, the quill - no longer cutting into the back of their own hands - was still writing the words in blood.

"It will keep writing for you. I'm afraid you can't leave the room." She smiled apologetically. "Do you have some other homework you could get on with?"

She turned and drew a rectangle in mid-air with her wand, in front of Umbridge's desk. A live image of the room started playing like a television program; Fred, George and Lee were sitting at their desks writing, as they were moments before.

"This is currently what she sees. The frame will flash red when she is ready to let you go or move from her desk. You will only have a twenty second warning. In which time you will pick up your quill's and pretend you have been writing lines the whole time. Got it?" She turned back to them.

"You're Head Girl, are you seriously allowed to be doing that?" Lee asked incredulously.

"No, but I don't plan on telling her, do you?" A.J shrugged.

She jumped to her feet and went to leave the room; "Remember, watch for the flashing." She called as she reached the door. Fred grabbed her waist, spinning her around and into his arms. He planted a smacking kiss on her lips in thanks, and she giggled.

Fred tightened his hold on her waist, pulling her closer to him and drawing out the kiss. A.J rested her palms on his chest and sighed softly when he traced her bottom lip with his tongue.

Fred got more smitten with her as January ended. It was now the second week of February, and the trip to Hogsmeade this weekend was on Valentine's Day. A.J knew she needed to avoid spending it with Fred.

On Monday night after returning from an extra lesson with Professor Snape, she waited until Fred was sleepy enough to go to bed, when he entered the boy's dormitory she ran after him with the pretence of needing to speak to him, instead they stood on the spiral staircase snogging. While he was distracted, she placed thoughts in his head that he would no doubt stew on overnight.

The following morning before she left for her history of magic lesson, he was the one to call it quits, completely forgetting that this was the timeframe A.J had set on the relationship lasting.

She had known it was coming when Fred and George stood in front of her with their arms folded on Friday in the free period before lunch. They had dragged her along until they were alone in the Wheezes bathroom on the seventh floor.

"You did something. It's your fault we broke up. Did you do the same to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Fred accused, with a rather dark expression on his face.

"What exactly did I do?" A.J said evenly.

Fred's expression managed to darken further; "You never wanted to go out with me, you even said it wouldn't last more than two months when you were talking to my mum and Sirius that time."

"If you overheard that, knowing that I only planned on two months, why did you stay with me?"

"I thought I could change your mind!" He threw his hands in the air.

"You were overly optimistic then." A.J replied.

He glared at her.

A.J raised her eyebrows; "All I've done, is show you that you're left out of everything, I can't tell you anything, and that it's lousy being with me." A.J said calmly.

"Anything else?" She asked.

When neither of them said anything, she turned to leave. A single tear sliding down her cheek.

Fred continued to pace the bathroom after she left, fuming; George attempted to calm him down.

"Come on mate, there's always been something up with her."

Fred didn't stop pacing. "Yeah, but she seemed genuinely into me when we first kissed, remember?"

George nodded thoughtfully. "You think she felt obligated to break up with you because of mum? She is kind of close with her."

Fred stared as his brother. "Maybe. I swear I thought she was into me."

"Yeah." George said nodding. "She never looked at those other blokes the same way."

"You know, if she really does think she's dangerous to be with-?"

George nodded more enthusiastically; "She'd break up with you to protect you."

"That must be it, how can she not feel the way I do? We had something."