A.J RYAN IN THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Chapter 36 - Talk of Leaving

The following day the news about Dumbledore's escape was all over the school. A.J had no doubt that the portraits were the ones that had spread the news, because it was in such accurate detail (except for the elaborations people had added). They even knew about the tantrum Umbridge threw when she couldn't get into the Headmasters office last night.

On the way to dinner A.J stopped to overhear Fred talking.

"Anyway...we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble anymore."

"Have you ever?" asked Hermione.

"Course we have. Never been expelled, have we?" George said.

"We've always known where to draw the line," Fred said.

"We might have put a toe across it occasionally," George said.

"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem," Fred said.

"But now?" Ron asked tentatively.

"Well, now-"

"- what with Dumbledore gone-"

"- we reckon a bit of mayhem-"

"- is exactly what our dear new Head deserves." Fred finished.

Hermione protested but Fred smiled at her; "We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first. So anyway," He checked his watch, "phase one is about to begin. I'd get into the Great Hall for lunch if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."

The four of them darted to the Great Hall, as Fred and George went up the marble stairs against the crowd of students heading to lunch.

It wasn't long until there was loud BOOM! The entire castle shook, and people were running and screaming. On the second floor they had let off an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks. Dragons of green and gold were soaring up and down corridors emitting fiery blasts and bangs. There were large pinwheels over five feet in diameter, rockets with long tails of silver stars, firecrackers exploding everywhere, and sparklers writing swearwords in mid-air. They were gaining more energy the longer you watched.

Some of the dragons and a large purple bat headed towards another floor, while Umbridge screamed;

"Stupefy." Her spell collided with a rocket and exploded mid-air, burning a hole in a nearby portrait.

Filch was running around with a broom trying to swat them out of the air; when the end of the broom caught fire he yelled in fury.

Umbridge started trying to vanish them, students were crying with laughter as the targets of her spell multiplied. A.J found a dark empty classroom one floor down, where some fireworks had escaped. She closed the door shutting them in and laid back on a desk watching a silver star-tailed rocket, a dragon, and a cracker that spelled the word "BOGEYS".

The doorhandle squeaked as A.J quickly became invisible. She sat up to see Fred and George struggling to get in. She waved her wand and the door fell forwards with a hysterical set of twins.

"Lexi?" Fred called through his laughter.

She waved her wand to shut the door after them, and reappeared.

"Hey." She smiled, lying back on the desk. "They're great in the dark aren't they?" She said appreciatively, darkening the room further.

"Cheers, did you get to see Umbridge and Filch trying to get rid of them?" George asked in glee, while they both pulled the table in front closer to hers and sat on it.

"Yeah, Filch's broom caught fire, and she tried to vanish them." She smiled. She turned and reached her hand out for Fred and stopped mid-way. "Damn, I can't tell you apart in the dark."

"I'm Fred." George said in poor imitation of him, from the furthest away spot from her.

"Right, so you won't mind if I kiss you then?"

"Nope, not at all." George replied. There was a thud and he yelped.

"Uh huh." She laughed. She pointed her hand in the air, as the rocket flew above them, lighting up the whole area. "I love them the most." She turned to the twins; "What's your favourites?"

"Dragon." They both grinned.

She nodded. "That might be the only word I approve of from those sparklers." She pointed at the red "BOGEYS" appearing at random around the room.

"Hey." Fred protested. "There's ones like "POO" and-"

"-WICKED". George added.

She laughed; "Those must've been going off in another corridor."

She laid there watching the different works, while the twins talked about creating more; they had just used their whole stash.

The three of them headed to an all afternoon of Defence Against the Dark Arts, in which Umbridge was called out of at frequent intervals to round up stray fireworks. After the bell rang to end the fifth period A.J packed up to leave the class, when Lee glared at her; "Where are you going?" He caused the whole class to stare at her.

"I have a meeting to attend. She knows I'm leaving early." She replied matter-of-factly.

Professor McGonagall had written her the pass to get out of class, but they were both going to meet Dumbledore.

Not long after she and Professor McGonagall returned, a much hassled, soot-covered Umbridge greeted them in the Entrance Hall as the whole school was heading to dinner.

"Miss Ryan, my new Inquisitorial Squad will be opening and reading all owl post entering and leaving the castle, and Mr Filch is observing all secret passages in and out of the castle." Umbridge said with a lack of her usual sickly-sweet voice. This was the first update she had given her or Simon in two days, and it was rather late considering A.J had already heard about it this morning.

"Please let me know if there's anything I can help you with Headmaster... Headmistress." She corrected.

Umbridge nodded and continued walking up the marble stairs.

That night in the common room, crowds of students were formed around Fred and George taking orders for their "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs". They were receiving congratulations all round. Some of their fireworks had escaped outside where they were still soaring around letting off bangs well into the night.

Fred found A.J later at the top of the seventh-floor staircases.

"Not much for crowds...or attention, are you?" Fred mused.

"No, but you're great at it." She smiled.