Dark AIAOY 5

Chapter 7

"Remember last week--when you asked how much worse this could get?"  Rebecca asked Fred, teasing him slightly.

"Yes."  He grunted, staring up at the wall outside of the Great Hall.  Ever since Umbridge had been appointed High Inquisitor, she had passed a number of Educational Decrees.

"Well," Rebecca nudged him.  "This morning would be worse, yeah?"

Fred gave her an unenthused look.  That morning, they had been on their way towards their classes as per usual.  Rebecca and Fred went to kiss as they parted as they wouldn't be seeing each other until the end of classes that day, when Umbridge had stalked by and magicked them apart forcefully.  

"Educational Decree number twenty-six!"  Umbridge tossed over her shoulder, not even stopping to scold them.  "Students of the opposite sex are to remain six inches apart at all times!"

Fred couldn't help but smile a little when he thought about Rebecca's retort after their primary source of misery.  "Just the opposite sex?  You're behind on your Prophet then--I'm a staunch lesbian-island starter and supporter!"  "Yes, this morning would qualify as worse, RJ."

"Oi!"  Rebecca said with plenty of attitude, making a show of looking around the empty hall they found themselves.  "The toad isn't here?"

Fred chuckled and kissed her quickly.  "I'm going to be as late as you will be!  Plus, George and I nearly closed an Extendable Ears sale and-"

"Go!"  Rebecca shooed, just happy that the two of them were leaving each other smiling after how they'd been cross before.  She watched as Fred hurried down the hall, her smile growing as Fred paused before he turned to corner to wave goodbye wildly just before he disappeared from sight.

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"Hey!"

Rebecca continued to walk, daydreaming after using the loo-excuse to get out of her seat for a few minutes.  As nice as Herbology could be, it was the best class to take a break in since the castle was such a walk.

"W-wait a second!"  Cedric, calling after the still-clueless girl, hurried himself along.

"Cedric!"  Rebecca said happily, looking to him.  "I've been meaning to find you, sorry about the silence at the end of summer."

Cedric hugged her, stepping back with a grin.  "My father said something about an expulsion trial--figured that had something to do with it."

"Well, he's not wrong."  Rebecca moved the conversation out of its stall.  "How'd your summer end off then?"

"It was brilliant!"  Cedric beamed.  "Mum and dad kept me in the house far too much, watching constantly.  But we ended up spending a lot of the time doing all the things we never made time for before."

Something stuck out in Rebecca's thoughts, a memory that wasn't hers.  "The puzzles, yeah?"

Cedric tilted his head slightly.  "Yeah...How do you know that?"

"I saw it.  Last year."  Rebecca blinked a few times, wondering if Harry would scold her for talking about this.  "When...you know."

Cedric grew curious.  "Did you see anything else?"

He noticed how she seemed to grow a little distant as she thought about it.  "The puzzles were the first, the clearest.  I saw you and your Hufflepuff mates, too.  The rest...the rest wasn't really visible, just there to feel."  Rebecca seemed to return to herself.  "I think I see what a person has to come back to."