Sugar : Fred Weasley

41: You're Leaving Hogwarts?

[victoria's pov]

Summer holidays were only a couple of weeks away and I was starting to dread already.

As soon as we got back to Hogwarts, there were already six new decrees. One of them included a boys and girls space separation (Which Fred didn't take very well). Filch even persuaded Umbridge to bring the torture rule back, but Dumbledore managed to get rid of it, which Ron was glad to hear. Other than that, only half of the Slytherins were at school over the holidays.

Dumbledore's Army was getting better and better. Neville was exceeding the most out of us all, to my surprise. Ginny was as well. She could even conjure a great Bat-Bogey hex. But, Umbridge was definitely on to us. I even caught Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, trying to follow me as I was nearing the Room of Requirement.

"Bombaardo!" I shouted and the mannequin's head exploded.

Everyone ducked as the pieces flew around the room.

"Good one," Cho complimented and I thanked her. Harry walked by and smiled at Cho, making her cheeks turn vibrant pink.

"Speaking of Harry," I said when he left. "I think you should ask him out for Valentine's date."

She turned red and said, "What? Me and Harry? A date? No, I don't think he would-"

"You should," I said.

Even though Ginny used to have a crush on Harry, I knew she wouldn't mind since she was already taken. Plus, many of the other guys were falling for her. Even Dean Thomas.

Cho simply nodded and said, "I'll think about it."

"Hey, Harry," I called out. "Wanna switch partners?"

Cho looked mortified for a second before Harry agreed. That meant I was now with Neville.

"Er, hi, Victoria," he said nervously, as we barely spoke to each other.

"Hi," I said. "There's no need to be nervous, you're doing great."

He smiled and shot a spell at the mannequin.

"Incendio!" he cried and the mannequin set on fire. I quickly put it out afterward and we continued our practice. I saw Fred and George throwing free-for-alls at each other. Lee was battling the both of them with Angela.

"Obscuro!" Fred shouted and their opponents were immediately blindfolded.

George laughed and said, "Good one, Gideon!"

Fred laughed and said, " You know I don't like people using my middle name, Fabian."

At the end of practice, Hermione was talking to Luna after everyone left.

"The Quibbler," I heard Luna say with her majestic voice. "My father's the editor."

"Great!" Hermione said and spotted me. "Hey, Victoria! Great practice today, don't you think?"

"Yeah," I said. "I was thinking... maybe we should start Patronuses next week."

"Why do you say that?" Ron interjected.

"Well, Patronuses can be used to deliver messages and defend owners from dementors or creatures of darkness, it's never too early to start. Besides, some of the little ones have been asking."

"I agree with Victoria," Harry said, looking more pink than usual.

"Ok, I'll schedule it for next week," Hermione said. "Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," he said. "I just have a date tomorrow."

"You?" Ron asked. "Date? On Valentine's Day?"