Chapter forty three
Seventh year at Hogwarts
Goldie's POV:
As we arrived at Hogwarts, everyone was buzzing with excitement for the new school year. Fred kissed me hard as we had to part to sit at our house tables. I cupped his cheek and said "Freddie, what's wrong?" "Nothing. I'm fine." "Are you sure?" He nodded and kissed me again. He then gave me a hug. I hugged him back and McGonagall broke us up. I went to sit with the Hufflepuff's. Alta was on one side of me while Miguel was on the other. Dillie looked up towards the the front of the great hall. Dumbledore began to speak of this upcoming year. Fred would be quidditch captain this year. He was beyond excited for it. A woman in all pink interrupted Dumbledore's speech as he introduced her. Dolores Umbridge. It was a name none of us knew we had to fear, to hate. We didn't know we'd be controlled. "Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. And how lovely to see all your bright faces smiling up at me. I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends." She said in a sickly sweet tone. She walked to where Dumbledore stood. "The ministry of magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what can be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be prohibited." Everyone in the room stared blankly at her. The twins mumbled to one another, I assumed they were talking about Umbridge. Dumbledore clapped which made the rest of us clap. Once she sat down and dinner started, everything seemed to go back to normal.

-

"Goldie, you'll be head girl. Miguel, you'll be head boy." Professor Sprout gave us the pins which said 'head boy and head girl' on them. "And start your prefect duties right away if you could. Make sure there's no lost first years and no one skulking around the halls." I nodded and Miguel did the same. It was close to being 10:00. I walked down the halls, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. My duties didn't take long as it was the first night and nobody really tried to act up during the first night. When I reached my dorm, I threw my robe on a chair, not even changing into sleepwear. I was beyond tired and immediately fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.

-

I quickly changed into new clothing as I had woken up late. Alta made sure I was awake but I woke up later than I wanted. I looked over my schedule and huffed when I saw I had Divination first. "What do you have?" Alta asked. "Divination is first. What about you?" I replied. "Charms." I groaned and said "I'll see you later." I rushed off to divination which was quite a far walk from the Hufflepuff common room. My stomach sank as I saw none of my friends had this class. "Fuck." I whispered. I took a seat at the back of the classroom, hoping nobody would sit next to me. I got out my books and began to get ready for class. I heard a bag drop to the ground next to me. I looked up and saw him. Blaise Zabini. He had gotten very attractive over the summer. I quickly looked around the room, seeing as I nobody else. "This seat taken?" He asked. I shook my head and said "no." "Cool. I don't know any of those blokes." "Me neither." He half smiled and sat down. "How was your summer, Goldie?" "It was nice. Yours?" "Mum and dad dragged me onto one of their extravagant trips again. Mine sucked. Hopefully this year won't be as bad. What'd you do this summer?" "I stayed at the burrow for a couple of weeks and spent the rest of it with my dad." "The burrow?" Blaise furrowed his eyebrows. "Fred's house." "Oh, the Weasley household?" His tone had a bit of disgust to it. "Yes." "Have fun with your boyfriend?" "Yes." "Did he shag you?" My eyes widened and Blaise laughed. "I'm joking. That's none of my business. Just a bit of fun." I nodded and chucked nervously. "Right." I looked down at my book and Trelawney began the lesson, which I was thankful for. Now I didn't have to do any of this small talk with Blaise.

-

Defense against the dark arts was my next class. When I walked in, I was greeted by the familiar faces of my friends. And my boyfriend, who I hadn't seen since last night. I quickly took the seat at the table next to him. "Freddie." I said. He looked up at me and said "oh, Dee Dee." He hugged me and I hugged him back. "Missed you." He whispered. I buried my face into his chest, inhaling his scent. "I missed you too. Sorry I didn't see you this morning. I had divination. And I woke up late." I replied. Fred pulled away, his arms around the small of my back. "That's ok. I had charms first." "Oh, so you're with Alta." "Yeah. Turns out, she was the only one I knew in that class. And she let me sit next to her." "Oh, that's sweet." George whispered something to Fred and went to sit down next to Angelina. "Looks like it's me and you, darling." My heart swelled and Alta sat down next to Yelena. I grabbed my things and put them at the place George would've sat. "Head girl? You made head girl?" Fred asked. I nodded and said "yep. Sprout appointed me last night." "That's my girl." He smirked. My cheeks heated up and Umbridge stood at the front of the classroom. "Now, if you all don't mind I'll be taking role. Please acknowledge me when your name is called." Her high voice said. She began reading off the list of students. Fred brought my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles. I smiled at him and he held my hand in his, on his lap. "Goldie March?" "Here." She looked at me and nodded. "Yelena Parker?" "Here." Umbridge looked at Yelena and her eyes slightly widened. "Rasmus Hawthorne?" "Here." I turned around to see Rasmus sitting next to Blaise. He was huge. He must've worked out over the summer. "Fred Weasley?" "Here." Umbridge checked his name off and then said "George Weasley?" "Here." Umbridge looked between the both of them and seemed to huff. Maybe she knew of the twins' infamous pranks or was just mad she had a set of twins in her class. "Now, that that's done, I'll be passing out your books." With a flick of her wand, our books came toward us. I furrowed my eyebrows when my book landed softly on my desk. "Magic for beginners?" I muttered. "Excuse me, professor?" Simone said. Umbridge nodded at her. "I think you gave us the wrong books. We're seventh years." "No, I gave you the correct books. You also won't be needing your wands in my class." "No wands?" George asked. "No, wands, Mr. Weasley." "But, why?" "Because there is nothing for you to fear. There is nothing for you to defend yourselves against. This class is useless. So, you'll all be learning some simple spells and can practice them, outside of class." As much as I wanted to protest, I didn't want to get on her bad side on the first day. When that class ended, I looked down at my schedule. "What class do you have next?" Fred said. "Potions." I said. He smiled and said "cool. I have that one too." He took my hand and we began walking to the potions classroom. After potions I had charms. "I have charms." "I have divination." Fred sighed deeply as that was his worst subject. "I hate this class." He mumbled. "Don't worry. I'll help you if anything goes wrong. Try to sit with someone who's smart and can help you in class. And if you need any help outside of class, you know I'm here." "You're right. I'll see you later." He left me outside of the potions classroom and I began making my way to charms. As I walked in, I saw no one I knew. I wanted to hex whoever made my schedule because I was very displeased at the fact I wouldn't be seeing my boyfriend for the majority of the day. My eyes scanned the room for a seat and I saw ginger hair, cut the same way as Fred's. I smiled and walked over to where he sat. George currently had his head propped up with his hand. "Hi, Georgie." I said. He looked up and smiled. "Hi, Dee Dee." I sat down and he said "thank Godric you're in this class. I thought I was going to be alone." "Me too." The first day went pretty well. It could've gone a lot worse. I was glad at how quickly I was able to adapt to my schedule. Even though I absolutely hated it. I only had two classes with Fred and then lunch and dinner. Those were the only times I got to see him. I hated it. And I think he did too because two weeks in he was already becoming moody. We hadn't really seen much of each other except for being in class. We hadn't had any free time together. I also was having a lot of work piled onto me and dealing with quidditch also sucked. I was also head girl. I kissed Fred as he said he had quidditch practice. "Will I see you tonight?" I asked hopefully. Fred nodded and said "I'll meet you at your dorm." "Ok." I kissed him again and then he left. Since George had quidditch practice as well, I was alone in charms. It helped me focus a bit better and I got ahead of some of the lessons. Which I was thankful for.

-

Classes were over and dinner was halfway through its course as I waited on Fred to come to my dorm. I had eaten already and was getting into comfortable clothing. I shook out my hair and checked over my homework. I didn't have much but I had a divination assignment. It took me about ten minutes since I was particularly lost during this lesson today. The door to my dorm opened and I looked up expectingly. Alta walked in. I sighed and then looked back down. "What's got you in a mood?" She asked. "I'm waiting on Fred. Sorry. I've been swamped with work lately and I'm really excited to see him tonight. We haven't spent much time together lately." I replied. Alta nodded and said "well don't let me ruin you and Fred's time." She went over to her bed and then went into the bathroom, going to take a shower. I put my schoolwork away and grabbed a book, deciding to read until Fred showed up. An hour went by. Then another. And another. By 10:00 I knew he wasn't coming. But I still had a small glimmer of hope. My heart broke a little as I wished I could've seen him. I turned out my lamp and laid down, trying my best to fall asleep.

-

I decided I'd skip divination, since I was caught up anyway. But that was a mistake. I was late to defense against the dark arts. As I walked in, Umbridge looked over at me. "I'm so sorry, Professor. I had a free period last period. I over slept." I knew it wasn't an excuse but the least I could do was apologize. "Miss March, I'm giving you detention for being late. You'll come to my office at 5:00." I sighed in defeat and said "yes, Professor. I apologize for being late." "I don't want apologies, Miss March. I want you here and present." I nodded and wanted to curl into a ball. I went to sit down next to Fred who barely acknowledged me. "Fred?" I said. "What?" He replied gruffly. I took it that he was in a mood and said "never mind." Fred flipped through his book, annoyed as can be. I wanted to bring up where he had been the night before but I didn't want to provoke him into a fight. I was now dreading potions with him as he was in a mood. Potions went exactly as defense against the dark arts went; Fred not saying two words to me. He hadn't even looked at me these past two classes, it was like I wasn't even there. George on the other hand was very cheerful and talked to me throughout charms. At 5:00, I headed to Umbridge's office. I made sure I was ten minutes early and she was shocked when I walked in. "You're early." "I'm trying to make up for my tardiness. Once again, I'm sorry." "If you apologize again I'm going to give you another day's detention." She spat. I nodded and said "yes, Professor." "You'll be writing lines for me." "What would you like me to write?" "I will not be late to class." I went to grab my quill and she said "no. Use one of mine." I grabbed the black quill that laid neatly on her desk. I looked around for the ink and said "where's the ink?" "You won't be needing any ink. Just write the lines. For an hour." I nodded, not wanting to irk her. I began writing the line on the paper. I felt a burning sensation on my other hand. I shrugged it off at first but when I wrote the second line, the burning got worse. I winced and looked at my hand. My eyes widened as the words 'I will not be late to class' etched into my skin. My hand bled lightly and I gasped. "What is it?" She asked sweetly. I gulped and was speechless. I was only late for class. This was the punishment I deserved? I read her mind as she sat across from me.

"That'll teach her not to be late to me class. She'll be more present and more attentive now."

I bit my lip and she said "continue. You have 40 minutes left." I gave her a pleading look, not wanting to put myself through pain. "Get on with it." I looked back down at my paper and continued. When I was finished, the appetite I had for dinner was long gone. I hurried back to my dorm and Alta was there. "Hey, do you think you could bring me something back? I'm just not feeling good. I'll eat whatever you bring back later." I said. Alta nodded and said "sure. I hope you feel better." She left the dorm and that's when the tears spilled. I stared at my hand that was raw and bloody. All I wanted was Fred. Fred. He hadn't come to my dorm last night. He was moody this morning. I started thinking about things I could've done to make him not want to be around me. Maybe I was working too much on school and not giving him attention. Maybe he was annoyed with me. The more I thought about it, the more I cried. My hand burned like crazy and I went into the bathroom. I had been studying healing so I tried my best to fix my hand. I managed to make it stop burning a bit. The burning sensation was still there but wasn't as prominent. I changed into comfortable clothing and laid in my bed, crying softly. I heard the dorm door open. I was facing the wall and said "Alta, you're back already?" "No. It's me." Fred's voice said. I quickly wiped my face and turned around to face him. He looked as if he had to say something he didn't want to say, like a kid who was about to be scolded. Fred's face softened and he said "were you crying?" I shook my head and said "nope." "Your face is all puffy. And your eyes are red. Like you've been crying." "I wasn't crying." "Goldie, what's wrong?" He sat down in front of me and it took everything inside me not to burst into tears. He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and said "Dee Dee, what is it?" I sniffled and collapsed into his arms. Cries left my lips and Fred hugged me. "Let it out, love. I'm here." "Y-You weren't here last night." I stuttered. Fred pulled away to look at me. It was like a lightbulb went off above his head. "Goldie, I'm sorry. Oh, godric, I'm so sorry. Quidditch practice exhausted me yesterday. I wanted to come here so bad. But, I was just so tired. I was so bloody tired." He said. "You were mad this morning. At me." Tears spilled from my eyes and Fred shook his head. "No. No, I wasn't. I promise. I was just in a bad mood. I'm so sorry. I felt like shit after potions when you left me. I wanted to go after you but I figured you were mad and decided to let you cool down." "Fred, I wasn't mad at you. I wanted you and needed you and-and.." I didn't finish as my hair fell into my face. I pushed it back with my left hand and Fred grabbed my wrist. I remembered what was on my hand. I tried to pull away from him and Fred said "what is this?" I didn't answer as more tears ran down my cheeks. "Dee Dee, what is this? Who did this to you?" "Umbridge. In detention. This is what she does if you get detention. It burns. It burns so bad." Fred stared at my hand in shock. He hugged me and I cried into his chest. "I'm sorry she did this to you. You have to tell someone." I shook my head and said "no. She'll know it was me. I can't tell anyone. She'll just give me detention for telling. I can't. I won't." A minute or two went by without neither one of us saying anything, just the sound of me crying filled the air. I gasped softly and said "you wouldn't even look at me." Fred pulled away from me and I looked up at him. "You wouldn't even look at me." Fred put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I pulled his hands from his face and he cupped my cheek. "I'm sorry." He leaned his head on my shoulder and I hugged him. "It's ok. I'm just glad you're here. I just want you to be here with me." I whispered. Fred seemed to relax when I said that. His arms were around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. My stomach growled and Fred pulled away, looking down at my stomach quizzically. "I haven't eaten." I told him. "What? You haven't eaten? You're coming with me to dinner right now." He declared. I shook my head and said "no, I'm not in the mood." "What? Because of this?" He pointed at my hand and I nodded. "Here, I'll wrap it for you." "It's fine, Fred." "No it's not. She hurt you. Over being late to class. That's ridiculous. Just let me wrap it. Teach me a bit of healing stuff." I half smiled and said "ok." Fred wiped my tears away and picked me up. "I'm perfectly capable of walking." I told him. "Ugh, would you just let me pamper you? You're my girlfriend and you've had the worst day. And I'm sure these last two weeks have sucked for you like they have for me." We walked to the bathroom and he set me on the counter. I showed him where the first aid stuff was and he looked at it all. "So, you're going to open that, use your wand and say ferula." I said. Fred furrowed his eyebrows and said "ferula?" I nodded and took his wand from him. "You'll point it at the bandages and say the spell. Ready to try?" Fred nodded and laid the bandage on my hand. "Ferula." The bandage wrapped itself tightly around my hand. I winced at how tight it was but it was keeping the burning to a minimum. "You ok?" He asked. I nodded and Fred took my hand in his, holding it like I would shatter. He kissed my hand and said "I'm so sorry this happened, love. I wish I would've known sooner. And I'm sorry for this morning. Quidditch practice knocked me on my ass and before you came into class, Umbridge yelled at me for an assignment that was due that day. I forgot to do it because of quidditch practice. I felt horrible when I woke up the next day about not going to your dorm. I wanted to see you so badly. Please believe that." I hugged him and he hugged me again. "Oh, Goldie." He nuzzled his face into my neck. I played with the ends of his hair and pulled away from him. I cupped his cheek and kissed his lips. He pressed his forehead to mine. "Let's go get some dinner and I'll sleep with you tonight in your dorm. I'll cuddle you and give you lots and lots of kisses, yeah?" Fred asked. I nodded and smiled. Fred kissed my lips and helped me off the counter, holding my hand as we left the dorm.

Here's the update!! Hope you like how order of the Phoenix is starting!!
~skylar✨✨✨✨