Snape, still supporting Harry at his side, Lyrica, and the Headmaster stepped through the Floo from Grimmauld Place and into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore went over to a large, ornate cabinet which he tapped with his wand. The cabinet slid open to reveal a simple looking stone basin holding what appeared to be silver water.

Snape had seated himself upon a nearby chair and drew his son down beside him. He was worried about the glazed look in the young boy's eyes and wondered if the vision was still playing in the periphery of his mind.

Dumbledore leaned over, "Harry, I need you to concentrate on your nightmare, but only for a few seconds," Dumbledore spoke gently.

"I can't!" he gasped as he gripped his father's forearm tightly. "I can still see her screaming and the blood!"

"Shhh, it's over, Harry," Snape said softly, pressing Harry's head gently against his chest. To the Headmaster he whispered, "Albus, just do it."

Dumbledore nodded and placed the tip of his wand to Harry's temple. A long, thin, wispy strand of memory was drawn forth until Dumbledore could slip it into the pensieve. As soon as it was gone from Harry's mind, the boy slipped into a blessed faint. Snape laid him down on the chair and transfigured it into a small sofa so Lyrica could check on Harry. She sat down beside him, her wand over Harry as she incanted a diagnostic spell.

"He'll be fine, Severus." With his wife's assurance, Snape and Dumbledore placed their faces into the memory of the nightmare and were drawn into it.

"Mum?" asked Harry as he woke slowly. He knew he'd been dreaming and there were still shadowy images of the dream he could make out in his memory, but the fear he'd felt was much diminished.

"Your father and the Headmaster are looking at your dream now, Harry."

He shook his head. "It wasn't a dream, Mum. I saw Vol... You-Know-Who. He's horrid looking. Like something... ugh... not finished... wrong." He turned his head to look blearily toward the still figures of his father and Dumbledore bent over the pensieve. "I don't want that memory back." He shuddered at the memory of blood spattering the thing in the chair. "Wormtail fed her to that snake, Mum!"

"You don't have to take it back, Harry. It will be all right." Lyrica put her arms around Harry, and kissed his brow.

There was stirring from the pensieve cabinet as both men emerged from the dream. Dumbledore wavered and Snape caught him, steadying the older wizard on his feet. Dumbledore nodded his thanks and made his way over to his desk and collapsed into his chair. Snape went to sit beside Harry and Lyrica.

"Dad," whispered Harry, "I don't want that... back."

Snape squeezed Harry's arm and turned to his wife, "Would you take Harry back to our quarters, Lyrica? And see if Draco wants to come back home, too."

She nodded. "Come along, Harry." Lyrica held out her hand for almost a minute before Harry slipped his hand into hers and walked out of the Headmaster's office with his mother.

When the door was closed, Dumbledore spoke, "Were you able to recognise the house, Severus?"

Snape shook his head. "If we didn't meet someplace remote and outside, we were always at Malfoy Manor. That place looked ready to fall down from disrepair. Of course, that may be just how it looks to anyone passing by. The Dark Lord has a fondness for subterranean chambers and hidden passages so a decaying house would be a deceptive camouflage." Snape frowned in concern at the Headmaster who stared blankly across his office. "Albus? Are you all right?"

The Headmaster shook his head wearily. "The girl. I recognised her."

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Who was she?" he asked softly.

"Melisande Dew, Madame Rosmerta's grand-niece. Her father was Muggle-born. Melisande chose to live in the Muggle world after her mother died a few years ago. The girl was reported missing before term began. She was only twenty years old." The Headmaster absentmindedly shifted some paperwork on his desk and then, without looking up, he asked, "How is Harry doing with his Occlumency lessons, Severus?"

Snape wasn't thrown by the change of subject. Smoothly he replied, "He is... adequate, but stubborn. He has not understood the necessity for the lessons."

"He must learn, Severus. Until he does, he is a danger to all of us," Dumbledore gave Snape a look that made it clear he now viewed Harry as a danger to himself and the Order. Before he could reply to that perceived threat, the Headmaster continued, "...and he is vulnerable to the whims of Voldemort. Perhaps now he'll understand," said the Headmaster sharply.

"Indeed, Albus." In truth, out of the four, Harry was abysmal. After this night, though, Snape hoped that his son would see the importance of the meditations he kept telling the stubborn child to practice each night. The vision showed very clearly that the Dark Lord was aware he could get into Harry's mind. Snape shuddered to think of the damage that vile wizard could cause Harry. "Albus..." Snape walked over to the Headmaster's desk meaning to ask if the wizard truly felt Harry himself was now a danger. The old man, showing his age, had lain his head down upon his desk and had fallen asleep from the stress of the evening. Snape stretched out his hand and lightly touched the white-haired head of the wizard. "You're too old for another war," whispered Snape gently. The Potions Master left the office, closing the door silently behind him.

Classes were back in session at Hogwarts. Dumbledore made plans to have the Order of the Phoenix meet on a weekly basis after Harry's vision. Although there was no suspicious activity either in the Muggle or Wizarding worlds, there was a heightened sense of caution at Hogwarts and amongst Order members and their contacts. Remus was sent amongst the werewolves to keep an ear out for any sign that Voldemort was gathering forces. Sirius, still a fugitive, chose to leave Black Manor and to haunt the Forbidden Forest in his Animagus form in order to keep an eye on Harry.

The Defense Association was begun a week after everyone returned to Hogwarts. Ron, the twins, Draco, Harry, Hermione, Neville Longbottom and a few other fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh year students participated in the lessons, making a total class size of nearly twenty-five students. Luna Lovegood, despite being too young for the DA according to Snape, became a part of the class when Lyrica discovered that Luna's mother had been a practitioner of Ley Line magic and that Luna was one of those rare witches that were born attached to Ley Lines. Lyrica told her husband that this made Luna a very powerful witch. Harry didn't care. He was finally in a class where he could talk to the ethereal girl.

Between regular classes and the Defense Association, Snape continued to teach Occlumency to the quartet. He had graduated Hermione and Ron from lessons since they had finally mastered it. Draco had as well, but he was now working on mastering Legilimency.

Snape was concerned about Harry's now evident mental link with the Dark Lord. His son had not had any new visions, but concern for Harry had Snape changing the Occlumency lessons. Where before they had been meditation exercises and gentle testing by Snape of his block, the new lessons had turned into something unpleasant for them both.

Due to the aftereffects of these lessons, Snape's students, including his own house, suffered point losses and a record number of detentions that had Filch, who was the dealer of the detentions, complaining to the Headmaster about the extra work and lack of sleep he was getting. Harry, rather like his father, had also become unusually short-tempered and had managed to distance everyone in Gryffindor. Draco, trying to patch things up between the Trio one day, only wound up getting into a fist fight with his brother in Transfiguration, garnering both a week's worth of detention from McGonagall, a black eye for Harry, a bruised cheek for Draco, and a shouting lecture from their father.

Harry did understand why he needed the lessons. He didn't want Voldemort in his mind and he didn't want to wind up giving out important information to the enemy. Dumbledore, also concerned that Voldemort could get to him through Harry no longer was approachable by Harry. The obvious rebuff from the Headmaster hurt. This, along with the now combative nature of the Occlumency lessons only served to push a wedge between father and son and both of them afterwards were emotionally wrung out and often physically ill.

Deep down Harry knew that his father didn't mean to cause him pain, but he never seemed able to think rationally when his father was practically attacking his unprotected mind.

On Friday night, near the end of January, when he was supposed to be at an Occlumency lesson with his father, Harry had skived off and retreated to the solitude of the Astronomy Tower. He didn't think anyone else was there and was startled when he heard a soft, dreamy, familiar voice.

"One of my favorite things to do up here is to draw constellations in the sky." Luna smiled shyly at Harry as she took out her wand and began connecting some of the stars together with a pale, blue light emanating from the tip of her wand. Harry looked at the lighted figure, then turned his head sideways.

"I don't recognise it, Luna," he said, tilting his head the other way.

"It's a Ligurian Double-Crossed Tiger." With a wave of her hand, the light was brushed away and broke apart into glittering dust. Luna sat down beside Harry. "I never got a chance to thank you for telling your mother about me, Harry. I like her very much."

Harry smiled and felt a blush creeping up into his cheeks at Luna's proximity. Looking at her, with the moonlight turning her long, pale blonde hair into a shimmering fall that seemed to glow around her, he wondered if it was that beauty that had given the girl her name. "I'm glad Mum could help you with your magic. You've really been doing well in the DA. I think Hermione's just a little annoyed that you're doing better than she is." He leaned closer to the girl and drew her scent into his nostrils. He couldn't identify it other than to describe it as gentle and light as Luna herself was.

Luna laughed and leaned towards Harry causing their shoulders to touch lightly. "Hermione is so much more graceful than I am, Harry. She has the beauty of Freyja, the Norse Warrior Goddess when she is fighting. Don't you think she's rather beautiful to watch?"

"I don't know who Freyja is, but I have noticed that Hermione seems to... hmm... radiate... something when she's casting spells. Not like she's glowing, or anything, but... well, Hermione's not you, Luna. You're beautiful." Luna suddenly tapped Harry's nose with the tip of her wand, causing glittery blue sparks to leap from the end of his nose. He laughed and again she laughed. Harry wanted nothing more than to hear Luna's sweet, musical laughter for the rest of his life. With his heart suddenly thumping rapidly in his chest, Harry slipped an arm over Luna's shoulders. When she didn't pull away, but settled herself so her head was upon his shoulder, Harry sighed happily. Looking down, he could see the little silver sparkle of the Aethonon he'd found at a gift store and given to Luna for Christmas. It was a winged horse whose wings fluttered every few minutes. It warmed him to see Luna wearing it.

Luna connected a few more stars with her wand tip identifying several fantastic creatures he'd never heard of before. She then turned her head slightly and spoke softly into his ear. "Tell your father the truth, Harry." She then kissed his cheek and stood up. "Goodnight, Harry."

Scratching a particularly caustic remark about a student's potion sample, he slammed the phial into the rack, breaking the glass. Almost by rote, he cursed, cleaned the spill, checked to make sure none was on himself, and repaired the glass. He then glared for good measure at the rack of samples he had left to grade.

Snape hated the damned Occlumency lessons as much as his son did. He knew that Harry was doing his best. He was practicing the meditation and he did the visualisations as well. Yet, every time Snape forced his mind into Harry's there came the memories, good and bad. Snape was beginning to feel lower than the boy's fat uncle; abusing his son's mind was NOT protecting him.

Thus, Snape really wasn't all that surprised when Harry didn't show up at 6pm that Friday for another Occlumency lesson. An hour later, he knew Harry wasn't going to show up so he put away the potions samples, retrieved a stack of essays, and closed up his classroom. He then headed back to his quarters. He wanted to be angry with Harry, but the truth was, he didn't blame his son for blowing off the lesson. He wanted to blow it off as well.

Stepping through the door, Lyrica had a glass of firewhiskey for him, and a note. "Hedwig brought the note a few minutes ago, Severus," said Lyrica as she sat down on the sofa beside Snape.

Snape took a sip of the firewhiskey and read the note.

Dad,

Please don't be mad at me, but I can't do the Occlumency lessons anymore. They're tearing me up inside and it hurts me to see that they're hurting you just as much. I really am trying. You know I am and I don't know why I can't Occlude my mind. I don't know why it was so easy for Draco, Ron, and Hermione, but not me. I feel stupid and I don't want to be stupid around you.

If you're not mad at me, will you meet me in the Astronomy tower? I'll be there until 9pm. If you are mad, that's okay. I understand.

Love,
Your son, Harry

Snape folded the letter closed and downed the last of his drink as a thought came to him. It felt like he'd just found the last, missing piece to a very complex puzzle. He smiled, very slightly, quite pleased with himself. Leaning down, he quickly kissed Lyrica. "Harry's at the Astronomy tower. I'll see if I can't bring him down here for dinner."

Harry knew he should have probably sent the note to his father earlier, but frankly, he was afraid of doing so. He was a little worried that Snape might come up and drag him to the remainder of tonight's lesson. It took what Luna said to him to dredge up the nerve to write the short note.

As he sat down on the floor of the Astronomy tower looking through the open, arched window at the night sky, he tried, again, to figure out what the hell was wrong with his brain. Why couldn't he Occlude his mind? His Dad had taught them all that they had to visualise something that would hide those thoughts they didn't want someone else to know. He did rather well with the visualisation and had settled upon a bright blue sky, skudded with large, white clouds. What Harry did find difficult was the control of his emotions. The more his father attacked, the angrier he became, and the more unstable his blockade was. His last lesson had gotten him so upset he had run away the moment his father had let his mind go.

He began to wonder if maybe it was something wrong with him. Maybe his uncle had hit him in the head too hard too many times. A tear of frustration rolled down his cheek and Harry swiped angrily at it.

"And why do I cry so bloody easily?" he asked the darkness angrily.

"For the same reason you laugh and get angry and love so easily, Harry." Harry turned to see the imposing silhouette of his father standing in the Astronomy tower doorway.

"What do you mean, Dad?" he asked plaintively.

"Occlumency is an art that requires the strict control of one's emotions, Harry. Not just hiding them, but one must also be able to substitute one emotion for another. Anger for fear, lassitude for passion, adoration for revulsion."

Snape sat down beside his son, crossing his legs. "I'm beginning to think that we're attempting to suppress a part of you that's as natural as taking a breath. You are who you are because you're so very open with your emotions." He gave his son a mock, stern look. "Sometimes I wish you had a bit more restraint where your anger is concerned, but you've never been mad without reason. You are Lily's son and she never apologised for being open with her emotions."

He smiled as old memories of Lily flitted by and he was secretly pleased that he could remember Lily fondly without castigating himself anymore. "Like you, Lily was a true Gryffindor, always there to help those that needed it, standing up for others, and herself. I always admired the fact that everyone knew where they stood with Lily." Snape then touched his son's chin and turned him to face him. "Your mother was absolutely, distressingly abominable at Occlumency."

"My mum tried to learn Occlumency?"

"Your mother wanted to be an Auror and back then it was a requirement to know both Legilimency and Occlumency. Dumbledore, who taught Lily and James, actually lost his temper a few times with Lily before he realised that the Occlumency required her to suppress a very large part of who she was."

Harry glared. "So I can't learn because I'm emotional? Honestly, Dad, that sounds kind of girly."

Snape smirked. "You're not an hysteric, Harry. You are just someone whom, as they say, wears his heart on his sleeve, and it's not a bad thing. Nor is it 'girly'. It just is." Harry didn't look at all convinced. "Do you think I'm saying that you have no control whatsoever over your emotions?"

Harry nodded. "That's what it sounds like. I've been doing the meditation exercises and I know that those help! Haven't you noticed that my anger doesn't show up as much?" The boy sounded so very hopeful.

"I have noticed and I think you should, at the very least, keep doing the meditation." Harry frowned as his stubborn streak began to surface and threaten Snape's patience. He put a firm hand on his son's forearm. "Listen to me, Harry, you're not emotionally out of control. That is certainly not what I meant. You are who you are because of the freedom you have in expressing yourself. You express your emotions with everything you are, including your magic. I believe one of the reasons you were able to produce a full Patronus when even adult wizards have a problem producing just a wisp is because your magical core channels your emotions. It is when you suppress your emotions that your wild magic goes awry and you have problems."

Harry frowned as he tried to process what his father was saying. "So, if my magic is affected by my emotions, is it possible that they are the reason I've been doing badly in my classes lately?"

Snape stared at his son. He knew Harry had been having some problems in Potions and in the Defense Association, but he wasn't aware there was trouble in his other classes. "What's been going on in your other classes?"

Harry sighed heavily. "In Charms, today, we were working on cleaning spells and instead of cleaning Ron's shirt, I cleaned it off of him. I was lucky I didn't take some skin off as well, according to Flitwick."

"Professor Flitwick," Snape automatically corrected. "What about your other classes?"

"Oh... uhm... Transfiguration last week was bad. I killed the mouse I was supposed to be turning into a goblet. It wasn't working and I just got mad at it and it..." Harry grimaced. "It just wasn't pretty and Mc... Professor McGonagall wasn't real happy with me. She had me cleaning the mice cages for detention." He frowned at the slightly amused smirk hovering on his father's lips. "Oh yeah. And you yelled at me in DA last night because I put too much power in my whiplash spell."

Snape scowled. "I didn't yell," he huffed.

Harry smirked. "All right, Dad. You spoke louder than usual and called me a cottonhead and told me to take the cotton out of my ears and listen."

"Hmm, yes. It seems that our Occlumency lessons are botching up your normal, emotional balance, thus affecting the way your magic is working."

A sparkle of understanding lit up Harry's eyes and he smiled. "So, if I can't feel the emotion... the true emotion that's going through me as I'm casting spells, it messes me up. Which means, if I were successful at Occluding my mind, my magic would be lousy!"

"I believe that's what I just said," Snape drawled, his eyebrow raised. Then he smiled as he draped his arm over his son's shoulder and Harry leaned against his side.

"So what do we do? Can I just take the Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

"It isn't a very good solution, Harry. If you use it too much, it can actually make you more vulnerable as your mind, needing dreams to survive, begins to fight it."

"I wonder why Vold... He hasn't made more of an effort to get into my head," he muttered.

"It may simply be that he's not entirely strong enough to do so. It is also possible that he tried but those were nights when you'd taken the potion."

Harry sighed, depressed. "So I can't learn Occlumency?"

"Occlumency is a very difficult discipline, Harry, and no one, not even the Boy-Who-Lived can do everything. I wish, for your sake, that we'd figured this out earlier. I am so very sorry for having hurt you during our lessons."

"No, Dad, it's all right," he said smiling resignedly. "I know you only wanted to protect me."

Snape squeezed Harry's shoulder reassuringly. He then unfolded his legs causing his knees to crack as he rose to stand.

"Ewww!"

"Oh be quiet," chuckled Snape. "Just wait til you get to my age and try to sit like this." Standing he leaned over and held out a hand to his son. "I know it's late, but I think we both missed dinner so why don't you come have dinner with your mother and me."

"Are you going to let me have pudding?" he asked grasping Snape's hand and letting the older wizard draw him up to his feet.

"Fine. You can have pudding. But only one. I know you have chocolate frogs and sugar quills in your dorm left over from Christmas."

A few days later Snape was in class with his fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindors and deep in the middle of a lecture about the caustic properties of certain magical ingredients versus non-magical ingredients when the door to his classroom opened. He stopped his majestic pacing to shoot a deadly glare at the intruder and saw a very worried looking Minerva McGonagall standing in the doorway, wringing her hands.

"Professor Snape, the Headmaster wishes to see you and your sons in his office at once. Madame Snape will be meeting you there. I'll take over for you."

Snape pointed to Harry, then Draco, and with a sharp flick of his wrist, indicated they were to go out into the corridor. He then addressed the class, "Pages 203 to 215. You will be quizzed when I get back." With a nod to Minerva, he joined his anxious sons out in the corridor. Once the door was closed to the classroom, he planted a hand against each of their backs and hurried them along to the Headmaster's office.

Upon reaching the gargoyle that guarded the spiral staircase to Dumbledore's tower office, they were met by Lyrica running towards them. "Severus! You're all fine! What's going on?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "Jelly Babies!" The gargoyle slid aside and with Snape in the lead, his family followed him quickly up the rotating stairs. "What is the problem, Headmaster?" demanded Snape as soon as he entered the office.

There was no offer of tea, sherbet lemons, and no sign of twinkling eyes. The Headmaster was standing by his fireplace, a grave look upon his face. "Lucius Malfoy escaped from the Ministry holding center over the holidays."

Fear hit Draco so hard, that his knees buckled, sending him to the floor. Harry caught him by one arm and Lyrica helped them both to chairs.

"How the bloody hell did that happen?" shouted Snape.

"It appears that a certain rat of our acquaintance found his way into the Ministry..."

"Pettigrew!" growled Harry.

"Yes. Peter Pettigrew. He managed to bring in a portkey that allowed Lucius to escape. He's been masquerading as Lucius Malfoy all this time using Polyjuice Potion. One of his guards was bringing new potion once every few days. That guard had a broom accident about two weeks ago and was killed, which means Pettigrew ran out of Polyjuice. When his dinner was brought to him, the deception was revealed."

Snape paced angrily, "How long?" he asked. "How long has that bastard been free?"

"Since the night following Harry's vision," replied Dumbledore. "I believe it would be unwise for your family to leave Hogwarts until the end of term, Severus. Also, I think for the summer it might be best for all of you to be as far from here as possible."

"I know where we can go," replied Snape.

Draco spoke up, "What about Hermione?"

Lyrica patted his arm, "Even before this it was arranged that Hermione would come with us, so don't worry about her."

Harry, whose gaze had bounced back and forth between the two professors, asked, "Will Ron be safe with his family?"

Snape answered this time, "He should be fine, however, far be it from me to break up The Quartet." Harry smiled slightly. "Invite him, if you wish and if his parents agree, he may come with us."

The Headmaster smiled, "Well, then. That's taken care of."

"Uhm, Professor?" Harry addressed Dumbledore and he froze at the odd, twinkle-less smile that fell upon him.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Did Pettigrew confess... I mean, is Sirius still a fugitive?"

Dumbledore did not meet Harry's steady gaze, and Snape, who caught this, frowned at the old man. "He did, Harry. However, even under Veritaserum an investigation has been called for so until your godfather is officially cleared, he must remain in hiding."

Harry nodded. Snape spoke quietly, "Draco, Harry, go back to class and please let Professor McGonagall know I shall be returning soon."

The boys both nodded glumly. A smirk graced Snape's face quickly, "And read pages 203 to 215. You'll be quizzed as well."

"That's not fair!" snapped Draco. "I'm distraught!"

Snape and Lyrica had matching glares, but before they could say something, Harry grabbed his brother by his robe collar, and snorted, "Oh give me a break, Goldilocks! You'll find regular death threats to be particularly motivating."

Draco shook off Harry as the made their way to the door of the office. "You really need to learn how to take advantage of a situation, Scarhead. We could have been graded on a sympathy curve!"

"Hah! Like Dad ever graded on a curve!"

The door shut behind them and Snape snorted. "As if!" His small moment of mirth was gone as he faced the Headmaster. "Albus, this shunning of Harry has got to stop. Do you realise how much you're hurting him?"

Dumbledore did not acknowledge Snape's dark eyed, angry stare as he ran his fingers over the titles of a section of books on his bookshelf. "Has the boy learned to Occlude his mind, yet, Severus?"

Snape sighed almost inaudibly. "He is unable to do so, Albus. Just as Lily was."

Albus turned, then, and faced Snape. There was a look of defeat upon his face. "I was concerned about that. I do know that Harry views my recent actions as... hurtful, but you understand why, Severus. I would hope that..."

Snape interrupted, "I have explained, Albus. Unfortunately, your past actions of not being truthful with him, of having cursed us in order to manipulate us into coming back, and now this... you're losing him and there's nothing I can do about that." Snape hated seeing the look of hurt that came into Dumbledore's eyes, but it was the truth. The Headmaster had made his choices, not ones he always agreed with, and Harry was the one left to suffer.

Dumbledore was about to reply, but as defeat and pain settled into his drooping shoulders, he turned back to the books, the fingers of his right hand resting on the old leather bindings. "Do what you can to keep your family safe, Severus. I shall do what I must."

There was a long and uneasy silence until Lyrica rose and took her husband by the hand. Wordlessly, they both walked out leaving the Headmaster to his thoughts.

After Lucius Malfoy's escape, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco did their best to go everywhere with each other. Sometimes Luna, Pansy, or Neville joined them. Hermione took this opportunity to start a study group. For awhile they met in the library, until Madame Pince threw them out for talking too much. After that they met in the Room of Requirement.

A week before the end of February, the quartet, along with Luna, Pansy, and Neville, were in the Room of Requirement studying. Hermione, always in charge of the study group, had requested a large library, with desks, and comfortable chairs. Draco and Hermione had paired off and were working on Charms. Harry and Luna had their heads together over Potions, and Pansy and Neville were deep into a discussion of Mandrake Root for Herbology. Ron hadn't even looked at the Transfiguration text in front of him. He had a dark scowl on his face that he kept throwing surreptitiously at each of the three couples. Draco, finally catching the glare, kissed Hermione's cheek, whispered to her and then stood up. He went over to Harry, nudged his shoulder and nodded towards Ron. Neville, curious about what the two boys were up to, was about to ask, when Pansy diverted his attention by dazzling him with a smile.

"You're a man in need of a girlfriend," Draco spoke conspiratorially as he sat down on Ron's left at the long table the redhead was seated at.

Ron frowned. "What would you know?"

Harry replied for Draco, "He knows the bliss of a young woman's kiss meant just for him."

Draco mock gagged, and Ron's jaw just dropped. "Mate, your brain's turning to mush," remarked Ron once he'd gotten his jaw back into place.

"You're a regular Romeo, aren't you, Scarhead?" sniggered Draco.

"Says the man who keeps sending his girlfriend pretty notes with hearts and cherubs all over the margins during mealtimes," Harry bit back good naturedly.

"Why are you two sops bothering me?" asked Ron as he flipped a page of his book.

Draco snatched the text away and hid it under the table. "Studying are you, Ron? What text was it?"

Ron narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin, "History."

"Hah!" Draco tossed the Transfiguration book back on the table. "You need someone to snog..."

"Draco!" admonished Hermione.

He flashed a smile of apology at Hermione for the crudity. He then leaned in toward Ron and whispered, "You need a mate, mate."

Twin blossoms of color dotted Ron's cheeks and he glared darkly at both boys. Harry nudged Ron's arm. "C'mon, Ron. I thought you were going to try and talk to Milli."

"I did," he asserted. "After the Gryffindor/Slytherin match, I told her she flew really well."

"And?" prompted Draco.

"She smiled at me," Ron said slowly.

"And?" said Harry, echoing Draco.

"And... and... and that was that." Ron thunked his head loudly on the table and did it again for good measure.

"What's the Weasel's problem?" asked Pansy as she sat down across from the boys.

"Ron? You're not sick are you?" Hermione sat down beside Pansy. Neville quickly slid into the chair on the other side of Pansy.

"NO! I'm not shick!" Ron's face was still somewhat smashed against the table top.

"Were you scared by the Nibbling Gastwinder that's been haunting the dorms lately?" asked Luna as she sat beside Harry.

Ron lifted his head. "The what?"

"Nibbling Gastwinder," Luna went on to explain. "It generally likes to eat parchment, therefore, it's rather fond of homework. I think Cho's been having trouble with one since she's told Professor Flitwick twice that her homework was eaten." Ron just stared at Luna as though she were from another planet. Luna glanced sideways at Harry and he caught the twinkle in her eye that he was learning meant she'd been teasing. As he got to know the strange girl, he had discovered that even though she spoke about an array of fantastical creatures that put Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them to shame, she also liked to make up magical creatures. Luna, had a subtle sense of humour and an imagination that caused others to just think she was crazy. Harry knew she wasn't. Luna was as sharp as a Unicorn horn.

Ron shook his head at Luna. He thought the girl was still looney. "I don't know what to say to her!" Ron blurted miserably.

"To who?" asked Pansy. She, along with Neville and Luna, had no idea who the boy was referring to.

Harry grinned, "Ron likes Millicent Bulstrode."

Pansy's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Milli?" Then she laughed.

Ron was angry as soon as Neville and Draco chuckled, too. "You know what? That's just rude! Just because Millicent isn't all flighty and skinny and thinking about makeup and clothes twenty-four hours a day, doesn't mean you all should laugh at her! She IS pretty! To me! And she can fly on a broom bloody better than any of you!" He shot a glare at Harry. "Including you!"

"Hey!" Harry shouted indignantly. "I didn't laugh!"

Ron pushed away from the table and made to leave when Pansy caught him by the sleeve of his robe. "I'm sorry. That WAS rude of me to laugh, Ron." Ron looked down at the petite, dark-haired girl who had quickly become a good friend of all of them, and apparently an even better friend of Neville's. "Sit down, Ron."

With a melodramatic huff, Ron went back to his chair and sat down between Draco and Harry. Draco thumped him on the back. "Good man, Weasel. Don't run away."

Harry spoke up, "Look, Ron, I know Dumbledore's cancelled Hogsmeade weekend, but there is going to be the staff/student Quidditch match this saturday. Why don't you ask Milli to go with you. You won't be alone since we'll all be together."

"That would be great, Harry," Ron said in a tone that clearly reflected it wasn't that great. "The problem isn't the date itself, it's asking her. My mind just goes... jumbles and I just sound like an idiot."

Pansy jumped up. "Bother all this! Wait here!" She ran out of the Room of Requirement oblivious to the stares of everyone.

"What do you think she's up to?" asked Neville.

Hermione smiled knowingly, and then grabbed her book. "I think she forgot her Transfiguration textbook. Let's get back to work, everyone. We have an hour before dinner."

They went back to their books and all of them were working on Transfiguring buttons into baby chicks when the door to the Room of Requirement opened. Pansy Parkinson walked in, her cheeks flushed from all the running she'd done. She had a slightly bewildered, but curious Millicent Bulstrode by the hand.

"Milli really needs help in Transfiguration and Charms so I told her she could join us. Ron? Will you partner with Milli?" Pansy pushed the athletic, tall girl towards the redhead.

Ron gaped up, stupidly, at Milli. Usually a rather taciturn faced girl who looked like she could pound you into a castle wall if you said the wrong thing, she smiled shyly at Ron. That simple smile seemed to be all that Ron needed to sort out his 'jumbles'. He clicked his mouth shut, smiled right back, and found his voice, "Uhm, yeah, uh... want to sit by me?" He asked, conjuring an empty chair next to him.

"Thanks," the girl said and sat down in the chair. "Pansy didn't give me a chance to grab my books. You okay sharing... uhm, Weasley?"

"Sure, but you can call me Ron, if you'd like?"

She smiled again, a bit brighter and Ron was sure his insides were going to melt. "I guess you can call me Milli, then."

"We're practicing changing buttons into chicks," he caught a little chick that was chirping its way down the length of the table. "You actually did pretty good in the last class when you turned that tea cosy into an eel."

"You were watching me?" she asked as a blush graced her cheeks.

Ron blushed as well and shrugged. "Heh, yeah, well. You're a lot prettier to look at then McGonagall."

With a smug little smile on her face, Pansy seated herself beside Neville. He nudged her gently, "That was pretty smart, Pansy," he said softly.

Pansy laced her fingers through Neville's and leaned against his shoulder. "We Slytherins don't believe in waiting for what we want." She squeezed his hand. "We go after it."