Pg. 451

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the firth years. There was not a day that didn’t find Andrea, Dean and Seamus in the library. Sophie was there as well, but more often than not would usually be studying with Terry Boot in some secluded corner of the library. They used to study with the other three, but were banned when the couple’s looks, flirtatiousness, and other couple tendencies grew to be rather quite a disturbance and annoyance.

Andrea felt it was a shame really that they had so much schoolwork. She was sad that she couldn’t just sit back and enjoy the magical things about the season. The mistletoe, the bright decorations, the beautiful blankets of snow, and cuddling up near a roaring fire. She kept diligent to her studies though, because she was determined to make the time go faster until holliday when she’d be free to laze about in the beauty of winter at home.

When Andrea wasn’t in the library, she was either with Neal Thatcher trying to improve her Charms skills, or in the greenhouse with Neville Longbottom who’d been asked by Professor Sprout if he could tutor Andrea. Andrea excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Potions, and with Neal’s help even Charms was coming along nicely. However, Andrea couldn’t identify or categorize plants for the life of her. She knew her potions ingredients, but that was because she’d studied profusely, and almost all the time they were in labeled containers.

Andrea was very glad for Neville’s willingness to help her in Herbology. It was evident that this was something that came very naturally for him, something he enjoyed and excelled in. In return Andrea was more than happy to help Neville along in his other subjects. Many people took one look at Neville in class and thought he wasn’t quite up to snuff, but as time went on, Andrea realized that Neville was the one holding himself back. His lack of self-confidence was his biggest cripple. Whenever he got wrapped up in an assignment and forgot that he wasn’t any good he became entirely capable of whatever he put his mind to.

Andrea was rather glad that she was always so occupied with studies, because she was able to avoid Malfoy almost completely, only seeing him in lessons. His attentions were growing even more insistent. She didn’t even need to listen to the words that came out of his mouth to know that nineteen times out of twenty he was either telling her of how they were perfect for each other or suggesting they sneak off to some broom closet. When she would refuse and rebuke him, he’d always answer with something to the effect of, “Your stubbornness and/or feisty personality are irresistible. You’ll come around soon enough and realize you’re madly in love with me.”

It made Andrea want to punch him, but since their exchanges took place mainly under the eye of Snape durring Potions, Andrea restrained herself, not wanting to be scrubbing and cleaning the disgusting tanks in Snape’s storage rooms again.

~*~*~

The last week before the Christmas Holidays found the students talking excitedly about their plans for break or kissing beneath the mistletoe. Fred Weasley, still keeping up his rigorous schedule of girls took every opportunity he could to lure some girl or other beneath the magical stuff. George was no longer amused by his twin’s antics; they only served as a reminder to him of his own wishes to be underneath the mistletoe, but while Fred would take any and every girl, George only wanted one girl, and she seemed to be almost impossible to find alone.

He saw her sometimes in the Great Hall for meals, and when he could he’d sit with her, but most of the time she was surrounded by her friends, and those times when she wasn’t he had Fred or Lee right on his heels and he wasn’t quite ready to reveal the object of his heart’s desire just yet. On top of that there was the fact that there was still something going on between Andrea and Neal Thatcher. He didn’t know just what it was, but he decided it was better to just let well enough alone. He and Andrea were friends after all. He wanted to see more of her around, even if it was just as friends, but she was always studying.

He did have D.A. meetings to keep him occupied now along with Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Occasionally, when Fred was off in some broom closet or under the mistletoe, he even took to cracking open his books. Not that he actually did any essays, but he would just brush up on the things they didn’t cover in class. It wasn’t his fault that he was blessed with such a superior intelligence and only needed to hear something come out of a teacher’s mouth once for it to make perfect sense and be able to remember it at the drop of a hat.

The last D.A. meeting before Christmas brought news from Angelina that they’d chosen new players for the house Quidditch team to replace him, Fred and Harry. He didn’t hear who it was as he Fred, and Lee were coming in just on the end of the conversation between Angelina and Harry. Once everyone had arrived, Harry announced that they would be reviewing the things they’d learned so far and set them to work on the Impediment Jinx first.

There were scattered bits of mistletoe around the room, and George almost swore he saw Ginny under a bit of it with her boyfriend for a moment, but didn’t turn and check. He didn’t want to know if his sister was snogging some boy, especially if it was that Zacharias Smith. He was glad that Fred was avoiding the stuff. In general Fred had decided to not only stay away from Gryffindor girls but extended it to members of the D.A. as well. They went on to Stunning, and then at the end of the hour, Harry brought the session to an end and they all started to leave the Room of Requirement in twos and threes.

Fred was off to some rendezvous and left Lee and George. They ran to catch up with the three Gryffindor Chasers. The five of them talked about their plans for the Christmas Holiday. They were all looking forward to a good three weeks away from Hogwarts. They all loved being there, but a break would be refreshing.

As they got closer to Gryffindor Tower, George brought the conversation around to what he was particularly curious about. “I heard you found some replacements for the Quidditch team.”

Angelina glared at him, still furious about the fact that almost half her team had been banned from playing. He just glared right back at her. It’s not like he was thrilled about it himself, but he couldn’t let Malfoy simply insult his family like that. Alicia spoke for Angelina, who decided to walk ahead of them, followed closely by Lee who was still trying to convince her that they should go out.

“We did find some replacements. Your sister, for one.”

“Really?” George said, completely surprised.

“Yeah, she’s a pretty good Seeker. She’s no Potter, but not bad at all.”

“More than we can say for our new Beaters though,” Katie groaned. “Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper. They’ve got nothing on you and Fred, but they were the best that showed up.”

“We’ll have to start some intensive training as soon as we get back in January,” Alicia said wearily. “It’s hard to believe that just a year and a half ago Wood was captain and we’d won the Cup. Goes to show how things never turn out quite the way you think they will.”

They reached the Fat Lady at that moment and all three were glad that it wold serve as a good halt to the current conversation. Just after they climbed through the portrait hole, someone else crawled in after them. It was Sophie Smethwyck. Seeing her reminded George that Andrea was supposedly a brilliant player and made him want to know why she once again had neglected to go out for the team.

He looked around the common room to see if Andrea was there. She wasn’t. “Hey,” someone called his way. He looked to see who it was, but it was Dean Thomas, and he was talking to Sophie. “Where’s Benning? We thought she was with you.”

“She’s not back? I left her in the library a while ago, I thought she’d be back by now.”

“Well, she isn’t,” Seamus stated the obvious. The three seemed a bit worried, and with good reason as it was growing late.

“You know, I was going to go and borrow a book from the library. I can check and see if she’s still there,” George heard himself say, though he didn’t know why he’d let the words come out of his mouth. Dean and Seamus simply shrugged, but Sophie gave him a bright smile and thanked him for his thoughtfulness, and with that George was heading back out the portrait hole, an excitement he couldn’t deny growing in him. It’d give him a chance to ask Andrea why she didn’t go tryout for the Quidditch team.

~*~*~

“Is someone paying you to make my life miserable, Malfoy? Is that why you’re so persistent?” Andrea raged at him. She didn’t care that it was getting late and that her shouts could bring any number of authority figures that may be prowling around looking for rule-breakers. In fact, she did hope it would bring some teacher, or Filch, or even Peeves, because then she would have a chance to get away from Malfoy. She was almost home free, the hallway they were currently walking down was about to end and then she would turn to the right and he, hopefully, would take the left course as that was the way to the dungeons.

“You know, you’re even more beautiful when you’re angry,” Malfoy drawled. “It makes your eyes all fiery.”

She stopped and turned to glare at him. He was merely smiling at her, and it made her want to strangle him. “Why won’t you leave me alone?” she pleaded. “What did I ever do to deserve this torture?”

“Oh, stop putting on these shows, I know you’re worried I won’t return your affections, but I thought by now you would’ve figured out that I simply adore you.”

“You’re out of your head!” she shouted. Then she took a deep breath and calmly said, “Is there anything I can do or say to make you stop?”

“Give me what I want: a kiss, for starters.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock and disgust, she couldn’t help it, but the next moment she wish she had been able to control her reaction. He took the opportunity to close in and cover his mouth with hers, slipping his tongue eagerly into her open mouth. She was paralyzed to stop him out of her shock, and then fear as he backed her up against the wall, pining her there with his weight. When his hands started to grope at her, her senses came back to her and she sprung into action.

She tried to struggle against him, but he was stronger than she had expected. Using a little more force than before, she started to push him away, but was still not making a lot of headway. She slapped his face as hard as she could, hearing the sting, and even making her own hand hurt, but it got his mouth away from hers. With a better supply of oxygen, she was able to start kicking and punching him. He backed away, but she didn’t quit. She was enraged and disgusted. “How dare you?! I’m serious when I say you’ve been wasting your time! I will NEVER like you in any remote way! If you were the last person in the world, I would die rather than speak to you, much less anything else!”

“Back off Benning. I’ve given you ample time to make the right decision, but I’m done with you. Now you’ll regret your rejection of me,” he reached with lightning speed for his wand. “Crucio.”

Andrea crumpled to the floor with the intense pain that immediately filled her body. The sound of her screaming seemed distant in her own ears because of the fire that seemed to scorch through her veins. She started to sob; even though it had only been a matter of seconds of pain, it felt like an eternity. Then the pain stopped, as quickly as it had begun.

She was only barely able to open her eyes and see through her tears that someone had collided with Malfoy, and she could hear the sound of punching, and growls of frustration. She wiped the tears out of her eyes as her rescuer yelled at Malfoy’s retreating figure. “If you so much as look at her again in the wrong way, or at all for that matter, you’ll regret the action! If you were worth my time, I’d kill you for what you’ve done!”

Andrea was a little frightened to hear the anger in George Weasley’s voice, but when Malfoy was no longer in sight, he turned to her with deepest concern on his face although she could still feel that there was a large amount of anger raging through him. He kneeled next to her, his blue eyes penetrating hers, and softly asked, “Are you all right?”

She couldn’t stand for him to look at her right now, and the tears rolled hotly down her cheeks as she hung her head. “How much did you see?”

“I saw him. . . I saw enough. You handled yourself brilliantly before he pulled out his wand.”

“I feel so humiliated,” she moaned. She had a feeling that George had been about to say that he’d seen Malfoy on her, seen him groping and kissing.

“Hey,” he put one of his hands under her chin, cupping her face delicately, “You have nothing to be ashamed of. He’s slime and not worth a second thought. I also think you amply hurt his pride and gave him a few nice shiners, like you did Harry.”

Andrea gave a feeble laugh.

“Do you think you can stand?” he asked. She nodded and he stood and then reached down to give her a hand up, which she gratefully took. She was a bit shaky, but George saw this and put an arm around her waist to steady her. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“I’ll be fine. Just a bit more embarrassed than anything,” she looked to the floor.

“I’m just glad that I was here to stop him, and don’t feel embarrassed. I’m not going to tell anyone what he did to you, and I doubt he’s going to say anything either. Let me walk you back to the Tower,” he smiled. His smile warmed her insides, not making her melt like it usually did, but it served to calm the tumultuous emotions raging inside her.

They were quiet as they walked back to Gryffindor, and as they went along Andrea seemed to be recovering. George still kept his arm around her, more for emotional support than physical. About halfway back, George decided to quench his curiosity and help Andrea to take her mind off of what had just happened. “Andrea, why didn’t you try out for the house team this time?”

“My skills as a Beater aren’t quite, well, they’re about as great as my skills as a Keeper, which are nonexistent.”

“Why not Seeker?”

“I couldn’t do that to Potter. He’s only banned until Umbridge is gone, so next year he’ll be back to playing. I’m not the person to go in and take over his spot this year. Actually, I heard Ginny got the position. She’s probably the only person who could fill in without making Harry terribly mad. Your family is like his family, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But why does it matter so much to you? Why not just play?”

“Like I said, I couldn’t do that to Potter.”

“Why not?” he asked, unconsciously removing his arm from around her, and continuing with his train of thought. “Do you fancy him or something?”

“Oh, no! Never! Potter is about the last person I would ever crush on. The day I fancy him is the day I’m mourning Malfoy as my late husband!”

“That bad?”

“No, it’s just. . .complicated. I totally respect him, and I definitely hold him in high esteem, but I could never think of him romantically. Long story. Besides, while I’m not too shabby as Seeker, Chaser is my true calling. I’m quite brilliant, not to come off too pompous, but I just am. I find that when I play other positions it kind of affects my abilities as a Chaser.”

“Makes sense that you are a Chaser.”

“Why’d you say that?”

“Well, you like to be in the thick of things.”

“I do?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of glory in being a Chaser, and you’re the youngest in your family. Seekers only really get the attention when they’re either in pursuit of the Snitch, or faking pursuit. Keepers are only in the game when the Quaffle’s coming towards them. Beaters are more behind the scenes, no one knows what they’re doing until after they’ve already made their mark, able to wreak their havoc without anyone noticing beforehand,” he smiled mischievously and winked at her.

“That’s not the only reason you like playing Beater. It gives you an outlet for your aggression.”

“What can I say?” he sighed. “Some of us use a Beater’s Bat, others are more apt at using their fists.”

“You are incorrigible!”

“One of my many charms.”

“You’re only charm.”

“Ouch, Benning! That hurts right here,” he frowned pitifully and put a hand over his heart.

“Didn’t know you had one of those,” she teased. They both laughed, and then a comfortable silence fell between the two of them the rest of the way back toward Gryffindor Tower. George was about to give the password when Andrea grabbed his arm. He turned and looked at her, seeing that her hazel eyes were looking a little bit misty.

“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for-”

“Don’t say another word about it. I just wish I had come earlier.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile, “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“I will be. A new day always makes things better. It’s just, it’s not so much the pain from the curse, I’m pretty well over that. But I feel so used, the way he. . .” she broke off, unable to finish.

A tear started to make a trail down her cheek, and George wiped it away. “Shh, come here,” he said soothingly as he pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his back, enjoying the feeling of strength and protection in his embrace. Her head just seemed to fit on his shoulder, he wasn’t much taller than she was, only about three or four inches.

They both jumped when the Fat Lady gave a loud, obviously fake cough and let go of each other, Andrea quickly wiping any remnants of her tears away.

“Sorry, you want the password,” George said sheepishly.

“Well, yes, of course, but look,” she pointed above where Andrea and George were standing.

They both looked up. Mistletoe. George was finally under the magical stuff with exactly the girl he wanted to be under it with, but after what she’d already been through tonight, he didn’t want to pressure here at all. He quickly looked away at the wall, shifting his weight. “Andrea, you don’t have-”

She placed a hand on his cheek and turned his face back to look at her, and they both smiled at each other. Andrea closed the distance between them, taking a breath to calm her nerves. He placed his hands on her waist.

“MIMBULUS MIMBLETONIA! MIMBULUS MIMBLETONIA!” Someone was shouting from around the corner. George and Andrea jumped apart, startled, the moment broken. The next second Fred came into sight, running down the corridor towards them. The Fat Lady had swung forward, in a huff of disappointment. “Quick!” Fred grabbed each of them by the arm. “Filch is coming! He hasn’t seen me yet, but we’re in for weeks of detention if he catches any of us!”

~*~*~

A few minutes later, the twins were up in their dormitory, in bed, the others in their room already asleep. “Hey George.”

“Yeah Fred?”

“I’ve just had a very interesting thought cross my mind.”

“Me too, I was thinking we might try an invisibility gum. What is it they make the cloaks out of? I think Ron said Harry had one, maybe he’d know.”

“No.”

“You’re right, Potter probably has no idea. Bet Dumbledore does though. Do you think we could get him to tell us?”

“You and Andrea were about to kiss before I came around tonight, weren’t you? If only Filch hadn’t been on my trail.”

“It was only a bit of mistletoe, it’s nothing really.”

“But why were you out there alone with her anyway?”

“I bet Dumbledore would tell us. I think he’d approve.”

“Dumbledore would tell us why you were with Andrea?”

“We could probably get a book from the library if Dumbledore refuses to tell.”

“Do you need Dumbledore’s approval to go out with Andrea? I’d think you’d probably want to ask her brother if you needed some approval.”

“Fred, I’m trying to concentrate on this invisibility gum. It’d be priceless! Maybe sell even more of that than all the Skivving Snackboxes we’ve sold so far.”

“Right. I approve of you and Benning, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t, because it was just mistletoe.”

“It was pretty late for you two to be out of the common room.”

“I just saw her in the hall and we happened to be going the same way,” George hissed.

“Fine, fine. I’ll drop it. If it’s nothing, then it was nothing.” However, George couldn’t see the huge grin on his twin’s face. “G’night.”

“Night.”

~*~*~

Andrea didn’t tell Sophie about what happened with Malfoy or with George when she came up to their room. Hermione had just crawled into bed, and Andrea quickly followed suit. Before long they were all asleep.

Andrea found herself dreaming she was back home. It was summertime and she and her brothers were all home at Benning Manor. Others were there too, Edward, and his brothers Ethan and Euan; Lynch, Troy, Mullet, Moran, Connolly, the normal bunch. They were all zooming around on their Firebolts in a thrilling match, though it was modified. Two chasers and one Beater per team, instead of the normal three and two. There was a heightened danger though because there were still two bludgers, and they had fewer targets than in a normal game, making it easier to find one being pelted towards you. Their father was serving as referee, while mum was watching as she tended to her garden. Andrea had just dodged a bludger and was about to take a pass from Troy. The Quaffle was in the air, heading her way. She lifted a hand off her broom to reach out for it. Just before it came into her hand, she bolted up out of bed, a horrible rush of fear and foreboding filling her entire being.

This was really weird. She hadn’t been having any kind of nightmare, yet she was breathing heavily, her forehead was covered in icy sweat, her hands were cold and clammy. She had the horrible urge to hurl the contents of her stomach. Something was terribly wrong. There was no reason for her to have awoken like that from her Quidditch dream. She was glad that neither Sophie nor Hermione had woken up. Then it hit her. He’d had the terrible nightmare. It was that bloody sympathy pain and emotion channeling into her. She got up a moment or two later, and walked across the room to where the house elves always left a pitcher of cool water and a few glasses. The brunt of what she had felt when she woke up had worn off. It never lasted terribly long, but she still felt a bit of the wake of it. She would go and tell Dumbledore first thing in the morning before she left for the Christmas Holiday. He’d want to know.