Professor Umbridge was quite the one.

She was already sat behind the desk wearing her vulgar fluffy pink cardigan when I entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom for the first time. Late.

"Ah, Miss Diggory, so nice of you to feel that you could join us, after all," she tittered in a sweet, sickly voice.

"Uh- sorry," I blushed, trying not to look at the sea of faces staring up at me. "I lost my way."

"Well, take a seat girl. Chip chop."

I gulped, looking around trying desperately to locate an empty chair. My heart lightened to see Draco in the class, but sadly he was already seated next to Blaise. They both looked at me apologetically.

"I believe Miss Granger here is lacking a companion." Umbridge pointed out, that creepy smile still fixed upon her face.

I heard Draco snort and mutter something about 'Mudblood' as I went to take my seat beside her at the front of the class.

"Now, as I was saying before our little interruption," she paused as her warty eyes darted pointedly to me, "I should like you to read 'Chapter One, Basics for Beginners' of your copy of Defensive Magical Theory. There will be no need to talk."

I quickly pulled my book out from my bag as the sound of disdainful sighs and turning of pages ensued.

As I flicked to the first chapter and started to read, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that Hermione's own copy was laying on the desk in front of her, unopened.

And not only that, she had her hand in the air which Umbridge was determinedly ignoring.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" Umbridge eventually asked when it was clear that Hermione's hand was going nowhere.

"Not about the chapter, no," Hermione answered.

"Well, we're reading just now," Umbridge bristled. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"Surely we need to be practising defensive spells?" Hermione went on, ignoring her. "We're not going to learn anything from reading this rubbish."

The whole room gasped. Hermione Granger was not only ignoring a professor's instructions, but dissing a book, too!

"Miss Granger, as long as you read the material and study the theory hard enough, there is no reason you won't be able to perform defensive spells under carefully controlled examination conditions."

There was uproar. People shouting how ludicrous it was that we couldn't practice with our wands beforehand. I snuck a quick look over my shoulder to catch a peek at Draco. He was just sitting coolly at the back of the classroom with a smirk across his face, looking as though he was enjoying the commotion.

When he noticed me looking, he gave me a little wink. His silver grey eyes glinting wickedly.

"How in the fuck's name is studying a stupid theory going to prepare us for what's waiting for us out there?" Harry bellowed from the desk beside me.

A few students giggled nervously at his brave use of colourful language in front of a professor.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" Umbridge enquired, cocking her head slightly to the side as she studied Harry with interest.

"Hmm, let's think..." Harry said in a mock thoughtful voice, theatrically tapping his finger against his chin. "Maybe... I don't know, how about LORD FUCKING VOLDEMORT!"

The room filled with gasps and screams. Some people (Neville) even fell off their stools. I glanced back at Draco whose smirk had gotten wider, his eyes staring gleefully into the back of Harry's head.

"One hundred points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter." Umbridge said sweetly, her face a picture of grim satisfaction as she bored into Harry.

"What the fuck?!" Piped up a little Irish voice from somewhere behind me.

"Now, let me make a few things quite plain." Umbridge continued. "You have all been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead. This is a lie."

"It is NOT a lie!" Harry spat angrily. "I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr Potter!" Umbridge screamed triumphantly. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie."

Harry stood up, his face full of anger. I reached across the space in between our desks and tugged at his sleeve trying to pull him back down.

"Harry, no!" I hissed. But Harry just jerked his arm away from me.

"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Harry snarled at Umbridge, his voice shaking.

My heart gave a painful twist and I looked up at him in complete horror.

The whole class seemed to be holding their breath as they looked from Harry, to me, and then to Umbridge, waiting for one of us to react. It was Umbridge who spoke first.

"What happened to Cedric was a tragic acc-"

"I WATCHED HIM GET BRUTALLY AND HORRIFICALLY MURDERED! I HEARD VOLDERMORT COMMAND THE KILL LIKE HE WAS SIMPLY ORDERING A MCCHICKEN SANDWICH IN A DRIVE THRU! THEN I FELT CEDRIC'S LIFELESS BODY THUD SICKENINGLY TO THE GROUND NEXT TO ME! AND I'M PRETTY SURE HE WASN'T JUST TAKING A FUCKING NAP!"

"Well, if he was then burying him was a big mistake," a voice muttered behind me.

I felt like I couldn't breathe. White lights clouded my vision. All I could see was Cedric's body dropping over and over again.

"Harry!" I heard Hermione gasp next to me, as her arm went around my shoulders. "Are you okay, Aurora?"

"ENOUGH!" Umbridge screamed, silencing the excited chatter that had started up, thanks to Harry's enlightening speech. "Detention now every evening this week for being a lying little toad, Mr Potter!"

"He's not lying."

The whole class gave a collective gasp as their heads swivelled to the owner of the voice.

Me.

"What did you just say, Miss Diggory?" Umbridge clipped, her eyes bulging excitedly as they fixed upon me.

"Harry is telling the truth." I said, trying to keep my voice from wobbling. "My brother was murdered by Vol-Voldemort. I believe Harry and so should everyone else."

"You will be joining Mr Potter for detention every night this week!" Umbridge spat, shaking in fury. "I'm going to make sure to teach you both a lesson you'll never forget!"

I gulped. This did not sound good.

...

Draco watched on in disbelief.

Didn't Aurora know to keep quiet? She couldn't be seen defending Potter, even if the idiot was right.

He waited for her outside the door after the class was dismissed.

"What were you thinking?" He implored, grabbing her hand and yanking her into a small alcove a little further down the corridor. "You need to keep out of things between Potter and the Ministry."

"Not if it has anything to do with my brother!" She cried, her eyes flashing angrily up into his.

He looked down at her with worry, she didn't look too good. He knew it must have been horrible to hear what that twat was saying about Diggory. How could Potter have been so fucking insensitive?!

"Yes, but look where it's gotten you - detention with Potter every single fucking night this week! I'm hardly going to see you!"

"Draco, I'm sorry, but I couldn't sit there and listen to that awful woman pretend that Ced's death wasn't what it was."

"I get it, I do." He said, looking around to make sure they weren't been overheard. "But please be careful, Aurora. Umbridge is in very close alliance with Fudge, and I know for a fact that they're trying their best to make Potter look mad. Don't get dragged into it, please!"

She stood on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against his. He let out an audible sigh as his stomach knotted in blissful pleasure. He suddenly couldn't think anymore; his mind only on the girl in front of him and how she was making him feel.

He parted his lips, deepening the kiss, one hand going to the back of her head where he hungrily clasped her hair, the other one snaking around her waist beneath the folds of her robes, his fingers finding their way to the back of her skirt. His urgency getting the better of him, he couldn't help but firmly pull her hard up against him, making them both cry out into each other's mouths as their groins met.

Aurora quickly broke away, panting heavily and looking completely surprised and flustered at the same time.

Draco's heart was racing beneath his heaving chest. It took him a moment to realise he may have been getting a little out of control.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, driving a hand through his hair, trying to take the attention away from his nether regions, hoping nothing was showing.

Although chances were she had felt it.

"It's okay," she flushed, and he could tell she was finding it difficult to meet his eyes. "It just... took me by surprise, that's all."

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and pulling her away down the corridor, desperate for this awkwardness to pass, "we better go and get some dinner before we're missed.

And as they walked down to the Great Hall, Draco couldn't help but feel a little frisson of excitement zip feverishly in the pit of his stomach.

She hadn't said she didn't like it.