Fred Weasley had been sure the classroom was empty when he had snuck in after curfew to hide some of his and George's joke objects ready to be sold the following day. A sudden sound made him stiffen and then reach for his wand as he melted back into the shadows. He considered making a run for it, but needed to know whether he had been spotted. He did not want to lose another batch of their goods to Umbridge and her spies; they were losing far more than they sold these days. He heard it again, and tensed, wand ready as his eyes swept the room warily. There was a shadow by the window that did not look to belong and he crossed the room with slow steps, ready to strike or flee. Then the shadow moved and he relaxed as he recognised the unmistakeable silhouette. No-one else had hair that bushy. "Hermione?"

There was a startled squeak and the shadow moved as her head shot up. Coming closer, Fred could make out the silver glisten of tears on her face and frowned. That was not like her. "What is it?" he asked, kind nature winning out over the thought that flashed through his mind to make a joke out of the situation.

"Just go away, Fred."

The sound of defeat in her tone was not what made what made him frown. It was something far more unnerving to him. "How do you know I'm not George?" he asked, confused.

Hermione shrugged. "You stand differently" she said, sniffing and rubbing the tears from her face with the back of her hand. "Is now the time?"

"Right, sorry" Fred said, grinning. But then his good humour vanished as he looked more closely at her. She looked so tiny, all huddled and defeated in a corner of a forgotten classroom. It was not a side of Hermione he had seen before, and he found it strangely unnerving. "Look" he said, wondering as he did what he was getting himself into. "I know I've not always made your life easy, but I'm not all bad. Will you tell me what's wrong?"

Hermione looked at him strangely for a moment, like she had just encountered a new species. Clearly she had not been expecting this reaction from him and she was not sure how to respond. But then she sighed, pulling her knees up to her chin and resting her folded arms on top of them. "I just don't know what else I can do" she said softly.

Fred looked quickly at her, frowning. For Hermione to admit she did not know something was both peculiar and strangely unsettling. "What do you mean?" he persisted, his voice gentle.

"This bloody Umbridge has destroyed everything!" she burst out, anger suddenly winning out over despair. "I've done everything I can think of to stop it" I've had the truth published about Harry and what he saw at the Tri-Wizard tournament; I convinced him that helping others to learn to fight was a good idea; and launched Dumbledore's army. She has managed to stop it all. We have nothing left to fight with, and she's even chased Dumbledore from the school. All that was good at Hogwarts has been ruined by her. She's even got you banned from Quidditch! I can't think of a way to get any of it back." She broke off and buried her head in her hands. "I can't stand it anymore."

The last was no more than a broken mumble and made Fred slide a comforting arm around her shoulders before he could stop himself. Surprisingly, she did not protest but instead leant against him as if seeking comfort. He slipped his other arm around her and hugged her gently, feeling anger building inside of him. For someone as strong-willed as Hermione to be driven to tears of despair showed just how tightly Umbridge's hold on the school was. She had to be taken down, and soon. Looking down at the girl in his arms, Fred wanted more than anything to see her bright smile again. He had the perfect way to do that.

"I know something that will cheer you up" he told her, treating her to a wide smile as she looked quickly up, hope glistening through the tears in her eyes.

After a moment, she sat up a little straighter, obviously intrigued. "You're plotting something, aren't you?" she asked him quickly. "I've seen that look before, when you and George are hatching some scheme. What are you up to?"

Fred grinned. "I knew you approved of us really!" he exclaimed, laughing softly as she attempted a scowl. "That little stunt of hers was one too far. Kicking us off the Quidditch team! It got us thinking of a way to show her that we can never be brought down, no matter what she tries. We're going to cause chaos."

Hermione frowned at that. "You'll end up getting expelled" she said doubtfully. "It's not worth your education, surely? How will you get jobs if you don't get your exams?"

"We don't need them" Fred explained gently, holding up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. "I know they are important; you don't have to tell me. But we have the money we need to start up our business, and we don't need to prove that we have brains to do it. What we can do is to leave behind a little of what we've tried to do ever since we got to Hogwarts. We want to leave a bit of happiness and hope. Is that so bad?"

Hermione shook her head, but then looked more closely at him. "I can't believe you're trying to justify your pranks to me" she said, unable to contain her curiosity as she burst out: "What are you going to do?"

And so Fred told her. He could not believe he was confessing his pranks to a prefect who had taken house points from him earlier on in the year. He would never have predicted that he would be having this conversation with Hermione, know-it all, goody two-shoes as she was. And he certainly never would have predicted her reaction.

"Fred, you're brilliant!" she exclaimed, her grin beautifully mischievous.

Suddenly, looking down at her, he realised why his younger brother trailed along after her so faithfully. She was a beautiful girl, despite that uncontrollable hair and slightly up-turned nose, not to mention her swottishness. Realising that he might have been staring perhaps a little too long, he looked away for a moment, not wanting to unnerve her. While she was here, though, perhaps he could take the chance to pick that gigantic brain of hers. "There's just one problem we can't solve yet" he said, not able to withhold his smile as her ears perked up. "We don't want our swamp to be removed too easily."

"I can't believe you invented a Portable Swamp" Hermione said, shaking her head at the thought. "You're mental; you do realise that?"

"Well, yes" Fred replied easily, glad that she was starting to sound like herself again. "Can you help it to stick around long enough to really annoy the Toad?"

Frowning, deep in thought, Hermione considered the problem.

Fred watched her; sure he could almost hear the cogs turning in her mind as she considered the question. He blinked as she gave a little squeak and then she turned to him excitedly.

"There's a charm I read about last week. It's like a Permanent Sticking Charm, but has been subtly altered to be used on larger things, such as that horrendous portrait in Grimmauld Place, and also on things that aren't solid. It would be perfectly possible to use a version of that on something like your swamp. I'll find it tomorrow; it's somewhere in the Restricted Section. I'll let you know as soon as I have it. That will really irritate her; you know how much she likes things neat and tidy."

"Precisely the reason behind it all" Fred told her, amazed by how mischievous her grin could be. This girl was full of surprises. "I am so glad I found you today" he told her honestly. "It's a shame we're leaving, you know. You could have been very helpful. We've still got so many pranking ideas that we've never quite worked out how to pull off."

"No, Fred" Hermione said sternly, although she was smiling. "I am a prefect, you know."

Fred pulled a face at that. "Oh well; there goes a beautiful partnership" he said, sighing rather over-dramatically. He got to his feet and held a hand out for her. "Come on, Granger" he said. "We better get you back before you're caught out after curfew. We both know your reputation would suffer if you're caught out with a Weasley Twin. McGonagall will probably force you into counselling."

Hermione laughed and took his hand, getting to her feet. Still holding the hand in both of hers, her look was almost shy as she glanced up at him. "Thank you" she said softly.

"Don't mention it" Fred replied easily, smiling down at her as he drew her hand into the crook of his arm. "Give us a few days, Hermione, and we'll pay her back tenfold for all the horrible things she's done. I promise." He had been considering just letting it go; just sitting his exams and then leaving it all behind him. But that time with Hermione had strengthened his resolve. It was not just about him and George anymore, but everyone in the school. They had to act, and he found that he wanted to. He glanced down at Hermione again, glad to see the vulnerability he had seen before was no longer haunting her dark eyes. Without her, he did not think he would truly have known what it was that Umbridge had tried to take from the school. She had tried to remove all that was good, and Fred knew that this really was worth fighting for.

They made their way through the deserted common room and stopped at the stairs to the dormitories. Impulsively, Fred leaned down and pressed a light kiss on Hermione's cheek, grinning as she blushed. "Just hold out for a few more days" he told her, his blue eyes suddenly serious as they met hers. "Then you'll see what we can do. If anything is worth being expelled for, it's this."

Hermione nodded. "I know" she said simply. She reached up and lightly traced her fingers along his cheekbone. "I've misjudged you, all these years" she said, unexpectedly. "I've never really looked beyond the pranks to who you really are. I had never thought that you would go to such lengths to make a stand; that you would be so willing to fight. I'm sorry I doubted you Fred." On tiptoes, she pressed a light kiss onto his lips. It was sweet kiss, chaste and innocent, but still Fred knew he had blushed bright red. When he had recovered enough to look down at her, she had gone.