I do not own anything Harry Potter, no money is being made from this story, so please don't sue!


"Harry?" Hermione sat down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table in the great hall during breakfast. "Do you have any more of those decoy detonators that the twins gave you?"

"I have a couple," he replied. He then leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Are they for Snape?" He sounded hopeful.

"Actually, no. It's for someone else." She answered. "But I think you'll enjoy it just the same. Could I also borrow your map and the invisibility cloak?"

Wondering what she was up to, Harry nodded in reply. With a hasty thank-you to Harry, Hermione jumped from her seat and left without another word.

Hermione was sure she would receive nothing but support from the girls for her idea, but she didn't want to risk them knowing yet. They were lucky to have had Dumbledore's protection from Snape, but she didn't want to press their luck anymore. She wasn't sure where Dumbledore would draw the line. If anything went wrong she didn't want to drag anyone else down with her. So for now, she kept quiet. If all the girls decided they wanted in after today, she would happily go to Dumbledore for them and make sure that they had his permission to carry on.


Later that day, Hermione made her way down into the kitchens to find out what they were having for dinner that night. Upon entering the kitchens she began to search for Dobby, but she didn't have to look for long. She heard a happy squeal right before all the wind was knocked out of her and she found herself gasping for breath. Luckily Dobby soon realized that she couldn't breathe and released her.

Smiling down at Dobby Hermione said, "I was hoping I could have a word with you." Glancing up, she saw that all the other house elves had stopped working and were all watching her and listening intently. "In private," she added hastily.

Once they were safely out of ear shot of the others she relayed her idea to Dobby and was happy when he said that no, they were not having any mashed potatoes with dinner that evening. After asking for, and receiving a small bowl of mashed potatoes, she made her way upstairs to her common room to wait for dinner.


"Hermione," Ron bellowed up the stairs leading to the girls rooms, "we're going to be late for dinner!"

"Just go, Ron," she yelled in reply. "I'll meet you down there! Just GO!"

Walking over to Harry, Ron threw one last dirty look in the direction of the girl's dorm and said, "What's with her lately? She's never around, she hardly ever hangs out with us, and I'm so far behind in my homework, I don't think I'll pass this year!" Still grumbling to Harry, Ron climbed out of the common room through the portrait hole, with Harry in tow.

Once she was sure that the common room was empty, Hermione made her way down. She double checked her backpack and made sure that everything she needed was safely inside. Half way down to the Great Hall she made a quick stop in the girl's bathroom. She checked the map and saw that everyone was in the Great Hall eating dinner. She pulled out the cloak and threw it over herself. She checked her reflection, or lack thereof, in the mirror, satisfied that she was covered she grabbed her bad and went down to the great hall.


Checking to see where her target was, she walked to the furthest point from her mark as possible, opened her bag and set down the decoy. As quickly and as quietly as she could, Hermione sprinted to the other side of the Great Hall. Once she was safely behind her mark, the detonator went off.

All the students jumped to their feet to see what had happened. Catching herself before she laughed with relief when her mark moved up the table a bit for a better view, she opened her bag again and dumped the mashed potatoes onto the plate in front of her. She retreated to safety just as her mark returned to its seat.

With a deep breath Hermione took out her wand and took careful aim at the fork in her marks hand. At her cue, and somehow unnoticed by the target, the fork rose up, scooped up some mashed potatoes and with a flick of her wrist she sent the potatoes flying.

To her, it seemed to happen in slow motion. The white lump of potatoes made its way in a smooth arch to the intended person. With an almost silent "plop" the potatoes his Snape directly on his right ear. The students all sat in silence and watched the potatoes slide down Snape's neck to land on the floor. Slowly, very slowly, Snape turned his head in the direction that the food came from. While Snape was looking for the culprit Hermione raised her wand again, and with all the teachers watching the table where the potatoes originated, she loaded the fork for a second time, and with another flick sent more soaring. Only this time she had the pure delight of watching the food hit Snape squarely in the face.

Once it landed, Hermione made a mad dash for the Gryffindor table and the seat that Harry and Ron had saved for her. She removed the cloak and stuffed it into her bag as she slipped unnoticed into her seat.

By the time Hermione had sat down, Snape had raised his napkin and wiped the food from his face. His eyes, just moments before the potatoes landed in them, caught the movement of the fork and had zeroed in on its owner. The students were too stunned to speak, but as one, their heads turned to follow Snape as he stood from his seat and walked to the end of the high table. They let out a collected gasp as Snape turned at the head of the Slytherin table and slowly walked halfway down the aisle. They watched, shocked, as he grabbed the student he saw flick the potatoes at him, and roughly he dragged Draco Malfoy to his feet.

Without a word to anyone Snape continued to drag Draco out of the great hall by the back of his robes. No one dared to draw a breath until the massive doors swung shut. As soon as they did conversation and laughter erupted all around the room. With a knowing smirk from Harry and a confused look and question from Ron ("When did you get here?") Hermione loaded her plate and ate dinner while chaos reigned around her.


She made her way quietly to the room of requirement later that evening. She knew, without a doubt, that the girls would be there waiting for her. As soon as she entered she was greeted with applause and laughter. Making her way further into the room she searched out Pansy. Pansy was the only one she was worried about; she was worried that she might have gone too far. Finally she found her and stood a little ways from her. Pansy wasn't smiling. When Hermione opened her mouth to apologize, Pansy simply shook her head, rushed towards her and flung her arms around her. When Pansy finally stepped back, she was beaming at Hermione and had tears in her eyes. Touched beyond words, Pansy could only manage a weak "Thank-you". She had never dreamed that one day she would be so lucky to have seven girls like these are friends. After a quick conversation it was agreed upon by all that Draco Malfoy would pay.


The next day Hermione made her way alone to Dumbledore's office. She didn't tell the girls that she was hoping to get the go ahead from Dumbledore so Pansy could get her revenge. She had also decided that if anything happened that required someone getting in trouble, that she would take all the blame from the others. She gave the password and rode the winding stairs to the Headmasters office. After knocking and receiving a "Come in, Miss Granger" from Dumbledore, she opened the door and took one step inside before she let out a startled gasp and took a step back.

"Apparently you all had the same ideas." Dumbledore said to her, gesturing to the other seven girls already seated around the office. "Now, where was I? Oh yes. I will, once again, give you my permission, as long as no one gets hurt. I feel, as apparently you all do, that Mr. Malfoy was a bit… unkind. So, no punishment will befall you." With a small smile he looked around the room, "I must say this. In a lifetime, one is considered extremely lucky if they can find a good friend. Somehow, all eight of you found each other, and the world will be better for it. You each came here today with the intention of protecting the rest. Willing to take any and all blame and punishment upon yourselves to protect one another. Well, I believe that is all, and I'm sure you all have some… planning to do. Goodnight." And with that the girls all left his office.

At the foot of the stairs the girls just stood there, staring at each other. When as one, they rushed together in a large group hug. When they finally broke apart they made plans to get together the following night and went off to bed.