Written for skylardenae on tumblr. Enjoy.
Up To No Good
Though she was considered to be a goody two shoes prat by many, Hermione Granger had a tendency to get herself into quite a bit of trouble. Such was customary, being the best friend of The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter (though, nowadays, people seemed to be calling him The Boy Who Lied). It was not uncommon for Hermione, Harry, or Ron, to be found out of bed late at night, or in the Forbidden Forrest after hours, or exploring mysterious secret passages, or sneaking off school grounds. Lately, however, they had to be a lot more careful with their mischief, what with Ministry Official Delores Umbridge watching their every move.
The most 'dangerous' thing Hermione found herself doing these days was staying up late to read.
It was nearly 2 in the morning, and the common room was empty, except Hermione and a small mountain of books, parchment, quills, and ink. She knew very well that she should have been sleeping, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. She wanted to get as much information from these books as she could, before Umbridge could have them banned, along with the several hundred she'd already arranged to be burned. She shuddered at the thought.
Given the late hour, Hermione was quite surprised when the portrait hole swung open, and someone walked in.
Or, rather, something.
Hermione watched in shock as the otter transformed into a human. A very familiar looking human.
"Fred?" she said in surprise.
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Hermione!" he exclaimed. "You… I didn't think anyone was here. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I should ask you the same thing," she replied matter-of-factly. She stood up and walked over to him.
"Ah, yes, well…" He stopped short of an excuse. He didn't have any kind of reasonable explanation to offer her. He couldn't even think of a ridiculous one to throw her off.
"So," she said. "Were you ever going to tell anyone that you're an animagus?"
Fred made a strange face and bit his lip. "Was really hoping you didn't notice that bit."
"No such luck."
"Please don't tell anyone-" he began.
"Of course I'm not going to tell anyone," she snapped.
"Good."
"I assume George knows though."
"Of course George knows," Fred said. "You think I would do something like this without him?"
"No. I do wonder why you've been wandering the castle without him though."
"Oh, yeah, he's still resting after the little incident with the latest… Hey! You think you can get information out of me like that?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. George must have been injured while experimenting with a Wealsey Wizards Weezes product. "I've told you a hundred times, you're little inventions are dangerous."
Fred grinned. "That's what makes it fun."
"And that's why you became an animagus? Illegally, I assume. Because you get high off the danger?"
"Exactly. I never thought you'd be the one to understand that."
"You're lucky you haven't gotten caught. Especially with Umbridge around."
"Ah, but you see my dear, it is exactly because of Umbridge that we finally did it."
"You did it this year? Right under her nose?"
Fred grinned again. "We've been considering it for years. But that horrible old toad? We're dedicated to doing every horrible thing we can to her, and we intend to get up to as much mischief as we possibly can. And this will help us do it."
"It's brilliant," Hermione admitted. "Bloody stupid, but brilliant."
"You always act so surprised. Promise you won't tell?"
"I already said I wouldn't."
"Yes, but you have a tendency to tattle."
"If I told, you would get in a lot of trouble. Not just detention trouble. I don't want that. And, while I usually frown upon your shenanigans… Going against Umbridge, as stupid and dangerous as it may be, is what even I would like to do."
Fred smiled. "My dear, Hermione. If you just believe in yourself, you, too, can get on her bad side." He gave her a quick kiss and dashed up the stairs, missing the shocked look on her face.
A million thoughts ran through her mind that night, and the next day, she approached Ron and Harry with a brilliant idea.
"We need a teacher," she said. "A proper teacher. Someone who knows what it's like. Someone who will teach us with more than just books."
And thus, Dumbledore's Army was formed.
Over the course of several months, Harry had taught the DA many defensive spells, though the patronus charm was giving all of them quite a bit of trouble. Hermione was among the first to get it right.
She grinned as an otter bounced out of her wand and circles around her a few times before dissipating. When she looked up, she found Fred staring at her, a surprised smile playing across his lips.
"Your patronus is an otter," he whispered in her ear a few minutes later. She blushed a deep shade of red as he walked away grinning.