DISCLAIMER: All characters, places, events, creatures, etc. mentioned in this FF that originate from JK Rowling's material belong to the amazing JK Rowling. Any other character, place, event, creature, etc. that is not found in HP cannon is mine.
Chapter 1: August – Part I
The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix didn't look very professional at all. One would have expected the place where Voldemort-destroying tactics were developed to be impressive, to exude an inspiring air, to stimulate the mind, and to preach the meaning of self-sacrifice. In short, one would expect it to be somewhat remarkable. It wasn't. Currently, the ancestral home of the Noble House of Black was in shambles.
The root of the problem was that six teenagers were now calling this top-secret Headquarters "home". Harry had been saved from the Dursley's after a month of isolation. For once, Harry had been the one to lock himself in his room and refuse to eat more than the occasional vegetable soup from a can. In order to lift Harry's spirits and take his mind off of the feelings of guilt and sorrow due to Sirius' death, the four youngest Weasleys and Hermione were trying to spend as much time as possible with The-Boy-Who-Lived.
Unfortunately for Hermione, this meant spending a lot of time with Fred and George. She was very well aware that just standing next to them was dangerous. It wasn't as if they were heartless or cruel, but their idea of fun was usually at someone else's expense, and since they were sensitive enough not to prank Harry, only three other options were left: Ron, Ginny, and, of course, Hermione.
The troublesome duo had been furious when they heard that they were unable to open shop at Diagon Alley due to their lack of a Hogwarts diploma and NEWTs. They couldn't believe that they had been so close to fulfilling their dream of opening a joke shop, yet they were thwarted by the Entrepreneur Act of 1931. To them, the law was completely outdated, especially since Britain was not suffering any kind of economical depression. The Weasley family never thought they'd see the day when Fred and George would willingly research Muggle history (namely the Great Depression), and the effects it had on the magical world. They had spent all of May and June trying to lift the laws, but to no avail. Needless to say, Mrs. Weasley was ecstatic. Not only were her rebellious sons returning to Hogwarts to complete their seventh year, but they had actually done something educational during their school-free months.
Surprisingly, the Weasley twins' humor did not suffer from the unexpected setback. They continued to work diligently on new lines of joke and defense products. After moping for a few days, they decided that they could always run their business through owl-order, and they proceeded to deal with the legal process of starting a business. The inhabitants of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place began to suspect even the most innocent of objects that were found throughout the house, knowing that the twins were testing their new products in anticipation of the upcoming school year.
Harry seemed to brighten up considerably whenever anyone became a victim of Fred and George's antics. One memorable experience had him chuckling with glee every time he saw Prof. Snape at Headquarters. It had happened in the beginning of August, just a few days after he had joined Ron and Hermione. Fred and George had "mistakenly" placed a charmed spoon from their Chaotic Cutlery line by Prof. Snape's plate one evening while setting the table. They had enchanted the spoon to look like the regular cutlery, but the moment when someone would actually try to use the spoon, it would become animated. This particular spoon was spelled to croon lullabies in a voice that sounded suspiciously like that of Celestina Warbeck.
On that particular evening, the entire Order of the Phoenix had gotten together for a meeting at Headquarters. By the time everyone had sat down for dinner, Prof. Snape was not in a good mood. He had been forced by Molly Weasley to stay and eat, and he was not happy. He looked moodily down is crooked nose at the bowl of stew that had been set before him, and missed the mischievous smirks Fred and George had shared. He was just about to dip his spoon into the stew, when the spoon gave a little shiver, and a mouth puckered from the silver curve. No-one at the table, not even Mrs. Weasley and Hermione, could contain their laughter when the little spoon started singing, "…the little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon," in a warbling tone, while Snape looked at the offending piece of cutlery in horror.
Ever since that evening, Hermione viewed the Weasley twins in a whole new light. She had spent the greater part of her fifth year prefect efforts on curbing the twins' mischief, yet she couldn't help laughing uncontrollably at the sight of the greasy Potions Master being serenaded a children's rhyme by a soupspoon. The spells required to charm the little spoon were extremely advanced, and she was surprised when she realized that the joke products required a lot of intelligence to develop. She didn't approve of testing products on teachers, but she admitted to herself that a little harmless joke now and then wouldn't hurt. Hermione couldn't help noticing, though, that Harry had not laughed as much as he did that night ever since Sirius had fallen through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. That alone was enough for her to keep quiet about the twin's disrespectful behavior towards the professor. She groaned, thinking about what everyone would say if they heard that rule-abiding, perfect Hermione was actually endorsing, albeit secretly, Fred and George's pranks.
The twins, of course, were flabbergasted by her reaction. They had expected a furious reproach, and were stunned when they didn't receive any from Hermione. Their mother, on the other hand, was a whole different story. She had forced them to apologize, and organized a detention with Prof. Snape the week after they return to school.
"Damn. We aren't even in school yet and we already have detention!" George commented ruefully to his twin. Ginny giggled, Harry smiled, Hermione huffed (to keep up appearances), and Ron looked confused.
"How'd you get detention?" Ron asked Fred, having missed his mother's ranting while stuffing his face with mashed potatoes. Hermione shook her head as the twins started making fun of how dense their brother was. Harry explained to Ron about what had happened after the prank, and Hermione and Ginny just rolled their eyes. The six teenagers were then sent up to bed by a slightly miffed Mrs. Weasley, but not before they made plans for the next day to keep from dying of boredom while under house arrest.
TBC
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- Kolrega