Chapter 2: The End of the Beginning
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Hermione was scribbling fiercely with her nose a scant inch from the parchment. Her writing was cramped and slightly sloppy from her rush to get every last ounce of her knowledge on Protean Charms onto her Charms exam. She'd already filled the front side of the scroll and was quickly running out of space on the backside. She ended her sentence and sat back slightly with a short huff of frustration. There just wasn't enough space for everything she wanted to say, but this would have to do. Although you would think with it being an essay question they would have given her more parchment to write on.
"Time's up. Quills down. Accio."
Hermione frowned as she watched her exam mix in with everyone else's while they flew towards the examiner at the front of the room. She began collecting her things as she mentally reviewed her answers on the short answer part of the exam. She frowned and wondered if two paragraphs on the proper wand movement for a Disillusionment Charm was too long and if they'd dock her points for it.
She scowled to herself for making such a silly mistake. She heaved her bag onto her shoulder and hurried off to lunch where she planned to scarf something down before doing some last minute studying for the Charms practical that afternoon. After Charms, she was done. Her N.E.W.T.'s would be over along with her Hogwarts education. She forced her mind away from the bittersweet topic. It wouldn't do to neglect her practical because she was too busy fretting about what had to happen after graduation.
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. . . . .
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"Freedom!" George exclaimed dramatically as he exited Hogwarts, closely followed by his twin and various friends. A few younger students turned to look at the disruption, but it had been such a typical reaction that they quickly turned back to their previous engagements without comment.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Forge," Fred agreed as he took a few long strides to catch up to his brother and throw his arm around his shoulders. "How about a celebratory dip in honor of the completion of our formal education?" Fred suggested with a mischievous grin as he gestured to the lake with a large sweep of his arm. George's eyes lit up.
"Brilliant idea Gred! Oy you lot!" He yelled at their friends trailing behind them and chatting happily. "We're going swimming. You all in?"
The Marauders immediately began looking excited and voiced their agreement. Lily and Alice exchanged nervous glances.
"But what about the giant squid?" Alice asked. Fred and George snorted in unison.
"He wouldn't hurt a pixie," they responded. Alice and Lily traded glances again and shrugged.
"Alright then. Nikki what do you-?" Lily began.
"Last one there gets dunked!" Nikki shouted as she ran past the twins in a simple black bikini, having already transfigured her robes. George laughed as the Marauders, Lily, and Alice immediately chased after her. Fred stood rooted to the spot staring after her with his mouth open slightly.
"You know Freddy typically just friends don't drool over each other," George said with a smirk. Fred's jaw snapped shut immediately and he turned to glare at George.
"I wasn't drooling. She just took me by surprise is all. Who knew she had that kind of body under those baggy robes, yeah?" he said with another appreciative look towards the lake. George rolled his eyes at his stubborn twin.
"Hey where's Hermione?" George asked, looking around the grounds for his girlfriend. Fred shrugged, the majority of his attention still focused on the lake.
"I think she said something to Lily about going back up to the common room for some peace and quiet," he told him. George frowned.
"She doesn't need peace and quiet. She needs friends and sun and relaxation," George said to no one in particular. Fred just shrugged. "Right well I'm going to go get her. You can go ahead on down to the lake if you'd like," George told his twin, looking amused at his distracted state. Fred scowled at his brother before turning and strutting off towards the lake.
"We're just friends!" he called over his shoulder.
"I'll believe it when I see it!" George called back with a grin. He shook his head at his brother's denial and headed back into the castle. It was time to track down a bookworm.
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Hermione was sitting on her bed with a book open in her lap, but her head was tipped back and resting on the wall behind her and her eyes shut. It had been months since she had been able to just relax like this. She didn't have anything that had to be done right away and it was wonderful to just let the stress bleed off of her. Now if only she had some music life would truly be wonderful.
The door to her room banged open, shattering the silence. Hermione jumped at the sudden noise and her eyes flew open.
"Hullo love. Thought you'd hide away up here all alone?" George asked cockily as he leaned James's broomstick against the wall and approached her bed. Hermione scowled at him.
"I'd hoped to, yes," she said stiffly. "I should have known that wouldn't be the case with you around." George frowned at her.
"C'mon Mione. Don't be like that," he said softly as he stroked the back of his hand down her cheek. Hermione closed her eyes to his touch and exhaled deeply, wiling the tension away from her shoulders.
"Sorry," she said softly. "I was just finally alone with my thoughts and nothing demanding my attention and I was enjoying it." George nodded in understanding.
"I get it, Mione. Really I do. I just think some sun and being around friends would be good for you right now too. We're swimming in the lake. I thought maybe you could bring down a book and sit under the beech tree for a bit if you don't want to swim," George said looking at her hopefully. Hermione sighed and leaned back against the wall with a frown tugging her lips.
"Please Mione," George pleaded. "I won't bug you and I'll let you relax and read and if after an hour you want to come back inside I'll let you go without a single complaint." Hermione made the mistake of looking at his eyes. She winced at she got the full impact of George's puppy dog look and looked away. George beamed.
"Fine," she sighed, although George already knew he had won. "But after the hour is up I don't want to even see a pout on your face when I come back inside," Hermione warned. George cracked off a salute with a wide grin on his face.
"Yes ma'am! Now let's find you something more comfortable to wear outdoors," he said before approaching the chest of drawers beside her bed.
"George!" Hermione exclaimed as she hopped off her bed. "I am perfectly capable of dressing myself, thank you. Now go downstairs and wait while I change." George laughed and pecked her on the cheek before snatching the borrowed broom up and straddling it.
"I'll be waiting. Try not to take forever," he said with a wink. Hermione's scowl was lost on him as he'd already zoomed out the door and down the staircase. For that comment Hermione took as much time as possible changing into her Bermuda shorts and t-shirt. She slipped into a pair of sandals and then entered the bathroom to find a way to contain her hair.
Some ten minutes after George had left her she emerged from the girls' staircase. She didn't have to look far to find George as he was leaning against the wall at the base of the stairs and whistling to himself.
"You look stunning," George said quietly and pecked her cheek. Hermione flushed slightly, but looked pleased.
"I didn't do anything special," she said in an embarrassed tone. George grinned at her as though that had been exactly what he'd wanted her to say.
"It must just be natural then."
Hermione rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder while trying to suppress her smile.
"You're such a flirt."
"Only with beautiful brunettes whose names begin with Hermione and end in Granger," George said with a wink. Hermione rolled her eyes and began walking towards the portrait hole to hide her grin. George levitated a folded stack of towels that had been sitting on the floor beside him and followed.
"Mione, as much as I love the view, wait up," he called after her, rather louder than needed in Hermione's opinion. Hermione flushed and turned to wait for him.
"Did you get towels for everyone?" she asked, eyeing the stack of towels. George nodded and they exited the common room.
"I didn't think any of them would think to leave anything to transfigure for a towel so I transfigured some of the stuff up in the boys' dorm," he said with a mischievous smirk in place. Hermione frowned at him.
"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously. George grinned at her.
"Well I might have used some rather unorthodox items of clothing for a few of the towels and charmed them to revert back to their normal state once they've got a certain degree of moisture on them."
Hermione looked as though she was going to scold him for a moment, but then she just shook her head.
"I'm just going to pretend I didn't ask," she said sounding slightly exasperated. George beamed at her.
"Tis a fine plan," he announced as he slid his arm that wasn't currently controlling the floating towels around her waist. "But of course what else could I expect from one as brilliant as you, love." Hermione eyed his suspiciously.
"Have you done something? Or are you planning to? Is that why you're trying to butter me up?"
"Of course not Mione, love," he said dismissively. "I'm just showing my love and appreciation for all that you are and do!" Hermione continued to look at him disbelievingly.
"I'll reserve judgment," she decided.
"That's alright," George reassured happily, "So long as you continue to bless me with you presence in the meantime." Hermione rolled her eyes and hopped over a trick step at the same time. George continued to shower her with compliments all the way out the front doors of the castle. They reached the lake and both had to stop and smile fondly at their friends.
Currently James, Remus, and Fred had Lily, Alice, and Nikki on their respective shoulders trying to push each other off while Sirius ran around everyone splashing and tickling to try and sabotage anyone and everyone. Hermione giggled as she watched Lily shriek and her and James both go under after a well-placed poke to James's ribs from Sirius combined with a good shove from Alice.
Remus and Alice cheered their victory and Remus stomped in a few celebratory circles while Alice laughed happily. James and Lily resurfaced sputtering. Lily began laughing as Nikki and Fred attacked Alice and Remus taking advantage of their distracted state and sending them tumbling much the same as James and Lily had. James on the other hand roared in pretend rage and dove after Sirius who was trying to escape looking fearful. James was too quick for him though, and before Sirius knew it he had been dunked and given an underwater noogie.
George turned back to Hermione, still chuckling at their friends. He lowered the stack of towels to the ground beside the beech tree and summoned from the pile a quilt. He spread the quilt across the grass and motioned for Hermione to sit. She smiled at George's thoughtfulness and lowered herself to the blanket with her book resting in her lap.
"Thank you, George," she told him sincerely.
"Not a problem, love. Now if you're all set here, I'm needed down there," he said jerking his thumb towards their friends. "Nikki has stayed dry for far too long." Hermione chuckled.
"So it would seem," she agreed. "Have fun." George grinned at her happily.
"I plan to," he said before swiftly leaning in to give her a hard kiss on the lips. Hermione gasped slightly and moved her lips in response, but then George was already pulling back.
"Enjoy your book, love," he said with a wink before jogging off towards the lake and stripping down to his transfigured swimming trunks as he went. Hermione admired the view before shaking her head slightly and turning to the book in her lap. George had been right to drag her out here. It was wonderful just sitting in the sun and hearing her friends laughing and being carefree. As young as they all were, these kinds of days did not happen as frequently as they should.
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George shook his head roughly in an attempt to get the water out of his ears. It had been incredibly fun playing in the lake with everyone although he wished Hermione would have been up for swimming with them. He would have loved to see her in a bikini. Still, he had quite enjoyed being able to look up at the shore and see her, first, reading peacefully with the sun shining on her, and then sleeping soundly with her book as a pillow in the fading sun's golden glow.
The distraction, in his perspective, had been a good one, but had made him a rather poor teammate to his friends. More times than not his team had been knocked over because he was busy watching Hermione rather than watching out for opponents. His friends of course had noticed and ribbed him mercilessly. Still, he couldn't bring himself to mind much.
He had hated to wake up Hermione when she so desperately needed the sleep, but he knew she'd be upset if she slept through dinner as it would then cut into their training time later. He had managed to rouse her just in time to hear a shriek coupled with a loud yell of surprise. George turned to the sources and began laughing uproariously.
James had been drying his face when his towel had suddenly morphed into Sirius's favorite pair of Wimbourne Wasp boxers. He had been the yell of shock as he'd thrown them away from himself in disgust. Nikki had been drying her chest when her towel had changed into Fred's obnoxious color changing boxers that flashed different colors continuously. She had made the shriek and had immediately dropped them to the ground.
"HEY!" Fred suddenly yelled. "You were supposed to use a pair of James's, not mine!" he said while snatching his underpants from the ground and stuffing them in his pocket, carefully avoiding looking at Nikki. George was laughing too hard to respond. He was also laughing too hard to notice Fred remove his wand from his pocket. Hermione luckily did and scooted out of range.
George finally stopped laughing when a sudden jet of water struck him in the face. Fred ended the spell and was pleased to see George dripping wet, coughing and sputtering, and most of all no longer laughing.
"Who's ready for dinner?" Fred asked the group at large. Almost everyone made loud noises of agreement to the suggestion.
"I think I've lost my appetite actually," James muttered darkly as he glared at the offending pair of underpants lying in the dirt. Fred just smirked at him while Sirius picked up his underpants and Remus snickered.
"Suit yourself then."
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It was several hours later that found the same group of teens lounging around the Room of Requirement waiting for the last two individuals to arrive before they started the meeting. Their Slytherin compatriots had to find an opportune time to slip away from their fellow housemates so as to not arouse suspicions to their nightly absence. Snape in particular had to be very careful that he was never seen sneaking out of his common room or be found missing from his bed at night seeing as he was a Death Eater living amongst Death Eaters.
"Did you get the pictures?" George muttered discretely to Fred. Fred smirked at him and pulled several photos from his pocket. George grinned and quickly flipped through them.
There were a few of them as a group playing in the lake, one of Hermione sleeping beneath the shade of the beech tree (George paused on this one until Fred cleared his throat to hurry him along), and then the final two that George had been hoping to see most; James looking absolutely revolted as his towel changed into Sirius's boxers and then flinging them away and glaring fiercely at the camera and Nikki shrieking mutely looking horrified as she dropped Fred's boxers to the ground.
George snickered to himself as he watched the photos repeat over, and over, and over. It had been a great prank and had worked out perfectly. Fred glared at him.
"You realize that you have forced me to prank you in return don't you brother mine?" Fred asked seriously. George merely grinned back at his brother.
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't brother."
"What are you two snickering over?" Nikki suddenly demanded, giving the twins the stink eye with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Nothing," Fred and George responded immediately with identical innocent smiles. George discretely returned the photos to Fred who snuck them back into his pocket. Nikki raised her eyebrows disbelievingly.
"Right. And maybe I would believe that if I was a first year. What's in your pocket Fred?" she asked. Fred widened his eyes and blinked innocently.
"Nothing Nikki darling. You know, one would think with the way you're treating us that you don't trust us," Fred told her, feigning a hurt expression. Nikki snorted.
"You put the Quaffle through the hoop with that one," she responded as she drew her wand from her pocket. Fred and George both eyed the stick of wood warily.
"What exactly are you-," Fred began nervously.
"Accio," she interrupted him. "Accio, Accio, Accio." Fred and George both yelled indistinctly and tried to snatch back the various objects zooming out of Fred's pockets and into Nikki's hands.
Unfortunately, neither of them thought to put up a shield charm. Several small prank items flitted away through Fred's fingers along with a miniature Wizarding camera, some candy wrappers, a piece of parchment folded into a small square, and finally, the photos. Nikki immediately began sifting throw the items for what could cause the boys to be so secretive. Hermione was giggling behind her hand as she watched the scene, causing both Fred and George to glare halfheartedly at her.
"S-sorry," she said as she got herself under control. "But this is just like before the Quidditch World Cup." Fred and George winced.
"Thanks for that Mione," George started.
"We'd been trying to suppress those memories," Fred finished. Hermione just smiled at them and shook her head.
"Ah ha! Nikki exclaimed victoriously as she spotted the photos. She flipped through them slowly, smiling slightly. Their friends quickly grouped behind her to check them out. George knew when they had reached the picture of Hermione sleeping because she blushed pink and glanced up at George who smiled widely and winked. Nikki flipped to the next picture and James flushed red.
"Oy!" he yelled at the twins who, along with everyone else, were laughing heartily. Nikki though, looked nervous as she flipped to the last picture and her fears were confirmed as she clapped eyes on her horrified self. The laughing of their friends increased and her cheeks tinted pink ever so slightly.
Fred flicked his wand, causing the photos to fly from her hands and back into his before they could come to any harm. She glared at him and he simply winked in return. George inwardly rolled his eyes at their display.
"Can I have the rest of my stuff back now?" Fred asked her with a teasing grin. Nikki continued her glare.
"Do you always carry this much junk with you?" she asked curiously as she examined his stuff. She spotted the folded parchment and set about unfolding it. Fred quickly moved forward and snatched it from her hands. Her eyebrows shot up.
"Are you always this nosey?" Fred asked without heat as he stuffed the parchment back into his pocket. Nikki's eyes followed the parchment.
"Yes," she answered honestly. "What's on it?" she asked.
"It's private," Fred told her and then immediately regretted his words choice when she smirked at him and a teasing light lit up her eyes.
"Oooo is it from a secret admirer?" she probed, fluttering her eyelashes. Fred swallowed.
"No," he replied without elaborating. Nikki grinned.
"It's a love note then," she said delightedly.
"No," Fred repeated.
"It is," she insisted.
"Not."
"Is."
"Not."
"Is."
"Not."
"Is-,"
"Enough, children!" Remus interrupted, coming between the bickering pair with a hand out to each of them. "We're just about ready to start and with the way you two go at it we'll be here all night if you don't save this for tomorrow."
Fred blinked and looked around and sure enough both Snape and Regulus had arrived. Regulus was looking at he and Nikki looking faintly amused while Hermione had the other half of his attention talking to him about something or other.
Snape had dragged George to the corner where they were discussing something in low urgent tones. Fred frowned. His frown deepened when he tried to listen and an indistinct buzzing assaulted his ears.
George glanced over at him and Fred stiffened slightly at the worry and fear he saw reflected in his brother's eyes. He immediately turned to begin making his way over to George, but stopped when George gave a barely noticeable shake of his head. He lifted his eyebrow ever so slightly in response. George nodded just as discretely as before.
Fred hesitated slightly, but nodded back and turned to go back to the group with a concerned frown on his face. He stopped short when he saw Nikki looking at him obviously having seen the conversation he and George had had. He wasn't sure what she had taken away from the vague facial expressions they had exchanged, but from the look on her face she definitely knew something was up. She opened her mouth with a question obviously on her tongue but Fred shook his head much the same as George had. She closed her mouth looking confused.
'Later,' Fred mouthed.
Nikki frowned and seemed to think it over before nodding and giving him a look to let him know that he better not keep her out of the loop. Fred rolled his eyes and plastered a grin to his face as he joined the Marauders in conversation. The smile looked genuine and his laugh sounded real, but those who knew him best would still be able to look into his eyes and see the worry shadowed there. There wasn't much that scared him and George, so seeing the blatant fear in his twin's eyes had really struck a chord in him. Out of the corner of his eye he watched George rejoin the group looking grim.
"Alright, let's get started," Hermione called out, clapping her hands together. "First order of business, do we have any new ideas for our Headquarters once we've graduated?" she asked looking around at them all. Sirius raised his hand slightly to gain her attention. Hermione nodded at him to continue.
"Well James, Remus, and I were talking about it and James definitely has enough money to afford a small place. We would just need a way to purchase the place so that it will be hard to track where the place is and who bought it. We also agreed that it would ideally be somewhere out of the country so it would be less likely to be found."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully at each of the points he brought up.
"I agree on the covering our trail bit," Lily added as they all sat quietly and thought out their options. "But would it really be necessary for it to be out of the country if we could put a Fidelius Charm on it?"
Remus nodded. "We think so, because while a Fidelius charm can protect someone from finding out where it is, it can't protect it from physical damage. With the way that the Death Eaters are targeting and destroying everything in Britain we figured that there was just as much chance of a targeted attack on it without the Fidelius as a random attack that just so happens to be in whatever neighborhood we choose."
"But what if we didn't pick some random house in a random neighborhood?" George asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I mean, who said that it has to be a house that we just randomly pick out of hundreds of options? The Death Eaters are attacking communities of muggles and wizards alike, meaning no community, no neighborhood, is safe, so why not go outside of those limits?" George said. Fred's eyes lit up with an idea.
"Of course! Forge you're a genius," he exclaimed. George smiled smugly. "We could scout out the perfect area and build our own Headquarters," Fred announced. "Hermione, when you, Harry, and Ron we on the run you didn't stay in populated areas did you?" Fred asked. Hermione shook her head, her eyes glowing with possibilities.
"No of course not," she answered. "Only the most deserted woods and hillsides."
"Exactly," George said, "So why would we try to blend and hide with those we know are being attacked and hope to be overlooked when we could be in the middle of bleeding nowhere and for all purposes be invisible?" George asked excitedly.
"How are we going to decide where?" Alice asked curiously.
"We can check out a few of the places that we stayed at in the original hunt," Hermione said thoughtfully. "The Forest of Dean is on my mind as a particular option, but we would need to go there and see how it is in this time before making a decision. We can scout the area disillusioned on broomsticks and make sure we don't encounter any surprises. I know my parents and I used to camp there when I was young, so there is the possibility that there is a muggle campground there, but it's a rather large wood so we can go to an unused section of it if need be. With the right wards cast it shouldn't make much difference anyway."
Everyone looked excited by the prospect that they had possibly solved their housing issue.
"How will we get there?" Lily asked. "Apparation, the Floo?" Hermione shook her head.
"No we can't risk setting it up to the Floo Network. The Ministry monitors it and I don't want Headquarters to be on anyone's radar, especially the Ministry's. We'll have to scout out an apparation point outside the wards. We'll put up some charms around the apparation point to repel muggles and silence the sound of us apparating. A notice-me-not charm wouldn't go amiss either," she mumbled the last to herself more than anyone, but they all nodded anyway.
"What about me?" Regulus asked hesitantly. "I still have another year of school and I'll be 17 in October, but it won't be easy to sneak out all the time for training and meetings, and people will get suspicious."
Everyone nodded, they all knew that by 'people' he meant Death Eaters. Hermione frowned in thought. She sat silently for a minute or so while everyone batted a few ideas around that didn't really stick. Suddenly she sat up straight and had a gleam in her eyes.
"I've got it," she announced. Everyone quieted. "In my 6th year Draco Malfoy used a set of vanishing cabinets to allow Death Eaters to infiltrate Hogwarts. If we could get ahold of a set we can station one in a special room here in the Room of Requirement and another at Headquarters." Everyone began agreeing excitedly.
"We'll have to be careful when we make the room," James stipulated. "We should be specific that only Regulus be able to enter it, or only people who know where Headquarters is." Everyone instantly agreed.
"Alright," Hermione said, "Let's leave this where it's at until next time and if anyone thinks of something to add we can discuss it then. Second order of business, what should we call ourselves? It would promote a sense of unity if we gave ourselves a name and this way we present a united front to our enemies. It should be something that doesn't give away exactly what we're up to and should sound innocent should anyone happen to overhear us speaking of it."
Fred and George smirked at each other. "Like the D.A.?" they asked.
"Exactly," Hermione said. "Only we're not exactly Dumbledore's Army this time around so I was thinking something else would be more fitting." Snape sneered in agreement. There was a moment of silence as they all thought.
"Freedom Fighters?" Lily suggested.
"Community Defenders?" Alice said, following Lily's train of thought.
"Voldy Destroyers," Fred suggested with a smirk.
"There's always the Defense Association like Cho suggested," Hermione said, ignoring Fred.
"Soul Crushers!" George exclaimed. "Cuz we're destroying Horcruxes which are bits of Voldy's soul, geddit?" Fred, James, and Sirius laughed.
"Warriors of the Light?" Remus threw out, following Hermione's lead and ignoring the ridiculous suggestions.
"Warriors for Peace," Regulus said.
"Defender's Anonymous," Sirius suggested playfully.
"Death Eater, Eaters!" James yelled.
"YEAH!" Fred, George, and Sirius all agreed vehemently. Hermione huffed in irritation and cast a silencing spell on all four of them then disarmed them and stowed their wands away in the back pocket of her shorts.
"I'm trying to think of a good acronym we can use outside of meetings," Hermione said thoughtfully while ignoring the indignant gestures and pseudo angry expressions the boys were displaying.
"Like if it could be some kind of animal or something," Alice suggested thoughtfully. "Something short like Hawk or Lion or-,"
"Snake?" Snape suggested with a smirk. Alice flushed slightly.
"No house references," Hermione intervened quickly.
"What about Wolves?" Lily suggested with a side-long glance at Remus who grimaced. "We could be Warriors of Light, Vigilante Services or WOLVS." Snape's face twisted into a sour expression and even Regulus and Remus looked slightly put off by it.
"No. No wolves either," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "Let's try to find something that doesn't strictly describe anyone we know whether in this group or not."
"Resistance Association for Magical Society," Snape suggested during the quiet they had fallen into. "RAMS." Everyone appeared to be showing the idea serious consideration.
"What if we tweak it a bit," Hermione suggested. "Resistance Alliance for Magical Society." Everyone made noises of agreement and even Snape nodded.
"Okay so everyone in favor of RAMS, hands please?" Hermione said. Everyone (meaning to say everyone excluding those who had been silenced) raised their hands.
"Wonderful," Hermione said happily. "Well, now that's settled shall we get started?"
She turned as George tapped her shoulder and gestured first to his mouth and then to her pocket.
"You want your wand back?" she asked sweetly. He and the silenced boys behind him all nodded.
"Alright, but you'll have to work for them," Hermione said with a sugary smile as she pulled her wand out of her other back pocket. George looked confused and slightly nervous.
"What? You're helpless without your wands? What if a Death Eater took your wand? Are you just going to ask him or her nicely to give it back?" Hermione asked as she rose to her feet. George glared at her and shook his head. Hermione knew that he meant that he didn't want to fight her muggle style for his wand.
"Oh c'mon George. The four of you wandless should be able to retrieve your wands from little me even while I'm armed," Hermione said as she grabbed the front of his t-shirt and guided him out to the middle of the room, away from everyone else. She crooked her finger, beckoning Fred, James, and Sirius to follow. They exchanged glances, shrugged, and followed. Hermione backed away from the boys with her wand at the ready.
"Ready?" she asked. Fred, James, and Sirius all nodded while George shook his head adamantly.
"Alright, go!" Hermione said, apparently ignoring George's concerns.
Fred and Sirius both immediately ran at her. Hermione threw up a shield that tossed them both back a couple feet where they were knocked back on their rear ends. James suffered a trip jinx that caused him to fall on his face as he tried to sneak up behind her. Hermione danced away and glanced at George. He had sat himself down cross-legged in the middle of the floor with his arms folded across his chest and a petulant scowl on his face. Hermione grinned.
"Suit yourself darling," she said as she aimed a tickling charm at him. He collapsed sideways, clutching his sides and his body shaking in silent laughter.
Hermione chuckled to herself and absentmindedly flicked her wand at Fred and Sirius who had once again come at her. A jet of water sprayed the floor directly in front of them and they both slipped and went crashing to the floor before they even got close to her. Hermione spun away from James not a moment too soon and jerked her wand upward once she was out of range. James let out a silent yell of surprise as he was hoisted into the air by his ankle and left to dangle there. Hermione giggled and moved further away from Fred and Sirius who had made it to their feet and were eyeing her warily.
"C'mon boys, you're so predictable. Try some creativity would you?" Hermione taunted with a grin. Fred stopped and seemed to be thinking. Then he reached into his pocket and withdrew and brightly wrapped candy. Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"Fred Weasley don't you dare," she threatened softly. Fred grinned and unwrapped the candy. He split the orange end of the chew from the purple and considered it teasingly.
"Fred," Hermione warned. Fred grinned and raised his eyebrows in a way that seemed to say, 'You told me to'. Sirius and Fred traded glances and nodded. Sirius took off full sprint at Hermione. She fired a Jelly-Legs and a Leg-Locker curse at him, but he managed to dodge them both. Finally, when he was only a few feet away Hermione managed to hit him with a Bat Bogey Hex in her desperation to stop him. Sirius was immediately stopped as he tried to fend off the bats, but his distraction had proven to be adequate for Fred to get close enough to implement his plan.
Fred popped the orange end of the sweet into his mouth and immediately retched at Hermione. Hermione jumped back in horror, but not fast enough. She avoided the majority of the spray, but a good amount still managed to end up on her shirt.
"URG!" Hermione shrieked in disgust at her shirt. Fred used the distraction to grab at the wands sticking out of her back pocket, but a second wave of vomit caused Hermione to jump away from him and out of his reach. She took off running to the other side of the room while waving her wand over her clothes to vanish the vomit. Unfortunately the concentration she was using to vanish only the vomit and not her entire shirt distracted her enough that she didn't react in time to the giant couch that suddenly appeared directly in front of her.
"Oof!"
She plowed into the couch and flipped over the back of it. She had so much momentum going from sprinting that she rolled off the seat cushions and fell to the floor on her stomach with a second 'Oof'. Before she could regain her breath enough to even move she felt the wands slide out of her pocket. Hermione rolled onto her back and saw George standing there panting, having removed the tickling jinx. He glared down at her.
"That wasn't very nice," he said while still breathing heavily and rubbing his side. Hermione grinned back at him.
"I thought you enjoyed laughing?" she asked innocently. George glared at her once more before walking off to go help his friends. Remus had already released James from the Levicorpus spell and removed the silencing charm, leaving James sitting on the floor looking disgruntled. George tossed him his wand and went to go help Sirius who was still running around swatting at the bats coming out of his nose.
With one flick of his wand George removed the curse and with another he removed the silencing charm. Sirius collapsed in a heap on the floor, panting. George handed him his wand and Sirius accepted it.
"Thanks mate," Sirius said gratefully. "That's one nasty curse she's got."
"I'm pretty sure that'd be because my sister taught her that one," Fred said as he joined their group, having eaten the purple half of the candy and stopped his vomiting. George handed him his wand.
"You never want to get on Ginny's back side enough to warrant a Bat Bogey Hex," Fred continued as he vanished chunks of puke from the front of his shirt.
"Alright everyone," Hermione called out to get everyone's attention. "Let's get to work practicing Occlumency shall we? Then tomorrow's meeting can be a review of everything and some team dueling and then we'll see what needs worked on the most from there."
The rest of the meeting was rather uneventful. Everyone was to engage in polite conversation or sit quietly while Snape randomly tried to break through people's mental shields. It was quite draining for Snape and this is where the stipulation for a quiet atmosphere originated. Even James and Sirius respected this wish of Snape's for the return that if he came across anything condemning in their minds that he'd keep it to himself.
It was a huge act of trust on both ends and Hermione was more than pleased to see each side keep their promises. In all actuality there were far less quarrels between the Marauders and Snape than she had ever anticipated. She was rather impressed with their newfound maturity. She hoped that once the war was over and the need to keep up appearances outside of meetings and work together during them ended that they would all continue being civil to one another.
The meeting ended and the Gryffindors all waited in the Room of Requirement while James watched the map to make sure that Snape and Regulus made it safely back to their dorms.
"Alright," James said, several minutes after the Slytherins had left, "They're back and our coast is clear. Let's go."
Everyone got up from their seats and headed to the door. George moved over to Hermione and put his arm around her waist. She looked up at him and smiled. They quickly and quietly made their way back to the tower, James periodically checking the map to make sure no one was headed their way. They made it back without incident and immediately began parting ways to go to their separate dorms.
"G'night George," Hermione called as she headed for the stairs. He caught her arm and gave her a soft kiss before releasing her.
"Night Mione," he said with a grin. She rolled her eyes fondly and made her way up the stairs with a smile. George felt his smile fade once she was out of sight and the frown that had been wanting to showcase itself on his face for some time now settled upon his lips.
"So what did Snape tell you?"
George turned and saw that Fred and Nikki were the only ones left in the common room and both wore concerned looks upon their faces. Fred had been the one to speak.
"Hermione's in danger."
.
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AN: I realized that it's been awhile since I left you guys with a cliff hanger so here you go. :) You're welcome. I know you really wanted one.
REVIEW PLEASE! It will earn my undying love and affection for you all. :) And as always thank you so much to everyone who does review and to anyone else who has taken the time to stick with my stories. :)
