CHAPTER ONE

Summary: Hermione's secret is discovered by The Order of the Phoenix. Before Harry is rescued, she needs to be first. But from who? With the help of Sirius she learns to put the past behind her, and with the help of two Weasleys, they show her a happy future. But Hermione isn't who she thinks she is, what she discovers will change her life for good. Rated M for a reason.

Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events are my own ideas. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic.

AN

Trigger Warning! Although nothing is described in detail, sexual and physical abuse and attempted rape is mentioned and implied, at least for the next couple of chapters.

Page count: 14

Hogwarts - Friday 1st December 1995

Fred and George were running through the halls being chased by Filch.

"I'll get you for this, Dumbledore will have no choice but to expel you!" he yelled.

They laughed at him.

"You'll have to catch us first!" George called over his shoulder with a laugh.

"And prove that it was us!" Fred yelled.

"I know it was you! You're the ones that locked Goyle in my office under the influence of a Love Potion!"

Fred and George laughed louder and almost ran into some students, who moved out of the way and continued walking like nothing had happened. They were used to The Weasley Twins being chased down the halls by Filch, so it wasn't a new occurrence, therefore most just stepped out of the way without a second glance.

"Whoever did that has style, but it wasn't us!" George yelled.

Fred and George nodded to each other and then separated. Fred ran down the right corridor and George the left. Since Filch couldn't be in two places at once, he was forced to only chase after one of them. They quickly ran through the secret passageways they had memorised in their first year and they owed it big time to The Marauders.

They met up on the third floor and ran into the library. They knew of a secret room hidden in the back of the library that no one knew about and it's where they hid out when Filch was out for their blood. They quickly made their way through the stacks and to the very back of the library where it was darker and most students didn't go. They found the portrait they were looking for and Fred ran his finger over the spine of the third book in the portrait. A door appeared and they rushed inside and closed the door behind them and they laughed.

They immediately stopped laughing when they heard a noise, a whimper. Their bodies moved towards the sound and they stopped at the side of the table and their eyes widened.

Hermione Granger was asleep on her side and surrounded by books. She had taken off her robes and v-neck jumper and they were draped over one of the chairs at the table. Her shoes had been kicked off and they were under the chair, her hair was behind her, fanned out on the floor and her head rested on her arm, with the other arm close to her stomach on the floor and her legs were bent slightly. Her skirt had ridden up somewhat, showing the skin between the edge of her skirt and grey knee high socks. Several of the books were missing from the book cases that lined the walls and it was obvious they were the books that surrounded Hermione.

They heard another noise and this time it was louder than before and Hermione shifted in her sleep.

"No, please don't. I've been good, please don't hurt me," she whimpered. Fred and George looked at each other with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I promise I won't do it again, I'll be good," her crying grew louder and then she started shifting once more. "No, No, NO. STOP, PLEASE STOP!"

Fred and George wasted no time in rushing forwards and they dropped to their knees in front of Hermione, seeing that tears were falling from her closed eyes and sliding down her cheeks and onto the floor.

"Granger," Fred said, but she didn't wake. "Granger," he said louder with the same results.

"Hermione," George said and he reached out and touched her hand that was resting on the floor. Her eyes flew open and she sat up so quickly they fell backwards and landed on their arses in shock.

Hermione was crying and she gripped the necklace that fell a couple of inches below her throat. It was a thin silver chain and it had a heart shaped pendent sat in the centre of it. Blue sapphires were embedded into the silver of the heart. Sirius had given it to her the day she left for Hogwarts, it was an early birthday present and he'd hired someone to place Protective Charms on it, as well as a less known Communication Charm.

All Hermione had to do was touch the necklace and think something and Sirius would be able to hear her in his thoughts since he had gotten himself a ring that was connected to her necklace. Where Harry had the two way mirrors, she had her necklace, so they were both able to contact him when they needed him. Since returning to school for her fifth year, she used the necklace every night when she had a nightmare and Sirius would calm her down until she fell back asleep.

'Sirius!' Hermione thought.

'It's alright, Kitten, they can't hurt you anymore. They're gone from your life and they can't hurt you. You are safe from them,' he said softly. Her breathing slowed. 'Now, have you been working on breaking the rules?'

'Yes, I locked Goyle in Filch's office whilst he was under the influence of a Love Potion.'

She could hear his barking laugh in her mind and it made her smile. 'That's brilliant! You're definitely a Marauder. Keep working on it and remember...'

'Marauders don't get caught, I know, Padfoot.'

'How is your research coming? Have you been doing the exercises I taught you? The ones for calming your nerves and the ones for...'

'Yes and research is going well, I should be ready by the Christmas holidays.'

'We'll see Kitten, until next time.'

She gripped her necklace tightly and the twins watched as slowly her tears stopped and the look of fear faded from her face. She took a deep breath and removed her hand from her necklace and she opened her eyes.

Fred and George were looking at her worriedly.

"Granger, are you..."

"I'm fine, Fred," she sighed. "Just a bad dream, but what do you expect when there's a war going on around you and The Ministry is too far up themselves to notice." Despite knowing she was lying he chuckled at her response.

Like they had promised their mother and themselves, Fred and George made Hermione laugh at least three times a week and they made sure to be subtle about knowing her secret. She hadn't told anyone about her parents or Sirius being her guardian, and during the summer holidays Hermione had stayed true to her word and didn't leave her room until a week after Harry arrived at Grimmauld, after he was attacked by dementors.

Sirius, Remus and his parents made it look as though she'd just arrived when in reality she had been there just as long as they had. They watched as Sirius and Remus covertly took her food during meal times and continuously brushed off Ron and Ginny's suspicions. They watched as Sirius tiredly sat at the kitchen table obviously being up all night with Hermione when she'd had a nightmare and they couldn't blame her for having them. The time after her 'arrival' the twins had taken to subtly spending more time around her, just enough to notice but nothing to be suspicious about.

They acted clueless and they were overjoyed when they pulled an honest smile and a pure laugh from her, rather than the fake ones she gave the others. When questions were asked about Hermione's summer the twins would cleverly turn the conversation elsewhere and change the topic of discussion and Hermione always looked to be relieved for their intervention, whether she knew they had done it purposely or not.

When the time came to return to school and they arrived they kept an eye on her. They watched as she ate all her meals, completed her homework, argued with Ron and studied and they were satisfied that she was dealing, with the exception of the nightmares they knew she had. From what they could tell, she had put on weight, she was keeping up with her school work, and helping others with theirs, she often hid away in the library or she had her head buried in a book when she was sat in the common room by the fire. She appeared to be doing well.

"Are you sure..."

"Yes, George, I'm perfectly fine," she said sighing and rubbing her hands over her face, wiping away the tears and tiredness. "What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"We should ask you the same questions," they replied with a grin.

"I accidentally found this place in my first year and I use it to study in and hide away from the world."

"And by the world you mean Ronnikins," Fred said. Hermione nodded instantly, not bothering to deny it and they chuckled.

"Why is he such an arsehole?" she asked and they laughed at her in shock for her use of language.

'She's been spending too much time with Sirius,' they both thought amused.

"Because he's Ron," they replied with a shrug.

"What did he do this time?" George asked and he crossed his legs in front of him and Fred mimicked his actions.

"He insulted me because I refused to do his potions essay for him, then he went on to say that I should ask one of the girls for advice on hair charms so that I could sort out my 'bird's nest' as he put it and then he asked me if my demonic cat was sick of me because he hadn't seen him since I got to Grimmauld," she said, a sad tone to her voice.

Fred and George ground their teeth; they would have to teach their little brother a lesson.

"Ron's an idiot," George stated.

"And there is nothing wrong with your hair, don't listen to him," Fred said and he lifted his hand and gently tugged on one of her curls. He noticed how soft her hair was. George eyed his brother silently, watching as he looked peaceful playing with one of her curls.

Fred and George had both noticed a change in Hermione, before they had even learned of Hermione's parents abusing her. They had noticed it the summer before her fourth year and their sixth year. At the world cup specifically. They noticed that her hair had lost some of its frizz, but she still had her wild and untameable curls, her chocolate brown eyes shone with emotion and her light pink lips had looked soft and plump. She had been developing feminine curves and her tanned skin seemed to glow in the sunlight.

After the world cup they talked and they both realised that they had a slight crush on their little brother's best friend. The thought didn't repulse them since triad relationships did happen in the Wizarding World. They were uncommon but they were seen. The last known case had been their twin Uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett, for who they were named after, but they along with their girlfriend died in the first war. Despite realising their feelings for the beautiful witch, they decided not to act upon them out of respect to Ron since they knew he fancied her, whether he admitted it or not.

Then the Yule Ball came around and Hermione showed up on the arm of The Viktor Krum, looking mesmerising in her periwinkle dress and her hair tied back in an elegant knot. Their crush for her grew, as did their jealously at seeing her with Krum. They were so jealous that they spiked his drink, not that they'd admit to that.

They pushed their feelings for her down for the rest of the year only for them to resurface stronger than before when they saw her at the trial. So scared, so broken, so... not Hermione. Not the Hermione they knew her to be, or the one they had watched grow into the young woman she was today.

Fred and George shared a nod and decided to talk later that night.

"So, why are you here and how did you find this room?" Hermione asked again.

Fred continued to play with one of Hermione's curls, but she didn't seem to mind. It was either that or she hadn't noticed.

"We followed Peeves here one night and he showed us how to get in. This room isn't on the map for some reason."

"This room was built after the map was created so it doesn't show up on it. It's why I come here; Harry and Ron can't find me."

"We come here to hide out too," George said.

"So you're on the lamb then?"

"What?" they asked confused.

"Muggle expression, you're on the run? From Filch I'm guessing, what did you two do this time?" she asked chuckling.

"Nothing," they replied and she looked at them sceptically.

"Honestly, we didn't do anything. Not this time at least," George said chuckling.

"Apparently someone locked Filch in his office with a Love Potion affected Goyle and he reckons it was us. It wasn't, but whoever did it is a genius in my book," Fred said.

A guilty look crossed Hermione's face, they caught sight of it and gaped at her.

"You did that?" they said in shock.

"What? No," she scoffed and bit her lip nervously.

The twin's faces split into grins.

"Oh Merlin, you did, didn't you? You're responsible for it," George spoke and they started laughing at her guilt ridden face.

"What did Filch do to you to deserve that?" Fred asked in awe and still playing with one of her curls. She either hadn't noticed or didn't mind, either way Fred wasn't complaining.

"He called me some names I didn't appreciate and Goyle tried to hex me when my back was turned. I was brewing Amortentia for Snape for extra credit and needed to see if I'd brewed it correctly. Fortunately my targets had already been chosen," she said sheepishly and they stared in wonder.

"That's brilliant! How come we never thought of anything like that?" George asked Fred with a silly grin.

"Because we're not The Brightest Witch," Fred said fondly and Hermione blushed.

"I can't believe you pranked a member of staff and a Slytherin and you've been giving us grief all term over our products," George said.

"That's because I don't agree with you testing them on helpless first years, they have no idea what you're capable of."

"So it would be okay to test them, just not on first years?" Fred asked cunningly.

"Well yes... no..."

"Too late, we have to take your first answer," Fred grinned cheekily and she scowled.

"Fine, but leave the first years alone."

"Deal," the twins agreed.

"So what are you doing that had you falling asleep surrounded by books?" George asked, changing the topic of discussion.

Hermione sighed. "Research," she answered.

"For?"

"The D.A. Harry may lead the sessions, but I research everything. I make lesson plans and I write all his speeches for him, he's not very literate, he gets tongue-tied andhe struggles to put his words together when he's nervous."

The twins frowned at that news. Harry was the one who was supposed to be in charge of the D.A. He was supposed to be doing everything, not Hermione.

"Can we ask you a question?" Fred asked and she nodded. "Harry can cast a patronus, can you?"

"Yes," she said warily, eyeing them strangely and wondering where it was they were going with the line of questioning.

"What is it?" George asked intrigued.

"I'm not telling, but you can guess if you'd like and when you get it right I'll tell you. But you'll never guess it."

"Challenge accepted," they grinned.

"Can you teach us how to cast a patronus?" Fred asked hopefully, if she taught them it meant he could spend more time with her.

"Harry's going to teach you after Christmas."

"We want you to teach us, you're a much better teacher than Harry, far prettier too." She blushed and the corner of their mouth's twitched.

"I'm not pretty," she mumbled but they heard her and frowned. "But if you want me to teach you then I will." They grinned.

"We should get back to the common room," Fred said. "It's almost curfew," he spoke.

They stood up and Hermione flicked her wand and all the books returned to their rightful places on the bookcases. Hermione slipped on her shoes, stuffed her jumper into her bag and put on her robes. She put her bag on her shoulder and picked up the books on the table that she'd already checked out earlier that evening.

Fred took her bag and George carried her books for her.

"I can carry them myself," she said.

"What? And have a beautiful young lady such as yourself think that we aren't gentlemen?" Fred said.

"Never!" George spoke sounding scandalised.

"I'm not beautiful," Hermione muttered and they frowned before they walked to Gryffindor Tower making comfortable small talk as they journeyed.

The common room was full of students. It wasn't a school night so everyone tended to stay up late and have sleep-ins in the mornings since breakfast usually ended later at the weekends. When they entered Ron and Harry looked up from their game of wizards chess by the fireplace.

"Oi, Hermione, come here!"

"I'm not a dog, Ronald Billius Weasley," she growled and the twins smirked, knowing their little brother had earned himself a visit from Hermione Granger's temper.

"Start lessons tomorrow?" the twins asked together. Hermione sighed and nodded.

"Great, it's a date," George said and they both winked at her as her cheeks burned red. Before she could protest they waltzed out of the common room and up the boy's staircase.

~000~000~000~

"We need to talk," they both said at the same time as they entered their dorm room.

There was no need to worry about who may over hear them since they had a dorm room to themselves and have since their second year. The other boys in their year refused to room with them, even their best friend, Lee, and as a result they had been given a room to themselves.

There were two double four poster beds with Gryffindor red bedding with a lion printed in the centre of it, and white sheets covered the mattress. The beds were against the back wall with a bedside table each and three windows sat behind them, one on either side of the bed and one in-between the two. There were two desks against the wall opposite which sat their school books. There was a large cauldron in the corner of the room and two wardrobes on the right wall, one on either side of the door. On the left wall there was a large fireplace with a red rug in front of it and the door to the bathroom.

Fred sat on his bed and George did the same.

"So, Granger?"

"Yeah, Granger," Fred sighed and he ran his hand through his hair.

"We gave Ron a year, he did nothing but insult and upset her. You and I both know they would never work out. Even if he puts on his big boys pants and admits he fancies her."

"She's been through a lot," Fred said.

"And we know. We're the only ones that know."

"Not because she told us. We followed them and snuck into a trial where we listened to her talk about the abuse her parents put her through."

"We could protect her. We'll treat her like she deserves. We can make her laugh. She smiles more when she's around us, more than she does anyone else," George spoke.

"Other than Sirius," Fred corrected.

"He doesn't count. He's practically her Father; they've become a lot closer over the last few months. Everyone can see that. Well, except Harry, Ginny and Ron."

"That's because they're clueless"

"Anyway, we could be good for her."

"We don't even know if she likes us," Fred pointed out.

"She smiles, laughs and blushes around us."

"The only person who has taken an interest in her was Krum. She's been physically and sexually abused for years. She doesn't know how to react around those she doesn't hate or consider family."

"She's not as innocent as she's led people to believe," George said.

"Can you blame her? She's probably terrified of having a relationship. She may have been made to do things but I'm betting she's still a virgin. You heard her, her Dad tried to rape her George. Four times! It doesn't matter that he failed. There's not a chance in hell she would have sex with someone after the way he treated her, let alone a relationship. Her childhood was taken away from her by her parents and then by this war."

"We'll treat her right, we won't force her into anything and we'll move at her pace. She's in control. She didn't seem to mind when you were playing obsessively with that curl of hers."

Fred refused to blush. "Her hair's so soft," he sighed like a love sick fool and he flopped onto his back on his bed and George smirked.

"She's comfortable around us; she knows we won't hurt her."

"That could change if we make a move."

"We've already got a date with her," George said, his smirk widening. "Great job asking if she would teach us to cast a patronus by the way. Besides, we won't act any differently or at least too differently than we have been. We'll spend more time around her and subtly show her our intentions so that she can either acknowledge us or ignore us. Relax o' twin of mine, everything will work out. We'll get the girl and we'll make her happy."

"I hope you're right."

~000~000~000~

Saturday 2nd December 1995

Hermione was sat enjoying the quiet. There weren't many people in the great hall with it still being early and everyone was still in bed. She sat at the Gryffindor table in her regular seat, with a book propped up against a jug of pumpkin juice and a strawberry in her hand.

Fred and George made sure to rise particularly early that morning. They realised that the earlier they met with Hermione, the more time they had to spend with her and put their plan into action.

They entered the great hall and slid onto the bench on either side of Hermione, despite the many empty seats that had to choose from.

"Morning," they chirped.

"Morning Fred, George," she greeted, not taking her eyes off her book and they shook their heads in amusement.

"What are you reading?" George asked leaning closer.

Hermione slammed the book shut. "Nothing," she said quickly.

"Something she doesn't want us to see, George?"

"I wonder what it could be, Fred."

George went to pick up the book to get a closer look at the title, but Hermione flicked her wand and her book was banished to her room.

"Oh, she's good," Fred said with a chuckle and George mock glared at her.

"What are you doing up so early?" Hermione asked.

"We thought we'd get an early start on those lessons you promised us."

"Don't you boys have anything else to do?" she asked.

"Nope, we're all yours for the day," Fred spoke, before taking a bite of toast and winking.

"And what a lucky lady she is, anyone would be grateful to spend the day with us," George tried to keep a straight face but failed.

"How long do you want the lesson to be?" Hermione asked rolling her eyes.

"Trying to get rid of us, eh?" Fred said amused.

"I just want to know how long I'll have to keep my wand out of reach. It wouldn't do good for me to be hexing you both."

"We love our women feisty."

"That we do, George."

"And beautiful -"

"- And intelligent -"

"- With chocolate brown eyes," George winked at Hermione.

Hermione was blushing furiously and her gaze was locked on the bowl of strawberries in front of her, refusing to look up. The twins smiled at each other before going back to their breakfast.

After a short while Hermione stood to leave and the twins stood with her.

"You want to start now?" They nodded. "Seriously?" They nodded again. "Fine," she huffed and stomped away and they chuckled.

They followed her to the Room of Requirement and when they entered it was to see the room they used for the D.A meetings. One wall completely covered with floor to ceiling mirrors, there were practice dummies in the corner of the room out of the way and no windows, but a large chandelier that lit the room.

Hermione imagined three large arm chairs and they appeared in the centre of the room in Gryffindor red. Hermione walked over to them and sat down in one of them and the twins followed suit. They were arranged in a triangle formation so they could see each other. Hermione had on a pair of blue skinny jeans, her comfortable and worn white converse and since it was winter and cold in the castle, an overly large grey hooded jumped.

She pulled her legs up onto the arm chair and crossed them getting comfortable. She gave the twins a look and they copied her movements, awkwardly pulling their legs up onto the arm chair and crossing them. They were both wearing dark jeans, white trainers and their Weasley jumpers. Hermione knew instantly that they'd swapped jumpers as they liked to do often, so George's currently had a big yellow 'F' whilst Fred's had a big yellow 'G'.

"Take out your wands."

George bit back the innuendo that was threatening to bubble out of him and Fred looked at him with a knowing smirk. They took out their wands and before they even saw it coming, Hermione grabbed them both and removed them from their hands and put them behind her on the arm chair.

"Why did you do that?" they asked confused and shocked at how fast she'd moved.

"Because you don't need them. We're not doing any practical magic today. Today is all about relaxing and finding what makes you happy. What makes you feel good and makes you enjoy life." They raised an eyebrow at her. "So, close your eyes and take a deep breath." She glared at them when they didn't and they immediately did what she said and she smiled to herself. "Find your happy place. I don't know what it is and I don't care what it is. Just allow your body to relax and feel yourself filling with serenity."

They stayed in silence for a while, until Hermione had them do some breathing exercises and then the silence was broken.

"Where did you learn these breathing exercises?" Fred asked, feeling calmer than he'd had in a long time.

"Sirius taught me them over the summer."

"You two have gotten quite close," he commented.

"Well it's hard not to, he's been good to me."

"You mean because of your parents?" George said, being completely relaxed until he realised what he'd just let slip.

His eyes flew open and Fred was staring worriedly. Hermione looked panicked and fearful.

"You... you... you know?" she growled and the twins nodded slowly.

Suddenly rain started pouring in the room, thunder clashed and lightning crackled in the air.

The twins looked up as their clothing and hair was immediately soaked and they started sticking to them. They looked at Hermione to see a look of anger and fear on her face. A look they had never seen so raw before.

'She wasn't doing this, was she?' they thought fearfully.

"Granger!" George shouted over the thunder to be heard.

The thunder clashed louder and the lightning let off sparks, if it wasn't for the torrential rain they would've set the arm chairs ablaze.

"HERMIONE!" Fred shouted. Hermione looked up at him and everything stopped. The rain, the thunder and the lightning.

She no longer looked angry, she looked defeated.

"That's why you've been treating me differently. You being nice to me, spending more time around me, talking to me more, giving me compliments, asking for lessons. It's all because you pity me. You learned about my parents and you feel sorry for me. Well you know what? I don't need you pity. I'm putting what my parents did to me behind me. I'm learning to deal with it and I have people helping me get better," she spoke and then she looked down and fiddled with her hands.

Fred and George took a moment to digest what had just happened. They looked at each other and nodded.

They got up from their seats and moved until they were kneeling down in front of Hermione and they each took one of her hands in theirs, noticing the way she stiffened at the contact.

"We don't pity you," George said.

"In fact we are in awe of you," Fred added. Her head snapped up to look at them. "You were able to come away from your parents alive and victorious. You beat them and they will be in prison for a very long time for what they did to you."

"How do you know that? How did you find out?" she asked quickly.

They looked sheepish. "We saw you, the night you were brought to Grimmauld and we overheard everyone talking. We decided to go to the trial because we wanted to know what was going on, so we disillusioned ourselves and followed you. We were there for the trial," George spoke. They watched as tears fell down her face.

"You heard everything. You heard what they said, you heard what I said and you saw me."

"We had to leave for the bathroom after you showed your injuries. Why didn't you tell anyone?" Fred asked softly and with his free hand he reached up and wiped away her tears.

"Because I couldn't. He threatened to kill me. He killed Crookshanks. If I did tell someone I would've been taken away and put in a foster home or an orphanage. I have no other relatives. I am a witch, how was I supposed to hide my things from people? How was I going to keep my secret and stop people from finding out? How would I do my summer assignments? No one in the Wizarding World would take parental guardianship of Harry Potter's best Muggleborn friend and if they did it may have been a Death Eater. People don't care for Muggleborns. And before you say your parents would, I know they would, but they already have seven children. One more would add to their work load and stress and I wouldn't put that on their shoulders. And Harry needed me. Harry comes first."

"Harry's muggle family might be arseholes that made him sleep in a cupboard, but your parents abused you. Physically and sexually, Hermione," George said gently. "Harry's problems could be put aside for a moment to help you. I can't believe he never noticed, I can't believe no one noticed."

She shrugged. "When I returned to school after the holidays I would cover my injuries and my uniform covered my weight problems until I was healthy again. The first spell I learned to cast here was Glamour Charms. I don't want anyone to know, if you tell anyone..."

"We won't tell anyone," they promised.

"How is Sirius helping you?" Fred asked. "We know he's your guardian and you spent a lot of time with him, especially when you wouldn't come out of your room."

"He bought me this necklace," she said. She removed her hands from theirs and gripped the necklace. "He had it made for me. It has Protection Charms on it and a spell that allows us to communicate. It's connected to Sirius' ring and we can talk to each other in our thoughts when I hold my necklace."

"Why would you need that? For the nightmares?" George asked.

She nodded. "They're not nightmares though. They're memories. I blocked out a lot of what he did to me through my younger years, but speaking at the trial brought everything back and I can't sleep. Sirius talks to me and calms me down after I've woken up. He's also helping me deal with the past."

"How?" they asked and they retook a hold of a hand each, but she didn't notice.

"There was... there was rules I had to follow. If I didn't I was punished. I was beaten and starved. It's why I don't like breaking school rules, because I remember what happened to me when I broke the rules at home. Sirius is helping me by slowly breaking some rules. That's one of the reasons why I pranked Goyle and Filch. I know what people think of me, but I don't care. I have a valid reason for being the way I am, and I am working on it. Not for them, but for me. I don't like what they turned me into. I flinch when people say my last name because it reminds me that I'm related to them. I have to remind myself to breathe when someone bumps into me in the hallways. I almost have a panic attack when someone leans over me at the table to get the bread rolls."

"Why not tell people so they understand?" George asked.

"I don't want people to look at me in pity. I don't want people to look at me in disgust. I don't want people to go around calling me a slut and saying that I deserved everything that happened. If Malfoy found out about this it would give him a boat load of ammunition. If Ron found out he would use it against me whenever we got in an argument."

"He wouldn't do that," they said and she raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe he would," Fred corrected, not sounding pleased in the fact he knew his brother could be cruel.

"I've had it with Ron," she confessed. They looked at her strangely. The last they knew she had a crush on their little brother and a little spark of hope hit them. "I can't deal with him anymore. He's just as cruel as Malfoy and I'm tired of fighting with him. I'm tired of him hurting me and not being there when I need him. I'm only putting up with him for Harry's sake. The war is here and Harry needs the both of us," she spoke.

"I thought you fancied him," Fred said, sounding confused.

"No, maybe in my third year for a few months I did, but that was it. I'm not even sure if I still have brotherly feelings towards him anymore. Anyway, I don't want to be treated any differently and you have been treating me that way. So stop it," she scowled.

She then looked at them and for the first time she noticed they were soaking wet and when she looked down at herself she was too. She frowned.

"You're wet," she said in surprise and then she used her wand to dry them all. "How did that happen?"

Fred and George looked at each other. "Well, you caused a thunderstorm, with extra rain, extra thunder and extra lightning," Fred spoke and her frown deepened.

"Again," she whispered, but being so close to her they heard.

"Again?" they repeated. She looked up at them.

"It's happened before. This is the fourth time since fourth year actually," she said quietly.

"It could be accidental magic," Fred said, though he didn't know if he was trying to convince her or himself. "In times of great anger or fear magic can act up."

"Four times, Fred?" she asked, looking vulnerable.

"Okay, so it's not accidental magic," George spoke. "It's probably nothing to worry about. You're a powerful witch; we've known that since meeting you."

She nodded slowly. "Okay, now back to patronus lessons."

They reluctantly let go of her hands and moved to sit back on their arm chairs, where they continued with the breathing exercises and meditation.

~000~000~000~

"She doesn't have a crush on Ron," Fred said with a goofy smile and he jumped onto the edge of his bed. "We're in with a shot."

"Course we are, we're The Weasley Twins. Who's going to turn us down?" George bragged.

"She would."

"Yeah, she would," he laughed.

"Have you noticed she can tell the difference between us?" Fred said with a wide smile.

"It's probably just a coincidence."

"No, it's not," Fred shook his head.

"We'll have to test that theory of yours then," George said.

"And we'll have to be careful; you saw what she did. She said she's done it four times. You and I both know that's not normal. Do you think Sirius knows about this?"

"We'll ask him when we go to Grimmauld for Christmas." Fred nodded in agreement. "Time to put the plan into action; first order of business, flirt with her and find out if she likes us. Operation woo the witch and win her heart is a go."