Hermione's resolve didn't last long. When Harry and Ron finished their breakfast and no one else's letter arrived, they sat with her for a while to keep her company. Ginny fetched their chess set and the three settled into the long game, Ginny promising to battle the champion.

Ginny seemed so well composed, with her letter only a few feet away from her. It was obvious that she wasn't partnered with Harry; if she had been, his letter would be here too. So just who was she partnered with? Hermione wanted to know almost as much as she wanted her own letter to arrive.

Ten minutes into the chess game, Hermione couldn't stand sitting still and announced she was going to help the twins. It seemed to fall on deaf ears, but Ginny nodded in her direction, so Hermione stood and ventured up the stairs.

It was eerily quiet on the twins' floor, so Hermione pressed her ear against their door. She heard nothing and, wondering if they were even inside, knocked gently. The door flew open almost immediately.

"We thought you'd come up," Fred said, who was lounging on his bed.
"We decided to wait until you showed," George elaborated, who was also on his bed.
"It was awfully quiet, I wasn't sure if you were even inside," Hermione admitted, closing the door behind her.
"Contrary to popular belief, we do have the ability to remain quiet," Fred said dryly. Hermione almost blushed.
"I'm very much aware," she replied. "So George, are you happy with your pairing?"

"We were just chatting about that, actually," George said cheerfully. "Couldn't have been luckier, I'd say. She's a hell of a girl."
"That she is," Hermione agreed, remembering the many times she'd yelled at Harry about quidditch.
"I wonder who'll be next to get their sentence," Fred said darkly. Hermione chewed her lip.
"I think it'll be Ron," she said hesitantly. Fred and George gave her questioning looks. "It's just a feeling I have, that's all."
Fred and George nodded solemnly. "I think it'll be Fred," George said. "We've never done anything separately before, why should that stop now?"
"Quite true, brother of mine," Fred agreed pompously. Hermione wasn't sure if they deliberately forgot Percy's letter had arrived after George's, or if they were so used to doing everything together it genuinely did slip their mind. Fred clapped his hands together and jumped off the bed.

"Right. What's on the agenda today, Gred?"
"I thought you knew, Forge," George replied in shock. "I haven't been keeping track!"
"Neither have I!"
Fred and George walked over to their cauldrons and took a deep sniff.
"Oh, that's right," Fred nodded to himself. "Wonder Witch products."
Hermione snorted. "You aren't still doing those, are you?" she asked in doubt. George looked shocked.
"Yes, we are! Those are huge sellers!"
Fred was also feigning surprise. "It wasn't that long ago you admitted they weren't a bad bit of magic, Hermione!"
Hermione's heart almost stopped when she realised it had indeed been less than two years ago. "You're right, it wasn't," Hermione murmured. She tied her messy hair back into a bun, straightened her shirt, and appraised the cauldron herself. "What am I doing for you today, then?" she asked.
Fred and George grinned. "Patented Daydream Charms," they said together. Hermione smiled.
"Might need to stock up on these if I get matched with a horrible person," she joked. Fred grinned at her.
"You and me both, kid."

The unlikely three spent the rest of the day teasing each other about the types of products they could use on their partner if they were particularly horrible. Fred said that George would need to use one of their love potions to get Angelina to fancy him, for Fred had always been the better looking twin. George replied that Fred would always need to wear a shield cloak for protection from jinxes because his wife would always be pissed off at him and his inability to comprehend the female gender. Hermione very carefully remained silent whilst the two bickered, unwilling to enter the battlefield of insults the twins so casually threw at each other.

They skipped lunch, and before Hermione knew it, it was sundown and she hadn't thought about her letter arriving once. Fred's had arrived next as George predicted, but he was too preoccupied to open it at the time (having been battling a Thestral Thrasher firework gone wrong) and so it sat at the kitchen table beside Ginny's. The three went down to dinner at Mrs Weasley's call, too cheerful to care too much about the letters. Hermione sat beside Ginny at the table; as cheerful as she was, Hermione couldn't help but look for her letter. Surely it had come by now?

Fred, Ron and Ginny's letters sat in the middle of the table. Hermione and Harry's were nowhere to be seen.

"Shall we eat dinner first?" Mrs Weasley suggested in a cheery tone. Hermione agreed, knowing that she was bound to lose her appetite after reading the letters.

Dinner passed quickly, the conversation topic mostly surrounding the letters.

"They can't have forgotten us, right, Harry?" Hermione asked nervously. Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"Kingsley said that they'd arrive, so they'll arrive," he said simply.
"Yes, but he also said that when they arrived depended on the complexity of the decision," Hermione reminded him quickly. "What could be so complicated about us?"
"Well, Harry is the Boy Who Lived and all," Fred piped up sarcastically.
"And you're both part of the Golden Trio," George added. Ron made a sound of protest.
"Oi, so was I!"
"Yeah, but you're a pureblood," George said as an explanation, then returned to his dinner without realising the implications of what he said. Hermione's stomach dropped. After all this time, and all those deaths during the war, the purity of her blood was still a defining factor in her life.

Fred leaned over to her. "Hey, you'll be fine. If anything, they'll be deciding who could best protect you against those who hate your blood. You'll be the safest witch in town." He offered her a small smile and helped himself to the newly appeared dessert.

Fred's words of comfort eased Hermione's tension enough that she helped herself to a serving of jelly for dessert. She had just finished when two letters flew through the window.

"Clear the table!" Mrs Weasley cried, waving her wand in a series of complicated motions. Everybody's plates rose in the air whether they'd been cleared or not and made their way to the sink. Water began running and the plates began washing themselves.

"Let's begin," Mr Weasley said in a firm tone. "In order of who received their letters first, shall we?"

Ginny nodded her head, reaching for her letter. Her fingers didn't shake as she tore open the envelope. Hermione watched Harry as his face went blank, hiding all evidence of emotion.
"Dean Thomas," Ginny said. She sighed and slumped into Harry's side.
Fred went next. "Katie Bell," he announced in a flat tone.
"She's not so bad," Hermione offered in comfort, wincing at how useless her words were. Both Fred and George snorted.
"Maybe if she wasn't already dating Oliver Wood," Fred grumbled, crumpling his letter up in his fist.
"Where is Oliver, anyway?" Harry asked curiously.
"Out of the country with quidditch. He'd be exempt from this stupid law," Fred muttered.

Next was Ron, who fumbled opening his letter and avoided Hermione's eyes when he declared Lavender Brown was to be his partner.

Harry and Hermione met each other's eyes as they reached for their letters. Hermione couldn't tell what Harry was thinking, but his eyes were guarded which was the only clue Hermione had as to how he was feeling.

The accusing letter felt heavy and cold in Hermione's hands as she tore it open with shaking fingers. Her composure was pathetic and she wished she had been as graceful as Ginny. Hermione took out the folded parchment.

Please don't be a Slytherin, anything but a Slytherin…

Hermione had intended to read the full letter before reading the name of her partner, but her eyes, curiosity, and impatience betrayed her. They glanced down to the bottom of the letter where it declared in curly blue writing, Harry Potter was her partner.