A/N: OH MY F-ING GOD I AM SO SORRY! My mind went blank for this story for so long I never thought I'd update again! Luckily, I was reading some X-Men fanfics the other day and read about Pietro and Wanda and I realized I really wanted to get back into this storyline, though it's probably going to focus a little more on these twins more than Hermione now. Sorry about that! Anyway, it's about damn time I got on with the story!
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"Wait, you can't seriously be thinking of joining them, can you? !" cried Jean, stepping toward Quicksilver only to be immediately blocked by Scarlet Witch. "Take another step! I dare you!" she snarled furiously. "Calm down, Scarlet," said Multiple-Man calmly, trying to diffuse some of the tension in his teammate.
Quicksilver turned to look at the X-Men, his eyes cold. "You people fight for humans. Me and my friends do the exact opposite, same as these guys. I'm definitely joining them, but not without consulting the others in this group."
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Pietro turned his gaze to his sister and their eyes locked. Being twins, they'd known each other their entire lives. Neither had to say a word to come to the conclusion that they both agreed; the Brotherhood, no doubt about it.
Now Pietro looked to Jamie Madrox, one of his best friends out of the group he'd gathered here. "Jamie? What do you say about all this?" he asked.
Jamie could tell from the Pietro said his real name that this was serious, but he just shrugged. "I don't care which side we choose. I just want to keep the kids safe," he said, his eyes darting to the crates before returning to Pietro.
Pietro nodded, deeming this a fair answer. "What about everyone else?" he called, raising his voice so everyone could hear him.
Slowly, the other mutants of the room revealed themselves; Psylocke; Pyro; Vanisher; Destiny; Sunfire; Jason Wyngarde, a.k.a. Mastermind; Lani Ubana, a.k.a. Lorelei; Isabella 'Bella' Gomez, a.k.a. Whirlpool; Raine Hillock, a.k.a. Rockslide; and all of the younger kids, children either too young or too shell-shocked to help make this decision.
"Brotherhood definitely," said Whirlpool with a wide grin. "Yeah. Forget about those whiny-ass X-Men. They're pathetic!" spat Lorelei fiercely. "I'm going with the guy in the cape," said Pyro cockily. "I prefer mutant superiority, thank you," sniffed Psylocke disdainfully. "Brotherhood for the win!" yelled Rockslide excitedly. Vanisher simply nodded in Magneto and Mystique's direction. "I don't care who we go with, just so long as the kids stay safe," said Sunfire, Destiny nodding in agreement beside him with her hand on his arm to steady herself. "I agree," said Mastermind, placing a protective hand on the shoulder of one of the smaller mutant kids.
"Well, that decides it then!" said Pietro, turning back to the X-Men with a mischievous grin. Cyclops looked ready to argue when suddenly Pixie teleported next to him, along with Toad, Caliban, and the whole Silver-X Team. "OK, whose ass are we kicking, Pietro? Both groups?" asked Laura, letting her claws slide out of her knuckles and feet.
Pietro grinned at his old companion. "Good to see you too, Laura. In truth, it turns out you won't have to kick anyone's ass. Our group is joining the Brotherhood of Mutants."
Laura fell out of her defensive pose and turned to him, eyes filled with shock. "Are you serious? ! We came here for nothing? ! Damn it Maximoff, I should tear you apart right now!" she snarled furiously, making Pietro cringe.
"On the contrary, you didn't come here for nothing," Magneto spoke up before Laura could pounce. Laura spun around to him, eyes flashing. "Oh? Is that so? Who are you, old man, and what do you want?" she snarled.
Magneto's eye seemed to twitch a little at the 'old man', but he said calmly, "If your group also hates humans, then you'd be a valuable addition to the Brotherhood. What do you say? Do you want to take the fight to the humans or not?"
Laura looked so shocked it would've been hilarious if her claws weren't inches from Pietro's face. She seemed hesitant for a moment, but Shelly spoke up, "That doesn't sound bad. What about you guys?"
"Taking the fight to the humans. Me is liking this idea!" said Post, rubbing his hands together evilly. "Sweet. I'll come too as long as we stick together," said Aurora. Fatale shrugged. "As long as I can stab some things, I'll be happy," she said, fondly smiling at her knife, making her teammates edge away from her slightly.
Laura's face became determined. "Alright! We'll come along, then!" she said.
"HOLD ON A SECOND!" yelled Jean, running forward past Wanda and Jamie and stopping in front of Pietro and Laura. "Are you nuts? ! The Brotherhood is just going to use you until you're useless! Then they'll toss you aside! It's what they do with everyone!" she protested.
"Jean!" warned Storm, and Jean spun around to find Wanda right behind her, her hand glowing red. "I told you not to take another step! Get the hell away from my brother!" she snarled.
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What was it that made the shield spell fail? Did Harry say the wrong words, or get his wand movement wrong? Did he not have the strength to keep the shield up? Did some divine being decide, 'Hey, I should let this guy get hurt to see what his girlfriend does!'?
What ever it was, when Harry's shield charm failed to block Umbridge's hex, it the resulting mini-explosion sent him flying backwards into a wall, where his head hit with a loud crack!
'Ha! And now the finishing blow!' thought Umbridge. The air was filled with the cheers of the Ministry officials and the groans of the Hogwarts students, mutant or not. Umbridge stalked toward Harry, where he tried to clear his head and get back up, to no avail.
The teachers finally decided enough was enough and were about to step in when all of the metal in the room began to hum and shake, freezing everyone in place.
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Hermione darted forward out of the crowd, screaming Harry's name as he crumpled to the floor in pain, ignoring Umbridge and her associates for the time being.
Hermione fell to her knees beside her boyfriend as his eyes grew foggy. Gently, she lifted his head to reveal a matted tangle of bloody hair where he'd hit the wall. Harry groaned. "I'm sorry!" she hissed, quickly placing his head back down.
"Looks like I'll have to sit the rest of this one out," he murmured, winking at Hermione the way he did when he made a joke. "Give them hell for me."
Harry bit down on his lip as the pain built inside his head. For a second, it seemed the pain wouldn't end, but then he sank into the everlasting bliss of unconsciousness.
Hermione slowly got to her feet, the metal around her shaking and trembling. "… Alright. Now you've made me mad!" she hissed angrily, turning slowly around to face Umbridge, seething with rage.
Umbridge seemed shocked to see Hermione was a mutant too, but not for long; the fancy necklace she'd been wearing for months suddenly tightened around her neck, cutting off her air supply.
Umbridge choked, dropping her wand and clawing desperately at the necklace as it tightened further and further, all the while unable to tear her eyes away from Hermione's furious glare.
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This was it.
She'd been waiting to do this for a long time. Hermione couldn't help a sly smile of satisfaction to cross her face as Umbridge choked and gasped in front of her. A ring of silverware, candlesticks, and similar metal items floated around the two of them, cutting off any rescue for the pathetic bitch in front of her. The rage Harry usually suppressed now poured forth uncontrollably, so potent that it ringed Hermione's vision with red.
'It's about time this happened,' she thought in satisfaction, a sadistic grin sliding onto her face as Umbridge turned red, then blue, still clawing for air she couldn't get.
Hermione had no idea who, but someone suddenly appeared behind her, and before she could turn and fight, a sharp thwack! sent her to the ground. Hermione had just enough time to realize Umbridge wasn't choking anymore and everyone in the entire Great Hall was staring at her before she sank into darkness.
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A/N: Yep. A cool chapter for my first update in forever! Sorry guys! I'll try not to let that happen again; I'll update again soon! Laters!
-Wind
