Chapter 11: The War

George was waiting uncharacteristically serenely in his classroom anticipating the events that would unfold that evening. Pale but brawny, his fingers traced small, unrecognizable pictures onto the cold wooden surface of his desk. Minutes passed by quickly as he did this, and while so, his thoughts of Hermione consumed him entirely. She has been on his mind all day from the moment he woke up, determined to make amends, to his class with her where she pulled a prank on him, to now, just minutes before the imminent detention.

Tonight, George decided earlier in the day, wasn't about punishment, and it wasn't about getting even. Tonight was about getting answers out of Hermione Granger. After all, it was painfully obvious to George who had pulled the prank on the entire class earlier. The only question remaining in George's mind was why Hermione had done it exactly. George had his guesses, but he wanted to hear it from Hermione herself.

If you walked into George's classroom at that moment, you would have never known that there was turmoil between him and Hermione earlier in the day. The only proof that anything out of the ordinary had occurred was George's skin, which was still blue with dancing Pygmy Puffs on scattered about. The brightness has slightly faded away, but it was still evident. It didn't, in fact, go unnoticed by George's next two classes, which he decided not to cancel despite his odd condition. Rumors had spread school-wide before he even came to the Great Hall for lunch. Did you hear what happened to Professor Weasley's class? Did you see the class's embarrassing skin? Can you believe that someone pranked a pranking legend? Everyone was talking about it.

A virtually inaudible creak came from across the room, shaking George out of his thoughts. Awkwardly, Hermione walked into the classroom, eyes to the floor. She looked glanced up quickly, approaching George, but quickly adverted her eyes again; he suspected that she was trying her hardest not to grin and laugh at the sight of him. George didn't blame her, though. If he had done the same to a teacher, his own grin would have been a mile wide.

"Good evening Ms. Granger," George greeted, forcing formalities. It still felt unnatural to him to address people such as; he was such a casual person. Nevertheless, Hermione silently returned to formality with a crisp nod to her professor. Standing in the middle of the wide classroom, Hermione made eye contact with George expectantly.

"So, detention again, Ms. Granger," George drawled. "That's twice this week."

"I know, sir. Pardon me, but what do you want me to do this time?" George concealed a sly grin from Hermione, propping his head lazily onto his hand and weighing it down onto his desk.

"Now, don't get ahead of yourself," George warned Hermione. "You know how this goes." Hermione didn't apparently as she stood there, transfixed on his words, trying to figure some sense from them. Knowing what was to come, George had another urge to grin. He buried his impulse as the silence droned on.

"Ms. Granger, you know why you have this detention," George queued her in a half asking, half declaring tone, exactly like he said in the prior detention. Hermione, this time, didn't answer as quickly.

"Well," she started, "it was many reasons, right?" George gave no indication whether she was correct or not, so she carried on with her current thought. "I wasn't exactly proper last detention."

"No, you weren't," George agreed. "Perhaps we both said things we shouldn't have." Hermione's head jerked up shocked. Mouth slightly agape, she had no idea how to properly respond. Hermione was almost sure she misheard George somehow. Stuttering with confusion, Hermione answered cautiously.

"P-Perhaps." George leaned forward in his chair, closer to Hermione.

"All the same," George trailed off. "Shall you continue?" She nodded, regaining a small amount of composure.

"I raised my voice to you, sir, and I said some inappropriate things that shouldn't be said to a professor."

"Indeed," he agreed coolly with a nod.

Overwhelming stillness deluged into the room, eerie and unwelcome. George sense Hermione's perturbed state that followed his short answer, but he did nothing to ease it. Dragging this out was, after all, what made it so fun.

"I don't need to elaborate, do I?" Hermione asked uneasily. "I don't exactly remember anything that happened that night anymore…"

"No, of course not," George eased slightly. The prominent silence that followed once more erased all ease that his words previously brought. Hermione didn't know what she was missing or what George was doing.

"That's why I have another detention tonight." Hermione finished like the end of a small child's essay, pointing out the obvious to George.

"Would you bet your life on it?"

"Excuse me?" George couldn't cover it anymore; a slight grin grew across his face.

"It's a simple concept that I'm sure you're familiar with. I'm, of course, not going to actually murder you if you get this wrong. This is hypothetical in that sense. I'm just trying to see how confident you are in this answer."

"I'm aware of what you're doing," Hermione snapped, but added a polite 'but thank you' to make up for her harshness. "I'm not sure what you're playing at, but yes, I'd bet my life on it."

George raised his eyebrow to Hermione's response. He let out a small chuckle as he shook his head. Hermione cocked her head slightly, not in on the joke.

"Ms. Granger, if you had truly just bet your life on your answer, then you'd be dead." Hermione's jaw dropped; what was George talking about? Did he have a secret agenda for giving her a detention? Did he really not care about any of the fight they had? A meek 'sir?' was all Hermione could manage to say in this confused state of hers.

"That's not why you're here at all tonight, Ms. Granger," George stated. A gleam of pleasure shone through his eyes as Hermione sputtered, struggling to answer. He knew he shouldn't take pleasure in this… but how couldn't he?

"Professor," Hermione addressed him, "Why am I here then?"

"Isn't it obvious?" George grinned brightly at Hermione in her bewilderment. "For pulling that outlandish prank on me and my class this morning."

If Hermione was baffled before, her confusion was off the charts now; it was apparent to George through her eyes.

"I have no idea what you mean," Hermione argued calmly. "I didn't prank-"

"It's excruciatingly obvious it was you," interrupted George. "I don't know who you think you're tricking, but I do happen to know my way around pranks. I of all people could figure this one out."

"Why would I want to prank you? I just want to go back to a healthy student-teacher relationship." George laughed boisterously at her response.

"Hermione, we never had a healthy student-teacher relationship. I've only been teaching you for five days, and each day, one of us has been out to get the other. True, it had mostly been me, but then today, you stepped up to the plate! It makes so much sense, but it still caught me by surprise."

"Why would I prank you because of these silly detentions you've been giving me?"

"I have my theories, but instead of wasting time with me guessing, you could just tell me outright."

"You don't even have proof it was me." Even though they both were looking at each other seconds earlier, now they made overpowering eye contact. All they saw at that moment was each other's eyes. As if the eyes spoke more than the lips, both knew the current agenda of the other's mind. George knew that he was correct about Hermione through her eyes and saw that she clung to a thread of hope; Hermione hoped George had no legitimate evidence against her. She instantly knew though, just by looking in George's eyes, that he out to bring her down.

"I saw your feather this morning." George broke the silence. He waited for Hermione to gasp or have her eyes grow in reaction, but she didn't indicate any signs of change. "Now, since you won't tell me, I'll continue with my theories. Now, could it be revenge? That one seems likely. Maybe attention."

"What feather?" Hermione ignored George's last words intently.

"The feather that you were missing for the lesson, of course!" George said with mock cheer. "The one you didn't receive to practice the Fidelius charm on."

"Where was it?"

"You know where it was. After all, it never went missing, did it? I have," George paused for dramatic effect, "a sneaky little feeling that you had it with you knowingly the whole time. In your book, perhaps?" Blank and unresponsive, Hermione stood mere feet away from George in silence. Long moments passed before Hermione moved. Slowly, the natural frown on her face curled up into an unmistakable smile.

"You think that it was me because of that?" Hermione laughed. "You do realize that everyone writes with quills here, right? I'm sure you just saw my quill with me."

"We both know the difference between a quill and a regular feather," George stated.

"You only saw my quill. I put them in my books when I don't have a proper bookmark with me," pushed Hermione. George shook his head.

"Quills," said George, "generally have a tip for writing. I saw the bottom of your feather, not the top. There was no special writing tip; it was just a feather. Now, since it seems like we'll be at this for a while, why don't you have a seat?" Upon command, Hermione took a seat without a sign of hesitation. He waited until she was settled before she carried on, but the wait brief.

"Now, like I said earlier, I'd really like to save time by just having you tell me why you decided to prank me. Because honestly, I'm going to get it out of you eventually, and if you don't tell me soon, you'll never get around to your actual detention. I'd hate to have to assign you another detention to make up for it." Hermione stared at George incredulously, brows furrowed.

"Are you trying to coerce me into answering? Blackmailing me with threats of more detentions?" George thought about what she said. Was he really blackmailing her into answering something so trivial? 'Why did you prank me?' seemed frivolous to most perhaps, but not to George.

"No," concluded his thoughts. "I'm not blackmailing you. I'm being honest with you. You're actually serving this detention completely, but you're not serving it until I find out why you pranked me."

"And you're so unrelenting with the fact that it's me when you don't even have substantial evidence."

"Substantial evidence?" George laughed at Hermione's attempt to through him off. "I have plenty of that as we've been over. I know my pranks, Hermione, and all the signs of this prank point to you!" Hermione shook her head.

"Name one," Hermione dared. George opened his out instantly, but Hermione wasn't finished. "Name one besides the feather."

"Hermione, that's evidence enough," George pointed out. "If you really want me to point out everything that gave you away though, I'll go right ahead." He raised his eyebrows over to Hermione, and she pursed her lips in response. "You were the only one to block the powder from getting on you."

"I had my wand out already!" Hermione argued profusely, eyes fiery with infuriation. "Anyone with decent reflexes would have done the same!"

"So, you're trying to tell me that a whole class of advanced witches and wizards don't have decent reflexes? Harry Potter doesn't have-"

"That's not the point," Hermione intervened. "The point is that me blocking the powder isn't a logical reason why I did it."

George knew he was getting her to crack; he saw it in her eyes. Her points, her excuses, were growing weaker and less convincing, and they both knew it. They both knew that this moment was the moment where she would fall. George wouldn't even have to pull out any other evidence against her. He grinned, anticipating what he had been looking for all along.

"Why exactly did you prank me?" George asked slowly, pushing Hermione. Frustration consuming her, she pushed out her chair with deliberate force, standing up with passion.

"This isn't a game, George! You're a professor, and you shouldn't be abusing your powers just to annoy me! It was payback for the detentions, for embarrassing me in class in front of R-"

"What? Were you just going to say in front of-"

"Shut it!" Hermione interrupted. George looked at Hermione blankly, silently for a few moments. Before Hermione could exhale and relax, George piped up again quickly.

"You were going to say in front of Ron," accused George, but Hermione shook her head lividly in disagreement. "So, I was right, wasn't I? You are just pining over Ron."

"Don't," Hermione began to hiss, "talk about things you know nothing about. You couldn't even begin to comprehend anything going on between me and Ron which such a lack of a brain."

"So, there is something going on," George stated, choosing to ignore Hermione's insults.

"No! You're twisting my words into something they're not, George Weasley!"

"And you, the current Head Girl of Hogwarts, are pulling pranks on her Charms professor," George countered. "We're both guilty of something here."

Hermione shook her head and her lips moved, but what she muttered was inaudible to George. Overwhelming frustration plagued her as she alternated stretching her hands and clenching them.

"Excuse me?" George asked meaning for Hermione to repeat herself. Hermione wiped her eyes up with fury, interpreting that he was outraged with what she previously said.

"You heard me!" Hermione cried out unexpectedly. "You deserve worse than this prank! Anything to show you…"

"Show me what, Hermione?" George's voice matched hers in intensity. He supposed that their voices were echoing throughout the whole corridor, but he didn't care. "What? Not to mess with you?" Hermione looked at him smugly, angering him even more.

"Yes!' Hermione admitted triumphantly. "To show you why you shouldn't mess with Hermione Granger!"

"That's rich, Hermione, coming from you!"

"What? What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione's voice trembled as she quivered with anger. George shook his head and spoke with a contrasting composed tone.

"It means that you shouldn't mess with the best, Hermione. You shouldn't prank anyone who owns a successful joke shop. But you did anyways. You pushed the limits because that's what you do. You had to come up on top even if I didn't realize that it was you who brought me down. That's where you went wrong, Hermione. Because if you think I'm going to let you get away with pranking me, you've gone absolutely bonkers.

"You know, Hermione, you wanted to show me why I shouldn't mess with you, but in the end, you're just going to see why you should never mess with me. I'm not going to let this slip away into the back of my mind because Granger, this is war now."


"See you're making good use of all the secret passageways again, Georgie!" George closed the main door of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, absorbing the surroundings. There were very few things in life that gave George more pleasure than his and Fred's shop. The mayhem occurring simultaneously around and the bustle of the busy shoppers were comforting to him. This one place, even more than the Burrow, screamed out 'home' to George.

"You don't even seem surprised to see me," George noted from across the store. A toothy grin spread across Fred's as he hurried towards his brother. The two twins met in the direct middle of the store, standing mere feet apart from each other.

"It took me about thirty seconds after you left for Hogwarts for me to realize that we're just as mischievous as in the past-"

"-And that nothing would stop me from being here at the shop with you," finished George with an equally wide grin. At the same exact moment, both of the brothers lunged forward, engulfing the other in a hug.

"It's good to have you back," Fred said with a hint of loneliness trailing in his voice. Releasing his brother from the embrace, he took a step back.

"It's been over a week!" George exclaimed. "This is just unnatural!"

"A crime against nature!"

"Not to mention inhumane!" George concluded, feeling as if he never left home.

Escaping all of the commotion, the twins stepped aside into the backroom of the story, leaving the crowd to a very determined Verity. George stepped into the room and gazed around him; the moderate-sized break room that they were in looked exactly the same as when he left. Piles among piles of joke ideas and plan were messily stacked along the tables, only leaving ones circular table in the center of the dark room clean for eating lunch on.

"This place never changes," commented George as he closed the door, muting the noise from the shop. Pulling out a chair to sit in, Fred laughed, and his twin followed suit.

"Hate to bring up such a depressing subject, but how's the new job treating you, Professor?" George almost cringed at his brother's words. "Found the perfect line of work, eh?"

"No," sighed George. "I don't even know if I can joke about that. The only way I could be less qualified for a job would be if I had to invent a shampoo that would even make Snape's hair look irresistible. And I'm not even joking when I say that; that task is impossible."

"Detentions with Hermione aren't going as swimmingly as before then?"

"Fred," George address with a solemn look across his face. "What I'm about to tell you is very serious. And not in that way that we told Ron we had something serious to tell him as we slipped him our tester Canary Cream."

Fred raised his eyebrows to his twin, signaling for him to go on. "Fred, remember how we pledged war against Umbridge on the first week of our 7th year?"

"Of course. We really should thank her for unknowingly encouraging us to create some of our greatest products to date."

"We're officially at war again, Fred," George bluntly stated.

Fred was silent for a moment before hesitantly responding. "With Hermione? Don't you think that's extreme? We've always considered her a friend of sorts."

"You don't know what she did to me," George stated seriously.

"You sound heartbroken, Georgie. Don't fret, though. Hermione obviously favors the looks of trolls more. Ron's looks are nothing against ours." Fred smiled, unable to remain serious.

"No!" George protested. "She didn't break my heart, she pranked me! Fred, she pulled a prank on me. She put Chameleon Powder in my desk and set me up so I would open it up in class."

Fred looked flabbergasted. At the words of his brother, his mouth hung wide open. Shock imprinted itself onto is face, distorting his normal cheerful appearance.

"She pulled a prank on you?" Fred asked astounded. "It's official. She's amazing."

It was George's turn to be shocked. "She's not amazing," countered George, confused why he was arguing this with his brother of all people. "She's trying to beat me. Don't you understand?"

"Oh, well that's just not possible. Nobody beats us Weasleys at pranking. But any woman who dares to try is worthy of our worshiping. She has guts, my dear brother."

"Woman? Dare I remind you who we're talking about?" George couldn't believe the words coming out of his twin's ears. He sounded insane, mental, batty. Just to check, George looked around the room, making sure the objects around him weren't morphing away like they normally did when he figured out he was dreaming. Except for the twins, the room was absolutely motionless.

"Dare I remind you how she's nineteen?" Fred said, jolting George back to the conversation. "She may be a frumpy bookworm extraordinaire, but both technically and legally, she's a woman."

"Never mind that!" erupted George. "War was declared, and strategy needs to begin!" Doubtingly, Fred glanced at his brother.

"You're serious about this, then?" inquired Fred. "You really are out to get Hermione?"

"If you'll help me." George looked at his brother pleadingly, knowing he couldn't do this alone; George needed Fred to function, and the same was true for Fred. They weren't near complete without each other.

"Of course I'm helping!" Fred exclaimed, slightly excited expression slipping it's way back to his pale face. "What kind of twin would I be if I didn't?"

A wide grin spread across George's face, and immediately, he began to release ideas for pranks. He told Fred the whole story behind Hermione's prank and everything that happened at the subsequent detention. He even lifted up his shirt to reveal the last remaining dancing Pygmy Puff etched on his skin. The retelling of the event brought passion to George, inspiring dozens of tricks. Rambling on, George truly felt at home once again.

"…not that I want to unveil our new products primarily on Hermione, but it would be a good test before we put the line on the shelves, don't you think?" George stopped his banter, letting his twin have a turn to speak. All the response George had gotten from Fred so far was the occasional nod of the head or approving sound effect.

"You want to know what I think?" Fred asked despite knowing the answer already.

"That's is the point of talking to you about this," his twin pointed out. Anxious feelings started to boil over now, and George could barely stand it.

"I think you should wait a while before you do anything."

"Wait? Why would I ever wait?" Fred shook his head as if George was incompetent, but George couldn't figure out why. Should it be the other way around? Fred obviously didn't understand the concept of war anymore; George needed to fight back to win!

"Are you really this hopeless without me?" questioned Fred. When George didn't answer, he continued. "Where has the mind of the great prankster gone? Forge, you need to keep her on her feet!"

"What?"

"She'll expect you to attack soon, but you won't. Act responsible for a month, and your victory will be even sweeter."

And it clicked for George. Fred was right; Hermione expected George to retaliate and soon. Half the fun would be lost since she was anticipating it. If George made her believe that it wasn't going to happen by waiting, the victory would be even sweeter.

"I think you're on to something here, Gred…"

A smug look washed over Fred's face. "When haven't I been?"


Author's Notes: I'm so sorry about the delay in the update. Got caught up in the holiday madness, you know? Hopefully I'll have another chapter out much quicker.

Also, my email and internet started freaking out while some of you were reviewing. I tried to reply to you all to thank you and comment on your review, but I'm not sure which ones got through. So, sorry for that problem, and hopefully it won't happen again.

As always, a special thanks to my reviewers! Nutters4Potter, Deevee White, and Tillypie: that means you! Also, thank you to everyone who has subscribed or favorited this. All of you guys are wonderful!

Reviews are appreciated! I'll get back to you on any questions or comments.