Chapter 20: Brainstorming

Fred and George threw themselves into their duelling lessons like they had into learning and practising Quidditch. Hermione's words and the duel against her had given them a lot to think about. It was only logical that it was best to use unexpected spells or ways to fight in a duel as the opponent would be hopefully unprepared to deal with them. And if there was something the two of them were good at, then it was in surprising people and being creative. Who said that a duel was just about spells and counter spells?

It was their new evening entertainment to come up with duelling ideas. Hermione usually buried herself in a book and studied Occlumency or spells that she found useful and lounged on the sofa, until they all decided to go to bed. Fred and George picked their common spot in front of the fireplace, but instead of playing exploding snap or wizarding chess they had started brainstorming.

"What do you think about apparating during the fight? Suddenly appearing behind your enemy and being able to attack from behind… you'd just have to be quick." Fred suggested.

"It's worth a try. We could practise with Hermione or Flitwick and see if it works. But I'm more a fan of creating useful battle gear or modified joke products. Maybe stronger versions of the Shield Cloak or I dunno… think about a way to modify Puking Pastilles to something that could be inhaled…. Like small beads you throw into the masses and if they break, they leak fumes that make you violently ill, or let you faint, give you nightmares…"

Fred gaped at him. "Merlin, could you imagine? You could give this stuff to anybody from the Order to be used in a fight. The Death Eaters wouldn't know what hit them. If we could get this stuff to work…" He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

George nodded. "It could make the difference between winning and losing. I mean, it won't help us much against Voldisnort but against his bunch of groupies? They won't know what hit them."

Both of them grinned. And then they started planning.

The next days flew by like a whirlwind for Fred and George. Their business was blooming, and with duelling practise thrice a week in the evenings and their inventing of useful tools and weapons for the fight, there wasn't much time for anything else. And so their evening cuddles in bed with their wife were the only time for them to catch their breaths. But there would be a time when all of this was finally over and they could enjoy peace and quiet together, they told themselves, and so they soldiered on, even though it got harder and harder every day. Because inventing those products was fun on the one hand, they loved inventing, that's what they lived for, but it also meant that the fight was creeping closer and closer day by day. And they still hadn't found a way to keep Hermione away from the front line. There had to be a way to keep her safe and they were determined to find it, even if it meant asking help from other people.

"Hey Harry, hey Neville," they shouted into the kitchen of Spinner's End after apparating into the narrow hallway of the house.

"Fred? George? Is that you?" came Harry's voice from behind the door and a moment later the messy haired boy peeked at them through the door. "Hey, guys. Didn't expect you, to be honest. Where's Hermione?"

"She's training with Flitwick today. We actually wanted to catch you guys alone." George admitted and pulled at his remaining ear. "Do you have a moment?"

Harry studied them curiously. "Sure. Come in."

He stepped aside and led them into the kitchen, where Neville, who must have heard them, had already prepared four cups and a can of tea. "Hey guys." he greeted them from his chair at the table where he was obviously studying a book on magical plants. There was no doubt with them that the shy Gryffindor would one day take Professor Sprout's place at Hogwarts.

Fred and George seated themselves comfortably at the table and couldn't help but look around the kitchen in awe. "You've redecorated." George acknowledged with a grin. "Now this place looks almost comfy." And it did. The two of them had used their time to not only transfigure the wallpaper and tiles to a sunny yellow, they had also transfigured all the interior to fit into a modern bachelor household.

Neville and Harry grinned. "Well, there's not much to do for us here. And we found we'd rather do something useful before going crazy with cabin fever."

Fred chuckled. "Yeah, I can imagine. We too haven't been much in public, but at least for us there's the shop and the training sessions. How's your training with Snape and Hermione going by the way?"

Harry shrugged. "It's different than what I expected. I mean, we had him in DADA before, but it was nothing like that. Sure, he's still a git but the guy must have been scary in a duel. I'm actually happy he can't hex us any longer. Might have been helpful, but can you imagine? Duelling Snape? Two years ago, I might have been delusional enough to believe I could hex him, but knowing what I do now? I wouldn't have even landed a hit."

Neville snorted. "Well, I would have peed my pants for sure."

The twins looked at him with pity. "Are you alright here with him?"

Neville nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, he's actually quite helpful. And I'm not the same person I was two years ago. Snape can't scare me any longer."

"I imagine not. You wanted to go against You-no-poo on your own, mate." Fred said and clasped the young Gryffindor's shoulder. "If old Snakeface couldn't scare you, the grumpy bat downstairs doesn't stand a chance."

Neville chuckled, while Harry looked at them somewhat uncomfortably. But neither Fred nor George commented on it.

"Well, you two, Freddy and I actually came to discuss what you're planning to do now to get rid of our new Minister. Do you have something in mind? Or do you maybe need us for something?"

Harry sighed tiredly. "I've been thinking about it a lot. But the thing is that I've got no idea how to get a hold on him and the snake. Preferably, I'd like to take the snake out first, but I have a strong feeling that he's keeping Nagini close now."

Neville nodded. "We don't have Hogwarts any longer and most of our fighters are… unavailable. There're not many members of the old Order of the Phoenix left. If you ask me, we should avoid a large battle where he brings all the dementors, spiders and other pets again. We'd never be able to take them all down ourselves."

The twins nodded. "So, no larger battle. We'll have to lure him out, then. Don't worry, we'll think about it. Have you… considered reaching out to other people you trust? I reckon the more of us the better."

Harry looked at them contemplatively, "You mean like resurrecting the Order?"

George shrugged. "Maybe not all of them. But there's still people we trust. What about McGonagall and Flitwick? Or Hagrid? I'm sure there's others we could get on board. If you're unsure we could let them sign a contract for secrecy or let them swear an Unbreakable Vow. What do you think?"

Neville hummed approvingly. "Well, we won't be able to do this alone. What if we made a list together? Would you find a way to contact these people discreetly and invite them to a place? We could ask Hermione to draw up a suitable contract. She did it with the DA and I'm sure she'd create an even more fool-proof contract for this occasion."

Fred nodded. "I'm sure she'll love to help us with that. She's getting a bit antsy, you know? Wants to put this dark chapter behind her as soon as possible."

Harry smiled knowingly. "I can imagine. But don't worry. Hermione's no fool. First, she'll want to draw out the perfect plan. And that's what we're going to do. But first we'll assemble the troops. Well gents, are you up for it?"

Fred and George grinned, and each pulled out a notebook from their back pockets. "Absolutely. Well? Who did you have in mind?"

Severus Snape would have never admitted it, but he loved being able to teach again. He never enjoyed it as long as he was still alive and in Hogwarts. Teaching Potions to eleven-year-olds was usually like teaching dogs to sing or to use cutlery for eating. Well, maybe not as bad as that, but there was rarely a student that really showed an interest in the topic and had the intelligence to not be a pain during the lessons. He loved Potions, he really did, but he loved brewing them in the remoteness of his lab and not teaching the topic to a class of dunderheads. That's why he always wanted to teach defence. Most kids loved the topic or at least showed an interest. And if there was something he had practical knowledge in, then it was on how to survive dark curses or creatures. But by the time he got the position, he could rarely enjoy the teaching. His last year as a teacher had been more of a nightmare. Dumbledore dying from this blasted curse, begging him to finish him off before Draco did, then trying to protect his godson, another dunderhead who simply refused his help, and almost got two other kids killed that year. Merlin, he didn't want to know how many grey hairs he'd gotten alone from this. But then there was the fact that he was still watched by the Dark Lord's spies and so it was impossible to really teach the kids more than the curriculum permitted.

But now he was finally free to teach those kids everything he saw fit and found useful. No more ties to anybody, not Dumbledore or the Dark Lord. No, Severus Snape was free. And he was bored. Who would have thought that being dead could be so incredibly boring? He hadn't really been a sociable person before and the only real friend he had in life was Lily. Yes, she was dead too, and he should probably go and talk to her. But well, there was still time. And Lily didn't have the possibility to help her son or his friends during this fight. There have only been a handful of possibilities for her to talk to Harry, as far as he knew. Having a portrait, no two portraits, had its merits. He could still interact with the world, still help. And maybe he could help them to win.

Then, finally he would seek her out and try to talk to her. And maybe then she had forgiven him.

"Professor? Are you here?" It was Hermione calling for him. She still visited him on a daily basis and in the last days she had seemed more and more radiant to him. Probably those Weasley boys had finally pulled their head out of their arses and told her how they felt about her. Well, he was one to talk. He'd never told Lily what she meant to him, but he should have. And he simply couldn't stand to watch others make the same mistake.

"Hermione," he greeted her with a crooked smile. "…always in time, I see."

She sent him a pleased smile in return. "Well, most of the time anyway. Did you have a pleasant day? Or has the Headmaster been bugging you again?"

He snorted. "Albus is getting quite inquisitive. He hates not being in the centre of things. He's moved us around like chess pieces for that a long time and now he cannot stand to be left out."

Hermione cast him an amused smile. "Well, too bad that his only portrait is in the Headmaster's office. Maybe Aberforth could be persuaded to commission another frame for him, as I have unfortunately run out of funds."

Severus snorted in amusement. "His brother hates his guts as far as I know. But if you're really going to ask Aberforth you must take me along to watch."

She giggled. "Well, too bad I'm not his biggest fan either. What was he thinking sending three clueless teenagers on a scavenger hunt for Horcruxes when he himself got lethally cursed on the hunt for the ring? I mean what sane individual does that? He could have sent Moody, or McGonagall or you!"

The woman was fuming again. He loved it when she was ranting about the Headmaster. It was his second favourite thing to watch. He snorted. "Maybe I should tell him that you've included Minerva and Filius in your little band of Horcrux hunters. And Longbottom."

Hermione nodded. "You can tell him someday in the future. But you should keep him in suspense a bit longer."

He grinned. "Hermione, you are quite a devious little witch. Who would have thought this about the bushy haired know-it-all?"

She flashed him another grin. "I'm glad I could surprise you, Professor. Well, anyway. There's a thing I wanted to discuss with you."

Severus raised his eyebrow. "Did you now? Well, go on then."

Suddenly she seemed nervous, this much he could tell. And Hermione hadn't been nervous in his presence for quite some time. Curious. She cleared her throat.

"Well, the boys want to resurrect the Order. We won't include all of the former members, because we don't trust all of them after losing the battle. But there are still trustworthy people around who would support us, and they need to know."

He looked at her inquiringly. "Need to know what?"

She sighed. "They need to know about Harry and that we're going to make a move against him. And they need to know about you, that you didn't betray us I mean."

He watched her for a long time without giving an answer, and the longer he waited the more nervous she got. "Why do they need to know about me? It doesn't matter Hermione, I'm dead." He finally replied evenly. "It's not like I care what they think about me."

As soon as he finished the sentence something flashed in her eyes, something he hasn't seen there for a very long time. "But I care, and Harry does, too. Even if you don't want to believe it, but there are people who care about you. Even if you don't care about us."

For a moment he was speechless, and this was a novelty. Of course, he had suspected that she felt something like… well, like what? Gratitude? Obligation? Survivor's guilt? "Don't be absurd, Hermione. I've never had a kind word for you, at least as long as I was alive. Don't doubt it, I made sure to never let anything slip. Why should you care about your dead Potions professor? You aren't that much of a teacher's pet."

He could already see her nostrils flare and he was almost sure that she would snap. But she didn't. One moment, she looked ready to burst from the room, or break into tears, but suddenly her whole demeanour shifted and she was her calm, collected self – thanks to Occlumency, no doubt. He had taught her well. "Well, for the protocol," she said with a slightly amused tone. "I like you Severus Snape. And if you weren't in a portrait, I'd give you a hug to prove it." And then she grinned, and Severus Snape was speechless again. But Hermione didn't give him much time to find his bearings and just continued, "Don't make this any harder than it is, Professor, and just accept it, will you? People care about you; you just have to let them. So please, let me take you along when we assemble the Order. And then let us tell them your story."

He looked at her for a very long time and he could have sworn that he could feel his heart beating in his chest, which was ridiculous – he was dead after all. "Very well, Hermione. But don't come running to me when his blows up into your faces."

At that, the little minx flashed him a cheeky grin. "Wouldn't dream of it, Professor."