Chapter 12
Spring / Summer 1996
Three days after Fred and Hermione's discussion at the Shrieking Shack, the twins enacted their epic departure from Hogwarts, flying to freedom with a theatrical flair after enacting an elaborate plan of sabotage, subversion and anarchy, earning an exuberant salute from Peeves the poltergeist in the process.
The brazen spectacle was met with thunderous applause from the student body as well the majority of the faculty and staff. Hermione, Lee and Luna put on the performance of their lives, acting as shocked and surprised as anyone when fireworks began erupting throughout the castle.
Hermione missed the boys dreadfully but the three managed to keep in touch almost daily, in spite of the Ministry's increased restrictions on student communications.
Before leaving Fred and George created two small wooden boxes with flowers carved around the sides —one for Hermione and one for themselves. Taking inspiration from the vanishing cabinet into which they'd shoved Graham Montague and Mr. Granger's collection of Muggle puzzle boxes, they fashioned their own private postal service. All one of them needed to do was to place a letter inside their box then press the centers of the flowers in a particular order and the contents would then magically appear in the other box.
This allowed them to correspond freely until the end of term. Once she was liberated from the school and its ever growing list of confining regulations, Hermione spent almost all her free time helping Fred and George put the finishing touches on the joke shop.
The night before the grand opening they did a final walk through to make sure everything was in tiptop shape. Hermione carefully adjusted a towering display of Boggart Bangers then took a step back and admired their handiwork as the boys stood anxiously on either side of her.
"So...what do you think, Kitten?" asked Fred.
"Yeah. How do we score on the Granger scale?" inquired George.
"It's wonderful!" proclaimed Hermione. "Look at it all! If only Hogwarts had allowed you to approach your studies in a less regimented format you would have scored Outstanding's on any topic offered!"
She twirled happily down the aisles, gesturing at products as she went.
"Charms! Potions! Transfiguration! Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
She picked up a furry purple Pygmy Puff and cuddled it before returning it to its cage. "Even Care of Magical Creatures!"
She gave a final spin then raced back to hug the twins. "You are, without a doubt, the most brilliant wizards I've ever met!"
The boys burst into laughter as Fred playfully tweaked her nose.
"Careful. Remember what I said about feeding my ego?"
"At least now you've got a space big enough to store it!' beamed Hermione.
"Thank you but we couldn't have done any of this without your help. So, in recognition of your tireless assistance and unfailing encouragement, we want you to have the honor of being the recipient of the very first item from the store," said Fred.
"Really? What?"
"Anything you want, Kitten! Your choice!" announced George.
"Oh, my!" exclaimed Hermione. "There's so much in here. I wouldn't know where to begin!"
"Rubbish!" said Fred. "You helped develop half the products in here. You know the inventory as well as we do."
Hermione scanned the shelves thoughtfully. "Hmmm...Okay, then. Give me a minute to think..."
"Take all the time you need," George said as he started up the stairs to the boys' flat. "I'm going to change clothes and floo call the others to make sure we're still on for our celebratory dinner tonight at the Leaky."
She gave a distracted nod as she wandered over to inspect the Wonder Witch Love Potion display.
As she picked up one of the violently pink colored bottles, Fred cleared his throat.
"Don't waste your time with those."
"Why?" asked Hermione. "Don't they work?"
"They work perfectly," he bristled. "You just don't need them."
"Says who?"
"Says Lee Jordan."
"Lee? What on earth are you talking about?"
Fred folded his arms and leaned against a shelf. "According to him, you spent an awful lot of time with Longbottom after we left."
"Neville? I suppose with the DA and study sessions in the library we did see more of each other than in the past. What of it?"
Fred arched an eyebrow. "Word is the two of you were spotting getting pretty cozy in a dark corner of the Three Broomsticks recently."
"Oh, that!" she laughed. "Nev was doing me a favor. I needed someone to help me evade the attentions of Cormac McLaggen." She picked up a different bottle and held it up to the light. "He's a good person."
"Cormac?!"
"Sweet Merlin, no! I meant Neville!" Seeing the look on Fred's face, Hermione clarified, "He saved my life, remember? When we went after that blasted prophecy at the Ministry?"
"Don't remind me," growled Fred. "We still haven't completely forgiven those guys for getting you, Ginny and Luna involved in that mess. The whole lot of you could've been killed."
"It didn't bother you enough to return Harry's investment money." Hermione gave Fred's arm a joking nudge and was surprised when he remained grim.
"As a matter of fact we tried but when we brought up the subject Harry wouldn't hear of it. I think he felt guilty about what happened that night, especially after — "
Fred stopped, deciding now wasn't the time to bring up Sirius' untimely demise. Instead he abruptly changed the subject.
"So — is McClaggen still giving you problems? Do Georgie and I need to sort him out?"
"No," said Hermione firmly. "I can take care of myself, thank you."
"I have no doubts whatsoever about that." Fred paused then awkwardly gestured towards the display of Love Potions. "You...you don't really want one of those, do you?"
Hermione placed the bottle back with a shake of her head. "Absolutely not. I'm opposed to them on moral grounds. If you have to chemically compel someone to love you then they aren't worth having around in the first place."
"Well spoken," said Fred, reaching for one of the brightly colored products behind her. "How about one of these instead?"
"One of your Daydream charms?" Hermione smiled as she took the package from him. "I've always thought these were quite extraordinary."
She stood tall and read the blurb on the box in her best presentation voice. "Get swept away by your secret fantasies! Guaranteed thirty minutes of living out your heart's deepest desire!"
She squinted to read fine print. "Side effects may include drooling, palpitations and dazed expressions."
Fred brought his mouth close to her ear and spoke in a dramatic hush. "We recommend taking it just before bed in order to avoid any...embarrassing public reactions."
"Really? And I suppose you know this because you've tested them yourselves?"
Suddenly George reappeared, apparating beside them with a loud pop.
"Oh, we tested them alright," George said with a knowing smile. "The results were most illuminating. I suppose you could say it worked like the proverbial charm, didn't it Freddie?"
Fred glared at his brother causing Hermione to laugh.
"You've talked me into it, Georgie," she said, reaching for her handbag. "I'll take one. How much?"
"For all the aggravation we've caused you over the years? That, Kitten," Fred insisted, "Is free. If you enjoy it let us know and we'll send you as many as you'd like — on the house."
"That's very kind of you but if you start giving away product you won't stay in business very long."
"Oh, trust us. You've more than earned anything in here," said Fred.
"Absolutely. Including the dinner we're treating you to this evening," said George.
A sharp knock on door signaled the arrival of the others. As George went to let them in, Hermione deposited the daydream charm in her purse and looked wistfully around.
"I can't wait to tell Mum and Dad about this place. They'll be so excited to hear how you incorporated some of the lights and colors from our trips to Blackpool."
Fred reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Maybe one day soon you can bring them along."
Hermione sighed. "I hope so but the way things are now with You-Know-Who —"
Before anything else could be said Lee, Angie, Luna and Katie piled into shop and after the obligatory round of hugs the group took off for the Leaky Cauldron.
xoxox
The following day was an absolute whirlwind. The shop was jam packed with customers from the moment the doors opened and it was midmorning before Fred finally caught sight of the back of Hermione's head from across the room. He pushed his way through the crowd and tapped her on the shoulder.
"We were wondering when you'd get here! What do you — "
Fred froze when Hermione turned to reveal a horrendous bruise forming on the right side of her face. His eyes flashed as he grabbed her by the arm.
"What the hell?! Who did that to you?! Tell me! Give me a name!"
Hearing the ruckus, George forced his way over to see what was the matter as Hermione tried to calm Fred down.
"Fred! Stop it!" she hissed in an attempt to avoid the attention now being drawn in her direction. "Nobody did anything!"
"What's all the commotion?" asked George. "You'd think — Sweet Circe! What the hell happened to Hermione?!"
"That's what I'm about to find out!" answered Fred.
"Nothing happened! That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Hermione huffed. "The boys were asking me about the Boxing Telescope so I went to show them how the mechanism was activated. I remembered to hold it a safe distance from my face but someone inadvertently jostled my arm. It was a simple accident, nothing more."
Fred and George's eyes shot towards Neville, Ron and Harry, all of whom were staring sheepishly at their shoes.
"Sorry," muttered Ron.
"It really was an accident," said Harry.
"I was going to try a healing charm but she said — ," started a distressed Neville as Hermione laid a reassuring hand on his arm.
"It's okay, Nev." She turned back to the twins. "I was just explaining to him that a charm wouldn't do any good but I know where you keep the Bruise Removal Paste and that would fix everything up in trice."
Fred scowled at the boys as he wrapped his arm around her. "Right. Let's go to the back and get you taken care of." He glanced at George and said, "You take care of this lot?"
George gave a nod as he elbowed an embarrassed Ron. "Oh, yeah. You go ahead while the lads and I have a nice, long chat."
Fred guided Hermione into the stock room and fetched the often used tin of Bruise Removal Paste from its spot next to the work bench.
"Hop up," he ordered, gesturing at one of the high wooden stools nearby.
Hermione made herself comfortable and reached for the tin but Fred shook his head.
"Be easier if I do it," he said. "Look up and close your eyes."
Hermione complied, tipping her head towards the ceiling and shutting her eyes tight. As Fred leaned in to apply the ointment he was startled by the slight tremor that occurred when his fingers brushed against her skin.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Fine," she answered quickly. "Y-your fingers are a little cold, that's all."
"Sorry," he said, noticing a faint blush rising on her cheeks. The room does seem a bit warmer than normal, he thought. Must be all the extra people in the building today.
He dabbed some more of the paste near her nose, causing her mouth to twitch and he wondered briefly if her lips always been that warm pink color.
He finished covering the bruise then paused, temporarily distracted as he wondered why he'd never really noticed the texture of her skin or how thick and dark her eyelashes were.
Before he could formulate an answer there was a rap on the door, causing both of them to jump.
"Everything okay in here?" George asked, peeking inside.
"Yep. No problem. Everything's fine," answered Fred, jamming the top back onto the tin.
"Thank goodness. Those guys are almost beside themselves with worry. Poor Neville looks like he's going to pass out," chuckled George. "And Ron's terrified we're going pump him full of more canary creams for hurting Hermione."
"Ron's the one that did this?!" growled Fred.
"Not on purpose," Hermione rushed to explain. "As I was demonstrating the telescope to Neville, Ron did nudge my arm but only because Harry startled him by bumping into the display of Mayhem Makers. Like I said, it was purely an accident so promise me you won't go plotting revenge on any of them, okay?"
She gave the twins a stern look and Fred pulled a face before giving a reluctant nod. "Fine...but I reserve the right to raise the rates on any of ickle Ronniekins purchases — today or in the future."
"I concur," said George. "As a matter of fact, I think I'll go and inform Verity of the new 'Ronald tax' right now."
He smiled at Hermione as he headed back out to the shop floor. "You be sure and find me before you leave today, Kitten. Promise?"
"I promise, Georgie."
As the door closed behind him, Hermione turned her attention back to Fred.
"Well, thank you very much for the first aid. Is my face looking better yet?"
"You look ravishing, as always, Kitten," he proclaimed.
"Now who's feeding whose ego?" Hermione giggled and hopped off the stool. "I suppose I should get out there and reassure those guys that I'm okay."
Fred rolled his eyes. "I personally would let them stew a bit longer but if you must."
She was almost at the door when Fred called out after her.
"Hey! I forgot to ask. Did you try the Daydream charm yet?"
She hesitated before answering.
"As a matter of fact I did. Last night. Before bed. As instructed."
Fred waggled his eyebrows. "Well...Come on! Don't hold out on me. Let's hear the juicy details!"
"I can't. If I do that it won't come true."
"That only applies to wishes."
She pondered that statement then countered with, "Yes, but what are daydreams if not something you wish would happen?"
"Okay. So this your daydream of yours...It's something that hasn't happened yet but you wish that it would?"
Hermione bit her lip before cautiously admitting, "Yes. Yes, it is."
Fred waited expectantly but when no further reply was forthcoming he sighed.
"Alright. Have your secrets," he said, reaching to open the door for her. "But will you at least tell me if it comes true?"
She gave a shy nod.
"That I can promise you, Fred. If my daydream ever comes true, you'll definitely be the first to know."