Disclaimer: All of the characters and world recognised below belong to the author. I do not own any of it, this is pure entertainment.

And the Fire Bright

Chapter 5: Catching Little Words

Something isn't right, babe

I keep catching little words but the meaning's thin

I'm somewhere outside my life, babe

I keep scratching but somehow I can't get in

So we're slaves to any semblance of touch

Lord we should quit but we love it too much

Sedated - Hozier

Blue eyes twinkled over half moon glasses. Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew why she was here - Dumbledore was upset that something was not going to his grand plan, thanks to her parents. She felt Remus' calming hand on her shoulder as he stood behind her, glad that she contacted him and Sirius through the mirror as soon as she got the missive to go to Professor Dumbledore's office. Only Remus had arrived straight away, greeting herself and Harry - whom she insisted came with her - but she knew her other dad had a plan brewing.

'This is quite a serious accusation, Miss Lupin-Black.' Dumbledore said, a hint of irritation barely detectable in his calm voice. 'Are you sure it's warranted?'

'Are you calling my daughter a liar Albus?' Remus growled. 'I'm guessing you're suggesting she carved the scar on her hand herself out of pure spite?' Remus grabbed Hermione's right hand and shoved it in Dumbeldore's face, with a little too much force that she almost hit the headmaster.

'Careful Remus,' Professor McGonagall said from the corner of the room, more warning him to be careful with his daughter than concern for Dumbeldore. Hermione had not even realised she had arrived.

'You mistake me, Remus, however, Professor Umbridge is a teacher at the school, I just want Miss Lupin-Black to know her actions have consequences.'

'I'm sure that being permanently scarred is punishment enough.' Harry muttered under his breath. It was almost sad how someone who was like a hero to both Harry and Hermione, someone who had helped them so much in their first three years of schooling, suddenly was such a disappointment. It was hard to think there was a time when they would trust - and had trusted - Dumbledore with their life. Now it was clear that Dumbledore wanted Umbridge around for a reason, or else the headmaster had enough sway to get rid of her, even if she was well liked by Minister Fudge. Hermione knew that the headmaster had bigger plans.

'I cannot just fire Professor Umbridge with little due cause-' the sound of the floo cut Dumbledore off and in stepped Sirius, followed, by Cornelius Fudge as well as Narcissa Black and Augusta Longbottom.

'I'm indefinitely sure that the use of a Black Quil is highly illegal - that is your due cause Albus.' Augusta said tersely.

'So it's true then, what Black has said. Delores… sh-she used a blood quill on Miss Lupin-Black?' Minister Fudge almost stuttered in shock.

'Why I can see the scars from here, my poor girl.' Narcissa said, the most emotion that Hermione had ever seen, stemming from her. She was not sure if it was genuine or an act, as Narcissa Black was a Slytherin, and a master of manipulation.

'And where is Delores?' Fudge said, recovering slightly.

'I thought I wouldn't bother Professor Umbridge at this time.' Dumbledore said quickly, 'after all, it is just the word of Miss Lupin-Black that we have.'

'And of Harry, I'm sure we can have several other students and teachers here to verify.' Sirius reminded Dumbledore, moving to stand with his family.

'Why my own Draco wrote to me just last week, worried about how he was possibly going to pass his O.W.L exams in Defence Against the Darks Arts when there were simply no practical components or practice in lessons.' Narcissa said, almost too innocently, her grey eyes wide.

'Not to mention that that hideous monster is back.' Augusta added in, 'I will not let you sacrifice my grandson the way my son and daughter were. The children need to know how to defend themselves even though I never want them to see battle.'

'Hopefully it will not come to that Madam Longbottom,' Fudge added, 'I do have my best Aurors finding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as this meeting occurs. It will not do well to have teenagers fight!'

'But getting back to Umbridge,' Sirius said smoothly, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, grounding him to remind him that he did not have to face Voldemort alone. 'She has mutilated my daughter, the heir to house Black, and threatened my family. I will not stand to have her at Hogwarts any longer, and we will press charges to have her moved to Azkaban. I have the support of House Longbottom and House Malfoy through my cousin Narcissa Black, who is regent until young Draco is seventeen, not to mention, will inherit his position on the school board. Do we need to involve more families, or perhaps question why she was hired in the first place with no teaching credentials?'

There was a long pause as Fudge and Dumbledore looked at each other. Two politicians playing a game, but both with a grave error, underestimating Sirius Black and the love he has for his children. A foolish error. Hermione thought smugly.

'Where am I going to get a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher two months into the school term?' Albus posed towards the congregated group. Hermione resisted the urge to huff in annoyance.

'What about dad? He was the best teacher in our third year?' She motioned towards Remus who blushed at the attention. Augusta nodded approvingly.

'Yes, he did wonders for Neville!'

'I'm afraid I cannot choose Remus, we cannot have a known werewolf teaching in the school.' This time, Hermione did huff.

'It was good enough in our third year was it not? And when he was a student here at Hogwarts?' Harry replied angrily, emerald eyes blazing.

'I'm sure Severus could brew the potion again and Remus has been at Hogwarts for eight years over his lifetime with little incident.' Minerva spoke up, supporting Harry's assertion. Hermione arched her eyebrow at Dumbledore, daring him to protest. He took a deep breath, and Hermione smirked, they had rattled the great Albus Dumbledore.

'The school board -'

'Would be okay with it, I am sure with enough persuasion.' Narcissa interrupted smoothly.

'The full moon-'

'Remus can spend the full moons at our property. It's safe, no one can enter and leave the property. I will cover Remus for the week he is recovering.' Sirius said. Hermione smiled at her parents. She was so grateful that Remus was back at Hogwarts teaching and that even Sirius was available to help. They had her back. Albus sighed and nodded.

'I guess with that done, now we can deal with the matter of Professor Umbridge's arrest.' Minerva suggested casually. 'Minister, would you like to use the floo to contact Auror Shacklebolt?'

Hermione couldn't help but smirk. This was the best part.

'We should get started on Snape's homework.' Ron said gloomily as they sat down in the Gryffindor common room. Fifth year, OWL year, was shaping up to not be a joke academics wise, all teachers giving them a substantial amount of work that even Hermione found herself feeling a tad behind and overwhelmed. However, with Umbridge gone to Azkaban (it was revealed it was her that sent the Dementors to the Diggory's property which cemented her life imprisonment), Hermione was at least back to enjoying her classes. Remus slotted in seamlessly, everyone was glad to have a competent teacher again and actually do spells in class. However, tonight they were meant to be working on the properties of moonstones, but Hermione was distracted; looking across the room, she could see Fred, George and Lee Jordan sitting around the centre of innocent looking first years, who were chewing something that came out of a large paper bag that Fred was holding. She narrowed her eyes as one by one, the first years passed out as though they were hit over the head by an invisible club.

'They've gone too far this time.' Hermione muttered to herself, although Harry, Ron and Neville had heard her clearly. She had been annoyed and frustrated at her favourite twins all day, since seeing their notice on the Gryffindor notice board, advertising for testers of their products. She knew they were working on the other aspects of their Skiving Snackboxes, and although she praised their work ethic and ingenuity, asking for first year testers was too far. Now though, after talking to them at breakfast, she was furious. 'Come on, Ron.' She motioned for Ron to follow her, but he hesitated. He always had a complex about standing up to his older brothers, and really did not see an issue with what they were doing. Hermione rolled her eyes, straightened her spine and squared her shoulders and marched over there. Others in the common room were laughing at the display but Hermione barked 'That's enough.' Fred and George looked at her with mild surprise.

'Yeah, you're right.' said George, nodding, 'this dosage does look strong enough, doesn't it?'

'I already told you this morning that you could not test your products on other students.' Her frustration echoed by the faint crackling of magic in her hair.

'We're paying them!' Fred said indignantly.

'I don't care - it's dangerous. They're first years!' Hermione echoed back.

'Calm down 'Mione-' Lee started, but a pointed look from Fred, concerned at the sudden spike in magic static in Hermione's dark hair, stopped him from mentioning that the first years were starting to wake. One by one, in the same order, they began to waken, confusion clouding their faces. This confirmed to Hermione that Fred and George did not tell them what the sweets would do.

'Feel all right?' said George kindly to a small dark-haired girl lying at his feet.

'I-I think so,' she said shakily. To Hermione, she still looked pale and unstable. Her heart lurched inside her chest. The girl was replaced with Fred, just as pale from blood loss from the Nosebleed Nougat, sitting up in a bed in the hospital wing rather than on the common room floor.

'Excellent,' said Fred happily, but the next second Hermione had snatched both his clipboard and the paper bag of Fainting Fancies from his hands.

'No, it's not!'

' 'Course it is, they're alive, aren't they, 'Mione?' said Fred angrily. It took Hermione by surprise, his resistance to her objection. He knew how she felt about the dangers of testing products, he knew how scared she was last time. It was not fair that he was angry at her.

'You can't do this, what if you made one of them really ill? They're first years Fred!'

'We're not going to make them ill, we've already tested them all on ourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same-'

'And that's the problem Fred, you know-'

'There's no danger 'Mione, we're not that stupid.'

'I never said you were! You know I wouldn't!' It was clear to Hermione that this was going to escalate if she kept arguing with Fred like this; they were both hot headed people. Her cheeks flushed at the idea of having such a public argument, so she took a deep breath. 'If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to -'

'Put us in detention?' said Fred in an I'd-like-to-see-you-try-it voice, obviously not feeling the same as Hermione. She glared at him.

'Make us write lines?' George piped up, smirking. Hermione stepped back as though she had been hit and even Fred looked momentarily bewildered. Harry, Ron and Neville stood up to height, a moment of brief shock, moving to stand behind Hermione. George was not usually the one to cast such a low blow, Fred ws always the more impulsive - and consequently meaner - twin. But even Fred wouldn't have said this. Hermione drew herself up to her full height; her eyes were narrowed, her scarred fist clenched and her hair crackled with electricity.

'No,' she said, her voice quivering with anger, 'but I will write to your mother.'

'You wouldn't,' said George, horrified, taking a step back from her. Fred looked lost, between his twin, his other, almost literal, half, and his girlfriend.

'Oh, yes, I would,' said Hermione, her voice cracking. Tears threatened to fall and her eyes glistened. 'I can't stop you eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not giving them to first years.' Fred and George looked thunderstruck. It was clear that as far as they were concerned, Hermione's threat was way below the belt. Fred stepped towards his twin.

'What's your problem Hermione?'

'My problem is that you're taking these risks and not thinking of the consequences. You know how I feel about the prospect of you both getting hurt.'

'They're calculated, you know how careful George and I are… how much we care… or-' his eyes went dark, the darker blue almost looking navy, 'or you don't actually believe in us.'

'You know that's not true Fred, I think you're both brilliant.' She grasped the bag of Fancies, shoving them in his face. 'This is brilliant. I just…' she trailed off. For one of the first times in her life, Hermione Lupin-Black was lost for words. She was angry and upset. Angry that Fred and George just ignored her and still did something so dangerous. Upset that they made her out to be the enemy rather than what she was - their friend and biggest supporter. 'You know what, I'm going to bed. Do something stupid - I don't care.' She thrust Fred's clipboard and the bag of Fancies back into his arms and stalked up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, ignoring Fred's shouts. She was glad that he couldn't follow her, her head was full of arguments and harsh words and she needed to cool off. Being a Black had made her less rational, more impulsive and emotional and she sat on her bed with the intention of meditation. She focused on her breath, the practice she had done to become an animagus allowing her to push through the initial feelings of panic and fear. A warm weight lept on her lap, breaking her from her concentration, Crookshanks rubbing against her stomach affectionately.

'Am I a horrible person Crooks?' She asked. The cat, ever astute and almost humanlike, gave her a look that told her she was an idiot for asking the question. She stroked his fur, becoming calmer and more rational with each stroke. Fred had been acting weird. It has nothing to do with their relationship, she could not deny that this argument aside, he was an attentive and thoughtful boyfriend, surprising her in so many ways with little gestures, moments, words. But she could not help but think he was hiding something. Fred - and George for the matter, the package deal they were - were acting sketchy. Like that morning when she asked them where they got the money to develop their products, they had laughed it off with a comment but Fred was usually better at communicating than that. He knew how much she believed in his dream and his products, yet was leaving out important information. It was unsettling. And Hermione Lupin-Black did not like to feel unsettled.

'Fred's still downstairs if you're wondering.' Parvati said when she came up the stairs, echoing what Lavender had already said the hour before when she came up.

'I'd let him sweat a bit more. He was out of line.' Lavender said from her bed, flipping through the Witch Weekly magazine. Hermione sighed and put down her book, careful not to disturb sleeping Crookshanks. The more petty part of her wanted to take Lavender's advice and let Fred stay down there, but she knew she was also in the wrong and they needed to talk this situation out.

'No, I should go see him.' She said, Lavender shrugged and went back to her magazine.

'He looks miserable.' Parvati said as she headed to the bathroom with her towel. Hermione nodded, thanking her friend for the information. She was already in her pyjamas, but got her robe for warmth and modesty. Straightening her spine, finding that Narcissa and Andromeda were correct in instructing that good posture brought confidence, she walked down the stairs towards the common room.

Fred was on the couch facing the fire, so deep in thought that he did not hear her take the last step.

'Fred?' she said gently, walking towards him slowly, arms wrapped around her waist for emotional support. He jumped from the couch, walking towards her.

'Mione, I'm so sorry,' he said, 'I know you were just trying to be responsible and you were right.' He stopped just in front of her. She could see the guilt in her face.

'Why did you pursue it even after what I said at breakfast?' He looked down, it wasn't often that Fred couldn't meet her eyes. It was his confidence that she had always found attractive. He wasn't one to back down from a challenge, and neither did she. When they were on the same page they were unstoppable, but when they clashed, well, the common room earlier was nothing compared to what it could have been.

'George and I are under pressure to get products to sell. We don't have that much time left.'

'What are you talking about Fred?' Hermione said, grabbing his hand. She felt better at the contact and when he laced his fingers with hers, squeezing lightly, she felt more assured, confident. 'It's barely November, you don't graduate until June.' He played with her fingers, still looking down.

'Well you see 'Mione, George and I were thinking about… not finishing here at Hogwarts.' Hermione dropped his hand in shock and took a step back. A pain hit her chest, betrayal, she would later realise. It was inconceivable to her that Fred did not want to finish school, but it shouldn't have been. She knew that even though the twins were absolutely brilliant: smart, creative, powerful, they did the bare minimum at school to focus their energy and magic on their product and inventions. But this year at Hogwarts was all they had together, to see each other every day before Fred went off and became an adult and she did her final two years of schooling. They had just gotten together and he was thinking of leaving her, cutting their time together even shorter.

Tears pricked her eyes. 'What - why?' she croaked out. A part of Hermione knew that this reaction was not logical; but she felt hurt and abandoned. Fred was leaving her. Later, in an appointment with Healer Clarence, she would realise that she had a fear of losing people, like her parents, like Harry, and in this instance, Fred and George.

'Because, well, school has never challenged George and I and we just want to start our future sooner rather than wait - it's not like we're going to graduate top of our class or anything.'

'But - what about us?' Hermione said, voice now coated in tears and terror. Fred looked at her, only realising how it all sounded.

'I - I love you Hermione, this has nothing to do with us.' He reached forward for her but she pulled back, stepping further away from him.

'It has everything to do with us - you're leaving me!'

'Not forever 'Mione, we will see each other. But George and I, we have a plan and got the shop a bit early and-'

'What shop?' The thought shook Hermione from her emotional stupor and she straightened once more. She closed her eyes and tried to remember when Fred - or George - had mentioned a shop. But she had an eidetic memory, she did not forget things. Fred had never mentioned it to her. 'You never mentioned a shop.'

Fred seemed to pause, sapphire eyes went wide. 'I - I' he stuttered. His arm went behind his head, scratching at the back of his neck. 'I was meaning to tell you but I couldn't…'

'Why not Fred? How could you not tell me something so important! You know how much I support you in this, how much I want this for you and George!' Hermione's fear and feeling of unsettledness came back forcefully. Her intuition had been correct. Fred had been keeping something from her - the fact that he made such a big life decision and did not tell her - his girlfriend - was no trivial matter.

'I was embarrassed.' Fred admitted, shoulders hunched over in defeat.

'Why?' Hermione wished she could ask any other question, but confusion made her brain fuzzy. For someone so logical, she could not see the link, the rationale behind Fred's behaviour. He had always surprised her and acted out of the box, but he was always so confident, their relationship was always so honest, that the secrecy was too much to bear. Was she not the supportive girlfriend she thought she was?

'I wish I knew, 'Mione,' He said, hand moving to fist at his hair in frustration, 'I - I wanted to tell you, oh, so many times I wanted to say something but everytime, it just - I choked.'

'How long?' Hermione asked.

'We got the sale a week ago.' Hermione breathed a bit easier. A week wasn't that bad. But there was still something not right. Something else was still left unsaid, evident in the guilt still in Fred's blue eyes.

'There's more isn't there?' she asked hesitantly. For the first time in her life, Hermione Lupin-Black was afraid of an answer, afraid of knowing more. Curiosity killed the cat, her mother's voice echoed in her mind. She asked the question she had been too afraid to ask: 'Where did you get the money?'

The silence was tense, Fred looked down at the floor in shame. 'That's what I wanted to tell you, what I was too embarrassed to tell you. Harry and Cedric gave us the money from the Triwizard Tournament winnings, after the Third Task.'

Since June. The weight of the secret knocked the wind out of her and she slowly moved down into the armchair next to her. She placed her head in her hands, covering her face. Fred had been hiding something from her for almost half of their relationship, five months. It wasn't just that her boyfriend had lied to her, but her brother, the person she trusted most in the world, had also kept a secret from her. She felt Fred place his head on her knees.

''Mione, I'm so sorry, you don't know how terrible it has been… but I couldn't - I felt like a fraud, like I didn't deserve the money or you because there was no way George and I could have done this on our own. I was embarrassed that I wasn't enough for you, I wanted to be enough for you.'

'So you lied?' She said, looking up at him. 'You kept secrets from me? You thought I would judge you? I have done nothing but love you and you kept things from me: the money, the shop, the fact that you want to leave Hogwarts?'

'It wasn't to hurt you, Mione, I just, I wanted to show you that I could be more for you.' He stared at her and she did not know what hurt more, the fact that he kept things from her or the fact that he looked at her like he was scared of losing her.

'I don't need more Fred, I just needed you.' She whispered. 'I needed you to be honest with me. I can't make you feel like enough Fred, I could only hope that loving you was enough.' She got up, his hands that were on her knees falling away. He moved to kneel as she turned.

''Mione, please - I'm sorry!' She turned her head and shut her eyes so she did not have to see his heartbroken expression and so he did not see the tears forming in her own eyes. She wanted to cry, to scream and to throw up all in one. Her mind swirled in a range of thoughts and conflicting emotions. She felt like she was going to fall apart. She put her arms around her to keep herself together.

'I don't know if I can do this Fred. I - I think I need time.' she said in a horse voice.

'Mione, please. I love you.' She had never heard him more desperate.

'I - I need time.' With her final bit of energy, she turned towards the stairs, leaving Fred Weasley kneeling on the floor, heartbroken.

She wished she couldn't feel the pain of her own broken heart.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the love for the last chapter and for all your well wishes. I am feeling much better and writing more. Melbourne is in it's sixth lockdown, so I have time to write. Please provide the motivation! My heart goes out to everyone struggling at the moment, please get vaccinated if you can and if you need to reach out, I'm here! Please let me know how you feel after this chapter! It's a bit of a doozy. Peace and love!

Xx Dani