December 1996

The holiday season started with a quidditch game. Ron was nervous, beyond nervous. He wasn't even eating breakfast. Ginny stared at him in awe. She'd seen none of her brothers unable to eat, not even after their parents had died.

"Hey, I still have Felix," Harry suggested. "If you want some…"

"Harry James! That's illegal!" Hermione scolded.

"It's not even frowned upon," Harry smirked. "Quidditch semi-finals '77. Sirius said both teams took Felix before the game started. It was hilarious."

"You're lying," Hermione guessed, glaring at her friend.

"He's not lying," Ron confirmed, still pale. "I'm going to lose this game for us."

"No, you're not. You're going to drink this juice, with absolutely nothing added to it, and we're going to win." Harry announced.

Ron nodded and drank the juice, then headed out to the field.

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione screeched and hit her friend.

"What? It's not like I did anything. You've heard of reverse psychology. It works a treat on wizards. Especially since they don't have psychology in the first place," Harry smirked.

"Oh, I hate you!" Hermione glared at him half-heartedly. "I can't believe I didn't think of that first."

"What's even better, we're going to win," Harry's smirk only got bigger. "Just you wait and see.
Hermione was thrilled, three hours later, when Harry had proved himself right.


George Weasley found himself in a difficult situation. On the one hand, being a twin meant that he had loyalty to Fred over all of his other siblings, even Bill. On the other hand, Fred was a moron who deserved what was coming to him. After weighing his options, he finally got up the courage to go to Gringotts and take in their daily profits. While he was in the bank, he stepped into his brother's office. It had been a particularly profitable day, so the goblins had no issue with him taking up a bit of his brother's time. Bill barely acknowledged him as he walked into the office, thinking for a moment it was someone else. Then, he did a double-take and nodded at George, putting aside whatever trinket he was trying to fix.

"I have a conundrum on my hands," George started without preamble.

"Oh, and what is that?" Bill asked, tone as neutral as he could make it.

"I have loyalty to Fred above all else, and you know it. But, he's done something stupid, and I don't want to take the fall with him," George admitted.

"You've never had an issue taking the fall for each other's hair-brained schemes before," Bill pointed out. "Including that time you tried to make an unbreakable vow with Ron, just to get rid of him."

"Not our most thought out plan, that," George chuckled before sobering. "This time it's different."

"How different?" Bill asked, sitting up straighter.

"This time, Fred didn't consult me before he went off and did something stupid," George confessed. "I knew the first part of his plan, and I gave my blessing. When this comes out, I don't want you to think that I gave my blessing to the second part."

"He broke up with Hermione, didn't he?" Bill asked, anger in his voice.

"Yes he did," George acknowledged.

"Please, please tell me he had more brains than to do it via owl," Bill said, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He did not break up with her via owl," George confirmed. When Bill started to ask his next question, George stopped him and said, "I'm not saying any more. I came here to make sure you didn't think I had anything to do with his screwing up his own love life."

Bill nodded his head, respecting what George had done, and his position as a twin. "I won't let Fred know we've talked. It wouldn't be fair to you. I'm sure that either Ginny or Ron will let slip what happened at some point. As it is, I assume Hermione isn't coming to Christmas this year, so Charlie and I will use that as an excuse to grill him if we don't get answers soon."

Meanwhile, in the twin's flat, Fred was staring down a Howler. It wasn't, fortunately, timed to open, because he needed a moment to swallow his tears at the nostalgia. He hadn't realized he'd missed his mother's Howlers until that moment. Staring at the offending envelope, he thanked his sister for giving him this, even if he knew how bad it could be. Cracking the seal, he braced himself for the emotional onslaught that lay behind the wax.

"Fred, you utter arsehole!" Fred fell out of his chair as Ron's voice came howling out of the paper. "One rule! One rule! You lot made memorize a whole bloody fucking list of rules and at the top was 'Never, ever, break up with a bird after sex!' And you did that to the first girl dumb enough to let you between her legs! Hermione, in case you're wondering if perfectly fucking fine, dipshit. She's just up in her dorm, crying with Ginny and wondering what the hell she did wrong! Good job, mate. You've done a splendid job screwing this up! But don't worry, I won't tell Bill or Charlie. Nope, just gonna let that come out at Christmas when we're all home together."

Fred glared at the offending piece of paper as it burst into flames over his tea. He didn't know what he was going to do to the little punk, but he sure was going to prank him. The little interfering shit shouldn't be so… interfering.

"He's right, you know," George said from behind him, causing him to jump nearly out of his skin. "We did drill that rule into his head. And rumor has it, he's doing a much better job at following those rules than you are. He's at least smart enough to clarify to his witches that he's just playing around. At least, that's what I've been hearing."

"Oh yeah? And where did you hear that?" Fred asked angrily.

"From Ginny. She's written to us to tell us that Ron and the Patil twins have been meeting regularly in the Room of Requirements for sex." George replied. "I'll find the letter here after a bit."

Fred glared at George, half remembering the letter in question. It had arrived weeks ago, but Fred had only really glanced over it in his excitement to… no, he wasn't going to think about that. About her. He refused to regret his choice. It would be stupid to regret something so fundamentally life-changing as breaking up with his first girlfriend.

"Oh, by the way," George stopped his train of thought. "Ginny just wrote. Hermione's going to the Slug Club Christmas party with Cormac McLaggen. She asked him, not the other way around. Said she wasn't going to be tossed aside like a used toy, just because you were done with her. She was going to go find a real man to show her how it's done. Don't know what that means, but I would spend this time away from Hermione with the witches if I were you."


The stupid Slug Club Christmas party was something that most students looked forward to. An invitation meant that a student had power, connections, and potential. Harry was looking forward to spending the evening with Ginny. He was not, however, looking forward to spending time with Hermione's date. McLaggen was the worst kind of Gryffindor fearless. He didn't fear the consequences of his actions. He thought his father could get him out of any legal trouble possible. He didn't quite realize that his father was being ousted from his high power ministry position over the Christmas hols. He'd been caught not only embezzling from an already money strapped Ministry, but he'd been caught with his secretary as well.

Hermione had taken to her role with her usual zeal. She'd done everything to look the part of a doting girlfriend, going so far as to let Lavender do up her hair. Harry had heard that Ginny and the Patil twins had contributed by helping with make-up and nails. Harry thought the overall effect was a little overdone, but it seemed that most of the girls going to the party were covered in some sort of glitter.

Harry and McLaggen were waiting in the Gryffindor common room with the rest of the boys planning on attending. There weren't many Gryffindors that made the list, but there weren't that many students invited either. Just for sixth and seventh years, that's what Slughorn had said. Unless, of course, your date was a fifth year. That was completely acceptable. Everyone knew that with the compact-sized of the sixth year class, dates would need to be found in younger years. Thus, Ginny's begrudging attendance at what she called, 'the most pointless waste of my time since Umbridge's first-class period.'

Harry also figured that this was as good of a time as any to start laying some kind of groundwork with Slughorn so he could get whatever memory Dumbledore wanted. If he didn't want to help Sirius so much, he wouldn't worry about it.

"I mean, it feels like exposition to me," Harry whispered to Hermione. "All he does is tell me about Voldemort's background. Like that'll help."

"Harry, focus!" Hermione scolded, then she grabbed McLaggen's arm and held onto the way she'd seen girls do on the telly, guiding him towards Neville and his tray of hors d'oeuvres. She giggled at his jokes, made asinine comments, and generally played the part of the doting girlfriend. Harry turned to Ginny and fake gagged, causing her to laugh at him. They were soon distracted by the sight of Draco and Professor Snape having a whispered conversation.

"What's that over there?" Harry asked, nodding his head in that general directions.

"I don't care," Ginny sniffed. "I'm done with Draco. I'm with you now."

"I understand that. That doesn't mean that I can't be interested in what's happening over there," Harry pointed out. "I want to know more."

"Of course you do," Ginny huffed and rolled her eyes. "Let's go snoop on your boyfriend."

Harry sneered at her but slunk over anyway. He was quite sure what he was overhearing, but he was overhearing it nevertheless.

Harry and Ginny took a few more steps, pretending to be in a deep conversation as Draco and Snape hissed through the halls.

"I don't care about that. He gave this assignment to me. You know it's because of you and my mother," Draco sneered.

"The second the Weasleys died I knew he was going to test you," Snape went on slowly.

"Yes, and if I accept your help, then it makes me look weak to everyone. Like they already think of you." Draco bit.

"I took an unbreakable for this with your mother. In front of your aunt and half of the other Death Eaters. We have the same allegiance. Now, let me help you with this." Snape snapped at him.

Before Harry and Ginny could hear more Slughorn came over and pulled them away from their spot.

"Here, here is the girl I was telling you about. And Harry Potter!" Slughorn went on to some ministry officials. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand as he made nice and started small talk with them.

Ginny couldn't help but smile at Harry's small discomfort. "Excuse me, I'm going to grab us some drinks." She said peeling away from Harry.

Taking a deep breath, she walked away to the table of drinks, because having students walking around with glasses that could fall and shatter the mood would have been disastrous.

"So, Weasley," McLaggen sidled up to Ginny as she started to grab a flute of something bubbly. "Want to take this party to a more private location?"

"Ew, McLaggen. Your date is right over there, laughing with Neville," Ginny hissed, pointing to Hermione. "Why don't you go pester her?"

"Because Granger is the end goal. You're just a stop on the way," McLaggen smirked. "Unless you want to trade. You are end goal material, don't get me wrong, but with Potter in the way, I'll go for the next best option."

"One, that's gross," Ginny raged quietly. "Two, Hermione, your date, won't stand cheaters."

"The way I see it I won either way. Granger's going to be a high ranking member in the ministry. Being attached to her would give me leverage." McLaggen stated, grabbing a piece of Ginny's hair and twisting it. "You, you're a most respected pureblood. With your talent on the pitch, you'd make an excellent trophy wife. I get the most talent witch in our time or I get to say I stole the love of Harry Potter's life. Both sound appealing to me. However, Granger came to me, that's half the battle."

"Three, she's getting back together with Fred," Ginny said, swiping his hand away from her. "Once we're all done punishing him for this mistake."

"Have you ever considered that she was his mistake? Maybe she wasn't up to snuff, as they say?" McLaggen badgered.

"Is there nothing you can say that isn't slightly dirty?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

McLaggen missed the verbal cue because he replied with a simple, "It's a gift."

Ginny gagged into her drink.

"So, where do you want to go?" He said, putting his hand on Ginny's waist as he whispered in her ear. "I'm sure Potter can be entertained while we slip away."

"Cormac, I thought I'd lost you in this crowd. Ginny, what are you two doing?" Hermione asked, coming up to the two.

"We were just having a chat, that's all. Right, Weasley?" McLaggen smirked.

"Yes. A chat. That's all," Ginny bit through a tight smile. "It's not like your date is making passes at me while my boyfriend is chatting with Ministry officials."

"Oh, Merlin, no," Hermione groaned. "He saw Draco and Professor Snape didn't he?"

"And Slughorn pulled him away before he could do something stupid," Ginny confirmed. Hermione shook her head, then she glared playfully at Ginny.

"Let's go save the Chosen One before someone decides to slip him Weasley Love Potion number 7 or whatever," Hermione said, dragging Ginny away from McLaggen. She wrapped her arm around Ginny's and they leaned their heads in close to each other, whispering about McLaggen, which caused him to preen.

"He doesn't even know what we're saying. Why is he so happy?" Ginny whispered.

"He doesn't have a clue what we're saying. He's assuming that we're drooling about what a sex god he thinks he is," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Gag me," Ginny laughed. "Oh, there's Harry. Is he seriously trying to hear more of that conversation?"

"Harry, eavesdropping is naughty," Hermione said, poking Harry in the side.

"Merlin's balls!" Harry yelped. "Hermione, geez. Give me a heart attack."

Hermione and Ginny giggled at his theatrics. Harry grabbed his chest and faked a heart attack, causing the girls to giggle harder. Slughorn was distracted by the noise and wandered his way to the group.

"Tell me, Harry my boy, what is the joke? You seem to be keeping the young ladies in stitches," Slughorn sidled in between the teens.

"Um, Professor," Harry stuttered. "I, uh, it's, um. I was just telling the girls about how nice it is to have a professor appreciate our hard work."

"Very good, very good, Mr. Potter," Slughorn laughed before moving to another group of students.

"That was a close one," Hermione sighed in relief. "Honestly, I don't know who's worse, McClaggen or Slughorn."

"Talking about me, Granger?" McClaggen smirked, wrapping his arms around Hermione possessively.

"Hmmm, it depends on what you heard," Hermione said coyly, playing along.

"Let's get out of here, Granger, I'm bored," McClaggen said, leering at Hermione's short dress.

Hermione gulped and followed him out, saying, "I'll see you in the common room later. Wait up for me?"

Harry and Ginny nodded their agreement, but Harry felt the need to add, "If you're not back by midnight, I'm coming after you."

"Oo, is Father giving you a curfew?" McClaggen taunted.

"No, you smarmy git," Harry bit out. "That's a Hogwarts rule. Wouldn't want to give the only prefect able to handle the Weasley twins any trouble, would we?"

"Harry it will be fine. I'm sure Cormac and I will be returned well before midnight. He just wants to have a stroll around the castle. Isn't that right, Cormac?" Hermione soothed.

"Sure, Granger, a nice, romantic stroll through Hogwarts," McClaggan agreed. "Now, let's go."

Once they were away from the party, McClaggen began to pull on Hermione's arm, leading her down the hall and into one of those fabled 'unused' classrooms.

"Where do all these empty rooms come from?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Is that what you really care about right now?" McClaggen asked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

No, I guess not," Hermione blushed. "So, what are we doing here?"

"I think you know what we're doing here," McClaggen said suggestively, running his hands down her arms.

"No, I think you should be very explicit with me," Hermione demanded, moving his hand away from the hem of her skirt.

"Come on, the whole school knows about you and Weasley," he said, putting his hand back.

"What about me and Fred?" Hermione smacked his hand away this time.

"You're smart, Granger. Put it together. You, me, no one else is around." He said with a smirk. "It can be our secret if you want. I mean, all girls tell other girls about who they sleep with for status. Then again, maybe we should tell everyone." He said, leaning forward to catch her lips.

Hermione shoved him away. "One, you jackass, girls don't care about status like you boys. Two, just because I slept with Fred doesn't mean I'd let you put your diseased dick anywhere near me. Three!" And then she lit his robes on fire with her bluebell flames.

Storming out of the room, she huffed back to Gryffindor tower. She thought she heard McClaggen mutter, "slut" as she left. Just as she got to the portrait, she wiped the tears from her eyes before entering the common room. She was greeted by the sight of Harry and Ginny sitting by the fire, whispering in hushed tones before they burst out laughing at something Harry said.

Hermione walked over, breaking into their bubble. "I'm out," Hermione informed Ginny before going up to their room. "I figured out I'm worth more than this."


Gabs: … Yeah, we fell off the face of the earth….

Kat: Life happens. Like now, where we're both stuck at home and said, "Hey let's finish this."

Gabs: Insert lame, overused 'quarantine' joke here. If you're still reading this fic, thanks for waiting! If you've picked this up recently because, well, COVID, welcome!

Kat: We're even thinking of editing for you! Thinking. We own nothing!

Xoxo

Gabs & Kat