Hermione was starting to understand what Harry meant when he'd said that trouble found him. Even though Dumbledore had only been gone a full day, and the D.A. had come to a sudden end, it was impossible to keep track of the twins. They rarely went to classes anymore, and whenever Hermione was asked to rein them in, either by Mrs. Weasley or Umbridge, Fred snogged her senseless before she could get three words out. She tried to stop them more and more.
Hermione, furious with Ron for what seemed like the millionth time, stormed out of potions, deciding to take the long way so she could clear her head before she did something she'd regret. She wasn't aware that she was being watched, being followed. She didn't know she'd come to regret even this.
Hermione wandered almost aimlessly through the dungeons. She knew that 3 rights and 2 lefts would take her to the stairs up to the main castle. She wasn't exactly sure where the Slytherin Common Room was in relation to her though. She wondered vaguely why the torches down here used blue flames. They didn't cast nearly as much light. It made her look like she was from another planet. Her skin looked flat and pale, like one of those Muggle cartoons. Every few feet it seemed to her that there was a door. While Hermione was sure there weren't skeletons in there, she also didn't care to find out what was. Mrs. Norris was the worst mouser in the world. Hermione couldn't imagine McGonagall chasing after a rat in her Animagus form. She didn't pay any attention to the way the echoes of her footsteps weren't quite right. Without having to worry about the D.A. Hermione was finally able to focus her attentions on her studies. However, when she'd written home, she had described the D.A. as a practical application study group. Hermione was reasonably confident she would be able to get through the practical part of the exam. Her thoughts kept plowing on until they landed, easily and quickly, on him. She pressed her bracelet softly, rubbing the first bead. Fred was smiling at her, his eyes strangely clear in the light, brown with golden sun streaming through-
There was a hand in her hair, yanking her sideways painfully. Hermione was sick and tired of people doing that. She nearly broke the bracelet. Hermione slammed into the wall, her head connecting with the stone, leaving her dazed. She dropped her bag with a loud clatter. She cried out in pain, her robes were torn away from her, and with them her wand.
"Evening, Mudblood," said a smooth voice. Hermione half expected to see Draco but she didn't recognize this Slytherin. He grabbed her by her throat and threw her into the wall on the other side of the corridor. "It's time you learned your place."
Hermione screamed as he dragged her by her hair into one of the rooms. He looked big enough to play all 7 Quidditch positions at once, tall and just barely less muscular as Fred. He might've been on the Inquisitorial Squad, she wasn't sure. Hermione was small and less muscular than a toddler. She didn't stand a chance without her wand. Hermione scrambled backward until she hit the cold wall. Think. She had to think. What could she do?! Hermione picked herself up and punched the boy, then went for a knee to the crotch. He merely grabbed her by her hair again. Hermione kicked his shins and clawed at his hand. With his other he felt her up. Hermione's eyes watered and she sobbed.
"Fuck off!" She spat, landing a solid kick. He hardly blinked before slamming her head against the wall. Hermione's vision doubled. Two thick heads. Two green specks around his neck. Two rooms, trying to reconcile.
"Little Mudblood's got a figure, who would've thought?" The boy snickered, palming her breast over her clothes. Hermione raised her hand to smack him but he accomplished the task first. Hermione's head throbbed.
"Confundus," said a voice. Where was she? It was cold and damp. The Underground? No, wasn't she at Hogwarts? She must be, because he wore a tie Slytherin green. W-Why did her head hurt so much? Had she fallen? Something was wrong with her. She couldn't think. Why couldn't she think?! As he pulled at her clothes, she did nothing but blink. Logic. She was good at logic. What was going on? She was standing. There was someone else in a room with four walls. Who was that? "I'm going to fuck you, and you're going to like it."
"N-no," Hermione said. Why would he say that? More importantly, why was that wrong? Fred, Hermione decided. It was wrong because of Fred. Fred... She loved Fred, and they hadn't even had sex yet. She couldn't- not with this person who had put his hand up her skirt without asking permission, moving aside her panties. She had to leave. Now. "Stop!"
Hermione shoved him and he hit her. Ow. That hurt. Why would someone do that? Fred would- what would Fred do? Not this, probably. Hermione struggled to keep her eyes open, then yelped as he put his fingers inside her. They were too harsh, not like Fred at all. Fred would kill this person, Hermione decided.
"No!" Hermione kicked him, hard. He took one, two, three, steps back. Away from her. His eyes were glowing. He raised his hand. The door opened, nearly hitting him. There was a lot of shouting as Hermione crumpled to the floor, already sobbing. What was happening? A girl muttered something, and Hermione's head cleared. She promptly threw up, then noticed the green tie. The girl held up her jumper and tried to cover Hermione with it.
"Slytherin?" Hermione moaned, trying to crawl away. "Why?"
"What would you do if you caught a Gryffindor trying this? No one deserves to be tossed around and taken advantage of," said the girl. Taken advantage of. His finger- no fingers- Hermione sobbed, curling up into a ball. Why her?
"Go get a seventh year," said the girl beside Hermione. There was another girl with her.
"Who?"
"Literally anyone!"
Williams laughed, near crying, "You didn't!"
"I swear on George's life," said the Weasley twin. Williams laughed harder. The antics those two got up to- each story was more impossible.
"Fucking- Flamingos and all?" Williams let out a high pitched squeak. He knew no one would judge him, especially given present company. The midgets milled about, either waiting to go to dinner or stalling from going to dinner. His stomach growled and he shifted his book bag on his shoulder.
"My brother he-" Fred cut himself off by the strength of his own giggles.
"Jacob," he turned to see a flustered looking Anita.
"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing the dirty look Fred sent her way. Once he had opened his eyes wide enough to see her. And managed to stop giggling. Mostly. Williams rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling too. Hanging out with Fred Weasley had extreme health benefits.
"One of the boys attacked a Muggleborn," the girl said breathlessly. Fred's giggles stopped completely, and the smile slid from Williams' face. "She's in the dungeons, she needs help."
"She?" Fred's voice dropped. His hands shook, "Did the bastard try anything?"
"It looks like it," said Anita sadly.
"Who's the Muggleborn?" Williams asked. He was half-way through his first step. Fred simply stood, worried but slightly unsure if he was invited to help.
"Granger."
Fred was simply gone, shoving through the stragglers like they were made of air. Williams sprinted after the flash of red and black. Williams couldn't keep up with him, it was impossible. Fred moved faster than any human being could have possibly run.
"Hey, it's going to be okay, help is coming," the girl said. She touched Hermione's shoulder and she flinched, sobbing all the same. How could she tell anyone about this? She was so weak. It was all her- no, it was his fault. His fault. She hadn't done anything wrong but be so incredibly stupid.
"'Mione!"
"Fred!" Hermione picked up her head just enough to see him fly into the room. Hermione sobbed harder. How could he look at her?
"Leave her alone!" Ordered the Slytherin girl, standing between them with her wand raised. Fred fell to the ground and half crawled to Hermione, crying himself. The shocked Slytherin girl sidestepped him.
"'Mione," Fred repeated, pulling her into his lap. What had happened? Williams stood in the doorway, shocked. He swore he'd only been a little bit behind Fred, but he felt like he'd missed something huge. Fred's hands were shaking as he stared at the unconscious Slytherin boy, his face twitching in unveiled rage. Williams couldn't help but notice the pearly white buttons from Granger's torn blouse strewn across the floor. She wore Tess' jumper over her skin. Williams chose to ignore the other destroyed garment on the other side of the room. The boy -the vile, dirty, little gremlin- looked like he'd been on the receiving end of no less than twenty Stinging Jinxes. It'd have to do for a little while, but Williams ached to make that number forty. No one deserved this. Granger buried her head in Fred's chest and cried. "It's okay. I'm here. I love you. I love you. I'm here. I love you. It'll be fine. Deep breaths. I love you."
Williams was shocked. He'd never thought Fred Weasley and Hermione Granger would ever be caught dead together. It explained why Fred had never been caught with any girl. Granger, if Terry Boot was to be believed, was an absolute genius. If she didn't want to be caught, she wouldn't have been.
He owed Albert 2 sickles.
"I love you," he whispered to her, again and again until she stopped crying, and then stopped hiccoughing, and then stopped sniffling.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"Shut up," Fred snapped, surprising Williams again. Anita's hand drifted for her wand, as did Tess'. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"I was so stup-"
"You're the smartest fucking person I know," Fred said. Williams decided, given the circumstances, not to take offense. "So you shut the fuck up with the apology bullshit. You're not all right, but you will be because I am going to fucking-"
"Fred," Granger started.
"Get off me so I can kill him."
"I don't like the idea of you in Azkaban," Granger said.
"Almost?"
"Not now," Granger smiled at him and pointed toward Williams and Anita. "See? Witnesses."
"We're going to McGonagall," Fred said. "Now. Expecto patronum."
Williams would have said that Fred was way to pissed to produce a Patronus (plus since when could he even do that) but a sleek silver otter danced up toward the ceiling and disappeared through it.
"I love you," Fred said quietly. "That's the only reason I could..."
"I know," said Granger. "That's why I love you... But when did you...?"
"Kingsley showed me, over Holiday," Fred answered.
"You're so smart," Granger smiled weakly.
"I'm pretty sure she was Confunded," Tess said, quietly enough that the couple did not stop their own conversation.
"Are you going to be alright?" Williams asked, touching her shoulder. "I know that this can't be easy-"
"I'm not weak, Jacob," Tess put her finger on his chest, "And yes, there are some similarities, but I'm not going to lose it. I just hope the similarities continue, because that means I get fuck this guy's shit up-"
"Tess, you already did!"
"But from the rumors, I think Granger might just do it herself," the gleam in Tess' eyes was more dangerous than the Killing Curse. There was dodging it, no deflecting it, no blocking it, no diving behind cover. At sixteen, Tess had already seen some tough shit. It showed.
"What's happened now?" McGonagall said. She looked as if she fully expected to receive a pie to the face. "Miss Granger?"
"He tried to force her into-" Fred's hands shook violently. He shuddered. Williams took an involuntary step back. That was the worst face he'd seen in nearly 18 years. And he had had to deal with a Tess' girlfriend's drunken step-father. It even beat the gleam of Tess' eyes.
"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Williams, take her to the hospital wing immediately," she glanced at the Slytherin girls.
"Anita came and got us and Tess hexed the shit out of him," Williams supplied helpfully.
"250 points will be docked from Slytherin house," McGonagall said, "50 towards it, 25 to Ravenclaw and 25 to Gryffindor. Now go."
"Minerva, I heard screams," said the cold voice of Professor Snape.
"Yeah, an hour and a half ago!" Tess snapped angrily, checking Williams' watch. Tess, despite being in his house, had never cared very much for Snape. Williams hadn't realized how much time had gone by. How long had he been standing there? McGonagall turned her piercing gaze on her fellow Professor. Snape did not look guilty. He looked... amused.
Something in Williams broke at that moment. He knew from the two girls beside him that not all Slytherins were evil. But Snape was what was wrong with the world, encouraging the dick-Slytherin stereotype at every possible turn.
Tess and Anita wrapped their arms around Williams to keep him from attacking Snape. He struggled against them for a long time.
"My office, Professor," McGonagall ordered. "Now!"
"Of course," Snape peered into the room with distaste. "5 points from Gryffindor for public display of affect-"
He was cut off when McGonagall's wand sparked.
"Now," McGonagall's voice was trembling with forced calm. Snape bowed his head and started to follow her. Tess and Anita finally let Williams go.
"I'm going to kill him," Williams said. "I mean it."
"Get in line," Tess said venomously. "I'd rather have McGonagall than that pure-blood, second-generation-Death-Eater loving piece of greasy prejudiced never-loved rubbish."
Williams turned his attention back to Fred and Granger. Fred helped the younger girl to her feet, keeping one arm around her waist.
"I'm fine," she said, pulling away and rubbing at her red eyes. "Go watch McGonagall trample Snape. I know you want to."
"I'm not going to leave you, we're taking you to the Hospital Wing."
"We can do that," Tess offered.
"See? Now go, and tell me every word that they say to each other," Granger kissed his cheek.
"Let's go," Williams said. They didn't run, but they were very close to doing so. Fred was still pissed, and Williams half expected him to punch something. In the halls, Williams was able to identify and wave over Fred's twin, despite Fred having complete tunnel vision.
"What's going on?" George asked as they hurried past in the hall. Fred looked genuinely surprised, either by his twin or the question.
"Some- some absolute-" Fred's voice started shaking nearly as much as his hands. "Fucking- fucked up- shit-brained-"
"Slytherin tried to hurt Granger."
"What?!"
"Tried," spat Fred, shaking his head. "He tried to hurt her even more."
"McGonagall is telling off-"
They could hear her through the door and down the hall. They crept closer quietly, though Williams wasn't sure why they were trying to be sneaky. The two Heads of House were clearly too occupied to have noticed them.
"-in my house he would already be expelled!"
"But he is not in your house. If Potter and the Weasley were in my house they wouldn't have-"
"THEY NEVER TRIED TO RAPE A GIRL!"
George took a sharp intake of breath, his face turning beet red.
"Are you sure those were his intentions? Granger looked fine by the time I arrived, whereas Sinclair, I suspect, will need at least a week in the Hospital Wing from all those Stinging Jinxes-"
"Inflicted by one of your students!" McGonagall raged.
"After which he will serve a months detention with me-"
"An adult would rot in Azkaban!" Screamed McGonagall, "His father is rotting in Azkaban on the same charge! Just because you went to school with his father does not mean you may give his son a pass when he commits the same crimes as him! Detention?! If one of my students tried this, even if it were Potter, I would recommend the Dementor's Kiss myself!"
"And yet Sinclair is in my house. I will choose a... fair punishment-"
Fred let loose a guttural scream, and Williams' attention was pulled away from his new hero and his new enemy. George and Williams watched in horror as Fred drove his fist into the stone wall several times.
"He-" he punched the wall "-is-" and again "-getting-" and again "-off!" Fred drove his fist into the wall harder. George leaped forward as he realized his twin's knuckles were bleeding.
"Fred stop!" George ordered, wrestling him away from the wall. "Stop, please, don't do this to yourself."
"You should've seen her," Fred said. Williams realized awkwardly that he was crying again. George jerked his head and Williams grabbed Fred's good arm and together they pulled him away from McGonagall's office before the heads of houses realized they were there. "She was- she was-"
"She's got bruises on her head," Williams said. "Tess says she was confounded pretty heavily."
"Ow," Fred mumbled, flexing his hand.
"You are going to explain all of this, Williams," George said. They half carried, half helped Fred down to the Hospital Wing. Hermione was in a bed being doted on by the horrified Madame Pomfrey. Anita and Tess paced around her bed like wolves over their territory. Williams decided he needed more Hufflepuff friends, or at least more friends incapable of killing him before he blinked.
"I never caught your name," said Granger, ignoring Madam Pomfrey's attacks with an alcohol soaked swab to a cut on her forehead. Williams knew it was too risky to use magic on her head in the state she was in. Her eyebrows knitted together further with each dab.
"Jacob Williams," he extended a hand.
"Hermione Granger," she shook it and scowled. "What did you do to yourself now?"
Fred looked sheepish and mumbled something about the wall.
"What did a wall ever do to you?"
"I can't bloody attack the one I'm angry at, can I?!" Fred shouted. Hermione shrunk back, startled. Her eyes smarted.
"Keep your voice down!" hissed Madame Pomfrey.
"I'm sorry," Hermione mumbled.
"Wha-No, 'Mione not you," Fred's face fell and he reached out, only to wince and pull his hand back. "Not you, I would never, I promise."
Williams turned away, feeling extremely embarrassed. If there was one House that fit under socially awkward, it was Ravenclaw. They were intellectual geniuses, but had more bite than bark. Small talk was for the weak. So were heart to hearts.
"Never," Fred whispered. Williams cleared his throat. Merlin he wished he had something to block his ears with. George was watching them intently, as if they were an object of particular interest. Williams nudged him.
"Give 'em some privacy," Williams hissed.
"Watch them," George said, his eyes glowing. He cast a glance over his shoulder. Fred had joined Hermione on her bed. Madame Pomfrey was fixing Fred's hand and scolding him at the same time. Hermione leaned her head against Fred's shoulders, her eyes filled with tears.
"I think I'm going to throw up," Williams muttered, hurrying from the Hospital Wing. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Hermione was so small. She had bruises where no person should, not that anyone should ever have bruises in the first place.
"Wha-Why?"
"I just- how can this happen here, at Hogwarts?" Williams exploded as the door shut behind them. "We're supposed to be safe here! Everyone is!"
"You forget that Dumbledore is gone, mate," George said heavily. As if to prove his point, he painted the wall with several insults.
"Umbridge's cardigan looks like a baboon's backside... Umbridge is a baboon's backside... Very original, George," Williams said, still feeling very queasy.
"Weasleys have a thing for baboons," George grinned. "Just ask Dad."
"You know, I really don't think I want to hear that story," Williams said.
"Well, look at it this way, if I see Sinclair ever again, I'll make him understand-"
"Mr. Weasley," Williams' blood turned cold. "If there is a threat to Mr. Sinclair, the perpetrator will be punished accordingly, and to my liking."
"Right, so when your student attacks one in another House, you get to decide the punishment, but if, say, Hannah Abbot tried to kill Malfoy, you would determine her punishment too?"
"5 points from Ravenclaw."
"That's what I thought," Williams spat and stormed off toward his Common Room before he ended up like Fred. Although, he wouldn't mind the reputation he would get for trying to duel Snape. He was almost as hated as Umbridge these days.
Williams reputation was already pretty fantastic. He and the 11 others who had gone to try and help the DA had become know as the Olympians (Williams believed Roger Davies was in charge of that).
And Williams was Zeus.
.o0O0o.
First off, I am so terribly sorry about all this. I've been planning this arc for a little while, and the few times I tried to cut it, I just couldn't bring myself to. It's an almost well known stat that 1 in every 5 women will be sexually assaulted at some time in their life, and... well I have some very strong opinions about that sort of thing (i.e. it pisses me the fuck off). I feel like that as a Muggleborn, Hermione would face more discrimination that just the name calling from Malfoy, and when I was rereading Book 7 for my base of this fic, Scabior and Greyback are both all over her, which is just *shudders*
Rest assured, faithful readers, that I have been listening to a song called 'Vengeance' on repeat for the past half hour.
Infernalbooks: I also really like Williams. He's technically Albert with a different name (my story's Albert is Albert Jacob Williams). Albert is just taking over all the shit man.
animelover5107: Haha I added that line as I was adding italics in the FanFiction Doc Manager, I thought it was fitting.
Yeeeey: I'm not a very patient person either, which is why I work more on book 7 stuff than book 5, which means I upload things slower and it takes longer for me to get to book 7. It's a vicious cycle.
Fandomqueen104: Gryffindor for life! Also, I've never used WattPad before... I don't know how the whole things works...
corie.f: I'm a big believer in House cooperation. Slytherins always get a bad rap and no one knows what the fuck a Hufflepuff is any more. Thank you for the love!
StarGirlPotter: I'm not going to lie, I cry just thinking about the finale. If I ever see Miles Luna, I will extract Vengeace of an everlasting sort. I love him, but I hate him, you know?
I'm a Nerd and Proud: Some things get lost in translation between my brain and my keyboard, that's my bad. Thank you though!
