Hermione spent the entire day trying to get Harry not to break into Umbridge's office. Maybe it was the misplaced belief that if decided not to, the twins wouldn't leave, at least not for a little while longer. Maybe they'd wait a day or a week. Hermione would've taken an hour. Hermione wrung her hands and begged, begged, Harry not to do it. He disappeared into the throng, headed toward the toad's office. She'd failed. It was too late. Fred and George had already begun their mischief. She could hear it from six corridors away.

So Hermione changed tactics and shoved through the crowd, leaving Ron in the dust behind her.
She had no idea how they'd done it. They'd changed the hall into a swamp, complete with a dingy, earthy smell and muddy waters. They were standing on some sort of barge looking thing, with the sails and flag of a pirate ship.

"How did they do that?!" Hermione easily recognized the fear in Angelina's voice. Hermione tried not to show her surprise at her appearance as Angelina deflated with a long exhale, "They're really leaving."

"It still seems too soon," Hermione said sadly. Fred helped Lee Jordan up onto the barge. She prepared herself mentally for his booming commentator's voice when he touched his wand to his throat. Her ears didn't get the message, and she jumped a mile high.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is proud to provide your entertainment for today! Featuring Gred and Forge, along with two lucky participants from the crowd!" His voice was almost drowned by applause. Angelina watched the barge with a frown.

"Oh, shit," Hermione muttered.

"Who-"

"Bring us Johnson and Granger!" The twins bellowed.

"What?!" Angelina grabbed a tight hold on Hermione's wrist as the crowd shoved them forward to the swamp. Hermione had to dig her heels in to keep Angelina from falling in. There was a small crate that served as a dock, and Angelina pushed Hermione up onto it quickly.

"We'd like to say a proper goodbye-" Lee helped them onto the swaying barge.

"To all the beautiful young ladies-" Angelina dropped Hermione's wrist, glaring at her boyfriend.

"Of this prestigious academy-"

"But we don't have time for that," Fred took Hermione's hand, spinning her gracefully. He dipped her, holding her gaze with that self-assured smile, waited for her to wrap her arms around his neck, and kissed her. Hermione, while very aware of the cheering crowd, kissed him back with a desperate energy.

"Don't go," she whispered.

"Too late," Fred smiled sadly. She tightened her arms around his neck and kissed him again, which procured more than a few wolf whistles.

When Hermione stepped away from Fred with a scarlet face, George and Angelina were still at it.

"Oi!" Fred shouted, "There are children present Gred!"

George was halfway through a quite rude hand gesture when there was a shout, "The Inquisitorial Squad is coming!"

"Time for you to disappear," Fred said, then stepped back and shouted, "Jacob!"

Williams appeared from the crowd to pull Hermione down into it. Water splashed up the back of her leg, she shared one last look with Fred before focusing on the back of Williams head. He kept a tight grip on her hand, and Tess materialized to lead the way.

"Wait- go get Angelina!" Hermione ordered, throwing a glance over her shoulder. She couldn't see him though, but she could just barely make out Angelina's dark head of hair. They broke out of the crowd after a long minute and Williams leaned against the wall beside the suit of armor.

"Are you going to be okay without him?" he asked after a moment.

"Of course I will be," Hermione said, irritated, "Just because I prefer to have him by my side doesn't mean I'll be helpless without him there!"

"I was just asking," Williams laughed nervously.

"Besides, if Sinclair's friends want to fuck with me, I'll gladly blast them to pieces," Hermione muttered. Williams shivered at her words.

"He left school," Williams admitted.

"I know," Hermione began to pace. Fred had told her about the mishap. Was it a bad thing that the biggest gesture he'd made for her was driving a classmate insane? It spoke volumes to how fucked up the year had been.

"Merlin, they're going crazy," Angelina stumbled into the hall, breathing heavily. "They all want to know if he's a good kisser. So fucking-"

Suddenly the twins soared over head, doing one loop in the air, nearly colliding with the ceiling, and soaring out of the castle into the glorious sunset. Hermione and Angelina watched them until the crowd flooded past them, screaming and cheering all the while.

Hermione finally snapped that night. All through her studying she had remained focused. The curtains around her bed she had shut and charmed to play music softly. She was reviewing her History of Magic notes when it happen.

Lavender tore open her curtains, which gave a squeak and fell silent, "Merlin save us- it's one of the twins!"

Hermione stared at her, "I'm trying to study."

"Of course you are it's all you ever do," Lavender giggled and sat down on the edge of Hermione's bed. "So, give me details."

"There are no details to give," Hermione said shortly, sensing a problem. They'd always avoiding talk of 'her Weasley.' Hermione wasn't about to tell Lavender about Fred before she told Harry and Ron. As much as Lavender wanted them to be sisters, in that moment, Hermione was just not feeling it. No more than six hours he'd been gone and already she was on edge. It was entirely his fault.

"Come on, you can't do that," Lavender pulled away Hermione's textbook. "Which one is it?"

"Go away," Hermione said grumpily, reaching for her textbook. Lavender pulled it farther away, "Lavender, I'm serious, give it back."

"Is he good in the sack?"
"That isn't any of your business!" Hermione snapped, stretching forward to reclaim her book.

"Oh, my-" Lavender squealed, "You slept with him?!"

"What?" Parvati asked, patting at her wet hair with a towel.

"Hermione here slept with one of the Weasley twins!"

"No way!"

"Get away from me!" Hermione reached for her wand, her eyes wild. Lavender stood, suddenly fearful. "Get out of my space!"

"Hermione, I-"

The brightest witch of her age did something incredibly rash then. She wasn't sure what exactly she said, but it brought tears to Lavender's eyes. Hermione was not sorry in the slightest. She flicked her wand and the curtains slid shut around her bed, Lavender outside them. Hermione cast a Silencing Charm on them and stared up at the canopy. Then she began to cry.

She had a nightmare that night and there was no one to comfort her. Hermione had never felt so alone in all her life.

Fred stared at the bed. It was the biggest he'd ever had. It sat squarely against the center of the wall, a small table on either side of it with glass jars that he'd filled with purple flame.

"We definitely should have planned this out better!" George called from down the hall. Neither one had sheets for their beds, or even mattresses. The floors were cold wood, covered in dust. The paint was peeling from the wall in some places. The bathroom had nothing in it, not even a shelf or a shower curtain. Their words echoed in the empty space. The kitchen had nothing but counters fitted against the wall, there wasn't even a stove. Fred assumed that since the kitchen dominated about a quarter of the room it resided in, the rest of the unoccupied space was both a dining room and a living room. The three bedrooms ran down one hallway, the biggest sharing the left side with the bathroom, Fred and George's individual rooms on the right.

"Mum will kill us if we ask for anything," Fred called back. He left his room and peeked his head in George's. He had mostly the same set up, but his empty dresser was thinner and taller, shoved into the corner instead of facing his bed.

"Dad'll help us out though, right?" George asked. They both jumped at a tapping on one of the windows in the kitchen. George got there first, and was staring at the tawny owl sitting in the sill. It tapped the glass again and Fred pushed George out of the way to throw open the window. The owl hopped inside and extended its leg. Fred untied the letter quickly, his hand shaking slightly. He unfolded the letter carefully and scanned it.

"Gred," he beamed, "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is officially open for business."

"That's our first order?" George asked, tearing the letter from his hand. "No!"

"Zonko's wants our stuff," Fred grinned, his hand in his hair. That was a lot of money. Not that they were going to take it. Fred took it as a receipt, recognition that they were being taken serious. George whooped and punched his arm.

"Zonko's wants our stuff!" He screamed, shaking the letter at the air. His eyes caught on the figure, he read the letter with a little bit more attention and gasped, "Zonko's wants emall/em our stuff... They want to buy us out?! For... ten thousand galleons?!"

"What say you George?" Fred asked. George dropped the letter in the sink and lit it on fire with his wand. "Well said."

"Ten thousand galleons," George scoffed, "We're worth more than that."

"Hey, one year from now," Fred grinned his most evil grin, "Let's buy them out."

"I like the way you think, Forge," George laughed his most evil laugh. By the time it faded, he was frowning, "We're sleeping on the floor tonight, aren't we?"

"Oh, most definitely."

.o0O0o.

I did it! They is separate. I is sorry. Fred'll be in and out, the next chapter is going to be set up to my flash back story line. If there are any missing moments from either Fred or Hermione or them together, anything at all, I am open to suggestions. I was thinking about doing a Quidditch World Cup one, the Valentine's Day incident, and a few other things.

*25 Minutes later*

GUYS I AM FUCKING PISSED I JUST SPENT TOO MUCH GODDAMN TIME CLEARING THIS BULLSHIT p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: left;" FROM THE DOCUMENT. I HATE THIS BULLSHIT AND I'M JUST GOING TO BE OVER HERE IN THE GODDAMN CORNER SWEARING MY FUCKING MOUTH OFF BECAUSE FUCK THIS SITE AND FUCK GMAIL AND FUCK THE NOTES APP AND FUCK THE WORLD

If you're a follower and you got two emails, I'm horribly sorry, but that's just how things shook out.

Dracosgirl007: Thank you!

pjalovera: Cliches for the win! I generally try to avoid them, but it felt appropriate. YOUUREWELCOME!

Infernalbooks: HAHAHAHA 'There's something attractive about Williams' I think, if ever I was going to die of laughter, it's right now. It's much appreciated, don't get me wrong, the way you think he's pristine even though I never really described his face and how it's all based on his personality, but his voice is in my head all British and embarrassed and it's the best (He says thank you).

Guys, I might be crazy.

sdrlana21: Thank you very much!

Puritt2b: Thanks, I try!

Guest (Kate): You should! Aww thanks so much!

animelover5107: I a strong believer in awkward comic relief. It happens too often in real life. Thanks! :D

Fandomqueen104: Hehehehe I was thinking about it the other day, and I was like 'Fred is a suave motherfucker, what the hell makes him awkard...' and then I decided Hermione needed to call him out.

Guest: Yes, I love it when I get things right! *does happy dance*

Yeeeey: Thank you!

I'm a Nerd and Proud: Hmm, I hadn't thought of that, Sirius giving George orders. I feel like Sirius would make George even more awkward than Fred though, so I don't know... I'm sorry I didn't post earlier; crazy crazy week. My Mock Trial team is going to States so, I'm super pumped and super busy. :D