Chapter 5: Friends and allies

Fred and George had their first lesson in defence on Wednesday. Even though they had only chosen a handful of NEWT classes, it was out of the question that they wouldn't sign up for another year of DAAD, as it was one of the topics they could actually use in the future. Now that the class would be taught by the Headmaster himself, they were even more grateful for their decision. George had always known that the man was a skilled wizard but apart from that, he was also a brilliant teacher. Dumbledore seemed to have an eye for their weaknesses and strengths and paired them up in a way that made training duels exciting but not frustrating to any of them. He showed them many interesting spells that weren't only extremely useful, but relatively easy to cast. George was excited in a way he had never been for a school subject before and he had the strong intention to use class time for learning as much as he could. One day his life might depend on it and that was a good enough reason for him to actually make an effort for once.

"Mess'rs Weasley?" He and Fred were just about to leave the classroom after the lesson was finished when the Headmaster's voice called after them. "Would you mind staying behind for a moment? I'd like to have a word if you don't mind."

George looked at his brother with raised brows, but Fred just shrugged unconcernedly and turned around. "What can we do for you, Headmaster? If this is about the rumours circulating about…"

But the old man silenced them with a raise of his hand. "No, no, nothing like that, though I am sure that those rumours are pretty entertaining, … In fact, I would like to ask you for a small favour." Dumbledore smiled at them and gesturing towards a set of chairs that appeared in front of his teacher's desk. "But we should probably sit down for that bit of conversation. Lemon Drop?" Like on command a little bowl with Lemon Drops appeared on the desk and with a shrug Fred and George sat down and each popped one of the delicious sweets into their mouth. The Headmaster looked at them with pleased, twinkling eyes and sat down behind a desk. A moment later he raised his wand and George felt heavy wards snap into place. Curious.

"It has come to my attention that the two of you applied to join the Order," Dumbledore finally said watching them with attentive blue eyes. "Usually these kinds of applications are postponed until after graduation but I am willing to make an exception in your case."

Fred and George looked at each other with wide smiles. "Brilliant!" they said beaming at the man in front of them.

"Ah, the enthusiasm of youth," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. " maybe this is exactly what we need."

George nodded but didn't interrupt the wizard. And so the old man just took a Lemon Drop for himself and said, "I have heard that the two of you have earned yourself somewhat of a reputation amongst your school mates. Most of the students seem to like you or at least respect your skills, which puts you in the optimal position to be the Order's eyes and ears in the castle. I am sure you've realized that the Ministry is highly interested in finding the Open Link among your peers. Minister Fudge is already counting his blessings and sees it as a given that he will soon have the Open Link at his disposal. But, as you might imagine he is not the only one."

George knew what the Headmaster was saying and by the feeling of it, Fred did too. "What exactly is it you want us to do?" His brother asked nonchalantly, hands folded behind his head. The Headmaster cast him a grandfatherly smile.

"I hope that you will agree to look out for the Open Link. We need to find him or her, before the Ministry or Voldemort's lackey's do."

George nodded. It did make sense. "What will you do if we find the person?"

"Well, that strongly depends on who it is and whether they would be willing to cooperate with the Order, don't you think?" the Headmaster replied. "Yeah, that makes sense," he admitted and looked at Fred thoughtfully. "What do you think Freddy?"

His brother shrugged with a crooked grin. "I think we can definitely do better than our new School Counsellor. But it would probably help to have as much information on the poor sod's condition as we can get. What exactly should we be looking out for?"

The Headmaster regarded them with blue, twinkling eyes and a pleased smile. And then, he told them.

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Hermione didn't get the chance to speak to Ron for the rest of the day. Potions had been their last class of the day and after that her friend seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. He probably needed some time to digest whatever the potion had shown him, Hermione thought, and after a moment of hesitation she decided not to look for him. If he really was the Open Link, she was sure he'd let her know soon enough.

"Fred? George? Are you alright?" Hermione asked as soon as she saw the two redheads lounging in the corridor. Both of them had unfastened their ties and looked at the passing students with something like vigilance. "Are you looking for somebody?"

Ron's brothers immediately snapped out of their staring and looked at her with a smile plastered on their faces. "Oi, Hermione. What's up with your classmates? They seem even more agitated than normal recently and that's really saying something." Fred grinned crookedly and Hermione couldn't help but sigh.

"Snape had us brew the Draught of Insight," she said and studied their reaction. The twins just looked at her mutely and waited for her to continue. "It's supposed to give you the answer to a question if the answer can be found in yourself."

George shrugged. "I remember the potion. We brewed it late in our fifth year I think."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, you see? The potion can provide the answer, if one is, for example, the Open Link everybody is on the lookout for. At the end of the lesson, Snape even gave us the option to sample our own potion, if we trusted our skills enough."

For a moment neither of the twins said a word, just blinking at her. Finally, a wide smile spread on their faces.

"And? Did you try yours?" Fred asked and put his arm amicably around her shoulder. She felt her pulse rise.

"I… no… I actually gave my potion to Ron. He asked me for it, you know? He's been quite strange in the last days as you know and he… he just seemed so desperate... I simply couldn't say no."

Both redheads nodded in unison looking at her with brown eyes that were full of understanding. Hermione was sure her heart missed a beat at the sight. What would happen if she just leaned over to George and… Merlin! She really had to get a grip on herself.

"Well, that definitely explains why everybody seems so agitated. What happened? Any insights worth sharing?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. The Slytherins were totally poker-faced and Parvati seemed kind of upset. As for Ron… he simply disappeared on me, which is kind of annoying, to be honest. But maybe he needs to sort things out first, who knows?"

Fred snorted. "I'm sure he's alright, don't worry. He's lucky to have a friend like you, you know?"

Hermione looked at him in confusion. "Errr… thank you?"

George smiled and tapped her nose with his index finger. "Don't look so surprised, it's true. Maybe he doesn't realize how often you saved his sorry arse, and not only when it comes to homework, but we do. You're brilliant Hermione, brilliant and loyal and we're happy you're keeping an eye on him."

She smiled shyly at them. "I hope you realise that I am your friend, too. We might not be as close as I am with Harry or Ron, but if there's anything you need my help with, don't hesitate to ask." Hermione felt her cheeks go pink at these words and she hastily stepped away from Fred. "Sorry, I'm sure this sounded totally stupid. I should probably…"

But she didn't get any further as George simply pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek. "Nonsense, Hermione. I'm happy to call you my friend. And if you ever need our expertise," he grinned at her boyishly. "then we're at your service." Fred continued for his brother and bowed.

Hermione blinked at the both of them with wide eyes and for a moment she was completely dumbfounded. "Uh… thank you… that's..."

The twins grinned before stepping away from her. "It's the least we can do." Fred winked at her. "But we must be off now. See you later Hermione!"

"Yeah," Hermione said weakly and waved her hand. But just when they were out of sight, her hand stilled and touched her cheek instead. And she could have sworn her skin still prickled where George's lips had kissed her.

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Dolores Umbridge was not in a good mood when she reached her new Office right next to the classrooms provided for her weekly lessons with the Hogwarts students. She had decorated the place tastefully in light pink and beige, which were her favourite colours since she was a little girl, and a variety of decorated plates she had selected from the huge collection she had at home. Collecting porcelain plates decorated with enchanted cats was the only hobby that had survived her transition into adulthood. Despite having to give up most of her favourite leisure activities when she started working for the Minister full time, she never regretted the decision to start working for the man. Cornelius Fudge was a man to be admired, he had goals and ambition and the guts to do whatever necessary to achieve them. Ever since being sorted into Hufflepuff as a little girl Dolores had been bullied for her sturdy state and pension for colourful hair attire. Nevertheless she had been determined to one day be just like the minister, unflinching in her efforts to achieve her goals. One day she would rise above all others and then she would be the one making the rules and nobody would be in a position to make fun of her and her love of cats again.

Now that she had an important position at Hogwarts her goal was closer than ever before. Dolores had been more than happy when the Minister asked her to be his eyes and ears in the prestigious school and he had been pleased with her willingness to be of service to him again. She had promised the Minister results soon because how difficult could it be to find one particularly emotional teenager in a school? This Open Link would certainly display some outward signs or extreme reactions sooner or later because Dolores knew that the urge to connect to someone would only grow with time. All she had to do was wait and watch and the answer would present itself in time - only those insufferable teenagers kept acting out and doing disgusting things to each other in the middle of the hallways. She couldn't understand how the Headmaster and the other Hogwarts staff failed to bring order back to the castle because the things she witnessed there were simply unmentionable. It wasn't only that in the midst of this randy behaviour finding the OL would be nearly impossible, but there was also a huge risk that said person would involve themselves with somebody and form a connection that was irreversible effectively sabotaging the plans the Minister had so carefully made. That simply must not happen, Dolores decided, therefore she had to react soon. She had to gain control over the castle and its inhabitants otherwise, all her carefully laid out plans would go to waste. But that was simply not an option. She had to write to the Minister, immediately. Even then it remained to be seen if she could get those brazen brats under control. She was Dolores Umbridge after all, the person Cornelius Fudge trusted more than anyone, and there wasn't much she wouldn't do to avoid disappointing the Minister of Magic.

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The next day found Hermione grumpy and tired. Her night hadn't been restful at all. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she had started going over her last encounter with the Weasley twins in agonizing detail and by now he was sure she could recall every small detail of each of the redhead's faces. Why was she so suddenly obsessed with them? Her mother had warned her that entering puberty would mean a lot of pining and heartbreak. What she hadn't been prepared for was the ridiculousness of it all. It was one thing to pine after a certain boy, but having a crush on two boys at the same time? What was wrong with her? It was like her body couldn't tell them apart, which was ridiculous. Hermione could always tell them apart, even when she had been a first year. So that couldn't be it. No matter what it was, she couldn't go on like this. Hermione absolutely refused to make an idiot out of herself and fall victim to her over-excited hormones. Fred and George Weasley were not an option as a boyfriend, not if she couldn't even decide between the two of them. Merlin, what would Ron say when he heard about her stupid crush? She shuddered. This thought alone was enough to ban all thoughts of possible romantic entanglement with the Weasleys to the back of her head. Now Hermione could only hope that they would stay just there.

She went through all her classes like on autopilot. It wasn't like her eyes wanted to fall closed, but it was definitely hard for her to get excited about any particular subject at all. Usually, she raised her hand in class as much as possible, but today she simply could not find enough energy to do it. She quietly took some notes and tried the spells that were shown to them, but that was it. She could tell her teachers had noticed as much.

When evening finally rolled around, she was ready to hide in her bed and not crawl out until morning, but when she entered the common room Ron and Harry were already waiting for her.

"Hermione, there you are!" Ron said and shuffled his feet. "Can we talk – the three of us I mean?"

Hermione sighed tiredly before plastering a smile on her face. "Sure. Should we sit down on one of the sofas?"

Ron shook his head and started moving towards the portrait hole. "No, not here. Let's find an empty classroom or something. I'd really don't fancy this discussion being overheard."

Hermione looked at the boys with furrowed brows. Harry just shrugged and followed his red-haired friend and after a moment of hesitation, she did the same.

"Alright boys," Hermione said as soon as they had found an empty classroom on the fifth floor. "Can you tell me now, what is this all about?" she realized how grumpy and tired her voice sounded, luckily the boys didn't seem to mind.

"It's about the Open Link," Ron said and sat down on one of the tables. There he dangled his feet and looked at them with an uneasy expression. Hermione nodded and decided to lean against the table in front of him where she waited patiently for him to continue his story. Harry, who watched the two of them for a moment, decided to sit down next to his redheaded friend on the table.

"The Open Link?" he asked and looked at his friend with an excited smile. "Did you find out who it is? Or… Merlin… is it you?"

Ron studied their faces with a careful expression before he sighed and said: "I thought it was me, but obviously I was wrong. You know, the past days have been so strange, suddenly all my feelings were so intense and I felt this pull towards… well… towards several girls actually. It's like I didn't have control over my feelings any longer and so I thought…" He lowered his head with another sigh and never before in her life had Hermione understood him so completely. Because what her friend had just described sounded like the exact same problem she was experiencing herself.

"You thought you were the OL," she finished his sentence looking at his bowed figure with empathy.

"Yeah. It wasn't just these sudden feelings," Ron explained further " I also seemed to be more skilled at spell-casting all of a sudden. Do you remember Flitwick's lesson on Nox Maxima? I was the first one to master the spell and that has never happened before."

"Huh," Harry said and looked at his friend with furrowed brows. "That's strange indeed. But it's not you?"

Ron shook his head. "No, at least that's what Hermione's potion said. You're sure you did it right Hermione?"

For a moment she wanted to be offended, but that really wouldn't have been fair. "Yeah, I'm sure Ron. The recipe was pretty straight forward and therefore easy enough to make. But, we could wait until we get our grades in the next Potions lesson if you want to be sure."

The boy shrugged. "No, I guess it's alright. It's just… I really thought that I was finally something special. My whole life I've just been stupid, poor Ronald Weasley and it's just… suddenly I felt special like I had all these powers inside me… but now I don't." He hung his head and Hermione felt really sorry for him.

"Ron…" she said before stepping closer and putting her hand on his shoulder. "But you are special, don't you see? Even if you are not the Open Link, you still managed that spell with Flitwick, not because you have special powers, but because you finally believed in yourself and actually made an effort. It's what I told you all along. If you just try and believe in yourself, you'll find you are far more capable than you give yourself credit for."

Ron looked up at her with wide eyes, before he blinked a few times and said: "You think I'm brilliant? Really?"

She huffed before she stepped closer and pulled him into a hug. "Absolutely. And it's time for you to think that, too." Ron nodded with his head on her shoulder and after a moment of stiffness, he finally relaxed into her embrace. They stayed like this for a moment and when she finally pulled back, Ron looked at her with red ears.

"But, what about those awkward feelings I have all the time? It's really confusing, you know? I mean, from time to time I even started to fancy you, Hermione, can you imagine?" Harry looked at both of them with wide eyes and for a moment, she just stared at the boys in total speechlessness. But finally, she huffed and said, "Well Ronald, I don't understand why that seems so ridiculous to you. Last year you realized that I am a girl after all." She knew that her tone sounded sour and probably hurt, but she really couldn't help but be offended at his words. Ron just stared at her with furrowed brows, like he was trying to solve an exceptionally difficult puzzle.

"Why are you suddenly angry Hermione? I mean Merlin, don't you see how weird that would be? Dating you would almost be like I was trying to date Ginny. You're like a sister to me!"

For a moment she just looked at him in stunned silence, before all her anger suddenly deflated. "Yeah, you're probably right. We are kind of like siblings, aren't we?" She looked at Ron and Harry with raised eyebrows and both of them nodded looking somewhat relieved. "Well, maybe these feelings you're starting to have are just puberty, Ron. It also has been happening to me lately… like a lot. It's totally weird and absolutely annoying."

This was probably the wrong thing to have said because both of the boys suddenly looked at her with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Ron even opened and closed his mouth like a fish several times, before he cleared his throat and said hoarsely: "Really? You… you… huh. Well, maybe it's really just a normal thing for somebody our age. It's just… these feelings sometimes are a bit much, you know?"

Hermione snorted before she nodded with a smile. "Oh, believe me, I know."

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