A.N.: This chapter was betaed by the amazing Multilingualism. Thank you, my friend!

Chapter 17: Not funny at all

The plan was brilliant, Fred thought, and it was so up their alley that no one suspected a thing. They needed a way to collect information from as many people as they possibly could and thanks to Ludo Bagman they knew exactly how to collect them.

"Hey, Lee, mate, do you want to place a bet on who's the Open Link?" Fred asked their best friend with a wide grin and opened his book, that he had specially enchanted for the occasion.

The boy snorted and handed them a Galleon. "My money is on Luna Lovegood, guys," he said with a lopsided grin. "The girl is something else and I think that's what you'd need to be, to let your magical core open like that."

George nodded with a wide grin and noted Lee's prediction down. "Very good, mate. You can come and collect your money, as soon as we know who it is." Lee grinned at him and strolled off. "Sure thing, guys. See you later, then." And with that, he was off. Huh, Luna Lovegood wasn't that bad of an idea, when Fred thought about it. But there was no time to think about it now, as classes had just ended, which left them with the perfect chance to collect some more data. And really, it was only a moment as the next students strolled through the corridor.

"Oi, Harry! Hey, Ron!" George already shouted after them and the two friends turned around with a questioning look on their faces. "Fancy placing a bet on who's the Open Link?" The boys looked at them with raised brows.

"You're taking on bets? Really?" their little brother asked them in surprise.

Fred nodded with a wide smile. "Absolutely. So if you want to invest some of your pocket money…"

The young redhead looked at him with furrowed brows, before he searched his robes and pulled out two sickles. "That's all I have, guys," he said and handed them the money. "My money's on Lavender Brown."

George looked at him in surprise. "Why her?"

Ron shrugged. "She's all about love and feelings, isn't she? Hermione complains she's hardly talking about anything else."

Fred nodded and noted his brother's bet. Then he turned towards Harry. "And you, mate? Want to make a guess?"

The black-haired wizard frowned before he took out a Galleon and handed it over. "I think it's Hermione," he said and shrugged. "We established that it's not me or Ron and by our luck, it must be her, then. She also changed since the holidays, so I guess that could be another sign."

Fred paused. Harry was right, he thought, but he plastered another unconcerned look on his face. "Alright, mate. A Galleon on Hermione, then," he confirmed and noted her name down. But he was only halfway finished when said witch stormed towards them with a thunderous look on her face.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked in a stern voice that reminded him of Professor McGonagall. Fred looked at her with a surprised grin on his face. She was really breath-taking when she was angry like that.

"We're collecting bets on who's the Open Link. There's already one on you Hermione," he said and winked at her. "Want to make your own guess?"

The little witch looked at her with a dumbstruck look on her face. "Somebody thought it's me? Who?"

Across from her, Harry shuffled his feet nervously, before he looked at her with a helpless shrug. "It makes sense, don't you think? You're brilliant and you've been feeling slightly off, lately," he explained but Hermione just rolled her eyes at his words.

"So? Everybody's been feeling off in the last weeks, Harry and I don't think intellect has anything to do with it." She sighed but Harry looked at her with an unconcerned smile on his face.

"Whatever, Hermione, that's why it's a bet," Ron mumbled and then motioned his head towards their book. "Make your own one. It's fun!"

She looked at her friends like she'd never seen them before. "Fun? You think that's fun?" she shrieked and for a moment it looked like her eyes could throw sparks at them. "I don't find it funny at all! Do I have to remind you how you felt when you thought it was you, Ron? Back then you at least seemed to know what a danger that would mean to you. But now you totally seem to have forgotten that, have you? Is collecting bets even allowed?"

Ron groaned and looked at his friend irritatedly. "There's no Educational Decree against it, is there? So it's obviously not forbidden. Don't be such a killjoy, Mione. There's little enough fun going on in the castle these days, as it is."

But the witch just shook her head in disbelief, before she straightened her posture and looked at him with her chin proudly raised. "It's called Prefect, Ronald," she scolded before she turned around to the twins. "And you!" She said with an angry expression on her face, while she pointed her index finger towards Fred's chest. "I really would have expected better of you. Do you have an idea what could happen, if someone like You-Know-Who got this book into his fingers? What would happen to all those people you noted down there?" Fred felt a pang of regret in his chest when he saw how her eyes shimmer with disappointment.

"If you'll excuse me? I've got somewhere else to be." She said and turned around with her head held high. And just like that, she stalked off.

"Merlin, does anyone else but I think she needs to lighten up a bit?" Ron grumbled and shook his head. "She's been like that ever since she returned from your date in Hogsmeade. What have you guys done to her?"

George looked at his little brother in surprise. "She has?"

His little brother nodded with a grumpy expression. "Yeah, but she didn't say what happened."

"Then we won't say anything either," Fred answered with a wide grin and closed his book with a snap. "Anyway, guys, we'll be off now. If you want to place another bet you know, where to find us!"

George nodded and together they strolled towards the next group of students. Fred was suddenly in a very good mood and it hadn't anything to do with their bets at all.

ssssssss

To say that Hermione was cross would have been an understatement. What did those twins think they were doing, collecting bets like that? Being an Open Link wasn't a game, for god's sake! For her, it was the scary reality now and she didn't need anyone who noted her name on some list saying that it could very well be her. What if the wrong people got that into their hands? That would add another stone to the burden she was already carrying around with her.

But it was even worse than that. Harry thought it was her, Harry of all people. Merlin, he was the one with a part of You-Know-Who's soul inside him, the one who regularly had strange dreams. What if the Dark Lord had already read this thought from him and sent his minions to get her?

Hermione felt herself shiver at the thought. What should she do now? Was there even anything she could do? Probably not, because when she started to make a big fuss now, it would make her look even more suspicious, right? And Severus told her that there were enough people watching closely for that kind of thing. But should she just ignore what Fred and George did, even though it could put her in the spotlight? Or should she maybe tip off Professor Umbridge? But what if she got their list into her fingers as a result of that? Would she want to talk to Hermione then? Probably.

Hermione groaned and stormed out of the castle. She hadn't even realized her legs carried her into that direction but when she took the first breaths of cold autumn air, she could feel her head starting to clear. Ever since she knew about her being the Open Link it felt like the walls of the castle were weighing her down or trying to suffocate her. She was sure that the hunt for the Open Link would go on. And no matter who found out about her condition would try to make choices for her. She could even imagine Dumbledore advertising a hasty sealing of a bond, to keep her safe, because in the long term that was the only way to make her uninteresting for those parties searching for her. But that was the thing. She didn't want to connect herself with anybody she didn't really love, just to be safe. And even less she wanted to bind herself to someone, because it would be advantageous to her or them in any way. The thought of doing that made her sick in the stomach.

Without having consciously decided to do so, Hermione walked down to the Black Lake. The shore of it would always remind her of her first and probably last trip into Professor Snape's head. Now, when she stood there she realized how exactly her mentor had visualized Hogwarts and its surroundings. He truly was a master Occlumens and once again Hermione thanked her lucky stars that the man had deemed it necessary to teach her in order to help Harry. What would she have done if fate hadn't helped her find such a valuable ally? If there was someone able to protect her and willing to let her have the freedom to choose a partner for herself then it was him. Yes, he was a grumpy and snarky man most of the time, but being with him in private was much more enjoyable than suffering through his insults during class. She knew now that Severus had to keep up appearances but that made her Potions lessons with him only slightly more bearable. Because every time he looked at her with that cold expression or mocked her enthusiasm during class it hurt and it hadn't been like this before. Was it because she was connected to him now? Did the Link make her want to be liked by him? It was possible. But it would mean that the Open Link influenced her feelings even more than she had realized before. Was it also the reason why she had been interested in both Weasley-twins at once? It would make sense, somehow, but on the other hand, it also didn't. Closing the Open Link was only possible with one person, right? She would have never been able to build a connection with both of them at the same time and so it was only right, that things ended between them before she got even more attached. It was hard enough as it was for her.

With a sigh, Hermione turned towards the water and picked up a handful of stones. One by one she threw them into the water and watched how each of them flew a little bit further than the last one. Fred and George had been true to their word and didn't treat her any differently than before the summer break. They didn't seem cross or upset and were back to treating her like a family member or a friend again. There were no more touches, no more winks or smiles. And Hermione realized she missed them, terribly. But it would get better with time, she promised herself, and if they kept doing stupid things like taking on bets on who was the Open Link, she would probably get much faster over her feelings for them than she deemed possible now.

sssssssss

Dolores had just finished her teaching for the day and retreated into her office when there was a hesitant knock on her door. She didn't expect any visitors as they were rare in Hogwarts, which left her alert and excited as she voiced her invitation to enter. For a moment nothing happened, but finally, her door was opened hesitantly and a nervous-looking, blonde girl stepped in. Dolores knew her from her lessons of course and as the fifth-grader stepped closer she used the time to recall everything she knew about the girl. Then she plastered a polite smile onto her face and looked at her before she said: "Yes, Miss Brown? How can I help you, Dear?"

The girl, which Dolores realized was quite pretty, looked at her with a nervous expression on her face. "May I sit down, Professor?"

"Of course, my Dear. Take a seat. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Miss Brown nodded and sunk onto the cushioned chair in front of her desk. Dolores had purchased that piece of furniture mostly because of the clever enchantment that was woven into it. The chair was designed to let whoever used it relax and calm down, as it would make it more likely for the person to feel comfortable in her office and therefore talk. And when she looked at the Brown-girl after she had filled two delicate porcelain cups with the tea she could see, that the enchantment had already started to take effect. Very good.

"Now tell me, my precious girl, what can I do for you?"

The girl looked at her with her cheeks coloured in excitement. "I came to ask for your help, Professor. I recently discovered that... I am the Open Link, Ma'am."

Dolores looked at the girl with wide eyes and a delighted smile on her lips. Finally! But it wouldn't do her any good to let her excitement cloud her judgement now. She would need more information before she really believed it was her. "How did you come to that conclusion, Miss Brown?"

"I already suspected it for a while, Ma'am. There have been all these strange feelings inside me and I started to feel so confused. But today... I was in my divination class, Professor. And Professor Trelawney, who is a big seer, took my hand and suddenly... she saw it." There was a seer at the school? Why hadn't she been informed of that fact? Was that another one of Dumbledore's schemes to keep her out of the line? Probably. She was sure the old man wanted to claim the Open Link for himself. She knew he was eying the Minister's position for a while now and aligning himself with the girl would have been the perfect move after he had so selflessly declared the return of You-Know-Who. Very clever, but unfortunately for him not nearly clever enough.

"She saw it, you say?" Dolores asked in could barely reign in her excitement. "What did she say? Did the other students hear it, too?"

Lavender Brown nodded with wide eyes. "They did, Professor, which is why I came to you immediately. What am I supposed to do now? You said that there was certain danger for the person being the Open Link."

Dolores nodded with a solemn expression. "There is, indeed. But luckily you came to me, right away. Don't fear, the Ministry will take care of you, immediately."

"Thank you, Professor," the girl replied with a tremble in her voice. "I'm so glad you're here for me."

"Of course, my Dear," she replied and took the girls trembling hand on the table. Luckily for Miss Brown, the Minister had chosen her, Dolores Umbridge, for the position as School Counsellor. Because Dolores knew what was to do. She'd contact the Minister right away and with a bit of luck, they'd be on their way to the Ministry an hour later. Dinner with the Minister and their new warden – wasn't that a thing to look forward to?

ssssssss

Severus was pleased with himself. Being the true Slytherin he was, he had played his cards quite nicely. He hadn't only won Miss Granger's trust and secured the Open Link for himself, but he had also taught the girl Occlumency and in turn provided her with the tools to defend herself if it became necessary. But more importantly: they had agreed on a set of rules to protect them both. The girl hadn't made a fuss at all and accepted them with a thankful smile.

Once in his life, he had indeed been lucky, not only by finding the girl but that it was Hermione Granger in the first place. Heaven forbid if it had been one of these other morons, whose presence he could hardly stand. Building up a friendly relationship with them would have been a nightmare and teaching them Occlumency or any other useful thing, impossible. Not to think of possible confused teenage hormones including the danger that one of those silly gooses could have suddenly imagined being in love with him.

But as things were, fate had chosen Hermione Granger, the one student with not only brains but also enough courage and discipline to make something of this impossible situation. She was the one who could turn the tables in this godforsaken war, who could make a difference. And Severus would be damned if he wouldn't grab this chance with both hands and help her do the impossible. If this meant befriending the girl for it, so be it. He wasn't a totally unsociable bastard after all, no matter what was said about him behind his back.