A.N.: Hello again, here's another chapter for you. I hope you're all still healthy and in good humour. If not, then I hope this chapter can cheer you up a bit. After this one, it's four more chapters until we're at the end of the first part of the story, which is kind of funny. When I started this whole journey I estimated the first part with about 15 chapters. Yeah, things have gotten a bit out of hand. I hope you don't mind.

This chapter has been betaed by my writer-friend multilingualism.

Chapter 27: Detention part 2

Hermione was right, Fred thought when the bloody quill opened the skin on the back of his hand once more. This woman was evil, not like You-Know-How but in a very subtle and sick way.

When he and George first heard that they were meant to write lines, he had felt like laughing. But already after the first line, he realized that writing the actual line was only a minor part of the punishment. The woman made them hurt themselves, over and over again and with every line, the pain on the back of his hand grew a little worse as the words carved themselves deeper into his flesh. All the while Dolores Umbridge was sitting at her desk, drinking tea and watching them with a delighted glint in her eyes. It was making him sick.

Merlin, how many more times was he supposed to write those fucking words: "I must not buy joke items." If writing the line over and over again wouldn't have hurt that much, Fred would have felt like laughing. Because he and George had never actually bought the Skiving Snack boxes and all the other stuff, they had made them. But considering the circumstances, that was a fact, the better kept hidden from the woman that sat across from them in her pink, cushioned chair. Would those words on their hands ever fade? Or would they remain as a scar? If they did, he would wear it with pride, like a token he had earned himself and he was pretty sure George would do the same. And no, they would not buy joke items again, they would make their own ones and they would be gigantic. And right when the words carved themselves into his skin once more Fred decided that he would sell them with a huge discount for anybody who used them on Dolores fucking Umbridge. Because even if the woman was not yet aware of it, she had crossed the wrong people and she'd soon find out.

ssssssss

Hermione felt strange. She wasn't magically exhausted, which she should have been, considering that she had sent her magical energy to Severus for almost an hour now. The man had been sitting patiently at her side and letting her hold him without seeming uncomfortable or unwelcoming. Instead, his body had relaxed in her arms and his breathing had evened out, while he had buried his face in her shoulder.

Hermione couldn't forget what he had told her. She couldn't even imagine how it was to be forced to do these kinds of things against one's will, but she realized that her friend was in pain, even though those events must have happened years in his past. But the memories still hurt him and Hermione wanted to make the pain go away. So that's what she focussed on when she sent her magic to him and considering his emotional reaction it seemed to at least do something.

"I think that's enough for now," he finally murmured and let go of her. His eyes were still moist which meant that he had been silently crying on her shoulder the whole time. "I don't want you to spend all your energy and wear yourself out. We can always continue another day, even though I doubt this will be necessary."

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. "Does that mean it worked? Are you feeling better?"

The man looked at her with a smile. "I do. I feel worlds better than I did in a very long time and I don't know how I can ever pay you back."

She shook her head with a disbelieving smile. "Really, Severus? I thought by now we would be clear, there is no need for payback between the two of us. We're friends, Severus, and friends help each other without expecting anything in return. You helped me so many times already, do you remember? You helped me protect my mind and you even agreed to obliviate my parents. Did you ever expect some sort of payment for that?"

He looked down into his lap and shook his head. His long hair was covering part of his face like a curtain, so that it was hard for her to see his expression. "No, I didn't." He paused and for a moment he seemed at a loss for words. "It's just, I'm not sure if you realize how special it is, what you've just done for me. No one and I really mean no one could have ever done that sort of thing. This whole Open Link business isn't just about supplying energy like we originally thought. Merlin, this is so much more and I slowly get the feeling we don't even know half of it."

Hermione nodded. Her friend was probably right and the implications of that excited and scared her at the same time. "Probably. This condition doesn't seem very well explored or at least documented, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time. We don't know how it could help us, or maybe also help others, but You-Know-Who and the Ministry don't know either."

"And it must stay that way," Severus urged her and looked up at her with a deadly serious expression. "If the Dark Lord ever learns what you are capable of… I can't even imagine what he would try to do to make you his." Her friend shook his head with a broody expression. "But it probably wouldn't even matter as he is already desperate to find you. If he ever gets you into his fingers, Hermione…" He shook his head with a sigh. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Then let's not think about this now," Hermione replied with a determined smile. "He doesn't have me yet and I'll do everything I can, that he never will. And even if he does, Severus, do you really think he could convince me to join his cause? After everything I know and I had to do, to keep my parents safe?"

Her friend shook his head with a sad smile. "Not right away, no. But the Dark Lord can be very charismatic and persuasive, you have no idea. So please, be careful, Hermione, because I'm pretty sure if he ever captures you, there's no getting you back, at least not alive."

Hermione nodded with a solemn expression. "I promise to be careful, Severus. I know what's at stake and I'm not an idiot."

He snorted. "No, you're not. Thank god for that. I wouldn't be able to close an eye at night otherwise." With that, he got up from the sofa and looked at her with a raised brow. "Tea?"

She nodded with a happy smile. "Definitely. I feel like I need one before I return to the madness of the Gryffindor common room."

ssssssss

It was late in the evening when Fred and George finally stumbled back into the common room. George felt dead on his feet, not because he was tired but because the last hours had totally worn him out emotionally. He and his brother were cheerful and optimistic by nature and having to hurt themselves over and over again had cost him every grain of self-control he could muster. And now he just wanted to crawl into bed and fall asleep, so he would no longer feel the permanent throbbing of his hand.

But the portrait hole hadn't even closed behind him as he already saw Hermione looking into their direction with sharp eyes. She was sitting with Harry and Ron by the window but as soon as her eyes fell on them, she was on her feet and hurried towards them. "Fred, George. Are you alright?" she asked them and looked at them with a worried expression. George shook his head with a tired sigh. "We will be, don't worry, Hermione, just not tonight."

But his words were obviously not reassuring her in the least, as she grabbed his hand to pull him closer. The sting he felt at the contact was so bad, that he pulled his hand away with a hiss. She stared at him with wide, concerned eyes. "What has she done to you? Show me," she demanded in a low voice but the undertone of it made the hairs in his neck stand up. He looked at his brother with an uncertain expression but Fred only shrugged and pulled a face.

George sighed showing her the back of his hand. The writing was still visible in red, angry lines and the skin around the edges was pink and swollen. Hermione took one look at it and gasped. "She carved your hand? How?" She asked in a disbelieving, angry tone while her eyes sparkled with something that caused an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Seems like she has a supply of Blood Quills. We had to write lines but instead of ink those things used our blood."

Hermione looked at his hand unblinkingly for a long moment and George could almost see the wheels in her head turning. He would have loved to know what she was thinking, but it was impossible to tell. "And you have to go back tomorrow?" She finally asked them with calm seriousness. The twins nodded in unison. "And the day after, yeah," Fred agreed with a sigh. "But don't worry Hermione. Georgie and I can deal with it. We'll not break because of some little cuts on our hands."

She looked at his brother with inquiring eyes. "But they still hurt? Are you in pain?"

George nodded with a grim smile. "I guess they will hurt for quite a while and probably leave a scar, too. But it's alright, Hermione, really."

The girl shook her head with a grim expression. "It's not. You should go to the hospital wing or Professor McGonagall. I could take you there right now. I'm a Prefect."

Fred shook his head. "Don't bother. I just want to fall into my bed right now and there probably isn't much she can do anyway. Those cuts are intended to resist healing magic. That's kind of the point, you know? As to McGonagall: I'm pretty sure the Minister gave the toad a carte blanche because all he cares about is capturing the Open Link."

Hermione sighed. It was obvious that she didn't like this answer and for a moment it looked like she would object. But instead, she hung her shoulders and nodded. "Alright, we're not going to the infirmary tonight. But you're meeting me in your lab, tomorrow after classes are finished. That is not negotiable."

George blinked at her confusedly. "Uh, alright. Did someone ever tell you, that you can be kind of bossy?"

"Your little brother keeps reminding me of that fact," the girl replied with a snort and a shrug. "I guess as my friends you'll have to learn to live with it. So don't be late, tomorrow."

Fred looked at her with a grin. "Wouldn't dream of it."

ssssssss

"I need your help," he heard Hermione's voice right next to him, even though he was unable to see her. Severus had just finished his morning classes and was about to go back to his rooms when he found her waiting disillusioned in front of his office. The girl had never visited him during the daytime, so he already guessed that there was a reason behind her break of habit, which made him invite her in with a jerk of his head towards his office door. He opened it with a wave of his wand and stepped through without turning around to her again. But when he locked the door some moments later, he could see her appear two steps away to his right.

"What do you need?" he asked while studying her with a concerned expression. She seemed a bit distracted and maybe a tad nervous, which suggested that he wouldn't like what she asked of him. But he guessed it couldn't be worse than obliviating her parents.

"I need a healing potion or anything that could help against damage done by Blood Quills," she said and looked at him with pleading eyes. Severus stared back at her with a disbelieving expression.

"Blood Quills? Those things are medieval and out of use for centuries, for good reason, I might add," he patiently explained, but the girl didn't flinch.

"They're not. Professor Umbridge is using them in detention. She hurt my friends with them and she'll do so again tonight and tomorrow."

For a moment he had problems to contemplate what she was saying. Dolores Umbridge was torturing students during detention? If the words had come from another person than Hermione, he probably wouldn't have believed them. But the girl stood in front of him with wide eyes and a trembling bottom lip, which made it obvious that she was telling the truth. "That's unexpected…" he replied carefully and looked at her with raised brows. "Have you seen the wounds?"

She nodded with a grim expression. "I have. Can you help?"

He sighed. "Probably. There might be a potion or two that could help your friends. But they are difficult to make and I only have a minimal supply. I will give them to you, but I have two conditions."

"Anything," Hermione replied with wide, shining eyes. He sighed. He didn't even have to ask for which of her friends she needed the potions. There were only two boys she would get that excited about at the moment, even though she would probably deny it. He sighed. The girl finally needed to learn to get her emotions under control or she would never manage to distance herself from them.

Severus said: "You will tell no one who gave these potions to you, Hermione, not even them."

She nodded without hesitation. Keeping their association a secret wasn't anything new to her at all. "Alright and the other condition?"

He smiled crookedly. "We'll use your detention this evening to make new ones. I have the feeling they will be needed within the next few weeks. Because when it is true what you just told me, then our High Inquisitor is just about to get warmed up."

ssssssss

When Hermione arrived in the room behind the three-eyed troll, Fred and George were already there. As the two of them didn't attempt a lot of NEWTs they had a bunch of free time and most of it they seemed to spend in their lab. When she stepped through the door, both of them were busily working on one of their projects and when none of them reacted to the sound of the closing door, she loudly cleared her throat. Both of them immediately paused their work, turning around to her with a welcoming smile.

"Hello, Hermione," George greeted her with a smile and putting the firecracker he seemed to be working on aside.

"Nice of you to come visiting us again," Fred added, stepping closer to her. He stopped when he was only two steps away and sat down on one of the empty tables in front of her. George chose the place next to his brother and said: "We didn't really have time to talk since the holidays. How are you feeling, love?"

"Better," she replied with a small smile. "I still miss my parents terribly, but I no longer feel lonely, if that makes any sense."

The boys nodded. "Of course it does," Fred said with a small smile. "I'm glad you're better."

"That's not why I'm here though," she said and stepped closer. Her eyes involuntarily travelled to their hands, where the marks from their last detention were still clearly visible. "I want to help you, boys. Will you let me?"

For a moment they didn't say anything and to Hermione, it seemed like they were communicating without words. Finally, Fred sighed and said: "You can try, Mione. But there might not be much you can do."

She looked at them with her chin raised proudly. "Maybe, but maybe not. Some time ago I brewed some potions, just in case things get ugly. As I am Harry's best friend and he constantly gets into trouble it's only a matter of time until I'll need them, but I can make new ones if those work for you." It was a lie of course, but Severus had taught her well and so her eyes didn't even twitch. "They're very effective and should be able to heal your skin. If you would be willing to try them?"

Fred looked at her with his mouth twitching into a smile. "You want us to try an unknown potion? Without being sure if it works?" he asked and looked at her with his brows raised in interest.

Hermione nodded shyly. "Yeah. I know this means a lot of trust from your side, but…"

George snorted. "…'s alright. We're testing our own stuff all the time. 's not a big deal. Just try to get us to the Infirmary in time, if something goes wrong."

She stared at them with big eyes. "Really? You're agreeing to drink them? Just like that?"

"Just like that," Fred agreed with a nod and held his palm open. Hermione reached into the pocket of her robe, where she had stored the four vials that Severus had given her. She pulled them out, but only handed the ones with the pink, milky potion over to the twins.

"You'll only need to take a mouthful, which means that you could keep the rest for later if it works," she explained and looked at them with a shy smile. The twins nodded attentively.

"Alright," Fred finally said and grinned at his brother. "Any last words, Georgie?"

"Nope," George said and raised his vial to Hermione. "Cheers, love," he said and with a last smile towards her, he took a big gulp. Fred followed his example a second later. For a moment they stared at her with a confused expression on her face, but then their eyes widened and they looked at their hands in wonder.

"It's gone," George said tonelessly before he suddenly leapt from his place, stormed towards her and scooped her up into his arms. Hermione squeaked in surprise and looked at him with wide eyes, but he just grinned and twirled her around. "You're brilliant," he said and grinned.

"Not that this comes as a surprise to us," Fred said and stepped next to him. "We always knew you were." He winked at her.

Hermione smiled shyly. Her heart was dancing the tango again and the fact that they were so close to her now, didn't help her confused feelings in the least. "Thanks, boys. Would you mind putting me down again, George?"

The redhead grinned. "Actually I would. But I've seen you have another potion for us, so I better should, huh?"

She nodded with a small smile. George let her slide down his body until she was standing on the floor in front of him again. Then he looked at her with a raised brow and a wide grin.

"Well, what's this second potion then?" his brother asked and looked at her with brown, curious eyes.

Hermione nervously rubbed her neck. She replied: "This one's actually for later. Take it before you go to your detention. It will numb all pain for a few hours, so you hopefully won't feel a thing until you're back to your dorm. If all goes well you're really just writing lines today, boys." She looked at them with a small smile, before she handed over two more vials. Those contained a milky, white potion that had some silvery particles floating around them. "Again a sip should be enough, which means you should have enough for tomorrow, too."

The boys stared at her in wonder. "You're… that's…" George mumbled and pocketed his potion with a disbelieving smile.

"…brilliant," Fred supplied helpfully and slipped his vial into the pocket of his robes. Then he made a step towards her and pulled her into his arms. "You're brilliant, Hermione," he mumbled into her ear. He was so close, that she could feel his breath on her skin which made it break out into goosebumps immediately. She shivered.

"I'm happy to help," she mumbled sheepishly and Fred let go of her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course you are," he said with a gentle smile before he stroked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Hermione swallowed heavily because for a moment she could have sworn that he would kiss her any second. But nothing happened. Instead, he looked at her with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes, before he pulled back and said: "And we are some lucky bastards to have a friend like you, right, Georgie?"

His brother agreed with a wide smile. "Lucky bastards, indeed."