Switching Hour
Miranda Shadowind

Chapter 3: The Wearer of the Badge

"Why are you at my side?
How can I be any use to you now?

Give me a chance and I'll let you see how
Nothing has changed"

-"You Must Love Me" (Madonna)

Upon entering the room he and Fred had always shared, George fell to his knees, panting, shaking, and clutching his chest with one hand. Almost from the moment Fred had started reading Dumbledore's letter, George had felt cut off; isolated. All through their seventeen years together, the pair had easily, almost naturally shared thoughts, feelings, and the like through their twinbond.

But Fred had shut him – his own twin – out then and there, and seemingly showed his true colors. George hadn't been able to read his thoughts, but the brief sinister smirk that had crossed his twin's face after reading aloud the rule about only one Head Boy was enough. He'd been used; led to believe he was loved as an equal, a partner in crime; when it was all a plot of Fred's to gain power for himself.

Yet at the same time those thoughts of betrayal crossed his mind, a voice deep inside was screaming, "Don't be so blind you prat! This isn't what it looks like!" Part of George wanted to believe - longed to believe - but it was difficult when all the evidence pointed otherwise. He was utterly confused and in pain, both physically and emotionally.

As he let out a soft moan, George felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. "Forge..."

"Go away, Bighead Boy." George said flatly, not bothering to so much as lift his head. Fred winced at the moniker they'd bewitched onto Percy's old badge back in their Fifth Year. "You obviously don't need your 'lesser half' now that you've risen to power."

Fred crossed the threshold, shut the door, and knelt down in front of his scowling brother. "What on Earth are you talking about?" He asked, lifting George's head up so their eyes met. Now he was the one being shut out. For the first time he was unable to fully read his twin's expression.

The arm was pulled down shortly before George withdrew his hand. "You know damn well what I'm talking about! I saw that look on your face when you read the rule about only one Head Boy and Girl per year! Your shutting me out only confirmed things."

"I didn't mean to, I was just focused on getting through that ruddy letter! As for the smirk that rule gave me an idea; I just didn't want to look suspicious by pausing to tell you." Knowing what the next question would be, he continued as George started to open his mouth. "We're still equals, we always have been and always will be. No stupid badge is going to change that. That's what I tried to say when you cut me off before. Which brings me to my next point: my idea. Think about it: the only 'difference' between us right now is which twin wears the badge, right?"

"Right..." He stopped concentrating on blocking his thoughts, and his scowl slowly morphed into an evil grin to match Fred's as the idea in full flowed across the renewed connection. "D'you think it'll work? The teachers know there's two of us."

"Georgie, Georgie, Georgie, our own Mum can't tell us apart most of the time, and that's saying something! They'll never know!"

"Rules were made to be broken-"

"-especially by us!" The pair sniggered.

"It'll be our second-biggest secret, we can't tell anyone or we're done for. Not Lee-"

"Not the girls-"

"You're one to talk, I saw you and Angelina at the Ball last year!" George teased as they stood up.

Fred blushed a little, then smirked. "And I suppose you and Katie are 'just friends,' hmm?"

Now both of them were looking more than a bit pink in the face, and cracked up at each other's expressions. "You know me too well." The arguement came to mind again, and George pulled his twin into a tight bear hug. "Oh Gred, how could I have ever doubted you?"

Fred returned the embrace. "It's all right Forge, you just overreacted before you knew what was really going on. I probably would've reacted the same way."

He rubbed a hand along his twin's back, and George rested his head on Fred's shoulder. For several minutes they just stood there, holding each other, both feeling whole again. The pain within had long since vanished.

Abruptly, there was knock at the door, and they immediately split apart. If anyone saw that the incident had been so easily resolved, they might suspect a plot. And the twins were not about to blow their greatest prank before it could even begin.

"You two alive in there?" Bill's voice called from just beyond the door.

"Yeah," Fred answered in a fake half-hearted voice as he picked up the envelope and tossed it to George. He then put the camera on their desk and deliberately sat down on the wrong bed. 'Might as well start now.'

"-we're fine," George added quickly in the same tone, flopping down on the vacant bed next to the left wall. He fiddled with the badge that had started it all. 'Let the games begin!'

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Author's Notes: Kudos to everyone who's reviewed so far! And now for a bit of commentary on the reviews thus far:

Kujelia: "Okay, how could he be Head Boy without being a Prefect?"
-Good question, I honestly haven't figured that out yet. I was in one of my weird "What If..." moods when the story idea first came to me.

Squiglet8: "...The idea is really original and unusual."
-Thanks, that's part of what I was going for. Fanfics like this one kinda reflect my at times bizarre imagination. As suggested above, I like to play "What If...?" a lot for the hell of it, and a handful of fanfics I've posted (HP and otherwise) are the results.

Tintalle HalfHolbytla: "That's so sad!"
-Yeah, I know, but as you can see things got better. I can't bear to split up my beloved Twinsies for good.

baby309blue: "i really like this story! can u please finish it soon!!!!!!!!!"
-I'm glad you like it, but it's far from over. One can't just say, "Oh, Fred Weasley somehow wound up as Head Boy, had a fight with George, made up, all Hell broke loose at Hogwarts*, The End." There's no fun in that! Updates should be regular though, I've got part of Chapter 4 done, and some ideas for later on.

*Not that I'm saying it will or won't, you'll just have to wait and see! ;)