Chapter Six

Feeling slightly awkward wearing an extra layer of clothes, especially since she couldn't see them, Hermione walked from the Great Hall to the common room with Harry and Ron.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," said Hermione when they reached the Fat Lady's portrait. Walking through the portrait hole they quickly grabbed each of their favorite armchair near the fire. Crookshanks jumped up onto Hermione's lap and curled up like a furry ginger cushion.

Sitting quietly in thought suddenly the rage that she had felt earlier towards Umbridge resurfaced, "How can Dumbledore have let this happen?" Harry and Ron jumped and Crookshanks leapt off her lap with an affronted look. Pounding the arms of her chair she continued, "How can he let that terrible woman teach us? And in our O.W.L. year too!"

"Well, we've never had great Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we? You know what it's like, Hagrid told us, nobody wants the job, they say it's jinxed," said Harry.

"Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us do magic! What's Dumbledore playing at?" Countered Hermione.

"And she's trying to get people to spy for her. Remember when she said she wanted us to come and tell her if we heard anyone saying You-Know-Who's back?" Ron said darkly.

"Of course she's here to spy on us all, that's obvious, why else would Fudge have wanted her to come?" snapped Hermione.

"Don't start arguing again," said Harry as Ron had opened his mouth to retaliate, he then turned to Hermione with an accusing look, "And Hermione so far you've managed to avoid answering any questions about what happened to you last night. So tell us, what exactly did happen?"

Hermione looked down at the floor and let out a breath then looking back up towards Harry and Ron but instead of looking at either of them she stared out past them as she replayed the events of the previous night in her mind. Once she had decided what she would tell them she began, "First I'm going to have to ask you to let me tell the whole thing before you start asking questions, okay? (Harry and Ron nodded yes) Well I was in the dormitory…" Hermione launched into an explanation of the events of last night.

When she was done the two of them sat there and blinked. Harry was the first to speak, "Well… er..." before Harry could figure out what to say some people walked into common room.

Ron chipped in quickly, "Let's do the homework and get it over with."

Getting up quickly they grabbed their schoolbags from the corner and quickly returned to their chairs before anyone else could take them. Dipping his quill into his ink Ron said, "Shall we do Snape's stuff first?" Pulling a piece of parchment out of his bag he began writing muttering the words as he wrote them, "'The propteries of moonstone and its uses in potion making.'" Looking up at Hermione he asked, "What exactly are the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion making?"

Hermione, however, wasn't paying attention. She was squinting over into the far corner of the room where Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were now standing in the middle of a group of first years, all of which were chewing something that probably came out of the brown paper bag that Fred was holding.

"I'm sorry, but they've just gone to far this time. Ron, come on," Commanded Hermione as she stood up looking furious.

Attempting to play for time Ron quickly said, "I – What? No – come on we can't tell them off for giving out sweets."

"Ron, you know perfectly well that those are bits of Nosebleed Nougat or – or Puking Pastilles or –"

"Fainting Fancies?" Suggested Harry.

One by one each of the first years slumped over unconscious, some fell onto the floor others heads' just lolled over to one side but each one of them had their tongue hanging out. On lookers were laughing, Hermione however stuck one hand into her left pocket (she had neglected to tell them about the emergency beacon) squared her shoulders and marched over her head held high.

"That's enough!" Ordered Hermione, both Fred and George looked up in mild surprise.

Yeah, you're right," said George nodding, "this dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"

"You can't test your rubbish on students, especially first years!"

"We're paying them!" replied Fred indignantly.

"I don't care, it could be dangerous!" retorted Hermione her hand in her pocket squeezed the emergency beacon tighter, but she didn't activate it.

"Rubbish," said Fred.

"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine!" said Lee reassuringly as he walked from first year to first year, pushing purple sweets into their open mouths.

"Yeah, look, they're coming round now," said George.

A few of the first years were stirring; most of them looked shocked to find themselves in whatever position they were. They had obviously not warned them what the sweets were going to do.

George looked at towards a small dark-haired girl lying at his feet and asked kindly, "Feeling all right?"

"I-I think so," she said shakily.

"Excellent," said Fred happily, but in the next second Hermione grabbed both the clipboard and bag from him.

"It is NOT excellent!"

"'Course it is, they're alive, aren't they?" said Fred angrily.

"You can't do this, what if you'd made one of them really ill?" Hermione desperately wanted to press the button and bring this argument to a close, but suddenly she knew exactly what to do.

"We're not going to make them ill, we've already tested them all on ourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same –"

"If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to –"

"Put us in detention?" said Fred in a testing voice.

"Make us write lines?" said George, smirking.

Onlookers were laughing, but Hermione drew herself up to her full height, eyes narrowed and her seemed to crackle with electricity.

"No," he voice quivered with anger, "but I will write to your mother."

"You wouldn't," said George, horrified, taking a step back from her.

"Oh, yes I would," said Hermione. "I can't stop you from eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not giving them to first years."

Fred and George were thunderstruck, as far as they were concerned Hermione's threat was way below the belt. With a last quivering glare she thrust Fred's clipboard and the paper bag back into his arms and stalked back to her chair by the fire. Ron was stooped so low in his seat that his nose was roughly level with his knees.

"Thanks for your support, Ron," Hermione said acidly.

"You handled it fine by yourself," Ron mumbled in reply.

After staring at her paper for a few seconds she said, "Oh, it's no good, I can't concentrate now. I'm going to bed."

Wrenching open her bags as though to put her books away, she pulled out two misshapen woolly objects, placed them carefully on a table by the fireplace, covered them with a few screwed-up bits of parchment and a broken quill, then standing back to admire the effect.

After a short argument with Ron about the validity of her hats, actually counting as clothes Hermione grabbed her bag and marched into the girls' dormitory. Dropping her bag off at the foot of her bed she changed into her nightgown, though unsure if she was allowed to remove her BDUs at night she decided that it would be best to leave them on.

Lying on the bed Hermione closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, but just before she went to sleep the question returned.

What will you do when wands fail you?