A/N: I forgot to mention that I'm pretty much throwing the 5th book out the window. Since this takes place in Hermione's 5th year, I couldn't really use it, especially since the twins leave near the end of the year... On another note, I've decided to wait on the Diagon Alley chapter. That should be the next one, unless I have another idea and I have to put it off again.
Chapter Three: The Plan
"Oy! Get off! I'm happy to see you, too," laughed Hermione as she was mobbed by the Weasley children and -
"HARRY!" Hermione screamed when she spotted the dark haired boy with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The Weasley children backed away as Harry hurtled himself at Hermione. They embraced for a long and bone crushing hug. "I thought you were coming tomorrow, Harry..."
"I was supposed to, but Fred and George decided to take matters into their own hands," Harry said and grinned as Mrs. Weasley let out a huff of air. She glared at her two sons and they looked sheepishly at the floor.
"Okay, Harry. Let Hermione breath," Ginny piped up, sensing the tension in the air. She had a knack for being the peacemaker in the family, as she was the only girl. Ginny smiled over at Hermione and said "C'mon, Hermione. You're staying in my room. Dad can bring your trunk up when he gets back." Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and started to drag her towards the stairs.
"Hey! Hermione's our friend! When did you two start getting so chummy?" Ron said as he and Harry started following the girls.
"We've been writing over break," Ginny said simply.
"Yeah. And we've had plenty of sleepovers in the girl's dormitories," smirked Hermione.
"Why weren't we invited?" asked Fred with a cheeky grin. He and George had followed the group up the stairs. They all stopped and formed a giant circle as they reached Ginny's room.
"Er... Where is everyone going?" Harry asked as he stared at the twins.
"With you guys, of course," supplied George. "We're trying to... reconnect with our youth." He grinned.
"It's part of the next step in a project we're working on," said Fred.
"What kind of project?" asked Ron wearily. He rubbed the back of his neck as he remembered the Canary Cream that George had slipped him last night.
"That's none of your business, little brother. Now, who's room are taking this little shin dig into?" replied Fred as he rubbed his hands together and looked around at them all.
"Mine, I suppose, since we're right here," Ginny said as she went to open her door. Hermione walked in and everyone else followed. Fred and George were last and George closed the door. Harry, Ron, and Ginny plopped down on Ginny's bed and Hermione went to sit on her extra bed near the only window. Fred and George followed their idea and went to sit on either side of Hermione, since had of course sat in the middle of the bed.
"Hey, there, cutie," George said as he slung an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "What are you doing here?" Hermione glared at George, who was on her left, but said nothing.
"Hey man! What are you doing talking to my girlfriend!" Fred shouted at George. Harry and Ginny started laughing on the couch while Ron just stared, his mouth hanging open slightly.
"Your girlfriend! She's my girlfriend!" George yelled, pulling Hermione closer to him. Hermione was left a little awestruck. No boy had ever said she was his girlfriend, even if they were just joking around.
"Yeah, alright. She's your girlfriend. So, Harry, what did you think of your rescue mission?" Fred said nonchalantly. George looked at Fred, then at his arm still draped around Hermione's shoulder. He removed his arm slowly. After he did that, Hermione moved slightly closer to Fred, in an effort to hide her crimson cheeks from George. Fred looked down at Hermione and grinned. Hermione blushed even more.
"It was great! You should have seen Dudley's face when he saw you two just pop out of nowhere!" Harry said excitedly. The twins had Apparated to Number 4 Privet Drive the previous night to rescue Harry. The Dursley's had threatened to keep Harry locked in his room the rest of vacation if he did anything wrong, so Fred and George had decided to take matters into their own hands.
"I can imagine his face. Probably looked like a squealing pig, right?" Fred said, his attention back on Harry. Fred's smile faded as he went on without waiting for an answer. "Well, we have to go get ready for Diagon Alley, right George?"
"Huh?" George looked at Fred and blurted out. "Oh! Right. See you guys!" With a loud POP, both Fred and George disappeared.
"What the hellis wrong with your brothers!" Hermione said quite loudly to the room. Another POP later and George was standing in front of Hermione again.
"I heard that," he said and was gone with another POP. Harry, Ginny, and Ron all burst out laughing as Hermione let out an embarrassed cry, but quieter than her last outburst.
"So, we are going to Diagon Alley today?" questioned Ginny after their laughs had died down some.
"Yeah, your dad said something about going today," Hermione said. "I was a little scared about Harry, though. I thought he was coming tomorrow and your dad certainly gave me a fright when he said we were going today..."
While Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sat around Ginny's room talking and laughing, Fred and George were in their room talking themselves. George was sitting on his bed looking at Fred who was laying on his own bed, knees pulled up and in the air, his arms under his head as he stared at the ceiling.
"Why did you want to leave Gin's room, Fred?"
"I don't know. It felt weird. Being there, I mean. Next to Hermione." George's eyebrows popped up in surprise.
"What do you mean? We've been around Hermione all the time. What's so special about her?"
"Well..." Fred hesitated. He knew George would never tell. But he wanted to keep his feelings secret a little longer. He needed to figure out why he had felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach when Hermione had scooted ever so closer to him when George had let her go back in Ginny's room. "Well, I've been thinking for awhile now. You know how Hermione is such a goody-goody and all?" Fred rolled onto his side and looked at his brother expectantly.
"Of course. What are you thinking?" George said with a grin. This sounded like a plan.
"What if we pay her back for all the times she's told us off? And she's bound to catch us at night on one of our nightly strolls, so why not plan ahead?"
"I like your thinking, but have you got a plan yet? Should we use some of our Weasley Wizarding Wheezes mechandise on her?" George sounded excited at the idea of testing out some of their inventions on an unsuspecting victim.
"No. I was thinking more along the lines of messing with her head." Fred sat up. Fred and George were mirror images of each other as they sat, slumped, exactly the same way with the same meddlesome glow in their matchinghazel eyes.
"Hmm... That's sounds good. We can show her that we're not as dumb as she thinks we are. What kind of head messing do you have in mind?" George looked pointedly at Fred.
"What if we make her fall in love with one of us?" George's face fell when Fred said this.
"With a spell?" George asked, confused. He didn't know of a spell to make someone fall in love with you. His eyes squinted together as he thought.
"No. With the old fashioned wining and dining, so to speak. And we can top it all off with some public humiliation when we get back at school."
"Excellent idea, Fred! Now which one of us are we going to make her fall for? How about you, since I'm not good at that kind of stuff?"
"No, I think we should make her fall for you. We already started by doing that whole girlfriend thing in Ginny's room." Fred didn't good about playing with Hermione's emotions. He didn't want to be the one to make her fall for him.
"Alright. We make her fall for me. But how about you pretend to be me for the romantic stuff? I'm not really one for that kind of stuff."
Fred wasn't paying attention, but he mumbled "Yeah. Yeah, alright." He had this weird feeling that seemed to come from somewhere in his middle. It didn't feel good.He sat thinking, feeling. Thenhe realized with afrownthat the feeling was guilt.