Disclaimer: I own the plot, but not the characters or anyone/anything you might recognize.
Chapter Six: Applause and Screams
A/N: I had lots of fun writing this chapter: I hope you guys like it! Nicole, Amanda, and Julia: mucho gracias for the wonderful beta-ing. Any other mistakes, miswordings, and stupid ideas are entirely and completely my fault. You guys are amazing: thanks so much!
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I breathed in deeply as I strolled onto the grounds, breathing in the familiar scenes of the castle, the lake, owls, and a potion or two gone awry.
"Ah, feels good to be back, doesn't it?" I asked my companion.
"Yes, it most certainly does, dear brother," he replied. "We've waited too long for this, it'll be great for business. Ah, but something doesn't quite feel right about this, does it?"
"My thoughts exactly," I said with a grin. With a mere flick of my wand our old school robes were out of their boxes in the attic and back where they belonged. They were an inch too short, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose.
"Still a bit musty, but that's nothing a freshening charm won't fix."
By now we'd reached the towering front doors, and in a fluid motion we both swung them open and breathed in the scent of Hogwarts: cleaning solutions, faint mustiness the house elves must hate, owls, an old dung bomb's lingering stench, and the mahogany wood of the furniture. A last breeze of September air made its way into the empty hall as the heavy doors shut behind us. Our footsteps echoed through the corridor as we made our way to the Great Hall by memory, though I suppose we could have done so by merely following our noses. Supper was underway, and the minute we made the first turn about ten different delicious scents wafted through the hall towards us with tempting fingers to lure us forward.
Once again we found ourselves under the arch of a large doorway, but this time we hesitated, savoring the moment. Each of us had a hand on one of the large, intricate silver handles as memories came flooding back to us. We could hear voices in the hall, but waited a few moments for the opportune moment to arrive when the entire student body was in that hall. A moment later I looked over at my sibling, and he looked back.
"On three?" He asked.
"Of course. One…"
"Two…"
"Three!" We yelled together, and each of us threw a door open and stepped into the hall, letting the doors slam loudly behind us, our grand entrance granting us the full attention of the hall.
Voices were hushed and the room fell silent upon our arrival, eyes of everyone growing big. Specifically those of McGonagall and Filch, but that was only to be expected. We stood in the silence for a moment, never feeling (or looking) awkward, before I spoke.
"I don't really think I'm enjoying our grand welcome as much as I thought I would. What do you think, Fred?" I asked, hand on my hip, head turned toward my twin.
"Oh, not at all, George," Fred said shaking his head, playing along.
Our little banter broke the silence like a hot knife through butter, and within moments the entire hall was filled with applause from the students and apprehensive looks from the staff table. Of course, the five figures running towards us with looks ranging from gleeful to furious had been merely anticipated.
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"Fred! George!" Ginny yelled, running towards her two older brothers, both of whom braced for impact immediately before she slammed into George, who swept her off her feet and gave her a kiss on the check in greeting before setting her back down. Hermione, Harry, and Ron soon followed and greeted them before bombarding them with their questions.
"George, what're you two doing here?" Ginny said, hand on her hip.
Feigning surprise, he replied, "George? Dear sister, you're speaking to the one and only Fred!"
"Oh, quit the act," she said, rolling her eyes. "I could tell you two apart since I was six, even if Mom couldn't."
"Ah, yes. You were never much fun after that…"
"George!" Hermione reprimanded before he could get off topic.
"Oh, right. We're here to see-"
"Our lovely, family, of course," Fred said, finishing the sentence for him in that uncanny way they always had. However, all it took was a look from Ginny that was undoubtedly inherited from her mother's side to make them spill.
"It would be nice to do some advertising and testing for our new joke shop," Fred said, tilting his head and looking upwards towards the evening sky, pretending innocence.
"I mean, as long as we're here," George added with a wink.
A number of reactions came with this: nearby tables started whispering and glancing apprehensively at them, Ginny's face illuminated with a huge grin, Ron jittered nervously, Harry was stuck between Ron's nervousness and Ginny's excitement, Hermione gave them a stern look, and Professor McGonagall finally made it towards them.
"Just what," she said, lips thin, "do you two think you're doing, storming into the castle like this, uninvited and unannounced?"
"Well, I think we did just announce ourselves," Fred said with a shrug, looking at George to continue.
"We're just here to tes- er, advertise a few of our new products. Don't you worry, Madame, we'll be gone by tomorrow evening. Nothing harmful. And we promise not to create any more swamps, like last time," George said, nodding at Filch with his last comment. "A little birdie told us you kept a bit of it, is that true?"
This time it was Filch's turn to nod. Not a man of many words, he continued eating after his affirmative, looking a bit grim at the prospect of a mess or two to clean up.
"Aboslutely not!" McGonagall told him. "You will not be staying the night, it is just not allowed!" Hermione looked down and noticed the transfiguration teacher wringing her hands nervously.
"Well, we've never been ones to abide by the rules, have we, George?"
"Not particularly, Fred," the redhead said with a look of 'sorry' on his face. "Now, if you don't mind, we have a few products to plant in the halls. Notices will be posted on house bulletin boards for more information on our shop!"
Before McGonagall could protest once more, the twins were out the door, on their way to mischief. McGonagall followed them, but came back moments later upon realizing they'd disappeared.
"What do you think about that, mate?" Harry asked Ron.
"I think I'm a bit scared, honestly," he said.
"I think it's a load of rubbish, them coming back to Hogwarts to test products on students! You don't happen to have the Marauder's Map on you Harry, do you?" Hermione asked, turning to the said friend.
"Sorry, Hermione," Harry said.
"Well, we'll just have to go get it," she replied. "Perhaps I'll stop them before they get too far."
"Aw, Hermione," Ron complained. As if on cue, his stomach growled.
"He's right," Harry said. "We might as well eat dinner. They won't be putting anything dangerous out there under Dumbledore's watch."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Harry," Ginny countered with a smirk as soon as McGonagall was out of sight.
"Either way, I'm hungry," Ron said, crossing his arms.
With a sigh Hermione resigned to her friend's wishes and sat back down at the table. She quickly finished eating and turned to glare at the doorway while she waited for her friends, as if the twins would suddenly appear at her will. She was broken from her reverie when Snape blocked her view on his way out of the hall a few minutes later.
"Harry! Ron! Hurry up! Ginny's already done," Hermione sigh anxiously. The less time the twins had to plant their "jokes", the less "jokes" there would be.
"Ah riy, ah riy!" Hermione put her head in her hands as she heard Ron trying, once again, to speak with his mouth full.
"Oops," he said with a sheepish look.
"Let's just go," Hermione said, getting up. She smiled when the others got up, too. In front of them, Snape was opening the doors to the hall on the other side, looking wary. And with reason, too, for as soon as he stepped into the hall his robes were gone, and had been replaced with a pink, frilly dress. It took a moment for the students to realize what happened, but they roared with laughter when it was figured out. Even McGonagall cracked a smile. Snape turned to glare at them, but it wasn't very effective with the bright pink, blushing face. Turning on his heels, he stormed down to the dungeons, trying spells on the dress all the while, none of which seemed to work.
When Hermione reached the door, she looked around warily, not seeing the spell anywhere. Bracing herself, she gripped Ginny's hand, and stepped through.
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"The nerve!" Ron was still fuming as they ran to the Gryffindor tower, all wearing dresses of an unbearable shade of pink. "I cannot believe those insufferable-"
"Is that the way to talk about your brothers, dearest Ronnikens?" A voice said as they turned a corner.
"George! That was awesome!" Ginny exclaimed, embracing her older brother. "Did you see the look on Snape's face?"
The twins both showed disappointed faces. "No, it seems we missed it," Fred replied. "But we did see him storming down the halls."
"That- that- OH!" Ron stuttered.
"That spell's not going to be there forever, is it?" Hermione asked, tapping her foot on the ground to show her impatience.
"Don't worry, it only works once per person," George told her with a smirk. "Bloody brilliant, hm?"
"Oh, yes!" Harry exclaimed sarcastically as he waved his fingers in the air. "Fred and George are bloody brilliant!"
The twins looked at each other and grinned. Moments later, Harry's dress was turned back into his robes.
"Fred and George are bloody brilliant?" Hermione asked, eyebrows raised, as her dress disappeared. "How subtle."
"Aren't we always, Hermione? But we'd best be on our way. Only here for a day, remember." With that, the twins disappeared down a corridor before Hermione could stop them.
"Where are you staying?" Hermione called after them in a desperate attempt.
"The Room of Requirement, of course!" One of them called back before they disappeared completely.
Ginny laughed before reciting the line Harry happened upon, and it wasn't long before heads turned to Ron, waiting for him to recite it, too.
"No."
"Why not? Or are you enjoying the cross-dressing experience?" Harry asked.
Glaring, Ron replied, "No. I will not say that Fred and George are bloody brilliant."
"Too late, mate," Harry said as he started down the hall. Ron looked down and realized his mistake before running to catch up.
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Hermione woke with a start and looked around the gold and maroon room, wondering why she'd woken up at three in the morning, and quickly realized why. Her grumbling stomach reminded her of the dinner she'd skimmed over, and with a slight groan she threw her legs over the side of her bed and slipped her feet into her white, fuzzy slippers and stood up. A quick glance in the mirror reminded her of her attire: a white camisole, navy blue plaid flannel pants, and her slippers. Shaking her head to force out the grogginess, she slipped on a dark robe and slid her wand into her pocket before walking silently to the steps.
As she made her way down several flights of stairs, she cursed whoever had decided to put the head's room at the top of them. Having her own room was nice, but at the top of eight flights of stairs? That was just crazy…
Slipping out of the portrait hole, she looked around to make sure no one was around. She silently swept through the halls and into a dark corridor. She shivered and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she walked in the utter darkness, feeling both cold and alone.
Fumbling for her wand, she began muttering the spell for light but froze in place when she heard footsteps heavier than her own. She was sure not even the Head Girl could get out of trouble for creeping around at three in the morning dressed in her pajamas. The footsteps loomed closer, and Hermione backed up against a wall, wand still in her hand. A light from the end of a wand wasn't enough for Hermione to see the witch or wizard, so Hermione merely held her breath and hoped for the best. But it seemed fate was not on her side, for all the stealth in the world could not have calmed the loud grumble from the pits of Hermione's stomach.
The figure in front of Hermione turned quickly, and the light on the end of the wand grew, lighting up the entire corridor.
"M… Malfoy?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"Yes. It appears we would both like a midnight snack," he replied with a smirk as Hermione's face grew slightly red at her stomach's outburst.
"I guess so…" Hermione said, but her face froze as the wall behind him caught her attention.
"What?" Draco turned to face the blank wall, then Hermione again. "Granger, have you gone mental? There's nothing there."
"Exactly," she replied, still staring. "So where are the portraits?"
The question took the Slytherin by surprise, and he pointed his wand down the corridor, only to find that the portraits had all disappeared.
"… Holy shit," was his only answer.
"Let's keep going," Hermione replied, and started walking down the corridor again. When she reached the spot where the portrait of fruit used to hang, she found a nail in the wall, and a crack where the portrait opened. Grabbing the nail, she swung the door open, and awkwardly stepped into the kitchens. The tables all shone under the light from the two students' wands, and there wasn't a speck of food in sight.
"Where are the houselves?" Draco asked.
"I have no idea…" she replied, dragging her finger across a table as she made her way to a nearby pantry.
"You have no idea?" he replied, unbelieving. "You're the head girl! You, of all people, should know!"
"All the food's still here…" she said as she opened the door, ignoring his ranting. "And why didn't I run into any teachers on the way here? There's almost always one of them on the prowl… We need to go find Dumbledore." Hermione's eyes connected with Draco's, filled with fierce determination.
"Let's go," he replied, and hurried out the door. The two of them couldn't have gotten to the gargoyle's statue faster if they'd flown.
"Gumdrops," Hermione said, panting, and the staircase opened up. Scurrying up the stairs, she knocked urgently on the door, but got no answer.
"Just go in," Draco told her impatiently.
"No! I can't just go in uninvited!"
Draco just pushed past her, in no mood to argue, and opened the door to find a room empty of papers, trinkets, and portraits. The chairs and desk were bare, save for a yellow post-it note on the desk. Hermione nearly tripped as she ran to the desk, and sat down in the headmaster's chair to read the note.
"What does it say?" Draco asked, leaning over.
"The lemon drops are in the bottom left drawer," Hermione said, closing her eyes and leaning back as she brought a hand to her head. "Oh, God, none of them are here! What are we going to do?"
Hermione soon realized she was speaking to herself when she heard the squeak of a drawer.
"Well, he was right," Draco said, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.
"How can you be eating candy at a time like this?"
Draco blinked at her. "Well, I'm still hungry," he said with an annoyed tone as he popped another lemon drop into his mouth.
Hermione sighed. "We need to come up with a plan. I need you to gather the Slytherins and have them in the hall at first light. I'll get the others."
"At first light? Are you out of your mind?" Draco exclaimed, outraged. It would've worked better if he weren't so groggy.
"Do you want to take care of the mess that would follow if even one student left early, and found a deserted castle? There would be mass panic!"
"Alright, alright, have it your way," Draco submitted, before adding, "Mudblood," for his own benefit.
Hermione glared at him as he moved towards the door, and followed. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, both turned different directions, Hermione making her way to Gryffindor tower as she planned out breakfast.
"Breakfast! Oh God, someone needs to cook breakfast!" As Hermione made her second turn she was so deep in thought it took her a moment longer than it should to realize that she wasn't alone. Focusing in on reality, she realized she was definitely not alone.
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"Aaaah!" Draco heard the yelp of terror three corridors away. He froze, and looked back into the darkness. Granger was hurt, or ran into something, or someone, on her way back. Looking forwards, the Slytherin commons loomed a corridor away, and with it, his bed. But they were alone here, and no one but he could help her. Sighing to himself, he turned around and ran.
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Hermione had her wand pointed out in front of her, and was stepping backwards slowly. She heard a swish of cloak behind her and twirled around, soon finding her wand pointed directly in Draco Malfoy's face.
"I heard you scream."
"I screamed?"
"Like a girl."
"Shove it, Malfoy," she said, turning around. "And help."
"A blast-ended-skrewt?" He asked, peering over her shoulder.
"If you didn't notice, it's about seven feet long. And doesn't respond well to me trying to stupefy it."
Hermione was right. They were now facing a seven-foot-long, fire-engine-red, blast-ended-skrewt. And they had no idea how to get rid of it.
"Stupefy!" Draco yelled, wand extended. The skrewt backed up a step, but then started scurrying forward.
"Incarcerous!" Hermione yelled, and thick ropes appeared out of the air and wrapped themselves around the creature so it couldn't move towards them, and smiled to herself.
"Alright. I need those Slytherins right away. Do you suppose you could get the Hufflepuffs, too? They're common room is-"
"Through a wall in the East side. I know, Granger," he replied with a smirk. "I'm on it."
Hermione carefully stepped over the angry skrewt and made her way to Gryffindor, first; it was closer.
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A/N: Special thanks to my sole reviewer from last time: The World is a Stage. Please, if you're reading, review. You guys are what keep me going!