Hermione awoke in the middle of the night to carpet-muffled footsteps just outside her door.
10 points from Gryffindor for being out-of-bed after hours, she thought wryly.
Rising carefully from the bed, she donned her black school robes over her pajamas and cracked open the door. To the right she could just make out the silhouettes of two tall wizards, each with broomstick in hand and one with a mysteriously missing arm.
Hermione raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Clearly they were not just going for a nighttime fly, but also to sneak in somewhere with an Invisibility Cloak and without her.
Without her indeed.
She smiled in recognition of a secret knowledge, pulled out her wand and sent a whispered spell at one of the boys' backs.
Once Ron and Harry exited the Burrow, Ron stopped and looked at Harry.
"Mate, do you think we should've asked Hermione to come? She'll kill us if she—"
Harry suddenly clapped his hand over Ron's mouth and hissed, "Shhh!" The two boys stood stock-still underneath the Invisibility Cloak, eyes flicking nervously around.
"Sorry," Harry said lowly, "I thought I heard something…let's just wait a bit."
The two boys waited, Harry standing motionless and Ron struggling not to fidget.
"Er, ok," Harry said, unsure. "Let's go."
They started off again into an alleyway of the neighborhood, when suddenly Harry steered them to a white house on the right. The dark windows revealed nothing of its rooms, and the slim front columns were crooked and chipped.
"Mind telling me where we're headed, Harry? Some Death Eater meeting of which I wasn't reminded?" Ron joked nervously.
"We aren't going here, Ron," Harry replied. "I'm looking for a Portkey to Fred and George's shop. They gave me this—"
A thud and pained "Oof" suddenly emanated from a nearby bush.
"Yaaahh!" Ron yelped, jumping behind a startled Harry. The boys pulled out their wands and braced themselves for—
"Hermione?" Ron asked incredulously.
The petite witch brushed herself off and wiped dirt from her nose.
"Um, yes," she answered. "Ta-da!"
The boys stared, still not lowering their wands. A moment passed.
"Ok, fine, I found you by casting that spell for illuminating footprints mentioned in Stalking Sneaky Liars, Rebellious Teens, Untrue Lovers, and--and--you know, I can't remember the rest of the title," Hermione said thoughtfully, wrinkling her forehead in concentration.
Ron recovered more quickly than Harry. "Well, nice to see you—"
"How DARE you leave on some sort of midnight adventure without me, without telling someone! Do you know how dangerous it is right now? Don't you remember Mr. Weasley telling us about the spy?" Hermione demanded, recovering her fury.
Harry stepped forward. "Hermione, we're actually looking for information on that right now," he informed her. "Remember the man you saw in Fred and George's joke shop?"
Hermione frowned in thought. "Yes! How do you know where to find him?" she asked, curious.
"I'm not trying to find him yet; I think he left something in the shop."
"You didn't tell me all that, Harry!" Ron accused him. "Where was I?"
"Bothering Fred and George about getting free Canary Creams, I believe," Hermione answered dryly.
"Whatever," Ron said shortly. "Let's find the Portkey—what's the clue, Harry?"
Harry pulled out a Chocolate Frog package from the pocket of his robe.
"I can't figure out how this is supposed to lead us to the Portkey," Harry complained. "I've looked at it a dozen times."
Ron reached over and snatched it. "Let me see! You know I've tasted loads of these…collected the cards, y'know…"
Ron held the wrapper in his hand, inspecting it expertly and opening it. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"There's no candy in here, just the card," Ron said. He pulled it out, glanced at it and flipped it over.
"Er, Harry, it's blank—and the picture doesn't have anyone in it," Ron announced, perplexed. Harry peered at it over his shoulder.
"Oi! Look!" Harry said suddenly.
The picture on the card slowly formed…two black silhouettes against glowing red…
The boys stared, speechless, but Hermione recognized them immediately.
"Fred and George!" she shrieked. "Ridiculous! As though they could compare to the likes of Nicholas Flamel and Dumbledore and other collectible-card wizards."
As they continued to look at the card, the two figures got on a broom and flew to the top of a house that looked very similar to the ramshackle cabin Ron, Harry and Hermione stood near.
"Well, time to get the brooms out!" Hermione said cheerfully.
Ron and Harry looked at each other.
"I didn't bring mine…" "Me, neither…"
An hour later…
"This is so bloody awful," Hermione complained.
"Language, Hermione, language," Ron teased. At least that's what Hermione imagined he said—his voice was slightly muffled beneath her as she stood on his shoulders and he held her ankles. She was peering over the roof of the cabin for any Portkey-like objects.
"How are you doing down there, Harry?"
Poor Harry was bent in a table-position, elbows and knees on the ground.
"Just—find—it—please," he gritted.
Hermione continued to look. "All I see…oh NO!" she said furiously.
"What?" both boys asked in unison.
"HOLD ON!" she yelled. The next moment all three of them had crashed down along with a wooden plank and a rectangular sign that proclaimed "FRED AND GEORGE'S PORTKEY" in big red letters.
The trio held the Invisibility Cloak over their heads as they walked to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
"I still can't believe Fred and George were so blatant as to actually write "Portkey" on the Portkey! Don't they know how stupid that is? What if some Muggle saw it? And I bet that house isn't vacant, I saw tomatoes growing near the porch—"
"Quiet, Hermione," Ron said, grimacing. His stomach felt absolutely miserable after the sickening jerk of the Portkey. "This would've been a lot easier if we had tried to find it in the daytime, Harry…"
Harry paid no attention. He motioned to the group to stop. They watched the joke shop windows, seeing no light inside.
Hermione suddenly pointed to their right. The three stood intently motionless as a small figure in a black cloak stole across the street. It paused at the door for a moment, then unhesitatingly opened the door and went inside.