AN: Ha! Quicker this time, huh? See, it was only stupid Draco/Herm keeping me back! Grrr...
Disclaimer: If I were JK Rowling, would I be taking time off to write a fanfic? I should hope not…
Harry looked down the hallway to make sure no one was looking before knocking on Fred and George's bedroom door.
"State your name and business," was called from the inside.
"It's Harry. I have a proposition for you."
There was a brief pause before the door opened and Harry stepped in.
It was a lot darker in the room. Harry could make out one of the twins with a smoking cauldron beside the open window. The other was sitting on a bed, facing him.
"Yes?" Harry could tell by the tone that it was George speaking.
"Ron and I are going to need you two to cover for us, under our conditions."
Fred and George looked at each other briefly and when Fred nodded at him, George prompted Harry, "Go on."
"This Friday, we will be leaving at around 5:30, and we need you to make sure no one notices that we're gone."
"I'd say that's do-able," George said. "But where are you going to be?"
"That's one of our terms. No questions."
Fred wheeled his chair over to George and they conferred in whispers. Finally, Fred looked up and said, "If we can't know what you are doing, we're going to need something else."
"Like?"
George grinned. "Well, you see... Fred and I have been cramped a little in our sales, since we've had to continue our business in secret and all..."
"And our supplier is getting a little impatient, cuz we owe him a small sum of money. And due to lack of sales, we can't pay him just yet," Fred added.
Harry nodded. "How much?"
Fred shurugged. "Oh... About 200 galleons."
Harry was momentarily in shock, wondering how in the world the twins had gotten that far in debt. Then he recovered and nodded. "It's yours then."
It was Wednesday, 1 AM, and Hermione was creeping into Draco's bedroom. She stood at the door for a moment, looking at her boyfriend in deep slumber. His arm was under his pillow and he just looked very comfortable.
She stealthily moved to the side of his bed and sat down.
Draco immediately sat up, bringing his wand out from under his pillow and was starting to point it in her direction before he saw who it was and stopped himself.
Hermione giggled as he glared at her.
"Don't do that," he said in an embarrassed, yet stern, tone.
"Sorry," Hermione said, trying to hide her smile. "I just wanted to tell you that we've finally gotten a response from Harry and Ron. We're all set."
"Good." Draco sat up and leaned against his headboard, pulling Hermione closer to him.
"And you know what?" Hermione was looking out his window, musing. "I just realized that my life is resting on four goofballs and two Slytherins."
"Wow..." Draco pondered this. "Now that you've put it that way, I'm really worried about you."
"We're idiots, you know." Hermione leaned back on the headboard with him. "Our only plan is how to get inside. We have no idea what we're going to do once we do get there."
Draco chuckled. "You, my dear, are going to run. That's all you have to worry about."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "But that's not it, at all! My closest friends and my boyfriend are going to be in a perilous situation and I won't be able to help them."
Hermione was starting to look truly stressed out.
"Hermione..." Draco began soothingly.
She didn't turn back around to listen.
"Sweetie? Dearheart? Honeybunch?"
Hearing the notorious Draco Malfoy using pet names made her chuckle and she turned around. "What?" she asked with a fake glare.
"Harry and Ron have been through plenty of dangerous stuff. And so have I."
Hermione shrugged. "I know... I just love you all so much and I don't know how I'm going to live if something happens to one of you."
Draco wrapped his arms around her. "I know that. But the reason that we have to do this is because I don't know how I'll live if something happens to you."
Hermione moved closer to snuggle and sighed.
There was silence and then Draco said in a shaky voice, "Hermione, I am so sorry. This is all my fault."
Hermione was shaking her head to disagree, but Draco stopped her. "If I had just stayed out of everything in the first place, none of this would have happened. I should have known not to get involved."
"Draco, it's not your fault. In fact, face it... If you hadn't have gotten involved with your father's plans, we never would have become friends and I definitely would never have fallen for you."
Draco smiled as he realized this was true. "I know... I just wish it were different, you know?"
Hermione nodded, gave him a kiss and stood up. "I probably shouldn't be in your room at this time of night."
Draco sighed but nodded. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said softly.
Hermione nodded as she closed his door.
Shaylee knocked on Severus's bedroom door before entering. "Sevvy?"
"Yes?" Severus looked up from the floor where he was laying, writing on a piece of parchment.
"What are you doing?"
Severus shrugged, concealing the parchment with his arm, and said, "Nothing important."
Shaylee paused. "Why is it that I don't believe you?" she asked with a grin.
Severus looked up at her again with a smirk. "Because you're a suspicious, paranoid, evil old lady."
Shaylee laughed. "That sure describes one person in this room, but it isn't me."
"Are you calling me an old lady?" Severus asked indignantly, sitting up and stuffing the now folded parchment into his robes.
Shaylee cracked a smile. "Well… Maybe not a lady…" she said with feigned thought.
Severus rolled his eyes as Shaylee sat down on Sera's bed with a bounce.
"So, what exactly is your little addition to the kiddies' plan?" Shaylee asked noncommittally.
Severus smiled innocently. "Who said I had an addition?"
Shaylee narrowed her eyes at him. "Severus Salazar Snape!"
Severus rolled his eyes. "I am going to kill Sissy…" he muttered under his breath.
Shaylee ignored that statement and went on. "I know you have something planned, and I want to know what it is!"
Severus shrugged. "You must be wrong. After all, you're just a suspicious, paranoid old lady."
Shaylee sighed. "You're pure evil, you know that?"
Severus looked like he was going to say something sarcastic, but then rethought himself. "No, Shaylee… You're going to meet pure evil on Friday."
Shaylee sighed, knowing he was right. "I just…" She paused, thinking. "I wish I could be included in your little plan…"
Severus started to feel guilty about excluding her. He looked at the ceiling for a while, then turned back to her. "OK, I'll tell, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else."
Shaylee exited his room ten minutes later with a grin. Guilt trips… Work like a charm, they do!
