A/N: Wow, I'm still alive?! Yep! It was nearing the end of my first semester and I still had a mountain of homework to finish, so I took several days off to deal with that, and now a new semester begins and I can go back to writing and procrastinating school work!

"Naw, I don't think that'll work."

"Then how about we adjust it right here?"

"That'll offset the runes over here."

"Damn, then how about-"

The Weasley Twins mutterings were quiet as they sat at the table at their usual corner in the Gryffindor Common Room. All Gryffindors knew to not approach the table when the Twins were at work, less they decided to make you their test dummy for their latest experiment. Seldom few had the gall to even look at them as they tinkered away with their toys and products.

"Oi, George, Fred."

The two pranksters looked up to see the face of their baby sister, Ginny.

"Ah, Ginny! What did we do for you to grace us with your presence?"

"Have you finally found your calling and come to join us in our endeavour to spread chaos?"

Ginny snorted in exasperation, "Drop it. I'm here for official business; business that pertains to Harry and the wart toad."

The twins now had intrigue written on both their faces. They surveyed the room, and although the room was nearly deserted, one of the twins put up a privacy ward whilst the other twin tucked away their project.

"Alright, what does little Harriekins want to do with us?"

"Harry came up with a plan to put a nail in Umbridge's coffin, or several if they find any more damning pieces on her, and he needs you guys to do what you two do best; spread as much disorder and mayhem as you can. Enough to distract Umbridge for as long as you guys can."

Both twins looked at each other, seemingly communicating in a split second, before looking back again at Ginny.

"As a matter of fact, we have plans to wreak havoc. Think of it as a grand announcement for the opening of our new store."

"The plan corresponds with what Harry would like us to do."

The news surprised the youngest redhead, "Wait, what do you mean by 'opening of our new store,' you two still have months before you can even think of opening one up."

"Ah, but Fred and I decided that why wait that few months when we can just leave now. Thus our extravagant extravaganza declaring the opening of our brand spanking new shop!" George said, waggling his fingers at Ginny.

Fred continued on, "And admittedly, we're all prepared to bunch up Umbridge's panties in a twist. We're just fixing a few items in our starting lineup and we'll be soaring to Diagon Alley faster than you can say Quidditch."

"Huh, well, Harry needs you two do it in a couple of days anyway. So you two have time to fix up the things you need to fix." Ginny said neutrally, before taking on a worried tone, "But you two do know that mom will blow her head off once the news gets to her, right?"

Fred and George's eyes took on a serious light, never seen by anyway not a part of the Weasley family - barring Harry, but he was considered an honorary Weasley - and they spoke in a soft tone also unnatural by them.

"It's not like we wanted to do it this way. We wanted to finish the school year, just so that mom can be appeased, if anything else." George said, rubbing the back of his head.

"But as soon as Umbridge appeared, we wanted out as fast as we could. There was no way we could have stayed and tolerated her any more than we already have."

After saying his piece, Fred's face then brightened up, "And it's not like we'll be leaving them out to dry. The first few royalties we get from the store will go straight forward to paying mom and dad for our wasted tuition. Ehh, s'not like it was a waste, but they paid for our full ride, it's only right we pay for bailing out early."

The features on their young sister's face softened, glad that they understood what repercussions their action will have but ready to face it, "Then, for what it's worth, I'm happy you two found what you guys want to do; and if it weren't for Harry and the others still being here, I'd want to go with you guys in a heartbeat."

Twin grins faced her. As well as George stating joyfully "Aha! I knew you wanted to join us!"

A roll of her eyes in mock-annoyance was all she responded with.

Hermione focused on her work, making contingency plans for if their little operation somehow did not pan out the way they had hoped. Meanwhile, the others were tasked with making the plan come to fruition. For all her smarts, she admitted that when it comes to handywork, that she left much to be desired. That is why Harry and Lilith tasked her with the job she was currently doing.

"Hmm~ hmm~"

A job she could focus on if the constant humming did not break it every minute.

This pattern had emerged when her, Daphne, and Neville were grouped to think of any backup plans in case things went south on d-day. Having had Daphne as a classmate in both Arithmancy and Rune classes, she thought she knew what to expect from the normally stoic and aloof pureblood.

Then the humming started.

She had been both surprised and confused when she first heard the melodic humming. It wasn't after she looked towards Daphne that she discovered where the humming originated and that apparently she was someone who hummed as they worked. It wasn't as if Hermione was offended by the humming or that it was Daphne humming, it was just something she never expected from the Slytherin girl.

"Is something the matter, Hermione?"

Obviously, her staring had not gone unnoticed.

"Oh, err… No, nothing at all, Daphne. Just thinking." Daphne nodded at Hermione's statement, before staring back down at her parchment. Hermione stared back at her own, trying to regain her focus.

Afterwards the humming began once again. Which led to the situation she was in now. It wasn't as if she wasn't accustomed to working in a noisy environment, having Harry and Ron as her best friends, along with being a Gryffindor, noise was pretty much expected when it comes to being in the house of the lions; and yet the humming was distracting her regardless and she didn't have the heart to ask Daphne to stop.

Although it seemed she didn't have to.

"I apologize, is my humming detrimental to your focus, Hermione?" Hermione jolted in surprise, not expecting Daphne to notice her discomfort.

"No! Um… No, it's just…." Hermione tittered out, not knowing how to explain why she even found her humming distracting on account that she had not known herself.

"Perhaps you did not expect such a habit from me? Is that why you found yourself in a state of bewilderment?" Daphne asked in a polite tone. Hermione now was in a daze, it was almost as if Daphne had encountered this kind of situation before.

Being in this newfound circumstance, Hermione was at a loss for words. Social interaction was not her strongest point, but she had an inkling that maybe Daphne didn't have a knack for social interaction as well, so she decided that being blunt would probably be for the best "You're right, I didn't expect it at all. No offense."

Daphne nodded calmly, "None taken, I surmised as much. Would you like me to hum softer or stop humming altogether?"

"Honestly, it's not the humming itself that distracted me, so if you want to keep humming then you can." Hermione smiled, Daphne nodded again.

"Ah, I see. Thank you for clearing it up, I shall continue to hum, as it makes me concentrate better on the task at hand." Daphne lowered her head, causing Hermione to lower her head in return.

The ensuing silence did not last long, and it wasn't the humming that broke it this time but the entrance of Neville Longbottom, carrying a box.

"Sorry for taking so long, I had to avoid Filch and his cat. Here's the spare parchments, quills, and ink pots, along with the copy of the pathway from one end of the school to Umbridge's office."

Hermione gave him a thankful smile as he gave her a copy of the drawn pathway, "Thank you Neville."

Daphne just lowered her head in acknowledgement as she accepted the same copy. Afterwards, Neville sat down along with them, "So, anything happened while I was gone, apart from quill scratching and the occasional cough?"

Shaking her head, Hermione answered saying that nothing had happened. Daphne though had other plans.

"Hermione found my humming distracting."

The affronted expression on Hermione's face was quite amusing, judging from the mirthful smile on Neville's face, "Seriously Hermione? I once saw you finish three essays with Ron snoring right beside you and humming is the one thing that gets you?"

Hermione's face reddened, "It wasn't the humming! It was her humming that threw me off."

"She is in no fault Neville, the juxtaposition of my humming threw her off, it is quite normal with my first time meeting with others." Hermione was relieved that she had taken no offense to her comment. Daphne showed no obvious emotion, her face a neutral mask through and through.

The Gryffindor lad nodded slowly, "I guess, really Daphne, you hadn't changed a bit since we were kids, huh?"

"I grew 27 centimetres, as a matter of fact." Neville let out a laugh disguised as a cough at Daphne's words.

"I meant your demeanor Daph, but I hadn't noticed the height thing, nothing's changed from my perspective."

Hermione was both fascinated and perturbed by Neville's relaxed manner of speaking to Daphne. She had never seen him this at ease with someone since… Well, since she'd met him. He had only warmed up to her, Harry, and the rest of the Gryffindors when he joined the D.A.

"Hmph, that is an attack on my character. I demand an apology; one butterbeer and a stack of sweets." Daphne's tone hadn't changed, but the pout on her face was as cute as it was disturbing on someone normally so stoic.

Neville, for his part, drummed his fingers on the table as a thoughtful expression was put upon his face, "Well then, how about next Saturday; a visit to Honeydukes and a hangout at the Three Broomsticks, sound good?"

A pensieve light shone in Daphne's eyes as she pondered on what he had said, "Hmm… That will suffice."

Without another word, Daphne returned to scratching her quill. Neville let out a soft sigh and started on his own work as well. Hermione was left with only one thought.

'Huh, this must be what others feel when they see Ron and I.'

In an isolated part of the castle, two Hogwart students bickered back and forth. By the trim of their robes, some might assume that it was a normal Gryffindor and Slytherin interaction, but that was only half the truth.

"No, no, put it here! The wires can't be too close or else it'll set off the others without Umbridge having to go through them!"

Tracey's admonishment made Ron grimace, "Alright, alright! Bloody hell, no need to chew my ear off."

A strong sigh caught the attention of the bickering duo, swivelling their head towards the sound to the tired face of one Blaise Zabini.

"Seriously you two, shut it. No need to let the whole castle hear what we're doing here."

Tracey and Ron glared at each other for a moment, before turning back to what they were doing.

"I swear, I'd rather have joined up with Daphne had I known they would pair up for this." Blaise muttered to himself quietly. He looked to his side to see his assigned teammate, Luna, fiddling with her Butterbeer cork necklace. Feeling his stare, Luna met his gaze with her usual serene smile. Blaise reciprocated it with a quick grin of his own before finishing up the wiring of the tripwire on his end of the wall.

Seeing that his fellow Slytherin and the redheaded boy would take a lot longer than necessary to set up their wiring, he turned yet again to his blonde companion.

"So, I heard from Daphne that you carry a bucket of raw meat towards the forest sometimes."

Luna nodded at his statement, "Yes, yes I have."

The nonchalant manner that she answered him reminded him a lot of Daphne, so he decided to approach her the same as he would with Daphne.

"Feeding a big monster or something?"

"They might be called monstrous due to their appearance, but they're actually quite calm and peaceful. Thestrals are quite misunderstood."

Shelving that piece of information and making a mental note to research about thestrals in the future, Blaise sat down against the wall facing the backs of Ron and Tracey still fiddling with their end of the tripwire.

"How is it in Ravenclaw? I can't imagine that they'd be receptive to Umbridge's brand of education."

Luna tilted her head in thought, "There are some who are not in agreement with the method of teaching and what is being taught, but unfortunately they are too afraid to stand up to Umbridge, hence when Harry created the D.A. they flocked like birds to a comfy, warm nest. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Things in Slytherin are the opposite; they can't get enough of using their status to get away with more than they did before Umbridge came along. Forget education, it just seems like they want to make this place their playground or something." Blaise said jokingly, but Luna seemed to not have found it amusing.

"An appropriate comparison. A playground always has their fair share of bullies."

'Hit a nerve there' Blaise mentally winced. He tried to do some damage control, feeling bad for poking a psychological wound he didn't know Luna had.

"Well, so long as you have friends around, a playground can always be fun, and if there are bullies stupid enough to mess with us we can just give them a jinx of a lifetime."

That seemed to have done the trick, as Luna visibly brightened up at his words, and Blaise felt his face light up in a smile as well without his prompting.

"Oi, time to go to the next one, lovebirds."

Blaise and Luna turned to Tracey, standing with her arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently. Not rising to the bait, Blaise got up to his feet before turning back to Luna, stretching his gloved hand out for her to grasp onto as she stood up as well.

"Sorry, but if you two hadn't taken so long we would have deigned to notice you two being done."

Giving him a deathly glare - which he had become accustomed to by now, so he wondered why she even bothered by this point - Tracey huffed and walked off, leaving the two behind, "Come on Weasley, let's get a head start. Merlin knows we'll need it if we ever want to finish this in time."

Ron stared at Luna, and even Blaise, for help. The only thing he saw as he was unwillingly dragged by the auburn haired girl was an amused smile on Blaise's face and a thumbs up given by Luna. The two followed the dysfunctional duo behind at a relaxed pace.

Harry looked at the whiteboard filled with the steps of their plan pensievely, everyone had done their job and everything was set to begin by his signal. Now the only thing left to do was to iron out the last few wrinkles in the game plan.

"The only variable we haven't really touched upon is locks. Obviously it'll be magical in nature if there are any, so I might need to magically lockpick anything that doesn't open with an Alohomora."

Harry heard Lilith state behind him. The room was left to only him and Lilith after the debriefing of the various tasks they had given to the others.

"There are magical lockpicks?" Harry asked curiously. Lilith shook her head in response to his inquiry.

"No, I meant that I had to open anything magically locked with magic. Although that idea kinda has some merit, might bring it up to dad once I get the chance." Lilith muttered the last bit to herself before returning to her normal volume, "Anyways, that just means I have match the magical signature of the lock, which can take anywhere between a few minutes to half an hour, depending on how hard it is."

Giving an audible click of his tongue, Harry nodded, "Then we'll have to start with the hardest lock first, that'll probably be the drawer with the blood quills in them. After getting those we'll move on with any other places where she keeps her documents and other illegal items."

Looking back at Lilith, Harry enjoyed watching her play with the several paper dragons she had made. One landed on her head and nestled in her hair, she paid it no mind as her face was set in a contemplative expression, "And if worse comes to worse and we have no time to get out of there, we'll have to use the floo in her office."

Harry had been corresponding with Sirius - who was gushing about Harry's rebellion and carrying on the Marauder legacy - and he was clued in to the plan and ready to open and close the floo at Grimmauld Place.

"So, it all comes to a head tomorrow, huh?" Lilith said, a melancholic tone embedded in her voice.

"Heh, why the wistfulness? We'll get through this just fine." Harry reassured her, coming closer to her and putting his hand on her head. The paper dragon wrestled between his fingers and seemed to roar at him before taking flight once again.

Lilith pouted at him as she stared at him behind her eyelashes and shaked her head to release herself from his hold, "I know, I'm actually pretty confident we'll pull through. It's just that… We've been working towards this moment for months now, and the only reason we met is

because of our mutual hatred for Umbridge, and now that it's about to come to an end. I can't help but feel a bit… Sad I guess."

Harry took a hold of her hand, squeezing it comfortingly as he understood the emotions she was feeling, "I get it. To be honest, I'm a bit sad too, but then I remember what will happen after all this; we'll be able to enjoy the rest of our stay here at Hogwarts without having to worry about some crazed teacher torturing students, and enjoy the finer things in life. I mean, I'd want a repeat of that picnic without the Umbridge stalking at the end."

Letting out a soft chuckle, Lilith let her eyes close as her body softly and slowly laid upon the table. Harry chose to follow her lead and laid on the oddly comfy table as well, staring at the ceiling of the Room of Requirement.

Without warning, the ceiling appeared to have slowly disappeared, and was replaced by the night sky, countless stars painting the illusionary sky above. Lilith clasped his hand and intertwined her fingers with his and he met her eyes, filled with love and affection, magnified by the full moon above them.

Not wanting to waste any more time, less all hell breaks loose and he never gets a chance like this again, he whispered softly…

"I love you, Lilith"

Her face reddened, but the radiating smile she gave was breathtaking, and her reply even more so.

"I love you too, Harry."

A/N: Looks like Operation Avalanche is about to begin! Stay tuned for next week! Leave a review! Exclamation Points!