WHAT IF
Chapter 5 - Good Intentions
Hermione's and Ginny's brilliant plan to prank the twins during the Halloween night was cancelled when the students of all four houses were ushered into the Great Hall. With so many people around, it didn't seem possible to secretly place the prank. Plus, Harry and Ron were pulling Hermione into a corner as soon as possible to discuss the new development.
Hermione's heart clenched at the thought of Sirius Black trying to enter the Gryffindor Tower and she asked herself again and again how he had done it. How had he entered the castle without anyone noticing?
In the days after Halloween rumours and theories were spreading like wildfire and it reminded Hermione awfully of the last school year, where everybody had speculated about the Heir of Slytherin. Thankfully this time no one was suspecting Harry. Quite the opposite. Teachers and students alike threw uncertain gazes at Hermione's black-haired best friend and there always seemed to be one Professor around - purely on coincidence of course. It annoyed Harry immensely, but Hermione was very glad about it and also tried to be near Harry as often as possible.
Now that she was getting used to the Time Turner it became easier to vanish and reappear without gaining too much attention. Ron was still a bit irritated from time to time, but Hermione easily deflected his accusations and instead used the Time-Turner to stay near Harry. She used it to accompany him to classes and meals and on the grounds of Hogwarts. She was sure that Harry thought nothing about it, didn't even find it curious. But it soothed Hermione's mind to know that he wasn't alone and that the whole school was looking out for him.
As the Quidditch season quickly approached finally some kind of normality crept back and the next match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was the top talk of the school. Hermione appreciated it immensely that people were talking about something different for a change. The whole talk about Sirius Black grated on her nerves and was a constant reminder for her to worry about Harry.
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Loud giggling made Hermione look up one evening from the essay she was currently writing. Ginny and Ron, who both sat beside her and worked on their own homework, also looked up. The Gryffindor team was huddled in front of the fire and Oliver Wood, the twins and Harry didn't look happy at all. The three chasers instead were giggling.
"What?" Wood asked with a frown.
"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?" Angelina said and Alicia even sighed a bit.
"Strong and silent," Katie swooned and the giggling started again. Hermione almost laughed at the faces of Wood and the twins.
"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words together," Twin Once huffed with an impatient frown on his face and Twin Two nodded. The bickering between the teammates started again with Oliver Wood scolding everyone and yelling something about taking Hufflepuff lightly and the girls still chatting about Cedric Diggory. Hermione tried to ignore them but filed away the information about Fred and George's apparent dislike of Cedric Diggory for later.
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The moment Harry fell down from his broom and raced down to earth seemed to be endless to Hermione. In reality it only took seconds till Professor Dumbledore casted the spell to chase of the Dementors and rescued Harry, but to Hermione it was eternity. She was in the stand with Ron and Ginny by her side and clutched the hands of both redheads desperately. The world seemed to stand still and Hermione, who normally was the first to react, was frozen in shock.
She followed Harry's body with her eyes and some little voice in her head whispered, 'He can't survive that'. Hermione knew the Muggle phrase 'Like watching an accident' but now she finally understood what it truly meant. It meant being unable to look away even when you - really, really - wanted to. When you wanted to close your eyes or turn away or go away but your body wasn't responding. I meant witnessing something terrible.
When Dumbledore stopped Harry's fall and saved him in the last-minute Hermione felt like a thousand pounds were lifted off her chest. She took a deep breath and carefully let go of Ron. She had grabbed his hands painfully tight but her best friend didn't even seem to realise it. Ron's eyes were fixed on the Quidditch pitch and his face was absolutely blank. Ginny on the other hand already had small tears in her eyes.
"Come," Hermione whispered to Ron and quickly they proceeded to follow Dumbledore, who had Harry on a stretcher, to the castle.
"Professor!" Ron called out as Dumbledore tried to close the doors to the infirmary and the Headmaster turned to them. "Can we- We want to be there when Harry wakes up," Ron asked with a surprisingly firm voice and Hermione was thankful for that. She felt unable to speak a word.
"Well, it seems like you are not the only ones." The old professor stated with a twinkle and as Hermione turned she saw the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team, minus Oliver Wood, run towards them.
"How is he?" Angelina Johnson called, which earned her a glare from Madame Pomfrey, who stood in the door.
"He is physically well but needs rest and therefore silence." The school nurse stated primly and tried to close the doors in front of the Gryffindors noses. At once the team, Hermione and Ron started to protest and tried to get inside the infirmary. Finally, the twins managed to get past Madam Pomfrey and held open the door for the rest of them.
"Well, Poppy, I think there's nothing wrong with having a few familiar and friendly faces around when Mister Potter awakes." Professor Dumbledore smiled at them. "Now, please excuse me, I have to have words with the guards of Azkaban."
The whole lot of them made themselves comfortable around Harry's bed in hope that the seeker would wake up soon. His unconscious body in the white hospital sheets looked terribly frail and little to Hermione. But for some time, nothing happened besides Madame Pomfrey scolding them for being too loud.
When Professor Flitwick came in to present them the remains of Harry's Nimbus 2000 the mood in the room changed dramatically. It was like now everybody realised how truly dangerous the situation had been and that Harry had almost ended as damaged as his broom. The twins paled visibly.
"Merlin, first losing the game and now his broom. This will hit him hard." One of the twins muttered and while they all started to discuss the fall Harry opened his eyes with a flutter.
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The last Hogsmeade weekend before the holidays was a day Hermione yearned for since Halloween. For once she wanted to visit the magical village again but more importantly she wanted to prank the twins finally. Because of the nature of the prank Hermione and Ginny had decided that it had to happen on a weekend, so that neither they nor the twins would get into any trouble with the teachers. And it had to happen after a Hogsmeade weekend, where the twins always bought new sweets since the girls wanted to manipulate said sweets. Ginny knew from experience that the twins always ate their sweets at once, often the very same evening, so there was only a small-time frame.
What Hermione didn't expect was Harry, standing in front of her and grinning madly. Her first thought was 'How the hell did he got out of the castle?' and the second was to bring him back as soon as possible. But Harry and Ron wouldn't listen to any of her concerns and tell on Harry was something Hermione just couldn't do. Even if she had a terribly uneasy feeling in her chest for the rest of their Hogsmeade trip. In her mind she cursed the twins for giving the map to Harry. Those two had no idea in what kind of trouble he could get with that - well, probably that was their goal Hermione realised belatedly.
When they decided to drink a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks she was instantly relieved. At least they were off the streets and inside a building with lots of adults. Here Sirius Black would never try to attack Harry hopefully.
But, oh Merlin, had she been wrong. Physically Harry was save from Sirius Black at the pub, but emotionally… well, that was entirely different story. Hermione sat beside Ron, frozen in place, and wished desperately that someone would see them. That someone would stop this conversation finally. But with every word spoken and with every tiny bit of information revealed it got worse. Hermione could practically feel Harry beginning to boil under the table and she was glad that he, at least, didn't jump up right away and confronted the Minister and the Professors.
When Harry jumped up and left the pub all Hermione and Ron could see was his backside. He was too fast for them to follow and - assuming that he was running back to the castle - the two of them made their way back to Hogwarts as quickly as possible.
"He's either asleep or pretending to be," Ron muttered after he came back to the common room. "I don't think he wants to speak to us right now."
"You don't think he will do something stupid, do you?" Hermione nibbled on her lip nervously.
"Well…" Ron stared at her like she had sprouted wings, but then a worried expression spread on his face. "I wouldn't put it past him to get the dumb idea to search for Black himself. Remember, my dad told him not to do it at King's Cross. He warned Harry, but back then we didn't know why he did it."
"Now we know." Hermione sighed. "Ron, we have to talk with him. I don't want him to do something dangerous."
They sat beside the fire in the common room for a while, almost alone since most of the other students still were at Hogsmeade and discussed what they wanted to say to Harry. It was one of the seldom occasions where Hermione and Ron were in complete agreement.
When the other Gryffindors came back Hermione was so immersed by worrying over Harry that she had completely forgotten about the prank she and Ginny wanted to play on Fred and George. But then Ginny sneaked down the stairs from the boys' dormitories and with a tight knot in her stomach, Hermione realised that the prank was already placed and couldn't be stopped anymore.
"Everything is prepared. Those two won't know what hit them." Ginny grinned and pulled Crookshanks into her lap.
"Oh okay," Hermione tried to smile but a heavy feeling weighted down her stomach. How could she have fun laughing at the twins when Harry had just heard the truth about his parents' death. He was probably in an emotional turmoil between angry and sad. But Hermione couldn't tell that Ginny, it was Harry's decision to share this and so she kept quiet and pretended to be as excited as Ginny.
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Hermione's worries grew when Harry didn't come down for dinner that evening, but Ron assured her that their best friend probably just needed some alone time. So, they went down to the Great hall without him and sat down with Ginny and the twins.
Ginny's eyes flashed with mischief when she handed one of the twins a plate with sausages.
"Can I have some chocolate from you two for the ride home? Just in case if the Dementors decide to search the train again." The small girl asked her older brothers in her best I'm-your-scared-little-sister-voice and it had the anticipated effect. Both twins went serious in seconds and shook their heads a sad no.
"Sorry, Ginny, we kind of already ate all of it while..." Twin One confessed but caught himself as he realised how interested Ron and Hermione listened. Hermione was, of course, curious about what they were planning but she had more pressing questions to ask.
"So, Fred," she smiled sweetly, "what are you planning to do during the holidays?" Hermione avoided Ginny's gaze so that she wouldn't betray herself. She suppressed the urge to laugh nervously while she handed Ron a bowl with mashed potatoes. Merlin, she really wasn't good at lying.
"Well since I'm not Fred I have no idea what he will do, but I certainly plan to spend my time with leisure entertainment und home cooked food." Twin One smirked. But before Twin Two could jump into the conversation and claim to be George as well something unusual happened. The prank kicked in.
Twin One, who had claimed to be not Fred, was purple. An electric purple. His skin and even his hair were all dyed a deep, radiant purple and the whole Gryffindor table was staring at him curiously.
"What the hell!" The second twin breathed as he watched his brother.
"What are you staring-"Twin One caught sight of his hands and looked down in shock. "Do you think that's-"
"Can't be, it shouldn't do that-"
"-But maybe we measured something wrong-"
"Maybe some of the ingredients were expired."
In hushed voices the twins proceeded to speculate what had happened. Hermione really, really tried to stay calm and focused, but seeing how they got themselves into a frenzy was too much. Loud laughter was breaking out of her and soon she had small tears in her eyes and her stomach ached. Ginny joined her seconds after, the pressure of keeping quiet finally too much. Ron was just shrugging and started to eat again while the twins' heads snapped up.
"My, my, you seem to have an awfully lot of fun tonight." The purple twin stated with a big grin and Hermione saw that even his tongue was purple. A new wave of laughter escaped her.
"Almost seems a bit proud." The other one mused and Hermione took a deep breath to prepare herself for the final strike. Ginny meanwhile put on a mask of indifference and started to eat again like this was not her business at all.
"I do, George, I do." She pressed out between chuckles.
"Well, if I were you I would just stop trying to call us by name. It's getting a bit embarrassing, isn't it?" Twin Two smirked.
"Why? You're telling me you aren't George?" Hermione challenged and hoped he would make the final mistake. She took a slow sip of her pumpkin juice.
"Exactly! I'm Fred." He grinned but his smile vanished when he saw Hermione's triumphant smirk and the shocked expression on the blue twin's face
"Gotcha!" And from one second to the other Twin Two was also changing the colour of his skin and hair. But instead of purple he was orange, such a bright orange that it almost hurt the eyes. Pearls of laughter and giggle sounded from around the long house table and even students from other houses were now turning to see what caused it. It didn't take long till almost all of the Great Hall was laughing. Even the teachers were smiling a bit and thankfully no one asked what was going on.
"So, Fred and George," Hermione stressed the names as she nodded towards the twins, "you really trying to lie to me again?" She smirked and saw that the twins had realised that she had actually called them by their right names.
"I get the feeling it wouldn't help as much." Fred, the purple one, laughed. "Seems like she took our declaration of war quite serious."
"Beat us in our game." George nodded, his orange hair falling into his eyes. "How did you do that?"
"Well, I will tell you under one condition."
"And what would that be?" The twins asked simultaneously and each quirked an eyebrow.
"I think you know exactly what I want." Beside Hermione Ginny and Ron both snorted. Ginny because of her desperate try to suppress her laughter and Ron probably because of her choice of words.
"And what if we won't do that?" George asked, the challenge obvious.
"Well, let me tell you why you are so wonderfully colourful. The potion you ate without noticing has the effect that you change your colour every time you lie. It won't force you to tell the truth, but it shows the enquirer if you tell the truth or not. I takes 48 hours for it to wear off. So, if you won't finally introduce yourself to me, then I will tell the whole school, all teachers and your mother, that you are still able to lie, but that it is awfully easy to catch you. Tell me your names and I give you the antidote."
"Fine, you got us," Fred laughed, "Fred Weasley, pleased to meet you." He offered his hand and grinned as she shook it.
"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you as well." George and Hermione repeated the introduction.
"So, you remember all the sweets you ate today, freshly bought from Honeydukes?" Hermione explained in her best, proper know-it-all-voice, while she nonchalantly started to eat again. "I infused them with a potion I developed."
"How?" Fred interrupted her.
"Doesn't matter." Hermione made a waving gesture with her hand and looked away from Ginny. They had decided to not reveal her involvement so that they could use it against the twins in the future again. "Well, I didn't develop the potion completely, it's a prank from Zonkos' and I tweaked it a bit to fulfil my requirements."
"And you wanted to dye us orange and purple?" George shook his hand.
"No, I wanted to catch you red-handed. I always like the motif of colour in that phrase, so I decided to use it as a prank." She winked. "I won't tell you what I product I used and how I changed it, but as promised." She handed both twins a vial with the antidote and they swallowed it with perfect trust. Ginny had a hard time keeping her face straight.
"My name is George and I'm an eleven-year-old girl," Fred stated happily as he didn't change colour again. But he was still purple and now both twins realised that the colour didn't vanish.
"Little Miss Granger, breaking your word?" Fred stated, mockingly offended.
"Maybe we should have made you swallow that nasty potion." George rummaged through his pockets and offered her one of the Honeyduke's sweets that were probably infused with her potion.
"Nope, I just said I would give you the antidote. I never said what it would do. You can lie again but the colour stays for twelve hours. A little reminder to never mess with me." She flashed them a smile and then stood up, Ginny by her side. Ron also quickly finished his meal and followed her out of the hall.
"Merlin, Hermione that was brilliant," Ron whispered in awe, a serene smile on his face.
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Hermione's good mood lasted till the next morning and even got better when she saw the still purple Fred and orange George bolting down the stairs. In the common room and at the Great Hall the two were the cause for many laughs, but they took it like the entertainers they were and showed off terribly. They bowed every few meters and told everyone, who listened exaggerated stories about why they were purple and orange.
But when Hermione and Ron both realised that Harry wasn't coming down to breakfast, they were getting more and more worried. After they had sent Fred, George and Ginny off to the train they made their way back to the common room to wait for their best friend. Ron was constantly reassuring Hermione that Harry really was asleep and that he probably needed the rest. Nonetheless, she sent Ron up every hour to look after Harry.
When Harry finally came down it was exactly like Hermione and Ron had feared. Their best friend was angry - almost furious - and demanded answers. Demanded revenge. Hermione was almost glad when Hagrid told them about the trial of Buckbeak so that Harry had no opportunity to ask more questions about his parents and their friendship to Sirius Black.
Still, a deep feeling of dark forbidding lay heavy on her heart and on Christmas morning when Hermione caught sight of the Firebolt in Harry's hands - an expensive gift without a card - she could almost feel the shadow of Black looming over them.
"Crooks, why do you have to do that all the time?" She scolded her ginger cat while she stomped down the stairs of the boys' dorm room. Crookshanks had tried to attack Scabbers again and to some degree Hermione could understand Ron's fear. But trying to kick her cat out of the way was another story. It was natural behaviour, for Merlin's sake. Neither she nor Crookshanks could do anything against it.
For the rest of the day Hermione proceeded to stare at Harry's new broom and tried to think of a possibility to protect him without telling one of the teachers. She could probably do some of the spells required to search for curses herself but would that be enough? Such a dark wizard as Sirius Black surely knew more curses as she knew spells to detect and counter them. Merlin, the man probably knew that the broom would be checked and therefore used the rarest and difficult curses possible. Hermione tried very hard not to imagine what would happen if Harry would ride the broom for the first time.
"Professor McGonagall," she timidly approached her head of house after the Christmas dinner. "There is something I have to tell you."
Hermione took a deep breath and retold the story of the morning. It was the right decision. She knew it. Harry would probably be angry, but it was still necessary. Hermione wouldn't risk her friend's life just to avoid a fight. And Ron would be on her side. After the conversation they had had about keeping Harry from doing something stupid like revenging his parents and searching for Black, Hermione was sure that Ron would understand why she had to do it.
Okay, that's it for now. Finally, I'm able to write about the twins as Fred and George and no longer Twin One and Twin Two. It was annoying me immensely, but I wanted to the prank in this setting and at this point in the timeline because it's important for later.
A big thank you of course as always to all reviewers and readers.
To the guest reviewer writing under JC: thank you for your reviews on all my stories. That was a sight when I opened my mail and saw like ten new review notifications. Thank you!
EVERYONE WANTING TO KNOW IF FRED DIES: I'm not going to spoil it for everyone but for those of you who want to know I put the link to the challenge into my profile. Read the ruled of the challenge carefully and you get your answer. But please don't mention it in your reviews since some people may not want to know!
