My darlings, here it is! I'm very proud of myself for finishing in time and publishing exactly after two weeks

ooo

WHAT IF

Chapter 25 – Change Of View

Fred woke up with a decent hangover and a rush of pride when he realised that he was indeed at Grimmauld Place. Memories of fireworks and a swamp made him grin. And then the memory of brown, bushy curls and sad eyes turned his joy into something bittersweet.

Determined he jumped out of his bed only to discover that George was already up and awake in the kitchen, stuffing himself with pancakes made by Remus. The damn traitor hadn't even tried to wake Fred up, probably because he wanted to eat everything by himself. It reminded Fred oddly of Ron.

"Morning," George grinned. He had always been a morning person and sometimes Fred couldn't believe how two people as different as they could actually be twins. Even if everyone else seemed to think they were practically one mind in two bodies.

Fred grumbled a sleepy reply and grabbed the coffee pot. Oh, how he had missed living with Sirius, the only other person on earth that loved strong coffee as much as Fred. Damn those Brits and their love for tea, which never helped Fred with waking up or calming down. Also, Sirius didn't scold him like his mum did, who deeply believed coffee wasn't good for growing boys. Not that one of the Weasleys needed to grow even more; they were all more than tall enough.

"We got a little something from Mum," George said as he filled Fred's plate with a massive amount of pancakes. "Drink your devils brew fast and eat; this won't be pretty." George nodded towards the end of the table, where a hissing red letter bounced aggressively up and down. And with every second the red got deeper and the hissing louder. Fred cringed.

"They get worse the longer you wait. Why didn't you open it?"

"And let you miss the fun?" George stuck his tongue out. What his twin actually meant was of course 'if I get yelled at, you get too'. Essentially the foundation of their codex of honour and twinness. If one was in trouble both would take the blame, so there could never be a good or a bad twin.

And even though Fred would have gladly let George open this particular howler alone, he knew it was meant for both of them in many ways.

As fast as possible he managed to gulp a pancake down and then solemnly reached for the howler. With wide eyes Sirius and Remus left the kitchen, laughing on their way out. They didn't seem too concerned with the fact that they were the ones hiding Fred and George from their furious mother. Yesterday Fred had been worried for a second that the two Marauders would inform their mum about their whereabouts but they hadn't. And Molly Weasley would have a meltdown if she found out.

With a grin and a nod, Fred ripped open the letter and quickly stuffed his fingers into his ears like George.

FRED GIDEON AND GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY! I CAN'T EVEN- HOW DARE YOU! YOU - YOU TWO- DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL?! THE DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY! NO GRADUATION! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE SO DISAPPOINTED

There was a small break, probably as their mum needed to breathe. Then her voice was back with full force.

AND SETTING THIS TERRIBLE PRANK LOOSE ON THE POOR STUDENTS! AS IF THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO SUFFER FROM THIS TERRIBLE WOMAN. I CAN'T- I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU. I DON'T HAVE WORDS FOR THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOUR! FOOLISH AND DANGEROUS! YOU TWO WILL COME HOME IMMEDIATELY!

With a last, loud hiss the howler started to rip itself into pieces. Fred and George stared at each other, equally frightened and amused. Of course, they had known their mother would react like this.

There was only one thing their mum wanted for all of her children. A financially secure life. And for Molly Weasley, the only way to reach this goal was to get good grades, graduate and then take a respectable job. Like their older brothers. Well, if one wanted to count dragon taming and professional theft as respectable jobs… really, only Percy had fulfilled their mum's wish and now he was the one turning his back on the family. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn sad.

"Well, she didn't threaten immediate death," Fred shrugged, "so maybe it's not so bad."

"Trying to sugar-coat it?" George sniggered and Fred joined him. There were absolutely convinced they would have a successful life with their shop and therefore had no reason to fear their mum, at least not in the long run. But maybe avoiding her for a few days was still a good idea.

With a grin, George handed Fred another letter. "Bill will meet us at the shop in an hour."

"Excellent," Fred muttered while he shoved another piece of pancake in his mouth. He was eager to start his day. This was the first day of the rest of their lives. Today they would start preparing the shop, getting everything ready, and fulfil their dream.

OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO

Hours later, it was already early evening, Fred marvelled at their shop. Yes, it was still plain and boring and dusty but he could easily imagine how it would turn out soon. A bit of colour here and there, shelves full of funny, bright products, and tables with advertisements everywhere.

Fred, George and Bill had spent the last few hours with warding the shop and every single room with all kinds of protection spells. Anti-theft spells for the shop in general, of course, spells to keep people from trespassing after opening hours, spells to recognise dark magic or artefacts, and spells to protect if someone attacked the shop. Fred had never thought to have so many protections but Bill had insisted. As Weasleys, blood-traitors, Order members – or at least Fred and George planned to join now that their mother couldn't forbid it any longer – and friends of Harry Potter they were high on the possible list of Death Eater targets.

Plus, there was now a massive amount of other spells and charms in place for every occasion Bill and the twins could think of. The workroom and the stairs to their small flat were warded against anyone entering who wasn't specifically allowed to and again against every dark magic possible. Bill was very throughout with protecting his little brothers.

After all, Bill had always been the oldest brother, the responsible one. Bill had been the one who watched over all his siblings when they were small. Who changed diapers when their mum was busy, cooked them simple meals or kept them entertained on rainy days. Most people only saw the cool guy with the earring, long hair, the dangerous job, and the high-fashion girlfriend but very few knew the Bill, who had more or less raised six children.

"Maybe we should add another one to the workroom," George frowned and Fred picked up the worried glace his twin eyed the dark wood with.

"Something to prevent burning the place down on accident?" Fred joked and shoved George happily.

"Exactly," George grinned and Bill rolled his eyes at them. But he started to set the necessary spells in place anyway and even showed the twins some nifty little spells and charms to handle fire, especially magical fire. Then he added a few more, accident-preventing spells and charms in the shop area and the workroom. Just in case.

Much later the three of them shared a table at the Leaky Cauldron, enjoying a round of butterbeer and a massive amount of stew with bread after their long day. It was a new experience for both Fred and George to sit and joke with their eldest brother like this. Like equals. All of their life Bill was always the oldest brother, the responsible older brother. But now he laughed about the story of their epic flight from Hogwarts and seemed honestly impressed.

"You know, Mum sent me dozens of letters this morning. She thinks I'm the one hiding you," Bill grinned into his glass.

"That's golden, wait till she hears who's actually hiding us. She will make a fur coat out of him." George said while Bill and Fred both laughed. It wasn't a secret what their mum thought of Sirius Black. She thought him childish and reckless and a bad influence for her own children and Harry. She would have a field day if she ever found out.

"I recommend not telling her," Bill winked, letting the big, responsible brother shine through. "It will be hard enough to convince her to let you join the Order without her being furious with snuffles."

"She can't forbid us from joining." Fred reminded him. "We are of age and out of school. They all said that's what's necessary to become a member."

"Sure, but you're well aware that the out of school condition didn't mean for you to set off on some brooms before graduating." Bill laughed. "Just give Mum time to cool down, bring her some flowers and your best puppy eyes when you visit her, and she will get over it. And maybe in a few weeks, you can mention about joining. Don't spring everything on her at once." Fred and George both nodded knowingly.

Ever since they were little Bill had always given them the same advice. Don't spring everything at Mum at once. Let her digest bad news or troubles they created only one at a time before you confess more bad news. Or get caught in trouble. Let her cool down.

"Okay, Freddie," Bill handed him some coins. "Get us a round of firewhiskey while I take a piss." Fred stared after Bill with wide eyes while George looked equally shocked.

Never – NEVER – had Bill allowed them to drink until now. He was the responsible brother. It had been Charlie who allowed them the first sip of alcohol when they had visited Bill in Egypt. And it had been Charlie who sent them a whole package of firewhiskey for their birthdays ever since they had turned sixteen.

Grinning like a mad man about this new turn of events Fred made his way to the bar. Despite the raising fear of You-Know-Who and the increasing amount of attacks, the Leaky was packed today with patrons enjoying themselves. It seemed like the lies from the Daily Prophet were still able to fool enough people into a false feeling of security.

"Oh, hello there, handsome." Fred was taken by surprise when he stared down at some pretty girl with long black hair and an enchanting smile on her lips.

"I've heard about your great flight from Hogwarts. My brother is a big fan." The girls grinned, her voice had a teasing tone and Fred knew this kind of smile well enough. A flirty smile. A teasing smile. An invitation to flirt a bit and then see where joking and laughing together would bring them. In many cases, it had brought Fred into a quiet, dim corner. And he was sure there were enough corners available at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Yeah, was quite the adventure," he replied with an easy smile and instantly the girl's eyes started to glow. She took a step forward and lightly touched his arm.

"I would love to hear about this adventure. We could drink something and you could tell me all about it?" She smiled winningly and Fred was sure a few months ago he would have jumped at the offer. He would have loved to spend an evening with a pretty girl, who promised more than just a drink and laughter. He would have taken every opportunity to get his mind off Angelina, George and the incredible mess the three of them had made. But it hadn't worked and it would certainly not help him to forget about a certain curly-haired witch.

The work during the day had helped him to push all thoughts of Hermione away for a while but now they were back in full force. And somehow Fred didn't want to forget about it in the arms of another witch.

"Sorry, but I'm here with my brothers tonight. We're having some kind of men's night," he smiled warmly, after all, he didn't want to hurt her and then nodded towards the table where Bill and George were waiting - and staring at them, those gits.

"Sure," The girl smiled, disappointment shimmering through her eyes. "Maybe I will visit you in this shop everyone seems to be talking about." She squeezed his arm lightly and went back to a table full of people in work clothes. Fred realised that this was the first time an older woman had hit on him. He felt a bit flattered but mostly he felt guilty because there was a girl at Hogwarts waiting for an answer he couldn't provide yet.

With a quiet sigh, he took the glasses and returned back to the table, where Bill and George were apparently highly amused by what happened.

"And, you're going to owl her?" Bill grinned.

"Nope, haven't asked for her name," Fred said as he handed his brothers the firewhiskey.

"Really? She seemed fairly interested in you. I heard you weren't one for declining such an offer," Bill waggled his eyebrows. "Ginny was very vocal in her dislike about your conquests during the Christmas Holidays." He added. Fred cursed their little sister but at the same time, he suddenly remembered what else had happened during the Christmas Holidays.

His talk with Hermione, their first kiss. Merlin, he still had no idea why he had kissed her. It had just been natural. She had stood there, trapped under his mistletoe, and his first instinct had been to kiss her free. He had wanted to catch Sirius to show off with the new prank and of course, he would have freed Sirius with the spell but looking at Hermione he had totally forgotten about the alternative….

"Just because a woman hits on me doesn't mean I will jump on it," Fred shrugged. He wanted to change the topic. He couldn't think about Hermione now. Not while he was drinking with his brothers, that wasn't a good combination. He needed time and silence to organise this mess in his heart and his head.

"You mean on her," Bill laughed and George joined him. "And I always thought Charlie was the ladies men in the family."

Fred felt his blood freeze. She had said she had wanted to tell him for a while how she felt about him. How long had this while been? He had never thought about it. What if… what if she had already been in love with him during his playboy phase? She had even caught him once or twice with a girl. Bloody hell, he wished he could kick himself for possibly hurting not one but two girls who were so important to him.

"Well, I still have some impulse control, you gits, no matter what Ginny might think. It was just a phase." He snapped and from one second to the other Bill and George were silent and mustered him with worry.

"Hey, we know that. We were just taking the mickey, why so defensive?" Bill asked, taking a slow sip from his firewhiskey.

"Yeah, it's not like you to be so easily offended," George stated. His twin looked at Fred like he had sprouted horns or something like that. Fred realised how strange his behaviour must seem. Normally he would have made a joke and laughed with them.

"I-" Fred started but he didn't know how to finish this sentence. I just realised I hurt a girl who is important to me? A girl I have really complicated feelings for?

No, he couldn't tell them. It would raise questions and Fred had no idea how to answer them. Bill had no clue about what had happened in the last few months, about Angelina and George. And George didn't know about Hermione, about the kisses and her confession.

Fred wasn't sure why he hadn't told his twin. Maybe he was a bit afraid of what George would say. But mostly not telling George made it somehow okay not to have an answer right now because his twin surely would demand answers.

Same applies to you, Granger. George's words from weeks before ghosted through Fred's mind. George had said it to make clear Hermione was like a sister to him, like Ginny. These words had let to their fight and Hermione's later confession. George liked Hermione. He was protective of her. Maybe he would disapprove of whatever was happening between Fred and her?

"Freddie, you still here with us?" Bill asked with concern in his eyes. George too eyed Fred. He probably knew he was keeping something from him. And sooner or later he would ask Fred about it. But not tonight.

"I'm just knackered from the long day," he finally offered as a weak excuse for his odd behaviour, then he raised his glass for his brothers to clink and they all took a large sip. Fred felt the pleasant burn and decided to tell George soon. There was a lot to do at the shop but sometime they would surely have some free time.

Their evening ended with Fred and George getting wasted again, and Bill laughing about them with Sirius when they stumbled on the stairs towards their room at Grimmauld.

OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO

The next morning a second and even more frightening howler arrived from their mum. It made Fred and George realise that maybe this time it wasn't the best strategy to wait a few days and let her cool off. Maybe them staying away and not answering angered her even more.

So now, after a pepper-up-potion from Remus and the advice the duck and run from Sirius, Fred entered the Burrow first, George right behind him and ready to cast a shield charm. After all Ginny hadn't learned her hexes from their dad.

"Mum," Fred called, voice carefully neutral to not evoke more fury.

"You!" With a large cooking spoon in her hand, Molly Weasley bolted around the corner, face red and eyes blazing. "You two, what did you think?" She screeches. Fred was fully prepared to dodge a hex or the spoon when suddenly he felt himself enveloped in a tight embrace, George squished against him by their mum arms.

"What were you thinking? Don't you know how dangerous it is to anger the wrong people? And leaving school without graduating?" His mum actually sobbed into their shoulders and instantly Fred felt even terribly guilty for waiting so long to visit. They should have gone to the Burrow right after leaving Hogwarts.

"We're sorry, Mum," he heard George whisper. Molly nodded against them before she straightened herself again and dragged them into the kitchen.

"Mum, we-"

"Hush, eat something first." With a stern face she presented them some stew – Fred's favourite –, steak and kidney pie – George's favourite – and a banoffee pie. Fred almost abandoned the stew for the pie but he knew better. Their mum wouldn't appreciate eating dessert first.

Banoffee pie was something very special because it was his and George's favourite dessert but their mum didn't make it very often. Since it was a muggle recipe it wasn't part of Molly Weasley's normal repertoire. The Weasley family only knew of this muggle dessert because Fred and George had discovered it in a muggle café in London as children.

Without further question, Fred settled at the large kitchen table and carefully started to enjoy the offered food. This felt like a bit of a trap but maybe it wasn't. Just to be extra careful he tried to mind his table manners even more than usual and saw that George did the same.

"So, now tell me about this… incident." Molly appeared almost too calm and Fred swallowed a large spoon of stew hastily to answer her. Without their normal exaggeration he and George both started to describe how Hogwarts had been in the last few months, especially since Dumbledore had left.

"We couldn't sit there and watch this awful woman terrorise the school," George explained hotly. "We had to do something."

"Yes," Fred agreed equally passionate. They had to make their mum understand. "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty. It's not like we actually broke any real rules, just the crap Umbridge decided."

"More like civil disobedience," George nodded furiously while their mum just sat there, listening and sipping on a cup of tea. Every now and then she nodded a bit but didn't react otherwise. It was very uncommon. Molly Weasley was normally a woman with an explosive temper and her being so calm felt very unsettling.

"Was only a matter of time until we had to get caught," Fred admitted finally and expected his mum to jump at this.

"Well, seems like there was nothing else you could have done," Molly sighed. "I won't lie, I was furious when I got the news. But then Professors McGonagall and Flitwick wrote to me about it. Both assured me that you're outstanding wizards and will certainly do well even without a certificate. Your dad and Bill also don't seem too concerned so I will…" she waved her hand vaguely, "try to stay calm and trust you. There are enough other things to worry about right now than you two leaving school."

With a jump both Fred and George where out of their chairs and hugging their mum tightly. "Thanks, we won't disappoint you," they both whispered. It meant a lot that Molly was at least trying to be supportive. And with time they would prove how successful one could be without finishing school.

OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO

The following weeks Fred and George started to dive headfirst into all the work they had to do for the shop. And there was a lot to do.

Three days alone were spent with cleaning up every inch, every little corner, and every last doorknob of the place into shining perfection. It wasn't hard physical work thanks to the nifty cleaning spells of Molly Weasley but still left them exhausted by the end of each day.

And sadly the cleaning-up was not the most boring thing on their ever-growing to-do-list. It was a very, very long to-do-list and every day they tried to work their way through as many bullet points as possible. Every evening they felt proud for their accomplishments and every morning they groaned at the sight of how much was still left to do.

Fred sighed deeply when he looked at the still very long and very boring list. They had crossed off several points, everything went well, really. But it still was so much more work than they had thought when they had made the bloody list. And thank Merlin that had had the sense to make the list in the first place. Thank Merlin they were such throughout planners.

o Fill the shelves

o but first, buy shelves

o decorate

o open an own account with Gringotts

o buy potion ingredients

o buy owls for the delivery service

o hire staff

o buy a till

o buy a promotion spot at the Prophet

o buy furniture for the new flat – or literally everything else one would need as a normal human being, like kitchen stuff…

o buy wrapping paper

o

The list went on and on and on with things to do or to buy. A lot of things to buy. They would need to hurry up with the owl delivery service to get some money in. The money from Harry's win at the Triwizard Tournament was mostly gone by now. Spend on creating and testing new products. At least the orders were coming in steadily and in big numbers.

"I regret our decision not to involve Mum," Fred finally admitted when he looked from the list to George, who was stretched out on the floor of the flat.

"We could give her a bit of gold and permission to furnish the flat. She would be through with it in one day." And she would know what to buy and where. Molly had actually offered her help after their visit but Fred and George had been adamant that they could do everything alone. It was about proving that they knew what they were doing and didn't need help. They wanted to prove leaving school hadn't been a bad idea. They were idiots. They had no idea how to equip a whole flat.

They were still living at Grimmauld Place with Sirius like real Order members. Which they were now. It had been a though, heated discussion with their mum, Kingsley, and Sirius. With Remus, Bill and their Dad acting as peacemakers, which probably was the toughest job in the Order. In the end, there had been no reason to deny them the membership and now Fred and George were allowed to the meetings. And eventually, they would even get their own missions.

"Probably, but then we would have to deal with her fretting about everything we do and…" The end of George's sentence got lost in an enormous yawing. Fred sighed again. Buying furniture would have to wait, tomorrow maybe. Sooner or later they would have to move out of Grimmauld, even if Sirius seemed to enjoy having them there.

It took them two more weeks to do all the mundane, boring organising stuff one had to do when you wanted to open the store. But at least they made progress. They had hired their first employee Verity, a nice witch a few years older than them, and Lee had already offered to help with the shop after his graduation.

The grand opening was planned for the first day of the Summer holidays when hopefully all the children had gotten their pocket money and were eager for some holiday entertainment. Fred looked forward to it more than he had anticipated. It felt like a part of his life was finally starting now and he was eager to see what the future might hold. And after the opening, he would finally write Hermione.

OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO

It was another late night for Fred and George when the news arrived. They were finally able to work on stocking the shelves with their products since the workroom was fully furnished. After all this organising stuff it felt like heaven just to stand in front of a cauldron again.

Fred brushed a hand through his hair in an attempt to get the fatigue out of his system. It was probably closer to sunrise than to sundown by now. George yawned and immediately Fred did the same. Damn.

"Maybe we should call it a day and get some rest," he suggested to his twin. George only gave a weak nod and they started to prepare the potions for the night. Stasis charms for the unfinished ones, putting out the fires, and so on. Fred did everything without spending a thought; he knew the order even in his sleep. Which was good because he already was half-asleep.

Suddenly a very bright, white light shook him out of his weariness. He recognised the weasel Patronus of his father immediately and freezing fear grabbed his heart. It had been only a week since the first Order meeting Fred and George had attended when Kingsley had explained to them how the members could communicate with Patronus messages. And that they only used it when nothing else was safe or there was a great danger.

There was an incident at the Ministry. Come to Hogwarts, Bill is waiting for you at the hospital wing.

The voice of his father had given nothing away. He had sounded calm, almost too calm. With wide eyes, Fred looked at George, who seemed equally shocked. A second later they moved as one, both jumping up and grabbing their jackets before they sprinted out of the door to get to the next apparition point. George had the sense to lock the shop before they both vanished with a loud pop.

The walk from Hogsmeade to the castle seemed endless to Fred and he felt the restlessness in George as well. Side by side they entered the dark castle and ran towards the hospital wing. It felt strange to be back at Hogwarts so shortly after leaving it. Especially in the middle of the night with most students sleeping peacefully in their beds. If he would go to Gryffindor Tower now everything would be the same as ever. Lee would be sleeping in their dorm room, probably snoring and speaking in his sleep. There would be a dim fire in the common room.

Every further thought left him when they stepped into the large hospital room and saw Bill, sitting beside a bed with silent worry on his face. That couldn't be good. Bill shouldn't look so worried. He was the oldest, never before had he shown any sign of stress or nervousness in front of them before. It took everything from Fred not to run towards the bed when he spotted the red hair and the sleeping face of their baby brother.

"Good, you're here," Bill sighed when he saw them but still smiled. He wanted to look strong and calm, Fred realised.

"What happened?" Fred sank down on a chair opposite from Bill, George taking a seat beside him.

"Is he okay?"

"Ron is fine. Madame Pomfrey gave him some sleep potion and she says he will be right as rain in the morning."

"And what about these?" Fred pointed at the thick bandages around Ron's arm. "What the hell happened, Bill? Was there an attack on the school? Or was it that pink monster?"

"I swear if this is her idea of punishment for students…" George growled and Fred nodded along. If Umbridge had laid only a finger on their brother they would break havoc faster than she could scream Fudge. They would probably only half an hour to really break hell loose. The old toad wouldn't even know what hit her.

"No, no it has nothing to do with Umbridge." Bill sighed again. "Last night Harry and some of his friends went to the Ministry," Bill started. Right, their father had mentioned something about the Ministry in his message.

"And of course Ron was with him," George rolled his eyes. How typical for their brother to get himself hurt while trying to help Harry.

"And Hermione too," Fred added, hoping it sounded casual. Where Harry and Ron were, Hermione was not far away. The only time Fred remembered the two boys having one of their dangerous adventures without Hermione had been when she had been petrified by the basilisk three years ago.

"Yes, and Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood." Bill paused when he saw their shocked faces. Not only Ron but Ginny too?

"The three of them are fine. They had some minor injuries but Pomfrey fixed them up already and sent them to bed. It seems like Harry had a vision, like back then when she saw Dad being attacked by this snake in the Ministry. Harry thought Sirius was at the Ministry, being tortured by You-Know-Who."

"So, they went on a rescue mission?" Fred wanted to be angry at Harry for being so irresponsible but he knew he would have done the same. But still, the fact that two of his siblings had been in danger…

"Yes, they couldn't contact anyone from the Order with McGonagall in the hospital, Dumbledore gone, and Snape, well, they didn't seem to count on him. Thing is, Sirius was never in danger." Bill retold the story as far as he knew. How Ginny had used their prank to get Harry inside Umbridge's office and how they had been caught. How Hermione and Harry went to the forbidden forest with Umbridge, leaving the woman there. And how they had fought Death Eaters at the Ministry before You-Know-Who personally appeared.

"Harry is with Dumbledore right now and…" Bill stopped, apparently trying to think of what to say next. He looked devastated. "Sirius went with the other Order members to rescue Harry, of course, he did. He… didn't make it. He died fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. I don't know what happened exactly, there was no body."

A thousand questions were thundering through Fred's head. But he wasn't able to form the words. It had been bad when Cedric Diggory had died last year. It had affected so many students to see someone so young had died and Fred, even though he had never liked the pretty boy, had thought about Cedric more than once during the last year. But Sirius… Sirius was different. Sirius was someone he admired, a good man who had endured terrible things in his life. A brave man. The last connection to Harry's dead parents.

Fred and George had only moved out from Grimmauld Place last night. Sirius had helped them pack. The older man had been excited for them and their adventure but had also seemed incredibly sad at the prospect of living alone again. They had promised to visit often. Now they wouldn't be another chance to visit Sirius Black, a brave man and good friend.

He wanted to know how it had happened but before Fred or George could ask more question the curtain to one of the other beds opened. To Fred's surprise, Angelina stepped outside, exposing a flash of brown curls before she carefully closed the curtains behind her. Beside him, George made a rather strange noise, something between a surprised yelp and frightened whine.

"Oh, hello," Angelina seemed equally surprised but offered a shy smile. Well, Angelina acknowledging their existence was a major improvement.

"Hi Angie," he tried to smile but the knowledge that Hermione was probably behind this curtain with an uncertain medical condition made him restless.

"Uhm hello," George stammered. Fred could have hit his twin for being so damn awkward. Merlin, they knew this girl since the first year and despite everything that had happened George should be able to at least greet her normally. But to his surprise, Angelina didn't fare better. She bit her lip nervously at George's greeting and quickly averted her eyes.

Bill shot them both curious glances and then turned to Angelina. "How's Hermione?"

"She's fine," Angelina started. "Still sleeping. I'm afraid she will have to stay a while longer. That curse was right nasty and did some damage to her internal organs. She's out of danger but it will take a few weeks until everything is all healed up. I will-" she gestured towards the small office of Madame Pomfrey, "I need to speak with Madame Pomfrey about Hermione's treatment."

"It was nice to see you, Angie, and thanks for helping Hermione," Fred tried a smile. Angelina just raised her eyebrows at him, a strange look in her eyes. Determined not to let this become too awkward Fred stomped lightly on George's foot, urging him to say something.

"Yeah, it was really nice seeing you," George said softly, the words loaded with so much subtext that Fred almost cringed. This had to end. George and he were smooth, cool guys who always had a smart reply on their lips. Acting like this was pathetic and it needed to end. Fred renewed his vow to lock the two of them in a cupboard together.

As soon as Angelina closed the door to the office behind her, George groaned heavily. "What is she doing here?"

"Pomfrey introduced Angelina as her assistant. It seems she wants to go into healer training after graduation and is getting her first practical experiences here." Bill turned to them with a slightly amused smirk. He was visibly more relaxed now that everyone was out of danger.

"Anything you want to tell me?" He winked. "I sensed a bit of awkwardness between you two, George? And maybe also with you, Fred? Are you both involved? I thought you didn't take after our uncles?" Fred let out a burst of small laughter. Oh no, they were nothing like their uncles.

George and Fabian Prewett had been identical twins like Fred and George but they had also been soulmates with each other- and with a woman. A triad, their mother had called it. It was rare even among identical twins and as children Fred and George had always hoped they would share a soulmate like their uncles. It had been a big disappointment when they had discovered they weren't soulmates.

"Oh no, we aren't," Fred shook his head. "There is just something really complicated going on with Georgie and Angelina, long story."

"Well, Mum wants us to wait here until she and Dad come back from a meeting with Kingsley and Lupin, so we have time. Maybe I can help you?" There he was, the responsible older brother. Always trying to help them.

"Brilliant idea," Fred nodded. "George, tell him. I'm going to look after Miss Granger for a moment." Bill and George protested loudly against his plan. Well, as loud as possible with two sleeping, sick persons in the room. Bill because he thought it wasn't appropriate to sneak behind the curtain and George because he didn't want to be left alone to tell their story. Fred ignored them both and slit smoothly behind the white curtain.

The sight knocked all air out of his lungs.

Hermione was pale and seemed unbelievably frail, laying there in the stark white hospital bed. Her dark curls were spread like a halo around her head but it only made her appear paler. Her face was sickly white, the veins around her eyelids shining through, and her lips were a dark purple. That couldn't be normal. Then Fred saw her chest.

Hermione was covered with the duvet but her shoulders were free and naked. From the rim of the duvet, he could see the same thick, white bandages that covered Ron. Only that it seemed like Hermione's whole upper body safe for her arms was covered. That really must have been a nasty hex.

Fred took a shaky step and sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at Hermione's even breathing for a while to convince himself that she was alright. She had to be alright. Angelina had said so. Madame Pomfrey was a good healer. Hermione would be alright! She had to… He thought about taking her hand – he wanted to touch her – but didn't do it. He just sat there. Staring at her pale face, hoping she would open her eyes.

And the longer he looked at her pale, sleeping face the more his stomach knotted itself together in a tight and painful mess. Sirius died tonight. Hermione could have died too. She could have died without ever getting the answer she wanted and here he was still not an ounce smarter. He still had no idea what he felt despite a painful fear of losing her.

"Fred?" The soft voice of George behind him shook Fred out of his stupor. His twin was standing behind him with a shocked and sad expression on his face as he looked at Hermione.

"Mum and Dad are back. There will be an Order meeting shortly at the Burrow." Fred nodded mechanically and stood up, stretching his stiff limbs and neck. He had sat there longer than he thought. He heard the curtains moving behind him and knew that George was gone. With a sudden burst of bravery, he bowed done and gave Hermione a lingering kiss on the forehead. Then he stepped outside.

Bill and George were waiting with their parents at the entrance, all of them in deep conversation with Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout. Probably something about Ron and Hermione and their treatments. Fred was about to join them when he saw Angelina staring at him. There was something odd in the way she looked at him. Like she waited for something to happen? Yes, she looked a bit curious. Fred tore his eyes away from her. Right now he had neither the time nor the mind to think about Angelina and their complex and confusing past. His mind was racing with questions about what had happened in the Ministry. And about Hermione. He knew right away that the image of her laying in this bed, pale and unconscious, would hound him in his sleep forever.

ooo

The quote "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" isn't from me. It's from the German author Berthold Brecht.

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