Chapter 13

Dumbledore was gone. Umbridge was Headmistress. Fred was leaving. Hermione's thoughts were all over the place so did what she always did when thigs were out of control and threw herself into her studies. She had decided to try find out what was happening between her and Fred, what this connection was. She was sure it was some sort of enchantment, and she wondered if that was why her feelings were so strong. Frowning at the thought- she started reading her way through a section of the Library she had never given much thought too: Romance. After the first few books however she snorted in disgust. Most of them were trashy novels for witches like Lavender and Parvati. She needed answers not smutty stories about wizards like Lockhart. So she turned her gaze instead to the restricted section.

That afternoon the Weasley twins caused pandemonium. They had released hundreds of magical fireworks causing total chaos for Umbridge. She laughed as she watched Filch run past her, chasing a Catherine wheel, his broom on fire. And she fought her way through the crowds in the common room to congratulate them that evening. Fred gave her a huge smile and winked at her, making her blush with pleasure. Turning around she saw Ron scowling at them, looking confused.

The next week she was curled up alone by the fire late one evening, Harry and Ron having already gone to bed when she came across a term she had never heard before : Soulcast. She glanced at the cover of the book she was reading, it was one she had borrowed from Sirius 'The Most Ancient of Magics'. The description was brief:

'Soulcasting is when one meets their soulmatch. The soul recognises its respective half and forges a connection of substantial strength, casting the souls together. Magic this powerful is dangerous and should be treated with extreme caution.'

She was just wondering if this was similar to what she had with Fred when he flopped down next to her. Resting his arm behind her head on the sofa. She glanced around the common making sure they were alone before leaning in to kiss him.

"What are you reading?" he asked, as his hand played with her curls.

"Most Ancient Magics" she replied, "just a bit of light reading before bed. My head is so full of revision right now, I can't sleep." He raised his eyebrows at her idea of 'light reading' but didn't comment. She hesitated wondering if she should tell him about this Soulcasting and what he thought about it when a voice spoke from the alcove that led to the dormitories.

"Ahhhhh. Now I understand" said George. Hermione jumped like she had been electrocuted and Fred swore quietly under his breath, withdrawing his arm.

George came and sat in the armchair closest the fire and resting his elbows on the arms he touched his fingers together and surveyed them.

"Who would have thought that my curiosity as to where my dear brother had snuck off too could lead me to this?" He said grinning at them.

"George…" said Fred warningly. George looked at his brother and noticed the defensive set of his jaw. Raising his eyebrows he held up has hands,

"Easy brother, I'm only teasing. Tell me, how long have you two been… intimate"

"George." Fred's voice was a growl as he stared George down.

George held his gaze for a few seconds, then laughed, and Fred who seemed unable to stay stern with his twin cracked a grin too. His arm came back around Hermione as she sat there staring between them, feeling like she had missed something. She settled back uneasily and opened her book again, but didn't read.

"Long enough" replied Fred eventually.

"Ron?" said George.

"No idea" said Fred.

"Is that wise?"

"For his own sake"

"Really?" said George lightly as though he thought they were making a huge mistake.

"Yes" said Hermione, rather fiercely. She still hadn't forgiven Ron for kissing her but she wasn't going to deliberately hurt him, he was still her friend. George studied her for a moment, then said,

"Well bed time for me. Fred. Hermione." He nodded at them and left. Hermione turned a panicked face to Fred,

"What if he says something?" she asked Fred.

"Would that be so bad? Maybe its time?" answered Fred shrugging, who felt a huge relief that George knew, he had hated keeping his feelings for Hermione secret from him.

"Right before exams? Yes, it would be disastrous!"

"I'll go speak to him" he sighed, standing up, "you should go get some sleep Hermione" He leaned over and kissed her, then headed after his twin.

A few days later, Hermione knocked on Professor McGonagall's door.

"Enter." Came the Professors clipped voice. Hermione walked into the room noticing Umbridge sitting in the corner with a clipboard. She was here for her careers advice and frowned at the puffed up power hungry old bag in the corner. McGonagall gave her a small smile when she saw her expression.

"Please sit down. Now, Ms Granger. As you know, this meeting has been set up to have a brief talk about your future. Now, have you given any thought to what would like to pursue once you have left Hogwarts?"

"Well, yes. I've given it a lot of thought, but I'm not really interested in any of the traditional jobs that are offered. I wanted to dedicate myself to something really worthwhile. I've been toying with the idea of taking S.P.E.W further."

"House-elf rights are an admiral goal Ms Granger, but I feel may be a waste of your considerable talents. Have you considered a research position? I think the department of Mysteries at the Ministry would be a good option for you. Of course, the application process is intense , but they are very flexible on research topics within the scope of the department. It is likely the hardest department to join."

"Ah hem" said Umbridge from the corner. "Minerva I was just wondering if it wise to encourage such.. unattainable goals for Miss Granger."

"Unattainable? Ms granger is the brightest witch to have walked these halls since Dumbledore himself was a student" McGonagall said coldly. Umbridge's face flushed and ugly, blotchy red at the mention of Dumbledore.

"Be that as it may, the Ministry performs stringent background checks on any potential employee. And given Miss Grangers friendship with Mr Potter I am afraid a career within the Ministry is simply out of the question."

"Is that all?" said McGonagall disdainfully. "Well then, Ms Granger, if you have any further questions then I suggest you come see me, privately. But we are out of time for now. Good day." Hermione blinked at the sudden dismissal, but seeing the angry gleam in McGonagall's eyes she grabbed her bag and left.

Hermione was hissing at Harry trying to convince him not to sneak into Umbridge's office. She couldn't believe he would be so foolish. She had this dull feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched his set jaw and stubborn expression. At lunch she caught Fred's eye and jerked her head. Then she left the great hall and headed outside to the courtyard. She waited for him by the sundial where they had shared their first kiss. He joined her a few moments later. There were people milling about the courtyard, chatting in small groups, so they kept their distance.

"The distraction that your planning, is it safe?" she asked in a worried voice.

"Totally." Replied Fred. He knew she was terrified at the thought of Harry getting caught and she was desperate to ask him to stop the plan, but he also knew that she would never ask him to do that. It was one of the many wonderful things about Hermione.

"If your caught, she'll expel you."

"She can't catch us. We would escape before that happened."

"Escape?" she said in a small voice. "Your leaving. Today?"

"Maybe" said Fred, his face serious. Hermione nodded, her beautiful eyes overbright. Fred's heart was breaking at the thought of having to leave her in this hell, and as the emotions filled him he felt that strange power crackle to life and bloom about them.

A breeze sprung up, whipping about the courtyard with them at the centre. They stared at one another both trying to find the words to explain how much they were going to miss the other.

They stood in the eye of a storm. Golden threads cracked like lightening through the surroundings, so bright that it lit Fred's red hair so it looked like flames ripped across his head. They stood three feet apart, hair whipping around their faces. The force of the storm was increasing with every second they held eye contact. Hermione's fingers twitched to reach out and touch him, and she saw the same urge mirrored in Fred's eyes. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated and black against the deepest blue. She felt this unbelievable force well up in side her, its immensity almost overwhelmed her as she fought to fight it back, unsure what would happen if she gave in and released it. Her very skin seemed to crackle with the golden electricity.

"Hermione?" Ron's voice called from the edge of the courtyard. He sounded scared. "Fred?"

Hermione looked around. All the people who had been milling about were taking shelter from the golden storm by the edges of the courtyard. She took a step back from Fred and the wind died, the lightening ceased and a deafening silence surrounded them. Giving Fred a last, tortured look she hurried away and rushed past Ron back into the castle.

"What was that?" Ron hissed at Hermione in Transfiguration.

"I don't know!" said Hermione honestly, "I really don't know". Harry studied Hermione, Ron had told him what had seen and right now she looked close to tears.

"Just drop it" he said to Ron. Ron looked like he wanted to argue but McGonagall chose that moment to start firing OWL questions at them and he was forced to concentrate.

Hermione watched with the rest of the school as Fred and George confronted Umbridge in the Entrance Hall that evening. They had set their portable swamp off in the East wing, giving Harry plenty of time to break into Umbridge's office. She watched as they summoned their brooms and flew out of the front doors into the sunset. She smiled at the chaos they left behind, with Umbridge screaming like a child at her squad to give chase. She watched as the crowd cheered and spilled out onto the lawn to watch the flight of the Weasleys. She stayed behind, a single tear fell from her eyes. There was a hollow feeling inside her, like Fred has taken a piece of her with him.

Fred and George flew for a few hours, the exhilaration of their great escape wore off after an hour or so, then the sad hollow feeling filled him. He could sense that this was also how Hermione was feeling and it filled him with guilt to be putting her through this pain. They set down in a field when they were sure no-one was pursuing them and disapparated to the Burrow. Exhausted, they traipsed through the door.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE" yelled their Mother as soon as they entered.