Hermione wasn't one to stand down from her words. Following her fight with Fred, she had ignored him at all costs. He became dead to her and although her feelings were hurt, she did not let that show under any circumstance. The night after the infamous fight went down, the three Gryffindoor teens made their way right to the great hall for breakfast. None of them had showered or really gotten a goods nights rest, but they were in high spirits. The case was not the same for Fred- who they saw had dark circles under his eyes and a deep frown. He was sitting away from even his own friends, and didn't look up when Hermione and her group went past.

That was now a month ago. It was now smack in the middle of spring; with summer and final task getting closer and closer every day. Hermione's life had since returned completely to the one she had the year before. She studied and hung out with friends, and studied with friends. She made it her job to meet up with Viktor a couple times a week to read with him and talk about their findings on the man and Karkaroff. Whenever she did this, she couldn't help but think about Fred and the guy he used to be. Ever since they broke up, he had changed drastically.

He was no longer close to George and spent most of his time away from people. Most didn't know where he was, but Hermione figured he would go to the room of requirements and spend his time there. Whenever she asked George about him, the twin only shook his head and gave off a cold answer. George was trying his best not to hate Hermione, but it was hard. It was so easy to blame her for the way Fred was acting, but deep down he knew that blaming someone else wasn't the way to go. Fred was in pain and sooner or later he would find his way back onto the path to being the person he was destined to be, but until then it was baggy eyes and ruffled hair and lots of scowling.

Today was one of the days that Hermione was supposed to discuss their little investigation with Viktor, but since the trial was coming up he had been spending more and more time with his professors practicing magic. So instead, Hermione was accompanied by Harry, Luna, Ginny and Ron. Luna and Ron were now going out unofficially- though they technically had been for months. It was nice to see Ron happy and with someone who could take his blinded insults and dish them just as well.

The four were sitting around a table with parchment and notes scattered around which Hermione had been collecting.

"So where are we at so far?" Ginny asked. Hermione stood up to get all of their attention before beginning to explain what they'd learnt so far.

"Well, we know that Karkaroff is controlling a student in either Beuxbatons or Hogwarts and we know that he is trying to rig the games. However, he's not doing it so Viktor can win. We also know that theres another man involved who is in the castle whose plan is working on the same plan with Karkaroff, but they don't seem to be allies."

Hermione sat to let Harry continue, the boy not rising but everyone looking to him anyways.

"I finally spoke to Dumbledore about it and he said he'd look into it, but something about the way he spoke told me that we needed to continue doing this regardless of what he was doing himself. I learn't a couple things about the tournament and the Ministry- Barty Crouches son was a death eater, and Karkaroff was the one who got him convicted-"

"So then wouldn't he be the mystery man?" Ron interjected. Hermione pulled a newspaper article out of the pile and handed into the boy, telling him that Barty Crouch Jr was in Azkaban- that if he'd have escaped it would have been all over the news like Sirius Black. "But what if he escaped and the ministry covered it up? If he's Barty Crouches son, it would have led to a lot of people losing their jobs and trust of the people."

"You might be right, Ron, but I still highly doubt it. Regardless it's likely we wont find out. I was listening in on him some time ago, and I can say for certain he was taking polyjuice ingredients from Snape. I've considered telling the professor, but he'd probably accuse me of lying." the group mumbled in agreement at that and moved on with whatever Hermione wanted to discuss.

"The third task is coming up soon, and I think that whatever is planned is going to happen either during or immediately after- and it has something to do with Harry and more than likely you-know-who. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore again next week and demand they increase the security."

"Why don't we try and confront the man when he's around Snapes office next?" Ginny asked.

"Well we thought about it, but Dumbledore said to let it go on. I think he has it more under control than he's leading on… That or he's just trying to keep us out of trouble," Harry replied.

"Oh, before we forget Luna had something to say," Ron piped in, putting his hand to the slender girls shoulder in encouragement, giving her a very nervous look too.

"I think that Fred is the one being controlled by Karkaroff." Luna spoke softly, but with complete certainty. The rest of the group stared at the girl wide eyed and confused- Ginny slightly frowning as if insulted by it. Hermione on the other hand was pale faced and worried. The thought once crossed her mind, but she refused to think about it because she refused to think about him.

"I was walking to the astrology tower and saw that funny little door that comes and goes was half open, so I went to look and I could hear Karkaroff talking to Fred. Fred looked dreadful, would of thought he was dead. That rhymes- dead Fred. I held it until now because I wanted all of you to hear, but. Karkaroff was showing Fred how to do an unforgivable curse and Fred was doing it. It was quite frightening, so I left and went on my way. I'm sorry to tell you all like this."

Everyone took a moment to process what she had said. Hermiones worst fears weren't just confirmed, they were far more terrifying than she had initially assumed. Fred was being controlled- and probably had been for who knows how long. Suddenly, alarm bells started going off in the young witches mind and she rose from her seat with urgency. The group soon joined her, knowing exactly where they were headed- Dumbledores office. During the walk, Ginny asked how long Luna was keeping this from them and she admitted it had been two days ago, but that she was worried that they knew she was watching and wanted to tell them all somewhere safe. Ginny was still quite angry that her brothers condition took so long to be expressed, but Ron only held her hand as they stormed right to the office.

"Miss Granger?" a loud and gruff voice barked from behind. The group stopped just after she did and they all turned to face Professor Moody, who stood as disturbingly out of place as ever. "Come to my office immediately."

"Professor I will, but I need to speak to Dumbledore right this moment," she pleaded back, ready to turn and continue on the second the conversation was over.

"Well I'll save you some time and tell you that he's at the ministry this moment dealing with preparations for the tournament. Now please join me in my office as I'd like to discuss your grades and progress in my subject." Hermione could have bit his head off, but pushed down the anger she felt towards the professor and took his word. Ron and Harry followed behind her for a moment before Professor Moody insisted the talk be alone. And so with that, their urgency to see the head master was snuffed out and Hermione left the group that now stood idle in the middle of the halls.

As they walked, Hermione began to ask if there was a problem, but was quickly shut down by the professor who silently led her into her office, closing the door behind them. Hermione was especially intimidated by Professor Moody. He was cold and harsh, but also very unhinged. He didn't seem like a good man, but his reputation proved otherwise and so Hermione accepted him for all he was.

"Miss Granger, take a seat," she followed his words and watched as he also took a seat at his table, leaning back and scowling at her. "Would I be right to assume you have been looking into Headmaster Karkaroff with your friends and Mr Krum?"

Hermione bit her tongue and thought about what she was about to say before saying it. "I wouldn't say looking into. The man is an enigma and I am quite fond of uncovering such things," she spoke cooly, trying not to play into his hand.

"You're a liar!" he snapped. This startled Hermione completely and she jolted in her seat, losing the cool composer she only held for a moment. The professor stood up and leaned into the table on his hands. "You are playing with fire, witch. Watch out or you'll soon be burned at the stake. That'll be all."

Hermione wasted no time in leaving the office, walking straight out the door. As she did so, she caught a whiff of a very familiar smell, but couldn't seem to place it. Outside the room stood Harry on his own, waiting for Hermione. The boy could tell from her face that whatever had happened wasn't good. Hermione wasn't one to be startled so obviously, but he kept his questioning until they were a fair distance away. Hermione soon enough relayed their incredibly short conversation, which had Harry completely stumped. Why was Moody acting like he stood against Hermione? If he really had an idea what was going on, he would of been quick at work uncovering it. Everything was strange, but the one thing both Harry and Hermione knew for certain was that they wouldn't be going to Professor Moody any time soon for guidance on the matter.

Harry mentioned that the two third years had gone to class and that Ron accompanied them and would meet his friends at their own class when the time came, so until then Harry and Hermione strolled along the halls in silence, thinking about everything that they had learnt from Luna and analysing it deeply. If Fred was under Karkaroffs control, Dumbledore needed to know immediately. Hermione decided that as soon as classes were done for the day she would go to Mcgonagall and set up a meeting as soon as she could.

The two went on to their Care of Magical Creatures class soon enough and were surprised to find that Ron never showed up. Usually this would result in points being deducted, but Hagrid chose to ignore his absence completely. Once that was over, the two split ways once again to go on with their days until they were reunited for dinner. Unlike most days, Hermiones mind wasn't very focused on the classes at hand. She was still shaken up and curious about the stern words told to her by Moody. Aside from being highly inappropriate to imply death on a student, it was also eerie and uncomfortable.

When Hermione and Dean walked together to the hall, she immediately noticed that Dumbledore was seated at the teachers table, while Moody was not. Strange, she thought. The girl continued to watch Dumbledore closely for the sole reason of avoiding Fred. Aside from being her ex, he was also a suspect of the Imperius curse and she wanted to avoid him at all costs. Soon enough, Dean led her to the rest of the boys and Hermione allowed her guard to fall down.

"Have you seen Ron?" Harry asked before she could even sit. As she did so, she looked within their immediate vicinity as if he would be nearby. "He didn't make it to any of our classes."

"Well has he been with Luna?" Hermione asked in return. She felt a pit in her stomach as if something dreadful had fallen upon their friend.

"Luna's been with me since we all separated, we haven't seen him since," Ginny answered. Hermione's worries grew even more now. There weren't many places or things to do in a typical day- nothing that could have distracted Ron so much or prompted him to look into something with neither Harry or Hermione. It was very strange.

"Well when was the last time anyone did see him?" she asked. While Hermione had left the group first, she knew Ron left with Luna and Ginny- so they must have been the last to go.

"He dropped us off at divination and then went with Seamus." the group now looked at Seamus, who seemed caught off guard as he was more busy letting Dean fix his unruly hair.

"Well don't look at me. We were right on our way to class and he said he forgot his books at the dorm. George was goin' that way anyways so he went with him."

Great… George, Hermione thought. As if reading her lack of enthusiasm, Harry rose from his seat and informed that he'd be right back- walking down towards the entrance of the hall where the twins usually sat.

"Speaking of George," Seamus continued, now leaning in to talk gossip. "I've heard him and Fred had a huge fight- not speaking to each other anymore."

"That's rubbish," Ginny remarked. Though when Hermione looked at her say it, she could clearly see the sadness and hurt in her eyes. For a while Ginny was upset with Hermione, but soon realised Fred was the one with the problem. And now, after Lunas revelation, it seemed everyone now just felt concerned for the boy and what he may have been going through.

Harry sat back down at his previous spot between Neville and Ginny and everyone readily gave him their full attention.

"George said that they went back to the dorms, but on their way to their own classes Moody called him in for a meeting," he announced.

"That doesn't make any sense, I was in a meeting with him," Hermione remarked, Harry nodding before going on.

"Well yeah, but it was short. All that walking around he was doing would of been long enough for us to be on our way and not even bump into him. So now I guess it's a matter of where he went afterwards."

"Well Moody isn't here either. Do you think he's abducted Ron?" The entire group looked at Neville who had just spoken, and while they all seemed to share the same attitude towards the outlandish accusation, Harry and Hermione couldn't help but share a look of concern.

"I think we should go look for him. Ginny, do you reckon you could take some food up to the common room in case we miss dinner?" Hermione asked. Ginny sweetly complied as she watched Hermione and Harry rise up and quickly walk down the way they'd come- headed straight for Moodys office.

Hermione looked down as they walked out the hall, passing students as they entered. It was because of this that she ended up receiving a harsh shove that pushed her back slightly. The girl looked up and Harry turned back startled as she looked at Fred- who she hadn't spoken to let alone seen in an entire month. Up close he looked completely ragged- his eyes were deep and dark and his hair was unbrushed and matted in places. Even his uniform seemed grimy and gross. He didn't look like Fred at all, and for a moment Hermione barely believed it was him.

"Watch where you're going," he snapped before continuing down to an empty place amongst a random group of fifth years. Hermione was completely struck still for a moment, but soon snapped out of it and continued alongside Harry.

As they made their way along the halls, they both remarked how sick he looked and how urgently they had to see Dumbledore about it. But until dinner was over, finding Ron was the first priority. They kept an eye out around the halls all the way to Moodys office where they had been hours before. Hermione felt sick to her stomach as she remembered what Moody had told her- was he part of this conspiracy or just insane?

The two stood close to their door and listened intently as voices spoke and they adjusted to match the sound. It was muffled and they couldn't make out who it was at all- barely the words they said. Hermione picked up 'boy', 'get there', and 'where'; while Harry picked up 'chained' and 'nobody'. Everything else was vague and unhelpful. They could only identify one voice though, which led them to believe that either Moody- if that was him- was alone, or that Ron was sitting there silently. Harry shifted as if to barge in, but Hermione pulled him back and indicated that they continue to try and eavesdrop. For a moment Hermione thought about the hearing contraption that the twins tried to show her early in the year, and how it didn't work. She wondered if they ever got it done properly or if that part of their lives was lost to the turmoil Fred was in.

Before her thoughts could continue for another second, Harry and Hermione were quickly pulled up from where they crouched and dragged along. Neither yelped or shouted and quickly calmed down when they saw it was Viktor grabbing onto them and storming forward- a look of both worry and concentration in his face. The two Gryffindoors looked at one another with concern as they caught up to his pace and silently stormed forward with him. They made two corner turns before Hermione felt comfortable to speak, tugging Viktors shirt to stop him and Harry following suit.

"What the bloody hell was that? What's going on?! Where did you come from?" she asked all at once. Her chest was rising up and down rapidly from anxiousness and the change of pace- Harry similar but not quite as bad.

"You were in danger there. You're looking for Ronald? We have found him. Now come quickly."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then back at the older boy. They could tell by his expression that at the end of this journey was no good news. They soon found themselves at the hospital wing- Dumbledore and Mcgonagall crowded around a bed with Madame Pomphrey. The two wasted no time in running up to the bed where Ron lay unconscious. He was covered in bandages and scratches all over his body- a large bandage over one part of his ribs. Hermione gasped in horror, her hand rising up to her mouth in shock at the sight of her friend.

"What happened to him?" she asked, taking a closer step towards his face to inspect. He was breathing, but he looked dreadful.

"Your friend Mr Krum would have the best recollection. After you explain the situation to them, would you mind joining me in my office?" Dumbledore turned to Viktor as he said this, who responded in a stern bow.

"I was training in your forbidden forests when a horseman came to me. He was very kindly for a horse-man and took me to Ronald. He was laying in his blood on the ground. Nobody was around us," he said. Hermione looked at him and nodded with understanding.

"Will he be okay?" she asked.

"Of course he will!" Madame Pomphrey piped up as she wrung a wet cloth and placed it onto his head. "As soon as he wakes up I'll give him everything he needs for those wounds to go away, but rest will do him good regardless."

"I see…" Hermione began, now turning her attention to Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, we need to talk to you urgently about other things too. We wanted to come earlier but Professor Moody said you were out." the headmaster raised his eyebrows in surprise at that, and responded by saying he was in the castle the entire day. This only made the deep pit in Hermiones stomach fall deeper.

"This was Professor Moody." Harry snapped. He had been silent the entire time, and Hermione now wished he'd stayed that way. She agreed, but this was no time to be making assumptions. Regardless, Dumbledore let them continue as Mcgonagall joined the circle to listen. "He told us you were out of the castle and told Hermione to come into his office and he implied she'd get hurt if we continued looking into the mysterious movements around the castle."

"What are you talking about, Potter?" Mcgonagall piped, giving him an eye as if to say think about what you're saying.

"It's true," Hermione continued for him. "Besides that, Moody was the last person to see Ron before he went missing today. We don't know whats going on but you need to trust when I say he's involved. And theres something else, too, but we need to discuss that in private." She directed the last part of her statement to Dumbledore, who nodded knowingly and told them to follow him to his chambers. The two friends and Krum all bid their goodbyes to the unconscious Ron and continued along with Dumbledore. As they walked out they could hear McGonagall hold her wand to her throat and speak- likely to instruct the other Weasleys to see their brother. I hope Fred doesn't go, Hermione silently thought.

The four reached the chamber without distraction and Dumbledore made Harry and Hermione wait as he spoke to Krum alone. The two watched as their headmaster placed a wand to the boys head and extracted a white strand. Harry leaned in and told Hermione what it was, the girl nodding in agreement. While she'd read about Pensives before, seeing it in action was something else. They watched as Krum stood back and Dumbledore led the strand to the bowl and placed it in, dunking his head in to follow. Krum didn't look back at the other two as they all waited in silence for Dumbledore to complete watching the memory in full. A part of Hermione wondered how lucky Viktor must have been to come across Ron, another part of her wondered if it was luck at all.

Once Dumbledore emerged from the bowl, he gave Viktor a knowing look and excused him from the room, leaving Harry and Hermione there alone. Viktor did stop to give a firm hold onto Hermiones shoulder, but didn't speak a word as he left.

"What did you see?" Harry asked once the other boy was gone.

"Nothing unlike what he accounted for. I'll pay Firenze a visit tomorrow and soon write a letter to Mr and Mrs Weasley about their sons condition. Before I do so- is there anything they or I may want to know?"

Harry and Hermione shared a look once more, and the young witch stood forward.

"Luna Lovegood saw Headmaster Karkaroff teaching Fred unforgiveable curses. You already know about everything else we've learn't, but I didn't mention that all those months ago Fred and I heard it be mentioned that Karkaroff was using Imperius on somebody. It didn't make sense, but seeing as how he's changed and his behaviour- I think that he's being controlled. What for I have no idea."

"Those are very bold accusations. I don't think the ministry would believe you, but I will take it into account. If a student of Hogwarts is under the Imperius control, this could mean grave danger for both young Freds sake and the rest of the students. I'll exclude this from the letter to the Weaselys and try handle it on my own. However, if its appropriate I'd recommend you try and mend the friendship you once had. That can be just as powerful as any cure."

The group shared a few more words on the matter before the two left Dumbledore to his thoughts, finding Viktor standing at the bottom of the great stairs waiting for them.

"With everything that has happened, I feel like I should accompany you both to your common rooms," he stated. He seemed more closed off than usual and while Harry hadn't the slightest, Hermione could tell that he was hiding something.

"We were hoping to visit Ron once more before retiring for the night," Harry replied. Viktor agreed and they made their way in. As they entered, only Ginny and Luna sat at the bed. Hermione wondered if George had come at all, but still very silently hoped that Fred was nowhere near him. Despite Dumbledores words, after learning everything they had- Fred wasn't to be trusted.

Viktor stood by the door as the other two walked up to Ron and his companions. Luna was holding his hand in a ball, in it a pouch of what must have been her own little charm. Ginny stood at his head tidying his hair from his face before greeting them and walking down the room to thank Viktor.

"Did the twins come?" Harry asked as he looked at his best friend.

"George and Angelina did. I didn't want to ask where Fred was, I knew they didn't have a clue," Luna replied softly as she traced circles on his clasped hand. "How did the meeting with Dumbledore go?"

"Nowhere. I'm glad he knows but it was no reassurance. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt," Hermione replied, Harry agreeing.

A few more minutes passed and Ginny returned, Viktor now behind her to see Ron properly. As they all backed away, Viktor walked up to the head of the bed and traced some kind of a sigil on Rons forehead.

"Good luck, right?" Luna asked softly. Viktor confirmed thats what he was doing and backed off once again. For all his strangeness, he had found his own obscure place in their group. Hermione tried to tell herself that he wasn't replacing Fred- but even now in her best friends agony, Viktor seemed to be shining a light of positivity in his own cold way.

Madam Pomphrey eventually had to chase them all out and the group were forced to go back to their common rooms. Instead of accompanying them to Gryffindoor like he'd originally planned, Viktor ended up taking Luna to the Ravenclaw room while Ginny, Harry and Hermione made their way to their quarters to get ready for bed. They discussed the matter of Rons condition and wondered what caused him to be targeted. They tried not to get too deep into it. Most students were in bed now and their words were echoing through the halls. Even as they entered, they simply refused to continue. Fred was nowhere to be seen as per usual, and George was sulking by the fireplace with Angelina.

Hermione considered talking to the twin for a moment, but decided that if there was any redeeming to be done, tonight wasn't the night. The day had taken its fair toll and the witch was in sore need of a shower and sleep. As she drifted off that night she thought about the sigil Viktor did on Rons head and hoped to herself that it worked, and that her friend would be back by their side by morning.