Hey guys. I'm super sorry that I haven't updated for absolutely aaaaaaages, so here's another chapter. Have a happy new year! Thanks also to all those that have favourited and followed! ILY.

~Phantombookworm

"How were you able to write three sides of parchment?" George asked his twin, disbelieving as they handed in their transfiguration essays at the end of the third lesson. "You had no idea what was happening last lesson!"

Fred shrugged, and spun his new pen around his fingers, a trick that he had already mastered. "Hermione explained the theory behind the spell a lot better that McGonagall did. It made more sense then, and then it was easy to write the essay."

"Okay, what have you done with Fred? Who are you, using polyjuice and impersonating my brother? You've been acting weird all day, and you've been writing with a metal stick and you've written three sides of parchment overnight for a class you never pay attention in."

"George, chill. It's not a 'metal stick' as you so crudely put it, it's called a fountain pen. It's a writing implement and it much more practical than a quill. Hermione conjured it last night when I taught her the spell, and so-"

"Of course. I'm losing my troublemaker twin for some third-year bookworm." George sounded almost resigned to the fact before he flared up again. "Get your act together, man! It's fifth year, we should-"

"Exactly, Georgie, it's fifth year. O.W.L year. I intend on leaving school with at least some qualifications. And if the person I've found to help me isn't to your liking, then so be it! I'm not going to stop seeing her!"

George hit the stone wall of the corridor in frustration. "That's not my point, Freddie!"

"Then what is, George?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I just don't want things to change."

"Change isn't always a bad thing, George."

"It's not always a good thing, either." The twin sighed, then rummaged in his bag. "Chocolate frog?"

Fred took the proffered peace offering gladly. "Cheers man." He knew the discussion wasn't over, but that his twin didn't want a fight right now. He offered another one. "Hey, do you reckon we can get away with pranking Trelawney?"

"What do you want to do?"

Hermione came out of arithmancy with the rest of her class before heading towards her time-turning classroom. She had muggle studies next, and would have had divination too. Do I go back anyway? I have so many essays to do… she sighed. But if she went back an hour to do her homework projects, she couldn't go to the library, or the common room. Someone would notice- and Madam Pince would probably have ended up going to Professor McGonagall about her skipping a lesson, and there goes her time-turner. It wasn't worth it.

She noticed that she was fiddling with her bead necklace, especially the bright blue bead that she had conjured the evening before. That's it! The small room that Fred had shown her by the library- no teachers, no students, and plenty of space to think and work. Perfect.

"So, just before lunch, right?"

"Yep. Means we'll have to skip a History of Magic though."

"Thank goodness for that. After Snape, and Trelawney, I think we can skip Binns."

Fred grinned at his twin. "Might as well set up now, don't you think?"

"Sure. You go grab that darkness powder we got through Zonko's, it's really great. We're going to have to see if we can import it ourselves, because that box made a dent in our savings the size of Snape's nose."

"I'll meet you behind the statue of the Gnome, okay?"

George nodded, then hurried towards the divination tower. Fred watched him go, and then turned to pull back the tapestry that led to the tiny room near the library where they hid the more interesting parts of their stash.

His hand trailed over the cold stone walls as he hurried down the passageway. Then, to his surprise, he noticed a flicker of lamplight coming from the room, bouncing off the damp walls to create interesting shadows. Who-? Fred stopped just in the doorway, his hand on the frame as he peered into the murky room. He sighed. There, in the corner, head buried into a book, with parchment an inch deep on the floor, sat none other than-

"Hermione?"

The girl looked up with a gasp and slammed her charms book shut, hurriedly gathering her things around her.

Putting out a hand to stop her, Fred moved towards her. "No, don't worry, it's only me." He glanced at the mound of essays next to her, and raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been here, exactly?"

"Uhm-" She couldn't tell him that she'd turned back to have three extra hours, he'd think she was insane. Or worse, skipping lessons. She couldn't do it, she couldn't-

"Hermione?" The redhead knelt next to her, concerned at her panic. "This would have been your divination lesson, right?"

"Yes!" Relieved, she grabbed at the excuse. "It would have been, but I just wanted peace and quiet to get these finished, and-"

"It's okay," the boy laughed. "I understand. The common room can be pretty rowdy, right?" Standing up, he brushed down the front of his robes and moved towards one of the bookshelves. "But don't you have one of your extra lessons?"

"N-no," she squeaked. But fortunately Fred didn't hear the uncertainty in her voice as she lied, as he was far more interested in tapping his wand rhythmically on the spine of one of the old books that was on the fifth shelf next to the niche containing the lion statue. "Fred? What are you-"

"Aha!" A triumphant smile on his face, the fifth year took a step back as the entire bookcase swung forward incredibly fast, without so much as a groan. He disappeared into the gloom, holding an illuminated wand aloft. Curious, Hermione got to her feet and lingered in the spot where the bookshelf had swung open. Fred's disembodied voice floated to her from within the darkness.

"Unless you want to get squished by the shelf, I suggest you come in."

Nervously glancing back at the shelf, which indeed started to creep back towards the wall, Hermione held her breath and plunged after Fred, into the darkness.