Wow, I'm feeling generous. Or really guilty that I kept you all waiting for absolutely aaaages. So have another chapter, albiet a short one. It's going to start getting interesting! Please review!

~Phantombookworm

"F-F-Fred?" Hermione whispered. Her hand snuck to her left sleeve, to the hilt of her wand, prepared to draw it. A hand landed on her shoulder. Panicked, she screamed "Abigo!"

There was a muffled curse using a certain piece of Merlin's anatomy that Hermione had no wish to be further acquainted with as the person was flung backwards. Then her rational side of her head took over, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Oh my goodness, Fred, I'm so sorry! Here- lumos!" In the bright light of her wand, Hermione could make out the sprawled figure of the fifth-year on the floor. Grinning from ear to ear, he carefully straightened up, groaning slightly as he ruefully rubbed his backside.

"Jeez, Hermione!"

She could feel heat flooding her face and she stuttered as she tried to apologise. "I'm so s-sorry – it was the d-dark and I p-p-panicked and-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Fred moved closer and cautiously wrapped his arms around the shaking girl. "Hey, it's okay. I scared you. I'm sorry. I'm fine, see? We always keep extra cushions in here because the floor is always so uncomfortable. But where did that spell come from?"

"Wh-what?" Hermione hiccupped.

"Abigo?" I've never heard that one before."

The girl glanced up, smiling. "I-it's one I found in an old school book. A really old one that's not on the syllabus any more. It used to be one of the spells for Defence, and used to be quite common in duels and stuff."

Fred laughed. "Trust you to find spells in out of date school books." He moved back. "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks Fred. I'm sorry."

He waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. Optio." A ball of light appeared at the end of Fred's outstretched wand and moved to float just above his head, causing strange, blue, flickering shadows to be cast around the small room. "Welcome, Hermione, to The Stash."

"The stash?"

He shook his head. "No. The Stash. You have to capitalise it."

"Oh."

Fred grinned at her confusion, and pulled her gently by the hand further into the broom-closet of a room. "This is where all our super-secret stuff that we don't want Filch to find- or the house elves, on an inspection- gets, well, stashed."

"Inventive name," Hermione laughed.

"Ha! Inventive names are for Ravenclaws. Gryffindors just go with the logical, self-explanatory ones."

The third-year moved closer to the shelves. "Some of this stuff looks really old. Look- the date on this box of bubble powder is from about 20 years ago."

"Ah, I forgot we had bubble powder. We put some in the Prefect's bathroom once, when Percy went in there one evening. He spouted foaming bubbles for the next fortnight. It was the most peaceful time we've had…" Fred shook his head. "My guess is that the Marauders left it here for the next generation of pranksters."

"Marauders? Who-?"

"I'll tell you later," Fred assured her. "Right now, I need this-" he picked a dark carton of some description off a shelf- "and these-" he pointed his wand at a box containing something that looked suspiciously like planets (however bizarre that seemed) which immediately shrunk. Stuffing them both in a pocket, Fred turned back towards the door.

"What are you going to do?"

The reply was tossed carelessly over the tall boy's shoulder as he tapped the bookshelf-door. "I'm going to prank Trelawney for you."