Chapter 4

Fred woke up at the crack of dawn and snuck out of the dormitory. The common room was empty, so he dripped some glue on a chair before leaving for the library.

Old habits…

In the safety of the library, he studied defensive theory for a short while before finding the small room he had been using for practice. Facing a suit of armor holding a spear, he cast a disarming spell at it. The spear flew out of the metal hand, and landed with a clatter on the ground, not three feet from the suit of armor. After a further twenty minutes of practice, Fred could now direct the spear in his general direction and have it land just short of his feet. Fred tried a summoning charm on it seven times before he finally got it to jump into his hand. It was another ten minutes before he could do it with ease.

The fire charm was a first year spell, so he only cast it three times, and all were successful in lighting a fairly large fire. Sparks, being the most basic defensive magic, did not need much practice, except for target practice, and that was only for a quarter of an hour. After that, the shield charm was attempted, although it was difficult to cast and impossible to test alone. Fred practiced it for nearly an hour, until he thought it could withstand most reasonable hexes that could be used against him by people third year and under.

Finally, he attempted the stunning spell, which was a more advanced than the others he had tried so far. He managed to knock a rat out for just under a minute after half an hour of practice, which, he decided, was quite good, considering his age. After ten more minutes of practice, he quickly reviewed his spells again, went to the Great Hall to grab a bite of toast, and then headed up to the seventh floor to head off George and Lee before they went down to breakfast.

Fred walked up to the seventh floor, and waited for George and Lee to come to him. Suddenly, he realized that he couldn't very well wait for a couple of Gryffindors in the middle of the Seventh floor, where he was likely to be ambushed by the other Gryffindors or confronted by one of his other two brothers. He began pacing, wondering where he could talk to them alone, since he didn't think Flitwick would let them take over his office.

I need somewhere safe to talk to my friends, somewhere we won't be found or overheard. I need somewhere

Suddenly, Fred saw a door appear in the middle of a blank wall.

...

George was woken up earlier than he would have liked by Lee, who suggested that they get to breakfast so that they didn't have to rush and eat. The real reason, they knew, was so they could see Fred come in, and get a good look at how he looked when he did.

They grabbed their stuff and hurried out of the Gryffindor Tower, intending to . However, their plan was interrupted when a hand seized each of them by the back of the robes and hauled them through what appeared to be a blank wall. The second the hands released them, they spun around to see that their assailant was a strained-looking redhead with a nervous grin. Fred.

"Fred?" George demanded, with a disbelieving look that was mirrored by Lee. "Where the bloody hell have you been and what the bloody hell is going on?"

Fred looked like he wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground. The normally vocal prankster just looked at his feet and tried to get his voice to work. Finally, he choked out "Sorry…I…I…" before swallowing and attempting to answer George's question.

"Well, where I've been is the easier one to answer." Fred said with a slight smile, "I've been at Hogwarts, mainly in classes, and spending the time after curfew in the Slytherin dorm and common room, but I've mostly spent time in the library, learning defense, since Slytherins aren't supposed to talk to Gryffindors and I could find myself spewing slugs if I don't watch my back, and the same could happen to you. You'll need to be more specific for the second question, but I'll say that I screwed up."

"Well, you could tell us the whole story from the Sorting, on," Lee suggested. "The beginning is usually a good place to start."

"The hat told me I didn't belong in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, but it said that Gryffindor and Slytherin were both good options," Fred said with a sigh. "I freaked out at the word 'Slytherin', and demanded it put me in Gryffindor, but when it didn't immediately yell 'Gryffindor', I panicked and threatened to transfigure it into a pair of underpants and give it to Snape."

George and Lee cracked up, causing Fred to grin embarrassedly before continuing.

"Well, the Hat found that a rather Slytherin comment, so it put me in Slytherin. I spent the rest of the evening moping until Adrian Pucey told me I should get some sleep and not associate with Gryffindors unless I wanted the rest of Slytherin to kill me for ruining their rep. So I decided to learn defense before making amends with you guys. I'm sorry about how I reacted in the library; I couldn't let us be seen together, so I just ran like hell. I was protecting all of us. I partnered with Pucey in Potions because he's the only Slytherin that doesn't seem to hate me. He's an okay guy, I guess. He stopped me from really screwing myself over by yelling at Snape for you, and it wasn't really his fault Snape hates Gryffindors.

I know I said I meant to avoid you until I could fight better, but I decided that the rest of Slytherin can go to hell. I can hold my own against the first years and, if I waited any longer to talk to you, it might be too late to repair the damage between us."

"Fred," George began, looking serious, "nothing you say is really going to change anything, now."

Fred looked uncharacteristically nervous when he stared at his twin. Suddenly, George broke into a wide grin, and wrapped one arm around his brother.

"Bloody hell, Fred, you're still my brother, twin, and partner in crime, no matter what house you're in, but now there are three of us." George laughed, and then he suddenly turned serious, "Fred, there was one thing I forgot to tell you, that I really should have before…"

Fred looked curious, and slightly nervous, but was still clearly elated. Whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than being unable to talk to each other.

"Fred…you really are long-winded."

True to their nature, the trio decided to celebrate with pranks. Certain toilets shot geysers of water whenever someone sat down, cups that spilled their contents on their drinkers, underwear was thrown out windows, and messages were magicked onto various students' clothes.

It was, overall, a day to remember.

...

With the end of September came flying lessons, which were particularly tricky for the three friends, as the classes paired Gryffindor and Slytherin, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Neither Weasley twin had flown without the other for years, and it would be a bit awkward. It would also be difficult, as they had to pretend to have drifted apart, and were not able to joke around. This was less of an issue for Lee, as he had only been friends with the twins for less than a month, but he had still grown rather close to them, having bonded over difficult times. It was decided that Fred was to hang out with Adrian Pucey, while George and Lee worked together, which gave everyone a friend, or ally, to partner with.

"Good weather, isn't it, Weasley?" Pucey asked, walking up to Fred just before the first flying lesson. When working in large groups without another Weasley, they went by last names, but when working alone or in a group with more than one Weasley, they went by first names. Fred wasn't quite used to calling him "Adrian", but he trusted him more than any other Slytherin.

On the other hand, that was like saying something was less magical than a dragon; it didn't say much at all.

"Yeah, really good conditions for flying," Fred agreed, grinning, "Talking about the weather, now, are we?"

"Yeah, well I like flying." Pucey grinned. "I play Chaser, or at least I've practiced for it. It's a pity first years can't be on the house team. Do you play?"

"Yeah, I play beater," Fred replied. "You know, the guys who get to hit things at people using really big sticks. Or just hit people."

They both laughed, and turned to pay attention to Madam Hooch, the flying instructor. Or, at least, Fred pretended to, but snuck a peek at his two best friends, who were laughing at far-fetched Quidditch stories.

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" Madam Hooch shouted. "These lessons are not to be treated as down time, and you will pay attention. We are going to be learning how to fly on broomsticks."

At this, several students smirked or sneered, clearly thinking that they didn't need these lessons. A few began to snicker to themselves, and Madam Hooch glared at them, looking distinctly hawk-like. Most of the students stopped laughing.

"Well, come on everyone. Stand to the left of your broomstick, hold your right hand over it, and say "Up!""

"Up!" twenty voices shouted, but only a few brooms jumped immediately into the person's hand. Fred, George, Pucey, and a black Gryffindor girl named Angelina Johnson were the only ones to manage it the first time. A few seconds later, Lee, Warrington, Montague, and another Gryffindor girl named Alicia Spinnet joined them. Many people's brooms were just rolling around, and some had barely moved.

"With force, everyone!" called Madam Hooch, "Be clear and confident."

When everyone's brooms had finally jumped into their hands, which took quite some time, she showed them how to mount their brooms without falling off. She then proceeded to go around, correcting their grips. Again, the same group of people, along with Alicia Spinnet, had it right immediately. Lee quickly caught on with George's help, but Madam Hooch told both Warrington and Montague that they had it completely wrong.

"On my whistle, you will push off hard, and hover for a few seconds," commanded Madam Hooch, "Keep your brooms steady, and rise no more than a few feet. Next, you will lean forward slightly, and come straight back down."

The whistle blasted, and everyone pushed off the ground. Many people looked rather unsteady, but those who had flown before looked more comfortable in varying degrees. After a few seconds, they touched down with expressions from joy, to relief, to disappointment. Kenneth Towler, however, was rising slowly higher, unable to get back down.

"Mr. Towler, get back down here this instant!" Madam Hooch shouted at Kenneth, but it was painfully obvious that that method wasn't going to work. His broom was now drifting towards the wall of the school. His face was deathly pale, and he seemed to be beyond coherent thought.

"Kenneth, lean forward slightly!" Lee yelled, as George yelled "Wake up and lean forward, you stupid git!"

While George and Lee chased after Kenneth with their wands and brooms, Fred snuck a glance at the other Slytherins, and saw a variety of reactions. Warrington, Montague and Monica Dames were all smirking, while Tamerra Bollard had a coolly amused expression on her face. The only two Slytherins who didn't outright show amusement were Cynthia Oswell, who looked mildly fearful, and Pucey, who showed no emotion. It didn't look like any of them would be rushing to save anyone.

Just as that thought was going through Fred's mind, Kenneth Towler slipped off the front of his broom, and began to fall towards the ground.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" George and Lee yelled simultaneously. Kenneth slowed down, and stopped in mid air. George motioned for Lee to get Kenneth, since Lee was usually the first to tire out. Lee jumped on his broom, and flew relatively steadily over to Kenneth, who promptly grabbed him in a vice grip.

"Ow, watch it, mate!" Lee yelled, fighting to keep his broom under control. He managed to pull the shaking boy onto his broom before George's spell broke, and both Gryffindors landed rather clumsily on the ground. The Gryffindors cheered, while the Slytherins scowled, and all was normal in the world.

The flying lesson continued without further mishap, but Kenneth Towler refused to get further than ten feet off the ground. There was some improvement made by some of the people who did not fly regularly, but all the real flyers learned was that the school brooms weren't worth bullocks.

...

By Halloween, things seemed to be perfectly normal at Hogwarts. Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors had friends amongst themselves, while Slytherins only had allies amongst themselves and the occasional Ravenclaw they tolerated. Pranks were being pulled, but the perpetrators were never caught. However, Dumbledore had a knowing glint in his eyes, and there was much speculation and suspicion. The most common theory was that there were two groups between third and fifth year having a prank war, based on the level of magic being used and the fact that everybody was a target. However, most Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws suspected Slytherin, while Slytherins suspected Gryffindors. The pranks were mostly just inconvenient or a bit embarrassing, though, so nobody thought to check if there was a pattern or goal.

The Mystery Room became the unofficial (since they couldn't be official) meeting place of the "Lessons Club", as the twins and Lee had begun to call themselves. The name had a double meaning: firstly, the club taught people who deserved it a lesson through pranks, and secondly that they learned defense as a group.

It was also the most uninteresting, low-key name they could think of on short notice.

Their pranks were made to seem random, but were actually used to punish people for offences such as picking on students they had taken a liking to, being hypocrites, and other minor offences, but it was never used for direct revenge for wrongs against one of them until the wronged party had an alibi at the time of the prank. Pranks were also pulled in the name of fun and entertainment, but never for the sake of cruelty.

The Mystery Room was also used for studying, since it was a safe place that catered to their needs, and for combat practice. But, most of all, it was a place where friends could meet, a place where the rules, both official and unofficial, didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was friendship, and, of course, the next joke.

Both George and Lee looked up as someone walked through the wall of the Mystery Room. The person, who was wearing a hood that obscured his face placed a small pile of books on the table, then lowered his hood.

"Hey, guys."

"Fred!" exclaimed Lee, "Don't scare us like that. It could have been Montague for all we knew!"

"Well, I can't just come prancing up to the seventh floor. There's no reason for a Slytherin to be on the seventh floor, unless they are either looking for a Gryffindor or visiting Flitwick, and I'm not visiting Flitwick daily."

"I don't see why we have to keep this secret from everyone, you know?" Lee grumbled. "Your brothers would understand, and I don't think many of the Gryffindors would tell the Slytherins."

"Well, you don't really know Percy, now do you?" George said casually, but his smile was slightly ironic. "He'd do anything to keep himself from being associated with a Slytherin, and he's about as discreet as a banshee in a library. The whole school would know in days, if some of those girls got wind of it, anyways."

"And they wouldn't have to tell a Slytherin," Fred added. "A Gryffindor could tell a Ravenclaw that they trust, who might tell a friend, who might tell a Slytherin. Ravenclaws don't mind Slytherins as much as the rest of the school."

"I surrender. Don't shoot!" Lee said sarcastically, but seeing the twins' confused expressions, he explained; "It's a muggle phrase, kind of like 'don't kill me.' Muggles have these things called guns that shoot a metal chunk called a bullet into someone's body, injuring them. To work it, you pull the trigger and that's called shooting the gun. I'm half-blood, you see, since my mom was muggle-born, and she made me go to a muggle school before Hogwarts."

"Cool," George said.

"Well, we probably could let ourselves be seen together during Christmas break, then it will get around by word of mouth. We should have learned enough self-defense by then," suggested Fred.

The others quickly agreed; as exciting as sneaking around the school was at first, it was getting to be a pain.

The trio continued to practice both extra defensive magic and spells they had learned in class. Lee was best at spells that required finesse and control, like levitation charms and spells to change colours, as well as creative jinxes. Fred's talents lay in the area of more serious hexes, like stunners and incendio, offensive spells relying on sheer power. George, was a combination between the two, being talented at both, but was best with defensive magic like the shield, and was particularly good with the curse of bogeys. Still, all three boys were magically talented and had sharp minds; they managed to get good grades without trying very hard.

"Hey, Weasley and Weasley!" Lee said, distracting George enough to let Fred's jelly-legs jinx break through his shield. Both were working with their strengths, with Fred practicing jinxes and George working on his shield. Neither could manage the more advanced spells without nearly complete focus. "We should get into the Halloween spirit and pull some festive pranks. I'm all for turning Snape's robe into a bat costume at the feast."

"That's advanced magic, though," Fred pointed out. "We haven't learned that yet."

"Oh, ye of little faith!" George said with a laugh. "We can do this. It'll just take practice."

"If we do it during the feast, we are more likely to be caught," Fred argued.

"It's worth it," Lee said. "C'mon guys!"

"I can't be caught by my head of house." Fred sighed, and then nodded. "We'll need to frame someone else, or at least hide all the evidence. And we should make it time delayed, set to react to something."

George and Lee grinned.

"We knew you'd come around."

The planning went smoothly from there on, and it was a matter of minutes before they had the plan. With the plan together, they hit the books to find the spell.

"Got it!" Lee declared triumphantly. "The incantation is vestitus lamia and the wand movement is a swish-and-flick. It turns his clothes into bat ones."

"Good," Fred acknowledged, "now all we have left is the…"

"Got it!" George cried, in a tone similar to Lee's, "first you say coepi, then you say the incantation, while tapping the trigger with your wand. To keep the spell from taking effect immediately on the clothes, you instead use the incantation prodico, then the original spell."

"Okay," Fred said, "we use prodico vestitus lamia on Snape's robes, and coepi vestitus lamia on his chair. After, we go and practice the spells we are supposed to be doing for class, and only those spells. Do not do any other magic."

"Two things, oh brother of mine," George said with a slight grin. "Firstly, when you say 'we', does that mean that you're in, and are okay with doing some of the magic? And secondly, why practice class spells, but no other magic?"

"Firstly, oh gits I hang out with," Fred replied, causing the other two to grin, "I wouldn't miss this for a Philosopher's Stone. Secondly, we need to do other spells to cover up the fact that our wands were used for the prank. I heard some of my older housemates mention that the last spells our wands performed can be checked, and we want them to show that we've been doing nothing other than magic for class; it'd look mighty suspicious if two Gryffindors and a Slytherin are doing the same advanced magic."

"No way. They can't really check our wands, can they?" Lee asked. "Are you just being a paranoid Slytherin git again?"

"Oh, yes, they can," Fred said, grinning slightly at Lee's remark, "and I wouldn't put it past Snape to actually do it. Many of the older Slytherins learn to cover up the dark spells they do, and I've seen them at it. Trust me, or we can just use Wingardium Leviosa on Snape's underwear, and leave it at that."

"That's too scary for Halloween with the ickle firsties," George said casually.

"Yeah, we don't want a pair of frilly knickers hanging from the ceiling," Lee deadpanned.

Grinning, the three friends divvied up the tasks and split up to do their jobs.

...

"George, can I talk to you for a minute, please?"

The voice carried across the cozy Gryffindor common room, despite the low volume of the voice. George turned and found himself looking at his big brother, Charlie. Charlie was wearing a carefully blank expression, and that was enough to put them on their guard.

George and Lee looked at each other and shrugged, then started to walk towards Charlie. The older Weasley looked at Lee in a way that suggested that this was supposed to be a family discussion, but George caught Lee by the sleeve and pulled him over to the small group of three chairs in the corner, his eyes challenging his brother to try to stop them.

"George, I'm worried," Charlie admitted. "Mum and Dad are worried about you guys, because you and Fred replied to her letter separately. You guys used to do everything together, but now you are clearly two different people."

"Charlie, we were always two separate people. Despite the fact that we looked identical and were very good friends, we were always two people, very similar but never the same. You guys never got that."

Charlie winced. "George, what I mean is…you guys are drifting apart. We all are. Percy thinks that you are both evil Slytherin gits, just waiting to ruin everything. When I told him off, he told me that you guys were using me, but I haven't even spoken to you overly much, much less helped you with much."

"Yeah, well, that last bit might be part of the problem, Charles," Lee said.

"Charlie," George said calmly, "your opinion may be more accurate than Percy's but that's like saying you've got more brains than a flobberworm. Lee's right; all you've done is watch. People aren't always what they seem, and they always change. There are some unspoken rules here that you don't seem to have picked up on: Gryffindors don't associate with Slytherins, and Slytherins only associate with their own, plus the occasional Ravenclaw. 'Slytherin' doesn't equal 'misguided Gryffindor'. Fred may be my brother, but so's Percy, and he thinks we're dark lords in miniature."

"Since when have you cared about rules?"

"Since when have you encouraged us to break them? Look, there are rules set by stuffy old geezers that try to spoil our fun, and then there are rules. Since when have you wanted us dead?"

"Where have you been, anyways?" Charlie asked, sounding slightly desperate. He was acting not just as himself, but as their mum's representative at Hogwarts. Talking to Percy must have gone badly, and now he was trying George. "How are you?"

"I've been studying with Lee, Charlie. If we want to get a good job or not get chucked off the Quidditch team when I play Beater next year, I need to do well in school. I'm getting good grades, I'm doing well. Shouldn't you be happy?" George played the guilt card, feeling distinctly Slytherin but not too sorry about it.

"I am!" Charlie exclaimed quickly, "I really am, and Mum will be, too. Percy'll come around, don't worry. You guys take care."

Charlie left, looking slightly lost, but Lee's look was one of slight satisfaction.

"Good one with the guilt card, George. We're going to need another approach as a backup for the future, though."

"I know," George said with a grin, "but for now, we need to practice our transfigurations, then we'll work on the levitation spell."

...

As they practiced, two heads of read hair peeked out at them. Percy, looking over his book, wondered what they were up to; they never used to show any signs of concern over what other people thought, much less the future.

Charlie, on the other hand, felt nothing but pride for his younger brother and Lee, because they were doing so well. There was a hint of confusion when he realized that he had been put on the defensive, but perhaps that had been because he hadn't a leg to stand on; they really were doing alright—even better than alright, all things considered. Perhaps everything would turn out after all.

...

The Great Hall looked fantastic, and it fit the occasion perfectly. Carved pumpkins with candles in them floated in mid air, shedding a soft orange glow on the tables below. Between the pumpkins, flew live bats, filling the air with sounds of flapping wings. The ceiling showed gray, stormy looking clouds over an indigo sky, and a nearly full moon, bathing the dark corners of the room in pale, cold light. On the tables, golden plates shimmered slightly in the soft light, and the shadows of the bats slid along the table. Students started trickling in, and amongst them were two redheaded twins and a black boy with dreadlocks. As the last students slipped through the door, Dumbledore stood up, bid them a happy Halloween, and sat down again. Immediately, the plates filled with food, and conversations broke out again.

"Lee, this is great," George whispered. "Snape's going to come in with everyone here. People will now have a chance to see his hidden side."

Lee bit back a laugh. "I hope he actually shows up. I mean, what if he doesn't?"

As if right on cue, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Snape strode in, robes billowing behind him.

"I don't know, George," Lee whispered, "but perhaps all our work was for nothing; he already looks like a bat."

Barely anyone looked up as Snape strode up to the elevated platform where the teachers all sat. He muttered something to Dumbledore, then turned and walked towards his own seat. Three students watched covertly and with bated breath, waiting for their least favourite professor to sit down.

There was a soft pop as Snape sat down, and he immediately jumped back up, knocking over his chair and nearly falling over. But, instead of a giant bat costume, he wore only a pair of graying underwear, leaving his pasty limbs and torso exposed. A small, black bat that used to be his robes flapped away from him to join the other bats. The Hall fell silent, but the silence was shortly broken by a small Hufflepuff first-year starting to snicker, and suddenly the whole Hall broke out laughing. Even most of the Slytherins were laughing, and the rest were holding their breath or burying their heads in their hands.

"Silence!" Snape yelled, clutching his left arm to his chest and brandishing his wand in the other. He summoned his bat back and turned it back into a pair of robes with a jab of his wand. "When I find out who did this, I will see to it that they are expelled!"

The whole Hall was too busy laughing to listen. If anything, they laughed even harder. Nobody noticed the third year Gryffindor recording the whole thing with a pair of Omnioculars. However, by the end of the week, many magical copies of the recording were circulating the school.

Nobody noticed Dumbledore and McGonagall sharing a concerned look, and it would only be much, much later that the twins and Lee would look more closely at the recording and at the "birthmark" on Snape's forearm.

End chapter

A/N: This is scary; if I get any more reviews, I might seriously be forced to actually look at, edit, even work on this story again. Like I've said, I've actually got a fair bit written, but there was practically no interest so I stopped working on it. I haven't actually written anything for it in ages, but if you keep reviewing... (looks around nervously) Don't you guys do that to me. Don't you dare.