Disclaimer: there's always got to be a disclaimer.

The night was clear as everyone filed off the train at the Hogsmeade station. Hagrid stood to the side of the throng, shouting the usual greeting to the first years. As the new students went to meet him, everyone else followed the path up to the thestral-drawn carriages that stood waiting for them.

After disembarking together, Fred, George, and Harry met up with Ron and Hermione, and the five of them made their way with the rest of the crowd.

"I want to ride with Ron and Hermione," Harry whispered in Fred's ear as they walked along. "I didn't get to see them the whole ride here."

"Yeah, sure," Fred replied. Harry smiled then turned away, beginning a conversation with Hermione.

Fred was fine about sitting with Hermione, but he wasn't so sure about Ron. He knew he would have to deal with his younger brother sooner or later, but right now he would rather it be later.

Once they'd made their way up to the platform, Ron immediately moved to the nearest carriage, Hermione and Harry still in the thick of conversation and right behind him. All three of them hopped in through the open door, but when Fred got up to the little wheeled box, he noticed that someone else was already occupying the forth seat. Harry gave him a forlorn look and began to get up, but Fred just shook his head with a smile and jestured for Harry to sit back down. "S'ok," he said before turning around to join George in the next carriage.

Neither Fred nor George knew the two girls that shared the coach with them. They wore the colors of Ravenclaw and looked to be in their fifth year, but the boys didn't remember seeing them anywhere inside the castle during previous years. The ride was quiet, the girls whispering softly to themselves as if what they spoke of were secrets from the Department of Mysteries itself. The twins remained completely silent, leaving only their eyes to convey their thoughts. But that's all they really needed.

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Harry sat, wondering who the Hufflepuff sitting next to him was and how much longer the ride was going to be. He was gloomy that his wanting to sit with Ron and Hermione had forced Fred to take another carriage, and it was made even worse by the fact that none of them were speaking.

Harry looked out the window, and as the coach made its way up the sloping path to the castle, he watched the waning moon disappear behind the tall trees of the Dark Forest. He sensed that he was being watched and turned around in time to see the Hufflepuff quickly avert his eyes. But Ron's remained on him, with a scrutinizing look the likes of which Harry had never seen on his best friend before. Harry couldn't hold his gaze and turned to Hermione, who looked once between the two and gave a sigh.

"So, Harry," Hermione began. "Now that Angelina's gone, does that make you Quidditch captain?"

"Maybe," he answered, glad for the conversation, meager as it was. "Fred and George have been on the team longer than I have so one of them could be captain."

"Oh."

"We'll just have to wait 'til tomorrow. McGonagall always announces captain wile she's passing out the course schedules."

"Yeah, I remember her doing that last year now that you mention it. But do you think that you'll be captain?"

"Um, I really dunno," Harry said. "I've never really given it any thought before."

"Do you want to be captain?"

"Yeah, sure, why not. Fred or George would make good captains too..."

"Why the sudden interest in Quidditch, Hermione," Ron questioned, his tone near frosty. His eyes darted quickly to Harry, then rested on Hermione as he spoke again. "You've never been all that interested before."

"Well, Ronald, I was just making friendly conversation, as it seems you're unable to." Hermione's attitude had gone from friendly to haughty and considerably irate. She gave the redhead a menacing glare before turning back to Harry with as plausible of a smile as she could pull off. Harry weakly smiled back as she began the conversation again, but for the rest of the ride he was unable to keep his mind on what she was saying, managing only feeble, half thought out answers to her questions. Ron's tongue remained silent, but his eyes spoke more than enough for Harry.

ooooo

Harry sat eating breakfast in silence. After stalking past Harry at top speed, Ron had seated himself at the other end of the table, and a few minutes later, Hermione had gone to join him. Harry had seen that she was having trouble figuring out where she should sit, and he understood why she went with Ron. Harry could see from the glances he stole down the slowly filling table that she was trying to talk to him about something that he clearly had no interest in. Her hands were waving in a fury of emotion, and she almost spilled her pumpkin juice twice.

Nearly spilt juice was not confined to Hermione's side of the table, as moments later Harry started at Fred's unseen arrival and subsequent greeting. He seated himself on Harry's right side as the other boy mopped up the porridge that had splattered form his fallen spoon.

"Sorry, Harry," Fred said tiredly. He pulled a bowl to himself. "Didn't mean to startle you like that."

"S'ok. I'm just tired is all," Harry said, making sure his eyes didn't wander back to the far end of the table.

Fred poured milk over his bran flakes. "You too? I can't remember the last time I had such a bad night," Fred lied. His night had, in fact, been horrible, but he could certainly recall the last time he'd gotten so few hours of sleep; any night from the time of Harry's arrival at the Burrow to the night before his birthday. Fred reached for the china bowl in front of him and poured sugar on his flakes before picking up his spoon.

Harry watched as the white powder absorbed the mil from beneath and became a small, shifting pile of wet opaque goo. "You always add sugar, don't you?" Fred looked at him and there was a smile on Harry's face.

"Yeah. Can't stand the stuff otherwise."

"Then why do you eat it?"

"'Cause it's good when you sweeten it," Fred replied, putting the full spoon to his mouth. As he chewed, Harry just shook his head, but his smile remained.

Fred glared at him, but Harry met and held his gaze, and soon it was all Fred could do to hold in his laughter so that the second year sitting across from them didn't have a mess all over her face.

"Good morning, Potter, Weasley," they heard a voice speak behind them. They turned to meet the professor they already knew to be standing there. Fred swallowed hard, trying to get rid of his mouthful of cereal.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," they said, Fred managing the words with some difficulty.

"I have your schedules here for you," she said, handing them each the piece of parchment that held their timetables. "And I am pleased to announce that you are the new Quidditch captain, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at her, rather taken aback, and then blurted, "But Professor, Fred and George have been on the team longer than I have. Shouldn't captain go to one of them?" Fred gave Harry a puzzled look.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Potter, I chose you to be captain. I should think that you would take the honor gracefully!" Her voice had become a bit shrill, but then, it always did.

"Um, yeah, thanks Professor."

Their conversation over, McGonagall moved on to the next schedule and the next student. Fred turned back to Harry.

"You don't want captain?"

"It's not that I don't, I just thought that she would have picked either you or George."

"I don't think she even likes the idea of us being here at school again. I doubt she even considered one of us for Quidditch captain."

"That does sound like McGonagall. Doesn't really care for the two of you, does she?" Harry looked at Fred. "Uh, no offence."

"None taken. I don't think any of the teachers like us very much, except for maybe Dumbledore."

"I think they like us more than you give them credit for," George said, smiling as he reached over to grab an apple from the shining golden bowl resting in the center of the table. "That piece of our Portable Swamp that Flitwick kept around is still there, you know." He bit into the fruit's juicy flesh and stared down at them.

"Yeah, but that's definitely not enough to get one of us captain."

"Who needs Quidditch captain? Harry'll do a fine job, right mate?" George looked at Harry and winked.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm, George," Harry responded.

"Any time."

Just then, the bell rang, and a great scraping of benches on the tiled floor and bags being stuffed and thrown over shoulders deafened all other noise in the Hall. Harry and Fred got up and walked along with George to the big oak doors where they parted ways, a goodbye kiss on their minds. They sufficed with a wave and headed off to class, Harry to the dungeons and the twins to Flitwick's room on the third floor, for they needed no big commotion the morning of their first day back. And George knew that Fred would never allow such a thing without a fight.

ooooo

Not gonna give reasons or excused for the long wait, just gonna say I'm back, and so are Harry, Fred, George, and the rest of the crew. Thanks for all the reviews, even in my period of absence. But here's the part where you get to help me, 'cause I definitely need it!! So, Fred and George each received 3 O.W.L.s, but in which classes!? Please help me out by telling me which classes you think the twins actually gave two shakes about and managed to score and O.W.L. in. Thanks everyone!!!