Fred and George had been in a lot of trouble throughout their lives. Most of which they had caused themselves but that was beside the point. At this point though they had to admit that the trouble that had made its way into their path was somewhat surprising. Harry and Tonks had just finished explaining what had happened. It sounded like something out of a Muggle storybook. It was so exciting.
"So lets get this strait you..." Fred started
"...Want us to help you..." George continued.
"...Overthrow the Ministry of Magic." they both finished together. Although the words themselves were serious the smile on their lips told Harry and Tonks that they were already planning how to do it.
"Yeah pretty much." Harry looked at Tonks who nodded back at him. Currently they were one of the many cozy sitting rooms at Godric's Estate. The elves had made them an assortment of snacks to eat while they puzzled over the prospect. What they were proposing was to have Fred and George attempt to get the minister of magic fired and replaced by someone like Amelia Bones. It was a good plan to be sure but the problem was the actual planning. It could take months to accomplish this task and that was without the interference that they would surely run into.
"Well we shall think about it." Fred stated all joking put off for the moment. "Now on to more important business. What are you going to do Harry. I mean you were brought back to life by a bird. You can't exactly go out and announce to the world that you are back."
"Yeah I know. I have actually put some thought into this and have decided to become a masked hero of some sorts. I mean you're right I can't walk into the middle of Diagon Alley as Harry Potter. I need a new persona and luckily I have it." The twins and Tonks looked at him as if he had grown a third head.
"Really and what would that be" Tonks asked having never really discussed this with him.
"I was thinking that I could come back as Lord Gryffindor. Not many know that Godric had a daughter and fewer still know who it was that she married. I was thinking that people would readily agree to follow Lord Gryffindor against Lord Slytherin." Tonks smiled at Harry as he finished while the twins were currently holding the others chin from dragging along the floor.
"Are you trying to tell us th at you are a descendant of Godric Gryffindor.?" asked Fred while George started imitating a fish.
"I was just as surprised as you are. I think that the goblins get some sort of sick kick out of springing this type of stuff on us humans." Harry said with a smile. It was then that they got back to business and continued planning how to overthrow the Minister.
… …
Hermione had been wandering around for the last few hours trying to figure out everything that was happening. First there was the whole mess with Hedwig and the possibility that Harry was still alive, she still hadn't given up on the chance that he would come back. It would be just the thing that Harry would do to. Then there was Tonk's disappearance. While no one suspected Voldemort many were still worried where she had gone, well except for the Headmistress. Now there was the whole deal with Malfoy. He had to be up to something but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't figure out what was. It was almost as if everything that she knew about him was a lie. But that couldn't be it... could it?
"Figure it out yet Granger?"a voice came from behind her. Startled she jumped and whipped her wand around to bear at the speaker. It was Malfoy.
"I don't know what you are talking about." she lied. There was no way that he could know that she was thinking about him.
"What I am up to. I know that you have been walking around thinking about me. I know this because I have been following you. At first I was discreet about it. Then I realized that a Hippogryph could stampede past you and you would barely bat an eyelash." Draco stated while he stepped closer to her. When he was right in front of her he stopped and smirked. Except this was different then what she was use to. It wasn't the usual 'I'm better then you' smirk that he use to have. This was the type of smirk that she had seen on someone else. Someone close. Harry. He was smirking like Harry use to smirk. It was then that she noticed how close he had gotten to her. He was but a couple feet away from her. He was so close that she could almost feel his breath on her face. Suddenly against her will her cheeks flushed and she knew that she had to get away from him. Without bothering to excuse herself she turned around and dashed away leaving a smirking Draco Malfoy behind her.
She ran for what seemed like hours but was probably closer to a couple minutes. Then she found her safety. The washroom was abandoned which suited her just fine. She settled herself into one of the stalls and started to give herself a mental thrashing. She was cursing herself for allowing Malfoy to get so close. He had to have cursed her somehow. There was no way that she would ever blush because of him. She hoped that this was true but knew that it was a lie. She was sure that she would have known if he had cursed her in any way. But that only left one other reason. That somehow she found him... attractive. She shuddered at the thought.
… …
Hermione spent the next few days trying to avoid Draco. Unfortunately that was rather hard seeing as they had all the same classes together. She would look over to see him giving her that same smirk. She was simply happy that Ron wasn't talking to her or else she was afraid he would call her a traitor and attack Draco. Why she was worried about him attacking Draco was beyond her. She was starting to believe that the whole mess with Harry was affecting her mentally, well more then it normally did. She had to get out and luckily that weekend was a hogsmeade weekend, she should be able to escape everything for at least a day. She had been assigned a patrol duty to keep all the students in check and to watch out for any attacks. She new that hogsmeade was not the most secure of places and attacking children would make a statement. Soon it would be time for her to leave.
… …
Hermione wasn't the only ones that were worried about the safety of the students. While the ministry insisted that they would be safe they still sent a half dozen Aurors to act as a deterrent thinking that the numbers would scare anyone away. Harry and Tonks on the other hand knew what they were dealing with. They had decided to go there early and scope the place out. They found that some of the 'darker' residents were noticeably missing. They soon realized that an attack was planned but could do nothing to warn anyone. At least not if they wanted to keep themselves secret. Instead they prepared them selves for the fight that was to come.
… …
Draco was worried. Like most others he knew that there was going to be an attack. What no one else knew was that the reason for the attack was not just to instill fear into the hearts of others. There was an ulterior motive. Him. He had refused the Dark Lord and had barely made it to the train without being caught. He knew that his time was numbered. He also knew that there was no use in trying to put it off. He had to face his father and prove to everyone that he was a better sort of Malfoy. Not only would it be good for his self esteem it would also be good for his public image and thusly his plans. The only problem was that he still had no one powerful enough on his side to stand against the Dark Lord of Albus Dumbledore. He would have to work on that.
… …
Albus Dumbledore was happy with the progress that his student had made. He was now able to stand on his own in battle. He was still nowheres near his level but he was rising in skill much faster then he had ever seen before. With that thought in mind he had decided that it was time for a little test. It was time for his student to get some real combat experience under his belt. He had been keeping in touch with Minerva and knew of the hogsmeade weekend. Like everyone else he was certain that something would come of it. It was time to send his newest weapon into battle.
… …
"Malfoy." the voice was cold, not that anyone expected it not to be. "Is everyone in place?"
"Yes my Lord. Everything is going to go according to planned." the elder Malfoy replied.
"Good. It is time for your son to pay for defying my will. It is a shame to lose such pure blood, but it will let everyone know that no one is above my wrath. How is your wife. Has she finally come around to our side and realized that her son is a traitor?"
"Yes my Lord she accepts it and knows what she needs to do."
"Good." Voldemort glared at the wall. He knew that what he was planning was a little much for one boy. He could just have easily told one of his spies in to school to kill him. But the way that the boy had looked at him when he refused to take the mark infuriated him. It was the same look the Potter boy had given him at the Ministry. He would pay for that. He would make sure of that himself. "Leave me." he didn't address anyone in particular but everyone knew what he meant. He was planning oversee this plan himself. He was preparing for what was to come. No doubt the old man would be there and if he was then Voldemort would have to be on the top of his game.