A/N: I am so sorry for the wait! Really I am, but I guess since I seem to say that at the beginning of each chapter, I won't blame you if you don't believe me. Let's just get to the story then, shall we?
Harry dressed slowly the next morning, taking his time even on brushing his hair. "Trying to impress someone, mate?" Ron asked him cheerfully, simply running his fingers through his short hair. Harry grabbed his toothbrush and paste and stated scrubbing fiercely at his teeth, using the daily task as an excuse not to answer. When he'd finally finished his morning routine, a good half hour later than usual, Harry started down the steps, for once thankful for the Slytherins' antics. It meant that he didn't have to face Malfoy just yet.
The twins, with the help of certain house elves, had brought breakfast up to the common room straight from the kitchen. It was "completely un-tampered with", they'd assured their dorm mates. But they were curious, even about the pranks of others, and had volunteered to eat whatever breakfast the Slytherins had decided to serve them, a few of the more adventurous students tagging along.
The jovial air that generally was present in the common room was heightened by the presence of food. Harry listened with half an ear as Ron gave a crumb-spewing lecture about the injustice of intentionally destroying a good meal just for a prank, ever so conveniently forgetting that his brothers had done the exact same thing, and with his blessing, not so long ago. Judging from the loud choruses of agreement that echoed around the gaily colored room, it was clear that the other Gryffindors didn't consider turnabout to be fair play either.
In any case, Harry just waited impatiently and curiously for the twins and their small "unit" to return. More than once, someone, usually Hermione, questioned him about where he'd gotten the tip, but Harry would shake his head and mutter something about the library. Eventually, and after many suspicious looks, Hermione concluded that Harry had overheard the plan while studying, and, though obviously not completely satisfied, she dropped the subject for another of her favorites- scolding Ron for his poor manners.
The noise level began to die down slowly, as the students realized just how soon classes would be starting. It was Lavender, that inveterate gossip, who finally asked the question that had risen to the forefront of each Gryffindor's mind. "What's taking them so long?" Hermione looked worried and even Ron, cheeks still puffy with several slices of un-chewed toast, looked a little concerned.
The portrait hole opened then and the students turned as one to look. Seamus, looking positively green, stumbled in, leaning heavily on the wall. Hermione pushed her way through the crowd to him and asked him a few whispered questions. Then she cursed, which surprised the students in hearing range into soft chattering, and stood straight, looking across the room until she spotted Lee Jordon. Gryffindors stepped out of her way as she moved to him and gave him a few soft commands. He nodded and charged up the stairs to the boys' dorm as Hermione ordered a few more students about.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, watching as a group of boys hustled out the portrait hole. Hermione started to answer but was interrupted when Seamus leaned over and released his breakfast over the stone floor, shuddering violently. Sounds of disgust rippled through the room and the empty space around Seamus grew wider as stufents stepped back further.
Hermione looked sick for a moment and cast a quick cleaning spell. Seamus gave her a grateful look and slid down the wall to the floor. "They cut up some of the twins' Skiving candies and mixed them in with the food. The spells they used to check the food didn't detect it, but apparently George figured it when Ginny's nose started bleeding." She shook her head, watching as Lee rushed down the stairs and over to Seamus, leaning down to pass him half of a Puking Pastille.
"What happened to the twins?" Harry asked, following Hermione as she led Lee out the common room and down to the Great Hall.
She waved a hand, obviously annoyed. "Fainted. I told you those candies were bad news. How did Slytherins even get their hands on them?" she wondered aloud. Harry glanced over at Lee. The other boy's eyes widened innocently but Harry had long since learned the guilty signs of the twins and their best friend. The Weasleys' black market had been turned against them and it took all his self-control to hide his smile at the irony and simply shrug when Hermione glanced back at him.
It was a little tricky, getting the twins to swallow the bit of candy, but they came to their senses quickly. "I can't believe they used our own candies against us!" Fred exclaimed for the third time and stumbled his next step. Harry moved forward to help, but the boy waved him away. "And how'd they even get it in the food?"
Hermione shook her head as she followed behind them. Though both Fred and George had insisted they didn't need any help getting to their first class, she and Harry had tagged along to watch out for disoriented pair, sending Lee ahead to explain their tardiness. "Chances are they had the same kind of help you two did," she concluded. "Though why the house-elves might help that bunch is beyond me."
George snorted, leaning on the wall for a moment as if suffering a dizzy spell. "They're Slytherins. Rich brats probably own their cousins or something," he snarled. While Fred seemed partly amused and partly in shock at the Slytherin trick, George was just short of angry. "Mixing those snacks up like that was dangerous!" he explained when Harry finally got the nerve to ask. "Fred and I have tried it before and it isn't easy to work through, especially when you don't have the other half on hand." Fred nodded once, then turned his full concentration to mounting the stairs. "That's why we can barely walk now. I'm sure the only reason you didn't see us puking our guts all over the Great Hall floor was because we'd already passed out on it."
"Maybe you two should be going to the infirmary instead," Hermione suggest, reaching out reflexively when Fred stumbled again.
"And let those brats think they managed to get the best of us? Not on your life," George retorted and stopped just outside his classroom door. "No. They cost us about a quarter of our inventory because of this. We need to work out our next move. No place quite so boring as class to work out your problems," he finished with a bit of his normal humor slipping in.
Harry and Hermione made sure the boys got inside without incident then headed down to DADA. "You know," Harry started slowly, "they are possibly the only two here who would ever think to plan a prank in McGonagall's class."
"No one ever said the boys were smart, no matter how talented they might be," Hermione laughed. Then she looked at Harry out the corner of her eyes. "I feel like I hardly see you anymore, Harry," she commented and Harry nodded absently. With the play and the Slytherins and classes, Hermione had certainly been busy, so it was no surprise that she'd notice it eventually. "How are things?"
He shrugged. "Fine." It was a familiar answer, though certainly not the truth, and Harry knew that Hermione might figure it out. But he'd learned a few things since her last nagging and acting could come in handy for more than just theatre. Harry gave her a smile he was sure looked genuine. He'd been practicing in front of a mirror just the expressions he'd have to make during each scene of the play, per Malfoy's order, and he knew this one came out just right.
Hermione looked at him carefully for a quiet moment, then smiled back, apparently accepting his little white lie as truth. "Well, that's good. I've been a little worried about you, you know. But I suppose you've been spending a lot of time with your new friend." Harry tripped a little then, righting himself before the girl looked over. His new friend? "Lisa's doing a fantastic job from what I hear. Half the cast was going on about that stage rehearsal you guys had last week."
Harry took a deep breath, letting Hermione chatter on. So she didn't know. That was a relief. But why? Just yesterday, he was looking for someone to talk to, had been waiting for a friend to give him the advice they'd always seemed to have when he didn't want it. Now he had a moment with someone whose opinion and thoughts he respected more than almost anyone else and here he was, praying Hermione wouldn't figure him out.
In DADA, the Slytherins were at the top of their game, mimicking the faints and nosebleeds and puking of their Gryffindor classmates. If they were disappointed that they'd only managed to prank a small portion of the other house, they hid it well. Not that Harry particularly cared. He was far too busy pretending not to be focused on a certain blond who was seated at the front of the room, his chin in one hand as he smiled almost fondly at the antics of his dorm mates. Even so, Harry managed to notice that Malfoy didn't look in his direction even once and it made the knots in his stomach grow.
How could he have done something so stupid on a Sunday? The day before rehearsal, two days before his private session with his "tutor". If he absolutely had to be stupid, there were better days to do it on. Friday, perhaps. If he did something stupid on a Friday, there was time for people to forget the importance of the act, but on a Sunday? And now, he had all day, filled with classes and Slytherins, to look forward to rehearsal.
Fantastic.
A/N: Since I think someone at work made me sick (I'm feeling a little ill here!), I'm going to have to stop now, even though its a bit shorter than usual. I know you guys wanted a confrontation, but I like torture to be a little drawn out. It's more fun. That explanation given, I'll just move on to my thankies. Thanks to ihateee, AlineDaryen, Sophia Anna-Mae, Embzy, Chalcedony Rivers, LyricallyInspired, AnimeFreak2468, Ibbet, Cinders Kitten, globalfaerie, purplerawr, DMbranolaHP, HinaLuvLuvChan, DrakWiccanPrincess, Lady-Umbreon, RebeccaMarieCullen, Draco and Hermione is like PBJ, whitelonewolf, Horseygirl7, SexySpeedDemon, Destiny Lot, nimless vs HiM'e'iTSu, momo123, Closet Chocoholic, Dezra, and paintupurple for the reviews. Thanks so much for reading! And might I just add, it figures that I get sick on my one day off a week. It just figures. *sigh*