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Investment…
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It had been a month since the new term had begun and as the ministry-appointed inquisitor Umbridge had taken almost complete control over Hogwarts. The biggest reason for her to be able to do that was Dumbledore's constant absence from the castle. Altogether, he had barely been at school for almost a week in the last month. No one knew where he went. Harry did, though. He knew that Dumbledore was attending to the Order's matters and while Harry didn't bother himself with it, the fact that Umbridge had taken this as an opportunity to claw deeper into Hogwarts' business had the Gryffindor worried. And he wasn't alone in thinking that. The other students felt the same.
She had moved her office next to Dumbledore's where she had covered the outer walls by hanging the new rules or, as she liked to call them, decrees which she had passed using her position as the inquisitor. Some of these decrees included disbanding of any and all students' organizations, proper wearing of uniforms with no open buttons or rolled-up sleeves, timely presentation of students at asked places, among many more. On the other hand she had imposed heavier restrictions on students when it came to use magic.
To ensure that her decrees were followed Umbridge had created a monitoring group which she had named the Inquisitorial Squad, much to the amusement of the students. Unsurprisingly, only the Slytherins were part of it with Draco being their squad leader. She had chosen him because his father was a major benefactor of Cornelius and if Umbridge wanted to be minister someday, she needed to be in the Malfoys' good graces.
Seeing that they had been given the power to deduct points from students for breaking the rules, the Inquisitorial Squad went to town with it. Within a week Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had their house points down to two digits, with Gryffindor having the least amount of points.
Needless to say, the students were pissed. Seeing that Dumbledore was not in the castle some of them went to Umbridge to complain about her squad. Unfortunately for them, that resulted in two of the students getting a week-long suspension by her.
So their only hope was McGonagall. However, she couldn't do anything because Umbridge was only liable to answer either the Education Board itself or the minister of magic and the woman hadn't made it clear what kind of powers she was given by the two entities to enact over the students and Hogwarts itself to ensure that the place ran properly.
None of it bothered Harry though as he had his own problems to deal with. Anytime he was out of the Gryffindor common room there was at least one squad member tailing him wherever he went. When he confronted them he not only lost points for Gryffindor but also received a suspension warning from Umbridge.
"You have a penchant of breaking rules, Harry so I hope you understand why my squad has to keep an eye on you." is what she had told him. Because of this he hadn't been able to practice on his magic and dueling skills. He had even sought for Draco's help in a last ditch attempt to get rid of the squad off of his back. However, the Slytherin had told him that he couldn't do anything in the matter.
If that wasn't bad enough, Umbridge had managed to involve Harry into an argument with her by bringing up Fleur, Cedric and Krum's death during one of the DADA classes, resulting in him getting detention for the rest of the term. She also barred him from playing Quidditch. And so every day after classes ended he had to stay in her office doing nothing. He would have to stay there until curfew hours began after which he was escorted to the Gryffindor common room by the squad members.
He had no time to train and that bothered him. However, there was one thing more worrying then that and it was the declining quality of the defense class. It was clear that Umbridge had no intention of teaching the students how to defend themselves against an attack and put them in danger. There was no telling when Voldemort would end up making a public appearance or worse, attack Hogwarts before all places.
So he needed to come up with a plan. However, he couldn't think of anything that would work against that pink toad. Umbridge was careful and outright tough when keeping tabs on him. Luckily the solution came in the form of the Weasely twins who he overheard during breakfast one day, as they complained about Umbridge confiscating their prank products. So Harry thought of something and prayed that it worked.
He waited for the Hogsmead weekend which was the only time he realized he wouldn't have to worry about being tailed by the squad members or Umbridge herself. So when the day came Harry wrote a letter to the twins, asking them to meet him by the shrieking shack. He wondered if they'd come. After his friendship with Ron had gone downhill he had also stopped talking to the rest of the Weaselys. It had just happened, maybe because he had stopped talking to all the Gryffindors last year.
However, when he saw the twins waiting for him by the shack he was shocked but also relieved. He didn't know how to do it though. It didn't feel right to straight-up ask for their help when Harry hadn't talked to them in about a year. Luckily, he didn't have to as Fred spoke first.
"Did Ron do something again?"
"No, not as of yet," Harry said slowly. He then paused before continuing. "I was hoping that you two could help me with something. But before that, I wanted to apologize for not talking to you guys after my fallout with Ron."
"No worries," said George. "We sort of understand." He then exchanged glances with Fred before continuing. "Also, we thought you needed a little time to yourself so we didn't approach you either."
Harry nodded. "Thanks and I'm sorry once again for pushing you all away," he said. "I shouldn't have."
George just shrugged his shoulders before looking at him. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Umbridge," Harry said as he saw the look on the twins' faces change immediately. It was clear that they didn't like her. "She has become bothersome, to say the least," he continued, "and I know it might sound horrible but something needs to be done."
"It's not horrible to think horrible things about a horrible person," Fred said. "So, what do you have in mind?"
"That the two of you come up with an elaborate prank to show Umbridge that this school doesn't belong to her," Harry said.
"We already have some ideas on what we can do," George said, "but, as you know she confiscated everything that we had. We can't even do a simple balding prank. Not to mention she has her petty squad search our dorm every few days now."
"So if you had your things back, and a place where you could work without getting caught, would you be able to do it?" Harry asked.
The twins nodded before they realized what he meant. "Wait, you can get us our things back?" they asked together.
Harry smiled. He had already talked to Daphne about this, just in case the twins agreed to help him and she had agreed because just like everyone, she, too was desperate to get rid of Umbridge. So Harry told them about the room of requirement. Fred and George listened with utter shock as they couldn't believe that such a place existed and that too in Hogwarts. A room that could provide them with almost anything they wanted sounded too good to be true but they had no reason to not believe him.
As for getting their things back, Harry said that he could get Dobby to bring it all to the room of requirement. Umbridge had put everything that she had confiscated from the twins, in Filch's office and hadn't checked on them once. So the boys assumed that she won't in the near future either and by that time, they'd hopefully get rid of her.
After telling them how he needed their help Harry moved on with the next thing that he wanted to talk to the twins about. However, he was a bit nervous because he was worried that it might hurt their pride. But he had to give it a try.
"There's something else that I want to do," Harry said. "It is also a way for me to apologize for not talking to you guys and to repay for your help with Umbridge."
The twins looked at each other before George spoke. "What is it?"
Harry pressed his lips together as he thought about it for a moment. "I heard that you two are planning to open your own joke shop. So, I was hoping if I could invest in it, be a silent partner," he said. "That is, if it's alright with the two of you. I would understand if you said no."
"Why would you want to invest in us?" Fred asked.
"Because like I said, it's a way for me to apologize for putting myself away from you guys after my fight with Ron," Harry said. "I shouldn't have done that. Also, Hermione told me how genius your products are and I think if you two are willing then the world should see it as well."
The twins exchanged glances. It always fascinated Harry how they could talk just by looking at each other. It was as if they could read each other's mind. He wouldn't be surprised if they could though, as they always finished each other's sentences.
"If we let you be partner, how are you planning to invest?" George asked.
"Hermione told me that you are thinking about 93 Diagon Alley as your store's location?" Harry said. The twins nodded. "Well, it's gonna be expensive because that is a prime location for conducting business. I can invest enough so you won't have to worry about the property cost. Everything – whether it's a lease or a purchase – will be under your or the business' name. I can also help with other expenses if you'd like. You will have all the decision making roles. In return, you can give me as much as five percent from the profits." That last part, Harry had added because he didn't want the twins to feel like they were being given a charity. Besides, five percent was nothing and he genuinely wanted to help them, not just because it was a way for him to apologize to them but also because he really wanted to do it for Fred and George. They were like big brothers to him and he had always enjoyed their company.
The twins looked at him before exchanging glances with each other. A minute later, Fred spoke, "Would it be alright if we took a day to think about it?"
"Of course, yeah," Harry said. "Take all the time you need. Also, I would understand if you didn't want me to invest. Like I said, I just want to do this, that's all." The twins nodded slowly. The three of them then stood there without talking before it started to get a little awkward. "So, I guess I'll see you around?" Harry said.
"Yeah…Yeah," Fred said. "Thanks for letting us use the room of requirement. We promise you that we won't let this opportunity go to waste."
"We won't," George said before glancing at Fred who shook his head.
"Is there something else?" Harry asked.
"No, there isn't," Fred said but then George spoke.
"Is it true that you and Gree…err Daphne are together?" he asked.
Harry was honestly shocked by George's sudden question but then he smiled slightly. "Hermione told me that you guys have a bet with all of Gryffindor," he said. The twins looked like they had been caught red handed. "Relax, guys, I'm not mad," Harry said. "If I answered your question, could you promise me that you won't tell anyone about it?"
"You don't have to…"
"Yeah, we won't," George said interrupting his brother.
"Alright," Harry said before he took a small pause and sighed. "Yes, Daphne and I are together. She helped me with the tournament and believed in me when everyone else thought that I was lying." The twins looked embarrassed when he said that last part.
"We are sorry," Fred said.
"It's alright," Harry said waving his hand. "I've moved past that. Besides, I never saw you two share that look of betrayal with the rest of Gryffindor. That is also one of the reason why you two are the only ones that I have tried talking to since last year. Hermione has apologized and we are on the track to start trusting…me trusting her again although, that part will take time, I suppose. So yeah, I am with Daphne. She helped me when I needed help and most of all, she trusted me."
"Good for you, Harry," George said with a thumbs up sign. Fred just shook his head at his brother's antics.
"Just give me a list of everything that Umbridge confiscated from you and I will have Dobby move them to the room of requirement," Harry said.
The twins nodded before the three said their goodbyes and walked in different directions. Harry felt a lot better finally talking to them. He also felt glad that the twins had agreed on helping him get rid of Umbridge. He trusted them completely to come up with a genius-level prank to make that pink toad suffer for all the horrible things she had done ever since she had come to Hogwarts.
Now the only thing on his mind now was the students. He hated to think like a military person but the students needed to be prepared enough so they could protect themselves in the event Voldemort attacked the castle. However, he needed to discuss that with Daphne and the rest first.
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Thanks for reading…
