Study Breaks

~Chapter Nine~

That evening at dinner, Hermione rushed in late and sat down in the empty seat next to Harry. Ron looked up from where he was deep in conversation with Lavender and waved. Hermione waved back distractedly before turning to Harry.
“Harry, I think it’s time to come out,” she said quietly.
“What?” Harry asked, surprised. “Come out? What?”
“Not you, me,” she said. “Me and George. We’ve decided that we’re going to be a public couple and Ron can just deal with it.”
“Oh,” Harry said, understanding dawning on his face. “I see. I was lost there.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Hermione said with a grin. “But seriously, George and I talked and we’ve decided that it’s time to tell everyone about us. Because we’re pretty serious about each other and it just seems silly to be sneaking around like we have something to hide.”
“So I guess what I’m saying is,” she continued, “you might have to deal with an angry Ron for a while.”
“Actually, I think Ron’s going to behave himself. Even if he hadn’t got a lecture on getting over the idea of you dating from practically everyone in the house, I think his attention is somewhere else right now,” he said, gesturing down the table.
Hermione glanced over Harry’s shoulder at where Ron and Lavender were sitting. Lavender seemed to be explaining something to the red head, but though he was watching her intently, Ron didn’t look like he was hearing a word the blond girl was saying. In fact, he was simply staring at her with a look of amazement.
“Yeah, I see what you mean,” Hermione said with a laugh. “It would seem that Ron has realized that Lavender’s a girl and a pretty one at that.”
“Exactly,” agreed Harry. “And I think that if Lavender ever gets over her nervous habit of lecturing the poor boy on Herbology and Charms, they’ll end up dating before you can say alohamora.”
“Well, we’ll just have to get them in a situation where they can’t talk about school work.”
“That’s the plan,” Harry said. “Parvati and I are going to try to get them together at the Three Broomsticks next weekend and force the conversation to non-academic topics. Then we’ll leave them alone and see what happens. I’ve got a sickle on them snogging before the day is out.”
“I’ll raise that to before they even get out of the pub,” Hermione challenged with grin as she watched Ron nearly miss his mouth with his goblet, spilling pumpkin juice down his chin.
“You’re on. And I’m glad to hear about you and George,” Harry said, turning back to his dinner. “So you two are serious about each other? Are you in lurve?”
“Shuddup Harry,” Hermione replied, elbowing her friend in the ribs. She started to fill her dinner plate. “We’re not in love. I’ve only really gotten to know him in the last few weeks. I care about him a lot. And I like him a lot. He’s a really great guy.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I’ve been playing Quidditch with him for five years,” Harry pointed out. “I could have told you that George is a good guy. And a caring one. I’m really glad you and he got together. I think he’ll be good for you.”
“Well thanks for your vote of confidence.” Hermione grinned. “Now we just have to get you a nice person to date and we’ll all be set.”
“Um, no thanks, Mione. I think I’ll live the single life for a while longer. My life’s weird enough as it is without throwing all this relationship drama into the mix.”
“Sure Harry, whatever you say.”

That evening the Gryffindor common room was bustling with activity when Hermione returned from the library. She hadn’t spoken with George at dinner and had rushed off as soon as she’d finished eating to do some research she ought to have done that afternoon. Their conversation in the cove kept running through her mind as walked back through the halls. She was excited and nervous about making their relationship public but at the same time it seemed only logical. All this secrecy stuff wasn’t much fun if it meant she couldn’t snuggle up next to George in front of the fire and talk about what they’d done that day.
As she came into the room through the portrait hole, she glanced around quickly to see who all was in the room. There were several lower years sitting around a table in one corner playing Exploding Snap. At another table, Harry, Ron, and Lavender were gathered around a pile of books and parchment, apparently working on some homework Hermione’d probably finished weeks ago. In the center of all the noise were the twins and their group of friends talking and joking loudly in front of the fire.
Hermione moved towards the group on the couches, dropping her books on an empty end table. As she walked towards the seventh year students, she saw Fred elbow George in the ribs. George glared at his brother and then looked to see where Fred was pointing. His eyes met Hermione’s and his face broke into large smile. Fred leaned over and whispered in George’s ear and was shoved off the couch for his pains. Before Fred could retaliate, Angelina grabbed her boyfriend and pulled him onto the arm of her chair. Hermione marched determinedly up to the group, who had all fallen silent and sat in the space Fred had unwillingly vacated.
“Hi guys,” she said nervously.
“Hi Hermione,” Angelina replied with an understanding smile. “Have a good day?”
“Yeah,” Hermione responded, relaxing under the older girl’s calming influence. “It was really lovely out this afternoon, wasn’t it? George took me to this beautiful cove on the lake shore.”
Fred and Lee gaped at Hermione, amazed that she’d openly talked about her time with George.
“We spent an enjoyable few hours down there,” she continued, “which means I had to go to the library to catch up on some studying.” She turned to George. “Sorry I missed you at dinner, but I really did have to get some work done.”
“No worries, Mione,” George said with a smile. “I figured I’d see you at some point anyway, what with us living in the same place.”
“Good point,” she admitted, then reached over and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. “So what have you guys been up to this evening?”
Fred and Lee seemed incapable of speech as they both stared at Hermione and George’s linked hands. Angelina snorted as she looked up at her boyfriend, then answered Hermione.
“Oh, not too much. We’ve been chatting about the final Quidditch match, and the boys have been vigorously avoiding any mention of their en-ee-double-u-tee’s. You’d think they were afraid or something,” she said mockingly as Fred blushed.
“I for one am not nervous,” George put in when his brother failed to speak. “With all the amazing help Mione’s given me, I’m sure to ace the NEWTs. Can’t not do well, can I? Not with the prospect of disappointing you?”
He grinned down at Hermione. She tried her best to assume her McGonagall-face, the one Ron said put the fear of school in him, but failed, letting out a snort.
“Ah my elegant Mione,” George exclaimed dramatically, “such a little lady. All grace and dignity…”
“Shut up, Weasley,” Hermione said, nudging him with her shoulder. “I can too be ladylike. I just don’t bother,” she said with dignity.
“Well, that’s fine by me. I like you exactly as you are, Stargirl.”
As she smiled up at him, Hermione saw George’s eyes darken. She held her breath for what she knew was about to happen. The rest of the common room disappeared as George leaned down and kissed her gently.
When George raised his lips from hers, Hermione realized that all conversation had stopped. She looked up at George, and he smiled down at her and squeezed her hand.
“YES!”
Hermione’s head jerked around to see Ginny jumping up and down in the corner of the room. Suddenly the room was filled with laughter. Ginny blushed bright red and sat down in her chair next to Neville. The older boy leaned over and whispered something which brought a smile to Ginny’s face before she joined in the laughter.
Hermione missed most of this interplay as she had turned to watch Ron’s reaction. He wasn’t laughing, but he also wasn’t looking as furious as she’d been afraid he would. More than anything, there was a look of understanding on his face.
George leaned over to whisper in Hermione’s ear. “Do you want to go talk to him? I can wait here, or I can come with you. Whichever one you want.”
“You know,” she said, turning back to her boyfriend, “I think I’ll let him come over here if he wants to talk about it. Why should we go rushing over to make him feel better? It’s not like we’ve done anything wrong.”
George smiled. “I’m so glad you said that. Whew! I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting us into there. But it seems to all be okay.”
“Yeah,” Hermione agreed, nodding slightly. “Everything’s great. Really great.”
She smiled and leaned up to kiss George on the cheek before turning to respond to something Angelina had said.

As conversation in the common room began again, Ron turned to Harry and Lavender. Both of them were looking at him apprehensively. Ron shook his head as though to clear it and spoke.
“So this is what all the talk has been about?” he finally asked. “Making sure I wouldn’t kill George for dating Hermione?”
Harry glanced at Lavender briefly and she stood up. Ron grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her chair.
“No don’t leave. We have work to get through.”
Lavender looked over at Harry briefly then settled back into her chair.
“So you’re okay, Ron?” Harry asked.
“Fine. Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Uh, no reason,” Harry muttered and turned his attention back to his books.
“Look guys, I’m fine!” Ron said angrily. “I’m okay with this. And I promised not to make a scene, didn’t I Lavender?”
“Yes, yes you did,” she replied. “And you’re being very good about this. We’re not trying to get on your case, Ron, just making sure you’re okay.”
“How many times do I have to say it?” Ron asked, exasperated. “I’m okay. I’m happy for George and Hermione. I think they’ll be good together. So let’s get back to this assignment. I think I’m almost getting it.”
The three students turned their attention back to Herbology for a while. After half an hour, Harry threw his quill onto the table and rubbed his eyes.
“I can’t deal with this anymore. I’m going to take a break. Anyone else?”
“Nah,” Lavender said without looking up. “I’m almost done. I think I’ll keep at it ‘til I’m finished.”
“Yeah, me too,” added Ron.
Harry looked at his friend quizzically for a moment then wandered away from the table to join the group by the fire.
“So you’re almost finished, Lav?” Ron asked after his friend had left. “Think you could explain the second last part of the experiment to me. I’m lost.”
“I thought you said you were done,” she pointed out.
“Nah, just wanted Harry to go away,” he replied shamelessly.
“Okay, sure. Well, the idea with that step is about diluting the solution with alcohol and not oil so that you can mix it with water better. You know, cuz…”
As Lavender lectured Ron on the properties of herbal tinctures, Harry flopped down on the couch beside Hermione.
“So Ron hasn’t come over here to attack me yet,” George said as Harry joined them. “This is looking like a good sign.”
“Yeah, I think he’s dealing pretty well,” Harry agreed. “I think Lavender might have something to do with that as well. If I could get her to stop going into teacher mode every time they talk, maybe something could come out of it.”
“Well,” Hermione put in, “I think that your plan for next weekend is good. We’ll just have to keep her from lecturing him to death before Saturday.”
“Y’know, I never thought I’d say this,” Harry smirked, “but I think she’s almost as bad as you are. Although, as Ron pointed out, she doesn’t call him an idiot quite as often.”
“Hey,” said Hermione defensively, “he totally deserved being called an idiot. He was one.”
“Well, maybe Lavender’s more the type of teacher he needs,” Harry pointed out reasonably.
“Yeah,” Lee chimed in. “Young, blond and pretty. Makes me want to pay attention. Ow!”
He fell off the chair where he’d been sitting. Katie glared at her boyfriend as he lay on the floor. Lee put up his hands in defense and began apologizing before she could even begin to speak.
“Ah, young love,” sighed Fred melodramatically. “Such a violent thing. Stay single, Harry, it’ll save you a lot of bruising.”

The next week flew by for Hermione. She spent all her time out of class preparing for exams, studying for her OWLs and helping George get ready for the NEWTs. It was enjoyable to be able to snuggle up beside him for a study session without worrying about who would see. Although occasionally they didn’t manage to get much studying done at all. Hermione smiled at the thought of her last ‘study date’ with George when they had ended up falling asleep in front of the fire in the common room while they were supposed to be working on History of Magic.
“Hey Hermione, ready to go?”
Parvati’s voice broke into Hermione’s reverie. Shaking her head, she picked up her satchel and slung the strap over her head. Following her dorm mates through the door, she ran over the plan for the afternoon in her head. She was to spend the first part of the day in Hogsmeade shopping with Parvati, Ginny and Lavender. At three, she and Parvati were supposed to drag the other girls to the Three Broomsticks where they would meet Harry and Ron. Once they were all settled at a table, Hermione planned to bunk off and meet George for a while. She was also hoping to find time to pick up a belated birthday present, since George had turned eighteen right before they’d started dating. Hermione sure she could find something appropriate in town.
Discussion in the carriage revolved around which shop to visit first, with Lavender suggesting one of the robe shops while Parvati repeatedly mentioned the music store. It seemed that her favourite band, Wizards Inc, had released a reworked version of their newest single, and Parvati was desperate to pick up a copy. Hermione put in her vote for the branch of Flourish and Blotts, but her friends didn’t even dignify it with a response.
As they clambered out of the carriage, Ginny and Parvati were still debating the merits of WInc’s members. Lavender caught Hermione’s gaze and rolled her eyes. The pair moved ahead of their friends to wander down the street. After they stopped by the clothing shop, Hermione split off from the group to drop into the bookstore while the others went with Parvati to the music shop. It took nearly half an hour of browsing, but Hermione came out the store convinced she’d found the perfect present. The other girls were waiting on the street, sharing earphones to listen to Parvati’s purchase.
“Oh Hermione, c’mere,” Ginny called when she spotted her. “You have to hear this. It’s so much fun.”
Hermione wandered over and took the earphone Ginny was proffering. She listened for a few seconds to the infectious pop music then handed the earphone to Parvati.
“Yeah, it is fun music,” she said, looking at her watch. “We’ve been shopping for a while, and I’m really thirsty. Does anyone feel like going to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer?” She looked pointedly at Parvati as she spoke.
Parvati nodded and chimed in, “That’s sounds like a good plan. Shall we?”

As the girls entered the Three Broomsticks, Hermione’s eyes were caught by a flare of red. George and Ron were sitting at a table in the back with Harry and Neville, the Weasleys’ hair reflecting the candle light. She moved immediately in the direction of the table, with the other girls trailing in her wake. As they approached, Neville nudged Harry and caught the other boys’ attention. George turned his head and then stood when he saw Hermione.
“Heya, Stargirl!” George caught her in a big hug. “Figured I’d meet you early. Ran into the guys here and they dragged me in for a drink.”
“Dragged?” Ron snorted, snagging a stool from the empty table beside them so Lavender could sit down next to him.
Neville had moved as well, grabbing a stool which he offered to Ginny. Parvati claimed the chair George had been sitting in and started chatting with Harry. George looked at Parvati in confusion, then turned back to Hermione.
“Wanna go for a walk?” he asked.
“Sounds good to me. I don’t think we’re needed here,” she replied, glancing around the table.
Harry and Neville were being tormented with descriptions of WInc’s new song, while Lavender and Ron seemed to be deep in conversation about flowers and herbs. Hermione caught Harry’s eye, then looked down meaningfully at Ron’s head. Harry smiled and nodded, then leaned over to interrupt Lavender’s lecture. George draped his arm around Hermione’s shoulders and lead her to the door.
Once they were out the pub, Hermione took George’s hand and the couple walked down the main street towards the Shrieking Shack.
“Good to see you, Stargirl,” he said with a smile. “Did you have some good shopping?”
“Pretty good. I managed to miss the groupie gush session over WInc, but did have to spend twenty minutes deciding between a robin’s egg blue and a cornflower blue trim for Lavender’s new something-or-other lilac robe. I could barely tell the difference. Way too pastel for me.”
“I’d have to agree. Bright colours all the way. Although you did look pretty nice in that blue thing at the Yule Ball last year. Gotta say I liked that.”
They had made it past the buildings of Hogsmeade to a part of the road edged by fields, so George veered off the road pulling Hermione behind him. He stopped when he reached a large tree stump and leaned down to brush the top of the stump clean. Gesturing dramatically, he indicated that Hermione should sit. Pulling her satchel strap over her head, she set the bag down and sat. As George sat beside her, she reached down to rummage through her satchel.
“I got something for you today,” she said.
“You didn’t have to,” he protested as she put a wrapped package on his lap.
“Well, I missed your birthday. And when I saw this I couldn’t resist. So, Happy Birthday, George.”
George smiled down at her, then turned his attention to the present. He tried to carefully untie the ribbon holding the package closed, but after a few futile attempts he growled and tore the wrappings open.
“Mione, this is awesome!” he exclaimed, looking down at the copy of Zonko’s History of Pranks and Practical Jokes. “I’ve never heard of this book, and I’ve read everything on tricks and jokes. Where did you find this?”
“In the special editions section of Flourish and Blotts,” she said proudly. “It’s a twentieth anniversary edition with a history of Zonko’s shop in a special introduction. I thought it would give you and Fred some hints for Weasley’s Wizardly Wheezes.”
“Thank you so much. This is great present.”
George lifted his free hand up to her chin and tilted her head for his kiss. Hermione’s eyes closed as his lips met hers. She returned his kiss passionately, and when her mouth opened beneath his George groaned slightly and slid his hand around behind her head. Hermione tangled her hands in George’s hair as his other hand moved to her waist, pulling her against him. After a few moments, Hermione became aware of a sound intruding on her consciousness.
Slowly, she and George pulled apart, and Hermione glanced towards the road. Standing at the edge of the grass was Draco Malfoy with Pansy Parkinson hanging on his arm, flanked by Goyle and Crabbe. The four of them were laughing cruelly, and when Malfoy realized that he had George and Hermione’s attention, he spoke loudly.
“Looks like Weasley here finally found someone who’d overlook the fact that he’s poor and useless. Looks like Granger decided to give up on guys with a death wish so she can date guys with no future.”
George grabbed Hermione’s arm and pulled her down as she moved towards the sneering blond boy.
“Course,” Malfoy continued, “the fact that that jumped up Mudblood could never get anyone decent makes it a perfect match. You'll do just fine in that family Granger. They enjoy Muggle company, and you are that.”
This time it was Hermione grabbing the tail of George’s shirt as he lunged off the stump. She stood and took his hand tightly in hers.
“George, let’s ignore them,” she said quietly.
“Ignore them? Ignore them?!” George looked furious, but kept his voice low. He turned from glaring at the Slytherin students to stare at Hermione with confusion. “How am I supposed to ignore them? He just called you a…” he broke off.
“Look, I’ve been putting up with Malfoy for years,” she pointed out. “And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that ignoring his attacks pisses him off more than anything. Well, there was that time I hit him, but I can’t see violence helping this situation.”
Hermione turned her back on the road and knelt to pick up the book which had fallen to the ground when George stood. After glaring at the other students for a moment George turned to help her, taking her bag and sliding the book and its wrapping back into the satchel.
Hermione slipped her hand into George’s and they turned to walk across the grass away from the Slytherins. Malfoy called out a few more taunts, but soon lost interest as his targets refused to respond. Hermione kept a tight grip on George’s hand and did not speak until Malfoy’s mocking laugh had died away.
“You okay now?” she asked after a while.
“Not really,” he replied. “But I’ve gotten over the homicidal phase. I’m more into plotting some cold-blooded revenge.”
“Well, if anyone can come up with the perfect trick to get back at Malfoy, it’s you.”
“And now I have the reference book for the task, thanks to you,” George smiled tightly, but his temper seemed to be fading.
“Not exactly what I had in mind,” Hermione joked gently, “but I’m not unhappy with the thought of using it to torment Malfoy.”
“Oh, so you’d be interested in tormenting him?” George inquired.
“Maybe a little.”
“A little?” he mocked.
“Okay, yeah, I’m in all the way if you’re going to be pulling some tricks on him. Got anything in mind?”
“Nothing off the top of my mind,” George admitted. “I think Malfoy requires some special attention. Special with an extra helping of nasty.”
“An extra helping of nasty? Now that sounds perfect. What sorts of particularly evil pranks have you got in your bag of tricks?”
“Hmmm… let me think…”
Arm in arm, the couple wandered back into Hogsmeade, their bad mood washed away by the visions of a humiliated Malfoy dancing in their heads.

As George and Hermione approached the yard where the Hogwarts carriages were waiting, they heard a voice calling their names. Hermione turned to see Harry and Parvati hurrying up to join them. She pulled George to a stop, interrupting his detailed description of how he was going to substitute a bottle of dye for Malfoy’s hair gel, leaving the Slytherin with red and gold hair. When Harry came to a halt in front of her, Hermione looked at him questioningly.
“Where’s Ron? And Lavender?” she asked.
“That’s what we’re here to tell you,” Parvati said, coming up behind Harry. “We’ve created a monster. Or two monsters.”
“I’m going with one monster,” Harry put in. “It’s like they’ve melded into one being.”
“What are you talking about?” Hermione asked.
“Ron!” Harry explained.
“And Lavender!” Parvati added. “They’ve gotten past the lecturing thing and now they don’t seem to stop for air.”
“Still not following you,” George said. “Not stopping for air from what?” He paused for a second. “Oh.”
Hermione looked up at her boyfriend, still confused. “What?”
George waggled his eyebrows at her. Comprehension suddenly dawned.
“Oh. Oh! In the past hour? You’re kidding!”
“Nope. Wish I was,” Harry said. “But we tried and tried to distract Lavender from her lecturing and nothing was working. Neville and Ginny gave up and left. About five minutes after that, it was as though someone hit Ron over the head.”
“Yeah,” Parvati interrupted. “He went from looking all awestruck to looking all determined and then he grabbed her hands – she was waving them around, y’know – and then said, ‘Lavender, shut up’ and then leaned over and…”
“Laid one on,” Harry concluded. “I’ve never seen Lavender so, well, speechless. She gaped at him like a fish for a while. Ooof.” He glared down at Parvati. “What was that for?”
“She did not look like a fish,” Parvati said, rubbing the elbow she’d just jabbed Harry with, “she looked surprised, and then got all shy and blushy. And then she asked Ron why he’d kissed her.”
“And Ron, being a git, said ‘cuz I just realized how pretty you are’ and Lavender smiled and leaned in and kissed him. As if that wasn’t the stupidest thing to say.”
“It was not stupid, it was sweet!” Parvati glared up at Harry.
“It was stupid. ‘Cuz I just realized…’ C’mon, that’s lame.”
“Oh please. Like you have a way with women. I remember how you asked me to the ball last year. Now that was lame.”
“It was not! It was awkward, I guess, but it’s not like I’d ever done it before.”
George took Hermione’s hand and turned her away from the bickering couple.
“Well, looks like we don’t have to worry about Ron being upset. Although I’m not so sure Harry and Parvati aren’t going to kill each other.”
“Freaky,” Hermione said, wrinkling her nose. “They argue like an old married couple.”
“Scary,” George agreed. “Promise me we’ll never bicker like that.”
“I solemnly swear that we will never being as annoying as those two,” Hermione replied with a grin. “Terribly bad example. Plus I don’t think I could snipe at you like that. One smirk and I’d start laughing.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” George said with an answering smile. “May I show you to your carriage milady?”
“Certainly, kind sir. Just make sure we’re not stuck with the snipe-fest or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
“As you wish.”
George helped her to climb up into one of the carriages, and after a while they were joined by Ginny and Neville. Conversation on the journey back to school revolved around speculation as to what was going to happen with Lavender and Ron’s relationship, and whether Harry and Parvati might be the next in line to hook up. Hermione held back from speculation, instead forming her own opinions as she watched Neville hand Ginny down from the carriage.

In the week that followed the visit to Hogsmeade, Harry spent a lot of time regretting his part in getting Ron and Lavender together. It wasn’t so much that they were irritating, although their constant need to be within touching distance of each other could be awkward, it was that Harry had realized that in fixing his two best friends up he had expanded his circle of friends from three to about fifteen. And as he had spent most of his life with few or no close friends, this was a bit bizarre. At least, he thought to himself, both Hermione and Ron were being very careful not to exclude Harry from their activities, now that they were dating. It was just that sometimes Harry felt a bit overwhelmed.
He was thrilled, though, to watch as his two best friends found such good matches. Ron and Lavender had moved past their first infatuation quickly and were now more likely to be found cuddled up together talking about everything from their family lives to favourite flavours of Bertie Botts’ Beans. There were no more lectures on Herbology, except during homework sessions. Hermione and George, on the other hand, had gone from their public friendship and private romance to being caught wrapped around each other in the strangest places. The day that Harry found them in the broom shed was forever etched in his mind, unfortunately for him. And when they weren’t snogging, they were whispering together in the corner of the common room, reminding everyone of when George had been plotting with his twin.
The Friday after the Hogsmeade trip, the Gryffindors were all in the common room, spring rains having trapped the students inside. A few muttered about perhaps going to the library to study, but the general mood was for relaxation and mischief. Half of the fourth and fifth year classes were sitting at one of the tables playing an involved Muggle card game Hermione had taught them. Few of the players were paying any attention to the game as conversation ranging from topic to topic. Finally, Hermione threw down her cards.
“I fold,” she said. “And I have an announcement.”
Her fellow Gryffindors put down their cards and looked at her expectantly. The whole house had been wondering what she and George had been planning. Perhaps they were about to find out.
“Well, you all know that George and I started being a public couple a couple weeks ago.” A few nods, and some confused looks were exchanged before Hermione continued. “Well, last week in Hogsmeade we were seen by Malfoy, and he was his usual charming self.”
This time there were more nods, nearly every Gryffindor having encountered Malfoy’s barbed tongue at some point. Ginny, sitting next to Hermione, put her hand on the other girl’s arm sympathetically.
“So tomorrow he’s going to get his reward,” Hermione said with a smirk. “And George and I want to you all to know that this is not just revenge for what he said to us. It’s for every nasty thing he’s ever done to a Gryff. Think of it as an end of term present.”
This time everyone around the table smiled.
“So what are you doing to him?” Ron asked eagerly.
“Is it horrible?” Neville inquired.
“Moderately horrible,” Hermione answered. “And I’m not going to tell you what. I just wanted you all to know. And I wanted to warn you,” she said, turning to Ginny. “You’re kind of integral to the plan.”
“Me?” the red-head asked. “What do I do?”
“Nothing. Just show up at lunch tomorrow. And remember that it’s all a prank.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Neville said nervously, looking at Ginny.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Hermione reassured him. “I just want you all to know so you’ll enjoy the joke.”
“What is the joke?” Ron asked again.
“I’m not telling, you’ll just have to wait until lunch tomorrow. I want you to all look very surprised so Snape can’t figure out who did this. We’re not even telling Fred so that he won’t get blamed.”
“Oh, I bet that’s driving him bonkers,” Ron said with a grin. “George plotting and he can’t get in on it. You’re corrupting my brother, Mione.”
“What I can’t decide,” Harry said thoughtfully, “is if George is a bad influence on Hermione or Hermione’s a bad influence on George. But I do know that the two of them working together scares me.”
Everyone at the table laughed at that. Hermione grinned at her friend, then got up and went over to sit with her boyfriend. After she left, speculation at the table began. Most of the Weasley’s Wizardly Wheezes usual pranks were rejected as they would be to easy to trace back. Ron suggested that perhaps George had invented some variation on the Canary Cream that had never been used and was going to put it in Malfoy’s lunch. Others thought that perhaps they were going to charm the Slytherin somehow, but to do what, they didn’t know. Finally Harry suggested that they all be patient and wait for lunch the next day, because then they’d know for sure. Good-natured grumbles of agreement sounded as the group at the table broke up. Soon only Harry and Ginny were left at the table.
“You okay?” he asked.
“What?” Ginny said distractedly. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine. Just tired, y’know.”
“Well, you certainly aren’t acting like yourself. You didn’t say a word after Hermione’s announcement. Are you worried?”
“Uh, no,” she said unconvincingly.
“You know you don’t have to be worried,” Harry said. “Your brother would never hurt you. And neither would Hermione. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
“I guess so. I guess I’m just not good with the thought of being a part of a trick and not knowing. I’m not good on not having control.”
“I understand. It only makes sense, with all you’ve been through. But I know your brother, and he’d rather die than hurt you. It’s not going to be anything to get all upset over. If you want, why don’t we go tell Hermione how you feel and I’m sure she’ll let you in on the plan. Would that help?”
“Yeah,” Ginny admitted. “Once I know what’s going to happen, I’ll be fine. I’ll go ask her.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Harry, I don’t need support to ask her. You just want to know what the prank is, don’t you?” she asked with a grin. “So much for waiting to see what happens.”
“Hey, I resent that,” Harry said, but grinned back at her. “Well, I suppose I can wait until tomorrow. You go talk to Hermione.”
Harry sat and watched as Ginny approached the other girl. When Ginny whispered in her ear, Hermione untangled herself from George’s arms and walked with the younger girl to a table in the corner. She spoke for a minute or two and when Ginny started laughing, Harry knew that everything was going to be fine. He smiled to himself and headed for the dormitory stairs.

The next day the Gryffindor students could barely contain their wild speculations about the prank Hermione and George had planned. Within an hour of breakfast, the two had practically run from the common room, and were now in an empty classroom near the great hall. Hermione was mixing something in a cauldron while George muttered under his breath and scribbled on a couple different scraps of parchment. After a few minutes of writing, crossing out, and re-writing, he put down his quill and walked over to where Hermione was standing. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his chin on the top of her head.
“So, Stargirl, how’s the brew coming along?” he asked.
Hermione tipped her head to one side and craned her neck so she could look up at George.
“Pretty much ready. Although this might be a bad time to distract me. Why don’t you get everything else lined up. I should be set to pour this out in a minute.”
“Slave-driver,” George joked, kissing her hair, then moving away from her. “So you nervous? It’s your first prank.”
“Not really, actually. I was expecting to be terrified,” she admitted. “But I’m more excited than anything else. I mean, we’ve planned everything out and double-checked it all and now I just really want to see it happen. It’s going to be great.”
“You know, I think I should be feeling guilty or something,” George said.
“Guilty?” Hermione asked. George came up to her and set three goblets in a row beside the cauldron.
“Yeah, for turning you to a life of crime,” he said, putting a piece of parchment in the bottom of each goblet.
Hermione snorted and gave the cauldron’s contents a stir. “You know I broke rules before we started dating. This isn’t new territory for me.”
“Well, I guess I feel like it is. I mean, you used to feel guilty for breaking rules. Or at least you only broke them for a good cause.”
“This is a good cause,” Hermione pointed out. She picked up a ladle and gestured at the goblets. “So which of these is which?”
“Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle,” he replied, pointing at each goblet in turn.
Hermione looked closely and saw that George had scratched the letters M, C, and G into the rims of the goblets. She spooned potion into each cup, and as the liquid hit the parchment at the bottom it evaporated and the parchment disappeared. Once she had done this, George picked up the goblets and wiped them off before putting them into the pockets of his bag. Hermione began to tidy up the ingredients she had been using.
“So you told Ginny what was going to happen?” George asked as he tossed the unused scraps of parchment into the flame Hermione had been using.
“Yeah, she seemed really worried. I don’t think she liked not know what was going to happen to her,” Hermione said as she tucked the last of her potion equipment into her bag.
“Understandable. Did she like the plan?”
“She thought it was great. And I think she’s pretty thrilled we chose her. She’s very much looking forward to Malfoy’s humiliation. It’s pretty personal to her as well.”
“As am I,” George said. “But now we have some time to kill before we can get to the next step of the plan. Any thing you feel like doing?”
He waggled his eyebrow suggestively and Hermione snorted.
“Not if you keep looking at me like that,” she said with a grin. “But I suppose I could be persuaded to admire the view from the astronomy tower.”
“But it’s day, we won’t be able to see any stars. So why would we want to go up there?” George asked, his eyes wide with mock-innocence.
Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. George caught her by the shoulders as she moved to the door.
“And why would we want to go up there when we have a perfectly lovely view right here?”
He turned her around and led her to one of the deep-set windows. George climbed up and reached down for her. Hermione set her bag on the floor and scrambled up into the window ledge. George leaned his back against the gray stone wall, propping his feet against the facing wall. Hermione squirmed around briefly until she settled, tucking her legs under her skirt and curling up against George’s chest with his arm around her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun glint off the small wavelets breaking up the surface of the lake.
“Comfy?” George finally asked.
“Mmmm.. very,” Hermione responded. “I could stay like this forever.”
“Well, much as I like that idea, I have a feeling that McGonagall might get mad if we did that. Not to mention the teachers who use this room.”
Hermione laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“I do,” he said quietly, then leaned down to kiss her hair. “And I agree completely.”

For the first time Harry could remember, the entire Gryffindor house was in the great hall and waiting for their lunch before any of the teachers had arrived at the Head Table. As students from the other houses drifted into the hall, they looked curiously at the whispering giggling Gryffindors. As Harry said to Ron, Snape wasn’t going to be able to figure out who pulled the prank, since every student at the long table was looking suspiciously eager.
When Harry and Ron had come up the stairs to the Hall, they had found Hermione and George standing in front of the doors. At the sound of footsteps, the couple had whirled around and Harry had noticed Hermione slipping her hand away from George’s robes, as though she’d just dropped something into the pocket. Harry had looked at her curiously, but before he could ask her what she was doing, George was exclaiming that he’d nearly died and become a ghost from the fright they’d given him.
Ron elbowed Harry hard in the ribs, bringing him back to the present, and Harry followed the red-head’s gaze. Malfoy and his gang of friends had come sauntering into the hall. With the blond boy in the lead, the little group made their way to the end of the Slytherin table nearest the Head Table. Malfoy had claimed this position at the beginning of the year, which most of the Gryffindors took as a sign of his self-centered arrogance.
“Good thing they’re so predictable, huh?” George whispered to Hermione.
She turned her head very slightly and watched Malfoy and his cronies sit in their usual places. Pansy Parkinson stood up and poured pumpkin juice for them. Malfoy barely acknowledged her action as he helped himself to the food in front of him, drinking deeply from his goblet between mouthfuls.
“I always said that his everyone-exists-to-serve-me attitude would be his downfall someday,” she whispered back.
Harry turned from watching Malfoy to look down the table at Ginny, who had taken a seat right at the end of the table today. She was grinning as though she’d been exempted from all her exams. Harry caught her eye and she waved at him before turning back to answer something Neville had said to her.
The meal began, and as it progressed, the tension at the Gryffindor table increased. Many of the students picked at their food, eagerly waiting for whatever it was Hermione and George had planned. The two responsible for the prank ate and talked as though there was nothing unusual about to happen. Just as Harry felt he was about to burst from anticipation, George looked up at Hermione.
“Ready?” he asked.
She looked down the table. Ginny, who had been glancing down the table every few minutes, caught Hermione’s gaze and nodded.
“All set,” Hermione told George.
“Here we go,” he said.
George reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out his wand, laying it on the table so it pointed in the direction of Malfoy. He then tucked his chin down and whispered a short incantation Harry couldn’t hear. Tucking his wand back into his robes, George took a deep breath and let it out.
“All right then. Let the fun begin,” he said, and Gryffindors all along the table put their utensils down.
It began quietly, but grew quickly. Crabbe and Goyle were humming, sounding as tone deaf as the lumps of rock they looked like. The expressions on their faces were priceless. Obviously, humming was not a normal activity for them, and the fact that they were now also beginning to sway and snap their sausage-like fingers with the beat was terrifying them. Malfoy stared at his friends in confusion and opened his mouth to speak. Whatever question or insult he’d been intending never came out. Instead, he began to sing.
“Mmmbop ba duba dop, ba doo bop,
ba duba dop, ba doo bop,
ba duba bop, ba doo
He-ey yeah yeah…”
Before he’d even finished the intro to the song, Malfoy was alternating between trying to clamp his hands over his mouth and gripping the table to avoid dancing. Crabbe and Goyle were at the front of hall singing harmony by this point and were doing a series of jerky dance movements. They were both fighting the enchantment as well, which made their movements even less graceful and their singing more tuneless.
Malfoy was pulled away from the table by the force of the enchantment and began to move across the hall towards the Gryffindor table. His face was red from embarrassment and the effort of trying to resist the spell. Every time he tried to move his hands to his mouth, they were pulled away as though by invisible strings. As Goyle and Crabbe began the bridge into the first verse, Malfoy stopped in front of the Gryffindor table and began to sway with the music.
“There are so many stereotypes in this life,” he sang.
“Very few are really true
“There’s only so much I can say or do
“To prove I’m misunderstood…
“Just misunderstood.
“Just cause my daddy’s a Death Eater
“And his lord tried to kill you years ago
“Still you want to hold a grudge,
“Still you want to hold a grudge.”
By this point, most of the Slytherin students were staring in horror as the rest of the school laughed at the sight of Malfoy serenading his hated rivals. Professor Snape’s face was purple with anger, but Headmaster Dumbledore had restrained the teacher when he made to leave the table. Now Dumbledore was whispering into Snape’s ear and the Potions professor nodded several times then left the hall. When he did, the looks of worry on the Slytherins’ faces increased.
At the Gryffindor table, Ron was gasping with laughter and the students at the back of the hall had stood or even climbed onto their seats for a better look at the blond singer. Hermione and George were holding hands across the table and occasionally looking away from Malfoy to smile at each other. At the head of the table, Parvati gasped as she recognized the tune as the latest hit by her favourite band. Ginny turned to the older girl and winked.
“So that’s why Hermione borrowed the album,” Parvati hissed to her roommate.
Lavender nodded, then grinned as Malfoy launched into the chorus against his will. Across the table Neville moved to stand, heading towards the singing boy. Ron, who was sitting next him, grabbed the other boy by the arm and pulled him back down.
“It’s just a spell,” he whispered.
“But he’s singing to your sister,” Neville said furiously. “About that!”
“Ginny doesn’t seem to mind. Look at her, she thinks it’s hilarious.”
Neville looked over at the younger girl. She was grinning like crazy and nodding her head to the beat. It looked as if she found the whole situation hilarious. Neville leaned across the table and touched her arm.
“Are you okay with this?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think it’s great. Probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to Malfoy, singing sappy songs to one of the people he hates. Just look at his face.”
Neville looked up at the blond boy, who was wrapping up the chorus. He did indeed look as though he were having a miserable time. Neville smiled then, thinking of all the times Malfoy had insulted or humiliated him in class or in the halls. He laughed along with the rest of his house as Malfoy began the creatively re-written second verse.
“Don’t you see, with those brown eyes
“That I’m not a typical Sir Malfoy,
“Cause I don’t want to play any games,
“Or get inside your school robes,
“Or get inside your school robes.
“Mmmbop ba duba dop, ba doo bop…”
As Malfoy struggled against the words he was singing, Crabbe and Goyle had given in to the spell and were twirling and prancing in the signature choreography of WInc. Parvati, Lavender and Ginny were nearly in tears from their laughter as the pair strutted back and forth at the front of the hall. Even some of the Slytherins seemed to be amused by the sight of the Neanderthal-like pair shaking their hips to the beat.
The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were greatly enjoying the spectacle, and as Malfoy began the second chorus and lead into the bridge, one enterprising young wizard began to clap his hands to the beat. Within seconds, most of the hall had joined in. Even some of the professors at the Head table, who were doing their best to look shocked, could be seen nodding their heads slightly or tapping their feet with the rhythm. In fact, Hagrid wasn’t even bothering to disguise his amusement at the sight before him, and a grin lurked at the edges of Professor McGonagall’s tightly pursed lips.
Malfoy began the final few lines of the song as Professor Snape came rushing back into the room, a vial of orange liquid in his hand. He carried three cups in the other and when he reached the end of the Slytherin table, he put the cups down, measured a few drops of potion into each and filled them with pumpkin juice. As he finished mixing the solutions, Malfoy was on his knees in front of Ginny, Goyle and Crabbe flanking him.
“Can you tell me?” Malfoy sang, “They say that I’m really evil.
“Can you tell me why you listen to these dorks,
“Can you tell me what you really think of me,
“Can you tell me if I make you want my body?
“Can you tell me? I’m better than Potter any day.”
The final chord was sung and Snape rushed up to the three boys. Crabbe and Goyle opened their mouths to begin the next song, but Snape stalled them by shoving the cups of juice into their hands. Each of them tossed down the liquid as quickly as possible, grimacing at the taste, while Snape handed Malfoy his dosage. In the pause between the first and second lines of the new song, Malfoy gulped down his potion.
It took a few seconds to take effect, so as the three tried to ask Professor Snape what had happened, lyrics kept slipping out. Snape glared at the rest of the students as the three houses who had been clapping along with the song burst into applause. Fred and Lee both managed to produce piercing wolf whistles, and there were numerous catcalls and shouts of “Encore! Encore” from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.
It took quite a while for the Great Hall to settle down, as the applause continued until Snape had ushered the three boys out of the room. Even when they had left, the laughter and “did you see his face when…” conversations went on for a long time. Finally, under the disapproving gazes of the professors, the school calmed down and finished the mealtime in relative peace. Of course, the hilarity continued the moment the students filed out of the hall, and the hallways and common rooms echoed with laughter for most of the afternoon.