Chapter - 65 : Alliances and Anarchy

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"So, what can the wonderful Weasley twins do for you?" Fred asked, taking a seat on an old desk. George sat next to him. I lounged against the teacher's desk, trying to figure out the best way to phrase my request.

"Have you boys ever thought about taking on… an apprentice, of sorts?" I asked slowly.

They looked surprised. "An apprentice?" Fred repeated.

"At what?" George asked blankly. I gave them a wicked smile.

"Trouble."

Their eyes lit up eagerly at the mention of causing trouble, but they tried to play it cool.

"Why, that's an odd thing for such a law-abiding young girl such as yourself to be interested in," Fred observed.

"Can I ask what triggered your sudden interest in our line of work?" George questioned.

I scowled. "A couple older students attacked some of my… friends." Yeah, that was the best word for them. "They were coming out of the library and they started harassing them. When Daphne called one of them a Mudblood wands got involved. Daphne and Lily are in the Hospital Wing."

"Daphne should watch her language," George scowled.

"But is that any excuse to attack a couple of girls four years younger than you are?" I countered. Fred shook his head.

"So, you're looking for some help with revenge?" he guessed. "What house were these guys in?"

"Take a wild guess," I muttered.

"Gryffindor," they chorused knowingly.

"How do we now you're not going to hurt them?" George asked seriously. "I mean, you Slytherins have a bit of a reputation when it comes to revenge."

"Trust me, any injuries will come from the older students, not me," I promised. "They're mad too. Besides," I added with a smirk, "if they get hurt they just go to Madam Pomfrey and she fixes them right up. If they get embarrassed… that lingers."

"So what do you want from us, specifically?" Fred asked. "Help getting into Gryffindor Tower?"

"No, I've got that covered," I said, smiling slightly. Thank you Seamus. "I need an education."

"An education?" George repeated.

"Yeah. I've never played a prank on anyone before. I don't know what kind of spells to use like you both do, I don't know how to get around the castle like you both do, and I don't know what kind of materials I'd need like you both do. I want you to teach me the tricks of your trade."

Much as I would enjoy getting back at Fuchs and Kensington, I doubted this was the last time this would happen. And if it was going to happen again, then chances were people were going to need to be taught a lesson. I couldn't just keep doing the same thing over and over – the teachers would know it was me. No, I needed Fred and George to teach me how to do what they did, because as often as they got caught, I knew there were at least as many tricks they'd gotten away with.

"What do you think?" I asked, waiting with bated breath for their answers.

"Conference," George announced. He and Fred tucked their heads together, murmuring back and forth. Unlike Seamus and Dean, they knew how to keep their voices low so that I didn't hear what they were saying. Every now and then one of them would send me a look and mutter something quickly to the other. I waited patiently – pushing wouldn't get me anywhere.

Finally they both looked up. Identical mischievous grins were painted across their faces.

"Miss Potter," Fred smiled.

"Welcome to the Weasley School of Pranksters."

I grinned back just as mischievously. "So glad to be accepted."

We worked out a rough schedule for getting together and said our goodbyes. I hustled back down to the dungeons. I'd delayed enough that it was nearing dinner time. The others would be wondering how Lily and Daphne were doing.

The stone wall ground open and I stepped inside. Malfoy and Zabini were pouring over a couple of books and writing essays. Tracey was sitting quietly in one corner, a slightly stoned look on her face. I assumed the Calming Draught was still working, then.

"Potter's back," Crabbe rumbled.

I sat down by Tracey and prodded her hand gently to make sure I had her attention. She tilted her head lazily to look at me and smiled.

"Hey Potter. How are they?"

"Fine," I assured her. "Daphne got a nasty Stinging Jinx, but Madam Pomfrey had already fixed her when I left. They should be fine. Pomfrey just wants to keep them overnight since they hit their heads when they fell."

"What about the two that attacked them?" Zabini asked seriously, looking annoyed.

"Last I saw Snape was on the warpath and headed for McGonagall," I said with a shrug. "I'm assuming there will be a lot of detention, probably a crippling loss of points."

"Good," Nott muttered spitefully into his book. "They deserve it."

"What took you so long to get back?" Malfoy asked.

"I had to make a stop first," I explained.

"Where?"

"None of your business," I replied shortly. I took Tracey by the arm and helped her stand up. "Come on, Tracey, let's get some food in you. You'll feel better once you've had a good meal."

"Hold up, Potter."

"Eh?"

Nott had stood up and was gesturing for me to join him a few feet from the table. I left Tracey's side, walking over to him curiously. I wouldn't really consider Nott a friend – he was too much of a loner for that – and this was the first time he'd tried to grab me for a private conversation.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Amelie's mad; she'd got some of her fifth year friends up in arms. Quidditch already has everyone so tense that people have been looking for a reason to go off on the other house. The lower years will be the ones that take the most heat because we're easy pickings. I think we should try to go places in groups no smaller than three, just until this dies down."

I bit my lip, thinking. Spells had already been flying with increasing frequency in the halls what with the Quidditch season starting up. The first game was tomorrow. The targets had mostly been the teams and their friends or family thus far, but a couple of people had used the general chaos to pull off some mean-spirited hexes. I got the feeling that was what Fuchs had done.

If Gryffindor won, it would likely die down so long as none of us went after them in revenge. And considering most of us were too smart for that, it was likely. But if Slytherin won – well, then the Gryffindors might be annoyed enough at us to keep the feud going, at least until the teachers stepped in.

"I can't figure out why Amelie's so mad," I admitted. "I know she's Prefect, but she's never seemed to care much about us younger kids."

Nott raised an eyebrow. "Potter… She's Moon's cousin. Didn't you know?"

I stared. Now that he mentioned it, they did have a similarly shaped face and their eyes were about the same color. But I never saw them interact. "But… they never speak," I said in confusion.

Nott sighed, shaking his head. "You don't know anything, do you? Moon's a halfblood. Her dad's Amelie's uncle. He ran off with a Muggleborn – it was a huge scandal."

I stared. Well, that would do it. It would also explain why Amelie was taking this so personally. Whether or not she acknowledged it openly, Lily was her family.

"I see," I said slowly. "And you're right, if Amelie's going to keep this going even after Snape's handled them…"

"Exactly. That's why I think we should be cautious."

I nodded thoughtfully. "Let the others know. I'm going to get Tracey to dinner."

"Okay. Take Crabbe with you."

"Dinner?" Crabbe perked up at the mention of dinner. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Crabbe, dinner. Let's go."