Hermione Granger was crying. She had done what she thought was right. Sirius Black could have jinxed the broom in some way. She had to talk to McGonagall about it. For Harry's safety! But that wasn't even the worst of it. Now, Harry and Ron weren't talking to her because Crookshanks supposedly ate Ron's rat. She had known Ron for three years and in that time all Ron did was complain about that stupid rat! And of course, Harry took Ron's side, like always. They were supposed to be friends. Couldn't they just believe her? Forgive her?

At this point, Hermione can't even stand to be in the Common Room any more. Ron and Harry might be her best friends, but if she was being honest with herself, Ron and Harry were her only friends. It was like first year all over again. She was alone, completely alone.

The only bright side of her newfound feud with Harry and Ron presented more time for her studies. She was taking more classes than anyone else in her year. Or the school for that matter. Trying to keep up with all the classes she was taking was slowly chipping away at her. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up with this.

Sighing, Hermione turned the faucet and splashed water over her face, hoping to wash away the tear stains on her face. Her eyes were still red, but she could probably make it to Gryffindor Tower without anyone questioning her. Hopefully, she wouldn't run into Lavender and Parvati, knowing they would talk about her behind her back if they saw her like this. Although, they probably already were talking about her behind her back.

Carefully, she opened the bathroom door and looked around. No one was there. Taking a deep breath, she started the walk to Gryffindor Tower. She was so wrapped up in her mind, that she didn't even hear the voices calling after her. From seemingly nowhere, Fred and George appeared at her side. She didn't want to talk to them. They would probably take Ron's side, too. They were his brothers after all.

"You alright there, Granger?" asked George.

"Your eyes are all red," interjected Fred, "and we've been calling your name for a while now." Hermione rubbed her face tiredly.

"I just have a lot on my mind," she informed them.

"You know Harry and Ron will come around eventually," George continued. Hermione groaned inwardly. Tactfulness seemed to be a quality the Weasley family was missing.

"Yeah, they're probably failing all their classes without you, Granger." Hermione frowned. She didn't want to just be their friend for the sake of helping them with their classes. She was more than that. She knew Fred probably meant it jokingly, but anger and annoyance still surged through her.

George seemed to have noticed her discomfort. "Would you like to come with us, Hermione?"

"What are you doing?" she asked skeptically.

"Oh, this and that," Fred answered.

"Nothing against the rules, of course-"

"-Certainly, nothing that will land us detention-"

"-and if it did, it would be completely justified-"

"-because he's an utter git." She raised an eyebrow at them, giving them an expectant look.

"We've decided it's about time Malfoy learned a thing or two about treating people right," Fred explained.

"He's been on Harry all year about him passing out from that dementor," George continued.

"So, we thought we'd help Harry out a little bit."

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked curiously. She shouldn't have asked that. They were going to tell her and it was going to break the rules and she would have to tell McGonagall about it.

"We'll only tell you if you agree to help us," Fred told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We think a little mayhem might be just want you need, Granger. You always have to follow the rules. You need to let loose a little." She frowned. How could they think she was such an honorable student? Last year she broke about fifty school rules alone just by brewing the Polyjuice Potion. She was far from a perfect student. She could be a rebel. She could prank someone. She didn't have to run to McGonagall all the time.

"Alright," Hermione said. Fred looked at her in surprise.

"Didn't think you'd agree so fast, Granger," he told her. "Thought we'd have to drag you along with us."

"Just tell me what you're going to do."

George, in answer, held up a small piece of candy. Hermione frowned. What could a piece of candy do?

"Fred and I made it," George explained. "Not sure what it'll do yet, though." That scared Hermione for a moment. They made something and didn't know what it was going to do? They could accidentally poison Malfoy! Sure, the boy was an evil cockroach, but he didn't deserve to be poisoned. But, Fred and George were fifth years. Surely, they knew better than to poison someone. Right?

"Come along, Granger," Fred beckoned. "Me and George will slip it into his robes. You distract him." George walked down the corridor to see if anyone was coming.

Hermione gulped. What was she getting herself into? She was going to get detention! If something went wrong, something did happen to Malfoy, she could be expelled for endangering another student's life. But Hermione had already determined she was going to be a rebel. She had a point to prove.

So, she straightened and nodded. "I can do that." George peered around the corner, before walking back to where Fred and Hermione were standing.

"Here he comes. His goons are with him, too," George stated.

"That's you Hermione," Fred told her. "Just distract him long enough for us to put the candy into the pocket of his robes." Hermione nodded. She could do that.

Fred and George hid in an alcove while she tapped her foot impatiently. What was she going to do? He would know something was amiss if she were to immediately start talking to him.

She could see his luminescent blonde hair walking towards her. He was waving his arms about in an animated conversation with Crabbe and Goyle. She flattened against the wall. What was she going to do? Why had she even agreed to do this? She should just turn around and forget this whole thing.

But she didn't.

Instead, she found her feet carrying her forward, towards Malfoy. She kept her eyes trained on the ground, deliberately not looking at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Her heart was pounding against her chest. Only a few steps more.

CRASH!

Hermione and Malfoy collided. She threw her body against his, causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground. Crabbe and Goyle stared, dumbfounded, completely confused on the turn of events. "Watch where you're going, Mudblood!" shouted Malfoy in anger. He tried to climb to his feet as Hermione did the same. But at the last minute, Hermione lost her balance again, knocking into Crabbe. With the confusion swirling around in Crabbe's brain, he did not have time to stop himself from falling into Goyle, knocking them both to the ground.

How thick can they be? Hermione wondered to herself.

"Oh, I am sorry!" Hermione stated, innocence plastered onto her face. Malfoy glared once more at her.

"Merlin, Granger! Didn't your parents teach you how to stand properly? Oh, I forgot, they probably don't know themselves!"

Hermione ignored the obvious insult to her parents being Muggles as Fred and George seemed to materialize out of nowhere behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. With all the confusion going on, the three Slytherin didn't notice the pranksters slipping the candies into their robes. They disappeared just as quickly as they came, back into the alcove.

"I'll try to watch out better next time," Hermione told him, grabbing her bag. Quickly, she marched off towards Gryffindor Tower.

Fred and George burst into the Gryffindor Common Room minutes later, laughing. They spotted Hermione almost immediately. Striding over to her, they sandwiched her between themselves. "Never knew you had it in you, Granger!" exclaimed Fred.

"Malfoy will never what hit him. You did perfectly!" continued George. "And don't think too much about what Malfoy said. He's a git."

Hermione smiled a little. "It was kind of fun. Terrifying, but fun."

"Hear that, Georgie," Fred said smiling to his brother. "We may make a prankster out of Granger yet!"

It was the next morning on the way to Transfiguration when Hermione saw the fruits of their labor. Malfoy had overslept that morning and had missed breakfast. Reaching into his pockets, he found a small piece of candy. Without even questioning it, Malfoy plopped the candy into his mouth in the middle of the corridor.

Fred and George had just turned the corner when it happened. Malfoy squawked in surprise. The candy had transfigured him into a large canary in the middle of the corridor. Immediately, all of those standing in the halls burst into laughter at the sight.

Malfoy was seeming to panic. He kept squawking at the students lining the halls. From where she stood, Hermione could see the look of annoyance in his eyes. In less than a minute, Malfoy was back to his obnoxious self. He glared at everyone looking at him. "Who did this!" he shouted. No one answered him. "Just you wait! My father will hear about this!" With a sweep of his robes, he disappeared.

Fred caught Hermione's eye and winked at her before he and his brother disappeared down the corridor to their class.

Malfoy was irritated for the rest of the day over the candy incident. He refused to eat anything for the rest of the week unless Crabbe and Goyle taste tested it first. He never did find out who had pranked him. He just knew that it was Potter, but nothing of concrete proof, so there was nothing the professors would do about it. But he didn't need the professors to get his revenge on Potter. The Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw Quidditch Match was nearing. And Malfoy knew how much Potter hated dementors. It was only too easy.

As for Hermione, her spirits lifted considerably. It was the first time in weeks that she had laughed and smiled. She knew what she did was wrong and that she should turn herself into Professor McGonagall right away. But she couldn't find it herself to do so. It was awfully funny seeing Malfoy squawking around in panic like that.

Fred and George found Hermione sitting in the Common Room that night working on her mountainous pile of homework. In addition to the numerous classes she was taking, she had also agreed to help Hagrid build his defense for Buckbeak's trial. She knew that if she spent a little time reading, she would be able to find the right words to say at the trial. They might have a fighting chance. It wasn't fair. Buckbeak hadn't done anything wrong. He was completely innocent.

"Did you enjoy the show this morning, Granger?" Fred asked, striding towards her. He took the seat beside her, a smirk on his face. Hermione smiled at the twins.

"It was very funny," she answered. "But that was a one time instance for me."

"Oh come off it, Granger!" George exclaimed. "With a little bit of training, we might be able to make you prankster, like us."

"I think I'll pass on that one," she stated. "And while we're on the subject, I still think it was wrong of you to give Harry that map." They rolled their eyes. Ron had told them how she had felt about the Marauder's Map.

"Granger, the map is-"

"Dangerous," Hermione interrupted Fred. "You shouldn't be helping Harry sneak out of Hogwarts, especially with Sirius Black on the loose."

"Granger," George began, "Harry isn't allowed to do anything these days-"

"-and everyone tells him it's for his own good-"

"-but we reckon he needs a little bit of fun in his life."

"And he needs the map more than we do," Fred and George said together. Hermione wanted to protest but didn't. She didn't think it was safe for Harry to have that map. What if Sirius Black found it or something?

"Don't worry, Granger," Fred continued, "Black isn't going to invade the school."

"Yeah, it'll all be fine," George finished.

And that Saturday night, after the Quidditch Match, Sirius Black broke into the school.