I Know The End {Fred Weasley, ACT I}

Chapter 48- A Birthday Surprise

WARNING - Mild smut, don't read if it makes you uncomfy

Under normal circumstances, Eleanor's disappearance would have been considered a crime by her friends. She'd be tried, found guilty, and punished by means of underhanded comments and disgruntled stares. To vanish without warning, without a farewell, is unkind, to say the least. She deserved whatever her friends doled out as retribution for their worry.

But she paid no price in the wake of Umbridge's uprising. There was so much else to worry about that her own transgressions fell away, leaking from everyone's memory slowly but surely.

Fred's anger at her lie dissolved within the course of her first day back. Fred's emotions were intense, so intense that they had to be acutely directed to a single target. He could process one emotion at a time, nothing more. His anger with Umbridge trumped his momentary displeasure with Eleanor. Even more so, he needed Eleanor to fulfill any of his many revenge filled fantasies.

Lee still made sure to sneer in her direction from time to time, but she was used to such behavior from him by now. It had lost all affect.

Alicia's warnings regarding Umbridge were valid but bound to be ignored by Fred and George. And if Fred and George were going down in flames, Eleanor saw no reason to stand by and watch. She'd been absent during Umbridge's assent to power, and she refused to be absent during her downfall. Bring on whatever punishment Umbridge had at her disposal, Eleanor could take it. It was finally time to take down the bitch.

They spent weeks whispering plans between one another, plans of which Alicia had no interest in hearing. She'd pluck a book out of her bag, typically a Muggle story that Eleanor had never heard of, one in which made Iris roll her eyes.

"I don't like the ending," Iris would whisper. "It's pretentious, intellectual crap." And Alicia would click her tongue and explain the complexity of the plot and the characters, the symbolism, the message, as Iris would feign a yawn, leading to the end of such conversations.

But even with a book in hand, a disapproving look set upon her face, Alicia couldn't help but make suggestions to their plans. She'd amend the flaws while Fred would grin at her in admiration. Alicia and Fred's brains worked in similar patterns; they simply applied their intelligence to different spheres of thought. But Alicia could see the holes they'd missed, the small mistakes that would be their downfall. She was their saving grace.

"We could spike her tea with a hair loss potion!" George would suggest, his eyes bright. Iris would shrug, not meeting his eyes, still burned by his betrayal regarding Montague.

"Or hair growing elixir," Angelina would add with a laugh. "Can you imagine Umbridge with a full face of fur?"

"We could poison her! Send her straight to St. Mungo's and then she wouldn't be our problem anymore," Lee always put in at some point, leading to a consideration from Fred and a sharp shake of Alicia's head.

"Er, too far, Lee," Alfie whispered every time, exasperation more apparent with each repeated suggestion. "Why don't we just dye all her clothes brown or something? Maybe a dark blue? I don't think she could bear the loss of her pink wardrobe."

"Think a little grander, Alfie," Fred advised, "but I like the spirit."

"The entire school could refuse to go to classes," Eleanor piped up, "go to the hospital wing and feign ill."

"And if we used the Skiving Snackboxes, could anyone really stop us?" Iris continued.

"I want more chaos," Fred would interrupt.

"But nothing too serious," Alicia warned.

"Not life threatening," Alfie agreed.

"And what's the fun in that?"