Cast Aside

Family Time and Uninvited Guests

A/N One of my favorite and most reworked and nit picked chapters. I am so excited for everyone to read, PLEASE let me know what you think!!

Chapter 17

Neither Gideon nor Fabian had been best pleased with the pair of them for dashing off to the home of a Death Eater in the middle of the night without telling them. Even if he was on their side, anything might have happened. Seeming to forget—or just choosing to ignore—the fact that they were both fully grown adults capable of making decisions and defending themselves, his uncles had spent far too long lecturing them about being responsible and safe. George was their 'ickle nephew' after all and therefore somehow their responsibility.

Regardless, their lectures had been unnecessary. Both Hermione and George were keenly aware of the danger they were in. The day after their early morning warning from Snape, George had gone with Hermione to a public phone in the city to call her parents to let them know they wouldn't be able to meet them for a while. She had said something about being out of town, but George had been too focused scanning the street behind them to catch the whole conversation.

After that, they had spent the next several days extremely focused on their work. If their products were having such an unexpected impact on Voldemort's plans they would double down. That they stayed inside their strong wards for the time being, all the better. George wasn't afraid of a fight and neither was Hermione, but venturing out could put anyone around them at risk.

Unfortunately, his uncles were still working for Dumbledore. Apparently he had no problem continuing to put them in harm's way by sending them on missions. When they'd come home one night bloodied after a run in with the Death Eaters that had been tracking them, it was George's turn to lecture them.

"You two need to tell Dumbledore to sod off already! He knows you're both priority targets. There's no bloody excuse for him sending you out like this! At the very least, I don't see how you could possibly not be compromising any missions he is sending you on!"

"George..." Fabian frowned irritably up at George from where he sat beside his brother, patching up the slicing hex that had caught his side.

"No. Don't you, 'George' me. You know I'm right! What's he even playing at?" Still fuming, George paced around the room stopping in front of Hermione where she sat on the other side of Gideon. "Is this just another ploy to get us to work with him?"

Huffing and shaking her head as she inspected the changing diagnostic charm, Hermione mumbled through clenched teeth. "If it is, he's an even bigger idiot than I thought."

"Right? Does he think we're stupid?"

Gideon's dry chuckle became a hiss of pain at his brother's ministrations. "I thought you said you knew Dumbledore? He's always the smartest man in the room, didn't you know?"

Groaning and dragging his fingers through his beard, George paced the room one more time and threw himself into an open chair. "Underestimating us isn't doing him any favors."

None of them spoke after that, Hermione and Fabian focused on what they were doing. But George stared at the wooden beams running across the ceiling, growing more annoyed by the second. After his fourth dramatic sigh, Hermione sat up straight and glared at him.

"George. Stop that before I silence you." Glaring right back, he opened his mouth to retort but the sparks beginning to form at the ends of her curls made him pause enough to consider whether or not this particular hill was really worth maybe actually dying on. "I'm angry too, but dramatics won't get us anywhere, especially considering we're all more or less stuck here for the time being."