[2] The Great Orangenie | FRED WEASLEY

Chapter Thirty Four

"Alright, so let me get this straight one more time..." Fred said, pacing up and down the room in an agitated fashion.

"Sure, what's one more time out of a thousand," Angela rolled her eyes.

"Fred," Aubrey stood up but didn't walk forward, "You don't have to do it please."

"No, I want to help you," He was adamant but no less frustrated, "Just let me go through this one more time... you want me and George to plan a prank for Umbridge."

"Uh huh," Angela replied.

"And not just any prank, the best damn prank the world has ever seen. Tailored for her perfectly so that every detail is designed to set her off. Something that would probably go down in history as our lives' work."

"See? You are getting it!"

He held a finger up, "And then ... you want me just to ... not do it. To let Aubrey rat us out right before the payoff."

"Like I said, you're getting it," Angela pushed herself from the table, "If you think about it, it all makes sense. Not only will it show that Aubrey is a good student, dedicated against the force of troublemaking but it will also show that her loyalties lie with the school and not her boyfriend or in Umbridge's eyes, work over all else. She's more likely to want to talk to you if she thinks you're like her!"

Annoyingly this made sense to Fred but that didn't mean he was happy about it, "But ... the payoffs the best part."

"Nah, it's the planning!" George countered, "The long nights making it all perfect, the build up ... the payoff's great but it's nothing if you don't lose sleep beforehand."

Fred couldn't tell if this was serious or just an attempt to make him feel better. Either way, it failed but he was determined to help Aubrey so eventually agreed.

"Great," Angela continued as if the last fifteen minutes of objection hadn't occurred, "So Umbridge likes her job, cats and the colour pink. That's ... all really. Like I said before she's quite obsessive and dare I say it, boring."

"Evil? Yes. Boring? No," Fred shrugged.

"Well, we can debate adjectives all day but that doesn't change the fact that she likes those three things and it's important to get them in if you can," Angela replied, "Take as long as you need, in the meantime I can coach Aubrey on the sort of person she needs to be for Umbridge to help her ... perhaps over coffee! We can get some from the House Elves or something."

"Ang, I'm still a little worried," Aubrey admitted, "Do I have to mention Fred and George's name? I don't want Umbridge to punish them too harshly or anything, you said the detentions are scary. I know you said she gives them out sparsely but she doesn't seem like the type of woman who enjoys being personally insulted - this seems like the exact sort of thing she would give it out for."

Angela shrugged, "You need to show your loyalties, Aubs. Otherwise, she'll question how you knew and suspect you'd planned the prank yourself only to thwart it or something, this is far less obvious."

"I don't know," Aubrey squirmed, "Maybe I can just do lots of little things to make up for it..."

"Months have gone by with her hating you by the sounds of it, Aubs. You need something big to undo it or it would take too long," Angela replied.

"Aubrey, we're pretty good at talking our way out of detentions," George assured her, "Plus it might be nice to prank. We've been so focused on our business and ... other things, that we haven't had the time."

"I still don't like it, that's all I'm saying," Her eyes suddenly gleamed, "Wait, I've got it! Saskia or ... whoever she is, has some sort of magic effect over her, no? She did get rid of her last time, maybe she could shock Umbridge so much it addles her brain and means she goes easy on you. Maybe take her with you, I doubt she'd punish you with her around and maybe you could do a bit of snooping around as well. You don't have to but she could be of use to you..."