A/N Another offering. Still nothing new. The week flew by and I haven't had the time or the inclination. I am hoping I find my muse again. I KNOW what I want to happen I just don't know how to start writing again.
Chapter 15
They had started right away. One of the other spare bedrooms was given over for work space and George devoted himself to it fully. It was magnificent to see. After so long spent mourning Fred and absolutely certain that he'd never reopen their shop, now that he'd finally let himself try again he was as brilliant at it as ever.
Twenty years in the past and without any business contacts or help besides hers, they'd had to start from scratch. But he and his brother had already done that once before. He knew exactly what they needed to do.
Materials purchased, they started on the shield hats first. They were the easiest to produce quickly and in less than two weeks they'd put together one hundred. In that time he'd managed to source the instant darkness powder, and had redesigned the shield robes to fit the era.
Hermione had known they had sold the product before, but she had always assumed they charmed pre-made robes. Apparently, George had explained, the charms were more powerful if added as the robe was made. They wouldn't be competition for Madam Malkin, and of course easy to put together with magic, but there was a reason they'd started with the hats.
When Arthur brought the three older boys round for a visit one afternoon, they had been more than eager to help test the exciting hats.
"Do me next, Uncle Gid! Do me!"
Laughing at their excitement, Gideon cast a mild tickling jinx at Charlie, the shield hat a bit large and hanging down over his eyes. Just like every other time, the spell had bounced harmlessly away, leading to boyish cries of victory and giggles.
"I have to say George, these hats of yours are quite impressive. The magic must be quite elaborate, how did you come up with these?"
George shrugged off the compliment, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, after the attack on Diagon I was rather disappointed at how unprepared everyone was. Considering how often these kinds of things have been happening it was surprising there weren't even any aurors present. We wanted to do something to help."
"Still..." Arthur gestured to his exuberant boys still demanding to be hexed. "It seems so obvious now, but no one's ever done anything like this before."
Watching their exchange with a happy smile, Hermione bounced Percy on her lap and wished for a moment Arthur knew he was talking to his own son. He'd been so proud of the twins in the future, she knew he would be now too.
"Well... I've always been pretty good at Charms and Transfiguration especially, and Helen here helped improve the efficacy with some arithmantic layering to my charms. We tested it with an Imperio, and thanks to her additions it was no problem for someone even as weak minded as Gideon to toss off."
"Oi!" The aforementioned feeble mind whipped around with an irritated frown. "I resent that."
Everyone laughed then, Hermione more than a little pleased that she had been able to offer real help. It had already been a genius product, but after some trial they had been able to work out that important addition together.
She really enjoyed working with George. Even though she had always known how smart the twins had been, getting to see George's brilliant mind in action had been beautiful. More importantly, Hermione felt more confident than ever that he was going to be ok. It might have been the constant mission oriented work or maybe just spending so much time around family not burdened by the post war sorrow, but George seemed better every day.
"Still won't stop an Avada but... should do for most anything else."
Arthur smiled and patted George on the back. "Well... they're amazing. I know they're going to save lives. You should be very proud of yourself."
George smiled down at his feet as he thanked his father. "Hopefully... if they sell."
"About that..." Fabian snatched a hat from Bill's head and tickled his side on his way over to George. "I was thinking. How about a demonstration? Diagon's been cleaned up and put back to rights and I was there yesterday, people are starting to come out again. Fewer families but..." He shrugged and set the hat on his own head. "Enough people to spread the word. I know we were already planning on doing one for the auror department, but some regular people seeing them in action would be good too. Especially since that's really your target market."
As George mulled that idea over, Hermione was stopped from adding her two knuts by a pair of chubby hands on either side of her face. Percy's blue eyes were locked on hers as he asked in his babyish voice, "Me turn?"
Laughing, she grabbed one of the shield hats from the table and plopped it down onto his much too small head. "Maybe we ought to make child sizes, George."
He smirked and crouched beside her. "What do you think, Perce? This one a bit big?" His smaller brother screeched with glee as George grabbed him off Hermione's lap. "Alright Fabian, you heard the lad, his turn!"
Charlie and Bill danced around dodging tickling jinxes, cackling madly when they were hit with the mild spells. The honest joy on George's face as they played, family magic swirling around the kitchen so strongly even Hermione could feel it, not for the first time made her glad they had landed in the time that they did. It wasn't their ideal, but if they'd had to get it wrong they could've done a lot worse. George was able to enjoy his family again and they had the chance to end the war years early.
<GH>
"Ladies and Gentlemen!"
"Witches and Wizards!"
The lunch hour bustle of the busy Ministry atrium slowed as workers paused to see what the fuss was about. Gideon and Fabian stood on either side of the massive fountain, hands on their hips revealing their best jackets beneath the charmed robes.
George stood beside Hermione amongst the gathered auror department, arms crossed and mouth turned up in an amused grin. After some consideration, they had decided to move their public demonstration to the Ministry atrium. It felt in poor taste to advertise their product in Diagon Alley so soon after the attack. At lunch, there would be more than enough people around to get the word out.
"May we have your attention please. We, the handsome and dashing scions of the Ancient and Noble House of Prewett, Gideon..."
"And Fabian, are proud to announce our new line of defensive wearables!"
"Fed up with the incompetence of the Ministry to protect the magical people of the United Kingdom, we have decided to do something to help the people. This was meant to be a private demonstration for the Auror department but we wanted to give all of you good people the opportunity to protect yourselves and your families as well." Gideon pulled one of the shield hats from an inner robe pocket and placed it jauntily upon his head. "Through the use of complicated shielding charms and layered arithmancy, we've achieved something never done before on a mass scale."
"Witness our premier design in practice." Fabian drew his wand and with his free hand, gestured grandly at the hat on his brother's head. "Our patented shielding hat."
Without further flourish or description, Fabian cast a vicious blasting curse at his brother. Gideon didn't so much as flinch as the curse dissipated harmlessly. A few people in the crowd sounded impressed, shouts of alarm and disbelief were heard as Fabian threw several more obviously powerful and deadly curses at his brother, not a single one causing any harm.
"Alright, very impressive, but how do we know you haven't just cast a protego maxima non-verbally?" A man George recognized as a much younger, Unspeakable Saul Croaker stood beside the gathered aurors looking dubious. "Protective magic of this magnitude has rarely been successfully applied to inanimate objects. It would require an extreme complexity of charm work to be done once, nevermind on a scale like you are suggesting."
Smirking, Fabian held his hand out in George's direction. Reaching into the extended satchel that hung at his side, George pulled out another of the hats and tossed it to him. "Fair points both, Saul. Here," he tossed the hat to the Unspeakable, "have a look at the magic. Take a risk and try it for yourself if you like."
Glaring up at the two smiling men, Saul Croaker pulled out his wand and began examining the magic. People murmured to themselves as the Unspeakable went from doubtful to increasingly impressed. "Well... this is complicated indeed." He looked approvingly back to Fabian as he canceled his diagnostic spells and cautiously placed the hat on his head. "Alright... I'll bite boys. Nothing too bad now, I've got more work to do today."
With an overly pleased grin, Gideon aimed his wand at the other man, casting a slew of hexes and curses. Flinching as the first spell flew towards him, Croaker gradually relaxed as he realized the hat did indeed work as advertised. "Well? What do you say, Croaker?"
Turning the black leather hat over in his hands, he shook his head, impressed. "It's a brilliant bit of magic boys. Mind if I keep this one? For the department of course."
Gideon gave him a shrewd look. "Just the one, but remember, we've already had our patents approved. No funny business, eh Saul?"
Several nearby observers laughed as the Unspeakable waved him off. George held back a chuckle of his own as Barty Crouch Senior, head of the DMLE slowly approached the elevated fountain. "Alright boys, very nice, very nice. I see the value obviously. I don't imagine you've risked Azkaban by testing your product against the unforgivables?"
Sobering instantly, Fabian turned his attention to the older Wizard. "We would never recommend anyone rely on our products against the Avada Kedavra. For obvious reasons we chose not to test that particular spell. Honestly I'm not sure there's a spell or charm on earth that could truly protect against that. However, thanks largely to the complex arithmantic layers, we have managed to guard against something I know your department's been dealing with quite a lot." Addressing the whole crowd again, after a dramatic pause, he continued. "The Imperius curse."
Gasps and whispers of disbelief spread around the cavernous room as onlookers comprehended the implications. "Is that so?" Crouch looked more interested now as he spun on his heel and held out a hand to George. Given what he knew about the first war, it wasn't hard for George to imagine why. "Let me have one of those. Moody!"
The still two eyed grizzled auror stepped forward, drawing his wand on his boss.
"Go on then."
Without any of Fabian 's dramatics, Moody gave a shout of "Imperio!" Crouch frowned as though confused, before understanding lit his sly grin as Moody grew increasingly frustrated. "That's enough." Moody dropped his wand as Crouch turned back to the men currently watching him anxiously from the fountain. "Very smart boys, very smart. You've not blocked it completely, I could tell someone was messing about with my mind but it was wholly ineffective. You would be protected but not ignorant of your attacker. Constant vigilance, eh Moody?"
"Quite right, sir."
Fabian spoke to the room again. "There you have it. Special discounts to the first two hundred orders. Sorry Crouch, that doesn't include bulk Ministry orders, just normal citizens."
Tossing the hat he wore to someone in the crowd, Gideon held up a hand. "Children's sizes are also available. And," both brothers indicated the black robes they wore. "Robes will be as well, for special order. Same enchantments, more discreet than the hat."
"Limited stock available by mail-order this very evening. All inquiries addressed to Prewett and Prewett Enterprises."
With final bows, Fabian pulled out the instant darkness powder and tossed it to the floor just as both he and Gideon stepped down from the fountain. Shocked cries abounded as nearly impenetrable darkness surrounded them for several square meters. "Don't forget to ask after our imported Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Dead handy if you need a quick escape!" By the time the stuff had been siphoned away, all four of them had managed to slip out, stacks of flyers on the edge of the fountain and in the hands of Barty Crouch.
"Well boys..." Hermione smiled at the three of them once they were back on the street. "We better get home, I'm sure we'll have a long night."
<>
One long night turned into many busy days, the first batch of hats selling out by the end of the week. Now and then as he worked over the hats or packed orders, George would look up expecting to see Fred joking and working across the table. When he of course wouldn't be there, the familiar ache would open up in his chest and he'd wonder what he was doing.
Then Gideon would complain about the complexity of the spellwork or Fabian would make a joke at his expense and something of his old humor would return to him. Hermione might laugh and brush her hand against his, and the ache in his heart would ease. Not entirely, but enough that he could smile at her and mean it, and go on smiling as he worked.
He liked working with Hermione. She really was the brightest witch he'd ever met. If there hadn't been a war, and he and Fred still had their shop, George liked to think they would have been able to persuade her to work with them from time to time. Fred had been decent at arithmancy but nothing to her. Layering charms with arithmancy opened up so many possibilities.
Maybe he could have even convinced her to choose him too in that other, imagined life.
The last of the first two hundred special priced hats and enough Peruvian Darkness Powder to fill the Hogwarts Great Hall were sent out by the end of the third week. They'd had to purchase owls—usually the orders could be sent back with a customer's owl but not always—so Gideon had turned the attic into a roost where three new birds now slept between deliveries.
Nearing the end of the Hogwarts term, George and Hermione were getting anxious for their next meeting with Snape. They hadn't received any more coded messages but with the meeting already set, no news was good news. The diadem was collected, and their spy was still alive.
Nearly having been two months since they'd heard anything from him, neither he nor Hermione had given much thought to Dumbledore. Fabian had mentioned he'd asked after them once or twice, but beyond that they had actively put him from their minds. So it was a rather unpleasant surprise one afternoon as they were on their way out to meet Hermione's parents, when the headmaster stepped unexpectedly from the floo.
"Ah, Mr. Prewett, Miss Wilson. How lovely to see you again." He spelled the dust from his robes as he stepped from the fireplace and, most presumptuously, sat himself in one of the chairs. Jasper, having been napping beneath Dumbledore's chosen seat, ran out from beneath it, hissing at the intruder before dashing from the room. "In fact it was the pair of you I was hoping to speak with."
Holding in his frustration but not the amused grin at the cat's reaction—finally meeting someone he disliked—George answered for them. "Unfortunately Dumbledore, we were just on our way out. A lunch meeting. What was it you needed?"
Dumbledore rearranged his twinkling features to a mask of grave concern. "Do you really think it wise, leaving the house just for lunch? After the attack on Diagon three weeks ago, especially considering the two of you are personally responsible for the deaths of at least two Death Eaters, I would think you would want to stay here where it's safe."
No longer politely amused and choosing to ignore the insinuation that he still believed them cowards, George frowned at Dumbledore. "How do you know we're the ones that killed those Death Eaters? The alley was crowded, could have been anyone."
Spindle-like fingers drawing a lemon drop from an inner pocket, Dumbledore popped the treat into his mouth before responding. "Apparently, you were noticed. More than one witness to the attack mentioned people matching your descriptions as having been some of the few on offense." He picked idly at his robes and only sounded a little snide. "I'm not sure how much you've been paying attention to things but unfortunately the auror department isn't without its problems."
Shifting, he glanced down at Hermione. She was doing a magnificent job hiding any concern behind a condescending glare. "The entire ministry is riddled with Death Eater sized holes. That much is obvious to anyone with half a thought in their head. This Dark Lord is clearly trying to install his own people in the government at the same time as he sets his dogs on those who don't fall in line. I don't see why any of that should stop us going about our lives." She sniffed disdainfully. "As you've said, my George killed at least two Death Eaters. I would have killed a third myself if the coward hadn't aparated away. We are perfectly capable. If that was all, you're making us late."
Dumbledore's long nose twitched in irritation. "No. That was not in fact even the reason for my visit." He paused to loudly crunch the candy in his mouth. "I came to congratulate you on your remarkable shield hats. The spellwork is truly impressive."
Hiding his surprise, George scoffed. "Those aren't ours. Gideon and Fabian are behind all of that. We've simply been helping with production."
It was evidently Dumbledore's turn to look condescending. "Don't be ridiculous. Unlike yourselves, those two attended Hogwarts. And I've worked with them in the Order for the last eight years. Now while they are both extremely gifted duelers—especially when together—and Fabian is a fair hand at arithmancy, neither of them have the skill to have come up with this. Besides, I'm familiar with their magical signatures. The complicated spells on the hats are definitely not theirs."
Hands on her hips, Hermione sighed in irritation. "Congratulations, you've caught us. We're the geniuses behind Prewett Personal Protectives. Gideon and Fabian are well known in British wizarding society, they were more than willing to lend their name for our products. I'm not sure why that warranted a visit."
"You see..." He stood and took a few steps closer to Hermione who stiffened imperceptibly. "I'm here because I wanted to ask you again to join the Order. You're obviously planning on staying longer than you first led me to believe and you're involving yourselves in the fight. The pair of you were more than a little dishonest when we first met, I think." He peered imploringly down his nose at her. "Join the Order, we need people with your skill. The people of wizarding Britain need more people like you fighting for them."
"Take an oath to you, you mean?" George moved closer to Hermione, reinforcing his occlumency shields as he stared down the powerful wizard in front of them. "We've already made ourselves clear. We want no part of the Order. I've seen how my... my cousins run around doing your bidding. You give an order and they and all the rest of your soldiers run off without question. Here's a question: why didn't you have anyone stationed in Diagon? After eight years of open warfare, one would think that the only major magical shopping district in London would be an obvious target. Sorry, we don't want to be at your beck and call."
Ignoring the obvious anger behind the half-moon glasses, George took Hermione's hand and turned away with the intention of leaving the headmaster to find his own way out. "Come on, Helen. We're going to be late."
With a final glare over her shoulder, Hermione followed him out.
Neither of them saw the simmering fury they'd left in the sitting room. Neither of them knew anything about Dumbledore and why he was so desperate to have some means of control over them. Neither of them knew about the prophecy. If they had, perhaps they would have taken the old wizard more seriously.
<GH>
Landing in an alley near the restaurant, Hermione raked her hands through her hair and took careful, even breaths. Damn that insufferable man. She was surprised more people didn't see through his condescending, grandfatherly shite.
Jaw tense and brows drawn in a deep frown, George leaned his back against the alley wall. "I wish I knew why he was so intent on recruiting us." Sighing, he dug a thumb along the side of his neck. "I know he has a thing for control but... surely we're not the only people to have told him no thanks."
Stepping closer, Hermione chewed at her bottom lip and shook her head. "Surely not. And I was in such a good mood this morning, the bastard."
George tugged at one of her curls and chuckled softly. "He is that. Even your cat could see that. I can't lie, his interest is concerning but... let's not let him ruin a nice day, yeah?"
A small smile made it past her irritation that widened when she glanced up and saw his own. "All right. I suppose we shouldn't keep my parents waiting any longer, they are spending their day off with us." She took his offered hand. "You know, Crooks knew right away to trust Sirius and tried to kill that rat. Kneazle-cats are smart about people."
George laughed at the memory as they stepped from the alley and strode up the street.
Hermione had met her mother for lunch at least once a week over the last two months and they had become quite close. It was strange for her at first, seeing her mother in such a different way. But getting to know her as a friend had been both a balm to the pain of losing her parents and a welcome distraction from the strife again threatening in the magical world.
After the third lunch, both she and George had been invited round to theirs for a barbecue in their small garden. An event that had since been repeated twice and the perfect occasion to set up protective wards. Considering George had so little knowledge of the muggle world, he managed and got on well with her parents.
Sometimes she wondered if it would have been the same had they not traveled in time, had she not altered their memories. Would she have still fallen for George and if so, would her parents still have liked him so well? That life would never be theirs, so it wasn't really worth dwelling on but... she liked to think the answers to both questions was yes.
For now, their definitely more than just close friendship, a pretend engagement and their strange relationship with her parents would have to do.