A/N: First of all; I am so, so sorry for the long wait. I truly am. I had exams to revise for and finish, at they're big exams, so I couldn't bring myself to procrastinate from revising. Since summer started I've been swamped with getting ready for university too, so while I didn't have time to update, I did write out the plot for this story so I can now regularly update. This chapter gets more into the plot, and I hope you like it- I put effort into involving more characters (and I couldn't resist mentioning my other fandoms too- ehehehe). If you liked it, please leave a review- every comment and criticism is important to me. Thanks for waiting, guys! - Lily.

-o0o-

The first Gryffindor match had been a success, aside from Harry nearly being knocked off his broom. Compared to the injuries the other players received, Harry's had seemed the least painful. But, true to her word, Angelina Johnson jinxed Oliver's bottom into a quaffle shape. McGonagal was in such high spirits she very cheerfully transfigured it back to normal, and nearly danced away.

"What in the name of Gryffindor is wrong with Minnie?" asked Katie, having just witnessed McGonagal patting Filch's head as she skipped past him. "She seems…er, delighted about something."

"I don't know about you, but it may have been the fact that we haven't had a win like that in years?" said Fred, scratching his head in mock confusion.

"Or maybe because someone set fire to Snape?" added George, also looking confused and scratching Fred's head.

"Possibly both? Perhaps Dumbledore proposed to her or something." Suggested Katie, to which the twins both cackled.

"I doubt it, Katie. I don't think that's something our dear old Dumblebum would do." Fred waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh? And how would you two know?"

"We have our sources." George tapped his pocket as surreptitiously as possible, because Filch came ambling past, walking stiffly with one leg and did not quite meet the eyes of the students. Which was a surprise.

"Why is he walking like that?"

"Why is he holding Mrs Norris over his… Oh, good Godric."

"Does he have a…?"

They all stared in horror after Filch, who was indeed hobbling at an alarmingly fast speed with a cat covering his-

"Filch has a boner." Mumbled a voice behind them all. They all jumped and spun round to see who it was.

Oliver was standing there, looking aghast at the idea of Filch not being asexual.

"Nice observation, Woody boy." Said Katie, trying hard not to laugh at Oliver. Fred and George still looked confused and horrified.

"Yeah, nice deduction. However did you work that one out?" teased Fred.

"Ah, it was elementary my dear Watson-er, Wood." Replied George, pretending to take a puff out of an imaginary pipe. He started coughing at the fake smoke and suddenly real smoke began issuing out of his ears.

"Fred! Stop!" he ordered, but Fred wasn't sure what was happening; he began flailing around trying to prevent the smoke leaving his twin's ears. He put his hands over George's ears and instead the smoke began coming out of nose. Oliver and Katie looked around them for the source of the problem, and, on seeing two Slytherin students sniggering nearby, charged over to them. Oliver and Katie drew out their wands and the Slytherins scattered while the smoke continued to steam out of George's ears and nose.

"What's wrong with him?!" asked a frantic Fred, while George shook his head and sent smoke clouds into all their faces.

"Hospital wing, now."

-o0o-

Madam Pomfrey wasn't the least bit amused; the smoke billowing from George's ears and nose were driving her crazy, and as he couldn't talk, she couldn't ask him how he'd done it.

"Please, let me stay with him-" begged Fred, who was torn between wanting to stay and laugh at George and wanting to leave and get revenge on those Slytherins.

"No, get yourself to class, Mr Weasley. Rest assured your brother isn't doomed, it's only a minor charm."

"A charm? Are you sure it's not a jinx?" Fred looked at George's smoke shrouded face, "aren't charms supposed to be useful?"

"That's the point of them, yes," said madam Pomfrey with an air of extreme patience, "This is a particularly good charm for actors, as it makes your performance more believable."

"…Wharf?" George mumbled while holding a mouthful of smoke.

"It's a charm, that actors use. Its so they won't need to use their wands during a performance. They think of the prop they need and the charm conjures it."

Madam Pomfrey looked confused now, and looked between the twins.

"Why on earth would you two need this charm? Why would you want to conjure smoke from your face?" she asked them, almost expecting them to announce that they wanted to be in a play.

The twins exchanged a surprised glance. What on earth could the Slytherins be doing now?

"Off you go Mr Weasley, your brother will join you shortly." And with that, she shooed Fred away.

As he walked, Fred thought over what could have happened. Sure, the Slytherins didn't like them very much, and they spent hours pranking each other mercilessly…but the Slytherins weren't such amateurs when it came to pranks. A dark thought passed his mind; this was the start of something bigger. Much bigger, but what?

Ever since Angelina had told them about muggle detectives from her muggle books, they'd been dying to try and solve a mystery. It had sounded childish even to them, but they couldn't resist. It was almost as though someone was granting their silly little wish.

"So?" piped a worried voice. It was Alicia.

"He's fine. Apparently he got hit with an acting charm, or so says Madam Pomfrey." Fred scratched his head, "But its very unlike those little snakes, isn't it? They were older than us, too, so you'd think their pranks would be a bit more…interesting?"

"An acting charm?" pondered Alicia, "Hmn, is that why smoke started blasting out of his ears? Because he was pretending to be Sherflop Holmes?"

"Sherlock Holmes," sighed Fred, "and yes…I think so."

"This makes no sense," Alicia gasped suddenly, "what if they weren't aiming for George?"

"Oliver. Oliver was standing there, too."

-o0o-

Break time brought with it the revelation that such a thing as acting charms existed. And, within no time, a charms book had been snuck out of the library to better understand it. Oliver, the twins, Lee, Angelina and Alicia were gathered at one end of the Gryffindor table, poring over the thick volume that young Katie had brought them.

"This is N.E.W.T. level work." Commented Oliver, who had by now been told that the Slytherins may have been aiming for him. "They'd have to ask a teacher for the charm, it's not even written in the book."

"What teacher could possibly want to let a bunch of pupils wander off with an acting charm?"

They all pondered this for a moment, each one running through a list of Hogwarts' teachers in their heads.

"McGonagal?" suggested Katie.

"No," scoffed the group, "Not unless she could watch what it was being used for!"

"Snape?" pondered Angelina.

"Probably, since his darling Slytherins asked."

"No, the other teachers would be too suspicious…"

"What about…" Lee scanned the teacher's table. "Quirrell?"
The group looked up to twitchy, mumbly Quirrell and how the Ravenclaws were doing their Defence Against the Dark Arts homework in his view; they weren't scared of them, but he didn't dare mess with them.
The group reached a silent, simultaneous conclusion; The Slytherins had learned this charm from Quirrell, and had intended to use it to hurt Oliver.
But exactly why they chose and acting charm, and exactly why they had to resort to bullying a teacher to learn it- that's what they would have to find out.