"Snape..." George said. "He's the kind of person who hates it when students try to act clever, which is why your plan failed."
He held out a finger and waved it in front of Seamus Finnigan and the others. "The more you try to get Snape's attention, the less he can be bothered with whatever you're doing."
"He'll still bother with you, actually..." Fred made a swatting motion, his palm smacking through the air with a slap. "Like swatting flies—he'll swat you away by taking points."
"Anyway, you'll keep trying..." He withdrew his hand and shrugged. "Maybe he's doing this on purpose, stringing you along so he can dock points from you again and again."
Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and the others exchanged looks and collectively sucked in a breath. "That's way too cruel!"
Fred let out a strange cry and dramatically covered his ears. "Oh! Stop telling us things everyone already knows!"
"So..." George concluded, "instead of hoping Snape will cooperate with you, why not create an accident for yourselves? An accident he can't ignore, one that forces him to cooperate."
Seamus Finnigan seemed to understand something, and his breathing began to quicken. "You mean...?"
"What we mean is..." Fred and George exchanged a glance before speaking in unison, "you need to create an accident, then make a big deal out of it."
Fred leaned forward and raised a finger. "Think about it. What could you do that would make Snape lose his patience as quickly as possible?"
George leaned in from the other side, raising a finger as well. "What could you do that would make him immediately drag you out of the crowd and use you as a negative example?"
Seamus Finnigan and the others furrowed their brows, thinking hard.
"Or think about yourself..." Fred pointed at