All was quiet save for the turning of pages and scratching of quills in the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione Granger was double checking a fact from her Charms text book when a voice called out to her.
"Hey Hermione…"
Hermione looked up from her notes to see Fred's grinning face looming over her.
"No."

"No what? You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Anything involving you is invariably going to also involve trouble and I'm trying to study for my OWLs. Nothing you suggest will possibly get me to help you out with whatever hare-brained scheme you have up your sleeve to prank someone."

"What if I told you my hare-brained scheme will seriously annoy Umbridge?"

"When can I start?"

"That's my girl."

"…so then George and I will hide the kippers in the lining of her armchair! What do you think?" Fred whispered. He and Hermione had moved out into the corridor near Sincorat the Sycophantic's statue to avoid the plot being over-heard by others.

"Well," Hermione considered, "the set-up's pretty good but you really want to put in all that work just to stick fish in her chair? Surely there's more you can do with the time in there."

"What sort of thing did you have in mind?"

"Well I don't know. You could turn everything in her office into a fish while you're at it or something."

"Do you really think I would be able to turn all her furniture into aquatic creatures in the space of five minutes?" Fred replied doubtfully.

"I think if it's you, you could do anything if you set your mind to it." Said Hermione matter-of-factly. Luckily for Fred, the corridor was dark, so Hermione couldn't see the blush that spread over his face as she said this.

"Wow Hermione, I never expected that coming from the brightest witch of her –mmfphble" Fred's words were cut off by Hermione's hand over his mouth. He looked down at her, confused, but soon realised why as she pointed wordlessly down the corridor. Lamplight was spilling around the corner from a lantern most likely carried by Argus Flich, the school caretaker. With barely a second's notice Fred grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into a nearby dark alcove. There wasn't much space in said alcove so it was impossible for them to both stay in there without awkwardly hugging each other and there was no time for them to find a new place to hide as Flich shuffled down their corridor. Hermione's breath was hot against Fred's face and he struggled to stay calm. She's Hermione he told himself, just Hermione. She's not a girl, she's just Hermione.

"Are you ok Fred?" Hermione murmured, looking concerned. Fred jerked his head and gave a twitch of a smile, despite the fact that this close proximity to Hermione Granger was making his whole body feel like it had been set on fire. He had never felt like this with Hermione before. Was it her willingness to help out? Was it her ingenious addition to the plan? Was it the compliment she gave him earlier? Was it just that she was really close right now? Really, really…really very close. How close was she going to get? Almost as if he had heard the thoughts running through Fred's mind, Filch suddenly stopped walking right beside their alcove. Hermione pressed even tighter towards Fred and the wall. Fred bit his lip to keep himself from groaning. He had faced Bludgers, Flich's monstrous cat and his mother in a rage. Nothing, absolutely nothing he had encountered could possibly compare to the torture of right what seemed like an hour, Filch finally shuffled down the full length of the corridor and out of sight. The pair of them breathed a sigh of relief and Hermione made to take a step back, but Fred grabbed her in again.

"Fred, what are you-"Hermione began but was unable to finish her question because Fred's lips were in the way of her mouth. Fred kissed her passionately for a long time; only breaking off for air after his lungs started to hurt as much as his heart had seconds ago. It was the best kiss he'd ever had. And it was with Hermione Granger.
He clapped a hand to his mouth at this sudden realisation. For the whole of the kiss he had felt like he was dreaming, floating on air, that everything was perfect. Now, as he was struck back to reality he couldn't believe what had happened. What the bloody hell did I just do? He peeked up at Hermione, hoping against hope it hadn't really happened but nope, there she was, panting and shocked; hair even more mussed up than usual; and clothes slightly crumpled. They looked each other in the eye for a long second until Fred looked away.

"So, well, I, um- If that's the whole plan then I guess I'll just be going back to-uh," Hermione said, backing out of the alcove and turning to leave again.

"Wait!" Fred cried out, grabbing her arm. Hermione spun round and yanked her arm out of his grip, wary of more forced kisses. Then she pulled out her wand and pointed it at his face, backing him up against the wall with sudden fury dancing in her eyes.

"What do you want from me Fred? Is this you playing a joke on me? Make fun of the weird smart girl and see how she reacts? Watch to see how far you can push her?" She pushed her wand even closer to his face. "Don't you dare mess with me again Fredrick Gideon Weasley or I will blast you into oblivion."

With this she turned and swept back down towards Gryffindor Tower, leaving Fred feeling mortified. He sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. He was such an idiot. What was he thinking kissing her like that? Of course she'd be angry; you don't even know how you feel about her right now. He groaned. How is he supposed to make up to her for this?