This story is written for Ned (isaacswolfsbane) for the Monthly Fic Exchange (prompts: FredHermione, melt, Romance)
A Scoop of Ice-Cream
Fred wiped his brow and stood straighter to stretch his back. "Taking my break now!" he shouted to his brother who was somewhere out the back.
The pair had spent the morning moving and unpacking boxes for their shop by hand, not trusting their wand to carry such fragile belongings around. If Fred was being honest, he never wanted to have to experience that again.
"Alright!" came a shouted reply.
Wiping his sweaty hands on his robes, Fred left Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and headed into a deserted Diagon Alley.
Every day a new shop shut down, or the owner vanished. Scarcely anyone dared venture out here anymore, and even his mother had stopped coming to check on their safety. A year ago, they'd been bustling with business, but today they'd had less than ten customers. Neither of them had mentioned it, but if this kept up, they'd be forced to shut down. Rent was disgusting in this area of London and they were no longer making the Galleons to pay it back.
They weren't the only ones, though. At least they had their lives to be thankful for.
He was heading for the Leaky Cauldron for a light meal when something - or someone - caught his attention inside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. He only spotted the back of her, but the bushy brown mess of hair was unmistakable even from a distance.
Shrugging, he diverted his course and pushed open the door of the empty ishop.
At the ring of the bell, both the owner and Hermione Granger jumped. He saw Hermione's hand dip into her robe pocket for her wand, only to remove it upon seeing his face.
"Fred!" Hermione cried, relief flooding her voice. "You startled… I thought…" She shook her head.
Fred grinned. "Just me. What are you doing here?"
At this, Hermione's face fell. She was upset about something and Fred resisted the urge to reach out and wipe away the few stray tears that rolled down her cheeks.
"Are you okay?"
Hermione nodded, wiping away her own tears. Then she shook her head. "I Obliviated my parents' memories yesterday."
"You what?" Fred wasn't sure what else to say. Had it been an accident? It didn't seem like Hermione would make that kind of mistake… she was a better witch than that.
She nodded again. "I thought it best. If He comes looking, they can't be hurt."
"Oh." So she'd done it on purpose to protect her parents. He couldn't imagine what that would feel like for her.
Thinking, he dug into his pocket and extracted two Galleons. "Ice-cream?"
She stared up at him, her eyes red and swollen from her tears. "You don't have to -"
"But I want to." He smiled at her. "What flavour?"
"Oh, um…" She scanned the daily options, making it clear she'd not been in here to purchase before. "Vanilla will be fine, thanks."
Fred nodded. "Alright. One chocolate and one vanilla," he said to Florean Fortescue.
The old man nodded and busied himself with serving them. Like the joke shop, Fred doubted poor old Fortescue received much business these days.
"I mean no disrespect, Hermione, but it's hardly safe here anymore."
Hermione nodded. "I know… it's just… I needed to get away."
"Why don't you come to Mum and Dad's? You're always welcome there."
Hermione nodded again. "I didn't want to bother them…"
"Why would you?"
Hermione said nothing. Her eyes watched Fortescue, but Fred suspected she wasn't really seeing. He placed an arm across her shoulders.
"There, there, Hermione. We're all struggling right now."
She wiped away fresh tears and smiled. "Our ice-cream's ready."
Fred took the two cones from Mr Fortescue and passed the vanilla one to her. "How about we sit over there?" He indicated a small table in the corner of the shop and headed for it before she could respond.
"Er, so, where are your parents now?" Fred asked.
"On their way to Australia as we speak."
Fred stared at her.
"It's the safest place for them. He won't bother tracking them all the way there when his fight is here."
Fred nodded, understanding.
"Well, I'm serious when I say go to Mum and Dad. You'll be safest there." He reached out and gave her hand a squeeze.
"Thank you, Fred. And I will. I just… needed some time."
"I understand. It must be hard for you, having parents who are defenseless against someone like You Know Who. You'd feel so helpless."
The ice-creams went untouched as they sat at the table in contemplation. It wasn't until his began to melt and drip onto the table did Fred look up at Hermione. Then he glanced down at his wrist watch. "I've got to get back to the shop now. If you'd like to come…"
"That would be lovely."
Fred hadn't expected her to accept the offer, but was pleased she had. She looked as if she needed some company right now.
As they stood to leave, Hermione reached out her own hand to take his. "Thank you, Fred."
"For what?"
"For being here when I really did need someone."
Fred shrugged. "Eh, it was nothing."
"No, it was everything." She drew herself closer to him and before he realised, she leaned up and pecked his lips.
Fred's first instinct was to back away, for he'd not come here expecting this. But the feel of her lips were soft and the taste sweet.
He kissed her back, a little more forceful than she'd initiated, but before they knew it, they were locked in an embrace in the middle of the ice-cream parlour. When they broke away, her face was red.
She smiled sheepishly. "That was… unexpected."
"Yeah, well, I like surprises." Fred grinned.
"I was just -"
"Don't explain yourself, Hermione," Fred pleaded. "I'd like to think you meant that."
She watched him for a moment, as if trying to work out what to say next. But she seemed to resort to only smiling.
Fred nodded. "Now, I believe we were heading back to the shop?"
"Yes…"
"Oh, and Hermione?" He opened the door. "Whatever you do, please don't give George any reason to suspect that we, er, well…"
"I understand," Hermione said. "It's not the right time."
Fred smiled. Although he'd not intended for that to happen, he found himself rather pleased that it had. He'd not realised it until now, but perhaps his heart had always lied somewhere with her. All they needed was a scoop of ice-cream and a life-and-death situation for him to realise that.
I hope you liked this Ned! I only used the word once, but it also inspired the setting of this fic. I'm honestly a bit rusty at writing in general, but I'm rather happy with how this turned out. I hope you enjoy it!