Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling…well things would be different. And Fred would be mine.
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"What you got there?" he asked looking over her shoulder. She quickly shut the book in her hands. The cover didn't tell him what it was, the paper slip had been removed and the hardcover was blank.
"None of you bloody business." She scolded him gently.
"Tsk, tsk. Such language, and from such a lovely young lady. So tell me what are you reading now?" She clutched the book to her chest. She didn't want him finding out; he'd make fun of her. "Such a nice day out, why keep your nose in a book?"
"May I remind you that I am only two years younger than you, unlike that chit you're dating. Don't call me young lady." There was an unusual tone in her voice which he ignored. "And I'll do whatever I please with my time."
"That chit, as you so lovely put it, has a name you know, Corentine. I'd also appreciate it if you stopped calling her a chit every time you talk about her, she's a great girl."
"Are you two at it again?" the man's brother called down at them from his position above on his broom. "You best stop, Corentine's on her way back here, she just arrived and you know how she hates you two talking."
The man looked up at the other man, he pointed to the corner of the house and sure enough a girl walked into sight. She was more the type you would expect to find on the runway, not walking into this backyard, but this was the type you would usually find with the man. She was quite tall for her age. At 15, she stood at 5'8", much taller than her classmates. She was thin, so thin some thought her anorexic or bulimic, but she wasn't. Her chocolate brown skin glistened as the afternoon sun beat down. Her long black hair was sleeked back into a pristine ponytail. She looked as perfect as always. He got up as the girl came over. He went to give her a hug, but she stopped him
"George!" she said shocked. "Now where's your brother off too" she asked quickly, wanting to see where her boyfriend was. The girl on the ground spoke up first.
"You're talking to Fred you know, your boyfriend."
"I wasn't talking to you." Corentine told her rudely. Turning to Fred she put on her puppy dog eyes, "I'm sorry love, forgive me?"
"Core, don't talk so rudely to my friends." Fred scolded her. He felt like he was babysitting half the time he was with her, but he put up with it.
"Don't call me Core, you know I hate it. It's really hot out, why don't we go inside? You're getting a sun burn." She told him, running her fingers over the apples of his cheeks and his nose.
"It's not that hot out, it's a beautiful day. I wanna stay out here and the burn isn't that bad. Nothing Hermione can't fix, right?" he said smiling down on her. She looked up
"Of course I can, didn't get to 7th year at Hogwarts for nothing you know. Besides, weren't you about to play a game of two-on-two with George, Harry and Ron? She said. She loved to get Corentine mad.
"Yes I was, Hermione. Thanks for reminding me. Now Corentine, I'm actually quite busy right now. That's what you get for just stopping by. I'll have to see you later, you can either sit down with Hermione while I play, or you can leave." Fred said. He really didn't care whether or not she stayed. In fact he preferred that she go, then he wouldn't feel like he was babysitting.
"Love, if I leave, I'm not coming back. If I leave, we're through. And I'm not sitting here with the Mudblood so you can play some game with Golden Boy here." Corentine snapped.
"Listen here…" Ron started from not far off; he had landed when he heard the commotion.
"Ron, I'll take care of this." Fred told him. He grabbed Corentine's arm. "What do you think you're doing? Talking to my friends like that? Saying those words? You know what? You don't have to make the choice anymore. We are through."
"But…" she started to protest.
"No. I can't go out with someone who thinks that it is appropriate to call anyone those names, let alone my friends. You have no respect for the people in my life." Fred said calmly. He was never calm about anything; he was one of the prankster princes. He was quite mad indeed. Corentine glared at him when he threw her arm. She walked away when everyone came over to them.
"Umm, mates, I don't exactly feel like playing Qudditch anymore." Harry told them quietly. The others just nodded as he walked away. They knew, when he got like that, he just needed to be alone. They all looked at Hermione, who hid her face in her book.
"Hermione, I'm really sorry about that. She had no right…" Fred started. Ron and George left them alone as they realized what was happening. Ron was never good with crying girls and George just felt like he should leave them alone. Brave, strong Hermione was crying. Where's Ginny when you need her, Fred thought. He sat down beside her. He softly said, "She had no right to call you that."
"It's…not…like I…haven't…been…called…that…before…" she choked out between sobs. Not usually in this situation, not knowing what to do, he pulled her against him into a hug. She leaned into him, not knowing why she did, crying into his chest. Fred usually gave the girls off to George when they started crying. They never noticed the difference, and that way he didn't have to deal with them. He started slowly rubbing circles on her back, what his mother use to do to him when he cried, with one hand. He caught a whiff of a distinctive scent from her; he couldn't make it out though. With his free hand, he picked up the book she had carelessly tossed aside while talking to him. He opened it up to the first page, not knowing what it was. Pride and Prejudice, it read, By Jane Austen. Hmm, must be some muggle author, he thought. He started reading it, having no notion about what it was about. At some point, Hermione must have fallen asleep. Her breathing steadied, and Fred stopped rubbing her back. He got caught up in the book and before he knew it, his mother was calling them in for supper. He set the book down, being about halfway done. He carefully tried to shake her awake. Instead of opening her eyes she burrowed into his shoulder and groaned. She didn't seem to want to wake up. His mother must have gotten impatient since she came outside to get them.
"Fredrick Lochlann Weasley, I thought I told you…" she started yelling, but she spotted them on the ground. "Oh…Fred, be a dear, take the poor girl up to her room. She needs rest. You understand, don't you?" Fred nodded as he picked her up. He had overheard a conversation between Hermione and his mother a few days before. His mother knew, but Hermione didn't. He gently scooped Hermione up into his arms with ease and carried her up the stairs to his sister's room. He carefully placed her down on the extra bed, but she wouldn't let him back up. Sometime on the way up she had wrapped her arms around his neck, and now he couldn't get them off. She tried to pull him down unconsciously. He reached behind his head and pried her fingers apart. As he reached the door, he took one last look at her. She lay there peacefully, as if she had not a care in the world. He closed the door quietly and quickly went down the stairs.
He took his usual seat at the dinner table quietly. Everyone was quiet. The whole family was not there for supper that day, Ginny was in school, and Bill and Charlie were off at their homes. Arthur was off at work, since his promotion to Minister he had been working strange hours. It was only Molly, Ron, Harry, and the twins. Supper was calm that day; everyone was still shocked at what Corentine had said. Whenever the twins made it home for supper, everything was chaotic, this was a first. Harry was the first to get up from the table.
"I think I might go check on Hermione." He said to them. He pushed his chair back and got up. He quickly left the room. Molly stayed in the kitchen to clean up, but the twins and Ron went into the living room. Harry came back down and joined them not long after.
"How is she?" was the first thing out of Ron's mouth. Harry sat down beside him on the couch.
"She woke up, but she won't talk. All she's doing is crying; she never does this. Malfoy's called her that a million times and she's never acted like this"
"Maybe I should go talk to her" Ron said. Harry shook his head.
"She won't talk. There's no use."
"I'll go up. She may not talk, but I need to give her back her book." Fred told them as he patted his pocket; he had placed the book there before taking Hermione inside. No one else knows about what happened, he thought.
"Why would she talk to you Fred? Though you've got her book, so I guess she might take that from you. Do you know something we don't?" Ron asked
"No, don't think I do." he said on his way upstairs. He quickly made his way to Ginny's room; the door was shut so he knocked.
"Go away Harry, I told you to leave me alone!" Hermione sobbed. "Just go!"
"Ummm Hermione, its Fred" he called to her. "I've got you're book." He heard shuffling around and the door opened. Hermione stood there, face blotchy and red, eyes bloodshot, and body trembling. She looked as if she was about to collapse. Fred took one step forward, enveloping her in his arms. She sagged against him as he led her to the bed, closing the door behind him. He set the book down on the bedside table as they sat down. "Hermione I understand what you're going through. I get why you're so upset about earlier."
"No you don't." she whispered. "No one does."
"I overheard you and Mum talking. I know what happened. I didn't mean to overhear, but I did. If you need to talk to anyone, I'm here. You should get it out. I may not seem like a good listener, but I am, or so I've been told. I'm also the only one who knows." He told her. She just nodded. "Why don't you come downstairs? Everyone is really worried about you."
Hermione got up and looked in the mirror. I look like crap, she thought. She wiped her eyes and turned to Fred. "Do I have to?" she asked, expecting the answer to be yes.
"No you don't." he said. "We're all your friends though Hermione, You might want to go down to let them know you'll be ok."
"You've matured." She stated after a minute of staring at him. Fred winked.
"Don't tell anyone," he joked, "wouldn't want to ruin the reputation."
"Course not." She laughed quietly.
"You ready to go downstairs?" he asked as he got up. Hermione walked over to him and, to his surprise, gave him a hug. Once he recovered from the shock, he hugged her back. It felt right to be holding her like he was, something he hadn't noticed earlier. He let her lead the way downstairs. Everyone stared at them as they reached the living room. Hermione didn't notice them stare at her as she sat in the overstuffed chair. She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them in the process. Fred sat down on the loveseat with his twin.
"Hey Herm, what's the matter?" Ron asked rather uncouthly. Hermione didn't even look up. Molly walked in with a tray of pastries and such.
"Anyone want some dessert? I forgot I made these." She said. She saw Hermione sitting there, and noticed that everyone was quiet. She placed them on the table. "I'll just leave these here in case you want some."
Thanks Mum." George said. He and Fred shared a quick look as she left, no one else saw. Ron, as hungry as usual, reached over and picked up a piece of fudge. He quickly popped it in his mouth and chewed.
"Fred, I think we should get back to the shop. I don't think I trust that kid we hired." George said. Fred glanced at Hermione, a glance noticed by George. They both knew the second they left Harry and Ron would pounce.
"I trust him. The only reason we left him alone was that we could trust him. Or at least I thought we trusted him. Go if you must, I think I'll stay a bit longer." Fred said to him.
"Alright I'll…" George started.
"See you…" Fred continued.
"Later." George finished. He gave Hermione a hug, everyone noticed as she flinched. He went off to find his mum who had disappeared. Suddenly Ron slowly started sprouting claws, shrinking and turning white. Hermione watched carefully, eyes wide with shock. Fred couldn't help it, he broke out laughing. A white ferret bounced around the room. It ran out of the living room. Harry, laughing, ran after Ron the ferret. Fred, still laughing, looked at Hermione. She was still curled up, not even fighting him about what he had done. He stopped laughing immediately.
"Are you ok? Do you want me to go get my mum?" Hermione shook her head. "Alright, I should have guessed turning Ron into a ferret wouldn't cheer you up. Mum won't be happy. Hmm, usually I'd suggest Quidditch, but you don't like that…What do you like to do Miss. Granger? Besides read that is." Hermione stayed in her position, not moving. Fred hated to see such a normally strong girl defeated.
"Fred I'm not up for going anywhere." Hermione spoke. They heard Mrs. Weasley on her way into the room.
"Fredrick Lochlann Weasley, what did I tell you about using those pranks in this house" she started "…are you bothering Hermione?"
"No Mum. I want to take her out, to get her mind off things. I'm just trying to get her to come." He told her. His mum obviously cared about Hermione a great deal, since she was willing to overlook the fact that he had turned his brother into a ferret.
"Oh what a wonderful idea, don't keep her out past one Fred."
"Fred, I don't feel like going out." Hermione told him again.
"Hermione darling, it'll be good for you to get out. In fact I don't think you're welcome in this house till one am." Mrs. Weasley said jokingly. She noticed the way her son acted around this girl and wanted to see her get better, not only for her sake, but for his.
"Go on Hermione, get ready…I'll wait here for you."
"What if I told you I wasn't feeling good?"
"I'd take you somewhere quieter, why? Aren't you feeling well?" he asked concernedly.
"I'm feeling ok, better than before. Alright I'll go out, but only because I have no where to be now that you got me kicked out until one." She said seriously. She walked slowly up the stairs to the room she was staying in, Ginny's. She went to her trunk and got out her beige pleated skirt, it was made of thin cotton material which hit right above her knees. Next she reached in again and pulled out a bright red, silky tank top. It slid onto her body and skimmed her curves. She went to the closet and picked up a pair of beige ballet flats. Standing on one leg she slipped one on, then switched and the other was placed on her other foot. She grabbed her bottle of Sleekeaze and quickly straightened her hair. Hermione needed no make up, but applied a slight amount of lip gloss. Looking in the mirror, she noticed her eyes were still a little red, she didn't care. She quickly walked back downstairs not half an hour after going up.
Fred was quietly waiting on the couch. When he heard footsteps, he turned to the stairs. The girl at the bottom looked much more put together than Hermione had when she went up. He noticed what any straight man would; her tank top hugged her appreciatively and her skirt reached above her knees, not too short, but her legs went on for miles.
"Can we go? I'd like to get this over with as quickly as possible." She said. A big smile broke out on Fred's face.
"Let's go." He said. Fred wrapped his arm around her waist. She pushed away from him. He calmly told her, "Hermione I've got to apparate us where we're going, you've got to hold on tight or you'll get splinched."
She closed her eyes tightly and let Fred place his arm around her waist again. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms around his neck. She heard the tell-tale 'pop' and felt like the ground was being pulled out form under her feet. She felt a rush and suddenly there was ground under her again, she stumbled as she almost fell. The only thing keeping her up was Fred's tight hold. She opened her eyes when Fred let go. She recognized this place. Hermione noticed that Fred had started walking away and was waiting for her to catch up. Her eyes caught a hold of a bright flashy sign she had seen many times before. She ran to catch up with Fred as he started bypassing the line at Unity. She grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Fred I can't go in there. I'm very sorry if I ruined whatever you planned for tonight, but I just can't. You understand don't you?" she asked. He looked down at her for a second and then realized what she meant.
"Hermione, it'll be ok. Come on, I'm here, no one will try anything if that's what you're worried about." He said. She nodded. He grabbed her hand and led her pass the line and to the door.
"Hey mate," the bouncer said, "where's ol'Georgie boy?"
"Not here tonight, Jake. I brought a friend who needs some cheering up. Think you can let us in?" he asked, motioning to Hermione. Jake looked over at her and was greeted with a tiny smile. He swept her into a huge bear hug, leaving Fred with a confused look.
"What's the matter love? Why in the world are you here with this git?" Jake asked her. Before she has a chance to open her mouth, Fred jumped in.
"Hey! Don't call me a git. I'm a troublemaker." He told them, plastering a smile on his face. "Wait, you two know each other?"
"Lovely Mione here has been coming for quite some time, told me she wouldn't be back till next summer though." Jake told him. They could hear the line grumbling behind them. "Alright guys go in, I'll see you later." He lifted up the rope and under they went. Hermione quickly lead Fred to a table near the back. A waitress neither recognized came and took their order, flirting with Fred the whole time. She came back quickly with their order: a Heineken for him and a screwdriver for her, but was sadly disappointed as Fred was in the bathroom. Hermione told the girl to put it on her tab and was treated with a vicious look. The waitress went away just as Fred returned. He sat back down beside her and took a sip of his drink.
"So, how do you know about this place? I mean its muggle." Hermione said.
"Lee showed it to us. He found it when he was here with his cousin once." He told her. He was going to continue, but saw that her attention was elsewhere. He followed her gaze to the opposite corner. There stood a couple. He didn't know why she was staring at them like she was; the man was tall, blond, and handsome, nothing too out of the ordinary. The girl he was with would make any man drool. She was the ditzy blond type; bleach blond hair, very leggy, and model thin. "Hermione…Hermione…"
At first she didn't say anything, just downed the rest of her drink. She stood up. "I'll be right back."
"You ok?" he asked, worried she might try and leave. She nodded.
"I just have to go the bathroom, I'll be right back." She told him. Hermione walked off, Fred's eyes followed her until she was safely in. He took a swig of his beer. As he looked back up, he saw the man Hermione had been staring at go through the door Hermione had just entered. Fred got up and followed, he told her no one would try anything and he had to make sure that happened. He tried to push the door to the women's bathroom open, but it wouldn't budge. He took out his wand, not caring if anyone saw. He had to help Hermione.
"Alohomora" he whispered. The door flew open and he went in. He didn't see anyone. He heard a noise from one of the stalls. He quietly went over and opened the door. There was Hermione and that man. He had her hands tied behind her, but it wasn't rope, it was a blue light. This man had to be a wizard. "Petrificus Totalus," he whispered. The man fell like a rock. Fred went over to Hermione. She was shaking and crying. Fred pulled her into his arms, she didn't push away. "It's ok Hermione. I'll get you out of here, ok?" She just nodded. He quickly muttered the reverse spell for the ropes. "Ok, I need you to hold my neck tight, so I can apparate us out of here." He picked Hermione up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She squeezed so hard Fred thought it might be hard for him to breath, but didn't say anything. Hermione felt that pull again, just the same as before. They landed in a side alley somewhere in Hogsmeade. Hermione wouldn't let go of Fred. "I need you to let go Hermione, I've got to open the door." As usual Hermione did as told. Fred set her down gently and quickly drew a door on the wall, a hole appeared and Hermione ran in. She came to a set of stairs and ran up them. At the top was a dead end, or so it seemed. Fred ran after her. He stuck his wand in a small hole, and the door opened up. He led Hermione in and brought her to the living room. She curled up on the couch. Fred went in to the kitchen and started making tea. "Mum won't let you in the house for a few more hours. Do you wanna talk about what just happened?"
"Not really." She mumbled. She seemed so dejected, rocking back and forth. Fred carefully made his way over with the tea and set her cup on the coffee table. He sat in the chair across from her. "Where are we?"
"Above the shop. We keep this place for if one of us needs the other place for anything. The other gets shifted here. It's actually pretty nice. With George and Katie the way they are, I'm thinking of moving here. I'm here most nights anyways."
"Really? Won't you be lonely? I'm sure Molly would love for you to move back in…what's in this tea?"
"What? Nothing's in the tea." He answered her. He looked over at the tea pot. A look of realization suddenly crossed his face. "Wait don't drink any more."
"But you just said there was nothing in it. I'm actually feeling very good right now. Are you sure Molly won't let me back in yet? I'm getting a little tired."
"Mum's weird like that, but I'm sure. That tea was a new product George and I were developing. It's supposed to perk you up; apparently it doesn't work as well as I thought. I didn't realize we had any up here. I have some coffee for caffeine if you want it. The caffeine will keep you up. I'm doubting you'll like it though, I developed a liking for it when I was in Paris for business." He said. She looked at him carefully. She suddenly felt very tired, her eyes slowly closed and snapped back open a few times. "Hermione, are you ok?"
"Just very tired…" she trailed off. Fred quickly jumped up and went over to the coffee pot. He grabbed a mug and filled it up. Thank god for the self refilling charm I put on this, Fred thought. He sat beside her and made her drink some. Hermione spit it out. "That tastes horrible, what is it?"
"Coffee, it's the only way to take away the effects of the tea. Told you ya probably wouldn't like it. It'll wake you up though; if you want, I can put some sugar and milk in it to take away some bitterness." Fred pointed his wand and the mug. "Here, this is how I take it. Drink up."
Hermione took a small sip, the bitterness was mostly gone. It tasted slightly sweet, but she still didn't like it. Fred could tell by the expression on her face. Her eyes were squinted and she was cringing, but he thought she looked adorable. Wait, where did that thought come from, he wondered. "You don't have to drink the rest of it. Here I'll take it from you."
"Thanks." She said, handing him the cup. She let out a huge yawn.
"If you want to go to sleep I can floo mum and ask her if you can come back earlier."
"No that's…..ok" she yawned out. Fred got up and went into the kitchen.
"I've got to do some dishes from the last few days, just tell me if you want to go back." He said. Hermione didn't answer so he took that to mean it was fine.
There turned out to be a lot more dishes than he had previously thought. Fred liked doing dishes the muggle way, he had no idea why, he just did. It was a break from all the magic. The dishes took awhile to get done. Fred dried everything up and put the dishes away. He noticed that Hermione hadn't said anything for awhile. He walked over to the couch and leaned over to see her. She had fallen asleep right after Fred had started doing dishes. He had been humming a song, but didn't notice, and that song put her to sleep. He smiled. She looked adorable in her sleep and he didn't want to wake her, so he gently picked her up and took her to George's room. He lightly set her on the end of the bed as he pulled down the covers. Oh she won't be comfortable in those clothes all night, he thought. He went into his room and grabbed an old Quidditch jersey of his. He went back into George's room. He slowly took off her clothes and slipped her into the jersey. He tried not to look as he stripped her of her clothes, but what sane man wouldn't catch a glimpse. He couldn't help but notice that she looked sexy in it. He picked her back up and lay her down. He pulled the covers up to her chin. As he reached the door he took one last look at her. The moonlight streaming through the window hit Hermione and made her look serene. He hadn't seen her look so happy in a long time. He climbed into his bed after changing. He fell asleep instantly, dreaming about a bookworm he had never thought of as more than a friend.