Not Good Enough
Hermione was angry. More angry than she had ever been in her entire life. Stupid Malfoy and his stupid mouth. This was the fifth fight they'd gotten into that week, and the second of the day! She hated Snape so much. So damn much, for partnering them in class. He had to be the cruelest human being alive.
Hermione was so pissed that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and promptly ran straight into someone.
"I'm so sorry!" She hastily exclaimed, looking up to see the poor person she had nearly toppled. With a sigh of relief she noted it was only Fred. "Only Fred?" Her mind asked herself, "Only the Fred that you've had a crush on since Third year, and now you've gone and nearly knocked him over. Real smooth." She angrily told herself to shut up.
"No problem. I was actually looking for you. I heard about what happened." He said gently, looking at her as if she could burst into tears any moment.
She and Fred had grown close over the years. In fact, she considered him a closer friend than Ron most of the time. They had bonded on their holiday breaks, and shared laughs over some of his and George's pranks. She had grown fond of him, and along the way, that fondness had grown into much more. Sadly, that much more was only one-sided. After all, she knew he only viewed her as a friend. That being said, he still managed to make her heart race, and her face heat up, which was exactly what would be happening now, if she wasn't so distracted by her anger.
"How did you find out?" She questioned, wondering if it had been Harry or Ginny who had told.
"Rumors travel quickly at Hogwarts, you know that 'Mione. A little birdy named Ginny may have sped up the process a bit though." He looked sheepish, and Hermione couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Aw there's my 'Mione." He said, his eyes soft, and the corners crinkled in a smile. This was her favorite smile of his. The kind that engulfed his whole face, and made his eyes sparkle. It made her cheeks heat up, and her stomach flutter. His words repeated in her head. "He said my 'Mione! My 'Mione. My, his." She tried not to read too deep into it though, he had always been flirty with her.
With a sigh she sat down in the corridor. He followed suit.
"I hate him." She whispered, venom in every word. "Why must he say those things to me? Why is he so insufferable? Ugh! I know it's been indoctrinated into his daft head, by his corrupt parents, but still! What right does he have to say I'm a lesser person than he is, just because my parents weren't wizards! I'm not inferior. I'm not…"
With that deceleration, her eyes began to fill with water, and her tears over flowed, racing down her cheeks. She hated that people thought she was inferior, she tried so hard to prove herself. She studied for hours and hours, she never got less than perfect marks. She always pushed herself, but she often felt like nothing worked. People still looked down on her. They still thought she had no right to do what she could, that she was dirt. A mudblood.
She felt Fred move beside her, and then she was pulled onto his lap, and into his arms. She cried into his chest, thoroughly soaking his robes with her tears. He said nothing, just stroked her hair and held her. After what seemed like ages, her tears turned into small sniffles, and she grew quiet.
"Why aren't I good enough, Fred? I'm not good enough for my classmates, or for Hogwarts. I don't deserve to be in the Golden Trio. I'm not good enough for you, or George, or Harry, Ron, or Ginny. I don't deserve to be an honorary Weasley!" She mumbled into his neck, tears filling up her eyes once more.
"Now that's utter rubbish!" Fred exclaimed, in a tone more angry than she had ever heard before. "You are not inferior. You are the brightest witch of your age. You didn't receive that title for nothing! You earned it. Don't deserve to be a part of the Golden Trio? 'Mione, you are the brains of the Golden Trio. Without you, Ron and Harry couldn't have accomplished half the things you all have. Who brewed the Polyjuice potion in their second year? Who gave Harry the correct potion that would help him defeat Quirrell? Who used a time turner to save Sirius Black? Who dedicates themselves to her friends so thoroughly, that she breaks rules for them all the time, even though she hates breaking rules? You do! You would fight to the death to protect any of us. You go out of your way to do things, even when you think they are wrong, like helping George and I with pranks. You are the best friend anyone could ever ask for. You are beautiful, intelligent, funny, witty, and you could never be less of a person than anyone else. Ugh I'm going to kill Malfoy!" His face was flushed with anger and passion, a fierceness she had never seen in her five years of knowing him. She fought hard to control the fluttering in her stomach, but she could hardly help it.
"You really mean those things?" She asked him timidly, biting her lip. She valued his opinion above all others, and she needed to know that he meant that.
"Of course I do, 'Mione." He said softly, while gently pulling her lip from her teeth with his thumb. His thumb continued to stroke her cheek. "You can't let gits like Malfoy affect you like this. Malfoy is jealous because he can't be you, because he isn't as good as you are. You just have to know that you're the better person. And you most definitely are the better person."
Heroine threw her arms around his neck, and pulled him in close. She pulled back very briefly, to look at his face. "He called me beautiful." She wanted to kiss him. "If you don't do it now, you'll never do it. Besides, you can always claim temporary insanity." That thought had only barely flitted through her mind when she kissed him, kissed him so with a need and passion unlike anything she had ever felt before. She let herself revel in the feeling for only a moment, before she pulled back.
"Fred, I'm so sorry, I.." But she couldn't finish her statement, for her lips had been recaptured by his. He kissed her with tenderness, but fierceness. It took her breath away, and soon they were full out snogging. In a corridor. In Hogwarts. Anyone could find them. This was against the rules. She found herself not caring a bit, as he pulled her even closer to himself, and deepened the kiss.
Eventually, their need for air prevailed, and they pulled back, foreheads still connected. Fred looked up at her through his long lashes, blue eyes sparkling with a happiness she had only seen when he had pulled off a great prank. He grinned, exposing a dimple, and all of his teeth.
"About time, I must say. If I had known you'd felt that way, we could've been snogging for ages!" He said, grin widening.
She laughed carefree and happy, and her reaction only caused Fred to grin even bigger, his eyes crinkling the way she liked. He kissed her again, a very gentle, tender kiss. It lasted only a moment before he pulled back again.
"Hermione Jean Granger, I never ever want to hear you say that you are inferior, or that you aren't good enough for anyone again." He said with sternness, but then he smiled again, and kissed her on the forehead. "You are perfect, my little bookworm. Just the way you are." She hugged him hard, a smile permanently etched onto her face.
After what felt like hours, Hermione disentangled herself from Fred, and stood up, brushing off her robes. Fred stood up too, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Now, it's time we start thinking revenge. George and I thought maybe something along the lines of public humiliation, maybe slip him some Fever Fudge, or release a Whiz-bag close to him! Or maybe we can…."
Hermione sighed happily, content in his arms. She might be a mudblood, but she was not inferior. She was good enough for her friends, her family, and more importantly, Fred Weasley. She could want nothing more.
A/N: Thank you for reading my story! I've been super into this pairing lately, and I thought I would contribute my own story! It would mean the world to me if you reviewed, so I know what I'm getting right and wrong. The rest of this note pertains to people who are reading my other story, or have read it. If you haven't read it, and aren't interested you can skip this part! Once again thank you for reading!
Now, for those of you who have read my other story, "Prophecy of Grimm", or are curious about it, I promise I'm working on updating it. The next chapter is in the works. Thank you for sticking with it. When it's done, I hope it will be worth it for you all. You all mean the world to me, and I'm very appreciative of your continued support. Love you guys!