Hello friends! This story is an AU dedicated to the most grossly underrated couple in the Harry Potter fandom, Fremione! Please pardon all the New York references, but PM me if you have any questions. Enjoy and please review! (Cross posted on AO3)
She could feel the clock ticking as she leaned over her exam, her hand aching from the intense scribbling. For three days leading up to this test she had eaten nothing but wintergreen Tic Tacs and cookie dough protein bars. But it would all be worth it because as soon as she passed this test, she will be a lawyer. Hermione had gone through seven years of school and a hellish internship while she waited to take the bar exam, all for this moment. She was so ready.
The proctor yelled "Pencils down!" and the pencil went flying out of Hermione's hand, hitting the girl in front of her in the back.
"Oh my gosh!" She said, her face flushing. "I am so sorry!"
She turned around, her brown eyes filled with laughter.
"It's okay, but how panicked you are is absolutely adorable. I'm Ginny Weasley." She giggled, extending her hand. The proctor came around, collecting the exams.
"I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you."
"Well, Hermione Granger, great name by the way, would you like to come get drinks with me and some friends? You know, to celebrate finishing the bar exam."
"I don't know..."
"I don't want to push you, but I think you deserve to celebrate. We all do!
"I hate to burst your bubble, but we haven't passed yet."
"Who gives a damn?" Ginny said, her eyes glinting.
"Well, when you put it that way, I'd love to!"
"Great!" Ginny exclaimed. "You ready to go?"
"Let's do this thing!" Hermione said. She was terrified. She hadn't been out in months because she was studying for the test. Now that it was over, she deserved to have some fun, right? She hadn't gone out since she had broken up with her ex-boyfriend, Viktor Krum, and that was right after her senior year of college. He was a foreign exchange student who they had only allowed into Stanford University because he was an immensely talented soccer player. She wasn't even sure why she had dated him, but he was fun and so out of her comfort zone. They broke it off when she went to law school and he went back to Bulgaria.
"You know," Hermione said, "I actually haven't been out in forever."
"How long is forever?" Ginny said, her eyebrows raised.
"Um, three and a half years, maybe?"
"Holy shit! Like, how does that even happen?"
"I don't know, I study a lot."
"Okay, Hermione-Granger-Who-Studies-A-Lot, let's go show you what a good time is!"
Ginny picked up her bag and started walking towards the door. Hermione scrambled to get her things together and followed Ginny out of the exam room. Together, they walked towards the lobby, making small talk. When they reached the lobby, Hermione pulled her long brown hair out of its ponytail, and Ginny led Hermione to a clump of people standing together, looking incredibly worn out but very happy.
"Hermione, this is my boyfriend, Harry." Ginny said, gesturing towards a guy with messy black hair. "And my brother Ron and his girlfriend, Lavender." Ginny pointed to a guy with red hair who had his arm around a petite girl. "Everyone, this is Hermione. I met her after the exam and I liked her, so I invited her to come out with us."
"It's nice to meet you, Hermione." Harry said. "Ginny's always picking up strays, but we're happy to have you."
"Hey, mister. You weren't complaining when you were the stray I picked up and welcomed to this group." Ginny said sternly.
"Who says I was complaining?" Harry said, wrapping his arm around her waist and planting a kiss on her cheek.
"So," Ginny said, blushing. "Pied Piper?"
The entire group nodded, and Hermione, not having an opinion, followed them out of the building and into the streets of Manhattan. They walked for two blocks until they reached a neon sign that read "The Pied Piper Tavern." They walked down a short flight of stairs into a poorly lit room that smelled like stale beer and body odor. But there was something charming about it. Hermione sat down at the table with Lavender and Ron as Harry and Ginny went to get a pitcher of beer.
"So, Hermione, tell us about yourself." Said Lavender. "Where did you go to university, etcetera, etcetera."
"Um, well, I went to Stanford for undergrad and law school, but I'm so happy to be back in New York. It's my home."
"That's so sweet!" Lavender said. "Ron, Ginny, who are twins, and I are all from the same little area of Staten Island. They got scholarships to go to the Hogwarts Academy, one of those fancy-shmancy Massachusetts boarding school, but I met up with Ron again at NYU, and then Ginny joined us at NYU for law school, and she met Harry, and our little gang was formed."
"Wow. The Hogwarts Academy. That's intense."
"Yeah." Ron said. "But you know, my parents went there, and so did my other siblings."
"How many other siblings do you have?" Hermione inquired.
"Five. All guys."
"Damn." Hermione said. "I'm an only child."
"Well," Ron said, craning his neck to get a look over the crowd. "It looks like you just might get to experience even more of the Weasley clan tonight. Fred and George are here."
"Are those your brothers?"
"Yeah. They're the other set of twins. They're both FBI agents."
"Does your entire family go in to some area of the law?" Hermione asked, impressed.
"Yeah. My oldest brother is an officer in army intelligence, the second oldest is a K9 trainer, the third one works for the mayor, and the rest of us you already know."
"You bragging about the family, Ronniekins?" Said one of the twins.
"Hermione, this is George." Ron groaned.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to the new girl?' Said the other. The twins were nearly identical, but Hermione could already tell there was something different about this one, who she assumed was Fred. He had a sparkle in his brown eyes that was like nothing Hermione had ever seen.
"Okay, Freddie. This is Hermione. Ginny found her at the bar exam."
"So," said Fred, sliding into the booth next to Hermione, "One of those smart lawyer-types."
"Well, I'm not a lawyer yet. I still have to pass the Bar."
"Well, I have faith in you." Declaimed Fred, winking at Hermione.
"How can you have faith in me? You met me literally a minute and a half ago." Hermione said bemusedly.
"I don't know. I have a gut feeling. It's a cop thing."
"And what else is your gut telling you?"
"That you should give me your phone number." Fred deadpanned, holding out his .
"That's pretty bold." Hermione said, yet she still took his phone and programmed her number into it. The rest of the night passed fairly uneventfully. Hermione drank and had a good time, but she didn't get too drunk. At about 1:30 in the morning, the entire group decided it was time to go home.
"Which way are you going, Granger?" Fred said. Hermione was a little surprised that he was already using a nickname for her, but she was kind of flattered.
"I live in the village."
"What a coincidence! That's on my way home." Fred replied. Hermione wasn't sure if she believed him, but she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to spend a little more time with the hot FBI agent.
"Okay then. Do you want to cab it or take the subway?" Asked Hermione.
"Why don't we take the subway?"
"Sounds good to me." They waved goodbye to the rest of the group, but not before Hermione exchanged numbers with Ginny and Lavender and made plans for a brunch. Hermione and Fred then quickly walked up the stairs leading out of the bar, into the horribly humid July night. They turned the corner and found themselves on a ver quiet street.
"So Granger, what's your deal?"
"I already told everyone. I wen to Stanford for undergrad..."
"Not that part of the story. Where were you before you were a top eight college genius?"
"I'm actually not from the City. I'm from Hoboken."
"Oh, a Jersey Girl." Said Fred, smiling.
"Hey, don't judge me boy. You're from Staten Island."
"There will be no insulting Staten Island, Granger. It's my home and I love it."
"I have no doubt in my mind. My best friend lived in Bay Terrace."
"Wait, I'm from Bay Terrace. Who's your friend?"
"Luna Lovegood. We went to an arts high school in Manhattan."
"Oh, damn. She seemed nice but her family's a little, um, well..."
"Batshit crazy?"
"I was going to say odd but that works too."
They turned into the subway station, swiped their MetroCards, and started waiting on the platform.
'Wait, Granger, did you say that you went to an arts high school?"
"Yes. I was an actress. Is that so surprising? Do I seem like the type of person who has wanted to be a lawyer since childhood?"
"I wouldn't judge you if you were. I always knew I wanted to be in law enforcement. It took all the begging the world from my parents to get me to go to college. I'm glad I did though. The whole college experience made me a better cop, and I think our degrees are the reason that the FBI sent me and George to New York. We get to be near our family and I'm grateful for that."
"So what do you do in the FBI?"
"I'm in Counterterrorism."
"Wow, that has to be rough."
"Um, yeah it isn't exactly the party unit, I gotta say. So what kind of lawyer do you want to be?"
"I want to be a prosecutor. If I pass the Bar, then I have a job lined up for me at the DA. Until then, I'm stuck making barely minimum wage there, but I'm doing what I love and it's exposure in my field so I'll do what I have to."
The train arrived, the air causing Hermione's hair to swing out and hit Fred. They both started laughing.
"I'm so sorry!" Laughed Hermione, holding back tears.
"If you weren't so pretty I would be more annoyed." Fred joked, as Hermione blushed.
They climbed onto the nearly empty train grabbing two seats right next to each other. Before she knew it, she was asleep with her head on Fred's shoulder. After what could have been forever, hermione felt someone shaking her gently.
"Hermione," Fred said. "This is your stop." Hermione rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She stood up.
"It was really nice meeting you Fred. You should call me." Hermione said as she climbed off the train. What she couldn't see was Fred smile slightly to himself. Hermione walked the three blocks back to her crappy walkup apartment, and ran up the stairs. She flopped on her bed, and for the first time in a long time, fell fast asleep with a smile on her face.