Hi guys. Thought I'd start posting this now since it's Halloween! Happy Halloween to all of you who celebrate it :) this will be a slow fic, so please understand that if you're going to read it and get into, I will not be updating regularly and you could go some time without new chapters. Sorry about that but I want to be honest with you all before you get really into it and I end up a useless author who disappoints you with an unfinished story for while...
"Come on Mione, it'll be loads of fun!" Ginny whined at her frizzy haired friend who simply glared at her from behind a book.
"Gin, I really really don't want to go to your brothers' stupid Halloween party," Hermione huffed. "Please don't make me?"
"But, Harry's going to be there, and Ron's taking Luna, and half the campus are going!" Ginny sulked. "I really want to go! It could be my big night to snag Harry and get him to really notice me!"
"Gin-"
"You know mum won't let me go unless you're going!" she huffed.
Molly Weasley did not trust her children an inch. She didn't trust any of their friends an inch either, all except for Hermione. For Hermione, her inability to lie (to absolutely anyone) without becoming a stammering stuttering mess was a curse, for Molly Weasley it was a gift sent from heaven. Finally, she didn't have to be the big bad parent, she just had to insist that Hermione went with them. It was this unfair clause that had forced Hermione into attending far more social events than she'd ever been interested in.
This particular Halloween party was being hosted by Fred and George Weasley, Ginny's older twin brothers. They'd dropped out of school and managed to successfully open their very own nightclub/bar/adult soft play centre. It was a strange thing that they'd created but it couldn't be more popular; all the fun from childhood smashed together with all the fun of adulthood (basically: booze). Hermione knew the Weasley family well, especially since she was the matriarch's favourite friend, even if it was only to grill the poor child on her children's debatable life choices. To be fair to her children, they never got upset with Hermione. Knowing it wasn't her fault, they did their best to keep anything bad out of her line of sight, and if that wasn't possible they coached her on how to spin it to their mother in a way that wasn't exactly a lie but probably wasn't the truth either.
"Come on Mione? Please? Just this one time?" Ginny asked again, looking forlornly at her best girlfriend.
"Just this one time?" Hermione scoffed. "Last time was 'just this one time' and so was the time before that and the time before that and the time before that-"
"Okay fine!" Ginny said, stopping her before she could continue on. "How about...oh! I have the perfect thank you, but you have to come to the party if you want it!"
"Well, what is it?" Hermione asked.
"I can't tell you," Ginny said. "But you'll love it, I promise!"
Hermione eyed the redhead suspiciously. If she was honest, she could understand why Mrs Weasley didn't trust her children one single iota. Hermione didn't trust them much either. But the eager way her best friend was looking at her gave her no real choice.
"Fine! I will go with you! But I'm not dressing up!" Hermione huffed.
"Yey! Thanks Mione, you're the best," Ginny squealed, hugging her tight before adding, "and you have to dress up otherwise you won't be allowed in. Halloween rules, sorry."
Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "But I get to pick what I wear and you do not get to comment, deal?"
"Deal!" Ginny grinned. "But make sure it has a mask 'cause the boys decided masquerade was sexy and now it's their theme."
"Of course they did," she muttered, cursing the twins as she went back to her book.
One week later and Hermione was stood looking at herself in the mirror and wondering what the hell was wrong with her. She was nineteen years old, headed for great academic success and yet somehow her best friend (over a year younger than her) had managed to guilt trip her into attending some wretched party. Suffice to say, Hermione was not a social butterfly. She hated parties, loud noises, crowds, places she didn't know or hadn't read about and boisterous people who loved to tease her for all those qualities (i.e the Weasley twins). There were a lot of people who'd give anything to be where Hermione was right now, to have a chance at chatting up one of those boys. They were very popular and since their business had become a booming success, they were also considered quite eligible bachelors too. Hermione looked herself up and down before shoving on a small, plain black mask. She heard a buzz and couldn't help the small smile that came to her lips, Ginny had come to pick her up and no matter how irritated she was with her friend she was always pleased to see her.
"Oh my god Hermione! You look amazing!" Ginny laughed as Hermione opened the door to her flat, having buzzed the girl up.
"Thanks Gin, you look incredible yourself," Hermione grinned. "Not that your brothers are going to like it, at all."
"What about Harry?" she asked nervously.
"Harry is likely to fanboy before asking you to marry him," Hermione said simply, causing Ginny to squeal in excitement.
Harry was Hermione's oldest friend. They'd grown up together since their parents were all best mates. Hermione found her parents to be somewhat stifling, hence why she'd moved out to her own flat. Harry, on the other hand, found his parents to be a little more liberal and opted to stay put. Harry may well have been his dad's clone if it weren't for the fact he had his mother's eyes. His personality even mirrored James', what with his penchant for mischief and his love for all things comic related.
Ginny, a dark horse in Hermione's book, was also a secret lover of the genre and had opted to go dressed as Mira, aquaman's wife. Her red hair was perfect for it, and she'd been even sneaker too. She'd also decided to go with a particular story arc, which saw Mira become a red lantern, and meant she could really geek out like never before. Harry had no idea Ginny was as into it as he was, he was going to be flawed.
Ginny was dressed in a skin-tight, bright red, body suit that hugged every inch of her figure, leaving little to the imagination. It dipped low down into her cleavage, exposing a good portion of her breasts but not so much she lost her classiness. The red lantern symbol was prominent, sewn onto the fabric just below her belly button. Ginny's red hair was wild and she wore a spiked silver crown. She carried a trident and had opted for a beautiful red and black masquerade mask. The woman was likely to make all men (she wasn't related to) drawl tonight, even if they had no idea what she was dressed as.
Hermione on the other hand had gone for simple but effective. She was the Wicked Witch of the West and had adorned a rather large black coat with puffy sleeves, a pair of thick patterned tights and some knee high black boots. She'd also covered every inch of exposed skin (so basically only her hands and face) with green face paint. She was in no mood to actually socialise tonight and she knew she'd steer clear of it with this costume. She picked up her broomstick and they set off.
Once they got to the door of the club, Hermione let out a loud groan. It was packed. The queue was the length of the building and went right around the corner. Ginny stalked past it and towards the bouncers her brothers had hired.
"I'm Ginny Weasley," she said, smiling sweetly at them. "This is my best friend Hermione Granger. We should be on the list?"
"You can come in love," the guy grinned, looking up from his clipboard. "This one will have to get in line. She's not on my board and she doesn't fit the profile for queue skipping."
"What?!" Ginny shrieked. "But she's my best friend! I told those two idiots to add her as my plus one!"
"Sorry love," the guy shrugged, "I don't know what to tell you..."
"Well, what's the profile she has to fit for queue jumping?" Ginny asked.
"Uh..." the guy stammered.
"Let me guess," Hermione said. "Probably something to do with the outfit and how much skin it reveals? Exceptions made for skin tight garments and, dare I say it, 'really fit birds'?"
"Wh..well, that's...I'm not..."
Ginny gave the guy a deadpan look and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, something like that," he nodded in defeat.
"I know it doesn't look like much," Hermione said. "But underneath this coat I'm not actually wearing much. Could you class that as sexy?"
"Can I see it?" he smirked.
"If you can tell me who I am?" she smiled.
"You're a witch," he said with a frown.
"What witch?"
"There's a name for this generic witch?" he scoffed.
"There is indeed," Hermione said.
"You realise that without a peek, you're not getting in?" the guy grinned.
"Yep," Hermione sighed. "What a loss for me, guess I'll just go home." She sighed again, overly theatrically.
"Oh no you don't!" Ginny growled. "Either flash him and get yourself in or I'll tell Ron about that time you fancied the pants off him in your sixth year."
"You wouldn't!" Hermione squeaked.
"I bloody well would!" Ginny said.
"But Gin, I really am a bit risqué underneath this!" Hermione hissed.
"You are?" Ginny smirked, eyeing her curiously.
"Well, I figured it might not hurt if I came across a guy who was willing to look past my complete lack of outside sexy and have a decent conversation with me before trying to shag me," she said.
"We'll come on then, let's see it," Ginny grinned.
"Oh fine!" Hermione huffed, undoing the belt to the coat which was basically the whole outfit. "But I'm not flashing for more than a second or two, got it? So you'd best be watching."
"Oh I'm watching," the guy winked at her and Hermione fought down a an exasperated groan as well as her embarrassment.
She quickly pulled her coat open to reveal a lacy black basque and tiny black mini shorts. The tights and the boots just added to the effect as the guy's eyes bugged out at the sight of her.
"Fuck me," Ginny murmured as Hermione hastily wrapped herself back up. The bouncer was not the only one in shock.
"I thought you wanted to fuck Harry?" Hermione said.
"Well, if Harry isn't available, I'm coming to you," Ginny said, still gaping at her best friend. "You look fucking hot under that."
"Thanks," Hermione smiled, a brilliant blush on her cheeks. She was happy she had face paint on or it would have added to her embarrassment.
"In you go ladies," the bouncer said, clearing his throat and avoiding eye contact with Hermione.
"Thank you," Ginny said, laughing at the guy as they walked through the door.
The club was heaving, the soft play area had been cornered off, admittance by breathalyser only. Hermione smiled at the ingenuity of it all. It really was like a big kid's playground in here, with alcohol to help. There was a large dance floor over to one side and another two on the second and third floors above them. The soft play also reached all three levels and there was a huge 6ft deep ball pool hidden on the ground floor of it. There was some swings, a few see-saws, a merry-go-round and a slide across the other side of room. Laser quest seemed to be a thing that was happening tonight and in no designated area at that. The bars were dotted strategically around the whole place so that there was never too much crowding at one. The boys really had outdone themselves on the design of the place.
"Come on, lets go find Fred and George," Ginny grinned.
Hermione followed her up to the third floor, knowing they'd be in the VIP area with the rest of their friends. VIP to them just meant bean bags instead of chairs, and video games. Lots and lots of video games.
Hermione spotted them pretty quickly, especially since it took all of ten seconds for Harry to zero in on Ginny. Hermione snorted at him as they waltzed up, literally having to pick his jaw up for him.
"You...you...your..." Harry stammered at Ginny in a strangled sort of voice.
"Yes, I'm Mira, Queen of Atlantis, as a red lantern," Ginny said, nodding slowly like you would to a child as Harry just stood and gaped at her.
"Dude, knock it off," Ron shoved him irritably. "That's my sister!"
"Sorry," mumbled Harry, trying and failing to take his eyes off Ginny.
"How'd you get in then Granger?" Fred asked, folding his arms and leaning against a wall.
"What d'you mean, how?" Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. "I told you she was coming, why wasn't she on the list!"
"Because we like to see what new and imaginative ways she can come up with to get herself in here," George replied.
"And if she fails we don't have to watch our sister turn up looking like she's on the pull," Fred grimaced.
"I am on the pull," Ginny scoffed.
"Exactly," George said, his grimace identical to Fred's, the same as his face.
"So how'd you get in?" Fred asked.
"She flashed the bouncer," Ginny said nonchalantly.
"No seriously," George chuckled.
"Seriously, she flashed the bouncer," Ginny said, sniggering at their shocked looks.
"I didn't know Zabini had a thing for granny pants and sports bras," Fred teased.
"He doesn't," Ginny said, smirking wickedly at them.
"That sounds very interesting," George grinned, sidling up to Hermione.
Hermione rolled her eyes and folded her arms, shaking her head. "Well, your sister liked it so much she asked me to fuck her..."
Ginny fell about laughing as the small group (which also comprised of Lee Jordon, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan and Neville Longbottom) either wolf-whistled, groaned or in the case of Ron, made gagging noises.
"God Gin, you really need to mind your language," George snorted.
"Is it really that good?" Fred asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Hermione.
"Well, she told me she's going to take me home if no one else is available," Hermione said.
"I'm available," Harry blurted before turning a lovely shade of red as he clapped a hand over his mouth.
The whole group went silent before laughing out loud at Harry's humiliation. Ginny stared at him in shock, she'd never heard him be so forward and especially not with her. Ron on the other hand, looked furious.
"She's my sister!" he barked.
"Oh give it up Ronnekins," George laughed.
"Just because you're too dense to have noticed them dancing around one another for the last year or so, doesn't mean the rest of us haven't," Fred said.
"What?" said Ron, Harry and Ginny collectively.
"Don't looked so shocked," Hermione said, leaning her broomstick against the wall. "We let you get there in your own time, pretty much."
"You knew he liked me?!" Ginny shrieked.
"Uh...yeah?" Hermione cringed at the amazing level of loud Ginerva could reach, even in a club like this.
"Why didn't you say anything?!" she yelled.
"Because I sort of just guessed. He never actually confirmed it," Hermione said. "And he wasn't ever going to until you showed up tonight dressed in that."
"What? Why?" Ginny frowned, looking at a very mortified Harry.
"I would imagine it has something to do with knowing you since you were eleven, and being his best mate's little sister, and feeling like he really shouldn't see you in any light that isn't platonic," Hermione said. "Unfortunately for Harry, but very fortunately for you, your current state of dress doesn't let anyone you're not related to see you as anything but hot, sexy and down right shaggable." She grinned wickedly before looking at the rest of the men in the group (without the surname Weasley). "Just ask those lot..."
Ginny turned to face them all before blushing a bright red, seeing as how they were all trying so hard not to look longingly and lustfully at her. Neville was refusing to look at her at all, his self-control a little more gentlemanly than the others.
"Harry," Fred said, seeing exactly what Hermione was getting at, "do me a favour and make my sister unavailable or I'll be forced to do unspeakable things to you since it's your fault she turned up in that outfit."
"Wh, um, I don't...I'm not sure..." Harry stuttered, shifting nervously from foot to foot and wishing the ground would open up and swallow him.
Ginny came to stand directly in front of him, accidentally on purpose putting her perfectly exposed cleavage right in his line of sight. "My eyes are up here Potter," she teased, grinning at him as he quickly flicked them up to look at her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" He cut himself off as Ginny giggled, thinking him quite cute when he was flustered. "You did that on purpose!"
"Yeah, I did," she said. "Much like how I did this on purpose." She gestured to her costume and smirked at him as his eyes traveled down her body and reluctantly back up it to rest on her eyes again. "I have to admit, I didn't think the reaction would be so intense."
"You dressed as an obscure female comic book character in an even more obscure outfit," Harry said. "How exactly did you expect me to react?"
"I just wanted you to notice me," Ginny mumbled.
"Gin, you're pretty hard not to notice," he smiled.
"I've fancied you for years," she confessed, her cheeks flaming and her heart hammering.
Harry didn't say anything, instead he leant in and kissed her. Ginny wound her arms around his neck, smiling at the claps she could hear from their friends and giving the finger to whoever happened to be the one making retching noises (it was Fred).
Harry sighed as he pulled away, nuzzling her nose with his and unable to keep a goofy grin of his face. "I've been wanting to do that for too long."
"I suddenly feel very self-conscious," Ginny murmured. "Seducing you didn't take nearly as long as I expected it to."
"Sorry about that, I'll try and hold out longer next time," he laughed.
Ginny kissed him softly again and smiled.
"Dance with me?" Harry asked.
"Sure thing," Ginny giggled.
Hermione groaned and pulled out a chair.
"Can I take your coat madam?" Fred asked.
"Nice try Weasley," she said, plonking herself down in the seat.
"It was worth a shot," Fred shrugged.
As the night got underway, Hermione found herself pretty much alone at the table. Every now and again she would go and find a bar to buy a drink and then head back to her seat. She occasionally caught a glimpse of Ginny and Harry, now stuck together like glue. Fred and George would catch her sight every now and again, usually surrounded by a gaggle of girls. Ron was wrapped up in Luna, having eyes only for her and Hermione thanked the heavens she'd got over him fairly quickly in her sixth year. She sighed and looked at her phone, it was only half ten. She hadn't even been here an hour and already she was fed up and wanted to go home. It was times like these she really considered herself to be a bit of a bore and wished she could let loose and have a bit more fun. Just as she'd set herself up for a night on the sidelines, Ginny appeared back at the table with Harry trailing behind her.
"Hermione! My god, I'm so sorry!" she spluttered, out of breath from climbing two flights of stairs. "I totally forgot!"
"Forgot what?" Hermione asked, frowning at the redhead as she yanked Hermione up from her seat and dragged her back down the stairs.
Ginny pulled her best friend through the crowd and towards her twin brothers, both of which were wrapped up in the attention of more than one woman. She shoved herself and then Harry and Hermione, through the adoring crowd and smacked both boys' legs with her hands to get their attention.
"Hey, you two," she called, giving them a far-too-innocent smile as they turned to glare at her. "Can I get the key to the flat please?"
"You are not going to shag your new boyfriend at our place," George grimaced.
"It's not for me!" Ginny said, her cheeks a dark red again as she avoided Harry's eye. "It's for Mione."
"You are not shagging Granger at our place," Fred sniggered.
"Fred!" Ginny stomped her foot. "Come on, you know how much she hates these sorts of things and I promised her an awesome thank you for turning up tonight. You know I wouldn't have been allowed to come if she wasn't here."
"What does access to our flat have to do with thanking Hermione for coming with you?" Fred frowned.
"Well, she'll technically still be in the building but she can relax and read a book, enjoy herself properly..." Ginny said.
"It's our home, why would you offer your friend our home?" George huffed.
"She didn't," Hermione piped up. "I didn't realise this was her idea of the best thank you."
"It's perfect," Ginny huffed. "You don't have to party and you don't have to lie to my mum and I get to have a good time."
Fred looked at George and George looked at Fred. They both glanced quickly at Hermione who did in fact look nothing short of miserable. After a ten second silent conversation they turned back to Ginny.
"Fine," Fred said, "you can have the keys. It's not like we were coming back alone tonight anyway. Half the gang are stopping over, and who knows who else..." He glanced down at the nearest girl and winked at her, causing her to descend into schoolgirl giggles.
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really don't have to, I'll be perfectly fine back in VIP," she said.
"I don't mind Granger," Fred said, rummaging around in his pocket as he pulled his keys out. "Think fast," he chuckled, throwing them at her quickly. Hermione caught them like a pro and he grinned at her. "Never could rile you up Granger."
"Maybe you just weren't trying hard enough Weasley," she countered.
"Touché. Anyway," he said, clearing his throat and looking up at her. "Do me a favour when you get up there and take a shower or something? The last thing I need is to find green paint everywhere and we all know you'll fall asleep on our beautiful white couch at some point tonight."
The girl beside him sniggered, leaning into him and throwing Hermione a haughty look. She was supposed to be a black cat, except she wasn't wearing much past the ears, the compulsory mask and a painted on black nose and whiskers. "It's not even midnight," she tittered. "And what are you even supposed to be?"
"She's the Wild Witch of the West," Fred said, immediately untangling himself from the black cat and getting to his feet. "I'll walk you up if you like, I've just remembered we installed a new security system last week and there's a pass code for the alarms and everything."
"Honestly, you really don't have to," Hermione said. "I can manage. Just whisper it in my ear or something, you know I'm good with numbers."
Fred chuckled and shook his head.
"Seriously Fred, you're having a good time," she said, gesturing to the black cat and her friends that were now glaring daggers at her. "Stay," she urged, not wanting to be the reason he missed out on all the fun.
"Yeah, stay Freddie," the black cat whined in a tone that was supposed to be sultry but came out kind of whiny. "Come sit back down with us..." They giggled as the cat patted his empty seat and pouted at him.
"Maybe in a bit," Fred said. "I'm just going to show my friend up to my flat."
"But she said she'd be fine without you," a French maid whined.
"And I really will be," Hermione nodded, eager to get out and away from the small group of girls that were making her feel about as big as a four year old.
"I'm coming with you Granger," Fred said firmly.
"Fred-"
"Come on," he said, taking her hand and pulling her back through the crowd. Hermione certainly didn't miss the gabbling of irritated women as Fred led her upstairs to the flat that adjoined their club.
"Fred, why did you come with me? You know perfectly well I'd have been fine on my own," Hermione said, partially huffing because of the pace he'd dragged her up the stairs.
"Well, would you believe me if I said it was because you were a good friend and it is my duty as your gracious host?" he asked charmingly.
"No," she said flatly.
"Would you believe me if I said it was because, while you are more trustworthy than all our friends combined, I still don't trust you with the security code to our flat?" Fred grinned.
"Well, I'd say that's more believable," she said, mirth in her eyes. "You're getting warmer."
"I want to make sure you knew I was being serious about that shower?" he said. "I really don't want green paint everywhere."
"I'll take a bloody shower Fred!" she huffed in good nature. "But it'll cost you a shirt, because I'm not putting this back on after." She gestured to herself and grinned.
"Deal," he said. "So, you believe me? That it was the shower thing?"
Hermione laughed and shook her head, watching him unlock the door and enter the code to deactivate the alarm. She walked through the door and turned to face him. "Not on your life," she said. "You walked me up here because you wanted to see if I'd show you what was under my coat, you big perv."
"Hey! I resent that! I'm not a perv I just happen to know that Ginny and I have similar, high quality, tastes in women," he said. "You know, when she's looking at women."
"You found Marietta Edgecombe attractive?" Hermione frowned.
"Uh no," Fred said. "Me and Gin both agreed that Marietta was a fluke on her part. I did not find her attractive and to be fair, neither did Gin after the first few months."
"Fred, you're not seeing what's under my coat," Hermione said.
"No fair!" He huffed and stomped his feet as though he was eight again. He looked up at Hermione with enormous eyes and a great big pout which caused the girl to collapse into giggles.
"Night Fred, see you and have a good evening," she chuckled in a sing-songy way.
"Night Granger," he grumbled, heading for the door.
In a feat of boldness and daring, and being someone who always wanted the last laugh, Hermione found herself calling out Fred's name as he reached the door.
"Yeah?" he turned back, glancing quickly at her.
"Which one is your room? So I know whose shirt I actually asked to pinch?"
"My room is on the left," Fred said. "Bathroom is the door right next to you."
"Thanks Fred," she said.
"Anything else I can do for you while I'm here?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"No thanks, I think I'm good from here on out." Hermione grinned wickedly as she undid her coat and let it drop to the floor before waltzing through the bathroom door and leaving behind a stunned Fred.
Hermione sighed as she stepped into the shower, giggling at the full five minutes it took for Fred to leave the flat after she'd taken off her coat. She smiled as the green paint ran off her face and hands and snaked it's way down the drain. She felt so much better as the hot water slightly scolded her skin in the most glorious way. She stayed under the water for what felt like an age before shutting the shower off and stepping out. She reached for the towel she'd pinched out of the cupboard, wrapping it around her body and smiling at how warm it was since she'd placed it on the heated towel rail. Hermione scooped up her clothes and padded across the hallway to Fred's bedroom, throwing her garments in a pile behind the door. She grabbed her knickers and shimmied into them before wondering over to his draws and trying to find a clean t-shirt she could wear for now. She rummaged around a bit, surprised and impressed at how clean and tidy he seemed to be. She plucked a shirt from a draw and threw it on the bed. Drying the rest of her body off, she flipped the towel over her hair and twisted it up. She pulled the shirt on over her head and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking around the room.
Fred had a small bookshelf in the corner and she decided a nice hot drink and a book would do her well. She padded her way to the kitchen and found a mug and some hot chocolate. Fixing her drink she turned to the lounge area, eyeing up the seats and trying to decide which was the comfiest. Finally she gave in and went back into Fred's room instead, his bed had looked far better. She knew he wouldn't mind her snuggling down in it and subsequently falling asleep; she didn't much want to relax on the sofa knowing she'd fall asleep there instead and she wasn't exactly dressed in the most proper of nightwear. Knowing her luck, the twins and their friends would all come in to find Hermione with her bum in the air and her knickers on show, and she couldn't chance that.
Hermione settled into bed with her hot chocolate and a book. She'd chosen the one off the shelf that looked the most worn, since it meant that Fred would have read it a lot and so it was probably pretty good. It was also one she hadn't heard of before, which didn't happen often for her. Several chapters in and a whole hot chocolate down, Hermione fell asleep with the book propped open on her lap. Fred stumbled into the room at three am, smiling softly at the now clean witch. He hadn't expected her to still be here, thinking Ginny would have come to pick her up on her way out. Fred took the book out of her hand and placed it on his bedside table. He took a pillow from the other side of the bed and grabbed whatever spare blankets they had left, setting them up on the floor beside the bed. He was drunk and tired, not enough to forget how to be a gentleman but definitely not enough to forget exactly what Hermione had looked like under that coat. Suffice to say, he did not trust himself in a bed with her. At least not right now.
About an hour later, Hermione woke to the sound of thrashing arms and legs trapped underneath blankets. She heard broken whimpers followed by a scared little shout. She sat up and crawled across the bed to where the noise was coming from. Fred was breathing hard from his makeshift bed on the floor, his eyes screwed up tight and his body trembling. Hermione scooted quickly off the bed to sit beside him, running her fingers softly through his hair in an attempt to calm his still sleeping form. Her own eyes drooped as she felt the edges of her sleep trying to grasp at her again.
"Granger?" Fred groaned, a hand coming to rest on her leg as though to test if she was real.
"Mmhmm," Hermione hummed.
Fred simply stared sleepily up at her, his breathing calm again and a small smile replacing the deep frown he'd worn only moments ago.
"Come on," Hermione whispered, slowly getting up and crawling back into bed. She'd snagged Fred's hand as she went and pulled him up with her. She settled back on her pillow, sleep taking her once again as she snuggled Fred in beside her. His arms automatically wrapped themselves around her as though she was a teddy bear and their legs tangled together like it was the norm. Both of them fell back to sleep without much thought, Hermione resting her head atop Fred's as he nestled himself into her chest. Her fingers subconsciously raked softly through his hair as their breathing evened out and they slept peacefully again.