Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, own Harry Potter or any connected world.
"I think I'm a little bit caught in the middle, I gotta keep going or they call me a quitter."
Hermione raced out of the classroom and ran to her favorite hidden corridor. She knew technically she had no need to rush but she didn't see the point in taking her time when she could go faster. She was going over the logistics of her class load when she turned a corner and collided into someone's chest.
"Shit. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking I should've..." Hermione trailed off while kneeling down on the ground to pick up her books. She finally had them all gathered and stacked correctly in her arms when she looked up and saw the lopsided grin of one of the Weasley twins, she took a second to grab his offered hand and get off the ground and evaluate which one he was.
"Sorry... Fred," she said his name confidently. "I'm in a hurry though so I really have to go now."
Fred watched as Hermione hurried away, internally chuckling at how she was making sure she wasn't running as that's against the rules. He watched her for moment before deciding to follow her to see where she was going. 'Granger never looks that frazzled, even during exam week... Let's go see what trouble she's up to.' He thought to himself with a smirk.
He followed casually making sure to keep a safe distance, it was more playful than suspicious he had decided. She was his friend, it couldn't be weird. He was thinking of how to give her a small fright when he snuck into the small, hidden corridor and saw Hermione glance around before pulling a long gold chain out from under her blouse.
Fred tried to look at the little bauble on the chain but before he could get a closer look at it she turned the bauble a little and started to disappear.
"HERMIONE-WHAT?" Fred shouted out of shock but Hermione was gone and he was alone in the corridor. "What the bloody hell just happened?" He said to the space Hermione had just been occupying.
Hermione looked around once the blur of time passed, she could've sworn she heard someone as she started to go back but no one was there when she left... 'I must've been hearing things, I probably need more sleep like Harry's been saying.' She thought to herself as she headed off to her next class. She snuck into her class and sat with Ron and Harry picking up an easy conversation until class started.
Once class was let out she and the boys decided to head down to the Great Hall to have lunch.
"Hey Hermione, can you help me understand what Professor Snape was talking about in Potions the other day? I've tried to wrap my head around it before asking for your help but I'm really stuck..." Harry sheepishly asked for help while trying not to seem like he expected her to help. She'd really yelled at Ron the other day for assuming she'd help him with whatever he needed whenever he needed.
Hermione smiled at Harry, secretly a little touched that he had tried before asking her. "Of course Harry, I'll help you while we eat lunch." Ron had kept quiet during the small conversation, still a little afraid from when she had chewed him out. He had apologized once Harry had agreed with Hermione and he'd calmed down but he still felt a little bad.
"Hey 'Mione... any chance I can listen in when you help Harry? I don't really get it either." Rons ears turned a slight pink and Hermione nodded, laughing lightly.
"Yeah, come on now. I'm sure you 'growing boys' are hungry." She mocked the boys excuse for always rushing to meals and laughed with them while they left the classroom together. "Wait, I forgot my quill. I'll catch up!" Harry looked a little worried but knew better than to argue that she needed a chaperone.
Hermione hurried back to the empty classroom to find her quill had rolled under the table she'd been sitting at. She looked around to ensure the classroom was actually empty before crawling under the table to retrieve her favorite quill. "There you are." She said lovingly to her quill as she got out from under the table. She turned to leave the room and saw Fred Weasley sitting on a table cross legged with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Who knew someone could go from a corridor to under a table in a classroom on the other side of the castle in 5 minutes, if you didn't love rules so much my only idea would be underage illegal apparation." Fred said with a sharp tone Hermione wasn't used to hearing in his usually light and mischief riddled voice.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about Fred. I was in class with Harry and Ron. You must've seen another witch in a corridor." Hermione stumbled through her lie. 'There was no way he could've seen me use the Time Turner... I'm careful. Always so careful' she thought to herself while starting to chew her bottom lip.
"You may have been in class, but you also just ran into me. I have a strand of your hair still on my robes here. Plus you dropped this." Fred handed her a muggle compact. She grimaced and snatched it from his hand before shoving it deep into a pocket.
"I need to go to lunch, the boys are waiting and they need help with potions." She scrambled to leave the room but Fred grabbed her elbow. She looked at him, she'd never been afraid of either of the twins before but for a moment she was terrified. Fred saw the fear in her eyes and his face softened.
"Look, I just want to know what's going on..." He let go of her elbow and rubbed his face, "You're my kid brothers best friend and I'd like to know what trouble you lot are getting into before the shit hits the fan like last year." Hermione shuffled awkwardly realizing that he had almost lost his sister and brother last year.
"Fine... But not now. After dinner tonight, I'll meet you in the corridor from earlier and I'll explain. However, you cannot tell anyone. Not Harry, not Ron, not Ginny." Hermione had started slowly and calmly and had rapidly increased in her speed and ferocity. Fred looked at her and nodded, agreeing for now but would ask about George later on. They stared at each other in an uneasy agreement for a moment before Hermione turned to hurry to the Great Hall.
"Blimey 'Mione! Took you long enough to find a quill." Ron said through a mouth full of sandwich.
Hermione grimaced, "Ronald. Chew with your mouth closed and don't speak with food in your mouth. Please." She added the please on to soften the harsh way her demand had come out. Ron turned slightly pink but muttered a quick apology and did as she said. She sat across from Ron and next to Harry who greeted her with a kind smile. She grabbed a light lunch and decided to let the boys finish eating before launching into Potions work. She laughed with Harry and Ron, trying to ignore the anxiety building about her confrontation with Fred and what she'd have to tell him in only a few hours time. She finally fell into a comfortable conversation with the boys and missed the stare from a tall, ginger boy.