"Really, Fred," Mrs. Weasley berated. "Will you please leave your brother alone? You've been pranking him all day!"

Hermione watched the scene from the shadowy corner she'd stuffed herself into a few hours earlier. It had been a last-ditch effort to get some peace and quite from the loud, boisterous crowd. She loved the Weasley family, and when they'd invited her to spend the summer with them, she'd jumped at the chance, but it had only been a week and she was already missing home. Though, if she was being honest with herself, her homesickness probably stemmed from the fact that Ron had been parading his new girlfriend around for the past two days.

"Well, I wouldn't have to use such drastic measures, if my brother wasn't such a clueless git," Fred defended.

"Please try to remember that Ron is your brother, Fred," his mother huffed, kneading the doe with a ferocity Hermione hardly thought was necessary.

"I'm trying to forget," he mumbled. "He's a disgrace to the Weasley name."

Hermione wondered what Ron had done to make Fred so angry. Ron wasn't the pranking type so Fred's motivation couldn't be revenge. In fact, she hadn't even seen Fred and Ron speak to each other since she'd arrived seven days ago. Funny that she hadn't noticed it before, but there was a palpable tension in the air whenever the two brothers were ever in the same room together.

"Shame on you!" Mrs. Weasley's voice penetrated her thoughts. "He's a part of this family, Fred, and that means something."

Fred's face turned a harsh red and his hands balled into fists by his sides. "And what about Hermione, mum?" he hissed.

"What about her?"

"She's hurting!"

Mrs. Weasley stopped dicing the onions for the stew to send her son a warning glare. "Hurting? Did you and George do something to the poor girl?"

Hermione felt like she should sneak out because technically she was eavesdropping, but her feet refused to move. She couldn't say why, but she wanted to hear what Fred was going to say next. They weren't close by any stretch of the imagination, but here Fred was, defending her to his mother. It was all very strange.

"No, of course not. Ron is the one flaunting Lavender around like she's some tramp," he exclaimed loudly. "He doesn't even care that he's putting Mi through the ringer."

Mrs. Weasley smiled, which Hermione found rather insulting. Didn't Mrs. Weasley care that her son was being incredibly insensitive? She considered the woman to be a second mother-figure, but apparently the sentiment wasn't returned, and Hermione had to admit-it hurt.

"You know, Fred," Mrs. Weasley said, her tone innocently conversational. "I noticed something interesting last night during supper."

"What?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled again as she spun around to check on the potatoes. "I noticed you had your eyes focused intently on our little Mione."

Hermione noticed the way Fred's body stiffened and how the tips of his ears turned a bright pink. "That's ridiculous," he replied. "I have no idea what you mean."

"No?" Mrs. Weasley chuckled.

"No!" he denied vehemently. "Hermione is my little brother's best friend. Fancying her would be crazy...ludicrous." The last part was said hesitantly as if he didn't quite believe what he was saying himself.

Giving her son a knowing look, Mrs. Weasley went to wrap an arm around his waist. "That may be, but the heart does not care about such things. Beside, why would it be crazy to care for Hermione? She's a wonderful girl."

"Mum, Hermione is never going to look at me like she looks at Ron," Fred murmured. "I'm just the obnoxious prankster she has to put up with."

"Now that's ridiculous," Mrs. Weasley chided. "You can't know how the girl feels unless you ask her yourself."

Shoulders slumped, head bowed, Fred shook his head. "It would ruin everything if she didn't feel the same, mum."

"And what if she does?" Mrs. Weasley asked, brow raised.

Hermione didn't hear the rest, because her mind was racing over everything she'd heard. Fred fancied her? It seemed hard to believe that the famous Fred Weasley had a crush on her. She was two years behind him, and she had quite a reputation as an annoying know-it-all. They couldn't be anymore different from each other.

Too be honest, she found him attractive, but she would never let herself daydream about him. Of course, now she was doing a lot more than daydreaming. She'd overhead a conversation that wasn't meant for her ears, and she wasn't sure what to do with the information she'd learned. She wasn't sure how to feel or what to say...

The best course of action, in her opinion, was to leave before they noticed her presence. She wasn't sure what she should say to Fred, and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be much help if worse came to worse. The woman would probably start talking about marriage and babies, and both her and Fred would end up mortified, and probably scarred for life. No, she needed to leave in order to get her bearings. She needed time to think over everything before dinner.

As she snuck up the stairs, she hoped that she would have a better grasp on things by supper.

A/N - I should be working on my other stories (and I will), but Fred and Hermione make me happy. The next chapter will be up soon. What will happen at dinner? Stay tuned to find out!