"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Fred watched Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She, along with the rest of his family, had lumbered into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fifteen minutes earlier. Everyone else had scattered about the store, leaving her on her own.
She was now bent over a shimmering display of love potions, her thick hair concealing her face from view. But that was alright, because he had already memorized all of her features, from the lines in her brow that appeared when she was concentrating to the small, pinprick of a freckle beside her nose.
He didn't need to see her face now to know that she was beautiful.
He felt something hit the back of his head and spun around to meet a pair of eyes identical to his. George had thrown a wad of paper at him, and was now watching him with an expression that told him to get a move on.
Fred shook his head. There was no way that he could go over there. He wasn't stupid; he knew she wasn't interested in him.
George grabbed another piece of paper and wadded it up. He cocked back his arm, as if to throw it at him, and gave him a pointed look.
Fred rolled his eyes at his twin, but surrendered and walked towards Hermione. She now held a bottle of love potion in her hand, closely examining the label. The glittering of the liquid cast her face into a play of shadows.
"I don't think you need that."
She hadn't heard him approach, and jumped slightly when he spoke. Her face scrunched in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem calm and confident. In reality, his stomach was squirming pitifully. "I don't think that you would ever need a potion to make people love you. You're beautiful, so they already love you all on their own."
Hermione replaced the bottle and gave him a suspicious sort of look. "Is this the part where you make a joke?"
He shook his head. "Nope, no joke. Just didn't want you wasting your money on something that you didn't need."
Now, she seemed very skeptical. Placing her hands on her hips, she asked, "You think I'm beautiful?"
"Yes," he said simply.
She scoffed. "Is this some sort of bet?"
Fred sighed impatiently, throwing his hands in the air. "Merlin, Hermione. Do you make it this difficult on every bloke that asks you on a date?"
"You're asking me on a date?"
"Well, I was getting to it! Let me take you to lunch tomorrow," he said, noting the dumbfounded expression on her face.
There was a moment of silence where she seemed to be processing everything that he had said. Then she nodded her head slowly. "Okay. I'll meet you here tomorrow."
The trademark Weasley grin returned to his face. "Alright then. It's a date."
Then, he sauntered back to his twin to give him a high-five.