Two Stones, One Girl
By corset-rebellion-follower
Disclaimer: I don't own HP
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She had found it. After her searching, she found it on the floor of the Forbidden Forest. Hermione knew there was a reason that Harry had left it there, but she had to find it. I have to see him again. Even if it's for the last time. She knew the story of the Perverell brothers. The brother who owned it had died. But she had to do it.
"Hermione!"
She turned around. Harry and Ron were running toward her. Harry stopped in his tracks when he saw it. "Hermione, don't!" he cried. Ron looked confused.
"What? What is it?" Harry was breathing heavily.
"She's got the Resurrection Stone!"
Ron finally saw the ring in her hand. He stared at her with wide eyes, too shocked to speak. But there was no such barrier between her and Harry.
"Hermione, don't do it! Whoever you're trying to resurrect, let them be dead in peace!" he yelled. Hermione couldn't take it. She just couldn't give in. She worked so hard to find it, and it just wasn't in her nature to do whatever people wanted her to.
"No! You don't understand, Harry, I…" He cut her off.
"You think I don't understand? My parents are dead! But I still let them go when I resurrected them! And I know you can let go whoever it is!" he yelled.
Hermione's face turned red, tinged with a sickly green color on her cheeks. Ron immediately looked worried for her. "You… you don't understand, Harry! You're always going on about your parents! I know it hurt you a lot to grow up never knowing them, but you've had seventeen years to get over it! I've had an hour to get over his death! I didn't even get to say goodbye!" Harry looked at her with cold, hurt eyes. She had never been this mad at him before.
"Fine! But don't come crying to me when you want something you can't have!" he yelled, storming back to the castle.
Ron's eyes flickered from Hermione to Harry, who was getting harder to see every second. He walked over to her. "Who is it?" he asked. She looked at the ground. "You know, Harry's right. That ring is dangerous," he noted. Her head snapped up, an enraged look on her face. "Maybe you should get rid of that thing," he suggested. She was breathing heavily, trying to hold in her tears.
"I can't Ronald. I have to talk to… this person."
"Hermione, you shouldn't…"
"Ron, I love him!"
Ron was startled. "But… you… I… bloody hell, Hermione, you kissed me!"
"I know! And I shouldn't have. I'm sorry." They both had tears brimming in their eyes. Ron shook his head and walked away. She sighed. At least I can use the stone in peace. She turned it over three times in her hand. Please work. Please. She opened her eyes.
Standing in front of her, with a soft glow around him, was Fred Weasley.
He smiled at her. She felt the tears that she had held in spilling down her cheeks. His smile turned into a grin. His grin. I never thought I would see it again. He walked over to her.
"You shouldn't be crying for me, Hermione. I'm fine," he said wiping away her tears. The minute she felt his hand touch her cheek, she knew something was different. He was there, standing in front of her. But there was no warmth in his hands. The hand that had held hers once was changed. And she wanted it back.
"Fred… are you…" She could finish, it was too hard, but he understood.
"No, I'm still dead. This is my spirit." More tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks. "And I've come to haunt you forever!" he added, trying to cheer her up. She giggled. "And you used to think my jokes were immature." She shook her head, a frown replacing her smile. "What's wrong?" he asked. She turned away.
"Fred… this is probably the last time I'll ever see you. I just wanted to say goodbye. So… goodbye." She started to walk away, but stopped. She ran back to Fred. I won't lose him this way. Her throat was hoarse from holding back so many tears, but she spoke as she clearly as ever.
"Fred… I don't want you to leave. "I've spent all this time trying to keep my feelings inside, and then I tell you and you… you…" She burst into tears. He looked at the crying girl in front of him. She doesn't deserve to have her heart broken like this. Their eyes met again.
"Mione, listen to me. I need you to bring me my body." She nodded and wiped her eyes. As fast as she could, she ran back, to the castle and into the Great Hall, slipping and sliding on the stone floors. She immediately saw Mrs. Weasley in a corner, dabbing her eyes. Hermione raced over to her.
"Mrs. Weasley! You have to help me… where's Fred's body?" Mrs. Weasley began sobbing again as she pointed across the Great Hall. Hermione spotted George kneeling on the floor near his twin's motionless body. She got over to him as quickly as possible, being careful not to bump into the mess of crying people standing around loved ones who had died fighting. George didn't look up when she finally reached him. She knelt down next to him and touched Fred's hand. It was cold, just like the hand in the Forest.
"I can't believe it."
She looked up from Fred's body. George was shaking his head. "It doesn't seem fair, does it?" he asked quietly.
"It isn't fair," Hermione added. They both were silent for a moment. Then Hermione remembered why she was there. "George… do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?" she asked. He nodded slowly.
"Even Fred?"
He looked up at her. "What are you talking about?"
"We need to bring Fred's body to the Forbidden Forest." He knit his eyebrows.
"Why?"
"George, please! I can't carry him—he's too heavy for me. And we have to hurry." George looked at the body of his brother.
"Ok. Let's go." He picked up Fred and carried him out of the castle. Hermione led him across the grounds and into the Forest. She saw a figure in the distance. Fred. She began to run.
"Hermione, wait! I can't keep up!" She stopped. George caught up with her. "You can run much faster than I thought. Where are we going, anyway?" he asked. She pointed to the figure in the distance. "Who is that?" Hermione didn't answer. She started walking towards it, and George followed, still carrying Fred's body. The figure got bigger and clearer to see, until you could easily tell who it was. George froze when he saw Fred standing in front of him. "What the…"
He trailed off, unable to believe his eyes. Fred grinned at him. "Miss me?" he asked lightheartedly.
"Fred… how are you… how are you here? You're… you're…"
"Dead, I know," Fred finished.
George looked to Hermione "Am I hallucinating, or can you see him too?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're not hallucinating."
"GEORGE WEASLEY!"
George and Hermione turned around. Mrs. Weasley was coming toward them, followed by Ginny, Harry, Percy, and Ron.
"How can you possibly take your brother's body and not even think twice about it?" she scolded.
"Mum, I can explain," George insisted, carefully placing Fred's body on the Forest floor. All of a sudden, Ginny screamed. Everyone jumped.
"Ginny, what is it?" Harry asked. Ginny pointed with a shaking hand. They looked to where she was pointing. Fred grinned at them. Harry, Ron, Percy, and Ginny were all rooted to the ground. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears.
"I…I can't b…believe it! I'm seeing things now!" she wailed.
Ginny patted her back and stared at Fred's spirit out of the corner of her eye. Harry snapped out of his stupor. He ran over to Hermione. "Is this why you needed the Resurrection Stone?" She nodded. He pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so hard on you," he whispered. Hermione just nodded. Fred cleared his throat. Harry let go of Hermione.
"I hate to break up this love fest, but I don't have much time," Fred warned.
"Time? What do you mean? The Resurrection Stone raises the dead, you have all the time you want," Harry said quickly.
"At least until Hermione kills herself," Ron muttered. Everyone stared at him. "What? Don't you remember the story? When the second brother raised that girl he wanted to marry, she was really unhappy. So the guy killed himself so he could be with her," Ron explained.
"What time is it?" Fred asked. Ginny grabbed Ron's wrist and looked at his watch.
"It's 11:55." Fred bit his lip and pulled Hermione away for everyone. "Mione… I need you to do something for me."
She tilted her head to one side. "What is it?" He sighed and took her hand.
"At exactly midnight, I need you to spread blood on my lips." Hermione went pale.
"Why?"
"Please, Mione, just do me this one favor." She looked at Fred's hands. She wanted to feel the warmth in them again.
"Alright. I'll do it." He grinned at her.
"Ginny, what time is it?" she yelled, never looking away from Fred's gaze.
"11:58!" Ginny yelled back. Fred and Hermione ran back to Fred's body. He took Hermione's hand.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine." She smiled and squeezed his hand. Fred let go. There was another glow, and Fred's spirit rejoined his body. Mrs. Weasley gasped and started to cry silently. Harry, George, Ron, and Ginny just watched. Hermione smiled. She understood now. He's trying to come back. For me. She looked to Ron.
"Ron, I need your watch!" He looked confused, but he slipped off the watch and threw it to him. She checked the time. It was 11:59. Where am I supposed to get blood?
She saw a sharp rock nearby. I have to. For Fred. She checked the watch again.
Thirty seconds to midnight.
She picked up the rock. Everyone else was watching her.
Fifteen seconds to midnight.
She plunged the rock into her arm. Ron, Harry, and Ginny cringed. Mrs. Weasley gasped. Percy looked completely disgusted. George just stared at her with wide eyes.
Ten seconds to midnight.
A stream of blood ran down her arm. She wiped a little off with her finger.
Five seconds.
She took a deep breath.
Three seconds. Two seconds. One second.
Midnight.
Hermione smeared the blood on his lips. Once she removed her finger, the blood disappeared. She looked at Fred with hopeful eyes. There was complete silence.
Fred's eyes fluttered open. He grinned up at her.
Hermione felt tears dripping down her cheeks. He reached up and wiped them away. She gasped.
There was warmth in his hands.
She collapsed into his arms and started bawling. He gently slid his arms around her. "It's ok, Mione, it's alright. Everything will be ok," he whispered. She shook her head. His arms tightened around her waist.
"Everything will be fine. Listen to me, Hermione. I want us to be together. I want you and I to get married. I want to be the father of your children. I want to make you happy."
She looked up at him through teary eyes. "Do you mean that?" she asked quietly. He nodded and reached into his pocket. Hermione's eyes widened. He pulled out a small black box and opened it.
A diamond ring was glittering inside. Fred took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger, gently kissing her hand.
"Hermione Jean Granger, I want you to be my wife. I stopped death for you, and I'd do it a million times more if I had to. Will you marry me?" More tears fell down her cheeks.
"Fred…" They both stood up, their eyes still locked on each other.
"Fred," Hermione repeated, a serene look on her face. She was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley.
"MY BOY! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" she cried, giving Fred a bone-crushing hug.
"Mum… Mum… Mum, can you let go of me for a second? I'm in the middle of something." Mrs. Weasley reluctantly let go, but Fred was bombarded by hugs from Ron, Ginny, Percy, and Harry. After they finally let go, George walked up and faced his twin. They grinned at each other before giving each other a tight hug.
"Excuse me!" Hermione yelled. Everyone turned to stare at her, and Fred and George let go of each other. She stepped over to Fred and took his hand.
"Yes." Fred grinned at her.
"Yes to what?" Ron asked. Hermione looked worriedly at everyone before turning back to Fred and smiled.
"Yes, Fred, I will marry you." He ran over to her and swept her up in a passionate kiss. Everyone stared at them with big eyes. Once the kiss broke, they realized everyone was looking at them. Fred and Hermione sheepishly let go of each other and turned to the rest of the Weasleys and Harry.
"Mum, Ginny, Ron, George, Percy, Harry… we're getting married," Fred said quietly.
A/N: There it is, my ONE tribute to Fred's death in Deathly Hallows. All other stories will disregard this event, because Fred shouldn't have died. So there you go. Enjoy this story in good health.