Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter (including the characters and setting and everything!)
"WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?" Hermione screeched, her eyes flashing dangerously, "I thought I made it clear that this was unacceptable! Do you want me to write to your mother?"
Fred and George jumped guiltily, a red flush creeping up their necks simultaneously as they stuffed a brown paper bag behind them. A group of young first and second years were retching and one small girl was knocked out cold.
"We're paying them a bloody lot! Besides, it won't hurt them… too much." Fred looked slightly flustered, "And please don't write to Mum! She'll murder us! Do you really want to be responsible for our deaths?" Fred gave Hermione his most convincing puppy eyes. George followed suit.
Hermione felt her lips twitch at the identical expressions on the twins' faces.
"Fine," She sighed, "But one more time, one more, and you might as well write your death note and will." Hermione turned around to find Ron slumped on an armchair, trying his best to hide. "Thanks for your help, Ronald." She told him icily, walking over.
"You never need my help anyways," Ron muttered. Harry snorted from the table, his quill scratching the parchment as he worked on a five-page essay for Snape.
"And you won't need my help on your homework anymore." Hermione snapped as she promptly whipped out a few objects that were a sad excuse for hats. Beaming, she laid them on a couch, covering them with various junk scattered around the room. "Good night," She called, skipping into her dormitory.
Pulling the hangings around her bed, she stripped out of her day clothes and pulled on a nightgown. Hermione lay down, staring up at the ceiling, reviewing today's events. It had been a very satisfying day. In the morning, Ron had smiled at her and their hands had met briefly as they both grabbed for a napkin. She giggled as she remembered how Ron had blushed furiously. Then Professor Flitwick informed her that she had gotten one hundred and twenty percent on her most recent test. Hermione beamed, making a mental note to write to her parents about that. Her mind suddenly wandered to a few minutes ago. She scowled, thinking of the obnoxious way Fred and George had fed the poor first and second years those horrible treats. Even so, she couldn't help but give a small smile at their matching puppy dog faces. Hermione remembered Fred's face more clearly, perhaps because he had spoken the most. As much as she told herself that she loathed him, she couldn't help but notice, while she stared up defiantly into his eyes, the blueness. It wasn't baby blue, as everyone had described him, but rather an ocean blue. She liked the way his freckles scattered over his nose, dancing onto his cheeks. This was the first time Hermione had actually observed Fred's facial features this closely. She blushed in the darkness. No! She stopped herself abruptly, What am I thinking? I like Ron, not Fred! Fred is the obnoxious guy who doesn't have so much as a gram of maturity and can't be serious if his life depended on it! Besides, Hermione thought wistfully, He wouldn't like a girl like me. There's brilliant girls for him out there… like Angelina. She felt a twinge of jealousy. I am NOT jealous! I like Ron. For that matter, I'll come clean with him tomorrow. With that, Hermione drifted off into a fretful sleep, Fred's grinning face invading her peaceful dreams about Ron.
"I HATE UMBRIDGE!" Harry roared, "SHE GAVE ME ANOTHER… FREAKING... DETENTION!" Hermione and Ron looked up at him in alarm, trying to calm him.
"It's lunch right now, Harry! Everybody's staring!" Hermione glanced around.
"You didn't mind everyone staring when you confessed your undying love to Ron and started snogging him in the middle of breakfast!"
Hermione blushed, "Well… Oh never mind." She intertwined her hand with Ron's and fed him a piece of carrot off her fork.
Harry turned away, slightly embarrassed. Dread dawned onto him as he spotted Angelina marching towards him.
"POTTER, I HEARD YOU GOT ANOTHER DETENTION?" Angelina was positively livid.
"Well… Erm… Uh… Kinda… yeah." Harry stammered back.
Hermione and Ron stared at the two, throwing each other pitying glances for Harry. Right when Angelina was puffing herself up, about to give a long and harsh lecture, Fred and George walked into the Great Hall. Upon seeing the expressions on Harry and Angelina's face, Fred threw his arm around Angelina and asked, "Who you planning to kill, sweetie?"
Angelina's face softened a little as she rested her head against his broad shoulders and replied, "Harry got himself into another detention." She shook her head.
"Yeah, well that Umbridge is a whole new definition of bloody banshee. She's landed George and me in a detention also."
Hermione watched Fred talk with such casualty and admired the laid-back way he'd thrown his arm around Angelina. She wished Ron could act less uptight around her sometimes and learn from his brother. Although, Hermione corrected herself, his flustered actions are rather cute. Even so, she gazed, almost wistfully, at the way Angelina laid her head on his shoulders.
"WHAT?" Angelina jerked up, making Hermione feel slightly better, "NOT YOU GUYS TOO!"
"Aw, Angelina, don't yell at us! It's Umbridge's fault. All I did was tell her that a she resembled a toad greatly and should make some alterations to her face or else Fudge wouldn't want her." Fred said this with all innocence, although casting George a mischievous smile. George grinned back and dropped down beside Katie, brushing his lips against her cheek.
Ron really should learn from them, Hermione couldn't help but think, If Ron could have passed off a move half as smooth as George did, I would have been on the lookout for flying pigs. She sighed, shaking her head slightly as Angelina got ready to explode.
"Angelina," Katie put a hand on her friend and captain's arm, "Calm down. We'll just skip practice today and make it up tomorrow. Let's just have a nice, peaceful lunch for now." She grinned slyly at George, "Or perhaps you guys can have a nice, peaceful lunch. C'mon, George. Let's uh… Finish our homework." Katie got up and dragged George out of the Great Hall.
Hermione felt a nudge in her ribs and she turned to see Ron smiling suggestively.
"Maybe we can do some homework also." He wiggled his eyebrows.
Hermione smiled weakly at his attempts to act cool, but he just couldn't do it the way Fred could. Fred's eyebrow wiggle made girls fall at his feet while Ron's just made Hermione feel sick.
"Not now, Ron. We should talk to Harry." She pretended not to notice how Ron's face fell. She absentmindedly stuffed a fry into her mouth as she watched Fred whisper in Angelina's ear. Angelina wacked him playfully on the shoulder and whispered something back. Fred's lips curved into a mesmerizing smile as he slipped his arm around Angelina's waist and gave her a kiss on the forehead before spooning her a mouthful of ice cream. Angelina gave him a spoonful back.
"Hermione?" Ron prodded her on the shoulder, "What are you looking at?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." She stared into Ron's blue eyes, identical to Fred's. A sudden urge came up to her and she wrapped her arms around him, smashing her lips against his. Ron responded eagerly, his arms tightening around her waist, drawing her closer to him. Hoots and catcalls sounded around them. Hermione opened her eyes, as if automatically, and peered at Fred out of the corner of her eyes. He had glanced briefly towards them and flashed Hermione a smile and thumbs up when he spotted her staring at him. Angry for unknown reasons, she tore her eyes away from him and pulled out of the kiss.
"Wow, Hermione!" Ron whispered, his eyes glittering, "That was… great!"
Hermione barely acknowledged him with a nod, and frowned. Was she expecting some reaction from Fred? Why was she so disappointed when Fred gave her a thumbs-up? What else did she want? Hermione rubbed her temples, thoroughly confused by her own thoughts. She gave a small shake, getting rid of her thoughts as she turned to Harry.
"Hey Harry… So, when's your detention?" Hermione nodded towards his scarred hand, "You really should go to Dumbledore with that."
"Once you're done making out with Ron, you decide to come and dwell in my business?" Harry looked annoyed, "Besides, no way I'm going to Dumbledore because of my hand! That'll only make me seem weak and give Umbridge the satisfaction of knowing she's getting to me." He sighed, his eyes glued to the Ravenclaw table. Hermione followed his gaze to a petite blonde who was sitting slightly isolated from the rest of the students, reading a magazine upside down.
"You should tell her how you feel."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry avoided Hermione's gaze.
"You know very well that I'm talking about your feelings for Luna."
"I don't have any!"
"Right. That explains why you pay extra attention to her at the D.A."
"I don't!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and decided to leave him be, just staring at Luna. She had talked to Luna a few days ago and Luna had admitted that she did, perhaps, have a small crush on Harry. Hermione could hear from her tone of voice that it was well beyond a "small crush", but she didn't prod. Her thoughts led to the sessions of D.A. It was then that she had realized Fred's true potential. He was extremely clever, not that she didn't already know that. She had to admit that a few of their inventions were rather… advanced. But Fred's performance during the D.A. meetings had been outstanding. Hermione closed her eyes, imagining Fred, standing in his plain robes that could only look good on him, conjuring up the perfect patronus. She sighed and opened her eyes, only to see Ron gobbling up food like a pig.
"Ew Ron! You've got pudding all down your front!"
"Oooh… 'M sseewee." Ron mumbled, spraying food all over the table.
Hermione was grossed out and decided to focus her attention, once again, on Fred. He was also shoveling food into his mouth, although he looked much less obnoxious. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he snorted at Lee's joke. Next to him, Angelina gossiped with the rest of the girls, her arm around Fred's waist. He abruptly glanced up saw Hermione staring at him. Hermione looked away, positioning herself so that her hair would hide her fiercely blushing cheeks.
Is she staring at me again? Fred wondered as he caught Hermione's eye and she quickly turned away. He had to admit that he was slightly smug. He had felt her eyes on him many times before and she was even watching him when she snogged Ron. He had given her a thumbs-up to tell her that he was totally happy that she was dating Ron. Yet inside, he had felt a foreign twinge of jealousy. Fred knew, deep down, he had a small soft spot for Hermione. As much as she is a royal pain in the butt, digging her nose way too much into George and his business, he couldn't help but notice that she had grown from his little brother's best friend to an attractive young woman. Last year at the Yule Ball, he had realized, for the first time, that Hermione was beautiful. When she didn't have about a hundred books as accessories, she was breathtaking. At that time, he had felt that Viktor Krum was one lucky man. Even though Angelina was a beauty also, he couldn't bring himself to admire her the way he admired Hermione. She had everything—Beauty, brains, guys… Yes, guys. Although she seemed oblivious to it, most of the guys in Gryffindor and even some in other houses have been talking about Hermione. She no longer was the "know-it-all nerd" everyone thought they knew, but she was the "really-hot-know-it-all-nerd." No one, of course, but George knew about this little crush. Fred stared as Hermione threw Ron an annoyed look before getting up and leaving. He could barely hold down the urge to follow her as she walked out, her bushy hair that he'd learn to love swinging elegantly from side to side. Even with her fifty pound books, in Fred's eyes, Hermione was beautiful.