A Matter of Cheering Up

Five minutes to go.

It was New Year's Eve, and the party at The Burrow was a festive one. Everyone was having a great time, due a lot to the fact that it had been over a year since Voldemort had died. Plates full of dinner and dessert leftovers littered the kitchen table, abandoned by people who had decided to retire on the living room couch and chairs. Decorations were strewn around the room, some hanging from the ceiling that you had to brush away from your face when you walked into them. Some New Year themed toys Fred and George had brought over from their joke shop lay on the coffee table and other surfaces. Most of them were in the form of small pieces of candy, which, when touched, transfigured into something else. Ginny had reached for what looked like a toffee flavored one when it transfigured into a top hat with Happy New Year! written across the front in flashing rainbow colors, which she had proceeded to place on Harry's head while distracting him with a kiss. A heavily pregnant Fleur sat on one end of the couch, where she had been for the past hour, and Bill seemed to never let her out of his sight. After a while, she had to remind him that the baby was due in late January, that they had about three more weeks to go. To this statement Bill had turned a deaf ear. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley occupied the other end of the couch; Mrs. Weasley was in deep conversation with Fleur about, once again, names for the baby, and Mr. Weasley was talking to Percy, who sat next to his long-time girlfriend Penelope (they had met again in a shop in Diagon Alley and the rest was history). Charlie sat at one end of the room with his girlfriend, who worked with dragons in Romania as well, and they were speaking with George and his girlfriend, Alicia. Neville and his new girlfriend Hannah sat nearby, speaking with Harry and Ginny, and Ron and his girlfriend, Luna.

Yes, it was indeed a fun party, and she was doing her best to enjoy it.

Being single never bothered her much (she had only been single for about six months now), but at a time like this, it was a fact that was hard to forget.

They all didn't mean to forget her, but she understood that it happens. When you have a boyfriend or girlfriend by your side it can be hard to remember the single friend who sits nearby.

So she had gotten up from where she sat with Harry, Ginny, Neville, Hannah, Ron, and Luna after feeling out of place in their frenzied conversations, and only Ginny seemed to notice at first.

"I'm just going to the kitchen to get something to drink," She explained, and Ginny seemed satisfied, for she nodded and turned her attention back to the others.

She approached the kitchen table, reaching for a glass cup. She had the choice of punch or butterbeer. She chose butterbeer.

"Drowning your sorrows in butterbeer?"

She didn't even have to look around to know whose voice that belonged to. "What do you mean, Fred?"

"You've been looking gloomy all night."

She looked over at him as he reached for a glass cup, filling it with butterbeer.

She took a drink of her own butterbeer, shaking her head. " I'm not. I'm fine."

He smiled at her. "Hermione, you're a terrible liar."

She sighed, but didn't quite know how to respond. She wasn't sad, she just felt… out of place.

"It's because everyone's paired off, isn't it?"

She met his eyes, startled at the fact that he seemed to have read her mind.

He nodded, seeing her expression. "New Year's Eve can be a depressing time for a person who doesn't have a girlfriend or boyfriend to look forward to sharing the next year with."

She stared at him for a moment, then realizing what she was doing, hastily looked away. "Yeah, I guess."

A few awkward seconds of silence went by, then: "So, what happened with you and Ron?"

She took another drink, then swallowed hard. "It didn't work out."

A few more seconds of silence went by.

Then he tried again. "Does seeing him with Luna bother you?"

She could sense the hesitation in his tone; she knew he was trying to find some way to comfort her. She appreciated the sentiment. "No."

"No?"

She could see the surprise on his face and laughed, which seemed to surprise him more. "No, seriously. Our break-up was mutual."

"Oh." He took a sip of his butterbeer. "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you and Ron break up anyway?"

On any other day she wouldn't be discussing this so openly, but the butterbeer seemed to be affecting her. She never really felt more relaxed. "We argued too much."

He simply nodded at her after this, and was silent.

She seized the chance. "What about you and Angelina?"

His face wrinkled in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Weren't you and her dating at one point?"

He laughed. "No, no. We were just friends."

Now she was confused. "But didn't you take her to the Yule Ball?"

"Yeah. But taking someone to a dance doesn't necessarily mean you have to be dating them."

She realized he was right; she just never thought of it that way.

Mr. Weasley's voice broke the short silence, making them both jump.

"20 seconds, everyone!"

He sighed, setting his empty cup down on the table. "So, Hermione, here we are, both single, with no one to kiss when it's officially 1999."

She smiled, setting her drink down on the table as well. "What exactly are you saying, Fred?"

"Ten! Nine! Eight!" They chorused in the living room.

"I'm saying," He replied, grinning, "that I'm making you an offer."

"Seven! Six! Five!"

The mischief glinted in his blue eyes, and for once, she decided to play along. "An offer for what reason?"

"Four! Three! Two!"

"To cheer you up."

"ONE! Happy New Year!"

She sighed. "I told you, Fred, I'm not--"

Her retaliation ended abruptly, for hands suddenly grasped her waist and she was being kissed in such a way that she hoped to God no one was looking.

After a few seconds he released her, and she could feel her face flush bright red.

"Happy New Year, Hermione," Fred said quietly.

Perhaps the party wasn't so bad after all.

FIN.