Peter On The Map
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It was in her fifth year when Hermione was sitting on her bed in her dorm one lazy night. Everyone else was already asleep, but she just couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. So she just laid there, thinking. She started with thinking about the upcoming Quidditch tournament, to Victor Krum and wondering if anything could have sprouted if she had owled him back that summer. She then started thinking about him trying to make her ride on his broom with him, and then her having to chicken out because she was afraid of heights. She then thought about the Firebolt, and Harry's Firebolt, and somehow came to thinking about the map the twins had given him in the trio's third year. She thought about how you could see anybody at any time, and how it was actually fairly ingenious of them to use it, especially when they decided to go on a "midnight stroll." Then she thought back to her third year, and realized- Fred, George, and Harry had all seen the map at night at some point in her 1-3 years. At those points Peter Pettigrew was still unknown to be Scabbers, so wouldn't the three boys have seen a man named Peter Pettigrew in bed with Ron? Well, maybe not Harry, because when he'd seen Peter nobody believed him. But what about the twins?
Hermione fell asleep late that night pondering on what was going through Fred and George's minds when they saw a man named Peter sleeping in the same bed as their little brother every night.
Hermione woke up the next morning late, where it was luckily a Saturday. She yawned and went down to the Common Room, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. Her brain went on auto-pilot as she walked donw the stairs and sat on the sofa next to the fireplace. She stared into the fire, not really noticing when Lee sat down next to her.
"Granger?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her daze and looked at him, confused.
"Yes?" She asked, a little more awake now.
"Just wanted to make sure that you weren't a zombie." He said, smirking a bit. He began to stand up to leave before she grabbed him by the forearm.
"Wait!" She said, biting her bottom lip. She was going to ask Lee about it, but decided that it would be better to speak to the twins directly.
"Could you get Fred and George for me. I want to talk to them." She said. Lee looked at her with confusion, but nodded anyway and walked off to find them, grumbling something about 'Maybe she really is a zombie, loosing brain cells by the second...'
Hermione continued to stay at her same spot on the couch until the twins returned a few minutes later.
"We didn't do anything, wizard swear!" Fred started.
"We've been working on the shoppe all week!" George whined. Hermione rolled her eyes in the fact that they got in trouble so often that that's what they assumed was happening.
"I know you didn't do anything. I just wanted to ask you something." She said, looking them both dead in the eye. They sat down on either side of her, confused expressions etched on their faces.
"I was up thinking last night, and I was wondering...you had the map up through my third year, and Ron had Scabbers then. But if Scabbers was really Peter, then you would see a man named Peter in the same bed as your brother every night, and I just wondered...why didn't you say anything?" She said quickly. It took a second for the twins to reply, but it felt like ages to Hermione.
"Well, 'Mione, it's Ron's business." George said slowly.
"Yeah. I mean, we weren't going to judge him. If he were really sleeping with a man named Peter, we didn't want to make him uncomfortable." Fred said softly.
"It's a delicate subject. Is a guy named Peter liked Ron and Ron liked him back, we were ready to be okay with that." George finished quietly. Hermione nodded softly.
"I get it. I was just wondering. Most brothers would go physio-overprotective, but you kept your cool." Hermione whispered.
George squirmed a little bit in his seat. He wanted to add something, but he wasn't sure if he should.
"If you want to tell her, I'm sure she'll keep a secret." Fred told his twin, reading his actions. George looked at Fred and sighed.
"Hermione, the reason I didn't tell was because I'd been in those shoes. In my second year I went through a period where I liked- Fred, I can't even say it! Tell her?" He asked, shoving his head in his hands and pulling at his hair. Fred nodded and finished.
"In our second year, there was a period of time where George had a crush on Thomas Hensen, a boy who was in our year. They eventually got together, and kept it a secret for a while. But then someone caught them in the Common Room one night- though we're not sure who -and the entire school found out. At first, George and Thomas were shy and nervous about it, but after a while they continued their relationship and announced it with pride. But a few months later mum found out, and called Thomas soon after. They both got in huge trouble, and Thomas committed suicide not too long after. Everyone's pretty much just decided to forget it since then."
Hermione looked from Fred to George. George was breaking down, sobbing uncontrollably, and Fred was hugging his brother comfortably. Hermione realized that it must have been really hard for George to cope with nobody approving of who he liked, and then his boyfriend committing suicide.
"I'm sorry, George." Hermione said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He just nodded and dried a dew of his tears away.
"Hermione!" Ron shouted, bursting in. "You'll never believe what Harry- what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Fred said. George just looked down.
"Ron, did you tell her yet?!" Harry asked then, appearing through the portrait hole.
"No...Fred, George, do you mind?" Ron asked nervously. They nodded, leaving the Common Room.
" 'So Harry' what?" Hermione asked blankly.
"I...I was going to say something else, but Harry's here and going to bug me about telling you." Ron said, looking at the ground. Harry pushed him forwards, toward Hermione.
"Ron's dating someone, and needs to admit it and tell you." Harry said, eye-ing Ron. Ron suddenly seemed to find the floor extremely interesting.
"Well...I...I'm dating deeg sothmas." he said, mumbling the name.
"Hmm?" Hermione asked, being sure not to be too critical.
"Dean Thomas." Ron said, looking up at Hermione and looking her in the eye. He looked like he wanted to cry. Hermione leaped out of her seat and tackled Ron with a hug.
"That's amazing!" She said, hugging him tightly and then letting go. Ron was speechless.
"I support you, Ronald." She said, smiling. She then skipped up the stairs to the girls' dormitory like Luna Lovegood, leaving two boys downstairs, baffled but happy, and Thomas Hensen looked down, smiling at Hermione's acceptance, knowing Ron would turn out better than the tragedy that he and George had.
