Author's Note: I started out a story called "Oh, the Tangled Web" prior to this, but I just wasn't happy with where it was going and I wanted a fresh start, so here I am! REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED! I want/need feedback! If you can help me any way, I'll take any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. :) By the way, I do not own these characters, even though I would love to say I came up with them! Creativity at its finest!
This story begins during the summer before the fifth year of the trio, but instead of Grimmauld Place, I have them set at the Burrow. Other than that, I'll follow major timelines within the book, meaning DEFINITE SPOILERS! I'm not sure how long this is going to be/get. I'll see as I go along. Also, this will switch between Fred and Hermione's point of views quite a bit.
Summary: When a spell goes array, Fred and Hermione find themselves unable to linger away from one another for too long. How will this all play out, through the difficult years to come? HF mainly.
Chapter One
"Just because you two are allowed to use magic does not mean that you constantly need to!" hollered Mrs. Weasley as potatoes went flying past her head.
"Sorry, Mum!" Fred hollered back between fits of laughter. One of the potatoes at hit Ginny square in the eye and she was blindly trying to find Fred, who was apparating around the kitchen. With a "pop!" he apparated too close within his mother's reach, and before he could apparate again, Mrs. Weasley grabbed a hold of his ear and pulled him towards her.
"I don't care how old you are, Fred Weasley, you will behave in my house," she hissed. "Now go to your room, and don't come down until dinner."
Fred turned, face beet red, and hurried towards the staircase. Snickers came from the corner where Harry and Ron had been sitting, folding napkins. Fred shot them a deadly glare before running up the stairs into his room. He closed the door behind him and skipped over to his bed, where he laid back, put his hands behind his head, and kicked his shoes off. "Well at least now I don't have to help set up dinner!" he said, chuckling a bit. What a punishment this was.
After an hour, Fred was singing a different tune. What had been relaxation time had turned into work time; unable to idly lay there, Fred had decided to work on the newest product of his and George's slowly building joke shop, a type of love potion that required a strong attachment spell to be placed upon it. At least five books lay open around him on his bed as he cross-referenced the information from each, a vial of pink potion sitting in front of him. Finally, Fred nodded to himself, having assured that he would be doing the spell in the correct way. He pulled his wand from his jean pocket and straightened up. He quickly flicked his wand as he muttered the spell. "Adoria-"
"Fred!" There was a quick knock and then door opened. Hermione's head popped through the opening. "Time for din-"
"Momentia!" Fred finished, but Hermione had startled him; he had turned to face her, and as he did, so did his wand. The spell hit Hermione full force and she fell back onto the landing. Fred jumped up, books flying everywhere, and ran to the landing. A rumble was coming from downstairs, where the rest of the Weasley family was. They must have heard Hermione crash down.
Ron was the first to bound up the stairs. "What the bloody hell did you do!?" he yelled at Fred as he leaned down over Hermione. Mrs. Weasley was shortly after, smacking Ron on the head while muttering something as his language. As she pushed Ron out of the way to get to Hermione, Hermione stirred. Mrs. Weasley helped her to sit up as Hermione grabbed her head.
"Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Weasley questioned.
"Yes, yes, just my head hurts," Hermione said. "Fred was practicing a charm, I believe, and I startled him. No harm, no foul." She looked up at Fred and silently begged him to go along with this explanation.
"What? Oh, yeah, I mean, yeah, that's all," Fred said. "Just some practicing for school. It was an accident."
Mrs. Weasley seemed to take this explanation easily, and spent the first twenty minutes of dinner lecturing Fred on the proper way to practice and to perform spells. Fred kept his eyes down on his plate the entire time, figuring now would not be the time for smart comebacks. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and George, however, thought it would be a perfect time to mock Fred from where they were sitting, snickering into their napkins occasionally.
Finally, Mrs. Weasley got up as Arthur arrived home. Fred looked up for the first time to find Hermione across from him, staring at him intently. Fred was taken aback and choked on his mouth full of beans. Hermione simply mouthed, "Your room, after dinner, need to talk" before finally turning away and picking up a conversation with Ginny.
Dinner passed rather quickly after that. Fred wasn't looking forward to explaining to Hermione what had happened, and what the possible consequences could be. All too soon, the plates were cleared and washing themselves in the sink, and people were heading off into their own areas to relax and chat, or play games. Hermione stood up, nodded to Fred meaningfully, and headed up the staircase. Fred waited thirty seconds before standing up and following her.
Fred entered his room to find Hermione sitting on the windowsill, her outline framed by the red sun that was setting in the background. As the door creaked open, she turned and hopped down. She waited until the door was close until she began to speak.
"What exactly happened, Fred?" Hermione asked tentatively. "What was that spell?"
Fred sighed and moved to his bed, where he sat down and put his hands in his head. "Well, I had been working on a love potion."
"A love potion? Why on earth would you be making a love potion?"
"The store," Fred muttered. "The store George and I are planning on opening. It's one of the products we'd like to offer. I was using a charm to help strengthen it. And when I was performing the spell, you walked in and startled me, and instead of hitting the potion, I hit you instead."
"Oh," Hermione said. She stood quiet for a while, thinking. Finally she managed to ask, "And what charm was that, exactly?"
"An attachment charm," Fred sighed, finally looking up at Hermione. "And it can't be undone."
Hermione reached back and felt for the windowsill, sitting down on it. "So what happens now, then?"
"From what I read, a bond will slowly begin to form," Fred answered. "There will always be an attachment between us two, from now on. It cannot be broken, it cannot be undone. I'm not exactly sure on what type of bond it means."
"But there has to be something that we can do to counteract it!" Hermione hurriedly replied.
"What, Granger?" Fred smirked. "Does it sound too rough to be attached to me? Am I not good enough?" Fred feigned shock and betrayal, holding a hand over his heart. Hermione grabbed a pillow and chucked at his head, but he easily ducked and avoided it.
"This is serious, Fred, but of course you don't even understand the concept of the word serious!" Hermione said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Why yes, I do, I believe he is a man who can turn into a dog, if I am to be right!" Fred laughed at the small glimpse of a smile that flickered on Hermione's face, but it was quickly replaced with a scowl.
"You're outrageous, Fred Weasley," Hermione said, heading towards to the door.
"I just aim to please," Fred joked as she closed the door loudly behind her. He lay back against his bed and the smile fell from his face. He knew this was serious, he just didn't want to let on to her how serious this could be.
Author's Note: So? What do you think? I know it's not my best work, and it's rushed, but I just wanted the concept put out there. Give me some ideas on how to improve? READ AND REVIEW!