Hermione works at the ministry, she has a very busy job. She is the one who communicates with muggles who know about the wizarding community, like the premier, or sometimes the family of muggleborn wizards and witches. This is very important, because after the war, many more muggles know about the existence of magic. Hermione has to decide what they get to know and see. It is a stressing job, but she gets a lot of satisfaction from it. She works all day long, but she doesn't want to do anything else.
Except her work, Hermione doesn't do anything anymore. She barely sees her friends, never visits the Burrow, rarely sends letters. At the Burrow, Molly is worried about her. She talks about it with her twin sons.
"We should do something about this, she'll get a burnout or get a sleep problem or a lot of stress!"
"Mum, don't worry" George says..
"She's an adult now.." Fred adds..
"She knows what she can or can't do." is George's conclusion.
"I can't help but think about her. Alone in her apartment, nobody to come home to. She must be very lonely. I should send Ronald to check on her."
"Won-Won will probably only make it worse, he's with Lavender now." Fred stated.
"Hermione doesn't want to think about their break-up now, it was a great show." Geroge added.
"George, don't you ever say that again or I'll wash your mouth with soap!"
"Sorry mum…"
Back at their apartment, Fred thinks about Hermione. Nobody knows it, but he has had a crush on her since his 6th year at Hogwarts. He was jealous when Krum danced with her at the Yule ball. She looked so happy at the time, without him. He and George could make her laugh easily, they were her favourite pranksters. But after she finished her last year, she became more serious, she didn't laugh anymore. Even the famous twins had a hard time making her laugh. When she begun working at the ministry, she visited often, but as her workload increased, her visits became more and more rare.
"George, when did you see Hermione the last time?"
"Uhm… A few month ago, I guess. I don't really remember. Why do you ask?"
"We should visit her, if she barely sees Harry or Ginny, or her other friends…"
"I'll send her an owl, we'll go tomorrow."
She woke up at exactly 7 AM. 5 minutes later, she sat in her small kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. Today, Fred and George would come. She had their letter in her hand. Why didn't they come another day? Her day was even more busy as usual. The muggle premier had requested a meeting with the minister and some other important people. He would also bring some people, some of them didn't know about the wizarding community. She was more nervous than usual, and this evening, Fred and George would visit. She liked the twins. They always made her laugh. She was one of the few people who could actually tell them apart.
She even has a list of differences in her head. Fred usually is the first one to do something, George follows him. George misses one ear. Fred is less serious than George. Fred is impulsive, while George thinks more before doing something. George is taller. George is the leader in their complicated pranks. Fred's eyes are darker, more mysterious. George is reserved, Fred is straightforward.
Actually, she likes Fred more than George, but no one will ever hear her say that out loud. If they ever find out, she'would never hear the end of it!
It is late when she arrives home. While unlocking the door, she smells something strange. Wand ready, she sneaks her apartment in. It is dark inside. She doesn't hear anything, but the smell is still there.
Suddenly, the lights flash on. In the middle of the room are Fred and George.
"Surprise!" they yell.
"We had the terrific idea to pay you a visit."
"We heard you were lonely, so we decided to change that."
"We got you the two best people in the world to hang out with, the entire evening!"
"Where are they, George? I can't see the two best people in the world." Hermione jokes.
'They are here for less than two minutes,' she thinks, 'and I'm already laughing.'
"But what is that awful smell?" she asks.
"Just a present, we developed it for our shop. But it's still experimental." Fred hands her a package.
"It won't hit me, or hurt me any other way, will it?" She carefully opens it.
"What is this? It looks like a forest, but way smaller.." Hermione asks after opening the package.
"Remember our swamp when we left Hogwarts? It is the same, but smaller."
"We developed it for Hogwarts students, you can place it anywhere and use 'engorgio'."
"The only disadvantage is the smell. It would be better if it wouldn't smell in this size."
"If we could make it smell only after engorging it, this product would be perfect."
"So, will the smartest witch of her age help us out?" Fred pleads.
How can she resist those eyes, that smile? "Sure, I'll take a look at it when I've got the time."
"You're the best Hermione!" Fred exclaims. He gets up and hugs Hermione tight.
"Fred… Can't breathe.."
"How can you tell us apart?" Fred asks Hermione.
"Well, George is…" Hermione begins.
"The handsome one!" interrupts George. "And by the way, the handsome twin has important matters to attend, so I am leaving now, with my not-so-handsome twin brother. Or without, I don't care."
Fred takes a look at Hermione. He feels like he should stay. She seems so tired and worn-out.
"I'm staying," he says. "and I am cooking a nice meal for our favourite ministry employee."
Hermione laughs, and follows him to the kitchen. She intends to help, but Fred pushes her down on the couch. "You're not allowed to help, you work way too much, so you have to rest a bit. Read a book or something. But don't even think about doing anything for your work."