Hermione was sitting all alone in the common room in the early hours of the morning. She hadn't been sleeping all that well lately, since the death of Professor Dumbledore more specifically. Hermione figured that the best way to remedy this was to take her mind off of it but doing homework that probably wouldn't be due. It had just struck two in the morning when a shadow appeared in the stairwell leading to the dorms. Hermione shrugged, probably just some first year that can't sleep, and returned to her Charms worksheet. Everything was silent for a few minutes, which struck her as odd.
Standing up, she started "Hello, anyone- " she gasped in surprise. For as she turned around, who appeared but the tall, lanky body of Fred Weasley, who was laughing his arse off.
"Morning Granger, a bit early to be studying, isn't it?" he asked, taking a seat on the couch she was working from. Still standing, Hermione smacked him upside the head.
"Fred Weasley! How the hell did you get in here?" she almost shouted. Fred and George graduated last year.
"We're all here for the funeral. Georgie and I didn't want to part with our lovely school just yet, so we asked McGonagall if we could stay in an empty dorm room, and she agreed, so here we are." Fred said, a mischievous smile crossing his face.
"I'm still a prefect, and I can dock points for being out of bed after hours!" she whispered loudly, so not to wake the students who were sleeping only meters above their heads.
"We were in the same house Granger. If you take points from me, you'd be reprimanding your own house. And need I remind you that YOU are out of bed after hours as well, not to mention the fact I'm not a student anymore," Fred said, kicking his feet back, "Bloody hypocrite. Honestly, you give a girl a badge and she thinks she's Merlin." he added, snickering. Hermione sat down in a huff, glaring at the red headed boy in utter loathing.
He saw her, cracked a huge grin, and she couldn't help herself. She couldn't stay mad at Fred. She began to giggle uncontrollably, which prompted Fred to start laughing as well, Soon the pair were clutching their sides, roaring with laughter.
When they were finally were able to calm down, they leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling.
Hermione suddenly remembered what she was doing out of bed in the first place, feigning annoyance, she scolded, "What am I doing, get back to bed before I get McGonagall. I'm supposed to be doing homework. Shoo"
Fred just sat there, smiling as smuggly as a child you just ate all the cookies, leaving none for his siblings. "I'm not going anywhere, you'll just have to study with me sitting right here."
Hermione groaned, "Fine, just try not to make to much noise. This is due second period." He nodded, moving away from her, grabbing her Herbology textbook, pretending to read it with vivid interest. This silence only lasted about a minute or two.
Fred soon began to pester her, levitating her hair, farming bits of parchment to fly on front f her face every so often, and humming a tune by the Celestina Warbeck rather loudly.
"Seems I won't be getting any work done tonight, what do you want Fred? Or, rather, why are you down here?" Hermione asked bitterly, tossing her Charms textbook on the side table.
"To be completely honest," Fred said, inching closer to Hermione on the couch, so that they're legs were touching, their faces mere centimeters from each other. Hermione sat there frozen; fearing what would happen if she moved.
"And what's that?" She breathed, it was meant to sound sarcastic and prominent, but it came out soft, she was nervous. She trained her eyes on his lips, awaiting the words that would come from them.
"You." And at that his lips claimed hers.
Hermione kept her eyes open, only for a moment though. She realized everything that led up to this moment, lingering glances in the halls, chatting at the Burrow, even sitting next to each other in the common room.
But Hermione had time to think about that later.
She kissed him back with all she had.
One of his hand snaked around her waist, the other tangled in her bushy mane, pushing her closer, if that was even possible, for no space remained between them. Her arms looped around his neck, and she smiled against his lips, finding joy in something other than homework and saving the wizarding world.
They broke apart for air for only a minute, foreheads pressed together, smiling and breathing heavily.
"But, why me? Why not Katie, Alicia, or Angelina?" Hermione asked breathlessly, her smile fading only slightly.
Fred chuckled, and lightly placing a hand on her neck, "Because, they aren't half as smart as you, half as clever as you, or half as beautiful, and one other thing," he whispered, resting his other hand on her knee, leaning closer to her so his lips here right over her ear, whispering, "they're not you." Trailing kisses across her neck, he held Hermione to him, as she clutched at his neck. He was going to leave marks in the morning, but she didn't care, that's what magic was for.
And then something struck her: This wasn't right.
"Fred, stop, its, this isn't right." she said quietly, trying to push the Weasley off of her. But he was stronger than her, and kept her in place. His head came level to hers, and he looked her hard in the eye, a tinge of hurt visible in the usually laughing eyes.
"Now why's that Granger? What are you afraid of?" Fred asked, pinning her to the back of the couch. She blinked, trying to settle her thoughts.
"Because Fred, trouble's coming, I just know it. Harry, Ron, and I-"
"Of course, Ron. I'm so sorry Hermione. I'll try and control myself. Good night." Fred nearly snarled, getting up and heading back up the staircase.
"No, Fred. Please, just listen!" She called up the stairs, not caring who heard her. But Fred didn't come back. No ginger boy came bounding down the stairs, a smile on his lips, insisting he had gotten her, that she was really scared he wasn't coming back.
But there was no one.
************One Year Later************
Hermione sat at the edge of the orchard near the Weasley house, the Burrow, absorbing the silence that was so rare now. It had been one month since Voldemort fell, and nothing had been the same since. For one, Ginny and Harry were out of the shadows, expressing affection openly now, which got rather uncomfortable to be around. Which, was one of the reasons Hermione was out here. Another was that the Burrow had become a hotel of sorts, actually more of a train station. People had been dropping in to see Harry, Ron, and me quite frequently, to wish us well, the thank us, or to ask questions about what really went on. Others, friends, came to be with people who understood and lost just as much as they had. But what changed the most, was Fred.
Ever since his twin was killed in the war, there have been no more pranks, no more laughter, and no more happiness. Fred was devastated over losing his other half, and was having trouble coping by himself.
True to his word, Fred left Hermione alone over the course of her seventh year that never happened, and stayed distant. It killed Hermione to watch him suffer under her hand, but she did what she had to do to keep him, and the other Weasley's, with the exception of Ron, safe.
Ron and Hermione were never a couple, they were too good of friends. Ron did advance on her on more than one occasion, but he understood when she said she didn't think of him in that way, in spite of his disappointment. It didn't cross his mind that she had her eyes on another, least of all one of his brothers.
She hoped that one day that Fred would look past her mistake in the common room that night a year ago, and come back to her.
Hermione jumped, as an old tree behind her started to rustle. She turned around, hand on her wand, searching for the culprit.
"Relax, it's only me." Fred said, hopping down from the tree, taking a seat next to her.
Hermione gave him a half smile, brushing her hair out of her face to see the tall ginger more clearly.
"Hey Fred," Hermione says kindly, turning her head so he wouldn't see the pain in her eyes.
"How have you been Granger?" he asks, lying down on the grass, hands behind his head, examining the sky.
"You know," she starts, ignoring his question, "my parents and I used to lie out in the garden, and we looked for shapes in the clouds." Hermione lays down next to him, their bare feet crossing.
"Look, that one looks like a daisy!" she exclaimed, pointing to the daisy shaped cloud over their heads.
"That one looks a bit like a pumpkin," Fred comments, gesturing to another white blob.
"A cauldron!"
"An elephant!"
"A heart." they say in unison. It was darker, and the fading light turned everything a shade of gold.
They turned to look at each other, their fingers already intertwined.
"You know something?" Hermione said, looking back up at the multicolored sky.
"What's that Granger?" Fred asked, unmoving, studying her profile as if he'd go blind tomorrow.
"I never did love Ron, or anyone. Only..." Hermione trailed off, her words caught in her throat. Her eyes turned back to Fred, as if asking him to complete the phrase her.
"You." Fred finished, moving over closer to Hermione, kissing her with the urgency the year they were separated locked up. They smiled against each other's lips, happy at last since the loss of George, or Hermione's parents, who were still in Australia.
They smiled despite the sadness, and they kissed despite the pain.
