Hi! It's me again. And I'll start like I always do. I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, why would I be writing this?
And let's just pretend that Hermione and Ron never kissed. In my fic they didn't (you know, during the battle).
My first Hermione/Fred fic. It's my favourite pairing. I tried to make it really good. Hope you'll enjoy it!
Hermione was sitting in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room, trying to tidy the place in which she was studying, seeing as her books, ink and rolls of parchment were placed all over the small table.
'I heard someone's asked you to the ball before Neville and ickle Ronniekins have,' a voice called from somewhere above her.
Hermione tilted her head to see a tall red-headed Weasley twin.
'And just why did you say that, Fred?' she asked, looking back at the table.
'I'm Geroge!' the twin pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.
'Nice try, Fred, but it doesn't work on me,' Hermione didn't even look up from her things.
'Hey, it's not fair! You're not supposed to know that!' Fred kept pouting mockingly.
'Oh, I'm so sorry!' Hermione said sarcastically. 'So maybe you'll repeat that and I'll act as though I don't know that. I mean, I won't know that.'
'Okay, you win.'
'I didn't realize we were competeing.'
''Cause we weren't.'
'So what did you come here for?'
'Can't I even talk to you without having a reason, just for the pleasure of having a conversation with you?'
'Fred!' Hermione huffed impatently. 'No, you can't. You never do. And I don't believe you start now. So?'
'Okay, okay!' Fred raised his hands defensively. 'I was just wondering who aked you to the ball?'
'Oh no! Not the next one who thinks that I've made it up to get rid of Neville and piss off Ron!' Hermione's eyes flashed angrily. 'I'd never try to get rid of Neville, he's a nice guy. Well, I'd like to piss off Ron, but it's not the case.'
'I know that. It's not what I meant. I just wanted to ask who the lucky bloke is.'
'I won't tell you. Not many people know and I want it to stay that way. Besides, you wouldn't believe me.'
'I? I wouldn't believe you? Have I ever doubted you?' Fred asked in mock hurt.
'You didn't have much occasions,' Hermione pointed out matter-of-factly.
'Point taken. But maybe I'd like it to change.'
At those words, Hermione's head shot upwards, and she looked at Fred with disbelief. He sat in the chair next to hers.
'What do you mean?'
'We've never really talked much before. I realized it was a mistake, 'cause I appreciate people with wits. Even Percy respected your intelligence and that pompous prat don't do that often. Everyone likes me and George and our products. You're one of not many people that don't. And you don't give us stupid excuses, like: "It's just silly! You can do better!", but true reasons.'
'As much as I like your little speech, I don't believe in it. I think you just wanna know who aked me out. I mean, who's dumb enough, or desperate enough, to ask me out.'
'Do you really think that little of yourself?' Fred asked quietly, his blue eyes shining with disbelief.
'That's what everyone thinks,' Hermione muttered under her breath, turning her head away.
'No, it's not true. Some people do underestimate you, but not everyone. The guy that asked you out doesn't. Harry doesn't. Neville doesn't. Me and Geroge don't. My parents don't. Ginny, Charlie, Bill and Percy don't. I know, 'cause we talked about you. They really think you're great. And just 'cause ickle Ronniekins says something before he thinks, if he thinks, doesn't mean much.'
'But it's honestly not only him.'
'You shouldn't listen then,' Fred said, cupping her chin with his hand, turning her head to face him. Hermione looked into his eyes. They were serious. He was serious. So he thought she was great? Actually he didn't say that. But he did say that he didn't underestimate her. That could have a lot of means, though.
The whole time Hermione was fighting with her thoughts, Fred was staring at her intently. She noticed that, swallowed lightly and licked her suddenly dry lips. She thought she saw Fred's eyes flicker to her mouth and follow the quick movement of her tongue, but she decided it was just her wishful thinking.
Hermione's problem was that she fancied Fred. Probably since the holidays after her third year. Or even at the end ef her third year. She wasn't exactly sure. She kept telling herself that it wasn't anything serious, that she just admired his brilliance, but she knew it not to be true. She also admired his appearance, his tall, slim body, his narrow waist, his long legs, his firm bottom, his handsome face, his ginger hair...
Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. She felt herself getting warmer under his gaze and his touch burned her. She tried to turn her head away, but he wouldn't let her.
'So... Who are you coming with to the ball?' she asked.
'Angelina,' Fred answered simply.
Hermione felt her heart sink a bit. Her crush on Fred was growing with each day and she could do nothing to stop that. She tried, but she couldn't. She kept it all to herself. 'He'd never want me. He has Angelina. I'm nothing compared to her. I've no chance. I'll just leave it be.' she thought, even as her heart sunk even lower at the thought.
'Oh,' was all she was able to say. 'Well, I gotta go. I'm tired.'
'I believe you,' he smiled, as he looked at the books that she gathered in her arms. 'It's already late.'
Hermione looked around the Common Room. It was empty, the only ones in there being her and Fred.
'Yeah. Thanks,' she said, standing up.
'For what?' he asked, but didn't wait for reply. 'I just had a nice talk with you and I hope it'll hapen again some time.'
'Yup. Some time,' Hermione muttered sadly.
'Everything okay?' Fred asked with concern.
'Perfectly.'
They heard the footsteps on the stairs to the girls' dormitories and soon Angelina walked into the Common Room.
'I left my bag here,' she explained, pointing at the schoolbag sitting near one of the armchairs. 'Am I interrupting something?' she smiled, looking from Fred to Hermione.
'Nope. We've just been talking,' Fred replied casually. Hermione didn't say anything. 'Yeah, only talking,' she thought bitterly.
''Night!' Angelina said as she took the bag and went back to her dormitory, winking at Fred before disappearing on the stairs. Fred grinned and Hermione felt even worse.
'Bye!' Hermione said, not even looking at Fred, tears gathering in her eyes. 'What's wrong with me? There's nothing to be crying over! Must be the hormeones.'
'Hermione! What's wrong?' Fred asked, grabbing her arm to keep her from leaving.
'Nothing,' she lied, without turning back. His hand felt so warm on her shoulder.
'Come on! You can tell me,' he assured her as he turned her around to face him. Hermione tried to swallow back her tears, but it was too late. He saw them. He took out his wand from his pocket, waving it and her bag and books flew to her dormitory. He tucked his wand back into his poket and sat Hermione onto the sofa, plopping down on her side.
'I'd love to help you, but I can't without knowing what's wrong,' he said sofly.
'It's nothing important. Just girly things,' she said, avoiding his gaze.
Fred wrapped his left arm around Hermione, bringing her close to his side. 'Too close for comfort,' Hermione thought.
'Hermione, I'm sorry, I'm so bloody sorry...' Fred stuttered.
'For what?' Hermione was confused.
'For that...' Fred said, as he slammed his lips onto hers forcefully. Hermione froze in shock, as Fred begun massaging her lips with his, but she quickly regained her composure and started moving her lips against his in response. Fred felt bolder when he felt her respond and his right hand tangled itself in the mess of brown curls, his left hand resting very low on her back. Hermione wound her hands in his hair, playing with them. Fred tentatively run his tongue over her lower lip, and she moned quietly into his mouth as she opened hers. Fred pushed his tongue into her mouth letting it explore, and she did the same to his. Then their tongues intertwined and Fred groaned slightly as their tongues played.
All too soon, they both needed oxygen, so they pulled away, breathing heavily, their cheeks flushed and their mouths swollen.
'So may I now know who is the lucky bloke who asked you out before I did?' Fred asked Hermione, grinning from ear to ear.
'Viktor Krum,' she answered, grinning as well.
'What?!' Fred yelled, jumping up, grin disappearing from his face. 'Krum?' he asked, this time quieter.
'I knew you wouldn't believe me,' Hermione sighed, looking down.
'I believe you. He's always been around you lately, but I thought it to be a coincidence... Hermione... I... I fancy you,' Fred admitted quietly.
'I fancy you too...' Hermione smiled as she looke at him.
'You... You do?' Fred asked hopefully.
'I've just told you so,' Hermione rolled her eyes, but she was smiling nonetheless.
'What will we do? I mean, with our dates...'
'We'll just go to the ball with them. It's not as though we promised them something, right? And then... Then we'll see.'
'You're right,' Fred said. 'As always.'
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They made it through the ball, and through the next years. But they still had a problem. Only few people knew about their relationship. Ginny, George and Bill found out on their own, being intelligent, but they'd tell them anyway.
They weren't ready to tell everyone. Not yet. They didn't want to face all the questions and disbelief. They thought it to be better that way, although both of them didn't like it. They couldn't kiss in front of everyone, they had to sneak out and steal kisses from each other when nobody was paying attention. They decided they'd tell everyone when the war will end.
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Hermione was spending Christmas in her sixth year at Fred and Georges' flat over their joke shop. She wasn't talking to Ron, as he kept insulting her the whole year, so it wasn't strange that she didn't stay at the Burrow. The flat wasn't very big, with one bathroom, a kitchen, a sitting room and two rooms, one belonging to George, in the other one Fred and Hermione were living.
One day she woke up to find that Fred wasn't in their bed. She stretched herself and sat on the bed when she saw the door to the room open and Fred stepped into the room, fully clothed, closing the door behind him.
''Morning, love!' he said as he kissed her lightly on the lips.
''Morning!' she responded, smiling.
'I love you,' Fred told her.
'I love you too,' Hermione answered, smiling even brighter. Although he said that a lot of times, she thought she'd never get tired of that.
'That's why I though...' he started as he kneeled in front of her, taking out of his pochet a small, red velvety box, and opened it to reveal a golden ring with a diamond. Simple, but very beautiful. 'Hermione Jean Granger... Will you marry me?'
'Of course I will!' she said happily as she flung herself onto him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and when they pulled apart, Fred slipped the ring onto Hermione's finger. He sat on the bed and she kissed him lovingly, as he responded and laid her back on the bed.
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The night of Bill and Fleurs' wedding was the worst night for them. Ron had been acting oddly nice towards Hermione through the summer, but neither she nor Fred payed any attention to it, thinking that he just grew up.
When Ron asked Hermione to dance, she agreed. What was she supposed to do? She thought it's be only one dance, but she was wrong. She saw Fred looking at his liitle brother with jealousy, knowing he couldn't do anything. After a few dances Hermione exused herself, telling Ron that she was tired.
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Hermione missed Fred so much when she was hiding, at first at the Grimmauld Place 12 and then everywhere she could think of. She was afraid about him. She wanted to see him so much, to make sure he was okay.
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That was it. This was the final battle. Spells and curses were flying everywhere, hurting and killing people.
Hermione was running when she felt a pair of strong arms pulling her into a muscled chest. She was about to scream when she felt a familiar scent.
'Fred!' she shouted as she flung herself onto him, kissing him passionately. Fred kissed her back fervently, his tongue tracing the cave of her mouth, trying to save her taste, as she was trying to do with him. Their kiss was desperate and they didn't care who might see them, although they were pretty sure that nobody paid attention.
'Take care of yourself,' Fred whispered breathlessly against Hermione's mouth as they pulled apart.
'You too,' she whispered back, giving him a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of his embrace, missing his warmth and the safety of his arms.
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Hermione was standing on the ruines of the wall, Harry holding her hand, helping her get out of the mess they were in. She lifted her gaze and she caught a glimpse of Fred. He was smiling, fighting the Death Eater, as he said something to Percy. Then there was a green light from somewhere that hit Fred on his back and he fell to the floor, lifeless.
Hermione stopped moving. She felt Harry's hand tightening over hers, as he saw that too. She looked at Fred's body, not believing her eyes. 'No, no, no!' her mind kept yelling as she remained silent, her ability of speech taken away from her just as Fred was. The noices around her seemed to turn down and all she heard was a dull ringing in her ears, and she couldn't bring herself to move or to just do anything. That wasn' true. It couldn't be really happening. They were supposed to make it through the war, get married and have children with bushy, red hair that were too smart for their own good. Hermione looked at the ring on her finger and the diamond shone in the light of the spells, but the next second the ring disappeared in thin air, leaving only the round mark around her finger in the place where she was wearing it. After all, it was a wizarding ring. She looked back at Fred. He was still lying there, the smile that she knew so well glued to his face, but his eyes not laughing. They didn't hold the usual sparks that's always been there. They were emotionless. His eyes that not so long ago shone with love for Hermione, now didn't show any kind of emotions and Hermione couldn't stand it. Tears that were gathering in her eyes fell down, tracing a wet path on her cheeks, cleaning the dirt that was there. Her heart was breaking, but no one cared. Percy, Ron and George were mourning their brother and Harry didn't know a thing. She felt so alone and so dumb, she didn't know what to do. She still couldn't bring herself to move, the dull ringing in her eras increasing in volume, the tears not stoping to fall down as she stood there, watching her fiance. Her dead fiance. He was dead and there was nothing she could do. Not even a Ressurection Stone could help. Not even love she had for him. And she loved him so much.
The dull ringing stopped and the tears stopped falling. Probably she cried out all of them. She still felt dumb, not knowing what to do.
She looked around. The battle still didn't end. But for her everything ended. She didn't care anymore. She's always been so strong but then she felt so weak, like she couldn't handle it anymore. She couldn't fight anymore. She knew there were people whom she cared about and who were still alive, but Fred was the most important. Without him she felt... incomplete. She felt as if she could never love again, her heart broken to pieces, shattered, and she couldn't heal it, she couldn't put it back together, just as she couldn't have Fred back. He was gone. And he wasn't going to come back.
She felt Harry's hand pulling her. She followed him, her legs working on their own accord, her thoughts still back there with Fred, her eyes still seeing his smiling face and his emotionless eyes. She knew she'd never forget that, just as she'd never forget him. He'll always be there with her, in the back of her mind, her first, and only, true love. She knew she won't be able to love like that again.
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When the battle was over, Hermione found herself standing in the Great Hall, which was full of dead bodies, Fred's body amongst them.
She saw Ginny with puffed eyes and she hugged her.
'Are... Are y-you gonna t-tell them?' Ginny stuttered.
'No,' Hermione answered, knowing that Ginny was asking about her relationship with Fred. Tears once again fell down her face and into Ginny's hair. She closed her eyes, wishing that when she opened them, she'd find Fred standing next to her, tired but smiling, telling her that they'll be happy and that he loves her. But she knew she won't hear that from him ever again.
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'Hermione... This is for you. Fred told me to give it to you if... If something... If something happened to him,' George's voice quivered as did his hand when he gave Hermione a roll of parchement and walked away.
Hermione unrolled the parchement and she saw very familiar writing.
My dearest Hermione,
If you're reading this, than I'm probably already dead. I know, I know - I shouldn't be writing it, 'cause I have to live to marry you, like I promised one morning when I surely had a hangover or was still sleepy, and I always keep the promises, don't I? But it doesn't depend on me. It's not my fault that the ladies hugged me to death - I tried to get them off of me - I swear!
Anyway, what I'm trying to tell you is to move on and live like you did before this all shite happened. Don't cry over my dead body (a very handsome one, I dare say). You know I love you and I always will. I'm so bloody happy that we could be together, that we spent at least that little of the time with each other. The only thing that I regret is that we were hiding this. We were meant for more than privacy, don't you think? But we can't change it now and that's why I'm sorry. I hope that you'll forgive me some day.
I also hope that you'll find someone. Someone who will be good for you and who will love like I do... Although that's impossible. No one will love you like I do, and you know that. The world doesn't end on me, although you have every right to think so.
So... Take care of yourself and don't break too many blokes' hearts.
With all my love
Fred
Hermione felt tears run down her cheeks. She'd never forget him and she'd never love a bloke like she loved him. But he was right. She had to live. For Harry, for Ginny, for George, for Percy and for all those she cared about. She needed to be strong. He wanted her to be strong and she didn't want to disappoint him. Never.
Hope you liked it! Please, review! You know how much I love your reviews.