Sway

Chapter One: Arrival at the Weasley's

"Ronald! Wake up for goodness sake, they will be here at any minute!" Mrs. Weasley threw up her hands and sighed loudly. "O I give up!" With that exclamation, Molly Weasley turned around and hustled her plump frame out of her youngest son's attic bedroom.

On her way back down to the kitchen, Mrs., Weasley's fifth oldest son (The older ones being: Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George), Fred met her on the stairs as she muttered angrily to herself.

"Mum, is everything all right?" Asked Fred in a nervous manner as he pressed himself against the railing of the third floor staircase. He was slightly frightened by is mother's insistent muttering. He caught snippets of what she was saying like 'lazy' and 'when I get him' and 'his son'.

"Of course I'm not!" Molly threw her hands up so violently; Fred had to steady himself against the rickety railing behind him. "Ronald refuses to wake himself up. Even though! Even though I have spent hours slaving over the modifications on Ginny's room for HIS friend Hermione and making sure there is plenty of food for Harry (the poor malnourished dear!), also HIS friend. The boy cannot even listen to his only mother when she says get up!" With that, Molly continued to pound down the stairs without even waiting from a response from Fred.

After allowing himself a few minutes to recover from the scare his mother had given him he smiled to himself and continued up the stairs. Instead of going to his room on the fourth floor, however, Fred continued straight up to Ron's room. Once he got there he knocked lightly and entered when he received a loud snore as his only response. Once inside the orange inferno, Fred thought for a minute. He smiled again, this time in a devilish manner that would have sent Lucifer himself running for the hills. He pointed his wand (Oak, 10 in, Dragon heartstring core) at his own throat. He muttered a spell and then pointed it at Ron. Simultaneously he shouted "Ronald!" in a voice identical to Hermione Granger's and poured water from the tip of his wand onto Ron's face.

"What the bloody hell!" shouted Ron as he shot up from his bed. His room, of course, was an attic room so when he did this Ron was rewarded for his laziness by hitting his head against his own ceiling. As he angrily cried out and gripped his head where a knot was already forming Fred snickered.

"Mum wanted you awake 15 minutes ago so be happy if a bonk on the head s the worst thing you receive this morning!" With that Fred promptly about faced and heading towards the family room and the fire place where he could hear excited voices.

"I am so sorry dears, " Mrs. Weasley could be heard above Ginny's squealing and Arthur's hearty hellos, "Ronald simply refuses to wake up. He is being so rude. Harry, being a boy simply smiled at Mrs. Weasley and turned to George who was attempting to show him designs for a trick toy broom stick he wanted to manufacture and sell at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop he co-owned with his twin brother Fred. Hermione, however, looked upset.

"Well how wonderful of him then! Can't get up a whole thirty minutes before noon to greet his guests!" It wasn't a personal injury; Hermione honestly felt Ronald was being a downright rude human being! Something punishable by extreme measures in her book. By this time though, Fred had made his way into the group and he looked down at Hermione's petite 5'2 frame and replied, "don't worry Hermione, I took care of him. He should be down here any minute now since he's already had a shower." Fred sealed his statement with a wink which caused Hermione to giggle before her attention was claimed by Ginny.

Later that evening, Fred found himself sitting alone (a rare phenomenon when one is the sibling 6 other children) in the quiet backyard of his usually bustling house. Ginny was out with some friends whose company Hermione had declined shortly after her arrival saying she preferred to relax at The Burrow. Ginny would be home soon though. She had said she would be home by dinner at her mother's request. Harry and Ron were, predictably, playing quidditch at the far end of the Weasley property and George he knew was at a big meeting with some potential large-scale buyers. He had not asked Fred to come and Fred had not volunteered. It had only been a couple of years since they received the means to open up their joke shop and it was becoming painfully obvious to both that Fred simply was loosing interest in that career. He was, after all, 19. He could still do so much. As he lamented on the rareness of his solitude, someone interrupted it.

He heard the sliding screen door before he saw Hermione and it was as she was sliding said screen closed that Fred looked up and noticed her. Or, rather, he noticed her rather shapely backside before she turned around and greeted him with a smile.

Hermione was 17 now and she looked every bit of it. She was only 5'2, but had a beautifully shaped figure. Her brown eyes were warm and laughing and her crazy brown hair was now in soft waves almost half down her back. Fred strongly suspected magic was involved in this and he was, of course, correct although Hermione would never admit it. She was really worth looking at if one had the time. She was gorgeous.

She wrapped her gray, light cotton sweater tightly around her small shoulders and waist before sitting down across from Fred.

Fred was dashing! He was 19 and 6'2. His red hair was shaggy, but well kept and his blue eyes were always smiling. He had freckles everywhere on his pale face and strong arms that sported a farmer's tan. He had gotten gene's mostly from his mother's side of the family meaning he was good looking, strong, and tall. And boy did he know it!

"Ron told me how you woke him up before him and Harry ran off to put their lives in danger." Hermione broke the peaceful if not slightly awkward silence between her and Fred with a huge grin as she settled more securely into her lawn chair.

"Did he now?" The same devilish smile from this morning was back on Fred's handsome face. "Didn't know you had so much sway, did you Hermione?"

Hermione frowned at his light teasing and her shoulders visibly tensed underneath her sweater.

Fred sobered and suddenly felt awful for making her feel awkward. "You, however, don't want to have such 'sway' do you?"

Hermione looked back at him for a few minutes. Calculating whether or not she wanted to enter into such a conversation with Fred Weasley. Whilst Hermione and Fred had always been friendly they had never been exceptionally close and Fred, being aware of this kept his expression as open as possible. If she wanted to talk to him about it fine, it not that was fine too, but he wanted her to know the choice was hers and since he brought up, it was up to her to finish the conversation or not.

Having decided it was all right to trust him with what seems like frivolous, but is sensitive information all the same Hermione responded simply, "No."

Fred couldn't say he was all that surprised. It was after all, what everyone expected, her and Ron. Fred had found out the hard way, through lies and heartbreak, people rarely live up to your expectations. In order to end the serious moment that had brought on Fred's dark brooding he asked, "Then who, may I ask, Miss Granger do you want to have 'sway' with?"

Hermione laughed again and Fred found he rather liked the sound. "Honestly, no one." She said through more chuckles. "What about you, Mr. Weasley? Hmm? Who do you want to have 'sway with?"

For a very brief moment Fred considered saying 'you' partly to throw her off and partly because he though for a brief moment it might be true. This startled him so he cockily responded with, "Everyone."

"Well good luck with that then," said Hermione, "Goodness knows you will need it!" With that she lifted herself off of her plastic lawn chair nearly tripped and said good-bye to Fred by claiming she was going to go and see if Mrs. Weasley needed help in the kitchen.