A/N: Nervously posting my first entry for a competition…
House: Gryffindor
Category: Drabble
Prompt: Fred/Hermione [Couple]
Words: 634
Beta: Theoreticaloptimist
Hermione was twelve years old when she had her first crush, and it wasn't on that irritating Ronald Weasley, either.
…
She met him for the first time when she was going back to the Common Room after lunch. And like any cliché story, he ran into her and nearly knocked her down the flight of stairs she had just walked up.
"Whoops!" Someone grabbed her arm before she could fall down the stairs. She saw a flash of red hair and brown eyes, and then she was back on her feet, clinging rather desperately to the person who had sent her down in the first place.
"Sorry about that," the same person said, chuckling. She recognized him now. Fred Weasley. The infamous troublemaker. Together, he and his brother made up the majority of the staff's headaches. "Didn't see you there," he added when she didn't respond.
Instantly, she bristled. She had been getting a lot of flack about her blood status from the Slytherins, and most people brushed her off when she tried to tell them things - important things! She would not stand for being insulted about yet another thing she couldn't control!
"I'll have you know that I am perfectly sized for my age!" she said huffily. His eyes went wide in exaggerated shock. It only spurred her on. "And furthermore, what kind of person doesn't take responsibility for almost knocking someone down the stairs?"
"Whoa," he laughed. "Calm down! I'm sorry, okay?" He looked around and then back at her. "You won't tell about this, will you?" he asked, his expression pleading.
She frowned at him. She might be considered a know-it-all and a teacher's pet, but she wouldn't rat out someone from her own house. Especially someone from another year. What kind of person did he take her for?
"I wouldn't-" she began rather indignantly, when he cut her off. He shook her hand furiously.
"Great! Then we have no more problems," he said cheerfully, eyes crinkling with good humor. Stunned, she could only stand there as he released her hand and moved around her, darting down the staircase and hooking a long arm around the banister to swing himself down. "See you later, Granger!"
Hermione stared after him. Then she shook her head. "Boys," she muttered angrily, righting her bag and marching determinedly towards the Common Room. But the blush from the warmth of his hand - that had appeared somewhere between the beginning and end of the handshake - remained for a few minutes after.
…
So maybe she secretly had a small, teensy-weensy, itty-bitty crush on the shameless, absolutely infuriating, and yet extraordinarily attractive Fred Weasley. Rule breaker extraordinair and brother to one of the most aggravating prats in existence.
But by her second year, the admiration had staved off somewhat. She grew older, wiser, and she got closer to that git Ronald Weasley - who turned out to be not so bad at times, even if he and Harry crashed a car into a tree.
During third year, she spent more time thinking more about Ron than Fred, and her heart only jumped a little when Fred talked to her. After some time, however, Hermione realized that she and Fred simply wouldn't mesh well. He was a free spirit. She was...rules and logic. Even if he ever looked at her the same way, their relationship would be wrought with disagreements and fights. She could tell.
And so, by fourth year, she had more or less moved on completely. She had her eyes on a new, similarly infuriating target. She smiled as she watched Fred and Angelina, because she was happy for him.
And though she let him go and moved on, she would never forget him - the boy who had been her first crush.
I feel like I ended that too abruptly, but oh well…