Hermione clung to the maroon sweater and inhaled the scent deeply. He had hated that sweater, the colour was never right and he had worn it only once or twice. It still smelled like him, something dark and musty, like earth and home. She closed her eyes and inhaled again, her eyes brimming with tears. She hugged the sweater tightly to her chest, shaking with sobs. She brushed it softly, being careful not to brush off any hairs or specks of dirt. Hermione wanted all of what remained of him to stay with that sweater, with her. She stood up, still clutching the sweater. Gently, as if handling an ancient and precious artifact, she packed it away into a trunk with all of Ron's old things. Included in the trunk was the deluminator, which had brought Ron back to her, and some more of his clothing and school supplies.
Hermione finished packing and gingerly touched the trunk, tracing the distressed 'R' with a gentle finger. She wheeled the trunk out of the room, the brightly orange room, and set off downstairs. The rest of the Weasley family sat waiting for her, tense and obviously awaiting a breakdown. Ginny, crying softly into her hands, George and Fred, looking solemnly at her, Mrs. Weasley, uncharacteristically remaining calm, and Mr. Weasley, reaching out to hug her. Hermione dropped the trunk and rushed into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head on his shoulders. She cried harder than she had yet, sobbing into his neck, barely stopping to breathe. Mr. Weasley pat her head, his own sobs softer and fewer than hers.
Hermione detached herself from Mr. Weasley, wiping away her sobs.
"Do you want me to take this?" she said somberly, addressing the trunk at the foot of the stairs.
"These were Ron's…." she whispered, trying to say it, "Ron's things. I'd understand if you'd…you'd want them. " she choked out.
"Of course, Hermione. He…loved you, we know that." said Mr. Weasley. "You should take them, he'd want, want you to have it." He smiled sadly, Hermione smiled back and looked to Mrs. Weasley.
They embraced in a tight hug, saying everything and not speaking a word. Mrs. Weasley shuddered and cried softly into Hermione's hair, who was squeezing Mrs. Weasley as tight as she could. They pulled apart and wiped away their tears.
Fred and George made a movement as if to get up, but refrained. Ginny hiccupped into her hands, her brown eyes full of tears. She ignored Hermione, everyone in fact, and continued to sob.
Hermione walked to the fireplace, grabbed a fistful of Floo Powder and looked at them all, desperate to say something, but unable to find the words. Instead she threw the powder, cried HOME, and disappeared in a flurry of green fire.
Greeted by her ginger haired cat, Hermione stepped out of her fireplace. She gently brushed the ashes from her cloak and wheeled the trunk forward, careful to keep it from bumping into anything. She collapsed into a fat red armchair that sat near her fireplace and sighed. She looked around her room, a simple room with bookshelves on almost every wall, a beautiful ornate rug on the floor, a simple four poster bed, and a table with a single photograph on it.
She reached for the simple frame and brought it to her, looking with a solemn expression at the moving photo. Ron stared up at her, his signature goofy smiled plastered on his face, beaming, his freckled cheeks red. He moved only slightly, brushing a stray hair from his eyes, laughing lightly. She closed her eyes and breathed, tracing the lines of his face with her hand. A single tear drop fell on the picture, and for a moment, when Ron brushed away his hair, it seemed he had brushed away her tear as well. Hermione clung to the frame, trying to keep the sobs away. A few more tears splashed onto the picture, and Hermione, forgetting her composure, broke down. She screamed at the photograph, standing up and chucking it across the room. It broke against the wall and rained a shower of broken glass. She swallowed a large gulp of air, her chest heaving, her hands shaking slightly.
She crossed over to the frame, and bent to pick it up. She pulled her wand from her pocket and fixed it. ("Reparo") and set it down on her small table.
"I'm sorry, Ron." She whispered, speaking more to herself than anyone. Her large orange cat jumped onto her lap, his purr warming her and filling her with contentment.
"You know, Ron?" she said to the aptly renamed cat, "I miss him, but….I'll be okay. I think." she blew a soft kiss at the photo, and Ron smiled at her.
"HARRY!" Hermione bellowed, watching Hagrid carry a seemingly lifeless body in his large arms.
"Oh Harry! No, NO!" Ron, standing beside her, screamed, his eyes bulging in fear. Ginny dropped to her knees and screamed, and the many other students and staff stood, bewildered at Hagrid. Voldemort led the pack of death eaters and stopped, ten feet from the students of Hogwarts.
"Harry," said Voldemort in his high, clear voice. "Harry fought like a coward. He attempted to run, to leave, to let his friends and family fight his battles." He gestured for Hagrid to come forth, indicating the ground at his feet. Hagrid placed Harry gently on the floor, his great heaving sobs the only sound in the courtyard.
"Do you still wish to fight me?" he asked. He scanned the faces of the crowd, silently daring any of them to come forth, to challenge his power. No one did.
"Good." he whispered. "You are all cowards, like Potter. You deserve punishment, do you wish to die as Harry did? Idiotic, afraid…..a coward?"
Ron rushed toward Voldemort, wand raised high, rage in his eyes and courage in his feet. Voldemort raised his wand and directed it at Ron.
"Avada Kedavra!" A flash of blinding green light and Ron was on the ground, his robes splayed around him like a black hole, his eyes wide and lifeless.
Hermione screamed. She attempted to run to him, to cradle him, but four pairs of arms withheld her. She sobbed, screaming out his name and attempting to fight her way to him.
Voldemort laughed. The crowd waited, silent and alert, as Voldemort walked to Ron's body. He kicked him lightly in the side with his foot, and then harder as Ron remained unresponsive. Voldemort flicked his wand at him, causing Ron's body to rise into the air, higher and higher, and then come crashing down onto the stone floor. Hermione grew limp in the arms of those holding her back. She stared at the floor, barely breathing, her tears hitting the floor like rainwater.
Harry leapt up from his position, his wand pointed directly at Voldemort's back. Voldemort turned slowly to face Harry, his own wand poised for attack. Hermione did not see what happened next, but after what seemed like an eternity, the hands holding her had dropped and the crowd erupted into cheers.
The rest of the word faded into silence, Hermione could only hear her heart as she ran to Ron's side, ignoring those calling her name. She crawled to him, gingerly touching his sweater, as if he'd pop up at any moment and start joking. She wiped the dirt from his cheeks, gazing into his open and lifeless eyes. She found herself sobbing, choking back her tears. She clutched at his sweater and howled into his chest. She tugged onto his sweater and screamed at him.
"WAKE UP! Please, Ron….please wake up. PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME, don't leave me…." She bellowed at him, taking great heaving breaths and punching him with whitened fists.
"Ron," she whispered huskily, "I love you Ron, please, I love you. You can't die, you can't leave me alone. Please, come back." She leaned forward and kissed him gently on his forehead, brushing away his ginger hair. She didn't hear the footsteps coming behind her. Two strong arms tried to pull her away.
"NO!" she screeched. "NO, DON'T TOUCH ME!" She fought against them and grabbed his sweater again. The arms tugged harder and pulled her away.
"NOOOOOOO! LET ME BE! LET ME Stay…let me stay." She resigned, whimpering into the arms. "Please." She struggled against her clutches, attempting to fight her way. "Please, he can't be…he wouldn't leave me, not…..again."
Fred leaned down to her ear and whispered.
"I'm sorry Hermione. You can't do anything for him. He's gone." She could hear the sadness in his voice, the way it hitched at the end and caught in his throat. She nodded, letting him pull her away from the crowds.
Later, in the Great Hall, Hermione saw all her friends mourning. In the middle of the crowd she saw them, a large group on their own, mourning their own dead. Hermione walked up to the Weasleys, attempting to stay hidden. Mrs. Weasley was howling in sadness, sitting next to Ron's lifeless body, gently touching his cheeks. Mr. Weasley, bleeding heavily from one arm, was sitting on a bench, looking blankly ahead. Fred and George were comforting Ginny, who, like her father, was sitting on a bench. She was crying into Fred's shoulder, and for a moment all Hermione felt was jealousy.
"Hermione, are you okay?" She heard Harry whisper into her ear. She wanted to smack him, how could he say something so insensitive? She was fine, just peachy.
"What?" was all she could muster.
"Never mind." Harry wisely avoided. "We won. We finally won the war, Hermione. Voldemort is dead." He smiled bleakly.
Hermione smiled sadly back at him, trying to stifle her oncoming sobs.
"I'm so glad." she said lamely. "At least Ron's d-death wasn't in v…." she couldn't finish. She grabbed Harry's arm and cried.
"What am I supposed to do, Harry?" she cried. "I loved him! He loved me. He kissed me." She whimpered. "What's going to happen to me?"
Fred walked over and took Hermione's hand. He lifted her and hugged her tightly.
"We'll be okay, Hermione. We'll get through this."
"How's Hermione, Harry?" asked George. Fred seemed to perk up, but made no movement toward Harry.
"I haven't seen her much, honestly." he replied sadly. "She stays holed up in her flat, away from the rest of us. She doesn't even send letters to me anymore. I miss her."
Fred scoffed, attempting to brush it off as a sneeze.
"Do you have something to say to me, Fred?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
"Don't you have any idea what she's going through? Ron was her everything, he loved her for as long as I can even remember. She may not have let on until this year, but I could see it." he exhaled sharply, his fists slightly white and shaking.
"How dare you?" accused Harry. "Of course I know what she's going through! I lost my parents!"
"It's not the same!" shouted Fred. "You can barely remember your parents! She had Ron for seven years! We had him longer but we still didn't have the same relationship! They had no time together, Harry! Can't you see that?" Fred sobbed, wiping away his tears as Harry gaped at him.
"Why are you so upset?" asked Harry, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What does it matter?" asked Fred, storming out of the shop, leaving Harry and George behind.
Fred threw open the door to his flat and sat down heavily on the couch. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed openly, his chest heaving heavily as he cried.
He picked up the small picture of Ron on the table beside him. He may have teased Ron while he was younger, but nothing hurt as much as not having his brother beside him. Ron smiled at him from the photograph, a cheeky, bright grin. Fred wanted to hit him, but instead put the picture back down and slept.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I haven't been feeling up to writing…anyone. I'm sorry." Hermione apologized again while Harry just nodded.
"It's okay, Hermione. I understand. I just wish I could've seen you before now, make sure you were okay." Harry said.
"Well, I'm okay. Enough, that is. I miss Ron so much, Harry. I'm surprised that I'm even functioning. I keep reaching out for him, but he's not there anymore, Harry. It's harder than I ever though it would be." she cried softly, letting her tears fall. Harry hugged her shoulders softly and nodded.
"You'll be okay, Hermione. I know you're strong, you can get through this."
"Thanks, Harry."
The door to the flat seemed to creak sadly, swinging open to the cold and lifeless home. Fred sat at the couch, staring blankly at the photograph in his hands.
"Fred?" He jumped up and stared at Hermione, attempting to wipe his tears off.
"Are you okay?" she asked, gingerly, stepping through the door.
"Fine, yeah, I'm fine." he mumbled. He put the picture down and stood up, erasing the creases from his top with an unsteady hand.
"Um, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Oh, I, uh, I just wanted to see if you were okay. Decided to stop in, I wanted to see you."
"Oh." Fred murmured. "I'm okay. As okay as can be, I guess." he sighed.
"I know what you mean." Hermione sniffed, brushing back her hair. "I miss Ron, Fred."
"I do, too, Hermione." He reached for her, and she pulled him into the hug.
"Why did he have to go, Fred?" she cried. "Why did it have to be him?" He hugged her tighter, burying his head into her neck.
"I don't know, Hermione." he mumbled. "Loved him…." he whispered softly.
"I love you, too." she opened her eyes wide and pulled away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." she ran, pulling the door shut behind her.
Hermione had never meant to say that to Fred, it seemed to bubble up like a potion that couldn't be stopped. It erupted and she couldn't help it. How she wished it had been Ron she had been hugging, telling him that she loved him. She'd never have a chance to say that to him.
She hoped that Fred would understand, wouldn't take it as offensive to him. She entered her flat and sat down slowly, pushing back her hair. She looked at the photograph and picked it up, tracing each line of Ron's face. For a moment she saw Fred in his features, his red hair, the freckles. It seemed that even the lines around his mouth were the same. Hermione felt remarkable guilty for thinking of Fred like that. He was Ron's brother, her friend in a small way. She shouldn't like him in any way but platonic. She only likes him because Ron is gone, she needs someone to replace him, and there's Fred, caring, funny, lovely Fred.
Hermione sighed and put the frame down, just thinking of Fred.
He never thought he'd think of Hermione that way. Fred just ran his hand through his ginger hair and inhaled. The moment Hermione had said he loved him, even though she hadn't meant it, his heart started to beat harder. He knew she must be feeling horrible, guilty, even, about saying to someone other than Ron so soon. He decided to visit her and tell her that he understands. He grabbed spare broom from their shared closet and left his flat, intent on making things right with Hermione.
Hermione was almost asleep when she heard a knock at her door. She wasn't anticipating any visitors, she didn't get up to answer. The knocking grew persistent, increasing for almost five minutes until Hermione took the hint that the person was not leaving, got up, and answered, tired as hell. Hermione threw the door open, yawning. She opened her eyes and gasped, Fred staring at her, a small smile on his face.
"Uhm…Hi?" she said, lamely. Fred just smiled again and looked nervously from side to side.
"So, uh, hi?" he wiggled his fingers slightly and rose an eyebrow.
"Not to be rude or anything, but what do you want, Fred?" Hermione asked, yawning once more.
"Sorry, uh, I just wanted to talk to you…about earlier?"
"Oh." she opened the door wider and allowed him in, staring after him as he entered. He stopped just behind her and she turned, closing the door behind her.
"I want you to know that I don't blame you for what you said earlier, about loving…me." he shuffled nervously, uncharacteristically afraid. "I know you miss Ron, 'Mione, I do too. I hope this won't affect our friendship in anyway. Please?"
Hermione wiped off a tear and shrugged her shoulders, "Alright, Fred. I don't want anything to ruin our friendship, especially now."
Fred nodded, lightly hugging Hermione. She looked up, lips slightly parted, eyes wide in anticipation.
Fred exhaled, his sweet earthy breath fanning over her. She inhaled and shuddered slightly, tightening her grip on his forearm. Fred leaned forward as she did, placing his lips gently over hers, letting one hand rest on her hip. The kiss was sweet and gentle, slow and long.
He placed his hand on her cheek, his fingers lifting her chin to meet him. She melted into his touch, moaning very softly. They pulled away, Hermione sniffling slightly, attempting to blink back her tears.
Fred just stared into her, searching her eyes for a reaction. She inhaled and tensed up, looking everywhere but his eyes. He exhaled and let go of her waist, pushing away.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled, He almost threw the door open, running out and not looking back.
"Fred!….wait….' she called out. She ran to the doorframe, clutching the side, watching him go.
So that's chapter one. To be honest, I have absolutely no idea where this is going, or how long this will be. Lol, I just knew I wanted to do a Fremione, so here it is. ^-^ Hope you enjoyed chapter 1!