PART 1

"Just ask her." George nudged his twin.

Fred pushed back, gritting his teeth, "Stop being an arse! I'm just waiting for the right moment!"

George swallowed a laugh, "What, are you planning on asking her to marry you?" That got him an elbow in the stomach which left him wheezing for a few moments.

"Jeez," He scowled. Then spying Fred's agitated face, he sighed. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed out Hermione's name causing his twin to turn pale.

The brown haired girl in question, looked over at them and frowned, clearly wondering what they were up to. Half dragging, half marching, George managed to get his brother standing in front of Hermione.

"Um?" She eyed them, warily, "If this is some sort of prank, count me out of it."

"What? Would we ever get your hands dirty, Hermione?" George was all wide eyed innocence.

"Not for lack of effort," The younger girl muttered. Then, noticing Fred's ashen face, she frowned, "What's wrong with him?"

"Ah." George took a seat, without asking, sighing dramatically, "Fred's in a bit of a spot."

Hermione immediately sat straighter, something which did not pass George's notice. Heard that, did you?

Unlike Fred, George was aware of Hermione's crush on his twin. She wasn't the only girl to find herself attracted to one of the twins, but she was the only one who didn't do anything about it. He had often noticed Fred staring in her direction, but since neither of them acknowledged their attraction to the other, he had decided to do something about it.

Hermione was practically a part of the family now, and she was grounded enough to be a perfect match for Fred. Plus, this plan had been in the works for a month now. Even Harry and Ron were starting to become impatient. However, fooling McGonagall wasn't that easy and he had to tread very carefully where the ferocious Head of the House was concerned. Then, he had to 'suggest' that the only person who could prevent Fred from failing was Hermione. Fortunately for him, the teacher had just taken his comment as concern for his twin and had immediately latched onto the idea, ordering Fred to get Hermione to tutor him.

"What's wrong, Fred?" Her tone was much kinder and made Fred's eyes widen in disbelief. This was the same girl who had snatched the charmed fireworks from him yesterday and yelled at him in the common room.

"McGonagall fai-"

Fred kicked his twin in the shin, making him howl. "I'll tell her, you twit. You've helped me enough."

Turning to the confused Hermione, he continued where George had left off, "I failed Transfiguration, or I will, if you don't tutor me." Then he hastily added, "Or so says McGonagall."

"You want me to help you study?"

Fred shrugged, "If you have the time."

Hermione looked at her History text in front of her, "Well, I don't," Fred's eyes bulged at being denied so abruptly, "But I'm sure I can make the time. However, it will have to be after dinner.'

"I'm okay with it."

"All right then."

Fred looked uncomfortable and leaned on one leg, "Yeah."

George couldn't help frowning. he needed Fred to be charming, not a nervous wreck. He would have to do something about this.

"Was that all?" Hermione looked confused. Her eyes lingered on George, "Are you all right, George? You look like you're in some pain."

"What? No!" He hastily denied as even Fred turned to look at him. He backed away, "Why don't you two talk about this tutoring thing, while I go- I have something to do. I'll catch you at dinner, Greg." He made a quick exit, leaving his twin and Hermione in an awkward silence.

Fred opened his mouth, but Hermione cut him off. She looked a bit wary, "Do you really need my help or are you planning some revenge for yesterday?"

Fred's eyes widened. Before he could say anything, she lowered her gaze to study her robe and muttered, "I'm sorry, okay? But those first years are a danger to themselves and your products can be a bit dangerous if you don't know how to use them."

Fred rocked back on his heels, before saying, "I want to graduate on time and this course is important. "

More silence, before Hermione finally said, an odd look in her eyes, "If I'm making you uncomfortable, you can leave. I mean, we can talk about what you want to study after dinner."

"You don't make me uncomfortable", Fred argued, not liking her tone.

"Oh." Hermione said, awkwardly. "I just thought -"

"Yeah, well, don't think." Fred cut her off, rudely.

Hermione sat up straighter, a flush in her cheeks, her eyes not quite able to hide the hurt in them. Her tone was stiff, as Fred cursed his mouth, "I have an assignment to do, so -"

Nodding, he left, both of them simmering and unaware of the three sets of eyes watching them.

"Oh, man."

Harry nodded, as Ron continued, "Why did I think this would be easy?"

Tracking Hermione down after dinner proved to be harder than Fred had thought. She was usually in the Common Room but today she had just scurried away after a plain brown owl had dropped something in front of her at dinner.

She had looked at the seal on the envelope, turned bright red and grabbing it, had run away. Even her best friends had curious looks on their faces. Strangely enough, neither of them would meet his eyes when he asked about the envelope.

He turned towards the library when he saw a flash of brown. His heart beat faster as he turned the corner and then stilled. Hermione was leaning against the wall, a silly smile on her face as she read the contents of a letter. He found he quite liked that smile on her.

It was one he had never seen on her before. She was usually so restrained and here she was smiling like a girl in love.

A girl in love?

His eyes narrowed as a hot rage filled him. He didn't even bother to ask himself why he was so furious. The angrier he got, the more composed he got.

A small smirk laced his lips, as he leaned forward and grabbed the letter from brother's best friend.

"Didn't we have an appointment, Granger?"

Her smiling face disappeared and transformed into horror as his eyes skimmed through the letter. Before he could read more than a few words, the parchment in his hand was replaced by a wriggly lizard.

Startled, he dropped it and she grabbed it, tucking the animal in her pocket.

"That was rude, Fred!"

Fred's face flamed red, as he scowled, "Yes, well, we had an appointment. You said you'd teach me after dinner!"

Hermione grit her teeth, "I know dinner just ended. I wanted some privacy for a few minutes!"

"I don't have time to waste. I'm failing this course and you're busy exchanging love letters with your boyfriend!"

He knew his words were harsh but he couldn't help them as they spilled from his mouth. Hermione turned pale and her jaw clenched, "What did you read?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

Hermione felt like she had been slapped. Her face was white as a sheet and her stomach felt hollow. She swallowed as she looked at the boy she had feelings for as he insulted her and felt like crying.

Restraining her tears, she mumbled, "I'll meet you in the Common Room in a few minutes. I have to go to the washroom." Saying, that, she turned her back on him and started walking away, her entire body feeling numb and cold.

Cursing at his stupidity, Fred grabbed her arm, "Look, I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't -"

As he forced her to turn around, he froze at the sheen of tears in her eyes and as she tried to blink them away, one of them trailed down her cheek. He stared at her, feeling like the biggest piece of shit. She stared back, defiantly, as if daring him to say something.

He should have apologized, should have said something, but his arm lifted of its own accord and he used his thumb to wipe away the tear, his hand cupping her face. She stilled. His thumb continued stroking her cheek, intimately as those beautiful brown eyes grew even bigger and a new, strange emotion, replaced the hurt which had been so dominant.

"Hermione, I-"

The sound of footsteps coming their way, startled them out of their haze and they broke apart, their faces turning bright red. A bunch of first-years rounded the corner and they stopped to stare at the couple. They stared at each other, guilt evident in their faces as they retraced their steps and disappeared back the way they had come.

Alone, once again, Fred coughed and opened his mouth to be cut off by Hermione, who avoided his gaze, "Let's go. It's getting late. I have an assignment -"

Trailing off, she hurried off towards the Gryffindor Common room. He stared at her back, unable to forget how soft her skin was. His fist clenched as he recalled the smile on her face when she had been reading that letter.

For some odd reason, he wanted that smile just aimed at him. Shaking his head, he followed her. Hermione was way out of his league. And besides, she considered him some sort of immature - he refused to finish that train of thought.

The common room was humming with activity. His sister sat with Dean Thomas, murmuring together, their heads bent low. Harry, Ron and George were sitting on a couch, staring across the room, a strange grin on George's face. Fred swiveled his head in the direction the three were looking and frowned.

Hermione had chosen a small table in a corner, one he never remembered seeing before. She most probably had conjured it up. As if feeling his gaze on her, she looked up and their eyes met. Her cheeks turned red and she nodded stiffly.

Kicking his twin as he passed the trio, he ignored the howl, and made his way towards the nervous brown haired girl waiting for him.

Waiting for him.

That sounded nice. And completely not what he should be focusing on, right now. But the more nervous she got as he neared, the more confident he got. Remembering the strange emotion in her eyes, he paused and cocked his head.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

His chances might not be that bad after all.

A smirk graced his lips.

A.N.: Every time I write a Fred and Hermione fanfic, I get asked for sequels, so this time I'm writing a five part story. I hope you enjoy.