A/N: I've been obsessed with Fred/Hermione (Fremione) for a while now, so I decided to write a fic about them.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything of that sort. Rights to Queen Jo.
Chapter 1: Two Figures by a Fountain
It had been a week since her fifth year started and Hermione Granger had become accustomed to standing (or sometimes sitting) on a platform near the Black Lake as a morning ritual to recollect her thoughts. With all the events that had happened to her throughout the years, she needed a place to think that was peaceful and quiet, unlike the crowded common room. At first, Hermione thought the library would be a good idea, but with Umbridge's lack of knowledge, many students had been crashing in that room to actually learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. Then, Hermione had thought to go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, but was quickly turned off as Moaning Myrtle kept pouring her miserable life story to her. Finally while strolling Hogwarts grounds, she had spied the small platform at the edge of the Black Lake, which seemed absolutely perfect.
Hermione had woken up early that morning; the air was foggy and the sun was still beginning to rise. Mornings seemed like the best time for her, since almost no one was up yet, and the musty air was slightly calming. Taking a breath, Hermione closed her eyes, reminiscing all the events that had happened to her since her first year.
Lost in thought, the brunette didn't hear the sound of approaching footsteps.
Hermione no longer cared if anyone saw her in this state, she already knew girls had come into the bathroom, whispering and spreading rumors. She tried an hour ago to stop crying, but she just couldn't. Tears were rolling down her face in record speed, and one after another, they fell on to the cold hard floor.
"Hermione, are you alright?" A small voice asked. It was probably Lavender.
"No, no, I'm fine," Hermione sniffled.
She heard the girl's footsteps halt, but after a few seconds, finally leave the bathroom.
"Ron's wrong, I have plenty of friends," Hermione told herself confidently. However, the confidence was short-lived, as she burst out into tears again.
"Well, Ron doesn't have any friends either," Hermione said, but then sadly realized that he did have friends; Harry, Seamus, Neville, Dean…
"Harry's my friend," Hermione thought. Yes, Harry was her friend, or at least she hoped so.
"And Neville's awfully nice to me too," Hermione assured herself.
"But-but Ron, he called me a nightmare."
"Ron called you what?" A different voice asked with a bit of concern.
Realizing that she had said the last part out loud, Hermione covered her mouth, and then whipped her head around, shocked to see that she was no longer alone. She was able to get a glimpse of the tall redheaded figure, just before slipping and tumbling into the water beneath her.
"Granger? Granger? 'Mione!"
The sounds were muffled, since they were coming from the surface, and Hermione was still in the water. She sunk deeper, and was fiddling in her pocket for a wand as something grabbed her ankle.
"Ahh!" Hermione shrieked, and looked down to see a tentacle wrapped her around her leg. She continued fumbling with the pockets to get her wand, but it was hard to see clearly in the water.
After struggling for a few seconds, she heard a loud splash, and closed her eyes. An arm wrapped around her waist, and a loud "Stupefy" was yelled. The creature, stunned, let loose its grip on Hermione's ankle and fell down towards the bottom of the lake.
She resurfaced quickly after, and hurriedly pulled herself on top of the platform, before even looking at who her rescuer was.
"That was a bloody stupid thing to do."
Hermione turned her head to see none other than one of the Weasley twins. She thought it was Fred, but decided to hold her tongue before knowing exactly who he was.
"It's not like I jumped in," Hermione defended.
"No 'thank you Fred Weasley for saving my life, I'm forever grateful to you'?" Fred smirked arrogantly, water dripping from his clothing.
Hermione scowled but complied with a quick thank you, before adding, "You do know that I didn't need your help. I was reaching for my wand."
"You looked like you were in peril, and you were screaming when I got you," Fred shrugged.
Hermione blushed madly, thinking of something to retort with. If you were in the water, and something grabbed you, you would scream to, she thought to say. No, that didn't seem quite right. Sighing, she chose option two, which was to change the subject. "Where's George by the way?"
"Inside."
There was a long awkward pause as both of them were thinking up something else to say to each other.
Trying to avoid more awkwardness, Hermione muttered, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I-I need to dry off."
"Might want to put some new clothes on too," Fred smirked with a devilish glint in his eye.
Hermione rolled her eyes before trudging to her dormitory. On her way to the common room, she heard a few first years giggling and pointing at her. Assuming it was because she was drenched in water, Hermione kept moving. It was only until Padma had caught her in the hall had Hermione rushed to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom as fast as she could. To her shock, the white shirt and shorts she was wearing were see-through, showcasing the black bra and panties underneath. Mortified, Hermione scurried to her room as quickly as possible, not stopping to talk to Harry and Ron who were playing Wizard's Chess in the common room.
"Hermione, your cloth-," Ron started to say before being interrupted by the brunette girl hurrying past them.
"I know!"
Hermione tried her best to avoid Fred for the rest of the day. While walking down the hallways, she was always either looking down or holding a book in front of her, instead of hanging out in the common room, she would head straight to the dormitories, and when she had nothing else to do, she headed for the library, in which she was sure Fred would not be. By lunchtime, Hermione had propped up her potions book on the table she was sitting at, as a way to cover her face from view.
"So what happened to you this morning?" Ron asked curiously, while taking a bite of his chicken leg.
"Umm, well… I was outside this morning…" Hermione stammered, still embarrassed about the event.
"…She fell in, and I saved her," Fred grinned, but slightly scowled at Ron.
Annoyed, Hermione buried her face in her book even more, not even bothering to look at the arrogant ginger standing behind her.
"No need to be embarrassed, Granger. So… anybody see you while you were strutting in?" Fred taunted, taking a seat next to the red-faced fifth year. George took a seat next to Fred, and greeted his brother's friends with a smile.
Hermione remained silent, shoving her spoon into her mouth, still looking at the potions book. She began chewing her food slowly and meticulously.
"Don't be like that, Granger. You should at least say something to the man who saved you from drowning," Fred smiled wider.
Hermione swallowed and spoke rather quickly. "I told you earlier that I was quite capable of taking care of myself. You just happened to jump in before I could… And, you could've at least had the decency to notify me that my undergarments were showing."
By now Hermione had turned almost as red as Fred's hair.
"Well, what would be the fun in that?" Fred remarked.
"You moronic git!" Hermione said sharply, on the brink of screaming. She took her books in her hands and left the Great Hall abruptly, leaving Fred gaping after her.
