A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 2. If you guys want to drop me a review that would be great, reviews motivate me to write faster… and therefore make updates arrive sooner! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 2
Hermione shook her head in wonder at the Weasley family's incredible ability to sleep. She and Fred had caused enough noise to equal that of an earthquake, and now Fred and George could be heard screaming at unearthly decibels. She was amazed that the entire family hadn't woken up and assaulted them with questions.
Hermione's contemplative thoughts were interrupted when Fred entered the kitchen. She glanced up from her cup of tea, her breath catching in her throat a little. Fred seemed different to her somehow, even though she had watched George grow up and they were identical, after all. There was something about him that captivated her, something that George didn't have.
Hermione shook her head again. What was wrong with her? She had never thought this much about any boy, ever. She had never been affected this way. She'd always thought she was above that, immune to the petty whims of teenage hormones.
It's just because you haven't seen him in a while, she thought to herself. You're excited to see him again. That's all it is.
Either way, I have to get rid of these feelings.
"You okay?" Fred's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Huh?" Hermione responded, surprised at the sudden voice.
"You looked like you had just bit into a lemon. Thinking about something nasty?" Fred joked.
"No… not nasty, exactly…" Hermione started blushing again, before she could do anything to stop it. What is with this annoying blushing? She thought furiously. This has never happened before, such a nuisance…
Fred poured himself a cup of tea and joined Hermione at the table. Luckily by now her blush had receded into a dull, faded pink. But, of course, Fred still managed to notice the pink tinted remains of the blush that was so furious moments ago.
An amused smirk crossed his face.
"What?" Hermione asked, slightly frustrated.
"Absolutely nothing." Fred said, the smirk still playing across his face.
"Seriously, what is it?" Hermione asked, a little more forcefully. "Do I have something on my face? What?"
"No, no, you don't."
"…then what is so funny?" Hermione asked again, hoping to get some sort of response.
Fred looked at her a moment before replying, "That, my dear, is for me to know, and for you to find out."
Hermione slumped back into her chair, defeated. Fred was impossible, definitely one for dangling secrets over people's heads. She promptly decided on a change of subject, deciding that whatever Fred was thinking she probably didn't really want to know anyways. At least, that's what she told herself.
"So, Fred, how was your trip?" Hermione asked, trying to sound conversational.
"… I apparated, Hermione." Fred pointed out with another knowing smirk.
"Oh. Right." Hermione said stupidly. Of course she had known he apparated, what was wrong with her? It was almost as if she was only asking him questions to hear his voice, just to know he was talking to her and no one else. But that wasn't possible, not for Hermione Granger.
"So, how's the shop doing?" Hermione asked.
"Brilliantly. Apparently American wizards are just as into playing pranks as we are. We're thinking of opening another chain along the west coast." Fred replied, unable to contain his enthusiasm.
"Really? Already? Wow, Fred, this thing is really taking off for you guys." Hermione said proudly.
"Yeah, and I love it, too. It's just… well… it gets kind of lonely sometimes, you know? Traveling everywhere, never staying in one place long enough to settle down. I've been looking forward to coming back here for a long time." Fred said, continuing to gaze deep into his tea cup as he slowly swished the remains around, as if all the answers in the world could be found in the artificially flavored liquid.
"But, I'm sure with a guy like you, you never end up spending a Saturday night alone." Hermione pointed out. Fred had always been rather popular at home, she didn't see why things would be any different in America.
"True, true, people love me. What can I say? But it's not like coming home to your family and friends. I've known people here for my entire life, it's hard to find people like that in a new place." Fred replied.
"So, there's no… I mean, you don't have a… a girlfriend?" Hermione asked, trying to sound conversational but at the same time knowing that her face was heating up again.
Fred lifted his gaze from the tea cup, finally looking into her eyes. She felt a shiver run up her spine, wondering if he somehow knew what she was thinking. Well, this is Fred we're dealing with, Hermione thought to herself, he probably spiked the tea with veritaserum while I wasn't looking and now knows all my deepest, innermost thoughts.
"No. There's no one." Fred said, still holding her gaze so gently as if it might break.
Hermione felt her heart lift inside of her chest, just a little, at his words.
"What about you? Any significant other, anyone I need to beat up?" Fred asked, much more easily than Hermione had managed to do.
Hermione stuttered, "What? A wha- what?" If she had been drinking at that particular moment, she was sure she would've choked on a killer amount of tea.
Fred repeated, annunciating every syllable clearly. "A boyfriend. Do you have one?"
Hermione forcibly gulped, feeling as if she had just swallowed a rather large and nasty cockroach. "No. I don't." She finally managed.
Fred laughed lightly, saying, "I find that hard to believe."
Hermione answered, "Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" It was the second time in as many minutes that she felt clueless and completely lost. It was so different for her to not be at the forefront of the conversation, strange yet somehow invigorating to not know what was coming next. She was taking every word as it came, instead of predicting what would happen like she normally did. Reacting with her gut instinct.
Fred put down his cup of tea with a little more force than was necessary. "Hermione, look at yourself. You're beautiful. You can't tell me that guys haven't tried to ask you out."
"Well…" Hermione was, for once in her life, at a loss for words. He'd said she was beautiful. Such a simple declaration, and yet… no other words had ever left her speechless.
"What, are you scared of boys, Hermione?" Fred teased with a slight smile.
Hermione tried to look as if the very thought was ridiculous. "What? No, that's absurd, my best friends are boys!"
Fred stood up, walking around to her. "So you won't be freaked out at all if one suddenly gets close to you?"
Hermione instinctively got up, backing away. "Well, Ron and Harry! They're close to me all the time!"
Fred continued taunting her, the grin on his face growing wider by the minute, "Dearest Hermione, you seem to be missing the point. A boyfriend is not the same thing as boys who are your friends. And Harry and Ron hardly count as boys, anyways."
"Um… um… um…" Hermione was very aware that she had backed against the counter at this point, and Fred was still advancing. He had that trademark maniacal grin that meant he was up to no good, Hermione knew if she didn't get out then she would have no chance against his schemes.
"What's the matter, Hermione, you said you weren't afraid of boys." Fred taunted, placing both hands on the counter space beside her so that she was trapped, the sight of her so uncomfortable was just too good to pass up.
"I'm not! Just… get away!" Hermione answered, her eyes wide with uncertainty. He was close, much too close, his face mere inches away from hers. Her heart was pounding, and she still had no idea why. All she knew was that this feeling had to stop. She reached behind her, her fingers closing around a blunt, metal object.
"Aw, come on, Hermione, we- OOF!" Fred doubled over from a blow to his stomach.
"HA! Take THAT!" Hermione said proudly as she dashed away, brandishing a gleaming spatula.
"Hermione, that's the second time you've assaulted me tonight!" Fred protested, his mouth wide open in shock.
"Back! Back, you cretin!" Hermione spat while furiously swinging the spatula at him like he was some sort of dog.
"Whoa, seriously, calm down!" Fred futilely tried to reason with her while simultaneously protecting himself against the vehement wrath of the evil spatula. He was backing up now, backing far away from Hermione's crazed rant. Unfortunately, both she and her spatula refused to let him go without a fight.
"That'll teach you a lesson, don't you EVER advance on an innocent girl like that you womanizing, low, filthy-"
"AHA!" Fred exclaimed in glee as he brought up a wooden spoon to block her attacks.
Hermione gasped. "That's not fair, Fred Weasley!"
Fred taunted, "Whassamatter, afraid of a little competition?" He towered over her, trying to intimidate her, his breath stirring her unnaturally frizzy hair and grazing over her cheek.
Hermione's eyes narrowed. Oh, this was going to be good. Fred wouldn't know what hit him when she was done with him.
Without answering, she smacked him in the gut again.
"You little cheater! That's against the rules!" Fred yelled as he chased after her, swinging his wooden spoon and laughing maniacally like a serial killer.
"There ARE no rules, Fred Weasley! Take it like a champion!" Hermione barked as she brandished her spatula valiantly against his attacks.
Fred ducked behind an oversized pan for defense as Hermione continued swinging at him like a woman deranged. A brilliant array of percussion clanged disturbingly loudly as the two continued their assault. Hermione, momentarily thwarted by the evil pan, darted around it in mad pursuit of Fred Weasley once again.
They ran around the island counter in a frantic circle, neither one catching the other, each one slipping dangerously on the kitchen tile every time they turned a corner. "I'll KILL you Fred, I swear if I ever get my hands on you-"
Fred stopped suddenly, a smirk growing on his face as a brilliant idea struck him. "No rules, right, Hermione?" He spun around to the sink, twisting the nozzle so a jet of water went straight for her. "Then take THIS! HAAA!"
Hermione shrieked as the cold water hit her, soaking through her sweater and pants. Her eyes opened wide, staring at him in shock. She ducked behind the counter to shield herself, but still felt a wave of water cascading over her head. She continued shrieking, covering her head with her hands even though it did nothing to protect her against the downpour.
"What the DEVIL is going on?" The voice pierced like a bolt of lightning through the racket they had made. Booming, ominous footsteps could be heard walking quickly towards the kitchen. Fred's eyes widened in horror, this scene was all too familiar to him Hermione looked up at Fred and smirked. She stood up, leaning close to him until they were a mere inches apart.
"Don't mess with me, Fred Weasley." Her words were barely a whisper. She whirled around, and let forth a glorious scream.
"Mrs. Weasley! Fred's attacking me!" She wailed.
Fred immediately realized what she was doing and frantically tried to stop her. "No, no no no NO!" He said futilely.
Mrs. Weasley thundered down the stairs in all of her bedridden glory. Her sleepy eyes rested on the fantastic scene before her and immediately snapped to life at the shock. Hermione, dripping wet, looking like some sort of soaked revenge goddess, and Fred, standing not too far away from her looking terribly guilty with the spout clenched in his hand.
"Mom, it's not what you think-"
"FRED WEASLEY! In all my years I have NEVER seen such behavior from any of my children!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed like a speaker on its highest volume, her face turning an angry shade of bright red.
"But mom, I-"
"No! NO! Don't you make excuses to me, young man, you should NEVER treat a lady in such a way!" She viciously shook her finger in Fred's direction.
"Gosh, Fred, all I asked was how your shop was doing, you don't have to blow up at me like that!" Hermione wailed, her voice sounding suddenly broken and despaired.
Fred stared at her in open-mouthed horror. No, she couldn't be… she couldn't possibly… oh, he was going to get in so much trouble.
Mrs. Weasley's mood changed in a heartbeat. She gathered the blanket that Hermione had had earlier, gesturing for Hermione to come closer. "Hermione, sweetie, I'm so sorry, come here, you must be dreadfully cold… you just go upstairs and take a nice, hot shower and go back to sleep, okay?"
"Thank you, ." Hermione said sweetly as she wiped convincing tears away from her face. She started to head up the stairs, but turned around when she heard that Mrs. Weasley was tearing into Fred once again.
She caught his eye, and vehemently stuck her tongue out. Fred's mouth dropped in shock, but Hermione darted up the stairs before he could say anything to her.
She happily strolled to her room, looking forward to her hot shower, Mrs. Weasley's feverish cries like music to her ears following her the entire way.
