The Difficulties of Falling In Love
Chapter Two
21 Days To Fall In Love

Hermione rolled over on the bed, the soft sheets caressing her skin. Wait, bed? Sheets? SKIN?

She shot up into a sitting position and immediately regretted it. The room swam before her eyes and she could feel a migraine coming on.

"Bloody hell," she groaned, closing her eyes as she slowly lay back down, her head hitting the pillow.

"Owl Rita Skeeter. Hermione Granger just swore." She heard someone chuckle to her right.

Her eyes opened once again, turning her head to see Fred sitting on the bed beside hers.

"Fred?" she breathed heavily, sitting up slowly and resting her head on the headboard. "The one and only," he smiled over at her.

"W-what happened?" Hermione couldn't remember coming up here. All she remembered was Ginny waking her up, the Marriage Law being passed, then going downstairs to find out Fred was going to be her husband. At the realization, her eyes widened.

Fred looked at her curiously for a second before moving to the bed she was on. "You passed out. Ron caught you and brought you up here..."

Hermione tilted her head slightly, her brown curly hair falling over her shoulder. For some reason, Fred seemed angry at the statement, as if he didn't approve of Ron touching her.

"Where's Ron now?" she asked him.

"Oh he went to Lavender's place. They need to start planning the wedding. As do we," he added in an afterthought. Hermione couldn't deny she was angry about Ron being engaged to Lavender Brown. She was getting married to his older brother, after all. She felt an ache in her chest while she thought about Ron and Lavender. The one girl she had ever been truly jealous of.

"Oh...okay," was all she said. "Where's everyone else then?"

"Doing the same with their significant other, seeing as we only have two months to be married and all. Plans need to be made." Hermione chewed on the inside of her cheek as the thought of planning her wedding came into her head. She hadn't expected her wedding to be just thrust upon her like this.

She had always dreamed of love at first sight, having to catch her breath whenever she saw the one she would marry, her heart beating faster and slower at the same time. As she looked at Fred, she felt none of those things. Sure, he was attractive, funny, and smart. He wasn't cocky, but confident. All the things she liked in a man. Though she had to admit, when she was a student, she had always had a little school-girl crush on him. He was the older brother of her best friend, it was just one of those fantasies that every teenage girl had. He may have been all of those things, but she didn't love him. She was not in love with him.

But that all had to change. She had to marry him, have kids with him even. Then realization hit her like a properly aimed Stupefy. She had to have sex with Fred Weasley. She couldn't help but shiver at the image that came into her mind at that moment before she shut it out completely. He would be her first.

Yes, she, Hermione Jean Granger, was in fact, a virgin.

The concept of having sex with someone had very rarely interested her. Sure, she thought about it sometimes, what teenage girl didn't? But she had wanted her first time to be with that one special guy. The farthest she had ever been with anyone was that night sixth year. Slughorn's party, under the mistletoe with Cormac Mcaggen.

She had hated that night, just the thought of his groping hands and wet, sloppy kisses terrified her to this day.

It was only when Fred cleared his throat she remembered he was in the room with her. She must have looked like a complete idiot, staring off into space.

"Oh sorry. I was...thinking," she said to cover up her silence as she tried to remember what Fred had last said.

"I noticed..." he said, looking at Hermione curiously.

"Oh. So I guess we should start planning our wedding..."

"Yeah. I was thinking maybe the Saturday after St. Andrew's Day? That way your parents and mine can talk more, seeing as they've already met so we don't have to go through the awkward in-law meeting," he cracked a smile.

"I think that's a good idea...So it's the...ninth of November now so we have until the...thirtieth until the wedding so we have...twenty one days-"

"To fall in love," he finished her sentence with a small, shy smile.