Nearly everybody had put their feet on the couch at some point. Mrs. Weasley just didn't like it if you had your shoes on at the time.

"Fred, George," Mrs. Weasley glared at the seven year old boys sharing the couch, heads on opposite ends and feet meeting in the middle, "Shoes off the couch!"

"Shoes off the couch!" they echoed, kicking off their trainers and lobbing them at Percy.

"Fred," Mr. Weasley frowned at the seventeen year old redhead, "Shoes off the couch."

He nodded, taking off his shoes before chunking them at a passing Charlie, who then threw them back at him.

Fred walked down the staircase, up and early that morning to open up the shop. As he walked down, he noticed that a fire had died sometime during the night and was now giving off a feeble glow. Walking as quietly as he could to the living room, he stopped once he saw Hermione curled up on the couch, shoes off and a book slipping from her grasp.

"Hermione?" he whispered, watching as a moan escaped her lips and she opened her eyes, frowning at the dying fire before turning to him, rubbing her eye.

"Mmn, Fred?" He grinned as her eyes began to droop again but she sat up a little more, "What time is it?"

He walked past her and grabbed a blanket that had been neatly thrown over the back of a chair, unfolding it and walking back to her. He placed the soft, thick plaid material over her and took the book from her, placing it on the coffee table as she tried to sit up. He gently took her shoulder and guided her back down. "It's time for you to go back to sleep."

She smiled at him and closed her eyes, hugging the pillow with one hand and the blanket with the other, "Thanks, Fred."

"Goodnight, Hermione," he said softly before going out the back door, to the Apparation point, and Apparating away.

Fred leaned against the counter, frowning at a burn mark on its surface as he thought. George had gotten up a few hours after he did and had walked in without so much as a 'hello' to his twin, but he was talking enthusiastically to Lee. Lee, however, was trying to interrogate Fred when nobody was looking, because he, apparently, looked 'shifty.'

He stopped in his thinking as he let out a big yawn, hearing his jaw pop as he brought a hand up to rest his chin in his palm and his eyes fought to stay open. He quickly lost and he was soon in a space where he was both awake and asleep at the same time. He heard the door open and thought nothing of it, and footsteps getting closer, and something that smelled nice and fruity…

"Fred?" Hermione questioned with a smile as his eyes blinked open, then closed again, and then opened once more.

"Morning," he mumbled as he pushed his hands against the counter and stepped back, stretching himself out, "How're you?"

"Alright," she grinned, "You drained too?"

"What, this?" he smiled wearily, "Psshht, this is nothing."

"You just fell asleep standing up."

"I was leaning."

She laughed and he smiled more, liking the carefree sound of it, "How late were you up?"

"A little past twelve, I think. How late were you up?"

"Umm…I think I was only asleep for ten minutes by the time you walked down."

"Have you been asleep since?"

"I wish," she sighed, "Ron came downstairs."

"I'm so sorry. I should've tried to shut him in a pyramid, Mum might not have noticed until we got home then."

She laughed again as Lee zoomed towards her – in his socks, no less – and nearly toppled her over.

"HERMIONE!" he yelled, gripping her forearms as she and Fred both looked at him with confused faces, "WHAT DID FRED DO TO GEORGE?"

She blinked, "What?"

"George is mad at Fred," Lee huffed, dropping his hands, "And I have no idea why."

"Why don't you ask me?" Fred frowned.

"Why, Geo – oh," he blinked as he turned to him, "You're Fred. Sorry. Parental vision and all that."

"Peripheral," Hermione corrected.

"That too." Lee turned back to her, "Anyway – hi. How're you?"

She arched an eyebrow but smiled, "Fine. How're you?"

"Short one employee," he said nonchalantly before continuing in a rush, "So, Hermione, you're looking great today, something with your hair please help us, oh please oh please – hey is that new perfume or something, it smells great and I – "

She cut him off with a laugh, "Yes, Lee, I'll help you. And thank you for the compliments."

He beamed and threw his arms around her, "Thaaaaaank yoooouuuu. You're our savior – forget Potter."

"What about me?" Harry frowned as he walked towards them, Ron at his side.

"Err – nothing," Lee snapped his hands away from her, "Nothing at all, Mister Potter, sir."

"Oh, he was just saying that Hermione is the real savior," Fred grinned and batted his eyes at them as he put his chin on his arms, which were folded across the counter. His smile turned into another big yawn.

Harry laughed, "Oh yeah, we all know that."

"If it wasn't for Mione, Harry and I would be dead since our first year," Ron grinned before frowning at the floor, "Fluffy was not a nice poochie…."

Hermione let out a loud laugh with Harry, making Fred try to remember the sound for future reference. Purely professional reference, mind you, he did work in a joke shop. Although what her laugh had to do with pranks….

Hermione, Harry and Ron helped Fred, George and Lee out all day, Fred being the only one George wouldn't talk to. But at the end of the day, when they were all closing up, George ordered him and Hermione to go outside and head on out, that he wanted a word with Harry, Ron and Lee. Fred arched an eyebrow at him. Was George really that mad at him?

George smiled at him and spoke to him for the first time that day, "No, I just want to talk to them about their pay for the day."

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him before opening her mouth to protest giving her or Ron or Harry any money, but he beat her to the chase as well.

"No, Granger, I know you won't accept it, I just like arguing with these fools. Now go on and tell Mum we'll be late to dinner," he grinned before practically shoving them out the door.

"In all honesty, I'm not that hungry," Fred said as they walked away from the shop, even though they could've just apparated away.

Hermione laughed again, "Especially not after the Bubotuber paste accidentally mixed in with the Nosebleed Nougats!"

Fred laughed as well, "That wasn't appetizing at all!"

She shook her head, still laughing with him, "I can't believe Ron tried to lick it though."

"Oh, I can. I bet him five Sickles to do it," he grinned at her as she tried to hide her smirk and lightly hit his arm.

"So, what to do now?" he asked after a moment, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She let out a loud yawn, "Go get some sleep."

He nodded his agreement before groaning, "I can't go to the Burrow or Mum will yell at me for either being late to dinner or not eating dinner, and I can't go to our loft because it's a mess, so…I'll go nap on a bench."

Hermione rolled her eyes as he made to move to the nearest bench, hooking her arm through hers and Apparating them both to her loft. Fred flopped down on her couch the moment he was stable, and she turned to frown at him.

"What?" he asked as he snuggled himself down in the cushions.

"I'm trying to figure out whether to sleep in the chair, on the carpet, or in the bed," she told him.

He rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist, jerking her into him and settling her head over his heart. She gave a chuckle before wrapping her arms around his torso and finally falling asleep.

All she'd done was let him crash on her couch, he thought to himself as his eyelids drooped, it was just a friendly gesture. The friendly gesture couldn't be marred by the fact that he'd towed her down with him…right?

Sorry, Buddy, his subconscious betrayed him, You're already falling for her, and you know it. Just wait, and you'll see. Oh, and while you're up – get your shoes off her couch, it's rude.

If it would've gotten the little George-like voice in his head, he would've impaled himself in between the eyes with a knife.

…

He silently kicked his shoes off and let them hit the carpet with a padded 'thud.'

Well, it was terribly rude anyway, no matter who said it.