Chapter 2

Slightly annoyed Hermione got out of bed, got dressed and picked up her bag of toiletries. While in the shower she thought about her latest dream exploits with Fred. She couldn't help but think that the dreams were getting worse. They'd started with just a kiss and that had already been confusing enough, now she was doing things she wouldn't even consider doing awake!

She got out of the shower, dried herself off and pulled her hair into a neat bun. She was talking to herself when she walked into the common room to wait for Ron and Harry before heading to breakfast. "This is ridiculous! He's just a boy!"

"Who's a boy Granger?"

Oh no! She turned around and looked into the face of Fred Weasley. Oh why is he so beautiful? What?! Where did that come from?!

"Well, who's the mystery guy?" George, standing next to his twin, asked after a few seconds.

"There is no mystery guy. And even if there were it would be none of your business." Hermione said a bit louder than necessary.

"No need to shout" Fred said.

"We're standing right next to you" George continued.

Somehow she always managed to tell the twins apart, though everyone else always had trouble with it, even their own mother. She supposed she was just more observant than all the others.

"So?" They asked in choir.

"So what?" She'd gotten distracted by comparing the minute differences in their faces and had forgotten what they were talking about.

"You still haven't told us who the guy is Granger." they answered.

"What guy?" asked Ron, who had just come down from the boys' dormitories with Harry.

"She's going out with some mystery guy and she won't tell us who it is." George said with a big smile.

"Come again?" said Harry, clearly confused that Hermione would go out with someone and not tell him and Ron about it.

"Oh it's nothing, they're just being annoying. Come on let's get some breakfast." Hermione said and quickly pulled the two of them with her.

Once through the portrait hole Harry looked around to check they were alone and asked "So what was all that about?"

Hermione searched for an excuse and said "I was talking to myself about someone who's always wandering around the library and they apparently assumed I was going out with the guy. Which I am not, by the way. They were just being their oh so charming selves again." While saying this she was thinking that Fred could probably be very charming if he wanted to.

"So you're not seeing someone you haven't told us about?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said "No Ronald! You know I would have told you two about that."

"Ok, just checking." Ron answered, looking slightly relieved.

Everything sorted out they went down to the Great Hall for breakfast and the boys soon seemed to forget about the whole thing, for which Hermione was extremely grateful.

Fred watched as Hermione walked away and once again wondered about what a beautiful girl she had become. When she'd first come to Hogwarts he'd always thought of her as one of his younger brother's best friends. But since the beginning of the previous year things had begun to change. She'd put together the DA with Harry and Ron and managed that so brilliantly that Fred had started to look at her differently. She wasn't just his brother's best friend anymore. She was a talented young witch. Without a doubt the smartest student at the school, and if Dumbledore hadn't been Headmaster he'd have added the staff to that as well. She stood up for her beliefs and didn't care if anyone called her weird or stupid for them. If someone told her she was stupid she'd probably hex them so bad even Madam Pomfrey would have trouble setting them right, just to prove them wrong. She was witty enough to banter with him and George. And after everything they'd been through, especially the ordeal at the Ministry last year, she was definitely one of the bravest people he knew.

"Earth to Fred, Earth to Fred, come in Fred."

Fred turned toward his twin.

"Thinking about the perfect Hermione Granger again?" Of course George knew about his crush on Hermione. They told each other everything, it wasn't really possible to keep something from the other twin anyway.

"Who do you think she was talking about?" Fred asked nervously.

"Well how should I know? She didn't tell me any more than she did you" George answered with a grin for his twin. "Come on Freddie let's get some breakfast, I'm starving."

Hermione sat in Double Charms lazily practicing that day's assignment. She'd mastered it already but it couldn't hurt to practice and it kept her hands busy. Her mind on the other hand was quite unoccupied and so inevitably ended up on Fred. She'd been thinking about the dreams the entire lesson. Ron and Harry were too busy with the charm and she'd already finished perfecting her notes on the theory. After two hours of turning it over in her mind she could only conclude that she was in love with Fred Weasley. It didn't seem possible to her, they were a complete mismatch. She was a total bookworm, did her homework at the earliest possible time, wasn't interested in Quidditch, and constantly told them their pranks were childish and sometimes even dangerous. He on the other hand was a fantastic Quidditch player (at least according to people who knew those kind of things), he was constantly getting in detention, didn't care about school at all, he'd only come back because his mother wouldn't give up on it.

But there were good things about him as well. Of course he was smart, you couldn't actually pull off all those pranks if you weren't. And he was loyal, he would never let anyone he cared about get hurt in any way and that counted double for his family. And even if she didn't entirely approve of everything he did, he always managed to put a smile on her face when she was near him. But then why don't I feel the same about George? They're practically inseparable and all those things apply to him as well. Yet for some reason she just didn't. It was true that everything she had just summed up for Fred counted for George as well, but there were differences there too. Fred was the more spontaneous of the twins, George liked to think things through more properly. Which was probably why they worked so well together. Conversely George had actually earned the reputation of a playboy while Fred hadn't had that many girlfriends, at least as far as Hermione knew anyway. They weren't completely identical either. Fred's eyes were more of a sapphire blue and George's were more a deep sky blue. George had more freckles on his nose and cheekbones while Fred's were more spread out across his cheeks. Fred's face was also slightly narrower than his twin's. All put together Fred equalled perfect in Hermione's eyes whereas George just equalled George.

I can't believe I'm in love with Fred Weasley! How the hell did this happen? I'm supposed to be a sensible person! But being who she was Hermione quickly got over the shock and decided something had to be done about the whole situation. If I'm in love with him there's only one thing left to do now, is there? I have to find out how he feels about me!

AN: I had some trouble with this chapter so it probably isn't as good as the last one. Please Please Please review, it really helps me stay in the mood. I've got another few chapters ready but I won't post them just yet, there might be some tweaking that has to be done. :)