Ron was a dick, she made a mental note. The more-than-a-hundredth mental note about this simple statement. He didn't change much, but lately, every little things started to annoy Hermione.

Then she also started to make mental notes about Harry and his carelessness, his lacking confidence and mistrust in others, and his general gloomy view of life. Since usually she got over these nuances pretty quickly, she started to suspect the fault was hers.

Or rather, the locket made them grumpier than she preferred, later grumpy became angry, distrustful, estranged. She hated it. She hated it even more when she realised how obsessed Harry was when they remained alone, and for the first time, she felt afraid. Afraid of the horcrux, afraid of the pointlessness of their mission, afraid of their friendship.

Something irreparably broke in Harry after Ron left, and in her utter desperation, Hermione approached him with something she was sure would help. Harry was mostly passive, barely responding to her at first, so she started with patient, soft kisses and touches, and three weeks of persistent work, she finally broke through. Harry was scared and lonely, and Hermione knew that she was the only constant on that damned mission that kept the three of them going. Ron and Harry, although taking the leader role when they felt inspired, were just as quick stepping back on a whim. She was the driving force, and she knew she was able to stay strong only thanks to the lessons she learned from Fred.

When Ron returned, Harry's mood significantly improved. (Perhaps the destruction of the locket played a part in it too.) Only her mood didn't change: focused, determined, relentless. She stopped getting closer to Harry, and he had never said a word about it, not even later - after the war, after he went back to Ginny.

To be honest, Hermione felt a bit hurt by his uncaring attitude, but at first there was the mission, then Ginny, and it really wasn't her place to demand an explanation. She used him for keeping herself motivated, able to go on; their closeness was the fuel she needed to function in the wild. Perhaps he knew it.

Then Ron came back, and with him, news of the outer world. At first she was so inexplicably angry at Ron that she wanted to explode, but later, she just felt empty.

She could pinpoint the moment when she realised that for a while, Ron was the centre of her world, and in the same moment, she also noticed that she was using past tense. Ron's return was overwhelming, because primarily, he was her best friend, he was her everything, the connection between her, the logical, pragmatic bookworm and the rest of the world (careless, childish and impulsive). She needed him. But the catharsis lacked a bit – her romantic feelings were gone for good. Fred Weasley's lesson number one: don't get too attached.

The three of them fell into a routine. She kept her distance – sort of. She knew that Ron's hormones were in an uproar, his every instinct screaming for her. She had to play just a little bit with his heart: it was revenge, sweet, deserved revenge, but when Ron first mentioned his brothers, something snapped in her.

She decided to seduce him.

Despite the dire circumstances, she wrapped him around her fingers way too easily. Licking her lips, playing with her hair, stretching... Ron had simple preferences, easily fulfilled by the likes of Lavender Brown: sweet, adoring, but simple. Hermione remembered the many layers of Fred and the sophisticated secrets of George, but Ron had required little to no creativity. He was practically drooling every time she took a breath by the end of January, but she decided to let him come to her. It took him a long time to do so – she was hunched over a book, her tea cooling, when he touched her shoulders and told:

"You're going to get numb."

She smirked inwardly. Getting numb. Really? She turned to him with a grateful smile.

"Right," she shrugged. "It's not like I'm not used to it."

"I can give you a massage any time, you know. Just ask," he said, awkwardly massaging the back of his neck. She was interested, after all, if he was any good at massaging, or he only did it as foreplay.

Both were true. Ron's hands expertly chased the pains and knots away, and she rewarded him with light touches and caresses. He seemed to enjoy her being feminine and vulnerable, and he cherished her body. He was fumbling a bit, but he was sweet and caring, and in the end, he was smiling so wide as she had never seen him.

She wanted to ask about Lavender. It was clear it wasn't the first time for him, but she wasn't sure if he realized that it wasn't the first for her either. She wanted to ask if she was better than Lavender, prettier, tighter, louder, whatever; but instead, she just said: "Woah, it was fun!" and chuckled some, and peeking at Ron's face told her she managed to say the inappropriate words.

For Ron, sex was love, not fun.

Heartbreak suited him, she decided later. He never approached her with the subject, and seemed to turn his energy toward their actual tasks.

Ironically, the next evening Ron managed to turn on Potterwatch. Hearing the voices of their friends felt marvellous; like they were together, like they were safe, knowing they were still living and fighting made her will to go on stronger. The broadcast cheered up the boys too, which further lightened her mood.

Then Fred started speaking, and she couldn't keep her tears at bay. The boys didn't notice her sudden emotional outburst – or rather, didn't make the connection to Fred.

Yet, he was alive, speaking, joking, on the run but alive, with friends...

.

"May I ask you a question?" Hermione looked up at Charlie's face. Charlie was trying to form the words he was going to say, but they stuck in his mouth and he waved it off.

"Well, then don't. So as I said, Ron was next. Considering that I fancied myself in love with him, it was rather anticlimactic. But," she raised her finger to emphasize her point. "Considering that I've fallen out of love with him before we slept together, it's really not a surprise. I never regretted it, neither did sleeping with Harry. I don't think they know that I've slept with both of them." Charlie let out a bark of laughter. Hermione chuckled sadly. "I am a slut. I made my peace with the fact. I am also pragmatic, and I want to note that I reserve my opinion no matter what."

"I don't judge." There was something in Charlie's eyes that told her there was more behind his words, but she had an inkling what he wanted to say, but was too polite to do so. Not that it was something she didn't know herself.

"I had to let him go, but I couldn't articulate my feelings without ruining our friendship too."

"As I said, I don't judge."

"I was cruel. I have always known how insecure he was, living in the shadow of his brothers and friends... I think he knew that I wasn't a virgin, but he did not dare to mention it. I think he feared the answer of who it was... He always feared that I would chose Harry over him," she released a bitter laugh. "In hindsight, I was cruel, but it was necessary. I had to let him go and find his happiness, and this was a painless way to tell him that our feelings are different."

"I would argue how painless it is for a man in love to hear his beloved had fun during their oh-so-romantic time together." A death-glare from Hermione silenced Charlie.

"We then made a little detour in the Malfoy Manor, only to arrive at Bill's."

"Oh no, please don't tell me it's his turn..."

"It's not, but he will have his turn, trust me."

"At least promise that it did not happen in his own home or near his wife..."

Charlie's worries caused her to smile. "He had a good reason cheating on her, I promise. I don't think Fleur would hold it against me. Perhaps she would be angry at Bill for a moment, but it's... understandable."

"Fine. So, you're at Bill's. Did something happen?"

"Apart from planning a break in to Gringotts while recovering from Dear Bella's Torture?" Hermione giggled. Charlie shot her an apologizing look, but she shrugged it off.

"Actually, we've got some visitors..." she fidgeted, hesitantly recalling the events. "I was slowly recovering, but we were already planning the robbery with that blasted goblin. It was a fairly calm and boring stage of the mission. Sometimes, when I had had enough, I just went and helped Fleur in the kitchen, talking about acquaintances..."

"My, my, I never took you for a gossip queen!"

"I'm not!" Hermione slapped him playfully, pulling him for a kiss. "I'm only trying to get to the point."

"What's the point?"

"The visitors." She swallowed visibly. "I was barely standing when we first got news from Muriel's. Your mother was livid that we just 'popped out of the blue' or something like that. She expressed her strong desire to come see us, but to warn us, the twins came over first... Imagine that madness when they, starving for attention after months of hiding, stepped out of the fireplace, hands, pockets and bags full of their products, got it?" Hermione giggled again. It was definitely something uniquely for Fred. "Well, I was sitting on the couch, wrapped in blankets, chatting with Fleur when they turned up, and Fleur, seeing them, almost pushed them back into the Floo without questions."

Charlie shook his head. "It's just like them. Wasn't flooing considered dangerous? Being watched and everything?"

"Exactly. And the twins simply shrugged telling us about their Peruvian Instant Darkness, and how fun it would be to floo-call in complete darkness. Fleur actually slapped Fred, because George had a missing ear, and Fleur felt sorry for him: that's why she is always hitting Fred." The Veela liked hitting others. She turned out to be a very violent creature. Fortunately, she only preferred this method instead of talking; she meant to threaten, not to inflict pain. Fred, though, took it to heart – at least said so, and went sulking to the couch, next to Hermione.

"They told us about your Mum. She visited, too. Once Lupin came, with news of his son. That was the night when Fred visited me in my room and asked me to make children with him. I don't think he really meant to do kids exactly that night, but we pretended, and there were no consequences."

Charlie flinched.

"You would let him impregnate you on a whim?"

"I knew I couldn't be pregnant. I was on the run for month, living on mere willpower. I was tortured and still healing. My body was in no condition to conceive."

"You've been thinking much about it..." Charlie remarked. Hermione shrugged it off. Her points were valid, and deep down, she and Fred knew it that night – doesn't matter that she collected and organized them so neatly only months later. She liked to be a little careless sometimes.

"You should have been more careful. He is reckless."

"Is he really?" Hermione squealed in mock-surprise. "I've never noticed!"

Charlie shook his head, but Hermione explained. "He's steady. What we always had is steady. I like steady, and Ron, for example, is not. His moods and goals are constantly fluctuating, and I can't keep up with the changes. I like planning, and I know exactly what I want and how to get it. As long as it is in progress, I feel free to live a bit and go out and have fun, but essentially, I follow my plan. I don't do anything that can hinder it."

"Fred is the same..." Charlie sighed. "I think I'm starting to understand why it's working between you two. I just try to wrap my mind about why him."

"Well, we just wanted to have fun, then things proceeded. Do you believe that back in Hogwarts he encouraged me to study? Him, who didn't even attend his classes?" She let out a nostalgic giggle. "Anyway, he visited me later again at Bill's, worrying about my healing process, entertaining me, smuggling sweets for me, and he did it all under the nose of the others. It was the first time we really became close, not only physically. Then we left, and the next day we were at Hogwarts, and he was so bloody reckless! I could've killed him myself. I should have been running around, looking for horcruxes, and I was actually running around, saving his sorry ass! Because he thought protecting and encouraging others were more important than preserving his own life! Argh! I'm sure he has some hero-complex, like Harry, I dare not imagine how he would be if he would have been the chosen one!" She was yelling, riling up her temper because of the obvious emotional strain the final battle caused.

Fred was reported missing, and he was dug up from under the debris almost two days later, miraculously alive, but in a life-threatening condition. Charlie remembered the state their mother reached by that time, but seeing Hermione now in a different light, he had no idea what she'd been through. When the healers managed to get his body work properly, Fred's first words were some lame joke about crashing walls, but no one really paid attention.

"When he started speaking and making light of the situation, I actually walked out of the room and stopped talking to him. I ignored him while he needed care, I ignored him when he was resting at the Burrow. I moved back to my parents' place to avoid him. But by then, I was through Percy."

.

A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for the follows/favorites, but especially for the reviews! Now, it's Ron's turn. What do you think? I wanted to give them a friendly parting; so that for once in their life, they don't quarrel. Fred came back, though, and Charlie is trying to wrap his mind how Fred and Hermione would work out, and also having worries about Bill - like several of you. I'm really curious about your thoughts!

Special thanks to filmdork, for bringing the virginity issue to my attention; it was a later addition, but I liked to include it.

Thanks for reading and don't be afraid to review!

SV