The arrival at King's Cross was very different this year. They all could feel the stress of being separated during these uncertain times. Hugs were held longer and Hermione fought tears as she hugged Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, and lastly Fred. Not wanting to show her emotion, she forced a smile on her face before walking with the others to board the train.

"It will be all right brother dear." George said as he placed his arm around his twin.

"I know George, I just wish she didn't feel so responsible for keeping Harry alive. He's her best friend and she's going to follow him into whatever mess he finds." There were no words of reassurance. They both knew what Fred spoke was true. The just stood there silently watching the train depart.

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione opened the doors to a compartment to find Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom already deep in discussion about their summers. They invited them to join them and they set down their things.

Ron and Hermione didn't have too much time before they got up to go perform their prefect duties. Harry sat in the train compartment contemplating the conversation he had had with Mr. Weasley about Malfoy earlier that morning.

As she was walking through the train, Hermione was introduced to Professor Slughorn. He invited her for treats in his compartment. She politely excused herself to finish her prefect duties before returning to her own compartment. No sooner had she sat down, did Harry excuse himself, grabbing his invisibility cloak and exiting quickly.

Hermione didn't mind, Luna and Neville were still occupied with each other and it gave her time to think about the summer she was leaving behind and the new year before her.

The train came to a stop and Hermione exited with Ginny, Neville, Luna and Ron. "Has anybody seen Harry?" She asked? They all looked at one another shaking their heads. "That boy! Always up to something. For once do you think he could just get off the train like the rest of us without causing any trouble?"

Hermione huffed her way to the castle and made her way to the great hall. Ginny seemed to be sharing in her worry while Ron could care less. After the sorting, Ron began to shovel food into his mouth at an alarming rate. In all fairness, Ginny was doing the same. "Don't either of you care that Harry is missing?"

"No he's not, he's right there." Ron said with a mouth so full of shepard's pie he could barely be understood.

Hermione looked up and saw that Harry was in fact entering the great hall. He calmly sat down, holding a rag to his nose to stop the flow of blood, and began to fill his plate without saying a word.

"Seriously? You're going to show up an hour late, covered in blood and not offer a single explanation?" Hermione was furious at Harry's carelessness.

"Malfoy." Was all Harry said, in a tone that told Hermione it was all he was going to say.

Hermione's anger lingered through the remainder of dinner. She stomped ahead of her friends towards the Fat Lady and headed straight to her dorm. She quickly began to unpack her belongings just for something to do to keep her mind off her frustration. As she was pulling out her clothes, she came across Fred's quidditch jersey. As she picked it up, a package fell to the floor. She grabbed it and looked closer. It was a package of the twins patented daydream charms. There was a note sticking out of the side.

"'Mione,

I know you study hard, but that git brother of mine and boy wonder are bound to get under your skin. Take one of these when you need a half hour of happy thoughts. Best to be taken when you can lay down as you will have no idea what's going on around you. I don't know how long it will take you to find this (probably not long as I assume you will put your things away right when you get in the room), but know I miss you already. Don't forget to write!

Love,

Fred"

Hermione felt the smile return to her lips for the first time since leaving King's Cross. She immediately changed into Fred's jersey and some pajama shorts before quickly emptying the rest of her trunk and grabbing a quill and parchment.

Hermione wrote furiously to Fred. One of the longest letters she had written him detailing everything that had happened on the train, from her job as a prefect to running into Slughorn and his newly reinstated Slug Club, to Harry showing up with no explanation late and covered in blood. Once she had sufficiently vented to the one person she knew would care, she thanked him for the charm.

"And thank you Fred, for the daydream charm. I found it as I was trying to calm down by unpacking after supper. After finding it, I changed into your jersey and immediately needed to write to you. So here I sit now after pouring out to you all my frustrations. And I really do feel better knowing you'll be the one reading this. I'm going to go send your letter right now via owl, come back to my room, snuggle into your jersey and daydream happy thoughts before bed.

Thank you for always being there for me Fred, even when you're far away. You are amazing.

Love,

Hermione"

Hermione did as she said she would, mailing the letter than immediately getting into her bed. She had the same dorm mates as always and she knew they wouldn't be back until late leaving her plenty of time to herself. She read the instructions before laying back and opening the charm.

Hermione's eyes fluttered shut. She could practically feel the warm breeze brush across her face as she saw the scene shift and change until she found herself out in the quiet meadow of the Weasley property. She was laying on a picnic blanket watching the clouds go by.

Suddenly she felt some next to her she turned her head to the left to see Fred laying in a similar position looking at her. He slowly rolled onto his right side and brought his hand up to cradle her face in his palm. He slowly brushed his thumb across her face before leaning over her slightly and bringing his face closer to hers. She could feel his warm breath on her face as he lightly ran his nose across her own. He moved it along her cheek bone, over the shell of her ear and down her neck. She heard him inhale deep as his hand moved deeper around her face and into her hair. He continued his slow pace down her collar bone, planting the lightest of kisses at the nape of her neck before going back up her collar bone and neck, across her jaw, and finally to her lips. Hermione's lips parted in anticipation as he finally lowered his own to her's.

All too soon, the image began to fade and Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Her skin tingled and she touched her mouth. Every fiber of her body felt loved, and cherished. In that moment, she had no choice but to admit to herself that in the course of the summer, she had fallen in love with Fred Weasley.