A/N: Chapter 4! Doing so good!
Guys, thank you for all the encouragement! Even if you don't review, I can see how many of you are actually reading this and it amazes me, to be completely truthful. I've always been really shy to share the things I write, and I've gotten some courage from school and this, so thank you very much for all the support.
.: *Aparecium*\:.
The house was in a riot. Mrs. Weasley was fretting over the news by tutting over her nearest son — George — asking him to quiet down and have a cup of tea. Ginny and Harry had their heads down together, most likely bickering over how to help the family when they were quite content with the situation, but wanting to fight the higher power for the rest of the family. Charlie had begun arguing with Bill over Fleur and Hermione's heads, about what she wasn't sure.
Hermione was more focused on Ron, trying to get him to say something, anything to distract his ears from getting any redder.
"Ron, it's not all bad. The Ministry will —" she tried again, but said the wrong thing to her hot headed friend, watching him now blow up at her.
"The Ministry is the one putting us through this Hermione! How could you think they'll be any more help to us?"
Hermione glared at the boy across from her, "Don't yell at me, Ronald! This isn't my fault."
Ron only became more flustered and argumentative "Did I say that? No, you're just twisting my words to get me to apologize!"
Hermione threw her hands up, completely frustrated already, "No I'm not! I was trying to help!"
Ron waved her off, "Whatever, doesn't matter. Obviously we'll be matched together anyway, so —"
"No." Hermione heard herself saying, causing Fleur, who had stopped trying to end the eldest Weasley brothers fight, to stare at her in astonishment. Ron screwed up his face in confusion, all fighting words disappearing instantly.
"What do you mean 'no'?"
"I mean 'no', Ron. I haven't been paired with you; you can't just choose me." Hermione could feel her cheeks growing warmer as more of the family turned their attention to her argument with Ron. She subtly crossed her fingers on her lap, internally pleading Ron would clue in to the awkwardness of this conversation and stop. But, in true Ronald Weasley fashion, he decided to make a big deal out of nothing.
"How would you know? This is the first we've heard of this!"
Ginny was the first to cut in, sick of hearing her ignorant brother's drivel, "Shut it Ron, Hermione's had this whole thing cased since last night. She's the one that figured out how to match the Patronus prints on our tattoos. See? Look, Harry and I have matching ones." Ginny stuck out her wrist, nudging Harry to do the same. The few surrounding them leaned in, looking at the slight differences between the tattoos. "Hermione noticed our tattoos take each others Patronus' paw prints — see, I have deer prints, Harry has hooves — it signals which soul you've been bonded to."
Instantly, all her brother's aside from Fred checked their own hands, realizing they either knew or didn't recognize the prints there. Fleur's songbird prints were all over the back of Bill's hand, and wolf paw pads were in the same design on the back of Fleur's.
"So how do you know who they belong to?" George asks, flipping his hand around to see more prints on the palm of his hand.
"You don't unless you know their Patronus, I guess. You might not even know the person, and the Ministry will have to match you together." Ginny shrugs, happy to have helped. George looked at his tattoo with renewed interest, the mystery of the prints becoming intriguing.
"How do you know we're not matched then, 'Mione? Your prints could be a dog's."
Hermione gave Ron a puzzled look, completely baffled, "Ron, your Patronus isn't a dog. Harry and I saw it, your Patronus is a lion." Ron went red, embarrassed now at his faux pas.
"Er, right, forgot about that." he mumbled, and Hermione nodded, satisfied he was seeing sense again. "So, you know what prints they are then?"
Now it was Hermione's turn to go red, "Yes, um, they're from a fox."
Ron thought for a moment, "We know anyone with a fox Patronus?" He thought some more, oblivious to the sly looks Hermione was receiving from George and even Ginny. "Oi, I think Dean or Seamus had some kind of fox thing! You should check with them, that'd be a right laugh!" Ron chuckled to himself while Hermione continued feeling rather nauseous from the dread of her reality.
"Oh, but Ronniekins, Granger already knows who her soul mate is." George pipes up suddenly, getting a shocked reaction from Hermione and Fred, though no one seems to pay any mind to the latter. Ron especially is entirely focused on George, shrewdly glaring at his brother as if he interrupted a private conversation. Hermione felt the most uncomfortable she's ever been around the group, and stopped shy of holding herself and hiding under the table.
"Yeah, how do you know? Who is it?" Ron goads his brother, taking a sip of his tea.
"George," Fred mumbles out of the corner of his mouth at his brother, extremly aware of the hole George was digging him into. Carefully, Fred slipped his left hand under the table without anyone seeing, like that would save him from anyone finding out.
George ignored his twin, grinning lecherously at his youngest brother, "Why, the only one little 'Mione could be matched with is the wizard with the otter tattoo, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Ron drags the word out, silently gesturing George to get on with it. He smiles over at Hermione, like she should be laughing, and finally notices her green complexion. "'Mione?" But George doesn't pause, far too invested in his fun.
"Handy that, as I happen to know someone with an otter tattoo and the owner of a foxy Patronus!"
"George!" Fred hisses, his head lowering to the table inch by inch, Hermione's stomach dropping at the same intervals.
"Who?" Ron asks, looking away from Hermione back to George.
"George!" Hermione pipes in alongside Fred, both nearly under the table. The entire family it seems, aside from Ron has clued in, and Fleur was giving Hermione a most consoling look.
George gave his twin and Hermione patronizing looks, "No, not me, silly. Fred."
"What?!" Ron roars, sputtering on his tea. Now Fleur gives Hermione a rather shocked look, as does the rest of the family. Ginny is grinning unabashedly at her friend, and George is leering over his twin, enjoying his laugh far too much.
.: *Aparecium*\:.
After the bomb George dropped at the kitchen table, Fred had beat his twin over the head, causing a mad cackle to leave the twin. Ron was gaping, Mrs. Weasley was beaming, and Hermione felt sick. The family had dispersed after that, no one saying another word on the matter (other than Ginny ripping into George for his tactless announcement). Eventually the kitchen cleared, some of the family leaving after patting Hermione or Fred on the head or shoulder, like they were grieving over a death. It annoyed Hermione to no end, but sat through it until everyone had dispersed.
She had faced monsters before. Huge snakes cowering in her school, raging centaurs in the Dark Forest; even a few questionable teachers. Fear had coursed through her entire body, and she knew now better than ever what it felt like to await death. To her amazement, Hermione felt more emotion in this moment than she did in any of the past horrors she had faced. She could barely look at him, her cheeks growing uncomfortably warm every time she glanced up hoping to say something.
"Hermione," His whisper cut rather suddenly through their tense silence. Hermione still refused to look up, instead turning her head to the side, revealing her ear from her curtain of hair.
"Yes?"
"I don't know what to do," he scoffed at himself, trying to gain back some control of the situation. "Or say, to you, which is strange because you're my friend, but I can't, or I don't know," He stopped. Hermione felt like crying from the relief rushing through her, realizing they were on the same embarrassing page.
"Oh Fred, I'm sorry," The bench between them didn't seem as daunting as she slid down towards him. He took a quick peek before ducking his head into his tea, still ignoring her. He mumbled something, but she didn't catch it so she slid closer still, only a few inches left of the bench between them. "I didn't hear that,"
"I said: I'm sorrier." Hermione couldn't help the giggles that escaped when he mumbled again, this time lifting his head for her to hear. Without thinking, she sat right next to him and gathered him in a one armed hug, pulling his shoulder into her neck.
"Oh Fred, what am I going to do with you?" a deep sigh broke through from the moody red head as he finally raised his head, looking straight into her eyes.
"Marry me, apparently."
Hermione blushed, releasing Fred from the hug she had him in, and instead returned to her seat to grab her tea, then took the initiative to sit down next to him once again. He rewarded her courage with a gracious smile, and they sat in a more comfortable silence than before. Eventually, Fred began to fidget, so Hermione prepared herself for the conversation.
"I'm killing George, if that makes you feel better." Hermione guffaws at the declaration, immediately relaxing once again. Things with Fred were too easy sometimes.
"I'll help if you'd like. I'm really good at the Jelly Legs jinx." She smiled at him, receiving a warm chuckle in return.
"I'll keep that in mind."
.: *Aparecium*\:.
The next morning was somber and quiet for everyone. Bill and Fleur were still fast asleep, leaving the rest of the home to sit silently at the breakfast table. Mrs. Weasley was running around moving food from one person to another. Ginny was sitting rather cheerily compared to yesterday, talking with Harry like she did every morning with him. They had obviously been up for a while, judging by the awareness in Ginny and the two empty cups of coffee in front of them. Ron was slumped over the table, significantly less happy looking than his sister and best friend. His hair was standing straight up, managing to look just like Harry's on a good day. Hermione couldn't help but smirk at the curl behind his ear sticking straight out to curl into a horn. She skipped up to Molly to take her cup of tea before it could be handed to her, and passed the next set of biscuits, hoping it would calm Mrs. Weasley down for the morning. Molly only smiled and patted her on the cheek fondly, continuing to pass food to her children. Fred and George bounded down as she took her seat, settling down for the long morning of waiting. George took a seat to her immediate right, while Fred grabbed the two cups Molly was turning around with to hand to the twins, shocking her before making her smile warmly. He winked cutely at his mother, handed the second cup to George, and purposefully sat next to Hermione, boxing her in between he and his brother.
Hermione decides to ignore the twins, pulling over the copy of Witch Weekly Fleur had had delivered early this morning, still sitting in its bindings with the Daily Prophet. And while Hermione generally would have prefered the Prophet, she didn't think she could handle the things that would no doubt be in there about the 'Golden Trio'. She flipped through the magazine idly, until she was interrupted by Fred nudging her side with his elbow as he lifted his cup to his lips.
"Hermione, have you eaten anything yet?" He whispered politely, but Hermione still startled. She flipped another page, not really paying any attention to the beauty tips there, trying to act collected.
"I'm having tea, Fred." She lifts her mug as if to prove it, tipping it to her lips and taking a dainty sip, honestly not very in the mood to be drinking it. Fred frowned good naturedly, nudging her arm this time.
"That's not what I meant Granger. What are you in the mood for?" He asks again, changing tactics to get a more direct answer. This time Hermione knew she couldn't ignore him, and put the mug of tea down to focus real attention on him.
"I'm really not hungry, Fred."
"You haven't eaten since dinner last night,"
Hermione frowned, not appreciating the guilt he caused growing in her stomach, "I'm aware, thank you. Not everyone eats enough for a Griffin every three hours, Fred."
"No," he agrees, "but no one eats less than a mouse in twelve hours, 'Mione." Fred kept her stare, daring her to try and deny it. She could not, but also didn't stand to get anything to eat. She couldn't stomach it; it was almost painful to smell so much food all the time, so different from the last few months in that tent, eating too little, and giving most of her rations to the boys.
Instead she decides to divert, "Since when do you call me 'Mione'? What happened to Granger?" She shockingly watches a blush rise into Fred's cheeks.
"Well, I figured I would try it out, since you won't be 'Granger' anymore soon." He mumbles to her around the lip of his mug, no longer enjoying the talk with Hermione. They sat in silence, glad George was being more tactful today, sipping their tea in tandem. Eventually, Mrs. Weasley left a plate of biscuits in front of the three, and Fred grabbed one up instantly, giving Hermione a calculating look. He moved the plate closer to her, obviously indicating he wanted her to pick one up. Hermione looked at the plate, and found she craved the buttery pastries. This was a feeling she was familiar with, one she had to ignore when they were on the run, but now realized she could imbibe these without guilt. So, she took one in hand and nibbled on it, ignoring Fred's gloating smile, focusing on her biscuit and the magazine in front of her.
In the next minute, Fred jumped when Hermione choked on her biscuit, sputtering at the article in front of her. "Oh Merlin!"
George joined him as Fred snagged the magazine out from Hermione's hand, reading the gossips article printed on the centerfold pages. Fred immediately saw why Hermione was shocked; the entire article was on her. A journalist from Witch Weekly had jumped on the popular focus of the wizarding world's soul mark tattoos, and had somehow gotten wind of the Trio's.
"This is nuts, Freddie, listen, 'Which of the two handsome wizards has the Golden Trio's female beauty been paired with? Details on page 10, and insider information of the tattoo transformation at the Battle in Hogwarts.' This is mental!" George reads out, furious at the article. Fred and Hermione were not far behind, leaning over George's shoulder, trying to read as well. Fred snatched it out of his twin's hands, putting it back in front o of Hermione so the three could read together.
"Why would they do this? They don't know us at all, why would they care?" Hermione was flabbergasted, unable to understand. Interest in Harry, sure, he was the Boy-Who-Lived, he had been famous since infancy. But her and Ron?
"In case you haven't realized Granger, your best friend is Harry Bloody Potter. The world has noticed you too and," George paused, flipping the page to see a few candid shots of Hermione, posed either alone or with either Ron or Harry, "might I say, I'm bloody well noticing you too." Fred peeked at what George was looking at, and cuffed his head with a scowl. Hermione also looked, practically squeaking at the picture taken sometime in sixth year, when she had visited Hogsmeade with Ginny. She didn't know who had even taken the photo, but it was clearly pointing straight at her bum.
"Oi, don't ogle!" Hermione squeals, also smacking at George, managing to land one on his arm. The red-head man just laughs, shoving the magazine at her and Fred. Fred closes the magazine, resting his elbow on top as if to guard it from Hermione. Hermione didn't mind, she was quite finished with the gossip magazine.
"Just don't pay attention to it Hermione; you know you're not paired with them, and that's all that matters." Fred murmurs to her, and she tries to ignore it by going back to her breakfast, but her mind can't stop thinking about the article. Were there more she hadn't seen yet? "Hermione?"
"Yes?" she asks quietly, and George takes this moment to leave the two, realizing he should leave them alone to talk. Fred waits for him to leave, double checks his mother is still in the living room, relaxing on the couch. He turns his attention back to Hermione, who is watching him carefully.
Fred leans in to whisper, "Is it— are you alright? With having, or, being with me?" Fred pauses, and blushes again, "Not that we're together, but, um, that we'll have to be? Together? Are you upset it wasn't Ron?" he almost spits out the last part, his nerves winning over.
Hermione was honestly quite shocked. She had never thought how this situation might be affecting Fred, and it apparently was affecting him quite strongly. "Fred, there isn't anything you can do to change it."
"I know," Fred sighs, running his hand through his hair in agitation, "but that's not what I mean. Do you want Ron?"
Hermione pauses, thinking it over while watching Fred, watching the way his eyes flicker between hers and over her head once or twice. "No." Fred relaxes, but doesn't smile or laugh, or look her in the eyes.
"Do you want me?" he whispers, and Hermione freezes. It takes time, but eventually she whispers back.
"I don't — no." Fred nods, like he was expecting it, but Hermione knows she hurt him, because strangely, she feels hurt too. "Not now." she adds, and feels significantly better. Fred graces her with a small smile, and nods his head.
"Not now." he repeats, and Hermione knows he understands. She takes his hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze.
"We'll be okay Fred." Hermione continues to whisper, rather happy for the quiet moment they had, feeling suddenly like she could take on any pesky articles that may make itself known in the following weeks after the war. Hermione had a Weasley twin to back her up.
Fred gave her a real smile now, his usual dimples showing up alongside his smirk. "Yes we will Granger, especially if I have the content of those pictures to look forward to."
The quietness of the kitchen was shattered with a loud slap and the sound of laughter, causing Mrs. Weasley to start from her spot on the couch.
.: *Aparecium*\:.
A/N: End Chapter 4!