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Thank you to anyone who Followed, Favorited or Reviewed yesterday. MissesE, pianomouse, GInnyPotter6891 and CarmesiLight; thank you so much for the kind words. I'm so glad you all enjoyed last chapter!

Let's see what happens next...

Fred's POV

"...you do look rather cute when you're cross."

Fred did not know what had possessed him to say it, but he was somewhat proud of himself for the comment. It's not like he ever had trouble speaking to girls, but Hermione was a bit different. She was best friends with Harry Potter and his younger brother. And she was the most brilliant witch in the whole castle, which did intimidate him a little. But if he was going to get anywhere with these crazy feelings that pulled at his stomach, he was going to have to push those thoughts aside and just see Hermione as a smart, pretty girl… who seemed to blush when they got a little too close.

Fred laid in his bed staring at the ceiling going through the most recent ideas for the shop with his twin.

"What about a snackbox that makes you tongue tied?" George suggested as he paced the room slowly.

"You mean like if someone is trying to get information from you or if it's just someone you don't want to speak with…"

"You can chew on this and your tongue swells up so you don't have to deal with them." George finished the thought without hesitation.

Fred nodded, "Definitely interesting, but how would you take the antidote if your tongue is all swollen?"

"Hmm… good point…" George stopped pacing while he rethought his suggestion.

"What if your tongue became really long instead? You still wouldn't be able to speak, but you could stuff the antidote into your mouth still when you want it to go away," Fred's expression wavered as he tried to imagine the process.

"I don't know… It's beginning to sound a little too horrible to inflict on yourself. What if we just made it into a trick sweet; something you can slip an enemy or a good friend?"

Fred's face broke into a wicked smile, "Ah, now you're talking Georgie! And we'll put a time limit on it, so your tongue does return to normal eventually. But we should make it so the persons tongue continues growing until someone reverses the spell or the timer runs out."

George wore a matching grin as he walked over to the small desk that Sirius had put into the room for them, and began writing down their idea and the possible ingredients needed. He looked up suddenly when he heard a small knock at their door.

"Enter if you dare!" Fred shouted as George waved a disillusionment charm over the papers and products in the room.

The door squeaked open and Hermione hesitantly stepped into the room.

"Hey Granger; what can we help you with today?" George cheerily asked.

Hermione stood there clutching a giant tome to her chest and bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, "I… I was wondering… I needed some help with something and I was wondering if one of you would mind helping me?"

Fred sat up in his bed and looked Hermione over. She had been at Grimmauld Place a few days now; and though she had been a bit anxious the first time Mrs. Black had begun wailing at her, this display of nerves seemed much more serious, "Has something happened, Hermione?"

The witch shook her head and offered a small smile, "No, nothing like that. I just… I need help with a spell… a really complicated spell it seems. And since I'm not of age yet, I can't perform the charm myself. Would either of you be up for assisting me?"

"Yea, of course," Fred had agreed without even a second thought; and he caught his twin covertly smirking at him because of it. Hermione sighed and Fred saw her shoulders relax from their tight stance from when she entered the room.

George grabbed a book and strutted toward the door, "Well Freddie here is much more in tune with charms and the like. I will you in his capable hands, Granger." He bowed a bit flamboyantly and left the room still wearing a sideways smile.

Fred shook his head as he rolled his eyes, "Sorry about him. Anyway, what's this spell you're trying to do?" He stood and motioned for Hermione to sit down at the desk. It had been a little awkward the last few days; Fred had tried to spend some time with the brunette, but Ginny and Ron had occupied most of her time. He had been a bit encouraged that Hermione always greeted him with a smile and her full attention. The witch had also made a point of sitting next to him at breakfast this morning and quietly asking about the progress the twins were making with the shop.

"It's fine. I think I'm finally getting used to George's antics," She laughed lightly as she took a seat and opened the large book to her marked page. "Well, I was in the library trying to research a spelled parchment. At first I just wanted to learn about the magic behind it… thought it would probably be of some use later on. But I realized that we could use it now actually, with Harry, so I can't wait until we get back to Hogwarts; I need a way to work on it now."

Fred looked over Hermione's shoulder and peered at the intricate spell that she had found, "A linking spell?"

Hermione glanced at him in her peripheral and nodded, "I wanted to link two pieces of parchment or maybe two whole journals together; maybe we could have a way to speak with Harry without having to worry about the Order."

A mischievous smile began to creep across Fred's face, "My, my Miss Granger. That seems a bit out of character for you; blatantly disregarding a direct order from Dumbledore."

"Well, I'm not suggesting we tell him everything that's been going on. Probably shouldn't mention why I'm here… but I don't want Harry to feel alienated. He's felt like that for most of his life," Hermione ducked her head down and looked over the instruction for the spell.

Fred's smile turned down slightly, "Are you alright?" He knew that Hermione was worried about her friend, but there seemed to be something else underneath that too.

The witch offered a tight smile, "I'm fine… I just… just miss my parents. I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked this summer." Fred took a seat on George's bed, which was right next to the desk, as Hermione leaned back and twirled the chair to face him, "I really do enjoy spending time with you all, but I… I miss my family. I miss the simplicity of life outside the magical world occasionally. And I just miss the muggle world sometimes… sounds ridiculous I'm sure…"

Fred tried not to smile too brightly at the fact that Hermione felt comfortable enough to tell him such things. He plucked up some courage and wrapped one of her hands with his own, "It doesn't sound ridiculous. I'm sure all muggle-borns feel that way. You're kind of thrown into this new world and expected to accept all the tradition and rules without much explanation. I was raised in this world and I still don't understand all that nonsense."

A small laugh escaped Hermione's throat, "Thanks." A smile graced her face as warmth flooded her cheeks; Hermione pulled her hand back gently and turned back to the desk, "Um, well… the spell looks pretty complex. I was thinking we could start with some smaller objects to test with."

The twin felt his lips spread into his usual cheeky grin, "Sounds like a plan, Granger."

He really did enjoy watching her blush.

Eek! Did you all enjoy that as much as I enjoyed writing it? =D

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Misha

Ps. Check out my other stories too! 'Thrown Back,' 'Begin Again' and 'Penelope Jackson.'