The Ministry of Magic/The Hearing

"Why did we think this was a good idea?"

"I don't know, I was following your lead!"

"Well try it again, maybe upside down…"

"This is stupid, you give it a go."

"I don't want to touch that thing, what if it wakes up?"

"Oh but it's okay if I'm holding it?"

"You're the uglier twin."

"We're identical you fu –"

"What on earth are you two doing?"

Fred and George looked up to see Hermione standing in the doorway to the old bedroom they were hiding out in, holding a book and looking extremely confused. Her gaze dropped to the unconscious doxies the boys were holding and her brow furrowed.

"We're trying to figure out how to extract the doxy venom," Fred said.

"Well don't go telling her," George hissed.

"Lying does absolutely no good, mate. You know that."

Hermione looked smug as she entered the room, placing her book on top of an old dresser. She picked up an old rag and the spray bottle the boys had handy. She handed Fred the rag and the spray bottle to George. "When it wakes up, stick the rag in its face. It'll bite that, and later you can wring the venom out into a bucket or something."

"Genius!" the twins said together, looking positively gleeful as the doxy seemed to regain conscious.

Hermione smirked. "I know. Try not to get killed yeah?" she commented lightly, grabbing her book and heading back on her original path to her and Ginny's room to read.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hermione, how do you think Har – "

"Shh."

"What?"

Hermione glanced reluctantly up from her book to look at Ron. "I'm trying to read here, Ronald."

"But Harry…"

"I don't want to talk about Harry. I don't want to think about Harry. I am trying very hard not to worry about him. So please, just let me read my book."

Ron sighed. "Right. Sorry." He left the room, only to double back a minute later. "Hermione –"

"I told you Ron, I don't want to talk about Harry!"

Ron flushed bright red. "Er, mum said to tell you lunch is ready."

Hermione colored as well. "Sorry, tell her I'll be down in a minute."

Ron nodded and ran from the doorway. Merlin, he hoped Harry didn't get expelled. He didn't know how he'd deal with Hermione all on his own.

xXxXxXxXx

Lunch was a quiet affair. Everyone was worried about Harry, but no one wanted to say they were worried, so aside from the occasional 'pass the salt/bread/butter' and compliments to Mrs. Weasley on the stew, no one really spoke. Hermione saw Sirius looking like he might want to start a conversation, only to stare back down at his untouched lunch.

Hermione locked eyes with Fred for a moment, both of them feeling awful for Sirius, before they both looked back down at their bowls and continued to eat their stew in silence, free hands linking under the table.

xXxXxXxXx

"Where's your mum?"

"In the kitchen with Sirius and Tonks."

"Ron and Ginny?"

"Ginny's in the attic with Buckbeak, Ron's napping in his and Harry's room."

"George?"

"In our room with the doxies. Prepared to cover for us if need be, but neither of us think it'll be a problem."

Hermione smiled. "So we make a break for it then?"

Fred grinned wickedly. "I've taught you well. On three then. One."

"Two…"

"Three!"

Fred and Hermione burst from the hall closet they had been hiding in and rushed for one of the cleaner spare bedrooms they had come across while cleaning. Fred shut the door behind them and locked it with his wand. He tucked it into his pocket and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist. "Hello beautiful."

Hermione giggled. "I've missed you. I know I see you all the time but…"

"This is different," Fred agreed softly, leaning down to kiss her.

Snogging Fred was one of Hermione's favorite pastimes, for many reasons.

She never imagined she'd like kissing as much as she does with Fred. Probably because when she was younger she never thought she'd kiss anyone, let alone someone like her boyfriend. And while Fred had his flaws, Hermione couldn't imagine someone making her feel as good as he does.

It was more of an adrenaline rush than a duel, more uplifting than straight Os. She felt like her skin was on fire and her brain was turning to mush and her knees wobbled under the dead weight her turned her into every time he touched her.

Her arms snaked around his neck and she stood on her tiptoes in a last ditch effort to get closer to him. His tongue ran along her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Her lips parted slightly and she gasped breathlessly as their tongues moved together, exploring their mouths.

A pit was building in her stomach, but it was different than dread. She felt a fire growing inside her with no way to put it out. Her breath caught in her throat as the kiss deepened. Her knees gave out completely, and Fred pushed her back onto the bed.

A cloud of dust exploded off the sheets. The coughing fit last nearly ten minutes. When the cloud finally cleared, they were both covered in dirt and grinning sheepishly.

"Well that ruined the mood," said Fred, half amused and half annoyed. "Ah well. It was fun while it lasted," he added with a wink.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm going to take a shower and clean up."

"Can I join you?"

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him. "No you may not, pervert," she said as she left the room, her skin warm and bright red as she headed for the bathroom.

It was a much cooler shower than she generally took.

She needed it.

xXxXxXxXx

This is covering two chapters because Hermione and Fred are in neither chapter, and they both span a single day. The next chapter will be Mrs. Weasley's Woes, after the trial. It will probably be up tomorrow night.

But then my boyfriend is coming home from school for a three day weekend and I will be spending as much time as I can with him.

Leave a review and let me know what you thought of this silly little filler chapter.