The pain surprised him, he couldn't react. Fred stared at Ron as his cheek throbbed, wondering what was next. Maybe, just maybe, he should've returned the hit. But Ron looked like a nervous mess. His little brother wasn't smiling triumphantly nor preparing for a brawl. Ron seemed to be holding in his wee like an embarrassed child.
"It's j-just," Ron began to stammer, "you don't understand." Tears were gathering in his eyes.
"Ronny," Fred said calmly, completely forgetting his aching face. Ron was a prick, an idiot, but he was still his baby brother. "I do understand, you love her."
Ron widened his eyes and opened his mouth like a cartoon, Fred was waiting for a moth to fly into his throat. Was it really so unexpected? Fred thought it was obvious everyone else knew about his feelings.
He felt sorry for his brother, there were so many things he didn't understand and so many emotions he still couldn't control. Fred knew he wasn't a bad person, he loved him in spite of everything, though he annoyed him constantly.
"T-then… Why are you doing this?"
"Because…" Fred paused for a few seconds. Why was he really doing this? Holding on so dearly to Hermione and their new friendship, wanting to help Hermione forget about Ron. Was it all just to help her? Well, maybe not, but he couldn't vocalize the other reason that came to his mind. "Because she's also my friend, Ron, and you are acting like an arse."
"I am not!" Ron puffed his chest.
Fred didn't say anything, just pointed at his reddened cheek. Ron furrowed his eyebrows and slowly lowered his head as he began to realise what he had just done. Yes, punching your brother for going out with the girl you like -and treat like shit- could be described as acting like a huge dumb arse.
"So, Ron, what do you want to do now?" Ron squinted his eyes, evidently not following what Fred meant. "You see, we could still fight -though I warn you, I have a meaner punch- or we could talk it out like some decent -and rare- siblings do."
After some pondering, Ron followed Fred to the couch.
xxxx
"So now you'll…"
"Make up with Hermione, be nicer to her, and tell her how I feel."
"Perfect. And if she rejects you…"
"I'll accept her decision and move on."
Fred clapped, his brother was smarter than he thought.
xxxx
Hermione was running towards the library, there was so much to do! She had to study for the next semester, study for her own pleasure, and study to clear some doubts she had about the Triwizard Tournament. Hopefully, Fred would join her later. She hadn't seen him at breakfast.
The books were extremely heavy, carrying them towards the desk counted as a well rounded workout. A year ago, the librarian had given up on helping her since it was a never ending race with Hermione. So now, she had to do her best not to trip over whilst holding the equivalent of three babies in her arms.
A timid "Can I help you?" startled her. There was no humour in the voice, so it wasn't Fred nor George, and it was one hundred percent British, so he was no Bulgarian stalker. Hermione slowly turned around to face Ron.
"Yes, you can," she said dryly and shoved half of the books over his waiting hands.
"Great," he mumbled. He walked a few steps behind her, quiet as a mouse. After leaving the heavy tomes on the mahogany surface, Ron lingered by her side.
Hermione tried to act confidently and unfazed by his strange approach. Was he about to apologize or was he going to pretend nothing had ever happened? It wouldn't be the first time Ron ignored the past and did his best to make her forget about his insults. Not this time, she thought.
"What is it?" she blurted out impatiently. "Do you need something?"
Ron fidgeted, his face was crimson, and he nervously avoided her eyes. Hermione couldn't detect the prideful stance he used to have whenever they had a disagreement. His eyelids were puffy, as if he had been crying or having insomnia.
"Hermione, I owe you an apology," he managed to mumble. "I was an idiot, I didn't mean all of the awful things I said. I'm sorry."
He spoke so fast Hermione couldn't interject with a comment, so she simply nodded vigorously as the word 'idiot' was being spoken.
"Do you think you can forgive me?" he looked at her with hopeful brilliant eyes, the same eyes that had once plagued her dreams. In that moment, Hermione wished she was an ice queen so she could directly confront him and reject his apology; but his face was so honest she couldn't help saying: "Of course I forgive you."
Ron's face lit up as he sat down next to her, ready to hit the 'Reset' button on their relationship. As he started talking about what he had been doing the whole time they tried to ignore each other, Hermione began to feel overwhelmed. They had been out of touch for a while and she had resented him for everything that had occurred between them. There was no way she could act like the same girl.
"Ron," she finally managed to interrupt him, "I have forgiven you, but I don't know if we can be friends anymore… or at least not the way we used to."
His face froze as he had been trying to form a word, he nodded. Ron didn't leave, though, and the two of them sat in uncomfortable silence as the minutes went by.
xxxx
Hermione had thought it was outrageous that Ron had pictured a fully mended relationship after apologizing, however, she felt grateful. A load she didn't know she had over her shoulders was lifted.
As the days went by, Hermione felt her heart was being squeezed with more strength little by little. Fred, for some reason, wasn't talking to her. He wasn't being mean nor actively avoiding her… He simply was refusing to connect with her once more, like they did during the ball.
xxxx
"Fred! Good morning!" Hermione beamed at him.
Keep it short, keep it short.
"Hi, Granger."
She looked disappointed. He wanted to smile at her so badly, to tell her about the funny things he had dreamed about the night before, and ask for her advice on various topics. However, something held him back. He needed to understand what it was he was feeling so he could then know how to act. Was this something she needed?
Fred was going home pretty soon for the holidays, maybe he could use that time to think. There was just that strange rumble in his chest he had to deal with whilst being away.
