olliepuppy: Thank you! I sure hope it'll be interesting enough for you to read on :)
Mally1942: I know that Ron never attacked her in canon and that Fred played pranks which sometimes humiliated people, but as this is an AU - things are going to be different. Also, this is not about bashing Ron or ignoring canon, but you'll hopefully see why later on in the story.
CHAPTER 7
Christmas at the Burrow was a wonderful thing, Fred had always liked the strings of fairy lights his mother would put up in the living room and around the whole house. It was the feeling of comfort and just being home that he loved so much about this particular season. He wasn't one to be soppy or emotional, but he did get quite soft at times. Christmas also meant that the whole family came together which included not only his older brothers, but also Harry and Hermione. She had been cancelling their weekly meetings often in the last few weeks and Fred couldn't get his head around why. He didn't want to bother her with owls asking why and if he or George had done anything that had offended her. She also hadn't shown up at the Burrow anymore and he simply hoped she would at least come for Christmas.
"Don't worry mate, she will come. She always does when it is about presents." Harry tried to reassure him and patted him on the back. It was a rather amusing site with the younger black haired man being almost a head smaller than himself. Fred looked at him with bewilderment before realising what he had meant. His cheeks flushed red and he quickly turned his head back to the window. "I – I was just – looking at the sunset." He tried to explain himself but failed miserably judging by Harry's face. The famous Harry Potter looked at him with a mixture of sympathy, amusement, and pity. "You're gonna have to tell her someday, you know. She won't be free forever." Fred had thought the exact same thing just a few hours earlier. He had wondered why Hermione was still on her own. Surely not because there wasn't anyone out there for her! And he knew that every single one out there would be a better choice than he was. He simply had a joke shop and still lived with his twin! What could he offer a girl? Nothing really, apart from stupid jokes and some cooking. George had always been the one with the brains, the one who charmed everyone.
As Fred watched the night sky, he saw the shadow of a person coming nearer to the house. His heart jumped at the sight when the person drew nearer: It was Hermione. He quickly turned away from the window, not wanting to make it look like he had been waiting there for her to arrive – even though he had done exactly that. Harry looked at him bemused but didn't say a word, he just smiled. It was way too obvious what Fred felt for his best friend, but he surely wouldn't be the one interfering or playing cupid.
Fred had just gone into the living room when Hermione entered the house. Her familiar smell hit him like a cannon ball and set free a memory he was sure he had buried way down in his mind.
FLASHBACK
It had been their first class in the morning and Hermione didn't sleep too well last night. She liked Potions normally and always tried to give her best, but this morning was completely different. Slughorn had given them the task of brewing some Amortentia for extra points and she of course had turned up, alongside Pansy Parkinson and some other girls. No boys were in sight and Hermione sighed quietly. Her mind didn't concentrate well enough but she still managed to brew the potion correctly while some of the other girls didn't do so well.
It was now ten in the morning, when she finally went to pour some of the potion into the little flask on her desk. But right at that moment, Pansy walked up to the desk behind her and nudged into Hermione's side, causing her to nearly spill all of the potion in the flask onto herself. "For Merlin's sake!" Hermione swore and heard the faint chuckle behind her. There was no use in trying to go up to the Common Room and get changed, her next class would start in ten minutes.
So, she had to endure nearly two hours of Charms with her soaked clothes. Harry and Ron had goggled at her a bit when realising that she smelled differently for both of them. They weren't the only ones though: Every now and then, someone came up to her and told her that she smelt really good today. For everyone, Hermione was smelling of something different as they all reacted uniquely to the love potion. After the first few being annoying her, she tried to see the fun in it: At least now she knew what the others liked smelling, right? Especially for the girls that was interesting, she thought. It wouldn't hurt to write some of it down and save it for later use.
She sat down for lunch next to the two Weasley twins who had no idea of what had happened. The others had stayed behind as Hermione tried to hurry her lunch to get changed at last. George looked at her funnily and grinned. "How come you smell like fresh baked bread, Granger? And like –" He stopped and realisation dawned on his face. "Oh." He said quietly and grinned to himself. Fred didn't seem to agree with his twin and looked at him with a concerned look. "You sure you alright, Georgie? She smells just like she always does." He commented on the whole thing, not exactly understanding why his twin was smiling so broadly. Hermione sported a confused look on her face as she bit down on her potatoes before nearly spitting it all out again. "Wait, Fred - what did you say I smell like?" Her voice sounded rough and her eyes shot the older student an interrogatorive look. Fred looked up again from the Daily Prophet in front of him and looked back at her a bit staggered. "Just said that you smell like you always do. Parchment, old books, you know. Like a library. Don't know what he is going on about." And he motioned towards his twin brother who was having a hard time not to giggle loudly.
Hermione stared at him for a few seconds before getting up rapidly and flushing red. "I… uhm, I'm gonna get changed." She muttered and left the table while grabbing some toast and cheese. Fred stared after her bewildered and turned to look at George who was now laughing uncontrollably. "Could've just told her - you like her - all along, Freddie." It came from his twin in between the moments when he reached for breath. Fred still didn't understand what had been so funny about this. "I just said she smells like always, what's the problem with that?" His brother was slowly regaining breath and his complexion and after a few more silent giggles, George was finally able to talk. "Mate, why on earth would I smell fresh baked bread and citrus grass, hm? Happened one time only and you stood right next to me." He wiggled his eyebrows as it clicked inside of Fred's brain. The shock wiped his face of the questioning look before and he suddenly was as white as chalk. "No – surely – you don't mean – amortentia?" His voice croaked and Fred hid his face behind his hands. "Tell me I did not just say that. Please tell me, I didn't just tell her that Amortentia smells like her to me."
REALITY
Fred had never forgotten the shocked look on Hermione's face that day. It had haunted him all year whenever he saw her at school or at the Burrow. He tried to play it off, saying that the potion must have been wearing off and George had only smelled it because he sat right next to Hermione. After a while, the awkward tension between them had gone – but Fred was more than relieved when he realised that his little brother didn't know anything about that moment. Ron surely wouldn't have liked his older brother to fancy his best friend!
"Hey everyone." Her voice called through the rooms of the Burrow and George only eyed his brother with an arched eyebrow and a smirk as Fred's face turned completely crimson. He had known about his twin's feelings for the brains of the Golden Trio ever since their sixth year. Fred had been ogling Hermione from across the Common Room, not concentrating on the plans Lee had just drawn out. And every time they had carried out one of their pranks, he looked over to her as to get her approval.
It was fun for George to tease his brother but he wouldn't dare do it in front of his parents, especially in front of his mother. She wouldn't understand the fun in it, wouldn't understand that Fred would only do something about his feelings if he was pushed in the right direction. His twin brother wasn't very good with talking about that stuff and tended to just laugh it all off. George, on the other hand, voiced his emotions and feelings very clearly and annoyed his family with that most of the time.
As soon as Hermione appeared in the doorframe, Fred's hand went up and tried to flatten his hair vigorously. She looked good, her dress swinging around her legs, fitting her just perfectly. And her hair looked different, she had straightened it. "Hey, Mione." His smile radiated with happiness and love towards her which Harry only commented with a smirk towards George. He knew about Fred's feelings towards his best friend since their fourth year when Fred had started ogling at the witch across the Common Room and at nearly every other occasion. He had finally confronted the twin about it and it was enormous fun to Harry seeing how flustered Fred could become.
But he also noticed the grimace of anger on Ron's face, watching the two hug. It worried him seeing his best friend like that, he had not seen Ron look this upset in ages. The last time had been when they had tried to destroy the Horcrux and it showed them Harry and Hermione kissing. But hadn't they decided just to stay friends after that kiss in the chamber? He thought Ron was happy with his girlfriend, she had moved in with him after all. And Hermione was at university which meant they didn't get to see each other a lot anymore. Had they had a fight? If so, he didn't know about it but Harry was determined to find out before this got out of hand.
Hermione finally let go of the twin and smiled broadly at him. "I thought you'd hex my head off as soon as I got here. I'm so sorry for cancelling so often, but I was so busy with university and stuff…" She trailed off but Fred chuckled only and nodded. "Forgiven and forgotten, Mione. It's all love." Her face lit up with joy and she hugged him once more, this time even tighter than before. "Oi, what do you think you're doing? I call it a Weasley sandwich!" George called out and joined them by hugging Hermione from the back which caused everyone else in the room to laugh at the trio before them.
"Oh, I see how it is now." His voice was dripping with fury and dangerously low. Ron's fists were shaking and his face nearly as red as his hair. George quickly let go of Hermione and shot his brother a puzzled look. "I have no clue what you are talking about." He looked from Harry to Ginny to Fred to Hermione who suddenly looked as pale as ever. "Now you're not only throwing yourself at Fred, but at George too? Didn't know you liked being a homewrecker, Hermione. I thought you actually liked Angelina, but well... I guess, there's much I don't know about my best friend." His laugh was frightening, more like a cackle than an actual laugh. Hermione loosened her arms from around Fred and let her bag fall onto the ground. Fury disfigured her face as she turned around.
"Don't you dare bring them into this, Ron! This is not about them." Hermione's voice was shaking, but Fred didn't understand what was happening. He was ogling at the pair, one shaking with anger and the other with a mix of frustration and fury. Harry seemed to move first, pushing Ginny into the kitchen and motioning for the twins to do the same. "Oh, it's very much about them if they're trying to get their hands on you and do whatever." Ron was growling at Hermione, his face contorted now with rage. She threw her hands in the air, trying to air her frustration. "They are not trying to get their hands on me, Ronald! It's you who tried it!" She yelled at him, her voice growing louder with each syllable. "You were the one breaking into my flat and scaring Hannah to death! I'm surprised you didn't try to hex her on your way." Now it was Hermione's turn to growl at the Weasley, causing shivers on everyone's arms in the kitchen. George only prayed to Merlin that his parents would take their time for that walk around the lake. Fred's face was stony, showing no expression at all. Harry, however, was holding Ginny back while looking like he was ready to battle a troll all by himself.
"I can't help it if you are not happy with who you're dating, Ronald, but I very much am!" Hermione's voice was as sharp as a freshly polished knife, it could have been cutting slices off a brick wall. "Yes, I'm very sure Fred is all about making you happy. He has always tried to shove it under my nose that he's better than me, so you have my blessing! Go on and be a homewrecker! Go on and snog the shit out of my brother so you can get your filthy hands on those galleons!" She let out a scream of frustration and fury. "For Merlin's fucking bloody sake, Ronald Bilius Weasley! I am not dating your brother, I am dating Cormac! Why on earth is that so hard to get into your bloody head?!"
Everything fell silent in the house. The only sound to be heard was the breathing of Ron and Hermione, still standing in front of each other, wands raised. "Now that that's off the table – I would very much appreciate you keeping your nose out of my bloody business!" Hermione could feel her hands shaking with anger and sadness, but her voice was dangerously low. What on earth was going on with him? He had never talked to her like that except for that one time in her flat and realisation dawned on her. She had not only blurted out that Ron had been at her apartment but also that she was dating Cormac. It hadn't been her plan to do it like that and just as Ron stormed out of the room and out of the house, she turned to face everyone else still standing in the kitchen.
"I… I wanted…" Her voice broke and her wand fell on the ground. All of these faces with puzzled looks were staring at her and Hermione couldn't take it. She lowered her gaze to the ground before things got too awkward. "I didn't mean to tell you like that. " Harry was the first one to pull her into a hug, a bone-crushing hug. "What did he do to you, Mione? What on earth did he do?" His voice expressed his worry for the girl in his arms but Hermione just shook her head. She couldn't talk about this now. The look on her friends' faces showed support but one stood out. Fred's face was still blank, he wasn't able to look at her directly. "Fred, don't think bad of him, he-" The door slammed shut behind him and the rest all winced at the sound. It didn't need saying that Fred would not return to the Burrow that night.
