Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling thought up the Harry Potter series on a train from London to Manchester. I've been to London, but never to Manchester, so I cannot be J.K. Rowling, thus I own nothing.

A/N: Hey, long time no see. Actually I owe it to Lissa2047 for getting me back to this one. I got an email saying someone had been checking out my stories, and thought, I should read that. So I did, and I liked where it was headed. I got a new computer and don't have access to all my old chapters, so I have to rewrite it. I'm gonna really try to upload a chapter for this and Salvation once a week. I'm also working on something else, a Fremoine, but won't post that till it and Salvation and Secrets are finished.

Secrets Long Held

"Ron," Fred greeted, trying to offer an olive branch. Ron glared at him, his lip lifting in a snarl before he straightened it again. His blue eyes turned to look at the girl beside Fred, and this time he didn't fight the disgust that was on his face. Hermione tightened her hold on Fred's hand as she wrapped her free one above his forearm. He knew she was trying to hold him in place, but she'd forgotten she had his right arm, not his dominate one. Ron continued to look at Hermione with disgust, and Fred moved his left hand towards his wand handle. "Ron, stopping looking at my girl like that or what I did to your teddy bear will be nothing."

"What?" Ron twisted his face from disgust to confusion as he looked back at his brother. He shook his head and growled, "it doesn't matter. I'm going to bed, like normal people do at this time of the night." Looking back at Hermione he shot, "You know, unless their sluts who blow prankster bullies."

Hermione's brown eyes went wide at the insult the person she'd once regarded as her best friend had thrown at her. Fred didn't wait for her to react before he'd shot a bat-bogey hex he'd learned from all the times Ginny had been shooting it at him. Ron screamed as he waved his hand in front of his face trying to get rid of the attacking buggers. He pulled out his wand. Once he'd removed the attacking effects of Fred's spell he twisted his wand around and bellowed, "Furnunculus."

Boils sprouted all over Fred, and Hermione pulled away only to grab her wand and quickly healed the attack. Turning back to Ron she held out her wand and said, "Ron, I will give you a chance to walk away quickly."

"This doesn't include you, Hermione." Ron shot, still holding his wand out towards his brother.

"I disagree," she argued, "you started it by calling me a slut."

"Yeah, well, what else would you describe it as? Tease," Ron bit, "I guess I could use that. Lead me on for years and then have an affair with my own brother."

"I am not having an affair with your brother," Hermione snapped, "I am in love with Fred, and I did not lead you on. If anything you lead me on, and refused to do anything about it. Well, I discovered that my feelings for you were nothing more than a school girl crush. Ron, I'm not fifteen-years-old anymore waiting for you to wake up and ask me to a ball. I'm sixteen, there is a war going on. Let's face it; I don't know how many more years I get to live, so I'm going to live them to my fullest. I love you Ron, but no more than George or Harry. You are a brother to me, and Fred…well Fred's my life, okay? If you love me, in anyway whatsoever, you should want me to be happy."

Fred had started to listen to her speech with a smile, but as she continued to talk his smile wavered. He grabbed her and crushed her to him once she finished. He closed his eyes as he tried to beat away the thoughts that plagued him as he began to understand what she had been saying. He loved her, needed her in his life, needed her to be there in eighty-three years as he sat in a rocker on his front porch. He was no fool, he knew what his family was involved in. He knew that she would stand beside Harry even once the boy was pass lines that most of the Weasley's couldn't. He buried his face in her neck when his mind brought him images of her bloody and bruised and broken. He tried to replace them with thoughts of her in white walking beside her father to where he stood with Dumbledore waiting to pledge his life to her.

Hermione recognized that her skin was becoming damp where Fred's face was pressed. She wrapped one arm around his bent form and stroked his long hair with her other hand. She didn't say anything, made no other sounds as she held him. She refused to lie and make promises she knew she couldn't believe. She did not know when or how the war that was just beginning was going to end, and she would stand with Harry as long as he still stood. She was already in danger, being what she was. That only increased when the enemy realized how loyal she really was to their number one target. She was afraid, but not enough to ever stand back when Harry needed her.

Ron watched the couple react to the words that Hermione had shot at him. He knew he was lucky to still be alive, that both he and Hermione were still lucky to be alive even though she was only sixteen and he was fifteen. At the same time, he was starting to wonder if they were as invincible as Harry obviously was. He didn't think that maybe they wouldn't make it out of the war alive, but leave it to Hermione to always see things logically. A part of him had always thought that Hermione and him would get through Hogwarts and the war and get married. He took it for granted as much as he took the fact that they would make it through the war. He'd never made an effort to make her believe that he loved her, and then he accepted an offer to go on a date with another girl. Seeing the obvious fear his brother had of her not making it through made Ron realize that he didn't feel the same way about Hermione as his brother did.

Putting his wand away he walked towards his brother and his best friend. Hermione looked up at him but didn't let go of Fred. Ron twisted his jaw as he tried to figure out the words needed to tell her what he had to, "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I know you Hermione, and the last thing you are is a slut. You wouldn't allow that much PDA unless you were crazy in love. I'm sorry I'm stubborn, but I really do hope he makes you happy."

"He makes me very happy." Hermione told him. Ron smiled, and nodded before he started to walk back to Gryffindor tower. "Ron," Hermione called back. Ron turned, "Have fun with Lavender, she's a good person."

"Yeah, I'm excited." Ron told him. Happy that even when they got in the worst fight they'd ever been in, once he apologized they were able to get along. Fred backed away from Hermione, keeping his arms around her and looked at his brother with a smirk. Ron glared back at him but offered him his own apology, "Sorry about the boils."

"Eh," Fred waved his hand, "I'm not sorry for the bat-bogey."

"I deserved it," Ron told him. He looked back at Hermione, "can it be our secret that I ever called you such a name? You know, let's never tell Harry."

"Afraid little brother," Fred smirked.

"Deathly," Ron answered truthfully, "you heard what he said to you."

"Yeah, that boy's frightening." Fred agreed.

"Let's just hope a certain Dark Lord feels the same way." Ron smirked. Hermione nearly laughed as she looked between the two boys. Ron's eyes were dark blue like his mother's while Fred had his father's light blue, but they were both as intense as they thought about the way their friend, brother was going to take out the evil that threatened their world. Turning back to the Gryffindor tower Ron left them with, "Have fun you two."

"Plan on it my brother," Fred said, scooping Hermione up and carrying her potato-sack style over his shoulder. Ron laughed as she shrieked and tried to get down. Fred raced around the corner and down the stairs to the Room of Requirement. He stopped when he saw a figure patrolling the halls and pulled back behind the corner. Hermione asked him to let her down. He patted her bum as he denied her request. Hermione poked her elbow into his back as she tried to support her head. He shifted as he waited for the figure to pass. Getting annoyed he growled, "Damn perfects, always getting in the way."

"Hey," Hermione defended.

"Not you sweetums, all the other ones. I like your badge, it makes me want to do naughty things to you." Fred said, matter-of-factly. Hermione shook her head as she relaxed into his hold, knowing she couldn't do anything to get away. The perfect moved past the hall that Fred was hiding in. The younger boy looked as he passed, and Fred slunk him and his bundle into the shadows. The perfect didn't waste time in front before he moved out and Fred hurried them down to the wall of the hidden door. He walked past three times, quickly, thinking about the reason he had drug Hermione to the location. He popped the door open once it appeared and moved towards what he hoped was going to be a bed. There was no bed when he walked into the room. Sitting Hermione down he asked her, "What were you thinking about?"

"This," Hermione said as she slipped out of her shoes. They were standing on a small bank, and she gleefully wriggled her toes in the sand. Fred watched her with his brow raised as she tore off her t-shirt and raced to the pool of water the Room had provided. Fred looked behind him and saw a towering, leaning building that he knew intimately. Looking to the side he saw an forest lining the outer edge of the spacious yard they were standing in. A few trees dotted the grassy field, and he saw a garden lining the back of the house. Looking back at Hermione he shrugged before he raced for the pond and pulled his shirt off like she had. During her run Hermione had dropped her jeans as well, and Fred continued to follow her lead. When he reached the water he saw that her knickers and bra were lying in the sand. She was well out in the water, only her head visible.

"You coming," She shouted, and waved him to her. He nodded his head enthusiastically as he dropped his own drawers and rushed into the water. Quickly he swam to her, and scooped her up in his arms. He kicked them over to the dock. She wrapped her arms and legs around him as he grabbed onto the dock with one hand and wrapped his free arm around her back.

"How many times have you thought about this?" Fred asked, kissing her neck and shoulder. She tipped her head to the side to give him more access to continue carving out his fiery path. Pulling away he asked her again, "Did you think about this at the beginning of the summer? Tell me the first time you thought about defiling my parent's pond?"

"Last summer," she sighed. He sucked on her neck urging her to continue. "You were swimming, and I was reading by that tree there." He hummed against her neck, knowing what tree she was sitting at without having to look at where she was pointing. "I looked up when you were coming out. You smirked and waved, and my thoughts went all fuzzy. I was only fourteen, but I knew I wanted you."

"You knew it was me," Fred growled, sucking on her ear, "from a distance, you knew it was me and not George."

"Yeah," Hermione moaned, answering his question and urging him to continue the certain ministration he'd began.

"I know what day you're talking about," Fred told her. "I could see it. I know when you want me. I've always known, and I knew it that day too. Do you know how hard it was for me to keep my hands off you that day? That summer? God, you never looked at Krum or Ron the way you look at me. Tell me why that is."

"I love you," Hermione answered him.

"I love you too," He said before drawing her in for a passion filled kiss that quickly led to more.

A/N: It's been over a year since I've touched this so the style might have changed. Hopefully it is still flowing okay and the personalities haven't changed too much. Someone do me a favor? If the next chapter isn't up by 09/16/12 shoot me a review telling me to get back over here. I'm not taking too many classes this semester so no reason I shouldn't have the next chapter up by that day.