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Thanks to all who Followed, Favorited and Reviewed yesterday. MissesE, pianomouse and guest- you guys rock my socks. I'm lucky to have you all as reviewers.
And as promised...
Fred's POV
"No, really Hermione; they'd be useful, I swear," Fred exclaimed. He was lying down on the floor of the newly cleaned sitting room next to Hermione as she sat reading another heavy book about linking spells. They had gotten the charm to work with a thimble; which had mirrored the movements of the other linked thimble easily. They had also had some luck linking two pages from the same book together. This had led to the ability to exchange messages over any distance, but had been limited due to the fact that you could only rearrange the words and letters already on the pages; and that was very time consuming. Finding a way to write and receive independent writing still seemed to be a challenge.
He saw Hermione's lips twitch up slightly, "And what will you be using these 'extendable ears' for, Fred?"
Fred smirked. He propped himself up on an elbow so that he could get a clear look at the witch's face when he answered, "To eavesdrop on the Order meetings, of course. But I'm sure you already figured that out with that brilliant brain of yours."
The two had been spending a lot more time together over the last week. Fred had been pleasantly surprised by the fact that Ron appeared perfectly fine with the situation; though Ginny seemed to be acting a bit funny whenever she found them seated so close together.
Hermione rolled her eyes at the excessive compliment, "You know that's not a good idea."
"How else will we find out things? How will we discover why they're refusing to let anyone talk to Harry?" Fred knew that this comment would rile her, but he wanted Hermione to be on his side about this.
"Oh, don't even get me started… fine. I'll help you test the extendable ears." She relented and offered the wizard a small smile, "But don't get a big head about this. I'm only helping you with this because I don't agree with what they're doing to Harry. I still will not help you smuggle your products into Hogwarts."
"You just wait, Granger. I'll find that loophole. I'm a very persistent man," A dazzling smile crossed Fred's face as he laid back down on the floor and just enjoyed being in Hermione's company.
Fred, George and Hermione had gone through seven different charms and designs for the extendable ears before they were all happy with the appearance and the sound quality of the product. Fred found that he quite enjoyed working with the talented witch, thought that was hardly a surprise. And George found it extremely funny how the two seemed to skillfully dance around the subject of feelings; he also enjoyed teasing his twin mercilessly for liking the younger witch whenever no one else was around.
But what they all enjoyed even more was the fact that they finally had a perfectly working prototype for the extendable ears.
"You sure you want to test them now? We've only just got them working properly. What if your Mum finds them and throws them in the fire?" Hermione whispered harshly as George and Ron threaded the ears under the kitchen door and crept back up the stairs to where Fred, Hermione and Ginny were waiting with the receiving end of the ears.
"It will be fine Hermione, I promise," Fred gently touched her elbow and offered her one of his real smiles. He found that the witch in front of him was the only one who could coax out that genuine grin. Fred was kind of embarrassed by the idea at first, but he had quickly grown to enjoy the more reserved expression he shared with her.
Hermione sighed heavily, and placed a reluctant smile on her face as they all leaned in to hear the meeting.
No.
This just couldn't be...
They couldn't possibly be right about this...
It had to be wrong...
Fred exchanged a look with his twin, who wore a similar expression of concern and doubt. He then turned to Hermione who, despite the few tears streaking down her cheek and the sad expression behind her eyes he was sure only he would notice, looked angry above all else.
"Hermione?" Fred whispered, trying to call her attention as he absentmindedly brushed away one of her tears with his thumb.
His voice seemed to bring Hermione back. Her expression softened a bit as she focused on his amber brown eyes, "I need to talk to Harry. We need to get that charm working as soon as possible."
Fred nodded his head, "Of course. I'll explain to George what we're doing and we'll get working on it immediately."
He watched Hermione slip into her working mode; where she organized people and things like she was a general of an army, "Ginny, you and Ron go back to our room. We need to talk about what we're going to say to Harry when we can finally talk to him. We need to have some kind of explanation without giving too much away and alarming him."
Ginny nodded her head as she grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him off to the room that she and Hermione shared at Grimmauld Place.
Hermione then turned to George, "You need to collect the extendable ears and hide them. We might need them for later and we can't let anyone know what you two have invented just yet."
Fred watched his twin nod his head and retreat down stairs quietly to retrieve the flesh colored tubing. He was distracted by watching George over the railing, so Fred was a little blindsided when Hermione threw her arms around his neck and he heard her begin to cry quietly.
He quickly wrapped his arms around the witch and pulled her close to his chest, "It's alright Hermione."
"No, it's not. My best friend might have some kind of mind connection to Vol… Vol…," Hermione pulled her head back slightly so that she and Fred were facing each other. She had stopped crying and now looked utterly annoyed at herself for not being able to say the name out loud. Hermione's hands were still clutched in angry fists as they lay against Fred's chest.
"Well, if anyone can figure out a way around something like that, it's you. That's how I know it will be alright," Fred saw a hint of a smile pull at the edge of Hermione's lips.
The witch rose up onto her toes and hugged the Weasley twin again.
"What, no directions for me? Everyone else got their marching orders, but I'm just standing here," Fred chuckled and tried to make light of the situation.
Hermione's laughter stuck in her throat, "Well, you did say I could use you for moral support whenever I needed it."
Fred couldn't keep the smile from crossing his face as he hugged her a little tighter, "Yea… alright, Granger."
Hope you all liked! I personally loved 'working mode' Hermione; she is kind of the brains of the operation after all. I really wanted Fred to be her comfort while still being supportive of her... so hope that came across.
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Misha
Ps. Check out my other stories too! 'Thrown Back,' 'Begin Again' and 'Penelope Jackson.'
