Harry went on to work on his next tournament task, barely asking Hermione for any help, but still talking to her. It was as though he had woken up from a long slumber and had finally noticed how much they needed each other.

The common room was pretty much empty, there were only a couple of first years whispering excitedly near the chimney. Hermione was sitting next to her dear friend, doing the best she could to give him support and comfort. There was a lot happening in his head. For a few minutes, they talked in hushed tones. Both of them felt like siblings, sharing their deepest concerns. They mostly discussed the Tournament and Harry's anxiety. However, as the topic took them into darker and darker thoughts, Harry decided it was time to move on to a more banal exchange.

"So, what's the deal with you and Fred?" Of course he had to ask that. His eyes were wide with childish curiosity.

"Nothing, Harry, we're friends," she didn't mean to sound bitter, but that was the way she came off. Rolling her eyes was like second nature. Harry nodded sympathetically.

"Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry things aren't working out," he was already taking a leap on assumptions and… well… he was right. Things weren't advancing like Hermione had hoped for, even when she didn't exactly know what was it she wanted to achieve.

"It's just that, sometimes, he seems to feel the same way-" Hermione's cheeks were burning. Her vocal cords stopped working mid sentence.

"But?"

"But sometimes he simply seems not interested," Hermione's head hung. Something deep inside of her made her feel ashamed. How much lower could she get? She was one of the most brilliant students in Hogwarts! There was no time, or need, to wallow over a guy!

"Hey, listen to me, Hermione," Harry's voice grew a little bit louder. "I think he does feel the same, he's just taking his time understanding his own emotions." His words sounded hollow, meaningless. RIght, so Hermione should get that Fred's mind was only too slow to keep up with her feelings. What a bunch of nonsense-

"Remember, he's a Weasley boy." Alright, that made her smile.

xxxx

"So, who are you?"

"Fred!"

"And what are you gonna do?"

"Talk to Hermione!"

"With?"

"At least more than five sentences!"

"Alright! But please don't mention how much you like being friends with her."

xxxx

Fred's jokes became increasingly funnier and funnier. His pranks made her cry with laughter. He also talked to her about more vulnerable topics and listened to everything she had to say. As the days went by, Hermione was sure he was working towards something. He kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, letting his words die before they reached his lips. Fred even asked for her help with his studies…

They could see from afar the grass swaying, the branches of the trees casting interesting shadows on the soil, and the last vestiges of winter succumbing to the rising heat. The scenery was perfect. Hermione was so close to him she could listen to his calm breathing. Her shoulders were tense, she felt coiled up, ready to jump. They were almost face to face, smiling to each other.

Like that time in the train, Fred took her right hand and connected their gazes. Hermione felt self conscious at first, but his grin eased her. She studied his eyes, his cheeks, his brows, and lips without hesitation. He was saying something, something about how much he liked spending time with her. However, Hermione couldn't quite concentrate. There was this annoying wheezing going on behind her…

"Hermione! We need you!" Neville's voice attacked her ears.

Quickly, with a frown, Hermione turned. Her lips were shut tight, doing their best to stop the yelling that wanted to come out of her.

"What!?"

"Hey! Longbottom, did you run all the way here?" Fred patted his shoulder with a rather forced smile.

"Y-yes," Neville's face was completely red and his chest heaved uncontrollably.

"Doesn't look like it," Fred said calmly and patted him again, maybe a tad too hard. Neville almost toppled over.

Hermione was losing her patience.

"What is it?" Neville looked at her openmouthed, as if he had forgotten she was there as well.

"Oh! Right! Emergency! Common room! Seamus-"

"Oh no…" it sounded serious. Hermione should've never asked them to begin the project without her. How difficult could it be to do some light research? She quickly apologized to Fred, feeling like kicking herself and her dumb classmates, and ran after Neville, who soon was running after her.

xxxx

Fred looked for her everywhere. She was no longer in the common room with Neville and no one seemed to know where Hermione had ran off to. Maybe she trying to find him. George had laughed his arse off when Fred told him what had happened.

She finally appeared the next day during breakfast, but it wasn't the right place to discuss his feelings. The whole Gryffindor house didn't need to know he could be capable of such romantic gestures. They ate across each other. Hermione gave him timid smiles. Her dark eyes were pinned on him and Fred felt as though he couldn't, or shouldn't, move. The ruckus surrounding them was muted by the moment they were having. Then, as she realised she had eaten everything in her plate, Hermione stood up and collected her books. She sprinted away.

"No 'see you later', Granger?" he called out to her before she was gone. Hermione didn't turn to respond.

xxxx

"She disappeared again?" George said in disbelief. He was starting to think Granger might be trying to reject Fred in the most non-verbal way she could.

"I don't know what's wrong," Fred ran his fingers through his hair, frowning in desperation. "She had agreed to help me collect the betting money tomorrow."

"You're such a romantic, mate." George was now thinking that Fred was doing his best to scare her away. "You'll have to do it with me, then."

"I hope Harry wins."

"I hope no one dies."