Chapter 10: Life goes on and stops again

A.N sorry for the slow update. Went on holiday and started an internship. Busy days! Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows.

Boring chapter ahead by the way. Sorting through stuff.

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Hermione waited for Ron at the bottom of the boy's staircase, where she sprung on him as soon as he stepped down, "Good morning!"

Both Ron and Harry sprung back in surprise. Hermione shot Harry a knowing glance, which he interpreted correctly and had the decency to excuse himself quickly. He shot a thumbs up at a nervous looking Ron.

Ron considered Hermione awkwardly, knowing that last night lay between them. Hermione sighed and suddenly gave him a hug, "Ron, I don't want to be mad with you, and you don't want to be mad with me." She breathed into his robes. Ron nodded obligingly, too surprised to speak.

Hermione took a step back and beamed at him, although it looked a little forced, "That's why I have an idea!" she said, her voice a little higher than usual, letting on that she was anxious. Ron raised a sceptic eyebrow, "Am I going to like it?"

Hermione shook her head seriously, "No. But I'm begging you to hear me out."

As they talked they had moved to the corner of the common room and were sitting next to the fire.

Ron tipped his head forward, "Alright. I'm listening."

Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, looking at him tensely. "I made you a potion last night."

Ron looked surprised, "What?" he said sharply, "A potion for what? Why?"

"It's to help you…..get over things." Hermione said carefully.

Ron stood up disgustedly, "Merlin Hermione, no! No." He said firmly at her.

"Ron wait. You said you would hear me out!"

"Yeah but this? You can't expect me to take a potion and for everything to be ok."

"I'm not expecting for everything to be ok. Also….i've taken it myself before and I know it helps. It's the only thing I could think of that would make things better between us. I just want us to be friends again."

Ron sighed, irritated. But he sat down again. For someone so bright she could really be dumb sometimes he thought to himself. Staring at her aggressively he asked, "You've taken it? When? What does it does do?"

Hermione drew a small vial out of her robes and set it on the low table between their chairs. The liquid looked thick and was a dark purple with a silvery layer on top that seemed to be a bit less viscous. "It's a potion that makes you feel certain things less. Uhmmm…..It takes the edge off of strong emotions associated with certain things or memories."

Hermione pushed the vial across the table closer to him, "For such a dangerous potion it's surprisingly easy to brew." She continued conversationally, "The ingredients are difficult though it's lucky I guess that I had some left over from the last time I made it….it's just missing one ingredient, but that's up to you to supply."

Ron picked it up carefully whilst she was talking and peered at it, "What ingredient?"

"Have you ever heard of people sharing memories via tear drops? You need to pour all your memories of us that make you angry or sad into a teardrop and add it to the potion. You don't forget the memories, they just hurt less. The potion really just speeds up the getting over it part of a situation." Hermione said all of this very fast and in her usual matter of fact tone. Ron marvelled at the ingenuity of the potion, but he had to admit he was scared. "Why and when did you take it? To get over Krum?"

Hermione avoided eye contact with him for a while, she stared at her hands and shook her head slowly, "No. Not for Krum. I took it after the final battle this summer. All the death and the fighting. I had nightmares, I barely slept. You remember how haggard I was? I didn't want to have to deal with the memories so I made the potion, I got Remus to help me actually because of the rarity of some of the ingredients. It helped." She finished simply. "I can sleep. I can think of Cedric's dead face and feel remorse of some sort, but it's distant and separate from me if that makes any sense? That's what the potion does."

"And you want me to take it?" Ron looked pale as a sheet, "I don't know if I can Hermione, me being in love with you has been kind of a huge part of my life." He managed a grin, "That can't just not be part of me anymore."

"I know," Hermione said, "I wanted to give you the option however. It's up to you."

Ron pocketed the vial and thanked her, "Thanks I guess, I'll consider it. I'm going to go have breakfast now."

He got up and left, rolling the vial between his fingers in his pocket. He was oddly touched by Hermione making it for him but he felt angry as well and more than anything immensely sad. Hermione didn't get that Ron being upset was not just about her. I also felt betrayed by his brothers, by Fred going for Hermione despite Ron's feelings and George for supporting it. He also felt hurt by Harry choosing Hermione's side. All this anger, jealousy and resentment had been riding in him for so long he started to think it was normal to always be wary and annoyed with people. Maybe it was a good idea to take it. He could use a fresh start.

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Fred and George were in the hallway with Lee discussing a prank involving professor Bins and a muggle vacuum cleaner when a fiery and irritated small red head appeared at their side. "Fred, George. A word." Ginny hissed. On cue, Lee took his leave. Fred's face had swelled up impressively overnight but managed to smile nervously at his terrifying little sister, "Gin? What's up?"

"You and George are going to apologize to Ron." She stated clearly.

"No way!" George spat, "That prat made a mess of things, look at Fred's face!"

"Ron's feelings were crushed yesterday, do you guys even get that? The girl he has been in love with for two years basically straight up told him it's never going to happen and is instead showing interest in his brother. Don't lie and say you did not know that Ron liked Hermione, it was obvious and we all knew it. YET you still saw it fit to flirt with her, and do little secret pranks with her and make her like you!" Ginny ranted at Fred.

"Back up, back up. She likes me?" Fred said with interest.

"No!" Ginny burst out irately, "Well yes, maybe. Probably. I think she does." Fred started to grin but Ginny smushed his mouth together again, then in a very Mrs. Weasley like manner she dictated to him slowly, "You will not pursue this till you have apologized to Ron and gotten his blessing."

George was about to argue with her but Fred reached out shushed him in a similar way he had just been shushed, "Ginny is right. I did not go about this the right way."

"Well getting Ron's blessing isn't going to be easy. If I were you I'd just start dating a nice girl from Hufflepuff." George said grimly.

"It might be easier than you think. Harry told me Hermione is trying to patch things up as well." Ginny countered, looking expectantly at Fred. "What are you looking at me like that for?" he said. Ginny rolled her eyes, "Go! Do it!"

"Oh you want me to go do it NOW? I was thinking like I don't know, in a couple of months?"

"You want to start dating Hermione now don't you? Get on it then!"

Fred let himself be bullied out of the hallway by his little sister and headed up to the Gryffindor tower, not having a clue as to what he was going to go say.

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By the time Fred reached the dorm of the fifth year boys Ron had downed the potion and was experiencing a rollercoaster of immediate side effects.

"Freeeeeeeeeed! Hi there! Lovely to see you!" Ron shouted out gaily upon his brother's entrance. Fred stood awkwardly at the door, "Uhm. Hi. You alright?"

Ron thought about that for a moment, "Yes. I downed a potion Hermione gave me. Now I'm experiencing euphoria, I think. It's apparently very annoying, Neville and Seamus left the room a while ago. What happened to your face?"

Fred frowned, "You. You beat me up remember? Yesterday?"

Ron cocked his head, then sat up straight, rolling his shoulders and flexing his hands randomly, "Yup. Yes I did. I was very angry." He smiled brightly at Fred.

Disturbed Fred moved further into the room, "What's this potion you are talking about? You sure you are alright?"

Ron jumped up, bounced on his toes twice before skipping to the window and giggling a little. There he commenced various stretches, oblivious to Fred. Fred repeated his question, utterly perturbed by his random behaviour.

"Ah yes. The potion. Hermione said it was so that I would get over her or something. Must have worked, I feel great!" Ron babbled whilst performing a very impressive split.

Fred shrugged, this was convenient. "Would you mind if I went out with Hermione then?"

Ron shook his head enthusiastically whilst upside down in a handstand, "Not at all. Have lots of fun! If you see Harry could you ask him to come up? I want to try out this muggle karate thing and then go to the kitchens because I'm really quite hungry, and I'd really fancy some chips. Man, I've not had chips in aaaagggggeeees. Chips would be amazing! With cheese! Oh, and gravy of course. I wonder how the house elves cook chips…. Do you think they make them in the oven or deep fry them like muggles do? Probably oven, I can't imagine Dobby near a deep fat fryer! What a disaster that would be! Speaking of disasters, have you heard that Neville went on a date with Elodie? Apparently he was trying to show her this awesome flesh eating plant he grew and it ended up eating her pet chinchilla. No way to recover from that really. Chinchilla's are pretty weird anyways, too fluffy. Not practical creatures at all! Let me tell you about a practical creatures though, have you ever heard of Sciurudines? They are this wizard bred cross between turtles and squirrels and you should see them-" Fred decided to leave at this point, shaking his head. With Ron's sort of blessing (he may or may not be aware of it), Fred made plans to woo a certain bushy haired vixen.

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Hermione was sitting in her room, reading a book (surprisingly enough), when all of a sudden her butterfly patterned window sprung apart. Hermione looked up and through a wave of butterflies came a redhead on a broom.

"Fred!" she exclaimed, not sure whether she was happy or annoyed.

Fred got off and bowed at her, "Miss Granger. You look beautiful tonight." Hermione looked down at her faded red cable jumper and sweats and raised her eyebrow at him. He just smirked. He sat down on her bed next to her and picked the book out of her hands, perusing it casually. Hermione crossed her arms, "Well since it appears I'm done reading for the night, what are you here for?"

"You." He said in a low voice, the same voice he used in their detention together. Hermione felt the heat rise to her cheeks, "Pardon?" Fred looked up from her book and slowly put it aside before picking her up in his arms.

Hermione didn't have the sense, or want for that matter, to squirm, in a daze she allowed herself to be carried to the window, she hadn't noticed him grabbing his broomstick. Before she knew they were soaring down the tower, she squealed into his chest, clutching on for dear life.

Fred laughed softly to himself, with one arm pressing Hermione closer to his chest, and with the other hand he reared the broom on which he was sitting up and abruptly their fall came to a halt.

Hermione's breath was ragged against his body, unable to find words to describe her incredible fear and anger to him she merely thumped him weakly, her arms too shaky to make much of an effect.

Fred glided over the grounds and towards the lake. "Look," he whispered against her hair. Hermione refused at first, but then as he nudged her insistently, she risked a peek over his shoulder.

She gasped as the beautiful sight of the castle, twinkling in the evening, was below her. She was enjoying herself all too much when Fred landed with a soft thump at the lakes edge.

"You can get off now." He said jokingly bringing Hermione back to reality. Hermione jerked up and sniffed haughtily as she clambered off as elegantly as she could.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

Fred rested the broom against a rock, "Having our first date." He said.

Hermione spun around, "Excuse me?" she stammered.

Fred smiled as with a flick of his wand, the rocky alcove where they had landed was covered in candles. Hermione spun around, the candles had little butterflies on it she noted and there was a picnic sheet on the ground with a basket.

Fred walked over to the sheet and indicated to her that she should sit. Hermione sat down and stared at him, "This is amazing." She breathed, looking around again.

Fred couldn't resist saying the cheesy line, "No, you're amazing."

Hermione blushed fiercely, "Please, seriously."

Fred took her hand, "I am being serious."

The evening went great from there, they ate the cold dinner Fred had the house elves prepare and talked animatedly during it. Hermione was disappointed when with another flick of Fred's wand the candles went out and he headed over to his broom.

"Fred, wait." Hermione said so quietly she hoped he hadn't heard it. He did and he turned around, "yeah?"

Hermione walked towards him, forcing him to back up against the alcove wall. "You remember that favour you owed me (chapter detention tension)?" she said, glad that it was dark after all so he couldn't see her blush.

"Yeah…" he said again, cautiously.

Hermione pressed her body against his, wondering what in Merlin she was doing, "I want you to kiss me."

Fred smirked, his heart racing, "I thought we agreed no sexual favours?"

Hermione, her own heart wanting to jump out and do the jig like an Irish fairy, smiled against his cheek, he felt it, "I'm sure you're willing to make a compromise."

Fred turned his head so their lips met; a shot heat went through his body. Hermione wrapped her arms around him, his arm followed soon after. The warm tingly wonderful sensation spread throughout his body and he shivered against her lips. She leaned back, parting from his lips with small and light kisses, which were appropriately fluttering like butterflies he thought. Her breathing was fast, "Okay?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Fred pressed her close to him in a tight hug, "More than okay," he said huskily and kissed her again, deeply and warmly. Soon her lips parted ever so slightly, granting him access to her mouth. Whatever feeling went before through their bodies was now amplified by a thousand before they were rudely interrupted with a piercingly loud, "Hermione!" a recognizable voice came from behind them. They broke apart, regretfully and turned to face of the owner, "Harry?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Harry was resting both his arms on his legs and was breathing heavily, he looked up his face red with exertion, "Hermione. You need to go to Dumbledore's office immediately."

Hermione blinked, "Why?"

Harry looked at her sadly, "It's your dad. He had a heart attack."

The gushy feeling in Hermione's body immediately plummeted down to the centre of her stomach, "Oh." She said.