A:N/ I've written this chapter many times over the past year and a half. Thank you all for your patience and I hope y'all continue to read as I update. This is a demi-chapter.
HPOV
Sitting at Molly Weasley's table had never been so daunting. Arthur sat at the head of the table sipping on a glass of water. Molly had sat both George and Ginny between me and Fred; they were in trouble, too.
"I never thought I'd have to tell you this again, Fred," Molly's back was turned to us. She was prepping the next night's dinner. Ginny had told me once that cooking helped ease her mind.
"It has been awhile, hasn't it dear mum," George smiled. "Remind us again of the rules."
"There will be no girls in your rooms," Molly snapped. She didn't once stop mincing.
"If those were the rules, George and I'd have been bringing lads over for years," Fred said.
"And Hermione wasn't in our room, mum. She was in Ginny's," George added.
"Molly dear, I think we're overreacting. Hermione is intelligent enough to make her own decisions, and Fred and George are adults now. It's time we started treating them as such." Arthur was tired, he and Molly had been out late.
"You're right Arthur," Molly spun around and stared sternly at Fred. "Hermione is not like the other girls your father and I have caught in your bed."
I stared at my hands in my lap. It seemed silly to be jealous, especially because I knew he was a womanizer, but Molly's mention of other girls in Fred's bed made my heart numb.
"Mum, that was ages ago," Fred moaned.
"We caught that brunette with the glasses just last month," Arthur said.
"And just a week before her was the neighbor's daughter," said Molly.
"Not to mention all the girls mum and dad didn't catch," added George with a wink. I wondered if I slumped any more into my chair if I'd disappear. That'd be nice.
Ginny rested her hand on my thigh and gave me a small smile. I tried to return it, but I don't think it was believable.
"Mum, since this is obviously all their fault," Ginny motioned at the twins, "Hermione and I'd like to go to bed now. We've got a history exam in the morning." It was a lie, I hadn't studied for a test, but I was grateful at the excuse to leave the table.
"Of course, dears," Molly's voice was soft. "Get some rest."
Ginny and I retreated to her room. "But it was Ginny's idea!" George protested as we walked up the stairs.
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Ginny was snoring softly when I heard the knock on the door. I knew it was Fred.
"Will you come to bed with me?" Fred asked when I opened the door.
"Your mum will be furious if she finds out." It wasn't really a protest. Fred still hadn't put on a shirt and his scent was filling my head with haze.
"That's why we're not sleeping in my room." Fred took my hand and led me downstairs to the living room.
The couch had been transformed into a makeshift bed, complete with the sheets from Fred's bed. "It's not against the rules to sleep together on the couch." He sat on the couch, his face barely lit by the television in the corner. He grabbed my wrist and kissed my palm. "I didn't mean for mum to find out, I just wanted to hold you," Fred whispered. "Please don't be mad at me."
"I'm not mad." I pushed back his fringe and kissed his forehead. "I think this is a lovely idea, Fred."
"That's a relief," Fred smiled wide and pulled my hand up to cup his cheek. "You were so quiet, I thought you were pissed."
I climbed onto the couch beside Fred. He rested his arm around my waist and intertwined his legs with mine. I could feel his stubble grazing my neck and his breath traveling down my spine. I shivered.
Being surrounded with his scent should have made me comfortable, but even after Fred fell asleep I was deep in thought.
I couldn't stop thinking about the other girls. Where were they now? Who were they? How long would it be until I was one of them? I wondered if Fred acted the same with them as he did with me. I wondered if any of them had been Ginny's friends, too.
I suppose the rational thing would be to ask him myself, but I was too nervous. I wasn't even sure what we were. We weren't dating, that I knew for sure. There was nothing stopping him from seeing other girls, and I suppose that meant, too, that there was nothing stopping me from seeing other boys.
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I didn't sleep. When Molly came downstairs to start breakfast she missed us entirely. I watched her for a few minutes before carefully moving Fred's arm from my waist to help make breakfast.
"Mind if I join you, Molly?" I asked. She wasn't even startled, she just handed me a large bowl and told me to start whisking.
"How did you sleep, dear?" Molly pulled a large skillet out and started heating it on the stove.
"I didn't get much sleep," I answered honestly. I handed her the bowl of pancake batter and she carefully poured some into the skillet.
"I'm sorry about last night." Molly flipped the pancake. "I just get so worked up when the twins break the rules like that, especially because it's not the first time we've had talks like that."
"I'm sorry for breaking your rules." I took the eggs out of the fridge and started to crack them into another mixing bowl. "I don't know why I agreed to it in the first place." It was a lie, I knew I had a hard time saying no to Fred.
"You didn't think you'd get caught." Molly placed the pancake on a plate and started another. "I did the same things when I was your age. But if I let the twins get away with breaking the rules then I have to let the others get away with it, too."
"That makes sense." Molly gestured at me to sit. I wasn't much help in the kitchen anyway.
"If you'd like to sneak around with my son, I get it, but if I catch you both we'll be repeating our talk from last night." Molly smiled at me warmly and I nodded. "Just don't tell the twins I said that, I don't want to encourage any more bad behavior from them."
