Chapter 12: Double Trouble
[June 23, 1998]
--- --- ---
It had never really occurred to Fred before just how small the flat above the shop was. Maybe that was because he felt that it was getting a bit more crowded, as there weren't really enough beds to go around.
He'd had an argument with himself over which Fred got to sleep in his bed. He contended that he was the original so had the rights to the bed, while the other Fred insisted that he was the original. Before a fistfight could break out between them, George had grumpily stormed into his room, cast a spell that transfigured the bed into two smaller twin beds, and walked out of the room without saying a word.
Waking up the next morning, Fred was rather apprehensive when he found his double was already gone. He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not, as he had no idea how temporary his split state was. If his double had already gotten up for the day, Fred needed to find him as soon as possible.
After quickly getting dressed, Fred went down to the shop where George and Hermione had opened up for the day. It was still early in the morning, so not many people were out and about. Fred was mildly relieved at that, as that meant not many customers would be around. Much to his dismay, however, he found his double attempting to chat up Hermione while George was pointedly staring at a cardboard cup of coffee in front of him.
"I know you say you need time," Fred-2 (as he named his double in his mind) said to Hermione as he held her hands in his. "What happened between us shouldn't have happened so soon. I blame myself for letting it happen, and I apologize."
"I'm just confused, Fred," Hermione said. "I've never gone that far with anyone before. You've got a reputation, and you've got all these pretty witches throwing themselves at you, like that girl from yesterday you went on a date with."
"That girl from yesterday is a demon I was sent to retrieve a relic from. We didn't go on a date," Fred-2 explained. "The relic she had gave her the ability to transfer magical power from a witch to a Muggle. She wanted me to meet her younger sister before she transferred her magic to her and gave me the relic. I have no interest in her, or in any other woman. I've respected and admired you for quite some time, and recently I've found that I fancy you quite a lot."
Fred frowned and descended the staircase. "Oi! We need to find Ryou!" he called out as he made his presence known.
Hermione glanced between them, and then glanced to George, who was staring intently at his cup of coffee, pretending that he wasn't listening. She took a step back and pulled her hands out of Fred-2's. "Wait, if George is there, then which one of you is Fred?" She looked between the Freds once more.
"I am," both Freds said at the same time. They looked at one another. "No, you're not, I am!" they said simultaneously once more.
"They both are," George said, rolling his eyes. "Fred got attacked by a demon last night, got split in two, and now I have two twins." He took a sip of his coffee. "I can't believe they opened a Starbucks in Diagon Alley…" he muttered.
Hermione slowly nodded, still watching the two Freds apprehensively. "Well, you did say that you fought demons as the Underworld detective…" she said.
"I mean, it's an American coffee shop, and a Muggle establishment at that!" George continued.
"Yeah, and I guess it was my turn to take a hit, since George seemed to get all the bad luck so far," Fred said, ignoring his actual twin's rant.
Hermione looked between the Freds. "And neither of you are a Death Eater in disguise?"
"We're not," Fred-2 stated. "I'll admit it's a bit disconcerting, and I hope to have this remedied soon."
"And they're incredibly overpriced! Twelve sickles and five knuts for a simple cup of coffee! Nowhere else charges more than six sickles! And that was for a small one!" George continued.
Fred looked over to him. "If you don't like it, why are you drinking coffee you got from there?" he asked.
George took a sip of his coffee. "Because nowhere else on Diagon Alley sells a triple shot white chocolate mocha with extra whipped cream, and I didn't feel like going all the way to Hogsmeade just to get coffee from Madame Puddifoot's."
Fred rolled his eyes. He turned to the door as the bell over it belched. He wasn't too terribly surprised to see Tracy walk in with her younger sister Janice, although he couldn't help but notice that Hermione narrowed her eyes at the sight of the older girl.
Janice beamed as she saw Fred. "I got my letter! It came this morning!" she exclaimed, holding up a sheet of parchment. She paused as she saw the second Fred. "Ryou got you, didn't he?"
Fred nodded, and then frowned. "Wait, how do you know about Ryou?"
Janice smirked. "Did you think you're the only one who knows about demons?" She suddenly clasped her hand over her mouth. "Oh. Er, everyone here does as well, right?"
Fred nodded. "I told Hermione everything, yes."
"Are you a demon, too?" Hermione asked.
Janice shook her head. "Nope. But big sis is. She was this legendary thief named Kuroi who led thousands of other demons at one point. No treasure was safe, and no amount of security was strong enough. She came to the human realm and retired and became my big sister. She did teach me how to use my Reiki in case some demon showed up and tried to get revenge on her or something." She looked around. "I'm going to look around and see what I'll need for school now." Not waiting for an answer, she went off in the direction of the shelves.
Tracy sighed. "I promised that I'd get her something after we did the rest of her school shopping. She wanted to come here first."
"Is that the only reason you came here?" Hermione asked, glaring at her.
Tracy turned to her. "I apologize if you came to the wrong conclusion yesterday, but I wished for Fred to have the opportunity to see that I meant no harm with the Glove of Transference, and to return it to him. I have no desire for him."
"Do you have any idea where Ryou might be hiding?" Fred asked.
"My spies are tracking him," Tracy replied.
"You said something like that last night," George said, watching her as he downed more of his coffee. "Who are your spies, or can't you tell us?"
"Just a few avian friends," Tracy said airily.
Fred-2 glanced to George. "She's a crow demon." He turned to Tracy. "You're using birds, aren't you?"
Tracy nodded. "I have an affinity with them. We should be off, though. If I hear anything, I'll let you know."
"To hell with that," George said. "We should go now." Fred nodded his agreement.
"You guys are taking off again?" Hermione asked in disapproval.
Fred turned to her. "We have to. I can't stay like this forever." He gestured at himself and Fred-2, who frowned.
"No," Fred-2 said, folding his arms across his chest. "I never asked for any of this Underworld detective nonsense. I already died once, and I fail to see the point in putting my life on the line just because I'm told to do so. So far, my brother has been stabbed and had his spirit ripped out of his body. I don't want him to get hurt any more because of this. If the Underworld truly wants someone to work for them, I'm sure they can find someone else to assist them and leave us alone."
There was a pause as everyone stared at him. Fred frowned. "But who else is there?" he asked. "I may not be happy about being tricked into working for the Underworld, and I'm certainly not happy about George getting hurt, but I can't sit back and do nothing. Innocent people who can't defend themselves could be hurt. George can defend himself. I might not like that he's joining me in this, but I appreciate the sentiment and am glad to have him by my side."
Fred-2 shrugged. "I refuse to go."
Fred glared at him. "And I refuse to just stay here and do nothing!"
"I'm going, too," Hermione declared, drawing everyone's attention. She turned to Fred. "From what you told me, fighting demons is dangerous, and you'll need all the support you can get."
Fred stared at her. "But--"
"No buts," Hermione said. "If you guys want to just take off whenever you feel like it to do something extremely dangerous, you shouldn't expect others to pick up the slack for you here. I agreed to work here because you were understaffed and thought you'd be here. Not so you could go off and get yourselves killed. I'm going."
Fred exchanged a look with George, who was gaping at Hermione in shock. Turning back to Hermione, Fred said, "It's dangerous. Magic doesn't affect demons the same way it does humans."
Hermione shrugged. "I don't care. If you're going, I'm going. It's better than staying here and worrying whether or not you'll come back."
"This is why I didn't want to tell you anything," Fred-2 said. "One of the reasons why I love you is because you're so headstrong. But I don't want to do this, and I don't any anyone I care about put themselves in danger like this."
Fred glared at his double briefly before turning back to Hermione. "I told you because I wanted you to understand why there might be a time when I don't come back. I never meant for you to want to join me out there."
Fred-2 nodded. "And that's why I refuse to do this. I want to be with you, Hermione, but I can't let you get yourself killed. Let's just stay here and forget about all of this. I'm sure there's some spell out there that can fix this. If we put our minds together, I'm sure we'll find it. Someone else can deal with Ryou and the Rod of Division."
Fred frowned. "There is no one else." He placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Don't worry about me. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Don't get involved in this. You have no reason to."
Tracy raised an eyebrow. "Amusing though this may be, I'll be heading out now. Janice has had enough time to figure out what she wants after the rest of her school shopping is complete. I hope you're able to work things out between you."
"Tracy, wait," George said as he went over to her. "What are you doing later today?"
"I'm taking Janice school shopping, dropping her off at a friend's, and then I'll be searching for Ryou," she replied. "Why?"
George smiled. "Because we could all search for Ryou together." He glanced at Hermione and Fred-2. "All of us. We'll close up shop for the day so we can deal with Fred's little problem." He turned back to Tracy. "And maybe later, you and I…" He leaned closer to her and whispered something in her ear.
Fred-2 made a face. "I hope that you had the decency to end things with Karin at least."
Hermione looked at them in confusion. "Karin… Isn't that the girl from the other night? Your boss?"
George pulled away from Tracy. "Karin and I aren't involved," he said dismissively. He smiled at Tracy. "So what do you think?"
"Only if you think you're up for it," Tracy said before going off to find her sister. She waved at them. "Later, then."
Fred had a feeling that George was going to be in for a surprise if he felt his womanizing wasn't going to backfire on him. He couldn't be too concerned at the moment, though, as he still needed to convince Hermione that going with them was a really bad idea.
--- --- ---
To say that Fred was not happy that Hermione had insisted on joining them to find Ryou was an understatement. It was extremely dangerous, particularly since they'd split up into two groups to cover more ground.
George was searching for Ryou alongside Tracy and Karin, which Fred thought had the potential to be a rather explosive combination. Fred wasn't too happy with his group. Fred-2 was acting like a lazy little pissant, Fred thought. Fred-2 didn't seem to care that catching Ryou was important, and kept wanting to take off. Fred did have to admit that he did have his uses, since he had successfully gotten Hermione to talk to him again, but Fred thought that he should just let the matter drop and let Hermione distance herself if she wanted. As much as it would hurt if she did distance herself, it would be even worse if she got hurt because she tried to get involved with Underworld detective business.
Fred was grateful that Tracy had sent one of her two pet ravens with them. He had known that there were instances of wizards or witches having ravens as familiars instead of owls, but hadn't realized that Tracy was one of them. Of course, he hadn't really paid much attention to her before, so he had no reason to know that. Kara flew on ahead of them, perching when at a distance up ahead, and flying onwards as they approached. Her other raven, Sue, was guarding Janice, who Tracy was rather protective of. If they encountered Ryou, Kara would fly to Tracy's group and alert them. If Tracy's group encountered him, Karin would do pretty much the same thing.
For lack of any actual direction, they were pretty much following Kara through the industrial section of London. As they had reached a tire yard, Fred noticed that Kara seemed to be flying around over it instead of perching and waiting. The bird seemed to be telling them that Ryou was there, as it flew off the moment Fred's group entered the yard.
"You should go back," Fred said to Hermione. "Apparate to safety."
Hermione shook her head. "I have to see for myself."
Fred frowned. "You won't be able to see much."
Fred-2 nodded. "Why don't we all go back? Karin never did say why it was so important to get the relics back, and it's not like Ryou can do too much damage with the one he has right now. Let the Underworld deal with him. I'm not a fighter."
"It's a bit too late for that, detective," Ryou called out from up ahead. He stood on top of a stack of tires and held the Rod of Division in his hand. He was curiously back in his male form, and Fred had to wonder about what caused him to switch to a female form to begin with. "Hand me the other two relics, and I'll let you all go."
Fred frowned. George currently possessed both the Amulet of Extraction and the Glove of Transference. It was a risky move, but one that was unavoidable due to the two Freds bickering over which of them was the original, and the inability to decide which Fred should carry one of the relics.
"Get me back to normal, and then we'll talk," Fred said.
"I don't want to fight," Fred-2 said. "I never asked for any of this."
Ryou chuckled. "Your choice."
Hermione cried out as ice formed around her feet, quickly rising until it was halfway to her knees. She brought out her wand and started casting spells to try to free herself from the ice.
Ryou scoffed. "Pathetic. Do you really think that magic will work?"
Fred frowned. He didn't know if he and the other Fred had one shot each of the Spirit Gun or not. Either way, he didn't have to use his Spirit Gun just yet.
He aimed his wand at a nearby pile of tires, casting a spell to make several of them fly at Ryou, who toppled over along with the rest of the stack of tires he was standing on as the flying tires hit him. Magic might not be able to directly affect him, but that didn't mean it couldn't be used at all.
Fred-2 was trying to help Hermione free herself from the ice, which was slowly crawling up her leg. "Try Apparating," he said. "Even if you splinch--"
"I tried already!" Hermione exclaimed. "This isn't normal ice!"
Ryou chuckled as he pulled himself off the ground, still clutching the rod in his hand. "Of course it's not. Feels real enough, though. I wonder what will happen first. Will you freeze to death, or will you be smothered when the ice eventually covers up your mouth and nose? I can make it colder, but I'm feeling generous."
Fred cried out with surprise as he was attacked from behind. He was knocked down to the ground, and pinned down by someone placing a foot on his back.
Ryou laughed as he approached Fred. "But just because I'm feeling generous, doesn't mean I feel like playing nice."
"Let her go!" Fred-2 shouted, punching Ryou. The blue haired demon staggered back, but still held the rod. "Release her this instant!"
Ryou smirked. "If you think you can defeat me--" He was punched once more by Fred-2. Looking up at the fight, Fred could see that Fred-2 appeared to have infused his fist with Reiki, and was preparing to punch Ryou once more. What was strange was that Ryou wasn't even trying to fight back.
"Ice Chain!" the figure standing on Fred shouted, sending a chain that appeared to be made of ice shooting in the direction of Fred-2. It wrapped around him, and the figure pulled on it, sending Fred-2 to the ground.
Fred felt the pressure on his back was removed as the figure slowly advanced towards Fred-2. He picked himself off the ground, cursing under his breath as he saw it was another Ryou. "We'll defeat you," he said as he charged into battle, hitting the Ryou who had been standing on him. He cast a spell to send a few more tires fly in the general direction of the first Ryou, not caring if they hit or not. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Hermione had summoned a few tires over to her.
Fred readied himself to punch the second Ryou again, but was knocked back by a blast of cold wind released by the first. The second Ryou froze where he stood, blinking rapidly a few times before sneezing.
The transformation was almost instant. The second Ryou's hair grew longer, and his body changed from a male form to a female form. The female Ryou swore loudly. While the male Ryou was distracted, Fred-2 was able to get a hit in on him before screaming in pain.
"Sorry, Fred!" Hermione called out. Fred glanced over to her to see that she held a bow in her hand, with a quiver of arrows nearby. He figured she must have transfigured the summoned tires into a bow and arrows. "I haven't practiced since I was eleven!"
Fred-2 pulled out the arrow that had struck him in the shoulder while the male Ryou watched on in amusement.
"Taking each other out now?" he taunted, smirking. He dodged as Fred-2 tried to attack him with the bloody arrow.
In his distraction, Fred had failed to pay any attention to what the female Ryou was doing, and received a fist to his face as a result, which was followed through a punch to the gut.
Normally, Fred thought that fighting girls was rather distasteful. Guys were simply not supposed to hit girls, period. But there were a few things that made the situation different, in his mind. First, despite appearances, Ryou was not a girl. Second, Ryou was a demon. And third, Ryou had attacked him.
With those reasons in mind, Fred sent his fist flying, connecting with female Ryou's face and causing 'her' to fall back onto the ground.
"Ow!" she whined, holding a hand to her bloody nose. "Don't you know you're not supposed to hit girls? What is wrong with you?!"
This time, the male Ryou screamed as an arrow hit him in the side. Hermione screamed something along the lines of 'that's right, punk!' from where she stood. The ice was almost up to her waist by this point.
Fred aimed a finger at female Ryou. "Release her now!" he demanded, not sure if his Spirit Gun would work, but prepared to try it.
The female Ryou looked up at him for a few seconds before doing something completely unexpected and bursting into tears. "It should have worked!" she wailed. "It's not fair!"
The male Ryou frowned as he pulled the arrow out of him and tossed it to the ground. "Get up and fight!" he shouted, dodging a punch thrown by Fred-2.
The female Ryou shook her head. "All I want is to be normal! I don't want to fight them!"
The male Ryou snorted in disgust and advanced towards his female counterpart.
"I don't want to fight, either," Fred-2 said. "But I'm not going to stand by and let you do whatever you want. Spirit Gun!"
A blast of Reiki shot out of Fred-2's fingertip, hitting the male Ryou in the back and knocking him to the ground. Before the male Ryou could recover from the blast, Fred-2 walked over to him and placed a foot on the arm still holding the Rod of Division. He pried it out of Ryou's hand. "Don't get up," Fred-2 said.
Ryou growled. "Damn you…" he said before unleashing an Ice Chain straight into the air using his free hand. It caused Fred-2 to stumble back, startled as the chain grazed him. Ryou grabbed the rod back from Fred-2, and went over to the female Ryou. "Let's finish this," he said as his counterpart wrapped a hand around the rod.
There was a flash of white light, and the two Ryous became one very pissed off looking female Ryou. She looked down at herself. "Stupid curse," she muttered.
Fred held no illusions that she would not hesitate to attack this time. As she got up and turned her back to attack Fred-2, Fred unleashed a Spirit Gun at her that knocked her down to the ground again. He placed a foot on her back as Fred-2 retrieved the Rod of Division once more.
"Release Hermione now," Fred demanded, digging his heel into Ryou's back and causing the demon to cry out.
The ice around Hermione shattered and she was free once more. She stumbled forward a few steps before falling to her knees.
"Hermione!" Fred-2 called out as he went over to her. "Are you alright?"
She smiled weakly at him. "My legs are numb, but other than that I'm fine."
"I really need to train you guys in how to book and transport demons once they're contained," Karin said as she floated on her oar a few feet away. She smiled at them as they looked over to her. "I guess the cavalry's arrived."
"You're late," Fred said.
Karin shrugged. "Better late than never."
--- --- ---
Fred stood in the living room of his flat, his counterpart next to him. He held the Rod of Division in his hand, and was waiting rather impatiently for Karin to finish explaining things. Both Locris and Ryou had been arrested, which had surprised Fred. Based off George's reaction after Fred had shot Locris with his Spirit Gun, Fred hadn't been sure that Locris had survived. Karin explained that while Locris had been in bad shape and wasn't about to win any beauty contests, it was nothing lethal.
"Your Spirit Gun is actually far too weak at this point to be lethal," she had laughed. Fred didn't think it was so funny, but was glad that he hadn't actually killed anyone. Whether it was part of his job or not, he didn't fancy the idea of taking a life, even if it was that of a demon who tried to steal his twin's spirit.
Apparently, the way to reunite the two Freds was for both of them to hold onto the Rod of Division at the same time. Fred had to admit that he'd miss having the other him around, as they had come to an understanding after their confrontation with Ryou. Fred-2 wasn't as reluctant at accepting his duties as the Underworld detective as he had been, as he seemed to realize that somebody had to do it, and he had wanted to do it during their fight. Neither of them appreciated how sneakily they'd been recruited, but that was another issue entirely, and one that they were in full agreement about.
Fred looked around the living room as Karin continued in full 'explanation mode'. Hermione sat on the couch under a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa, trying to get warm after having been encased in ice. He had been both surprised and awed that she had still found a way to fight back even when frozen where she stood. He imagined that she must have been in incredible pain, as the ice was freezing cold.
"It seems a shame, rejoining them so soon." Tracy said, interrupting Karin as she leaned against one wall, standing next to George. "Right now, Fred is living proof of just how complex people can be. It almost makes me want to lock them in separate rooms and run psychological tests on them to find just how different his two halves are." At the weird looks she received from everyone, she shrugged. "I have an interest in psychology."
"Are you going to a university in the fall to take any courses in psychology?" Hermione asked, looking over to her.
Tracy shook her head. "After Janice goes to Hogwarts, I'm probably going to wander around for a while and find a few old rivals of mine here in the human realm."
Karin frowned. "The Underworld isn't likely to be too happy with you meeting up with other demons, and you know it."
Tracy shrugged, unconcerned. "The Underworld really should stay out of the affairs of others. Their interference is most unwanted and unbecoming."
"Interference?!" Karin shrieked. "It is the Underworld's duty to protect humans from demons like you! You cannot expect to enter the human realm and do whatever you want to do!"
"I obey the laws, and keep a fairly low profile most of the time," Tracy said calmly. "I see no reason why the Underworld should have any problems with me. That is, unless you have a problem with me."
Karin glared at Tracy. "Of course I have a problem with a thief like you! You can't claim to obey the law and then go around stealing things!"
Tracy raised an eyebrow. "To be fair, the relics were recovered, and they had nothing to do with the human realm or its laws. I presume that is what you were referring to, right?"
Fred gave a funny look to George, who was watching the two girls with a highly amused expression on his face. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
George nodded, smirking. "Very much so."
Hermione stood up. "Both of you, knock it off!" Karin and Tracy both glanced to her, and she sat back down, readjusting her blanket so it covered her once more. "Honestly. George is not worth fighting over, if that's what you're doing."
Tracy raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were fighting over demons' rights in the human realm," she said, although there was a slight hint of amusement in her voice that indicated otherwise.
George frowned. "Thanks, Granger," he said sarcastically. "I was hoping they'd come to blows."
Fred-2 rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with," he said as he placed his hand around the Rod of Division. There was a flash of white light. When the light faded, only one Fred remained.
Karin stormed up to George. "You were hoping we would what?"
George shrugged. "Well, I suppose that we'd need some mud for that. Ow!" He placed a hand to his cheek where Karin had slapped him.
"Karin," Tracy called out, getting the ferry girl's attention. Tracy peeled herself off from the wall and approached her, whispering something in the other girl's ear.
Fred shook his head and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Hermione and placing the Rod of Division on the coffee table in front of him. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea to interfere with their little drama."
Hermione nodded. "I suppose it's like a train wreck. You can't stand to watch, but you just can't turn away."
George glared over at them. "Thanks for the support. Really."
"I'm not so sure…" Karin said as she pulled back from Tracy. She glanced at George briefly, and then whispered something into Tracy's ear.
Fred turned to Hermione. "Popcorn?" Hermione nodded, and he summoned a bag of popcorn in from the kitchen. As it was unpopped, he cast a spell to pop it.
"You could have gotten off the couch for that," George said.
Fred shrugged. "Probably," he said as he opened the bag and offered some to Hermione.
"All I'm saying is that it's worth a try," Tracy said as she pulled away from Karin. "It does seem to be the best solution to the situation."
Karin made a face. "But still…"
Tracy smiled. "The thing you need to understand about demons is that we're far more open-minded to experimenting than others might be."
George glanced between them. "Experiment with what? What are you talking about?"
A thoughtful expression crossed Karin's face as she resolutely ignored George. "I'm still not sure…"
"Sure about what?" George asked, looking between them.
Tracy looked over to him. "Would you be interested in a threesome?"
Fred nearly choked on his popcorn, and had to be patted on the back by Hermione a few times. After regaining his bearings, he could see that George was looking rather shocked at such a proposition.
"A threesome?" George repeated, looking between the two girls in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
Tracy nodded. "I'll admit that it sounds weird, but I am rather curious."
George blinked, and then slowly smirked. "I have no problems with that whatsoever."
Karin chuckled. "While I'm sure this is something I'm definitely not supposed to do here in the human realm…" She walked over to the coffee table and picked up the Rod of Division. "Hold still. Kuroi, you might want to stand aside."
George suddenly frowned. "Wait, what are you doing with that?"
"Who did you think the threesome would involve?" Tracy asked as she glanced over her shoulder at George, who was trying to use her as a shield.
"I thought you meant you and her!" George exclaimed.
Karin shook her head. "No, we were initially just going to split you and maybe share, but then I decided I have no interest in cads. But Kuroi there is kind of kinky, in that she still wants to split you and then have a threesome with you and your double."
Fred and Hermione burst into a fit of laughter on the couch as George's eyes widened. "What?! No! That's just… No!" George protested.
Tracy tilted her head. "Why not? It might be fun."
George shook his head. "It wouldn't be 'fun'! It would just be… weird and confusing!"
Karin shrugged and held out her free hand, summoning her oar. "Well, if you don't want to go that route, I'll be returning the relics to the Underworld now. I have a job to do. Have fun, you two." With the other two relics safely tucked into her pocket, she disappeared.
George frowned and turned to Tracy. "So that's what you were whispering to her about?"
Tracy shrugged. "Amongst other things. I would recommend having a talk with her sometime in the near future. I have no problem if you're with someone else, but only if they have no problem with it, either." She turned away from him and walked to the door.
George frowned, following her. "But we weren't together! We were just fooling around!"
Fred shook his head as George's protests could be heard, even after they'd both left and closed the door behind them. "I knew this would happen," he muttered.
Hermione glanced to him. "You knew that Tracy would want to have a threesome with him and his non-existent double?" she asked, smirking.
Fred chuckled. "That they'd have a confrontation of some kind. I expected more screaming and violence, though."
Hermione nodded. "A lot of your reputation back in school was because of him, wasn't it?"
"Probably," Fred admitted. "Most girls could never be bothered to try to tell us apart. Although a lot of both of our reputations were exaggerated, I think."
There was an awkward pause as they sat there on the couch, neither of them quite looking at the other. "How many girls have you slept with?" Hermione asked.
"Counting you, four," Fred said, not wanting to lie. "Two of them were one night stands that I sometimes wish hadn't happened, one of them was two friends trying to be more than just that, and then there's whatever it was between us."
"An experience?" Hermione asked.
Fred frowned. "I want it to be more than just that." He turned to Hermione. "Things happened between us faster than they should have, and we've both got a lot to deal with. I can understand if you need time. Just tell me, though. Ignoring what happened isn't going to undo it."
Hermione paused in thought. "It seems as though you're far more aware of your feelings that I am."
Fred shrugged. "I don't put as much thought into things as you do. I can be rather thoughtless that way."
"I don't think you're thoughtless," Hermione said. "You go by your feelings, and don't over think things like I do. All I've been doing since the other night was analyzing and over analyzing what happened."
Fred raised an eyebrow. "Did you make any graphs or charts to go along with your over analysis?" he teased.
"Actually, yes," Hermione said, smiling. "I even made a PowerPoint presentation to detail my findings thus far."
Fred looked at her in bemusement. He had no idea what a 'PowerPoint presentation' was, and from the context, probably didn't want to know.
Hermione turned to him. "One thing I kept coming back to is that you're the older brother of my best friend. You're rude, arrogant, and sometimes outright obnoxious. And I don't know what exactly, but I feel something when I'm with you."
"Something good?" Fred asked hopefully.
Hermione nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, Fred, something good. And that scares me a little, because I'm not supposed to feel anything for you." She set her mug of cocoa down on the table. "I guess that's why I tried avoiding you. I thought that if I did, maybe I'd come to my senses. I didn't."
"Sometimes that can be a good thing, though," Fred said. "Ignoring what one is supposed to do and just go with their feelings."
Hermione chuckled. "You never were one to do what you're supposed to do, were you?"
Fred smiled. "'Course not. I wouldn't be me if I did."
She watched him thoughtfully. "Except when it comes down to it, you don't ignore your responsibilities."
"Shh!" Fred glanced around the room. "If anyone heard you say that, I'd never hear the end of it." He turned to her. "Besides, you're crazy. I have no sense of responsibility."
Hermione laughed. "You fight demons, don't you? Even your other self took responsibility and fought in the end."
Fred frowned. "I fight because someone has to. But you will not be following me on any more missions."
"I can take care of myself," Hermione stated.
"That's not the point," Fred replied. "I don't like the fact that George goes out on missions, but he has a sixth sense and can use his Reiki to defend himself. And he really kicked some arse as a disembodied spirit, but that's beside the point. Magic doesn't affect demons the same ways it does humans, and that's all you have against them."
"That doesn't mean magic isn't useful at all against demons," Hermione said. "One just has to be imaginative over how one uses magic, like you sending the tires flying or me transfiguring tires into a bow and arrow."
"Where'd you learn how to use a bow and arrow, anyway?" Fred asked.
She smiled. "When I was younger, there was a resort I would go to with my parents. There was an archery range there, and I'd decided to give it a try. When I was ten, they had a junior archery competition, and I took second place." She paused. "And like it or not, I'm not the type to just sit back and let others do all the fighting. You forget that I accompanied Harry on a very dangerous mission. I know that demons exist now, and even though I may not be on the same level of you or George, if there's anything at all I can do to help, I'll do it. So you're just going to have to accept that I'll be fighting with you guys occasionally."
Fred frowned deeply. "It's too dangerous!"
Hermione shrugged. "I'm fully aware of the dangers. But I refuse to let you go out there alone and possibly get yourself killed."
Fred wanted to argue that if she went out there, she probably would get herself killed. However, he knew that once Hermione made up her mind, it was almost impossible to get her to change her mind. Arguing with her about it would be pointless, and it wasn't as if he couldn't find some way to stop her from getting involved. He didn't know what he would do just yet, but he would think of something.
"Just be careful," Fred said. "And improve your aim. That bloody hurt, you know."
Hermione smiled. "Yeah, but you were healed," she said, poking him in the shoulder where the wound had been.
"Ow!" Fred called out, grimacing in pain.
Hermione immediately pulled her hand back, eyes wide. "I thought you were healed before you were rejoined?"
"Not completely," he said, placing a hand over his injury.
"Let me see," Hermione said, trying to move his hand.
Fred shook his head. "You can't see it through the fabric of my shirt."
"Take it off," Hermione ordered, pulling on the bottom of Fred's t-shirt.
Fred moved his hand to allow the shirt's removal, although he wasn't about to make it easy on her. If she wanted his shirt off, she'd have to remove it herself. He smirked at her, making it quite clear that's what she'd have to do.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're just being difficult, now."
"Difficult's my middle name," Fred retorted, smiling. "And I don't recall you being a trained Healer in any way, so if you want to see the wound you so callously inflicted upon my body, I'm not about to make it easy on you."
Hermione scoffed as she pulled his shirt over his head. "Whatever you say." She trailed a finger around where his injury had been. "It doesn't look too bad. In a couple of days, you should be back to normal."
"With me, there's no such thing as normal," Fred said, watching her.
She met his gaze. "No, I suppose there isn't."
He smiled. "Normal people don't come back from the dead."
"Normal people think before they act," Hermione said.
"Normal people don't fight creatures that aren't supposed to exist," Fred said.
Hermione lightly trailed her finger along Fred's shoulder. "Normal people aren't you." Before Fred realized what was happening, Hermione had leaned toward him on the couch and placed her lips against his.
He placed an arm around her, drawing her closer as he kissed her back. Being normal was completely overrated, he thought.
