Fred stood outside the door and took a deep breath. He could vividly imagine the piercing shrieks travel through the house, followed by long loud lectures, if he was caught. But Fred Weasley wasn't afraid of risk, and he'd had his share of lectures... what was one more?

He slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open just enough to poke his head in. His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. He looked, first, to the lump on the bed in the corner. It rose and fell in slow even breaths. Though he couldn't see her face, he knew that Ginny was fast asleep. His eyes then turned to his target. Hermione laid on her back, her head tilted to one side. Her delicate hand lay close to her face and her frizzy curls roamed wild over the pillow. She looked so beautiful and at peace, it was almost a sin to wake her. But he had come this far and didn't really want to turn back.

Fred crept slowly across the room, his eyes flashing from one sleeping girl to the next. He knelt beside Hermione's camp bed.

"Hermione?" Fred whispered in an almost inaudible voice. Hermione took in a deep breath and hummed a sigh in her sleep. Fred leaned in closer and whispered again. "Hermione..." Fred kept glancing over his shoulder at Ginny.

"Hm?" Hermione stirred. She just barely qualified as conscious.

"Hermione?" Fred repeated.

Hermione turned her head, now awake. She squinted at Fred in sleepy confusion. "Fred?" She had whispered, but much too loud.

"Shhh..." Fred hushed. His head snapped to Ginny's bed as she rolled over. Fred watched in anticipation, but Ginny collapsed on her side, still fast asleep. He returned his attention to Hermione who appeared to be a little more alert. Fred leaned in as close as he could to Hermione's ear, their cheeks touching. "I'm going out. Do you want to come?" he whispered.

Hermione's heart beat hard in her chest. He was so close. His breath in her ear stirred something inside of her. She nodded and he smiled. Rather than risk talking again, he gestured to himself and then downstairs. Hermione sat up in bed and nodded in understanding. Fred turned to leave but stopped. He yanked at his cloak to remind her to bring hers. She giggled silently and nodded.

Hermione rubbed her eyes and stretched. She felt very tired and her body still ached from her embarrassing broom experience. She stood quietly and opened her trunk. She reached in and took out a neatly folded pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. She dressed quietly and slipped on her trainers which were still tied. She was just about to close the door when she remembered her cloak. She groped around the dresser and felt her cloak hanging from the top knob. She yanked it and the dresser rocked. She stared at Ginny for a moment and when she realized she was safe, she snuck down to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Hermione loudly whispered across the garden.

Fred pulled his Cleansweep Five from the broomshed and closed the door. "The rain has made the orchard much too soggy to walk through. And we could get down that big hill, but it would be a real struggle to get back up. So we're going to fly there."

"That's not funny, Fred." She looked absolutely hurt.

"I know you're scared. That's why you're going to ride with me," said Fred. "I'll do the flying."

"You can't be serious."

He straddled the broom and held out a hand to her. "I refuse to let that accident be your final opinion of flying. C'mon."

"Absolutely not," she said firmly.

Fred looked really disappointed. "Please trust me... I wouldn't suggest it if I thought you might get hurt. I'm a good flier."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed as she considered her dilemma. She didn't want to disappoint Fred, but she didn't want to fly. And she really wanted to spend time with him, but the broom was her only option.

She stepped slowly toward Fred. She was so reluctant and scared, she was sure she probably looked like a disobedient house elf. She felt like a disobedient house elf; she was ready to bolt any second from the thing that went against her nature. But she trusted him...

"My bum hurts just looking at it," she gave a nervous pathetic laugh. Her attempt to lighten her mood failed horribly.

"Now, that's not my fault. I tried to fix it..." Fred's attempt at humor was a little more successful as she really did smile. "We won't crash. I won't let you fall. I'll even take the route that will keep us lower to the ground. And if you are still frightened when we land, I promise I'll carry you home on my back." His toes pushed him lightly off the ground, his legs dangled low; the tips of his trainers kept lightly skimming the dirt. His hand was still outstretched to her.

Hermione stepped up to the left of the broom. "How should I...?"

"Why don't you sit cross ways? I think you'll feel more secure." Fred suggested. "You know, sidesaddle." He added at her confusion.

Hermione turned around and stepped backward until she felt the broom touch her back about six inches above her waist. Her hands gripped the broom on either side of her, between Fred's body and his right hand which was holding the broom steady. She looked up into Fred's face. She wouldn't do this for anyone else.

"Jump up. It's fine," he encouraged.

She jumped and used her arms to push her bottom over the broom handle. But the handle was thinner than anticipated. She felt as though she'd fall off the other side, but was steadied against Fred's sturdy right arm.

"Hold onto my waist," Fred instructed. Hermione didn't need to be told twice. She wrapped her left arm tightly around his body and buried her head into his chest. Her right hand still firmly gripped the broom. She felt his left arm snake around her waist and pull her closer. He felt her body trembling and laid a light kiss on the top of her head. "Ready?"

"Yes..." Her voice was unnaturally high.

Hermione's eyes were shut tight and her head was pressed so tightly to Fred's chest that she could hear his heartbeat. She thought that her heart must be going twice as fast. She felt them rising further from the ground and a soft breeze blew through her hair. The broom was steady, not trembling or swaying in the least. Though she was still frightened, she felt safe against Fred.

Fred looked down and smiled at the girl who clung so tightly to him. "Open your eyes," Fred gently urged. "Go on…"

Hermione slowly opened one eye. They were soaring over a shallow swampland of tall overgrowth. She was surprised to see how close to the ground they flew. Feeling a little safer, she opened both eyes and lifted her head a few inches from Fred's chest. They were no more than a couple yards off the ground and moving at a rather slow pace for a broom.

"Now that's not so bad, is it?" Fred asked.

"Just don't let go of me," Hermione pleaded.

Fred smiled. Her forehead was still creased with anxiety, but it was obvious that she had relaxed and was not nearly as afraid. They headed toward a clump of trees.

"We have to go over the treetops. If you're scared, you can close your eyes."

She didn't respond to him but stared resolutely ahead at the approaching tree line. Fred pulled up on the handle and they climbed slowly into sky. They leveled off just above the treetops. Hermione looked down and saw that her toes almost touched some of the leaves.

"You okay?" asked Fred.

"Yeah," Hermione still wasn't comfortable, but she managed a small smile.

"Okay... we're going to land now. I'm going to have to tip the broom downward. Just hold on tight and lean close to me and we'll be okay," Fred explained. He tightened his arm around her waist.

Hermione's breathing became shallow and her fear returned. She pressed herself against his chest and held him so tightly that she was afraid she might be hurting him. She determinedly kept her eyes open as Fred gently urged the broom downward. They made a easy circle to the ground next to the willow tree. Fred's feet softly touched ground, but, as he took the weight of the broom upon himself, he was thrown off balance. His legs buckled and he fell to his knees. Hermione, still clinging tightly to him, had landed on his lap.

"Sorry. Next time I'll have you jump off before I touch down. That is, if there is a next time." Fred looked hopefully into Hermione's face.

Hermione nodded timidly. "It wasn't too bad..." she said.

Fred ran a hand through her soft hair. Hermione blushed and, finally realizing that she was sitting on Fred's lap, got gingerly to her feet.

I'll warn you all now, the next chapter will be my last.

This has been such fun to look over again, I hate to see the end so near.

If you're enjoying this, I shamelessly suggest you check out my fanfic "Rules of Conduct". It's one of my most popular and far more humorous.