I'm really working on updating more often for you guys and to anyone else who reads my other fanfictions. Still no word from my Beta, so once again I apologize for the poor grammar but I will fix it when I hear back from them.

Enjoy this chapter and please review!

Chasing Visions of Our Futures,

One Day We'll Reveal the Truth.

- Daughter, Youth

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd ever be here before me," Hermione said the following Friday, slipping onto her usual barstool and ordering her usual drink. She' seen Fred the moment she'd walked into the bar, his red hair the only thing left that was recognisable. He was hunched over the bar slightly, leaning on his elbows surrounded by empty glasses, his hands fisted in his hair. She'd left her coat by the door and joined him, sure he'd smile when he saw her, the way he usually did.

"Thing's change." He said, downing the rest of his drink in one quick gulp. It was then that Hermione saw how unkept he seemed. His hair was scruffier than usual, sticking out at every odd angle, his usually light stubble was thicker, almost prickly looking and his eyes were red rimmed with tiredness.

"Fred?" she said leaning on the bar to look at his face properly, his eye's met hers and she saw the conflict flittering through them. "Are you alright?" she asked and Fred laughed humorously at her.

"Alright?" he said with a dry laugh, "Define alight?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Hermione said, gratefully accepting her drink and sipping it slightly while Fred ordered another.

"Well then, I'd say I'm about as alright as you were this time last week," he said and Hermione almost shuddered at the memory. The way Theordore's eyes had almost seen straight through her with a hungry, vengeful glint to them veiled by his sophisticated composure. A green snake in a field of grass.

"Alright then," she said swivelling on her chair so she was facing him, forcefully dragging his around so he had to look at her too. "If we're going to drink miserably then we're going to do it properly." She said and held her glass up as though she was making a toast. "I lost my job this week. I was replaced by a younger apparently more competent young woman with breasts that rival even Lavender's." she said and took a gulp of her drink.

"You're turn." She said and Fred rolled his eyes in faux exasperation before raising his own glass.

"I got dumped last Sunday," he said and Hermione felt her heart flutter slightly before plummeting like a shot down bird at the broken look on her friends face. "My girlfriend was cheating on me with Oliver Wood of all people," He said and downed his new drink in one go.

"Oh." Hermione said, watching as Fred tipped down the brown liquid, pulling a face when he put his class back onto the bar. Hermione had been drinking it for so long she'd built up a tolerance of sorts to the taste. "Well if you're trying to remedy a broken heart you'll need something stronger than that." She said pointing to now empty glass. She gestured towards the bartender and whispered in his ear. He gave her slight smile and returned a few moments later with two small glasses of clear liquid.

"What is that?" Fred asked picking up the glass a smelling it, his eye watering with the vapours form the drink.

"I find it's better if you don't know." Hermione said before smiling brightly. "To our shitty lives," she said, holding her tiny glass up to the dim, yellow light. Despite himself, Fred smiled, if Hermione Granger could smile after everything she'd been through – Discrimination, bullying, torture, divorce, being a single mother and loosing almost everything she held dear, then damn it so could he. Fred raised his glass and smiled back at her, her brown eyes seeming to soften at the sight.

"To setting fire to our insides for fun," he said and she laughed slightly before putting the glass to her lips and tipping the liquid back with what had to be practiced grace since Fred found himself coughing slightly as the liquid seemed to melt his throat like acid.

"To distract our hearts from ever missing them," Hermione said with a laugh and Fred found himself laughing along through the coughs. "Another?" she asked and Fred knew he had quite the night in store.

After another hour of drinking with Fred, Hermione found herself giggling at the least funny stories and Fred was swaying slightly on his stool. It reminded her of a night not long ago where the two of them had drunk together but Hermione pushed that thought from her mind, focusing instead on the story Fred was telling about the time he and George had locked someone into a vanishing cabinet.

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" Fred said to Hermione and the two of them burst out laughing. Had this been said another time Hermione would have sighed and felt sad, not finding her situation as hilarious as she seemed to now. But all care as lost in the dingy room, their laughter the only sound as it reverberated off the walls, filling the old bar with a joy it hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Merlin I'm a mess," she said, still laughing. "I can't keep a job, I can barely support my own daughter and I'll be damned If I ever find another man."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Fred said, slurring his words slightly and he swayed trying to put his hand on her shoulder. He missed. "Any man would be lucky to have you," he said, pointing at her and making her giggle. Giggles that then turned to outright bursts of laughter When Fred over balanced from his pointing and slipped from his stool, too slow to regain himself and landing on the floor, grabbing at the stool on his way down so it joined him on the dingy carpet.

"I think someone needs to go home," she said laughing at him so her eyes watered slightly.

"And that, Hermione," Fred said pointing at her from the floor. "Is why you're the brightest witch of your age," he said and scrambled to his feet.

How the two of them made it to the door was a miracle, but as soon as they were outside, coats in hands, Fred grabbed Hermione's arm and just like that they were in his apartment.

"That was a bad idea," Fred said as he swayed on the spot, the nausea from apparating has been increased by the alcohol in his system and he found himself needing to sit down – soon.

"I think you need something to eat," Hermione said with laugh, she was just as drunk as he was and yet, her logical side shone through like a light under a blanket, softened but unmistakeable.

"You do that!" Fred announced from his spot on the sofa as Hermione raided the cupboards. She was swaying slightly herself now, smacking her hip into the kitchen counter as she walked towards Fred with three slices of bread in her hands. She was sure she'd feel that tomorrow.

"Voila," she said handing him two slices of bread. He didn't even question it, just ate through both pieces before Hermione had even started hers. "I'll get you some water too," she said, putting her bread down on the table and moving to go back to the kitchen, only for Fred to grab her wrists and pull her backwards. Had she been sober, Hermione would only have spun on the spot, but as it happened she span, lost her footing and fell forward landing in Fred's lap, her face inches from his.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, feeling suddenly very breathless. She pulled away slightly, pushing with her hand against the back of the sofa to try and get up, feeling like a chord between the two of them had just snapped. Then she felt as Fred's arms snaked around her waist, holding her where she was, his blue eyes looking almost challenging.

"Don't be," He said quietly, he was close enough that she could feel his breath on her face, the scent of alcohol and bread wafting off of him. She hadn't even realised that she'd moved down closer to him to the point that if it weren't for her feet being on the ground, she'd be in his lap.

"Okay," she said, just as quietly. It was hard to see his face now because her hair had formed a thick curtain around the pair, blocking out the light so all Hermione saw were brief flashes of orange hair and the light as it shone off of his eyes. "I won't be," she finished and just like last time, neither of them knew who had started it, everything was a haze of alcohol and the vapours that made Fred's eyes water as the two connected, their lips touching in what felt like a desperate kiss.

Hermione felt dizzy with her eyes closed, like the world was tilting, but when she felt Fred's hand on her back, sure and steady she felt grounded again, like a kite pulled back down from the sky before it could float away. Her feet weren't touching the floor anymore and she slipped slowly onto Fred's lap, her legs straddling his waist.

As the kiss deepened to a bruising intensity, they became nothing but a collision of lips and tongue and even a little bit of teeth when they pressed too hard, but they barely noticed, they were becoming increasingly engulfed by the other, years of secrets and chanced glances across rooms were spilling over, years of pent up emotions and lies to themselves were finally being released.

Hermione felt lighter than she had in years. Even if it was just for tonight, just in this chilly apartment from where Fred hadn't put the heating on, with only one light glowing through the darkness and the smell of Fred's untouched, cold dinner on the table. Tonight they could be what the other needed and they relished in every second.

Hermione's hand had before been fisted in the fabric at the front of Fred's shirt, but in one quick movement she tugged it over his head, her hands beginning to wander the planes of his chest, the feel of the toned muscle beneath her soft finger tips, her fingers tangling in the wispy hairs that spanned the width of his chest. She felt over his strong shoulders, her small fingertips grazing over the jagged skin across Fred's back. She froze slightly, feeling the scar she remembered all too well from where the wall had blown apart, nearly crushing the man beneath her. Fred didn't react any differently than when she'd touched his chest, nothing but the low growl from the back of his throat - so Hermione continued her exploration.

Fred began fumbling with the buttons at the front of Hermione's burgundy blouse to the point that she pushed away from him in exasperation, tugging the material over her head herself, leaving her in her plain, mundane purple bra. She expected Fred was used to seeing Katie's lacy and expensive underwear from Victoria's Secret, but if he was disappointed he didn't show it.

Instead he marvelled at her, the way her body curved perfectly, how her pale skin was dotted with tiny scars from cuts and burns - battle wounds that he himself had. She bore the marks of a warrior, not just from her scars, but also from the marks along her stomach, ones he recognised to be stretch marks still not quite gone, her body's reminder of the child she bore all those years ago. His lips found hers again and he found his hands trailing over her skin, up her side, over her shoulder to the back of her neck and back down her arms.

She flinched away suddenly and Fred knew why. He'd felt the jagged skin beneath his fingertips even if he hadn't seen it with his eyes.

"Can I see it?" he asked, his eyes seeking out hers. Reluctantly, Hermione moved her hand from where she'd clamped it against her own arm and held her forearm towards him. Fred cradled her arm gently, his thumb making swirling patterns against the soft skin as he read the jagged letters on her arm. Mudblood. She'd been branded with that name all her life and now here it was, carved into her flesh as a constant reminder. This was why she wore long sleeves, this was why, even at her own wedding she had kept her arms covered up. She was ashamed, and Fred knew that, but he didn't accept it.

"No one," he said, kissing the jarred skin, listening as Hermione sucked in a nervous breath but not stopping as he kissed his way up her arm. "Is ever," he said before planting another soft kiss at her inner elbow "Going to," and he kissed her shoulder, "hurt you," he said before planting a soft kiss on her neck, making her suck in a breath, "again," he said and this time he was above her lips, his once blue eye's almost black from how dilated his pupils were. This time he let her come to him, hovering teasingly over her lips so that her mouth quirked into a soft smile, a smile he felt as she pressed her lips to his, both of her hands at the back of his neck, holding his head as he held her back.

Without warning, Fred stood up, taking Hermione with him as she clung onto his shoulders, squeaking slightly in surprise as her legs wrapping around his waist on instinct as he held one of her thighs in one hand, her lower back in the other. Hermione didn't object, just continued to kiss him as he began walking towards what Hermione knew would be his bedroom. How he didn't crash into anything, Hermione didn't know, but next she knew her back was falling against the softness of Fred's bed, her eye's seeking his in the darkness. A few minutes later and Hermione found herself wriggling out of her black jeans, kicking her shoes off so one impacted with the wall before landing on the floor with a dull thud.

Both of them were soon left wearing nothing, their clothes discarded carelessly over the floor, Fred had abandoned both his boxers and his jeans in one swift movement, leaving them in a pile on the floor before taking great pride and an agonisingly long time before removing Hermione's underwear.

They did nothing after that, just stared at one another in the darkness, Hermione propped up on her elbows, her hair a state. They were nothing but silhouettes and shadows, the light of Diagon Alley going dark outside the window, but Fred saw every inch of her pale skin perfectly in the darkness. Fred settled himself atop Hermione, his eyes seeking hers in the darkness.

"Never disappear again," he said and Hermione could hear the silent plea in his voice -'Don't leave me.' She leant up and positioned herself centimetres away from his face, her lips gently brushing his when she spoke.

"Give me a reason to stay," she said and felt as Fred smiled against her lips, a feeling that filled her with a happiness she hadn't felt in so many years.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the way that Fred had made her feel special and beautiful and loved, but as they became one, Hermione couldn't fight the feeling that she'd never be able to leave this man behind again.

The sunlight streaming in through the window was the first thing that roused Hermione from what had to have been the deepest sleep she had had in what felt like years. She felt warm, and content with everything. The second thing that brought her sense back was the movement beside her, the feeling of a weight carelessly draped over her bare stomach, the covers around her body hanging low on her hips.

Blinking through the irritatingly bright sunlight, Hermione cast a look at her surroundings. At first she was confused. The window was far to big to be in her small apartment and the wall paper was a rather alarming shade of blue, nothing light the soft tones that she was accustomed to.

She'd almost forgotten the body beside her until it shifted, pulling her close, snuggling their face into the crook of her neck, the rough scrape of stubble running across her skin, making her shiver.

She tried to piece all the shards of her memory from the night before, but her mind was foggy, everything swirling, the whole world tilting when she tried to focus on a singular moment. She remembered the bar, and drinking peacefully. Then everything heated up, she remembered the familiar and welcomed burn at the back of her throat, the way the clear liquid had pooled in her belly, flushing her face and clouding her judgement. She could remember the clink of glasses, a voice playing in her head "To setting fire to our insides for fun" he had said, the familiarity of the voice making her almost relax in the bed she currently lay in.

The memories hit her all that once then. The drinks, the toast, the scars, the kiss, and finally the hushed words in the darkness. "Never disappear again."

Fred. She remember the way his name had fallen from her tongue so intimately, the way she breathed it into the chilled air of the late December night, the way she'd revealed in his growled response, kissing her own name from his lips.

This couldn't be true, it wasn't possible. Her and Fred had had their chance and it had gone up in flames the second he'd whispered her name – Katie. But as the nights events rolled into her mind, she felt the heat rising to her face when she realised that it had been her name, and hers alone that had graced his lips. Hermione could picture his eyes clearly in her mind, the fire inside their cool depths, the way the pupil had all but swallowed the blue from the heat of desire, how he had looked at every part of her with an intensity that made her feel like the most exquisite being his eyes had ever fallen upon, the way he drank her in, every curve, every burn and every scar like he was blazing her into his memory, like he was afraid she was going to disappear – "Never disappear again."

"Fuck," came a low, husky voice from beside her, his voice deeper from sleep. She froze slightly in his arms. She may have believed that her and Fred had spent the night together, but it still felt like an impossibility, like a dream she needed to wake up from, even if she didn't want to. "Well, as far as nights out go, this was certainly an interesting one," Fred said and Hermione felt as his arm moved from across her stomach and he shifted sitting in the bed slightly.

"That's certainly one way to look at it," Hermione said, following his lead, pulling the covers up to preserve – What? Her modesty? Her dignity? It was likely too late for that, but she did so anyway, sitting up next to Fred, their shoulders barely touching. They said nothing as they looked over at one another, their eyes locking, a thousand questions running through their depths.

"So what now?" Fred asked and Hermione took a moment to take in his appearance. His red hair was longer than she's seen it, sticking out at every angle possible as he ruffled his hands through it. His eyes still looked heavy from his lack of sleep before that night, bags hanging beneath them, but the blue in his eyes looked more awake than Hermione thought possible.

She knew he'd spoken his question so open ended on purpose, not just speaking about this day but of all the days to come. Not ready to face all of that reality just yet, Hermione shrugged, leaning over the bed and grabbing a discarded jumper that clearly belonged to Fred, the cinnamon scent still clinging to the fabric. How long it had been on the floor she didn't know, his entire room seemed to be strewn with clothes.

Pulling it over her head, the sleeves falling over her hands, she climbed from the bed, his eyes following her every movement; her pale skin, the curve of her bottom that he witnessed for just a second before she pulled her knickers back on, looking over at Fred when she felt the burning of his gaze against the back of her head.

"Breakfast?" she asked and Fred smiled lazily up at her, nodding slightly, as he reached around the floor, presumably for something to wear himself. She allowed her self a brief moment to appreciate how his body looked as he leant over the bed, the covers slipping further down his waist so that Hermione caught just a glimpse of his bare arse. Trying to gather up the thoughts that she'd just dropped all over the floor as she looked at him, she quickly left the room, heading towards the kitchen as she tugged at her hair, screaming insisde her head about how could she have been this stupid.

She groaned aloud when she passed by the mirror, seeing how her hair seemed to have expanded to at least twice its usual size, enough so that it would take some serious conditioning to even attempt to tame it.

Tugging the mane into a haphazard bun, Hermione headed to the kitchen, groaning at the slight thump in her head that came with the daylight room. She rummaged through the cupboards for a few minutes, having to climb onto the counter tops to even reach the higher shelves. Clearly Fred and George hadn't taken into account smaller people going through their cupboards, something Hermione was silently cursing at this moment.

By the time Fred emerged from his room wearing a pair of grey sweat pants and a Quidditch shirt that hung loosely off of his frame, Hermione has managed to gather a few supplies.

"Eggs?" Fred asked, ruffling his hair as he stretched his arms over his head until his joints popped, something that reminded Hermione of her old cat, Crookshanks, the same cat she hadn't seen since she left this apartment two years ago. She hadn't even thought about it, he was sleeping soundly when she snuck away, Rose in her arms, it didn't seem fair to burden the cat as well.

"Well your cupboards are rather bare," Hermione said with a shrug as she piled the scrambled eggs onto bread. She wasn't the best cook in the world, but luckily with such a young child they didn't really ask for more than the simple things – Chicken dippers and turkey dinosaurs were currently Rose's favourites. Draco also seemed to have taken to the simplicity, something that surprised Hermione since he'd practically grown up as royalty.

"Yeah, shopping isn't my strong suit," he said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as she sat down. Hermione smiled slightly as she placed the plate in front of him along with a mug full of coffee that he gratefully accepted.

Sitting down herself, she wrapped her hands around her mug, trying to loose herself in the thick scent of the black coffee that drifted up towards her nose. No luck.

"So, how are we going to go about this?" Hermione asked as casually as she could muster, sipping on her coffee to hide the blush on her face. Fred froze, a fork full of scrambled egg halfway towards his mouth. Hermione thought he was going to eat it anyway and talk with his mouthful – Ron always did. Instead, he dropped the fork back to the plate, clearing his throat slightly as he levelled Hermione with the most sincere look she'd seen on his face, so sincere she didn't think it was genuine.

"What do you mean?" he asked and Hermione wanted to fall into a hole right there and then. She felt like a teenager again, like she woken up in the boys dorm after one of the Quidditch parties, the way Lavender and the Patil twins used to brag about doing.

"I mean, was this just a drunken mistake," she started and Fred seemed to flinch slightly like her words were a slap, but he recovered quickly. "Or is this something more…" She said, letting her words trail off slightly as she idly fingered the jumper above her forearm, remembering Fred's words from the night before "No one is going to hurt you again.", his kiss searing her skin with its feather-light touch.

"Hermione," he said and reached across the table towards her hand, she wanted to pull it away, to hide herself away. He was speaking in the way enough men had to her before. 'Hermione, I think you're a great girl but-'. That's how it always went, but something let Fred grab her hand and hold it gently in his own, his thumb running over the back of her palm. "I don't want this to be a mistake," he said and she felt her breath catch, her eyes searching his for any sign of jest, that this was all just some elaborate trick. She found nothing. He just looked tired.

"Then what was it, Fred?" she asked and she could feel the frustration burning in her voice. She didn't do this anymore. She was an adult, both of them were. They shouldn't be sleeping around with each other and then moving on like nothing happened. Surely they were more mature than that.

"It was -" Fred began, scarching his stubble as he thought, a smile gracing his lips. "A very welcome and fun distraction," he said with a smirk, but Hermione wasn't having any of it.

"We're not teenagers anymore, Fred," she said, pulling her hand from his and sitting back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest to stop herself from reaching over the table and grabbing a hold of him once again. "We can't just sleep together for fun or to distract ourselves from our shitty lives, no matter how good it makes us feel." She said sternly and felt her face heating up slightly. "I have a daughter, Fred. I've got responsibility, I cant be sneaking around like a sixteen year old." She said and Fred sighed slightly, sitting back in his own chair, rubbing his hands over his face and Hermione felt the urge not to flush, remembering how those hands had run over her just the night before.

"Then lets not sneak around," he blurted out so it surprised even him.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked and Fred cleared his throat slightly, resting his elbows on the table as he leant forward.

"I don't want to." He said with what he seemed to think was a careless shrug. "I don't want this to be a one time thing, Hermione. I want to be with you." Hermione was sure she'd misheard him so she said nothing, just gaped at him like a fish, something he clearly found amusing. "You'll catch flies like that, love," he said, reaching across the table and tipping her chin with a single finger so her mouth shut.

"Did you just – Do you – I don't-" she bumbled, stumbling over her words slightly, his words reeling through her mind so they made her dizzy.

"You're surprisingly dense for the brightest witch of your age," Fred said with a laugh, standing up and walking around the table so he was standing over her as she put all of her thoughts into keeping her mouth from hanging open again. "I want to be with you, Hermione," he said, cupping both her cheeks with both of his hands, holding her face so she had no choice but to look up at him. "I've wanted to since you saved me from that falling wall." He said and Hermione creased her eyebrows.

"But, how did-" she began, remembering that night like it was yesterday. She hadn't meant to do it, she'd been running through the corridor with Harry and Ron, desperate to find the rest of the horcruxes and to stop Voldemort once and for all. But she'd seen Fred fighting with Percy, seen the wall as it began to fall through the explosion and she'd protected him. It was all that had seemed to matter at the time. When the dust cleared and Harry and Ron began to speed off again Hermione and Fred had locked eyes for a moment before she followed after them. She hadn't thought for a second that he'd known it was her. She assumed he put it down to dumb luck.

"I'm a joker, but I'm no fool, Hermione." He said and she bit her tongue from saying something she's regret. "I never did thank you for that, but I intend to. You saved my life, Hermione, and that's a debt I shall spend my life trying to repay."

"I'm not sure about this." Hermione blurted out quickly, her mind reeling from the events of the morning. Waking up, the confession, the promise, she wasn't prepared for this. But that's what Fred did, he gave her the unexpected, he always had, it was one of the reasons she'd fallen for him all those years ago when he'd helped with Rose. All those little unexpected things, from letting her sleep to cooking her breakfast and all this time she hadn't realised. "I mean, Ron's your brother, and I've got to put Rose first and-"She was rambling, she knew that, but she couldn't help herself. She still couldn't fight the feeling that all of this was just some stupid trick she'd been on the receiving end of and it was going to blow up in her face the second she agreed. If her words hurt him, he didn't show it.

"Think about it," he said, bringing his lips to hers for a delicate kiss, so soft it felt like a butterfly's wing beating once against her skin, but it still left her skin tingling, a shiver running up her spine. He released her then, saying things about getting ready for work and showering, but it was lost to her. She just shut her eyes and apparated as soon as he left the room. When they opened again she was alone in her own, cramped bedroom, the sounds of movement coming from outside in the hallway his words still circling her mind.

"Hermione?" Draco said, sounding surprised as she emerged from her room wearing a jumper far too big for her and a pair of pyjama shorts, her face seeming slightly dazed. "I didn't hear you come in last night," he said taking a gulp of his coffee before returning to trying to fasten the cuffs of his sleeves.

"It was late, I didn't want to wake you," she said, seemingly distractedly, her eyes wandering around the apartment like she'd never seen it before. "Here, let me help," she said moving towards him to button his cuffs. He held his arms out to her, welcoming any help she had to give. "Since when did you work Saturday's?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow at the pale man in front of her.

"Since you couldn't keep a job," he said with a laugh that fell dead in the silence that followed, Hermione's face falling as she dropped his arm. "Hermione," he said, reaching for her as she turned to go. "I was joking, Hermione, I've just picked up some extra hours while you're job searching," he said and Hermione nodded silently, wrapping her arms around her elbows, hugging herself as she looked at the ground. She barely even responded when she felt herself being pulled into one of the rare but familiar Draco hugs, his arms wrapping around her shoulders as her head fell against his chest.

"I'm sorry I'm such a fuck up." She mumbled against his chest and his laughed slightly, the vibration of it comforting against her cheek.

"Hey, you've had your turn at being top of the world when I was a fuck up. Now it's time the roles were reversed." He said and she chuckled slightly. "Now go and shower before the little beast wakes up." He said, pulling away room her, half shoving her towards the shower. "Also, Weaslette sent an owl this morning. She's coming over and she's bringing the he-devils." He said and Hermione shot him a reprimanding look. "Her words," he said, holding his hands up defensively, before stepping into the fireplace. He gave a quick smile before disappearing into the flames.

"Fuck," she grumbled the second he was gone, running her hand over her face. If Ginny was coming over it meant she wanted to talk, no doubt about what had happened with Ron at the last family gathering before the next one happened. It also meant a lot of questions, ones Hermione knew she wasn't going to be able to dodge.

She continued to grumble about 'stupid Ginny' and 'cant have five minutes with a secret' for the whole twenty minutes she spent in the shower, trying to no avail to calm her crazed hair and continued to grumble as she sat Rose down at the table with her boiled eggs and soldiers.

It was nearly one o'clock when the fireplace flared to life. Hermione and Rose had been watching cartoons on the TV to pass the time, something Rose always enjoyed on a Saturday morning, but the moment was lost when a sooty looking Teddy and James came tumbling out of the fireplace, letting go of Ginny's hand immediately when they spotted Rose.

"Ah!" Ginny said and the two boys looked at her innocently before she pointed towards the doorway where Hermione kept all the coats, shoes and outdoor clothing. "Shoes and coats, go on." She said and the two boys trudged over to the doorway reluctantly.

"Hey, Gin," Hermione said as she stood from the sofa. Ginny smiled her response, taking off her own coat and boots with a sigh of relief. "No Albus?" she asked and Ginny beamed.

"Mum's got him for the day so we can have a proper catch up." Ginny said with a bright smile and Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"Coffee?" Hermione asked, grabbing her own mug from the coffee table and heading towards the kitchen, shouting her question over her shoulder.

"Love one!" Ginny shouted in response, landing on the sofa with a quiet 'oomph' and a sigh as she ran her fingers through her long red hair.

Hermione returned a few minutes later, two mugs in her hands, setting each down on the table before landing on the sofa beside Ginny who was looking at the television with confusion.

"Have you never seen a TV before?" Hermione asked at Ginny's furrowed brows.

"No I have, Harry bought us one. I'm just trying to figure out why the brightest witch of her age would want to watch something like this. Isn't there a documentary you'd rather indulge in?" she asked with a laugh as Hermione picked up the remote, switching off the cartoons Rose had been enjoying.

"You're hilarious," Hermione said with faux offense before the two girls started laughing like they usually did.

They lapsed into comfortable conversation after that, the way they always used to. Hermione asked about Harry's work and how Ginny was managing with the 'he-devils' and Ginny asked about Hermione's job hunt and how her life at home was. Everything felt normal, as though Hermione had spent every Saturday for the last two years sat with Ginny, the kids running around while they spoke about their weeks and all that had happened. It was like she'd never left. The most eventful thing that seemed to happen was when Hermione sat all the kids down to lunch, letting them eat tiny sandwiches she'd cut with a cookie cutter, just how Rose liked them. Teddy seemed fascinated by his moon shaped ham sandwich that he didn't seem to want to eat it. She thought she'd managed to escape the entire day without a mention of Fred until her and Ginny were sat on the sofa again in the late afternoon, the Tv blaring something neither women was interested in.

"Hermione," Ginny began, and Hermione turned her attention to the woman who was watching her intently. "Is that Fred's jumper?" she asked and Hermione seized up. How could she know that? Sure he was her brother but plenty of men wore dark red jumpers, why would she think it was Freds.

"Of course not," Hermione scoffed in a way she hoped was believable. "Why would you even say that?" she said before picking her mug back up, taking a long gulp of her new coffee.

"It's got a giant 'F' on it," Ginny said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ah." Hermione said, looking instead at the stripy pattern of Ginny's green, long sleeved shirt to distract from the questioning look her ex-sister-in-law was giving her.

"Hermione," she said accusingly, but Hermione could hear the smile in her voice.

"Gin, honestly, it's not what it looks like," Hermione began but Ginny laughed.

"You're a terrible liar, 'Mione," she said with a laugh but Hermione just looked at her indignantly.

"I am not!" she announced sounding slightly offended. "Why do people keep saying that?" that was enough for Ginny, she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as he threw her head back. "Yeah yeah, its all very funny." Hermione said sounding bored but Ginny just continued to laugh. "Seriously, Ginny?" Hermione said and the girl began to calm down slightly.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione, but you're face was priceless!" she exclaimed and Hermione felt her mouth quirking up slightly. "So you slept with Fred?" Ginny said and Hermione felt her face flushing slightly.

"I never said that." She countered and Ginny scoffed.

"You really didn't have to," Ginny said with a bark of laughter. "So how was it? Was he gentleman? Did you sneak out after?" she asked, moving her legs so she sat facing Hermione with crossed legs, the way they used to in Hermione's dorm in Hogwarts.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, slapping the grils leg playfully. "This is your brother you're asking about." She said and Ginny's face screwed up in distaste.

"Actually, don't tell me," she said, her face falling into a look of horror. "I can't believe you had sex with my brother." She said and Hermione's eyes widened.

"You were ecstatic about it like five minutes ago," she pointed out but Ginny shrugged. "And technically it was two of your bothers," she said with a laugh that only grew when she saw Ginny's abhorred expression. It wasn't long until she joined in with the laughter though.

"So what's going on with the two of you now then?"Ginny asked, nibbling slightly on a biscuit she'd found in Hermione's kitchen.

"We had sex and now Fred wants us to be together." Hermione said absently, like she was talking about the weather, but Ginny clearly didn't take to the casual tone as she nearly choked on her biscuit.

"He wants you to be together?" she asked, her eyes watering from choking as she watched Hermione toying with a loose thread on the jumper's sleeve. "Hermione? What did you say?" Ginny pressed, climbing over the back of the sofa to sit next to Hermione again.

"I didn't," she said and could feel the disapproval emitting from Ginny, but before she gave the redhead a chance to intervene, she spoke up again. "He told me to think about it, and - well, I am thinking about it."

"There shouldn't be anything to think about," Ginny said before rolling her eyes at Hermione's blank expression. "Oh, come on, Hermione." Ginny said impatiently. "You had a crush on him in school-"

"I also had a crush of Victor Krum." Hermione countered.

"You saved his life in the war-"

"I also saved Lavenders."

"You were going to leave Ron for him-"

"That does not count as reasoning!" Hermione burst out, sitting up straight and levelling her gaze with Ginny's.

"Why not?" Ginny countered her voice strong and steady – she really was turning into her mother.

"Well for starters because I didn't know that you knew that," Hermione said, her words trailing off slightly at the end, making Ginny smirk. "And secondly because that was a decision made under stress. I felt Ron didn't love me and so I fell for the only guy to show me the slightest bit of affection." She said but Ginny didn't seem convinced.

"Puh-lease." Ginny said, "Fred would have been a better husband to you than Ron ever would have. Now I'm not taking sides, I love both of my brothers. But Ron's a fucking idiot. I love him, but some things don't change." She said, starting with a hand on her heart just to let the entire charade fall away. They stayed in silence after that, Hermione not sure how to react and Ginny really not wanting to push her.

Hermione knew she liked Fred, she knew it as well as she knew the entire contents of Hogwarts A: History cover to cover. That didn't mean there wasn't more to it, that there wasn't still things she needed to figure out before she went diving headlong into a relationship with him. Hermione had spent her whole life diving headlong into things after Harry and Ron. It seemed her logic only came in useful after they'd gotten themselves into a life threatening situation. Should now really be any different?

"He did love you, you know," Ginny said after the silence became a little awkward, the two of them just listening to the three children as they rummaged through Rose's toy chest. "He was gutted when you left. No one knew of course, he kept it pretty well hidden, but he fell apart. He spent months looking for you, searched the countryside in the hopes of finding you, and when he did, he was ecstatic."

"If you're trying to guilt me into being with him then you're really not thinking this through." Hermione said, her voice sounding bitterer than she'd intended it to. "Gin, I'm not saying I don't like him because I do, I really do," Hermione said and something in the way she said it must have convinced Ginny because the red-head nodded her assent, "But he's Ron's brother, that's going to cause some major complications and I don't want to drive a wedge between the two of them."

"Hermione," Ginny said, giving her the 'are-you-serious-look' that she'd perfected over the years of being with Harry. "There's been a wedge between them ever since he ended things and started spouting rubbish about you being a whore. Fred has his faults, trust me, he does. But he protects those he loves with his life."

"So you think I should go for it, then?" Hermione posed more as a question than a statement, Ginny giving her a sympathising look.

"I think you'll regret running away from this a second time."

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