"There are certain people who come into your life, and leave a mark... Their place in you hear is tender; a bruise of longing, a pulse of unfinished business. Just hearing their names pushes and pulls at you in a hundred ways, and when you try to define those hundred ways, describe them even to yourself, words are useless."- Sweethearts

I closed the door behind me and put up a locking spell I had been using to make sure no one could get into my room. I put on the long stockings that women were required to wear and then pulled on the long chemise like dress. Finally I pulled on the actual dress. It was a dark red, one that matched the red Fred often wore. It had long sleeves that flared out at the elbow with lace trim. It was simple, solid in color with a full skirt and a scoop necked bodice, and a gold belt. I left my hair down, after shooting a cleansing charm at it. I pulled some of it back so that it didn't appear quite as bushy and then slipped on the uncomfortable heeled shoes I had to wear. Satisfied with my appearance I left for the hall where I would be escorted with the others to dinner.

I entered the hall self consciously, this was the most time I had spent on my appearance since I had arrived, I hoped I looked alright. My eyes went to Fred instantly, and I was thrilled to see a big grin lift his lips as he saw me.

"Lady Hermione!" Arthur exclaimed, and it caused me to tear my eyes away from Fred slightly sadly. "You are truly a vision of beauty. Never has such a prescience of beauty graced our castle halls." He stepped towards me and gently took my hand, kissing it softly before letting go of it again. I blushed under his gaze and tried not to fidget. I was keenly aware of Fred's gaze on me and would have given anything to be able to walk up to him and press a quick kiss to his cheek or hold his hand. Anything to let Arthur know that I was dating him.

"Milord, you are too kind." I murmured quietly, lowering my eyes and trying to think of some way out of this embarrassing situation.

"Dinner is ready, Milord."

"Excellent, come, let us dine together." He grasped my hand and pulled me forward, letting it go begrudgingly as we walked towards the banquet hall. I felt Fred come up beside me and I fought the urge to sigh.

Dinner was a long, long, awkward affair just as I feared it would be. Arthur had me sit beside him and Fred sat on my other side. I held his hand under the table during dinner, but he was tense and upset the entire meal. That really bothered me, far more than I would have thought it would. Shouldn't I be thrilled that Fred was jealous? I Just felt sick instead, I wanted to reassure him that I was only interested in him, but I couldn't. I couldn't lean over and kiss him or tell him that I loved him.

Loved him? Did I really love him? I like him, a lot, but was it love? I mean, we had only been dating for a little over two weeks… However, I'd known him for eight years. I had been spending a lot of time alone with him, and it was my favorite time of day. I dreamt of him, and couldn't wait to see him, but was it love? My thoughts had gone from Dinner, to Arthur, to Fred, to love in less than a minute, and while it wasn't really all that rational, I knew it was. I had fallen in love with Fred sometime in the last three weeks, and I wasn't sure when, but I had. I didn't know if it was because of his flirting, because he was the only single one I knew, or if it had been building since he'd sat up with me when we'd first arrived, but I had fallen in love with Fred Weasley.

I bit my lip nervously and glanced at Fred out of the corner of my eye. Dinner was almost finished, so I'd be able to excuse myself without needing an excuse. I could get away from this awkwardness and think about what I had just discovered.

"Lady Mirana has agreed to give you the lessons that your father requested for you." Arthur said, drawing my attention back to him. I kept my face calm as my mind raced to remember what it was that he was talking about.

Oh, I was supposed to be learning how to become a lady of the court, I'd forgotten all about that with everything that was going on. Godric, what were those lessons going to entail?

"Thank you, Milord." I said, smiling pleasantly and squeezing Fred's hand under the table. I rubbed my thumb against the back of it before letting go of it and pushing my chair back.

"If Milord will excuse me, I need to retire for the night. Thank you for the wonderful dinner." I stood up from the chair and bowed again before turning and leaving. I let my hand run along the back of Fred's chair, making it look like I was using it for support, and let my fingers brush the back of Fred's neck. He tensed up at the feel and I allowed myself a slight smile. He'd be visiting me before the nights end, which was exactly what I had wanted.

I made my way back to my room quietly, my thoughts on Fred. I was in love with him, I hadn't know I could fall in love in just three weeks, but I had. How would he react, what would he think? I finally just decided not to let it worry me, things would unfold however they wanted to. I reached my room moments later and sat down on my bed.

If I really thought about it, the changing moment for my relationships happened at the wall. When it collapsed on top of Fred I started to notice my feelings changing towards him and Ron. I started wanting to spend more time with Fred, and less with Ron. Honestly, Ron and I never really had a relationship. Our timing was never right, but that didn't bug me at all now. I was extremely glad I wasn't dating him. I'd have never gotten to take a chance with Fred and realize just how much he meant to me. Whoever said you never knew how much you loved something until it was gone. I hadn't realized I could, (and did) like him as more than a friend, much more than a friend.

I heard the door to my room open and I stood up, holding my wand up and aiming it at the door. Fred stood there, his blue eyes narrow and his face set in a firm line. My heart leapt to my throat and I found myself frozen as I looked at his eyes. His wand was gripped firmly in his hand as he stood there, breathing heavily as he shut the door behind him. He waved his wand and I felt the buzz in my ears that muffliato caused. He stepped towards me and tossed his wand on the bed before he was in front of me. He grabbed my waist roughly and tugged my hips to his as his other hand grabbed my head and pulled me towards his lips. He pressed a heated kiss to my lips and deepened it when I gasped.

He kept walking backwards, not stopping until I was pressed up against the wall. His arm tightened around me, tugging me still closer before he moved his hand from my waist to the wall by my head. He tugged my curls and pressed his face even closer to mine, it was almost as if he was trying to merge our two bodies into one. I finally unfroze and raised my arms to his neck, wrapping them around him tightly and running my fingers through his long locks. It was intoxicating and intense and wonderful, and slightly alarming. I'd never seen him so frantic, he'd lost all the cool the twins were famous for. His lips pressed firmly against my own as his hand disentangled itself from my hair and lowered to my neck, gently brushing the skin there before sliding down my body to rest at my waist. I moaned into the kiss as he ran his hand down my leg before bringing it back up to my cup my face.

Unable to hold our breath any more he broke the kiss and took another deep breath before going back for my lips. He deepened it again and moved his lips more firmly against me. I returned it just as fervently even though I was beginning to get a little worried. As if sensing my worry Fred backed off some, slowing the kiss down and making it more tender and satisfying. He brushed his thumb against my jaw, causing me to shiver against him at how intimate the gesture felt. He pulled away, and I took in a deep breath, my eyes no doubt extremely wide and surprised.

He looked at me with equally wide eyes, he took a breath and my eyes shot to his lips, they were darker, swollen, and fuller looking, making me want to go back at them. I was extremely warm and flushed and confused. What had made him so upset, and what had made him just snog the daylights out of me?

"Fred?" I asked with a breathy voice. My arms were still locked around his neck.

"I'm sorry." He said in equally breathy voice. "I didn't mean to snog you like that…" He trailed off, looking nervous. He loosened his hold on me and he seemed to be trying to pull away from me. I tightened my grip on him, not letting him get away.

"I didn't mind." I said back, my voice returning to normal. "Just let me know ahead of time so I can cast a silencing charm on the room." I took a breath and smiled at him, biting my lip nervously before asking the next question I had. "Why did you do it? I mean besides the fact that it was fun."

"I got a little jealous." He said with a sigh. "I mean, he was flirting with you and touching your hand and complementing you and I couldn't do anything about it. I can't touch you or it makes you look like a prostitute. I can't compete with him, he's a king!"

"You don't have to compete, you're the one I'm dating. You're the one who is allowed in my room at night, you're the one I let shove me against a wall." I told him, lowering my arms so they were wrapped around his chest in a firm hug. I didn't want him doubting himself, I liked him much better than Arthur, I was in love with him.

"I know that we're dating, but he'll never know it. He won't give me permission to court you now. He kept talking about you after you left, he was drilling Harry about you." He sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, tightening his hold around me. Arthur had really rattled him, it scared me a little bit. I needed to let him know he didn't have to worry, I needed to tell him how I felt. "Isn't he supposed to be married to Guinevere?"

"She's not here yet, he'll meet her in a few years." I said softly, fighting an internal debate. I took a deep breath and pulled back enough to look him in the eye. "Fred, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not interested in Arthur because I'm in love with you." His eyes widened almost comically and if I hadn't been so nervous I would have laughed at his expression of utter disbelief. He blinked repeatedly and I felt the urge to continue, just to break the silence. "I'm not expecting you to return the feelings, and I know it's only been two weeks that we've been seriously dating, but I wanted you to know that you don't have to worry about me."