Characters: Ron, Hermione
Prompt #47 Heart
Heart
Ron was cleaning out the spare room when he found it. He hadn't intended on keeping anything (Hermione had told him not to) but when it slipped out of the box marked 'Hogwarts' he felt he had no choice but to look at it. They were Hermione's things. Only she would keep a box of books she had used when she was eleven.
"Why does my brother's name have love hearts around it?" he questioned, shoving the book into her hand after meeting her downstairs. It was a book he remembered using in History of Magic in first and second year. It appeared that there were even times when Hermione wasn't listening to Professor Binns.
"What?" Hermione eyed her husband curiously and then opened the book to the first page. Along with a short introduction about what the book was about, underneath, written in big letters, was Fred Weasley. And Ron was right. It did have love hearts around it. "Oh."
"Oh?" Ron said. "My brother's name is in your book. Fred! Why is that?"
Hermione laughed, looking up at Ron's expressionless face. He was looking her right in the eye, demanding and answer. "Are you jealous, Ron?" she teased.
"I'm not jealous," Ron retorted, going slightly red. "I just... didn't know, that's all."
"I was eleven," Hermione explained, running her finger over the messy writing. "I was eleven years old and I met Fred and George on the train before I met you and Harry. I was feeling quite nervous because I didn't know anyone and it was your brothers that convinced me I'd make a good Gryffindor... like them. They were really nice to me and being eleven..." She trailed off, studying Ron's disbelieving face. No, it definitely wasn't jealousy she saw, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. He was feeling something.
"You... Fred?" he spluttered, shaking his head.
"No, it was just me with a crush on Fred. It lasted all of two weeks, Ron. I swear... not that I need to explain myself to you."
"Well, you never wrote my name in any books." Ron knew that. He had checked.
Hermione gave him an amused look. Was that what he wanted? For his name to be in a book she had when she was eleven years old? "Well, I can add it now if you'd like," she said, summoning a quill and resting its tip against the paper.
"No, that's stupid," Ron complained, taking the quill from her and eventually the book. His eyes narrowed as they once again read over Fred's name.
He looked rather hurt by it, though – Hermione didn't understand why – so she thought she better explain it for him.
"Ron," she said gently, wrapping her arms around his waist and drawing him closer to her. "The reason I never bothered with all that school-girl stuff after the age of... eleven was because what I felt for you wasn't just some stupid crush. You know that, right?"
"Well..."
"Yeah, I had a crush on Fred many, many years ago and I'm sorry I never told you about it, but I didn't think it was necessary. I was a kid and it was when you and Harry didn't want anything to do with me and I was rather friendless and..." She paused for a moment, taking in Ron's rapidly changing expressions. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, Ron," she said, watching his face fall at the mention of their time in first year when he hadn't liked her all that much. "I'm just speaking the truth."
Ron looked back up at her. "So, you liked Fred..." he prompted.
"I spent a lot of time in the library by myself and Fred and George were also in there –"
Ron raised an eyebrow at her.
"They weren't there to study," Hermione assured him. "They were there to cause trouble. But at the same time, they also spent a bit of time with me. It seemed they were the only ones who wanted anything to do with me – and even then, I think it was only because they thought they could manipulate me."
"How wrong they were."
Hermione smiled up at Ron, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him gently. "I was a bit desperate for friends then. I'm ashamed to admit that if they had asked me to do something, I probably would have done it. Just to prove that I wasn't some bossy know-it-all, like you all thought I was and I could break the rules."
Ron snorted, trying desperately to contain his laughter. The idea of Hermione being part of Fred and George's escapades amused him greatly. He couldn't even picture it.
"Well maybe if you'd been a little nicer to me, I wouldn't have been brought to their level... or to liking Fred," Hermione said, accusation thick in her voice. "I tried really hard to get you and Harry to like me, but you couldn't even bare to sit beside me in class. I did like a Weasley in first year, but for the love of Merlin I didn't think you'd be the one I was married to eighteen years later."
This time it was Ron who kissed her. He smiled, his mouth pressed firmly against hers. "Well, things change," he said. "I just don't get why you never told me about it."
Hermione moved her hands from his waist to his neck. "I never thought it was something of importance," she told him truthfully. "I'd actually forgotten all about it until you brought this book to me."
Ron discarded the book that was still in his hand and pulled away from her, his expression serious again. "So... what if Harry and I had never become friends with you... would you and Fred..." He couldn't bear to finish the sentence. Even the thought of her being with anyone else – even a brother who was now dead – made him feel rather ill.
Hermione shook her head. "Do you want to know the truth, Ron?" she asked, giving him a wide smile. "When I really got to know Fred and George, I was turned off. I mean, I love George because he's family and I loved Fred too, but the thought of being married to either of them..."
"You've got to feel for Angelina," Ron conceded.
Hermione pressed her lips to Ron's again. "But don't worry; I'd put love hearts around your name any day," she assured him. "You just have to ask."
I had fun writing this one. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'd really appreciate some reviews!