Lips of an Angel

Hinder

Hermione feels she may have made a horrible mistake/ HrF

Honey why you calling me so late?
It's kinda hard to talk right now.

Her fingers hovered over the keys like they were dangerous and she unwilling to commit to the poison they carried.

Hermione sighed and tossed her phone on her bed then followed it there, landing face first on the pillow. How did you go about saying you made a mistake when you were the smartest person in the room?

The team would be expecting her in at any moment. They had launched the new site last night and after celebrations, they had split up and gone home and now Hermione was alone with her own thoughts.

She knew she should go into work. It would be easier to get out of her own mind if she was in the building, getting work done on the site. She wasn't stupid enough to think it had all gone over without a hitch.

Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?

Her phone rang and she sat up, fumbling for it. She answered it before she even knew who was calling.

"Hello?" she gasped.

There was silence on the other end and even without looking at the caller-ID she knew it was Fred.

"I...I had to hear your voice," he said.

"I thought we weren't doing this again," she said and immediately regretted it. You're the smartest person in our company, she thought, and you can't talk to the man you love?

I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud

"You're right," he began.

"Wait!" Words tumbled from her lips faster than her mind could keep up with them. "We started a new site and I would love some feedback and I know you have a good eye for schematics and looks. And if you come down to the shop and take a look at it for me, I'll be happy to treat you to lunch at the canteen and we can..." The words failed her.

"Sure," he said, sounding hesitant. "But, Hermione, you know..."

"You're with April. Right. But it's not like I'm asking you out," she said and thumped her head against the headboard of her bed.

"Right," he said. "Just some consultant work."

"Yeah. Uh, see you in a bit?"

"I guess."

Well, my girl's in the next room

When Ron and Harry started dating, Hermione pretended she hadn't seen it coming. Hermione of course still loved Ron and she loved Harry but she'd known for a long time that these two were never going to be her lovers but rather her brothers.

So Hermione had taken a step back and found Fred. He was sweet and funny and he never made her feel any less than one hundred percent amazing.

Sometimes I wish she was you

So the question was, how had they gotten to the break up phase? Hermione wasn't sure and she could only imagine. Here she was with a broken heart and memories that said it was all her own fault.

Now, here she was, wanting him back so badly. Her hands curled around her styrofoam cup of coffee and waiting to talk to Ginny. After Fred had agreed to have lunch with her, she had made an emergency call to Ginny.

Her best friend was hellfire and brimstone and one of the best publicists in the business. Ginny slid behind the table and slipped her ballpoint behind her ear and signaled the waiter.

I guess we never really moved on

"So," Ginny said once a cup of coffee was in front of her. "Fred."

There was no question in her voice and she slugged back the godawful coffee like it was vodka and she intent on dying of liver failure.

"Fred," Hermione agreed.

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name

Ginny laced her fingers together. "Am I talking you into something, our of something or just listening?"

"The first...the second...hell, all of it."

Ginny chuckled and pulled the pen from behind her ear again. She twirled it around between her fingers. Hermione had introduced her to ballpoints and computers and the internet and Ginny had taken to it like a fish to water. She was ruthless and manipulative and she got serious results.

It sounds so sweet

With that came the ability to tell it like it was, one of the things Hermione valued her for.

"You loved Ron and Harry," Ginny said, signalling for another coffee. The waiter came over and Ginny's smile was luminescent.

Cup full of coffee and a platter of donuts between them, Ginny went on. "Okay, so we both know that you loved them the way I love Ron and Fred and George and Bill and Charlie and Percy. And you. But you also love them the way I loved Harry."

"The way you love Neville?" Hermione prompted.

Coming from the lips of an angel

Ginny took a sip from her coffee with a new smile on her lips. This one was soft at the edges, like a sunrise behind clouds.

"Neville is a different kind of amazing. Always has been. I've always been in love with him. A very different kind of love from what I thought I had with Harry. But no less real."

Hermione wanted Ginny to keep talking about Neville so she could avoid thinking about Fred and the lunch with him.

Hearing those words it makes me weak

"You didn't call me here to talk about my love life," Ginny said, grabbing a donut and putting roughly half of it in her mouth.

"I'm seeing Fred later."

Ginny stopped chewing, her cheeks full like a chipmunk's and leveled a look at Hermione that she didn't need words to decipher.

"I want to talk to him but I don't know how."

And I never wanna say goodbye

"Don't look at me," Ginny said after she swallowed the donut. "You're the one who scored top of her class."

"You are...not wrong," Hermione admitted it slowly, like the words were unfamiliar to her.

Ginny set down the other half of her donut and curled her fingers around the styrofoam of her coffee. "It's different when it's not in books. You have the knowledge of a thousand worlds in your head and you have a mind that lets you think every possible outcome through. But...love always has variables that we don't foresee."

It was not what Hermione wanted to hear but she hadn't invited Ginny here to listen to platitudes about how she would win Fred back, that they were perfect together, that he was a fool for letting her go, etc, etc.

But girl you make it hard to be faithful

"I don't know when it got off track," Hermione said, staring into the swirling depths of her own coffee.

"None of us ever do," Ginny replied. "You think I can point to a time and say that was when I realized that Harry and I were never going to be together? There are no great moments of clarity in life. There are general time frames where we can say between this month and the next I realized I wanted to be with Neville but five years from now that's not the story I'll tell. We all want it clean cut like a Disney movie. I saw him, he saw me, we danced, we laughed, we fell in love."

"Playing fast and loose with your time line, aren't you?" Hermine said, trying out a smile.

Ginny laughed. "We all do it, Mione. So the best thing I can say to you right now is, decide what part of your time line you're in. Is this the part where you let him go and move on or is this the part where you realize you still love him and fight for him?"

With the lips of an angel

As much as Hermione loved Ginny, her best friend was not always as comforting as Hermione might hope. She managed to spend the morning letting herself get distracted by minor fixes to the next site they were going to launch, which wasn't due out until next month. She tried not to think overlong on what Ginny had said but of course it all bubbled to the surface and at the most random times.

She would be working on a bit of html and next thing she knew she was wondering if there could be someone she ever felt about the way she felt about Fred.

She would be writing a memo and she would wonder if Fred would be wearing that cologne she got him last year.

It's funny that you're calling me tonight

The day went on and on in this vein, seeming to last so much longer than a day should last. Finally, lunch came and with it Fred.

Hermione was down in their building's canteen and waiting. She had had so much coffee today that she was practically vibrating but everything seemed to come into preternatural focus when she saw Fred walking across the canteen.

And, yes, I've dreamt of you too

Unlike some others, Hermione had never had a problem telling the twins apart. Fred and George walked differently. George walked with an almost imperceptible limp. Fred walked with a slight slant to the side George limped on as if in sympathy.

Fred slurred his words together when he got excited while George was always perfect in his diction, slowing down when he got excited as if diction was a matter of pride for him. Fred ran his thumb across the side of his nose when he was thinking about something he didn't want to be thinking about.

There were a thousand quirks that the twins themselves probably weren't even aware of. But Hermione knew them all.

And does he know you're talking to me

Fred sat down opposite her and she put on the most sincere smile she could muster. "Hey, Fred. Did you get a chance to look over the site?"

"I did," he said. "I had a few suggestions," he went on hesitantly.

Hermione had always been one to separate work from personal and she did that now. She and Fred spent almost half an hour going over his suggestions for the site and she enjoyed the give and take of negotiating creative differences.

Will it start a fight

Hermione almost didn't notice the time until she realized they were the only ones left in the canteen. "Oh," she said, looking around. "I guess I should get going."

"You didn't even touch your lunch," Fred pointed out.

He was right. Her club sandwich and chips were on the table, completely untouched. The chips were lukewarm but she ate a few anyway.

No I don't think she has a clue

"You need more than that," he said.

"Well, I guess I am boss," she said. "But do you need to go?"

"Nah, George said something about taking as much time as I needed."

I'll bet he did, Hermione thought. George Weasley was the biggest fanboy ever when it came to Fred and Hermione as a couple.

"Oh, how is Ginny working out for you?" Hermione asked. Fred and George had decided to do some marketing and Hermione had talked to Ginny about the contract. Since it wasn't a conflict of interest, they'd both agreed that Ginny should work for her brothers if she felt comfortable doing so.

Well my girl's in the next room

"She's doing great," Fred said. "Profits are up but mostly she's just easy to work with. Thanks for lending her."

"I had nothing to do with that," Hermione said which was mostly true. When the contract had opened up, she had made Ginny know that it was entirely her decision and that Hermione would back it one way or another. Hermione had had to do that a few times already and she knew that more were coming. Ginny was one of the best in the area and she was rapidly making a name for herself.

Ginny had been a little reluctant to work for Fred and George just because she knew about Hermione's history with Fred and wasn't sure if it would strain their own relationship.

Sometimes I wish she was you

Hermione didn't have the blind spot with Fred that she'd had for the longest time with Ron but she still appreciated the thought.

"Besides," she went on. "Try making Ginny do something she doesn't want to do or vice versa."

Fred laughed and grabbed a few of his chips. "Yeah, she's pretty willful. I understand she's turning into a hot commodity."

"She's been offered contracts for several major wizarding companies and she's even been approached by the Daily Prophet."

Fred shook his head. "I guess her tenacity is finally paying off."

"Good thing she's got Neville to temper her more homicidal urges," Hermione mused.

I guess we never really moved on

"Yeah. I'm glad she ended up with him. She would walk all over Harry," Fred said.

"I guess some things just happen for a reason," she said.

"Like us?" he asked softly.

She wanted to start crying and beg him back but that was not who she really was. She folded her hands in her lap and met Fred's eyes.

"I miss you," she said.

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name

Fred kept her gaze. "I miss you too. Hermione...why did you really invite me here?"

"Why did we break up?" she asked. "I've been asking myself that for weeks now. I can't answer it."

"I'm with April," he said.

It sounds so sweet

"That's not an answer," she pointed out.

Fred sighed. "Trust you to make that distinction, Mione. I'll answer yours if you answer mine."

"Yes," she said succinctly. "I do appreciate your input on my work but I also wanted to see you. If I didn't I would have just sent Ginny to talk to you about the site."

"I think we broke up because neither of us were sure it was real," Fred said.

Coming from the lips of an angel

Hermione didn't want to ask the next question but it tumbled from her lips before she could stop herself.

"Is it?"

Fred's face was like a hit to the gut. There was no doubt in his expression that he felt the same way as her.

Hearing those words it makes me weak

"I'm sorry," he said, getting up. "I'll pay for lunch."

"No," she said, feeling tears building. "I've got this."

He stood there a moment longer as if trying to decide what he could say if anything but Hermione knew there was nothing to say.

And I never wanna say goodbye

Hermione kept it together until she was in her office. Then she put her head down and cried it out.

Ginny didn't even bother knocking, just came into the room like she owned it. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it as Hermione ugly cried. She didn't offer comfort, just stood there, her face impassive.

Finally, Hermione had herself under control. She wiped off her face and looked up at Ginny.

"Feel better?" Ginny asked.

But girl you make it hard to be faithful

"No," Hermione answered honestly.

"Do I want to know how it went?" Ginny asked.

"Can't you guess?"

"I still want to know."

"I still love him," Hermione said.

"We knew that," Ginny said, coming over and taking a seat on her desk. "But what-"

"He loves me too," Hermione burst in.

With the lips of an angel

"If only that were the only obstacle," Ginny said. "What do you want to do now?"

"Same as always," Hermione said, visibly getting a hold of herself. "I'm going to put my head down, work on these sites and when everything is set, I'm going to win that idiot back."

Ginny laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing," Ginny said. "Nothing at all."

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name

Summer bled into fall and then winter and finally spring before Hermione saw Fred next. The company was doing well and she still contracted both George and him on occasion to look over some rough designs and even more polished projects but she kept her distance. She met with George on occasion and he made it clear that he understood why she didn't need to see Fred.

She got accounts vicariously through Ginny though for some reason around Christmas, Ginny more or less stopped the updates. Hermione, so busy with new projects for the company, barely noticed except to make a note of it in her day planner.

Then there was Ron and Harry's wedding in late February.

Things finally settled back into a normal rhythm in mid March and Hermione finally wondered why Ginny had stopped talking about the twins.

It sounds so sweet

She was on her way into the building when she saw Fred. Everything stuttered to a stop then restarted when he looked up and smiled at her.

"Hey," he said. "Got time for breakfast?"

She didn't, not really. But just that moment Ginny walked through. "Oh, Hermione." She looked at her brother then back to Hermione. "I've got this. Take your time." There was something knowing about her look.

Coming from the lips of an angel

"I guess I have time after all," she said.

He smiled and gestured to a nearby table. "After you."

She took a seat and ordered toast and eggs over easy. Fred joined her, ordering hash browns and a poached egg. The breakfast and lunch at the canteen had gotten better, thanks to a joint effort by Ginny and Hermione back in the fall.

"It's good to see you," he said.

Hearing those words it makes me weak

"You too," she said.

"How is work doing?"

"Going?" she prompted with a smile.

"Tell me," he insisted with his own grin.

And I never wanna say goodbye

She went on about work while their breakfast was delivered then he went on about the joke shop. Things were going well for both of them, it seemed. Hermione didn't know how to broach it but she wanted to ask about his relationship. He had come to Harry and Ron's wedding by himself but so had George even though he was dating Angelina and things seemed to be getting serious.

But girl you make it hard to be faithful

"So I think Neville is planning to ask Ginny the question," Fred said over their third cup of coffee.

"Good," Hermione said.

"We all agree. He's been asking leading questions around the shop. Like would she prefer a diamond or something a bit more unique. Things of that nature."

"Unique. Maybe a white sapphire or a star garnet."

"Didn't think of the star garnet. She'd love that."

With the lips of an angel

"You seeing anyone?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Good," he replied. "I mean, I want you to be happy and all but..."

And I never wanna say goodbye

"How about you and April?" she asked, not sure how to progress.

"We broke up," he said. "Back around Christmas."

"Good," she said. She got to her feet and leaned across the table to kiss him. It was sloppy and he tasted like coffee. His hand came up to cup her head.

"I love you," she said.

"Good," he replied and they both laughed.

But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

Honey why you calling me so late?

A/N: Happy New Year! Have some Fred/Hermione fluff! Have it, I say!

So, a quick update on my original writing. As I mentioned prior, I got a few poems published through Soft Cartel. I also have had a short story published through Kingdoms in the Wild. It was a great little venue and anyone out there looking to get some of their original fiction out there, I recommend it. Also, let me know if you get a story in there and I'll come check it out!

The link to my story: kingdomsinthewild dot com /short-fic-heather-hunt-after-the-last-drop