New chapter
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...
Fred was alone at the Burrow. He was waiting for Hermione and Kingsley to come back from the Ministry so they could depart together to Hermione's house.
It was Fred's third week at the Burrow, his fourth week since he had woken up from his coma and he could not believe how his life had changed in just a few weeks.
Suddenly all his dreams were coming true. He had been scared at the beginning but not anymore. He had not wanted to believe that he could be that lucky but it was not luck, it was magic: Hermione's love had saved his life and he had gladly accepted the idea.
Of course, he was afraid of what they would find out about his fate, the time turner and Hermione's.
However, no matter what they might learn, Fred was not going to let his fears dragging him down-everything was connected, they just did not know how. Evidently, Hermione was determined to resolve this equation and she would...
He had got a second chance, he was not going to waste it.
Fred glanced at the clock, it was almost noon. Hermione and Kingsley were about to arrive. He smiled genuinely, he was happy that Hermione had asked him to go with her. He had been at her house once, for less than ten minutes, three years ago when his father had ordered him and George to pick her up, so she could spend the summer with them at Grimmauld Place. The impressions that he had got that day were that Hermione's mother was a posh grownup version of Hermione with straight hair, that the house was too big for just three people, and too clean.
...
...
About thirty minutes later, they were ready to leave. Fred could see that Hermione was nervous.
They knew that Death Eaters had visited her house, Kingsley had informed Hermione about it days ago however he had not said what condition the house was in so they had no idea about what they were going to find. Hopefully it would not be as bad as the state of the Burrow... Fred had not seen it but everybody had told him that it was really bad.
Nevertheless, he could not define why Hermione was that nervous or guess that it had not much to do with the possible state of her house.
...
...
The house had clearly been visited by Death Eaters but curiously most of the items in the house were intact. Fred said jokingly that the Death Eaters might have been afraid of the toaster, the video recorder and the microwave. Hermione and Kingsley laughed as they were imagining the Death Eaters running away from the house after trying to turn on one of the domestic appliances.
Kingsley stated that Hermione could move back in if she wanted. He added that the house was under the protection of the Order. Hermione reminded him that she had accepted Andromeda's offer and that she was really looking forward to live with Harry and Andromeda at Grimmauld Place.
« I know that it sounds silly but Harry is like a brother to me and Andromeda is like a second mother to me, she had even warned us that we will have rules to follow and I need that, I need to have a home. Please Fred don't think that I don't appreciate your parents' hospitality but... »
He interrupted her, he had to.
« Don't worry, I understand. I am also looking forward to move back to the flat with George and bringing you home after your curfew. » smirked Fred.
Kingsley chuckled and admitted that he had thought that perhaps the two lovers would like to move in together and Hermione's house would have been the perfect place for it. Fred and Hermione giggled, it was too soon for them to think about something like that.
They both had been through a lot and for the sake of their relationship they knew that moving together was not a good idea, it was too soon. Besides, Hermione would leave to Hogwarts at the end of the summer.
...
They talked for a while, sitting around the table in the dining room, about everything and nothing. Fred asked how the time turner's hunt was going, Hermione almost stopped breathing when he did but luckily Kingsley did not notice. He was too angry for that. The hunt was a complete disaster, they had not even got half of the registered time turners, the owners were pretending to have lost them or to have been robbed.
« Even Minerva cannot find hers, it is driving me crazy, bunch of liars. I am not blaming Minerva, her time turner is probably the only one that had really been stolen. We've looked everywhere, it is not at Hogwarts. » conceded Kingsley.
Hermione asked if he was still thinking that the Death Eaters had it or that they were looking for it. The Minister shook his head. Just like them, he had made some research and had found out that this time turner was a basic one, useless to change something that had happened more than a month ago.
« And actually this is what is driving me crazy Kids. I just don't understand why someone would steal a time turner than can only make you travel few hours back when some of them can take you to the middle age or the 25th century. It had been taken during the battle, I am sure about it but why and by whom, I have no clue and honestly since I've learnt that no damage can be done with this one, I kind of have stopped looking for it, at least for now. I have to catch Dolohov, Rookwood and Lestrange first, that is my and the Aurors' priority. » explained Kingsley who was still visibly worried about the three Death Eaters.
Fred and Hermione's eyes met, they were relieved. They could investigate, nobody was suspecting them and as long as the three morons would be out, nobody would really care about Prof. McGonagall's time turner.
« Well, I have to go back to the Ministry. Hermione, Fred, only you two can travel here and I of course so you are safe here. You can travel here from every open floo network but nobody can follow you. It is quite amazing really, people working at the Department of Magical Transportation are doing an amazing job and with that said, I can leave you two alone. Hermione see you tomorrow at the Ministry and Fred, I will see you around. » he said as he was stepping into the chimney.
Hermione and Fred stood and watched him disappear.
Once he was gone, Fred wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed her tenderly. It awoke the butterflies in Hermione' stomach and reminded her the purpose of this trip.
Fred had pronounced the three magic words, she had pronounced them too and he knew that she was a virgin so Hermione was quite sure that Fred would not be surprised to find out that she had written his name on her V card, even if she had done it two years ago, but still she was terribly nervous. Her speech was prepared but being alone with Fred, in her house, knowing that nobody else could come was intimidating and she did not know how to start.
Fred was observing her, he asked her what was wrong and if she wanted to leave. She kissed him on the cheek and told him that she was fine. She said that she had the feeling that it was no longer her house, that the Hermione that used to live in this house was gone.
« So much had happened in one year. I don't even know if my parents are alive or not, I miss them so much, I cannot live here without them, never but I had to come. One last bit of myself is here Fred and it really matters to me and I want to share it with you. I need to share it with you before to say goodbye to my house. I hope that you are not going to think that I am crazy » she said worriedly.
Fred did not know what to answer. He would have never imagined that Hermione had asked him to come for something more than mental support. He hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear that she could tell him everything, that he would always support her.
She broke their embrace and dragged him upstairs without saying anything. Her heart was beating faster than ever, just like she had imagined except that she was no longer dreaming, Fred was really her boyfriend and she was really about to give him her V card.
She still wanted to curse Lavender for giving her the card and herself for accepting it without asking anything but maybe for once in her life, fate was not going to play a trick on her. Besides, she didn't have the intention of losing her virginity that same afternoon, she just wanted to give it to Fred and talk about it. She also wanted to tell him that they should brew the potion to be ready when the perfect timing would come. After all, she was still Hermione Granger and Hermione Granger always anticipated everything.
...
...
Upstairs, she first gave him a tour of the floor, the master bedroom of her parents, the bathroom, the loo, the two extra bedrooms before to finally take him to her room.
They were both silent.
Fred was in deep thoughts, something important had just occurred to him. Fred had never cared about people's wealth but some people did care about it.
Hermione's parents were rich that was easy to guess after visiting their house and he was thinking that Hermione's parents would probably not be thrilled about their relationship. He did not know them and it was bad to have prejudices but somehow he could not picture her parents coming to the Burrow for lunch on Sunday...
He was not ashamed of who he was and Hermione was clearly at ease when she was at the Burrow but he had never forgotten the way that her mother had been staring at him and George when they had come three years ago. It had not been the look of someone who would approve their relationship or accept the fact that her talented daughter was dating someone who had dropped out of school to open a joke shop.
Hermione was not easily influenced, she had proved that over the years but a part of Fred was happy to do not have Hermione's mother around, they had enough with his own mother. Of course, he wanted the Aurors to find her parents alive but he would be glad to have them back after the summer, once they would be in a real, steady relationship. He was mentally cursing himself for thinking like that but he had wanted Hermione for years, he did not want to lose her.
He had stopped listening to Hermione so when she asked him if he was ready, he simply nodded. He did not know what she was talking about though
Hermione raised an eyebrow, she had been about to ask him to repeat what she had just said but she did not want to argue with her boyfriend. She was anxious, Fred had the right to be nervous too, so she smiled and said :
« And behind that door, my room. »
...
She opened the door and stepped into what had been, a long time ago, her sanctuary.
In silence, Fred followed her inside. They were both expecting the room to have been turned upside down but it was exactly as Hermione had left it a year ago just like the rest of the house.
Fred observed the room, the walls painted in lilac, the shelves full of books, the small bed...
He walked around the room, asking Hermione a lot of questions. Some made her laugh, some made her uncomfortable. Among others, he asked why she had not vanished from the pictures.
« Muggle repellent charm. I did not want all of my life to vanish. I have barely spent time here over the last few years but my room is a part of me, where my muggle self and witch self used to connect. »
Fred then asked why she had never said that she was buying Hogwarts' yearbook each year, it was not something very popular. It would have been more popular if four yearbooks had been done, one for each house, indeed only few students wanted to buy a book with pictures of their school's enemies in it, but Dumbledore had always refused to make a yearbook per house, Hogwarts was one school, not four.
« My parents always asked me to buy it. I could not say no because that was all they had to understand what my life was, what Hogwarts was. Besides, my father was fascinated by the animated pictures. » explained Hermione who was trying to reply to Fred's questions with the most accurate answers as if it was a sort of exam.
Fred nodded and took the yearbook of 1995-1996, he had left school before he had the chance to see which pictures had been picked. He was looking for the seventh year pages, he was curious to see if his and George's pictures had been included as they had left school a few days after the pictures had been taken. He found the page with his picture easily as there was a blue bookmark in that page. He chuckled and asked Hermione if the bookmark had been left there for Roger Davies.
Hermione rolled her eyes and replied with a smirk that it was not there for Roger Davies but for George.
« Well George always says that he is the best looking twin. You should have asked him to sign it,» mocked Fred.
« Actually, I had thought about asking you to sign it but you had left school before I had got it but at least I have got pictures of you. I know that your mother has pictures from all the summers that I have spent with you and your family but it is not the same and I could not ask your mother to give me pictures of you, that would have been weird. » stated Hermione.
Fred laughed at the idea. He was surprised that his mother had not sent her pictures of Ron though. Hermione revealed that his mother did give her a few pictures of Ron, they were in a box with pictures of Harry and others with herself with her two best friends.
She sat on her bed and told Fred that she wanted pictures of him, of them together and that they should buy a camera. Fred agreed and while he was pursuing his inspection of Hermione's room, he confessed that he had stolen a picture of her and that the picture was hidden in his socks' drawer, in his room at the flat. Hermione was flattered and genuinely wondering how come nobody, except Luna, had ever guessed that they were in love with each other.
...
Fred had a look at a few books before to finally sit next to Hermione.
« It is really you, well organised, clean and with way too many books for a teenager, I love it. » he said with a grin on his face.
« Really me, yes I guess it does fit with the teenager that I used to be. » she said elusive.
Fred knew her very well, he knew that she was mentally blaming herself again. It was time to talk about something more cheerful.
« So are you going to tell me which one I should take? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Alice in Wonderland? Both seem to be hiding one or two good ideas that we could work on to create new products. » said Fred enthusiastically.
She smiled and replied that he could take both. They exchanged a few ideas but soon the silence came back. Fred wanted to know what Hermione wanted to share with him but he was afraid to ask her directly. He did not want to make it more awkward than it already was.
Not that he was complaining about spending time with her at her house, he loved to spend time with her but he would rather be at a less gloomy place. He had the feeling to be disturbing the now forever frozen memories of this house.
He took the snow globe that was on her bedside table, it had caught his attention. He knew that Muggles loved those things but he had never really understood why. For him, it was just a crystal ball with something inside.
« If you push the button on the back, the ballerina moves to the sound of a delicate melody. » said Hermione.
Fred tried to make it work. He was looking like a kid who had got the wrong gift on Christmas day. Hermione laughed and told him that the battery was probably dead, Fred looked devastated while Hermione could not stop laughing.
« Don't worry, I have batteries on the first drawer of my bedside table. » she managed to say between two bursts of laughter.
As he was opening the drawer, she froze. She had just remembered what was in there too, above her V card. She did try to stop him, she had not planned it like that, she was the one who was supposed to open her drawer. Obviously, it was too late, Fred had already opened it and taken the batteries.
...
Fortunately for Hermione, Fred did not seem to care about the blue box. He probably did not know what they were anyway. She knew that they were absolutely not common use in the Wizarding world. Harry had once mentioned them in front of Ron. Ron had never heard of them before and after Harry had explained to him what they were, he looked disgusted.
Fred was more open minded but Hermione really hoped that he would not ask what those things were and not ask why she had them in her bedside table because that would be terribly embarrassing but this was Fred and of course he asked Hermione.
« Those are the batteries, I've seen some already, even bought once but just one silly question what's inside of this box? »
Hermione looked away and turned beetroot red. Fred could swear that he had never seen her that red before and he had seen her blushing a lot lately so that was saying something...
She mumbled something that he did not understand so he agitated the box under her nose and repeated his question.
She gulped before to raise her gaze to meet his hazel eyes. How was she going to explain him what they were without mentioning the elephant in the room? As she was still not replying, he opened the box that, he noticed, had already been opened and took one of the small shining packages out of the box, observing it with his eyes open widely.
Hermione sharply took the box out of his hand.
« It is a box of condoms. A condom is a Muggle contraceptive, it protects you from sexual diseases and also from getting pregnant. » she said at full speed without breathing.
She was observing Fred, he must had something to say, he always had...
...
part II should come soon, in the next two weeks
xx