New chapter

sorry for the delay but here it is and beta-ed by WhenIAmCalling :)

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...

She was observing Fred, he must had something to say, he always had...

...

« Is it accurate?» he asked as he was trying to open the package.

Hermione was staring at her boyfriend, was this seriously his question? She had expected a quirky comment, not a real question.

She wished that one day Fred Weasley would actually blush or feel embarrassed to talk about something. She knew him well enough to know that his brain was already working on the information that she had just given to him and that he was looking for a way to make use of the info.

She took a deep breath and hesitated before answering. She was trying to remember the conversation that she had with her mother, when her mother had given her the box and all the instructions that she could need to use them properly. She really had the sensation of passing an exam...

« They say so. » she said shrugging

« And how is that supposed to work? » he was really curious to know

Ok, it was official, she wanted to disappear. The elephant in the room was becoming so big that she was expecting it to start flying and singing very soon.

She replied that she did not really know, she did not want to lie but her cheeks were already burning enough...

Unsatisfied with that answer Fred replied that she had to know as the box had been opened before. Fred was totally astonished, what was this box doing in Hermione's bedside table, he was dying to find out.

« I opened one, one day to see what it looked like. Truth be told my mother gave me the box and forced me to open one and it had been one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Happy now?»

« Was it that terrible? Couldn't be more than having the talk with my father. I swear to God that nothing is more embarrassing than that talk, aren't you exaggerating? » he teased giggling

He was relieved to know that it was a gift from her mother but more question marks were popping into his head...

« It had been as terrible as this talk, I swear.» she answered looking away

Fred asked her when she had the talk with her mother. Hermione had always been so secretive about her life out of Hogwarts. Over the years, she had rarely spoken about her parents, her life and Fred only knew more now because they were dating.

« I was sixteen, it was after my fifth year during the summer break. My mum came back from work one day and gave me the box. She told me that she preferred to give me the talk at that moment since I was almost 17 years old and too often daydreaming. She said that it must be because of a boy. My mother always anticipated everything, I think that I have got that from her. » she said oddly

Fred impudently asked her who the guy was. If it was his little brother, it would be hard to swallow.

« You. » she said, rolling her eyes. Fred interpreted her gesture wrongly. He was believing that she was trying to tell him to mind his own business.

« What me? » he asked sharply.

« You. » repeated Hermione with her eyes wide open. What else could she say? She was wondering if Fred had suddenly become daft.

« Me what Hermione?»

« It was you bloody idiot, you are the answer to your question. For someone so perceptive you can be very mindless sometimes.» she cried turning crimson one more time.

She took another deep breath and looked at Fred again. She was being childish, there was nothing to be ashamed of. She could not be thinking about having sex and at the same being afraid to talk about it, it was illogical. They were adults and she had to act like one.

She smiled and told Fred that he could open the one that he had in his hand so she could explain to him better how it worked.

« What you feel under the paper is like a capsule made of latex or silicon that men have to put on, well you know where. It keeps the sperm instead of having it going into the women's vagina. Different sizes exist and apparently some are flavored. » she said in one go

Finally, Fred seemed speechless which was very uncommon. He opened the shining package and looked at the small piece of latex. He turned it upside down and stretched it grimly.

Hermione was observing him. Timidly, she asked him if something was wrong. She had told him practically everything that she could remember. He asked her if he could take the box. He told her that he wanted to show them to George to know his thoughts since they did not have anything like that.

«Sure, you can take it. You've never heard of condoms before then? » she asked desirous to get confirmation about that.

« Nope, we have spells and potions but nothing like that. Show that thing to someone like Malfoy or even my dad, they will tell you that there is no way on earth that they would ever use such a thing. Even someone like Neville or Lee or any of my brothers would never put it on. Except George but we, George and I are different. We own a joke shop and we have to be very open minded all the time. »

« Well they could be useful, they are very accurate you know. My mother gave me a full speech when she gave me the box. Actually, one of the things that I wanted to tell you was that I want us to brew the potion, you know to be prepared, just in case but perhaps we could simply use a condom. They expire like in 1999 and I don't think that it is going to take me that long to be ready. » she said with a genuine smile on her face

Her cheeks were no longer burning, she was trying to remain calm, after all they were just talking.

« Hermione, please remember something important, you have to pay for those things which means that you have to spend money if you want to have sex, it works for Muggles because they pay for everything but we have spells for free. » he reminded her gently.

She nodded, it made sense but it did not mean that they would not work. When she talked, again, about using them, Fred vigorously shook his head.

« We need to find someone to test them before to be sure that they also work for us. You know to be sure that our magical little soldiers don't find a way to escape from that euh thing so the answer is a no, you and I aren't going to test them ourselves. We should only rely on the potion, at least for now and Hermione, we don't have to brew it now, we can wait until you are ready.» insisted Fred

« I've never really thought about it under that angle though I can't see why it wouldn't work for wizards . » she started but Fred did not let her finish

« Because we are magical, you get pregnant tomorrow and your foetus will already be a magical human being. The degree of magic is different for muggle born, half blood and pure blood. Pure blood, we are magical from head to toes Hermione, I am not sure that all the little soldiers would get trapped in that, we are not going to test those condoms ourselves. If you had thought about it, forget it, I am not taking that risk.» he reaffirmed as he could feel that Hermione was going to argue.

« From a logical point of view, what you've just said does not make any sense Fred. Magical person or not, condoms have been conceived to keep the sperm in the deposit but I know what you mean and I have to agree with you. Now I feel like a fool for not even having thought about it before. » she conceded

« Well it is a good thing you are still a virgin then. » teased Fred

« You are being incredibly comforting. » she said offended

Fred cupped her face and apologized. He had not meant it like that. Hermione looked into his eyes, she said that she accepted his apology and then repeated that she really wanted them to brew the potion.

She shared her feelings with Fred. She told him that she was thinking about having sex with but at the same time she was still scared to be naked in front of him. Fred abstained from making any funny comment or saying that he would not have any problem of having her naked in front of him.

He kissed her forehead and said that he understood her position.

He promised to check if he had to buy some ingredients at the black market as they were planning to go on the following day. Satisfied, Hermione smiled. She stretched her arm and took the envelope that was still in the drawer. It was time to drop the big news.

...

She could still see the elephant in the room and she was certain that Fred could see it too.

Indeed Fred had seen the elephant, he was just waiting for Hermione to explain herself. Quickly, she gave him the envelope and mumbled an open it.

Fred had understood what was inside. He bit his lips to not laugh, he should have thought about it sooner. Hermione had been dropping clues for a few days now. He opened it with a smile on his face but the smile faded when he saw that his name was already written on it. Hermione had not come to her house for an entire year, how come his name was already written? She had probably written it two years ago. He sighed, they really had been two idiots...

« Look Fred as many teenage girls I had silly ideas. » started Hermione with a shaking voice

« Like having sex, I don't think it is silly. I would say it is normal. » stated Fred who was still looking oddly at the card.

« Like having my first time in my own bed. I have already confessed to you that I thought about doing it with you, Mister know-it-all. »

« This one was below the belt, you are becoming good at taking the mickey out of me»

She giggled and said that she had a good teacher which made Fred smirked.

« Touche but let's go back to our pumpkins. Hermione, I am gladly surprised to see my name on your card. You really did think about having sex with me before to even know if I like you then, because I first told at the wedding last year. Won Won is going to choke. » he said laughing

Hermione hit his shoulder with one of her pillows. Fred became serious again and said that he wanted to know how she had pictured it. Hermione reminded him that he had forbidden her to think about her what if. Moreover, she was not sure that sharing that with him would be a good idea. She did not want her old dream to influence the present. She did not want Fred to feel that their first time had to be like she had imagined it.

Fred did not insist and she thanked him for that. She asked him if he was going to sign her card or not and if he knew about the V card's folklore. It had been the purpose of their visit so she wanted to know. She had a plan to follow.

...

Fred knew what Andromeda had told her, no more, no less. Hermione was not always a huge fan of his mother's rules but for once she was glad to know that Molly had told her sons that they could only sign one V card and that they must take the one of a witch that they really cared about and loved. Who would have thought that the only one who had really followed the rules was Fred, certainly not their mother. Fred grinned, that was the proof that Fred needed to convince his mother that he was really in love with Hermione.

However, just like Hermione, Fred did not really believe in any of the myths so when Hermione asked if they should look for more information about it, he said that it was unnecessary. He stood up, took a pen that was on her desk and signed the card before giving it back to Hermione.

« Yesterday the unbreakable vow, today your V card. I hope that you are conscious that you have tied your life to mine forever, we just have to elope to fulfill the list » said Fred half joking, half serious

Hermione, who was still sitting on her bed, stared at Fred. A part of her wanted to say yes but that would be so irresponsible and reckless and absolutely not like something Hermione Granger would do.

The problem was that she knew that this was something that Fred could do and he would be proud of it.

She closed her eyes, shook her head and said that she did not want his mother to really murder them.

...

She reopened her eyes and bit her lips, it had been the second in a couple of days that Fred had talked marriage and she was starting to think that behind the joke, there might be some seriousness. The problem was that she had not clearly said no, indeed she had said yes the first time, it had been a hypothetical yes but still she had said yes. She wanted to marry Fred, one day, in a few years but not now.

If Fred popped the question, what would she do? Her eyes met his, she sighed, she would say yes, she knew it, indeed, she would not take the risk of losing him.

She had to control her emotions, yes she was in love with Fred but she had to be more careful, being in love did not mean becoming stupid, otherwise she would end up married before the end of the summer and she would probably not go back to Hogwarts.

She could not let that happen, she had to make Fred understand that they were too young to get married and she did not care about the fact that Wizards and Witches were getting married sooner than Muggles.

Fred had his dreams, she had hers and they had dreams in common and she was not going to give up on her dreams. Fred was obviously not forcing her to do anything, he was always letting her choose, she was the one who was always following him.

Finding the right balance was harder than she had imagined. Her mother was right, being in love was complicated.

Thoughtful, she replaced her card into her drawer. She was wondering what would happen after they had done it. Would they really have a sort of magical bond? She was dubious but magic had surprised her so many times over the last seven years so who knew what would happen. As long as it would not make her feel the urge to get married, she would be fine.

...

sorry if you were thinking that they would do it. Soon it will be but few things will happen before, one particular will be the one to make Hermione realize that she is ready.

next chapter in about 2 week