Hermione was squirming in her chair while scratching away at a piece of parchment. Last night was difficult even after things settled in the evening. Everything was just so complicated! The witch set down her quill and scowled at the contents of the page. This is what life was amounted to?
There was a knock at the door, and she stood up, wiping her fingers on her sweats. The witch opened the door to reveal Fred smirking in the hallway. He always seemed to show up just when she needed a break.
"Good afternoon, neighbor," he paused and lifted a brown bag. "Feeling ravenous?"
Hermione breathed and offered him entry. "I suppose I could stop working and eat."
Fred was wearing his suit from work and wandered over to the sofa, setting down the bag on the coffee table. "So, I see you've been busy," he mused while glancing at the large stack of pages on her desk by the window.
"Yes, well," she mumbled and sat down in the armchair. "I have plenty to do this week."
"Did you choose Mr. Right yet?" he questioned as he produced boxes from the bag. "It isn't like that's important," he finished with a sway of his hand.
"No," Hermione said while snatching the offered box. "Thank you for getting lunch. I'm so busy I didn't see the time."
"I figured as much. George told me it would be a great idea to get you lunch today. We know this whole business has your arms tied."
"What do I do?" Hermione asked as she pulled a plastic fork from the bag.
Fred was looking down at his food with a tight expression. "Well," he stopped and glanced up at her. "We could run away. I'm not usually interested in fleeing, but it sounds good for this complication."
She smiled and tilted her head. "We could. Where would we go?"
Fred relaxed on the sofa and grinned. "I was thinking New Zealand. Charlie said the northern island is beautiful most of the year. They don't speak another language, and I could open a Wheezes shop out there."
"I could propose my werewolf measures and work on pureblood laws," Hermione declared.
"We'll change our names and pose as an odd married couple from Norway. There's no way we can be considered siblings," Fred voiced as he waved his fork in the air. "I could be Francisco, and you could be Helen."
Hermione tapped her chin. "Us married?"
His cheeks flushed, and he cleared his throat. "It would have to be a believable story."
"True," Hermione agreed. "I always wanted to take a vacation. I've just never gotten around to it. I never get around to things outside of work," she murmured and looked away from him.
"If you want, I can escort you to anywhere you want to go," Fred offered.
That caused a smile to breach on her lips. "That might be nice after this mess. You might have someone special in your life by then, and all of us can go," Hermione voiced while beaming.
Fred bobbed his head with his lips thinned. "Yeah."
Hermione reached over and took his hand in hers. "I just want you to find happiness, Fred. We deserve it after all the sacrifices we've made in life. Ron would have wanted you to be happy."
"What about you? He would have wanted you to be happy as well," Fred responded.
Hermione glanced down and scowled. "Yes, I know. It's just not the same without him, Freddy."
He squeezed her fingers and rocked his head. "I know, but how long are you going to mourn him? What's it going to take to make you happy again?"
Hermione pulled her hand from his and scrunched her face. "We may have had our differences, but he was my best friend. If I were faster or possibly smarter, he would still be here."
Fred didn't know what to say, and it was clear on his face. This was a subject everyone seemed to avoid. He opened the box, and now he didn't know what to say. Something. Just words. It just felt similar to every other time they had mentioned Ron. That only added guilt over the heavy subject.
"I know you loved him too," he settled on.
Her eyes grew glassy, and she licked her darkened lips. "I loved him. I thought no matter the result of that night, we were going to see the end together. He shouldn't have left my side. We were so desperate to finish it, but I should have stopped him."
"I wish I would have gotten there quicker, Hermione. It happened so quickly, and your hand was all I could reach for," Fred murmured, and he swallowed.
"Thank you for saving me, Fred," Hermione whispered as a tear left her eyelash.
The echo of the moment couldn't be ignored. It brought discomfort to him. It was shrouded with the discouraging morning that followed. "I'm glad we're not drinking this time," he awkwardly chuckled.
Hermione dashed her eyes and tried for a smile. "You were kind about it. You've always been good to me. I know it hasn't been easy, and you gave me more gentleness than deserved."
"I always will be, Hermione. You're our next Minister of Magic," Fred breathed and bent to touch her cheek.
She smiled and pressed her face into his long fingers. "We need to figure out a process to find you the right witch, Freddy. Want to help me map this out? I don't want to cause more distortion with this bill than needed."
"If you think I'm witty enough to offer perspective," he laughed while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Their conversation was interrupted by the front door unlatching and Ginny walking into the flat with James. She blinked, and Fred pulled from Hermione. The swift urgency to recover was in his actions as Fred jumped up to reach for the toddler.
"Hello, sister. How's the weekend going?" He asked with a curl to his lips.
She eyed him and then glanced at the blushing curly-haired witch. "Well, aside from a backache. I see the healer Monday for confirmation on the gender. Were you both having lunch? I'm sorry I interrupted your date," Ginny declared.
"Date? No, we weren't," Fred tried.
"Fred was just giving me great ideas for the bill," Hermione voiced.
"Yeah, exactly," Fred smirked and held James up to his face. "You're going to be just like you're uncles. I'm going to give you the best pranks to use at Hogwarts," he snickered as the toddler clapped and laughed.
"You can try, but his auntie is going to be sure he reads and uses his brain," Hermione retorted as Ginny sat down.
"I use my brain, Ministry Witch," Fred smirked.
"For the side of the wicked," Hermione scoffed.
"I resemble that," Fred voiced with a bright smile.
"You and George are the jesters of jokes," Hermione teased.
Fred pressed James to his chest and bowed deeply. "At your service, future minister."
Ginny was picking at Fred's lunch and glancing between the pair. Hermione had begun to eat as they tossed banter back and forth. There was something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Hermione wagged a finger at Fred and took James from him. "His daddy would never let him turn into such a prat," Hermione smiled as she set aside her half-eaten lunch.
Fred snatched up the box and waved her fork. "You can say all you like that you follow the rules, but I know you, Hermione. You broke an abundant number. George and I couldn't be any prouder."
She snuggled with James as he gripped her hair and giggled. "Ginny, do you see the battle I have to deal with?"
Ginny snorted. "Well, he isn't your brother, so you nominate for it."
"Very true," Fred chuckled with a wink.
James pulled her hair with a hard yank. "Silly!" he shouted.
Hermione winced and struggled with the bouncing toddler. Fred set down the box and was laughing as he attempted to untangle James's small fingers. It was hilarious, and James was squabbling with his uncle as he pulled away from Hermione.
"What about this? I thought while reading that book on the muggle ladies you love. You use a section of the Daily Prophet to promote different events scheduled by the ministry," Ginny offered while waving his fork.
Hermione rocked her head. "Yes, I've put that in as an option."
"What about you? How are you going to handle your options?" Ginny questioned.
Hermione was about to speak, but Fred groaned and bounced over to his sister. "Gin, stop pestering her about this. There isn't a rush. I don't like this prospect of the bill anyway, but to suggest Hermione has to choose some bloke from a catalog is grimy."
Ginny arched an eyebrow as she gazed over at Fred. "Well, it's not going to stop her from making her choice by not talking about it."
"I have decided to go over the achievements of each prospect before narrowing it down and having lunch with them. It's plenty to ask to obey the bill. It's another story to grow something with someone married to their job," Hermione explained with a scrunched expression.
"That is the most boring thing I've ever heard, and Percy is our brother," Fred glared.
"Then what do you suggest?" Hermione huffed while waving her hand.
Fred scowled as he bounced James yanking at the baubles on his jacket. "Don't do it! It's that simple. Why do you need to set an example?"
Ginny glanced over at Fred with a curious expression. "She can't do that just as you'll have to cozy up to some witch and finally settle down as well. I swear to Merlin, you both are ridiculous. This gives both of you the opportunity to find contentment!" Ginny growled and pointed between them.
Fred snorted as Hermione rolled her eyes. "Why do I want some random witch around? Our family is barmy."
"And I work too much," Hermione added.
"Well, I do dangerous experiments," Fred smirked at Hermione.
Hermione crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, I travel internationally."
"Let's not forget that she's going to have to tolerate that my son is going to be named after Georgie," Fred snickered.
"Or that I am on the pace to running for minister when Kingsley retires," Hermione sighed.
Fred laughed and nosed James's cheek. "I suppose I can give you that one. The wizard you're going to need in your life is someone who needs to make you laugh."
Ginny twitched her nose. "Well, she first needs to find one. Let's worry about the hiccups after."
Hermione sighed as she stood up and walked toward the desk. She snatched up a long parchment and handed it to Ginny when she approached. The redhead glanced over the page and noted the names and ages of several wizards. "Wow, that's quite the list."
"I scratched out most certain no's," Hermione exhaled before sitting down.
Ginny laughed and shook her head. "I see you were very clear about those that you were certain about."
Hermione waved a finger in a circle. "Yes, well, it's my future," she sighed.
Fred leaned over and saw that Hermione had left notes next to certain names. Oliver Wood had the word 'maybe,' and Blaise Zabini had the word 'NO' in red. There were several more that had sentences, but it was the line through his name that caused him to grimace. Hermione and Ginny hadn't noticed as Ginny started to give her own notes to the list.
Fred handed James over to Ginny after three or four wizards and disappeared. He was late back to work and in a sour mood. The bill was going to bring many difficulties, but he never imagined this would be an issue.
Just down the stairs was the shop next door, and it felt like that wasn't far enough away. No amount of jokes, wheezes, or even his twin could shake the suppressed feeling. Fred wanted to deny many things throughout his life, but he regretted denying one thing. Just the one.