Author's Note

Happy Easter everyone!

Love,

Wishin' Girl x x x

...

Valentine's day itself arrived in the week and Hermione awoke to find a large bunch of handpicked snowdrops, tied with yellow and magenta ribbon laying on her bedside table beside three boxes of filled chocolate cauldrons, caramel, butterbeer and a selection pack. Her dorm mates clamoured to discover who they were from but Hermione feigned ignorance, pretending that she had no idea and since there wasn't a note she couldn't even be expected to guess from the handwriting.

"Thank you" she whispered in Fred's ear as she settled beside him at the breakfast table and placed her hand delicately on his thigh.

He smiled down at his plate and tried to contain his blush, clearly thrilled that she liked his small gift, while steadfastly ignoring Katie's incessant nattering about romance and not so subtle hints from his other side.

"Tonight?" He asked in a barely audible voice and received a slight nod in response.

They had plans to meet up in their secret passageway near the library again after dinner and the thought of that was what carried Hermione through her day, including double DADA, the giddy smile on her face as she reread the chapter Umbridge told them to was enough to make the Professor's blood curdle. Thankfully as the class packed away at the end of the lesson, and just before she had a chance to punish the muggle born for doing absolutely nothing wrong, Peeves caused a commotion right outside their classroom door. Somehow the poltergeist had managed to obtain more dungbombs and Hermione was in no doubt that they had come from the bags of Zonkos products she had seen the twins and Lee with on Saturday.

"So did you like your gifts?" Fred asked as they cuddled on the same top step as the week before, hidden from sight in their secret passage.

"I did, the snowdrops were beautiful and I may have had one of the chocolate cauldrons before breakfast" she responded with a cheeky smile.

"You naughty little minx" said Fred teasingly and dug his fingers into her ticklish ribs.

Within moments they were snogging heavily and lying back on the floor again, Fred hovering over Hermione's heaving chest.

"You really are beautiful" he said reverently and all of the self doubt Hermione had about her body vanished, a new confidence instilled in her by the combination of Fred's words and the mix of sincerity and lust heavy in his eyes.

"And you really are handsome" she replied, pushing him back up and clambering into his lap, straddling his hips in repetition of their last encounter here.

"Mi, you don't have to - " she shushed his words with a quick kiss.

"I know. I'm not doing any of this as a thank you or a Valentine's gift. We are doing this together because we want to." She said firmly before her voice wavered in question "You do want to be here with me, right?"

Fred's shouted affirmation and dizzying nodding brought back her confidence with a laugh and their lips combined again in a heated kiss. Fred's fingers snuck under the t-shirt she was wearing, having both changed out of their school robes before dinner that evening, and toyed with the delicate flesh of her hips. Bathing in the feeling of safety she only ever experienced around the older redheaded twin, Hermione grabbed hold of the bottom hem of her t-shirt and pulled it up and over her head, tossing it somewhere nearby but too focussed on Fred's face to really care where it had gone.

During her secret relationship with Krum the year before, Hermione and Krum had explored each other's bodies with their hands. She had let the seeker who was three years older than her take the lead for most of the time but drew the line at removal of clothes. Their hands had roamed everywhere on top of and underneath those clothes but she hadn't felt comfortable exposing herself like she just had with Fred.

Fred's eyes almost popped out of his skull, his jaw dropped comically and heart beat so loud he was sure the giant squid all the way out in the middle of the black lake would be able to hear it. His fingers tentatively followed his gaze, mapping out the edges of the bright coral lace on the bralette she wore until two small pebbles appeared, causing bumps in the brightly coloured lace.

Fred's eyes shot up to meet Hermione's with a gaze so full of wonder, awe and disbelief that this woman who was so incredible both inside and out had chosen to spend her time with him, the lowly prankster. The devotion she found in his eyes lit a fire in her belly and she tugged at the hem of his own t-shirt in question. He eagerly complied with her request and lifted his arms above his head as she dragged his t-shirt from him and threw it away with hers. The second he was free from the cotton his lips found hers, in a kiss that was somehow greedy and adoring at the same time.

He trailed the kisses across her jaw and raked his lips down the side of her throat just how she liked, pausing momentarily to lick her pulse point before continuing his journey down to her collarbone. He sucked and nipped gently along her collarbone and back, drawing encouragement from the soft moans of pleasure escaping her lips.

One of her hands was buried deep in his thick red hair, massaging his scalp and holding him close while the other trailed patterns up and down his bare, muscular back sending shivers down his spine that settled in his aching lap. The fingernails of both hands began to dig into his skin as he trailed his kisses on the soft skin along the edge of her bralette, his lips and tongue worshipping every inch of pale, exposed skin.

Hermione felt his cocky grin against the skin of her cleavage, evidently pleased with how he could affect her and swiftly pushed him back to lying with her hovering on top, her hands bracing her either side of his head. Fred's grin fell from his face as his eyes rolled back into his head as a result of her lips now attacking his neck, her teeth nipped quickly at his earlobe before she soothed it with a slow lick and began to kiss her way across the contours of his chest.

Fred was overheating, fire spread from each place her lips touched his body and he felt like he was being branded and burned in the most painfully delightful way. His desire was building too strongly and he was desperate not to embarrass himself simply from her kissing his shoulders and upper torso. He hooked a finger under her chin to guide her lips back to meet his and soon the pair were rolling around on the small landing, kissing passionately as their hands continued to explore each other's torsos for the rest of the evening.

…

"Hey, are you free after dinner?" Fred asked all of a sudden on Sunday night, he had been sulking for a few days and Hermione hadn't been able to be alone with him to check how he was yet.

"Yeah, you need help with something?" She asked casually, ignoring the jealous glances Katie sent her way. Katie was still resolutely after Fred and Alicia had joined back in, eager to get some action from the famed womaniser when he finally returned to his old activities. It was clear that neither thought Hermione posed any threat in that department but Katie was infatuated with Fred even though he barely spared her a glance nowadays so any attention he gave to anyone else but George and Lee brought up the green monster.

"Just need to talk to you about something." He answered, trying to sound casual but Hermione, George and Lee could hear the anxiety buried in his tone.

"I'm finished eating now actually." She replied, also trying to sound casual and doing an even better job of it that Fred had.

She had noticed that Fred had spent dinner pushing the food around his plate with a fork without taking even a single bite so knew he would be ready to go whenever she was. With an encouraging nod from George, Fred followed the bushy haired witch out of the great hall and up the main staircase. Once they were out of sight of the rest of the school Fred took her hand softly in his and led her to the seventh floor before walking back and forth in front of a bare patch of stone wall until a small door appeared and he ushered her inside.

The room they entered was like a miniature version of their house common room, a double sized crimson armchair with plush furnishing sat before a roaring fireplace and several tall windows adorned the other side of the small room. Heavy rain which had prevented the students from going outside all day pelted against the windows that overlooked the lake and mountains, a kaleidoscope of grey that Fred felt aptly matched his mood.

Settling into the armchair Fred pulled Hermione onto his lap and buried his face in her curls, the familiar scent of apples and roses calming his anxiety over the conversation he needed to have with her.

"Fred, what's going on? You're worrying me." Hermione asked, prising his head from the crook of her neck so that they could have the conversation face to face.

"I… George and I have a plan…" he struggled to get his words out but she sat patiently waiting for him to open up to her "and I don't think you're going to like it. It… well, we're not fussed about our NEWTs you see, we um… we already have the money for a shop and our products are ready to go as you know."

She nodded tensely and pictured the abandoned classroom full of cauldrons and stacks of finished products that the twins used for product creation, she had visited it a few times with Fred over the last couple of years when they had been struggling with a potion formula or spell and asked her to help them. Her ability to put her judgement to one side and help a friend in need along with her secret mischievous side had been a major catalyst in him falling in love with her.

"So... So we're probably going to leave school early…. Drop out…. Me and George… With a bang hopefully…" Fred rambled nervously while the witch in his lap stiffened and sat in unreadable silence "And well, then we'll open up the shop and sell our products… We have all the skiving snackboxes packaged up now and the fireworks are nearly ready… Plus we're selling tons of our other products already from inside the school… Hermione, please. Please say something."