"'How do you get in there?' Hermione said in an innocently casual sort of voice.

"'Easy,' said Fred, 'concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and —' He stopped and looked suspiciously at her. 'Why?'"

—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 21

Hermione had to wait three days before she ran into Fred on his own. Finding either half of the Weasley twins solo was a rare thing indeed. Fred and George spent most of their time together because of the obvious—being identical twins—and also from having all the same classes, playing the same position on the Gryffindor quidditch team, and sleeping in the same dormitory. In fact, Hermione suspected that Fred and George were only apart when they'd consciously decided to divvy up their homework in order to get it done more quickly. That is, if they were bothering to do it at all. She'd seen them try a similar tactic once or twice at the Burrow to shirk off chores, but it was hard to trick Mrs. Weasley when it came to housework.

It was getting late in the evening when Fred slipped into the library and ducked back into the restricted section. Hermione, who was doing a last bit of studying, spotted him at once, but Madam Prince had luckily had her back turned. Hermione's eyebrow raised involuntary, and her curiosity piqued. This opportunity of catching Fred alone was better than she had imagined, but the idea of cornering him while he was sneaking about made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Shouldering her nerve and leaving her bag on the table, she collected one of the heavy tomes from her finished stack and got up. She could feel Madam Prince examining her as she walked up and down the nearest aisle, so she pretended to look for exactly the right spot on the shelf to return her book. When the hawk-eyed librarian turned her back once again, Hermione darted into the restricted section after Fred. She found him devouring a book four aisles in.

"What are you doing in here?" Hermione hissed at Fred's back. Fred jumped a full foot into the air and made a jerking movement. Hermione half expected the book to come flying at her face, but Fred abruptly halted its momentum when their eyes met.

"Merlin's beard, Hermione! What are you on about?" Fred hissed back, breathing heavily and clutching the book to his chest. Hermione glared at the wild-eyed look on his face, then her eyes drifted to the book.

"What are you up to?" she asked quietly, cocking her head to the side as she strained to read the title of the book in his arms. Whether by accident or not, Hermione couldn't tell, Fred shifted slightly to cover the title with his left arm.

"Never you mind. Why are you tailing me, then?"

"I wasn't!" Hermione said quickly, but Fred narrowed his eyes at her. "All right, all right, I just wanted to catch you alone for a minute. I... I've been wanting to ask you something." Hermione fiddled with the corner of her tome as she avoided Fred's scrutinizing gaze.

"Well, ask away then."

"Can we, er, maybe go for a walk or something more private?"

"Hermione, there aren't many places more private than the restricted section in the library." Fred's squinted at her for a moment, his face oddly shrewd and serious, then a colorful grin spread across his face. He leaned in closer to Hermione. "Are you just trying to get me own my own? You know, some quality time with me? I wouldn't blame you, I am rather dashing."

"Oh, please!" Hermione huffed, but she felt her cheeks prickle with heat traitorously. Fred just kept on grinning and tossed her a small wink. "Fine, have it your way. I really wanted to ask you about the kitchens. Do you think you could get me in? Just for a visit!" she added hastily. The smile had slid off Fred's face as quickly as it had come.

"Forget it. You're trying to make them all take clothes, and that's just wrong. They're happy in there!"

"No, it's not that! It's just that I've only ever met Winky. I'd like to meet others and learn more about their lives. You know, understand how they live."

"I don't know... I'll have to think on it. Ask me again tomorrow." Hermione continued to gaze up at Fred with a pleading glint in her wide, brown eyes. Fred didn't budge.

"Oh fine—fine. But you will consider it? I promise I won't upset them!" Fred rolled his eyes, and Hermione flashed him a wide grin.

It took three agonizing days for Fred to come around. Every time Hermione saw him, she tried to smile casually his way, but every time she seemed to just miss catching his eye. At first she thought it was bad luck when he abruptly turned his head to talk to George twice in a row. This was followed with a hasty entry to the boys' dormitories, a sudden interest in fixing his robes, an unconvincingly loud sneeze, and—his lowest point, Hermione thought—a very crude and unprompted joke-telling to Angelina Johnson, who had been passing by at exactly the wrong moment. By this last one, which Hermione was shocked didn't earn Fred a slap across the face from his quidditch teammate, she gave up, but she couldn't help huffing and rolling her eyes whenever he crossed her mind or field of vision. She even pretended not to notice when Ron kept shooting Harry worried looks until he finally caved in and asked her if she was feeling okay, because it sounded like she might have a cough. Then, on that third night when the twins were retiring from the common room, Fred lagged back to tie his shoelace right next to her chair.

"Meet me in the library at eight tomorrow," Fred muttered without looking at her. "And come alone." She nodded once, but she was unsure if he saw as he hastened up the staircase after George.

Classes the next day could not move slower, and Hermione actually caught her head drooping in Professor Binns' class. After dinner, she made her way to the library alone. She had invited Harry and Ron to come help with the research for S.P.E.W., which was sure to get them to make up excuses and leave her on her own. She was well into a book on Mermish folklore when something small collided with her leg. Looking down, she saw a paper grasshopper struggling to jump into her lap. She grasped it, and it neatly unfolded in her hand.

Come out and turn left.

Hermione rolled her eyes, gathered her things into her bag, and hurried out. What was the point of all this secrecy? She'd barely walked ten steps when someone grasped her arm and yanked her to the side. She screamed, but a warm hand clamped over her mouth to muffle it.

"Quiet, jumpy! It's obviously just me," Fred whispered in her ear. He let go and she opened her eyes, finding herself standing almost nose-to-nose with the fiery-haired twin in a tiny alcove she never knew existed. Hermione swallowed hard. "Before we go," he whispered, "you've got to promise me again. No, this is serious," he said as she opened her mouth to protest. "And I don't want you mucking anything up for me and George."

"I prom—"

"Or for the elves, for that matter," he interrupted her. He was glaring very hard at her, scrutinizing every inch of her face. She was suddenly conscious of the warmth of his body so near hers and the way his hair fell into his eyes as he stooped to whisper with her. Her mouth went dry as she looked up at him, and any words her lips might have been forming caught in her throat. Fred's face softened, and he licked his lips.

"I promise," Hermione whispered so quietly that she could barely hear herself. Fred leaned in more, as if straining to hear her, and the tips of their noses touched. The feeling was lighter than the kiss of a moth's wings, but Hermione heard a sigh escape her lips as a chill ran down her spine. Fred pulled away from her, but she saw his eyes deepen in a way she'd never seen on him before. As if acting on its own accord, Her hand reached out to touch his arm, and she took a half-step nearer to him. The gap between their bodies was mere millimeters. Hermione could feel Fred's cool breath on her lips and was very conscious of her own.

Acting on pure impulse, she closed the gap and their lips met. His lips were soft and confident against hers, and her mind tingled as he snaked his arms around her waste. After a first, long kiss, his lips sought hers again, and she found her own responding fervently. She stood there with her mind engulfed in a blissful fog, her body pressed up against his chest, and his arms slowly stroking her back while they kissed with building passion for several minutes.

Finally, Hermione gained some measure of control over herself. She ran her fingers through his wonderfully soft hair as his tongue glazed over her upper lip. She had never French kissed anyone before, but her tongue responded automatically meeting his with her own caresses and then allowing his to dart into her mouth. New feelings began to awaken in her body as their kissing deepened, sending jolts of pleasure through her. Her breasts perked up and she could feel the fabric of her bra brush over her nipples at every tiny movement. The thought of how Fred's hands would feel cupping them flittered through her mind as her tongue explored his mouth. Then, with a rush of heat, the muscles between Hermione's legs tightened, and she could feel her own wetness.

After several more intense minutes, their lips finally pulled apart. Fred rested his forehead lightly against hers.

"I—I think it'd be smarter if we met tomorrow," he whispered in a husky voice that made the muscles in Hermione's stomach tighten with excitement. "To, er, see the kitchens, and stuff."

"Brilliant idea," she whispered, aware of how breathy her voice sounded. Words, compared to Fred's kisses, seemed like a miserable waste of time, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his lips crashing down onto hers once more.

It was very late that night when Hermione and Fred finally snuck back to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione climbed through the portrait hole first to check that there were no students left awake to catch them together. Luck was on their side, so Fred clambered through right after. They grinned at each other for a few seconds, then Fred's hand tangled through the long curls at the back of Hermione's head and gently guided her lips back to his. She pressed her body flush against his, and for a fleeting moment thought she felt something twitch below Fred's hips. Their kiss was urgent but short this time, and she could tell that Fred was using every bit of the resolve she was in pulling themselves apart to retreat up their respective staircases.

Stealing into her dormitory, getting ready for bed, and nestling under her covers without waking her roommates proved to be far easier than she had expected. Within minutes she was smiling into her pillow and drifting off to a sleep filled with dreams of Fred that, before that night, would've made Hermione Granger blush.

-A/N-

I began this as a OneShot for Fred and Hermione, but I received several requests to extend. The following chapter is the original story. Chapter(s) that precede this note are the new, expanded backstory leading up to the following. Not all chapters are yet published, so know that continuing to the next chapter essentially means skipping to the end!

Please review and let me know your thoughts!