Chapter 21: Memories

Everything surrounding him was black. Fred didn't understand what was going on. He tried to remember what got him to this point. He had been in the middle of writing a letter to Hermione in his office when George came in, ready to leave for the Burrow. Fred closed his letter, took one last look at the pictures of him and Hermione on his desk, and followed his twin out the door. Once they got there, Ron and Harry had already been getting into with mum. They had gone mad, screaming about how everything had changed. Fred had tried to intervene when Ron had turned on him. He had started yelling something about shagging Alicia Spinnet, and Fred went to push his little brother, and then…

Fred's head started to hurt. Pain radiated all throughout his body. He looked around again. He started walking. He walked for what felt like ages, but he felt he stayed in the same spot. He sighed as he sat down, crossing his legs. He was tired. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands and stopped. He heard something. He opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing. But there was still a dull humming coming from somewhere. Fred strained to listen harder.

"Please…"

Fred knew that voice. Hermione's voice. Fred frantically looked around, looking for the familiar brown, curly hair, and chocolate eyes. Fred couldn't find her.

"Hermione?" Fred waited for a response. He waited a few long moments when he heard it.

"I miss you! Please, come back!" Fred heard the choked sobs and felt his eyes sting with tears.

"Hermione!"

Fred ran. He ran in any direction he could. He ran until his head was pounding and he could feel it in his feet. He ran until his chest threatened to collapse in on itself. He doesn't know how long he ran for, he just wanted-needed- to get to Hermione.

Fred finally collapsed. He lie there and took a few minutes to control his breathing. His chest was pounding, harder than after any quidditch match he ever played in. The worst of it was his head: it was burning. He rubbed the spot where it hurt the most and flinched when it felt like his fingers were being seared. Out of the corner of his eye, Fred saw something. Off to his left, there was a light. It was circular and small, probably the size of a snitch. It flickered, on and off. Fred walked over to the light and sat down.

"Well, hello there," Fred mumbled. "Don't suppose you know a way to stop this hurting, do 'ya?" The light just flickered. Fred rolled his eyes. He could still hear the faint sounds of Hermione crying. He clutched his hands over his ears and shut his eyes. He thought back to France, where he first got to share a bed with Hermione. He thought about how bloody gorgeous she looked dressed up in her purple dress. Behind his eyelids, Fred could see a brighter light. He opened his eyes to see his light flickering brighter, just a little bit, the size of a chocolate frog. Confused, Fred thought about how ecstatic he felt when she first told him she fancied him in the Bahamas. The light got to the size of a bludger. Fred smiled.

He tried to think of every happy memory he had ever had. Him and George at Hogwarts, pulling pranks. Every quidditch match he ever won. His family going to Egypt. First riding a broomstick. First doing magic. Every moment he's been able to spend with Hermione and their ragtag team of mates. His small light turned into the size of a quaffle in no time.

And Fred sat there, stoking his light with the memories he found precious.

…

Hermione hadn't left Fred's side in three days. Molly had brought her some books from home to read, which Hermione was grateful for. Ginny sent Hermione extra clothes. Draco had sent over her schoolbooks and a note that read, "Can't take my number one spot with no competition, Granger." Hermione had smiled and rolled her eyes. Theo had sent her copies of all his notes, along with his notations about random events happening in classes.

Merlin, Binns is even more booooooring without you here!

Remus brought Teddy and Tonks in here today to let Tonks duel with us. It was fantastic!

I think this Gryffindor is trying to flirt with Luna… dreadful, I tell you…

Hermione looked forward to Theo's mail. His notes made Hermione chuckle, but he would almost always ask her how she was feeling and if she needed anything else. They were almost always accompanied by everyone else's well wishes. It made her happy, knowing her friends were thinking about her. More than that, they took her mind off the dark thoughts that had tried to consume her for three days now. Fred still hadn't shown any signs of waking up; however, all his vitals remained normal.

To keep herself occupied, Hermione buried herself in her work. She knew her N.E.W.T's were fast approaching and she couldn't fall behind. When she had tired herself out of work, she would read aloud to Fred- they were halfway through Of Mice and Men- or she would talk to him. She would let the words flow out of her mouth as if he was there and listening. Hermione made sure to tell Fred all about what was happening at Hogwarts. She told him how much she missed him. She told him how Bill and Charlie decided to stay at the Burrow for a while, until he woke up.

"Nothing else is going on, really," Hermione muttered to him. "The healers here are very nice. They bring me sweets from the kitchens every night." Hermione laughed. "It's just so odd that you're not here, Fred. I mean, you've always been around…" Hermione stared at the wall in front of her. "Remember in my second year when… when Draco said something foul to me…"

…

"You filthy mudblood," Draco had sneered. Hermione heard the Gryffindor team around her gasp. Hermione was frozen. She stood, staring at Draco, whose eyes also showed some semblance of remorse and shock. But then he had turned away, looking over at Ron who had drawn his wand. Hermione could feel the warm sting behind her eyes. Before she could say anything else, she had felt two hands pulling her away from the crowd.

"Don't listen to him," Fred was saying to her. His long hair had fallen into his eyes, covering up his red cheeks. "He's just a downright git."

Hermione looked around, not finding George anywhere. This was odd, since they always went everywhere together. Hermione looked up at him again, his hand clutching tightly onto his broomstick, knuckles turning white. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Fred."

He turned to look at her, surprised. "You know that it's me?"

"Of course I do," Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "It's rather obvious, isn't it?"

Fred stared at her for a long moment before grinning, his hand finally loosening up on his broomstick. "Well, I find it rather easy," he drawled, "I am the better-looking twin."

Hermione giggled. Fred joined her. George called his name somewhere from behind him. "Sorry, 'Mione, I better get going." Much to Hermione's surprise, he brought one arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him for one precious moment. Hermione stood still, watching his retreating back. She watched him run back up to George and say something to him. He turned back to look at her one last time, shooting her his signature grin. Before Hermione could process it, she was being called by Harry, and she helped him take Ron to Hagrid's hut.

…

"And then I had to watch Ron throw up slugs for a while," Hermione winced. "It was gross. And I'm much happier now that Draco isn't like that." She looked over at Fred, wondering if her story had woken him up at all. "I wonder sometimes if you remember that. It's one of my favorite memories of you. You had always been so sweet and kind."

Hermione stayed like that for a while at the edge of the bed. She considered reading to him, but for once didn't feel like it. She thought about all the times Fred had been so nice to her, how many times she could have fallen victim to any number of the twins' pranks. She hadn't thought about the past too much since the end of the war. Most of her early years at Hogwarts involved her getting into deadly situations. All except…

"Do you remember the Yule Ball?" Hermione asked suddenly.

…

Hermione had been surprised that Viktor Krum had asked her to the Yule Ball. She hadn't really intended on going unless Ron or Harry had asked her to go with them. When neither had, she expected to spend the night in the library, which is where she found herself when he asked her. She had said yes on a whim; maybe to make Ron mad, or maybe to have any excuse to go the ball. Hermione had never been considered 'pretty' or 'beautiful'. She knew that. But maybe for just one night she could feel that way.

When she had descended the stairs that night with her hair tamed and her periwinkle dress that fit her perfectly, for the first time, Hermione had felt beautiful. Krum even told her so, before they started their dance. Hermione felt all eyes on her all night, even Draco Malfoy's. So she let herself have fun and bask in her glory. She danced with Krum, and Neville, and George, and even a fair few that she didn't know. She looked around to dance with Fred, but when she couldn't find him, she had made her way over to Ron and Harry. Instead of offering a dance or just well wishes, Ron had snapped at her and left her feeling devastated. She had found Viktor, told him that the night had been lovely, and made her way back up to the Gryffindor common room.

On her way there, Hermione had spotted one too many couples snogging or doing something more than she cared to see. She finally made her way into the common room and was surprised to find Fred sitting in one of the large couches staring into the fire. He was still in his dress robes, with his tie undone and his shoes off. She gingerly made her way over and sat down next to him, trying to wipe her obvious tears off her face.

"It's okay," Fred told her gently. "I heard what Ron had to say, I was standing right there."

"You were, were you?" Hermione said.

"Yeah, actually," Fred rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping to get a dance in with you, asked Krum and Angelina if it was okay and everything."

Hermione looked at him, surprised. "I thought I saw Angelina with George?"

"You can still tell us apart that easily?"

"Yes."

Fred chuckled. "Well, the only reason I asked Angelina was because George was too coward. Ange has always been good at telling us part, too. Mainly asking me for George."

Hermione nodded. She stared into the roaring fire, wishing she had gone to the ball with someone like Fred, who wouldn't let her night go to waste.

"I wanted to ask someone else…" Fred muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Hermione to hear. "But she was already taken."

"Who was it?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Fred told her. He stood up and offered her his hand. "Still care for a dance?"

Hermione looked at his outstretched hand. "Are you sure? I look a mess."

"Not possible," Fred told her. She looked up at him, expecting to see his usual flirtatious smile and smirk. Hermione was surprised to find him smiling broadly at her with sincerity written in his features. She grabbed his hand. He pulled her up and wrapped one hand around hers and the other around her waist. He pulled her close. Hermione let her hand rest on his shoulder as he swayed their bodies back and forth to an unknown beat. Hermione breathed him in; he smelled sweet, and faintly like gunpowder. She sighed and relaxed into his embrace. When they had finally let go, they bid each other goodnight, and Hermione went to bed with a smile on her face.

…

Hermione gasped as she saw Fred's eyelids begin to move. It was like he was trying to wake up, but his eyes didn't want to move. She waited for a few moments, but nothing else happened.

"That's a good sign," a voice said from behind her. Hermione jumped to see one of the female healers standing behind her. She smiled brightly at her. "That's the most movement we've seen from him so far. That's good."

Hermione just nodded at her.

"I think it's the sound of your voice," the healer told Hermione. "It's like you're drawing him back in. Must be pretty powerful."

"My… voice?"

"I've seen it happen before. Husbands or wives just telling the other one to come back and they do. The sound of a comforting tone can be quite powerful." She laid a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Just keep talking to him. He likes it." And with that, she left.

Hermione looked back at Fred, thinking about the healer's words. Hermione remembered the day that Fred had sung to her when she was having an attack over Harry and Ron. She thought back to his CD player and his reading voice. His voice always brought Hermione comfort and a sense of calmness. The healer must be right, Hermione thought. Hermione picked up her book and began reading to him again.

A few hours later, Hermione was surprised to look up and see Draco, Theo, Neville, Ginny, Luna, and Blaise walk into the room.

"What are you all doing here?"

"McGonagall let us come to collect your assignments," Draco said.

"And to check in on Fred," Ginny said, taking the seat next to Hermione. "Any news?"

"Well, his eyes were starting to move earlier," Hermione told them.

Theo looked over at her. "That's good then, right? He should be waking up soon?"

"Not exactly," Hermione told them. "The healer just said it's a good sign. We still don't know when he'll be up."

"Why were his eyes moving?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. She didn't know how they would react to her saying that it could be her voice. They might think she's gone mad. "I don't know," she said instead.

Draco's grey eyes pierced into hers. "Well, whatever it was, Granger, keep doing it."

"And how do you know it was something I did?"

"Because you always know what to do," Draco said, pulling up a chair on the other side of Fred. They all sat in silence for a few moments before Blaise groaned loudly.

"Bloody hell, will you please just wake up!" He yelled at Fred's motionless body. "I can't stand everyone moping around and being sad-"

"We're not moping," Neville tried to say.

"Yes you are Longbottom!" Blaise turned on him. "Everyone is. And Fred can come back and change that. We can all go back to how we were and I can get on with designing my hotels!" Blaise began pacing the room.

Hermione looked at him a moment. "Blaise?"

"What, Granger?"

"Why was Fred having lunch with Alicia Spinnet?"

Blaise stopped dead in his tracks. George had told him what was going on. Alicia Spinnet wasn't an interior designer. She was a jewelry designer in Diagon Alley. George wouldn't tell him what, but he was designing something for Hermione with her. He racked his brain, trying to remember the story George had fed him in case she brought it up again.

"Blaise?" Luna asked him lightly.

Blaise cleared his throat. "Erm… right, he was having lunch with her to help decorate the hotels. We've hired her on for furniture and whatnot."

Hermione's brown eyes bore into his for a few moments. Blaise put up all his walls and defenses, in case she was using legilimens. Finally, Hermione nodded at him and looked back towards Fred.

"There's nothing to worry about with him, 'Mione," Ginny told her softly. "He fancies you quite a bit."

"Don't you mean love?" Theo sang. Everyone laughed. Hermione blushed a bright crimson.

"You know, all of you are in relationships, but you don't see me teasing you all the time," Hermione stated.

"Don't lump me in with them!" Draco said indignantly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Luna smiling at her. "We only do it because we love you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled back and nodded. "I know."

The seven of them sat there together for a long time. Ginny and Theo made sure to catch her up on all the gossip going around Hogwarts and her sudden disappearance. Draco told her how well Head duties were going and how all the prefects have been doing well. Luna told her all about the creatures she and Hagrid have been taking care of. Molly stopped by, surprising all of them with her homemade sweets.

Once everyone was gone, Hermione settled back down in her seat. She looked down at Fred, wondering if his eyes would move again. When they didn't, Hermione picked up a book and started reading.

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