AN: this chapter took me a long time because I had trouble figuring out how to properly transition how much time was passing.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything
Chapter Three: A Cookie
Fred spent days walking on air. As much as his conversation with Hermione had been worrying and just a little heartbreaking, it also made something very apparent to him.
Hermione cared about him.
She cared about him enough to be scared for his future, and that alone had him living out his wildest fantasies in his mind without the aid of the Daydream Charms. George and Lee continued to take the mickey out on him for the rest of the week, but Fred couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed. Afterall, there was nothing shameful at all about being totally and completely enamored with Hermione Granger. A little over a week after their opening day, him and George were sitting down to dinner in their flat after a particularly busy day at the shop. Something they'd discovered after moving out of the burrow was that both of the twins rather liked cooking. As much as their mum liked to whinge about it, they were doing more than just surviving without her help, they actually lived quite well.
"So…"
Fred was pulled from even more thoughts about the way Hermione had looked when she'd been blushing so prettily and catching his and the little girl's kisses by the sound of his twin's drawn out drawl.
"Yes, dear brother?"
Fred shoved a gigantic bite of potatoes in his mouth and eyed George suspiciously as he gave Fred a deadpan look. "Are you ever going to tell me what exactly you and Granger talked about in the workroom?"
Fred tossed his head around in thought before swallowing and saying, "Well, it was quite a sad conversation actually." Fred set his fork down and let out a loud sigh. George simply raised his eyebrows.
"If it was so sad, why have you been smiling like Ron when mum makes treacle tart all week?" Fred guffawed, but George's stoic look remained.
"Because as sad and confusing as it was, it was also quite enlightening." Fred paused and the easy smile on his face dropped into a solemn expression. "She's scared about the war. Said she was scared for me actually."
"Scared for you?" George asked in confusion.
"Scared I'll die I suppose."
What if you die in the war, Fred?
Her choked and anxious voice rang in his ears like warning bells. There was some kind of eerie certainty in the way she'd said it that had him wondering for a moment how he'd spent the whole week with stars in his eyes. He shook himself from his thoughts and looked back up at George's nervous expression.
"Bunch of rubbish if you ask me. Not even Voldy-pants himself could take down a Weasley twin!"
George's face didn't waver at his attempt at humor, and Fred sighed. George had always been slightly more serious and realistic than Fred, and though very few knew it, Fred was well familiar with this side of his brother.
"We'll be fine, George."
Fred nodded to himself and picked up his fork again.
"We'll all be fine."
The next day, Fred was walking to pick-up lunch from the Leaky when he saw a familiar head of curly honey hair bouncing from across the street. Surrounding her, was a gaggle of Weasley red-hair and, of course, Harry. They must be here for supplies. Without hesitation, he sprinted across the street and latched onto her elbow to spin her around and start leading her in the opposite direction than she was going.
"Sorry, Mum! Just have to borrow this one for some business." He called over his shoulder before continuing a brisk walk that had Hermione's short legs jogging slightly to keep up with him.
He vaguely heard Ron call out, "What the bloody hell does George want with Mione?"
And then Harry's amused response, "Are you sure that's George?"
Followed by Ginny's, "You're such an idiot, Ron."
Once they were out of earshot, Fred pulled to a full stop and stepped in front of the oddly silent witch. She looked beautiful today. Hair tossed into a messy ponytail, flustered blush spread across her freckled cheeks, and a soft pink blouse. When she nervously pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth and glanced up at him through her lashes, he found himself regretting not spending every evening at Grimmauld just to see her. One week had felt like a lifetime, and he couldn't even begin to imagine how it was going to feel when she went away to Hogwarts in just a few days. It was with that in mind that he asked his next question.
"Fancy some lunch?"
Her teeth released her bottom lip and her mouth parted to form a small o in surprise.
After a few seconds of silence where she seemed to study him to figure out his intentions, Fred added, "Not very nice to leave a man waiting, Hermione."
She rolled her eyes before rolling her shoulders back and giving him a rather prim look. "I suppose I could accompany you."
He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face if he tried. He reached down and laced their fingers together, still standing right in front of her. She looked so shocked by the action that he grew nervous.
"Is this okay?"
Hermione's fingers tightened around his then, and her lips quirked up into a small smile. "Let's go to lunch before I change my mind."
Fred used his free hand to mock salute her before continuing their path to the Leaky Cauldron at a much slower pace than before. Her hand was small and dainty in his, and he couldn't help but push his thumb into the smooth skin on the back of it.
They didn't speak until they were sat down in a booth in the back, and even then it was only to order drinks and their meals. After a few moments of silence where they simply stared at each other, Hermione quirked an eyebrow and said surprisingly confidently, "So is this a date, Fred Weasley?"
Hermione's heart was pounding so hard, she wasn't even sure she would be able to hear his response if he gave one. She stared at him and watched the expressions on his face change rapidly. Surprise, confident, nervous, and then back to confident. Watching his emotions play so easily across his face was like watching her favorite play. By the time he actually did say something, she was already smiling.
"No."
Her smile dropped instantly, and her eyes narrowed into a deep glare. Regret for asking the question at all immediately flooded her system, and she recovered from her embarrassment with righteous indignation. Naturally.
"Not that I want to be on a date with you, Frederick, but why on earth would you ask a girl to lunch if not for a date?"
She could feel his immediate rejection burning up inside her which resulted in her using his full name as a weapon. A tactic that worked quite well in pissing Ronald off, but only left Fred even more amused,
"And even more so, drag her away from her friends on a day when she has things she would much rather be doing?"
When he simply stared at her with that infuriating mischievous smirk of his, she huffed loudly and jumped to her feet. She needed to leave. She needed to leave and pretend she'd never asked the question in the first place, and then go back to a world where Fred Weasley was just her friend's older brother and not this boy who she couldn't stop thinking about. Had she made up all his lingering looks and flirtations in her mind? Was he playing with her? Was she some kind of prank?
No. Hermione refused to be a punchline.
She went to walk out, but Fred's hand snapped out and yanked her into the booth beside him.
"Fred! Stop it!"
She tried to stand up again, but his lanky arms slipped around her waist and held her there.
"Hermione," he whispered in her ear. She repressed the urge to shudder and weakly fought his hold on her.
"Let me go this instant," she mumbled and without much conviction. Her eyes pointed steadfastly on the table, and her face turned a violent shade of red.
"Hermione," he whispered again.
She stopped fighting at the desperate tone in his voice. She'd never heard him speak to her like that. She'd never heard him speak to anyone like that.
As soon as she had stilled, he started speaking to her again. His breath ghosted across her cheek, and she tried not to inhale the subtle smell of spearmint toothpaste. She could feel goosebumps prickling the skin of her arms. "This isn't a date because I want our first date to be a proper one. One where I ask you a few days in advance, and I wear my best robes. I'll buy you flowers and chocolates-"
"I don't like chocolate," she mumbled.
"Flowers and sugar quills then."
"Not roses."
"Oh no. Something pretty and natural like lilies or lilacs."
"I like lilies." His arms tightened around her, and she relaxed into him.
"And you'll put on your nicest dress, and Ginny will force you to wear make-up which you'll immediately wash off before I pick you up. Then we'll go to a restaurant that's not a pub, and I'll save up so you can order whatever you want. You'll impress me by being able to speak French, and I'll impress you with my sharp wit and gentlemanly behavior. Afterwards, I'll take you to something worldly and educational, like a muggle museum, and I'll let you drag me around to every exhibit. At the end, I'll take you home and give you my coat in case you're cold, and then I'll give you the most passionate kiss of your life right there at your doorstep. You'll be so wooed by the entire thing that our next date will be the very next day."
"Is that so?" She asked loftily, but she knew he was right. She was wooed just hearing about it.
"Quite right." Fred's thumb moved against her ribs, and she felt goosebumps spread across her skin. "And maybe it won't happen like that, but that's what's fun about it."
She finally moved her gaze from the grain of the table to his bright blue eyes which were looking at her with an undeniable fondness.
"For now…" he mumbled, his eyes darting quickly down to her lips before returning to her curious eyes. "You'll have to settle for a not date in the Leaky Cauldron where we split the bill and talk about mundane things such as your insane course schedule for sixth year and what Ron has done to make you mad today."
She let out an undignified snort, and his face erupted into a brilliant grin.
"Does that sound okay?" He asked unnecessarily.
"I suppose so," she said breathlessly, and he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead before releasing her from his hold.
She went to move back to the other side, and she felt his eyes on her all the way up until she'd settled and quickly pushed her loose curls behind her ears. As he stared at her, she felt the need to apologize for her quick temper.
"Fred…"
He put his elbows on the table and dropped his chin into his hands, "Yes, dear?"
She gave him a mock glare before it settled into a soft and apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about my little… fit. I guess you make me nervous."
He grinned, "I tend to have that effect."
"Yes, well, I don't deal well with not knowing where I stand." After a moment of contemplative silence, she added, "Or with rejection, I suppose."
Fred winked at her and said in amusement, "I doubt there's much you could do that would make me reject you, Hermione."
She blushed and stuttered for a moment before he seemed to take pity on her and changed the subject.
"I actually am curious what Ron has done to make you angry today."
"Oh, Fred! Let me tell you. I was in the library this morning, and…"
Fred couldn't even begin to describe his relief and joy when the rest of their lunch was spent with animated conversation and lots of laughter. Hermione, despite what everyone loved to say about her, had a rather great sense of humor. She was smart and quick with comebacks, and everytime she would bite her lip after a particularly brutal sarcastic comment, he got even more excited. They'd never truly sat down for a conversation like this where they talked about normal things and had no other nosy friends present. It was everything he could've hoped for, and it was only ruined when he realized he'd been gone from the shop for over an hour.
After they'd both paid for their meals, they began the walk back towards the shop and the places Hermione needed to go for supplies. Fred's goodbye at the doors to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was interrupted when a frantic Lee yanked him into the busy store with a string of obscenities. He made sure to blow Hermione an identical kiss to their last goodbye right before she disappeared from his view.
Before Hermione knew it, it was time for them to leave for school.
Molly and Arthur were giving the four of them hugs and well wishes for the term when a familiar voice interrupted them.
"You lot weren't going to leave without saying goodbye were you?"
"George! Fred!" Ginny yelled before launching herself at the two boys. They caught her in between their two bodies and squished her close so that they resembled a ginger, twin sandwich.
"Gin, we're going to miss your genius and stunning brain!"
"You're going to have to keep Ickle Ronnikins on his toes for us!"
"Don't let him get too comfortable!"
"We'll send you some prototypes!"
"Oi!" Ron protested, but they continued like he wasn't there.
"And remember, boys only want one thing!"
"And none of them are worth your time-"
"Or tears!"
"Especially Harry Potter!"
"Hey!" Harry weakly responded with a furious blush taking over his face at the same time Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "I'm still dating Dean, ya know?"
"And don't forget that your grades aren't the most important thing!"
"School is useless-"
"And don't let Hermione bully you into studying!"
"Or pay any mind to her study plans!"
Instead of protesting like Harry and Ron, she simply rolled her eyes and gave the twin she knew to be Fred a pointed stare to which he responded with an exaggerated wink.
"Fred and George, you will knock it off this instant," Molly scolded, but Arthur just smiled in amusement. Once they'd finally released Ginny with simultaneous kisses to her cheeks, they moved to Harry and Ron. Hermione watched as Fred said his goodbyes before he tapped George lightly on his elbow, and suddenly a great ruckus was occurring right in front of them. There was a burst of feathers and a squawk, but Hermione's line of sight was completely filled with Fred. George yelled something unintelligible behind him, and Hermione finally understood that he was causing a diversion. Fred grinned at her and all of the sudden a small box wrapped with a bow was right in front of her nose. She almost went cross eyed as she gazed at the gaudy purple and orange wrapping paper before she looked back up at Fred in confusion.
"Think of it as a going away present, Hermione."
She hesitated only slightly before reaching forward and taking it gingerly from his eager hands. "It's not a prank, is it?"
He laughed and placed a hand over his heart. "I swore never to prank you, Miss Prefect!"
She reached one of her hands up to untie the bow, but Fred's calloused fingers wrapped around hers to stop her.
"Not now. Open it tonight."
She frowned, but then a soft smile played at her features. Before she could talk herself out of it, she pushed herself on her toes to kiss his cheek softly in thanks.
"Thank you."
He reached up and tucked her curls behind her ears, pausing only for a few moments to rest his palms against her warm cheeks. "I'll miss you."
One of her hands went to rest over his, and she smiled sadly at him. "I'll miss you too, Fred."
This term might just be the longest of her life.
"You'll write me, won't you?" She asked nervously as she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. She watched his eyes dart down before moving back to hers. His eyes crinkled up in mirth.
"Everyday."
"Well, that's hardly necessary," she mumbled half-heartedly.
Before he could respond, a hand lurched backwards and whacked Fred's elbow none too lightly, prompting Fred to wrap his arms tightly around her. She burrowed her face against his chest and squeezed him as tight as she could with the present still in one of her hands, and all too soon, he was pulling away and turning back to his family with one last burning glance in her direction.
The train ride consisted of more talks of what they had seen of Malfoy at Borgin and Burkes, Lavender Brown drawing hearts on the compartment window, and Hermione staring at Luna and contemplating asking her about her visions. She really couldn't think of anyone else to ask, and she did plan on checking the library for books on dream interpretation and possibly the divination section (despite it being her least favorite of every section). Luna, however, seemed like the best bet. She would probably say something infuriatingly cryptic, but Hermione knew she would keep it a secret and not call her barmy. Which is honestly all she could hope for.
She was so distracted by these thoughts and wondering about the contents of her gift from Fred, that she didn't even notice that they'd gotten into the carriage without Harry until they were already pulling up to Hogwarts.
"Ron! Where's Harry?" She asked rather frantically, but he waved her off and continued his conversation with Seamus who had popped into their carriage at the last minute.
Hermione very nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand landed on her wringing ones in her lap, and she made eye contact with Luna.
"He'll be along, Hermione. I'm sure he's doing something important."
Hermione pulled one of her hands out to pat Luna's knuckles and gave her a strained smile. "Thank you, Luna."
She glanced over at the two boys to make sure they weren't paying attention before leaning forward.
"Luna, I need to speak with you when you're free about something…" she looked up as she tried to think of the right way to describe her situation and eventually settled on, "odd that's happened to me."
Luna simply smiled at her and said, "It's only odd if you name it so."
Hermione repressed the urge to roll her eyes and said, "Yes, well, I'm naming it so."
Luna seemed to accept this and turned her smile out the window. "Very well. Tomorrow then? After dinner?"
"Yes, thank you."
Hermione's questions of Harry's whereabouts were answered at dinner when he walked in with a bloody nose. They spent the entirety of the meal talking about what Harry had heard as well as how Snape was now the DADA professor. By the end, Hermione was very nearly bouncing on her toes to get to the present from Fred that she had stuffed in her trunk.
When she was finally ready for bed, she snatched it from the trunk and quickly slid her privacy curtains shut around her to avoid the prying eyes of Lavender and Parvati.
She reverently pulled the bow before slowly opening the box. Sitting on top was a note with Fred's surprisingly neat handwriting scrawled across it.
Hermione,
Thought I'd give you some of our "brilliant bits of magic" to remember me by. Don't go daydreaming about other blokes though because it might just break my incredibly fragile yet impossibly large heart.
-The Handsome Twin
Hermione grinned and then realized there was another note directly under it in decidedly messier handwriting.
Our Dearest Mione,
We all know that I am actually the handsome twin.
Best Wishes (and dreams),
George Fabian Weasley
And then another note under that.
Hermione,
Don't listen to him. He's had one too many experimental potions and now has questionable mental health.
Yours,
Fred
Hermione took the small package of Patented Daydream Charms and tucked them away into her bedside table. She reread the note a few more times before holding it over her pounding heart and smiling rather giddily to herself. He'd signed it yours.
She carefully placed it in the ostentatious box before sliding the entire thing gently under her bed.
When she collapsed back on her mattress and smiled goofily at the drapes, she realized how truly and deeply in trouble she was.
Hermione hadn't even spoken to Luna about where to meet, but Luna being who she is, found her in the library anyway. Hermione, being Hermione, had prepared on the off chance this would happen anyway.
"Hi, Hermione," Luna's singsong voice floated to her from across the small table Hermione preferred behind the Arithmancy section.
"Hello, Luna. Thank you for coming."
She watched her friend sink into the seat across from her and studied her. She was wearing her butterbeer cap necklace and earrings with large sunflowers on them, and her long and almost ethereal hair was in a loose braid down her back. Her usually dotty expression was slightly more grounded than Hermione was used to, and she narrowed her eyes in appraisal.
"Are you feeling alright, Luna?"
Luna laid out some of her books in front of her and smiled at Hermione in her usual way. "I feel just as alright as I've always felt."
Hermione just stared at her and nodded. "Alright then. That's good I suppose…" Hermione trailed off as she looked at the notes in front of her. She glanced around them before casting some privacy charms and turning back. "What I want to talk to you about… it really is quite odd."
Luna simply continued to smile at her, so Hermione sighed.
"You know how I was cursed at the Ministry?"
Hermione watched as Luna's light expression darkened slightly. "Yes, of course."
"Well, I was unconscious for nineteen days as my body healed, and the entire time I was having these strange… visions…" Hermione's fingers splayed out on the table in front of her. Luna looked completely unfazed.
"What sort of visions?"
Hermione blushed and averted her eyes. "There were thirteen, and they were playing on repeat. And, well… they were all about Fred Weasley."
Luna nodded almost imperceptibly, "I always thought you two would make a lovely couple."
Hermione let out a shocked cough, and her eyes widened, "Wait, really?"
"Yes, of course. Harry and I have talked about it." Her jaw dropped.
"You have?"
"Yes and he agrees."
"Wow… that's… wow." Hermione for a moment tried to imagine Harry and Luna having a conversation about her and Fred and for some reason found the image rather funny. She giggled for a moment before shaking herself and straightening her spine. "Anyway! That's not the point!"
Luna quirked her head in amusement. "It's not?"
"No!" She took a deep breath before leaning forward and whispering despite the privacy charms in place. "The point is, that the visions I had were all things that haven't happened before. Things that are starting to become reality."
Luna looked excited as she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands. "What sort of things?"
"The first one was Fred's eyes blinking down at me which I saw as soon as I woke up. The second was Fred laughing which I saw the day I got to Order Headquarters. And the third was the purple and orange fabric of his robes that I saw at the opening of his and George's shop."
"How many more were there?"
Hermione frowned and glanced down at her notes despite the fact that she already had the countdown running like an internal clock. "There will be ten more."
Luna hummed to herself and smiled like they were now bosom buddies that shared some great secret. "Well, Hermione, you may not like divination, but I believe it is quite taken with you."
Hermione grumbled. "I thought you'd say something like that."
Luna didn't really have much to say besides that, and it took Hermione straightforwardly asking for advice for her to say anything of substance.
"Your magic has given you a gift. It would be a shame to waste it." Luna after that had opened her books and started working on an essay while Hermione stared off into the distance, rather distracted.
She had never thought of it as a gift, but after thinking about all of her interactions with Fred that she had had recently, she realized that her airy friend was right.
Her magic had given her a gift.
Her magic had given her Fred Weasley.
Fred wrote a letter the morning after he'd seen Hermione off for Hogwarts, but George had convinced him to give her one day to settle before he began his endless barrage of "love letters".
So he held off for exactly twenty-four hours before giving their shop owl, Mercury, a long and boring letter about the last two days at the shop. He'd felt dreadfully boring reading it, but imagining the way Hermione would become totally riveted by his mundane retellings had him writing it with a smile on his face.
Thus began his fulfillment of his promise to write to her everyday (with some exceptions because Mercury was, afterall, just one simple owl and did eventually grow tired. Something to which Hermione said was perfectly logical and humane.). As the weeks passed, he found their letter correspondence to be just as interesting and humorous as their lunch at the Leaky had been. He was pleased to find out that Hermione wrote with the same passion and class that she displayed in person. It made him feel unbelievable special that she shared such seemingly small parts of her life with him nearly everyday. They developed a schedule as the days went on. Hermione would receive her letter from Fred at breakfast. Write a response at some point in the day, and then send it out so that he received it just before bed. They took breaks on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Fred honestly couldn't believe how systematic he was becoming. He hadn't even realized it until George pointed it out, and even then, he wasn't terrible peeved. What was the shame in curbing some of his more out of the blue and totally spontaneous tendencies if the girl he fancied was signing her letters with Dreadfully Yours.
It was through the letters that he learning that Ron made the Quidditch team as Keeper, that Harry was using a Potions book that was annotated by someone deemed the Half-Blood Prince, and that Lavender seemed to have successfully sunk her pinchers into his baby brother.
It was also through these letters that he learned of the Hogsmeade trip, and thus, a plan was born.
George helped him cook a brilliant meal, kept fresh with preservation charms, but the cinnamon cookies were baked completely by him. He knew them to be her favorite due to the fact that it was the only dessert she ever really fought for when it was sat in front of her and his family.
He packed it in a horrible cliche picnic basket, along with a blanket, some simple lilacs, and a special product he had developed where once it made contact with someone's lips would cause the pranked to burst into a loud and proud love ballad every time anything else touched their lips. He fully intended on giving her advice on sneaking it to Ickle-Ronnikins simply to give her a full day free of PDA and his disgusting eating habits. George had helped with a bit of the charms, but it was otherwise an independent product. One he fully planned on taking to market as soon as he got a review from Hermione.
Hermione was sitting with Neville, Harry and Ron in the Three Broomsticks when Lavender came in with her gaggle of giggling girls. She walked up to them in the middle of the boys' conversation about Quidditch and plopped herself right down on dear Won-Won's lap.
Hermione and the two other boys averted their eyes awkwardly as a very showy and rather disgusting display of public affection ensued.
After a few moments where Harry tried to uncomfortable carry on the conversation, Hermione had had enough and slammed her glass on the table.
"Honestly, Ronald! Can't you go somewhere more private!"
Lavender disengaged to shoot Hermione a scathing look before hopping up with one final smacking kiss to Ron's swollen lips.
"I'll meet you at our special place later, Won-won?"
"Yeah…" Ron mumbled with a splotchy blush taking over his pale complexion.
Lavender and her group disappeared back into the snow, and Hermione leveled her glare on her friend.
"Is all that really necessary, Ron?" She watched as his face morphed into something ugly, and he sneered at her.
"Why do you always have to nag?"
She let out a frustrated sigh that sent one of her curls skyward before tuning back to him. "Do you not realize how disgusting those displays are? Can't you save that for somewhere private?" His eyes narrowed dangerously, and she realized as Harry sucked in a breath that he was about to slip into one of his blind rages that always ended poorly. He did not disappoint.
"You're just jealous because no one will ever look at you or touch you the way I do Lavender!"
It was childish and completely false, but the malice and the person saying it had her eyes watering before she could even blink. She jumped to her feet. Her hair was standing up on end and crackling with energy, but she fought through the tightening in her heart long enough to shove her finger into his chest.
"I can't wait for the day you pull your head out of your arse long enough to realize how terribly and horribly wrong you are, Ronald Weasley! And when that day comes, I hope you regret every cruel thing you have ever said to me."
Before the tears could pour over, she bid Harry and Neville goodbye and disappeared out the door in a flash, not even paying attention to her surroundings or the voices that called her name.
Fred had just stepped in from the cold when he heard Ron's angry voice.
"You're just jealous because no one will ever look at you or touch you the way I do Lavender!"
Fred's nervous eyes followed his brother's line of vision to a teary and enraged Hermione. He was frozen as he watched her stand and point and scream at him. When she turned away from the table, Fred's heart squeezed at the tears that were just beginning to fall. He yelled and tried to reach out for her, but she ran right past him. He stared after her for just a moment before taking a step to follow her, but Harry's voice interrupted him.
"Fred? I didn't know you were coming."
Fred's eyes darted between the table and the swinging door. He watched Hermione's form dart past the window to the left before sighing and turning back to the table she had vacated. Harry, who had also been looking out the window at Hermione, turned back to him with an exhausted expression.
"It was a surprise," Fred grumbled.
He narrowed his eyes on Ron and took a few more steps towards them. If Ron wasn't his brother, he wouldn't have recognized the flushed cheeks and downcast eyes as regret. Knowing that, he still felt anger on Hermione's behalf burning him up inside.
"You know, you're a real idiot, Ron," he said dangerously. His brother's gaze went up to him, and he watched as the regret filtered out and turned into that familiar rage.
"Piss off!"
Fred just shook his head at him, taking steps backwards as he did so. "Good one, mate. Now if you'll excuse me, I have beautiful witches to woo."
Ron narrowed his eyes. "What are you on about?"
Fred ignored him in favor of stepping out into the bitter cold and turning left. Every student he passed, he asked if they had seen Hermione, and everytime it was without luck.
After a few minutes of this, he finally saw her familiar curls bouncing as she walked slowly out of the village. He ran as fast as he dared through the snow and was a few steps away from her when a black-clad form stepped out of an alley right beside her and ran bodily into her. He reached his hands out as if to catch her, but he was too far and had to watch as she fell sideways into the snow covered pavement.
"Watch it, mudblood," a familiar voice growled out. Fred looked at the back of the head of the person as they turned to walk the way Hermione had been going, and he immediately recognized them.
"Oi, Malfoy!" Fred yelled, "Watch your bloody mouth!"
Malfoy completely ignored him and continued to angrily trudge away, so Fred went to follow.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Hermione's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Fred?"
Fred threw a hand in Malfoy's direction. "He can't talk to you like that, Mione!"
He turned down to her sad sniffling form and his anger slowly faded away. He reached for her hand and pulled her up gently. Before she was even really standing steadily, her shivering body was thrown against his.
"Fred, I'm so glad you're here!"
"This wasn't exactly how I imagined our reunion, Sleeping Beauty."
She let out a half laugh, half sob against his chest, and he pressed his nose into her hair.
"What Ron said was utter rubbish," he growled out beneath his breath.
She pulled away and looked up at him.
He was momentarily captured by the way her freckles stood out under her blush and how tears were caught in her lashes. He reached up and brushed his thumb beneath one of her eyes before moving his fingers into the curls at the base of her skull.
"It just hurts," she started before taking a shuddering breath and finishing with, "that someone who is supposed to be my best friend, someone who is supposed to know me better than anyone else, could say something so horrible to me."
His arm that was on her waist tightened, and he frowned down at her. "I'm sorry for him. I think mum may have dropped him too much as a child, so you really should blame her instead."
His lips quirked up when she laughed at his attempt at humor. "What are you doing here?" She breathed out.
Fred pulled one hand away from her waist to take the shrunken basket from his pocket. "I have a horribly cliche pre-first date, date planned for us, my dear."
She let out a watery laugh as she eyed the tiny basket warily, "Pre-first date, date?"
He dropped one arm to her waist and started the walk towards a snow covered hill he knew to be positioned rather privately behind the row of shops. "Yes, this won't be our first date, you see. This will be date number zero. A pre-date, to get out all the nerves before our first inevitably wonderful date if you will."
She blushed and tangled her small fingers in the fabric of his cloak just over his ribs. "I like that idea."
He filled their walk with pickup lines and fantastic (terrible) jokes he had been saving up because the effect required a live audience. He kept it up all the way until he'd laid down the blanket, cast the warming charms, and her laughs were bubbling up more often than her sniffles. She gave appropriate oohs and ahs over his superb cooking skills, and he spent a lot of the time studying her face. She somehow looked older than she had just a couple months before. She was paler and just a little skinnier like she'd been skipping out on one too many meals and pretending like the outdoors didn't exist. He wished he'd realized how he'd felt last year when they could have had time together at Hogwarts. Time to walk her to classes and watch her study, make sure she ate at every meal, snog her in broom closets and in tiny alcoves, and keep her company in the sneezy and silent library.
You know what they say about hindsight.
The way her eyes lit up when he pulled out the still warm cookies had him forgetting all the would haves and should haves. The scent of buttery cinnamon wafted between them as soon as Fred opened the container, and the moan that came from Hermione's throat had his mouth watering for a completely different reason.
George's voice of reason came to him in a moment of clarity.
Keep it in your pants, Freddie.
Fred cleared his throat and gestured for her to take a cookie.
As Hermione took the cookie in her hand she had a moment to collect herself enough and realize she was about to see one of the moments from her dreams. That's why when Fred snatched the cookie she picked up and shoved the entire thing in his mouth, she had the ability to react appropriately. Like she hadn't seen that moment before.
She mock gasped and watched as joy crinkled the corners of his eyes and crumbs got stuck to the dark auburn stubble on his chin. She laughed for just a moment before her giggles faded into a soft tender expression, and she sat up so that she was crouched on her knees in front of him. She bit her bottom lip as a moment of insecurity took over.
"What is it, Hermione?" Fred's low voice filled the space between them like some tangible thing. She could feel it ghosting across her skin like that moment in the booth. She slowly maneuvered around the stuff laid out between them until she was balanced right in front of him on her knees.
She moved her hands to rest on his cheeks and slowly started to brush the crumbs off his face with the tips of her fingers. "You're such a mess," she whispered out of fear of disturbing the tender bubble surrounding them. After a few moments of staring determinately at what she was doing, she slowly blinked to look into his eyes. His pupils were so large there was just a small ring of that bright blue surrounding them.
"Hey, Hermione? I know I said I would wait until the end of our first real date to kiss you, but I really want to do it right now."
His tone had matched her soft one, and his large hands reached up to cover hers completely. She took a deep breath before releasing it with a nervous but sure smile. "We could pretend it didn't happen. I wouldn't mind."
Her eyes darted down to watch his adam's apple bob up and down. One of his hands left hers to snake around her waist and before she knew it her eyes were closing.
All thought left her brain, a feat not easily achieved, as soon as his lips touched hers. She didn't have a thought in her mind about how obscenely her body pressed to his as she sought out his warmth, or how his hands were everywhere. This first kiss was relatively chaste with just their lips touching each others.
She pulled back with wide eyes, and his arms tightened where they were holding her body to his. Somehow she'd ended up with one of her knees on his thighs and the other to the side as he sat with his legs sprawled, and his fingers were leaving burning trails, even through the many layers she had donned just that morning.
"Holy Merlin's saggy-"
She interrupted whatever expletive he was sure to be about to say by pressing her lips to his again out of curiosity and pure want. It was her who traced the seam of his lips with her tongue and pushed for more, but Fred was more than obliging. Every time they broke apart for air or a new angle Fred managed single words.
"Daydream-"
Her hands in his hair.
"Charms-"
His fingers snaking through the buttons of her muggle coat.
"Got-"
His lips trailing down her throat.
"Nothing-"
Her nails on his scalp.
"On this."
There was one final kiss before they pulled away and just blinked at each other rather dumbfoundedly. Hermione had kissed boys before, but it had never felt like that. Hermione immediately tried to categorize what was different with Fred compared to the others, but Fred's warm fingertips pressing into the wrinkles at her brow interrupted her train of thought.
"You shouldn't have kissed me like that, Mione."
Her lips turned down into a frown, and he kissed it softly away.
"I'm never going to be able to replicate that with a charm, you absolute minx of a woman."
Hermione couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled to the surface if she tried. Leave it to Fred Weasley to turn an absolutely horrid day into something so completely magical. It was only after her laughter died down, and she had a chance to truly breathe that she remembered exactly how obscenely she had wrapped her body around his. She went to pull away, but he pulled her in for one more kiss. He pulled away but left his forehead resting against hers.
"First Friday of the Holidays. You, me, muggle restaurant, flowers, sugar quills, speaking french, museums, and more kisses."
It wasn't a question, but Hermione still found herself nodding her response. She opened her mouth to verbalize it, but a piercing scream broke through their self created bubble.
Hermione jerked away from him so fast, she fell flat on her bum beside him. They made eye-contact for barely a second before they were both scrambling to their feet with their wands at their sides to run towards the terrifying noises. When they came upon the path from Hogsmeade, it was to a sight that had Hermione's heart stopping.
A girl was suspended about six feet in the air with her hair whipping viscously in the wind. She was letting out a nearly inhuman scream that Hermione could feel in her bones, and it was only when the girl dropped into the snow that Hermione recognized her as Katie Bell.
When the screams stopped an eerie and heavy silence filled the air before all at once, multiple people ran towards her.
There was a flurry of activity and panic as everyone tried to figure out what happened, and it was only interrupted by the stationed aurors and professors showing up. Hermione watched from her place between Fred and Harry as Katie was emergency portkeyed to St Mungo's and a large and gaudy necklace was carefully contained by the aurors.
"Come on, Hermione. We should get back to the castle." Hermione nodded absent-mindedly at Harry and went to follow before freezing in her footsteps and turning back to Fred.
He was pale and had a dark and clouded look in his eyes. It was then that she remembered that Katie had been rather close to the twins.
"Fred?" She asked quietly. She stepped forward and unthinking of the people around them, reached for his hand. "She'll be fine, Fred. I'm sure of it."
Fred tore his eyes away from the dent in the snow where Katie's body had collapsed and slowly returned the pressure of her fingers.
The look in his eyes had her adding quietly, "Maybe you and George could go to St Mungo's to make sure."
He gave her a weak smile before glancing at something over her shoulder.
She heard Ginny say, "Come along, you two. She'll catch up," and only moments later she found herself crushed against Fred's chest.
"You be safe, Hermione. Just one more month." He pulled away, and she watched his eyes dart to a place above her head before dropping down to give her one more burning kiss that had her toes curling and her heart pounding.
When she pulled away, she could see the desperation and anxiety clearly on his face before it was replaced with a put-upon goofy smile.
"Don't go snogging other wizards, Hermione," he said lightly.
She tilted her chin up and pursed her lips. "Is this your way of asking me out, Fred Weasley?"
"I don't know. Would you say yes?"
She rolled her eyes and blushed. "Do I really have to answer that question?"
He leaned down and gave her his trademark smirk, "Do I really have to ask?"
She kissed the corner of his lips and took a couple steps backwards. "I suppose I'm only really interested in one wizard, so you don't have to worry in that regard. Do I need to worry about other witches?"
He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think you understand how irresistible I am with the ladies. Something about our horrendously vibrant work robes really get them going." Fred watched a flash of insecurity appear for a moment across her face and added, "However, only one of these pining witches catches my fancy."
"I am hardly pining." He smiled softly at her, and she swallowed down her nerves at the intense way he was staring at her.
"You're not? Because I am not ashamed to admit that I pine after you every moment we are separated."
Before she could respond he was backing away from her and blowing her the kisses that were starting to become a tradition for them.
"I'll see you in my dreams, Hermione."
And then he was gone with a crack of apparition, and she was left in the empty pathway with a terribly hot face and an awkward sort of pain in her chest.
AN: Wow a very long chapter! Bit of a fluffy one. A lot of relationship development.
Thanks as always for the follows, favorites, and reviews! I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Let me know what you're thinking of it!