AN: Happy new year everybody! I can't believe I have written over 250,000 words in 2019 alone! I'm proud of myself:')
I also am so happy with the reception I've gotten on this story! Over 100 followers already. I hope you're enjoying it!
DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything
Chapter Four: Explosion
Hermione made a decision on her solo walk back to the castle that she wouldn't actively tell anyone about her… thing with Fred. If people asked questions, she wouldn't lie per say, but she wouldn't exactly give them anything of substance.
The only people that asked questions anyway were Ron, Harry, and Ginny.
Ron was just a bit suspicious when he questioned her over dinner that night, "So what were you doing with Fred in Hogsmeade?"
Hermione's head snapped up at Ron's words, and honestly, the fact that he was talking to her at all after the stunt he pulled in Hogsmeade was quite startling. Usually after saying something so terrible, he would take a few days to stew in his prideful regret before coming back to her like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs, but this time she suspected his curiosity was too great to bare. Fred and her hadn't exactly been subtle when they'd sprinted towards the commotion hand in hand and then stayed behind after everyone had left. She found herself not caring too much what people had to say when she was in the presence of Fred, but it was always the aftermath when he wasn't there to make her knees weak that left her questioning her own conscious overlooking of secrecy.
She was snapped from her thoughts when Ron gave an impatient, "Well?"
"Ronald, I don't exactly see how that is any of your business," she snubbed with a raised eyebrow. She watched a flash of frustration cross his face before he seemed to swallow it down with a pained grimace. His face reminded her an awful lot of what he looked like every time he had to swallow a potion.
"I was just wondering is all," he mumbled.
Hermione watched him frown down at his empty plate before sitting up straight to load it with a second helping. Her eyes darted to Harry beside him who was giving her a funny sort of smirk.
"Is it my business?" He asked smugly. Harry had a subtle way of making things his business without seeming nosy. It was a talent that consistently had her both envious for his lack of insults regarding nagging and endlessly frustrated her for his never-ending well of information (gossip) regarding just about everyone at Hogwarts.
Hermione swallowed nervously and tried honorably to stop the blush that spread across her cheeks, but it was no use. Harry definitely noticed because his smirk spread into an amused grin.
"We're friends," she said with a nod to herself. See. Not technically a lie.
She felt someone flick her elbow quite violently, and she turned, aghast, to see the equally mischievous face of Ginny Weasley.
"Just friends?" She intoned with a terrible amount of implications behind her tone. Ginny had the same talent. She polished off the question with a wiggle of her eyebrows that made her smile because it reminded her so much of Fred, but she stopped at Harry, Ron, and Ginny's continued probing looks.
Now that is where it got tricky. Because answering yes to that would be an out and out lie and they would know, but saying no might end up with her dead at a young age if Ron's rapidly reddening face was anything to go by.
"What's wrong with two friends hanging out at Hogsmeade? Hmm?" She said with as much of an innocent expression as she could muster. Ron turned back to his now full plate with an inhuman grunt, and Hermione leveled glares on her two smug friends.
She shoved her book in her bag and said heatedly to Harry and Ginny, "You two are perfect for each other. Did you know that?" She watched as both their faces morphed into abject mortification before jumping to her feet and making her way out of the Great Hall before the two could say anything else.
She was grumbling to herself as she made her way to the library when a great hulking form stepped in front of her. Her ire at her friends turned into complete frustration as the oily face of Cormac Mclaggen appeared just inches from hers.
"Oh, great," she hissed under her breath. She watched with disdain as the boy threw his arm out and leaned against the stone walls beside them with a put upon air of comfortable suaveness. It took everything in her not to smack him with her book.
"Where you off to all by yourself, Hermione?" There was something about his voice that always sent the bad kind of shivers racing down her spine.
Hermione had been fending off Cormac's unwanted advances all term, but the git didn't seem to understand the meaning behind the word 'no'.
"Just the library," she said with a tense and totally in-genuine smile.
She made to walk past him, but his large meaty hand on her arm had her freezing in her steps. "Fancy some company? I was just thinking I needed to get some studying done."
Cormac was a painfully simple human being, and one thing she knew for sure was that he didn't ever go to the library. She pulled away from his grip, but he just started following her on her trek down the hall. "Not really, no," she said shortly.
"Come on then, Hermione. What's with these mixed messages you're sending me?" He still had that arrogant smirk, but there was an edge to his tone that had her discomfort skyrocketing. She reached into her pocket and gripped her wand tightly between her fingers. She'd always assumed he was harmless. He was harmless, right? She didn't want to pull the Fred card, but if he took it any further than these disrespectful comments, she wasn't above it. On top of that, she had no idea where his thought that she was sending mixed messages was coming from. She'd never given him anything but sort of polite rejection.
"Cormac, I've actually forgotten something in my room, so you really should continue on by yourself."
It was at least a five minute longer walk to Gryffindor Tower, and she was hoping that he would finally catch on and leave her alone. Suddenly, pounding footsteps could be heard behind her, and she yanked her arm away to turn around. Ginny's fiery red head turned the corner with her hair spiraling behind her as she ran. In just a few seconds, Ginny had caught up to them, and she paused with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
Her eyes darted from Cormac's annoyed expression to Hermione's pleading one, and she stood up straight with a steely spine.
"Hermione, did you forget we were supposed to meet up so you could help me with my Charms homework?"
Hermione's eyes widened before she jumped on the excuse. "Oh, yes! You were struggling with your paper on the theory behind Summoning Charms. So, sorry, Ginny. Here, you can come with me to my rooms."
Hermione held out her elbow and looked at her friend expectantly. It was a lie of course. Charms was Ginny's best subject, and she had never once needed help with it. But of course, Cormac didn't know that.
Ginny latched onto her elbow, and said casually over her shoulder as they passed him, "Oh, hello, Cormac. You know, you're missing dinner?" She asked in her falsely sweet voice that she had perfected after years of living with all of her brothers.
Both girls were long gone before they could see his scowl.
Hermione knew as they walked down the corridors in contemplative silence that Ginny had come running around that corner for a reason. And she had a feeling that that very reason was 'boy talk'.
Hermione had barely stepped through the portrait hole before Ginny was grabbing her hand and yanking her up to her own room.
"Ginny!"
Hermione screeched as she tripped over one of the steps. "Hush, you! You owe me answers, and I intend to get them!"
Hermione groaned as she got pulled into her own room and pushed onto her bed. Ginny stood in front of her with her arms crossed and a quirked brow.
"You've held out on me for quite some time, Hermione. I've allowed this mysterious little courtship between you and my brother to remain in the dark long enough." Hermione cringed at the word courtship, and Ginny just gave her an expectant look.
The thing was that Hermione, after today's events at Hogsmeade, found herself really wanting to talk about it.
Hermione sighed and nodded to herself. "Yes, I know."
Ginny allowed her a few seconds of silence before she nudged her with her foot and smiled, "Go on then."
"We are… well… I think we might be dating," Hermione said rather unsurely.
Ginny's brow furrowed, "You think?"
Hermione then went on to explain the entire conversation they had had just that day in Hogsmeade where Fred refused to ask and Hermione refused to answer. Ginny was grinning by the time Hermione looked up from her folded hands.
"You're definitely dating, Hermione. That was Fred's way of asking without having to ask."
Hermione blushed and gave one more cursory glance around the room despite the fact that she had checked it before she had even begun talking earlier.
"Oh," she finally answered. After a few more minutes of Ginny needling her for information, Hermione finally admitted that she was both terrified and excited about what might happen in the future.
"Mione…" Ginny gave her a smile that softened her entire face in a way that Hermione wasn't altogether familiar with. "That's what's exciting about it, don't you think?"
Slughorn's Christmas party was in just a few days, and Hermione still didn't have a date. Her and Harry were discussing this very predicament as they walked through the library one evening. His arms were loaded with tomes she continued to pick off the shelves, but Hermione could tell from one look at his crooked glasses and wrinkled brow that his mind was somewhere completely different.
"Harry?" He jumped slightly before giving her a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, Mione. Have you been talking to me? I'm a bit distracted." Hermione paused with her hand halfway towards an Advanced Arithmancy book and took a moment to really take in her friend.
Despite the sincerity in his words, he seemed to have already begun to drift off to that same place his mind had been occupying since the start of term. Hermione had discovered the Harry this year seemed to have a two-track mind. One direction he went was Sirius and Death Eaters and Voldemort and Malfoy. This path led to broodiness and barely concealed anger and grief. She never really knew how to help him with this one besides just being there with him. The other direction was Ginny Weasley and her current relationship with Dean Thomas. This one, though just a little heartbreaking, was slightly more manageable. It led to what he was doing now. Brooding in a completely different way.
He was doing a well enough job pretending to be present, but any sharp eye could tell he was thinking about something (Ginny) completely separate from whatever was going on in the moment. She tried not to be frustrated, but getting closer to Ginny allowed her to have an insight into every angle of the situation. Ginny had been in love with Harry since before she met him (and then promptly fell in actual love with him during her first year), and he hadn't given her any kind of attention. She was completely in the right to try different avenues. Of course, Hermione was still closer to Harry, so this left her in a position that was just barely leaning towards Harry in the sympathy department.
"No, I just had a question." She looked away from him very purposely to reach up for the book, and said sympathetically, "Perhaps, we could go to Slughorn's party together? Since we can't go with the people we really want to."
Harry sucked in a harsh breath, and she slowly turned back to his face. There was a pained sort of smile for just a moment, before a cheeky grin took over his expression.
"You finally admitting it then?"
She blushed before narrowing her eyes and saying, "I don't know to what you are referring, Harry."
Harry rolled his eyes and adjusted the stack in his arms so that he could reach out and take her newest addition from her hands to add to the top. "Oh, come off it, Hermione."
She bit her bottom lip and shifted nervously on her feet. "I'll confess when you confess." When he just stared at her blankly she raised a single eyebrow and leaned in to whisper, "Even though I joke about it, I know it's hurting you to see her with Dean. It's okay, Harry. I'm not going to tell."
He blinked a few times and spoke so honestly that she was hanging on to every word. She was used to having to work a little harder to pry his feelings out of him. "I know I should be thinking about Sirius and the Prophecy or anything else more important, but I can't stop thinking about her." He let out a frustrated breath before pointedly looking away from her. "And I know it's selfish to hope things turn out poorly with Dean, but I have about a thousand ideas to sabotage their relationship running through my mind at this very moment." Hermione raised an amused eyebrow, and he backtracked. "I mean… of course, I would never actually do any of them, but some of them are bloody genius."
She startled herself when a loud laugh popped out of her before she could stop it, and when Harry gave her a deadpan look she slapped her palm against her lips and mumbled an incoherent apology.
"Anyway… I guess I got myself into this whole mess by not realizing how funny and smart and beautiful and bloody terrifying she was before it was too late."
Hermione's hand slowly fell back down to her side, and she pulled her bottom lip back between her teeth, "Well, Harry, I'd say that was a more than adequate confession."
He laughed and the tension he'd built up from releasing what she was sure he'd been thinking for a good couple of months, left his body. "So glad I passed." His mouth turned up into a smirk. "Your turn."
"I'm dating Fred Weasley," she said simply and without any hesitation this time.
"You don't say?" He said sarcastically, and she whacked him on the arm.
"Now, say you'll go to Slughorn's party with me, or I might release the entire arsenal of pranks Fred keeps sending me on you." He raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"Merlin, Mione. How does it feel to know you have to threaten a man to get him to go on a date with you? I'm scared to ask what you threatened Fred with."
She gasped and hit him again. "Harry Potter, you take that back!" But she had to press her lips together to stop the grin from spreading across her face.
Fred was sitting down to dinner with George in their flat when a snowy white owl began tapping away on their window.
"Isn't that Harry's owl?" He asked through a mouthful of chicken.
George walked over and let the persistent thing in. Fred watched George's expression as he read the contents of what appeared to be three different pieces of parchment. It started out intrigued before it made the rapid switch to something that could only be described as mischievous excitement. Seconds later he held up what looked like two invitations.
"What are the chances we can put together a fireworks show in two days, Freddie?"
When the term ended and the day of the party dawned, Hermione found herself taking the opportunity to get all dolled up (even if it was just for Harry). She smoothed down her soft pink dress and glamoured her scar right as Ginny burst through the door. She looked amazing with her lightly curled hair and blue and black dress. Hermione sighed at just how beautiful Ginny was with such little effort.
"Sit down!"
Hermione blinked at the demand before carefully lowering herself onto the edge of her bed so that she wouldn't wrinkle the delicate fabric. She watched with wide eyes as Ginny walked toward her with a determined stup and what looked suspiciously like a makeup bag.
"Ginny, just what do you think you're doing?" Ginny set the bag down beside Hermione on the comforter and dropped her hands on her shoulders.
"Sit still, or I'll make you."
Hermione balked and stammered, but without further ado Ginny had pulled things from the bag and was brushing some kind of powder on Hermione's cheeks.
"Is this really necessary, Gin?"
One deadly look from her friend had her quieting and allowing Ginny to continue on her mission. It was ten minutes of being poked and prodded and listening as Ginny went on and on about how she had no idea what to get Dean for Christmas, and oh how she wished he would wear the dark blue robes as she asked and why doesn't he ever listen to me?
She rolled her eyes multiple times and Ginny was kind enough to ignore it.
"What did you get Fred for Christmas?"
Hermione blinked in surprise when the conversation finally left the realm of one-sided.
"Oh, a book."
Ginny set down the gloss she had just finished dabbing on Hermione's lips and put her hands on her hips. "You got Fred Weasley a book?"
Hermione, quite finished with being a pliant doll, jumped to her feet and pulled the large muggle book from its spot beside her box of letters and handed it to Ginny. One of the conversations they'd had on their first not-a-date date was how Fred secretly enjoyed reading. She'd come up with the brilliant idea to find a book filled to the brim with all kinds of muggle pranks. Her mum had to go get it for her and send it in the mail seeing as Hermione was stuck at Hogwarts, but it was so perfect. She thought possibly that the only reason her mother was willing to go to such lengths for her despite the rocky way their last conversation went was because boys seemed to be the one part of Hermione's life nowadays that her mother could help her with. All her letters home were about Fred now, and that was just another reason she was so thankful about him.
She watched smugly as Ginny's grinned flipping through it before looking up with an impressive sort of look in her eye.
"I apologize. This is perfect." Hermione nodded and thanked her primly before taking it back and returning it to its place under the bed. "You know what else is perfect?" It was Ginny's turn to look smug as she pulled Hermione to a mirror and placed her right in front of it.
Hermione had to admit that Ginny had done a good job. She'd never looked so pretty in her life she thought. It was subtle, but somehow made a big difference.
"Wow," Hermione whispered.
"I know. Fred is going to lose his mind."
Hermione's head whipped towards Ginny only to see her smack her hand over her mouth and open her eyes wide like she'd surprised herself.
"Oh, shit," she mumbled through her fingers before turning toward the door.
"Fred's coming?" Hermione asked in barely concealed excitement, but Ginny was already running nimbly out of the rooms and down the stairs.
Hermione chased after her and listened with a grin as Ginny yelled down at someone in the Common Room.
"I'm so sorry, Fred! I spoiled it!" When Ginny made it to the bottom Ginny had dropped her forehead against a confused Dean's chest, but Hermione wasn't even looking at them.
Fred Weasley stood right in front of her with a bouquet of Lilacs and Carnations and a lidless box full of what looked like Sugar Quills. He looked absolutely dashing in his ridiculous magenta robes and actually brushed hair. He was grinning rather unabashadly at her, and Hermione vaguely heard Ginny moan, "Oh, Harry is going to murder me!"
Hermione laughed before throwing her arms around Fred's middle and surely crushing the fragile petals between them.
"Fred, I can't believe you've come!" She found herself sinking deeply into his warm arms, and taking a deep breath in.
"Couldn't let my girl go with that grabby Potter! We all know he has less than honorable intentions what with those wandering hands and all."
Hermione pulled back and hit him lightly on the arm, but she was still smiling. He set the crushed flowers and box on the arm of the chair next to him and held her at arm's length. He was smiling at her warmly as he made a point of looking her up and down.
"Well, just look at you woman! You are absolutely delectable! The loveliest specimen I have ever seen with my own two eyes!" He leaned in and whispered dramatically, "And I've seen a lot of specimen, mind you."
She crossed her arms and said with an amused raise of her eyebrows, "Have you now?"
"Yes. Quite dreadful actually. My existence that is." He sighed and pushed the back of his hand against his forehead. "Women beg for me to grant them just one look with my deep and romantic eyes, but not one has caught my fancy such as you have." He dropped to his knees in front of her and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Now my eyes will only bless your wondrous form, my beauty."
A warm and bubbly feeling erupted in her chest, and her face was starting to hurt from how hard she was grinning. "You are absurd, Fred Weasley."
When he stood up again, the mischievous look was replaced with that soft intensity that she was so familiar with now. "Missed you, lovey," he said softly. His hand went to brush the side of her curls that weren't pinned back behind her ear, and he kissed her softly on her forehead. "Come along then. I've got to show off how much more beautiful my date is than everyone else's."
It was only at the mention of her being his date that she remembered who was supposed to accompany her. "Oh! What about Harry?" She glanced around the Common Room to see that it was completely empty, Ginny and Dean having left in the middle of Fred's dramatic monologue.
Fred grinned down at her and held out his arm. "He's asked the lovely Luna to be his date. He's actually the one that got us invited to this. Pulled some Chosen One strings with Slughorn." They slowly began the walk down to Slughorn's office.
"Us? Is George here?" Fred nodded and smiled down at her.
"He's brought Angelina." She glanced at the vibrant shade of his robes.
"Is he wearing orange?" She asked with a smirk.
"So smart, my girl."
They spent the rest of the walk in comfortable silence, and when they stepped into the office, Hermione's eyes widened in admiration. Curtains blanketed the walls in holiday shades so as to make the room look like a tent and their was a band playing against one side that must've been the Weird Sisters. Fred pulled his arm away to lace their fingers and started to pull her through the crowd as Hermione blinked up at the brilliance of the fairies in the lights.
She was still trying to figure out if a man she'd overheard being introduced as Sanguini was truly a vampire when Fred came to a stop. She slowly turned her head to see George wearing a truly atrocious set of orange robes and setting up what appeared to be one of their indoor fireworks products. Angelina beside him was in a pretty light blue dress staring at George in what could only be interpreted as adoration.
Fred crouched down beside his brother, but not before kissing her knuckles and releasing her hand. Angelina looked up at her with a soft smile.
"Hello, Hermione. Bit demonstrative aren't they?" George looked up and waved at Hermione before giving Angelina an identical kiss to her hand.
"It's because our ladies have completely bewitched us. It's both your fault really," he said with a wink directed towards Hermione.
Angelina rolled her eyes before shoving his head, so that George teetered on his toes and had to place a hand on the stone floor so as not to fall. Right as Angelina opened her mouth to speak Hermione looked down and watched as what was supposed to be a firework exploded in Fred's face Seamus Finnegan style, and left a thick film of ash all over his face. Hermione covered her mouth in amusement at seeing this particular vision come to pass, and had to resist the urge to verbalize that she'd been looking forward to that one. Instead what came out was a snort followed by an uncontrollable bout of laughter.
Fred blinked up at her once, twice, three times before one corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk that meant he had thought of a way to get back at her for her laughing at him. She was already shaking her head as he stood.
In a movement reminiscent of her first time meeting Ron, she touched her nose and said in between giggles, "You've got a bit of ash. Right there. Did you know?"
"Oh, now you've done it, woman," he said with a positively deranged smile. That coupled with the ash and explosion blown hair was too much for her.
"I think you look better like this!" She joked. She was full blown laughing by the time he had wrapped his arms around her waist to trap her and was hunching in on himself to nuzzle against one of her pink cheeks.
"Fred!" She squeaked, but he just continued to rub off on her face until he pulled away with half the ash gone from his face.
"There," he said smugly. "Now we match."
Of course, that was the moment that Slughorn made his way over to her. He did a doubletake on her face, and Hermione had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing again. Hermione didn't think she'd been in this good of a mood in a long time.
"Why… Miss Granger! What on earth has happened to your face?" His eyes darted to Fred, and he stuttered even more, "Well, Mister Weasley! Perhaps you two should get cleaned up before I start introducing you to my guests!"
"We will, Professor Slughorn. Right away."
He nodded before tapping her shoulder lightly and going back into the crowd, his large belly parting the crowd like Moses. As soon as he was gone Hermione started laughing again and turned back to Fred with a mock glare. It wasn't very good of course, considering how every couple of seconds another bubble of laughter would make its way up her throat.
"Now you've done it, Fred Weasley!"
She couldn't continue to stay mad at him when he was staring at her the way he was though, and her laughs soon turned into nervous giggles.
Fred thought there might just not be anything in the entire world as beautiful as Hermione laughing. Even covered in ash by his own hand, she was a gem. He'd spent his whole life trying to make as many people laugh as he could, so he'd heard and seen hundreds of laughing faces. There was no competition in his mind now, hers was the best.
Someone held a handkerchief out to him, and he turned very shortly to see Harry's amused expression before turning back to a nervous Hermione.
"Fred?" She sounded confused more than anything, and Fred supposed it must have been because he hadn't said a word and couldn't stop staring at her.
In a moment of surprisingly serious tenderness, he held her hair back with one hand and began to gently wipe the dark powder off her face.
He ignored George's one-sided speech about how he was glad he was the responsible twin and decided to bring back-ups, and instead stared at his girl as she blinked up at him. Merlin, he loved her eyes. Had someone slipped him a love potion?
"I've heard many laughs, Hermione, but yours is by far the best," he whispered to give them some kind of semblance of privacy, and he watched as the handkerchief slowly revealed her increasingly rosy cheeks and small smattering of freckles. He poked the soft apple of her cheek with his pointer finger and added, "I also love how I can make you blush." Her cheeks were violent red by now, but she was giving him a soft sort of nervous smile.
"I don't like how you can make me blush," she whispered back, but she was still smiling. "Rather embarrassing actually." She took the handkerchief from him then and started on his face. When she had trouble maintaining her balance in her short sparkly heels, Fred crouched down so that their faces were closer to even.
Neither of them noticed when George let out a whoop of victory and explosive colors were filling the tent-like room. Her small hand landed on his hip, and she squeezed seemingly without thinking. His mind took him down a path that had him blushing. It certainly didn't help that she was leaning against him, and if he chanced a glance down, he had a clear view down her lovely pink dress.
She gave a swipe to his cheek, and he watched as her nervous smile turned into a grin.
"Apparently, I can make you blush too, Fred." He grinned at her, and let both his hands land on her petite waist.
"Well, of course you can. I blush when I think about you all the time." His thumb brushed a soft path across her ribs, and she looked up at him with an expression that was surprisingly coy. It was so out of character on her face, but boy was it working. His mind was now going full speed down the aforementioned path.
"Oi! Lovebirds! You missed the show!"
Hermione slowly pulled away from him, and Fred turned to George with a proud smile. His brother was smirking at him, and it was only then that he took note of the ethereal Luna. She was standing with her hands laced gently in front of her, and staring with her wide knowing eyes at Fred and Hermione.
"It's just as I said. A lovely couple."
Fred pulled Hermione against his side and said happily, "Thanks, Luna." He took in her tiered silvery dress and grinned. "You look nice tonight."
She smiled at his kindness before saying in her airy voice, "Thank you very much, Fred. You have an infestation of nargles just about here," her hand reached up and brushed the shell of her ear, and Hermione let out an amused laugh. "You and George look very beautiful in those robes. Don't you think, Hermione?"
Fred blinked at being called beautiful, but he supposed there were much worse things to be called. "Oh yes, Luna. He is quite beautiful," Hermione said behind her demurely placed hand.
"What about me, Granger? I thought we agreed that I am the much more handsome twin!" George stood to his full height, and Angelina patted his chest in consolation.
"It's okay, love. You can't win them all," Angelina said loftily. George reached for her ribs and began to tickle her, and before anyone knew it, they were chasing each other through the crowd to the sound of their own laughter.
Moments later Slughorn appeared beside them again.
"Oh, very good, Miss Granger. You are back to your normal self. Now come along. I have some guests I would like you to meet." The man blinked in surprise when Hermione grabbed onto Fred's hand and began to pull him along with them. "Oh, Mister Weasley are you coming along? Fantastic display, truly! I guess I could introduce you as well."
Fred enjoyed an hour of talking Hermione up to strangers and watching the frustrated blush spread further and further across her cheekbones.
She'd finally had enough when Fred said to Gethsemane Prickle, "My Hermione is quite taken with beings of all sort. Did you know, when she was just thirteen she brewed polyjuice and turned herself into a-"
Hermione discreetly lifted her foot and stabbed the pointy end of her shoe into one of his toes, and he couldn't repress the groan that came from the back of his throat before leaning heavily on her. She fisted the fabric of his robes at his elbow and began to back away from the concerned woman.
"So sorry to leave it at that, Madame Prickle. Fred hasn't been feeling too well, so if you'll just excuse us?"
"Oh, yes, of course, Miss Granger. I do hope you'll feel better, Mr. Weasley."
Fred managed a strained, "Thank you, Ma'am. I'll be sure to finish that story for you another time!"
"You will not!" Hermione hissed out of the corner of her mouth before shoving him through a parting in the curtains until they were both hidden from everyone else in the party. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Fred hopped around for a second as feeling slowly returned to his toe before looking at Hermione in confusion. "Why are you upset?" Fred blinked as he watched her angrily push her hair away. She looked rather enchanting when she was essentially foaming at the mouth with rage, but there was no chance he'd be saying that to her right now. Especially when the next words left her pretty mouth.
"You've humiliated me!"
Now he was angry, and he really hated being angry. "Sorry, I'm proud of you, Hermione! Didn't know that was a crime!" She ignored him and bit into her thumb nail anxiously.
"How did you even know that story? I swore Harry and Ron to secrecy!"
He blinked. "That's what you're mad about? Brewing Polyjuice in second year is bloody impressive! And the cat thing is funny!"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and said hotly, "This isn't a joke, Fred Weasley! Besides that isn't all that it's about!"
Somehow, Hermione had found his one insecurity when it came to her and whacked it over the head most violently with a Giant-worthy club. "That's all you think I'm capable of, right? All you think I am?" He was practically spitting his words.
She blinked at him and the anger was now accompanied confusion. She stepped forward before shaking her head, "No, that's not-"
But he interrupted her, "I'm just one big bloody joke!"
He may not be as hot-tempered as Ron, but it was still in his Weasley blood. Even as she reached for him and started denying it, he pushed her hands away quickly.
"Not serious enough for the great, Hermione Granger, am I?" His voice had quieted, but you could still here how upset he was. "I'm just a prankster who works in a joke shop and never finished school. Well, enjoy climbing your greasy ladder, Hermione, because I clearly won't be any help!"
Hermione took a step away from him and the anger that had been there disappeared. Now she just looked upset and even worse, disappointed.
"You know I don't feel that way, Fred." Her eyes left his and landed somewhere on the ground. He remembered for a moment how much he was enjoying her laughter earlier. "It's insulting that you'd ever think such a thing." The dejection in her voice was so much worse than her anger, and he realized then that maybe she was just as insecure about her bookishness as he was about his lack thereof. "If you don't mind, I'm going to call it a night."
Then she was gone and Fred was left staring at the empty place she'd been.
Hermione managed to slip out of the room right as Harry was walking back in. She came to a surprised stop, and said weakly, "Oh, hello, Harry. Going back in?"
He looked over his shoulder once before turning back to her. His green eyes were filled with suspicion, but then he seemed to study her and it was replaced with concern. "Everything alright, Hermione? You look upset. Where's Fred?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes and said, "Not with me!"
Then she pushed past him and started her angry trek back to Gryffindor Tower, missing completely Harry's look of surprise.
Fred had taken a few minutes to walk out of the curtains again and when he finally did, he searched the room to find that Hermione was already gone. The door to the office swung open, and Harry stepped through.
"Oh, bollocks," Fred muttered when Harry's eyes landed on him, and he started making his way through the throng of people.
For a minute they just stood there staring at each other before Harry said in a quiet voice laden with implications, "She likes hot chocolate when she's upset."
Then he was across the room before he could blink talking to Luna.
Choosing to follow Harry's cryptic instructions, Fred took off to the kitchens before essentially running all the way up to Gryffindor tower as well as he could manage without spilling the contents of the warm mug. He tapped the stones at the bottom of the girl's stairs before taking the steps two at a time to the sixth year girl's dorms.
Hermione had mentioned in the letter that Lavender and Parvati were leaving for holidays the morning of the party, so he didn't even bother being quiet as he stepped into the room. The curtains on her bed weren't pulled shut, so he could just see the outline of her form ensconced in the moonlight.
When the door creaked shut behind him he heard her mumble, "Not now, Ginny."
Fred took a deep breath before taking the few steps toward her bed and seating himself on the edge of it. Her back was to him, and her face was buried in her pillows. He could see the crushed petals from the flowers he'd given her along with the sugar quills on the table beside her bed. Despite the fact that they were so obviously done for, she'd placed the flowers in a pretty crystal vase.
"Did you have a good night, Gin?"
He looked back down at her and ran a knuckle gently along her spine.
"I'm sure she did, but I hope she didn't have too good of a night, mind you," he said softly. His joke fell flat and silence met his ears.
He listened as she sucked in a breath before turning over so that she was facing him. After a moment where they just stared at each other, they both started speaking at the same time.
"I'm sorry," they both said.
Fred grinned at her, and she gave him a timid smile.
"You don't embarrass me, Fred. I'm proud to be with you," she said quietly. He held the mug out to her before taking off his outer robes and shoes. When he climbed beside her on the bed, she had sat up and was smiling into the mountain of whipped cream he'd asked Winky to put on top.
He leaned into her and whispered, "I don't want you to think I'm all jokes." He wrapped an arm around her and started playing with the ends of her big curls. "In fact, I take you pretty seriously."
She dropped her cheek to his shoulder. "I never wanted you to think I feel that way. I don't."
Fred sighed. "I know. I just got angry."
She pulled away from him to set the hot chocolate beside her bed and burrowed back into her covers. "Are you staying tonight?"
He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, "Hermione, I hate to break it to you, but I'm not that kind of guy."
She blushed and punched him lightly in the ribs. "Hush, you, or I'll kick you out!"
He saluted before throwing his body down on the mattress next to her and pulling the comforter over both of them. He settled down so that their cheeks were on the same pillow facing each other. He reached out and ran a finger down her freckled nose. She'd removed the make-up, but she still looked positively enchanting.
"This is the part where you tell me a bedtime story," he whispered.
She rolled her eyes before scooting forward so that their foreheads were resting against each other. "How about a goodnight kiss instead?"
He smiled softly. "That'll do."
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