"Should I go ahead and say goodbye, then?"

Hermione was out of tears. She'd been out of tears for a few minutes already, but she refused to remove her face from the crook of Fred's neck. If she did, she was worried she might never get to place it there again. "No. No, I don't want you to. Not yet."

"We'll be all right, Hermione. Promise. All of us. You and me."

The sky outside was only getting darker with an impending storm as the stars began to fade into the clouds and the thunder started rolling, and the living room of the Burrow seemed to be closing in on them. This wasn't supposed to be like this, but Bill and Fleur's rehearsal dinner just made her wonder what she might miss. When she'd have to leave. And the bag full of Harry and Ron's things sitting on her bed made her heart ache like she never thought it could. She had thought it would be easier to keep a secret, to not say goodbye. To keep her plan to run away to herself, locked up in the gold mine of her brain.

But she could never keep that from him. She couldn't keep him any more worried that he already would be. Sure he trusted her, but that wasn't going to be enough right now. And she was quickly learning that there was no telling what the next day was going to bring. So, after everyone else had gotten ready for bed, a cat-shaped note had climbed on top of Fred as he was trying to get to sleep, batting his hair for attention. When he came down the stairs, Hermione was sitting on the couch, two mugs of tea sitting on the coffee table in front of her, and he knew immediately that one way or another, he might lose her.

Stupid Gryffindors , he thought. Even though this wasn't her fault, she'd volunteered to go headfirst into whatever shit she needed to in order to protect the people she cared about. That's just what she was doing now, though, wasn't it? He had no idea what she was going to say, but he prepared himself for a breakup, like Ginny and Harry had done. He thought he'd been immune.

What he didn't expect, however, was her telling him she was packed and prepared to leave with Harry and Ron when the moment came. And that it was a when , which of course he knew. She didn't say where she was going - she couldn't - but she said she wouldn't be able to talk to him. That was when the tears began. Fat, heavy tears tracked down her cheeks one at a time as she tried to speak through them, holding a hand out to stop him from pulling her into his arms so that she could finish. Once she did, she nearly launched herself into his lap, wiping her tears into his shirt and curling as tightly as she could into his chest. He just held her.

What else could he do?

"Promise me you'll be okay," Hermione continued. "Promise me."

"Underestimating me, Granger?" he attempted to tease, but it fell flat.

Hermione pulled back, shaking her head. "Now's not the time Fred."

"I know. I'm sorry." He took a breath. "I'll be okay. As long as you are. The past few months haven't been for nothing. I'm not giving that up. I'm not giving you up. And I fully expect that once all this shit is over that we'll run off and… sorry…"

"What?"

"I was about to make another joke. It's my default. Can't help it sometimes."

"That's one of the things I love about you." Hermione's eyes shifted from Fred's hazel ones to his shoulder. She hadn't exactly meant to say it like that, but she had wanted to say it. He needed to know before she left.

"You… what?" Behind his surprise, a smirk was threatening to pull at his hips. One he couldn't help. No matter what was about to happen, the thought of her loving him trumped every other emotion he could possibly feel.

"One thing I…" She pushed past her pounding heart to get the words out of her mouth. "I love you, Fred. I love you so much and I just don't want to lose you."

"Hermione," Fred muttered, pulling her in for a breathless kiss. They'd kissed plenty of times before, but none of them felt as desperate as this. He could feel her tears on his skin. "This isn't going to be the last time I kiss you." A promise muttered against her lips. "Will you stay with me tonight?" he whispered as his fingers brushed against the back of her neck.

"Fred…"

"Nothing naughty. I just don't want you to leave my sight until you have to." He nuzzled the tip of his nose against hers before pulling away just enough to kiss it. "For the record, I love you too. Not just one-sided. Not at all."

Through watery eyes, Hermione managed a smile, too. "George won't mind me staying in your room?"

"Are you kidding? He's gonna need something to tease me about for the rest of eternity. As long as you make sure you're in your own bed by the morning."

Hermione took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes, looking at the tea on the table that had long gone cold and undrank. She'd hoped the warmth might help, but the only warmth she needed right now was Fred against her. She quickly cleaned it up with a wave of her wand and stood, reaching for Fred's hands. They skipped over the squeaky step on the way to his room so that no one would wake up, and by the time they both settled in, Hermione was so emotionally drained that she fell asleep almost immediately.

The next day, during the wedding, she didn't leave Fred's side, dancing with him as much as she could, pressing their chests and together for as much contact as possible, committing as much of it to memory as she could to tide her over until she would see him again. And when Kingsley's patronus brought the news of panic, the last thing she saw before she Disapparated with Harry and Ron were Fred's loving eyes and a hopeful smile.

AN: Find me on AO3 for earlier updates, as I wait to post here, at possumwrites! Also, come hang out on Discord at discord . gg / ExDeRPzHwZ. I'm also on Instagram and Twitter at possumwrites as well as Tumblr at possumwritesfics. tumblr. com if you want to follow for chapter sneak peeks and art! Also, keep an eye on socials for a surprise coming Monday August 1st!