A/N: I'm glad you all are liking my story. I like writing it. I don't own Harry Potter or anything to that extent.

And to aLi, who was wondering about the forehead kissing thing: I figured that Fred is taller than Hermione so it's more convenient to just kiss her on the top of her head/forehead, especially if she's looking at something else… like a Christmas gift.

Oh. And I made a few changes in the age thing. I had a sudden brainstorm and instead of Fred being twenty eight when he's telling the story, he's twenty. You'll see why.

I SAW CHAMBER OF SECRETS! AND IT WAS SOOO GOOD! I saw it on Friday and everyone should go see it because Sean Biggerstaff is just so damn sexy in it I want to cry.

Sorry for such a long A/N and for the impending sucky chapter.

:*: 13 – Hermione's Awkward Visit :*:

So Christmas was fun. Got to see Hermione.

Unfortunately, the Christmas holidays had to end and I had to go back to work and Hermione had to return to her school work… assuming she ever left it.

Can you tell I was severely bummed about this?

Also, work was painfully boring. I thought working in Zonko's would be this fantastic roller coaster of prank-type fun, but it wasn't. After the novelty had worn off though, it turned into more of a job. I mean, I know it was always a job but it just seemed more like one of those annoying jobs people always complain about now.

Oh well. At least I was getting paid.

So I never saw Hermione, my job was boring and did I mention George got a girlfriend? Well, he did and now he was all woozy and happy all the time. He says its payback for all my lovey-dovey Hermione talk.

So what was a Weasley to do? I'd say I could go and visit Hogwart's again, but it was March (don't the months just fly by) and Hermione was being all freaky about exams… even though they were in June.

"But the important homework is being assigned now!" she had exclaimed when I asked her to try to get a pass to stay with me for a weekend.

"Hermione," I said, shaking my head as I took a sip of my drink. "I barely ever studied for my exams and I always passed."

"Barely," she said, giving me a slight push.

My never seeing Hermione thing had been remedied when they had a Hogsmeade trip and we met up at the Three Broomsticks.

"So how's work?" she asked me.

"Boring," I replied.

"Really?" she said, surprised. "I'd think Zonko's would never be boring to you."

"Yeah, but when you spend all your time in the store and you get the products used on you instead of using them on other people, it's not as fun."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I responded. "What time do you have to be back at school?"

"Tomorrow by two."

"What?"

"I got you back," she said smugly.

"Huh?" I responded intelligently.

"Here," she said, handing me a small piece of parchment that read:

I, Professor M. McGonagall, give Hermione Granger permission to spend the weekend with the Weasley's.

It went on to stipulate what time she was due back but that didn't matter.

"You lied," I noticed.

"What?" she said, insulted. "I did not!"

"You said you're staying with the Weasleys."

"You and George are Weasley's."

"I've become a bad influence on you," I said, smiling.

"I know," she said happily. "I wanted to surprise you. And I did."

"I'll say."

"So what do you plan on entertaining me with while I stay with you and George?"

I thought about it. There were a few eighteen year old boy thoughts that flitted through my mind, but I thought I'd better not say anything.

"I could make you dinner?" I offered.

"You can cook?" she replied suspiciously.

"Yes," I lied. Hey, I could learn… in three hours…

"All right. What will you cook me?"

"What do you want?"

"How fancy can I get?"

"Anything in the world!" I responded dramatically. Hermione Laughed and thought for a bit.

"I've got it," she said.

"So tell me. I might have to get ingredients."

"I would like… salmon with a white wine sauce and some fettuccine alfredo."

"If you're trying to choose something so difficult that I won't be able to make it and you will be proven correct, you have failed."

Hermione smiled suspiciously.

"I can cook that!" I replied, indignant.

Hermione didn't argue and took a sip of her butterbeer.

"Well," she said. "I have to go back up to school and get a few things before coming over."

"Like what?"

"Birth control."

I spit out my butterbeer all over myself.

"Just kidding," she said sweetly before kissing me and walking out of the Three Broomsticks.

I sat for a bit, getting progressively stickier as I didn't clean the butterbeer off myself before paying for our drinks and going back up to my place.

"Nice look," George said as I walked through the door.

"Thanks," I responded sarcastically.

"So what's up for tonight?" he asked.

"Do you know how to cook?" I asked hopefully.

"What?" he said. "Of course not. Mum always cooked for us."

"Damn."

"Why?"

"I'm supposed to cook," I thought for a moment. "Salmon with white wine sauce and fettuccine alfredo for Hermione tonight."

George looked confused.

"She got a pass to stay with us for the weekend."

"Stay with you," George corrected.

Now I was the confused one.

"Flourish and Blotts wants me to go to some sort of convention thing, remember?"

"That's this weekend?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Don't look so upset. You get to stay here… alone… with Hermione… Hmm… whatever could you do?"

I shot him one of those looks and rustled around our kitchen.

"Do we have any salmon? Or white wine? Or fettuccine and Alfredo?"

George laughed.

"Good luck, Fred," was all he said before going into his room to pack.

"Dammit," I said to myself.

:*: :*: :*: :*: :*: :*: :*: :*: :*: :*:

So after a frantic trip to numerous stores located around Hogsmeade (I didn't know they had a food store like Muggles in there), I finally located all the ingredients for my wonderful dinner I was making.

After I had burned three pieces of salmon, scalded the alfredo (I didn't know it was a sauce!) and had my boiling noodle water boil over, it finally started working out for the better.

I had placed the dinner on the table, which had candles on them - I know, I'm such a romantic – when there was a knock on the door.

I walked over quickly to answer it, and there was Hermione. She looked so beautiful I wanted to swoop her into my arms and kiss her… so I did.

"Fred!" she exclaimed. "It looks lovely here."

That's when I realized she hadn't been to George's and my place yet. Neither had Ron or Harry for that matter.

"Thanks," I said, slipping my arm around her waist. "I hope your hungry," I added.

Hermione nodded and we walked over to the table where I courteously pulled out her chair and pushed her into the table.

"This looks delicious," she said. I sat down and secretly hoped it was.

"Thanks," I said again.

Okay… this was awkward. I could tell. We'd been alone before, but never alone in a place that people couldn't walk in on us. We weren't in the Gryffindor Common Room anymore. We were all alone, eating dinner.

She cut up her salmon and took a bite out of it. I crossed my finger hoping she liked it.

"This is great!" she said.

"You sound surprised," I replied, taking a bite of my food.

"I am," she said truthfully.

I looked at her incredulously.

"Well," she said. "I never thought of you as the cooking type."

"Well… ha. I proved you wrong, now didn't I?"

"Yes you did," she said, taking another bite.

I became considerably more relaxed knowing she liked my food. But it was still awkward. There wasn't much to talk about because… well… I don't know. There just wasn't. Did I say already how awkward this was?

Hermione and I just at in silence, eating our meal which was pretty damn good in my opinion.

"So…" Hermione said finally after a long silence.

"Yeah," was my intelligent response.

"Why does this feel so weird?" she asked tentatively.

I sighed, relieved.

"I don't know," I replied. "I was thinking that exact same thing."

"I know. We've been together for about…" she counted in her head, "six months now and we can't be alone together?"

"I know," I said, so happy that we finally had something to talk about. Yeah, so it was the awkwardness of our relationship, but oh well. It was a conversation topic.

"Yeah," Hermione said.

I hate awkward silences. They're just so… awkward. Wow, great description, Fred.

"Do you want to walk around Hogsmeade for a bit?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I'd rather stay in and talk."

Yes, because our conversations have been so stimulating already.

"Okay," I agreed.

Enter another awkward pause and then I said the stupidest thing a person could ever say to their girlfriend:

"So… do you want to shag?"

I don't know what made me say it! I just couldn't help it. I heard the sentence forming in my mind but before I could stop it, it just popped out.

The look Hermione gave one of those looks that say, just plainly, "Oh my God. You're completely insane."

But what gets me is, that she didn't say that. She said something so completely different. Something so completely un-Hermione like that it was my turn to be shocked.

"Okay."


A/N: AHHH!!!!!!! I am so sorry for such a flipping crappy chapter. I'm sorry, but I hat it so much. It's just like chapter six. I think it's a thing with multiples of six. If you hate that chapter terribly, let me know. I've got two possible next chapters (after a stupid lack of plot ideas) and I'll use whichever one you like best. Thanks for the reviews.