Alicia Spinnett

Bahooga!* *Bahooga* *Bahooga*

A loud horn sounded in the seventh year girl's dormitory, causing the girls to wake up screaming.

Hermione flipped around and jumped for her wand on her side table, but fell short and hit the floor face first, her sheets twisted around her legs.

The horn had stopped and she decided to forgo the wand and try to free her ankles that were tangled in the sheets on the bed. She quickly got frustrated, unable to untwist the sheet. She quietly cursed the elf that tucked her sheet in too tight, and then immediately felt guilty for doing so.

"GET OUT OF BED YOU SLEEPY HEAD! GET OUT OF BED YOU SLEEPY HEAD!" Fred's voice rang out.

Hermione's frustration turned into pure anger.

"HERMIONE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND!" She heard Ginny yell from her bed. Hermione couldn't see her and wondered if her face was back to normal yet.

"Fred is here?" Romilda asked, smoothing her hair. Hermione rolled her eyes at the boy crazy teenager.

"He's your brother, Ginny!" Hermione told her as she tugged at the twisted sheet. "ARGH! AND NOT IF I GET TO HIM FIRST!"

"Yes, meaning I HAVE to deal with him! You choose to! That's worse!"

'WAKY WAKY! EGGS AND BAKY! STOP MAKING ME WAITY WAITY!' yelled his voice.

Hermione's head was pounding. Her hand went to her head and she hissed. A goose egg was already appearing on the left side of her forehead.

"For goodness sake!" Hermione yelled. "Ginny! Help!"

Ginny came over and sat on the bed, smiling down at her. Well, at least her face was back to normal.

"Ginny!" Hermione yelled, exasperated. "Are you going to help?"

Ginny laid on her stomach and looked down at her, her forefinger tapping her chin. "Hmm… I don't know yet. You did leave me in that giggle fit an awfully long time last night."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "It's going to keep yelling until I go in there... so, unless you want to continue to annoy your dorm mates and yourself, I suggest you help me!"

'GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING! TODAY'S A HAPPY DAY! GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING TO YOU!' Fred's voice sang extremely loud and out of tune.

The girls cringed. Poppy jumped out of bed and hurried to help Hermione out of her sheets. Ginny decided to assist her.

Soon enough her ankles were free from their restraints and Hermione rolled her ankles to get her blood flow back.

"Where the hell is that coming from?" Romilda asked.

She hopped up and ran for the loo while Ginny explained the terrible tooth brush.

She stuck it under the faucet and added the toothpaste before shutting the bathroom door and sticking it in her mouth.

'Good morning beautiful' the toothbrush commented. Her lips pulled into a small smirk before she remembered how angry she was and pulled it back into a frown.

'Took you long enough.' It added. She audibly growled at it.

Her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror and saw the large goose egg on her head was turning a nasty shade of blue and purple. "I'm going to kill him." She murmured.

XxXxXxXx

Fred and George sat at the kitchen table at the burrow that night, jotting down notes and coming up with a game plan for the opening of their shop in Hogsmeade.

"Fred, I think if we put a help wanted ad in the newspaper by the end of November, we could get interviews over with and people hired before Zonko's closes. We'll need all the help we can get with changing the store." George told him while adding it to the to do list.

When he got no answer from Fred, he looked up to see his brother with his head propped up on his hand, his eyes glazed over.

"Fred?"

"Huh? Oh yea, sounds good." Fred answered.

George sighed. "What is it?" He already knew the answer.

"They haven't owled today. Think they're pissed off?" Fred asked.

"They're probably busy." George told him, trying to be supportive, but not caring. He was still pissed about the whole owl extravaganza.

They looked up to see Harry descending the stairs.

"It's not like she didn't have time this morning! I charmed the toothbrush to wake her up a half hour early. I bet she's angry." Fred told him.

George rolled his eyes. "Since when do you care if one of your jokes makes anyone angry?"

Fred slid his hand through his hair. "You're right. It's Hermione, though."

George took one look at Fred's face and his anger melted slightly. "Look, I'm sure that she isn't that angry. She finds everything you do endearing," George scrunched his nose as he said this, "so, I'm sure she thinks your toothbrush is cute or something."

They heard Harry mumble under his breath and looked to see him looking at the map.

"Oh... hmm…" Harry said quietly, his eyes darting toward Fred for a moment and back down to the map.

"What is it, Harry?" Fred asked.

"What exactly did you do? How mad do you think Hermione could be?" Harry asked.

"What? Why?" Fred asked, suddenly worried.

"Oh, nothing." Harry mentioned.

Fred grabbed for the map and Harry pulled it out of reach, pointing his wand at the map to make the image disappear but stopping when his eyes caught movement.

"Oh! Well, that's a bit closer than socially acceptable…" Harry mentioned, causing Fred to tear it out of his grasp and look down at it.

His heart skipped a beat before pounding hard in his ears.

"The floo!" He yelled, his face red in anger.

Meanwhile*

Hermione entered the common room, her bag slung over her shoulder, making her way towards the dormitory stairs.

On her way, Nick Roberts grabbed her arm.

"Hey! Mind if we chat for a sec?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Sure, what's up, Nick?"

He looked around and saw a couple fifth years in a study group and pulled her to the side, against a wall in the corner by the stairs.

"I was wondering if Romilda says anything about me in your dorm?" he asked quietly.

Hermione set her bag down and leaned her back against the wall. Nick leaned his shoulder against the connecting wall in front of her.

"Oh… um… what do you mean? Anything specific?" She asked as she crossed her arms, using his same hushed tone.

His face reddened. "Well…"

Hermione tilted her head, entertained by his frazzled state. "What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering if she mentioned how much she liked me or…loved me?" He rubbed his neck.

Hermione's lips turned up in a smile. "You love her?"

He chewed his lip and nodded. "I just didn't want to tell her so soon without knowing if she felt the same… I don't want to scare her off." He told her.

Hermione smiled and reached up to rub his arm. "That is so sweet. She's crazy about you. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. Just tell her how you feel."

He smiled and leaned in to hug Hermione. "Thanks for already having a date for the ball, Hermione."

She giggled over his shoulder, hugging him back. "No problem. Glad I could be of assistance."

They pulled away and he noticed the big bump on her head. His brow furrowed as his hand went up to touch it lightly.

"Ouch, Hermione. What happened?"

"Oh, its nothing. I fell out of bed this morning." She told him.

His look of concern morphed into a large grin. "Romilda told me about that." He shook his head, his thumb running over her bump one more time before resting his arm at his side.

She smiled. "Just part of being with a Weasley twin I guess." She pushed herself off the wall and bent down to grab her bag.

"Do you want me to walk you up to the girls staircase?" Nick asked, his voice no longer whispering.

She shook her head. "No, I've changed my mind. I think I'm going to read down here now. Thank you though." She started to turn, but saw how nervous he suddenly looked.

"You'll be fine! Just tell her!" She whispered in his ear before turning to head for an armchair.

"Hey, Hermione?" Nick called.

She turned toward him. "Yes?"

"You're amazing." He stated, as he headed up the stairs.

She laughed and plopped down into an armchair before grabbing a book out of her bag, a smile never leaving her face. She found it so endearing that Nick was such a mess over it. It was adorable. As she opened her book, she laughed and shook her head one more time at the situation before bringing it up to read.

The three boys sat in the fireplace watching her. Fred's jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrow. He had never been so angry with Hermione. She stood in the corner flirting with another guy…head boy at that… while he was at home waiting for her.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Fred's voice yelled. She startled, her book falling out of her hands, thinking it was the toothbrush at first, until her eyes fell on the three men.

She smiled and dropped down to the rug. "Hi guys!"

Harry and George said hello, but when her eyes caught the look on Fred's face, she knew something was wrong. She could practically hear his teeth grinding together.

"Hermione! What happened to your head?" Harry asked, spotting the large bump.

"I fell out of bed when that stupid tooth brush went off this morning." Hermione told him.

George snickered and Hermione scowled.

"I don't want to hear a peep out of you George! I'm still angry with you!" She admonished.

Hermione heard Fred mumble something.

"Fred?" She asked.

"How dare you!" He told her in a low voice.

Her eyebrows stitched together. "Sorry?"

"You were flirting with him!" Fred told her.

Her brow creased. "I was-I was what? With who?"

"The head boy!" Fred growled.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, her anger rising. "I was not!"

He shook his head. "Oh, please. We saw you giggling in the corner."

Harry winced. This sounded awfully familiar, except it was usually Ron's voice rowing with Hermione.

"You what? I never… you spied on me?" She asked, infuriated.

He nodded. "And I'm glad we did. Now I know."

She began to pant. "You thought I was flirting… I can't believe you don't trust me! Why don't you trust me, Fred? I have never done anything to question your trust!"

He laughed. "RIGHT! Like lying to me?"

"When have I lied?" She asked, not believing this was happening.

"Ginny told us that he asked you to the ball." He told her.

"I never lied about that! I never even told you!" She felt tears burning her eyes, but she refused to let him have the satisfaction of crying. She blinked them away.

"Exactly! That's lying by omission!" He exclaimed.

"By… omission? I… what? I haven't flirted with him and nothing is going on! You need to trust me! In fact-"

He cut her off. "Right! How would you feel if you found out I was hanging out with another witch? What if I told you I had been seeing Alicia… or that I am having dinner with her tomorrow night? Would you trust me?"

Her face fell, tears filling her eyes. "That is completely different!"

Fred knew that Alicia was a sore spot for Hermione. He and Alicia had a purely physical relationship and had hooked up on multiple occasions in the past when they were both single.

Hermione felt her whole stomach drop as the news sunk in. It felt like Fred had leapt out of the fireplace and stabbed her right in the heart.

"You're seeing Alicia?" She breathed.

"Hermione I didn't…" Fred started.

She put her hand up to hush him. She sat there for a moment chewing her lip, the situation rolling around in her head. She reminded herself to stay calm.

"Hermione." Fred was beginning to panic.

"Well, I suppose we never agreed to be exclusive… but I'm not the type to be in an open relationship, so I think it's time I break it off before I waste anymore of your time. I'm sorry, Fred." She pushed herself up and stepped back towards her bag.

Fred was now crying. "Hermione I never said I was-"

"Good night, boys!" She stated, cutting him off and headed up the stairs quickly.

By the time Hermione got to the dormitory, she was sobbing. She dropped her bag and threw herself onto her bed, sobbing into her pillow.

Ginny watched as she did this, dread filling her chest. She hurried to Hermione's side and sat next to her head and stroked her hair.

"Hermione… what happened?" Ginny asked.

It was almost five minutes later when Hermione finally collected herself enough to turn her head and tell Ginny.

"Fred flooed and thought I was flirting with Nick. He must have seen us talking on the Marauders map and so he spied on me. I got angry and told him I couldn't believe he didn't trust me. He then said 'well what if I told you I've been seeing Alicia?'" Ginny gave a high pitched gasp, but Hermione continued. "So I told him that I know we never mentioned that we were exclusive, but that it wasn't for me so I broke it off. Alicia, Ginny. Do you think he's been getting his rocks off this whole time?" She was so sick to her stomach over the thought. He told her he would wait for her. She gave him an out on more than one occasion! He must have not found her worth the wait. Alicia was someone he trusted and found attractive. It was probably too easy to fall back into bed.

Ginny laid down next to her friend and hugged her. "Hermione, I am so sorry! I can't believe this… Why would he do this? After everything!" Ginny's own tears started to fall.

XxXxXx

George pulled Fred out of the floo.

"What the hell, man?!" George yelled at him.

Fred shook his head vigorously. "I'm not seeing Alicia! That's not what I meant! I was only trying to make a point!"

George shoved the front of Fred's shoulders. "You are no better than Ron!"

Fred glared at him and shoved him back. "How dare you say that!"

"Easy!" Harry yelled.

Harry stood there, his eyes wide. He was a full head shorter than the twins and much thinner. He knew he couldn't pull them apart without the use of magic if they started to fight. He wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing. He was angry that Hermione was so upset and he knew that her whole world was probably crashing down at the moment. It was a low blow and he couldn't believe that Fred had used it, but he knew that Hermione took it the wrong way. He didn't believe that Fred had seen or contacted Alicia at all since the war. He knew he had to owl Ginny tonight to explain what happened.

He stepped between the two men who were growling at each other, chests rising and falling rapidly.

"It's late and a lot of things have happened in the past few minutes… I think it's best of you two separate." Harry told them, his inner Hermione coming out in him. He almost snorted at the thought.

He put a firm hand on both of their chests and pushed them apart. George turned toward the fireplace, flooing to the flat above the shop.

When he was gone, Fred ran for the kitchen door and slammed it shut on his way out.

XxXxXx

Hermione lay in bed that night feeling completely hollow inside. Her chest was in so much pain, it kept making her shudder, causing goosebumps form on her arms and legs every few minutes. She couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, his amber eyes popped into her mind and it was like the dagger in her heart kept slowly sliding in deeper, inch by inch.

She found herself glad that she hadn't slept with him, but couldn't help wondering that if she had, if he would have left Alicia alone.

She felt as if she was doomed to be miserable for the rest of her life. She covered her head with her blanket and squeezed her eyes shut. His warm amber eyes popped onto her head and she let out a sob. There goes that dagger.

XxXxXx

Fred laid on the dock, looking up at the stars. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he went over the events of that evening. He was a complete idiot. He hurt Hermione and now they were no longer together. She actually thought he had seen Alicia.

The pain in his chest worsened. Why would she jump to that conclusion? He was trying to make a point… that was all. He knew it had been a mistake the second her name left his mouth.

His body was shivering, goosebumps covering his skin. He didn't have a jumper and he didn't know if it was from the cold or from the pain. Possibly a bit of both.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to try to calm his sobs.

He pictured her deep, brown eyes. He wanted to imagine them dark like he saw them a few days back or sparkling like they did when she laughed, but all his mind would give him were her sad eyes. The same ones that she had when he would hold her to him as she cried over his brother. He would do anything to be with her at the moment; to reassure her that she was the only one he ever thought about and to kiss her tears away, making those sad brown eyes sparkle again.

He didn't know how to fix it, but he knew he had to. He wasn't going to let her go so easily and if he had to remove the head boy from the situation than he would. It wouldn't be the first time he threatened another bloke over a witch. The asshole better keep his hands to himself.