Momma's Boys

"Fred?"

"What?"

"We need to talk."

Fred sighed and pushed his chair away from the kitchen table where he was pouting while the others congregated in the sitting room before dinner.

He followed his brother up the stairs to their room. They both sat on their own beds and George flicked his wand at the door, making it close.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before the others. I was planning on telling you and showing you first, but the opportunity presented itself, so I just went with it." George scratched the back of his head, looking down at the floor.

"How long have you had the ring?" Fred asked.

"I picked it out last night. I just made the decision yesterday morning."

Fred cocked an eyebrow. "What made you decide now?"

George grinned. "Well… it was after a particularly good shag. I realized as she was walking to the bathroom starkers that I didn't want any other bloke sinking his claws into her. I decided that I would be miserable without her."

Fred laughed. "That'll be a great story to tell your children some day."

George smirked. "I might have to come up with something a bit more sappy and PG rated."

"I'm happy for you, George. Angelina is a great girl." Fred bent over and reached for his twin's shoulder, clamping his hand on it and squeezing.

George smiled. "I think I'm going to ask her to move in with me since you're moving to Hogsmeade. I've never lived by myself. I don't really ever want to."

Fred sighed. "It's like the end of a era. For the first time in our lives we'll be split up."

George nodded. "I know what you mean. This will be good though. We've wanted this second shop since the very beginning. You'll be closer to Hermione and once she's out of school you'll have somewhere private. Maybe she'll agree to be your flat mate?"

Fred smiled. "I don't know about that. If she does agree, she'll expect her own room. The thought of living with me might scare her."

"You have to go at it as a business deal. Let the girl have her own room! Make up a number and let her pay half the 'rent'. She needs a place to stay after she graduates. I know she doesn't want to live here forever. Wait until the ball and ask her." George encouraged.

Fred nodded. "You know, maybe you're right. By then, she will be more comfortable with the idea of us and if I go into it as a business deal like you said, she has to say yes."

George smiled and stood, waiting for Fred to do the same. Fred stood and he pulled him into a hug.

"End of an era and beginning of a new, hopefully better, era." George mentioned, while hugging his brother. Fred nodded.

"Okay, that's enough. What are we? Girls?" Fred said, pulling away from George. George smiled and headed toward the door.

"No, but having a rack every once in awhile could be good fun." George mentioned as he headed down the stairs.

Fred laid back down on his bed, his arms crossed behind his head. His life would be changing significantly in the next couple months. He would be lying if he said it didn't make him nervous.

There was a knock on the door frame and he turned his head to see Hermione standing there. He smiled at her.

Taking his smile as a good sign, she came in and shut the door.

"Hey." She made her way over to the bed and sat on the edge, looking down at him.

He smiled and took one of his arms out from the behind his head and offered his hand to her. "Hey there."

She took his hand and laced her fingers with his. "You seem kind of put off about George's announcement."

He shrugged. "I was, but we hashed it out."

She smiled. "Wow… you figured it out and both of you still have all your body parts intact? You two are growing up!" She teased.

His eyes narrowed playfully. "We can be adults when need be."

She snorted causing him to pout. She loved it when he pretended to pout. "Aw, I'm sorry." She bent down and kissed him.

When she pulled back, she noticed his eyes darken. "Come here." He told her. She leaned down again and he slipped his free arm around her waist and pulled her on top of him, his other hand diving into her curls.

She pulled away after a moment and laid her head on the front of his shoulder. He rubbed her back up and down.

"I love when you lay on top of me. I could lay here forever with you." He let his hands rest on her hips.

She smiled and kissed his neck, feeling his groan against her lips. Her smile widened.

He tugged on her hair and she lifted her head so he could capture her lips with his. They kissed deeply for a couple minutes, their tongues battling for dominance before he pulled away and growled, flipping them over, causing her to squeal and laugh as he started to kiss down her neck. She scraped her nails up and down his tshirt clad back causing him to press himself against her. She moaned in response and then gasped at her own reaction. It felt good against her center and she felt a throb starting between her legs.

He chuckled against her neck at her response and moved back up to her lips, not allowing her to dwell on her reaction too much. She slipped her hands around the nape of his neck and into his hair. Needing more intimacy, he grabbed her thigh and pulled it toward him so that her foot lay flat on the bed, her knee bent to cradle his side. He rubbed up her thigh to her hip and squeezed it, causing her hips to rise and grind into his erection.

"Oh, Merlin." She mumbled against his lips.

He pulled back, worried that she scared herself, and stroked her hair. "Funny how natural that movement is, yeah?"

She smiled and pulled his head back down, their lips crashing together once more.

Surprised by her action, he felt empowered to keep going. She was getting more comfortable with their intimacy and he wanted more skin. Slipping his thumb under the hem of her shirt, he caressed her side, smirking against her lips when he felt her shiver.

The door swung open and they both turned their heads toward the door.

"Oh! Don't mind me! Was just going to put my luggage away… I think I'll stay in my and Bill's old room… carry on! I was never here!" Charlie winked and shut the door. He reopened it. "Oh, and you might want to lock the door next time…" He smiled.

"OUT!" Fred yelled and Charlie shut the door, chuckling.

Fred looked down at Hermione underneath him and found her hiding her face behind her hands.

He pulled her hand away. "Hey, it's okay. He won't mention this to anyone." He kissed her nose.

"It's still embarrassing to have him find us in a very compromising position." Hermione's face was crimson.

Fred smiled. "It isn't too bad. We have our clothes on."

"Get off, Fred."

He gave her a mischievous grin and started to open his mouth.

"I mean of me! GET UP!" She yelled, pushing against his chest.

He climbed off chuckling, pulling her up with him. "Been cockblocked by my own brother." He shook his head.

She scowled at him. "That was not going to happen!"

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose. "Don't be like that love. A little dirty joke never killed anyone... I didn't even say anything when you demanded I get off."

She rolled her eyes. "Your face said it all."

He kissed her swollen, red lips. "You look so good after a snog."

She blushed and looked down, self-consciously patting her hair down. Realizing that it wasn't helping, she stepped away from him and pulled a hair tie out of her pocket and pulled it into a ponytail.

He looked at her neck and ran a forefinger over a love bite. "Hold on, I've got something for that."

He went over to his potion cabinet and searched through it for a moment before finding his bruise reducer. He unscrewed the lid, walking back to her and dabbed a bit on her neck. The bite turned from dark blue and black to a red mark.

"There. Now it just looks a little irritated."

He leaned in and gave her one last kiss before taking her hand and leading her down the stairs.

"Bill! Fleur! I didn't know you were here!" Hermione exclaimed when the reached the kitchen.

"Just got here." Bill answered, pulling her into a hug. He leaned his head back to look at her, his eyebrow cocked.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

He leaned in towards her neck and breathed in deeply. Muttering in her ear he asked, "Why do you reek of my brother?" She stood frozen. She could feel her heart beat hard against her chest. "Better keep that heart rate of yours down; it makes it harder for me to believe you when you lie to me." He whispered.

She gasped and pulled away, her face bright red. Fleur hugged her. "Ignore him, 'Ermione. His senses are always better close to zee full moon... so are his emotions. You know zat."

Hermione stood, eyeing Bill. "You could feel my heartbeat?"

He shook his head. "I could hear it."

She took a step closer to him. "That's fascinating!"

He chuckled. "Back off, Granger! I am not one of your experiments. You wouldn't want me getting riled up and biting you!" He bared his teeth and chomped the air.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please… you're more of a teddy bear than a werewolf." She placed a forefinger on her chin and they could practically hear the gears of her brain turning. "Hmm… I do wonder though, by biting someone, if he or she would have the same symptoms as you. I wonder if you have enough werewolf in you to make a difference to a bitten third party…"

"Thinking of becoming a werewolf, Tiny-Mione?" Bill teased. Her eyes narrowed at his nickname for her.

"No… it's just interesting is all."

XxXxXx

During dinner Hermione noticed herself being hyperaware of how she acted when close to Bill. Although fascinating, it was a little creepy that he could hear and smell her.

They all had pork roast and potatoes, except for Bill who had a barely warm on the outside, cold on the inside, steak. Fleur ended up leaving the table while he ate, the raw meat making her pregnant self nauseous.

"Good job on the potatoes, Charlie! Not a spot of peel on any of them!" Hermione joked.

He smiled. "Thanks, Hermione! I couldn't do it without you! Well… I guess I could have since you ran off in mid-peel."

"Hrmph! See if I compliment you ever again!" She spat, stabbing her potato and shoving it into her mouth.

"Skiving off on your chores, Hermione?" Bill asked.

"No, she was just peeved at Mum." Charlie answered for her.

Mrs. Weasley's cheeks colored. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to offend you."

Hermione shook her head. "It's alright, Mrs. Weasley. I just want to concentrate on my studies for now."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Of course dear."

Bill's forehead wrinkled. "What'd you say, Mum?"

Mrs. Weasley looked down to her plate.

"She called Hermione a broodmare." George answered, a wide grin on his face.

Bill choked on his steak. After taking a sip of his water, he cleared his throat. "A what? You're nineteen! The brightest witch of your age! You helped defeat Voldemort for Merlin's sake! The ministry needs you! Please don't throw that all away."

Hermione gave Bill a small smile. Mrs. Weasley threw her napkin down. "Oh! So staying home and raising children is throwing your life away, is it?!"

He shook his head. "Mum, you know that isn't what I mean. I know that it's Hermione's passion to find equality for all humans and creatures. The ministry needs someone like that. Even I suffer from prejudice for just being scratched. Hermione wants to change the world; that is her dream. If her dream was to become a broodmare, then I would support her. There isn't anything wrong with it, but I know that isn't what she wants."

Mrs. Weasley eyed him, so he continued. "You've been the best Mum any of us could ask for. You even took in two more children… even though they look far too average with their dark hair…" Hermione smacked his arm at his comment. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I know not everyone can be graced with beautiful ginger hair…" she rolled her eyes, "As I was saying, you are the best. Look at us! We've all done well for ourselves. Who knows where we'd be without you! Your passion was in your children and we all love you for it. Hermione's passion is in equality, so I don't think anyone should try and take that away from her." When Bill finished, he sat back in his chair and continued to cut his extremely raw steak.

The table was quiet for a moment, everyone looking down at their plates, scared to make eye contact with their mum.

Finally, a sigh escaped her lips. "You're right, Bill. I'm sorry, Hermione. You are brilliant and it would be a waste not to see it go to good use."

Everyone lifted their heads and smiled. Bill patted Hermione's leg.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. That means a lot coming from you. With my own parents being gone, it's nice to have another Mum and Dad who understand." Hermione looked up and smiled at her.

Mrs. Weasley was beaming at the compliment while she placed her napkin back into her lap and picked up her fork.

"How do you do that?" Hermione whispered, looking down at her plate, knowing Bill could hear her.

He leaned towards her. "It's a gift." She caught him winking at her out of the corner of his eye.

Their voices filled the kitchen again soon after and Hermione couldn't help but notice that Fred and Charlie were deep into a debate about quiddich teams. She smiled as she watched their bright faces, waving their arms and shaking their heads animatedly.

"I'm telling you, McNare has lost his touch!" Charlie argued.

Fred shook his head vigorously. "You're mental mate! He's got years left in him! Now Heinemann... he's a different story…"

Charlie gasped loudly and clutched his chest. "You didn't! How dare you!"

Hermione laughed lightly and turned to the rest of the table. Fleur had come back and she and Mrs. Weasley were deep in conversation about the baby. Ginny and Harry had their heads together, talking quietly and George and Mr. Weasley were engrossed in a muggle "how to" book. She wondered what contraption they bought now.

She turned her head and caught Bill watching her and she smiled at him.

"It's great, isn't it?" He asked.

She nodded. "Nothing better."

He stared down at her for a moment before deciding to bring up a sore subject. He tried to ignore it, but the smell of Fred on Hermione was frustrating.

"I want you to be careful second term." He mentioned while poking at his green beans.

"Why's that Bill?" Hermione asked.

"Fred will be moved to Hogsmeade. I know you two are serious… I just don't want anything to interfere with your career." Bill mentioned.

She sighed. "Bill, there is no need to worry. We haven't…"

He nodded. "I know. Promise me you'll wait until you've graduated at least."

Hermione set her fork down. "Listen…"

"I know it isn't anyone's choice, but yours. I just-" Bill started.

"I'll wait. It was always my intention to graduate first." She interjected. "Now, you have to promise to stop with this subject. I wait and you never bring it up again."

He nodded. "Deal." His grin slowly grew on his face. "You know, Hermione, there is a spell I could teach you…"

She hissed. "I already know them! The potion, too!" She whispered, annoyed.

"Oh really?" He asked, his eyebrow rising.

"Do you honestly think I was going to spend all that time in a tent with your brother and not prepare myself beforehand? The end result would have been disastrous!"

Bill looked at her and then his head fell back and he let out a loud barking laugh. "Disastrous, eh?" The others turned towards them and she shot Bill eye daggers.

"Just making sure Hermione is prepared for her second term. Carry on!" Bill commanded.

Hermione hoped that this subject really was put to rest. It seemed to dominate most of the conversations with Bill. Luckily, George seemed to calm down about the two of them since she came back for break.

Soon, they moved into the sitting room. Hermione sat cross legged on the couch with a book in her lap. Ginny and Fleur sat on either side of her, their men sitting in front of them on the floor. George and Charlie sat across from the three men, the coffee table between them, playing exploding snap.

Hermione's hand found itself in Fred's hair while she read. She scratched and rubbed Fred's head, causing him to give up on the game and lean his head back against her legs, his eyes closed.

"I think Fred's gone soft." Charlie mentioned. Hermione smiled and looked down at Fred.

Fred ignored him and continued to concentrate on her nails that were lightly scraping his scalp.

"Okay, now I know he's gone soft."

"Can't help it. She knows my weak spots." He murmured, not bothering to lift an eyelid.

Hermione lifted her other hand and buried it in his hair.

"Oh, blimey that feels good." He lifted his hands over his shoulders and rested them on her knees.

"Am I going to act like that when I marry Ang?" George asked, looking scandalized.

Fred snorted. "You're putty in her hands already, brother. All she has to do is blow in your ear and you'll do anything… including carry her handbag through Diagon Alley."

The girls laughed while the guys looked ashamed of him.

"Sod off!" George yelled. His mother tutted behind him.

"I think it's sweet that you're such a gentleman." Mrs. Weasley mentioned.

Fred snorted. "It isn't being a gentleman if... OUCH!" Hermione tugged tightly on his hair.

His eyes opened and she leaned forward to meet his eyes. "Hush!" She whispered. "That's your mother!"

She sat back and he closed his eyes. When she didn't continue rubbing his head, he pressed his head against her hands and rolled it against her fingers.

She laughed. "Demanding!" She admonished, but continued to run her fingernails down his scalp.

He smiled. "Yep."

George, still annoyed, continued the conversation. "It's funny you look at me like that, Bill, cause I do remember someone tripping over himself to do anything his French girlfriend asked him to." George mentioned.

Fleur giggled. "Yes, all men do zeese zings when zay are in love."

That started an explosion of stories from the women on what crazy things their men have done for them, Fred assisting with George's. Towards the end, the women and Charlie were bent over in giggles and the men all looked frightened and annoyed at the same time.

"My absolute favorite is when I started needing to use zee restroom more since zee baby. He didn't want me to have to keep getting up, so he researched to see if zer was a way he could go for me!" Fleur gushed, reaching down and rubbing her husbands shoulders.

The girls coo'd together. The men scoffed.

"That is the most precious thing I have ever heard." Ginny added.

"Don't look at me like that mates!" Bill exclaimed. "You just wait until your wives are carrying your children. You think they have you wrapped around your fingers now!"

"Bill's right." Mr. Weasley added. "When she was pregnant with him, I was worried that walking wasn't good for her so I carried her around the house constantly."

"Aw. That's sweet!" Hermione told him.

Mrs. Weasley grinned broadly. "My favorite pregnancy memory was when I was about six months pregnant with the twins." Mr. Weasley groaned, making her laugh. "I was sitting on his lap and for some reason he thought it would be a good idea to tickle me with two babies sitting on my bladder and I ended up wetting myself…. and him."

Everyone was bent over in laughter. Hermione and Ginny leaned against each other, laughing.

"Note to self," Bill mentioned. "Never tickle your pregnant wife or she'll piss her pants."

"Oh, honey! It doesn't even take that much to wet yourself when you're pregnant!" Mrs. Weasley mentioned. "You could sneeze."

"Or cough." Fleur added.

"Or yell." Mrs. Weasley mentioned.

"Or stand."

"Or walk."

"Or disapparate."

"And Apparate." Mrs. Weasley finished. "Sometimes you accidentally wet a little without realizing you even needed to go in the first place."

"So basically… anything can make a heavily pregnant woman pee?" Ginny asked, suddenly a bit nervous at the thought.

"Yes, but it doesn't stop at pregnancy. It can continue afterward, especially if you've had multiple pregnancies." Mrs. Weasley answered.

"So, Mum. Are you saying you piss yourself often?" Fred asked. Hermione smacked him in the back of the head.

"Don't be crude, Frederick! It's your fault I'm like this!" His mum admonished.

"My fault? I don't believe I had a say in being born!" Fred told her.

"I certainly didn't ask for twins! I knew I should have never crocheted two colors into your baby blanket! I always did one solid color for the others, but for some reason, I decided orange and fuchsia would be darling together and then I ended up with two! Never again did I mix colors."

"Orange and fuchsia? That explains a lot of things." Hermione mentioned.

Fred smiled up at her. "We still have the blanket. It sits, folded on our mantel. We're still fighting on who gets to keep it when I move."

"You can't have it." George told him.

"It's half mine!" Fred told him.

"Well who slept with it?" Hermione asked.

"We both did." They chorused.

"You see, we shared a crib. Mum and Dad couldn't afford separate so we shared a crib and then our first bed until we were about six." Fred finished.

Hermione smiled. "I think that's lovely. You had no problem sharing then, so why don't you share now? Make a schedule so that it bounces back and forth between flats."

The boys eyed each other. "You know Hermione… that's actually brilliant!" George told her. "Now, I think I should get it the first week…"

"No way! It's been at the flat for years! It needs some fresh scenery."

Hermione face palmed. She looked to Mrs. Weasley and found her beaming affectionately at her boys fighting over the baby blanket she made for them. "They'll always be my babies." She mentioned, shaking her head.

"Momma's boys!" Bill rolled his eyes.

"Always." The twins answered, smiling at one another.

I will be changing my rating to M starting next chapter.