No porcelain doll

A/N Sorry about the massive hiatus, I didn't forget about the story I've just been ridiculously busy with work and studying. As a little apology, here is a longer chapter than I've put out previously.

Fred followed Hermione closely during the next few days, anxious to ensure she was adjusting well to life in the chaotic flat. It was nice, Hermione supposed, that he wanted to take such good care of her, to look after his baby brother's sad best friend. It was, however, becoming slightly annoying, as she barely had any time to herself with him on her tail all the time, as though he were anxiously awaiting another breakdown.

"Fred." She said, when he did not lose the unfocused and worried look in his eyes she repeated herself, "Fred." Nothing.

"Frederick Gideon Weasley." She called in an unnervingly Mrs. Weasley-esque tone. His eyes snapped up to meet hers.

"What is it Mi?" Worry had clouded his eyes once again and she sighed in exasperation.
"What it is Fred, is that I can't even take a breath without you worrying I'm going to fall to pieces again. I know I'm not the same me anymore, but you can stop treating me like a fragile piece of china that's going to break at any second!" her voice began to raise as she went on in her dressing-down of him, and she released a long calming breath, "Fred, I'm sorry, I…"

"No Mi, I'm sorry, I should've realised my hovering was going to annoy you, I know you're no porcelain doll, but I'm just so worried about you all the time, I wanted to make sure you knew you weren't facing any demons alone…" His voice trailed off and he sighed, "Mi, I really am sorry, how about I cook you a lovely dinner tonight to make up for it, eh? Georgie's out on the piss with Ange all night so it's just us…" He looked very unsure of himself and his eyes seemed to be looking anywhere but her. Hermione's heart melted slightly at his uncertainty, "I'd love to Fred. Just please, for the love of Merlin, don't burn the flat down, I remember that cremated chicken from the other night!" She giggled to herself at the memory, and Fred couldn't help but to let a soft smile spread across his face.

*THE EVENING*

Fred's hands were clasped firmly over her eyes as he led her from her bedroom to the kitchen, and when he released her he could've sworn he heard a little gasp escape her.

"Oh, Fred…" she didn't know what to say, an unusual thing for a witch of her extreme intelligence and penchant for having the last word.

"Is it too much? I didn't upset you did I?" Panic began to set in and it most certainly came across in is voice. Upon hearing his distress she turned to face him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek and whispered, "I don't think anyone has ever done something this nice for me…" her voice trailed off again, thick with emotion, as she turned to face the candlelit breakfast bar, which Fred had tastefully dressed with a white tablecloth and a vase of tulips – her favourite flower by far.

"I just wanted you to have something special Mi, as my apology for following you around like a lost puppy this week, and simply because you deserve it." He spoke softly into her ear, his breath tickling her ears. She shivered slightly and a shy smile spread across her face as she turned back to him, "Thank you," her smile turned into more of a smirk, "I see you didn't burn down the kitchen this time."

"My dear, sweet Mi, oh how you wound me!" He cried, dramatically clasping at his chest, "I would never think of burning down the kitchen before I got to have a beautiful dinner with such a fair maiden!" She giggled at this and decided to play into his little show, "Oh my dear knight, how could I ever doubt you so! Lead the way so this maiden can enjoy her feast!" He chuckled down at her, and grabbed her hand, excitedly leading her to the dressed breakfast bar. Fred pulled out the bar stool for her with a flourish of his arm, he sat her down, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand, taking delight in the flush of red that spread across her cheeks. Maybe it isn't hopeless to think about her, he thought, but quickly dismissed his fleeting thought, No. That's Ron's girl. He had to remind himself of that more and more as the days passed, despite knowing his little brother had been gone for a little over two years now, he didn't want to disrespect his memory, nor did he want to overstep with Hermione. No. He would settle for being her goofball friend, the pseudo-older brother she could turn to in times of need.

"Freddie," she began, pulling him out of his thoughts, "I really did mean it when I said thank you, not just for the beautiful and ever so thoughtful dinner, but for you inviting me into your home, I hate to admit it, but I feel a bit stronger having your support. And George's of course…" she hastily added at the end, she didn't want to risk revealing any bubbling emotions she'd felt for the handsome ginger who so obviously regarded her as another little sister to look after. Fred regarded her seriously, taking in her wide caramel eyes and all the sincerity that flooded them.

"Don't even think on it Mi, I'm here for you. Always. I mean that. I want you to come to me about anything and everything." A note of finality filled his voice, and the look on his eyes dared her to argue. The conversation all of a sudden felt very stifling and serious, so he decided to lighten the mood a little, taking a large swig of his beer, making sure the foam left a silly moustache. Hermione laughed sweetly, and it felt like the most beautiful music to his ears and he couldn't resist laughing with her. Somehow something so silly felt like the perfect uplift to the very serious tone their conversation had undertaken.

"I wish I got a photo of that!" Hermione exclaimed as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, deciding that the foam moustache could only stay for so long.

"No need Mi, I'm sure there will be many occasions your fine knight here will embarrass himself in front of such a beautiful maiden!" he declared, the compliment rolling off of his tongue and revealing a little too much of his inner monologue to her. To his surprise, she blushed and giggled into her glass of elven wine. Unfortunately, when one laughs into a glass filled with wine, it tends to fly everywhere, and it did just so. All over her white blouse. Fred nearly doubled over in his laughter, before composing himself as much as he could and offering to help her stand so they could clean her up.

"Shit! This was one of my mum's blouses, I need to get this out, Fred…" she began to prattle on about how notoriously difficult it is to remove red wine from clothes, and soon the little sniggers Fred had tried to hide became full on cackles. "Glad to see you find this so amusing." She huffed, fighting to keep the smile off of her own face.

"I can wash it out if you like, I've got some of that muggle Vanish stuff, it's a life saver when you're trying to get out potion stains…" he offered, and she nodded gratefully.

"No time like the present to clean it out I suppose," she sighed, the amusement wearing off as she unbuttoned the blouse to reveal a thin white camisole underneath. Fred's breathing faltered slightly, especially after he saw the elven wine had soaked through that as well. Hermione huffed in annoyance and pulled the camisole over her head, ranting about how difficult it is to find clothes she liked and huffing her irritation at the elven wine, totally oblivious to Fred's widened eyes and lack of speech.

"Fred, where do you keep the Vanish?" she asked, when he didn't respond she realised that she had just stripped her top half down to an indecently thin lace red bra, and his eyes had locked with her soft breasts. She felt a flush form across her chest and face as she tried to determine whether she was flattered of downright embarrassed. She cleared her throat, which brought Fred back to reality. He wordlessly opened the cupboard under the sink and got the product out for her.

"Right… well, um, I'll just…" she didn't know what to say for a second time that evening, so she settled on hurrying off to the shared bathroom and shutting the door loudly behind her.

Within a few minutes, Fred heard the front door creak open as George stumbled in, closely followed by a giggling Angelina. They stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Fred, "You alright, mate?" George asked, seeing the baffled look on Fred's face, and following his brother's line of sight he saw the closed bathroom door, and wondered what little Mione could've done to confuse his brother so much. Fred managed a few stutters before he just gave up trying to form a sentence and decided to frustratedly stomp back into his room.

"The fuck was that all about?" George wondered aloud to Angelina.

AN: It seems they have discovered they have a few feelings, hmm?