Disclaimer:  Not mine.   There you go I admit it.

Author's Note:  Here it is.  The chapter you've all been waiting for.  Evelyn and Fred's first date.  Yeah!  (fireworks explode and confetti is scattered.)  What happens?  Will it be the magical day Evelyn hopes for?  Will Hermione and Ron tag along?  Will Malfoy ruin it?  Will Fred laugh so hard butterbeer comes out his nose and puts out a fire that was threatening to burn down the Three Broomsticks?  Who knows?  Well, I do but that's not the point.  You don't know.  Yet.  So, read on brave, er, reader and find out!

Chapter Twelve- The Big Day

            The next morning Hermione found the dorm room a mess.  Clothes were strewn haphazardly every which way and all the drawers of one of the dressers were open and empty.  She got up and looked at the disaster surrounding her.  She knew the room hadn't looked like that when she'd gone to sleep.  Lavender and Parvati were still sound asleep.  There was a rustling of curtains and the culprit zoomed past her in a flurry of skirts and tops.  Hermione tried talking to a severely nervous Evelyn but found her completely incapable of any coherent thought other than, 'I'm going to Hogsmeade with Fred today.'

            Eventually, she was able to blurt out that she didn't have anything to wear.  Hermione looked at the piles and piles of clothes and decided that was highly unlikely.  Nevertheless, she helped Evelyn sort through the mounds of clothes to find the perfect outfit for the date with Fred.  They decided on a short pleated tartan kilt with red, black and beige stripes over a tan colour* coupled with a knitted, long-sleeved, hooded black sweater over a black tank top.  Evelyn used a spell to pile her hair in a messy bun on top of her head.  Parvati and Lavender helped her put her make up on and she was ready.

            She made her way down to the common room with Hermione at five to ten.  Ron, Harry, Fred, George and Lee were already there waiting for them.  Fred was wearing khaki pants with a forest green sweater and Evelyn couldn't help noticing he looked very, very good.

            "Hi," she said nervously.

            The boys turned around and saw them.

            "Wow, Evelyn.  You look great," was all that Fred could say.

            "You-, you look good too, Fred."

            Evelyn looked away from her date to her other friends.  Ron was just staring at Hermione.  He was speechless.  Evelyn had to admit that Hermione looked quite good that day.  She was wearing a beige corduroy skirt and a light blue blouse.  Her hair was half pulled up and held back by a clip.  She had on a little blush, mascara and lip-gloss.  Evelyn had even showed her a spell to reduce the frizzyness of her hair and to make it more manageable.  It seemed to have worked.  At least, it was getting the desired reaction from Ron.  He couldn't take his eyes off her.

            Lavender and Parvati had gone off.  Parvati was sitting with dean, in his lap actually, and Lavender had disappeared, probably snogging her new boy-toy somewhere.  Ginny joined the group and started talking to Harry, George, and Lee.

            Hermione threw Evelyn an uncomfortable look; Ron still hadn't said a word or taken his eyes off her.  Evelyn just smiled and shrugged.

            She turned to Fred and said, "Ready to go?"

            Her stomach was so full of butterflies she thought she was going to collapse.  He nodded and held out his arm for her.  She took it and smiled at him as they walked out.  Ron guided Hermione out behind them and held the Portrait Hole open for her.  Harry, Ginny, George, and Lee came out next.  They all went down to the carriages outside the school.  Evelyn, Fred, Ron and Hermione got into one and Harry, Ginny, George and Lee got into another.

            The look on Hermione's face told Evelyn she was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.  Evelyn did think it kind of resembled a double date.  Ron and Hermione were sitting on one side of the carriage and Fred and Evelyn were sharing the seat on the other side.  They talked but Hermione and Ron could tell Fred would've rather been talking with just Evelyn.  He kept leaning over and whispering in her ear, which would make her giggle and blush.  Even through her pleased embarrassment, Evelyn noticed Ron looking sideways at Hermione.  He kept raising his arm slightly then lowering it again, as if he wanted to put his arm around her but wouldn't let himself.  It looked to Evelyn as if Ron would've rather been alone in the carriage with Hermione.  Hermione, on the other hand, kept making feeble attempts at conversation but they were quickly abandoned.  No one really wanted to talk.

            When the carriage pulled up to Hogsmeade, they got out and looked for the other carriage.  It was nowhere in sight, Fred and Evelyn bid Ron and Hermione goodbye and left them to wait for Harry and the others.

            As they walked down the streets of the wizarding village, Fred reached out and took Evelyn's hand.  Her heart thrilled at the gesture.  They walked around looking in windows and talking.  They went into the Quidditch shop and Zonko's, where Fred stocked up on prank equipment.  They went to The Three Broomsticks and Fred bought her a butterbeer.  They sat there and talked about anything and everything.  Students kept coming up to say hi, or in a few cases, glare at one of them.  Evelyn actually got asked out, but the boy ran away when he saw the glare Fred was giving him.

            As a matter of fact, Malfoy and his little gang approached them just as they were finishing.  He came up to their table and stood in front of them, flanked by Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson.  He looked from Fred to Evelyn then back to Fred.

            "Well, if it isn't the other Weasel.  On a date, are you?  Don't you think she's a little out of your league?  It's not like you can afford to treat her right.  It's a wonder you can afford that drink or does she have to pay for that herself?"

            "As a matter of fact, Malfoy," Evelyn said, in her usual polite tone.  "Fred is a rising young entrepreneur.  His joke business is making lots of money.  He's doing it the honest way.  None of his money is dirty."

            Pansy's nostril flared.

            "Are you suggesting that Draco's money is dirty? Because if you are, you're totally-"

            Malfoy held out his hand and cut her off.

            "That's not important, Pansy.  Weasel's money could never compare to mine.  He'd have to sell all the jokes in the world to compare."

            Fred's anger had been slowly rising since Malfoy had come.  He was usually an easygoing guy but a person can only stand to be insulted so long.

            "I may not have as much money as you, Malfoy," he said angrily as he stood up, "But at least I have manners and a sense of humour.  And maybe I can't buy her lots of things but I can show her a good time without money."

            Malfoy simply raised his eyebrows and smirked even more.

            "Really?  It can't be that good without money.  But I suppose you've had lots of practice doing things that way."

            Evelyn could hear Fred's knuckles crack as he balled up his fists.  She stood up slowly so she could hold him back if he started to lose it.  Instead, he reached out for her hand and pulled it a little.

            "Come on, Ev.  Let's get out here before this git ruins out date."

            Evelyn blushed at the word 'date' and followed Fred out of the door.

~~~~

            As soon as they were out in the street again, Fred calmed down.  Without Malfoy there, he was distracted and couldn't hold on to his anger.  They watched the other people in the street and talked more about their lives before they'd met.  Fred was just telling her about the time Ron sent a Howler to Charlie, because Charlie went to Hogwarts and left Ron at home, when they saw Hermione dragging Ron out of the Quidditch shop across the street.  They watched, waiting to see Harry, Ginny, George and Lee come out as well, but the next people to come out were Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott.  Fred looked at Evelyn in confusion.  Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. 

            "I'll ask her about it later."

            Fred nodded and they continued walking down the street.

            After a minute or so, Fred turned to Evelyn and said, "What do you think of my brother and Hermione?"

            That's an odd question, she thought.

            "Well, they're both great.  I mean, they're two of my best friends and I-"

            "No, I mean, what do you think of them together?  As a couple?"

            "Oh," she said, feeling a little shocked.  "Well, I-I think they'd be good together.  Perfect together, in fact."

            "Yeah, me too."  He stayed silent for a few paces, and then asked, "Have they said anything to you about their feelings?"

            Evelyn squirmed.  She didn't want to betray Hermione's trust but she didn't want to keep secrets from Fred.

            "Well, the thing is, Fred, if they had told me something, I really couldn't tell you.  It would be a secret, you know?" she said slowly.

            Fred grinned.  "Yeah, I know.  I'm actually glad you didn't tell me.  Now I know you'll keep my secrets too.  Plus, I like making fun of Ron and knowing something concrete would take half the fun out of it."

            "How so?" she laughed.

            "If I don't know anything I can make wild accusations.  That's always fun," he said grinning.

            She smiled back.

            "You know, if it was my secret to tell, I would tell you.  You know I don't want to have secrets from you, right?" she said seriously.

            "I know," he said softly and gently squeezed her hand.

            The rest of the day they spent wandering around town, just talking.  When it was time to go they walked back up to Hogwarts, perfectly happy with how their day had gone.

*Just for anyone interested this tartan is a lot like the Thomson Camel kind.

Author's Note 2:  Now I know Fred has never gotten angry before (not including Percy fiasco as that hasn't happened in this story).  However, he is related to Ron, therefore it is likely he would have a temper too.  Of course his isn't as bad as Ron's.  Notice comments that would've made Ron attack only made Fred leave angry.  In my mind, Fred's a lover, not a fighter, so he tried to avoid conflict.  My only guess as to why Fred got angry in the first place is that Malfoy struck a little close to home.  I would assume that Fred is really secretly afraid he's not good enough for Evelyn because he's poor.  Not that he's ever say that, of course.  See, my theory is that Fred and Ron are more alike than they first appear.  It's surface characteristics that make them really different.  They've both got that sensitive, slightly romantic, self-deprecating, insecure side deep down (some sides are more deep down than others).  It's just that they don't tell anybody those things they're feeling so they seem so different.  Now, George, he's the laid back, nothing-bothers-me, who-cares-what-people-think twin.  I'd say he's more like Charlie or Bill.  Charlie's got that whole, I'm-rebel-fighting-dragons thing going on and Bill doesn't care what people think of his looks.  Of course Ron's got Charlie's Quidditch skills and Bill's sense of responsibility and regard for the rules (you know, lax regard but only when appropriate).  Fred got Bill's charm and Charlie's charisma and sense of adventure/humour.  On second thought Ron's got Charlie's sense of adventure too.  Actually you could say Charlie has Bill's sense of adventure (remember he was an Egyptian curse breaker), only Charlie's is more extreme.  Ron has his own unique sense of humour and Percy's just different from all of them (maybe he's adopted?  Not likely with the hair I guess).  Ginny has Ron's sense of humour a little bit come to think of it.  Wow, that's a lot about the Weasleys.  I guess I overanalyse them a bit.  Okay, a lot but what can I say?  I love them!!!!   Now review my chapter.  Please?