Title: Fred Has It Bad
Author: edjo
Pairing: Fred/Hermione
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: approx. 950
Summary: Takes place 6th year for trio, gang is at the Burrow for Christmas. Sleepy Harry catches a (very) late night glimpse of Fred and Hermione. Fluff.
Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. JKR, now that's a different story.
A/N: I like sleepy!Harry; I think he's funny. Not sure if this will continue - running a bit low on inspiration. Reviews are definitely appreciated!
Harry was thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. Thirsty enough to drink a vat of water, he thought to himself hazily. He sleepily rolled over in bed, trying to ignore the sudden desire to drink large quantities of water. After lying there in a sleepy daze and dreamily imagining he was chasing a tall glass of water for several moments, he sighed and pulled back the covers.
He automatically grabbed his glasses before stepping out of bed. The cold floor immediately caused him to mutter incomprehensibly about the consequences of eating scones before turning in at night. Ron snorted from the bed across the room and rolled over in his sleep. Still only half-awake, Harry grunted in response and left the room to head downstairs.
He stood in the hallway for almost a full minute with his brow furrowed as he tried to decipher where the loud clanging noise was coming from, before he realized it was just the attic ghoul. If he hadn't still been in the stages of sleep, he would have rolled his eyes at his own ridiculous late night paranoia. As it was, he settled for scratching his stomach as he gathered his bearings. He had gotten new pyjamas for Christmas, and the texture felt odd against his skin.
Trying to shake off the drowsiness of sleep, he started down the stairs. The interior of the house was almost completely pitch black, but a soft, weak light from the kitchen lit up the winding staircase just enough so that Harry didn't trip over his feet on the way down.
He had just started down the last flight when he heard two distinct giggles floating out of the kitchen doorway. They were followed by a soft, teasing female voice.
"Behave yourself. I'm not doing anything with you in your mother's house."
The other voice responded with a deep masculine murmur, and then both laughed softly again. Harry didn't stop to consider who was in the kitchen. He was too thirsty to bother. He stepped down, yawning as he reached the hallway, and then strode through the kitchen doorway.
The sudden light caused him to scrunch up his eyes, but he could see that Fred and Hermione were sitting next to each other at the kitchen table, each dressed in their pyjamas and sharing what looked to be a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Hermione had her arm held out, and it took him an extra moment to realize that she was feeding Fred a spoonful.
The shock of the image caused Harry to blink several times in succession. Wow, he thought sleepily, Fred has it bad. He continued across the room towards the sink, and they both jumped in surprise at the movement.
Hermione's look of surprise quickly turned to one of concern as she watched him move past the table. "Nightmares again Harry?" she asked worriedly.
Harry poured himself a glass of water and smiled at her, slightly touched by her worry. "Not tonight. Just very thirsty, actually." He was very glad that his tired mind chose to ignore the reminder about his nightmares and the reasons why he was having them. He raised the glass to his lips and gulped it down quickly before pouring himself another. He paused and looked at them again. "What about you two? What's your excuse?" He tried to smirk, but was once again taken over by a large yawn.
Fred grinned mischievously. "I couldn't sleep, so I woke up Hermione and asked her to come down here and keep me company."
Hermione sighed, but a small smile caused the corners of her mouth to curl up. "What he really means is that he woke me up - very rudely I might add - proceeded to drag me out of bed, and then demanded I come sit with him."
"Hey, you didn't seem that reluctant to leave your bed once I mentioned the ice cream," Fred put on a look of mock-hurt.
Hermione smirked. "Well, who can resist chocolate ice cream?" she asked, with a tone that implied she wasn't talking about ice cream at all. Harry was incredibly amused by this, and as a result snorted and choked on his mouthful of water.
Fred quickly jumped up and pounded on his back theatrically. "Alright, mate?" he asked.
Harry coughed several times before nodding and smiling. "Yeah, guess I'm not really awake," he said. Fred grinned, and sat back down next to Hermione. Harry wasn't sure if it was because part of his mind was still sleep, but he was suddenly struck with the realization of how well Hermione and Fred suited each other. They were like... scones and glasses of water, he blearily thought to himself, draining the rest of his glass. He frowned and shook his head slightly at the ludicrous idea, and putting down the empty glass, resolved to go back to sleep as soon as possible, because it was clear his mind couldn't function properly at this time of night.
Hermione looked at him, and her expression was decidedly happy. "Do you want to join us? I think there's still some ice cream left in the box."
Harry smiled at the invitation, but shook his head. "I'm actually going to go back to bed. Very tired," he explained with another yawn. He filled up a glass of water to take upstairs with him, and then said goodnight.
As he was leaving the kitchen, Harry heard Fred's voice speaking to Hermione again.
"Apparently Harry can resist chocolate ice cream," he said in a low tone. Harry smiled again and had just started up the stairs, when Hermione's matter-of-fact response reached him.
"Yes, but Harry's not dating you, is he?"