A/N: Thank you all so much for the kind reviews! They inspire me to keep writing, so the more reviews, the quicker I update!
Chapter Five: Sleepless Nights
A week and a half had passed since the kids went to Diagon Alley. It had also been a week and a half since Fred (or George) spoke directly to Hermione. The twins felt the need to put their plans on hold while they remained at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was so overprotective of her children, even the "adopted" ones like Harry and Hermione, that Fred and George were scared to even ask Hermione to pass the butter at the dinner table.
Fred and George had been thinking about Hermione a lot over the past two weeks, but for different reasons. While George thought of ways to make Hermione's bushy hair even bushier, Fred thought of ways he'd manage to untangle his fingers from it after a particularly long make out session. Not that he was thinking about making out with Hermione, of course!
Hermione also did her fair share of thinking about the twins. She mainly thought at night or when she thought no one was looking. Hermione tried to battle her feelings alone. She had done that before when she had liked one of Ron and Ginny's brothers before. She hadn't wanted Ron or Ginny to laugh or feel awkward around her. It had been easy to block her feelings then, though. Percy had never reciprocated her feelings. It was another thing when a boy she liked and admired said he liked her back (even if Hermione only thought of him as half a person, with his twin equalling one whole person).
It was the night before the return to Platform 9 3/4 when Hermione had a particularly bad night. She thought about George as she tossed and turned in her bed, trying to find a comfortable spot. But knowing that George was just a few rooms away, probably with his shirt off, was just too much for Hermione. She groaned and rose from the bed. Quietly, Hermione tiptoed across the room and went downstairs to make some tea.
Hermione didn't hear the footsteps behind her when she had pulled out her want and muttered an incantation to warm the water. But she sharply turned around with her wand out when she felt the hand upon her left shoulder.
"Woah," Fred's arms raised themselves into the air on their own accord, his fingers splayed and pointed straight up. "Down girl! It's just me."
Lowering her wand, the fear in her eyes remaining, Hermione muttered, "George?"
"Fred," he said before he realized this would have been the perfect time to advance in the plan. Somewhere in his body, in the chest region, he felt glad that he told the truth.
Uttering a sigh of relief, Hermione visably relaxed. She closed her eyes momentarily, then looked into the face that had haunted her waking dreams. "Hey," she mumbled. For once, words failed her.
"Can't sleep?" Fred asked gently as he stared into her eyes.
"No," she paused. To fill the silence, and to have an excuse to look away from Fred's powerful gaze that looked so much like George's, she said stupidly, "I made tea." She looked down as she lifted the cup up slightly.
"I see." Fred wasn't talking about the tea. He had come to the sudden realization that he felt more for this girl than friendship, even with her bushy hair a gnarly mess from tossing in bed and the light freckles that peppered the pale skin of her nose and cheeks. Or was it because of this that he felt that way? They stood there in silence for a moment. "Come walk with me," Fred said into the silence of the night.
Startled, Hermione shakily said, "W-What?"
"A walk. You know... You put one leg in from of the other and shift your weight back and forth," Fred grinned. "That usually tuckers me out." With that Fred grabbed Hermione's hand. He had no idea about what he was doing, but he still continued.
Hermione placed her teacup, still full of hot water, on the counter as she quickly passed by. She let Fred drag her out the front door and into the yard. Once in the long driveway, Fred led Hermione past the snoring garden, which was in desperate need of deknoming.
No one said anything as they walked. They each kept their eyes on the stars and the full moon. After a minute of silent walking, Fred chanced a glance at Hermione. She noticed and looked back.
"Fred... Can I ask you something?" Hermione said hesitantly. She started to wring her hands together nervously.
"Yeah, of course." Here it comes, Fred thought. This is where she tells me she likes me. This is when she's going to tell me that she wants to go out with me.
"Do you promise not to tell anyone?"
"Yes."
"Not even George? Especially not George..."
"Yes..." Why'd she have to go and mention him? he thought.
"Okay." She took a deep breath and kept her eyes locked on the moon. "I... I think I like George." By the time the words left her mouth, Hermione knew she had made a mistake. Of all the people she could have told, she had told the person most likely to tell George.
Fred froze. For a moment his face fell, but Hermione didn't notice. He went on autopilot and muttered a soft, "Oh." This was just another time Fred had to bury his true feelings. Inside he called himself stupid. Fred came to an unconcious decision. He would have to get back at Hermione. It was time to advance in the plan.
"Fred?" Hermione asked selfconsiously.
"He likes you, too." It was Hermione's time to freeze.
"W-What?"
"Let's head back now." They had reached a forest, which looked dark and unwelcoming. They turned. Fred's heart felt like stone. Hermione's felt like a frozen tornado.
"Are you - " A howl interrupted Hermione's question. They quickly looked towards the forest. Behind them a large dog like creature came barreling at them. They both froze - again. In a scared voice, Hermione muttered, "Werewolf. RUN!" They didn't need to be told twice. They started to run back to the Burrow, but they were so far away that they had no hope of reaching it.
"Hermione! I can Apparate!" Fred bit out. "Come here!" They moved closer, still running, and Fred reached out to clutch Hermione's hand. He tried to Apparate, but his mind was on the big hairy beast coming ever so closer. Hermione began to fall back; physical agility was not her strong suit.
"Sun!" she cried and stopped running. Fred slowed down, stopped, then looked behind him. Sure enough, the sun was rising. The werewolf had stopped running and stood there, whimpering. Hermione inched closer while Fred raced to her and grabbed her arm to pull her back. She hardly noticed.
With one last howl of pain, the werewolf turned and ran. He had started to change, and soon he was a man running back into the forest.
"Come on. Let's go back, Hermione." But she continued to stare about the familiar man. Fred looked back and gripped Hermione's hand tighter, sensing that she would follow the werewolf.
Fred looked at the werewolf and growled, "Percy. So that's why he left."
"And came back. London is a dangerous place for a werewolf without potion. I wonder why he came here, though... Let's get back now, before someone wakes up and notices us gone." Hermione took her hand back from Fred and started back towards the Burrow. Fred followed slowly, his brows furrowed in thought. He finally noticed how far ahead Hermione was and jogged the short gap between them. Without looking at her, Fred asked, "What are we going to do about Percy?"
"Nothing. He'll go back to London today and carry on with his life. I doubt it if he'll come back here after we saw him." Hermione glanced at Fred's angry face and said, "Besides, if we mention Percy, you know how hard your mum will cry. She doesn't need that today of all days. In a few hours, the last of her children will be gone." Fred relaxed.
"Yeah, you're right. How is it you're always right?" Dammit, he thought. Those bloody feelings are back.
Hermione stayed silent. They were nearing the Burrow again. Hermione paused at the door. She tentatively reached out a hand and let it rest on Fred's left arm. "Fred, wait." His hand dropped from the door nob. "I... I just wanted to thank you."
"For what?" he asked, staring into her big brown eyes.
"For ending my sleepless nights." With that, Hermione opened the door and climbed the stairs to go get one last hour of sleep.
Fred paused at the door. He smiled to himself. He had caused her what she had caused him. They had both suffered restless nights.
Fred's smile faltered slightly as he entered the kitchen. On the table sat Hermione's now cold cup of water. He had whisked her out the door before she had had time to make tea with the water. That simple thing brought him back to the task at hand. Putting the cup in the sink, Fred wondered which twin Hermione actually liked. Was it really George? Or was it Fred? Or was it some horrible combination of the two? Hermione's nights may now be filled with sleep, but Fred knew he wouldn't sleep until he had Hermione, whether it was as himself, or as someone else.
A/N: I'm sorry for the seriousness of this chapter. I needed a little conflict. But the next chapter, which should be up within a few days (tomorrow if I get the day off from school), will be a lot lighter because they're back at Hogwarts! Yay!