I own even less. Hot damn.

Chapter Six: Blackmail and Breakups

"Hermione Granger, what the hell are you doing?" a voice said from the distance.

Hermione slowly turned around. "Harry! What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for you. Ron is looking everywhere for you and he's really upset. It's a good thing that he didn't find you or else we would have a murder on our hands. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Don't jump to conclusions," Fred said cautiously.

"I think I'm going to," Harry said impatiently. "You and Ron had a fight and then Ron's brother snogs you."

"Harry, that's not what happened," Hermione said, urging herself not to cry again.

"I think he deserve an explanation," Fred said softly.

Hermione turned away from Fred, but still held his hand. "Ron and I didn't have a fight Harry. Ron was a complete jerk towards me and I am planning on breaking up with him soon. I was upset, so I came out to Fred, and he comforted me. I was the one who kissed him."

"What did he do?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "It's not important."

"Obviously it is," Harry said.

"She said it's not important," Fred said to Harry.

Harry looked at them quizzically and then said, "So are you two dating now?"

"No," Hermione said. "We have to talk about it first. But I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone just yet. You know as well as I do what could happen if an announcement like this was made," she said arching her eyebrows.

Harry looked confused for a minute and then it hit him. "You wouldn't tell?"

"I won't if you won't," she said with a smile.

"Okay. You guys might want to split up because there are only so many places Ron could go," Harry said and started to make his way back to the house.

"What was that about?" Fred asked.

"Um, just a little secret of his that I know that can be used for blackmail," Hermione said.

"You're evil," Fred said with a grin.

"It's better that way," Hermione said laughing. "I'll see you later today?"

"Of course," Fred said. "We live in the same house."

"Haha, very funny," she said, kissing him on the check. Hermione ran back to the house, becoming cold once leaving Fred's embrace. She walked back up to her room, which Ginny had abandoned. She probably left when Harry did. Maybe Ron wouldn't find her, because Hermione wasn't up to breaking up with him yet.
Hermione peeled her clothes off slowly and stepped into the shower. She took a long hot shower, lingering under the water until it turned cold. She wrapped herself in a big fuzzy towel. Once she was dry, she changed into a new set of clothes and stood at the window and stared out. The rain that she and Fred had been standing under together had turned into snow. She stared at the snow, fixated for a few minutes. Then she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she said absently.

"Hermione?" Ron said quietly.

Hermione closed her eyes and lowered her head. "What do you want Ron?"

"I want to apologize to you. I shouldn't have gone so far after you had said no. I'm sorry."

"Well you should be," Hermione said turning around. Ron looked absolutely terrified. "You don't respect me. I said no, and you just kept going. I'm sorry Ron, I can't be with you anymore."

"No. This can't be happening."

"Well I'm sorry, it is," Hermione said, turning back to the window. She saw Fred heading back towards the house, trudging through the snow that was forming on the ground. She smiled in spite of herself.

"But I love you Hermione."

"Ron, it's over. I'm sorry."

She didn't turn back around until she heard the door slam and him run down the steps. She knew that she should have felt some pain about breaking up with Ron, but she didn't. There was still a good two hours until Mrs. Weasley would call her down to dinner, and Hermione didn't really want to be disturbed until then. She settled down on her bed and pulled out her Arithmancy book. She had homework to do before she got back to Hogwarts, and what better time to do it then her first day of break?

She pulled out her notes from before the exams, just to look over. She came across where she had started to do the compatibility test for her and Ron. Why not finish it? As she filled in the numbers, she came to the conclusion she knew she would reach. They were not compatible; not by a long shot. But if she replaced the younger boy's name for his older brother's, they were perfectly compatible. Hermione smiled and continued her homework.