Chapter 1

"Right." Hermione stood up, shot him one very confused glance, and walked out. Fred stayed sitting on the chair in the kitchen of the Burrow, still very shocked. And, as he sat, he remembered. Starting at the beginning.


It was a dark and stormy night. Well, actually, it was a rather clear spring afternoon, but Fred just liked starting his memories off like that. It made them more interesting. So, this dark and stormy night found Fred restocking boxes at the new Hogsmeade branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Just then, the bell above the door jingled and a certain bushy haired Gryffindor student came in.

Of course, it was in fact a spring afternoon on a Hogsmeade weekend, so it wasn't odd for Hermione to be there at all. But in Fred's dream, the thunder clapped and lightning lit the windows.

"Well hello there," he said, adding a box of Mime Malts on to the shelf. The thunder clapped again. Ominous.

"Damn him…" Hermione muttered, perusing the shelves. She gave no indication that she had even heard him at all.

"Damn who?" Fred asked, intrigued. The only people that usually got this kind of rise out of her were that Malfoy git and Ron. And anyone that got between her and her studies, of course.

"Ron," she muttered, peering closely at a box of Demonically Devious Devil Drops.

"Of course. Damn him," Fred agreed amiably. He went back to restocking shelves as Hermione chose a box of the candies.

"I'll take these," she told him, still looking around.

"Ah, a good choice. But perhaps you would be more pleased with one of our more expensive items?" Fred asked jokingly. Hermione huffed.

"This is not the time for jokes," she said, walking over to the counter and waiting for him to ring her up.

"Of course it isn't. That's why you're in a joke shop," he said in all solemnity. "May I inquire as to what the little bugger has done, perchance?" Fred pretended to look serious, but he knew he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"You may," she said acidly, still waiting for him to give her the total so she could pay and leave.

"Er, consider it inquired," he said, making no move to take the sweets. He was, after all, very interested. That seemed to be her cue to let loose.

"It isn't enough that he doesn't do his own homework, of course it isn't! He just has to take mine, to copy, without even asking, not that I would let him anyway, mind you-" she said, getting slightly red in the face. Fred tuned out. It was about homework. Of course it wasn't anything interesting. He finally reached for the sweets and rang them up.

"Eleven sickles," he said when he thought she was done. "And you be sure to get the little blighter. I suggest those pink and purple stripey ones," he added, gesturing towards the box.

"Of course," Hermione said, giving him a smile. He thought it looked like a grateful, yet lost smile. Poor thing.

"And let me know how it turns out!" But Hermione had already left in to the rain, the thunder clapping again in her wake.


Hermione, a more grown up and graduated Hermione, sat down on a rock outside the Burrow, trying to get her thoughts in order. What had he been thinking? Of course, thinking had never been his strong suit, she thought with a disdainful sniff. No, she didn't mean that. But still. With another sniff, this one more melancholy, she remembered the day it had all began.


It was a clear, spring afternoon. It was Hogsmeade weekend, and yet only one of the trio was leaving the castle. Harry had received detention from Sprout; honestly, one simply doesn't eat strange seeds, and Ron was off avoiding her. She couldn't blame him for that, and was actually very pleased that she had some alone time. It would give her time to think before she acted, so she didn't do anything rash.

Then she saw the bright orange sign for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Her peaceful meditations vanished in a hurry as she thought of revenge. He deserved it, really. What a terrible thing to do. She opened the door, and the bell above her head jingled.

"Well hello there," one of the twins said, adding a box of undoubtedly fiendish somethings on to a lime-green shelf. Ominous.

"Damn him…" she couldn't help but mutter as she looked over the shelves. She was in no mood to get in to a conversation with one of the twins, not when revenge was so prevalent in her mind. It was such a strong urge, in fact, that Hermione wondered if they had put some sort of spell on the shop to evoke just these types of feelings. It wouldn't surprise her.

"Damn who?" the twin (she decided it was Fred, 50/50 chance, after all) asked, looking intrigued. He would be. He probably lived off of discord.

"Ron," she replied, looking at a box of some evil looking edibles that looked promising for her purposes. Well, as edible as anything in this store got.

"Of course. Damn him," Fred agreed amiably. Hermione wanted to laugh at this, but was too busy. Revenge. She picked up the sweets, deciding they would do. When she looked back up he was back to the shelves.

"I'll take these," she told him to get his attention. She looked around anyway, making sure she hadn't missed a better selection.

"Ah, a good choice. But perhaps you would be more pleased with one of our more expensive items?" Fred asked. How incredibly tacky. Hermione huffed.

"This is not the time for jokes," she said as she waited for him at the counter. Honestly, could they ever be serious?

"Of course it isn't. That's why you're in a joke shop," he said in all seriousness. Damn him, too. She wondered if it would be poetic justice to slip him one of his own treats. "May I inquire as to what the little bugger has done, perchance?" Fred asked, jarring her back to the present. His eyes were twinkling. How annoying. Honestly, it was even worse than Dumbledore.

"You may," she said briskly, tapping the box on the table. Maybe, just maybe, he would get the hint.

"Er, consider it inquired," he said, making no move to take the sweets. He actually looked interested. She became slightly unwound as tears threatened to fill her eyes. They wouldn't get so far as to actually fill her eyes and threaten to fall, she wasn't that upset.

"It isn't enough that he doesn't do his own homework, of course it isn't! He just has to take mine, to copy, without even asking, not that I would let him anyway, mind you, but then he has to lose it! I spent hours on that scroll! Of course I've thrown away my notes on the subject, my bag would get to heavy if I didn't clean it out, because I was finished, and then it's gone! I'll have to reconstruct the lot of it!" She finished, red in the face. He finally reached for the sweets and rang them up.

"Eleven sickles," he said. "And you be sure to get the little blighter. I suggest those pink and purple stripey ones," he added, gesturing towards the box. Well, that was nice of him. She wouldn't have had an idea of where to start. She had a feeling if her rubbish bin-bound notes didn't turn up she would have tossed the lot in his evening meal and hope he didn't notice.

"Of course," she said, giving him a smile. She hoped that it didn't look as angry as she felt; it wasn't Fred's fault. It was Ron's. Poor Ron.

She left before he could reply, walking in to the sweet spring air. With the box under her arm she felt wonderful; it was amazing how much the promise of revenge could cheer her up. And, of course, Fred had been a dear, listening to her and everything. How awfully nice of him.

A/N: I love you reviewers. I really do. And see, my love manifests itself in the form of an update that doesn't take a couple months! Sorry if this doesn't live up to the prologue's expectations...sigh. Thank you so much AmberJupiter, and Damia (your review made me want to run around like a crazy person while grinning my head off), and MyPrecious188, and...all of you! Chocolate bars for all!

And just a clarification, this will basically tell the story of their relationship in first Fred's point of view, then Hermione's. Please tell me if it's too similiar, I really tried to make it sufficiently different. :-D (Also, sorry if this chapter has mistakes, but I didn't get this beta'd.) Last but not least, (as always), please review!