A/N: I know I said I'd update sooner, but I've been busy. Many, many apologies.
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
New Developments
"Where is he?"
Harry and Ginny looked up at Hermione with pained expressions. Apparently Ron was even more upset than she thought.
"He's in his room." Ginny said.
Hermione started up the stairs, but Harry jumped up and grabbed her arm. "I wouldn't."
"I have to." she replied.
"Hermione, I've never seen him this upset. He's more than just angry, he's really hurt and he feels betrayed." Ginny told her slowly.
Hermione sighed and sat down. "He said that?"
"Ron? Of course not, but I know him." she answered.
"Do you guys hate me, too?" Hermione asked them.
"Hermione, we could never hate you." Harry replied taking her hand.
"Neither does Ron, he's just upset." Ginny added.
"We're just a little…shocked," Harry explained "we didn't even know you and Fred were dating."
"Well, we weren't exactly 'dating'." Hermione admitted.
"Don't need the details thank you!" Harry exclaimed, clapping his hands over his ears.
Hermione laughed. "Get your mind out the gutter, Potter."
"Hermione," Ginny spoke up "I think you need to explain this to Ron, not us."
Hermione looked confused. "But you said-"
"I know, but I think it will help him more than anything else at this point."
With a deep breath Hermione got out of her chair and walked up the boys stairs.
"We better get the earplugs now." Harry whispered to Ginny.
Hermione stopped outside of the seventh year boys dorms and heard Ron pacing inside. She knocked lightly. "Ron it's me."
Immediately all noise stopped.
'What is this, a family trait?' she thought.
"Ron I'm coming in" she said and opened the door.
Somehow Ron had managed to jump on his bed and pull all the hangings before she opened the door.
"Ron, please talk to me."
Nothing.
"Please."
Still nothing.
"I thought our friendship meant more to you than this." she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
"ME!" Ron shouted, flinging the curtains aside to stand in front of her. "Apparently our friendship doesn't mean much to you if you could sneak around with my brother behind my back." he spat.
"I didn't sneak around Ron." she told him with a frown.
"Then what would you call it?" He questioned.
Hermione closed her eyes and sunk down onto Ron's bed.
"Why?" Ron asked as he sat down beside her.
"I love him." Hermione answered. Maybe she wasn't in love with Fred, but she did love him. However Ron didn't need to know that.
"And this was the only way to keep him from having to marry that Claire girl." she added.
"No matter how many people you hurt?" Ron accused
A tear slipped slowly down Hermione's cheek. "That was never my intention."
"Well that's what happened." Ron stood up and started pacing again. He grabbed his hair in frustration. "Bloody hell Hermione, if you had known…"
"I did know." she said softly.
Ron stopped and starred at her.
"I've always known." she told him as another tear escaped her eyes.
"And you don't, you never…"
"No." she admitted.
"Please leave." he said.
"Fine." Hermione agreed and walked to the door then turned back. "I hope you can forgive me someday." she said as she left.
Over the next few days the story of Fred and Hermione spread throughout he school. The majority of the school found it hilarious that prim and proper Hermione would marry the most infamous prankster Hogwarts had ever had, but everyone was happy for her. Except the Slytherins of course. Malfoy and his cronies made several rude comments, but Hermione ignored them. However, they did turn up in the hospital wing with large purple boils later that day.
Despite everyone's best efforts, Ron still refused to speak to her. And Lavender and Parvati didn't help matters with all of their questions. "Come on Hermione, how was the wedding night?" caused him to get up form the dinner table and stomp off to his room. It also got around where they spent the night after the wedding, though Hermione couldn't figure out how.
Fred wrote her faithfully every day. But he now sent the letters at breakfast rather than late at night. Out of respect to Ron, she read and answered them when she wasn't around him. Mostly he wrote about how the family was reacting. Needless to say, everyone was more than a little surprised. Bill and Charlie found it hilarious for some reason and Percy thought it 'very irresponsible'.
Mrs. Weasley was starting to cool down a little bit, but she made it clear that they were both still on thin ice. Hermione blushed scarlet when she read that Mrs. Weasley had been very relieved to find out that it had not been what she termed 'a blow-gun wedding'. Hermione explained that the term was shot-gun, but she was still very embarrassed that Mrs. Weasley had jumped to that conclusion.
It had been two weeks since the wedding and it was a Hogsmeade weekend. Hermione woke up on Saturday morning to Parvati's shaking her.
"What!" she yelled.
"You have a surprise downstairs." Parvati chirped.
Hermione scowled as she got up. It had been a long week and she was not happy to be woken up. She shuffled down to the common room to see Fred there, talking to Neville, Dean, and Seamus.
Hermione was very glad to see him. Now she had an ally. Without thinking she started running down the stairs towards him. Fred looked up and smiled as she flung her arms around him.
"Now this is what I call a 'Hello'. Fred joked as he hugged her back.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she demanded.
"Well that wouldn't have been much of a surprise."
Hermione was so happy to have someone there on her side that she didn't notice Ron and Harry on the top of the stairs. If looks could kill, Hermione would have been a widow right then. With her arms still wound around Fred's waist, Hermione leaned up and whispered in his ear. Harry looked at Ron, now turning a lovely shade of crimson, as he starred murder at his older brother.
Ron promptly stormed out of the portrait hole, unnoticed by the newlyweds.
"How would you feel about a picnic by the lake today?" Fred asked her.
Hermione pulled back and grinned up at him. "It's February."
Fred just grinned back.
"It's cold." Hermione pouted.
"Oh don't be such a baby." Fred teased s he popped a grape in his mouth.
Hermione stuck her tongue out at him. They had been there for about a two hours. Fred had managed to charm the house elves into packing a picnic basket while Hermione changed. She wasn't too happy about it, but ate the food just the same.
"I've been thinking." Fred piped up.
"Uh-oh." Hermione joked.
He glared at her. "It seems my mother has decided that if we're married, we, or rather I, shouldn't live at the Burrow anymore."
"What!?" Hermione exclaimed.
"Yeah. Since I'm, how did she say it, 'old enough to get married, I'm old enough to get my own place'" Fred explained.
"And?" Hermione prompted.
"George said it was okay if I turned the upstairs of the shop into a flat for us."
"US!?"
"Yeah. You're graduating soon, and we are married." Fred absentmindedly said as he continued to munch on grapes.
Hermione nodded. Then she grinned. Fred was still eating, stretched out on the blanket with his eyes closed. She couldn't resist. Carefully, she picked up the bowl of pudding and threw a glob at him.
It hit him right in the face.
Fred bolted up and glared at Hermione, eating her pudding, the picture of innocence.
"You'll pay for that." Fred warned.
Hermione looked up as a similar glob of pudding hit her shirt.
The next fifteen minutes consisted of a very messy food fight, and soon they were both covered in the entire contents of the basket. Hermione squealed as Fred grabbed her around the waist and smashed a handful of grapes in her face. In her struggle to get away, she leaned back a little too far. And since Fred refused to let go of her, he joined her as she toppled backwards into the lake.
"Checkmate." Harry said.
Ron scowled. He knew he was upset, because Harry never beat him at chess.
"I give up." he said as he flopped backwards onto the couch.
"You want to play Exploding Snap?" Harry suggested.
He never got a chance to answer. The whole of Gryffindor looked up as Hermione and Fred, soaking wet and covered in food, stumbled through the portrait hole laughing their heads off.
"What happened to you?" Ginny asked.
"It's a long story." Hermione managed to gasp out. After the giant squid pushed them out of the lake they took the basket back down to the kitchens, running into McGonagall along the way. She gave them a stern lecture before letting them go. Then cracked up as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Hermione, I think we better get cleaned up." Fred told her as he pointed her towards the stairs.
"You're right." she agreed, still giggling.
Hermione started up the stairs, then stopped. She had just remembered that boys couldn't go up the girls' stairs. Fred merely grinned. Before pointing hi wand at the stairs and muttering a spell. Everyone starred in awe as Fred followed Hermione up to her room.
"How did you do that?" Hermione asked as she pulled her shoes and socks off.
"Uh-uh. It's a secret." he told her, trying in vain to pull his shirt over his head.
Hermoine sighed. She went over and took hold of his shirt. She gave a tug as the garment finally came off.
"Thanks."
Hermione blushed at being so close to Fred in this situation again. He grinned as she turned to her trunk and pulled out some clean clothes.
"I'll be right out." she told him as she shut the bathroom door.
"What do you think they're doing up there?" Lavender asked at dinner later. Fred and Hermione were still up in the dorm room, causing much speculation.
"Probably 'saying good-bye' if you catch my drift." Seamus answered.
"That's disgusting." Ginny replied.
"Well, they are married after all." Dean countered.
Just then Fred and Hermione appeared outside the doorway. Fred was leaving, but wanted to escort her to dinner. She had been complaining about Lavender and Parvati's questions and he told her he had a way to shut them up.
The whole school watched as Fred pulled Hermione close to him and kissed her. But this was no ordinary kiss. Fred's love for milking a crowd reared it's head as he wound his fingers into Hermione's hair and slid his tongue into her mouth. Hermione responded after the initial shock wore off. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she matched Fred with more enthusiasm than he would have ever thought possible. Goosebumps spread throughout his body as she ran her hands down his back. Whistles and catcalls greeted them as they pulled apart.
"Guess that answers our questions" Seamus muttered.
A/N: Well, there you go. I know it was a little dry, but it's building up to the next chapter. I'm sorry for the wait, but I was hoping for a favor. If you haven't already, go and read Deep in the Subconscious of a Prankster by Sneezy Mouse and the sequel In the Rising Subconscious of a Prankster. Then go review, bribe, threaten, do whatever's necessary to get her to update. Until next time, lots of love to all! : )
