Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is just a figment of my imagination

Chapter six: Letters

He spotted her figure underneath one of the apple trees that hid their house from the view of the muggle village down the road. She had her head bent over a piece of paper in her hand.

He opened the kitchen door and leaned against the doorpost. Now she had lifted her head up and leaned it against the trunk of the tree while the soft breeze played with strands of her hair. He could guess that, to complete this idyllic picture, she had her eyes closed as well.

He zipped up his jacket and tucked his hands into his pockets. She didn't seem to hear him trod down the snowcovered path even though the snow cracked underneath the soles of his shoes.

"Good morning!" he said cheerfully.

She started, but gave him a big smile.

"Same to you." She answered.

He looked at the house for a moment. He could swear he saw George staring at them from their bedroom window, but he ignored this and turned back to Hermione.

"Isn't it a bit cold to sit out here in mid-winter?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps. But after a whole night of working on a letter, the one for your shop, I could use a bit of fresh air to wake me up. I love this place, it's so beautiful. I can't tell you how much I envy you guys for growing up here."

He chuckled. "Living far away from people all together isn't everything, you know."

"Nor is living in the middle of a nosy neighbourhood with people asking your parents what school it is again I go to all year." She said with a grin. "My parents must have created an entire school, teachers and all, to keep the neighbours satisfied."

"Hmm..." he watched her wrap her scarf around her neck a little bit tighter.

"Well, perhaps you're right." She said suddenly. "I should go back inside. It is cold."

She stood up and started walking back up to the house. Fred walked with her.

"So..." he said.

How was he going to bring up the subject of her and Ron without being too obvious? But now he had already started a sentence, he had to finish it. Oh bugger.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Oh...I, er, just wondered...what else have you been up to lately? You told us about college and where you work...But what about your spare time? You don't use that to study as well, do you?"

He was proud of how he had managed to save himself out of this situation, even though his excuse was a bit crappy, and gave himself a mental pat on the back. But he still had to get to that one subject...

She shrugged.

"Nothing much, really. I don't much fancy going out in weekends and most people I have classes with are really stuck-up. So I'm not doing very well at making new friends. And my job can be really demanding, so it does take up a lot of my time." She pointed at the paper in her hand. "This is actually a case they put me on. They gave me the task of copying it out. We don't get to do much of the exciting things, Tess and I. Mostly we get to bring in the coffee."

"Tess?" he asked.

"Oh, that's the girl I work with. We get along pretty well, she's a nice person. I think Ron feels the same about that."

Fred pointed his ears. Ron. That was more the subject he had been steering towards.

"Ron met her?"

"Yeah, when he came to pick me up before we came here."

"And...you say he likes her?"

Hermione grinned. It was actually quite funny to see how the entire Weasley family had been expecting something that would never happen. They were all so sure that she and Ron would someday become more than friends one way or another, that the mere mention of his name linked to that of another girl caused them all to loose their bearings. Ginny had been quite surprised and Hermione knew Fred would react no different.

"Yeah." She said to tease him. "I could feel a certain chemestry between them. And I only left the room for a few minutes."

"But-" Fred began. "But what about you? I mean...mum thought that you two- You didn't mind him liking another girl?"

She giggled. "Why would I? I think it's great he finally found someone he can go out with. Now if he could just pluck up the courage..."

Fred decided that he might as well ask about it bluntly now that they were discussing the subject openly.

"So the two of you aren't a couple." He said.

She nodded. "Exactly! But it's been virtually impossible to make any of you see that."

Fred scratched his head as he held the door to the kitchen open for Hermione to walk through.

"Well, now I feel...er, stupid." He grinned apologetically. 'We all really thought-"

Well, now he could go and tell George what he had been wanting to hear. Hermione was apparentally as single as they were. George had no reason not to pursue her now. Somewhere in the bottom of his stomach, Fred felt a knot growing.

He couldn't truthfully tell George she was off limits anymore, the only thing that had been keeping his brother from throwing himself at her.

He bit his lip and sat down on the kitchen table. He patted the spot next to him.

"Want some tea to warm up?"

She nodded. "I'd love some. Something to warm me up would be great. But then I really need to go take a shower before anyone else does. I need to look my best for christmas day, right."

Fred smiled and walked towards the stove to put the kettle on.

"I'm really grateful that you're helping us out with the shop, you know. Now we can really do something to clear up that mess."

"I'm going to try and go round the two main lawyers at the firm. They'd just charge you twice the sum of the shop all together. But if I can convince mr. Hoot to help, I might even be able to knock off ten percent of the costs."

Fred beamed. "That's even better!"

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes.

"...George will be really grateful too." He said testily.

He watched her fumble with a teabag and saw how her face reddened slightly. He lowered his eyes and let out a soft sigh. The kettle behind them started to whistle and he jumped up to pour out the boiling water.

Hermione waited till he had filled both mugs and then enclosed one of them in her hands.

"Well." She said brightly. "I'd best get going. I've got a few things to do before the others get up too. You now, sending that letter, take a shower..."

She smiled.

"Thanks for the tea."

Fred nodded. He waited till he heard her footsteps go upstairs before letting out his breath. He poured one more cup of tea and decided that he should go to his room to tell George the news.

He made his way up the stairs, carefully carrying the mugs without spilling. George looked up when Fred came in, but only for a moment.

"Quick, close the door." He said. "I've got this idea. I'm not sure if it'll work, or basically what it's going to do...But I've got this small amount of acid from a Mimbulus mimbletonia..."

Fred was surprised to see George pouring over a cauldron, holding a vial of something dark green and odorous. This was not what he had been expecting.

'What had I been expecting?' he wondered.

A nervous brother, clasping himself to his leg in the hope of good news?

"I have a hunch that, if we add this to the recipe of the Puking Pastilles, we can make the effect much more realistic and durable. That's what I'm hoping for anyway."

Fred set the two mugs down on their old desk.

"George...you might want to put that acid down. I had a talk with Hermione..."

Eagerly George pushed his experiment away.

"I saw the two of you outside." He admitted. "What did you find out?"

"Well...She's not together with Ron."

George's face faded into a smile. He turned back to the cauldron and the vial and allowed a content expression to wash over him.

"Well...That's...interesting."

"This doesn't mean you should pounce her, alright? I'm warning you to behave."

"Listen to you!" George said with a laugh. "You almost sound as if you fancy her yourself."

"Don't be daft." Fred said harshly.

He threw himself down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ron opened his eyes and looked at the alarmclock on his bedside table.

"Ugh..." he muttered

Nine o'clock in the morning was way too early for him to get up, especially on a day like christmas day. But christmas day also meant that he'd have to do odd jobs around the house now his mother would be busy in the kitchen all day.

He got up from his bed, carefully unfolded his best pair of trousers and reached for his dress shirt. Then he headed downstairs to have breakfast in the kitchen. Ginny stumbled down the stairs behind him, hoisting up a brilliant blue stocking while she held a hairband in between her teeth.

"Morning." She said as she whipped her hair into a ponytail. "Any idea when the others are going to show up?"

He shook his head. "Probably somewhere around five."

She ducked underneath his arm, slipping into the kitchen before he could. He was still getting used to her presence again. They had all gotten used to her being quiet and hiding in her room. And now she was practically bouncing around the way she had done at Hogwarts.

"Morning mum." He greeted when he entered the kitchen.

His mother was wearing her flowery apron. She waved her wand at the direction of the stove and a pan of sausages flew towards the table where it emptied itself onto two plates. Ginny attacked her plate almost instantly. Ron looked at her, feeling slightly bemused.

"So first you don't eat a thing and now you stuff food down your throat as if you're a starved Acromantula." He remarked.

She looked up indignantly.

"At least I'm out and about again." She said dryly. "You should appreciate that I deem you worthy enough to bask in my radiant presence."

Ron snorted. "You spent too much time listening to Fred and George when you were little. They've ruined you."

She chuckled. "At least I chose the right brothers for my example. Imagine what I would have been like if I had chosen to be like Perfect Per-"

She stopped and gave Ron a frightened look. Ron looked at their mother, but judging by her ever busy bustling around she hadn't heard. Ginny cast her eyes down.

"I'm sorry." She said to Ron. "I didn't mean to...Is he still not talking to them?"

Ron didn't answer. His apetite had gone now, as had Ginny's. She cleared her plate and placed it on the kitchen counter. She sat back down at the table after that and avoided looking at her brother.

"Oh, Ronnikins!" sounded two extremely amused voices from the hallway. "You've got an owl!"

Ron's face paled.

"Oh no..." he muttered.

He thundered out the room and chased the twins up the stairs.

"Give me that now!" She heard him shout.

A surprised Hermione stepped into the kitchen, her hair still wet from having taken a shower. She looked at Ginny questioningly.

"Do you know..."

Ginny shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Hermione joined her at the table and reached for a mug.

"So how are you feeling now?" she asked.

Ginny gave her a soft smile. "I'm good. It feels good to act cheery again."

"To act? Please don't say that none of this is real...You shouldn't put on a performance to please us."

"No, that's not what I meant. It's hard, sometimes, but being who I used to be, or trying to be, makes it easier to feel normal again. I guess that doesn't make much sense...But keeping up this front helps me to become the way I used to be. Happy and cheerful. And that feels good...I realised I've been missing out on a lot because I was busy mourning and I have a lot to catch up on too. Just now I had to ask whether Percy was talking to us again or not. And I just have a lot of cheerfulness to catch up on in general." She added with a smile. "Just don't mind me if I look gloomy today. You just enjoy yourself. Oh, and look out for the mistletoe. It gets everywhere."

"I'll be sure to stay away from it." Hermione said assuringly. "And now I'll be off again. I need to send an owl. I wrote this letter to help your brothers in their predicament. If this works out, they can be spared a lot of trouble."

"I think you can borrow Pig from Ron. Mum sent Errol to Bill's last night and he hasn't come back yet."

"Thanks."

Hermione slipped off her chair and headed back up the stairs. She had been up all night to write that letter. Version after version she had left in a pile of unfinished letters all over the floor. Finally she had been satisfied with one of them and she had allowed herself a moment of fresh air outside beneath the apple tree.

She took the letter up to Ron's room and knocked on the door.

"Can I come in?"

Taking the muttered answer for a yes, she opened the door. Ron snapped around and quickly hid something behind his back. She gave him a strange stare.

"Hi." He said quickly.

"I wondered if I could borrow Pig..."

"Sure. He's on his perch over there." Ron said without moving.

Hermione slowly placed Pig on her shoulder and walked back towards the opening of the door. Before she left, she decided she wanted to say something.

"I told Ginny and Fred, by the way." She said calmly. "That we aren't an item." She added when he still hadn't reacted at all.

"Oh...that's fine." He said, noticing she was eyeing him suspiciously. "No joke from us then?"

"I guess not...Seemed like the right thing to do to tell them...Oh, Ron this is rediculous! What are you hiding behind your back?"

"Nothing." He piped.

"Oh don't be silly, Ron. What is it? A letter, a drawing? What!"

"It's personal." He said defensively.

His face coloured a light shade of crimson. She couldn't help letting a smirk wash over her face.

"Oh, I see. Accio!"

The scrap of paper was tugged away from his tight grasp and shot towards Hermione. She didn't read the letter, but let her eyes dart straight to the bottom. Her smirk grew.

"Oho!" she said.

Ron strode over to her and snatched it back. "Don't you tell anyone."

"Why not? They'd be pleased to see you happy."

"You know what my family is like! You had some first hand expercience with them."

"Don't worry. I'll not tell a soul. But you could have told me, couldn't you? It's not like this is a big surprise..."

He sat down on his bed. "There's nothing to tell! I knew you'd be like this, too. But it's just a letter...Anyway, what do you need Pig for?"

"Weasley Wizard Wheezes. But don't you try and change the subject! That's not just a letter!"

He smiled and threw his pillow at her. "Shut up."

She threw it back.

"I will."

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