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

Chapter eighteen: Replacement

Fred turned around.

"Vivian! What a suprise...You do know I'm Fred, right?" he said, trying not to roll with his eyes.

If there was one person that annoyed him most in this world, it was her. And she had dated George, he'd have thought at least she could have told them apart. She composed herself quickly and tried to act like she hadn't been whispering in his ear at all.

"Of course I do." she scoffed. "What, you thought that I didn't? I'm disapointed at you, Fred."

"Well anyway, it's good to see you. Curious to see what that little shop was like? Probably a bit bigger than you had expected." he said with a smile.

She shook her head with a laugh. "Are you kidding? Nothing the two of you ever do is small. It could only be a big place like this. You're probably richer than Zonko, no wonder he wants a settlement."

Fred looked around the shop with a satisfied smirk.

"Oh, where's George? I need to speak to him."

"...He's overthere..." Fred said slowly.

Vivian brushed past him immediately, glad to get away from this 'oaf' as she sometimes liked to call him quietly, and pushed her way through the crowd. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned towards his ear.

"Hello George." she whispered with a smile.

She let her hands glide over his back as she walked around him.

"Still tense, I see."

George said nothing. Vivian took his hand and pulled him away from the crowd towards one of the back shelves.

"So still not gotten what you need, huh."

"I can do without, you know. I'm not a nymphomaniac."

She batted her eyes prettily.

"Really?" she leaned in and softly blew on his ear.

He bit his lip and grabbed her shoulders in order to push her away. But before he could, she had pressed herself against him.

"Why, George! Put that thing away, there are kids around." she joked when she felt something nudging her thigh.

She looked into his eyes and licked her lips seductively. Then she slowly backed into the storage room behind her and blew him a kiss.

Fred watched from a distance, his face slowly contracting into an angry frown. George looked around but didn't notice his brother staring at him and then, with a confused look on his face, slowly followed Vivian inside.

Fred tightened his hands into fists and stormed towards the door. But as he was about to open it, he decided against it. He turned around and marched towards the shop's main door.

"Verity! I've got to pop out for a second!"

"Right you are, mr. Weasley."

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

Hermione opened her eyes. The radio was still playing Celestina Warbeck, but mrs. Medlycott had turned it down a little. She raised her hand to her eyes and touched the skin around them.

She lifted a small mirror up close to her face so she could see it in focus. There were small bits of greenish slime stuck to her eyelashes and that stuff also almost glued her eyes together when she closed them for a minute.

Her eyes were puffy and red and the veins in them practically glowed. With a sigh she put the mirror down and stared at the ceiling.

"Hey..."

She sat up, leaning on her elbows so she could see who had come in; a figure with red hair.

"George?"

"...How are you feeling?" he said cheerfully after having hesitated for a moment.

"Bored." she said truthfully. "All I can do is sleep and listen to horrible music. My eyes are still sore as you can see. And I can't see a bloody thing."

"Oh- oh yeah..."

"How did things go at the shop today?"

He walked forward, still somewhat hesitant, and sat down on her bed. "Oh, everything's just fine. The new line of skiving snackboxes is going great. They love our Brainbuster Bubblegum. 'Just keep chewing and your test's a shoe-in'. That's our slogan. Sells like crazy."

"Well what did you expect with those end of term exams nearing on the horison." she said with a giggle.

He smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot. I got you some flowers!"

He produced a bundle of colourful tulips, lilies and other flowers from below the edge of the bed.

"Oh, George! They're lovely!" she said, examining them up close.

She placed them on the bedside table and took his hand.

"Thank you."

"No problem. You deserve them."

She sat up and closed her arms around his neck.

"You know..." she said. "The doctors confirmed that this illness can't be transferred om by a human...It'll be all over the news tomorrow, but apparentally it was Hoot's budgie that gave it to me and Hoot...Like that muggle bird flu. So...there's no danger anymore..." she smiled at him. "No more facemask for me..."

She pulled him closer and kissed him. At first he didn't react but then he closed his arms around her, holding her close to him. It might have been that she'd had nothing to do and no one to talk to all day, but that kiss was the most wonderful kiss she had ever experienced.

It felt perfect. It filled her up with warmth and she never wanted it to end. Apparentally he didn't want it to end either, because he held onto her tightly. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He still had his eyes closed, as if he was completely absorbed in the kiss.

When she pulled away slowly, he still kept his eyes shut as if he was trying to savour the feeling of the kiss, as if he was trying to store it in his mind. She giggled and caressed his face. He finally opened his eyes and looked at her with an almost guilty expression. Quickly he ran his hand through his hair and looked away.

"I...er..."

She smiled and took his hand. "What?"

"N- nothing. That was...incredible..."

She giggled when she saw his face turn a light shade of pink. He grinned apologetically. Then she moved her face close to his again and whispered: "Yes it was."

He rushed forward again to kiss her, unable to restrain himself. She sighed into the kiss, surprised that this one felt just as perfect as the last one had.

"Oh George..." she sighed happily.

Suddenly he stood up.

"I've got to go." he said confused. "The shop-"

She looked at him, startled by his sudden change of mood.

"I'll...I'll come by again...Tomorrow. Bye!"

And before she could reply he had vanished. Hermione sighed again. At least now she had something to occupy her mind with...but she would have preferred it if he had stayed.

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

"Damn." he said angrily through his gritted teeth.

Unable to control himself, he kicked a dustbin as he passed by. He should never have gone to visit her. What had he been thinking? He stuffed his hands into his pockets forcefully and walked towards the staircase.

He would have to tell her. He couldn't keep this from her. What if she mentioned it to George! He halted.

"Shit."

He hadn't even started to think about George. He'd have to tell him, then...if he couldn't tell Hermione. But what then? He'd probably get into a fistfight with him if he told George the truth, and Hermione, the innocent one, would pay the price.

But if he told Hermione instead, she'd no longer be innocent because she'd know the truth too and George would think it was a plot against him.

Fred sighed and ran another hand through his hair.

"Hm..." he snorted almost vindictively. "George...He almost deserves this..."

He recalled the image of George, following Vivian into the storage room. He tried to hear the smooching noises he had heared, just so he could stop feeling guilty. It didn't work, though.

He had kissed his brother's girlfriend, even though he had fought against any feelings he'd had for her all this time. And now, because he had been stupid enough to go visit her, to replace George this once, because of one misunderstanding, he had unleashed a flood of emotions inside him he couldn't possibly ignore.

He had felt so jealous of George, but never admitted it. The only one who might have had a slight suspicion was Tess, and he had only seen that girl once. Suddenly his face brightened.

"Tess..."

That was the one he needed to see. She would probably have a good idea. And she was also the only one he could entrust this secret too, without running too big a risk. All he had to do was go to the office.

"Yes, I'll do that. Straight away tomorrow."

Feeling slightly better, he apparated home. By now the shop was empty again. Verity looked terribly tired, but she greeted him cheerfully nonetheless.

"Hello mr. Weasley. Quite the busy day. Business went excelent today."

He greeted back vaguely. "That's good to hear. Sorry to leave you on your own. Had some...urgent things to take care of. Have you seen my brother?"

Verity nodded and pointed at the door that led up to their appartement.

"You can go home now, Verity. I'll lock up. See you tomorrow."

"Right you are, mr. Weasley. See you tomorrow."

Fred turned the key in the lock once he had closed the door behind her. Then, with great reluctance, he headed up the stairs. He found George's shop robes in a pile on the floor somewhere along the hall.

The door to his room was opened slightly, a small beam of light pouring out into the corridor.

'He'd better be alone in there...' Fred thought angrily.

He pushed the door open viciously, but there was no one inside. The sheets of the bed were a mess, but that meant nothing. George almost never made his bed.

He turned around and headed towards their kitchen. There he found George, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in his hands and an empty pizzabox in front of him.

He didn't look up. "Oh, hey Fred."

Fred said nothing as he sat down at the table. He avoided looking his brother in the eye. What was he to do? He needed to tell someone...It only seemed right to tell George. He let out a loud sigh.

"George..."

"What?"

Fred looked up to meet his brother's face, determined to have his say, to say that he had kissed Hermione and that he cared for her more than he could describe, that he had felt that way for a very long time...That he had never let on for their sake.

But when he looked up to look George straight in the eye, a disgusted frown formed on his face. He stood up roughly and turned around. George stared at him strangely.

"What-?"

"Clean yourself up, for Merlin's sake. You've got lipstick on your face." Fred snapped just before he stormed off to his bedroom to lock himself in.

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