It was the dead of night at The Burrow; the black inky sky outside only broken by a few small stars and a slither of a moon. Without this the darkness would have been complete in nature and quite oppressive to anyone caught in it. It was an unusually chilly August night, following the end of the War in May that year, and following the downfall of Voldemort and his followers and the inhabitants of the Weasley household were all seemingly enjoying an uninterrupted night of slumber, something which would have been unimaginable only a few months ago. It was the case however, that all of the people present in the Burrow still slept with their wands close to them, for they had been central to the war effort for so long, they were still very aware that they could be targets for any of the Death Eaters who had not yet been captured following the end of the War, and it was normal to them all to be ever-prepared to fight.
The silence in the Burrow was only punctuated by the occasional rumbling snore or other sounds associated with sleeping and if anyone entered the dwelling at this present time, they would be forgiven for thinking that the family had not been through a war and been involved in a battle for Hogwarts only three months prior to this, which nearly took the lives of more than one of them at various points.
Despite the quiet, calm, dark night surrounding her, Hermione Granger lay awake in the room she had inherited from Ginny when Ginny had moved into Grimmauld Place with Harry, breathing hard and panicking. Hermione had just woken up from one of her regular and horrific nightmares and was desperately trying to calm her racing heartbeat. Hermione knew she had screamed when she had woken, knew she had been trashing around in bed, in an attempt to escape the images in her mind and she silently thanked her brain for giving her the foresight to cast a silencing charm and locking charm on the room before she had gone to bed as she had done every night since the War had ended.
Knowing she would not sleep again for some time, Hermione sighed and sat up in her bed, reaching for her wand, before filling the room with a dim light, so she could assess her physical and mental condition following her nightmare without having to think about the never-ending darkness that surrounded her. Hermione looked at her arms, visible now they were out of the quilt, due to her short-sleeved pyjama top, and could see light bruises forming on her wrists already. As she noticed these, the aching pain from this area hit her and Hermione realised she had clearly been having a particularly rough nightmare and must have thrashed her arms around and caught her wrists on some furniture or the wall. Hermione could not know for sure, but having dealt with injuries such asthis before following her nightmares, this kind of bruise was nothing new to her. Whilst Hermione looked at her wrists, the scar she had inherited from Bellatrix Lestrange on her arm appeared an angry red colour to her tired eyes, more furious than usual, almost as if it had sensed what Hermione was dreaming about and had come to prominence again in order to decrease her self-confidence when she was already feeling vulnerable.
Sighing sadly at the sight on her arm, Hermione focussed on her legs and was relieved to find they appeared to not have any new bruises on them, however it was the case that her back was aching, and her legs felt tight with cramp, most likely from holding herself taught for a long period of time in a state of sleep-induced panic. Finally, Hermione grabbed a mirror from the nightstand next to her bed and examined her face, upset to find that she had a bruise blossoming over her right eye, clearly inflicted from her flailing limbs whilst she was asleep. Hermione's face usually was spared any injury from her night terrors and panicked movements, however tonight had appeared different. It was clear to Hermione that her sleeping potions were not working as they had done before, because they had been designed to stop physical injury, and whilst they had worked for a time in the immediate weeks after the War, Hermione's dreams appeared to be back with a vengeance, almost as if Bellatrix Lestrange herself did not want Hermione to heal and wanted to make her suffer from the grave.
Hermione sighed again and felt her breath shudder as a few tears escaped her eyes, before she swiped at them furiously, gasping in pain as she touched her black eye. She felt weak, wishing she could sleep like Harry and Ron did, for they had not seemed to have a problem with nightmares since the War ended, both glad of the freedom. It was also clear they were both embroiled in other distractions which often made them forget about the bad memories, in the case of Ginny and Lavender, their respective girlfriends, or made them so tired during the day that they slept solidly through the night, as was what happened with their Auror training. Hermione however was studying a fast-track programme for her NEWTs from The Burrow, waiting to start a job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in a few weeks and so, whilst her studying made her tired, it was the case that when this was over, she was left with her memories, particularly as she still felt like a guest in The Burrow following it becoming apparent that the memory charm she had placed on her parents could not be reversed. The Weasley family had adopted Hermione as one of their own and had welcomed her with open arms, which she would be eternally grateful for, however she missed her parents and the separation her muggle life gave her from her magical life as has happened in her earlier childhood.
Hermione had tried to talk to Harry and Ron about her struggles and in particular her nightmares, however Harry barely spoke about the War, wanting to bask in his new-found freedom, and was wrapped up in love with Ginny, that Hermione found herself not wanting to burden the young wizard who had held the weight of the world on his shoulders for so long, with her own problems, which seemed petty in nature. Hermione had tried to talk to Ron, particularly in the first month after the War when they had entered a brief relationship with each other. Unfortunately, it had become quickly apparent to Hermione that she and Ron were better off as friends; they could not live together, and Ron had told her he had realised he was in love with Lavender Brown. The split was amicable, and Hermione was grateful that a relationship with Ron was not conditional to her remaining in the household, for she had nowhere else to go at the moment. When Hermione had tried to talk to Ron about her nightmares, he had not been able to empathise with her very easily, because he, like Harry was enjoying being free and putting the War behind him and did not seem to be able to grasp why Hermione was struggling with this. He has tried to make Hermione laugh her nightmares away, which Hermione knew was his way of dealing with difficult subjects, but this was not what she needed, Hermione felt she required someone to talk to, to listen to her, so she could work through her psychological trauma and heal on her own time.
Tonight, was not the first sleepless night that Hermione had endured, and it certainly was not the first nightmare, and because of this she had become very familiar with what The Burrow was like in complete silence and darkness. It had been on one of these nights when Hermione had found comfort in an unexpected source, when she had ventured downstairs and made herself a cup of tea, using muggle rather than magical methods as this brought her a sense of calm. Just as Hermione had sat on a comfy armchair with her steaming mug of tea, she had been joined in the kitchen by a sleepy-looking Fred Weasley. He had joined her with his own mug of tea and they had talked for a while about why they were awake, whilst the rest of the family slept so peacefully. Hermione had found herself telling Fred about her horrific nightmares in vivid detail and had been surprised when Fred had listened quietly whilst she talked and then simply held her close to him whilst tears poured down her cheeks. Fred had then told Hermione that he was awake almost every night due to his own nightmares and also due to the fact that he struggled to settle following his near-death experience at the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione had listened to Fred and empathised with him as he had said he was now hyper-aware of any noise and sensation around him and was also finding it difficult to move on and go back to being the prankster he was before the War. Hermione understood how Fred was feeling as she also felt extremely aware of everything around her and was struggling to find her place in the world. It appeared to both Fred and Hermione, on that night, that they and found a person they could both confide in, and they both echoed this sentiment to each other.
Following this initial evening, Fred and Hermione had begun to look out for each other a lot more, both at night and during the day. They often sought each other out at family events, because both of them felt a sense of peace from being around each other, and it was nearly a nightly occurrence that they could be found in the kitchen, or in one another's rooms comforting each other following nightmares, or as time progressed, holding each other as they attempted to sleep, relax and rest when they were both exhausted, but their minds were racing.
Hermione was jolted out of her reverie as an owl hooted somewhere in the distance outside of The Burrow and she was once again a little panicked by her surroundings before she realised where she was. However, the memories of Hermione's nightmare surged back to her with a huge force all of a sudden and she felt very unsafe again, immediately knowing that she needed to leave the room she was in before she broke down completely. Her decision made, Hermione climbed out of her bed and reached for her dressing gown, her legs shaking as they ached and protested as she stood up. Hermione tied her dressing down, which provided her with some security and then grabbed her wand, before existing the room she was in and entering one of The Burrow's dark landings. Hermione took a breath and let her wobbly legs carry her forward and before she even realised it, she was outside the one place she had found sanctuary over the last few weeks, Fred's room. The room did used to belong to Fred and George, however Fred had moved back into The Burrow following his discharge from hospital to rehabilitate following the War and George had remained at the flat and continued to run Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes with Angelina Johnson, whom he was now dating.
Hermione took a breath outside Fred's room, before performing a charm to unlock the door, something he had set so that only she could access the room at night if she needed to. Hermione also had the same for her room and it had proven to be very useful over the past few weeks for them both. Hermione opened the door to Fred's room and stepped inside, the door closing and locking behind her automatically, another measure that had been put in place since the War had ended. Hermione was not surprised to find Fred awake, propped up on pillows, looking as though he was reading a book, however, Hermione knew him well enough now to see that she just had an empty gaze fixed on the page and was not taking anything in; he had clearly had a bad night tonight too. At the sound of someone entering his room, Fred looked up, a mixture of emotions crossing his face in a second, from worry, until he realised Hermione was stood in his room, to a slight smile at the witch in her dressing down, to sadness as he saw the look in her eyes and her tear-stained cheeks.
"Hermione?" he asked gently, although he could not deny he was pleased to see her, for he had not slept that night and she helped him relax "another nightmare?"
Hermione nodded, wincing slightly as she realised how much her head and neck were aching from her flailing around earlier in the night. Fred looked at the witch in front of him with a look of deepest sympathy and concerns in his eyes as he took in her bruised face. Fred knew that Hermione was prone to a lot of movement when she had nightmares and had previously injured herself because of this, however he had not seen injuries to her face before, and this broke his heart for her more than he could ever say. After his first look at her seemed to suggest she had no injuries which required his immediate attention, and that her mental state appeared more fragile than her physical one at the moment, Fred did the only thing that made sense and opened his arms for Hermione. Fred was not surprised when the small witch moved towards him and pretty much fell into his arms after putting her wand on his bedside table. He was also not shocked when she immediately began to cry as he helped her climb into the bed next to him; he had seen this happen before and knew the best thing to do was to simply hold Hermione until she was ready to talk.
Time seemed to pass slowly as Fred held Hermione to his chest while she cried. This was not unusual, and Fred simply did what he always had when Hermione was upset, he held her to him and did not speak, allowing his own steady heartbeat and strong arms be the only things that Hermione had to focus on as she came back to him. After a while, Fred heard Hermione's sobs quieten down as she remained curled in his arms, and he found himself releasing a breath he had not realised he had been holding as he realised the worst of Hermione's tears may be over for tonight.
Eventually Fred felt Hermione move her head, at which point he looked over at her, meeting her eyes with his own, taking in her vulnerable expression and bruises as her arms remained locked around his frame in a vice grip.
"Tell me what happened," said Fred kindly "you're safe, nothing can hurt you here."
"It's the same as it always is," said Hermione miserably, wincing as she tried to wipe her tears away and touching her bruised eye "I was back at Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix was torturing me, Harry and Ron couldn't get to me. I woke up when she began to cut my arm."
"You're safe," repeated Fred kindly "the memories are still there but she can't hurt you now."
"Thank you," said Hermione quietly "are you ok? I'm sorry for burdening you with my problems."
"You do not need to apologise," said Fred firmly "I gave you that charm combination for if you needed it, not because I didn't want to help you if you were upset."
"But you have enough of your own nightmares and things to deal with," said Hermione, in an upset voice, as she thought about what Fred had been through as well as her nightmare "you should be focussing on yourself, not me."
"It's nice to be needed rather than needing other people," said Fred, the words leaving his mouth before he realised what he had said "sorry, it's just hard not being able to be as independent as I was."
"You'll get there," said Hermione with a quiet certainty "you've come so far, the Healers are really pleased with your progress."
"I managed to walk a bit without the walking stick today," said Fred managing a small smile "but then I've had a horrible night with the pain and restlessness and the nightmares."
"Are you still taking your potions?" said Hermione seriously, as Fred would not meet her eyes
"I'm trying to," said Fred looking down "but sometimes they make me feel like I'm in a haze and not feeling anything. I'd rather feel pain than the dull buzz of nothing."
"I had the same," said Hermione, understanding immediately "speak to the Healers, I can come with you to your next appointment, they might want to reduce your dosages."
"I'll try," said Fred "but nothing works with the nightmares does it?"
"No," whispered Hermione, her voice breaking slightly "except you."
If Fred had not heard the last two words Hermione had uttered, he would never have thought they had actually been said, however as he met her eyes in the dimly lit room he could see a slightly panicked look in the green orbs as the gravity of what she had said finally hit her.
"I'm sorry Fred," she said, in a quick, worried voice "that's so much responsibility to put on you when you have enough to deal with. You shouldn't be responsible for my emotional health."
"Hermione, stop," he said kindly "you help me too with my nightmares and everything. You need to know that."
"I do?" asked Hermione slightly perplexed "but I don't do anything."
"You do more than you will ever know," said Fred smiling "just being there and treating me as a normal person is enough. I'm never sure how I help you though."
"What do you think this is?" said Hermione "I came to you tonight, the same as every night because I need you; you help keep me calm and deal with my emotions in a healthy way. Also that bruise cream is pretty handy in making sure no one else worries about my rather violent night terrors. I don't want any extra attention."
"Speaking of which," said Fred, as he reached across Hermione to the draw of his bedside table and pulled out the tub of cream which would remove her bruises.
In what had become a regular routine, Hermione and Fred sat up in Fred's bed, propped up on pillows as Fred gently applied cream to each of Hermione's bruises in turn. In some circumstances Hermione would apply the cream, if a bruise was at the top of her leg, however most of the time, Fred put the ointment on; the action becoming part of their nightly routine, as the close contact calmed them both down. Fred also put some cream on Hermione's scar, left by Bellatrix Lestrange; whilst it did not make the scar completely disappear, since the cream had been used daily, Hermione's scar had settled down and become less angry, something which meant a more to her than she could ever say.
"How did you manage to bruise your eye?" asked Fred, concerned, once he had put the cream on Hermione's arms.
"I'm not sure," said Hermione truthfully "my arms I think I hit on furniture, but my face is normally not affected unless it's a particularly rough night, so maybe I was just really upset. Can you fix it?"
"Of course, I can," said Fred quietly, moving closer to Hermione "just keep still."
Hermione did as Fred requested and remained still as Fred moved closer to her, his fingers grazing her sore eye with a touch as gentle as if a feather had brushed her cheek. Immediately Hermione felt the cooling cream working its magic on her eye and she sighed in relief. Seeing Hermione relax ever so slightly, Fred smiled kindly at her as he replaced the cream on the bedside table.
"Have you slept at all tonight?" asked Hermione, noting the circles under Fred's eyes, which she thought must be similar to her own.
"Not really," admitted Fred "I've tried but I can't settle."
"And when you do you have nightmares?" asked Hermione knowingly as Fred nodded sadly "I have the same problem.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" enquired Fred, hoping that the tone of desperation in his voice did not come through as he suddenly realised how much he needed and wanted Hermione to stay.
"Is that all right?" asked Hermione, brightening slightly "I know we've done this before, but I don't want to impose or make you feel like you have to look after me."
"It's fine Hermione," said Fred firmly, feeling himself relax.
"I would like to stay then," said Hermione, in a voice that was incredibly quite but held a tone of relief which was noticeable to Fred "thank you."
With that Hermione removed her dressing gown, before snuggling down into the covers of Fred's bed. If you had asked her six months ago if she ever thought she would have been here, Hermione would have laughed, however, right now, Hermione surmised she could not think of anywhere else she would rather be as Fred lay next to her, facing her, draping his arm over her.
"I don't know if I'm going to sleep again," said Hermione truthfully.
"That's ok, I don't mind," said Fred honestly "I just don't think either of us should be alone right now. I don't want you to have another nightmare when there is no one around and if I have to watch another hour go by on my own I think I'll go insane."
Soon Hermione and Fred fell into an easy conversation about everything and nothing all at once, both using slightly hushed voices even though all the rooms in The Burrow had silencing charms on them now. During their recent talks, both Fred and Hermione had realised how much they had in common; their morals were both the same when it came to what was important to them and whilst education was held in different esteems for both of them they did both work had and could both have lively debates about lots of different subjects, both surprising each other at various points with their knowledge on unexpected subjects.
Their talks had recently become more serious in nature about subjects which were quite intimate to them both, including Fred's emotional and physical recovery, what had happened to Hermione during The War and Hermione's parents having been found by Death Eaters and killed despite her best efforts to protect them. Tonight the topic of conversation was Fred and George and their changed relationship since The War.
"Have you tried discussing your recovery with George?" asked Hermione "or your nightmares?"
"I tried but it didn't help," said Fred, trying his best not to sound bitter "George goes from one extreme to the other, one minute he's treating me like I'm going to break and can't do anything and then the next minute he'll do something like Apparate or suggest we go on a flight, like he's forgotten that I still can't quite do those things yet."
"It must be tough for him because you two have always been so active and he almost lost you," acknowledged Hermione "what about the nightmares."
"He doesn't really get it," said Fred "he is with Angelina, so he has emotional support from her and he hasn't had any nightmares. He seems to have just slipped back into life and expected me to do the same."
"And what about everyone else?" asked Hermione
"They listen but no one really understands what's inside my head, it seems like only you do," admitted Fred "everyone else still refers to us as "Fred and George" or "the twins" and if there is one thing these last couple of months and nearly getting crushed by a wall taught me it's that George and I are separate people with separate identities and I don't want to just be one half of a whole."
"You and George are so different though," said Hermione kindly, sensing this was a sensitive subject for Fred and laying her hand on his arm.
"You might want to remind my family of that," said Fred, failing to disguise his bitterness this time "whenever I try and talk to them, they ask me where George is and what our thoughts are, like we are one and the same. I just feel a bit invisible. They seem to see George as separate especially when he is with Angelina but it's like they just see me as an extra."
"I'm sure they don't mean to," said Hermione "everyone is so preoccupied."
"I know," conceded Fred "but you've never treated George and I like we are one person. You've always known which one of us is which, even when others haven't, and you do treat us both differently."
"Of course, I have," said Hermione, her hand remaining on Fred's arm "but you are both different. I mean, it was you that comforted me after the Yule Ball, it was you that waited up for me after a detention with Umbridge, it was you who broke the doors down in the Hospital Wing because Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let you see me in my fifth year. Also, I know you wanted to see me in Shell Cottage, but you had to leave before you could, I heard you desperate to see me. George has never been like that."
"You remember all that?" asked Fred, shocked
"Yes," said Hermione simply "and I knew it was you under that wall, before I even rounded the corner, before I even heard George's yell. I have never been so scared. I would have been scared and upset if it was George, but it was like my world crumbled when it was you. I knew it was you that had been hurt from the feeling I had."
"I don't understand," said Fred, slightly confused "why would your world have crumbled? Why would it be any different if it was George under that wall and not me?"
Hermione regarded Fred with her green eyes meeting his blue ones. He looked so vulnerable and unsure of himself at this moment in time and Hermione found herself gathering all her Gryffindor courage as she moved her face closer to his and planted a soft, warm kiss on Fred's lips, transferring her hand from his arm to his cheek and using her thumb to massage this. If truth be told, Hermione had had a crush on Fred for a long time, since she was a young girl, however this had turned into something deeper when Fred had comforted her in her later years at Hogwarts and particularly when they had spent time together during holidays after in the aftermath of The War. Fred had become Hermione's anchor to the world around her, and she had shared everything good or bad with him. Hermione found herself wanting to spend as much time as possible with Fred and felt relaxed and happy when she was with him, almost as though she was more than the War Heroine, which was the title the press had bestowed upon her.
"Hermione…" began Fred, shocked as a myriad of emotions coursed through him
"Fred, I adore you," said Hermione firmly "you need to know that. I have done since I was younger. I thought it was just a schoolgirl crush at first but as time went on I realised how much I needed you and that still continues. My world crumbled when I realised it was you under that rock because I thought I'd lost you. I've never felt like that about anyone else before. I don't know if you feel like same, but I cannot let you torture yourself over your own identity when I see your identity as the most important thing to me."
Suddenly, as Fred heard Hermione's words it was like a lightbulb went off in his brain as he realised everything Hermione said was right. He had tried to deny his feelings for the witch beside him for so long, thinking she would end up with Ron, but he could not deny them now as he lay with her next to him in his bed, as if it was only the two of them in the world. Fred knew that he would be deep in the cycle of his depression since The War without Hermione and he knew that even when he was younger, he looked to protect her, or to get her attention just to see her smile or watch her argue with him. It was clear to him, Fred Weasley thought the world of Hermione Granger and wanted to make her his world. With that thought in mind, Fred shifted closer to Hermione and kissed her gently, still shocked, despite her recent confession, when she kissed him back. Without breaking the kiss Fred shifted his arms so they were around Hermione and deepened the kiss, happy when Hermione moved closer to him. Their kiss continued like this for some time until the need for air became too much and they both pulled away, looking slightly dazed but grinning goofily.
"I hope that isn't going to be the only time I get to do that," said Fred smiling
"If you want to, we can do that at any time," said Hermione confidently "now I've told you everything I don't intend on this being a one-time thing."
"Those are good intentions," said Fred, his voice serious and his eyes sparkling "and it gives me and excuse to ask you to sleep in my bed every night."
"Maybe we might get some sleep for once," said Hermione smiling "it will be nice to not be alone."
"You won't ever have to be alone again," answered Fred with certainty.
For the rest of the night, Hermione and Fred shared whispered, loving words and continued kisses, both happy and relaxed in each other's company. The next morning, they were both very surprised to wake up in each other's arms having fallen asleep a few hours prior to sunrise, and having experienced a rare, peaceful and dreamless sleep for both of them. They both immediately remembered the events of the night before and far from being bashful around each other, they left Fred's room together, hand-in-hand excited about the prospect of a relationship with each other and what this meant, the same feelings which were shared by their family who of course, greeted the news with the inevitable and immediate planning of a wedding, something which Hermione and Fred listened to quietly whilst holding on tightly to each other's hands; their respective anchors in the world.
