"Why don't you take Fred with you Hermione?" Ginny asked loudly when a rare hush had fallen over the burrow's kitchen table as everyone put down their cutlery at the end of yet another delicious meal cooked by Molly Weasley.
"Oh are you going somewhere Hermione?" Molly asked eagerly from the other end of the long table, keen to join in with her daughter's meddling to push the highly intelligent brunette closer to the son who was evidently pining over the beautiful young woman.
After sending a stern glare at her best female friend for spilling the beans and her complete lack of subtlety, Hermione turned towards the beaming matriarch and explained over the top of the rest of the gathered Weasleys and honourary Weasleys who were all looking interestedly towards her.
"Work are sending me to Paris on Tuesday for two nights to collect some samples for testing." She explained nonchalantly, while Fred marvelled at how she always seemed to avoid being self deprecating but still remaining humble when talking about her work "The samples are vital for our research and I'm the only one who knows the details well enough to talk to the doctors there about it. The problem is that I speak very little french and they still have a huge problem with blood supremacy over there so work is paying for me to take someone with me who can speak the language and can get us through all the pureblood mania."
She paused in her explanation for a moment to allow Percy to give Audrey a brief overview of the prejudices that Hermione might be facing in France, being a muggle born.
"I asked Fleur first of course and then Ron but they understandably both have work that they can't get out of." She threw them each a small smile of understanding before shooting another mock glare at Ginny "But I was relying on Ginny not having anything booked up but now she's gone and got herself a fantastic quidditch try out opportunity on Wednesday night so I haven't got anyone to go with. Harry can't get out of work either but he speaks even less french than I do anyway, we didn't learn it like you did as children and a few lessons at muggle primary school was it."
The Weasleys were purebloods and Mr and Mrs Weasley offered their children every advance they could without going against their moral compasses, which included ensuring all seven of their children learnt french. For some of them it came more easily than others, Ron and Percy barely managed to string a few sentences together while the twins and Bill excelled at the second language.
"What about Fred?" Ginny suggested again.
"I'm sure Fred's too busy - " Hermione began to protest.
"No, he hasn't got much of a social life" George interrupted her with a teasing grin at his brother.
"But he's got work - " she tried again.
"Don't you have Wednesdays off dear?" Molly chimed in, causing Hermione to be interrupted yet again.
"I'm sure he doesn't want to - " she attempted but this time was cut off by Fred himself.
"No, I'd love to Hermione." He said softly, his eyes only focussed on her.
"But - "
"Why don't we all clear up the table while you two go and talk through the details outside." Arthur offered kindly, taking pity on the pair and ushering them out of the back door, away from the prying eyes of his wife and other children.
The two wandered side by side, their arms occasionally brushing each other's as they walked down to the edge of the turquoise pond and took a seat at the end of the sun warmed dock with their bare feet dangling in the cool pond water. Lazy frogs lounged on wide green lily pads and cabbage white butterflies fluttered between the purple, red and yellow wildflowers blooming along the banks at the water's edge.
"So, Paris?" Fred asked, bumping his shoulder against Hermione's playfully.
"You have to work, it's okay you don't have to - "
"No, I don't have to work. George can cover any management duties and Lee was a brilliant manager on the day of Ginny's graduation." Fred countered.
"But it's the school holidays, you'll be inundated - "
"And we'll have our seasonal staff back in so there'll be plenty of help going around." Fred continued "All the fifth and sixth years earning their pocket money during the holidays, and they're great at selling our products too as they get all their friends to pop in and buy stuff. They'll be absolutely fine without me."
"What about other stuff, surely you have plans for your day off?" Hermione prompted.
"Nah, nothing at all." Fred held back the scoff he would have uttered at himself, the only thing he did on his days off was day drink copious volumes of rum and day dream about Hermione, being in Paris with her would be infinitely better.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Hermione sighed. "I don't want you to only say yes because you feel you should."
"I want to Hermione. I really, really want to." He grabbed her hand in one of his own and brought the other to cup her cheek, directing her face up from where it had been staring at her swaying toes "Please let me come with you Hermione. I really want to."
"But…" Hermione trailed off, running out of arguments as she fell into his electric blue eyes.
"I'm great at speaking French so we won't have any issues there." He began to persuade her. "I'm much cleaner and tidier than Ron and I bring way less luggage than Ginny. I am very obviously a Weasley and everyone knows we're purebloods, even if we are blood traitors, so I'll get us past any snobby gits. Please Hermione. Please take me with you."
"Okay." She murmured, even more quietly than a breath so it was easily missed by Fred as he began to voice his next argument.
"I promise to be courteous and kind if you say yes, and I won't prank you at all like we both know George would." He added. "I really, really want to go with you Hermione. I can carry your bags around, not that you need me to but I'd do it anyway. I know I didn't get the best grades at school but I am smart and I'll hold my own in conversation with your super intelligent colleagues even if I don't know all the background. I'll always be there to support you and to be your biggest cheerleader, I know you are so much more wonderful and amazing than I am and I'm happy to sit in the shadows while you shine. Just please, let me be near you while you shine."
Fred wasn't sure if he was trying to persuade her to let him go to Paris with her or to let him be part of her life forever at this point as he gazed into her warm chocolate eyes he was close to declaring his undying love for her and proposing on the spot. Nerves welled in his belly as his eyes flickered between hers searching for an answer and silently begging for it to be a 'yes' but they made way for elation when he heard her chuckling response a moment later.
"Yes, Fred." Completely taken by his dramatic words and the deep kindness in both his eyes and touch, she giggled happily "Fine, alright, you can come to Paris with me."
Enormous grins broke out on both of their faces and Hermione began half heartedly pushing Fred away as he wrapped her in his arms and peppered kisses all over her face and hair until their squirming ended with the laughing pair falling off the end of the dock and straight into the cool water of the pond together.
…
"So?" Ginny asked around ten minutes later when the pair returned to the burrow, dripping wet and laughing freely as they shoved each other in the shoulder on the walk back up.
"He's coming with me." Hermione whispered and sent Ginny a death glare when she squealed and laughed in delight. "There's nothing going on!" Hermione clarified harshly "We're friends and that's all it can ever be. He's marrying someone else, remember?"
And with that Hermione wished everyone farewell and flooed home to get into some dry clothes.
…
It was nine weeks after Fred's letter had arrived declaring his requirement to marry, turning his life upside down and despite the best efforts of hundreds of witches and wizards across the country there really was no way to ditch the law for another few years at least, but if they continued their work now then they could hope to get it recalled eventually. By then it would be too late for Fred but at least it would make a difference for others.
Fred had spent yet another evening with Gloria Nott, his ministry allocated wife-to-be and an unmarked death eater, as was their agreement for Monday nights. They had sat at their regular table at the White Wyvern and shared a few rounds of drinks while discussing the events of their weeks amicably. She had once again brought up plans for their wedding but Fred had brushed it off saying that they had plenty of time left and when she commented on wanting a summer wedding he mentioned, quietly and almost to himself as he stared into the swirling amber of his whiskey tumbler, that he had always dreamt of getting married in early autumn, just as the leaves began to turn from green to gold.
Gloria had latched onto this piece of information and ran with it, she knew that once the 3rd of August passed he would be legally required to marry her anyway so waiting a bit longer for the day itself wasn't that big of an issue. She just had to keep him sweet until then. So she agreed excitedly to a September wedding and suggested that their colour scheme should be emerald and gold. Her family would, of course she said, be paying for the wedding and all Fred needed to worry about was purchasing his wedding robes, the rings and sorting their honeymoon.
Fred had kept a smile on his face by daydreaming of the brown curls that were turning caramel in the summer sun as he half listened to Gloria ramble on and on and on.
Now though it was nearly midnight and he was back home laying in bed staring up at his bedroom ceiling with wide eyes completely unable to fall asleep. He was thoroughly excited as tomorrow he would be accompanying Hermione to Paris, 'the city of love' according to the many muggle guide books he had bought on his lunch break earlier that day and stuffed into his rucksack with his neatly folded clothes and toiletries. He had been packed for hours, not really needing much for only two nights, but had made sure he was prepared for any scenario and had packed and repacked a hundred times that day already.
They weren't leaving until late tomorrow afternoon so Fred would be working in the shop for most of the day and then meeting Hermione at her place to go to the ministry to collect their portkey in order for them to settle into their hotel and be ready to get to the hospital early on Wednesday morning to meet the healers and collect the samples. They would then return late on Thursday morning via portkey again so that Hermione could get the samples into the lab and start running her tests on them straight away.
Sleep did not come easily to Fred all night and soon he was getting up again and opening the shop with his twin brother. By the time lunchtime arrived though George had had enough of his twin's excited but over tired giddiness and sent him for a nap on the staff room sofa having laced his pumpkin juice with a child friendly sedative potion, a new product that they offered as a gesture of goodwill to the parents buying toys for their youngest children at the shop.
"Feeling better sunshine?" George asked laughingly as Fred emerged from the staff room three hours later, yawning, messy haired and rubbing the sleep from his eye.
"Much." Fred grinned sleepily "Thanks Georgie."
"Good because you've got less than an hour until you've got to meet Hermione" George pointed out "so go grab a shower, sort out that bed hair, get changed and make your way over there early. You know how she hates it when people are late."
With a grateful smile and noisy kiss on his twin's cheek earning laughs from the many customers lined up at the till where George was serving them, Fred dashed up the stairs two at a time to get himself ready. After a lengthy rainfall shower Fred had perfectly messed up his hair, donned a pair of smart shorts and a form fitting t-shirt of a muggle band Hermione had taken him to see during their recovery last year, thrown his rucksack over one shoulder and apparated to an alleyway near Hermione's place with a bunch of red roses collected from a muggle florist en route.
Fred was still ten minutes early so waited out on the front steps of Hermione's apartment building in the heart of muggle London, entertaining himself by balancing on the curb on one foot and jumping up and down the stone steps. A few children from the neighbourhood were heading home from their day at the local primary school and Fred ended up playing hopscotch with several of the little girls as their mum's watched laughingly at their daughters teaching the dashing young man their favourite game. They played and laughed in the summer sun, the women whispering about who the good looking young man could be waiting on, for the roses definitely suggested him waiting on a love interest, until finally Hermione arrived twenty minutes late, pulling her hair band out of her bun to release her curls as she sprinted around the corner.
