A Series of Interruptions

The best laid plans, even of Hermione Granger, still go awry. Though it was her absolute intention to send Fred an owl right away, she had so many things to do. After collecting themselves from their fit of laughter, she and Ginny had to quickly pack up the final bits of their school belongings. Hermione carefully and blushingly found a place for her gifts from Fred, and then she was suddenly piling her trunk and the basket with Crookshanks into the back of a Ministry provided car.

"Au revoire, 'Arry" Fleur called after them throatily, placing a kiss on the boy's cheek. Ron ran forward eagerly, hoping he too would be so lucky. He didn't make it all the way to the ethereal girl, however, as Ginny stuck her foot out and tripped him. Hermione felt strange in that moment, but it was because she was feeling an absence of care. It was odd, not to care that Ron looked at Fleur with such longing. She continued to watch him, as he picked himself up from the dirt with mumbled goodbyes and retreated, red-faced, to the car. She waited for something to hit her, and yet she remained blissfully unmoved.

"Sometimes that brother of mine can be quite a dummy." Ginny whispered as she climbed into the seat next to Hermione. The girls had decided to ride with Mrs. Weasley to avoid Ron's post-embarrassment anger.

"Well, it would be hard to turn away from someone who literally radiates beauty and charm." Hermione said, ever his friend in defense.

"Even if that's his brother's future girl? That's not someone you keep fawning over, Hermione." Ginny shot back. Hermione remained silently thoughtful at those words.

"Oh, Ginny please!" Mrs. Weasley cried from the front seat, "Don't take it for a done deal. Maybe we can still convince Bill to go for Tonks. She just needs some time to recover, then she'll be right as rain for him."

"Mum, you know that's not true." Ginny replied. Hermione got the feeling that the red-headed girl knew something, but Ginny didn't choose to elaborate, and Mrs. Weasley did not pursue the matter further.

The ride to King's Cross seemed to take no time at all, but everything kept moving forward at a blurring speed. Once they arrived, Ministry officials all but pushed Harry through the barrier, and then rushed the Weasley's and Hermione along after him. Once inside, Hermione remembered that she and Ron had to go to the Prefect's carriage and get their assignments for train monitor duty. She felt a twinge of guilt that she and Ron had to abandon Harry, who was still stewing about Draco's plot, but not so much that it was eating at her.

"Malfoy's not here…" Ron muttered as they entered the Prefect's carriage. They seemed to be the last to arrive, and it was entirely true that the blonde Slytherin was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time he's shirked his duties. We both know he's not always the best about following a schedule." She whispered back. Ron nodded, but his brow was knit in a skeptical way.

"Don't get pulled into Harry's wild ideas now. Draco's probably just skipped. He's not plotting the downfall of the wizarding world." Hermione said, her voice insistent.

"Yeah, I know it. It's just…" Ron trailed off as the Head Girl began to speak about their duties for the term, and handed out early drafts of the Prefect schedules.

Between Draco's non-appearance at the meeting, their corridor patrol, and waiting for Harry, Hermione had barely had time to think beyond the moment. The sorting passed without much attention on her part, because she was worried sick with where Harry could have disappeared off to. When Harry finally showed up, he was covered in blood, though he sat down as though nothing were amiss.

Dinner was filled with conversation about the Slug Club, and then there was the surprise of the new teacher appointments. By the time dinner was finally over, Hermione was fit to burst with all the energy she had built up through the day. She hopped up like a bunny, and rushed off to do her duty of showing first years to the Gryffindor tower. However, if she were honest with herself, that wasn't her only motivation for doing her job with such diligence. Her mind had wandered to the letter she wanted to send to Fred several times through the day, but she hadn't yet had any real time to herself to formulate it. This felt like the perfect time to buy herself a moment away from the prying eyes of her friends. It's not that she was embarrassed. She just felt it was new, and not even real yet. Why get anyone's knickers in a twist over it?

Once the first years were settled, she bounded up to her room and pulled out a piece of the stationery he had given her and her lucky quill, and sat on her bed. She stared at the paper, willing the right words to come to her. She had to apologize. She wanted to seem cool. She wanted to be the kind of girl who actually deserved the attention of a boy like Fred. This was far too much to consider for a short letter. It made her head hurt just thinking about it all. Why did this have to be so complicated?

Dear Fred,

I got your letter. Thank you for the sweets, and the lovely stationery. I love the canaries printed along the edges. It's beautiful, and they are my favorite bird. I never told you that, so how did you guess?

I'm sorry about what I said about the charms. I didn't realize I didn't know I thought you were playing a joke on me. But I guess you weren't.

I'm really rubbish at this. The whole dating, liking, being a girl sort of thing. I guess that comes when you're a bookish girl. And now I'm rambling. You must think I'm so odd.

Ok! Well, I just wanted to apologize.

Best,

Hermione.

P.S. If you'd still like lunch with me, I'd be happy to meet you. I'll owl when I get our first Hogsmead date.

Hermione re-read her writing several times. She felt her face heat up each time she reached the end. She had to work up her Gryffindor courage, however, because she felt nauseous about sending it. Every time she stood to take it to the owlry, another of her dorm mates walked in. Padma and Lavender even commented about the redness of her face and asked if she felt alright.

Finally she felt her courage was high enough, and she walked out of her dorm. She made it as far as the common room before she heard a familiar voice.

"Hermione! You disappeared! Are you going to come have a chat with us?" Ron's voice floated across the common room, and he beckoned her toward their favorite chairs near the fireplace.

"I have to do a quick task...I've got to find one of the other prefects and ask when our next meeting is. It's not on our schedule." She lied quickly, knowing Ronald hadn't checked his prefect schedule.

"Oh, alright. Then we'll just catch up in the morning. It's late, and Harry looks like he's about to collapse." Ron said. It was true. The dark-haired boy looked dead on his feet, though he protested Ron's words vehemently.

Hermione left with a small wave, glad for her knowledge of her friend's habits. She didn't know what kept her from telling the boys. Perhaps it was not wanting to jinx a new thing. That certainly sounded right. Another voice in her head interjected that she was worried about hurting Ron's feelings.

"That's a strange thing, though. If Ron wanted to ask me out, he's had loads of opportunity, right?" She whispered to herself as she walked toward the tower where the owl's slumbered. "Why should I think it'd hurt his feelings? He couldn't even ask me to the Yule Ball like a proper date. He's not harboring some secret crush. That's ridiculous."

And yet, she reasoned, she would have said the same thing about Fred Weasley if someone had asked her even two days before.

Most of the way to the owlry, she was pulled out of her thinking by a strange sound. It sounded like glass breaking. She looked up just in time to dodge a teacup, which nearly hit her in the head.

"Oi, it's late little lion girl. You'd better be off to bed! Students shouldn't be roaming the halls. It's not SAFE!" Peeves aimed another cup at her, but she dodged this one more easily.

"Peeves, I am a prefect." She replied simply, not wanting to give him extra material. She knew she couldn't boss him about, but she hoped that would at least stop him from crying out.

"Oooh, a prefect. I am sooo scared. I'm quaking in my boots. Here, catch!" He said, and tossed several cups at her at once. In her hurry to catch them, her letter dropped to the floor. Peeves snatched it up before she could grab it, and zoomed upward into the air.

"PEEVES! Give that back, right this instant!" She bellowed, no longer thinking about the quiet evening setting. This just sent Peeves into peals of laughter, as he zoomed about in the air just above her reach.

"Who are you writing to already? You're only just back to school! A parent? A sibling? Does the little lion girl want to go home?" He teased, then glanced down at the envelope. He stopped in his tracks, as though he had hit an invisible wall. His head tilted so far, Hermione thought he might flip right over. Then he dropped the letter back down to her, as though it had burned him. She snatched it out of the air before the poltergeist could change his mind.

"One of the trickster Weasleys. A kindred spirit in the pursuit of buffoonery and wisecracks." He said, suddenly waxing poetic. He drifted off, more calm than Hermione had ever seen the playful spirit.

She didn't take the time to wait for things to change again. She rushed the rest of the way to the owlry, and called down one of the school owls quickly, before she could change her mind.

"Please, take this to Fred Weasley." She told the barn owl, and she watched as he flew off with her letter clenched tightly in his beak.

Author's Note - I'm not planning to hold this out too long, but I am trying to follow some of book 6's original narrative. After this point, I will stop doing so much of that, and really focus on the story I am crafting here. Now I will get into the bones of what might've been different if they had been together.

On another note, I do believe that Hermione wouldn't waste time once she knew someone liked her. She's far too practical for that, and if she liked them back, she's not the type to beat around the bush. She's just busy, being the best friend of the savior of the world, and a student who cares about her grades. But she'd be honest with herself.

I am also not planning for this to be too long in the "keeping it from people" stage. I think waiting to broadcast makes sense, but once Ron's dating Lavender, she'd have no reason to keep the information to herself.