Sneaking Out to Meet You

The weekend of their Hogsmeade trip progressed far too slowly after she left the Three Broomsticks. After her date with Fred, Hermione had met back up with Harry and Ron, and then the day had taken a turn for the terrible. They had been walking back up High Street, ready to return for the castle, when they saw Katie Bell and her friend Leanne arguing over a package.

They both tugged at it, causing the paper to rip. Katie's gloved hand barely touched the necklace that fell from the wrapping, but she instantly began to rise into the air. She looked peaceful for a moment, floating with her arms outstretched like a bird. Just as suddenly, however, she began to look like a girl who'd leapt from a ledge to her demise. Katie's face contorted into one of pain, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Hermione tried to comfort Katie, while making sure nobody touched the mysterious package. When Harry returned with Hagrid, the giant took control of the situation and took the poor girl back up to the castle. Hermione made sure Leanne made it back to the castle with comfort and the gentlest questioning, and then she and the boys were caught up in discussing the possibilities of what happened.

That night she sent an owl to Fred, giving him an update on what had happened. The boy had been Quidditch teammates with Katie, after all, and she was sure they were still friends. Fred had written back a very short letter in reply:

Hermione,

Are you free tomorrow evening? Even if you're not, say you are. Evenings are a great time to think by the lake. 8 o'clock?

Troublingly yours,

Fred

She wrote back without hesitation to say that she was caught up on all her homework, actually. She couldn't promise that Monday wouldn't hold more homework, but her evening looked fairly free. Especially because Harry had a meeting with the Headmaster. She expected to get a response from Fred that gave her an idea of his thoughts, but that didn't come. She wondered why he would want to meet her by the lake.

The day stretched on slowly, but finally evening came. Before Harry bid them farewell, Hermione asked if she could borrow his cloak. If Harry was surprised by the request, he didn't show it. He ran up the stairs and retrieved the cloak, and handed her the silvery fabric without so much as a question. He gave her a small smile, said his goodbyes, and ran off to his meeting.

He was looking more and more peaky these days, as though he were not sleeping well. Hermione knew, from Ron, that he still had dreams about Sirius from time to time. He still wondered what was beyond the veil, and if they could have saved the man from his fate. Hermione also knew that Harry could hold on to something that he was after until it got him into trouble. Such was his recent obsession with the actions of Draco Malfoy.

Hermione left Ron with her charms essay to copy, knowing it would keep him from worrying too much about her. He was working really hard lately, and she knew he was struggling with the higher level charms work more than he wanted to let she slipped out of the common room, mentioning the possibility of popping into the library to look up more work on wordless incantations. Ron nodded and smiled at her, then turned his attention to his work.

"At least sneaking is much easier with the cloak," Hermione said quietly to herself, "and I won't have to risk being caught. Oh the rumors, Hermione Granger is sneaking out to the lake at night." She laughed quietly to herself. She quickly had to silence herself, however, as she saw someone turn the corner in front of her. It was Draco, prowling the stairwell leading down toward the entrance. She wondered for a moment why he'd be there, then remembered he was scheduled for Prefect duties on Monday evenings. She was actually surprised to see him, since he'd been missing many of his meetings and his rounds. She waited for him to finish his checking and head back up the stairs before slipping out the door to the grounds.

The air was crisp and clear. It was a beautiful, cloudless night. The stars stretched on for infinity, and it made Hermione feel small for a moment. She hugged the invisibility cloak around her, and shivered in a way that had little to do with the cold. Sometimes, with all the things going on with Harry and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, she sometimes felt like the world was closing in on her. It was so much, and they were so young. Hermione knew she had no right to feel overwhelmed, because it was all so heavy for Harry. And yet, it was heavy for her as well. It was her people, muggleborns and muggles, who stood to lose so much if they allowed Voldemort to return to power. If they allowed his pureblood mentality to stand, uncontested.

The stars, however, gave her an immeasurable sense of calm. They reminded her that the world was bigger than the wars of wizards. It was filled with beauty and calm. It was filled with wonder. With people like Fred, it was filled with laughter and fun.

Her thoughts turned to Fred because she could make out his outline against the dark, still waters of the lake. The moonlight caressed his red hair and the shoulders of his grey jacket. He was seated on a blanket set out in the grass, and facing away from her. She smiled at the sight of him, and felt the stresses of the last 36 hours starting to fade to a buzz in the back of her mind.

"Hullo, Fred." She said quietly, making him jump. He stood up, looking around for her. He couldn't see her with the cloak on. He reached out, trying to feel for her, but she danced playfully out of his reach.

"Over here," she whispered behind him, "I'm behind you." He turned rapidly, but once again he just barely missed her. Finally, she put him out of his misery and grabbed his hand. She removed the cloak with a flourish, and laughed when his eyes came to rest on her.

"Hermione…" He breathed her name out quietly, and squeezed her hand, but for once in his life he didn't have a thousand things to say.

"Why did you come? I was alright, I just wanted to let you know what had happened. Katie's your friend, so I thought you should know." Hermione asked as Fred lead her back to the blanket he had set out.

Fred was silent for a moment, as though considering his answer. He opened his mouth several times, and then closed it again. She could make out a sheepish look on his face, and could see just a hint of pink on his cheeks by the moonlight. Finally he spoke, and his voice sounded strained.

"Hermione, I was worried. I was worried about you. Your letter got me thinking about how much danger you guys are in. That necklace wasn't meant for Katie. But what if it was meant for…" He trailed off suddenly, looking at her.

"What if it was meant for me?" She asked, incredulously. She had never even considered it. Fred's continued look of worry said he'd done a great deal of thinking about it, however.

"You and Ron are in a lot of danger because of Harry. We all know it. That's why mum is so over the top with trying to keep you out of Order business. And nobody knows what to do about it. You've all got to make your own choices...You've all got to follow your paths in this…" He sounded strangled, unable to say what he was thinking.

"Fred...nothing is going to happen to me. Or Ron. Or Harry." She said the words, but she knew she couldn't promise them for sure. 5 years of nearly dying had taught her that she was on a very reckless course.

"Hermione, please. Promise me. Promise you'll keep yourself safe. I've been out of my head, thinking of what might've happened if Katie had given that necklace to you. No matter what, you have to stay safe. Stay alive…" He pleaded with her, and he was so serious it was starting to scare her a bit.

"Fred, I… I will. I will stay safe. I will make sure everyone else does, too." She tried to reassure him.

He nodded, and took her other hand into his. His hands were warm, and calloused, just like she had imagined in the daydream charm. However, the reality was even more wonderful. He felt safe and strong.

"Hermione, I wanted to give you something. I actually had it Saturday, but since we had that bit of drama...I forgot." His voice had perked up significantly, and he pulled a small bag from his pocket. He turned the little bag over, and out fell a bracelet. It was made with a leather throng, much like the necklace she still wore. In the moonlight she could make out a small silver charm, a rune, though she couldn't read it in the low light.

"It's the rune for luck and hope. I know it's awfully late for your birthday, but we didn't see each other on the day." He told her, and she put out her wrist, allowing him to tie the bracelet there for her. Once it was on, she twisted her wrist, watching the delicate little charm dance in the beams of moonlight. She looked up to thank him, and saw him watching her with a dopey grin, his eyes so crinkled with happiness that they were almost closed.

"It's beautiful, Fred. Thank you so much. I absolutely adore it. But you really didn't have to get me anything. We weren't dating yet." She told him, feeling very self-conscious under his gaze.

"I bought it before I even told you I liked you, Hermione. I would have given it to you, even if you'd turned me down." He responded.

"Oh." Was all she could think to reply.

"Oh, indeed." he said, then he leaned toward her slowly. His face was very close to hers, and she could feel the soft hush of his breath. "Hermione, can I kiss you?" He asked, his voice small and sweet.

Her eyes went wide, but she nodded yes. She leaned forward, closing the gap between them softly. His lips were warm, and his kiss was soft and chaste. One of his hands left hers, and softly cupped her face, and she felt safe and right in this moment.

"You promised me, Hermione Granger. You keep yourself safe. I hope to have many repeats of that." He said with a chuckle as he pulled back from her.

"I promise."