A Very Merry Slug Club Christmas
It was a strange feeling, returning to the castle after his time away. It hadn't been too long, and yet it felt like a lifetime already. His business was doing well, they had made a name for themselves, and he was happier than he'd been in a long time. Stepping foot on the staircase that lead to the entrance, however, brought him a sense of nostalgia. He could feel the energy of the castle, and it was strangely soothing. He hadn't dwelt on it particularly when he'd come to the grounds to see Hermione, but now his mind wandered back to his time of mischief and fun.
"Ahh, good old Hogwarts. You always did give us the best audience." He whispered, touching the stone railing as he walked up the stairs to the entrance hall. "I suppose I'm back for an encore performance. Let's hope all the sparks are romantic ones, eh?"
Fred Weasley was dressed to impress. He had on dark slacks and a forest green collared shirt. He had forgone his robes in favor of a dragonhide jacket. He and George had recently splurged to buy them, since business had been doing so well for the holiday season. In fact, his mail order service was doing exceptionally well. He had to thank old Filch for that one. The moment the old man had banned Weasley products, it was a matter of course for sales to skyrocket. Not to mention, people loved the bits of tricky packaging the twins had come up with to beat the sensors.
"Oi, Fred. What in the world are you doing here?" Ron's voice cut through Fred's thoughts. His little brother stood in the entrance way, dressed as though he were headed out into the cold. He was bundled up in a warm winter cloak, and he had a few packages in his hands. He noticed Fred's wondering look and quickly said, "Oh, I was just heading down to Hagrid. Giving him some gifts from Harry and me. Since they have a Christmas party, or whatever."
Fred nodded, knowingly. "Yeah, I just came in to see somebody." He admitted, not sure how to break the news. He knew his brother could have an awful temper. It was one of Ron's strange dualities. He could be kind and loyal, but his trust was easily broken and he could simply fly off the handle.
"Oh, yeah? I thought you and Angelina broke up. Are you here to rekindle the flame?" Ron asked, smiling. He leaned against the gargoyle that sat guard at the top of the steps.
"Uh, no. That wouldn't be very good of me, seeing as George is dating her now. They've been seeing each other for about two months now." Fred said, knowing his twin didn't mind the shared information. George had already told Molly at a previous Sunday dinner. "I hear you're dating a girl now? Lavender Brown, is it?"
"Yeah, she's really nice. Very pretty, too. And she listens to me, and thinks I'm smart." Ron said, getting lost in his own thoughts. "Did Ginny tell you? I know she was a bit mad at me, but I think we've patched it up now."
"Uh, no. Not Ginny…" Fred said, but at that moment the entrance to the castle was opened once more. Ron turned to look at who was coming out, and in the torch light Fred could see his brother's face turning a very ugly shade of purple. Hermione had stepped out into the night. She had her cloak on, but Fred could see she had tamed her wild hair and had done up her makeup. She looked lovely. Breathtaking, in fact.
"You're her...you two are...Fred…" Ron stumbled over his own thoughts, looking back and forth between his brother and his best girl friend. "Good Quidditch players, huh…" Ron looked like he might just be sick. "Goodnight Fred. Have...fun…" He wandered off quickly, out in the direction of Hagrid's place.
"Well, that could have gone worse." Fred said cheerily, turning to look at his date. "At least he didn't hex me. So maybe it won't be so bad." Hermione nodded, trying to feel his level of confidence. "Well, let's get inside before you freeze. If living with a little sister has taught me anything, it's that you girls don't dress for warmth when you're dressing to be fancy." He teased, holding out his hand to her.
She laced her fingers with his, and turned toward the castle with a light heart. The secret would finally be out, and she could deal with whatever came next. Especially if it was Fred she was going to face it with. He would never let her take it too seriously.
She lead him to Slughorn's office, where the party was to be held. They were running early, so not too many others had arrived yet. The place looked like an indoor tent, draped with red, green, and gold fabric. It shimmered and fluttered softly, as though there was a breeze. Slughorn was already deep in conversation with two of his guests, members of the esteemed Weird Sisters. A man in dark clothes, with long hair stared at them for far too long when they arrived, but soon started to wander the room noiselessly.
"May I take your cloak, Hermione?" Fred asked gently. They hadn't spoken since they came inside, and he had the feeling she was still dwelling on Ron's reaction. She nodded, and then slowly shed her cloak to reveal her outfit. Fred let out a low whistle. She was dressed in a black dress that fit close to the body all the way down to just above the knee, with an open style red dress robe. Her hair was tamed, as he had noticed before, and pulled into a neat braid that fell to her mid back. She wore a golden headband with little pearls set in it, and earrings to match. What made Fred's lips tug into a smile, however, was that she still wore both her bracelet and the charm necklace.
"You look absolutely lovely, you know. For a girl who hangs out with boys, you certainly do clean up." He compliments. She made a face at his words, puckering her face in a way that just made his smile grow even wider.
"You look really nice, too. The jacket makes you look daring, maybe even a bit cool. Channeling your inner Charlie?"
"Nah, you know me. I'm always 100% me. Always Forge, the eternal individual." He responded, doing a bit of a twirl to show off the jacket. She laughed and clapped at his little show.
"Ah, of course it would be a Fred and George style. How could I be so silly?" She said.
"Besides, little lion, I'm always cool. That's why you've fallen head over heels for me!" He said, and scooped her up into a proper hug. She returned it warmly, glad to have him around after all the stress she had endured over the last two months. It had been hard, lonely even, to be at odds with her best friends. It wasn't the first time she'd been the odd one out, but for some reason this time had been more painful.
Looking up at him, she caught a glimpse of mischief in his pale face. Almost as soon as she detected it, it had disappeared again. He began to walk, still hugging her, three steps backwards and four to the right. When he stopped, she felt a strange tingling sensation.
"I might like this Slughorn fellow after all," Fred said, his eyes crinkled with a smile, "He has good taste in magical mistletoe. This is the kind we stock at the store. It likes to compel the person beneath it to get a kiss before they can extricate themselves properly."
"What happens if you don't?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide with curiosity and a bit of nervousness.
"Very unpleasant things, little lion. Tingles that just won't go away. Heart palpitations that just keep getting louder and louder. An inability to think straight." Her brow furrowed further with each claim, and Fred could tell she was really beginning to believe him. Then it dawned on her that Fred was fooling her, and she playfully hit his chest.
"You know, if you wanted to kiss me, you could just say so." She told him. She reached up and grabbed the sides of his face gently, pulling him down to meet her. Their lips brushed softly at first, shyly. Then it was Hermione who deepened the kiss. In the back of her mind, she prayed that she wasn't awkward, and that they didn't look like Ron and Lavender. She ran her hands through his short hair, leaving it slightly mussed, as though he had just dismounted a broom. He changed the position of his hands a few times, strangely unsure of where he should put them. Her shoulders felt strangely formal, her waist too forward, so finally he held onto her arms. He found himself wishing that her hair wasn't tied up.
"Whoa…" Fred breathed as he finally pulled away from her. "You been getting lessons while I've been away?" He joked. She smiled and shook her head no, then gave him another quick kiss on the lips. "Perhaps this is what they mean by absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
"I suppose so. I guess we'll have to limit all our dates to every two months." She replied, faking a prickly attitude. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the mistletoe. As much as she enjoyed kissing him, they could save that for later. They were in public, after all.
Her concern for being in public seemed to be well-founded. As she and Fred walked out into the main part of the office, she realized that several people were looking at her. Blaise and his date began to whisper, barely managing to hide their glances. McLaggen looked like he might have just swallowed a toad, though his date seemed to chatter on without notice. One person's gaze fell heavy on her, however. Harry had spotted her across the room and was making his way over with Luna.
"Hermione you look lovely. Red is a good color for you." Luna complemented airily. The girl looked like she wore stars, the way her silver robes glittered and flowed, and Hermione had to admit she too looked stunning.
Harry looked from Hermione to Fred, then coughed slightly.
"Harry, please don't be mad. You know why I didn't tell you-" Hermione began, but Harry cut her off.
"It's ok, Hermione. Honestly, I think it's better this way," Harry said, sounding thoughtful. "I'm not sure I could handle it if my two best mates dated each other. And I definitely wouldn't like it if you broke up. I just hope Ron can pull himself together before too long." Harry, forever a good friend, was more understanding than she had given him credit for. Harry often took sides with Ron, but she found his reasoning strangely diplomatic.
"Well, thank you, Harry." She said.
"Oh, Harry, look! The sweets look wonderful. Do you want to go see what they have?" Luna asked, her eyes looking longingly at the table of food along the back wall. Harry nodded, smiling after the strange blonde girl. He waved to Hermione and Fred and left them alone to go along with her.
"Ok Hermione, we're here at a party. What do we do now? Do we eat? Mingle with important people? Dance the night away with the most embarrassing moves known to wizarding kind? This is your night, so just lead the way!" Fred said as they looked around.
"Let's dance. But perhaps not too wildly?" She said, looking up at him through her long lashes. The music had struck a meandering beat, and Fred happily took the girl in his arms and began to dance with her across the room.
They danced for what felt like ages. Fred held her close when the songs grew slow, and they danced in a warm embrace. When the music picked up, he spun her wildly, making her heart race and her eyes water from tears of laughter. When her feet grew tired, they made their way to the snack table and grabbed drinks to refresh themselves.
"Miss Granger! You look to be have loads of fun," Slughorn had floated his way over to them, since they were neither eating or dancing. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your date…?"
"Fred Weasley, co-owner of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," she introduced with a smile.
"A Weasley, eh? And you own your own business? But you mustn't be much older than Mr. Potter's friend...uh...Ronald?" Slughorn pressed, clearly impressed by the introduction. He shook Fred's hand vigorously.
"That's true. My twin brother George and I were still in school last year, but we felt we'd learned all we needed and decided to branch out on our own. I must say, it's going well. We've been so busy our legs might just fall off for all the running we do. It's still a small business at the moment, but we do hope to be able to expand in just a few years." Fred said, and Hermione found herself beaming with pride at his accomplishments. He and his brother had managed quite well for themselves, all things considered.
"Very good. Excellent!" Slughorn gushed. "And how-" Whatever he had been planning to ask next was interrupted by a very irate looking Filch, however. The angry man walked in with a very disgruntled looking Draco Malfoy in tow, and Slughorn rushed off to make nice.
Across the room, Hermione caught Harry's eye and they shared a look. She shook her head, trying to tell him it was probably nothing. She could already see the glint of his obsession returning to his eyes. In another time, and if his romantic feelings for Ginny weren't already fairly apparent, Hermione would think that some sort of sexual tension hung between the two boys. She squeezed her face as though she had tasted something sour. Even the thought of that was enough to make her ill. The thought of anyone being in love with someone as foul as Draco Malfoy made little sense to her, and she regretted the thought immediately.
"Everything alright, Hermione?" Fred asked softly. He gestured subtly to Harry, who was still watching Draco intently as the two professors squabbled over what to do about his party crashing.
"Everything is...complicated." Hermione replied quietly, careful that Blaise who stood nearby didn't hear her. "How about we get out of here, yeah? This party might get a bit too dramatic for my tastes."
Fred didn't need to be told a second time.