"You absolute arsehole Fred Weasley!" Ginny's scream ripped through the quiet air of the flat waking him up harshly.
She stormed through his open bedroom door as he frantically pulled the sheets to cover himself up.
"How dare you! How dare you hurt her!" Ginny started hitting his arms and chest "That girl is way too damn good for you to cheat on her, you complete and utter wanker!"
"What, what did I do?" He asked cowering from his little sister's attack.
"She comes over here to bring you a hangover cure because she's such a gem but instead of her faithful boyfriend she finds you lying here starkers and some naked bimbo in your bloody kitchen! How dare you cheat on Hermione!"
"I didn't, I didn't. I swear Ginny."
"FREDERICK GIDEON WEASLEY DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!" Ginny bellowed but ceased her physical attack "Over six foot tall, bleached blonde hair and enormous fake knockers, ring any bells!?"
"Um, Ginny she was with me" a sheepish voice came from the doorway.
Ginny spun around to see a dishevelled looking Verity wrapped up in a dressing gown.
"I've just walked her out, she's a muggle so it took me a minute to convince her that she hadn't just seen a girl appear and disappear through our fireplace" she chuckled "sorry for any confusion."
"But Hermione said your door was shut and Fred's was wide open?" Ginny asked as she suddenly calmed down.
"I shut the door when she stepped out to get a glass of water so that I could hide all the magic stuff before she came back in."
"Then why are you sleeping naked?" She turned back to her brother.
"Hermione and I usually sleep naked now, I'm just not in the habit of wearing pyjamas anymore."
"Okay, too much information." Ginny cringed "You better fix this though and you better fix it properly or so help me Merlin I will tell Mum." And she stormed back through the fireplace to Potter Manor.
Fred leapt into the shower and brushed his teeth to wash off the smell of alcohol from last night. He dressed in a blue shirt and ripped jeans that he knew was Hermione's favourite of his before grabbing a handful of galleons and heading down through the shop, oh how times had changed. Growing up his family lived on so little that he didn't even see a galleon in real life unless they were going to Ollivander's for a wand. He was glad to be able to buy his wonderful parents and loved ones nice things now, even if Molly and Arthur never accepted money directly from any of their children, biological or honourary.
Dodging between the Christmas shoppers he quickly made it to the florists next to Fortescue's ice cream parlour, the crowds were smaller today as only around half of the shops in the Alley opened on Sundays so he was served quickly by the young salesman. Armed with a large bouquet of daffodils to represent honesty he popped next door and picked up a tub of her favourite ice cream, honeycomb and fudge with a butterscotch swirl, and apparated to Godric's Hollow.
Hermione was sat in the library with tears flooding down her face and two books open in her lap, she was alternating between rereading her favourite passages from Hogwarts: A History and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Harry and Ron were taking it in turns trying to cheer her up but so far nothing was working, Ginny had stormed out the second Hermione had finished telling her house mates what she had seen at Fred's flat with thunder in her eyes and hadn't got back yet.
"Hermione, he loves you. I'm sure it wasn't what it seemed" said Ron gently as he dried the tears on her right cheek.
"He's right 'Mione, that man dotes over you like a queen." Harry added, catching the tears on her left cheek on his fingertips.
"Mistress Hermione, Fred is here to see you." Lovey introduced, opening the double doors and allowing Fred into the room only after Hermione had nodded her acceptance.
"It wasn't what it looked like" he began, falling to his knees in front of his love "I promise."
"No, stay" Hermione grabbed the hands of her two best friends as they both stood in an attempt to escape the uncomfortable situation.
"I'd left my door open by accident after giving Tweedle Dee his morning treat, that woman was Verity's hook up not mine." He lay the daffodils on her lap and placed the ice cream on the nearby side table. "I love you Hermione, please trust me."
She got slowly to her feet, handing the flowers to Lovey, and walked over to her desk by the window.
"This is veritaserum" she held up a small bottle from her top draw "would you take it and promise me that woman was with Verity not you?"
"Of course" he nodded eagerly and reached out for the vial.
"Okay, you don't need to, I trust you then." She placed the vial back into the draw "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions, I should have trusted you more." Harry, Ron and Lovey snuck out the door to leave them to it, glad that their friends were okay again "it's just that we're not having sex so I thought maybe you had gone to someone else to get it instead…"
"Love, I will be patient and wait for you to be completely ready. I love you and there are so many other things we do that keep me happy and satiated. I'm in no rush and there will never be anyone else for me, ever again." Fred promised.
…
"Wow. This place is truly spectacular." She breathed in awe.
"Yeah, I see why Charlie never came home" Fred replied to Hermione as they toured the Romanian dragon reserve on the morning of his second eldest brother Charlie's wedding.
Fred had arrived the day before with his brothers to help prepare the chapel for the ceremony but the rest of the guests from abroad were arriving today to help transform the reserve common area into the perfect wedding reception venue.
"We need help setting up the bar" Charlie bounded up to Fred like an over excited niffler in a jewellery store.
"I'm working on something with George right now, Hermione can you help with the bar?" Fred kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and she followed Charlie back inside glad to be of assistance.
"Conor this is Hermione, Hermione meet Conor." Charlie introduced her to a gangly young man covered in tattoos before bouncing away again.
"Hey Hermione, it's nice to meet you" the tattooed man spoke in an Irish accent and shook her hand firmly "I'm Conor, I work at the local pub and am friends with Ash and Charlie. How do you know that happy couple?"
"Hello Conor, it's lovely to meet you too. I'm dating one of Charlie's brothers and have been best friends with another one since we were eleven so have sort of been absorbed into the Weasley family" she chuckled in response to Conor's charming smile as the pair started to empty crates and organised the contents around the bar's structure.
"Sounds like that's normal for the Weasleys" Conor replied kindly "so what do you do?"
"Oh, I'm a policy lawyer for the British Ministry of Magic. I've just completed my apprenticeship this year so I get to start as a junior next week, I'm super excited." Hermione gushed, she was thrilled about being accepted into a training job.
"Congrats, what does that entail then?"
"Well, as a junior policy lawyer I can now complete research and put together papers to fight for laws to be amended, removed or added. There will always be a fully qualified policy lawyer involved in approving and putting any of my papers forward to the wizengamot but it will be my paper I'm presenting, they're just there as back up. I'm really excited for my first research project where I'll actually start to make a real positive impact in our world!"
"What do you want to do your first paper on?" Conor began to polish glasses while Hermione created a system for arranging the liquor bottles.
"Well the research usually takes many months and it can take more than a year to get papers pushed through and the law changed so I want to get started on the really important stuff straight away. I'm muggle born so experienced discrimination throughout the last war but now I'm protected. There are still groups who are discriminated against and the law doesn't protect them though, sometimes it even makes it worse for them."
This caused Conor to nod emphatically, he painfully recalled the discrimination he had felt since being bitten by a werewolf, causing him to flee his home and regularly move around the world. He was still worried about people seeing him differently even though he was now entirely harmless thanks to local Romani magic imbued in his most recent tattoo.
"Two of my friends who I fought beside during the war were killed by death eaters, they faced discrimination just because of who they were and I'd like to change situations for others like them." Hermione continued
"What laws do you want to change?"
"Well I can't decide which to go for first. House elves are still treated horrifically by many old families, but they don't have to be, the ones at the manor I live in have uniforms, a salary, time off and are properly respected. My friend Dobby was a house elf and a hero, he was killed saving me and my friends from torture. Meanwhile werewolves are outcast from society in so many ways so they struggle to find suitable employment and accommodation, my friend and ex-professor Remus Lupin was a werewolf and he was murdered in the final battle."
"Remus Lupin? He was married to Ash and Charlie's best friend Tonks wasn't he?" Conor had frozen anxiously at the mention of werewolves.
"Yes, did you know him too?"
"No, Ash showed me a photo of them and told me all about him a couple of months ago when she was helping me out with something. She's really, very kind and he sounded awesome. I wish I'd had the chance to meet both him and Tonks."
…
The wedding was beautiful in every way and the newlywed couple were sickeningly adorable. Hermione was dancing with some of Ashlynn's friends from the reserve as midnight approached and thoroughly enjoying herself.
TEN
Fred came skidding across the dance floor towards her
NINE
He gathered Hermione tight to his chest
EIGHT
"It's nearly midnight, love" he whispered in her ear
SEVEN
She shivered as his tongue teased the soft skin behind her ear
SIX
She danced in his arms, rocking her hips back into him
FIVE
He groaned and his pupils dilated
FOUR
She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck
THREE
She continued to sway in his arms as they locked eyes
TWO
His hands slid to her hips, holding them close to his
ONE
Her eyes fluttered closed
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Their lips met in a sweet kiss that told of young love and hope for the future.
The fireworks that Fred and George had finished setting up less than a minute beforehand erupted and the couple parted to follow the other guests out onto the patio to admire the glittering display.
Charlie and Ashlynn soon left their guests behind and the party wound down in their wake. Fred and Hermione were staying in another keeper's one bed cabin along with George, Angelina, Ron, Harry and Ginny so the group soon headed back to their conjured mattresses filling the floor of the keeper's small lounge. They would have an exquisite view of sunrise over the reserve's mountains a few hours later but for now they were all eager for sleep.
...
Author's Note
Hey everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day/night.
My Charlie and Ashlynn have their own now completed fan fic that runs alongside this one so please do go over to "Falling Apart With You" on my page for some more Weasley romance, more details of their gorgeous Wedding and the back story of characters like Conor.
Wishing you love and happiness,
Wishin' Girl x x x
