Author's Notes
This is a super fluffy Christmas oneshot that was written for Fremione Fanatics' 2020 Yule Fest. The entire collection of fest stories can be found on AO3. Many of the authors do not post on this platform for various reasons. The submissions were fantastic. If you enjoy Fremione, check it out! This story is rated T for language only. There are no sexual situations in this story.
Special thanks to my amazing beta, WrathofMacy, and to moonfairy13 for Brit picking and general cheerleading.
Hermione stood warming herself in front of the fire as she took in the scene at The Burrow. It was less than two weeks before Christmas and the cosy home was already decorated for the holiday. Seeing everyone happily chatting with the decorations all around them made her heart happy; she loved everything about Christmas.
Inhaling deeply, she felt her tummy rumble a little as heavenly scents wafted in from the kitchen where Molly Weasley was busy putting the finishing touches on her Sunday roast. Hermione knew that it would be delicious as usual.
George sidled up next to her, grinning and looking a bit guilty. Frowning at him suspiciously, she took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are you all alone? Where's Fred? And why do you look like you're up to something?"
His smile widened. "Oh, he's outside somewhere."
Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "What have you done with him? Everyone else is in here where it's warm. We're practically having a blizzard. Do you want him to freeze?"
He shrugged at her nonchalantly. "I guess you best go out and find him." Without another word, he slipped away and joined Bill across the room.
How positively infuriating! Clearly, George was up to something, that much was obvious. What she wasn't sure of was if Fred was involved, or if he was a victim of one of his twin's pranks. She warred with herself internally before retrieving her coat so she could go out to look for him.
She suspected that George knew how she felt about Fred, but she didn't know how he figured it out. It hadn't been long since she'd acknowledged to herself what she was feeling. Sighing deeply, she opened the back door and stepped out into the snow-covered back garden.
Pulling up her hood, she cast an Impervius charm on her face to prevent the blowing snow from obscuring her vision. "Fred!" she called, raising her voice to be heard over the wind.
Hearing what sounded like a muffled response, she turned toward the sound and shivered as the wind seemed to cut straight through her clothing. Up ahead, she spotted a faint glow through the bushes. That had to be where he was. She stepped between two trees and groaned. This was almost certainly a set-up of some sort.
Fred was standing a few feet away, seemingly frozen in place. If that wasn't suspicious enough, the clearing between the trees was toasty warm and free of snow. Twinkling fairy lights floated in mid-air all around him, creating a festive feel.
"Don't come any closer, it might trap you too," Fred warned pointing his finger above his head.
Looking up, she rolled her eyes. "For fuck's sake."
"Indeed," Fred agreed.
"Were you in on this, or was this all George?"
Fred looked incredulous, "Do I look like I was in on this? No, believe me, this was all my dear brother. I guess I should be thankful that he at least made sure that I'd be warm, otherwise I'd have been freezing my bollocks off out here."
Hermione nodded, smiling at him but feeling extremely nervous about what she would have to do to free the handsome man. It was obvious that the mistletoe hanging over his head was magical, but had George altered it further?
Pulling out her wand, she asked, "Think it's possible to use a spell?"
Huffing out a laugh, Fred shook his head. "Not a chance. I'm fairly certain that George would require at least the usual kiss. Would you be willing to try that?"
"Yes, of course," she said too quickly before catching herself and amending, "unless there's someone else you'd rather me fetch to help you out."
"Like who?" he scoffed. "I'm related to all the other women in there by blood or marriage."
Meeting his gaze, Hermione clarified, "I'm aware of that, I only thought that if you had someone you were interested in that I could floo call them for you. We are capable of traveling by magic you know."
Strangely silent, Fred seemed to search her eyes. Shaking his head, he finally replied, "There's no one I want you to call."
Swallowing so hard she feared that he could hear the gulping sound that seemed deafening to her own ears, Hermione bravely stepped forward. "Alright then." Rising up on her toes, she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.
Nothing happened. The mistletoe stayed firmly in place and Fred was still stuck. He cleared his throat, "Um, maybe it requires um… a more, erm, friendly kiss. That is, if you don't mind."
Fred's ears were pink and he was more flustered than Hermione had ever seen him. With her stomach fluttering wildly, she slid one hand up his chest to rest against his shoulder and placed the other behind his neck. Pulling him down, she slanted her lips across his. Unable to suppress her reaction, she moaned as his tongue darted out to tangle with hers. Then, giving herself over fully to the incredible sensations, she was lost.
Several minutes later, she reluctantly pulled away. Slightly breathless, and not wanting to meet his gaze, she rested her forehead against his chest.
"Wow, that was…" Fred's murmured words made her cautiously lift her face. What she saw in his eyes made her hope for the first time that what she felt for him wasn't completely one-sided.
Dumbly, she agreed, "Yeah, it was." Coming to her senses, she checked and found that the mistletoe was still stubbornly hanging above them. "Can you move now?"
Fred tried and failed to take a step away from his current position. He shook his head, "Nope!" He rolled his eyes, his next words were murmured quietly, but loud enough that she heard them clearly enough, "George, you complete arse."
"Do you think you've figured it out?"
He sighed, "Yes." Then he paused, seeming to war with himself before he finally admitted, "You see, there's this woman that I fancy, but I don't think that she'd be interested so I haven't asked her out. George figured it out a while back. Since then, he's been after me to be honest with her, and see if she'd want to go on the date that I've got planned for us in my head."
"Oh," she said flatly, feeling her mood deflate instantly. Fighting back the tears that she could feel pricking at the back of her eyes, she unconsciously took a step back, "I already asked if there was someone that I could call for you. Why didn't you just say so before?"
Risking a glance at Fred, she saw that he had averted his eyes from her and seemed to be debating something with himself. She couldn't do this. "Um, I'll just get George for you then."
Turning, she started to flee when Fred stopped her, reaching to grab her hand with his feet still firmly planted. "Hermione, wait, please!"
"Why?" she snapped, horrified when her voice broke a little.
"Because I need to ask if you're free to have dinner with me tomorrow night."
Confused, she finally looked at him and saw that he was gazing at her intently. His eyes filled with uncertainty, and… was that hope?
"Why?" she asked again, softly this time, allowing him to lace his fingers between hers and pull her closer to him.
"I fancy you, you silly witch. Why else would George set this up and send you out to find me? I just didn't think that you would ever take me seriously, so I was afraid to ask you out."
Hermione's mind raced. She usually had no issue comprehending even the most complex things, but this was making her brain fuzzy and disoriented. She'd been certain that George had sent her out here to force her into confessing to Fred how she felt about him, but…
The sound of a throat being cleared pulled her from her thoughts. She looked at Fred and saw that he was watching her expectantly, a worried look on his face. Oh, right, he'd asked her to dinner and she'd been in her head so much that she hadn't even bothered to answer him.
"Fred, I…"
He hung his head, "I understand if you don't feel the same way about me. Please don't think you have to agree to go out with me."
Great, now she'd made him feel insecure because she couldn't seem to wrap her head around what was happening. This realisation helped her find her voice, "I would love to go out to dinner with you."
"Really, you don't have to. I completely understand." He began to ramble on, and Hermione suspected that he wouldn't hear anything that she said at this point. Wanting a way to convey her feelings, and get his attention, she impulsively threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him enthusiastically. He froze momentarily, then returned the embrace with equal fervor. The kiss quickly grew heated. Fred, who could now move, had her pinned to the tree and was snogging her senseless when they suddenly heard clapping behind them.
Breaking apart, they turned to see George standing there smirking as he applauded exuberantly.
"George," Fred growled menacingly at his brother, "I'll thank you later, but for now, you really need to fuck off."
Laughing over his shoulder, George turned to go. "I just came to tell the pair of you that dinner's nearly ready." With that, he jogged back in the direction of the house.
Almost twenty minutes later, Fred and Hermione finally made it back inside. All eyes were on the new couple as they entered the kitchen where the rest of the family were already seated, impatiently waiting for them so they could begin eating.
As everyone took in their joined hands and generally rumpled appearance, cheers and shouts of congratulations rang out. Ron's voice rose above the others, "Finally! Now, can we please eat?" But the genuine smile on his face as he winked playfully at Hermione told her everything that she needed to know.