Hermione was biting her lip nervously as they made their way onto the Hogwarts express the next day. She hadn't said much, and she knew that Fred was watching her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. After a couple hours of silence in the train compartment, Fred gingerly took the book out of her hands and set it beside him. He leaned across the floor of the train, and took one of her hands into his.
"Hermione, talk to me." He said, giving her one of his signature lopsided smiles. "What's going through that brain of yours?" He asked, tapping her temple with one finger. She smiled at him and let out a small sigh.
"I'm just nervous Fred." She said, and he shook his head.
"You have no reason to be, you have met mum before. And she loves you." He said to her.
"Not as.. as your girlfriend." She whispered, making Fred laugh.
"I've told you, it's going to be fine. Just relax Hermione." He said, and she nodded.
"Fine." She said, giving him a warm smile. She then noticed, that George wasn't in the compartment with them. "Hey, where is George?" She asked as Fred moved to sit next to her, handing her book back to her.
"Oh he went to go grab a few juices for us." He said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. She looked up at him and he grinned. "So did you get me a Christmas present?" He asked, a twinkle in his eye.
"Of course I did." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Is it a good present?" He asked, tapping her nose with a finger, she wrinkled her nose at him and shook her head.
"I am not giving anything away Fred." She said.
"Pleease? Please Hermione? Please tell me?" He begged her, making her laugh.
George chose that moment to walk back into the apartment, greeted with the couple sitting close together, laughing.
"I have juice." He said, grinning. "If you lot aren't… otherwise occupied." He said suggestively, and Hermione's cheeked became red with blush. He sat across from them and handed them each a juice.
"Cheers George." Fred said, raising the bottle at his brother.
The rest of the train ride went by otherwise uneventfully, the boys chatting comfortably about different experiments and pranks they were planning on. When they finally pulled into King's Cross station, Hermione was sleeping lightly on Fred's shoulder.
"Hermione." He said gently, nudging her with his elbow slightly. "Hermione, wake up love, we're here." He said, and he watched her as she woke up. "Hey sleepy. Time to get up." He said when she finally opened her eyes. She stood up and yawned before flashing him an embarrassed grin.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." She said, and Fred shrugged.
"Didn't bother me." He said, dragging their trunks down from the overhead, Hermione went to take hers from his grip, but he tugged it away from her. "I'll get it." He said, and she laughed.
"You are going to drag two trunks through and out of the train?" She asked, and Fred thought for a moment before laughing with her.
"No. Take your trunk." He said, and she gladly took it. They walked off the train together, Hermione exiting first, followed by Fred, then by George. The twins took there usual spots on either side of her, and made there way to where they saw the Weasley clan standing in a group.
"Fred! George! Hermione! Oh it's so good to see you all." Molly Weasley said, taking the few steps to grasp them all in hugs.
"Hi Mum." The boys said in unison.
"Hi Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said as the woman held her in a tight hug. At that moment, Harry, Ron and Ginny joined the group, and Molly went to greet them, leaving the other three with Arthur and Charlie, who was visiting for the holidays.
They all said hello, and Charlie walked over to Fred and gave him a hug.
"I thought you were bringing your girlfriend home." Charlie said, Hermione only barely heard him.
"I did." Fred said, and Charlie looked over at Hermione, then back to Fred before throwing back his head and laughing.
"Oh, mum is going to love this." He said loudly.
"Love what dear?" Molly asked, joining the group in time to hear her son's exclamation. Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Fred cut him off.
"Oh, I'll tell you when we get home mum." He said, waving his hand as Charlie chuckled and shook his head
"Well alright, let's get going then, car's in the lot." Molly said, leading the group out of the station.
Hermione and Fred walked a little slower than the group, she wanted to ask him about what just happened.
"Why didn't you tell your mum?" She asked, and Fred kissed her cheek.
"Just in case she lost it and wanted to send you back. Not that I think that's going to happen. But she can't when we are back at the Burrow. Don't worry love. I know it's going to be fine." He said, and she nodded in understanding.
"I know." She said, and they reached the car outside. Everyone piled in, and Hermione ended up between Fred and George. They each wrapped an arm around her shoulders, making her laugh. She looked around the car, and saw that Ron was glaring at them. She nudged Fred and gestured to his brother, and Fred in turn glared at Ron.
"Can I help you brother?" He asked, and Ron rolled his eyes before turning away from them.
The ride to the burrow was full of chatter, Fred and George spoke nonstop to Charlie, telling him all about the beginning of their year. They were still talking as everyone walked into the house.
"Okay, I made sure lunch was ready for everyone before we left, so everyone to the kitchen." Molly said, and everyone followed her directions, squeezing into the room and around the dining table. Hermione found herself between Fred and Charlie this time, and it felt odd to not have the other twin on her side. Soon enough, the conversation landed onto the ball the night before, and Molly was rampantly paying attention.
"Fred, I know who everyone took, but you. Who did you take? And didn't you mention you might bring your girlfriend for Christmas?" Molly asked, gazing at her son.
"Yeah, I did say that mum. And I did. I took her to the ball too." He said before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"You brought her here? But the only girl who isn't your sister is…" And her eyes locked with Hermione's as her sentence trailed off, and Hermione could feel her face grow hot under her gaze.
A/N: I hope that this chapter was good enough for all of my loyal followers. It's been rough, I haven't gotten any writing done, I have missed writing this so much. I'll try to be better about writing. Please Read and Review! So much love - Bookworm