Hermione anxiously awaited the evening the next day. She wasn't quite sure why she had agreed to have a beer with Fred and George, and she couldn't quite figure out whether she was looking forward to it or dreading it either. They were supposed to meet up at The Leaky Cauldron at 8.30 and it was with a sense of disdain that she opened the heavy door to the inn. She spotted them immediately. They were sitting in a booth with Lee Jordan, his signature dreadlocks flying everywhere as he was telling a story, gesticulating wildly. Fred had a wild look in his eyes, and nodded eagerly while George was howling with laughter. She noticed a plethora of empty glasses on the table in front of them, making her give out an uncontrollable sigh. With heavy footsteps, she approached the three men slowly, every inch of her body already regretting showing up.
"Hermione!" George exclaimed happily when he noticed her, "so good to see you!" He pulled her in for a bear hug. He smelled like butterbeer and firewhiskey and Hermione couldn't help but getting a bit nostalgic.
When George released her, she turned her attention towards Lee, who wiggled his eyebrows at her, "looking good, Hermione! It's great to see you again."
"Hi Lee," Hermione smiled and hugged him too, "welcome home."
"Thanks," Lee beamed up at her, "here, sit down and have a butterbeer," he sat down next to Fred, letting Hermione occupy the seat next to George.
Fred said nothing and didn't even look as if he considered hugging her.
Good, Hermione thought to herself, finally he understands that I'm not here for him.
Lee and Hermione hadn't seen eachother since George's and Angelina's wedding, and he was anxious to hear about what had happened in Hermione's life since then. Hermione had always enjoyed Lee's company - he was carefree and laid back like Fred and George, but he had a greater moral compass than the twins. Back at Hogwarts, Lee had always been the voice of reason when it came to many of Fred and George's pranks and even today, when it came to new inventions for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, he was still far more considerate than Fred and George put together.
Hermione asked Lee about his and Fred's travels and learned that they had been to the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and lastly, Romania. Lee told her all kinds of stories from their travels along with the best parts about each of the shops they had opened in the course of the last two years.
To Hermione's surprise, Fred did something she had never expected him to do: he kept his mouth shut. He completely stepped back and let Lee talk without weighing in with his opinion on the different topics. Hermione thought to herself that he wasn't behaving very Fred-like.
George, however, had comments to loads of Lee's stories and joined in himself with funny anecdotes about his very hormonal wife much to the delight of the rest of the crowd. Hermione tried to keep up as much as she could although her stories from her job at the Ministry was far more boring than any of the others'.
Fred still hadn't uttered a single word even though he had laughed a lot during the many stories from Lee and George. Hermione tried to look at him as little as possible but out the corner of her eye, she could tell that he was often looking at her with an intrigued expression, taking a sip of his beer ever so often.
"I'll grab the next round," George suddenly said, making Hermione realise that all the guys had finished their beers and that she was far behind, "you want one, Granger?"
Hermione hesitated. She still had to work tomorrow but she was also having a blast with George and Lee.
"Uhm, sure," she eventually said to George, "why not."
George gave her a slight nod before he headed for the bar. Hermione could see Fred smiling triumphantly at his beer bottle, still not uttering a single word.
George returned with four beers that soon were replaced by four more. She realised that the conversation flowed more easily than she had dreaded. She had expected the incident with Fred to be the awkward elephant in the room, but it wasn't even mentioned once. George knew better than to mention it, but not even Lee - who Hermione guessed had to know something about what had happened between her and Fred - hinted to anything regarding the incident.
Little by little, Fred had started joining in on the conversation but he still wasn't his normal talkative self. Nobody addressed it, however.
After Hermione had emptied more beers than she had intended to, they decided to call it a night. They had all put on their coats and were hugging goodbye in the snow outside The Leaky Cauldron when George asked her: "Are you apparating home?"
"I think I'll go for a walk. I live right down the street after all. It would be a bit lazy apparating there, don't you think?"
Lee laughed, "Hermione, you're talking to the men who apparated everywhere for two years straight!"
Hermione was reminded of 17-year-old Fred and George who used to make the smallest excuses to apparate even just a few feet.
"Actually, I think I'll go for a walk too," Fred said quietly, "I mean - if it's okay with you?" he looked carefully at Hermione.
Hermione knew he wanted a few minutes alone with her, and for some reason she didn't find it that bad. After all, they lived only a few streets away from each other. Anything else would've been silly. Also, by shutting up all night, he had shown her that he was on his best behaviour.
Hermione shrugged, "I guess..."
Fred sent her a small smile before he waved goodbye to Lee and George and followed Hermione down the crooked street.
"So, you still live in the same flat?" Fred asked Hermione almost immediately.
"Yeah, I love the place. Though it's small, I'm not giving it up so easily."
"I know the feeling," Fred nodded, "I'm not going to give up the flat above the shop either."
"You still have the flat?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "you haven't been there for almost two years."
"So?"
"A bit of a waste don't you think?"
Fred shrugged, "When Lee and I are travelling, it's actually a great comfort to know I still have the flat in Diagon Alley. It's nice to know that some things back home will always stay the same - and on top of that I must admit that I actually do just love the flat. It's always felt more like home than the Burrow."
"You still feel that way even with George gone?"
"It was weird at first," Fred admitted, "but I didn't expect us to be inseparable forever. Him and Angie's got a nice place now - even though it's in the suburbs," he shuddered and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him. Fred smiled triumphantly to himself.
"It's a good place for children to grow up," Hermione concluded with a shrug.
Fred blew out some air, "I can't believe they're having a baby!"
"How are you feeling about it?"
"It's great!" Fred exclaimed, "honestly! I'm happy for them. He's going to be the best dad in the whole world!"
"I can tell there's a 'but' coming," Hermione sighed.
"Damn, Granger. You're good," Fred nudged her with his elbow before he held a small break, "of course I'm nervous of how it will change things," he said sincerely.
Hermione stopped and eyed him carefully, "he'll still be George, you know."
"I know. But will we still be Fred and George?" he looked suddenly uncomfortable, "it's very weird coming home and seeing him this... settled."
"You left almost right after their wedding. Of course marriage changed George's and Angelina's relationship."
"Seems like a huge change," Fred sighed.
"You're just saying that because you haven't been there for all the small changes that has led them to where they are today."
"I guess I missed out on a lot," Fred went quiet for a a second or two before he continued in a hushed voice, "Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing - you know... by leaving."
"Don't tell me that you've actually regretted going with Lee," Hermione sighed.
"Not regretted! Absolutely not!" Fred spluttered before his voice changed back to slow, "I just... wondered."
"You would have hated yourself for not going. The shops are your lifeblood."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Fred mumbled. Hermione thought to herself that he didn't sound too convinced.
They walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Fred decided to change topics completely, "hey, you know who I thought about the other day? Crookshanks! How is he?"
Hermione felt a hurtful pang in her chest. She had to concentrate on not sounding strained, "Uhm... he passed last summer."
"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry to hear that!" Fred stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her tenderly.
Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, "you don't have to pretend. I know you hated him."
Fred chuckled too, "not going to argue with you on that! He was a bloody beast! But I know how much the nasty little bugger meant to you."
"Yeah," Hermione sighed, "I miss him a lot. It's lonely coming home to an empty flat."
"How are you holding up?"
The question took Hermione off guard. She was used to people brushing off her cat's death as if it was just the death of another pet when in reality, the death of Crookshanks had shattered her heart. Finally, somebody understood how much Crooks had meant to her. That it had been like losing a family member. For the first time since Fred had come home, Hermione truly looked at him. Her former best friend and confidante. The one who knew her better than any one else. The one she had counted on when everybody else had been too busy getting married and having children. Fred understood what it had felt like to lose Crookshanks. Fred had understood because he knew her utterly and completely through and through - just like a best friend should. And he had come home to win her back.
"You know what?" She smacked her lips. Fred's eyes met hers in an instant, "for the first time since Crookshanks passed, it seems as if everything's fairly back to normal," she hesitated, "with you being home and all." Hermione knew that it was the butterbeers talking but in that moment, she truly felt alright for the first time in quite a while. She felt young again, walking beside Fred down Diagon Alley as they had done millions of times before.
"Are my ears deceiving me?" He asked with a toothy grin, "or are you actually saying that you're happy to see me?"
"Don't ruin the moment," Hermione said and rolled her eyes.
Fred shook his head with a small smile playing on his lips, "let's get you home," he said and flung his arm around Hermione.
She felt the weight of his arm around her shoulders but somehow still felt uplifted. She took a deep breath before they started walking again. She appreciated the fresh air against her face and enjoyed the wonderful scenery of the snow-covered street in front of her. All her worries were gone. She was walking here - right here - with the ghost of the boy she had once called her best friend, and it made her feel happier than she had been for years.