"Listen, Love, I think we need to talk about what happened between us," Fred ran a hand through his hair. Hermione had rarely seen Fred nervous, but knew that his hand-through-the-hair-manoeuvre was a clear indication of him being nervous or uncomfortable. They stopped walking and Hermione looked him in the eye as she realised that this was a big deal. The apology she had waited for for so long was finally on its way.

"Alright," she spoke.

Fred blew out some air that turned into a smokey vapour in the cold air, "this is kind of hard for me to word, so... uh... you know... uhm," he went silent, looking at Hermione with desperate eyes.

He looked so cute trying to find the right words that Hermione couldn't help but chuckle a little at him.

"Oi sod off," Fred joined in before his face fell back into the same serious folds that it had possessed before, "I just want to say that I'm sorry, alright..." he said almost in a whisper, "for everything. I know I was a prick... I should have come back immediately. I should have stepped off the train. I should've been there when Crookshanks passed away. When you landed that promotion. Whenever you were happy or sad. I should have been there. I can't believe I missed out on so much just because I was stubborn."

"I'm sorry too. I don't know what got into me - I just missed you so much and you never had time for me. It was really hurtful... In the end I was desperate enough to scream at you like that on a public platform just to get your attention."

"I deserved it. I was horrible," Fred buried his face in his hands.

"Just for the record," Hermione added, "I never thought of you as below me. Never."

Fred shot her a sad smile, "I know, love. I hope you know that I have no idea where those words came from. I never should have said anything. "

"It's okay," Hermione nodded, "you're taking them back now."

Fred nodded as well, "do you think that maybe we can go back to the way things were before?"

"Maybe... I don't know. I really want to."

"Me too," Fred looked at her with a tender expression, "I'm sorry I left like that."

"I'm sorry I screamed at you. I completely understand if it scared you away."

Fred gave out a hearty laugh, lightening the mood incredibly, "The only time I'm scared of you is when you have your wand pointed directly at me," he teased, "You're gorgeous when you're just screaming."

"Oh shut up," Hermione mumbled, her face reddening slightly.