Hermione woke up late the next morning feeling slightly embarrassed. Deciding to skip breakfast, she spent a good amount of time in bed thinking about what had happened the night before, and how weird Fred had acted when he had decided to say goodnight. Had she put more meaning into the kiss than he had? She had started it, sure, but Fred had been the one to take it a step further than an innocent kiss and full on snog her. Why had he broken it off when he so clearly wanted it? She couldn't seem to figure him out and it was really starting to bother her. The way he was acting towards her was starting to feel really personal; he couldn't run from the fact that he had definitely felt a physical attraction to her last night - and he wasn't exactly known for saying no to girls.
To try and shake some of the unwelcome thoughts off her mind, Hermione hopped in the shower where she soon decided that she had learned from her prior mistakes; she would never let a slightly drunken snog come between her and Fred ever again. She needed to talk to him and tell him about what she felt - and in return, he needed to explain what was going on with him.
It didn't take long for her to decide that it was best to face the day ahead with her head held high. She dried her hair in the fluffy towel before throwing on some clothes and headed downstairs, ready to face Fred and the anniversary party awaiting them in a couple of hours.
Fred, Harry, and George - who had arrived earlier that morning - were all gathered around the long table in the kitchen eating sandwiches.
"Hi, Hermione," Angelina waved from the stove where she was handling a hooting kettle, "good to see you. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Yes please. Thank you, Angie," Hermione smiled at the girl and grabbed a mug before she turned her attention towards the boys. Fred greeted her with a smile and a wink.
So he definitely isn't embarrassed about it, Hermione thought to herself and looked at George to see if he might have picked up on something.
George sent her a slight nod, clearly unaware of what had happened between her and his twin brother. If Fred had told him, she was sure that George wouldn't have been able to shut up about it.
Happy that they were able to keep it between themselves, Hermione sat down at the table and started sipping the burning hot tea slowly without really knowing what to do or say. She really wanted to speak to Fred alone and tried catching his eye several times, but he was far too concentrated on his sandwich. He too was unusually quiet, leaving the conversation to George, Harry, and Angelina.
"You're awfully quiet, Freddy," George said after a couple of minutes, eyeing his twin brother curiously, "are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine," Fred cleared his throat and offered George a smile, "rough night is all..."
"Don't tell me you're still hungover from the other night," George groaned while rolling his eyes, "you're getting weaker and weaker by the day, mate."
"Time isn't kind on me, Georgie," Fred grinned up at his twin, "but don't worry. No hangovers. Just a bit tired. I had a hard time falling asleep last night..." he said without looking at Hermione.
"What about you, Hermione?" Angelina asked with furrowed brows, "You're quiet too - did you sleep alright?"
Hermione cleared her throat, "I slept just fine, thanks."
"It's weird," Harry said in between bites of his sandwich, "Ginny and I heard weird noises coming from your room last night."
Hermione felt her entire body stiffen as Harry stared at her.
"Hmm, that's weird," she managed to say with a voice full of confidence while she unfortunately felt her face growing hotter and hotter, "maybe you heard the radio?" she tried.
"That's what Ginny said when I brought it up. I'm not so sure though..." Harry contemplated. His eyes darted slightly in Fred's direction, "I thought it sounded more like...-"
"You know what?" Angelina interrupted Harry and sent Hermione a knowing look, "I heard the radio too - weren't you listening to A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love?"
Hermione blinked twice before she picked up on Angelina's cue, "yes. I've always had a soft spot for Celestina Warbeck," she lied, thankful for Angelina.
Out the corner of her eye, she could tell that Fred was staring at his sandwich with an amused look on his face.
George was looking suspiciously between the two girls and Hermione had to do all in her power to try and conceal the fact that her face felt as if someone had rubbed chili all over it. Fred on the other hand had composed himself and managed to clear his throat and take a sip of his pumpkin juice, acting as if he was totally unaffected by the scene unfolding before him.
"Who doesn't have Celestina as their guilty pleasure?" Angelina sent Hermione a wink before she turned to her husband, "eat your sandwich, George. No need to stare at her that way just because she likes Celestina."
George grunted shortly before turning back to his sandwich.
Angelina mentioned something about a broom that Hermione had no idea what was so special about, but it managed to start a heated discussion between the boys. To avoid talking, Hermione gulped down her cup of tea so fast that she almost scolded her tongue.
"Well, the party starts in an hour," Angelina said to Hermione a couple of minutes later while Harry, Fred, and George were still busy discussing, "maybe we should start getting ready. I don't know about you but my hair takes ages!"
Hermione agreed and together, the two girls headed upstairs and started unpacking their party dresses and accessories.
"Soooo..." Angelina started, drawing out the word for so long that Hermione had time to brace herself for the conversation they were about to have, " - are you and Fred finally a thing now?"
Finally? What did she mean about finally? Even though Hermione knew that Angelina was going to pry about Fred, that one small word still made it feel as if all the air had been knocked out of her. "Absolutely not!" she ended up spluttering as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks for the second time that morning.
"So he wasn't in your room last night?" Angelina sent Hermione an amused look.
"No," Hermione spluttered once more, "well - I mean - he was. But he left after a couple of minutes. Nothing happened - it was pretty uneventful, I would say," she spoke so fast that even she could hear how bad a lie she had just told Angelina.
"Alright," Angelina said without sounding too convinced. But at least she turned her attention towards her dress and stopped the inquiry.
Hermione quickly got dressed and did her hair and make-up while trying to block out any thought of Fred. Unfortunately, it was much easier said than done; there was so much she wanted to talk to him about.
"Your hair looks pretty like that," Angelina smiled at Hermione as she had put in the last bobby pin.
"Thanks, Angie," Hermione smiled back, "I love your dress."
"It was a gift from George. He wanted me to show off the slight bump that's beginning to show," Angelina looked proud as she straightened her maroon cocktail dress over her stomach, "I'm sure that Fred will love your dress too," she said, looking slightly nervous that she had brought up the topic once more.
Hermione was just about to interject but decided that she didn't mind if Angelina knew. With a slight sigh, she said "thanks Angie. I hope he will."
Angelina sent her an excited smile while biting her lip, "let's go get our men," she winked at Hermione.
Hermione shook her head but couldn't help but smile at Angelina. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before she followed Angelina out the door and down the stairs.
"Are you ready?" Angelina asked, nodding towards the heated marquee in the backyard, her hand already on the doorknob of the Burrow's front door. Hermione sent Angelina a nod and braced herself for the cold January air. Together, the two girls walked briskly across the lawn until they were inside the warm and cozy marquee that Hermione and Fred had decorated the day before. As soon as they stepped inside, George wolf-whistled at his wife from across the room, getting the attention of every guest in the process. Embarrassed by the unwanted attention, Angelina walked over to her husband, leaving Hermione alone by the punch table.
Hermione was busy pouring herself a drink from the big bowl when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around and met Fred's eyes. He was wearing a dark green three piece suit that accentuated his warm hair and eye colour. He was sending her a sly smile as he took a step closer, admiring her dress, "you look very nice love," he was having trouble concealing his smile as he was looking at her.
"Thanks. You look very handsome yourself," Hermione returned the compliment sincerely.
"Ah, this old thing," Fred brushed away her compliment mockingly, "definitely not as sexy as your outfit."
"Well, mine does show a bit more skin," Hermione looked at her naked legs and arms.
"Aren't you cold?" Fred arched an eyebrow.
Hermione shook her head, "it's okay for now but I should probably avoid stepping outside."
"Good idea," Fred nodded. They smiled at each other in silence both unsure of what to say.
"Hey; have you seen that we're sitting next to each other?" Hermione asked.
"Of course mum put us together," Fred rolled his eyes, "always the meddler," he sighed.
"I actually quite like it," Hermione laughed, "you're the best person I could sit next to."
"Yeah?" He looked at her eagerly.
"Of course. You're always fun."
"Well, no time to waste then; let's go find our seats," he grinned, "a proper gentleman wouldn't let his dinner partner miss out on all the fun," he took her arm and led her to a table with eight chairs around it. Gallantly, he pulled out her chair before he sat down in the seat next to her. He poured both of them a glass of mulled wine and started telling her a story about how Lee had gotten so horribly drunk at his own parents wedding anniversary party that he had ended up dancing shirtless on the tables. Several times, Hermione tried looking for the perfect opening to ask him about last night, but as they were soon joined by Harry, Ginny, George, Angelina, Ron, and his date Aubrey, she eventually had to admit defeat.
They were served a delicious five-course meal with wine pairings much to the delight of all the guests, and Hermione noticed that Fred kept refilling her wine glass while sending her small winks. Even though she would have preferred to have him to herself, she had to admit that she was having fun with the others as well. Therefore, she decided that her and Fred could always have the talk some other day. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the party that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had spent months planning.
When everybody had gulped down the last of the pudding, a live band started playing up-tempo music much to the delight of the guests. Immediately, the dance floor was run-over by witches and wizards from all the other tables. Hermione noticed Harry looking towards the dance floor longingly several times before she took mercy on him and invited him to dance. Happily, he followed Hermione to the dance floor where they danced to a couple tunes while the rest of the table stayed in their seats, apparently in deep conversation - or at least Fred did his best to look in deep conversation. Truth was that Hermione could feel his eyes burning on her skin every time Harry spun her around.
Hermione was having fun on the dance floor, and for the next few hours, she was dancing and singing with whomever took it upon them to entertain her on the dance floor. Suddenly, she realised that the only person from the table that she had yet to dance with was Fred. Even though she had often caught him looking at her, he was the only one who had made absolutely no motion to come join her on the dance floor.
She was swaying with Ginny to a lovely tune when Ginny suddenly gestured that she had to go to the loo. Alone on the dance floor for the first time that evening, Hermione looked back at the table, contemplating whether she should sit down or not. She caught Fred's eye and lifted an eyebrow at him, challenging him to join her. He took her cue, emptied his drink, and stepped up for the first time that night.
"I didn't expect to see you on the dance floor Weasley! You never used to dance," Hermione bellowed trying to outshout the loud music.
"I still don't dance," he laughed, "but I want to spend some time with you and it seems that I'll have to be on the dance floor to do that."
"Sorry," Hermione laughed and continued, "- although not really."
"You better enjoy it while it lasts. I can't guarantee that you will see me on a dance floor ever again."
"Let's see about that - I think we've established on several occasions that I have you wrapped around my finger," Hermione laughed while holding up her little finger that he swatted away with a laugh.
They danced to a few nice tunes that Hermione didn't know until the band started playing a very popular Hobgoblins song. Fred, who Hermione knew disliked the band immensely, groaned loudly but kept dancing in the hopes that the next song would be better. The popularity of the Hobgoblins song, however, had caused a lot of people to join them on the dance floor. Suddenly, Fred and Hermione were surrounded by dancing guests, pushing them closer and closer. Hermione kept bumping into Fred, sending him small apologetic smiles.
After a particularly large bump, Fred grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him while mumbling, "figured it would be easier this way. Now you don't bump into everybody all the time."
Hermione was standing close to Fred's body, trying to dance as subtle as possible, hoping for the Hobgoblins song to be over soon so people would sit back down again. However, to her dismay, the next song was another popular tune, leaving people to dance even more vigorously than before. Hermione was now completely jammed up against Fred's chest, but she still managed to accidentally step on his foot.
He winced and Hermione shouted, "sorry! Oh no, I'm so sorry - are your toes alright?"
He nodded but Hermione could see that his lips were pressed together in a thin line indicating that it had probably hurt more than he let on.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione mumbled once more, avoiding his gaze.
"What?" He bellowed over the loud music.
"I said I'm sorry!" Hermione yelled back, looking back up and directly into his beautiful emerald green eyes.
"It's alright," he winked at her and pulled her an inch closer.
"Are you sure?" Hermione said and bit her lower lip.
Fred leaned in and placed a small, tender kiss on her lips, causing Hermione to go momentarily deaf, only existing in that brief moment that the kiss lasted. He pulled away again and said, "that's how sure I am."
The music started playing in Hermione's ears again and she couldn't help but smile at his nervous facial expression. Slowly, her mouth formed a broad smile and his face soon broke into a huge grin too.
"Want to get out of here?" he asked her, "There's something I'd like to show you."