Sledding in Summer

by rejuvenation

To keep the Weasley kids busy that July, Ginny has invented a "Summer Sledding" competition. And working together brings Fred and Hermione closer than ever before.

A/N: Thank you for opening this story! I hope you're all well. This is a long one-shot that I've been working on these past few months. Working on this has seen me through a summer of working two jobs and balancing many other commitments, so it's been a nice constant for me. Enjoy, and please review and let me know what you think!

— The First Year —

Hermione closed her copy of Hogwarts, a History with a sigh and exited Ginny's room. She'd been reading all morning, and Mrs. Weasley had just announced lunchtime, so she felt she deserved a break.

The conversation and clatter of silverware on plates got louder as Hermione neared the kitchen. She knew she hadn't been around much that morning, and books, although wonderful sources of knowledge, did not provide the type of companionship that people did.

Hermione rounded the corner into the kitchen and was greeted by bright sunlight, a delicious-smelling soup and salad, and the faces of Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione preferred to spend most of her summers at the Burrow since she tended to get lonely at her parents', not to mention the endless talk about teeth ("I had to do three fillings today." "Well, I had to perform a root canal." "Hermione, how are your teeth feeling? You should come get an exam soon"). Needless to say, this was rather a lot for Hermione to handle and provided another reason for her to pass her summers with her friends instead.

This summer, Hermione felt it was especially important to spend her time with those in the wizarding world. The inevitable war was approaching, and she, Harry, and Ron were planning to spend what would have been their seventh year in a tent, tracking down Horcruxes. They couldn't know what the future held, so Hermione wanted to be with those she loved as much as she could.

"Hello, Hermione, decided to finally join us?" asked Fred.

"Yes, we were wondering if the princess was ever going to come out of her private tower," added George.

"Oh, shut up," said Hermione, taking an seat next to Ginny and ladling some tomato soup into her bowl.

"The Chudley Cannons won a game today," remarked Ron. He was clearly expecting some sort of admiration and excitement.

Instead, Harry replied mildly, "I think it would be harder for them to lose a game against the Young Players' League of Norwich than to win one." Ron blushed and went silent. He supposed he couldn't have expected much better than that.

The meal proceeded quietly after that (except for an armpit fart contest by the twins, which George won and Fred hotly contested) until Ginny dramatically slammed her head and arms onto the table. "This summer has been so boring! We never do anything!"

Fred and George looked at each other. "Were you not present for that moment of musical excellence, Ginny?" asked Fred, mock confused.

"Yes, that was the excitement of the week!" continued George. "Maybe it's your standards that are too high, dear sister, for the rest of us have found entertainment in the most menial of amusements!"

"No, I agree with Ginny," said Ron, in a rare moment of sharing his opinion (he was usually afraid of being shut down by the twins). "We haven't done much at all."

"So what should we do?" asked Ginny expectantly. "I haven't got any ideas."

The table sat quietly for a moment, Ron forlornly scraping his bowl with his spoon, hoping to find a few last morsels.

"Have you all ever been sledding?" asked Hermione. Her voice cut through the silence.

"Dudley goes sometimes, but he would never let me come. I think he's scared I'll be better than he is," responded Harry.

"You probably would be," Hermione agreed. "You are just a bit more agile."

"But how would we go sledding? That's a winter sport, and it's July, if you hadn't noticed," Harry gestured to the window, where the bright sun beamed through into the Burrow's kitchen.

The rest of the table was looking between Harry and Hermione interestedly. Mr. Weasley especially appeared intrigued since this sounded like an interesting new Muggle invention that he hadn't heard about yet.

"We could enchant the hill behind the house to be snowy," suggested Hermione, as she had already turned seventeen. "And we could build our own sleds, but we'd have to outlaw using magic of any kind since we aren't all of age."

"Sorry, some of us are missing some context," said Ginny. "What is sledding?"

"It's sort of like," started Hermione, looking towards Harry for guidance, "like you have sort of a board, and you sit on it, and you slide down the snow. The fastest sleds have the least possible friction between the sled and the snow, and they're aerodynamic."

"It looks fun when Dudley does it," added Harry.

"This sounds promising," said Ginny. "But we could make it interesting. Let's see…we could make teams of two! And it could be a competition to build the fastest sled! Teams would have to ride down together. And, good idea, Hermione, you can't use magic when you're building your sled."

"And what would the teams be?" asked Fred, smiling. He knew something good was coming.

"Well," Ginny thought aloud, "I guess Harry and I can be together…"

"There it is!" crowed Fred and George together, sharing a high-five. Ginny and Harry had begun dating a few months before, and since then, Ginny had been finding every opportunity to be practically glued to Harry's side (Harry had been slightly more reserved about all this, although he did seem to be enjoying their relationship).

"Shut up," said Ginny, blushing. "We clearly need to split you two up…"

Fred and George groaned. They had clearly had some sort of extremely detailed plan already (probably involving some sort of ill-advised fire power) and were disappointed to lose it so easily.

"so, Ron can be with George and Hermione can be with Fred!" finished Ginny.

Ron looked nervous, expecting some sort of prank out of his time one-on-one with George. Hermione was also surprised. She had expected to be with Ginny, but she supposed that Fred might be a good partner what with all of the inventions that he had made.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley watched the scene, amused. They were happy to finally get the kids out of the house since they had been causing trouble ever since they'd come home from Hogwarts. They also would admit that there was a bit of a selfish reason for their interest: they looked forward to watching the crashes that they expected would ensue.

"Let's clear up from lunch, and then we can build our sleds! We can have the competition at 11 am sharp tomorrow," announced Ginny, happy for the chance to tell everyone what to do.

Hermione rose from her chair, annoyedly letting it scrape loudly against the flagstone floor. But before she had reached the kitchen with her plate, she felt an arm drape around her shoulder.

"Hello, partner!" said Fred, smiling widely. "Ready to win?"

Fred had leaned over so that his face was about four inches from Hermione's. She could smell him: cinnamon, maybe? Something warm.

What am I doing, thought Hermione. I don't care what Fred smells like.

Hermione supposed, though, that the only way forward was to fight fire with fire.

"Of course I'm ready, Weasley! Ours will be the fastest sled in the land," she announced, putting an arm around his waist and dropping her plate on the kitchen counter. She felt Fred jerk slightly at her action, and his side felt warm under her hand. He probably hadn't expected her to play along, she thought.

The pair exited the house into the fields surrounding the Burrow. Fred had some sort of plan and was beelining towards somewhere, though she wasn't sure where. The July day was warm, and Hermione could hear the bees buzzing and birds chirping as she shuffled through the long grass. She also noticed the mosquitoes, which were slightly less appealing. Soon, the pair entered the woods bordering the fields, and all went quiet except for the crackle of leaves and twigs under their feet.

"Right," declared Fred as they reached a small outbuilding. It appeared to be made of boards leaned up against each other, creating a ramshackle structure cloaked in moss and shadow. "This is the famous Weasley family shed, and we appear to have reached it before the other teams. Now, let's move quickly. What could we possibly need to build a perfect sled?"

"Well," Hermione thought aloud, "Muggles often use wood, or metal actually, really any smooth and light building material. Sometimes they bend metal to make runners to make the sled go faster. And nails, of course, to attach everything."

"Some of everything, then!" said Fred, and he dove into the shed, reappearing holding multiple lengths of wood and metal and myriad bits and bobs he thought could form the perfect sled. This included an old boot ("for bounce, you know"), grease ("we have to go fast") and a Muggle rubber duck ("buoyancy?").

"Wonderful, Fred," laughed Hermione, realizing that this might not be as bad as she had expected. At least he was enthusiastic. "Let's go."

The pair wandered through the Burrow's property, eventually finding a small shelter carved out of a large boulder. Its entrance was shaded by vines, and there were several suspicious black marks on its walls.

"When George and I were little," explained Fred, "we'd do all sorts of experiments in the house, and our mum never was happy about that. Dad loved the things we built, though, so he carved this shelter out of the rock, and he told us we could use this as much as we wanted as long as we didn't tell Mum. Of course, we never did. I still don't think she knows," he added, chuckling.

"That would explain the burn marks, then, wouldn't it," said Hermione wryly.

"Why, Granger, how perceptive!" Fred said, smiling.

The pair spent the afternoon in the shelter, loudly hammering and arguing over what to put where. Hermione had thought she'd have the upper hand with her Muggle experience, but she soon found that Fred's talent for invention extended beyond magic.

Eventually, Hermione glanced at her watch. "Weasley, it's almost dinner. Your mum would have our hides if we were late."

"Right you are, Granger," agreed Fred, and they begin clearing up slightly, preparing for the further modifications they might have to make the next morning.

The evening passed calmly after dinner and a raucous game of Exploding Snap (Ginny won after distracting her opponents with Dungbombs, earning congratulations from Fred and George). Hermione tossed and turned as she worried about the next year's travels with Harry and Ron, but eventually she fell asleep, only to be awoken bright and early the next morning by a sensation of someone very close to her face.

"Morning, Granger," Fred said quietly He had a gleam in his eye that Hermione found quite suspicious.

"What are you doing? It's," Hermione groaned, reaching for her watch, "seven o'clock. I know I get up earlier than you do, but not this early."

"Have you forgotten what today is?" asked Fred incredulously. "We have to get ready if we want to win!"

"Fine," Hermione grumbled, sitting up. She pulled back her covers only to realize that it was July, so she was wearing a tank top and quite short shorts, which was rather embarrassing.

Fred, noticing Hermione's bare thigh, turned slightly pink, turned to face away from her, and announced, "I'll just wait in the hall for a moment, then we can grab some breakfast maybe and go work."

"Works for me," replied Hermione, glad to have Fred gone so she could be mortified in peace.

Quickly, she pulled off her pajamas and donned denim shorts and a plaid shirt, rolling up her sleeves as she exited the room quietly so as not to wake Ginny.

Fred stood outside the door, turned toward the wall and covering his eyes with his hand.

"I'm dressed now," Hermione informed him.

"Oh, good," Fred turned and started down the stairs. "I have to preserve my innocence, you know."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and followed him into the kitchen, where they scrounged around for leftovers to eat a quick breakfast before fixing up their sled.

After eating spaghetti for breakfast ("just like the Italians," said Fred cheerfully), the two shuffled through the leaves in the woods on their way back to the shelter in which they were building their shed.

After an hour or two of tinkering, Hermione stood back and surveyed the sled intently. "It looks good to me… do you want to test it before we head to Ginny's competition?"

"Why of course! I would love to be your crash test dummy! When have I not agreed to do something stupid and dangerous?" Fred eagerly jumped into the sled, poised to take off.

"We've got to make some snow first. And find a hill," pointed out Hermione.

"Right you are," answered Fred, hopping out of the sled just seconds after he'd gotten into it. He grabbed its front and dragged it out of the shelter, making a terrible scraping noise.

Fred and the sled made their way over to a hill alongside the shelter, smaller than the one that the competition would take place on, but good for practice and testing nonetheless.

"Ready for snow?" Hermione shouted up to Fred, who saluted back. Pointing her wand at the hill, Hermione clearly said "Nieva," and the previously grassy hill was shrouded in a blanket of snow.

"Brilliant, Granger," Fred complimented, surveying the track. "This should work excellently."

He folded his long legs into the sled a second time. "Ready to test now, Granger?"

"Perfect," yelled Hermione, standing far back.

Fred pushed off with his hands, and the sled took off. Fred screamed and loudly cursed all the way down, and the sled would've kept going beyond the snow had Hermione not quickly cast Protego as she saw Fred coming near. The sled skidded to a halt as it hit the invisible barrier, ricocheting around and sending Fred flying out. He landed in a ball on a nearby slope.

"Fred!" Hermione rushed over. She meant this to be fun, not dangerous. She knelt beside him, worried that he had been hurt.

"I'm fine, Granger, don't worry, I've done stupider things," Fred joked, seeing Hermione scared beside him. He'd noticed that, in her moment of fear, she'd called him Fred instead of the usual Weasley. He'd have to file that away for future reference.

"Now," Fred sat up, "That was awfully fast. Good for the competition, but I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Me to get hurt? Weasley, you flew out of the sled there! You could've been seriously injured!"

"Oh, that's not a big deal," Fred responded, waving away her concern. "I told you that already, Georgie and I willingly do stuff like this all the time. It's Miss Perfect Prefect I worry about who probably wouldn't want a broken neck on her record."

Hermione flushed. Is that what he thought of her? "I'm no perfect prefect, Fred. You've known me long enough. You saw all the stuff Ron and Harry and I did first year, and third year when I punched Malfoy, and fifth year when we fought the Death Eaters after sneaking into the Ministry. Come on."

"You're right," Fred agreed, "of course you are. You're not a perfect prefect, I don't mean that, but you probably wouldn't want to get hurt nor for people to see you hurt. Especially after spending some time alone with a ravishing Weasley twin like me."

"Lovely." Hermione said sarcastically. "But you're right, I don't want to get hurt doing something this dumb."

"Well," Fred considered, "what do Muggles do?"

"Muggle sleds are built for kids, so they're not really meant to go very fast or anything. They're definitely safer than this is since this is built to basically break the sound barrier," Hermione explained. "In cars, though, we have seatbelts, and people often wear helmets when doing other dangerous things."

"Now, when Ginny said we can't use magic, what was her specific wording?" inquired Fred.

"I believe she said 'you can't use magic when you're building your sled.' Why?"

"So we could use magic when we're building things that aren't the sled."

"Technically, yes," said Hermione warily. "But seatbelts would be attached to the sled."

"Okay, well, maybe we can't have seatbelts," acknowledged Fred. "But we could build helmets!" Fred got up and walked over to the base of a tree, digging around until he found two rocks. He got his wand out of his pocket and tapped the rocks, transforming them into two matching, aerodynamic helmets.

"M'lady," said Fred, walking over and proffering a helmet. He donned his own, and the bright red color clashed horribly with his hair.

Hermione grudgingly put on her own. "These are very stylish," she complained.

"You're one to talk, Granger, you're the one who wanted us to be safe."

Hermione nodded in acknowledgement. Looking at her watch, she noticed, "Weasley, it's quarter to eleven. We'd better get over to the Burrow and enchant the hill."

"Again, right you are," said Fred, grabbing the front of the sled and leading the way to the hill they planned to have the competition on.

When Fred and Hermione reached the wide, grassy, sunlit hill, they noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already there, and so were Ginny and Harry. Their sled was a little clunky looking; perhaps they had spent more time doing other things than working on their sled during the allotted interval.

Hermione enchanted the hill the same way as before, adding a Protego at the bottom as she had learned from their prior mistake.

At two minutes past eleven, Ron and George finally arrived. Ron looked rather disgruntled, as he was carrying the entire sled by himself since for some reason it was too difficult to drag. George walked proudly beside him.

"Hello, dear brother," said George. "Ready to get completely annihilated?"

"Oh, I don't think so," replied Fred. "Our team has like fifteen OWL's between us. We have built a fabulous sled."

"Most of those OWL's are Hermione's, you know," George pointed out, laughing.

"That makes no difference," sniffed Fred. "I'm very proud of our combined achievements."

"Okay, okay," Ginny walked over to the group. "Let's get started."

Hermione felt a surreptitious wand tap on her leg. Looking around, she realized that Fred had now enchanted them to have matching racing outfits. They were bright red to match the helmets and were completely hideous.

"Oh, lord, Weasley," she muttered.

"Do you love them? I think you look fetching," Fred asked with a very serious expression on his face.

"No," Hermione said stoically.

Fred laughed, turning back to Ginny. (His laugh is nice, thought Hermione. Stop that, thought Hermione a second later).

While Fred enchanted the racing uniforms, Ginny had announced that they were all going to be timed racing down the hill because, if they all raced at the same time, they could crash into each other.

Fred, without asking Hermione what she thought, volunteered them to go last because he wanted to "be the grand finale." Hermione sighed sarcastically.

"Alright, mate, let's just get this over with," said Ron to George, putting his sled down. He pushed it so that the front was teetering over the top of the hill.

"I'll go in the front," announced George, settling himself in the sled.

"Of course you will," Ron complained. Clearly, something had happened while he and George were building their sled, and he did not want to get on George's bad side. He squeezed himself in the sled's oddly shaped seat behind George.

Mr. Weasley counted down from three, and George pushed off the slope as Mr. Weasley murmured a stopwatch spell so his wand would time the sled.

Ron and George's sled had not been built with speed in mind (someone had gotten it into his head to design it rather like a rectangular castle, complete with turrets, with the seat in the central courtyard). It did descend the hill, albeit rather slowly, and the square corners meant that the sled was twisting and turning all the way down (Fred giggled whenever Ron and George's heads bonked together at sudden turns). Near the end of the hill, it lost momentum before slowly and sort of sadly bumping into Hermione's shield charm.

"One minute thirty, boys," announced Mr. Weasley. "Let's see if the next pair will do better; I see that a castle may not have been the best design."

As Ron and George trudged back up the hill, dragging their poorly designed sled behind them, Ginny and Harry placed theirs at the starting line. Their sled had clearly been built while Ginny and Harry had been more interested in doing other things during their alone time; nails stuck out at odd angles, and there were great gaping holes in the sides where the boards had not been wide enough to meet.

When the first pair reached the top of the hill, Harry got into the sled, gripping the front rather like he might his broom. He must have been hoping to steer his sled, which Hermione thought wouldn't be possible due to its quite bulbous shape. Ginny inserted herself behind Harry, draping herself onto his back in a way that suggested that this was what this whole competition had been designed to enable her to do.

Again, Mr. Weasley counted down, and the sled took off. It was certainly faster than the previous sled, but its odd shape caused the sled to careen off to the left in the middle of the track. After Ginny and Harry frantically pushed to enable the sled to continue racing in a straight line, the sled finally reached the bottom and Hermione's shield charm.

"One minute fifteen," Mr. Weasley declared. "Shocking that even that sled, which couldn't be aimed, was faster than Ron and George's."

"C'mon, dad," Ron complained.

"Maybe we were going for style rather than speed. Ever thought of that?" rebutted George.

"Only joking, boys, you tried," chuckled Mr. Weasley.

Finally, it was Hermione and Fred's turn. Only after having their matching outfits ridiculed by everyone else were they able to get into the sled and get ready to push off. Fred, the more reckless of the two, hopped into the front, leaving Hermione to squeeze in behind him. And, begrudgingly, she got into the seat, placing her legs around Fred's body. It felt sort of nice, she thought, and they fit together nicely. Come off it, Hermione told herself, you don't seriously care if you and Fred "fit together nicely," whatever that means.

Fred, noticing that Hermione was leaning back in an effort not to get closer than possible, said "Hermione, that's not safe. You need to hold on better. And fasten your seatbelt."

Hermione huffed, but she fastened her seatbelt and then gingerly leaned forward into Fred, gently placing her arms around his waist. Fred sighed and then pulled her arms further forward, pulling her front into his back. Despite Fred's show of confidence, Hermione noted that his cheeks had gone a bit pink.

"Alright, you two, ready to go?"asked Mr. Weasley.

Hermione began to nervously nod in agreement, but before she could really finish, Fred pushed off, and the sled careened down the hill. Hermione had no qualms about screaming. This was completely terrifying. A few seconds down, Fred, abandoning the show of manly confidence that he had been displaying as they built the sled, began to scream as well, making Hermione giggle into his back.

Almost before it had even started, their ride ended as the sled smashed into Hermione's protego at the bottom of the hill. Hermione groaned in pain, and Fred nodded in agreement as they began to clamber out of the sled and up the hill.

As they reached the top of the hill, Mr. Weasley announced, "Thirty seconds! Fastest by a landslide!"

Hermione had little time to register the news before Fred had scooped her up in a huge hug, spinning her around. As he put her down, he began to shout "Winners, winners! How do all you losers feel? Ha ha!"

Hermione blushed at this display from her teammate, and George, noticing this, said, "Don't mind Fred, Hermione, he's almost more competitive than Ginny." Ginny, now implicated in this scene, jokingly slapped George, and everyone laughed.

A moment of silence, and Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands together. "Now, after that performance, time for lunch!" The party filed inside.

The Second Year —

A year had passed since the sled competition, and much had happened. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had found the Horcruxes and, with the help of Hogwarts staff, the Order, and more, successfully beaten Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. Fred almost died during the battle, but Hermione had noticed the falling wall and cast a quick Protego, running off to fight before Fred could say anything. After the war, Ginny and Harry got engaged, Harry saying that that year had shown him how fleeting life could be and how he didn't want to risk not getting a chance to marry the love of his life (Ginny cried at that and told him how dramatic he was being, but of course she said yes).

And Hermione, having been unable to find a job after the war, was back at the Burrow. Granted, not much time had passed since the Battle: it took place in May, and it was now July, so businesses hadn't all had enough time to restore themselves to their former glory and hire staff. The Ministry was busy sorting itself out and attempting to weed out corruption to better serve the magical community without the endless bureaucracy (something Hermione wasn't sure was possible, but that was beside the point). The Prophet had to fire senior staff and move people around within the organization to make sure that their news was unbiased, accurate, and not influenced by outside sources with ulterior motives. So, it was not that Hermione was not a good candidate, she just was quite picky about jobs, and the places she wanted to work were not currently hiring.

Harry and Ron were in the same boat as Hermione: both were interested in being Aurors, but the training program wouldn't start until the end of the summer. Ginny was going back for her final year of Hogwarts in the fall (something Hermione, Harry, and Ron had decided against, because what was the point), so she was not job hunting. And Fred and George had taken the day off from the shop, explaining that they wanted summer fun and claiming that they had left the shop in capable hands for the day ("Lee and Verity are our best mates, they've got it handled").

So all the young people were sitting around the breakfast table in the exact same way as last summer, in the same places. Much had changed, but much hadn't.

In a quiet moment, Ginny let her head fall dramatically to the table, claiming that she was "so bored!"

Harry, grinning at his fiancée, said, "We could try sledding again, like last year?"

Ron grunted in agreement (at least, it seemed like a positive grunt rather than a negative one), and Hermione, Fred, and George sort of shrugged.

"What should the teams be?" Ginny asked. "Obviously, I want to be with Harry," she said, flashing her engagement ring.

"Well, we could keep the same teams as last year," said Hermione, looking up from under her thick hair. "It worked well for me."

"That's great, Hermione, congratulations," Ron retorted.

"I like Hermione's idea," Fred chimed in.

"Of course you do, Fred, you won last year," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, it's not such a big deal to keep the same teams," said Ginny, "you know I want to keep my team, why can't Fred and Hermione keep theirs?"

"Oh, so they're a couple now, too?" inquired George, winking suggestively at Hermione.

Fred slapped him on the back of the head. "I think you'd know by now whether or not that was true, Forge."

Harry let his hands fall loudly onto the table as he scraped back his chair. "I think we've come to a conclusion, and I, for one, am not inclined to let this conversation drag on. Goodness knows what kind of secrets it could reveal."

"There are no secrets here, Harry," George said cheerfully. "Everyone knows we're dating!"

"But you wouldn't find an engagement ring on your finger, now would you," Ginny declared, shoving her hand in George's face.

"Shove off, Ginny, everyone knows you're engaged to Wonder Boy, you won't let anyone forget," said Fred.

Harry's comment about secrets had gotten Hermione thinking. She wasn't secretly dating anyone, and she didn't secretly like Fred or Ron, the other two single members of the party. But she still had a strange sensation, like she was somehow keeping a secret from herself. She shook the feeling off as she got up from her seat.

Just like last year, Fred surprised her in the kitchen as they cleared up from lunch. "Want to work on our sled?"

"I suppose the competition is tomorrow morning again?" asked Hermione.

"I would expect so," said Fred. "When Ginny decides something has to be a tradition, as seems to have happened here, everything needs to happen exactly the same way year to year."

"Then let's get ready," said Hermione, speeding out of the kitchen and flipping her hair behind her in a way that surprised Fred. He hadn't expected this kind of motivation, but he supposed that she was fairly competitive when others expected something from her. She probably wanted to defend her (their) title from last year.

"Where are you going, Hermione?" asked Fred, hurrying to catch up with her. It didn't take him long given his considerable height advantage.

"The shed from last year," said Hermione, her eyes forward as she made a beeline for the woods. "We have to get materials for the sled before the other teams do."

"You know I saved last year's sled," remarked Fred.

"You didn't!" said Hermione, her eyes lighting up.

"I did indeed," Fred airily tossed his head in mock bragging. "I didn't hear any rules against it, since I guess no one but Ginny expected it to be an annual thing. Given her love of tradition, I thought I had better keep it just in case."

"Good thinking," complimented Hermione admiringly.

Fred was surprised at any compliment from Hermione, but especially at this one as it related to mental prowess and intelligence, something Hermione prided herself on. But he took it in stride, pointing out that he had built a small structure in a tree and then weatherproofed and camoflauged it so that no other teams could find it.

The two hauled the sled down from the tree, grunting as they pulled the contraption towards the earth.

"That was a good hiding place," observed Hermione. "I would've had no idea it was there if you hadn't told me."

"The mark of an excellent prankster. We have to be able to conceal things from our mothers."

"We should make sure it still works. Give it a bit of a checkup," Hermione suggested.

"We probably should," agreed Fred, "though, given the other teams' abysmal performance last year, I don't think we need to be too worried."

"I don't think so either," Hermione chuckled.

Hermione was surprising herself left and right today. First complimenting Fred, then laughing at one of his jokes? She needed to rein it in.

As Hermione mulled things over, they pulled the sled into their workspace from the prior year, adjusting and fixing things up until they felt the sled was in the same, if not better, shape than last year.

"Looks lovely," said Fred.

"It does," Hermione concurred.

"We should pretend we are working hard out here," Fred thought aloud. "We don't want them to realize we're using the same sled as last year until tomorrow, after which point they can't do anything about it."

Hermione thought for a moment. Then, digging around in her pocket, she produced a pack of cards. "Want to play?"

"Are those Muggle?" asked Fred.

"Yes."

"Then they don't explode!"

"No, they don't," replied Hermione, waiting for the curiosity she knew was coming.

"Then how do you play? Why would cards be a good pastime if they didn't explode?" asked Fred.

"Keep your pants on and I'll show you," Hermione replied.

"Keep my pants on? Excuse me?"

"Shut up. It's a Muggle expression," Hermione rolled her eyes. She taught him Go Fish first, but they both got annoyed with how messy the cards on the ground got, especially since they couldn't do magic to keep the cards clean or the other teams would think they had cheated. Various other games came next, but poker caught Fred's attention the most, given the gambling element (Hermione was terrible at the game, and neither had real money on them anyway, so they used pebbles as chips).

Eventually, Fred stretched and looked at his watch. "Merlin, Hermione, it's seven! We've got to get inside or the other teams will think we're up to something! Never mind the fact that Mum will have our hides for being late to dinner."

"Goodness, you're right!" Hermione began gathering the cards, shoving them back into the box, and Fred began to help her contain them as well.

After they'd finished cleaning up, they rushed towards the Burrow, hoping to escape as much of Molly's wrath as possible.

"And how did it go?" asked George as Fred and Hermione appeared in the kitchen doorway. Ron sniggered at the implication of George's question.

"Merlin, George, we were building our sled!" said Fred.

"You're full of instigation today, George," Hermione observed. "I don't know what you thought we were doing."

"Just checking," said George cheerfully.

The evening passed peacefully, except for Ginny's desire to play a game of truth or dare that ended with Ron turning green and running out of the room after asked a particularly nasty question about exactly which girls he had done exactly what with.

The next morning, Hermione went down to breakfast to find Fred already there, waiting for her.

"Morning, princess," Fred smirked.

"I am no damsel in distress, Fred," Hermione stared him right in the eyes.

"Oh, I know, believe it," Fred responded, smiling as he turned back to his eggs.

As they prepared that morning for the competition, Fred shuffled around in the sled a bit, pulled out a bundle, and shouted "A-ha!"

"What is it?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"Our costumes, of course!" Fred proudly held two identical, skin-tight red suits and helmets. "We have to stay speedy and stylish, just like last year!"

"Merlin, Fred," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll go change." She wandered behind the stone cave in which they were building their sled to don her outfit.

When she returned, Fred had changed as well. Hermione had an urge to see exactly what Fred looked like in their rather scandalous costume, but she averted her eyes, knowing the teasing she would draw if she couldn't. Unbeknownst to her, Fred was fighting the same internal battle.

Breaking the silence, Hermione announced, "Well, I'm ready, and this outfit is just fabulous."

"I knew you'd think so. We're going to be so fast!" Fred held his head high, proud of himself for coming up with the clothing.

"Sure, Weasley. Come on and help," Hermione stood near the end of the sled so that Fred would take the front, as he knew better how to navigate to their sledding hill.

Fred grabbed the front of the sled, and they began to take the sled to the hill on the other side of the Burrow. As they walked, Hermione couldn't help noticing the way Fred's back looked in their racing suits. He was really quite handsome, wasn't he? But she would never stoop so low as to really consider that. He was a prankster (or at least that's what everyone else knew him as), and he was her best friend's older brother, for goodness sake. She shook it off as they reached the rest of the Weasleys at the top of the hill.

"Lovely ensemble," complimented George, noticing their matching gear. With a glint in his eye, he moved next to Fred and quietly noted how good Hermione looked in that outfit. He was met with a glare from Fred.

The competition proceeded much like the previous year's. Ginny and Harry's sled was not particularly good, as it again appeared that they had spent too much time doing other things together rather than building the sled. George and Ron had spent so much time fighting over how the sled should look that the front and back of the sled looked quite different to each other, greatly hampering the sled's speed and agility. This year, the sled seemed to be intended to look like a racing broom.

Finally, it was Hermione and Fred's turn, and, as they sped down the hill, Hermione again felt rather nice against Fred's back. They were friends, she told herself. They'd spent a lot more time than normal together. That was all it was.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, slamming into Hermione's shield charm, Mr. Weasley announced their time and declared them the undefeated champions of the sled competition. Fred grabbed Hermione's hand, raising it above their heads as he proclaimed themselves "Reigning Royalty" of the Burrow. The witch beside him rolled her eyes, but her smile was obvious.

The moment was shattered when they climbed the hill and Ron was stormily waiting for them at the top. "You cheated, didn't you?"

"Cheated? Of course not!" Hermione was indignant that Ron would even suggest such a thing.

"You wouldn't have won both times if you hadn't! C'mon, fess up," Ron retorted.

Fred placed an arm around Hermione's shoulder, glaring at Ron. "Unlike you, Ronniekins, Hermione and I happen to be good at sled racing. Quit tormenting her."

Hermione, surprised at how Fred stood up for her, turned to him. "Let's go, Fred, it's not worth it. I'm not sure why you're surprised. He's always been a sore loser."

"Fine." They began walking away, but Hermione didn't miss the rude hand gesture Fred sent Ron's way as they left.

Fred opened the back door to the Burrow, ushering Hermione through.

"Well," said Hermione, "I've got to go fill out some applications. I have to move out at some point."

Fred still hadn't removed his arm. "I'm sure Mum would be happy to have you forever and ever."

"Well, I am an adult now, Fred," Hermione said dryly.

"So are Georgie and I, but we don't let that stop us, do we?"

"Lovely, but you know I need a job," she successfully ducked out from under Fred's arm. She had gotten used to it being there, but she supposed all things had to end.

"You know, Hermione," Fred loudly fell into an armchair in the living room. "We have been needing a bit of extra help at the shop. Lee and Verity are great with the customers and the inventory, but they're both absolute rubbish at making our products, and our demand has completely surpassed our supply since the end of the war."

Hermione watched Fred intently from the seat she'd taken on the carpet, and, noticing this, Fred went on.

"I know it's not your dream job, but we'd be lucky if you'd work for us for a few months, a year, whatever until you find a job you're passionate about. You were always so good at Charms and Transfiguration, so I know you'd be amazing."

"Thanks, Fred, but I'm not sure," Hermione said slowly. "I think you know me well enough to know that I'm not really a people person until I get to know someone a lot better. I really would have trouble interacting with customers all day. I can't promise you that I would do a good job, and I would hate to commit to something that I couldn't do my best at."

"Hermione, with all the respect in the world," Fred leaned in. "I think you're not quite understanding the job offer. You wouldn't be in the front. You'd be in the back, making products with George and me. Lee and Verity would sometimes pop in from the front to let us know what they're low on, and we'd make some more. Or, if we were well stocked, we'd work on making more of our most popular products."

"So I wouldn't have to talk to customers?" Hermione asked.

"I can promise you that George and I will jump out front to help before you would. Only in a very rare situation would you have to. And really, if we're that desperate for more staff out front, we don't care if you're not the bubbliest personality."

"I'd be making more products?"

"Completely independent work."

"Hmm," Hermione rested her head on her knees, thinking. A few minutes passed with no response. Fred had heard how Hermione was with decision-making, but this was really something. He decided to pull out the big guns.

"You'd have equal inventing privileges," Fred announced.

Hermione lifted her head, and Fred noticed a spark in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Literally, if you develop a product and test it, we'll add it to the store if we like it."

"So if I finish all the stock…"

"Then you can do what George and I do, which is muck around the back until we come up with a new idea."

Jumping to her feet, Hermione said, "I'm in."

"Amazing!" Fred leapt up from the chair and over to Hermione, taking her shoulders in his hands. "Mind, we're not going to name the store after you just yet," he teased.

"Maybe I'll be able to convince you," Hermione replied seriously.

Fred pulled her into a hug, telling her how glad he was to have her on their team. Hesitating for a moment, Hermione reciprocated the gesture. She was excited to have a job (and inventing privileges!) and to be honest, it did feel nice.

Later that night, as Hermione got ready for bed, she couldn't help but overhear a rather loud conversation from Fred and George's room, where they often stayed the night when Mrs. Weasley's dinner made them too full and sleepy to Apparate home.

"Georgie, you will not believe the news," Fred said, his footsteps going into the room.

"Something good? Something bad? Don't keep me in suspense," answered George.

"Operation Otter is complete!"

"No it isn't, there's no way she agreed."

"She did!"

"I can't believe it!"

"I did have to grant her inventing privileges."

"Let's be honest, we were going to do that all along."

"Yeah, we were."

"Our products are suddenly going to be so much better, and everyone will wonder why."

"She's a real gem, isn't she?" That must have been Fred.

"You certainly think so, brother."

"Oh, shut up."

Hermione listened to the exchange, silently laughing. But she couldn't help being proud that they had planned to ask her to help them all along, and that George was excited too. And, of course, she was a little nervous at Fred's admission that she was a "gem," although she couldn't understand what he might have meant by that.

The Third Year —

Hermione collapsed onto the couch at her small studio apartment and groaned. Work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes hadn't been so bad that day; although it was busy, which she could tell by the amount of inventory she had to make, she was protected from the hordes because she was in the inventing space.

True to his word, Fred had only once asked her to come ring up customers in the front of the shop. The Saturday before Christmas, the store had been so overrun with visitors that Fred, George, Verity, and Lee combined couldn't keep things under control. He'd been apologetic, but Hermione had known that the time was coming, given that she'd never yet had to help in the four months she'd worked there.

Since working at the Wheezes, as Lee affectionately called it (the nickname wasn't sticking, but he was determined to make it happen), Hermione had been able to move out of the Burrow and into a tiny studio apartment in Wizarding London, far enough from Diagon Alley that it wasn't too noisy, but close enough that she could still walk to work. She missed the companionship at the Burrow, but she did not miss its complete lack of privacy and constant noise.

This Sunday would mark another one of Mrs. Weasley's dinners at the Burrow. All her children were expected each week, but, after too many times in a row of the twins, Bill, Charlie, or Hermione not coming, Mrs. Weasley had put her foot down, and, this week, they would all be there.

Hermione's reverie was interrupted when her tawny owl, Rune, arrived with a rather lengthy note. After untying the note from Rune's leg, Hermione gave her a treat and sent her back to her cage to rest.

Hermione, the note read,

I am so excited to see you this Sunday! (Hermione rolled her eyes; it had only been a few weeks). And Mum has been harassing everyone, so Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy will be there too. I mean, honestly, it's not like we go that long without seeing each other, but I think with Ron and Harry moved out too, Mum gets a bit lonely.

Anyway, I'm writing to give advance warning: we're sledding again on Sunday. (Really? thought Hermione. Two years ago, when she'd suggested the idea, she hadn't meant it as a tradition. And now all the older Weasleys would be there too. Probably to mock them.) We're keeping the same teams, of course. Now that Harry and I are married, it would be quite odd for us to be separated, don't you think? (Hermione didn't think so, but okay). Get to the Burrow bright and early so you and Fred can prepare! He's probably going to be happy to see you, given how he acts around you whenever you're together (Hermione had no words to say to this one).

See you Sunday! Come prepared!

Much love,

Ginny

Hermione let the letter fall to her side on the couch, mentally preparing herself for not only being judged on her sledding by all the older Weasleys, who wouldn't even be competing, and being mocked for wearing Fred's skin-tight racing suits while doing so.

The week passed with only two explosions in the back room of WWW, which must have been a new record for Fred and George. Soon enough, it was Sunday, and Hermione found herself apparating to the set Apparition Point a hundred meters away from the Burrow. No sooner had Hermione landed then she found herself assaulted by someone much taller and more red-headed than she.

"Hermione! Lovely to see you, as always," the figure exclaimed.

Peeking one eye open, Hermione noticed it was Fred and relaxed. "Honestly, you just saw me at work a couple days ago."

"I know, but this is different! We're sledding this time!"

"How long were you waiting for me?"

"Since I arrived and you weren't here yet. It wasn't so long, not when I was looking forward to sledding with you at the end of it."

Hermione begrudgingly smiled, and they began walking towards the Burrow. Fred still had not removed his arm from around her shoulder, but she found that she did not have a problem with her current situation.

As they reached the end of the path leading to the Burrow, Hermione headed left to enter the kitchen through the back door. But Fred clearly had other ideas, and she felt his arm pulling her to the right, towards the woods.

"I know you too well by now to be surprised that you wouldn't even let me put my things down inside and greet your mum before preparing," remarked Hermione.

Fred paused for a few seconds before responding, "I'm predictable, aren't I?"

"Well," she begun, "your motivations are predictable, but your actions aren't. For example, I know you're competitive, and you also like to show off."

"Hey!" Fred interjected.

"You know it's true, Fred, don't try to deny it. You'd always set off your fireworks at Hogwarts and then glance over at the nearest pretty girl, trying to see if she was impressed or not," Hermione laughed.

"Not every girl," Fred murmured. His arm grew hot around her shoulder and, feeling the tension, Hermione shrugged out from under it. Although she wasn't looking, Fred was watching her intently. But the moment was broken: thankfully, they'd reached the spot where Fred had stashed their sled after last year's race.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Now, we do have to be extra prepared today, you know. The other teams will likely have kept their sleds as well after seeing that we did last year," she advised.

"C'mon, when would I ever give less than 110 percent?"

"School."

"On something I care about," amended Fred.

They were silent as they worked, adjusting the fastenings and trimming any wonky bits to ensure proper aerodynamic effect.

Soon, it was five to eleven, and the two packed up their things, Hermione muttering a quick levitating spell on the sled so that they wouldn't have to drag it behind them.

"Too fast, Hermione!" Fred said, behind her.

"Did we forget something? Is there something that doesn't work? Oh, we don't have time for something to go wrong!" Hermione worried.

"You know, you certainly make fun of this competition a lot for someone who's so worried about it," Fred pointed out.

"Oh, shut up."

"Anyway, we're not wearing our outfits!"

"Really? In front of your older siblings and everything? It's embarrassing enough when it's just Ron, George, Harry, and Ginny, and they're competing too."

"You know you want to show off your body, Hermione, stop whining," Fred tossed her her suit.

"I don't!" Hermione responded, flustered. "You see what I wear every day! Not anything this tight, that's for sure!"

"I know," Fred said, heading behind a nearby rock to change.

This little exchange left Hermione a bit confused. Had he been noticing her long enough to notice patterns like that, she wondered as she pulled on the racing outfit. And what was with that comment about showing off her body? Was her body good enough to show off? She left the shelter of the rock, suddenly nervous about being near Fred.

"Ready to go?" Fred was already standing in the clearing, the sled hovering behind him.

Hermione put on a brave face. "Sure," she said, and they began walking.

As they neared the hill where the race would take place, Fred dug around in the sled, producing their two racing helmets and tossing one to Hermione.

"Lord, these outfits. We wear them every year, and still I can't believe how atrocious they are," Hermione told him. "Seriously, they're awful."

"Safety is sexy, Hermione. So is speed. And style. These outfits are so many different things that start with 's,' and all of those things are sexy," Fred explained, grinning.

"That's not generally my top priority."

"Well, it should be." As they talked, they'd neared the group standing on the hill, and Fred gestured to his older brothers, who were hooting and hollering about their red racing outfits. "See? It's getting a reaction."

"Again, also not generally my top priority."

"Well, as you so wisely explained earlier, it certainly is mine," Fred replied dryly. Something in his tone made Hermione feel as if he didn't quite agree with her assessment of his motivations. He walked off to greet Bill and Charlie, doffing his helmet as he approached.

Hermione shook the odd feeling off, ready to get into the racing mindset.

And race they did. Just like last year, and the year before that, Fred and Hermione won by a landslide. Harry and Ginny still hadn't seemed to have learned the lesson about actually working on the sled instead of getting distracted with other things. Instead of a racing broom, Ron and George's sled this year was a pirate ship. This would seem to be a more aerodynamic shape, but the large cannon on the side proved to be too much of a temptation for George, who spent the whole descent shooting fireworks at Percy instead of helping Ron steer. The recoil from the blasts sent the sled careening off to the slide, likely adding more than thirty seconds to the total time of their ride.

Ron made his way up the hill, only for Bill and Charlie to meet him at the top.

"That was quite a show, Ron," said Bill, a glint in his eye.

"He really showed us all the proper way to sled, didn't he, Bill?" asked Charlie.

"Oh, he did," responded Bill. "We won't be forgetting it, will we?"

"Why are you taking the mickey out of me?" Ron swung his pointer finger around in search of George, finally landing on his target. "He was the one who messed us up! If he hadn't been faffing about with the cannon, we might have won!"

"Yes, but Ron, he had fireworks," explained Bill. "So he's the cool one."

"That's right, Ron," added George, noticing the exchange. "We lost, but at least I lost in style. You lost and looked pretty stupid doing so."

"Maybe I should go find some people who have some actual sympathy for me," Ron grumbled, stomping back towards the house.

"You know, I do feel a bit bad each time we do that," George admitted.

"But it's so much fun," Bill explained. "I mean, would you really pass up that kind of opportunity?"

"You know me too well. Of course I wouldn't," laughed George.

The evening passed in a haze of insults and bickering, mostly directed towards Ron and Percy and from Fred and George, respectively.

After dinner, Hermione found herself wandering the grounds of the Burrow. The combination of Mrs. Weasley's food and the smoky game of Exploding Snap being played in the living room always left her a bit groggy, and she needed to clear her head.

She let her feet go where they may, not really thinking about direction, and eventually she ended up at the cave where she and Fred worked on their sled. They'd left it there after the race; Fred would come back later to wrap it in tarps and suspend it in a tree, as he did each year to protect it. The sight of the sled made her think about what Fred had said earlier.

He was right, she realized, she certainly did complain about sledding a lot for someone who enjoyed it as much as she did. It was the adrenaline, definitely, and it was of course the attention and congratulations she got when she and Fred inevitably won. But, she had to admit, the time spent with Fred was nice too. She hadn't spent much time with him at Hogwarts or gotten to know him at all outside of the time spent in groups at holidays. Only now, as she'd been working at WWW as a result of being paired with Fred for the sledding competition, had she begun to understand him a bit better.

She could tell he was motivated to succeed. And, looking at the sled which he later was to diligently cover in tarps and levitate into a tree, she knew he took great care in working on things important to him.

In the midst of her thoughts, the man in question approached behind her.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Hermione whipped around, her hand going towards her pocket for her wand, but she softened when she saw Fred. "Sorry. War reflexes."

"I know," Fred leaned himself on a rock next to her. She could feel his warmth, only slightly, but it cut through the chill of the summer evening.

Hermione thought for a moment. What was he doing here? Had he been on a walk as well and had happened to stumble upon her? Or had he been specifically looking for her? Bravely, she broke the silence.

"You know, I have yet to thank you."

"For what?" Fred asked curiously.

"I know you were never fond of me at school. I was always telling you off for things, and just generally being a bit of a pretentious bookworm."

"No," Fred interrupted, "maybe you were like that the first year or two, but you did change."

"Well," Hermione blew off the compliment. Was it a compliment? She wasn't sure. "Ginny put you with me for this competition, and I thought it would go terribly. I hadn't been your biggest fan, and you hadn't been mine, although we'd been civil. But you've been nothing but kind to me. And you've helped, a lot more than I thought you would, and so I just thought I owed you a thank you for how you've treated me. And that, you know, maybe we can be friends."

Fred was silent, and Hermione grew nervous. She'd said too much. But he spoke up then. "You made that comment earlier, how you always knew my motivation was attention, especially from girls."

"I'm sorry for that," Hermione interjected. "That was out of turn, and I was wrong. I know you're more than that."

"Well, it was true, in a way," Fred turned his head towards her. "The last couple of years we were at school, I did have my eye on a girl, and I was trying to impress her."

"Was it Angelina? You always seemed fond of her, going to the Yule Ball with her and everything."

"No," Fred chuckled. "I liked her, but never more than as a friend. No, to be perfectly honest," he paused, "I wanted you to notice me."

"Me?" Hermione was taken aback.

"Yeah, you know, like you said, all you knew about George and me was that we liked to prank people, and that we broke rules, and I wanted you to think more of me. I didn't want you to think that that was all I was. So yeah, I did use our products around you to impress you, but not to make you think I was a prankster. I wanted you to be impressed by the magic."

"I was impressed by the magic," Hermione admitted. "I just didn't want you testing on first-years."

"Well, if I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't. They just wanted a few Knuts, and we were testing all kinds of mysterious ingredients on them. I mean, we'd tested products extensively before, but still, they were just kids."

"You've grown, I see."

"I have. I'd test on teachers instead. You know, slip potions into their morning pumpkin juice. Maneuvers like that."

"No, you wouldn't," Hermione smiled.

"I wouldn't, you're right." Fred paused, then decided he had better go for it. "I liked you, you know."

"Really?" Only then did Hermione notice how close they really were, how each time she'd moved closer to him as the night got colder now meant that they were almost touching.

"I did. To be honest, I still do."

Hermione had no words. Fred (and George) was the one that all the girls at Hogwarts had wished would like them back. And now, here he was, doing just that.

Fred moved off of the rock, and, scared he was leaving, so did Hermione.

But Fred didn't leave, as Hermione had feared, instead he took her hands in his. Except for the noise of nocturnal insects, the silence around them was deafening. And its potential to be filled was frightening.

Fred began, "you were always beautiful. Even if you didn't think so. And you were smart, and you weren't sort of mindlessly chasing after me. You had this façade of studiousness and all things serious and scholarly, but I knew there was something under that. You were so much more than you seemed to be on the outside. You still are, you know."

Hermione wasn't breathing.

"I always wanted to spend more time with you. And now that I've gotten the chance to this year, I've been waiting for the right time to tell you…I don't think I could go forever without you knowing."

She took the plunge. "Me, too."

It was dark around them, now, they'd been outside for a while. But Hermione could still see his face, looking back at her in the night.

"You said you wanted to show me that you were more than your pranks. I knew that you were. You'd done well showing me that much. I knew you were intelligent, and that it took great magic to make your products the way you did, and you really cared about your business. I admired that you had so much purpose. I never did; I wanted good grades, but I never had a goal in mind. That's why I'm working for you now. I couldn't figure out what I wanted, and you were kind enough to give me place to land until I did."

Fred stepped closer to her, moving his hands behind her back. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"I'm grateful for that. I mean, I want to find a writing job, or one at the Ministry. That's nothing against you or your business, it's just not my life goal, you know. I hope I don't stay at your shop forever." Hermione was rambling, she knew that.

"To be perfectly honest, Hermione, I hope you do."

Before Hermione could think of a response, Fred moved his right hand to her cheek, pulled her in, and his lips were on hers. The moment was more than she'd ever dreamed it could be, and her hands were on his back, and in his hair, and she wanted this to be the only thing she ever did. But all good things had to end, and he pulled away from her.

"We'd better get back. They'll be wondering where we were." He began walking.

"Yeah," responded Hermione, disappointed. Did this mean nothing to him?

But he took her hand until they could see the lights of the Burrow, and then he let go.

"Tomorrow is Monday. I'll see you at work," he told her.

"Yes, you will." Hermione replied.

"And then I'll see you at dinner, I hope."

"I didn't know we had plans."

"We do, Hermione, catch up."

"I don't think I will. You're always miles ahead."

"Well, as you said, my actions aren't predictable, but my motivation is always you."

She had nothing to say to that, only that she'd see him at dinner tomorrow.

And they walked to the Burrow together, neither really believing what had just happened.

A/N: Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Please let me know what you thought in a review. And, check out my profile page for my other completed stories. Have a lovely rest of your day, or good night!