Chapter Three

The next couple of days were spent cleaning up and taking inventory. The more Hermione went over their books the more impressed she became. Fred and George had been meticulous in their record keeping. She wondered what might have happened if they had applied this same discipline to their schoolwork.

Once they had a good idea of what items needed to be replaced, they compiled a list of the ingredients that would be required and began to arrange the downstairs lab so they could begin production. They decided to plan on reopening the shop at least a week before the new term started in order to take advantage of the crowds that would be on the street purchasing their school supplies.

They quickly found a good working rhythm. Fred would describe how he and George had done a particular task. Hermione would note it down and occasionally make a suggestion for improvement. Sometimes Fred would override her but quite often he found that her ideas made a lot of sense and he was more than willing to incorporate them.

They continued in this manner, day after day, steadily building up the inventory they needed.

Early one morning Fred came down the stairs to the lab and found Hermione already sitting at the workbench, intently reading an article in The Daily Prophet.

"Anything interesting?"

Hermione held up her hand while still concentrating on the paper. Fred recognized her 'I'm not done reading' face and waiting until she finished, folding the paper and placing it on top of her bag.

"Sorry. There was an article about Viktor written by that vile Skeeter woman. I was just making sure there weren't any more scurrilous lies about myself or Harry in there." Hermione snarled. "Nasty little insect!"

"Hmmm..." started Fred.

Hermione shot him a furious look and Fred raised his hands. "Don't get me wrong! I agree that the woman is evil but you have to admit that, at the time of the Tournament, most of us assumed you were going to end up with either Harry or Ron." Fred placed his hand on his chest, mimicked a rapidly beating heart and put on an exaggerated voice. "Romantically speaking that is."

Hermione snorted. "Please!"

"Oh, come on!" Fred teased. "Be honest now. Can you look me in the eye and say that you never fancied either of them?"

Hermione squinted and pursed her lips to one side. "Well...I have to admit that I did find Harry pretty adorable when I was a first year. And then I thought I fancied your little brother for a while - until the Yule Ball episode."

"Ah, yes! The Yule Ball!" Fred shook his head. "Georgie and I were both surprised that you spoke to Ronald again after that."

Hermione giggled. "I will admit that it was a pretty substantial blow to my ego to learn that Ron didn't even consider me as a female. If Viktor hadn't been around I don't know I would have ever recovered."

"Hm! Viktor!" Fred puffed out his chest and adopted his best Viktor Krum impression. "Who turns himself into shark to rescue his Herm-a-ninny!"

Hermione crumbled up a piece of paper and threw it playfully at Fred's head. "Stop! Viktor was very sweet!"

Fred reached to retrieve the paper from the floor. "So - hear from darling Viktor anymore?"

"Funny you should ask," said Hermione. "I got an owl from him just yesterday."

Fred was surprised to feel his neck and stomach muscles involuntarily contract upon hearing this news. "Really? And what did 'Viktor' have to say?"

Hermione began searching the desk for a quill. "He had heard about what happened. He wanted to check and see if I was okay."

"So...We should expect 'Viktor' to come flying in any moment now to "reacquaint" himself with his lady love?"

Hermione burst into laughter. "Hardly! The note came with a photo." She reached over, took The Daily Prophet out of her bag and unfolded it to show Fred a specific page. "Of Viktor and his new fiancée."

The picture in the paper showed Viktor Krum standing next to a quite formidable looking woman who was described as being one of the premiere dragon handlers in Bulgaria. Hermione tilted her head and considered the image. "They seem much better suited for each other, don't you think?"

"Yes." replied Fred firmly. "Yes, I do."

Hermione folded the paper and returned it to her bag. "So - what about you?"

Fred looked at her in confusion. "Me? I don't want to marry Viktor."

A volley of paper wads whizzed by Fred's head. "Come on! You can't expect me to pour out my personal life without a little quid pro quo!"

Fred ducked. "Don't know what to tell you."

"Okay - let's start with whatever happened with you and Angelina Johnson."

Fred smiled nostalgically. "Ang? She was great. We had loads of fun for a while but over time we both realized that it was George she was really crazy for." His expression changed. "They were together for a while, you know. Wrote a lot while we were gone. Then..."

Hermione cast her eyes down, regretting that she had brought up the subject. "I'm sorry, Fred. I shouldn't have asked."

Fred shook his head. "Nah. It's okay. Just feel bad for them is all. The future that didn't happen." He paused. "Their kids would have been fantastic Quidditch players."

They sat quietly contemplating this for a moment. Finally, Fred took a deep breath. "Right. Back to work?"

Hermione smiled and began rolling up her sleeves. "Back to work."