Chapter 10

They made it back to the dental office unscathed.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Fred asked as soon as they were safely inside the doors, wards put into place. "We can't just serve you up to these people."

"You heard them. They don't want to hurt me. They want me to help them."

Fred stared at her incredulously. "By poisoning my family? By destroying our world? Bloody hell, Hermione, I thought we were done with all of this."

"I know," she said, taking a deep breath to try to calm her increasing nerves at seeing Fred's reaction, "but how else are we going to get them to trust us? We have to find out what is going on if we are going to find George."

Fred sat down in one of the dental chairs, accidentally hitting a button causing the back to begin to move back, clearly startling him. It was a sight that Hermione may have found comical if it weren't for the tense situation.

"If they are magic," he asked, "why do they want to destroy our world? Is it some other form of magic we don't know about? They did keep referring to us as enchanters, which isn't a term I commonly hear. Maybe they are like another breed or something."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know, but don't we owe it to your twin to find out?"

"Yes, I have to find George, but we can find another way. I have already asked enough of you."

"I've already been asked far more. Maybe this is my calling, constantly fighting the people out to destroy the people I care about."

Fred looked up angrily. Oh, geez…"

"What?

"I just realized I'm no better than my git of a brother and Harry, always putting you in harm's way and excepting you to get them out of it. "You deserve more than that. You deserve happiness, Hermione. Settle down. Start a family. In peace, not having to always look over your shoulder."

"Who am I going to start a family with, Fred? I am single. If anyone needs to be fighting it is me. No relationship, no parents, siblings…nothing tying me down. Nobody left behind if something happens." She swallowed to keep the tears that she knew would come if she let them. Now was not the time for pity parties.

"You know that's not true," he said softly.

"Isn't it? Everyone else is settling down: Harry and Ginny, Ron and Lavender, hell, George and Angelina when we find them. The Weasleys are special, but I am not really a Weasley. I am on my own."

"You know you are as much a part of our family as I am," he said, standing up and coming closer to her. He leaned forward and gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Taking both of her arms in his he looked at her sternly, studying her face for a moment. "You don't have to have red hair to be a Weasley, Hermione. You're family. More than me, probably… Mum did always seem to think of George and I more as neighbors." He grinned at her, before succumbing once again to the sadness brought on at the mention of his twin's current predicament.

"It's not the same, Fred. Yes, I am comfortable with you and your family has been nothing but wonderful to me since the moment I started at Hogwarts, but it's different now. Everyone is paired off, getting married, engaged, and I suppose that would leave me as the crazy aunt? Oh, Merlin," she groaned, her face in her hands, "I even have a cat."

"I'm not paired off."

Hermione stared at him in shock before rolling her eyes. "You are always paired off."

"What?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised. "When?"

"Every girl at Hogwarts loved you and George. Especially you. You were the playboys. Please don't pretend like you didn't know that."

"Well, that was at Hogwarts, Granger. I haven't been to Hogwarts in… well, it's been a few years now."

"And the rich, successful businessmen have a hard time finding dates, do they?" she teased.

"Harder than you'd think. I'm not the person I was at Hogwarts. Yes, we still sell jokes for a living, but there is a little more to me than that, too."

"I think I know what you mean. There's a little more to me than the prudish little bookworm, as well."

"Well, here's to no more stereotypes then, okay? Let's just focus on finding George."

"Which leads us back to where we started. I have to go in there. You can go with me if you are so worried about it."

"Right, because they are going to let a Weasley in there. Weren't we just discussing the red hair thing?"

Hermione just shook her head and smiled, holding up another vial of polyjuice potion. "Who says you have to be a Weasley?"

Fred grinned as he caught up to her thinking. "So who am I playing? Please not your Dad again, besides being a little uncomfortable, did you realize he had an arthritic knee? Made running a real bitch last night."

"No, I think you need to be someone even more unrecognizable. Maybe even my boyfriend. You would need to be really close to me if they are going to be willing to let you in."

"Wouldn't people know if a member of the Golden trio had a secret boyfriend?"

"Maybe not if I have been keeping him in hiding. And if he was a muggle."

"What? No way! How am I going to protect you if I can't use magic? And these people can sense magic anyway. No way. Not happening."

"I don't think they'll be able to pick up on it when you're right beside me. Besides, I think it would make them more likely to believe I will join their cause, if I am dating a muggle. They seem to be very sympathetic to non-magical folks."

Fred sighed. "I guess you are right, but any funny business and the wand comes out, pretend muggle or no."

"Yes, Fred."

"And I can't be caught dead in some of those outfits some of those muggles wear. We have to find a cool one. A snappy dresser. Really good looking."

"Yes, Fred," Hermione said, growing more amused by the minute.

"And you have to promise you'll stay near me. I'm not letting you do this alone."

She smiled softly at him, realizing for the first time that he really was concerned for her safety and not just George. It was endearing.

"Yes, Fred."