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Chapter Three: Infatuation

"Fred? Fred?" A quiet voice asked. He recognized it, but couldn't place it. It didn't matter, as long as the voice allowed him to return to his world of subconscious. He had been having a particularly enjoyable dream about Hermione where she was-

"Fred!" The voice said, and this time he properly woke.

"Eh? Whaz goung un?" He slurred sleepily.

"The movie's over." This caught his attention.

"Moveh?" He managed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The sight his eyes were met with were those of his beautiful brunette companion, arms still on his trying to wake him.

"You wanted us to watch Star Wars? That movie." Suddenly it came back to him. Ron. Hermione. Plan. Date. Couple. Valentine's Day.

"Oh." He replied intelligently. Hermione cracked a smile and began disentangled her limbs from his, shaking them to return feeling to her extremities.

"When did this happen?" He asked, gesturing to their entwined figures, also starting to stretch.

"When I fell asleep." Hermione responded with a small smile.

"Are you hungry? I can whip something up if you'd like. It's almost dinner anyways." The clock on the wall confirmed this and he stood up to accompany her to the kitchen.

"I'm sure you can't be worse than Percy- Sweet Merlin my stomach was doing summersaults for a week!"
He confirmed with a happy smile.

xoxoxoxo

"Fred! What did you add? Good Godric please tell me you didn't leave it on high the WHOLE time?" Hermione ran around the kitchen in a panic. The Ministry had offered her a large sum to compensate for her losses, but she knew it couldn't make up for the hole in her heart. Instead of splurging it like Ron, or starting up a business like Harry, Hermione decided to donate the entire sum to the Department of Magical Creatures. She had once foreseen a happy job there, but instead worked as a specialist healer for Magical Creatures. She enjoyed her work and how helpful she felt when doing it, so she didn't spend much time in her flat. It was mostly used for sleeping and preparing food, so it was a little tight on space. That meant that Hermione had ample reason to bump into Fred by 'accident'. However, smashing her nose into his chest while turning around was not a pleasant experience, and with him trying to wave his wand and put out the fire on the stove as well as not run into her, she partly regretted not expanding her space. That resulted on him landing on Hermione and leaving the brunette winded.

"Oh Hermione! Are you alright? Here let me help you." Fred fretted over her.

"I think we have more pressing problems." Hermione said, picking herself of the ground with his outstretched hand.

She ran to the table and retrieved her abandoned wand, regretting trying to make pasta the Muggle way. With a quick swish of her 10 3/4 inch dragon heart string, she put out the fire and silenced her muggle alarm.
The kitchen, now void of anything too dangerous, was filled with the sound of labored breathing.

"Oh Salazar! Did I do that to you? Come here, love, and let me give it a look."

"Do what?" Hermione asked, moving forward anyways.

"You've a small cut on your jaw..." He explained, examining her closely.

"It doesn't hurt, I didn't even notice! Don't worry about it Fred." But he pulled her hand and lead her to her washroom despite her protests. Fred had spent much time at Hermione's after the War had ended, and that was when she first noticed her attractions. But Ron, who she had secretly liked for years, had finally noticed her. So she plastered on a smile and said she fancied him too.

It wasn't that Hermione was a pushover, she was a Gryffindor for a reason, but Hermione was just so confused and tired after all the fighting that the war had left in its wake so she didn't argue. After all, how would one go about rejecting someone for their older brother? When Hermione had ended things with Ron, she was worried the other Weasleys might hate her, but they had seen it coming. Sure they hoped the pair would work, but Hermione wanted something that they knew Ron couldn't give her- freedom. She needed working at odd hours and cooking microwave meals for one and reading with a cup of tea at three in the morning when the nightmares were bad. Ron needed someone to constantly be paying attention to him, always affectionate and smiling. She wanted a life of her own, not as a trophy or something to look at and be at your beck and call

With Fred, he gave her space. The pair had become friends (once they realized the family had been mourning over an unconscious Fred- not a dead one) and Hermione sat down on the edge of her tub obediently enough as he rummaged through her first aid kit. Fred simultaneously made life clearer and more confusing, and she loved it. She patiently watched him grow tired of trying to establish what muggle equipment to use and instead decided to use magic.

"This might sting a bit, love." Fred warned, kneeling down in front of the tub. She nodded her understanding, and clenched her jaw.
A warm calloused hand took her face and turned it slightly to get a clearer angle. When she had fallen, a rough bit of tile had caught the edge of her skin, leaving little more than a scratch. But Fred still spent a moment casting charms to ward off infection and to clean the insignificant wound.

"Honestly, Fred- it doesn't hurt. It's not a big deal." She tried again.

"For you, Hermione, it couldn't be a big enough deal." He said quietly. The usually articulate bookworm was left positively speechless, simply enjoying the physical contact they had. Hermione didn't know what to say, so she settled with searching his eyes for a sign that he meant it.
He met her eyes, which she saw filled with lust, and she swallowed. No sound escaped her lips, and the tension in the air was tangible.
Fred was kneeled before her, and Hermione sat on the tub with a leg on either side of him. They slowly moved closer, unconsciously, until they were less than two inches away.

Hermione's eyes widened at their proximity, as a thousand thoughts went through her head. Why was he doing this? Was it some kind of joke? Were there cameras catching every second? What if-
Hermione skillfully ducked her head, avoiding Fred's mouth and eyes. A pregnant silence stayed in the bathroom, as Hermione sat there avoiding his questioning (yet embarrassed) gaze awkwardly. Fred stood up slowly, and Hermione followed.
"Thank you for the lovely time Hermione, but I probably should be making my way back to the shop." Fred lied.
"Of course. It was my pleasure. I have some reports I probably should be finishing up soon anyways." Hermione lied.
"Well, best let you get to it." Fred said, and apparated out of her flat without another word.
He sat on his couch at home, thinking about why he had done that.
Hermione returned to her couch at home, thinking about why she hadn't.

Neither sought out the other the next day, each choosing instead to wonder what might've happened had they kissed.

A/N: Sweet Merlin. Wow. First Fremione story, really nervous, and bam! All you fabulous people come! Special thanks to:
DkCrush (who followed), Sims addict (who followed), Iceprincess22454 (who favourited and followed), chrisliz (who followed), cosmoGirl666 (who followed), kk1999 (who followed), Emmaline Wood (who favourited) and finally anubisfreak (who followed). Wow, you guys are the best. No reviews, but hey- you guys still rock! Sorry if I missed anyone. Thanks a ton, wasn't expecting that much positive reinforcement. Please review!

-ForensicGeek2-