Chapter 3

Questions and Answers

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"Hermione, I have to tell you something…" Fred contemplated on what to say to the young woman that was sitting in front of him. "Hermione remember that I told you that there was a girl that I thought I might be in love with and that I had been talking to her a lot more then I did before?"

"Yeah, you told me that last night, I might have been half asleep but I still remember."

"Yes well, Hermione that girl…She means more to me then anything, I realize now that I love her with all my heart…" Fred walked over to Hermione and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands. "Hermione, that girl is you."

Hermione was speechless for a minute as she stared at Fred, thinking over what he had just said. "I, uh…I, for the first time, I really don't know what to say."

"Hermione…Will you please be my girlfriend?"

"I don't know Fred, I never really thought about this. I really need to think about it before I answer you." Hermione took in the hurt in his eyes and quickly corrected herself. "It really is nothing against you Fred, I just really want to think everything over before I give you a straight answer. There's a lot to think about."

"I understand, just will you promise to give me an answer tomorrow night?"

"Yes Fred, I will give you my answer tomorrow night."

Fred stood and helped Hermione to her feet. They walked to the door hand in hand and moved to the door. Hermione opened the door to go out and when she did Fred gave her a kiss on the cheek and bid her good-night. Hermione walked back to her room and lay on the bed to think over what Fred had just asked her. This was what she had wanted from him, to be her's and no one else's. But now that it was happening she didn't know if she really wanted him to be with her while she was still at school. Hermione was thinking of the possibility of him finding someone else while she was at Hogwarts. The thought in itself broke her heart. Long distant relationships had never worked out for her in the past, why should this relationship be any different.

As the thoughts ran though her mind she started drifting off to sleep. She thought of how much she knew about Fred and how much she still didn't know. She loved him in her own way but she didn't know how far that loved stretched. Hermione decided to think it over more tomorrow, she didn't have to give Fred her answer until the next night so that gave her plenty of time. Time to be alone, or maybe with Ginny and think it all over and be able to give him a straight answer and all of her reasons.

Fred laid on his bed worrying over Hermione's answer. He didn't know what she was going to say but he knew that if she told him that she didn't like him in the way he had suggested that she was only lying to herself. Fred saw the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn't looking. It was a look of longing, like she knew she wanted to be with him for the rest of her years. And that was exactly how he felt right now. He didn't want to push Hermione into something that she would regret but he hoped that what he feeling for her was how she was feeling for him. Fred drifted off to sleep a few hours later with dreams of Hermione running through his mind.

X

Hermione woke that morning and somehow knew exactly what she would say to Fred. Her dreams that night were about nothing but Fred. She saw them together at Hogwarts with a baby girl. She had red hair and brown eyes, Fred's nose and Hermione's lips. She was a beautiful baby. It was then that Hermione realized that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Hermione saw a lot of things in her dreams that she wished would come true.

That morning she dressed and went down the stairs with a smile on her face. It was a smile that she couldn't diminish, whatever she did and whatever she thought of, it wouldn't disappear. When Hermione walked down the stairs to the kitchen she heard voices that hadn't been there the night before. Suddenly she realized that Harry was to come over that morning. As she turned the last corner coming down the stairs she saw Mrs. Weasley filling Harry's plate with eggs and sausage like he'd never eaten before and from the look of him, he probably hadn't. The prospect of having the entire wizarding world's fate resting upon his shoulders seemed to have finally sunk in, either that or the Dursley's were starving him again.

Hermione practically jumped down the rest of the stairs and threw her arms around him as he tried to eat. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before releasing him and sitting down in her own chair. Hermione saw Fred glare at Harry before she turned to smile at him which made him smile in return. Hermione hadn't really realized how much Fred liked her until that moment when a simple act of friendship made him turn into the much jealous boyfriend material.

A conversation started and filled up the duration of breakfast. Hermione found it wonderful to be back with all of her friends even if they weren't in Hogwarts. She had been watching Fred all morning through the corner of her eye. For the most part he was just staring at her with a smile on his face but there were times when a flash of something would come to his eyes like he was feeling guilty for something, or was it worry of rejection, Hermione didn't know. After breakfast Hermione helped Molly with the dishes and then headed outside for fresh air and the ability to think clearly.

Hermione wanted to make sure she was making the right decision with Fred, she knew she'd always liked him but she wondered how far they could really take a relationship with her still being in school. It was kind of a difficult decision for her to make but she thought, no she knew somewhere deep down inside her heart, that she was making the right one.

X

Fred waited in his room for Hermione, he had barely seen her all day. She had spent most of her time outside with Harry and Ron or in her room with Ginny. He had hoped that he would be able to talk to her before that night but he couldn't get her alone long enough to talk to her. But finally it was midnight and Hermione was going to be there any minute and he would have her answer and hopefully Hermione.

Hermione walked into Fred's room with a smile on her face. Fred got up from the bed and walked cautiously towards her.

"Hermione?" Fred asked.

"Fred you know what?" Fred shook his head, not knowing what she was going to say. "I've thought about this since you asked me last night. And I've decided that I want to be the one to carry your children, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Fred grinned and threw his arms around Hermione and spun her through the air. When he finally set her back down he kissed her passionately. Hermione was surprised at first but soon she got her senses back and started to kiss him. Fred was amazed to find out that Hermione was an extremely great kisser and soon he was leading her to the bed. He gently laid her on the bed and pushed himself against her. As their passion grew they began to take clothes off each other, throwing them on the floor as they went. As the last of their clothes fell to the floor Fred stopped.

"Are you sure that you want to do this Hermione?" Fred gazed into her eyes for any hint of hesitation. When she nodded in approval Fred continued his passionate kisses.

Hermione moaned as his erection pressed against her and she melted into his kisses as he made a trail down her neck to her breast. She felt herself grow wet and leaned into him. Fred grabbed his wand and cast a silencing charm on his room before he slowly entered Hermione. Hermione moaned again as she felt him enter her and soon they were moving in an avid dance that all lovers know. Fred continued to thrust into her as Hermione pushed her body up towards his. Her moans grew louder as she climaxed and at that point was glad for the charm that Fred had cast. Fred's breathing became labored and moaned slightly before giving Hermione a kiss and rolling over to lie next to her.

"That was…amazing." Fred told her as he gave her another kiss. "Hermione, I've never felt this way about anyone before, thank you for being with me and giving me the chance to feel like this."

"You're welcome, but I'm glad you asked me because I feel the same. Fred, I love you."

"I love you too, Hermione." Fred gave her another kiss and pulled the covers up over them to keep warm.

Hermione snuggled into Fred's side and let out a sigh. "What are we going to tell everybody?"

"I don't know, maybe they'll figure it out by how we act. I am allowed to kiss you in public aren't I?"

"Yes Fred, we can act like a couple, I don't think anyone will mind too much, maybe Ron but he'll get over it. He had his chance for six years." Hermione closed her eyes and was content to lay there with Fred and quickly fell asleep.

By three o'clock Fred was shaking Hermione's shoulder to wake her up, which was a difficult process in itself. Hermione stirred slightly and tried to burrow her way back under the blankets and Fred's side.

"Hermione, baby, wake up." Fred shook her one more time and finally Hermione stuck her head out to look into his green eyes.

"What is it? I wanna go back to sleep." Hermione tried to roll over and go back to sleep again but Fred stopped her with a kiss.

"Its three o'clock babe, as much as I would love for you to stay sleeping with me, you need to go back to Ginny's room before she wakes up and finds you gone."

Hermione nodded and slowly got up to start dressing. Fred picked up his clothes and threw them on while watching her, she had started to sway on her feet as if she was falling asleep while standing. Hermione sat down to wait for Fred to finish dressing and when Fred pulled his shirt down over his head he found Hermione asleep again lying contently on his bed. Fred sighed and walked over to the bed where she laid once again. He put an arm under her legs and neck and picked her up to carry her to Ginny's room. Fred walked through the hall until he reached Ginny's door and positioned himself to enable the use of his hand to open the door. When he stepped into the room he saw Ginny look up at him and then at Hermione.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"I found her downstairs on the couch, I figured she'd be more comfortable in her own bed so I brought her up." Ginny nodded as Fred laid Hermione in her bed and walked out. He would have given her a kiss had Ginny not been up but he didn't know if Hermione would want anyone to know just yet.

Ginny watched Fred walk out with a knowing smile. She had known for a while now that Hermione had been going out in the middle of the night. One night Ginny had went looking for her to talk and heard her in Fred's room, she figured out after that night that that was where Hermione was going every night. And she had seen them when they were shopping, how good and happy they looked together. Ginny knew that it was just a matter of time before they got together. Though, it was still kind of weird to think of her brother and someone she always thought of as a sister to be dating but she guessed it wasn't that weird. Ginny snuggled underneath her blankets once more and smiled secretly to Hermione as she fell asleep.

X

Morning came all too soon as the bright sun woke Fred with a painful glare. He rolled over with a growl and slowly started to wake up. Fred sat up with a grin remembering what had happened the night before. Hermione had said yes to him and they had made love for the first time in their relationship. He felt guilty for it being her first time and not being romantic but the guilt disappeared slightly with knowing that she wanted it too. Fred got up and started to get dressed. He had looked at his clock and realized that he had slept in far later then usual, it was past noon when he was usually up by ten. It was luck when Fred went downstairs and saw the family still sitting at the table and his mother still serving breakfast. Fred walked the rest of the way down the stairs and to the table, Hermione smiled at him when she saw him and he immediately walked over to sit next to her. Just as he was about to sit down Fred leaned over and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek and it was then that Molly chose to turn around to look at them.

"What was that?" She asked Fred.

"What was what mother? I didn't see anything." Fred joked, he smiled at Hermione and turned back to his breakfast.

"That kiss, what was that kiss all about?" Molly demanded.

"That was just that mother, it was a kiss. Something that is most usual between couples."

"What! You and Hermione are together?" Ron blurted out, his face becoming red as his anger grew.

"Yes Ronald, I didn't know my personal life had to involve you when someone asked me to go out with them." Hermione told him and just to spite him she moved her chair closer to Fred while he grabbed her hand to hold.

Ron grimaced and turned back to his breakfast, at that point he decided to ignore them for the rest of his life. Hermione smiled at Fred while Molly crooned over them, so happy that the girl she thought of as a daughter was more family then she was before.

X

Breakfast was finished and Hermione and Fred decided to sit in the family room and relax from the night before. They were content to sit in each others arms and lay on the couch talking quietly to each other. Ron hadn't been happy to find out that the girl he liked and his brother were together. Hermione pushed it off though, he had had his chance for six years and hadn't made more of a move then to be a jealous brother figure. Fred wasn't worried about Ron, his reasoning was that if it came down to it Fred could 'beat the shit out of Ron' as he put it. Hermione laughed at his antics for Ron and tried to get him to talk to his brother about them being together. Fred gave in after awhile and went in search of Ron while Ginny sat down with Hermione to talk about what happened last night.

"So Hermione, anything you'd like to tell me?" Ginny asked her when Fred left the room.

"Oh no, not really…" Hermione muttered.

"Hermione…" Ginny warned, letting her know that she was willing to do anything to get information from her.

"Oh fine. I've been dying to tell you anyways. Fred and I have been talking for awhile now, I don't know maybe a week or so. Remember yesterday when we were shopping how we were looking though underwear and stuff?" Ginny nodded with a smile to show her that she remembered all to well. "Well, the reason for that was Fred dared me that he would get me to something that no one would ever expect. So, me looking through underwear that I usually would never wear was something completely unexpected. And now, me going out with your brother would be another thing that no one would ever have expected."

Ginny smiled to herself and suddenly thought of something that would put a blush on Hermione's face. "So 'Mione, exactly how much have you done with my dear brother?"

"Do you really want to know Ginny?" Hermione tempted, having a glint in her eye.

"Yeah, I wanna know, exactly how much have you done with my brother." Ginny started to tease back, thinking that the innocent Hermione that she knew would never rush into anything and boy was she wrong.

"Well, last night when I told him yes to being his girlfriend he kissed me. It was kind of romantic, at first he hugged me and spun me around like we were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years and then he kissed me slow at first but then it became more intense and passionate. And then he led me over to the bed and we made love for the first time."

"WHAT!" Ginny shouted, she was more surprised then anything. Her Hermione, the best friend that she had for years, the innocent one of their entire group, had had sex before she did. Ginny always thought of Hermione as the type of person to get married and then have sex but never before marriage.

"Quiet Ginny. Please I don't want everyone to know you're the only one I've told and the only one that I was planning on telling. Please keep this a secret Ginny, I'm begging you."

"I will Hermione. I just never thought that you would do it before you got married. You had talked about that before, when I was talking about going all the way with Harry."

"I know, I never thought that I would ever do it before I got married but Fred's brought out a side that I thought I'd lost a long time ago when I first came to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I know how that feels. Kind of like you're trapped inside yourself but your still moving towards the things you want and then it completely changes in one simple moment."

Hermione nodded as Fred walked back in shaking his head and muttering to himself. "Didn't go well I'm guessing?" Hermione asked him as he sat down next to her.

"No baby, it didn't. He blames me for taking the girl of his dreams out of his hands even though I explained to him that he had his chance and lost it for all the times that he was being stupid."

"Oh yeah, that's a real good standing argument, Fred." Ginny laughed. "Tell him he was stupid and missed his chance is a real good way to stop him from hating you."

"Well, I didn't say it quite like that but that was the general idea, yeah."

Hermione snuggled up next to Fred and laid her head on his shoulder. "Oh well, I'll talk to him later and try to get him to get over it. He might open up a little more to me and understand better. But for now I'm kind of tired."

"Oh you should be Hermione." Ginny laughed before she got up and left the room completely, once again leaving Fred and Hermione alone to talk.

"What'd she mean by 'oh you should be?'" Fred asked smiling down at Hermione.

"I told her what we did last night and how much fun it was to be spontaneous. She couldn't believe it but at least she's happy for us."

"Hmmm… I have a thought, if it was so fun and spontaneous for you how 'bout we try it again tonight when someone can actually stay awake after it?"

"I think it sounds like a plan…"

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A/N: Okay I know, it's mean to leave you on a cliff-hanger but I'm stuck on what I should do next and I really want to get a new chapter up for this story. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner but with school going on I haven't had much of a chance to type or think of much of anything else plus the unfortunate holidays that I just finished cleaning up for (talking about Thanksgiving). Yes I know it's already past Christmas but trying to clean up after my family in a cold house is almost impossible. Anyways, hopefully I'll have the new chapter up soon and I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year. Please review it makes me feel so much better to know your input and if you have any ideas that you think would fit this story please tell me. My plot line is still up in the air for changes and additions so any input will help and I will try to put in as much as I can as long as it fits in with my basic plot line. Please and thank you!

Bleeding Black Roses