Mr. Wrong by WeasleyForMe
Fred/Hermione- They are involved together, but aren't they completely wrong for each other?
Thanks to Beneeta for beta reading this for me and for being filled with amazing ideas!!
Chapter Eight
"I think I'm ready for your advice," Fred told his twin.
George smiled sympathetically, "Wow, has it gotten so bad that you're willing to listen to me?"
Fred nodded as he took a seat on the couch and cradled his face in his hands. "She went out with Lee again. I just saw them when I went out for a walk."
George pulled a chair up in front of the couch and took a seat. He was silent for a long moment while he mulled over his thoughts on the matter. Finally Fred looked up expectantly. "Advice please?" he prompted George.
George sighed. "Well, I'm not going to sugar coat this for you… it's for your own good," he began. "Fred, you've gone and really buggered things up this time."
Fred groaned as he leaned against the back of the couch. "Yeah, I think I'm aware of that," he replied sarcastically.
George just ignored his comment and continued. "I'm sure you've noticed already, but Hermione is 'the whole package'. Just try to name another girl you know that is smarter than a book, has a good job, can make you laugh, and looks exceptionally hot every day." George paused expectantly for effect. Fred looked dismal as he shook his head, acknowledging that she was in fact one of a kind, and George continued. "By some miracle, you were lucky enough to actually have her. If there's any way for you to get her back now, you need to give her more respect. Hermione deserves someone who will do more than just Apparate to her flat to have a good shag with her. She deserves some romance in her life, and to be honest with you, Lee is probably treating her a damn sight better than you had been." George stopped when he noticed that Fred looked exceptionally miserable.
"I really fucked up, didn't I?" Fred mumbled as George nodded.
"Yes, you did. However, I'm going to help you win her back," George said with a smile.
Fred looked skeptical. "How? You just told me that Lee is a better match for her."
"I never said that. I said that Lee is probably treating her better than you had been. There's a difference. I think you could make her much happier," George said as he clapped a hand on Fred's shoulder.
"She's perfect, Georgie. How can I make her happy?" Fred asked.
"First, you need to apologize and tell her that you miss her. She's not going to know how much she really means to you, unless you say something," George said.
"Ok, I can do that," Fred said, his face brightening slightly.
"Then, you need to do something so sweet for her that she won't be able to turn you down."
"I can handle that, too," Fred said with a small smile.
"And finally you need to make sure that she knows you aren't ashamed of her. You could actually take her on a date, you know," George said with a smirk.
Fred was smiling now as he started to think of how he was going to win her back. Then he realized that one huge barrier stood in his way: Lee Jordan.
Fred had spent most of the day on Sunday trying to figure out what to do. George was right; he really had buggered things up this time. If he wanted to get Hermione back, he had a long way to go.
On Monday morning, Fred was feeling rather antisocial at work, so George offered to work at the cash register while Fred stocked the shelves. Just as he was imagining ways in which he could deter Lee's advances away from his Hermione, he heard someone walking down the aisle in which he was working. He turned to see who it was.
"Hey, Fred," Lee said as he walked toward him.
Fred felt his body grow tense as he stood and muttered, "Lee. Can I help you?"
Lee was looking around rather nervously as he traced his toe through some imaginary dirt on the floor. "Uh, yeah. Well, you see I'm actually here to talk to you about Hermione."
Fred's eyes were wide and attentive as he set all of the boxes he was holding onto a shelf. "What about Hermione?"
Lee finally met Fred's eyes. "Look, I know that you two have some sort of history together."
"You do?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, it was pretty obvious after we ran into you on Saturday. Hermione wears her heart on her sleeve, so to speak," he told his friend.
Fred stared at him for a moment. "Yeah, we had some history together, but I ruined everything."
Lee sighed. "I should have noticed that you had feelings for her by the way you had been talking about her so much, but I thought that you and she were just friends. You should know that I think Hermione still has some feelings for you." Fred's eyes lit up immediately. "After we ran into you, she got all weird and Apparated home."
Fred could barely speak but managed muttered, "She still has feelings for me?"
Lee chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I said. Try to keep up with me here." Fred's face almost broke into a smile. "I just wanted to tell you that although I think Hermione is terrific and I really like her, I'm going to back down. I think it's obvious that you aren't over each other." As Fred smiled, Lee said, "Now, don't get ahead of yourself. I don't think any other guy would give her up so easily, but you've always been a good friend of mine. So don't screw this up again. She's one of the most amazing girls I've ever met."
Fred smiled brightly. "I can promise you that if I can convince her to come back, I'll never let her go again."
Hermione spent the entire week trying to forget how pathetic her love life was. It was one thing that she managed to lose her relationship with Fred, but it was quite another that she couldn't even date Lee as a result. She felt terrible. Ginny had stopped by each day to see if Hermione wanted to have lunch, and each day she made up an excuse to avoid her. She also stopped replying to owls from Ron. She just didn't want to be around any Weasleys, but in reality, she really missed Fred.
On Friday afternoon, she was ahead of her work schedule, and she planned on skipping out early to spend the weekend eating chocolate ice cream and watching sappy movies. As she was staring at her clock, the intercom buzzed.
"Miss Granger, your three o'clock appointment is here," came the voice of the receptionist.
Hermione quickly flipped through her calendar. She held down the intercom button and said, "I don't have a three o'clock appointment today. They must be here for someone else."
After a pause, her voice rang out again. "No, he's definitely here to see you. I'll send him back."
"Fine," Hermione said absentmindedly as she released the button. The receptionists were usually more organized than this. Hermione would just have to find out where this man was supposed to be and send him on his way.
A moment later, someone knocked lightly on her door and then opened it slowly. When Hermione looked up from her desk, she felt like the air was being squeezed out of her lungs. Fred cautiously stepped into her office and closed the door behind him. As he neared her desk, she noticed he was carrying a beautiful white flower. She looked up into his clear green eyes and noticed for the first time that they appeared to hold a deeper emotion than lust or desire.
"Hi," Fred whispered with a small smile.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione demanded as her heart pounded erratically. She wasn't in full control of her voice so it wavered slightly, but she managed to stand without shaking too much.
"I just needed to see you, Hermione. I need to tell you that I'm sorry. I've been a complete arse, and I would do anything to hear you say that you've forgiven me for treating you so terribly," Fred said, his voice laced with sincerity as he clutched the flower.
Hermione gripped the edge of the desk, desperately glad that the piece of furniture was separating her and Fred. "Did he just apologize to me? Am I hearing things?" Hermione questioned her sanity. She cleared her throat before she answered him. "I don't think you should have come here," she managed to say.
"I do," he told her adamantly. "I miss you so much, Hermione. I never imagined we would fit together anywhere except in bed, but now I think otherwise. I miss you; not your body, you. I miss waking up with your hair tickling my face. I miss you visiting the shop. I miss your laughter and losing arguments to you. I miss you more than I thought I possibly could."
Hermione couldn't respond. She could barely remember to breathe as his hopeful eyes steadily held her own gaze. She wanted to believe him more than anything. She wanted to trust Fred. She realized that she was wrong about having a strictly physical relationship. She had wanted to be with him completely all along. But she couldn't trust herself to fall for him again, just to have him ruin her bruised heart entirely.
After she didn't respond, Fred's eyes lost their hopeful gleam. "I understand if you can't forgive me," he said as he set the pure white flower on her desk in front of her. "This is for you, so I hope you'll accept it. It's a Casablanca Lily," he said sadly as he looked at the flower where it rested atop her paperwork. "I know Casablanca is your favorite film, and I thought it was pretty. It reminded me of you." He looked up to see Hermione's eyes glistening with tears. He couldn't stand to see the pain that he caused her as it took over her pretty face. He began to back toward the door; he needed to leave before he fell to his knees and began to beg her to forgive him and to take him back. With his hand on the doorknob, he said, "If you can ever forgive me, you know where to find me. Goodbye, Hermione." He opened the door and was gone before he saw Hermione begin to cry.
Ahhh! It's so sad! And the flowers? Aww! (If you want to see what the lily looks like, check out the link in my profile!) Will Hermione take him back??
There is only one chapter left!! Leave a review so I'll be more motivated to finish writing it!