It was hard not to notice the noise coming from the small house. A muffled crash, some yelling, another crash, and perhaps an odd word or too that muggles had never heard before. A moment later, another shatter.
Inside laid many broken dishes on the kitchen floor. There were few dents and burns in the walls, perhaps from a rogue hex that had barely missed the head of a certain red-head. Pictures were either askew or on the ground. Some pillows were leaking their stuffing. It looked like chaos had swept inside the house like a tornado, leaving the rest in ruins.
Through the disgruntled hallways, back into the living room, stood a couple. The girl had bushy brown hair that had hastily been pulled back into a ponytail with a black tank-top and red plaid pajama pants on. She currently was pointing a wand and a very dark glare at the other person, who had his hands up in a sign of peace.
Earlier that Day:
"What the hell? What's going on Fred? How did we…end up…you know!" She screeched, staring at him incredulously. Fred was staring back, shocked beyond words. Hermione began straightening her shirt as though suddenly embarrassed. She switched to running her hands through her ponytail and breathing heavily. Fred pushed himself up from the couch, his eyes still wide as he stumbled towards her.
"Hermione…" He murmured, extending his arms to her. Hermione gave a little yelp and shoved herself away from him, hugging her arms to her chest, staring at him.
"What the hell did you do to me you git? What was it! Some sort of Instant Obsession spell while I was sleeping? Or did you spike my orange juice! YOU SPIKED MY ORANGE JUICE, DIDN'T YOU!" Hermione cried hysterically, whipping her wand out from a pocket in her pajamas and pointing it at him menacingly. Instinctively, Fred began to back up, holding one hand up and the other snaking to his own pocket and pulling out his wand. Hermione's eyes widened.
"Okay Hermione…just calm down…and I'll explain everything…alright?" Fred asked nervously, trying hard not to tremble. There was a roaring fire in Hermione's eyes that sent chills down his back. It became clear to him that you should never try to trick Hermione Granger again.
"Okay…good. So here's the story; George gave me a Love Test Potion…no, put your wand down and listen to me…okay, so George gave me a Love Test Potion because after that kiss at the bar…I just wasn't sure how you felt about me. I'm too much of an idiot to ask you myself, so I slipped the potion into your orange juice this morning." Fred said quietly, his wand at his side and his hand resting on the wall, keeping his eyes on Hermione's at all times to anticipate any sort of attack. But she kept still, yet the glare stayed just as violently in her eyes.
"You gave me a Love Test Potion!" She asked slowly, her voice getting louder with each syllable. "That's the fourth time you've taken advantage of me Fred!" She bellowed, taking a step towards him. This time however, Fred didn't back off.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When else have I taken advantage of you?" He asked, somewhat angrily. Hermione scoffed.
"Well, first you kiss me after our interrogations, and then you beat me with an umbrella in an insane attempt to save yourself from a so-called burglar. Next, you kiss me again after letting me get drunk just to prove that you had a girl who would waste her time with you. And now you give me a bloody Love Test!" Hermione screeched again, advancing another step. Fred's defiance flared and he too took a step towards her.
"What the hell! The first kiss was to shut up some damn interrogators that were really starting to annoy us both. Secondly, the whole umbrella thing was mistake. It was self-defense anyways, so you can't really blame me! And besides, you seemed pretty content when I laid you down in your bed after carrying you all the way up the stairs! You think I had fun doing that! Let me tell you, you are NOT the lightest person in the world!" He fought back, shouting now too. Hermione gasped and withdrew a little.
"How DARE you!" She shouted in return. Fred gave a humorless laugh.
"Oh yeah, and you're the one who got drunk Miss I-Can't-Hold-My-Alcohol! It's not my fault that you're a lame drinker!"
"Oh yes Fred, I'm sure someone with as much experience at irresponsible drinking, such as you, would understand!" Hermione said sarcastically. Fred shook his head, taking another step towards her and holding up his wand.
"And by the way Hermione, you're not that great of a kisser when you're drunk. Actually, you're not a good kisser at all!" Fred yelped as a red blast of light erupted from the brunette's wand, narrowly missing his arm. Hermione stood seething in front of him. He could almost see the flames coming out of her ears.
"I…can't…believe you!" Hermione screamed. "Oh wait, yes I can! Oh, look at me, I'm Fred Weasley! I like to act stupid and idiotic so that girls will laugh at me! Ooh, whoopdie-doo, look at me! I'm drowning in my own stupidity!" Hermione's sarcasm actually did kind of wound Fred, but only for a moment. In the next instant, he shot a jet of blue light at Hermione's form. She ducked, and it crashed into the pile of unwashed dishes behind her. Hermione gave him a low laugh.
"Oh well done Fred! Now you won't have to do the dishes! Oh wait, you never DO!" At the end of her sentence, she too let out a blast of multi-colored light. It collided with Fred's chest, sending him flying into the bookcase. He tumbled into the shelves, which of course caused their contents to crash down on him without mercy. Growling, he shoved himself up and stalked back towards the smirking brunette.
"Hermione, we both know you're the one who likes to lie in the middle of books all the time, not me!" He said with a voice that dripped with a bitter, honey-like sound. Hermione raised an eyebrow. A moment later, Fred pointed his wand at the books that lay in a puddle on the floor.
"Accios!" He cried, and with a fling of his wand, ever single book was flying through the air at Hermione. Her eyes widened but she recovered all too quickly for him.
"Protego!" She responded, and the book bounced away from her and fell with multiple thuds back to the ground. "You always did have bad aim Fred!" She said acidly. Fred narrowed his eyes at her.
"You've got some dust on your shoulder Hermione, let me wash it off for you! AGUAMENTI!"
"Whoops Fred, you fell down. Allow me to help you up! WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"
The spells continued to fly through the house, crashing into lamps and walls but never their intended target. It seemed as if the spells always missed by a mere centimeter…almost looking like the two wizards were purposefully missing the other.
And now, here they stood, Hermione at one side of the ruined living room, Fred at the other. Hermione had her wand clenched in her hand, while Fred's lay a couple feet away from a perfectly performed Expelliarmus curse from Hermione.
"I still can't believe you!" Hermione choked, holding back tears. She didn't know why she was crying however; was it because of that nasty bruise that was forming on her shoulder? Ye, she'd go with that.
"How can you even say that Hermione! I apologize for wanting to be sure that you had feelings for me!" Fred replied, glaring at her. Hermione shook her head.
"Why would it even matter?" She asked quietly, the hurt overflowing in her eyes. Fred stared back; how do you answer that? Why did he care? Why? In a pure, honest truth, did he really like Hermione that way?
No, he didn't want to believe it. Hermione and him…they were just so different. She was uptight and strict; he was goofy and carefree. She was an A student while he had been happy for a C. She was beautiful and kind…and he was…he just wasn't.
Fred almost smiled sadly at the conclusion. His lips turned up at the end a little, and he lowered his hands. He stared at the ground; his face was an unreadable emotion. Hermione breathed heavily and sniffed back another tear. However, she did hiccup. Fred looked up at her, took one step so that he was in front of her. He then slowly ran his rough fingers over her smooth, pale cheeks, brushing away the tear-trails.
"Too soft…" He muttered, giving his fingers a quizzical look. Then, with a brief glance at the house, he apparated away and Hermione fell to the floor, sobbing.
AN: THIS IS NOT THE END! I swear, I'm already working on the next chapter. Oddly enough, this one if by far my favorite. So, due to popular demand and a few rather funny reviews calling me evil, (cough cough, you know who you are, cough cough) I'm just kidding, I love you al beyond any words could describe. So thank-you to all who read and reviewed, I owe you! May the force be with you!