Fred was pacing again, walking to-and-fro through George's living room, the phone lying on the table some three feet away. Nervously, his finger were glued to his mouth as he bit his fingernails, glancing at the clock, then the phone, then the floor every to seconds about.
Yesterday had been a near disaster. No, it had been a disaster. Fred had gone and told Hermione that he loved her! And on an answering machine no less! What kind of fool would call their wife and tell them that they love them on a bloody answering machine?! Oh right. A cruel voice snipped inside his head. You do.
Groaning for the fourth time in the last two minutes, Fred ran his hand through his hair, rubbing the almost-scarlet strands. What if Hermione didn't call? She was supposed to call though! You can't not call someone after they call you and say they love you!
But then again, 'I love you' on an answering machine isn't too romantic. Sighing, Fred returned his hand to his mouth and eagerly began chomping on his fingernails again.
Then, it happened.
The first loud RING hadn't even ended before Fed had leaped over to the glorious piece of technology and picked it up, panting with excitement.
"Hello?" He said, and waited for the other line to respond.
"Oh…hey Katie. No, George isn't here right now. Yeah, I'll tell him you called." He said, the ecstatic wave of newfound excitement pulsing out of him with every word he spoke. He waited for Katie to stop talking.
"Whoa, whoa whoa-Hermione called you?" He asked incredulously.
"What did she say?" He asked, sounding more and more like an eager little boy. Quickly, he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, put the phone on speaker and waited.
"Oh you know, she just told me hello and that she thought we should grab some lunch or something sometime. She sounded quite odd though, kind of dainty almost. Anyway, she didn't sound much like herself so I asked her if she had heard from you. She said, 'yeah, but I'm not sure if I can talk to him right now'. I'm sorry Fred, I thought you were really over her." Katie said sadly. Fred scoffed a little as he finished taking notes.
"Yeah, well…" He trailed off. Katie would know what he meant.
"There's something else." Katie said again, her tone dipping into a more serious nature. Fred listened more closely.
"Well…I don't want to be the one to tell you this, Fred. But she…well Hermione told me that she had stopped by the ministry and she picked something up from there." Katie sounded unsure of whether she could continue. If it would've worked, Fred wanted to strangle the words out of her and the phone.
"What? What did she pick up?" He pushed. There was a short intake of breath on Katie's end, and then she answered. The phone fell to the floor before Fred had even apparated.
Hermione sat at home, if you could call an empty house that, cutting up some carrots. She didn't know what she was going to sue them for though…maybe she'd make some soup and have it ready for another one of George's surprise visits. That thought made her roll her eyes.
Ever since Fred had left, Hermione had become a crabby, snappy person. She was often lonely and used sarcasm in everything she thought of. Though she'd never admit it, she missed everyone's company. Harry, Ron and Tonks had all tried calling her, but she had disabled the phone line after Fred's last call. Lupin and Luna had even tried to visit her, but she pretended that she hadn't been home. Still, Luna left her a gift-basket with cookies, a couple editions of the Quibbler, and a very odd-looking pasta that had scared Hermione out of her wits until it had touched her mouth. Then, ignoring her solitude for a moment, she wrote to Luna asking her to bring more.
Sighing, she put the knife down to grab some beans out of the refrigerator.
It was then that she heard a small 'pop' come from the living room. Hermione's brow furrowed at the thought of someone apparating into her house. After all, she had been thorough in her decoration of anti-trespasser spells that protected the house against Unwanted Visitors. To be able to get inside, you'd have to be wanted inside. That's why all her friends used to call before apparating in. Hermione began walking around the hallway that led to the living room, where a few coughs could be heard.
She tip-toed, abandoning the beans on the counter as she walked towards the noise. Stopping a mere centimeter from the living room, she took a deep breath and peeked around the corner.
There stood Fred. He was brushing off his jeans and his white tee-shirt, muttering something about how stupid he was for landing in the fireplace. Hermione blinked several times, trying to make this mental hallucination disappear. Not only did that fail fantastically, but even better, Fred turned around and called her name.
She couldn't help but yelp a little when she heard his voice. That sweet, sweet voice that had sung her to sleep on rough nights, and had laughed at her numerous times when she tripped over something in the shop. And that voice that had so cruelly left her to rot in her own house.
Still, Fred heard the small exclamation, and he instinctively turned towards her hiding spot. Marching over, his hands balled into fists. He looked angry.
"Hermione! Come out now!" He bellowed, waiting for her to hear. Hermione decided she might as well talk to the hallucination, seeing as how he, or rather it, was the only thing to talk to. Plus, it was like an exact copy of Fred.
"Fred?" She said gently, and Fred's eyes softened. He reached out, as if to touch her, but withdrew his hand and held it out in front of him, business like.
"Hey Herms. I'm back!" He said with little enthusiasm. Hermione stepped forward and shook his hand gingerly, like his touch had burned her. His hands felt the same.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him, releasing his hand almost immediately. Fred's eyes hardened again and he too dropped his hand.
"I came here to ask you this; why?" He stated, folding his arms across his chest. Hermione threw him a quizzical glance.
"What?" She asked innocently. Fred wanted to turn around and not look at those pleading chocolate eyes. He hadn't missed the slight lack of color in them.
"You know what I mean. Katie told me about what you got at the ministry." Fred said accusingly. At this, Hermione dropped her gaze and leaned against the wall.
"Oh." Was all she said, and it was with a longing look at the floor to swallow her up.
"Yes, 'oh'! Hermione how could you?!" Fred asked, stepping closer to her so that she'd have to look into his eyes. His blue, no, his periwinkle eyes.
"I'm sorry, Fred…but I thought-I thought that's what you wanted." She said. Fred's eyes flashed.
"What I wanted, how could you know what I wanted if you never bothered to call me back after that message?! I told you I loved you, Hermione! How could you go get divorce papers after you heard that?!" He asked, bewildered. Hermione wouldn't look at him still. She was taking huge breaths as if to calm him and herself down. It wasn't working apparently, because when she looked back into his eyes, she was crying softly.
"I…I d-didn't think y-you meant it." She cried. Fred shook his head fiercely, staring at how unbelievable this girl was.
"How could you even think that Hermione?" He asked. "Look, I know this had been an arranged marriage, but that doesn't make it all the less real! I loved you. I still love you. I want every single part of you to love me too, but since obviously that can't happen-"
"Why not?" Hermione interjected, a newfound ire glinting in her eyes. Fred gaped at her but swallowed his shock.
"You're the one who wanted to get a divorce if you went and got the bloody papers." He said, putting his arm against the wall. Hermione shook her head.
"I got those papers because I thought that's what you wanted." She said softly. Fred was shaking, trying to stay in control. This is what Hermione wanted anyways; for him and her to finally be able to say good bye to each other. It didn't matter what she said. It was her who got the divorce papers, not him. She hadn't even called him at all! At least he tried to make contact.
"This was what you wanted." Hermione whispered. It was then that Fred lost it.
"Damnit Hermione! How many times do I have to tell you?! I. Love. You! Will you never understand?!" He backed her into the wall, his arms cornering her. He put his hand on either side of her shoulders. Hermione whimpered and slid down a little.
"I love you Hermione! I've loved you since you fell asleep in my arms that night. They way you…we. The way we fit together. I love you. I want you there, always…with me. When I wake up, when I lie down, when I fall, when I get in trouble with my mum…I want you to be by my side, holding my hand. Because that's all I need from you Hermione. You. Just you." He finished, breathless. Never taking away his arms, he stared her down as she slid down the wall, her eyes never leaving his as she hit the ground and began to cry.