AUTHOR'S NOTE: IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE BOTTOM! PLEASE READ.
Also, please enjoy this ONE-SHOT in the mean time :) It's just something light-hearted for all the Fremione lovers out there. There's no major romance, all though the attraction is there.
Fred was miserable. His head was pounding, his sinuses were clogged, his body was aching, and his body kept switching to hot or cold every other hour. The only thing Fred hated besides his Mum taking away his WWW products was being sick. Being sick meant having to remain in bed swallowing potions to get rid of the sickness and not being able to work or have fun.
As the sun peaked in through his curtains, instead of pulling his blanket over his head or shoving his head under the pillow, he sat up and wrapped the blanket around his body. Right now, he was extremely cold even though the he and George kept the flat temperature just cool enough for a light blanket.
The floor boards creaked beneath his feet as he made his way to the door. He was in serious need of a Pepper-Up potion and maybe, just maybe, he could get his twin to make a warm breakfast. As he scoured the cabinets for a Pepper-Up and came up empty handed, he decided to bother his twin to see if he had any.
As Fred neared George's room on the opposite side of their shared flat, a familiar buzzing noise filled his ears which caused him to groan. He wracked his brain and tried to remember the events of last night and why his brother would have cast the muffliato spell around his room. He remembered he had started to feel a bit down the night before, heading to bed earlier than normal but not before a giggling Katie made her way into George's room.
Groaning from his body aching, Fred wrapped the blanket tighter around him and pounded on the bedroom door. He might not be able to hear them but they sure as hell could hear him. "Georgie! -cough- Open up!" Fred pounded on the door twice more, coughing the entire time before a ruffled George opened up.
"What? What do you need?" He asked. If it was any other time and Fred wasn't feeling sick as a dog, he would have laughed at the love bites that his twin was quickly trying to cover by dragging a t-shirt down over his head.
"Pepper-Up." Fred mumbled. "Do you have any in your room?"
"No. Sorry. You're going to have brew some up yourself." George said.
Fred groaned, this time from his body aching and annoyance of not having any potion handy when he needed it most. "Can't you make some for me? I feel horrible."
"Sorry, mate," George trailed off when he heard the door to his private bathroom open up. Katie stepped out clad in only one of his button up shirts, hair mussed, and crawled back into bed with a mischievous smirk thrown in his direction. "I'll, uh, I'll.. oh just go visit Mum. She adores all her children and I'm sure she's all stocked up on potions." And with that, the door was shut in Fred's face, the buzzing back in his ear again.
"Some twin you are." Fred grumbled.
He made his way back to the living room of their flat, flopping down on the sofa and curling his legs beneath him. He couldn't breathe through his nose, instead he was forced to breathe through his mouth but that was frustrating him seeing as his mouth was dry as cotton. He thought about what George had said, deciding whether or not he should take a trip to the Burrow. Fred knew that if he showed up sick, his Mum would keep him under her close watch and wouldn't allow him to leave until he was one hundred percent better. Deciding against the Burrow, Fred thought of other places he could go.
Ginny came to mind first but he quickly mentally checked her off his list. Ginny was cozy living with Harry now and if he showed up to Grimmauld Place unannounced, she'd most likely send the Bat Bogey Hex at him, sick or not. She loved her brothers dearly but she was closer to Ron than anyone else in their family.
Ron was second on Fred's list but he quickly checked him off also after he remembered that his younger brother was rubbish at brewing.
Bill and Fleur made the list as well but when he remembered how much Fleur had taken up after his Mum, he checked them off. Shell Cottage had become the second Burrow, Fleur behaving like Molly and always feeding and nurturing those in need. She was likely to place him in a bed and not let him leave until he was cured.
Charlie and Percy were immediately checked off. With Charlie being to far in Romania and Percy working constantly at the Ministry, there was just no way he'd ever be able to ask them.
Fred's last and if he were being honest, the only person he was truly intending to see anyway, popped into his head which caused him to sigh in happiness. Well at least he had a valid excuse to go see her now, didn't he?
Before he could second guess himself and possibly chicken out, Fred got back to his feet and stumbled over to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of floo powder, rasped out "Granger Den", and was whisked away in green flames to his destination.
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Hermione grumbled as she heard the chime from her Floo network go off. It was a Saturday morning and for once in her life, she had decided to not schedule anything and sleep in. Of course the Fates weren't complying with her and now she had an early morning visitor wandering about the first level of her home unannounced.
Hermione, in her child-like tantrum at being woken up on her relaxation day, pulled her blanket over her head and refused to come out. She mentally made a list of the people who would show up announced and what reason they could have for being there.
Molly would never show up without owling her first so she knew that the Matriarch of the Weasley clan couldn't be downstairs at the moment. Arthur was the same, making sure to owl ahead before making an appearance.
Fleur never left Shell Cottage unless it was for one of Molly's dinners and Bill only contacted her via Floo-Call or by owl. Charlie was in Romania and Percy was constantly working so it couldn't be either of them as well.
George, Fred, Ron, Harry, and Ginny never woke up before noon and by the looks of it- Hermione lifted the edge of the blanket up to take a peek at her clock- it was just turning seven. Groaning and wishing bad things to happen to her intruder, Hermione lifted the blankets off of her and padded her way to her bedroom door.
Hermione made sure that her plaid red and black pajama bottoms were decent and that her white cotton tee v-neck shirt was appropriate before she let her intruder have a piece of her mind. She didn't need her wand seeing as the only people allowed in her home were Harry and the Weasley's. Everyone else had to notify her so she could alter her wards to let them in.
She had made it to the base of the stairs, skipping her small library since she knew no-one ever visited her for her books. She peeked in the kitchen, finding it empty, and appeared in her darkened living room. The blinds were shut tight, hardly any sunlight filtering through the cracks of the blinds, and a lone figure curled up on her sofa. Hermione tried to see who it was in the dark but a blanket appeared to be wrapped around the figure. She concentrated her gaze on the shut blinds and within a few seconds, they all magically opened and shed light in the room. She mentally thanked the stars that she had taken time to learn wandless magic.
The figure on her sofa groaned when the light hit his face and Hermione chuckled. Covered from head to waist in a pink blanket was none other than Fred Weasley. And boy did he look like hell.
"Hungover?" Hermione guessed, throwing her concentration back on the blinds and shutting them a bit. She'd never tell anyone but she always had a soft spot for the twins. Fred in particular.
"Cold." She heard Fred mumble. "Or a fever. I don't know which but I feel like sh-"
"I get it!" Hermione quickly cut him off. "George kick you out of the flat or something? He's usually the one who helps you get your health back."
"Katie." Fred mumbled yet again and that was all it took for Hermione to understand. Ever since Katie had became a solid thing in George's life, she was constantly over at the flat and keeping her boyfriend company.
Hermione studied to curled figure on her sofa and figured that he wasn't too comfortable. Grabbing ahold of one of Fred's arms through the blanket, she started to pull him up. "Come on, up you get."
"But Hermione, I'm sick." Fred whined as he tried to pull back. "Can't you just take care of me and let me lie in peace?"
Hermione rolled her eyes after steadying Fred on his feet and started to pull off the couch cushions. "Of course, that's why I'm getting you more comfortable." Fred watched as she stacked the three cushions one on top of the other and pulled a metal bar up. A thin mattress followed suit and before Fred knew it, a makeshift bed was right in front of him.
"Bless the muggles who invented these." He eyed the sofa, well now bed, and watched as Hermione mumbled under her breath while she stared at the mattress- a cushioning charm- and transformed the cushions into comfortable pillows.
Hermione chuckled, gesturing for Fred to lie back down and flipped on the telly for him. She figured that he'd be more comfortable down in the living room where the television resided instead of her spare bedroom where she didn't allow televisions. "Go ahead and get comfortable. I'll get you a Pepper-Up and make some breakfast for us."
Fred happily obliged, even though his body was still aching, and crawled into his bed. He watched as Hermione exited the living room and headed, most likely, to the kitchen. Coming to Granger's was his best idea ever at the moment. He sighed as he moved to get comfortable, his eyes straying over to the telly where the muggle news was currently playing. Hermione had taught him weeks ago how to work the telly but he didn't feel like moving. His body temperature chose that moment to change on him again, this time shooting up and making him uncomfortably hot.
Hermione entered again, a vial in one hand and a plate of eggs and toast in the other. "I figured you'd want something light right now and lunch later." She shrugged. "You can eat while I shower and we'll find something to do while the potion starts to better you."
"Thanks." This was a time that he really appreciated Hermione. If he had to spend all day in bed, he rather it be in the company of Hermione than his Mum.
Fred hadn't really told anyone, not even his twin who he told everything to, but he had a crush on his younger companion. She was brilliantly smart, beautiful in her own bookworm-ish way, and she had a playfully humor side to her when she was comfortable around someone. Fred was just lucky that she felt comfortable around him.
"It's no problem." She assured him. She saw Fred fidget as he was lying down, the blanket no longer covering him. "Weren't you cold earlier?"
Fred nodded. "Yeah. But now," He gestured to his body. "I'm burning up."
"Oh." Hermione mumbled. "Well, get comfortable and drink your potion. I'm sure it'll break the fever in minutes, if not seconds, and eat up."
"Aye, aye, Captain." Fred mock saluted. Hermione chuckled at his attempt of seeming okay but she knew that he was hurting. Fred wouldn't have been in her home this early if he weren't really sick anyway.
Hermione waited, crossing her arms across her chest and tapping her foot on the floorboards of her living room. She wasn't going to leave until she saw Fred take his potion. Even though he was sick, she knew that the twins were sometimes stubborn and wouldn't take any potions until they were practically forced down their throats. When Fred figured out what she was waiting for, her uncorked the vial and down the potion.
Drinking a Pepper-Up potion was the oddest feeling ever. Whether it was a cold or fever, the potion took effect rather instantaneously. Since it was a fever that Fred was currently battling, it seemed as if steam was blowing out his ears and a cooling charm was placed over his entire form. He felt the cold sensation start at his scalp and trickle it's way down to his toes.
When Hermione seemed satisfied, she turned on her heel and headed for the bathroom upstairs.
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After Hermione was freshly showered, she was left tying her hair back into a ponytail as she made her way downstairs and back to Fred. Since she figured they'd be inside all day having a lazy day, she settled for another pair of plaid pajama bottoms, this time they being yellow and black, with another white v-neck cotton tee.
As she drew nearer to where Fred was located, she couldn't help the erratic beating of her heart. If anyone had ever told her in her teenage years that she'd grow up to have a crush on Fred Weasley, she would have laughed in their face and shipped them off to St. Mungos. But yet here she was feeling like a school girl with a secret crush on one of her best friend's older brothers. Although if she were being honest with herself, Ron, Harry, and Ginny knew of her crush but they were nice enough to not tease her about it. Instead of confronting Fred with her feelings, she settled for having his random appearances and cherished the moments they spent together and occasionally flirted.
She walked into the living room to see that Fred had altered the sofa-bed a bit. Instead of lying down, he had magically altered the back of the sofa to rise a bit and leaned against it with legs spread out in front of him. The plate of breakfast that Hermione had left him was nowhere in sight so she guessed that he had put it back in the kitchen.
"Feeling better?" She accidentally startled him.
"Yeah. Loads." He grinned at her when she stepped up beside him. "But I still am a bit sore. Got anything for that?"
Hermione wracked her brain for anything that she might have that would help him but all she had were muggle medicines left. "Only muggle antibiotics." She told him. "They work wonders but they take a while longer to kick in than potions do."
Fred shrugged. "As long as it gets rid of the aches, I'm all for it." Hermione grinned at him but before she could leave to go grab him the pills, he spoke again. "Besides, it looks as if I'll be spending the day here anyway."
Hermione's heart fluttered at his words, a grin accompanying the small blush that formed on her cheeks. Fred saw it and smugly grinned to himself when Hermione had turned her back.
Oh yeah, she definitely liked him back.
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Hermione had given Fred the pills, taking a seat herself on the single sofa chair. Time seemed to pass and before Hermione knew it, it was a little passed noon. She had apologized to Fred for not keeping track of time but he assured it was okay. Besides, the cartoons that he had managed to change the telly to were keeping him amused.
While Hermione got to work in the kitchen whipping up lunch, Fred took that time to explore her living room. He had been over to her home plenty of times but he couldn't recall a time when he had actually taken the time to look around.
Her larger than normal telly sat encased in what appeared to be a wooden cabinet. On either side of the telly, cubby holes were filled with slim cases that all had different names. The only thing that Fred noticed they had in common were three letters at the top of each case that said DVD. Below the telly was rectangular slim box that had a slit in the front, accompanied by different facing arrows and a red light. On the corner, it read DVD Player. All of these things sat directly in front, well a few feet anyway, in front of the sofa/bed.
Two windows were place on either side of the telly that gave a splendid view of the sea on front of Hermione's home. To the right of the telly, the living room opened up to the greeting area where her front door resided. To the left of the telly, the fireplace was in the middle of the wall, a bookshelf standing in the corner that was filled with only moving photographs.
Behind the sofa, the room opened up to the dining area and two hallways; one that led to a kitchen and one that led to her library and a stairwell that led upstairs.
Before Fred knew it, Hermione had summoned him into her kitchen where they shared a delicious lunch of hot sandwiches and soup. Since Fred was just getting over his illness with the help of Pepper-Up, Hermione didn't want to conjure up anything that would upset his stomach. Soup and sandwiches seemed like a safe route.
After the plates and bowls were levitated into the sink, Fred and Hermione made their way back into the living room where Hermione settled herself down into the single sofa chair again and Fred went back to the DVD's.
"Ah." Hermione smiled. "You're interested in my DVD's, aren't you?"
"DVD's?" Fred's eyebrows furrowed together as he threw a backwards glance at his companion. "What are DVD's?"
Hermione nodded to the slim cases that he was looking at again. "Those are. They're CD's that have a movie imprinted on it. Instead of watching a movie on the telly with commercials, they come on a CD with no commercials. You can watch the whole thing without being interrupted." Hermione couldn't believe that she never introduced Fred to her DVD collection. Out of all the times he had been over, she thought that he had seen them and asked about them before.
"Wicked." Fred breathed. "Can we watch one?" Hermione nodded and Fred instantly pulled out a case and showed it to Hermione. The Lion King was being held in front of her face and Hermione couldn't help but giggle. Of course. Leave it to Fred to choose one of the few cartoon movies she owned although she wasn't complaining. The Lion King had been one of her favorites when her parents had bought it for her when she was a child.
Grabbing the case from Fred, he eagerly climbed into a comfortable position on his sofa/bed and watched as Hermione took out the CD and put it into the slot on the DVD player. After pressing a couple of buttons, the screen to the telly went blue and then images started to flash across the screen along with voices and music.
Hermione moved to sit back in her original spot when Fred stopped her. "No way! You're sitting with me." He gestured to the empty spot next to him. Hermione looked hesitant but after further persistence from Fred, she joined him on the sofa bed. She kept her distance, putting a pillow at her side and watched as the previews started to play.
Fred was a tad bit disappointed that she put a pillow between them but he figured once she got comfortable, the pillow wouldn't be there any longer. Besides, he knew that girls liked clutching pillows and they only had three. One behind his back, one behind Hermione, and the one in between them. That pillow was soon to be a goner.
Fred was enthralled by the talking lions. He loved cartoons but this movie was just perfection. He grinned at the music playing in the film and full blown smiled when he heard Hermione whispering along with it. His smile had nothing to do with the fact that Hermione was now clutching the pillow to her chest as she watched the movie in front of them.
Mufasa's death scene rolled by and Hermione thought she heard Fred sniffling. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and couldn't help but pause the movie and face him. "Are you crying?" She fought hard to contain her grin.
Fred glared at her, his eyes full of unshed tears. "That was his brother!" He raged. "And his poor nephew! How could someone want to kill their own family? He's a bastard, I tell you, a bastard!" Fred continued to stare at a speechless Hermione, the atmosphere suddenly tense before they both broke down into loud guffaws. "Merlin, Hermione, I thought cartoons were meant for children? That was horribly saddening for being a muggle child film."
Hermione continued to laugh, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "It is," She admitted. "But it's a beautiful movie."
"Beautiful?" Fred chuckled. "Are you sure we're watching the same movie?"
"Yes." Hermione grinned. "Just keep watching. It gets better." She picked the remote back up and continued to play the movie.
Hermione hadn't lied. The movie did get better, starting with the little lion being taken in by a pig and a meerkat. It kept getting better each time with Simba growing into an adult, the return of his best friend, and finally Simba returning back to Pride Rock and avenging his Father's death. It was beautiful.
"Well?" Hermione inquired. "What did you think?" She stood up to take out the movie and put it away.
"It was brilliant." Fred admitted. "Although I don't think I'd ever show my child that film until he or she was at least a teenager."
Hermione giggled, her eyes catching the clock above her TV at saw that it was fifteen past three in the afternoon. The movie was over and she didn't think she was ready to kick Fred out of her home yet. "Do you fancy another movie?" She asked.
"Of course. As long as you're not tired of me." He replied.
Hermione scanned the titles of each film she had. Fred has chosen the first movie and she didn't know what else he liked besides cartoons. "Do you have any preferences?"
"Preferences?"
"You know," She said. "Humor, horror, action, suspense? Anything you'd like to see?"
"Surprise me."
"Okay. Horror it is." Hermione smirked.
Fred watched at she jumped to the other side of the telly, scanning the titles until she pulled out another case, only this time the cover looked dark and creepy. She set up the movie, the previews started to play and she immediately shut the blinds tighter until the room was almost pitch black. So far, the upside of Hermione choosing a horror movie, was the fact that she sat close enough to him that he was able to drape his arm across the back of her shoulders.
He had his fair share of jumps during the movie and Hermione had eventually curled her body next his but Fred couldn't have been any happier.
Visiting Hermione in his time of need was the best idea Fred ever had. She was truly an angel. An angel in disguise and hopefully one day, she'd be his angel in disguise.
Due to family responsibilities, posting new ideas will be a slow process. ALSO, I NEED YOUR HELP! If there's something you wanna read, don't be afraid to shoot me ideas. For the mean time, I'll only be writing ONE-SHOTS so if you have an idea for a one-shot, suggest it to me. I'll be looking through all ideas and trying to think up some material to hammer them out for you :)
There are many ways to get ahold of me. Leave your ideas in a review, message me, visit me at tumblr: hogwarts- secret- keeper. tumblr. com, or tweet me at: melissaWTF
Until next time..