Disclaimer: You know the drill

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

A/N: Hey everyone, it's me, again. Ha, ha, I just had to update again tonight. I was on a roll, so I posted this as well. I hope you like it! It's quite a lot longer than the last one, so hopefully this will make it up to me. Also, I'm thinking of making a One-Shot Fred/Hermione. Please check it out! ;)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hermione walked down to breakfast the next day, her hair in two loose plaits, her face drawn. As she walked up to the Gryffindor table, Ron stood up and brushed past her, his face beet red, the tips of his ears flaming. Hermione sighed and went to sit beside Harry, who looked up at her questioningly, passing her a plate. "Thanks," she mumbled, grabbing a piece of toast and buttering it, before looking up again. "So…" said Harry, "are you going to tell me what's up?" She opened her mouth, her face full of indignation before Harry interrupted, saying, "Don't try and deny it Hermione! It's kind of obvious. Now, fess up."

He watched as his best friend's face crumpled into a mask of pain, her eyes welling with the now seemingly, ever-present tears. "He… last night… he…c-c-confessed," she managed to sob out, before flinging her head down onto her arms, upon the table. Harry reached over and hugged Hermione, pulling her to his side, letting her rest her head on his shoulder, wetting his robes with her tears. "What did he, uh, confess, 'Mione?" he asked, looking down at her. She looked up at him, feeling his gaze and smiled weakly. "Do you want all the gruesome details?" she asked, laughing slightly. "Sure," he said, grinning. "I'm here for you, you know that right?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to think of what Ron may have 'confessed'. She nodded and hugged him once more. "Thanks, Harry," she whispered into his shoulder, before relaying last night's events to him. Both of them had their backs to the doors leading out of the hall, and didn't see a certain, tall and gangly, redhead, disappear behind them. Fred walked away, his face masked with a look of pain and jealousy. He walked, heavily, back up to his dormitory and proceeded to collect the books that he needed for the next day and sat on his bed, putting his face in his hands. What have I done? He thought to himself. He hated seeing Hermione hurting so badly, but the fact that she had gone to Harry and not him, hurt him deeply. It was his entire fault really, if he had just told Hermione about how he felt straight away, maybe he would be the one holding her close, not Harry and she wouldn't be crying. He sat there, contemplating that for a while, before hearing noises in the corridor and got up, grabbing his books and stuffing them in his bag, before swinging out the door, replacing his grimace of pain with a mischievous grin, as always. He couldn't let anyone know how he was really hurting.

Hermione couldn't concentrate that day. He thoughts kept roaming back to Fred, while Harry sat next to her, loyally. He had grown all protective and sat with her at lunch and dinner, taking her side for once, instead of Ron's. "He was bang out of order, 'Mione," he had exclaimed to her during breakfast, after she had told him what Ron had done. "You were too right to push him away like that! Do you want me to talk to him?" At this she had shaken her head vigorously, she didn't need to bust of their friendship anymore.

At dinner, Hermione kept her head down as Fred past her, accompanied by Lee Jordan, and they were laughing raucously about something, Fred's head thrown back, his hair glimmering in the light, his eyes alight. He glanced down at her and their eyes met, both of them still as they memorized each other's faces once more. He grinned slightly, making Hermione blush, before she broke their gaze, returning to her book. Harry had watched this silent interaction with a look of amusement on his face. He remembered them the night before, Fred holding Hermione, her sobbing into his chest. He saw Fred looking tenderly down at her, one hand holding her face while the other caressing her hair. Harry remembered as Hermione had looked up at him, her face filled with joy as Fred held her in his arms. Harry grinned and looked sideways at Hermione, watching as she concentrated on her book very hard, well aware of his gaze. "So, Fred, huh?" he asked, testing his courage. She whipped around to stare at him, her eyes wide and surprised. "What do you mean?" she asked, obviously in denial. He smirked and said, "Well, it could have been worse. Sorry I interrupted you two last night!" She gaped at him, before her eyes narrowed and she hissed at him, "Don't you dare mention anything to anyone!" Her cheeks were flushed slightly and she slammed her book shut. "And so what if I do like him?" she asked. "Nothing's wrong, it's just, maybe you should make sure Ron knows that you're off the market." He laughed, his black hair shaking around his face, his bottle-green eyes filled with glee. "But it's okay, you're secret's safe with me!" he whispered, before getting up and making his way out of the hall, leaving Hermione fuming in silent rage.

"Hermione?" she heard a voice ask and her heart flipped as she turned around.

There was Fred Weasley, his eyes cautious as he walked and sat next to her. "How are you?" he asked softly. She gazed at him, her brown eyes, sparkling. "I'm fine," she whispered back, "has your dear brother cared to say anything to you lately?" she asked, biting her lip, doubtfully. "Hermione!" he exclaimed, "Why on earth, would my brother talk to me? And also, which one?" he grinned, trying to lift the mood a bit. "Probably not Perce, he's a bit of bore, Bill or Charlie perhaps? No they're off in Romania and such and George… well, we won't go there shall we?" Hermione laughed, remembering why she liked being with Fred so much, he could really make her smile. "It's Ron," she sighed, her face falling. Then she told Fred of the nights events, making him exclaim in shock. "Ugh, really? My brother? Ron? You poor thing, the very pinnacle of ickle Ronniekins affections!" She grimaced, swatting his arm. "This is not a laughing matter, he was really serious last night! And from the looks of it, I don't think he is going to forgive me very soon." She glanced over at the end of the table, where Ron sat talking with Lavender Brown and Parvati. "I think he's fine for now," Fred remarked, grinning. Then he grabbed her hand, startling her. "Come with me!" he said and pulled her away from the table and out through the Great Hall's doors. They walked for a little way, Fred never letting go of her hand, before he pulled her into a little alcove off a corridor on the third floor. It was very cramped and there was little space, Hermione had to shuffle a bit to fit in with Fred's gangly body and he had to stoop to look at her. She looked up at him her eyebrows raised as if to say, "What the hell are we doing in here?"

He grinned at her scooted ever closer to her, if that was possible, pushing her up against his chest as he bent down to her eye-level. "Finally, I have you alone! I thought this would never happen," he said, putting one hand on the side of her face. He searched her eyes for a moment, before leaning towards her, their noses almost touching, his breath fanning her cheeks. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned up, her mouth parted slightly, before… CRASH!

The two broke apart instantly, before jumping out of the alcove and looking about for the source of the noise. On the ground lay an ancient blue and white vase, smashed into tiny pieces on the floor. Crap, thought Fred, this doesn't look good. And he was right, for seconds later, Peeves, the poltergeist came whizzing round the corner, his arms flailing and screaming, "Smash, crash, here and there, there are pieces everywhere! WHEEE!" Then he stopped at the sight of the two standing beneath him, their eyes wide. "Oh, look what you've done, now!" he exclaimed before screaming, "STUDENTS! STUDENTS! CAUSING MAYHEM AND TROUBLE!"

"Peeves!" Hermione hissed, before clutching Fred's arm as she spotted Mrs Norris coming the corridor. "Fred, it's Filch's cat!"

Fred chuckled and grabbed her hand, "C'mon, lets go back to the hall, they won't find us there." And with that, the pair raced off, with Peeves screeching along behind them, yelling abuse at their backs. They streaked through the corridors and dashed down the stairs before they reached the hall, to the familiar sounds of clattering knives and forks and talking. They looked at each other for a moment, before collapsing with laughter, tears rolling down their faces, holding each other upright, Hermione clutching Fred's arm, holding him to her. They sat down on the floor and giggled, helplessly, watching people walk past them with scared expressions on their faces. This only made them laugh harder and it wasn't until Angelina Johnson, rounded the bend, that they were quiet.

"Fred?" Angelina asked in surprise, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the two holding each other on the floor. "What are you doing here with her?" she asked, putting emphasis on the last word. Fred looked wildly at Hermione for a second, before getting to his feet and brushing himself down, Hermione following suit. "We, uh, weren't doing anything, Angelina!" Hermione said, gazing at the older girl, blushing furiously. "I, er, better go," she said hurriedly, before scurrying off in the opposite direction, the sound of Angelina accusing Fred angrily, ringing in her ears.

A/N: Hi again, I hope you liked this one. Chapter Eight is coming soon, I assure you, I've almost finished writing it in fact. So tell me if you like it, REVIEW! (The more reviews I get, the quicker I shall update!) ;)

Alie