Title: Thought Process
POV: Hermione, but the first section is third person from Fred's POV.
Disclaimer: I wish! J.K. Rowling owns everything and anything about this story
Author's Note: Hey Everyone! I got 9 reviews and It's been 2 chapters already… It would warm my heart if you reviewed. Tell me why you like it; tell me why you hate it. Or just tell me to update. Anything goes! This chapter is more fluffy stuff. Chapter 4 will have more legit problems and intense stuff. I promise you. Much love!
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AN: This first section is third person POV with Fred. It will go back to Hermione once the section is over.
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Fred was mad. In fact, he had never been so angry. He couldn't believe that Malfoy would do that to Hermione. No wonder she had been so touchy since the battle. And now this stupid marriage law was making her have sex with yet another person she didn't love. At least she didn't have to shag him for another six months. Maybe they could even fall in love during that time. Fred could picture himself loving her. He needed to talk to George.
Last night had gone perfectly. But the things he had found out… Fred shuddered as his anger swept over him again.
"Gred! How art thou non-holiness?" Fred heard Georges voices say from behind him.
"Fine. Just perfectly dandy."
"Ah. Who woke up on the grumpy side of the bed? Oh yeah! How was last night? Did it go perfectly? Did you shag her yet? Or even snog her?" George continued to joke. Their conversation continued into the twin's room. The plaques on the door reading: Fred, the funny one; George, the funny-looking one.
"Forge, I think we have a problem."
"Gred! Whatever could it be?"
"I'm falling for Hermione Granger", Fred said with a certainty in his tone. A long silence followed. George just looked thoughtful.
"I guess I saw that coming. She's smart and can actually be funny. Not to mention she has changed a lot since her bookworm days. That girl is fine!"
"Watch it, Georgie. That fine girl is mine!"
"Awww… Little Freddie is finally falling in love. Shall I buy you a pony for that accomplishment?"
"Shut up!" Fred said with a blush. With a blush? Since when did Fred Weasley blush? But the rosy pink color proved to all that Fred Weasley could blush.
"So you still didn't answer my earlier question", said George, sitting on his bed, "Have you shagged her yet?"
"Merlin, George! I haven't even kissed her. And when I do shag her, I'm never going to forgive myself."
"Never able to forgive yourself for shagging her? Why? It's just a shag. Since Hermione's good at everything, you don't need to have any worries about a bad shag", George said with a smile in his voice.
"You don't understand, George! She was raped!" Fred shouted with a hint of desperation in his voice. Good thing their room was sound proof. George's laughing demeanor changed to angry in a matter of milliseconds.
"What the fuck?" George said angrily, "When? Who? How?"
"For those answers you'll have to ask Hermione, I don't really want to reveal any more of my bride-to-be's secrets", Fred said a little sadly.
"When I find out who it was… I'll… I'll… I'll kill him!" George shouted. Fred didn't doubt that anything he said wasn't true.
"That's the problem. Hermione just wants to forgive and forget", Fred said. Now he was getting angry.
"Well that's complete bull."
"Believe me, George. The loser would already be dead if it were up to me. But it's not. It's up to Hermione and I'm going to try and respect that", Fred said.
George nodded and the two brothers sat silently, secretly planning revenge on the man who raped Hermione.
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AN: Thanks for reading so far! Now it's back to Hermione's POV (first person). And I plan on keeping it that way the rest of this chapter. Enjoy.
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I lay on my bed, reading 'Hogwarts: A history' for the thousandth time. The letters swam in front of my eyes, making the text confusing. I was having trouble concentrating. I couldn't stop thinking about Fred. I wasn't quite sure if I liked him or not.
"Hermione?" a tentative voice broke up my thoughts. I whipped around expecting to see Fred, but my hopes were quickly crushed. It was Ron. He was standing there with his hands in his pockets and a sheepish expression on his face.
"Yes, Ronald?" I replied, trying to make my voice sound haughty. Ron looked slightly afraid.
"I- I came to apologize. I've been a huge git. It was really horrible what I did. I didn't mean for you to fall, I swear! I was just so incredibly angry at everything. You want to know who I got paired with?" he gave a dry, humorless laugh, "Loony Lovegood. She's crazy! I don't know how I'm going to live with her! I was so certain that you and I would be spending our lives together. Then when I found out if was Fred… I wasn't thinking straight. I over-reacted and I am really, really sorry."
My expression softened. He sounded so sincere and sorry! And I hated staying angry at either of my best friends. I wasn't quite ready to forgive him yet. I got up from my head and took two steps towards Ron, keeping my expression neutral. I reached out to his face as if to caress his cheek, he looked hopeful. Then I slapped him with all of my might. His head snapped to the side from the force of it.
"I guess I deserved that, didn't I?" Ron said, wiping his mouth. I nodded. He reached out for a hug and I gladly hugged him back.
'I'm ready to forgive you now", I spoke into his ear. I felt Ron relax.
"No hard feelings?" Ron asked nervously.
"No hard feelings", I replied. Then with a smile, "Well maybe a little."
"HERMIONE, GINNY, RON, HARRY! I NEED YOU ALL DOWN HERE IMMEDIATELY! OWLS FOR THE LOT OF YOU!" Mrs. Weasley screamed up the stairs. I hope the letters aren't even more bad news. I don't think I could deal with yet another marriage law. Ron and I looked at each other with alarmed expressions. I walked over to the door and we both headed downstairs.
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Everyone was sitting in the living room. Each person was holding a letter, Mr. Weasley silently handed Ron and I our letters. I walked over to the loveseat where Fred and George were sitting. George scooted to the left and Fred scooted to the right. I sat in between the two boys; Fred looked at me with a smile.
I began to open my letter and soon enough, everyone followed. I opened my letter carefully, as if it were a bomb about to explode. I heard several gasps from the people in the room who have already read the letter. I ignored them and carefully pulled the letter out of the envelope.
Dear Ms. Hermione Jean Granger,
You have already received news stating who your husband will be. In the letter, the ministry told you that you must have at least two children. That rule has been changed, however. We will be giving you the minimum amount of children in this letter. Due to people just producing the old minimum amount of two, we have changed it so every couple has a different amount.
Your amount is: 3 children.
You must produce at least one child within the first year of marriage. But you must have sexual relations once a week for the duration of your marriage. The ministry will be putting charms on your marriage bond so that this will happen.
We must remind you that failure to follow these rules with result in stripping of magic and 5 years in Azkaban.
We thank you for your patience. Enjoy your new life partner!
Sincerely,
The Minister of Magic
Ministry of Magic
"What?" I exclaimed, "They can't re-enforce that. I am not having sex once a week! I can't! I can't do it!"
Fred squeezed my knee comfortably. The rest of the Weasley's only took a quick look at me before returning to their current problem. Ron was an ashen color, Harry and Ginny had their heads bent together and were talking very fast. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were also talking, though their heads weren't bent quite so close. Charlie kept re-reading his paper as if hoping it would disappear. Percy had a smug look on his face and George was staring off into space.
"Well, let's just have a look around the circle to see how many kids everyone has to have", Mrs. Weasley's voice startled me. Harry and Ginny looked up.
"Ginny and I are to have four kids", Harry spoke with an almost happy tone. Well, at least he got to marry the girl of his dreams. Ron stood up, still ashen colored.
"Luna and I are to have…" Ron gulped, "Eight kids."
"Lisa and I are to have five kids", Charlie said shakily.
"Penelope and I are to have two kids", Percy spoke. He was still smug. Two kids? How'd he get so lucky? Maybe he had some pull at the ministry. At least I didn't have to have eight kids. Poor Ron!
"Angelina and I are having three kids", George said nonchalantly. Oh Merlin, it was my turn now. I looked at Fred, silently begging him to speak. Fred caught my expression and gave a slight nod.
"Hermione and I will be having three kids", Fred spoke with a tone I hadn't heard before. He was obviously trying to sound like he couldn't care less, but I could hear his excitement underlining his words.
"At least none of you have to have eight kids! What am I going to do?" Ron squealed. He looked very distressed. Most people in the room looked distressed. I was distressed. I couldn't have sex… My last experience had been memorable but not in a good way. I wasn't ready to let someone see me in my underwear, let alone shag.
"I'm leaving. I need to think", I spoke up. Fred caught my eye and nodded. No one else seemed to care that I was leaving. I walked out the door without a second thought. I had a lot to think about.
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I lost track of time. It had definitely been several hours since I left; I wasn't sure what time it was though. It was starting to get dark, but I didn't feel like going back to the burrow yet. Suddenly, a crack sounded from the bush behind me. I spun around and whipped out my wand.
"Who's there?" I called out into the night. I heard another crack from the bush, "Come out or I'll hex you!"
"Calm down, 'Mione! It's just me!" George emerged from the bush with a guilty smile and his hands in the air, "Mom sent me to tell you to come home. Dinners ready."
"How'd you find me?" I spoke up.
"I used a tracking spell, pretty simple compared to some magic", he replied with a slight grin, which quickly changed to a frown, "You know the night of the battle when Fred almost died? I saw him die! I felt his presence leave! Then you did some fancy magic, screamed and his presence was back. Nobody noticed but me. I've wondered since then, how did you save him?"
I froze. George wasn't supposed to know anything about that. But if it had to be someone, I'm glad it was George. I knew he wouldn't tell my secret, especially since it involved Fred.
"I used a spell", I said vaguely. I still wasn't quite sure if I should tell him or not. George looked at me with an apprehensive face.
"You're avoiding the question. Was it illegal or something?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure it was illegal but that's not why I'm not telling you. It's sort of like a Horcrux."
"What? You made Fred into a Horcrux! How could you? Who'd you kill?" George yelled, livid with anger.
"Of course not! How could you even say that? I said 'sort of'! You really want to know what happened?... I split my soul in two. I basically gave Fred half of my life force. Instead of killing someone, it just takes the part needed from the caster. In a very painful way. We have a connection now; it's supposed to become more pronounced in a month or so. That's all I know about it", I finished. To my surprise, George's eyes were sparkling with tears.
"You did that?" his voice cracking, "But why? You were never close to Fred! Why'd you do it?" I promised myself I'd never tell anyone why. But I felt like I owed George an explanation.
"Don't interrupt me, or I may not be able to finish…" George nodded and I began, "I had a twin. Her name was Lisa, but I called his Lissy. She wasn't a witch, however. And the magic began to force us apart once I started at Hogwarts. When I was 14, I went home for the summer. She was constantly spending time with her new friends and she barely hung out with me anymore. On one of the few days she wasn't with her friends, we went hiking to a waterfall together. At first, we had fun catching up with each other. Then it turned into an argument. Lissy got angry and ran off. As she was running by the river, she tripped and fell in. I screamed and ran after her but it was too late. She was swept over the side of the waterfall. When I ran down the rocks to the pool at the bottom, I saw her lifeless body floating face down towards me. It was only then that I realized I had my wand with me and I could have saved her if I had remembered. I have NEVER felt so alone and afraid. So scared, so hopeless. I felt like I was missing half of me. I drown myself in my studies to try to ease the pain but it only helps the pain fade. It will never truly be gone. I didn't want you and Fred to go through that kind of pain. Fred could have been your Lissy. I did it for myself as well. By saving Fred, I could finally forgive myself for not saving Lissy", I finished with tears pouring down my cheeks. George quickly pulled me into his embrace.
"Thank you. I can't thank you enough for saving Fred. I am so sorry about Lissy. I can't say I know completely what it feels like, but I'm here if you ever need to talk", George said while rubbing soothing circles on my back. This is the last time I'll cry about Lissy, I promised myself, and she wouldn't like all these tears over her.
"Why didn't you tell Fred about his death? Or anyone else?" George spoke up suddenly.
"I didn't tell Fred because it would tear him apart to know he died and we were sharing a soul. I don't want him under that kind of stress. I didn't tell anyone else because I don't want them to look at Fred any differently."
""I guess I understand. I won't tell anyone, I promise. About Lissy or Fred", George replied with a sincere expression. I was still in his embrace.
"Won't tell anyone what?" I heard Harry's voice say, "And Hermione, why are you sitting in George's lap?"
I suddenly realized I was still in Georges lap. I jumped up and backed away several feet. We both started blushing.
"It was nothing. George was helping me feel better", I told Harry.
"Alright… Mrs. Weasley sent me to tell you that you are both very late to dinner. She expects you home immediately."
We set off for dinner and an angry Mrs. Weasley.
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AN: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to try to update every Thursday just FYI. I am begging you to please review. I refuse to do blackmail, but I'm sad because I don't have very many reviews thus far. Constructive criticism is welcome, as well as compliments or just a simple "UPDATE!". Reviews keep me going and it only takes a few seconds. Pretty please?