Hello :) so most of this chapter is credit it to GardenOfSnow :) who helped me a LOT through this AND made this story happen XD

We have maybe two-three chapters left :)

Chapter Three

A Warning

Hermione shivered as she closed the door behind her and the house enclosed her into its somber embrace. She was cold, she was nervous, but most of all, she was scared – frightened, even. Merlin, she was here to warn Fred about his death.

Her head was so engrossed with thoughts that she almost ran straight into the dining room, where a dozen redheads plus a younger Harry and a younger Hermione were sitting around the table.

"Well... Daddy's back!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed and the room erupted with cheers and laughs. Hermione smiled to herself as she saw Fred discreetly put an arm around the younger Hermione.

Hermione suddenly felt a sadness overwhelm her. Back where she belonged, there was no Fred. No Fred to hold her hand, no Fred to kiss all her troubles away, no Fred to make her happy. Hermione grabbed onto the door handle for stability – she didn't know it was going to be this hard, seeing Fred again.

Hermione had to spend no less than an hour behind the door, leaning on the wall and entwining with its cracks, hiding and waiting, while the joyful chatter from the dining room echoed in her ears. Finally, everyone poured out of the room. Hermione stayed in her spot, stiff and silent, being careful not to be seen

The gap through the door was just about visible, and Hermione caught sight of Fred and her younger self.

"I guess this is better than you reading to me." Hermione heard Fred say, and she didn't have to see his face to know he was smirking. "Right?"

Hermione moved closer and saw the two of them in an embrace.

"Or I could just read to you, you know." A smirk played on the younger Hermione's lips. The younger Hermione crouched down, picking up an old, worn-out book from under the chair she'd been sitting on.

"You seriously bring a book to every family meal?" Fred scoffed. "Nah, I think I'm good with the position we were in a minute ago." He lowered his voice. "I'm sure you liked it too, eh, Mia?"

"Oh, shut it." The other Hermione rolled her eyes, picking the book up.

"You wound me, Mia." Fred said. "Ow!" Fred rubbed his head, which had just been hit with a book.

"Serves you right." The younger Hermione grinned, pulling from the hug. "Nightie night, don't let the bugs bite."

Fred pouted. "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"

The other Hermione just tutted before brushing her lips softly against Fred's. "Goodnight."

"Your book?" Fred asked, picking up the tatty novel left on the table.

Hermione grinned, waggling her finger in his face. "Time for you to buckle up, be a good, clever boy and read."

Hermione shrunk down when her younger self skipped out of the kitchen and made her way to the stairs. Hermione then turned back to Fred, who had picked up the book and started flicking through the pages carelessly. He then yawned, before standing up again, probably ready to Apparate to his and George's shared bedroom. Hermione ran in before he could and shut the door behind her, causing Fred to turn around confused.

Fred squinted at Hermione's straighter hair and taller figure. 'Hey, Mia… forgot something?' Fred furrowed his brow. 'You look different. Mia.' He then burst out laughing, startling Hermione. 'You know, Hermione, I didn't know our age gap was worrying you too much. Of course, you look very pretty but seriously, you shouldn't have used an ageing spell – I'm sure you'll regret it in the future! What if you end up-' Before Fred could finish the sentence, Hermione had got the very same book he'd been looking through and hit him over his head; it was like second nature.

Fred shook his head. "Twice in a-"

But before Fred could finish, Hermione smothered him in a bone-crunching hug as she just came to think about how much she missed Fred. She missed every single thing. She missed his hair, she missed his cheeks, she missed his freckles, but most of all, she missed his lips.

"You okay there?" Fred asked.

Hermione burst into tears. She got out her wand and waved it at the walls. "Muffliato."

"Hermione! You're underage! You can't do magic! Do you know what that toad Umbitch is going to do? Hermione!" Fred exclaimed, snatching the wand out of her hand.

"I didn't forget anything." Hermione said quietly. "I came here to... tell you something. I'm not... the Hermione you just saw."

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked, a confused look upon his face.

"I missed you so much!" Hermione blurted out. "Merlin, I wasn't sure what I was going to do without you. I had to come back... to tell you... to tell you…"

"Hermione, er, you saw me, like, two seconds ago." Fred raised an eyebrow. "Did George give you the wrong teabag? Oh, Mia, that one-"

"No." Hermione mumbled. "Fred, just... you need to listen to me. There's something really...important you need to know. Something you must keep to yourself. You can't tell anyone. Not even George, not even me. The... other me."

Fred nodded reluctantly, buying what she said. "Wh-what is it?"

Hermione closed her eyes. "I'm from the future. About three years into the future, actually. And I came back to give you a warning…"

"A w-warning?" Fred gulped. He didn't like where this was heading.

"He's really back. V-Voldemort. I know you would've believed Harry anyway, but he's back. And he's stronger than ever." Hermione then corrected herself. "Was. In Ron's, Harry's and my Seventh Year, there was a war."

"A war?" stammered Fred.

"We all fought in it, even Ginny." Hermione was close to breaking down again.

"Gin... no, did Ginny…?" Fred himself looked close to tears.

"No, not Ginny." Hermione let the tears fall, and she let Fred wrap his arms around her. "Huge…e-explosion... half of H-Hogwarts d-damaged... the…"

"M-Mia…" Fred patted her back, pulling her even closer. "It's... not...it wasn't... too… bad... was it?" He then closed his eyes, already dreading her answer.

"You and P-Percy were f-fighting Death Eaters when the e-explosion came…" Hermione choked on her tears. "It blew up a-almost e-everything... it w-was bad... v-very bad."

Fred cast his eyes down, hiding the fact that tears were running down his face.

"I still remember seeing you, Fred... there... on the g-ground... I kept telling you to o-open your eyes." Hermione cried. "You p-promised you'd be s-safe…"

Fred finally looked up. "Georgie...is he okay?"

"H-he was a mess after y-you…" Hermione started. "But he's been better now. Sometimes...he even cracks jokes."

Fred suppressed a smile. "And everyone else?"

"It's not the same anymore." Hermione said. "I knew it was a risk... and I knew that... something could go terribly wrong... but... I couldn't live without you. That's why I came here... I just couldn't imagine a life with no F-Fred."

Fred laced his fingers around Hermione's.

"You can't go near the Room of Requirement!" Hermione exclaimed. "You can't let anyone go near there. Stay away from there, fight somewhere else, just...whatever you do, please don't go there."

Fred looked down. "But... if I was... there... someone else will need to protect it, right?"

"F-Fred..."

"But if I was protecting that part of the castle... if I... don't go there..." Fred finally looked up and his eyes met Hermione's. "Someone else could die."

Hermione swallowed. "You...can't..."

Fred shook his head. "Then I'll try my very hardest to stop this explosion. I mean, if it's made by the other side, they're all probably some daft ferret-headed bimbos, aren't they?"

"I'm serious." Hermione sobbed.

Something was telling Fred to say he'd stay away, but something was telling him that if he didn't...someone else could...

"I'll... see what I can do..." Fred said through gritted teeth.

"Fred, I'm being serious." Hermione pleaded. "Please... don't... if I have to live through it again... I don't know what I'm going to do."

Fred opened his mouth but closed it, as if all the words had been somehow sucked away from him.

"Fred... you need to trust me."

Finally, Fred nodded. "Okay. I... swear." He then squeezed Hermione's hand gently.

"You won't go near there, if it's the last thing you do."

Fred squeezed her hand. "I swear. I swear I won't."

Hermione gave him one last hug before moving towards the door. "Be safe."

Fred smiled at her, more tears streaming down his face. "I will, Mia, I will."

Hermione left the room and opened the front door. She looked back at Fred, who was now staring down at the table, his face with no emotion. Her heart ached for him – she knew that it would be a lot to take in, but she couldn't lose him again.

She'd go back to the future. He'd be there, smiling.

It would all go back to normal.

They'd have their scars of course, physical and mental. But they'd have Freddie back. George would be happy like he used to be, Harry and Ron would stop blaming themselves, Ginny would stop sobbing every night, asking for her older brother, Mr and Mrs Weasley would stop wishing it was them…and Hermione would be herself again.

She closed her eyes and she disappeared from the year of 1995.

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