A/N: Hellooo! Yay for new chapters. I've started classes again, which mean chapters might be far and few between, but I've got the story all mapped out IN MY MIND. It's a bit short, but Microsoft Word documents make everything look bigger *waggles eyebrows*. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Just playing in Rowling's sandbox.

Chapter Nine

Hermione slept like the dead for three weeks. Her day started with eating breakfast with the twins or the current residents of the Burrow, then she worked for nine hours, coming back in the evening feeling rag-dollish and giddy. She ate her dinners with half-lidded eyes—almost nodding off over dessert for the first couple of days—before trudging up the stairs to her small but welcoming bed.

Friday morning, although it was grey and rainy outside, felt like one of the most wonderful gifts, Hermione thought to herself as she pulled on her WWW uniform with sleepy sluggishness. One more day before the weekend glided seamlessly into her life, giving her some time to herself and away from the shop's small children, peevish parents and guffawing teenagers. It was exhausting as much as it was entertaining, but despite her lack of energy this week, Hermione found she would be looking forward to going back on Monday.

She stepped out of her room and made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. Harry and Ginny were talking quietly on one side of the table, and Ron was sitting in the middle facing away from where she stood in the doorway. His shoulders were stiff and hunched, and she didn't have to see his face to know he was still angry about the argument they had had after dinner last night. Just thinking about it irritated her all over again. She greeted Harry and Ginny with a 'Good morning' and ignored Ron completely, grabbing a lukewarm slice of toast from the plate in the middle of the table.

A frigid silence ensued.

Harry looked at his best friends in fond exasperation. He'd seen the signs before and fervently hoped their mutual stubbornness wouldn't persist beyond a few hours; he knew better than anyone how long their silences could last and how vindictive each could be. A sigh worked its way from his mouth, but he smiled the next moment at Ginny's face, which she had scrunched up in an eerily accurate imitation of her brother's petulant scowl. Hermione pushed away her uneaten toast and made her goodbyes to Harry and Ginny.

Ginny rolled her eyes as her brother slumped over his eggs, his head resting on his left arm. Ron glowered at his breakfast like it was the center of all things evil.

"Keep up the x-ray stare and you might actually reheat them," Harry suggested, pushing his own empty plate away.

Ron stopped glaring enough to look confused, "Who's ex-Ray?"

"Never mind. " Harry leaned back in his chair and stretched before giving his best friend a long, unsmiling stare. Ron squirmed under his scrutiny and nervously started shoveling eggs into his mouth.

"You know you're being a prat." It wasn't a question. Ron flushed red, but remained resolutely silent.

Ginny snorted, "Grow up, Ron. You basically told her she wasn't paying enough attention to you—even though she's so tired by the time she gets home every day that she can barely pay attention to herself." Ron winced. "Who wouldn't let you have it?"

"She doesn't have to work there. If she's so exhausted, why doesn't she quit?"

Ginny laughed, "Because she likes it! She also doesn't have to put up with you!"

"I'm her boyfriend!" Ron shouted, springing to his feet.

"Well it looks like you're doing a sorry job of it." Harry didn't raise his voice, but both Weasleys fell silent. His friend lowered his gaze to the floor and shuffled out the kitchen door, mumbling something like 'I'm going flying' over his shoulder. Harry sighed and looked at Ginny helplessly.

She shrugged and said simply, "He didn't deny it."

Fred looked up from his IDEA! Notebook at Hermione's entrance and immediately put down his quill, bounded over to the front, grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the back room.

"What's wrong?" he asked as soon as she was pushed into one of Fred's patented beanbag chairs.

Hermione's eye twitched as she glared up at the redhead, "What makes you think something's wrong?"

He raised his eyebrows, "I know you've only been working here for three weeks, love, but you haven't really made it a regular habit of peppering your Friday morning entrances with loud mutters about disembowelments." He smiled at her and was pleased to see the ends of her mouth turn up a fraction. She sighed and waved him into the other chair. A few moments of silence passed, but Fred waited patiently for Hermione to speak, not harboring a doubt that it would happen.

"Ron and I had a disagreement," Hermione mumbled, looking pointedly at her short, unpolished fingernails.

He smiled humorlessly, "You mean he had a disagreement and you got dragged into it." She looked up at him and he knew he was right.

"I'm opening up the shop!" George voice bellowed from the other side of the curtains, and Hermione shook herself mentally. She stood up, intending to take her place behind the cash register, when Fred grabbed her hand.

"Will you be okay?" he asked, all seriousness and freckles.

"I'll be fine." She grinned, "I won't even take it out on the customers or anything." This shocked a laugh out of him, but Hermione could tell he was still worried. It was sweet. "Thanks, Fred." Without thinking, she bent forward and kissed his cheek. His eyes widened, but before he could say anything she gave him a nervous smile and hurried to the main part of the shop.

The curtains fell back into place, and Fred stared at them for a moment. Laughter drifted from the front, and the volume of voices heightened with each customer entrance. His brain felt fizzy and blank and his cheek was turning a dusky rose color where her lips had touched it.

"Oy! No sampling the snackboxes!" George's voice was closer this time, making Fred jump. He laughed at himself and stepped through the curtains. What was he getting all flustered for? It was only Hermione for Merlin's sake. But as he passed the counter where she was showing an avidly interested witch how to use a ball and cup Muggle magic trick, his spine tingled just a little.

A/N: Until next time, reviews are love.