Hermione Granger stared blankly at the papers on her desk. They were students' reports she had assigned two weeks ago, and they wanted them back. She sighed and put her head in her hands. She had been in a rut since her and Ron Weasley had ended their three year relationship. The war had changed Hermione drastically. She was more mature, and hid in a shell most of the time. People hated the fact that Hermione wasn't the same, especially Fred Weasley. He cared deeply about the girl, for a while he thought of her only as a sister, but then one day, he looked at her, and she wasn't a little a girl anymore. And she most definitely wasn't just a little sister to him.
"Hermione…" Hermione looked up from the papers to see Neville Longbottom standing in the center of her Transfiguration classroom.
"Oh, good evening Neville." She said with a gentle smile.
"Come on, let's go out. It's Friday, and you've been cooped up in this school for weeks." Neville said gently.
Hermione sighed, "Who else will be there?" she asked as she got up from her desk and stretched a little.
"Uh, I'm meeting the twins down at the Three Broomsticks." Neville said.
Hermione sighed, "Fine, I'll meet you at the entrance in thirty minutes." She said.
Hermione and Neville walked down to Hogsmeade in silence. Hermione knew Neville wanted her to go out so he could possibly make a move on her. Hermione knew he had liked her since their first year. But Hermione, never thought about him that way. She knew Luna Lovegood would be furious with her if she did. The sole reason she was going was because Neville had mentioned the twins…meaning Fred Weasley would be there. They stepped into the Three Broomsticks, and Hermione was instantly picked up and spun around. "'Mione!" Fred shouted excitedly. "It's so good to see you!"
Hermione giggled as he finally put her down. She grabbed his forearm so that she could retain her balance. "It's good to see you too Fred." She said with a gentle smile.
"You look ravishing Hermione." George said with a wink.
Hermione laughed lightly, realizing the twins had been there for a little bit already, and they were a little tipsy. "George, you have a woman, so back off 'Mione. I have dibs." Fred said. When he realized what he had said he walked away and to the bar. Hermione followed and he handed her a Butterbeer. "It has Firewhiskey in it love." He said with a wink.
Hermione nodded, "So, you have dibs?" she asked as the other two walked over to them.
"Yes…yes I do." Fred said. "You uh, got a bit of something there…"
Hermione lifted her hand to her upper lip and felt the foam. She began to laugh happily as Fred gingerly wiped the foam from his lip. "Oh god, I am so happy I came." She said her eyes meeting Fred's. Something passed between them right then, and Hermione knew, this was the start of something great.