They were at the burrow for the Christmas holidays. On their first day of holidays, they had all played Quidditch in the orchard for a few hours, Hermione mostly staying on the ground and watching the others. George had gotten an owl from Lee saying that his parents had invited one of the twins to go on a five day trip to France, Lee had apologized that he couldn't take both of them, but the tickets were already booked and his aunt had decided not to go, leaving only one spare ticket.
George jumped at the idea
'We will be able to see Juan Claude's Chambre des Shenanigans, they are one of our biggest competitions!'
'That would be awesome recon work!' Fred said excitedly
'Wish we could both go…' George said
'Yeah I know' Fred said sadly
'Flip a coin?' George suggested 'fairest way I think'
'You go George' Fred said with a smile
'What?'
'You go'
'Are you sure?' George asked, not liking the idea of being separated from his twin for more then a few hours let alone three days.
'Yeah, go, have fun, I have things to keep me occupied here, plus you can freak Lee's parents out by not telling them which one of us you are' Fred grinned
George had left that night via flu powder in the lounge room fireplace, Ginny had been glum, she would of loved to of seen Paris. But when Ron reminded her that their Mum had won four tickets to see the Weird Sisters the night after next through one of her many magazine subscriptions, she had cheered up.
That night after dinner and a few hours of sitting around the lounge room listening to Christmas music singing from the baubles on the big fur tree, they all slowly traipsed off to bed one by one.
Hermione lay awake in her bed on the floor in Ginny's room, while Ginny had fallen asleep the moment her red hair had hit the pillow. Hermione lay there for a long time, watching the moonlight slowly creep around the room. She was trying to coax herself into getting up and going to Fred, but she just couldn't find the courage. She thought about how safe and loved she felt with him, how she didn't feel like a complete novus any more and how it felt when their skin rubbed together. That last thought got her out of bed. Silently she tiptoed to the bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She then very quietly walked to Fred's bedroom door and stopped. She stood there, looking at her hand, willing it to rise up and knock gently on the door. But her arm didn't move, so she just stood there feeling ridiculous.
A moment later the door opened and Fred was standing there, Hermione blushed, being caught just standing in his door way. He smiled and held out a hand, which she took, then he gently pulled her inside, closing the door behind him.
'I was just coming to see if you were asleep' he grinned, pulling her into his arms.
They were both in their pajama's, a new experience for the both of them. Fred was in a plain T-shirt and long flannelette pants while Hermione was in a long top with semi matching long pants with little roses on them.
Hermione nestled into Fred as he held her close, he smelt amazing, as he always did. But there was something about the other smells around them, of the Burrow, of the snow outside, of the faint smoke in his hair from the wooden fire downstairs in the lounge room, it all made her feel cozier.
Fred was thinking the same thing, except he could also smell Hermione's lavender shampoo.
'So you have your room to yourself tonight?' Hermione said after a few minutes of trying to say it.
'Yeah, I guess I do' Fred smiled, rubbing the middle of her back with small circles. 'Would you like to stay?' he asked her. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and nodded her head. He smiled and squeezed her a little in response. After a moment or two they broke apart and Fred led her over to his bed, where she sat down on the edge. He flicked his wand a few times, casting a few spells, including one to block the door so his mother couldn't walk in and surprise them. He then put his wand on the bedside table and climbed onto his bed, he pushed his legs under the covers then slid down into a sleeping position. He held the blanket up for Hermione, who blushed slightly then crawled into bed with him. Fred pulled her into his arms and held her close, she rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.
They lay like that for a long while, enjoying the closeness and quiet. In the Room of Requirement they always had a time limit, they had to leave and get back to their common room before Filtch came after them.
It was pure bliss to hold one another and know they could do it for hours, all night in fact. Hermione was actually dosing off, her head resting on his chest. Fred's eyes were closed, and his hand was drawing small patterns on her arm that lay across his chest.
Hermione was on the edge of sleep, her eyelids heavy and her breathing deep,
'I love you, you know' she whispered.
Fred's face broke into the biggest of grins he had ever had, and he was sure she could heart is heart literally bursting with happiness.
'I love you too Hermione' he whispered back and gently kissed her forehead.
He pulled her closer to him and they both fell into a deep, content, blissful sleep.
Apples and Beckett
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