"Can I ask you something?" Hermione asked Fred as he led her through the hall. Fred slowed down and walked by her side, his hands casually tucked in his pockets.
"Of course," he told her.
She hesitated for a moment before looking up at him and smiling. He returned the gesture and waited anxiously for her to speak.
"What's with the sudden change?" she asked. Fred tried to think of exactly what she meant. She must have sensed his confusion because she chuckled and explained.
"I noticed how you were acting Fred. You were quieter than usual. You were still loud," she snickered. "But quieter. So I figured something was on your mind. But today, you were yourself again. Ginny told me you do that when you're uncertain about something."
"You and Ginny are talking behind my back?" Fred asked in a curious tone. He narrowed his eyes at Hermione jokingly and she began to blush.
"Well, yes but-"
"I see how it is!" Fred said, throwing his hands in the air dramatically. He laughed as she slapped his arm, begging him to stop making fun of her.
She grabbed onto his forearm lightly and linked her arm around it. Fred tried to hide his smile as he moved closer to him but it was no use. They turned the corner to the library and Fred pulled out his wand. He pointed it at the locked door and muttered, "Alohamora". The lock clicked and the large door creaked open. They walked in quietly, unlinking arms, and stared into the shadows again.
"What are we doing back here, Fred?" Hermione asked as she closed the door behind them. Fred lit up the tip of his wand and turned around to Hermione whose face was enchantingly smooth in the wand light.
"I wanted somewhere we wouldn't be interrupted," he told her. He decided to take a chance and held his hand out to her. He watched as a small smile formed across her face and she wrapped her hand around his.
Fred took a long breath and felt like his chest was filling up with helium, ready to lift him right off the ground. He held his wand in front of him as he led her in between the book shelves and towards the back of the library.
He felt Hermione's grip on his hand tighten slightly when they arrived in front of the Restricted Section entrance. Fred turned around and smirked at her confidently, though he hardly felt so. She gave him a nervous smile and he pushed open the door. It creaked loudly when he did and they stepped in quickly.
Fred closed the door behind them and remembered to sound proof the room.
"Muffliato," Fred recited. His wand brightened slightly and then dimmed back to its normal brightness. He turned around to face Hermione but found no one there. Fred searched as far as he could in the darkness but shadows made it impossible for him to see anything past a few feet.
"Hermione?" he asked. While he waited for her response, he began to walk through the eerie halls formed between shelves.
"Yes, Fred?" Hermione's voice asked from the darkness.
"Where are you?"
"Come and find me," she said in a tone he'd never heard
from her before. She called out his name at random moments, teasing him.
"Merlin's beard, Hermione!" Fred huffed. "I came to spend time with you, not play hide and seek."
She laughed from somewhere behind him and he felt her hands on his shoulders a moment later.
"Sorry," she chuckled as he faced her. Her face was a bright shade of pink and she gave Fred a guilty look. "Let's go sit down."
"I'd like that," he said with a smile. He bit his lip as she led him to a small corner where she sat on the ground, tucking her knees into her chest. He sat next to her, keeping a comfortable distance.
Fred set his illuminated wand in between them and smiled at Hermione who was looking curiously around them.
"I'm surprised I actually got you in here," Fred admitted. Hermione scooted closer to him, dimming the wands light.
"I trust you, Fred," she told him. "If you didn't know what you were doing, you'd be expelled by now."
"Well, I'm happy you trust me," he said as he felt his stomach clench up. All he could do to relieve the tension was smile.
"You know, you never answered my question. About what made you suddenly change," Hermione told him.
"How did we get back to this subject?" Fred asked, chuckling lightly.
"I can trust you. So, I know you will tell me the truth when I ask you," she told him.
"Fine," Fred told her. He paused for a moment before the words spilled out of him. "I was thinking about you."
All Hermione did was smile. She didn't say anything and waited for him to continue. Fred looked at her and pressed on.
"I didn't know what to do. So yes, something was on my mind: you."
"You were uncertain about me?" she asked quietly. Fred nodded and felt his face growing hot. "Well what made you change your mind?"
Fred took a long breath. Everything was happening quickly and everything he thought he'd never share was being exposed. He looked at Hermione reluctantly. She gave him a soft smile and he knew what to do.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you," he mumbled, averting his stare away from hers. "I wanted to see you again."
Fred bit his lip hard. He saw Hermione looking at him from the corner of his eye but he didn't lift his head.
"I've never seen you be shy before," she observed. Fred felt a surge of courage run through him and he scooted even closer to her. Their hips were an inch apart and Fred felt the tension between them.
"I've never felt like this before."
He lifted his head and saw Hermione looking at him. She appeared to him to be quite smitten and he felt his chest fill up again.
"God only knows why it's taken me so long to let my doubts go," Fred told her with an airy laugh. He felt the urge to grab her hand. So he gave in.
She wrapped her fingers in between his when he brushed his hand against hers. He looked at her, getting pulled into her brown eyes. He saw the happiness she felt in them and he knew she saw it in him too.
"I've never felt like this before either, Fred," Hermione told him softly.
Fred closed the gap in between them and the wands light was put out as he pushed it away from them. The room grew dark and Fred heard Hermione's slow breathing and felt her hand in his.
It felt right.