Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is awesome - I don't own anything.

Chapter 3

George contemplated his twin. Fred was staring off into space yet again, lost in thought, looking slightly peeved, and completely oblivious to the young girl who was trying to get his attention. He'd been distracted and moody ever since their encounter with Hermione two days before. George had almost felt sorry for him and was tempted to forgo rubbing her acceptance of his apology in Fred's face. But George never let temptation stand in the way of brotherly banter.

"Oi, plonker," he whispered, flicking a mild stinging hex at Fred, "no mooning off in front of the customers." Fred started and glared at his brother before turning to the young girl with an exaggerated smile. George continued to observe him, idly scratching at the side of his head where the charmed ear fastened to his skull. Nobody else would notice that anything was off, thought George, as Fred rattled off his sales patter to the wide-eyed children who hung on his every word. To an outside observer, Fred seemed his usual cheery self – but George could sense his inner disquiet. George was surprised Fred was so torn up about it – Hermione would come 'round, she always did. She was almost incapable of living in disharmony with her friends. He would have almost believed her unable to feel hatred, had he not witnessed otherwise during the war. Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange... fleetingly, he wondered if Hermione still bore the scar Bellatrix had given her, trying to remember when he's last seen her with her forearms bared. He grimaced at the thought and discarded it – not his affair.

Turning from Fred, George cast his eye over the shop with a pleased grin. Even mum had grudgingly admitted she was proud of their success and almost managed to turn a blind eye whenever Fred and George turned up to a family meal missing eyebrows or with magically altered hair colours. It happened less these days – he and Fred had finally decided to take a course in basic mediwizarding and it had unquestionably been one of their better decisions. At present the shop was filled with inquisitive and mischievous young wizards and witches clamouring to get their hands on props for pranks – as it should be. George looked over at his twin again and frowned – Fred had finished helping the small girl and was staring into space again, sighing.

It wasn't until they were closing up the shop that George had a chance to ask Fred what was going on. "What's got you so down, then?"

"Nothing," Fred answered, shrugging casually. Too casually. "I'm fine, just tired."

"You forget, brother mine, I know your face – that's not what we look like when we're tired. Nor do we usually stare off into space and sigh like Ginny when she's dreaming of Harry."

Fred gave a weak laugh. "Well, just, working on a new idea then."

"Bollocks," shot George. "This is about Hermione, isn't it? You're still pissed she hasn't forgiven you." Fred tightened his lips but didn't answer. "Why does it bother you so much? She'll come 'round soon enough – she always does."

"Yeah, sure," Fred nodded, still looking glum though as he flicked his wand at the fake wands display. George's eyebrows lifted slightly – Fred sulked from time to time, but was hardly ever this surly.

"Seriously mate, it's Hermione – have you ever known her to hold a grudge? She'll probably tell Gin the whole story. They'll rage, then cry, then laugh, and do whatever else they do during their girly sessions, and then twist the story to make us look bad, tell it at dinner, mum will kill us and then it will all be fine."

"Yeah, sure – fine." Fred threw his hands up in exasperation, jabbing his wand at another set of items so that they reshuffled themselves with several bangs.

"I'm telling you, Fred," continued George, laying a hand on his twin's shoulder, "it will all be fine-"

"Yeah, well what if it isn't!?" Fred spun around, knocking George's hand away and sending several small bottles flying. "What if she doesn't want to talk to m- us ever again? That was private stuff she told us, George. I can see why she might not want to spend time with us in future, apology or no – and she doesn't even know we spied on her diary!" He flushed angrily, not meeting George's gaze.

"It was a bad idea," George intoned solemnly. They'd tacitly agreed not to use the Reveal-O-Parchment to sneak peeks at Hermione's diary again. It had been a bit too much to handle.

"Ok, so it might be awkward around her for a while, but it will pass. Besides, it's not as if we're best mates or anything," George pressed on, slightly perplexed by the pained expression on Fred's face. He hadn't seen him looking like that since... since... George stopped, scrutinising his twin. No...

"No," he breathed, "no way."

Fred looked up sharply, eyes narrowing at George's smug look. "No," he said pointedly, jabbing a finger at his twin for emphasis. "Whatever you're thinking in that deranged, depraved head of yours, the answer is no, absolutely not."

George advanced on his twin slowly, eyes glinting. "Fred Weasley, I do believe you are smitten with one Hermione Granger! You sly devil."

Fred's ears flamed. "Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed. "That's absurd." He turned away, flicking his wand at the shelf he had tidied ten seconds previously.

"You do, you fancy her," George insisted, grinning at Fred's obvious embarrassment. "You are keen on our lovely-"

"She's not ours!" Fred yelled as he whirled suddenly, face tight. George's grin slipped. "She might have written about sharing us," they both dropped eye contact, "but that doesn't make her ours." He paused, hands fisting in his robes. "I don't like her or anything, but, if I did, I don't think I could share. Certainly not like... that." He paused, face screwing up in disgust. "It would be weird."

"Yeah, it would be off-putting – wouldn't want to see your ugly mug while doing that." George grimaced exaggeratedly.

"Don't do any kinky stuff with mirrors then," Fred shot back automatically. They both snorted and then stared into space, identical looks of concentration on their faces. Fred finally shrugged and looked at his brother. "Can't think of anything witty to say about the awkwardness of a threesome involving your twin either, can you?"

George shook his head. "Nope. I feel like I should be able to say something involving 'cock-ups' or 'limp' but nah, nothing's coming." Fred sniggered and George just smirked before looking at his twin seriously again.

"I think your next move is clear."

"Yeah," Fred sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. "Any idea what flowers she likes?"

"No idea. Bet Ron knows."

Fred winced. "Shit, I almost forgot about our baby brother. It's been years since they split, think he'll mind?"

"Probably," George answered seriously. Privately he doubted it; Ron had had a few girlfriends since Hermione. But watching Fred squirm was far too entertaining to spoil.

"Well... tough," Fred concluded. He looked at his twin, several emotions flitting across his features. "You don't mind, do you? I've, well, I've kind of been interested for a while now. I just didn't bother 'cause, well – it's Hermione. Hermione's not a girl you mess around – she doesn't really do casual, does she?" George laughed inwardly – Fred was clearly forgetting Hermione's flirtation with Viktor Krum, and definitely confusing 'monogamous' with 'not casual'.

Out loud though he answered, "Nah, I don't mind," clapping Fred on the back and ignoring the painful twinge in his chest at the lighthearted words.

GWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFW

"So," finished Ginny breathlessly, eyes sparkling with excitement, "Harry asked me again... and I said yes!" She held her hands and arms outstretched, anxiously awaiting Hermione's response.

Hermione surged forward, hugging her friend tightly. "Finally! Oh, I'm so happy for you – that's amazing." She pulled back, holding Ginny at arms length and looking her in the eye. "You're absolutely sure? This is a big decision, and neither you nor Harry should rush into anything if you're not ready. If you need more time, he will wait." Well, Hermione hoped he would wait. She'd make him wait, if that was what it took.

"I'm sure. I've wanted to get back together for the past two months, but the team was in America and I wanted to be completely sure before I said anything."

Ginny and Harry had split after the battle of Hogwarts. They'd technically already been split, but had considered themselves emotionally together ever since their first kiss. After the traumatic events at Hogwarts they'd agreed neither of them wanted to rush into things. They didn't want to mistake post-war euphoria for anything more. Ginny in particular had wanted time to grow up and make sure her feelings for Harry weren't just a long-held schoolgirl crush. Hermione had always suspected privately Ginny's sudden burst of handling her relationship with Harry maturely was a result of heart-to-heart conversation with Tonks shortly before the auror's death. Harry had been too busy figuring out who he was without Voldemort to do anything but agree. Then they'd both gotten busy starting their respective careers and had hardly had time for seeing anyone romantically. Though they'd both managed to squeeze in a few exploits. Hermione would know – acting as confidante for the two of them was often awkward. Being sworn to absolute secrecy by both Harry and Ginny was irritating at times, though probably for the best. Harry would go mental if he found out about some of Ginny's more... deviant... adventures. And if Ron ever found out... well, Hermione would just keep her mouth shut. Her features softened at the thought of Ron. Being around him the other day at St. Mungo's hadn't been as difficult as it usually was. Likely, she'd been too distracted by avoiding the twins to really notice him. The thought of the twins reminded of her latest diary entry featuring the three of them in the lift, she might have to add to it later... She shook her head to dismiss the thought and turned back to Ginny to find the redhead examining her far too closely, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Damn.

"So," said Hermione brightly, "when are you going to tell your mum about you and Harry?" She doubted she would succeed in distracting Ginny, but it was worth a try. She summoned the wine bottle and glasses from the kitchen. She'd introduced Ginny to muggle wine a few years back and it had become a staple of their impromptu get-togethers.

"Oh no you don't," Ginny said, folding her arms and looking at Hermione expectantly. "I saw that look. You were thinking about a boy." Boys, Hermione corrected inwardly as she poured the wine. Not just boys but also your twin brothers, Ron's twin brothers. Just plain inappropriate in so many ways. "You haven't looked like that since you broke up with that muggle guy, Richard."

"I prefer the term non-magical person."

Ginny waved a hand dismissively as she accepted her wine. "Sure, sure. Bet you still say muggle in your head though." Hermione cringed; it was a hard habit to break. "Anyway," continued Ginny, leaning forward determinedly, "that's beside the point. Who is it, " she asked, emphasising every word.

"But, what about you and Harry?" Hermione pleaded weakly.

"We can wait. We're good at waiting," Ginny snickered. Hermione gave a chuckle as well before sighing and taking a large swallow of her wine. There wasn't really any point in trying to keep it from her red-haired friend anyway. Hermione certainly couldn't lie her way out of it, and Ginny was nothing if not persistent.

"Fine, fine," she huffed. Ginny grinned delightedly and tucked her feet beneath her on the sofa. "Well, you remember the thing I told you about once before – about me imagining being with... being with two guys," Hermione was staring at the floor, fighting down a blush. "Well, um, they may have... accidentally found out that I fancied them." Ginny's eyebrows rose slightly. "And they might have found out that I fancied them... together," Hermione finished in a strained whisper. Ginny's hand flew to her mouth, eyes brightening with mirth.

"Oh, Hermione," she began shakily, "oh, if you c-could only see," she gasped, trying to keep from grinning, "your- your face!" Ginny broke down in a fit of giggles then, laughing until she was clutching her sides and tears rolled down her face.

"It's not funny," Hermione growled, cheeks pinking. "It was awful – I was there when they found out. I just wanted to die. Or to kill them," a dark glint appeared in her eye, her hand absently fingering the pocket her wand was tucked into.

"I'm sorry," Ginny finally managed, wiping her face as her giggles subsided. "That does sound dreadful – but it is rather amusing, you have to see the funny side."

"That's such an American thing to say," Hermione groaned, but felt her mouth twitch despite herself.

Ginny took another sip of wine, eyeing Hermione over the glass. "So, are you going to tell me who it is- who they are?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nope, far too private and embarrassing." And depraved, and wrong, and you'll kill me, she added silently.

"How private can it possibly be if you're wannabe shag buddies already know?" Ginny scoffed. "Besides, I'm your best friend.

"Harry's my best friend."

Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes. "Sure, 'cause you told him you fancy getting it on with two blokes at once. And I highly doubt you told Ron. How are things between you two anyway?"

"Better, I think. Or at least," Hermione tilted her head to one side, considering, "I think it will be better soon." She certainly hoped things would improve. It was ridiculous that she'd been unable to move on fully. She'd been in other relationships – longer and more serious relationships, but she seemed stuck on Ron. Apparently, being romantically interested whilst fighting to overthrow a Dark Lord left a somewhat more lasting connection than the average relationship.

"Anyway, back to the real question, which young blades does the young and innocent Hermione desire for her beaus?"

"You've been nicking my Georgette Heyer books again, haven't you?"

"I prefer the term borrowing, and quit stalling, Granger."

"Fine! But," she looked at her friend in apprehension. "you have to promise not to kill me. I know it's weird, and wrong even, but I really didn't plan on thinking about them that way, it just kind of happened, and I promise I won't do anything about it, I just sometimes enjoy thinking-"

"It's Fred and George, isn't it?"

"WHAT!? How could- I didn't even-" Hermione spluttered.

"I'm your best friend, remember?"

"Harry's my best friend," Hermione returned automatically in a faint voice.

"Whatever. Please, Hermione – I may not be the brightest witch of my age-"

"Don't call me that."

"-but I am rather savvy in my own way – and it's not that surprising really." Hermione just stared at Ginny, speechless. "When a girl fancies two blokes, the most likely scenarios are either twins or two blokes she already knows are mates. And since I knew it wasn't Ron or Harry – which, by the way, eurgh – I suspected it was the twins."

" 'Likely scenario' indeed. You just made that up."

"Nope," Ginny shook her head seriously," Witch Weekly made that up."

"What rubbish – that's absurd."

"Plus, Ron mentioned you were acting strangely around them the other day. I think 'a bit barmy' were his exact words."

"Charming as ever, I see." Hermione exhaled and collapsed back into the sofa. She shot Ginny a nervous look. "So is this where you tell me I'm depraved?"

"No, honestly I mostly just find it amusing. As long as I don't imagine the details," her face screwed up in distaste, "it's fine." She leaned forward eagerly. "So how did they find out? "I would have given a hundred galleons to see their faces."

"I didn't really appreciate it myself at the time, but it was good – I have never seen them so shocked," she giggled, and then frowned again. "But they're dead, so dead. I hope you enjoyed being their sister while they were around, because when I'm done with-"

Both witches jumped as a sharp crack sounded outside Hermione's door, followed by footsteps and a hesitant knock.

Ginny smiled brightly, "you didn't tell me you invited Luna."

"I did but she couldn't make it – something about nargles, crumple-horned-snorcacks and something called a scamander," Hermione said absently as she rose and headed to the door.

"Haven't heard of that last one before."

Hermione pointed her wand at the door, "Transperum." The door shimmered and became translucent, revealing a very nervous-looking Fred standing on the other side, holding a bunch of red flowers and tugging at his collar.

Ginny gave a shout of laughter. "Hermione Granger, you minx!"

"No, no, no, no, no! It's- it's not what you- I had no idea-" she broke off, face paling as she looked rapidly between Ginny and the door. "What should I do?"

"Answer the door, you muppet. I can go-"

"No! You don't understand. I haven't told you the full story yet! I'm still really angry with them – well, just Fred really, but-"

"You should do this." Ginny stood and waved Hermione towards the door. "It's fine, I can leave-"

"No, don't!" Hermione lunged for her friend, gripping her arm. "Please don't leave me, just- oh, here," she tapped Ginny with her wand, casting a disillusionment charm. She heard the other witch giggle and step away. Hermione quickly checked herself in the mirror by the door, patting down her bushy hair and desperately trying to compose her features. Before she could think about it too much, she opened the door.

"Hi."

"Hermione! Uh, fancy seeing you here." Hermione saw Fred cringe even as he said it, and could hear Ginny sniggering faintly behind her. She would have laughed at his nervousness herself except her own legs were shaking. He suddenly seemed to remember the flowers he was holding and thrust them forward. "Here – for you." Hermione almost took them before recalling her anger. Instead, she took a step back, folding her arms and pursing her lips. Fred's face fell and she had to stop herself from stepping forward again and simply taking the flowers.

"Hermione," he began earnestly, "I am so sorry about the other day. How was I supposed to know you – er, I mean," he backtracked hastily at her thunderous expression, "that is, I'm sorry we- I didn't ask you before spiking your drink. It was," he frowned for a moment, as if trying to find the right words, "inconsiderate and I wanted to apologize. Forgive me?"

Hermione couldn't help smiling then, he looked so vulnerable and lost, blue eyes gazing into hers imploringly, the red poppies – her favourite – extended hopefully. Silently she reached forward to take them, ducking her face to smell them and to hide the blush staining her cheeks.

"Apology accepted," she said at last, looking up again. Fred let out a breath of relief. "Thanks for the flowers, they're lovely."

"Anytime," Fred winked, his normal cheeky self returning. "May I come in?"

"Oh!" She had completely forgotten Ginny. "Actually I've got, er, stuff to do... for work."

"You truly are a terrible liar." He raised a hand as she opened her mouth in protest. "It's ok, I'll let you get on." He moved to leave, then turned back, looking nervous again. "Um, would you like to go to dinner with me? Tomorrow, maybe?" He tugged at his collar again.

Was he asking her out? Hermione's eyes widened in surprise and she could almost hear Ginny frantically gesturing behind her. "Yes," she answered decisively after a long pause, "I'd like that."

Excellent – I'll owl you the details."

"Great."

She inhaled sharply as Fred stepped forward quickly; his hands reaching up to gently squeeze both her arms as he planted a swift kiss on her cheek.

" 'Night, Hermione." Fred stepped back, beaming, and disapparated with a loud pop.

Hermione stood frozen for a moment, jumping when her arm was pinched. "Ow! Ginny!" She removed the disillusionment charm to find Ginny practically hopping with glee.

"I have never seen Fred so nervous before! Ooh – he must fancy the pants off you – literally!"

Hermione flushed and ducked her head to sniff the poppies again.

GWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFW

George carefully locked his door before walking to the desk and setting down the blank parchment. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath and tapped the yellowed paper with his wand. It was another 20 minutes before a glowing script appeared.

Fred asked me out to dinner! I still can't believe he did that – and I can't believe I said yes.

A long pause followed, during which George watched the parchment anxiously, chewing on his lower lip. Finally, more writing appeared.

This could work – maybe. I don't know, really – there are so many things that could go wrong, not to mention the whole Ron issue. But still, this could be good. All he did tonight was kiss me on the cheek. It was completely chaste, and yet it sent tingles all the way down to my toes. I can't wait for dinner tomorrow. Maybe he'll kiss me again-

George yelled an oath and angrily swept the parchment off the desk. Resting his elbows on the grainy wood he dropped his head into his hands with a groan of frustration.

"Bollocks."

GWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFWGWHGFW

Author's Note: I said this would be FredxHermionexGeorge, and that's still the plan – but Fred and George may need some time to get used to the idea :) Thank you to everyone who's been reading this so far!