The unexpectable Fred and Hermy!

by Gallie

It's been a terribly long time since this one has been updated, but it's a good read if you're willing to put up with it, and brings along giggles and squirmy feelings inside if you're a Fred/Hermione shipper.

5. Romance Blossoming

Harry was still quite bewildered inside as to what bugged Hermione so much -- that she would temporarily take Ron's cheek out of service, but he abandoned the thought according to Hermione's recent words, and instead occupied himself by turning to Fred. "So, what are you an Hermione going to do now that she is in your year, Fred?" He asked politely while Hermione turned a page in a book furiously.

Fred eyed the brown book, recognizing it as the same one that had caused the tiff in the library a few weeks ago. Posed with Harry's question, he considered. He really had not thought of it. He eyed Hermione, wondering whether it was possible to get her into a better mood or not.
"I don't know," he said truthfully, then he grinned, an idea striking him, and he said, "I could always teach her how to play Quidditch

Hermione's eyes darted up to Fred. "Teach me how?" She asked, a grin creeping onto her lips.
"But, maybe not –how-, because I already know HOW . . . . I've studied all the rules, and all the hundreds of ways to make a foul -- everything! Maybe you could just teach me some techniques, or – something. . ."
Harry's jaw dropped. He was – quite frankly – very, very impressed with Fred's ability to make Hermione's mood change to good in one sentence. Quick as a snap. Very impressive.

Fred laughed at Hermione's reaction, very pleased with the success of his suggestion. He hadn't been sure whether this would work on Hermione or not - but he knew whenever he was feeling down, the subject of either Quidditch or the possibility of playing a trick on someone always managed to put a smile on his face. He was glad to see that it worked on Hermione as well - and a month ago he would have been shocked.
"'Course," he said, his grin matching Hermione's now. "If you're willing to put off some homework now and again we could practice in the Quidditch Pitch."

Hermione laughed slightly, mood lightening immensely. "I'd love it! I would even skip a class or two . . ." She added in a mutter, then paused and realized that it was very un-Hermioneish, not only that but she, Hermione Granger, had just offered to skip some classes. Against the rules. Against her schedule. Against everything.
What was she DOING?

Fred chuckled, the thought quite appealing to him. Who ever would have thought that Hermione would actually skive off on classes just to practice Quidditch?
"Alright then, whenever you're up to it, so it shall be done!"
Normally he and George used to sneak out and practice, whopping bludgers at each other. Well, if he wouldn't talk to him, then he was more than happy to teach Hermione how to play.

"A-A-Anyways..." Harry said loudly failing to stifle a yawn.
"I've got barely any sleep, and I want to go take a nap before my eyes drop out of my head. Excuse me . . ." He got up from the table slowly, and with a backward, slightly nervous glance at Hermione, disappeared up the boy's dormitories.
Hermione turned to Fred with a sigh.
"So, you really are happy then? About the moving years?" She said in a would-be-calm voice, looking anxious to hear his answer.

Fred watched Harry leave. He suddenly wondered what he thought of the whole thing, being stuck between he, Ron and Hermione as he was. But before he had gotten long into this train of thought he was posed by Hermione's question. "Yeah," he said. He shot her a grin. In fact, it sounded quite wonderful idea to him, even if it did mean being alienated from two of his brothers. "Why wouldn't I be? It'll be great, seeing you more than once a day, you know."

Hermione was quite surprised, and happy with the outcome.
He was actually looking forward to seeing her more.
"Well, you know, it'll be great seeing someone who will make me laugh, and not angry . . ." She said with a smile, beginning to pack her books into her bag.

Fred snorted a bit.
"Yeah, well, it'd be great to see someone who actually laughs at me and doesn't say I am an immature, attention-seeking, big-headed..." he tried to think of a few more choice adjectives his peers used to describe him, and then laughed, narrowing his eyes good-naturedly at her. "Out loud, at least."

Hermione looked shocked – and, quite scandalized.
Her eyes widened and she frowned.
"They WHAT? They c-call you those things? You've been called that. BY WHOM? What CIRCUMSTANCES? And WHY?" She seemed outraged at the fact that he had been insulted such, and was nearly as passionate about it as the S.P.E.W.
"That's quite ridiculous. I can't even believe that they would call you immature. I mean, I used to think you were a few years ago, but now, I don't. 'Specially after you have that idea to set off fireworks in Umbridge's office." She grinned.

Fred raised his eyebrows in frank surprise. He hadn't expected Hermione to become offended - on his behalf - over what he had thought to make a simple joke. But, he did grin at her last remark.
"Yes, the fireworks were a pretty good ideal, if I might say so myself. But don't get yourself worked up, Hermione - there's always the gits out there that take George and I for troublemakers. They just do not understand that it is our job to keep this school from being - well, frankly, boring," he smirked. "Plus there's the fact that they spontaneously pop into canaries now and again - they need someone to blame."

Hermione cocked her head to the side with a grimace of sarcastic thoughtfulness.
"Well, there was Malfoy as a ferret, don't forget..." She said with a slight laugh.
"I'll never forget that. Why don't you try a canary tart, whatever they are – on him? Then I might help you with sabotaging Umbridge's office . . . I do feel a bit," Her eyes twinkled. "Mischievous, when it comes to Professor Toady."

Fred burst out laughing, something that the visualization of Ferret-Malfoy always managed to do to the Weasley twin. It was a day that would go down in Hogwarts' history for as long as he could help it.
"You know, I did try it once," he said, his eyes glittering at the memory. "George and I managed to plant it right on his plate at breakfast one morning, but the scoff-bag Crabbe ate it instead," he winced. "For a moment I thought that the Cream malfunctioned - he looks more like a chicken when he transforms than a canary. But I suppose that's just because of his - er - exceeding girth."
He paused, grinning.
"Though I'd be happy to try it again - anything is worth sabotaging that old Hag of a manticore."
He was a bit surprised - he could hardly guess what Hermione was able to do when she was feeling "mischievous".

Hermione looked at the ceiling, seeming to be pondering something.
"You know, I could make a few potions . . . I know a mighty amount of ones them." She said matter-of-factly. "Some that Malfoy might find... -interesting-. But still," The brown eyed girl added hastily, remembering that she WAS Hermione, and that not only did she have a reputation to keep, but she also had grades and schooling to do.
"There is much work to be done. Flitwick wants a three foot essay on memory charms, and it's due by Thursday!" The anxiety-full old Hermione's face resumed its spot in the very brief and shining mischievous one, once again making her look like the regular Hermione.

"Memory charms, eh?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Forgot them ages ago."
But he sighed - it was frustrating, how Hermione begin switching into Hermione-mode and - well, non-Hermione-mode: the mode that would bait Malfoy with interesting concoctions.
"Come, Hermione - there's always plenty of time for lessons," he said, smirking. "And far too little time for a bit of fun!"

Hermione seemed to be having an inner battle.
The temptation was there, to shed her studious, strict ruled, Hermioneish way and join Fred in his fun, but the other half was screaming out loud; telling her to stay where she was to save her reputation and grades.
After all, she was taking Arithmacy as well . . .
"I... well... I –" She sputtered, eyes darting across the table.
"I know it is fun to occasionally play a prank on Umbridge, and have a go on a broom... b-but studying is important, and there w-will be time for fun during, holidays – a-and . . ."
This was not good. She was letting her guard down and making herself too vulnerable for Fred to take her down and turn her into the different Hermione. Not good.

Fred looked minorly scandalized.
"Studying? Important?" he blinked, as if he had never heard anything so preposterous in his entire life. "Well, I suppose so, but there are many things much more important than - or, possibly, of equal importance to - studying!"
He waved his hand across the common room, as if something would pop up out of thin air.
"Just think, Hermione - you only have two-- or, now, one - more year left in Hogwarts! Soon you'll have graduated, and you'll realize that you've spent seven whole years, just studying, when you could have been doing a hundred and one other useful and important things!" He shook his head sadly. "Playing Quidditch, ridding the school of the wordst bint of a professor it has had in ages (or annoying her at least), enlightening the lives of our fellow students by turning them into various different kinds of animals, leaving your mark on the school so that your predecessors could remember you for years to come... I could go on forever! And after you leave Hogwarts, you never have the opportunity to do any of these things again. Though, you can study until you turn old and grey and begin to resemble professor Flitwick himself!"

Hermione seemed to be listening apprehensively as Fred talked, and when he made the Flitwick point, looked down with wide eyes as if highly considering something.
"Well... I guess . . ." She said slowly. "I guess you – ARE right – I mean, why waste the time that I, have to have fun, and study in between, and – but, oh Fred, these years at Hogwarts are what starts up my career! The most IMPORTANT studying years! Better now than later!"
Her voice was slow and cautious at first, but quickened and sharpened near the end.

Fred let out a long, drawn-out, slightly exaggerated sigh - it was not as if he were getting annoyed. Quite far from it - he was very much enjoying the debate with Hermione. But he had to keep up the show for effect.
"Hermione, Hermione - sure, lessons are important, but it doesn't mean that you have to let them take over your LIFE. How come you can't - say - study one day, the next day, have a little fun?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows. "Think about it - if you even just take an HOUR - in that time, you can successfully pull off a number of things --- like, poisoning the ponce Draco and waiting for the results - that can't take more than a few minutes. You could easily learn a new Quidditch technique. You could even -- nah, the list goes on forever. Besides. You know almost all this stuff anyway! I'll bet you - given an few hours' worth of studying - you could parse ((nyeh, stupid Neopets)) the N.E.W.T.s in a heartbeat."

Hermione was listening once again, chin now in her hand.
Her ears perked at the N.E.W.T point, and she seemed almost highly convinced by his whole speech, but skeptical.
"Just... one hour, a day..." She repeated quietly, pondering about just how much studying that would allow.
"And then... then I could still get my studying finished... and have time to sabotage Umbridge in any way shape or form..."

Fred beamed.
"Exactly," he said, happy that she was finally seeing his point. "See? You can still have fun and not completely goof of like George and I. Besides - isn't seeing old Toady's face all purple with rage worth missing a few minutes' worth of studying?"
In his humble opinion, he would drop every lesson - needed or no - to see the horrible professor canned.
A rare grin cracked over Hermione's face.
"You've no idea. Now all we need is for her to become Headmistress and have us all become slaves..." She said with a small snort.
"But let's see..." Hermione leaned in slightly, eyes twinkling mischievously.
"What can we do to the old hag?"

The Weasley twin's eyes sparkled at the question, and he leaned in as well in a conspiratorial manner. Yes, debating was fun - but this - this was his specialty. Planning the attack.
"Hm... well..." he tilted his head, thinking. "I'd say the Fireworks went off with great success, but no point trying them again... chances are she won't be caught off her guard by those again. Hmm... what do you think? What would you like to do to old Toady, for your first try?"

A feeling surged through Hermione unlike any other. A mischievous, wicked, daring, evil feeling that felt pleasantly satisfactory at planning the Toad's bring-down.
It was quite unlike any other she had ever had. Ever.
"Personally, I would like to bring her down upon her knees." She said venomously, eyes closing with a malicious uplifted expression, and opening again.
"Something that will really make her fall, yet not know who did it... and I am no expert at pranks, that would be you. So what's the master plan, Fred?"

As Fred began to see the look in Hermione's eyes that got into his own whenever he was about to pull something off, he grinned brightly. He didn't think it was possible - but he was certainly glad it was. On an impulse he glanced sidelong to where George had been a few minutes ago, but it appeared that he had gone off to bed already. While he was at it, he made sure nobody who sympathized with the Professor - though few there might be who were - was present.
"Hmm... on her knees, eh? It would have to be some prank, then... I didn't even think she HAD knees, her legs are so short and stubby... let's see. Can't be too drastic, or we will be expelled if we're caught... but don't worry, that never happens if I have anything to do with it..."
He frowned, scratching the back of his neck as he contemplated the many schemes he and George had managed in the past.
"Well, this will take some thought. There are many possibilities. We could try to destroy her office, but -- well, that would only get her angry, not bring her to her knees. So it'll have to be something more direct. ... What were these potions you spoke of using on our dear friend Draco?"

A look of comprehension dawned on Hermione's face, and her eyes widened.
"Oh, Fred...." She said breathlessly, her grin — if possible – widening.
"I have always wanted to make a truth potion... Or—" She giggled slightly. "Maybe even a love potion for the old hag!"

Fred looked as if Christmas was being held a few months earlier.
"A love potion?" he breathed, his eyes glistening at the very thought. "Wow, Hermione - now that- THAT is an idea."
He looked upon her with a measure of awe. This idea by far outshone any he and George had in mind for the old Wretch.

Hermione's eyes sparkled. "I believe it is in 'Most Potente Potions' and I could certainly steal some ingredients from Snape's storage... and now that I think of it – I am feeling a bit... mischievous..." Her voice went breathless and excited at the last word, and she stood up.
"I want to get this done as fast as possible, so the temptation to rip the Toad's hair out will be somewhat reduced...."

Fred stood as well, getting even more excited by the moment. This prank would - perhaps - rank right up there with the Fireworks in Umbridge's office and the ton-tongue toffee extricated upon Dudley.
"Your wish is my command, madame," he said with an eloquent bow, grinning from ear to ear. "Fast it is. What sort of ingredients shall we need for this concoction? And --" he paused, a new thought striking him and making him grin all the more broadly. "Who do you think shall be the unlucky recipient of the Toad's affection?"

A very malicious grin cracked over Hermione's face.
"I have an idea... how about a greasy haired long nosed menacing black eyed someone?"
Her head was swimming with the uncanny desire to cause havoc, especially to someone who had made her life at Hogwarts miserable for the past 5 years.
"And I am not sure of the entire recipe for the love potion, but it should take around three days to finish properly, if we really want it to be strong... and what do you think of my recipient for the Toad's affection?" She added hopefully, yet still with an evil look about her.
It was actually fun planning mayhem for unsuspecting souls.

Fred oggled at her.
"Merlin's beard," he gasped. "Are you SURE you have never done this before? That - that is brilliant. Abso-flippin-lutely bloody brilliant."
He would burst out laughing if he was not so impressed. Instead, he grinned, savouring the visual.
"Ah, and what a lovely couple they make..." his eyes misted over. "I wonder if they'd have children...?"
He was lost in the mental imagery of greasy little globular slime-balls chasing each other around Snape's office, Umbridge and Severus snogging in a corner...

Fred may not have laughed, but Hermione did.
She burst into loud gales of laughter, brown eyes shining with mirth.
Holding a hand to her mouth, she was unable to control her howls of amusement at the funny picture now forming in her mind.
"Oh... that -- is – great ..." The usually studious girl choked, staring at Fred for a moment, then being overtaken in a new fit of giggles.
Hermione was inside surprised with herself. Never before had she laughed this hard about something she enjoyed picturing. Or anything at all, in general. It was a nice change, being able to laugh freely with someone about this particular subject.
She knew that it would never be this way with Harry or Ron.
They would find it just plain uncanny and bizarre that she did anything like this.

Fred soon collapsed into hysterics as Hermione's laughter became contagious. He dropped heavily back onto a chair, making it skid back a few inches in the slightly exaggerated movement. Hermione was surprising him - she was proving herself not only to be the most brilliant student in school, but the only one - other than George - that could render him nearly incapacitated with laughter.
"Hermione - I swear - you could --" he broke of laughing, and wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "You could be - be- really great someday!"

Hermione's laughter died down, periodically interrupted by occasional giggles, but she wiped a tear from her eye and sat down at the table, smile fading slightly.
"Although Fred, I don't t-think..." Her joyous face dropped completely and she now looked slightly puzzled. "But Fred, I don't want to be famous or great... o-or known for things like this... really, I don't. I just want to play maybe one or two... or three tricks on Umbridge. I really don't know if I want to make this a career like you and George – and I really don't think I would like it if I became, well, no offense, but classified under the same thing as you and George. Ever. I have other dreams for my career, and would be horrified if the whole school found out, or even got a whiff of the fact that I played a joke on Umbridge. Then I would be a c-common.... prankster!"
Her eyes widened as if the very thought frightened her.
"I don't want to be great for this!"

Fred - still unable to control his grinning - sobered down enough to consider this. He leaned his elbow against the table, looking at her through thoughtfully narrowed eyes.
"Nah, I didn't mean it in that way," he said. "You will be great to me at the very least -- I wouldn't expect you to follow George and my footsteps. 'Tis a hard job, you know. And don't worry, if any of the school found out about this," he considered. "You could always say I either bullied you into this or made the potion myself. Easy as that- you're clean and free, and it'll just be another escapade to put in Filch's file under the Weasley Twins."

Hermione still looked quite worried and skeptical, and when Fred had offered to blame it on him so willingly, the brown-haired girl frowned.
"Oh, I would never do that, Fred. If I wouldn't let Harry and Ron get blamed for something they didn't do in our first year, when they saved my life, I most certainly wouldn't blame a good friend for something I chose to do." She said matter-of-factly.

The Weasley twin's grin faded into a smile.
"I know. Just saying, if you're really worried about it, I'd be happy to take the blame," but he grinned again. "Yet I assure you, we will not get caught. I've gotten good at this, I promise! I'm not as dense as I look -" he teased. "If sneaking fireworks into our dear Toady's office was difficult, then sabotaging her drink won't be that hard."

Hermione looked doubtful for a few moments, as if inside her head the cogs were working furiously, but then she grinned.
"When do we begin?" She asked mischievously, leaning in closer and scrambling onto her knees in the chair.
"I want to make Umbridge embarrassed so much, she'll wish she never came to this school... that horrible woman..."

Fred nodded enthusiastically.
"And I am sure her first snog with the grease-mutant will accomplish that nicely," he said with a malicious grin. "We begin as soon as possible. We will have to break into Snape's office. George and I have done that before," he paused, thinking. George most definitely would not be joining in on this, considering the fact that he wasn't talking to him at the moment. "But it hasn't been easy. The bugger's awfully attached to his office. But I suppose one big diversion should be enough to draw him away."

Hermione tapped her chin thoughtfully for a few moments, then snapped her fingers.
"You know, I bet Harry'd be welcome to cause a diversion, considering that Snape loves to torment him.... Or," She added, cocking her head to the side. "I could cause a diversion by getting into a snipe with Malfoy..."

Fred laughed.
"Brilliant idea. Yes, get into a snipe with Malfoy! No doubt the bloody git deserves it. Then you must give me a list of these ingredients. ... And when Snape sorts out the snipe, I'll sneak in and swipe the stuff," he nodded to himself, pleased. "And we'll do that -- eh, I'm not sure when the next Potions class is. I really should take a look at my schedule now and again - I always follow everyone else to the next classes."

"Next potions class is this Thursday at 1 o'clock in the afternoon." Hermione said promptly, taking a quill and scribbling something down on a random piece of paper.
"And today is Monday, so that should give me enough time to get the list by then... even with my busier 6th year schedule. Which reminds me, I need to get downstairs to the library -- I heard Professor Flitwick was going to bring up Confundus Charms in class tomorrow, and so I want to get some important studying done about them so I might have a head start. Where'you off too?" She added, slinging her bag over her shoulder and staring at Fred.

Fred blinked at her.
"Ah - nowhere," he said. He glanced at his bag on the ground - he had pushed it beneath the table at some point. He thought that there was perhaps some sort of homework in there that possibly, possibly had to be done, if he wished to at least not fail utterly in all his studies. He kicked at the bag and frowned. "I'm sure I'm supposed to be doing a bit of homework. But I'm sure I could get Lee to do i--- er, help me later."
He grinned innocently.

Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"Alright then." She said blankly, adjusting her back on her shoulder.
There was a pause while Hermione shuffled her feet awkwardly, thinking to herself.
Why was she lingering? Why didn't she just zip out of the common room to go off to her studying? What was she waiting for?
Another moment passed as Hermione stared at Fred a few seconds, then back down to the ground.
Was there some kind of magnet that was keeping her here?
What was the reason that she didn't turn around and go?
There was no reason to stay. . . there was nothing to wait for . . . .
"Well, I guess.... I'll be seeing you around..." She said slowly, and turned around just as slow.
Hermione mentally shook herself. She was being stupid. There was something odd inside her going on... something that even confused her as to why she stayed the extra minute.
The brown haired girl shuffled slowly off to the portrait hole, opened it, and paused right outside it for a moment after climbing out.

Fred was torn. He shifted in his seat, sat up, sat back down again, and frowned after Hermione for a good - oh, ten seconds or so. He glanced at the portrait hole - glanced at his bag - glanced at the stairs that led to the Boys' Dormitories. He looked all around him and his thoughts turned in circles.
What? What was bothering him?
He really did have to do homework. Right? Well - he hated to admit it, but he DID actually have to do a bit of his own now and again. He could not very well hang about and talk to Hermione all day, much as the thought appealed to him. And as George was not speaking to him, they could not very well go over Joke-Shop business. Reluctantly he reached down, and hesitated before touching his bag, and then a thought hit him.
Of course! Why did he not think about it before?
He almost winced at the thought, and banged his head once on the table as he considered this new plan. If he carried through with it, it would make him feel - well, almost tainted. But also, it really couldn't hurt all THAT much ---- could it? Yes. No. Maybe so. Well. It was better than studying alone. He sighed, stood up, grabbed his bag, and then darted for the portrait hole. Plenty of people studied in the Library. Just because he, Fred, had never done so before, didn't mean that he never could.

Hermione sighed quietly, and shook herself, this time physically, before setting off down the stone hallway.
Foolish, she thought, really. Foolish to hope... -- but hope what?
There was nothing to wait for! Nothing to ponder!
It was a ridiculous and childish idea. Hermione could study alone.
There was no problem with that.
She had accomplished it many times before, and loved it.
Then why did it feel empty this time?
It took a few moments to realize that her drifting thoughts had brought her right in front of the library.
'Stop it.' She thought to herself firmly as the girl sat down in her usual table back in the corner hidden behind a few bookcases.
'Stop this ridiculous longing to laugh again. There is studying to be done.' After finishing her inward battle, Hermione opened three of her hefty books on charms and bezoars, and leaned her chin on her hand, biting the tip of her quill and beginning to study.
Her eyes darted hopefully up to the door, but then sharply snapped back down to her book.
"The Confundus charm causes confusion. A person who is affected by this Charm is said to be Confunded. . . ." 'I wonder if he is studying in there... how will he get his research books though? What if he comes in here?' "A person who is Confunded, may have a disorientated view of what is really true, and may believe something that is completely different according to the person who first cast the spell. . ." 'Maybe he just wants to stay away from me... maybe he is on his way down here right now, though...' Hermione's thoughts were wandering off, and her brown eyes were only some-what focused on the book in front of her. Her long brown curls were falling in her face, and she blankly tucked them back.

The library. In a second Fred went from a dead sprint to a dead halt in front of the door, looking upon it with wide, slightly fearful eyes. Panting, he clutched his bag to his chest, going over his decision once more before taking the plunge. If he decided to study in the library, then he would tarnish his flawless record of - NOT studying in the library. It would be a first. Yes, a true first. Though he was known on occasion to go into the room - he had not been in there too long ago - never, ever had he ever thought to STUDY there. If George knew, he could possibly be teased for the rest of his life. There was nothing stopping him - he could simply turn around and go back, and never take the dangerous step between - Fred and someone who was NOT Fred. Someone who was willing to take horrible, big, dangerous risks just to study with Hermione.
He sighed, and with a resigned look behind him walked purposefully through the door. The library never seemed so intimidating- books, so many books! Fred was a bit blinded by it all. At least there were not so many people in here as he thought - he would not make THAT much of a disgrace of himself. He began to look for Hermione. It took a bit, but finally he saw her, hidden near the back. He shouldered his bag, took a deep breath, and walked towards her.
"Hi," he said, grinning a little nervously. "Mind if I join you?" he shrugged a bit, motioning towards his bag. "Too quiet in the common room, y'know."

Hermione jumped with a start at the sound of a voice, a voice actually talking to HER, and her wide eyes slowly looked up from their position that was previously locked on the book.
The back of her hand was now supporting her cheek, and when she looked at who it was standing in front of her – she sat rooted to the spot.
A mixture of shocking joy made her want to yelp out in happiness, but also confusion and puzzlement that Fred Weasley was actually in the library.
She settled for cocked eyebrow and a mock-disapproving smile, and said teasingly,
"What, no paper bag over your face?" But it wasn't mean.... more of a pleasantly surprised comment.
Hermione scooted over a bit, and shoved some books out of the way to make room for Fred, happiness inside screaming to be let out.
She actually had a study partner! The first one that wasn't Ron and Harry!
This was – new, nervous, and neat.

Fred laughed - it was a bit more high-pitched perhaps than he had meant it to be, but he must say that he was impressed that he was able to laugh at all. If it were not for Hermione, he would have probably been hiding under the table or running away as quickly as possible. "No - no paper bag."
He decided that it was quite worth it - Hermione looked so happy! He was surprised – why ever would he be so deserving of such a thing? But he decided to take it in stride - he placed his bag onto the table, sitting down beside Hermione. He cast a wide gaze over the books piled around him.
"Heh - there's a first time for everything, eh?"
If Hermione was to become a bit more rebellious - no reason he couldn't - return the favor a bit, eh?

Hermione grinned. "'Course there is...and I don't know why you are so edgy. No one ever comes back to this table, let alone see it. It's well hidden see, behind the bookcases, so you can relax."
It suddenly struck Hermione that if it was hard to spot, how did Fred find it?
Surely he hadn't been looking THAT hard to see her – and surely he would have just given up looking for her instead of actually setting foot in the library without seeing her?
She flipped through her book, ("Charms of the Century!") and stopped at another, more advanced chapter on Confundus Charms, then blinked and craned her neck around the bookcase.

Chuckling at her remarks, Fred reached out for his bag, pulling it closer to him.
"Yeah - why do you sit so far back here, anyway?" he asked.
He opened his bag, and began shuffling around inside through the handfuls of skiving Snackboxes and implements of destruction for every-day use. 'Course there was no reason for him to be edgy - it was not as if he was going to get physically ill from being in the library for more than a few minutes at a time. He pulled out a handful of notes that looked suspiciously to be in someone else's handwriting, and frowned at them, wondering if these were for the current lesson in - he squinted - History of Magic.

Hermione looked back at him and was momentarily frozen, staring at him as if she had never seen him before, then she looked down at her books and grimaced, leaning her cheek against the back of her hand once more.
"Well, just... certain, reasons... nothing to be – er, -- concerned about. I sit back here because, well, it's nice a-and – er – cozy, and.... Comfortable. For me."
Lying through her teeth, she was. The real reason she sat back here was only known to her. And she would never tell anyone. Except perhaps Harry... not Ron, for she was currently livid with him.

Fred lifted an eyebrow skeptically. Nice? Cozy? Comfortable? He looked around him, but could see nothing different about this table than the ones closer to the front of the library. He glanced sidelong at Hermione again. If the girl had one fault, it was that she was a bad liar. Nah, scratch that, an awful liar. Even worse than Ron was - and he was one of the worst.
"Oh?" he said, his tone a bit flat. He looked away and pulled a book up, looking blandly at the cover. Inwardly he was wondering when Hermione would start trusting him - didn't he prove himself yet? He hadn't even told his own twin brother about Draco's curse, and now George wasn't even speaking to him.

Hermione bit her bottom lip, facing downwards to the book in front of her.
She had heard the disbelieving "Oh?" from Fred, and sighed heavily, rubbing her eye.
Should she really tell him the real reason that she remained hidden back here? The real reason that she hid behind bookcases, away from most of the people?
Maybe. But at the same time, a loud, resounding, and frightful NO.
Her brown eyes flickered over to Fred, and paused on him, head half in her arm, and elbow on table.
"Do I really need to tell you why..." She muttered.
Was she going to say it? Should she? Could she?

He looked back at her again, but his annoyance started to disappear. Instead he gave a half-smile and gave a quick shake of his head that slightly mussed his fiery red hair.
He turned his eyes downwards, toying with the first pages of the book - something about the history of dragons.
"You don't have to," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't force you to - but I must admit that I am a bit curious."
Indeed - whyever would Hermione be hiding in the library? Of all the places in the school, he would have thought that Miss Granger would feel most at home there!

Hermione blinked slowly again and ran a hand over her forehead, keeping it positioned over her eyes and nose exasperatedly.
"Well, it does get annoying, you know. Well, not that – you, would...know, but speaking differently, it gets annoying when people like the girl at the ball keep coming up to you, or some people hissing rude comments in your ear... Or insults that make you want to snap back at them right in their rude, annoying, excitedly foolish faces... but you don't – because..." She had said this very quickly, and took a sigh after she drew breath.
"Because it would ruin your identity as the quiet studious nerdy one at 'that table over there'..."

Fred snorted slightly, and cast a venomous look about him, as if said girl was flittering about.
"Well, if you ask me," he said dryly. "That isn't an identity that I would like to keep intact..."
He grinned at her, and nudged Hermione with his elbow a bit, trying to lighten her mood. "But, hey, if I'm here, who do you think'll dare come up and insult you, eh? They'll find their own fist halfway up their -- er, nose - before they could even finish their sentence."
Fred rarely felt protective over anybody except his own family - though at the moment he didn't even care about Ron, he could get teased by the whole house of Slytherin and he'd probably help. But Hermione was someone he'd be more than willing to slug into oblivion for.

Hermione gave a small snort when Fred had fumbled with the word 'nose' and smiled sheepishly as he finished.
"That's nice of you Fred, really... it is." And she truly did sound grateful. For she was.
"— But you can't come with me into the library every time... I mean, this is only a once in a lifetime thing...." She paused and frowned slightly. "Isn't it?"

Fred shrugged, and looked curiously about him.
"Well, I don't know. I mean- now that I'm in here, I see that I won't drop dead immediately from stepping foot into the library. Isn't such a bad place, really," he ruffled the pages of his book subconsciously, thinking hard. It really wasn't so bad - at least not as bad as he thought it would be. "I don't see any reason why I shouldn't come now and again. I mean - unless, of course, you would rather me not to."

Hermione nearly laughed out loud. She was staring at Fred with wide eyes as if he had gone mad, and when she spoke, kept her voice at an urgently quiet tone.
"Not WANT you to come in here with me? When you, other than Ron and Harry, have been within a foot of my table without hissing rude comments in my ear and then running away? When Fred Weasley has come into the library and befriended me, going past that barrier at the doorway into the dreaded library to come and study with me? When you are the only person other than Harry to whom I feel comfortable with just ME? When you are one of the few people that can make me laugh? As in really laugh? The only one, other than Harry, who accepts my like of Quidditch? Well, except for the snafu a while ago, but that was just curiosity and shock at seeing Hermione read something like that..."
She paused to take a breath and then she plowed on, voice urgent no longer, more just quiet, and her eyes were slightly less wide.
"The only one other than Harry and Ron who has accepted me as –me- and actually, well, at least I hope, liked me as a friend for who I am? That's nice to know... so why, after all those points would I want you to leave?"

Needless to say, Fred Weasley was a bit surprised by her reaction to what he had meant to be a sort of joke. He regarded her with raised eyebrows, and then, slowly, as her rant came to a close his face broke out into its accustomary grin.
"Perhaps because I secretly annoy the heck out of you but you're too polite to say so," he teased, and then laughed.
He was a bit embarrassed - he didn't know what to say. Well, that was a first. Fred Weasley - speechless. He continued to play with the pages of the book until he realized he would probably rip it. He closed it and drummed his fingers on the cover.
"No - I'm glad you want me to stay, then. It's hard to come by such good company as you, you know."

It was Hermione's turn to be speechless, though she had been many times before.
Whether good or bad in those times, this one was certainly a good.
Her cheeks went slightly pink and she too was turning pages of the books rather too fast than to look entirely plausible as to reading.
"Thanks, Fred. It's nice to know someone other than Harry says that about me...."
Then her eyes widened and she smiled rather weakly. "What are we doing, it's already been 10 minutes and we have an essay to finish..."

"Yeah," he said, and laughed. Suddenly an idea occurred to him, and he became thoughtful. "You know, Hermione, I do believe everyone will be shocked - I do not once remember handing in a complete essay. Interesting - I can still shock people even while I'm not making trouble."
He liked the sound of that. So he looked eagerly about him, grabbed a roll of parchment, and then hit an obstacle. He turned to her sheepishly.
"Er - Essay about - what again?" he asked. "I wasn't - er - paying attention."

Hermione laughed, but silenced embarrassedly when Madam Pince almost instantly bustled over, brandished a feather duster at her, and cocked her eyebrow warningly.
"Two, actually. Confundus charms, and love potions." She corrected quietly, throwing an uneasy glance at the librarian, who had walked away stiffly.

The infamous red-head glanced at Madam Pince. He wondered whether she was suspecting him of blowing something up. He grinned.
"Heh. The second one should come in useful... hmm," he considered this. "I probably could do with learning the Confundus Charm anyway... could come in useful for future joke-shop projects..."
That was all Fred needed to justify this - unwaranted act of studying. And, hey, in the end he would be more educated than his dear brother.

By gut reaction, Hermione nearly rolled her eyes, but suddenly realized that it was fine when he talked about the joke shop. She couldn't control everything, so why bother with him and his pranks if he wanted to talk about it?
"Yes, anyways, the Confundus charm, look, here's a book on it over here..."
Her hand reached out across the table and swiped the books "Charms of the Century!"
Then pulled it back and held it open for both Fred and her to see.

The twin leaned in to squint at the book. He had to read a few sentences twice before it began to sink in - he hadn't done any serious reading in a long while. He decided - after a while - that he could quite like studying - with Hermione as his partner, at least.
"Do you think Crabbe and Goyle are on some sort of permanent Confundus charm?" he asked, after reading the side-effects of the charm. He couldn't help it - no matter how much he was paying attention to something, he just couldn't keep his thoughts to himself. It was this impulsive nature of his that perhaps was the REASON he didn't bother studying with anyone else. He gave her an apologetic grin before trying to turn his attention once more to the book.

Hermione grinned in spite of herself and shook her head.
"Oh Fred, honestly..." She said with a mock disapproving smile, and then rolled her eyes, turning back to the book.
"The Confundus Charm will, however powerful the charm, momentarily confuse the person or being it is set on, making them believe whatever the caster wants them to." She read aloud quietly.

"Useful indeed..." murmured Fred. Already he was thinking about a hundred and fifty ways in which this charm would be of value to him. In so doing, he wouldn't easily forget this information, so the studying was doing its job. He didn't bother scribbling it out on the parchment. "You know, we could make Filch believe that he's a newt - or - or Malfoy that Goyle has a crush on him - or --" he paused, considering. "Y'think we could use it somehow with our Matchmaking-Service?"

"Maybe for Snape." Hermione said thoughtfully, shrugging her shoulders.
"Now pay attention..." She added in a hiss. "We need to get these finished before Monday I believe, and it's already Friday, isn't it?"
Her thoughts paused, then drifted over to a book and her brown eyes widened. "Most Potente Potions! I need to get it signed out, but need a permission paper! How am I going to get one?? None of the teachers will give me permission t sign it out without permission, and the only teacher that actually did, was Professor Lockhart, but he isn't here now..."

This hadn't occured to Fred before. He frowned thoughtfully at Hermione.
"Well, I certainly can't ask any of the professors," he stated the obvious. "With a book like that no knowing what I'd do with it... hmm. Well, we could always forge a signature. I have dozens of detention slips from - oh, almost everyone. Don't like to hand 'em in - like souveniers, y'know. I have so many no one ever misses them. Couldn't be that hard to copy a signature down onto a slip - and Madam Pince shouldn't suspect you of any foul play."

"Yes but, b-but..." Hermione was struggling to find something that might go wrong. "Oh Fred, what if she goes back to whatever teacher had signed it and asked, and that teacher said no, and..."
Her voice drifted off, and suddenly a wide-eyed look of comprehension dawned on the girls face and when she spoke, it was in an excited but deadly quiet whisper. She leaned over the table at Fred with a smile unlike any other. "That's IT! Harry! His invisibility cloak!! I'll ask him to borrow it, and use it to get the book at night!!"

Yeah," Fred said, nodding. "Top notch thing that is, that invisibility cloak of his! Wish I had one..."
He did, for a moment, consider what would happen if he used Snape's signature to forge the permission slip - but in the end he decided that Hermione's plan was not only perhaps better, but more fun to boot. The thought of sneaking into the Library at night quite thrilled him.
"Do you really think he'll go along with it?" he asked eagerly - he could not imagine Harry parting with his cloak

Hermione shrugged. "I hope so. If not, then we are definitely in trouble..." Her voice broke off and she sighed. "Now we need to get back to studying... a one and a half foot essay on Confundus charms and the effects of it, by Monday. Hurry up...."

A few hours later, Hermione sighed and leaned back against her seat in the library. "Well, now that you've finished one complete essay, what do you say, is it that bad?" Her eyebrow cocked as she surveyed Fred through amused brown eyes.

Glassy-eyed, Fred gazed blankly ahead of him into the general direction of rows of bookshelves. His hand twitched compulsively - hours. He had just spent hours preparing and writing out an essay. That was more than he had spent doing such his whole life. In a slightly delayed reaction, he turned and surveyed Hermione through wide eyes. His first reply would have been - how in the blazes was she able to do this every day? But he only had the energy to say,
"N-no. Not bad a-at all."
He tried to smile to emphasize the point, but it only came out in a pitiful half-smirk.

Hermione grinned in spite of herself and broke into silent laughter.
"Come off it, it wasn't THAT bad, was it? I saw your hand twitching... there is something seriously wrong with you...." Her smile widened as she shook her head and stared at Fred. "Ready to head back to the common room?"

Fred snickered. He took the twitching hand and massaged his wrist - he had never done so much writing before.
"Mother's been saying there's something wrong with me since the day I was born," he said cheerfully - now that the studying was over he was beginning to snap out of his delirium. "And the common room does sound quite nice to me at the moment."

Hermione clicked her tongue with the amused shake of a head, and proceeded to pack some of the books back in her bag.
"Come on, gather your things, Mr. I- hate- studying...."
Inside, it was highly entertaining watching Fred twitch compulsively for the past two and a half hours.... not to mention the fact that she had a study partner was not only fun this time, but wonderful. Fred somehow always found the way to make her laugh – unlike Ron who always got her angry.

"Well, I don't hate studying," Fred said timidly, though he grinned brightly. He sprang to his feet, vowing never to sit in one chair for longer than an hour again in his whole entire life. As he began stuffing things back into his bag, he said, quite matter-of-factly, "Though, I don't hate trolls either, and I wouldn't want to be around one of those for too long now, would I?"
Though, as much as he teased, it was not so bad as he thought. He rather had fun studying with Hermione, though he would never admit that studying would be fun. He'd rather eat a toad.
He could barely imagine what Flitwick would look like upon receiving his very first complete essay that actually had something to do with the subject he wanted.

At the word 'trolls' Hermione had a sudden memory of the previous year when Ron had said quite rudely, "We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls..." About the Yule Ball, and then had proceeded to insult Eloise Midgen after Hermione had inquired indignantly what exactly he meant by 'trolls'.
Snapping back to reality, and moving from her momentarily frozen position staring into space, an ugly look came onto Hermione's face.
She gave a quiet yet exasperated groan at the thought of the idiot red-haired boy who was quite rude, and slung her bag over her shoulder.

Fred noticed Hermione's abrupt change of mood, and was half through the process of slinging his bag over his shoulder when he paused to frown at her. He wondered if his comment had somehow put her off into a bad mood - though he couldn't at all figure out what it was that might have aqquired such a reaction.
"You alright, Hermione?" he asked tentatively, shrugging his bag higher onto his shoulder and stepping up to her.

Hermione looked at him and grimaced uneasily.
"It's just that... well," She laughed weakly and began to walk towards the library doors slowly, so as Fred could follow.
"When you said 'trolls' I was reminded of something Monsieur Jealous said last year...."

Following diligently, the Weasley twin gave a short snort of indignation.
"Oh, I can imagine several different ways my dear brother could use THAT word," he said, but he looked sidelong with a slightly worried expression at Hermione just the same. "What did he say?"

Hermione led out of the library, and waited until they were down the hallway to respond. And when she did, it was in a loud, annoyed tone.
"He just said that Harry and him better hurry up and get dates if they didn't want to wind up with a pair of trolls."
Then, sensing some worry in Fred's voice, added, "Why?" curiously.

Fred shrugged in reply to her last question. It was interesting to him, how Hermione's thoughts turned to Ron whenever she finally began to have a bit of fun. He wondered just how long his brother had been dragging her down.
"Little does he know," he muttered as they drew nearer the Library doors. "He is about the closest thing to a troll I have ever seen."

At this comment, Hermione's face split into a smile and she burst into gales of laughter.
"Fred..." She choked between giggles. "I don't know what you do, or how you do it..." A tear was wiped from the corner of her eye as she shifted her bag on her shoulder. "But you always make me laugh..."

The slightly-older twin chuckled.
"Well, I am glad to be of service to you, ma'am," he said, and, thinking it would be appropriate to use a bit of matters, held the door open for her. He liked making people laugh. In all reality, it was the only way he and George could - well, get a bit of attention, what with a family full of Head Boys and Prefects and such. With so many siblings, it was nigh on impossible to get any real attention without causing some trouble.

Hermione flashed him a grin, and walked through the door, proceeding up the stone steps.
She paused to wait for him, thinking.
Why did she feel so comfortable around Fred?
What was the real reason?
A slightly subtle thought drifted by, and it made her frown slightly.
No... couldn't be.

Fred breathed in deeply as soon as he stepped out of the library - was it his imagination, or did the air seem so much more - clearer in the air in the library? He laughed, and, letting the door fall shut behind him, jogged up to Hermione. He felt a bit elated with the success of his studying -or, no, he just felt elated in general. Something new. It was very rare that he actually felt this happy. He clapped Hermione's shoulder lightly as he reached her.
"Thank you for helping me with that confounded essay," he said, grinning. "I must say - I couldn't - and wouldn't - have done it without you!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows, still staring at the wall behind Fred through unfocused eyes and a blank face; then, when he spoke to her, AND clapped her shoulder, jumped slightly and her eyes snapped onto him.
Her face broke into a weak smile.
"You're welcome..." She trailed off, still looking dazed and thinking.

Noticing he had disturbed her, Fred withdrew his hand, smiling bemusedly. He was constantly being reminded lately that girls - Hermione, mostly - have the ability to completely change moods at the drop of a hat.
"Y'alright, Hermione?" he asked curiously. "You look like you just got lost. Pretty hard to do, as we haven't gone very far yet."

Hermione laughed slightly.
"No.... not lost.. I'm fine. Just a little..." Her left eyebrow raised even higher.
"Odd." She finished quietly, then shrugged and began up the steps again.
"I don't know if it is the potion or what... but I've been feeling off color for the past few days. Except when I am around you, of course..."
Then as soon as she had finished the last sentence, a realization popped in front of Hermione's eyes so clearly, that she could not see how she hadn't spotted it before.
Did she fancy Fred?

Fred was just about to reply with something casual or obstinately Fred-ish, but suddenly something mentally hit him and the sentence died before it even began. He realized that her sentence could easily describe him as well. He blinked dazedly at her, realizing that in the past few days he had acted about as odd and - un-Fred-ish as physically possible. And if it were possible, he had "broken up" with his twin. Off-color indeed! What was wrong with him? Suddenly he felt distinctly uneasy. He looked at Hermione as if he had only just seen her - it began, he realized, the day that he had followed Hermione out of the library. What could that possibly mean? No - he knew what that meant, despite the fact that it never happened to him before, but he was too utterly stunned to admit it. He had no idea what to say, so he just settled on blinking and staring at Hermione instead until inspiration came upon him.

Hermione paused for a moment, then turned around slowly to face Fred.
Once or twice, she opened her mouth to say something, but it merely mouthed noiselessly and she ended up closing it again.
This was different. Different like any feeling before in Hermione's body.
She felt, comfortable... different... happy around Fred -- and it was beginning to grow past that.
More than just a laugh. A -like-.
She actually liked the Fred standing before her.
No -- fancied. But still, the thought seemed crazy in Hermione's mind. How could it BE?
It just seemed odd that the one she had once called a hopeless prankster, that had no idea what he wanted in life -- was actually beginning to grow on her.... and past!
Her brown eyes stared straight into Fred's for several moments, looking hopelessly lost with a slightly confused frowned brow.
Boy did she feel stupid.
Until she realized that Fred was staring at her too....

It took him several heartbeats to realize the same thing as Hermione - one, he was looking exceedingly stupid. Two, they had been staring at each other for a very long time. His heart was racing as realization suddenly dawned upon him - how was it possible? That he had feelings for Hermione? For the girl that he had - since just recently - believed to be a slightly dull bookworm? He didn't know - and, frankly, he didn't really care.
There were quite a few options ahead of him. He could laugh and make some joke - pretend nothing had just happened. He could just simply start walking again and embarrass both himself AND Hermione. Or - well, the last option was at the same time the most logical and - frankly, frightening one of them all. It had the possibility to make him possibly even more foolish that Hermione probably already thought him.
He took a deep breath, and then built up all of his courage for what he was about to do. He smiled wryly, and then took a small step towards her. He leaned down - right now he hated being tall - and kissed her softly.
As soon as he did it, panic set in, and he jerked back. He could feel his face growing hot - he gave a sort-of high-pitched, nervous laugh, imagining about a hundred and one reactions he could receive (most of them probably involving a slap of sorts). "S-sorry," he stammered. "I - I have no idea what I...." he trailed off miserably, and eyed her anxiously for a reaction.

Hermione had once been staring at Fred, and him back at her as well for a few piercingly silent moments – then, quicker than before she even knew what was happening – he was kissing her.
On the lips.
A blast of mixed feelings exploded inside Hermione like fireworks, shooting by, winding their way through her stomach – which had given a jolt of adrenaline and panic.
This was – out of the blue.
This was – so shocking there were no words.
When he withdrew very quickly, an embarrassed silence fell over the two of them, and left Hermione feeling completely shocked.
Her face was indescribably blank for a few more moments as she blinked and thought, brown eyes staring up at Fred curiously; the flames from the torches in the hall dancing in them.

It couldn't be....
No... -- it WAS.
There was no denying it this time. There could be no ignoring this time.
Fred actually fancied her. Why else would he just come up and kiss her out of nowhere?
Did she feel the same? The race of panic now zipping through her stomach told her yes.
How to react though...
Her thoughts were somewhere along the line of Fred's. She didn't want to embarrass the both of them by saying anything embarrassing... she certainly didn't want to slap him, for despite the fact that her Hermione instincts told her to, the kiss was actually quite lovely.
Slowly, very slowly, her face broke into a shy smile and she adjusted her bag on her shoulder – not knowing what on earth she was going to do next, or what Fred was going to do either.
What should she say? Thank you? No, that would be under the lines of embarrassing.
Ignore it and march back to the common room? Even more ridiculous.
Return with a kiss? .... Wouldn't that be embarrassing?
Wait for Fred to do something? Better.
Still smiling embarrassedly, she looked up at Fred with her brown eyes once more and kept her hand on her should strap – underneath wanting to scream with joy and panic.

As a few seconds ticked by and he received neither a snap nor a scolding, Fred's panic gradually began to die down. His heart rate returned to a normal level, and he was able to think one thought at a time. He blinked, and watched as Hermione smiled. That - that was a good sign, wasn't it? He hoped so. He smiled nervously, running his hand through his hair once and flashing a grin. He decided that if he had the choice, he would probably prefer to drop dead right then. Though, oddly, he didn't regret what he did in the least bit.
"So..." he said slowly, cautiously, trying to figure out the most appropriate thing to say. It was amazing to him - most of he and George's peers all had had plenty of experience with kissing, and this was his first. Another testimate to how very few people were able to tolerate the trouble-maker on a personal basis. "Er - you're not going to hit me, then?"

Hermione grinned and bit her lower lip, looking at him with dancing eyes.
"If you'd like me to, sure..." She said coyly, once more nervously adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
"But not on my own accord..."
Her heart rate was not at all normal though. It was still fluttering against her inside, thumping as though she had run a hundred miles – yet this was not a nervous fluttering. It was a surprised, --pleasantly—surprised beating.
What had just happened in the past five minutes had been frighteningly shocking, and yet nice at the same time. The stunned air still hung, that someone – let alone Fred Weasley!— had kissed her.
She nodded her head in the direction of the hall, biting her lower lip again.
"Shall we get back to the common room?"

Fred laughed - his laugh still wasn't -quite- the same timbre as it normally was. He still couldn't believe himself - what had he done? Was he going to regret this? What if George found out? Ron? Anyone in school, really? He really wasn't careful about it - anyone could have been watching them leave the library. If he thought they were receiving a hard time BEFORE -- he realized that he didn't really care. Never did care, actually. His thoughts were running around in nervous circles.
In response to her question, he glanced once in the direction in which they had been heading - common room. Yes, that was right, they were heading back to the common room. He had forgotten. In fact, in the past few moments he seemed to have forgotten everything - even the fact that he had been studying for hours. He flashed a nervous grin at her and nodded, fidgeting a bit with his bag.
"Yeah - yeah, sure."

Still with the awkwardness of Fred kissing her in the air, Hermione nervously copied him by shifting her back on her shoulder, and began to saunter slowly down the hall, biting her lip.

Now what was there to say? It was still edgy in the atmosphere, and Hermione's feelings were zipping this way and that, new tidal waves of molten adrenaline coming with every step.

Her head was spinning slightly, but her shy smile remained.

To stir up conversation would be difficult.... But to remain in silence would be embarrassing.

Ineptly, she attempted to bring something to the discussion board – eyes looking ahead. Only three more hallways and two more flights of stairs, then she would be able to fly into the girl's dormitories to think and re-think over what had happened.

Her eyes slowly drifted back to Fred. "So... I guess this means we are going to have a nice remaining year? After, you know..." She shrugged her left shoulder in reference to the kiss, but almost immediately, she winced at her words.

That sounded so –– stupid. And not only stupid, but wrong. Maybe to re-phrase it and tell him what she REALLY meant....and not anything else.

But to rephrase would make her look stupid....

Hermione shook herself mentally. She kept forgetting that when she was around Fred, she didn't need to prove herself in any way. Fred would understand. He was trustworthy on THOSE issues. She had learned that in the past week all too well.

Fred laughed softly. Hermione's question was a bit odd, but he had an idea of what she was meaning to say. He looked at her sidelong, cautiously. Truth was, he had no bloody idea how he was supposed to act now. Was he supposed to return to his normal behavior, or - not? He realized that he had set them up for quite a few awkward silences in the near future, but to him the aftereffects were quite worth the original act, even if they could include a few fights with Ron.
"I -- don't know," he replied truthfully, glancing upwards and pretending he saw something interesting on the ceiling as he pondered this. The possibilities for the rest of the year were endless and varied. The could, of course, just go back to being friends. Possibly Hermione could go running up to her dormitories, and come back not wanting to speak to him again. Or... not. "I mean... I suppose so. If - you want - yeah."
That wasn't what he meant. Well, it was, but it didn't come out right. He never was one that was able to master words, but he seemed to have lost the skill altogether. He blinked and looked back at her, faced with the same dilemma and coming to the same conclusion as she did just moments ago.

Hermione looked up quickly. Did Fred mean what she thought he meant? What was he saying? That they should be together? The thought sent a frightened wave of adrenaline over Hermione for the first few seconds, then actually seemed quite nice.
Her brown eyes lingered around his face curiously for a few moments, and then darted to front.
They were almost there... she needed to finish the conversation so that she could go running into her dormitory. Not in a bad way, of course, but just to rethink over everything...
"Well, I... am not sure..." She said awkwardly. What was there to say? "M-maybe...."
They came up to the fat lady, and Hermione paused, with her hand on her shoulder, holding the strap of her bag.

Another nervous laugh escaped the twin after Hermione's last statement. When they drew up to the Fat Lady, he looked up at her, pondering his next words. He realized that Hermione probably wanted to get away from him as soon as possible to think things through - to tell the truth it sounded quite good to him as well.
"Well, Hermione," he said, grinning at her. He ran his hand through his hair again, stopping at the back of his neck. It was a gesture of his that was a sure sign that he was unsure of what to do. "I must say that I am completely out of my element here. I... I had a good time today, Hermione," he wasn't sure whether he meant he had a good time studying, or afterwards. Probably both. "And I... thank you for tolerating my presence, and... yeah... what's the password again?"

Hermione cocked her head to the side and turned to the fat lady with a smile on her face.
"Petrificus Totalus..." She muttered, and the fat lady, after a small nod, swung forward to admit them.
When Hermione had climbed through, her high spirits were not even dampened by the fact that Ron was in the common room standing near the portrait hole and talking to Harry in a low voice.
She simply walked right by them, after casting Fred a glance. Her stare however was prolonged, as she plopped her bag down beside an armchair and made to sit in it, but nearly missed, because she was looking at Fred.
Ron turned from his conversation as she came in, and expression narrowed, almost hawk-like as they entered; but Hermione did not seem fazed even by this. Her embarrassed smile widened and she finally sat in the chair, feet dangling over the edge, and head on the other side, staring into the fire with that uncontrollable grin on her face.
For some reason, she couldn't go up to the girls dormitories.... For some strange and uncanny reason, she felt the need to be in the presence of Fred and the fire for a little longer.... Before she went up into the dormitories....