Disclaimer: JKR owns everything!

AN: CarlitaM, I'm planning on taking this story right through the battle of Hogwarts, into young-adult-hood. Hopefully. Unless you know, people stop reviewing and stuff.

And sorry about last chapter, how most of it was in Fred's POV – I really prefer writing about him, since the books focus on Harry, Ron and Hermione (obviously). But anyways, on with the story!

Thanks to all for reviewing and subscribing :-)

Chapter Eleven!

Fred's POV:

Later that day, I tried not to think about loving Hermione. How could I possibly love her, anyway? I also tried not to think about George's Patronus. Why couldn't I cast mine? Our happiest moment would be the same, surely? So why couldn't I do it!

All through the day, the thunderstorm stayed strong. I tried not to laugh as I pictured Hermione and her dad plodding through the garden, soaked to the core with rain. It was mean, but I knew that she would have taken it as banter.

Despite so much being on my mind, the day seemed to go quite quickly. And so, the next day, mum got us all to help out around the house, to get it spotless for the Granger's – I wasn't sure why though; they seemed to be quite laid-back, but, if it made mum happy, then so be it.

As six o'clock approached, the time of which Hermione said she would arrive, the house was spotless. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime sight for us Weasley's. I think my siblings (George in particular, of course) could tell that I was quite tense about meeting Hermione's parents. Which I was! What would they think of me? What would they think of us? Us wizards? Mum had gotten us all to dress in our best muggle-style suits. Apart from Ginny, of course; she was wearing some dress. But what if the Granger's decided to dress casually? That would be awkward.

Hermione's POV:

As it reached 5:30, I was sat on my bed with my trunk and Crookshanks, deciding what to wear, as mum had said to dress formally. I wasn't really a very dressy person, so there really wasn't much choice; just the colour, really. The two that I was choosing from both had spaghetti-straps and floated down to just above the knee. But it was choosing between a deep blue, or a dark red. After much thinking, I decided on the blue. I put on some small silver heels and headed downstairs with my trunk.

'You look beautiful, darling,' my dad said, kissing my now non-bushy hair.

'Thank you, daddy,' I mumbled back, the corners of my mouth curving slightly. I just wished that Fred would think the same thing.

'Shall we go then?' asked my mum, as she walked into the kitchen where we were.

'Of course,' I breathed; now getting quite scared about my parents meeting Fred.

'Relax, darling,' my mum said, smiling at me. 'It's going to be fine.'

I walked into our living room and over to the fireplace. 'Here mum, dad,' I said, offering them both some grey powder that I'd borrowed off Ron in our second year. 'Just say, really clearly, 'The Burrow', and drop the powder. It's easy!' I explained. 'I'll go first, if you want?' They both nodded in agreement, clearly worried about using the Floo Network for the first time.

I stepped into our large fireplace and grabbed a hold of my bas with my spare hand.

'The Burrow!' I commanded, throwing the powder to the ground. In a blur of green flames, I was whisked away to the place that I'd spend these Christmas holidays.

When I arrived, Mrs Weasley was waiting beside the fireplace, all ready for our arrival.

'Hello!' she greeted, taking me bags off of me and wrapping her short arms around me in a bone-cracking hug.

'Hello, Mrs Weasley,' I panted, as she let me go.

'Are you parents coming, dear?' she asked.

'Yes, if that's alright with you, of course,' I replied. 'They should be here in a moment; they were both quite shaky about using the Floo Network for the first time.'

'Oh, of course! I should have sent someone over to escort them…' Molly mumbled. But as she spoke, the green flames appeared once more and my mum emerged from their fireplace, looking cautiously around.

'Hello, lovely!' exclaimed Molly. 'Safe trip? It's always a bit scary the first time.' She gave my mum a hug, too, but not as tight as mine.

'Yes, it was fine, Mrs Weasley,' my mum laughed.

'Oh, please; call me Molly.'

'I'm Kathryn.' My mum smiled widely at her new friend. 'John, my husband, will be here in a moment… The Floo Network is something very different from muggle life.'

'I know, dear,' Molly said sympathetically. 'I'd completely forgotten; I was going to send someone over to escort you, but Hermione said you wouldn't have a problem.'

Before my mum could respond, the fireplace flared up in green flames, and my dad walked out, flattening his perfectly in-place hair.

'John Granger,' he greeted, extending his hand to Molly.

'Molly Weasley,' she replied, shaking his hand.

I turned to Molly and smiled. 'Where's Fred?' I asked shyly.

'Upstairs in his room,' she replied, smirking a very Ginny-like smirk.

'Thanks, if you'll excuse me…' I said, looking down, my cheeks flushing red. 'And shall I take these to Ginny's room?' I asked, gesturing towards my bags.

'No, dear, I'll take them up later. Leave them by the bottom of the stairs and go and see Freddie.' She winked at me before turning back to my parents.

I dragged my bags to the bottom of the stairs and began to walk silently up them. I stood outside Fred and George's room, breathing heavily. I knocked twice, and heard Fred's beautiful deep voice on the other side.

'Alright, mum,' he grumbled. 'I'll be down in a minute!'

I smirked at the closed door. 'A mere few days without seeing me, and that's how you greet me?'

Before I knew it, the bedroom door shot open and a tall red-haired man in a suit engulfed me in a huge hug.

'I missed you, love,' he mumbled into my hair.

'I missed you too,' I sighed, smiling.

He pulled away from the hug and crashed his lips against mine. I felt him smile slightly beneath it as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

'Are you done here?'

I broke off the kiss, finding George in the doorway, smirking at his twin.

'Not quite, but thanks for interrupting,' Fred shot back, putting his arm around my waist.

'Just doing my job, Freddie,' George winked and gestured for us to come in. I gulped; I'd never been in Fred's room before.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. It wasn't how I thought it would be; with the smell of burning, from failed experiments, and 17 years' worth of dirt. No, it was the opposite. There was a strong smell of aftershave; the one that I loved. Despite the cold weather, the window was open, and a fresh breeze was streaming through. I suddenly noticed what the boys were wearing; suits! I laughed internally at how Molly must have forced them all to dress-up fancily for us.

Fred and George's suits were almost identical, however George had a red tie, and Fred had a blue one. The blue made Fred's eyes stand out a lot, making them brighter and much more noticeable.

As he sat on the edge of his bed, I sat and joined him, snuggling close up to the boyfriend that I had greatly missed.

Fred's POV:

George, Hermione and I sat and talked in my room for a while. I didn't realise that she would come in – I thought mum would have made dinner so it was ready when she got here, and George and I hadn't cleaned up at all. But luckily, we were only designing, and the common stench of our products wasn't looming around us. George began telling Hermione all about our plans for the future, and, although she seemed happy, I could tell that she definitely didn't want us to leave Hogwarts early. But, before long, mum called us all down for dinner.

I took Hermione's hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Everything would be just fine. Harry, Ron and Ginny were already down when we got there.

'Hey, Hermione!' called Harry.

Hermione smiled shyly and said, 'Hello, everyone.'

We sat down in the remaining three seats; Hermione in the middle of George and me. Mum came out, plates and trays full of delicious-looking (and smelling) foods levitating behind her. I could tell that Hermione was nervous – her deep brown eyes darted around the table at everyone's smiling faces, then down to her lap. I took her hand in mine, entwining our fingers together, and squeezed the soft skin reassuringly.

'It's okay,' I whispered, winking at her.

'I know,' she said, blushing slightly.

Hermione's POV:

Before I knew it, the dinner was over. And I was alive! It wasn't too embarrassing – Dad had been quite awkward at the beginning, but I think he really started to like Fred. Mum, too, although they'd both been quite shocked when he had said what he'd planned to do after Hogwarts.

'What are your plans for the future then, lad?' he had asked.

'Oh, I... Uh…' Fred stammered. 'I plan to run a shop with George. A joke shop.' I could tell that he was nervous about Dad's reaction.

'Marvellous!' he exclaimed. 'Hear that, Kath? His own business!'

And then after that, Fred seemed to relax a lot as he explained to my dad about the products he and George had designed. After dinner, all 10 of us (Mum, Dad, Mr & Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Ginny and I) sat in their living room, laughing and sharing stories. Mum handed over a few small presents for me to put under the Weasley's large Christmas tree, and we bid our farewells.

'Have a good Christmas, Mum,' I mumbled, giving her a large hug.

'You too, Darling,' she replied.

'Keep my Angel safe,' Dad joked, clapping Fred on the back.

Fred gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck. 'Oh, I will, Sir.'

I watched as my parents flooed away, and I climbed up the stairs, to Ginny's room. She was sat on her bed, reading a new issue of Witch Weekly when I opened the door.

'Hey, Gin,' I greeted her, sitting on the edge of her bed.

'Hey,' she replied, folding up the magazine and grinning at me. 'You and Fred are really good together,' she commented.

'Well, er… Thanks,' I said awkwardly.

Ginny giggled and said, 'I could tell you were nervous about him meeting your parents, Hermione. We all could.'

I felt myself blush and I looked down. 'Yes, well, it was frightening… I've never had my parents meet a boyfriend before. Well, I've never had a boyfriend, but still…'

'You had Krum. Although, he could barely say your name…'

'Exactly! So of course I was nervous.'

'It's okay, Hermione. I'd be nervous, too.' Ginny gave me a reassuring smile and I wandered over to my own bed.

Fred's POV:

'Fred, pass me the cauldron.'

'Fred? Pass me the cauldron!'

'Fred if you don't listen to me right now, I swear to Godric I'll –'

'What?' I moaned from my side of the room. George was wide awake, despite the fact it was almost 2AM.

'Did you not hear me? Pass the cauldron,' he laughed, standing up.

'I'm tired,' I stated.

'I can see that.'

'So bugger off.'

I opened my eyes enough to see George smirking a few feet from my bed.

'Nah, I don't think I will,' he said.

I groaned, rubbed my eyes and sat up. I was still wearing that bloody suit mum had made me wear; minus the tie and jacket.

'You look like death,' George joked.

'Thanks for the reminder,' I said, frowning.

'You know, if I were you, I would smarten up a little bit before going out to see Hermione.'

'I'm not going out to see Hermione… I'm going to bed!' I whined.

'Oh, I assumed you'd stay up talking to her, at least.'

'She's probably asleep too, you know,' I commented.

'I'll bet that she's waiting for you to come in.'

'Shut up.' I grinned and threw my pillow at him.

George didn't reply, but the smirk on his face allowed me to know that he'd force me to do something with Hermione tonight. And it's not as if I didn't want to; I was bloody exhausted! And I bet she was, too…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

'Hermione, are you awake, love?' I whispered, as to not awake my slumbering sister.

'Mmm,' she mumbled in reply. 'What is it, Fred?' Hermione rubbed her sleepy eyes with the backs of her hands.

'I want to show you something,' I replied. 'Put something warm on, and meet me in the living room.' I kissed her head before tip-toeing out of the room and down the creaky stairs.

Hermione's POV:

Being careful not to wake Ginny, I slid out of bed and put on the warmest clothes I could find. I dragged my hair back into a messy bun and tip-toed downstairs.

'What is it, Freddie?' I asked, seeing him sat on the edge of one of the sofas.

'Come with me,' he said, grabbing my hand. I saw that he had his broom with him, and I gulped; I hadn't flown since the twins had saved me from Malfoy Manor.

'Love, you look petrified,' he chuckled. 'You'll be fine – and it's just so we don't have to walk on the wet fields.'

'Where are we actually going?' I grumbled, opening the back door and exposing the cold air to my skin.

'If I tell you, it won't be a surprise.' Fred winked and got on his broom. I followed, unsure of flying again. Without any warning, he kicked off the ground, and I wrapped my shaking arms around his torso from behind.

'You alright, love?' he asked, putting one hand on mine.

'Yes,' I called. 'How far away is it?'

'We're nearly there,' Fred replied, laughing lightly.

I internally groaned; I really hated flying, especially when it was this cold. But, soon enough, he lowered his broom and we landed in a clearing in some woods near his house. A large lake took up most of it, but there was still a lot of room to sit. Fairy-like lights darted round the cove like tiny fireworks; it was exquisite.

'It's beautiful,' I commented, gazing about in awe.

'I know,' Fred replied. 'Bill, George and I found it in Bill's fifth year. We haven't showed anyone else… Apart from you.'

I drew my eyes away from the beautiful scenery around me and looked at my boyfriend. 'Why me?' I whispered, our bodies now almost touching.

'There's something… about you, love, and I just can't seem to get you off my mind. Ever.'

And at that, he lowered his lips on to mine, and I felt electrical impulses dart through us like lightning. I pulled myself away from him when I felt light raindrops hit my head. I looked up at him, grinning.

'How incredibly cliché,' I murmured, pulling him in for another kiss.

It was amazing; feeling his breath entwined with my own. I was slightly shocked when I felt his warm tongue tease at my lips and ask for entrance. I opened my mouth and explored his with my own tongue. But, before I knew it, he pulled away.

Fred held my shivering hands in his. 'I'll keep you safe and sound – you know that, right?' he said.

'I know… Of course,' I mumbled. What did he mean? 'Safe and sound…'

I hugged him tight and smiled wide. I was really beginning to like this.

AN: okay hello! Thanks everyone for reading. Don't you just love the word exquisite? Hehehe. Right okay so I just had my FIRST EVER GCSE aaah D: (or OWL, for any wizards out there) and I'd put my social and writing life on hold so I could revise. Buuuuuuuuuut now that's over and I won't have another one till next year! Yay! So yep, review, subscribe, whatever :P

xx