"Mrs. Weasley's having a big dinner at the Burrow, and she wants you to come." Harry said, helping me stand and brushing my hair out of my face. We'd been talking for almost the entire day. He'd let me pour my heart out, and he'd listened the entire time. "Do you want to come, or would you rather I made you an excuse?"
"No, I'll come." I told him, giving a watery smile.
"Great, I'm heading over there now, do you want to come with me?"
"Sure, just give me a moment." I would love going with Harry, it would give me an excuse to hang around him. I went to my bedroom and got changed quickly, pulling my hair back and casting a charm to make my eyes not look like I had spent most of the day crying. I came back out into the living room a moment later and took Harry's arm. He apparated us to the Burrow, right into the kitchen. Ron and George were already there, both seated at the table while Mrs. Weasley cooked. They had been in some deep discussion, both with extremely worried looks on their faces before they saw us. They immediately stood, looking at me uncomfortably. A small grin lifted my lips and I felt a strong surge of affection for the two of them. I stepped towards George and wrapped my arms around him in a loose hug. He stood frozen in my arms for a moment before raising his arms and holding me gently.
"Uhm, you do realize I'm George, right?" He said timidly, rubbing my back. I gave a wet laugh and nodded my head.
"Yes, I can tell the difference." I said quietly, a wry grin lifting my lips. I pulled back after a moment and smiled up at him.
"Thanks for worrying George, I'm sorry if I scared you." I said quietly enough that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't be able to hear, but Ron and Harry could. "I'm fine though, nothing like that happened to me, or Fred." I finished, stepping back next to Harry. A relieved grin lifted George's face and his eyes brightened up.
"I'm back!" A voice I loved called from the stairs. I turned towards it, a grin erupting across my face despite the fact that I knew we'd never be more than friends. Fred thundered down the steps and then in to the Kitchen before joining George. "The party can begin." He finished, winking at me. My cheeks flushed and my heart fluttered, even though I knew it was a harmless flirt.
"So, mum, what's for dinner?" Fred asked, walking up behind his mum and looking into her pot. Harry stepped closer to me, giving my back a gentle pat while attempting not to glare at Fred. That made me really smile, the idea that Harry took my side.
"Your favorite chicken." Mrs. Weasley replied, smiling up at Fred lovingly. Fred glanced back at me and gave me another quick wink, and my mouth dropped open as I realized what he was about to do.
He was going to prank his mother!
A huge grin erupted across my face and I had to fight the urge to burst out laughing. We had barely been home a day and he was already fulfilling his dare. Merlin! That meant I'd have to fulfill my dare. I'd have to jump into the Burrow's lake starker's. Oh my god.
"Smells great!" Fred said, planting a kiss on his mother's cheek. His left hand gave a barely audible flick, and I saw George's eyes widen in surprise. Fred stepped back and went to join his brother, and half a second later, an explosion sounded from next to her pot and the room was engulfed with a neon green smoke. A loud laugh erupted from Fred and George, followed by a yelp from Mrs. Weasley. A moment later the smoke dissipated, leaving a very Green Mrs. Weasley behind. A heart beat later she turned bright pink, and then purple. She kept rapidly changing colors, so fast it almost hurt my eyes.
"FRED GIDEON WEASLEY!" She bellowed, holding her spoon up threateningly. Fred stopped laughing and his eyes grew wide before he took a small step backwards. She stepped towards him, her face scrunched up in a fierce scowl. Fred took another step backwards and ran into the table, successfully ending his retreat. Mrs. Weasley took another step towards him before bursting into tears and grabbing him in a tight hug. Harry, Ron, George, Fred, and my mouth all dropped open in surprise as she started to kiss his cheek and hug him even tighter. After a moment Fred managed to unfreeze and raised his arms, hugging her back.
"Oh Fred!" She cried out.
"Shh," he murmured, stroking her hair gently. "I'm right here Mum." He lowered her down into a chair and sat beside her, rubbing her arm and whispering something to her. I caught Harry's eyes and we both stepped out of the room quietly, feeling awkward about seeing such a private moment. By the time we reached the sitting room Ron and George had joined us.
"Well," George said cheerily as he plopped down onto the couch. "Gotta say, I did not see any of that coming."
"Yeah, why'd he keep winking at you while he pranked her?" Ron asked, staring at me suspiciously. I giggled, fighting back a full fledge laugh at the memory of Fred's face when I told him to prank his mother.
"While we were making our way back here, Fred got bored and wanted to play a game. He chose truth or dare. I told him that wouldn't work because we couldn't dare each other while we were in the middle of the woods. So he decided we'd just make them future dares."
"You mean you dared Fred to prank our mum?" George asked, sitting up and beaming. "Bloody brilliant 'Mione!"
"Did he dare you?" Ron asked, an evil grin working its way up his face. My eyes widened and I gave a stiff nod as my face lit up in a blush.
"Ooh! What'd he dare you?" George asked, noticing my bright blush. I shook my head no and he frowned. "Come on, tell, its gotta be good to make you light up like that."
"Oh, it is, trust me, it's good." Fred's voice came from the door way. My eyes grew even wider and I whipped my head towards him, begging him with my eyes not to tell them, not to humiliate me. "It's bloody brilliant, and we are the only two who are going to know what it was." He finished, giving me a wink.
'Thanks' I mouthed, fighting down a blush and the dumb butterflies that had risen in my stomach since he walked into the room.
"Mum wanted you to get the extra table cloth out of Ginny's old room, don't ask me why it's in there. I've no idea." Fred said nonchalantly, stepping into the room and sitting next to me. I jumped up and nodded my head before turning towards, and racing up the stairs. I opened the door to the room and walked to the closet before I grabbed the table cloth off the top shelf. I turned back around and left the room, shutting the door behind me. I reached the staircase and almost dropped the table cloth. Fred was standing at the top, leaning against the banister with an easy smile.
"That's not the right one, Hermione." He said softly, stepping closer. I took a step back, fighting to keep my breathing even.
"O-okay," I stuttered, reaching for the door knob behind me. I found it and turned it before stepping backwards into the room and shutting the door quickly, leaving Fred outside. I took a breath and calmed my racing heart, letting the tears that were filling my eyes fall. I let go of the door knob and took a step back, letting out a puff of air before turning around.
I dropped the table cloth.
Flying around in the room in front of me were at least fifty owls, and they were all hooting eagerly as they swarmed me. My mouth dropped open and I let out a wet laugh. How had he done that? I hadn't been out of this room for more than a minute.
A pretty tawny owl flew right in front of me, sticking its leg out and hooting importantly. A smile lifted my lips as I saw a single little box attached to it. I untied it, stroking the birds feathers as I did so. He gave a pleased hoot and then flew to join the other owls. I turned the package over in my hands gently, blinking tears away from my eyes. It was wrapped in purple paper that was held on with a small piece of string. I untied it gently and pulled the paper off, letting it fall to the floor.
Before I could open the box though, the owls all let out a loud hoot and I looked up just as I felt arms circle around me. I froze for a moment, recognizing a wonderful musky cologne that Fred wore.
"You walk in beauty, like the night," He said, and I let the tears filling my eyes fall as I heard him recite my favorite poem to me. "Of cloudless climes and starry skies, and all that's best of dark and bright" He continued, slowly turning me around so I was facing him. His eyes were bright and full of emotion as he looked at me earnestly. "Meet in your aspect, and your eyes; Thus mellow'd to that tender light Which Heaven to gaudy day denies." He finished, holding me tight.
"Do you still want to give us a shot, Hermione?" He asked quietly, pulling back slightly so he could see me. I nodded my head, tears still spilling down my cheeks.
"I-I do, but what about Ange?" I asked wetly, my heart was hammering against my chest as his eyes widened.
"Ange?" he questioned. "Oh no, you thought I…" he shook his head, a tender smile lifting his lips. "Open the box, 'Mione, it'll explain what I was doing." I forced my eyes away from his and looked down at the small box I was still holding. I removed the top with shaky hands, before sucking in a painful breath. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with an oval shaped locket. It had a horned owl engraved on the front with the letter 'H' etched out beneath it. I pulled it out gently, breathing out an 'O.' I opened it slowly, letting out a painful breath when an image of Fred's and my first kiss popped up.
"It's a special charm necklace, you can put a copy of a memory in it and it projects it like an image. Plus, I put a special charm on it so that if you ever get kidnapped again all you have to do is press the owls beak and it'll send out a homing signal." He explained taking it out of my grasp and stepping behind me. I moved my hair from my neck and let him slip it on. He stepped back around and looked at me, a worried look in his handsome eyes.
"It's beautiful." I whispered, unable to say more.
"Ange works at a magical jewelry shop, that's why I went to go see her." He said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "I never meant to make you think that. I really, really, like you Hermione."
"Good," I whispered back, stepping closer to him and taking in a deep breath. "Because I really like you too, and now I can breathe again."
"Huh?" He asked, blinking as I stepped even closer.
"Now I may never stop kissing you." I finished. I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed myself up before planting a firm kiss on his lips.