A/N: For Liza (NeonDomino) for the Drabble Game Challenge. Prompts: Fred/Hermione; "Whose idea was it to steal a pirate ship?"
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"Whose idea was it to steal a pirate ship?" Hermione asked, glaring down at the map in her hands as she tried to keep her hair out of her face. She knew where they were and where they wanted to get to, and she had a vague idea of how to use the wind to steer the vessel, but everything beyond that was beyond her.
"Yours, I think," replied the redhead who had introduced himself as Fred Weasley, fearless adventurer. He was holding the large wooden wheel steady, guiding them out to deeper waters as he awaited her directions. "You said you've read enough about sailing to work it out."
He was way too chipper for the circumstances, in her opinion. It was as if they were going out for a delightful cruise rather than fleeing for their lives. Not for the first time, Hermione wished she had been abducted and imprisoned with someone a little more experienced than him. She had to admit that he looked rather dashing with his red hair and dancing brown eyes, and he seemed like he would be genuinely amusing under normal conditions, but looks and humour weren't exactly the first things she looked for in an escape partner. The other runaway prisoners were on board as well, serving as their crew, but they had as little experience sailing as Fred and Hermione.
They were doomed.
"Yes, well, I was working with what I had at the time," she said, her voice testy. When Fred had announced that he had stolen the key from one of their guards and was going to mount an escape attempt, she'd assumed he had a better plan than 'leg it.' Especially since it was difficult to 'leg it' across the ocean. Stealing their captors' ship might not have been the wisest course of action, but it had been the best she could think of on the fly.
"I'm not complaining. Fearless adventurer, remember? Besides, George will be so jealous when he finds out I got to sail a real pirate ship. This is so cool."
Hermione's first instinct was to snap back that it wasn't cool, it was dangerous. But something stopped her. For the past few months, she had been running on pure survival instinct. For the first time since her capture, she could feel the wind on her face and taste the sea salt in the air. She couldn't help the rush of excitement that ran through her at the thought. "It kind of is, isn't it? It's like we've been dropped inside a storybook. Granger and Weasley: The Seven Seas."
He flashed her a brilliant grin, and his eyes – which had looked so dull and caged back on the island – shined with light and merriment. "So it's part of a series. Does that mean we live to have another adventure together?"
That hadn't been her intent, but in that moment, the idea didn't actually sound that bad. It was even kind of intriguing. "We'll see," she replied, smirking. She returned to the map stretched out before her, but she couldn't help but glance back at him out of the corner of her eyes. He was still watching her. "Let's focus on getting to dry land first, and then we can talk."
Perhaps, if they managed to get the ship under control, the next few weeks at sea wouldn't be as bad as she'd thought.