Summary: Hermione and Fred are separated by war, their relationship and recent engagement completely hidden from everyone. Terrified for each others safety both still have to play their separate parts.

Pairing: Fred/Hermione

"Hermione?" Fred's gasp earned him a stare from his elder brother, there was a side to Fred Weasley that none of them had been exposed to.

"I'm going to check in on the other two. I'll lock this door." Bill recieved no acknowledgement from his brother that he'd heard him, Fred had eyes for nobody but Hermione. He backed out of the room slowly, magically locking the door before heading downstairs, shaking his head at the odd circumstances that had befallen him today. The trio had shown up in his garden, not to mention the fact that Fred and Hermione were carrying on like a married couple..

Fred stared at the girl before him. His Hermione was broken, lying pale on the bed. He sat down beside her, gently tracing the raised, red line across his neck, unable to escape the shock and anger that reverberated through him.

"Oh, Hermione..." His voice, barely more than a whisper, caused her to stir, but merely turn in her sleep. He decided, of course, that it was best to let her continue, instead taking a moment to examine her for any other obvious injury. Thick purple bruises were beginning to form around her forearms, he notied, as well as her wrists, as if she'd been held. He imagined the scenarios, picturing her captured, held by Death Eaters.. He wondered how she'd managed to get out of wherever she'd been alive, thanking anything, everyone, that she had.

His finger traced over.. What was that. He raised her sleeve delicately, not wanting to wake her, then keeled back, disgusted. Carved into Hermione's arm, still bleeding, was a word, a word that defined her in these times, what they were all fighting against.

MUDBLOOD

"Oh, why did I let you go.." Fred stroked his thumb across her ear, but even as he said it he knew he couldn't have done anything. He couldn't have stopped her. Part of why he loved her was because she was so strong, and she could take care of herself. To deny her, try to keep her against her will would have been wrong.

Suddenly her lip pursed, her eyes screwed up and a muffled cry escaped her lips.

"No.. Please.." She tensed, and started to shake in his arms, her eyes flying open. She looked into Fred's face with genuine terror and he moved in a heartbeat, shifting out of his chair and onto the bed, pulling her onto his lap and into his arms, burying her face into his chest.

"You're safe, baby, you're here with me..." He soothed, as she started to sob uncontrollably into his chest, him shaking along with her.

"Stay with me" She murmured into his chest.

"Be with me, help me be stron-NO!" She shook again, trying to break free of him, only causing him to hold her tighter, muttering soothing words into her hair, all the while a dark rage building up inside him. She had been tortured, that much was clear from the lack of physical damage, and he was ready to kill whoever had done it.

"Fred?" She said after a minute.

"I'm here." He replied, loosening his hold so that she could look up into his face, which she did, an expression of wonder in her brown eyes.

"How are you here? Are you not there anymore?" Not sure where she'd been, he still shook his head.

"Babe, we're in Shell Cottage. You asked Bill to bring me here. What happened?" She nodded, agreeing with him.

"I'm here?" She still looked terrified, and he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, trying to appear calm and strong for her, where inside he was panicking.

"Would I lie to you?"

"Never." She said this so resolutely he grinned, and her face started to calm down, her eyes regaining clarity as her fear and confusion dispensed. He marvelled that merely by his presence, his reassurance, she'd completely relaxed, that confident in him.

"Malfoy Manor." Hermione said after a minute, matter of factly. He started to speak, but she held up a hand while she finished.

"Bellatrix tortured me." She said quietly, and horror coarsed through him.

"I lied to her. Then I was apparated here, Ron I think, but there was a house elf there, you know Dobby? He must have done it, he must have done the apparating part.." She voiced her thought processes aloud, he could see her brain working it out. She trailed off, then, though, looking up into his eyes.

"And now i'm here." She said simply, and looked into his eyes.

"I'm with you." She tightened her arms around his waist, and smiled up at him.

"You miss me?" her eyebrows raised, and he laughed at her, leaning down and kissing her nose.

"More than words can explain?" She continued, and his eyes widened.

"You were listening?" He said, incredulously, and she nodded.

"Ron found it.. we all listened and it was the last thing we did before we were captured." At the reference of this his face fell again, and he took both her hands.

"Is it worth me asking what you've been doing?" He said, uselessly, and he knew her answer before she verbalised it.

"No, Fred. I'm sorry." He leaned down, and for the first time, kissed her mouth softly.

"I understand, doll." He said calmly, and then looked down at her again.

"I miss you so much." She burst out, and looked into his eyes, as if preparing for him to tell her off.

"I thought I was going to die, I really did, and I was so scared that i'd break my promise to you.. I love you so much, Fred, and all I wanted in my mind was to be able to tell you that." She said this all in a rush, her words tripping over each other as she looked into his eyes.

"You were there.. I was thinking of you, I could hear your voice while she did it, and I thought I was going to die." She raised her hands up, and placed them on either side of his face, taking her own turn and being the one to kiss him.

"It's so good to see you.." She breathed into his ear, and he rubbed his hands up and down her back, breathing her in, as he knew what was coming next.

"And you have to go, you need to leave now.." She looked into his eyes.

"I love you, and thank you for being here to make me better." She continued, a smile on her face.

"We have to last a bit longer though, don't we?" He said, and she nodded, biting her lip.

"I'm relucatant to leave, you're hurt, you've been tortured." She shook her head, a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were trained on him, imploring him to understand her.

"Fred, i'm alive. You.." She stroked his arm.

"You have brought me back into my mind. Now I have to help Harry, we have to finish this." He nodded. Fred knew better than to keep her with him, or at least try. His girl wasn't that kind of girl.

"I love you." He said, standing up, and she brought him back down, a teasing smile on her face.

"I think you should at least give me something to last till I next see you, don't you?" He smirked at her, as she pulled his lips to her own.

"I love you." She uttered into his mouth, before their lips touched.

"Bill? How's Hermione?" Harry's question was instantaneous as Bill headed downstairs. Bill hesitated, he hadn't even thought of what to tell the others to conceal the couple upstairs. He took in the scene before him. Harry was stood, a tiny house elf clinging to his arm, and Ron sat on the sofa. Luna was supported around the waist by Dean Thomas, they were stood uncertainly in the doorway. His wife, looking appalled, was glaring at the goblin Bill did not recognise, who looking around him disdainfully. To top it all off, the missing wandmake Ollivander was sat on the sofa, looking in pain.

"She's sleeping. Don't disturb her." He said after a minute, and at signs that Harry and Ron were about to debate this he held up a hand.

"It's what she asked, give her some space. Can you guys tell me what's going on? Or do I need to just accept that you're here, like I did Ron, and deal with these guys?" Harry gave him a look which indicated the latter, and Bill sighed, running his hands through his hair. He was going to go grey before his time, he knew it.

"Babe?" Fleur nodded, and started to move.

"Meester Ollivander, I will put you in our recreational room, take my arm please." She started to lead him out of the room, and with a sigh Bill turned to Dean and Luna.

"You two can't go home. Do you mind coming with me to The Burrow? The Order will sort you out." Luna was nodding ferverently, Dean looked reluctant, somehow, to remove his arm from her waist. He took Deans arm, seeing from the boys tightened grip on Luna that he knew he was about to apparate, that he understood that he needed to keep a grip on Luna.

A quick conversation with his family to explain the two new houseguests took only a few minutes, as there would be a proper meeting later that evening to discuss what had happened. After a few minutes privately with George, they created an alibi for Fred. The fact that George had understood where Fred was immedietely had brought it home to Bill that they really were together, and he was amazed by this. By the way they'd acted, it had to have been for a long time.. And none of the family had known, save George.

Upon his return to Shell Cottage Fleur had the house in order, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were all in a spare room talking to Ollivander. He took this to mean Fred had left, though Fleur had no idea he'd even been there. He caught his wife around the waist, catching her lips in a kiss as they stood in the kitchen.

"Your family eez crazy." She said to him bluntly.

"I never knew marrying you would bring such.." She struggled for the right word, and he smiled at her indulgently.

"Adventure? eento my life!" He laughed, kissing her again.

"Get used to it, love."