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

"What are the chances of this actually working out to be something?"

"I guess we wait and see."

"You're already pretty damn special to me. I think about you all the time. I'm out here, laying my heart on the line in case you
feel the same way. For me, this is already something."

"What if we break up? What if these feelings don't stick around and I can barely stand to be near you?"

"You're the most amazing girl i've ever met. I don't think my feelings will ever change."

"It's early days to commit yourself to that."

"I can think of a hundred reasons why you'd pick him. I can't think of many for me, but i'm here."

"Just in case."

"I may not be perfect, our circumstances are less than ideal. But you're amazing, you make me laugh, everything about you makes me want to be around you always. I've never felt this way about a girl before."

"How could I not feel the same way?"

"I'm going to look at you, every day from now until this ends, and wonder what it is that made me lucky enough to get you."

"There are so many reasons we could not see if 'us' leads anywhere, but that doesn't mean we don't deserve a shot."

"I want to be with you. Not Ron's best friend, not the resident brainbox. Hermione Granger is the amazing, strong, brave girl that I've been completely captivated by."

"Me and You. Fred and Hermione. Worth a try?"

"You're stuck with me now, Fred Weasley."

"I feel like this is what's meant to happen."

Hermione smiled to herself in the mirror as she reflected on all those years ago, under the Cherry Tree when Fred had blurted out his feelings for her. She could still feel the butterflies having a party in her stomach and the schoolgirl excitement she'd felt at the beginning of their relationship. Sneaking around, falling in love... Fred had changed her life.

"Ever think we'd make it here?" Freds tone was lighthearted, and if he'd spoken to anyone but Hermione they'd have heard just that, but in his eyes Hermione realised how hard it was going to be for him today. It was at that moment that a different set of memories were in her head.

"Please don't be dead, please don't leave me"

"Fred? Are you here? Is it you? Is she gone?"

"His pulse, his pulse is there"

"You will bow down."

"He's gone. It's over."

These images littered her thoughts as they often had for the last year. Fred's pale, worn face in the moments she'd thought she'd lost him. Her own torture at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, the still, unmoving body of her best friend and of course, the snakelike eyes and sweeping black cloak of the man she knew was dead, but still allowed to invade her nightmares.

She blinked, and the pictures were gone, and it was just her again standing before the mirror, toothbrush in one hand and a towel in the other.

"Snap out of it." She muttered to herself and began the mundane task of brushing her teeth, checking the clock above the door. 7:36. She focused on that, pushing those images from her mind. Today was always going to be difficult.

"Mi, are you decent?" She turned at the sound of a voice and raised her eyebrows as the door flung open before she'd said a word.

"I know, I know." The easygoing smile and light tone of Fred Weasley tugged at the corner of her mouth and she turned back to the sink to avoid smiling at him.

"Can't you knock? What if you walked in on me on the toilet?" He mimicked a high and flustered tone that resembled her own voice in no way, and she couldn't stop herself smirking at him in the mirror.

"May as well get used to it love." He said, wrinkling his nose at her in such a way that she stopped the eye contact, instead looknig down into the sink.

"Has it been three minutes yet?" He questioned and she turned to face him, glancing at the clock above his head. It'd been two minutes, and despite the fact that Fred loved to mock her constantly for her inherited obsession with cleaning her teeth for the appropriate time, she had not since she was 11 years old forgotten to give herself three minutes in the morning and three in the afternoon to brush her teeth. He sighed, and sat down on the side of their bath. She waved her toothbrush at him in annoyance before pushing it back into her mouth.

"Oh, you might need to add three seconds to the time now love." He was openly laughing at her now, and she couldn't stop a giggle escaping her throat. He knew he had her now, and stood up, his hands falling to rest on either of her hips as he smiled at her again in the mirror. She instead twisted again to check the clock, and seeing the 8 switch to a 9 she pushed him away with one hand, and held her hair back with the other to spit in the sink.

"Fred..." She twisted around to reprimand him but was instantly silenced by lips landing on hers, and long arms encircling her. She smiled into his mouth, one hand coming onto his shoulder.

"Good morning." She said after pulling away from him and he nodded with a smile.

"Ready for today?" The perfection was shattered, and Hermione closed her eyes.

"Not really." She shrugged, and turned back around to the mirror, smoothing her hair down and scrunitising her face.

"I still can't believe it's been a year." She said finally, turning back to face him.

"Me either." He responded, and started to propel her out of the bathroom. On her bed were laid out the exact clothes she wanted to wear, she'd picked them out the day that her and Fred had recieved matching letters through the letterbox of their little flat.

"Do you have your medal?" He questioned, and she nodded, pulling a face.

"I don't particularly want to wear it, but yes." She responded, heading towards her desk and retrieving the heavy golden metal, stroking a finger over the ornate purple ribbon.

War Hero

She was referred to as a hero all the time. At the ceremonies, in the paper... and on this day, the one year anniversary of the Hogwarts battle, she'd hear it all day.

"I'm going to shower. See you in a sec." Fred let go of her and headed into the bathroom himself, leaving her to change into her clothes and ponder the day to come.

"Got your keys?" Fred and Hermione lived in a muggle apartment complex, and despite the fact that a simple spell would get them in and out of their apartment Hermione quite liked the ritual of carrying a key and Fred liked to oblige her. While his mother hadn't been ecstatic about them moving in together when their wedding was barely organised she'd got emotional and excited when they'd given her their spare.

It'd been two weeks after the war when they'd decided to move out of the Burrow. After so long being together and knowing how much they meant to one another both had felt uncomfortable with the scrunity from all sides. Harry, Ron... even George had taken a few months to get used to their relationship and when they were both finally free it had been a mutual decision to have their own space.

"Of course." She answered him and together they headed down the stairs. That they knew of no wizards lived in their area and they had their own personal spot that they liked to apparate from. As they arrived behind the bike shed outside their complex Hermione took a deep breath.

"Ready for this?" He mirrrored his earlier question and she nodded.

"Let's go."