Chapter 16 - Fred
Summer rolled lazily by. After the first Death Eater attack, nothing else targeted us particularly, but from the flicking through of the Daily Prophet, incidents of vanishing wizards and witches and the death toll rising ever slow gradually, it didn't take a genius to realise what was happening. Voldemort was definitely back, and stronger than ever.
With such news circling our heads at home, tension was building. Even though Ron and Harry, who were best friends, and had even, come to a mutual agreement over Harry's budding romance with Ginny, were occasionally snapping at each other. However, George hasn't really noticed. He constantly reminded me of his-of our- plans to start a joke shop.
This had been annoying me for weeks. This was my dream, and in a year it could be real. We had Harry's Triwizard money, we didn't even need to sit our NEWTS, so why was I hesitant? Why was I not running to Diagon Alley and to Hogsmeade, searching for place to set up shop?
The answer sat at the back of my mind, but I wasn't ready to admit it to myself, let alone my family and friends. There was one thing, or maybe on person, stopping me from moving out from the Burrow and leaving Hogwarts. As George and I collected our newly bought books from our room and pack our trunks, a wave of nostalgia and sadness overcame me. This would be out last time beginning a year at Hogwarts, of hiding jokes in the secret compartments of our trunks, of reminding Mum that I was the only member of the family that liked corn beef. As my gaze met George's, I didn't need twin telepathy to know that he felt the same.
I locked my trunk and dragged it down the stairs. My stare met Ron's as he tugged his battered trunk through his rickety door. A grin formed on his face, and I felt the same on mine. Harry followed him through the door, and before he could say anything, Ron spoke up,
"Ready?" He said, adjusting his trunk at the top of stairs. I mimicked him, my fist tightening on the trunk in my grasp.
"Three," I began, ignoring Harry's confused stares, "Two…"
"ONE" roared George, appearing out of nowhere. He shoved his trunk between Ron and me, and vaulted over the beginning of the stairs. His shoes whistled past my ear as I followed quickly, my trunk bumping down the stairs. Ron let out a strangled battle cry as he followed. He shoved me in the side, causing me to dangle precariously over the banister.
"WATCH OUT FOR THESE BLITHERING IDIOTS!" Ginny shrieked at Hermione as the latter poked her head out. Her fresh face proved a distraction to Ron, who stumbled slightly. As I regained my balanced and passed out the stuttering Ron, I pointedly ignored Hermione, and focused on the quest of passing out my twin. After his impressive vault at the top of the stairs, I had to up my game.
Our annual beginning of the school year races caused quite a stir in our house. We three youngest boys were often awake early, due to general excitement, so our races act as an alarm for the rest of the house. Neither Harry nor Hermione had witnessed one, so they were in for a treat.
As George rounded the final corner on our rickety staircase, I decided to take a risk. I pushed my trunk hard, and it thudded down the steps. I jumped up on the banister, using the low ceiling as my balancing aid, and jumped. I cleared the final steps, crashing into George. Panting heavily, I slammed my hand on our finishing point, the small broken door knob that was stuck for eternity on the wall using the Epoximise charm, performed by Dad. George groaned, and fell flat on his back. I chuckled, shoving him in the shoulder.
"Hey, George, it was close, but you know you have to touch the door knob." This key slip up was the reason I had won this particular race, not once, but twice before now. It was nice to begin my end at Hogwarts on a high. As my twin and I caught our breath, we could hear a faint thudding, heading in our direction. Our heads snapped towards each other, as our wide eyes met, and we scrambled to our feet. I tugged George out of the way just as two trunks and a red headed boy tumbled shot towards us. Ron rolled to a stop at our feet, his eyes unfocused. I bent down and tugged his arm. He shot up and as he walked forward, he stumbled. He landed on his face again, groaning. There was silence, and I couldn't resist the urge anymore. I began to laugh, and I couldn't stop. George quickly followed suit, and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Another hoot joined our laughter, and Harry was trying to help Ron up, but judging by the tears in his eyes, he was too weak from laughter. Ginny gave high pitched giggles, pushing her trunk and Arnold in his cage down the stairs. As our laughter died down, a small giggle was left in the background. Five pairs of eyes snapped towards the stairs as Hermione was nearly graceful, despite her huge trunk bumping down the steps. All eyes turned to Ron as he turned red. Hermione turned around, and I felt my breath hitch.
With the struggle of tugging her trunk down the stairs, her shirt had ridden up slightly, revealing a thin strip of milky white skin. Her hair was tugged back into a ponytail, with a couple of curls framing her face, refusing to be contained in her ponytail. She wore skin tight trousers and a jacket with a hood on it. Muggle clothes I guessed, my eyes travelling down her defined body. She cocked her head to the side, her eyes trained on Ron. "What?" she asked, fixing her clothes, "It was pretty funny." She smirked, and suddenly let out a high- pitched whistle. George and I jumped, looked at each other, and clutched our hearts dramatically and simultaneously. Hermione rolled her eyes and bent down. Her ugly cat slinked around the corner, purring and wheezing. "Come here, Crookshanks." Hermione cooed. Ginny bent down and stroked his back. Her expression made me want to vomit. Hermione pushed the squealing cat into its box and straightened up. I fixed my own jacket. We all wore mismatched clothes that Dad had found at the Ministry. Hermione and Harry had their own.
Mum bustled into the hall, her cloak thrown over her shoulders and her hands filled with sandwiches. She handed us each one with our respective names on them. "Come ON we're going to be late!" she screamed. Dad briskly walked into the hall, huffing slightly as he carried a box of things for the Ministry. "Just dropping in, just dropping in." he mumbled as he passed Mum, who was giving him evil eyes. He had promised her he would stay away from work for our first day back. "Wait!" said Harry, and he sprinted up the stairs. It was silent for half a minute, before he returned with three cages. "Arnold!" "Pigwidgeon!" exclaimed Ginny and Ron at the same time.
Ginny held the cage tight to her chest before sending flirty eyes to Harry. He blushed and scratched the back of his neck. He nodded and was suddenly busy with Hedwig. Ron tickled Pigwidgeon under the chin. Before he had hated the creature, but since Sirius' passing, I guess he had grown an attachment to it. A lump grew in my throat as I thought of my dead friend. I was going to join the Order next year, and one of the things I was looking forward to the most was fighting You Know Who alongside Sirius, Remus, Moody, Tonks…
Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he turned away from Ron. Dad cleared his throat and spoke up first. "Let's get going everyone, we don't want to be late!" He waved his wand and the trunks stacked on top of each other and floated through the air. The eight of us trudged out of our house, through the long grass, out passed our protective boundaries. Dad set down our trunks, and we each grabbed the handle of our trunks and paired up. Harry paired with Dad, Ginny paired with Mum, Ron paired with George;
And Hermione paired with me
I felt my palms sweat as she linked arms with me, grinning up at me. Over the summer, Hermione seemed less… sensible. Less mature, maybe. She was acting more childish, witty and laidback.
I really liked it.
I pictured our destination clearly in my head. I turned as best I could, while lugging both our trunks, waving my wand, I suddenly felt the very unpleasant sensation of being sucked through a very thin tube. As soon as it started, it was gone, and my feet slammed on the ground. I wobbled slightly, but kept my balance. Hermione, however, stumbled. If it weren't for my arm holding her up, she would have fallen. She looked up into my face, and my heart started beating even faster. We were the first to Apparate.
We were alone.
Yet another curl had escaped from her up do. My hand shot out, and pushed it behind her ear. My sudden burst of confidence startled me. She seemed shocked also. Her eyes widened, but she didn't recoil. My arms stretched around her, my hands resting on the small of her back. Her hands sat between us. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. Because of our closeness, I could feel Hermione's quick heartbeat against my chest. I chuckled, and lowered my head until my mouth reached her ear. "I told you I made you nervous Granger." I whispered. I felt a huge sense of satisfaction as she shivered in my arms. "In your dreams, Weasley." She breathed, pulling her hands away from my chest and instead rubbing the back of my neck with her fingertips. I couldn't stop the tremors that also ripped across my spine. Hermione grinned cockily. This isn't Hermione. She isn't this… boisterous! Cheeky! Impulsive! She tilted her head to the side and cocked her chin, as if daring me to come any nearer.
Something snapped.
I detangled myself from her, just as George ,Ginny, Ron and Mum rounded the corner. I chanced a glance at Hermione. She looked dazed, and confused. When our eyes met, she looked sad. "What happened? I don't remember anything?"
What?
"We just apparated hear from the Burrow." Ron said, looking worried. Hermione looked confused. "I feel different." Mum suddenly took Hermione in her arms and put her hand to her forehead "Hmm," she said, "You don't seem feverish. It could be some kind of fever thing." Hermione nodded, and sent me a reassuring smile. She quickly went over to Ginny. I guess quiet Hermione is back. My heart started racing again. Her actions were just a side effect. Why was I so affected then?
No, it shouldn't, I'm Fred Weasley. I'm never this nervous.
But this is Hermione, who you've had a crush on for two years.
I've never been this nervous though.
Maybe this is becoming more serious.
This is scaring me.
Too bad.
I can't do this.
Too late.
I think I'm falling in love with Hermione Granger.