Hermione was lying on her bed in the room she shared with Ginny. It was the middle of the afternoon and Fred was spending what was likely a completely miserable time with his parents given that Mrs. Weasley couldn't stop crying around him. She understood why she was so upset, but she wished she would try to hold it together just a little more for her son's sake. This whole experience was hard enough on him without the guilt he felt every time someone in his family burst into tears. She knew it wasn't just Fred's situation. He would get better. At least, Hermione wasn't going to rest until she had tried everything, but a lot of people close to them had perished in the war and no matter how much time passed it still felt very fresh. Especially every time Fred couldn't remember. It was like a constant reminder of all they had lost.

Still, she was glad for the break. Fred had been consuming nearly every waking moment she had for the past couple of weeks and although they had made a little progress, there was still a very long way to go.

Having time to just lie there and think was a luxury these days and she tried desperately to relax and enjoy it, but her mind kept drifting back to Fred. It was weird. He seemed so different now and it wasn't just the memory loss. She hadn't spent a lot of alone time with him before the war (okay, any alone time), but they had certainly been around each other enough. Arguments in the common room, defiance at the headquarters of the Order, Christmases, summer breaks...they were both there for all of it over, gosh, the past seven years now? And there were the...no, best not think about that just yet. Still, she knew him well. It was so hard to know what was real with him these days, but she had to admit that she enjoyed their time together. Better appreciate it while it lasts, she thought. There was no way once the real Fred Weasley was back that she would ever see this side of him again.

It had really touched her, the concern he had for the gnomes that day. "Other Fred" as she had taken to calling him in her mind, would have never have felt that way. She remembered how he and George had teased her about the house elf situation. They swore they knew them so well from all their time sneaking into the kitchens, but Hermione was unconvinced. They had never even been given the freedom to decide for themselves what kind of life they might want to lead. That was the injustice of it all. Yet, Fred seemed to have a soft spot for the gnomes she was certain was never there before. Or maybe it was? She suddenly felt her memory go fuzzy. She knew Harry and Ron, Ron especially, didn't mind a good afternoon of gnome tossing, but honestly, she couldn't remember Fred ever doing it. Maybe she had just assumed he had based on his and George's reputations as the pranksters, the wild ones. She suspected Fred had always been the leader of the two twins. He did a lot of the talking while George usually was agreeing with him, but what had she realized after all they had been through, especially during that time with Umbridge? Sometimes it was okay to break the rules. Sometimes people needed a little distraction and whether that was from a prank or the inside of a good book, it was still the same thing at it's core: an escape. She used a good story to escape nearly every day and if they escaped with their pranks and ideas for the shop, she couldn't really fault them that. And some of those products in their shop really were extraordinary magic.

Maybe there really was a different side to Fred that she hadn't noticed before because the other side was so prominent. Even thinking of all the times she had scolded them or rolled her eyes, she had definitely laughed a lot, too. It was impossible not to. They were funny, even to a self-proclaimed bookworm such as herself even if she would never have dared to admit it before. It was possible that it was time for all that to change. Fred needed some of those crazy memories back.

"Fred, what do you remember about Hogwarts?" she asked until seeing the look on his face, she rephrased her question. "Do you remember anything about Hogwarts?" It was late afternoon and once again Hermione found herself alone with Fred in the Weasley living room.

"Not much other than what you have told me," he said. "And that that is where all this happened." He gestured towards his head and make a goofy face.

"Do you mind if I...if I tell you a little more about your time there? It was such a huge part of your life."

He shrugged. "If you think it's important."

"How could it not be?" she asked. "You spent a good portion of the past seven years there. And it happens that you are something of a legend." She grinned as he turned sharply toward her, clearly more intrigued than before.

"Well, of course I am," he said, "but how exactly then did that come about?"

"Yes, you and George will likely go down in Hogwarts history, but let me start at the beginning. Well, the beginning as I know it, my first year. You are two years ahead of me, you see."

He nodded. "I do seem the more mature one of the two of us."

Hermione smiled again as more and more frequently little bits of Fred's former personality slipped out. "Riiight," she said. "Maybe listen to my story first and then see what you think." She thought for a moment, closing her eyes to help her remember. "Ah, yes, my first real memory of the Weasley twins. At the start of term each year there is a huge feast in the Great Hall of Hogwarts and Professor, um, Professor Dumbledore," she said with hesitation, not wanting to think too long about Dumbledore right now, "he was our Headmaster, he would always say a few words and we would finish with the school song. He was a bit eccentric, Dumbledore, and he would always encourage everyone to sing loud and proud with whatever tune they preferred. You can imagine that it sounded somewhat horrific, but it gave everyone a good laugh, I suspect. Well, my first year, you and George chose to sing it in the form of a very slow funeral march, so naturally you finished after everyone else. Professor Dumbledore just stood there conducting, allowing you to finish the last few lines and clapped loudly at the end."

"This Dumblydore sounds a bit mad, but I think it's kind of brilliant."

"Dumbledore. And you do? You think it's brilliant?"

"That's what I said, isn't it, woman?"

"What did you like about it?" The idea of Fred finding one of his and George's jokes to be humorous was a great start towards showing him how things used to be.

"Anyone can sing along normally, right? Only a couple of funny blokes would do that, especially in front of the whole school."

"Oh, you would do a lot more than sing a few lines in front of the whole school."

"Troublemakers, were we?" he asked, seemingly proud of this fact.

She smiled. "I daresay possibly the biggest Hogwarts had ever seen."

"Tell me another story."

She spent the next hour sharing as many memories as she could of the twins' mischief and mayhem during their time at Hogwarts. Fred held onto every word and would laugh with delight and some of their antics. "So we were popular then?"

"Oh, yes, all the guys wanted to be you and all the girls wanted to be with you."

"Including you?" he asked, a cheeky grin crossing his face.

"I...well, that is...we had quite a few run ins at school," she said, not about to admit the whole truth of the matter. "You see, I was a prefect, and well, you were-"

"Your worst nightmare," he finished for her.

"I wouldn't say that, but you certainly made my job a challenge." She couldn't decide whether to cringe or laugh thinking about all the times she had scolded them or confiscated their products. She was surprised they would even talk to her after some of it, but they were always there, had her back, cracking jokes, right up until the moment..."

"If we had such a good time at school why did we not finish then?" he asked. "Did we flunk out?'

"No, nothing like that," she said. "Things were already starting to get bad back then. The ministry had infiltrated the school and it was a difficult time for everyone. You two had things ready to set up your shop and well, one day you just had enough and you left, leaving a spectacular show in your wake."

"A show? What kind of show?"

Hermione looked at him uneasily. "I really think this is a story that George would like to tell you himself," she said. "It was his story, too. In fact, most of this is...you two were inseparable."

"I suppose you didn't approve of us leaving?"

"I thought you could have at least finished your last exams, but I enjoyed the defiance like everyone else."

"So the serious little prefect did have a sense of humor?"

"Once and awhile," she said, smiling at him. This was the best mood she had seen Fred in since way before the final battle. Since Bill and Fleur's wedding, she thought, before she, Harry, and Ron had gone into hiding. It was a welcome sight after everything that happened. They were getting closer. She could feel it.

I would love to hear from you! Also, if you haven't already, I have a few other completed Fremione stories you could check out. :)