Hello, sorry for the wait again! Updates should be more frequent from now on; life isn't as hectic as before ;)
I hope you like this chapter, please review.
*Oh and any songs, books, or bands you may recognise in this chapter are obviously not mine but they are some of my personal favourites!*
Chapter 18-
"Fred! Hey Fred! Where are you?"
Hermione had been searching the house for Fred for the last ten minutes. He was no where to be see downstairs and after thoroughly searching his bedroom and cupboard he was still not in sight.
"Fred, I have something important to tell you! I got a text from Jamie earlier…" she started but was cut off by the sight of Fred emerging from the bathroom.
He was soaking wet and was only wearing a towel that was hanging precariously low on his hips. Hermione let out a shaky breath before stepping forwards.
Fred still hadn't seen her as he was to busy shutting the bathroom door but what Hermione couldn't understand was why he hadn't heard her yet. She had been screaming his name for a while now.
"Fred! Can you not hear me?"
She stepped up to his muscular back but found herself transfixed on a bead of water that was trickling down his shoulder blades. It slid down his slightly freckled back before disappearing below his towel.
'Stop gawking Hermione, just tap him on the shoulder already…'
Hermione shook her head slightly and reached up to his bare shoulder. She placed her hand softly on his skin as to not startle him.
"What the bloody hell?" Fred screeched when he felt the soft hand tap his back.
'Well the not startling didn't exactly work.'
She laughed slightly at Fred's girly yell. He had snapped around so they were facing each other and Hermione finally understood why he couldn't hear her earlier. He was wearing her headphones and had her new iPod clutched in his hand.
She gave a stern look and pointed to her ears. Fred responded with a confused look before a silent 'Oh' sounded from his mouth. He took out the headphones and smiled at Hermione.
"Where did you get my iPod?" she asked as she raised a suspicious eyebrow.
Fred looked a little sheepish before he started fiddling with wire, "I kind of went in your room and found it in your drawer. Then I started playing it and you had some really cool music, some of it's even better than The Weird Sisters!"
Hermione smiled before reaching out to the iPod, "I'm glad you liked my music, why were you in my room anyway?"
"I was umm… looking for you… I mean I was looking for one of my t-shirts and I thought it might have been put in your room by mistake, but then I found the iPod,"
Fred rubbed the back of his neck and turned a little red. He hadn't been looking for a t-shirt at all. But when he heard Hermione go in the shower earlier, he had decided to check out her room, seeing as he hadn't really paid much attention to it before.
He had snuck through the door once he had heard the bathroom door lock. He had spent nearly half an hour looking at the photos on Hermione's wall, observing and smiling at many of them.
After a while of looking at the photos he moved to the bookshelf. Hermione had some great wizarding books stored here but also some interesting muggle books too.
Fred had stumbled across several interesting covers, ones titled The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Hunger Games and The Help. These must have been her favourites as they were the only fictional books on the entire shelf.
Fred hadn't really expected anything else from Hermione though; most of the books were giant, leathered covered tomes that obviously helped her when she wanted to study the wizarding world.
He had found a tattered copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard near the top and had been so absorbed in the children tales that he nearly forgot Hermione would have been out of the shower any second.
Fred made a beeline for the door before the small muggle device had caught his eye. He curiously picked up the iPod before pressing several buttons.
"So tell me did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find?" Started to blast out of the small plastic things that were plugged into the iPod.
After hastily smacking more buttons, the music turned to a more reasonable volume. He pulled the earphones up to his ears cautiously and the music started to play.
Fred managed to find the menu and was happily scrolling through Hermione's music library. There were several wizarding bands like the Weird Sisters but also a few strange bands he had never heard of.
He particularly liked a band he found called Two Door Cinema Club. They were quite quirky and not what he thought Hermione would like but she seemed to have lots of their songs so he assumed she did enjoy their happy tunes. Maybe even as much as he did now.
"Oh you were listening to Two Door Cinema Club? I love them!"
Hermione's voice shook Fred out of his thoughts as he returned his eyes back to her. She was still standing in front of his dripping body, happily scrolling through her iPod, much like Fred had been doing earlier.
"Yeah I found them first I really liked their songs, so I kind of took your iPod in the bathroom with me. Sorry, it wasn't steeling honest!" Fred held his hands up in mock surrender but in doing so briefly let go of the towel around his waist.
It slipped dangerously low for a split second before Fred went to re-grab it. He clutched the fabric so tight his knuckles turned white, a startling contrast to the cranberry red his face had become.
Hermione's eyes had drifted downwards involuntarily and thankfully didn't catch too much. They still however, caught way more then both Fred or Hermione were comfortable with.
"Well that was horrifically embarrassing. I'm...Erugghh…just going to go get dressed now," Fred mumbled before he walked past the still stunned Hermione and into his bedroom.
He shut the door quickly and leant his forehead against the cold wood.
'You are officially the dorkiest person in the world. Why did you let go off the bloody towel?!'
Fred groaned as he hobbled over to his chest of drawers.
A little while after the Shower Slip Up, Fred decided to head to the kitchen. He hadn't left his bedroom since this morning and his stomach was paying the price.
'Grmggrrrmm'
"That is not a healthy noise for a stomach to make," Fred mumbled to himself as he walked down the stairs.
He hadn't spotted Hermione yet but he hoped she would just brush over the little incident earlier, much like she had done the other day too.
A quiet noise could be heard coming from the kitchen and he found his pace was picking up as he got closer to the kitchen.
As he stood at the doorway, he could see Hermione with several pans and pots scattered around. She was swaying slightly and a small tune was escaping her lips.
He grinned mischievously as he listened to her sing, he could faintly make out the words.
"It starts in the theatre
a night of encounters
if I hadn't been there
If not for a cigarette,"
It was the song he had been listening to earlier by Two Door Cinema Club; the screen said it was called Cigarettes in the Theatre. Fred found himself humming along, he liked Hermione's version better. Even if she was a little out of tune.
Fred let out a low whistle which caused Hermione to jump to the door. Fred smirked and walked over to the counter before Hermione could regain her breath.
"Oh! Hey Fred, I wondered when you would emerge from the cave you called a bedroom," Hermione smiled nervously as she turned down the music she had been quietly playing in the background.
"Well I heard this terrible noise from my 'cave' and I decided to come check it out. Turns out you must have been murdering a cat," He chirped as Hermione turned to face him fully.
"Hey! My singing does not sound like a struggling cat!" she whined as she hit Fred's shoulder with the tea towel she had been holding.
"Okay, okay! Just stop with the tea towel whacking, woman!"
Hermione glared playfully before she raised the cloth again, "Say I'm a good singer and I will stop,"
"But Mione, I can't do that. That would be lying and my mum always told me not to lie," Fred replied innocently.
"Uh! Well I doubt you're much better at singing anyway," she smirked when Fred's triumphant grin dropped slightly.
"You are so on, I happen to be a wonderful singer. The voice of an angel I've been told,"
Hermione scoffed before laughing at Fred's new expression. He had a hand clenched over his heart and his eyes were closed. Before she could ask what he was doing he started to sing.
Well, if you could call it singing.
"Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on,"
The noise he was making was in the middle of a shout and a screech, it definitely wasn't the most angelic thing Hermione had ever heard.
Tears of laughter had started to form in Hermione's eyes and she found herself bending over from the laughter that was racking her body.
"Stop! Please stop! You're the better singer just please stop that god awful noise!" Hermione pleaded between laughter.
Fred stopped his song and gave a triumphant smirk,
"I told you I was the better singer."
After the singing/ screeching contest, Fred helped Hermione finish the dinner. They had prepared spaghetti and meatballs as Hermione's parents were coming home tonight.
Her mum and dad had extended their stay at the dentistry convention and were only coming home for a few days before they were heading up north to visit some of Hermione's extended family. The original plan was for Hermione to go with them but a certain red head's visit meant that Hermione would be staying this year.
Not that she really minded, of course.
"So do you have any plans for us tomorrow?" Fred asked as he stirred the pasta.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you earlier! Jamie text me this morning and asked if we would like to go to his party tomorrow night? It will be pretty busy and it might be a little stereotypical, you know with the drunk teenagers and dancing but I never drink so it should be okay."
Fred was a little surprised. He didn't really picture Hermione as a girl who likes to go to crazy high school parties but he wasn't exactly complaining. It would be nice to see her let her hair down even more than she already had.
"That sounds great! Who would have thought Hermione Granger was a secret party animal. Never thought I'd see the day," Fred chuckled as he gently bumped his shoulder against hers.
"I am in no way a party animal! Jamie has parties all the time and since he's one of my best friends I'm kind of obliged to go. All my friends usually get drunk as their older than me and then they dance and play games and stuff. If nothing, it's fairly entertaining to watch the drunken dancing," Hermione smiled sheepishly.
"Well I look forward to watching the drunken dancing with you; hopefully it will be you I'm watching though. That would be a one hell of a story to tell the grandkids, Hermione Granger- The Drunken Party Animal Extraordinaire,"
"Oh shut up," she hissed playfully as her hand landed on his shoulder with a small thwack.
:)
Here is chapter 18, I really hoped you enjoyed. This chapter was more of a filler but the next chapter will be a lot more exciting and hopefully longer too.
Please, please PLEASE review! I don't care if its one sentence or a paragraph- they all make me want to write more.
Love always, SophieSolemnlySwears :)
