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Chapter 11

In the early morning hours of September 1, in a pub called the Hogs head, sat two red heads, who had keep the over night bar keeper quite busy over the last few hours.

"Just because she said she would date him, doesn't mean she's all his," the older of the pair slurred. "She told him she would up hold her promise to consider my petition, and I think she's a women of her word."

"But what about me?" the other red head demanded for the hundredth time, slamming his glass of fire whiskey down onto the bar. "The whole scavenger hunt was my idea! It was some of my best work. How am I suppose to top my own work?" He took a sip of his drink, sighing dramatically. "And how am I suppose to go after the girl that my twin is in love with?"

"Very carefully, I'd say," the other red head replied, laughing loudly. The bell above the door dinged, causing them to turn to see who would be joining them.

"Thank Merlin," the bar keep breathed when he saw none other then Arthur Weasley come and take a seat beside his older son. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry about that. Had to come up with an excuse to Molly so she wouldn't worry," he replied, looking over his two drunken boys. "Charlie, Fred, what are you doing?"

"Having a drink," Fred slurred, sliding his glass over to his dad. "Would you like some?"

"No, I think you two have drank enough for the whole family," he said, taking both of the drinks from his sons. "Charlie, you have to greet a few hundred kids in a matter of hours. I suggest you drink some of this and go grab a few hours of sleep. You wouldn't want the wrath of Minerva now would you?" Arthur handed him a vial of liquid to help with a hangover and to sober him up a bit.

"No, i dont' want to wrath of Professor McGonagal. Thanks Dad. Good luck, Fred," Charlie said before walking out of the bar, taking a swing of the potion as he did.

"You going to send me on my way with some of that, too?" Fred asked.

"No, I'm going to have you drink some of it while we have a little chat," Arthur answered, handing him another of the vial. Fred did as he was asked to do and unscrewed the bottle and took a drink.

"This stuff is bloody awful," he replied, making a face in disgust.

"Yes it is, but it will help you sober up quickly. So, why are you drinking into the wee hours of the morning? And why is Charlie with you instead of George?" his father inquired.

Fred shrugged and took another drink of the potion, just for something to keep his self busy so he won't have to answer his father's questions.

Arthur studied his son as he figited with the top off of the vial. After a few minutes of silence he sighed. "Well, I'll tell you what your mother thinks is going on."

"I thought you said you didn't tell mum where you were going," Fred replied, confused.

"Merlin, no! One thing I can tell you right here is if you ever get called out of your bed in the middle of the night, tell your wife where you are going. What I said was I was trying to calm her down so she wouldn't worry so much," his father answered.

"Oh."

"What your mother thinks is wrong with you involves matters of the heart. She things you are in love with Hermione," he informed his son, watching intently to his reaction.

Fred tried very hard not to show any emotion, but not all of the potion had been drunk, therefore leaving a trace of alcohol still in his system. His red checks were enough confirmation for his father. "How did mum find out?"

"Oh, your mother has a way of finding out tons of things. I've always told her she should work for the Ministry; no one would ever be able to lie to her and get away with it. she can smell things like this a mile away," Arthur replied, grinning at the thought of his better half. He loved her so much.

Fred smiled slightly at the thought of his mother working at the Ministry. "She would have it in tip top shape in no time."

"That she would," his father agreed. He patted his son on the back and scooted the stool he was sitting on closer. "Fred, if you love her, you have to at least give her a chance to chose. I know George is your best friend and it would be hard on him for awhile. But don't you think that he would eventually forgive you if he knew she was happy? Love is doing what's best for the other person, even if its as hard as hell to do it."

"But she's already so confused. I know she is already worried about George and Charlie's relationship. I heard her talking to Ginny about it tonight. I don't want to be the cause of more heartache and worry for her," Fred confessed.

Arthur smiled. "You really are growing up," he replied, looking at his son with great respect. "If you love her and want to get a shot, so to speak, come up with something subtle. Go about it a whole different way. You're a bright wizard, you'll figure it out."

"Thanks dad," he replied, smiling for the first time all night.

"No problem. Why don't we go and get a few hours of sleep before I have to take a group of kids to meet a train," his father suggested, yawning, causing Fred to laugh.

"Alright, old man," he teased good natured. He turned to the bar keep who had been cleaning during their talk. "Thanks for staying open for us."

"Yeah, yeah," the old man grumbled and followed them out into the quiet street, locking the door behind himself as the two red heads appeared away.

Hermione had a horrible night of sleep the night before they were to leave for Hogwarts. It was almost a tradition for her to have a rather sleepless night, with all the excitement of another school year. But she could honestly say that THIS insomnia had nothing to do with the new school year, but everything to do with some red headed boys.

Hermione had a wonderful evening with George after their talk. They ate a picnic of cheese and meats, fruits and veggies while they watched the stars dance across the sky. George had kissed her several more times, much to her delight. At around ten-thirty, Mrs. Weasley had sent Ginny and Harry to retrieve the pair, much to their dislike.

When they had returened back to the Burrow, Ginny had yanked Hermione up the stairs to their room to discuss everything. The pure elation and romance of the evening began to leave her, replaced quickly by the reality of what she had just done. She had quickly said she was sleepy and laid down to gather her thoughts.

Now, in the early morning light Hermione felt as if she could kick herself. She felt so guilty. I can't believe I've kissed three of the Weasley boys in the last few weeks, she thought as she got ready for the day. I feel like a massive slut.

"Hermione, you are sighing every three seconds. What's wrong?" Ginny grumbled from her bed.

"I'm so sorry. Go back to sleep," Hermione said, swiping the tears away that she hadn't noticed before.

"Hermione,are you crying?" Ginny asked, quickly sitting up to look over at her friend.

"No," she lied, turning around so that the red head couldn't see her face.

"Yes you are," Ginny quickly got out of her bed and walked over to where Hermione stood with her face in her hands. "What's wrong? Why do you seem so upset?"

"Nothing, I'm just...its nothing," the brown haired girl insisted.

"Hermione, I know better then that. You were so happy last night when you came home with George. What's changed it?"

"Ginny, I'm a...I'm a slut!" Hermione sobbed into her hands.

"What? Why would you think you're a slut?" Ginny wondered, extremely confused.

"Ginny, I've kissed three of your brothers in thelast few weeks. Two of them just yesterday. You better not leave me in a room alone with Bill, Percy or Ron. They may be next," Hermione replied sarcastically.

Ginny laughed, despite the huge effort she was putting up not to. "Hermione, if you think that kissing three of my brothers makes you a slut, I would hate to know what you think of me and the things I've done."

"I didn' mean that.."

"I know. You are not any ones girlfriend right now, Hermione. You are trying to figure out who is the best choice for you to spend the rest of your life with. All you did was kiss them. Its not like you slept with all three of them," Ginny replied.

"I wouldn't ever do that," Hermione promised earnestly.

"I know that," the red head said, grinning. "I do know one thing, though."

"What's that?" Hermione asked, feeling better.

"I think you have a thing for red headed men," Ginny teased, earning a grin from her best friend.

"Yeah, I do, don't I?" she agreed, packing up some of her things.

"Have you talked to Malfoy lately?" Ginny wondered as she did some last minute packing as well.

"No. To be honest, I haven't even thought about him," Hermione admitted, feeling extremely guilty.

"Maybe that's a sign," the red head replied happily as she gathered the clothes she was going to wear for the day.

"A sign of what?"

"That you're destined to be a Weasley," Ginny said seriously as she walked out of the room to take a shower, leaving Hermione with a lot to think about.

"Does everyone have everything? Hermione do you have your owl and your cat?" Mrs. Weasley asked as they made their way through Kings Crossing toward platform 9 3/4.

The morning had gone rather well, until one of the twins misplaced experiments went off, turning Ginny's hair green. They had to quickly go to the joke shop to find the counter joke to fix it. They arrived at the train station with only five minutes to spare.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione replied from her place sandwiched between the twins. As quite as Fred had been toward her since the night he had kissed her, that's how talkative he was that morning. Hermione wasn't complaining though, she was just glad to have her friend back. That's how she found herself between them, George pushing her trolley for her.

"Alright, Ginny and Harry, you first," Mrs. Weasley instructed, watching as her daughter and Harry ran through.

"Ron, Luna," she continued, earning an eye roll from George.

"Mum, I believe we are more then capable of making our way through that gate," he insisted.

"Of course you are,dear," Mrs. Weasley replied. "I just like getting to tell you what to do one last time before you board the train."

Hermione laughed at the look on the twins face.

"We aren't going back to Hogwarts," Fred insisted.

"I love you Hermione, but we're not sitting through seventh year classes," George added.

"Of course you're not," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I mean, I've always done that for the reason. Now, hurry up and get in there before Hermione misses that train."

"I wouldn't mind if that happened," George replied, winking down at her.

"But I would. And even if I did miss it, I could still apparate to Hogsmead and walk up to the castle. Actually, I bet Charlie would like to see me there early," Hermione said, grinning.

"Let's get you on that train," George insisted, taking off at a run towards the wall.

"I guess he's in a hurry to get rid of you,now," Fred teased as they followed after his twin.

"I guess so," Hermione laughed.

"Why don't I go put your trunk on the train so that you can say good bye to George?" Fred suggested.

"That's so sweet," Hermione replied.

"Thanks brother," George said, patting him on the shoulder. Fred nodded and walked towards the train, Hermione's trunk and cages in front of him.

"I'm going to miss you," George said, taking both of her hands in his.

"I'll miss you too," she admitted, putting her arms around him for a hug. He pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head gently.

"You can come for Hogsmead weekend," she suggested, trying to look on the bright side of things. Until that moment, she hadn't known how much she really cared for George.

"That's a great idea," he replied, grinning down at her.

"Hermione, the trains about to leave," Ginny called, just as the horn went off.

"See you soon," he promised, reluctantly letting her go. Hermione hugged and Fred and made it on the train just as it started rolling down the track. She made her way down the train, looking for the compartment that her stuff and her friends were in.

"Here we are, Mione," Harry called as she was about to miss the compartment.

"Oh, thanks Harry," she said, taking a seat next to Ginny.

"You're welcome," he replied, putting his arm around Ginny.

Hermione looked up about her head to make sure that Fred had put everything where it needed to go. She looked at the couples, Ron and Luna, Harry and Ginny and knew that it was going to be a long right with all of the whispers and hand holding. I should get the book that Draco gave me, she decided, standing to rummage through her trunk to find it.

"Hermione, you have something sticking out of your back pocket," Luna informed her dreamily.

"I didn't put anything back there," Hermione replied, confused as she pulled the book out of the trunk. She stepped down from the seat and felt in her back pocket for whatever was there.

"What was it?" Ginny wondered, leaning over to get a closer look.

"A piece of folded up parchment," Hermione replied, unfolding it.

"Maybe its a love letter from George," Ginny teased.

"Or maybe its from someone else entirely," Luna observed knowingly.

Hermione raised and eyebrow at her blond friend, but said nothing. She finished unfolding the parchment and began reading.

Hi Hermione,

I hope that you are having a wonderful train ride...actually, I guess I should be saying I hope you find this note soon.

I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I've been such a git over the past few weeks. The kiss we shared surprised me and scared me. Especially since I knew that George was head over heels for you. Sometimes things happen for a reason and you just can't stop them.

Please don't freak out. I know that you've already got three petitions that you are considering. I'm not going to petition you...yet. But I do want to be able to talk to you and see if it is possible that we could be compatible. So, what I'm asking is if I can owl you while you are at Hogwarts. We can keep it to ourselves or we can tell the world, whatever you want.

I hope I haven't made you'relife more complacated. That truly was not my intention. I just feel like we both have the right to explore what ever this is we have and to see if it could go anywhere else. I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours,

Fred.

Hermione read the note two more times, not looking up from the piece of parchment that she held in her hand.

Ginny and Luna had beenwatching their friend intently and exchanged a look when Hermione began reading it for the third time.

"Harry, I would like some candy," Ginny announced suddenly.

"I'm sure that the trolley will be along shortly. I'll buy you as much as you like then," he promised, kissing her cheek.

"Ron, did you know that chocolate does certain things to a women's body," Luna said,scooting closer to her fiancee'. "The norwaks that constantly surround the candy brings out a certain animalistic character in women that they can't control."

"You know, Luna, I think I read something about that somewhere," Ginny replied, grabbing a hold of Harry's hand. "Maybe that's why I'm craving chocolate."

"If you want chocolate,love, I'll go get you some right now," Harry decided suddenly, quickly standing to go to the door.

"I believe I'll come with you and help you buy some," Ron replied, running after his friend.

"Is that true about chocolate?" Ginny asked Luna, grinning.

"I'm sure it could be," the blond replied, looking over at Hermione, who still seemed to be in shock.

"Hermione, who was that from?" Ginny demanded,scooting closer to her friend.

"What did he say?" Luna asked, gently, sitting down on the other side of the brown haired girl.

"You know who it was from," Hermione said, looking over at her.

"I saw him put it in your back pocket," she replied, shrugging.

"Who was it?" Ginny wondered.

"Fred," Hermione said quietly.

"Oh, Merlin," Ginny exclaimed. "Doesn't he know how confused you are?"

Hermione took a deep breath and looked up for the first time since she opened the letter. "Actually, he does," she replied, smiling slightly.

"What?" the red head asked, confused.

"Really? What did he say?" Luna asked again, smiling. Hermione handed her two best girlfriends the letter to read. They quickly looked through it, knowing the boys would be back soon.

"Bloody hell," Ginny breathed, sounding so much like Ron that Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"So are you going to write to him?" Luna asked.

"I think so," Hermione confessed quietly, smiling nervously at the thought of writing him.

"I wouldn't keep it a secret," Ginny advised. "Secrets never end on a good note."

"Should I tell George or let Fred tell him?" Hermione asked.

Luna looked at Ginny and shrugged. "I don't know."

"You should let Fred handle George, but you should tell Charlie," Ginny advised.

"You're not upset about this, are you Ginny?" Hermione asked concerned.

"No! I want more then anything for you to be happy," the red head insisted, hugging Hermione tightly.

Harry and Ron opened the door to the compartment, their arms full of chocolates of every sort.

"We got you some candy," Harry announced happily, dumping the pile of sweets on one of the seats.

Luna and Ginny laughed and Hermone just shook her head.

"What?" the boys asked, causing all three ladies to laugh even harder.

So what did you think? Did I update soon enough? I think once a week is enough. I want your opinion on things...tell me what you are thinking. I love reviews, they make me write more. :) Please review. Happy Reading.