Lately? Lately I've been preoccupied with the notion of what the definition of beauty is and I guess every teenage girl wonders that too. Even now, we keep evaluating and reevaluating ourselves to determine what truly is beauty and whether physical appearance can trump character.
Without a doubt, it's a rather sweet chapter for Fred and Hermione. Enjoy! :)
Ginny led Hermione up into her private study on the third level and unlocked it with her wand. The office was neat and clean, shelves of Muggle books and parchment lined the walls. In the center of the room stood a large oak desk with an old typewriter, a few frames filled with the Potter children and a picture of Hermione and Ginny in their youth. Hermione had not been into Ginny's office in a long time and was a little shocked to see the photo of them standing between one of Albus and Lily.
Hermione picked up the photo. The two girls, 14 and 13, waved at the camera: Ginny making funny faces and Hermione smiling serenely into the camera, her bushy hair tied into a ponytail. There had been no war, no death, and no fear then. It was just two normal teenage girls getting ready to watch the World Cup.
"Ah yes, that was before I got fat and wrinkly." Ginny sighed dramatically and they both burst out laughing.
"You still look beautiful Gin. I'm sure Harry must have told you that a thousand times already."
"Harry's my husband, it's his job." They laughed again.
"Are you sure about this?" Ginny said. Hermione noticed that Ginny had taken out the pensieve, the bowl was shimmering with liquid but it was empty of Hermione's memories. Ginny looked at Hermione, praying to whatever higher power that Hermione knew what she was doing because Hermione looked smaller and paler than usual. Ginny was wondering if Hermione had been getting nightmares again. But Hermione was not. She had not been plagued by these nightmares for almost a few decades.
Hermione gave a stiff nod and Ginny sighed. She took out her wand and walked to the portrait of Fred on her wall. Fred was looking intently between Hermione and Ginny, as if anticipating a sparring contest. It never came. Hermione avoided looking at that piece of wall, keeping her eyes fixed on the pensieve, even as she felt his gaze on her.
"Hermione wants her memories back Fred." Ginny whispered. The siblings exchanged worried glances but Fred's portrait swung open just the same and behind it was a small section of the wall carved out. Within this were three bottles of silver liquid. Ginny took two bottles out and placed them on the desk. Fred looked at Hermione sadly from his portrait, there was only one bottle of liquid left on the table behind him.
"Take all the time you need." Ginny said and closed the door behind her.
Hermione uncorked the bottles and poured the silver liquid into the pensieve. She was about to dip her head in before a soft voice spoke up.
"Don't." It was a plea.
"Hush."
"But—" Hermione had delved into her memories, whatever Fred's portrait was about to say faded into nothing.
The older Hermione stood at the side of the entrance to the Great Hall, positioning herself between Fred and her younger self. She never realized how handsome Fred had looked in his slightly old dress robes and combed hair. It gave him an air of elegance that Hermione had never noticed in her youth. But there were many things that Hermione had never noticed in her youth, in her desperation to achieve and excel.
Fred, on the other hand, had never seen anything more beautiful than Hermione in her periwinkle dress robes, peeping out from the corner of a pillar. He had made the mistake of turning around to check on Harry and almost choked on his spittle. Hermione was simply gorgeous that night and he was speechless. Hermione caught his eye and gave a tentative smile, as if unsure how receptive everyone else would be to the new Hermione. Harry seemed just as stunned as he was because Harry's mouth was gaping open and he stared at Hermione who had now joined Krum in the Champion's circle. Even Malfoy could not think of anything spiteful to say.
"Weasley! In to the Great Hall you go! Shoo! It's about to start!" Professor Sprout hurried him along into the Great Hall. The magnificence of the decorations within the Great Hall fell past Fred as the only thing that captured his attention was the dancing brunette in Krum's arms.
But as the night progressed Fred could only see her from a distance as she swayed to the music. Katie Bell snapped her fingers in front of his eyes.
"Fred! You're stepping on my toes!" Katie huffed angrily. "If you're tired, just say so. We can get refreshments."
"Oh sorry!" He held Katie and led her away to the refreshments, trying as hard as he could not to look in the direction of the periwinkle robes dancing with the Bulgarian in his red dress robes.
And so Fred passed the evening in the company of his brother, his Quiddich teammates, the girls from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and Ludo Bagman. Occasionally chancing upon Hermione and her date but Hermione had been too busy listening to what the International Quiddich player had to say to notice anything else. Fred knew that dreamy look, it was the same look Hermione got when she was reading one of her muggle novels, the same look after she was asked to the Ball and Fred felt his stomach fall to his feet.
"She's looking fit tonight Freddie."
"Shut up."
"Ask her for a dance!" George nudged him with his elbow. "I'll take care of the birds here."
Fred glanced at his twin who gave him a nod of encouragement. Fred stood up as he had sighted the brunette. She was sitting with her usual two best friends and he walked towards her.
"He's using you!" Ron had cried indignantly. "You're smart, he's just using you to help him with his second task. Help that you should be giving to Harry instead, but you insist on being seduced by that…that…"
"That what Ron?" Hermione glared at him fiercely. Fred retreated slowly to where George was standing, George's arms draped over a couple Beaubaxtons girls clearly enjoying himself, the lucky bastard.
Krum had made an appearance beside Hermione and she led him off in a fit of anger. Hermione's anger was simmering within her. Yet there was another part of her that wondered whether it was true. People were simply using her for her brains. It was all she had after all. No one had said she was pretty and there had to be a reason why the Quiddich star had asked her out, selected her out of the many girls who would be all too willing to go to the Ball as his date.
No, she shook her head. She was not going to let Ron ruin her night. But ruin he did. Ron had managed to extract Hermione from Krum by accusing him of his not too innocent attempts to seduce Hermione. Krum had left Ron and Hermione standing outside the Gryffindor Tower, bidding her a rather curt goodbye. Hermione was devastated.
"You ruin everything Ron!"
"What? I'm looking out for your best interest!"
"You know what I think?"
"By all means Hermione, say what you think. I don't think the word 'no' has ever stopped you before."
"I think you're just jealous that Krum asked me out before you decided to."
"What? Me? Jealous?" Ron spluttered. "You're crazy Hermione. What makes you think anyone wants to date you?"
Hermione stood there, willing herself not to cry.
"You just don't see it do you? Krum is using you! I don't like it! I thought you were smarter than that Hermione!"
"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" she shouted.
"Oh yeah?" Ron yelled back. "What's that?"
"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"
After a shouting match in the Common Room, Hermione had retreated to the girls' dormitory for some solitude and silence but Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil kept badgering her with information about her date so Hermione stomped back downstairs to the Common Room. It was quite empty now so she curled up by the fireplace and cried silently. Crookshakes, her trusty cat, leapt onto the couch and started to purr and rub himself against her legs.
The older Hermione saw Fred's arrival in the Common Room, looking slightly melancholic—an unusual feat for the prankster. He had been unintentionally looking for the brunette all over the castle and thought that she was snogging Krum somewhere in the dark corners of the castle. He seemed to have spotted Hermione, his entire face lit up and there was a spring in his step as he walked over to her.
"Hey." Hermione knew that voice anywhere. Fred sat down beside her. "What a way to end the night eh?"
Hermione sighed and nodded sadly.
"Come on, Ron's a git. He's a huge effing git." Fred placed his arm around her shoulders and revelled in the fact that she slowly rested her head against his shoulders. Her forehead rested against his neck, she probably could feel the rapid heart beat that seemed to Fred to be echoing around the entire common room. She did not speak, so Fred did.
"You look beautiful tonight. Has anyone, besides Krum, told you that?"
"I don't know exactly whether Krum's comment was a compliment or an insult." Hermione sighed.
"What did the ol' Bulgarian say?"
"I was prettiful?" Hermione murmured, she sounded uncertain even to herself and berated herself mentally for sounding like an insecure little girl. Fred snorted.
"Well, take it from me, you're beautiful and you have always been beautiful." Fred told her earnestly. Fred was not sure when he found Hermione beautiful physically but Hermione was a kind, spirited person, and that was enough for him. She may have annoyed him to no end about SPEW and elf rights but that was simply who she was and Fred would not have it any other way.
Hermione was silent. She stared at the fire.
"Ron's just blind. Or maybe he's jealous you got to be with Krum and he didn't." That elicited a laugh from the brunette beside him. Fred felt elated at being able to cheer her up.
"What a waste of an evening." Hermione sighed.
"Not a waste." Fred declared. Hermione glanced up at him quizzically. Fred got to his feet and bowed down low and held out his hand to her. "Would you, Hermione, do me the honor of dancing with me?"
"I'd be delighted to." Hermione grinned and took his hand.
Fred pulled her to her feet and placed an arm around her waist, just like McGonagall taught them. They waltzed around the Common Room for a while to a tune of rapidly beating heartbeats and the soft licking of flames from the hearth. For a moment, there was nothing else in the world Fred would rather have than this moment.
He looked down at the beautiful girl in periwinkle robes and wondered if he could pull her close. Fred did not have to wonder long for Hermione had stepped a little closer to him and he a little closer to her as they swayed along to their imagined music.
"Merry Christmas Hermione." Fred murmured into her ear as the clock in the Common Room struck twelve.
Brown met blue and the world seemed to slow down for a little while. The snow outside did not seem to fall so hard and the entire common room seemed to glow just a little brighter as boy and girl danced before the fireplace. It was almost perfect.