Yeah, I didn't expect too big of a response from that last chapter, so no hard feelings. I really wanted the story to have been further ahead to post a special chapter for April 1st, but unfortunately we're not there yet. But I do want to something, so I'm hoping this one comes out in time. Here's hoping *Crossies*
BTW if we haven't figured it out yet, I really don't own any of this.
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Besides being born to a family predominately of males, Ginny Weasley took her shopping rather seriously. Hermione had been dragged on these types of trips before, knowing better now than she did then. If Ginny said to turn left you didn't hesitate. If she shoved you into a dressing closet, you diligently removed your clothing and tried on the ones she handed you. Hermione found it had turned into the easiest way to gain Ginny approved fashion. She still couldn't care less what her clothes looked like, as long as they were comfortable and covered her properly. The two girls had been shopping most of the day, staying in Diagon Alley for lunch before continuing to Madame Malkin's. Ginny had been insisting on very few robes for Hermione to think on, so she allowed the ginger girl to continue dragging her along. She also held onto the small hope Ginny would allow her to slip away to Flourish and Blotts.
"Hey, we're close to the twins' shop. Let's pop in!" Ginny grabbed at one of Hermione's hanging bags, trying to pull her away from the bookshops. Hermione decided enough was enough, and pulled back.
"Gin, I'm going to look at books. Follow me, or I'll see you later." Ginny pouted but trudged in behind Hermione sullenly, sneering lightly at the books immediately. Hermione ignored her friend, knowing she had well deserved this visit, and she would stay as long as she could. Ginny eventually wandered away, leaving Hermione to wander the shelves on her own as she looked through old kitchen recipes, perhaps hoping to find one for her mother. Blissfully alone once more, the books began to lull her to relax and enjoy herself. It was minutes later that Ginny popped back over to tell her she was now dreadfully bored and wanted to move on. Sighing, but smiling at her friend, Hermione grabbed one of the many books she had been admiring. She paid without looking further at her chosen title, and followed Ginny back into the busy, dank Alley.
"Can we go to the shop now? I really do want to say hi." Ginny asked her friend, linking their arms together after Hermione had slipped her purchase into one of their many bags. Agreeing whole heartily, the two young witches made their way down Diagon Alley towards the brightly coloured joke shop at the end of the lane. AS they neared, Ginny kept a constant string of conversation going, barely taking a moment to allow a silence to come between them. This was a trait Hermione was well aware could be quite annoying, but she appreciated the constant chatter as they stepped nearer to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. A uncomfortable turn to her stomach was beginning to make her feel queasy as her brain caught up to their saunter, and Ginny's story of the love drunk Nargle Luna Lovegood had been telling her about yesterday was helping to distract her.
Breakfast this morning had ended bitterly after Fred and George had retreated back to their flat, Molly still being quite upset with her children's hidden scars. The twins hadn't been sleeping in their flat since the war had ended, staying in the Burrow like the rest of the Weasley brood. Once Molly had finished crying over the dark accusations, the boys had gone straight to their room, retrieving anything they had been keeping over.
'Well we're off to work,' George had waved, Apparating without Fred beside him.
'Mostly so we can avoid mum finding out about George's muggle tattoo,' Fred had winked at Hermione quickly, and spun around, disappearing with a pop and leaving his mother to yell after them. Ron had looked back to Ginny with an incredulous look about his face, 'D'you think he really has one?" Ginny had thought about it for one moment before nodding.
Hermione had blushed instantly at Fred's less than subtle flirtations, and then berated herself for getting worked up. They were going to be married soon enough, getting flustered around him wouldn't do much longer. A burst of pure Gryffindor courage had given Hermione the chance to agree to Ginny's impromptu shopping trip, knowing full well the girl would immediately think to take her to the joke shop. That courage had been dwindling down to a shrunken, sad quivering mess of nerves for the last few hours of clothes shopping.
"Maybe they're too busy, we could come back later. Or tomorrow," Ginny shot her a withering look, reminding Hermione of Mrs. Weasley.
"We're saying hello to your fiancé Granger. I'll throw you over my shoulder if I have to." She could feel her face burn up again, but she heroically decided to ignore the flush of heat coursing through her face once again. I really am ridiculous.
The next turn left revealed the large, vibrant joke shop in all its glory. The windows were crowded with unsupervised children, all clambering over each other to catch a peak of whatever magic treat was showcased for the day. Hermione smiled, remembering the evening she had suggesting the simple switching spell to cast over the shop window, so the treats and jokes would change on their own every morning. The twins had both gone completely silent before jumping around the Burrow, declaring their undying love for her and promising her immunity to many of their pranks. The window today was filled with millions of sparks; some twirling on fixed points and others jumping around freely. A few were even escaping from the miniscule crack in the upper left corner, and falling like crashing Quidditch players before winking out of existence. The bottom of the window sill was covered in gauzy red cushions, pillowing the fireworks boxes, and boasting the names of the multiple sparklers and crackers. The large wizard that held a scary resemblance to Fred and George was pulling something large and pink out of its hat before throwing it away and pulling another out. Until they came even closer did Hermione realize the pink mass resembled an ugly toad in hot pink clothing. She burst into laughter, catching the poke at their old DADA teacher. Ginny finally reached the front door after swimming through the hoard of kids and pulled it open for a frazzled looking young mother, who was forcing her and her son out, though the young boy was fighting gallantly.
"This store will be the death of me, I swear to Merlin," the young mother said to the girls, finally breaking her son away from the door frame. Hermione smiled politely while Ginny snorted in amusement.
"Yeah, try growing up in this." The witch gave her a strange look before disappearing, leaving the door wide open for another family to enter, looking much more enthusiastic than she.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in, Forge,"
"I've seen it bring back worse, Gred." Hermione looked over Ginny's shoulder towards the cash counter, where Verity was working non-stop, while George and Fred sauntered over to her and Ginny. Verity shot her bosses a nasty look, but waved them away with a smile when she noticed her. "And the mice it brings in aren't usually carrying tonnes of bags either." Fred grinned at his baby sister, and smiled softly at Hermione quickly before ushering the girls further into their store.
"Are you saying you have a cat now? The two of you getting lonely at night?" Ginny grinned at her older brothers teasingly, but George waved her away while Fred looked like he was ready to strangle his brother.
"Yes, I am saying that. Verity thought it was necessary to carry a stray in last week, and it hasn't gone away." Fred's grimace was met with George's guilty smile, one Hermione knew well, as she had pulled it herself when she had purchased Crookshanks.
"She's not that bad,"
"Who, Verity?" asked Ginny, grinning over at the frazzled, only other employee of WWW.
"No, the cat. She's alright really; Fred's the one with the problem. She's really sweet; she doesn't bother the customers and just sits at the counter with Verity most of the day." Ginny got a sappy smile on her face as she looked around the shop, obviously searching for the cat. George pointed her to the counter, and sent his sister over to Verity where there was indeed a scrawny, underfed, but happy cat. Fred stayed with Hermione near the door, and she suddenly felt the last few hours catch up to her.
"How was shopping then?" Fred asked surprising her enough to barely squeak out an answer.
"Oh, fine. Bought more clothes I don't need." Fred grinned widely at her, flashing that mischievous side smirk brilliantly. She smiled back, glad for a moment they were alone, as awkward as this moment may be. They hadn't had a moment to sit and get used to one another, either being too nervous to say anything or being interrupted by a member of the Weasley family.
"Had fun though, right?" She nodded, looking away from him to glance around the store. It seemed to kick start something in him, grabbing for her many shopping bags. "Here, I'll put them upstairs for you, and you can grab them before you two leave."
"Oh yeah, all right," she handed them over and watched him pop up to their apartment above the shop. With Fred now gone, Hermione took another look around before deciding to head over to the counter where Verity and Ginny were both cooing over the kitten. She side stepped a rambunctious toddler before reaching the glass topped counter, made to look like an old fashioned Muggle sweet Shoppe display. Only this one had dozens of trick candies lined up in pretty rows, small banners fluttering above each with its proper name and description. Her favourite were the Canary Creams, boasting a fabulous sketch of Neville Longbottom being turned into a frantic canary and then fall to the bottom as a laughing wizard. The note beside it read: No further explanation needed.
"'Mione you need to come say hello!" Ginny called her closer, gesturing to the preening kitten sitting proudly on the glass counter. The pillow she had been resting on was filled with multicoloured fur, most of it orange. Hermione took a closer look at the preening kitten and had to hold back a snicker at the twins' misfortune. This kitten was most definitely half Kneazle. She was very pretty, if not severely underfed but Hermione was sure Verity and George were taking care of that problem. Her coat was bright white, with large splotches of ginger covering most of her back. Her face was split perfectly down the middle in colour, one white with a black spot above her blue eye, and the other all orange with a brown eye. Her ears were a big give away, the extra pointed tips were a mix of gray and white. She was a lovely mismatched cat, and Hermione had to admit she couldn't have picked better wizards to suit her. As Hermione came nearer, the half Kneazle, half calico gave a mighty sniff and turned large soulful eyes on her as she looked Hermione up and down. She seemed to have passed the test, as the next moment, Hermione had reached for the kitten and received a loud purr and affectionate nuzzle against her chin.
"Well hello there you rascal. Found yourself a lovely home, now haven't you? Smart girl you are," the cat gave a mighty feminine meow and pawed at one of the loose curls by her face. "My kitty would like you I think. He's like you, very clever." the cat gave her a saucy meow now, like she was teasing her about something.
"Does she have a name?" Ginny asked Verity, who shook her head sadly, but smiled watching the kitten play fondly with Hermione. Lifting her hand, the kitten patted at the loose thread hanging from her sleeve.
"George has been trying, but Fred keeps telling him we're not keeping it. I don't think he's realized yet that she refuses to give them up. She's rather hooked."
"We should name her Ginger." Ginny giggled and pat the cat's head. Her idea was met with a baleful glare, showing immediate disapproval, "Or not."
"It takes a while to name a Kneazle Ginny, they are quite particular. It usually helps if their person comes up with it."
Verity sighed, "Great, so we have to wait for Fred to come around." Hermione and Ginny gave her confused frowns before Hermione clued in.
"You mean she claimed Fred, not George?"
"Well, I think she chose both, but Fred seems to be her favourite." Verity grinned then had to turn back to the next customer, leaving the two other witches alone with the kitten/Kneazle. Fred then popped back next to Hermione, causing her to give a great jump.
"Would taking the stairs kill you?" She scolded, but only received another grin. Then he noticed the cause of their distraction and immediately scowled at the cat. For her part, the kitten was purring loudly and rubbing her back against Fred's arm, waiting to be petted. Hermione instead took over for him, knowing he would do no such thing to the animal. "She does need a name, Fred." He looked at her like she had said the most outrageous thing, looking into her eyes before sighing like he had lost a Quidditch match.
"I know,"
"Then name her, she'll be even nicer with a name. Kneazles love getting their names."
He looked like she had punched him in the gut, "Are you telling me this thing is a Kneazle spawn?" He groaned and slumped down in one of the stools by the counter, propping his chin up. The kitten looked him in the eye, a staring contest on the rise until she leaned in and nipped his nose gently before giving it a loving lick. Hermione most definitely didn't miss the small twitch to his lips. It took him another moment before sighing again, though it wasn't as heavy as before.
"I've got nothing. You do it 'Mione. Please." She gave him a kidding glare, but looked to the kitten all the same, thinking of what she may like.
"Melina?" The cat cocked its' head before sneezing. Fred chuckled, actually reaching his hand out to poke at the kitten's nose.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It's a form of orange; obviously not going to work though, so what about Widget?" This time the look the cat shot her could only be oncoming boredom, "Hey, I thought it was cute! The Weasley's Widget? Widget's Weasley Wizard Wheezes? No?" Everyone, including the unnamed half Kneazle was giving her odd looks. Fred looked back at the nameless kitten, which was beginning to yawn widely.
"Treacle? She kind of looks like Ginny's first attempt at making mum's Treacle Tart recipe." Fred finally interrupted, noticing Hermione's growing frustration with the kitten. Ginny shot him a look and made to smack his arm, but stopped upon the grateful yowl coming from the small half- Kneazle.
"Really? You liked Treacle?" Ginny asked the kitten, and got another happy meow in return. Hermione laughed delightedly, watching Treacle become much more animated. She practically skipped away from Hermione to Fred's face once more licking his nose fondly in thanks. She then turned around to her pillow and curled herself up, falling back to sleep quickly. Neither Hermione nor Ginny said anything, but Fred still made a point to look them both in the eye,
"I still think we should kick her out."
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Their visit lasted until lunch came about, and the shop began to empty. George eventually came over to tell the three he was going to close the shop up for the rest of the day.
"It's dead in here anyways, we may as well bugger off for lunch." Fred agreed with his brother and together, they led the girls out of the shop, locking up behind them with multiple charms on the doorway. Hermione frowned slightly, aware just hoe busy the store had been since they had arrived. The foursome then started making their way through the throngs of other starving witch and wizards. After practically pushing a witch out of the way, Ginny glanced up at the large clock that had recently been added to the top of Gringotts Bank.
"Oh Merlin, I forgot I was meeting Harry for lunch. I'll catch up with you later 'Mione!" And she ran off to an Apparating point to disappear.
"Yes, lovely to see you as well little sister!"
"Glad to spend the day with you!" Fred and George yelled out as she disappeared around a corner, "Well, looks like it's just us then." Fred said while George suddenly nervously looked up at the clock as well.
"Err, Freddie," Hermione couldn't help the scoff that flew from her mouth as she watched Fred turn on his brother in amused exasperation.
"Let me guess. Angie is currently waiting for you to pick her up." George nodded and gave both of them a large smile.
"Go George, I'll see you later. Give Angelina my love," Hermione said, pushing on George's arm to get him moving, knowing full well Fred would just continue to take the mickey out of his brother. George grinned at Hermione and swooped down to plant a sloppy kiss on her cheek before running off with a half arsed goodbye thrown over his shoulder. Now only two, they looked at each other nervously, Fred rubbing at the back of his neck, looking around Diagon Alley quickly. Hermione couldn't help but take a quick look around as well, and noticed how many people had surrounded the Weasley's shop, all turning away unhappy or confused as to why the door was closed.
"D'you still want to go out? The shop looks like it could be doing well today." Hermione said in concern, taking another look around the busy Alley.
"Course we can still go out, I'm hungry, it's lunch time; they can wait, we cannot." Fred grinned at her, but it looked a little strained.
"It's not always this busy though, right? We can stay, I really don't mind." Fred smiled a little softer at her; she felt the need to add, "You have food in your flat, right? We can eat there."
"Alright, you've sucked me in with your charms, Miss Granger," Fred stuck his arm out, which Hermione took immediately, and they made their way back to the hopping joke shop. "And, no it's not normally this busy. But we do usually close up shop on today."
She gave him a strange side glance, but he still caught it, "Its April Fool's Day, Hermione." He smiled at her widely, and pushed through the throng of people to reopen the store. As soon as they stepped inside, Hermione was quick to sidestep away from the Weasley as young witches and wizards flocked around him, immediately begging for attention and to be shown tricks. She couldn't do much but stare at him, her jaw beginning to drop. It was his birthday. And she'd forgotten completely.
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At seven sharp, Fred rushed the last customers out of the store, the young witch, who couldn't have been more than four, was already fiddling with the latch on the cage of her brand new bright green Pygmy Puff. He gave a happy wave to the smiling parents and quickly shut the door, replacing the locking charms on it. Once finished, he turned to the cash counter, where Hermione was just finishing putting the Galleons away from the witch's new pet. She didn't look up as he walked towards her, intent on counting the cash correctly. Knowing she wouldn't look up until she had finished, he took the time to look her over, smiling fondly at her the whole time. This entire situation was ridiculously unfair, but he couldn't help the thought that he had scored lucky on this. While Hermione had always been his little brother's best friend, she had also always been gorgeous. George had on more than one occasion told him to back off, and he had for Ron. But now, this was his chance. He was completely allowed to be charming, and take her out, and Merlin forbid, kiss her. She was absolutely beautiful, but he still couldn't get his act together, and tell her.
"Fred? You ready for dinner then?" He snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to catch her eye. She was watching him, dare he even think, fondly, as she closed the cash drawer and turned slightly to grab the mangy cat from her pillow. She stepped closer to him, Treacle sitting prettily in her arms.
"Yeah, yeah let's head upstairs." He stepped aside, gesturing for her to go first. She smiled and began to mount the two stories of steps to his and George's flat. Before she reached the third step, she stopped and turned back to face him, shifting the half-Kneazle so she was perched more on her shoulder.
"Sorry for making you work on your birthday," she whispered, and leaned in, placing a delicate kiss on his cheek. He was sure he could have fallen down the two steps he had already made.
"Not a problem, thank you for spending it with me." He leaned in slowly, much more nervous now as he placed a soft kiss to her cheek as well, much closer to her lips than her kiss had been. She stepped up another step, keeping her eyes on his before smiling and turning to head up the stairs much quicker than before. He waited until she was much further until groaning out loud,
"Merlin, help me," and he followed her up the stairs.
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Ha I did it! I may be late for work now, but still, it's out! Got this out on April 1st, though there was the whole party I was hoping to go for, but I thought this was a nice, not full of pranks, alternative. Hope you thought the same. I will be writing again immediately, so watch for the next chapter soon.
Thanks, AJ