A/N- This one is for New Year. Just so you know the quote has a lot to do with the chapter that it is in, kind of like a hint. There are a lot of hints in this chapter. I'm sorry that this chapter is a day late but my dad went out last night and the internet broke!
New Year New people
Quote – A book is like a key to unknown chambers within one's own self – Franz Kafka
Hermione felt cold, the coldness spreading from her chest outwards. She shivered, trying to keep warm in her duvet; she rolled over to face the wall just as someone entered the room, yelling.
"Why would you be cold? Look how many blooming layers you have on!" Ginny's red hair was swinging as she shouted. Hermione couldn't hear the other voice; all she could hear was its mumbling.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Once again there was mumbling.
"Our room looks warm, Fred that's pathetic! If you want to see Hermione, you could have just asked her! Though that excuse was so bad I think I'm not going to let you in" Ginny slammed the door.
"Besides she's ill! We can't have another person ill. We have to go to this party!" She shouted at the door, her face getting red from being angry.
"And don't you dare think of Apparating in here!" Ginny finished then turned to Hermione. She walked over and sat on her bed, then tugged at her duvet.
"I got rid of the imposter" Ginny joked.
"I heard" Hermione whispered back. Ginny placed her hand to her head.
"You don't have a temperature. What did you say was wrong with you?" Ginny asked.
"I'm cold, really cold" Hermione gasped, realising that Fred had also been cold. She shook her head. This is stupid, that isn't what's happening. Hermione sat up quickly and looked at Ginny's face.
"I think I feel better" She stated, throwing the duvet off her. Hermione was surprised that it didn't make her colder. She stood up and took a step towards the door.
"So you can come to the party tonight?" Ginny asked, looking at her excitedly. Hermione sighed
"I don't want to go" Hermione said, "We didn't really celebrate it at home, and I'd miss mom too much"
"Come on, the party would cheer you up, you've been so glum ever since we visited dad at the hospital!" Ginny paused as if she'd figured it out "come to think of it you haven't looked at Fred since and you went with him to get tea!" She paused as if remembering "You came back by yourself?" Hermione shook her head.
"I'm not going!" She turned to walk to the door and threw it open viciously. She looked down at the lump on the floor, which was currently getting up
"Hermione!" Fred said. Hermione hadn't noticed when, but she felt warmer and not ill. Ginny looked between the two of them and smirked
"I'll give you two some privacy" Ginny winked at Hermione.
"No really, there's nothing – We don't need privacy – We really shouldn't be talking" Hermione stumbled, but Ginny had already gone, her red hair swinging as she skipped down the stairs. Ginny walked down the stairs and into one of the many drawing rooms.
"Hermione doesn't want to come" Ginny said teasingly to her mom.
"Well tough, rules are rules, New Year is romantic, she of all people should be looking forward to it"
"Huh? Why?" Ginny picked up the book on the chair so she could sit down "Princes are Jerks?" Ginny muttered to herself but Molly didn't hear
"Nothing dear - Don't touch that, books like that shouldn't be read at New Year, they inflict young minds. Dark magic, very dark. Put it back on the chair so I can put it away" Ginny placed the book on the edge of the chair, but then remembered she'd left Hermione with Fred and stood up quickly, knocking the book under the chair. She briefly looked for it, but couldn't see it so she shrugged and walked back up the stairs.
"Mom says you have to come, rules are rules" Ginny said, smirking.
"Well I guess you'll have to see me tonight" Fred said, looking at Ginny.
"Well it is a big party, so the chances of you finding her are very slim" Ginny laughed to herself.
"Thank you Gin" Fred said through gritted teeth. Hermione looked uncomfortably between the two of them, her heart fluttering in her chest. Ginny smiled sweetly at Fred, then went into her room. Hermione looked up at Fred; he lent down to kiss her, but she stopped him.
"Tonight" She whispered, before she walked into the room and closed the door. Hermione sighed and slid down the door sighing; the room was peaceful and quiet, but Ginny had started bouncing on the bed.
"Why didn't you kiss him?" She asked, making Hermione jump.
"It's complicated" Hermione sighed.
"No it's not, you could have just kissed him- how does that complicate things" Ginny asked, deliberately being annoying.
"It would be complicated because you were watching" Hermione stated. Ginny gave a confused look, then started to get ready for the party. Hermione grabbed her book and started reading.
"Hermione, come on!" Ginny shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Hermione came down into the main drawing room to meet everyone else. She put her book on the chair and looked up. Ron looked back at her.
Ron.
Hermione looked back at him and smiled awkwardly; She realised that she hadn't spoken to him or Harry about any of this, she'd been so held up in her own problems that she had been the world's worst best friend. She walked clumsily over to them, knocking into the chair.
"Hey" she said, they both looked at her but ignored her, so she carried on "Listen, I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend. I've been so held up in my own awkwardness, one day I'll tell you, but I'm not quite sure my self yet" She sighed and looked at them "I just don't think you're ready for all of this, with the war coming and all, I'm sure Harry's problems are bigger than mine and it would just make me sound pathetic" She looked at their faces for a moment, but neither of them moved so she walked away.
"We will all be Disapparating there, because of the incident with the fire place this seemed much safer" Molly paused to give Fred and Hermione a look "Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione you'll need to grab hold of someone; either me, Tonks, Lupin, Fred or George" Before Mrs Weasley could finish, Ginny had pushed Hermione into Fred, she winked at them both. Fred chuckled and took Hermione's hand. Hermione moved to the chair, not letting go of Fred's hand. She looked at the chair to find there was no book. Letting go of Fred's hand, she tried to feel around under the chair for her book. Finally she felt a book like object and picked it up and put it in her bag. Hermione took hold of Fred's hand once again, looking around the room as she did so. She met Ron's eyes across the room.
"We go in 3… 2… 1…" Fred winked at Hermione and with a crack everyone was gone. She turned to look at him.
"Fred! Why didn't you go?" Hermione asked.
"You said tonight" Fred chuckled. Hermione looked at him and shook her head. She leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. Then grabbed his other hand.
"Come on" Hermione held on to Fred as there was an all familiar crack.
When they arrived, the party was in full swing. The music was loud and there were lots of people dancing. Hermione held on to Fred's hand tightly, but found that she was separated from him through the crowd. She tried to look for him, but couldn't find him anywhere. She moved towards the door that she thought would lead outside, only to find that it led to a room. The room was empty and there was a balcony on the other side. Hermione walked towards the balcony and sat down on the floor, pulling her book out of her bag. She looked at the cover.
"Princes are Jerks?" Hermione muttered "This wasn't the book I was reading" Hermione turned the book over to the blurb "Be careful what you wish for" Hermione's curiosity got the better of her, and she turned the cover.
Every girl deserves her happily ever after; a story with a happy ending is worth telling. The world needs happy stories; it gives people hope. But what are people thinking about princes? Princes represent the male dominance. Showing them to be, act and think they are more important. If you are to fall in love, you have to make sure he's right. He may think he likes you, but he just likes the chase, the commitment isn't what a guy wants. The only way a guy can truly love you is if you are –
Hermione's book was pulled from her hands- she looked up. Fred was gleaming down at her, holding her book in her hands.
"Princes are jerks?" He asked her, smiling and turning to a random page. He coughed before reading the text "Denying yourself of true love can set curses on your prince and one's self. Terrible curses that break the magical bondage you have, weakening any love until it's all gone. " He laughed "Expecting to find your prince?" he smiled down at her and helped her up.
"No it's just a book, I highly doubt any of it is true" Hermione smiled back at him. He played with his hands nervously before speaking.
"Hermione, there is something I have to tell you. It's the reason my mom and Tonks told us to stay away from each other, it's the reason you been so ill, and it's the reason that I am amazed by you" Fred whispered, afraid his voice would break. Hermione looked up at him and took a step closer.
"Hermione, we are what many people would call soulmates" He paused for a reaction, but there wasn't anything "There is powerful magic involved in soulmates, which is why Tonks wanted us to stay away from each other. We can be easily hurt, and the dark type of magic toys with our brain, giving us dreams that show us our worst fears. It's kind of like a fairy tale" He joked. Hermione looked up at him.
"It's nothing like a fairy tale, this sounds horrible. Knowing that I have to worry about you all the time, more than I do now, that's no fairy tale" Hermione looked up at him.
"But you've got your happily ever after. You've found your prince" Fred took a step away from her, becoming annoyed.
"Fred, you're no prince" Hermione whispered. Fred looked taken aback; scared.
"But – we're soul mates" Fred said.
"Are you sure? Because that sounds like a stupid excuse to fall in love with me- yeah well I know you only like chasing me" Hermione shouted back. She felt a painful stab in her chest, but she tried to ignore it, causing her to fall to the floor.
"Hermione!" Fred shouted, turning to her, feeling the same strange pain in his chest. But the pain wasn't as bad for Fred, it was weakening. All pain was weakening. He helped her up.
"Fred, I'm so confused, I thought I liked you, maybe I even loved you. But being your soul mate kind of seems like a lot to say just to get me to like you back, or even to say I liked you back. I'm feeling so in love, but so alone. But most of all I feel betrayed, by myself for letting me love you, and you for just being you" Hermione hurt now all over, the pain in her chest had spread all over her body, making her feel weak and alone.
"No one could feel all that! They'd explode!" Fred shouted.
"NOT ALL OF US HAVE THE EMOTIONAL RANGE OF A TEA SPOON!" Hermione shouted back, the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Hermione, you wanted your fairy tale, and here it is, in all its complicated glory" He laughed a cruel horrid laugh that hit Hermione hard, making her feel like she had been stabbed and left to die. "My mom said we were soul mates- how wrong could she have been? We are so different, I thought at first we were, but now I know you love me, well, I feel nothing for you" Fred had changed, the man who was standing before Hermione was no longer Fred. Why did she deny herself from true love? The pain she felt now must have meant that they were soul mates after all. Then it hit Hermione like a ton of bricks.
"Denying yourself of true love, can set curses on your prince and one's self. Terrible curses that break the magical bondage you have, weakening any love until it's all gone."
Hermione had realised what she'd done. She'd set a curse. There was a chiming in the distance, a horrible chiming, it was all off key and made the situation worse. Midnight.
"Fred" Hermione whispered, feeling the urge to win him back- feeling all the love and hatred he had for her. He still loves me Hermione thought just deep down, "Kiss me" Hermione asked. Fred took a step towards her, but Hermione got there first, wrapping her hands around his neck. She pulled him close, his lips meeting hers. This was nothing like their first kiss; this left Hermione feeling hollow and empty, exactly how she was before. She heard Fred gasp and pulled away from him, all the love in his eyes was there, hidden at the back, being pushed away by anger. He looked at her; she could see the confusion in his eyes, the love and the anger mixing together.
"Please, Fred, I love you, I didn't mean to deny it! I don't think I can go on feeling like this. A hollow cold body with no soul," Hermione was shocked at the words that came out of her mouth "Please, Fred, I don't want to be like this" Her voice was just a whisper. Hermione looked at the floor, not knowing if it was too late or if she had set the curse by accident.
Fred's expression was blank and confused; he looked down at Hermione, and felt his heart become cold like it was freezing over.
A/N – I'm hoping you all got the hints in this chapter… If you didn't then the book (as in the book Ginny picks up) has a big part in this, Updating Friday.
Please Review! I'd like to know what you think comes next it would be fun as I've wrote most of that chapter! Enjoy you're week!