Pairing: Fred Weasley/Hermione Granger
Note: Takes place during OOTP, Fred is 17 and Hermione is 15.
Disclaimer: All properties belong to their rightful owners.
Act III, Scene II
What The Bloody Hell Is Going On?
As the duel was drawing nearer, Hermione began to feel more and more anxious. She had made it a point to hide her nervousness from Harry and Ron, but that meant having to get away from them as often as she could. Her friends were getting more and more suspicious about it, and even Ginny was wondering why she kept disappearing.
As all four of them were getting breakfast that Saturday morning, Hermione had hurriedly eaten hers and sped off without so much as another word. She had sped out of the Great Hall in a matter of minutes and was now rushing to the abandoned classroom she and Fred had agreed to meet up in.
"Alohamora," she whispered, and the door swung open.
"Hermione!" The familiar voice made her jump, and Hermione turned around to see that Harry, Ron, Ginny, and George had all followed her.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked her.
She hastily tried to obscure the doorway from their sight and pretended to be cross with her friend, "Why did you follow me? Honestly, have you no respect for my privacy?"
Ron answered, "Well, you keep disappearing without telling us where you were going —"
"I told you, I was going to the library!"
"Does that looklike the library to you?" Ron shot back.
Hermione flustered at that and opened her mouth to retort when Harry took a step forward, towards her.
"What we're all trying to say is that we're just worried about you, Hermione," Harry said calmly. "We're sorry if we've upset you. Will you please come back and eat breakfast with us?"
"You haven't upset me," Hermione told them. "I've just been busy with something lately and I—"
"Hermione?" Fred called her from inside the classroom, and everyone turned to look.
"What're you doing just standing in the doorway for? I thought we were—" Fred's face fell when he saw the scene taking place before him.
"Fred?!" All four of them exclaimed in unison.
"What's he doing here?" Ron shrieked, pointing a finger at his older brother.
George seemed completely dumbstruck for once.
Ginny, on the other hand, burst into laughter. "Is this why you've been avoiding us?
Because you've been secretly dating Fred?"
"Wait, what?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Hermione sighed and put a hand against her temple.
"So this is where you've been running off to for the past week?" George asked his twin in disbelief. "Hermione's your secret girlfriend?"
"Your what?!" Harry exclaimed again.
"No!" Both of them were quick to correct him. Hermione felt her face heat up, and Fred's, she saw, was tinged with the faintest shade of pink.
"There's nothing going on between us," Fred explained. "Though I know Hermione wishes there was."
She stomps his foot at that. Allowing herself the slightest bit of satisfaction at his pain, she clarified, "Fred's been helping me practice my spellwork for the past week."
"For the bet?" Harry asked, and they both nodded.
"Is that all?" George asked. "Lee and I thought you found better friends and just trying to break up with us gently."
"Well, I had to get away from you two every once and a while so I could actually have some peace of mind from time to time," Fred retorted.
"What, and you couldn't have gone to the library?"
Fred waved his hand dismissively, "The library's boring. I'd much rather practice spells with Hermione. Besides, she doesn't mind. She enjoys my company, don't you, 'Mione?"
"I tolerate it," Hermione said. "But only because I don't have any other choice."
"See?" Fred smiles, unfazed. "She's completely used to it."
"And you," Ron added, gesturing to Hermione, who had wrinkled her nose at Fred. "You actually like spending time with him? Because I happen to remember you saying that he was an 'infuriatingly smug, sarcastic rulebreaker' just last week. Sorry, Fred. Her words, not mine."
Fred only laughed, clearly more amused than offended. "No, no, keep going. This is splendid. I want to know more."
Hermione, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at Ron. "As you said, Ron, that was over a week ago. I've gotten to know Fred much better since then and he's learned to behave himself now."
Fred knit his eyebrows at that, "Are you saying I'm not misbehaving now, 'Mione? I'll have to work on that. I do have a reputation to uphold, you know."
Ron doesn't miss the small smirk that flickers on Hermione's face when she replies, "Oh, trust me, Fred. No one knows that better than I do."
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron whispered at Harry.
The dark-haired boy laughed helplessly, "Honestly, I don't even know anymore."
Author's Note: What a riot! I love this chapter so much. What did you guys think? Share your thoughts and leave a review, I'd love to know :))
