Completely unbeta'ed and literally just finished. I'm back from the dead and was too eager to share and keep writing. I hope you all enjoy.
"What topic?" Ginny asked looking between the two.
"Hagrid!" George snapped at her, finally looking ready to blow. Apparently the patience he was willing to afford Luna didn't extend to his baby sister.
"Fred and Hermione," Luna answered at the same time. Her voice was softer but somehow still rose above his.
"Oh, that," Ginny only half succeeded in fighting down a smirk. A riled up George was much easier to pump for information than a composed one. "Looks like you may have been right Luna," she linked arms with the blonde and began to walk aimlessly down the road, George hot on their heels. They were quickly forced to continue single file by swarms of teens in town for the weekend from Hogwarts
"Ginevrea Weasley answer me right now, or I will shout the topic of your conversation for everyone to hear," George threatened darkly.
"We were just talking about the way Fred seemed to be paying her a lot of attention recently," Luna tried to smooth over in impending argument before it could take place.
Inwardly George winced, realizing he and Fred should have anticipated Luna and Ginny catching on so quickly. Subconsciously, his hand rose to tug at his hair, pulling it down to cover the scar at the side of his head. "Just cause they went off shopping together?" he tried for a casual tone of voice. Two heads swirling to stare at him told him he'd failed pretty miserably. His fingers began to play over the regenerated earlobe. The medics had given him his ear back, but nothing could be done about the raised, dark scar over it. He despised looking in the mirror and seeing it, but for some reason every time he got nervous his hands strayed right to it to ground himself.
"Not just this time," Ginny answered him straight forward. His grounding habits hadn't escaped her notice, and as much as she enjoyed teasing him she inherently knew it as a sign not to push him further. "I saw him staring at her during lunch like she was dessert."
"You did?" Luna sounded delighted. It was impossible to tell if she'd caught on to the silent exchange that passed between the siblings. "When?"
"Whole damn time," George answered wryly, realizing there was no point in denying it.
Ginny stared at him in surprise, "actually I only saw it after Pig landed."
'Fuck,' George thought, his hand strayed back up to tug at the unblemished earlobe centered in the scar.
There was a moment of silence as they paused near the entrance of the shop, giving Hermione a chance to soak in the atmosphere. She inhaled deeply, the smell of books and sporadic whispered chatter seeping into her and soothing her to the core. A small smile spread across her lips, the books surrounding her making her feel at home. No matter what crap life threw at her, books made the world slow down and let her just breath.
Unnoticed next to her Fred openly watched her, silently adding the look of pleasure and peace on her face to the list of things he intended to make happen much more often. Her body visibly relaxed and he found himself what had put that tension there in the first place and why no one seemed to have noticed it before. It seemed almost sacrilegious to break the moment. Gently tightening his hand around hers, her steered her further into the store, leading her to the stairs to the second floor. It was quieter up there and there were little reading nooks they'd be able to talk privately. As they walked he could see her eyes slowly roving over the shelves, undoubtedly taking in every book along the way. Adding to the rapidly growing list, he promised himself that sometime in the near future he'd bring her back here for a proper shopping excursion. Spend the whole damn day trailing after her like a pathetic, lost little puppy letting her pick out every book her heart desired. He'd even help her carry the books as long as it didn't mean letting go of her hand. And at the end of the day he'd pay for it all and hopefully earn himself a kiss.
Lost in his fantasy, Fred failed to notice when they reached the top of the stairs, leaving them standing there like a couple of dumbasses until Hermione gently squeezed his hand, looking up at him with an innocently questioning expression. His heart contracted painfully; fire burned low in his abdomen. Even his cock twitched in interest. He'd never felt such an intense combination before. Damned if he didn't love every bit of it. Fucking masochist.
"Sorry," he shot a charming smile at her, this time not missing the subtle flush that dusted her cheeks. "I think there's a private nook over this way."
Ginny watched her brother's obvious turmoil and pulled Luna to a full halt letting him catch up to them. She'd just been teasing him before, thinking Fred was just flirting a bit for fun. But now… Fred and George may be prank kings but they never took it this seriously.
"Georgie," she lowered her voice slightly, reaching up to gently pull his hand from the abused ear. He flinched when her fingers brushed the scar. Not deterred, she lightly brushed against it again, willing him to understand. It wasn't something to be ashamed of. It was a sign of his courage. A reminder that he was still alive and how happy they were to have him. Instead his eyes went cold and expressionless as he swatted her hand away.
"What?" He snapped instead, refusing to let her in. She sighed internally.
They made their way to the far back corner of the shop, finally finding a tiny reading nook against the wall, enclosed by thick bookcases. It was dimly lit and intimately cozy. Fred immediately amended his earlier fantasy to include pulling her back up here for a very thorough snogging. As a matter of fact, he'd even relinquish holding her hand to carry extra books as long as he got her in his lap gasping from his kisses before they left.
'Later Freddie. Later," he promised himself, refocusing himself on the present. Pushing away his arousal, he made sure to let her sit first like a proper gentleman, checking to make sure that she was comfortable before pulling his own chair closer to hers and sitting as well.
"So," Hermione began without preamble, "what kind of therapeutic candy?"
Fred initially had to hold back a smile at her insistent curiosity. He sobered up pretty quickly though, trying to figure out where to start. There wasn't a doubt in his mind he could trust her. Given what she went through during the war, only an idiot would question if she could be trusted. When it came down to it, he knew she'd even be willing to keep it secret from the rest of the Golden Trio. It was still hard though. It still felt like a deep betrayal against his other half. But in all truth he could really use the help and if there's anyone who could do it, it was her.
"Do you ever have dreams?" He finally started. She opened her mouth to answer, but he cut her off , "Dreams about the war. The kind that leave you covered in sweat, reaching for your wand… that make you question if you're really in the safety of your own bed."
"Yes," she didn't hesitate to respond like he thought she would. Instead she surprised him even further by reaching out and taking his hand once again and squeezing it tight, seeming to understand the touch would help keep him there and present. "Not as often anymore. But they still come, they still haunt me. They haunt all of us I think."
He took a deep, slow breath and pulled his hand from her. There was a moment of satisfaction when he saw her lips tighten in a small frown as she carefully placed her hand primly back in her lap. He'd be willing to wager that she wasn't even aware of if as she clasped her hands together instead, lowering her eyes at the perceived rejection. Thank Merlin she wasn't gifted with Legilimency. He shifted his chair to sit perpendicularly to hers, slightly angled side by side. He reached over and pulled her hand back to sandwich between his own and rested them in his own lap, watching as her eyes lifted back to his own. A small hesitant smile stretched over her lips.
"They used to be more frequent than not," she continued, crossing her free arm over her stomach in a subconscious protective pose against the memories. Fred pretended not to notice. Sometimes it's best to let the story run its course and offer comfort after a person has been given the chance to get it all out at once. "I'd wake up screaming, sometimes falling clear out of bed. It felt like such a weakness to have… I'd cast silencing charms around the room before bed, not wanting anyone else to know. There were so many more important things you know… Harry, Ron and everything. Rebuilding after the war… I have to stay strong for them…" she trailed off, eyes growing distant.
Fred's heart hurt. Not a typical heart ache, but actually hurt. To hear this goddess beside him speak as though her need to heal was a shameful burden that was supposed to take second place to everyone and everything else. Not for a second did he miss her switch to the present tense either. Unbidden, his thumb began drawing small, light circles over her knuckles, "Go on, Angel," his voice low and soft.
"Well.. I forgot to charm the charms one time. I was just so tired and hadn't been sleeping," she shrugged. "Next time I know I'm being shaken awake, my own screams ringing in my ear, wand in hand. If he weren't so fast, I'd have Harry two ways to Sunday and landed him in St. Mundgos. I don't remember anything after that. Just suddenly coming back to myself, sobbing while in his lap, held tight with him whispering everything was okay."
Fred gently raised her hand and kissed the back lightly, completely unnoticed as she reminisced the first of many times Harry held her when it felt like she'd fall into pieces. It was when he went from her best friend to her soul's brother. There wasn't a day she didn't thank whatever God brought him to her. "In the end it became our pattern. Whenever one of us was falling apart, the other was there to hold them together. Until eventually the nightmares began to lessen. When we both felt ready, we decided it was time to finally move on in our lives. New jobs. He started dating Ginny again, I moved out…" She smiled, looking over to meet his eyes as she came out of her trance. His lips twitched in a half smile back.
"Could it be… Fred's genuinely interested in Hermione?" Luna asked speculatively, hitting the nail square on the head without an ounce of mercy.
George winced and nodded, his brows furrowed. Damn it, he was neatly backed into the corner now. Freddie better appreciate the shit he was about to put himself through. "Yes… I believe he is."
"Really?" Ginny sounded delighted, linking an arm through his, now set on leading the group to a higher end clothing store that just happened to be in the opposite direction of the book store. "I thought that crush ended back in school."
"You knew about that?" George very nearly shouted, staring at Ginny in shock. Luna giggled softly, linking arms with him on the opposite side, and squeezing his bicep. He got the distinct impression that she was trying to warn him to hush and let Ginny babble on a bit. Apparently she'd known too.
"Of course," Ginny sniffed, tossing her hair back. "Why else wouldn't he have had a steady girl? He was always staring at her too. Not like at lunch of course. But he did stare an awful lot at her lips."
"I suppose he wasn't all that subtle," George had to admit. "You may have noticed but there's two people who never did catch on."
"Who?" Luna cocked her head, eyes wide.
"Fred and Hermione," George answered simply. He had to join in when the two girls burst into loud cackles.
"Hermione I'd expect, but Fred?" Luna asked between giggles. "How does someone have a crush and not know they've a crush?"
"Leave it to a Weasely," Ginny snickered. "That's worse than Ron. At least he caught on before his thirties." Once again, they burst into giggles and chuckles at the youngest male's expense.
"Well he's caught on now," George pointed out as they reached Ginny's chosen destination. He slid free of Ginny to open the door for the ladies, and followed them in. Still intent on the conversation, they followed him to the men's section. "I don't think the crush ever truly went away actually."
Ginny began flipping through the racks, running an expert eye over the clothes and tossing chosen items into George's arms. It didn't take long for her to pick out more than several outfits, "So now that he's caught on… is he finally going to do something about it?"
"You aren't against it?" George eyed the clothing in his arms. "What are all these for?"
"Fred obviously. If he's going to pursue Hermione he'd best look his best. I won't have my brother chase after my best friend looking like a frump."
George gaped at her. Guess that answered that question. If he'd known she'd take it so well he'd have recruited her help ages ago. "Of course not," was his intelligent response.
"He could always just go shirtless," Luna suggested, making George drop half the pile with a blush. She grinned shamelessly. "We've seen you all out playing Quidditch. I'm sure she'd appreciate the view."
"Good point," Ginny's voice was approving, deepening George's blush. Did they forget they were talking about his identical twin? "But that should be saved for later don't you think? She's far more likely to take him seriously if he took the time to properly woo and court her. It'd show her he'd serious about her… he is, isn't he?" Ginny turned a sharp stare at George as he carefully picked up the dropped merchandise.
"More than you realize," he answered honestly. Fred hadn't admitted so much to him, but he didn't need to. George had been watching him closely. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that Fred wasn't going to get out of this without falling, and falling hard. And knowing his brother, the damned fool would enjoy every torturous second of it. "He'll treat her like a queen Gin, you know that."
"Yes, he does seem likely to treat her well. He'd be a good balance for her too," Luna agreed with him. "He'll be good to bring some levity and fun to her life. She deserves more smiles and laughs in her life."
"She deserves a hell of a lot more than that," Ginny grumbled, now leading the way to the women's section. George watched in interest as she began pulling out clothing to exam. Even he could see they were fitted to someone much more petite than his little sister. "Don't just stand there gawking, help me out George. You know his tastes better than me."
"Wha.. when… Ginny how the holy fuck do you think Freddie's gonna fit in that," George stuttered, dropping the whole pile in his arms to gesture idiotically at the tiny miniskirt she was currently looking over. Luna tried in vain to smother her laughter as Ginny looked at George in horror. Instead she bent and began picking up the abandoned pile and arranging it neatly in her arms.
"Not for him to wear you dolt!" Ginny snapped, smacking him with the slip of cloth. "Hermione needs some new outfits and I want to pick out some things that'll show off her body for once."
George grabbed the skirt from her hand before she could smack him with it again. It wasn't hard to imagine how it'd look on the younger woman. "Definitely not."
"Why not? She got pretty nice legs," Luna finally got herself under control enough to rejoin the conversation. "I think she'd look fantastic."
"Exactly. Fred wouldn't be able to think straight. No man can court a woman like a gentlemen when all he can think about is finding a dark corner to have his way with her." George flapped the skirt and put it back on the rack.
"Then its perfect." Ginny smiled brightly and grabbed it up again. "She could use a good long ravishing." She continued her way through the rack pulling out more items that would no doubt have Fred frothing at the mouth.
"Poor bastard." George thought, knowing Fred already had a hard enough time controlling himself. "Lucky Hermione…"
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