A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome back to another fic :) This one was both easy and hard at the same time. Easy because the words flowed. Hard because my first draft ended up being 1500 words long *dies* So enjoy this heavily edited fic, and maybe one day I'll release the 1500 word monstrosity that was the original lol
This one is for Round 4 of The Houses Competition, where I'm in Ravenclaw House and writing for Potions. This competition, we have to write a drabble (500-1000 words) as well as a standard (1000-3000 words). This fic is the Drabble of the two. Prompts are listed below.
Thank you kindly to VanillaAshes and HadrianPeverellBlack for the beta!
Word Count: 1016
Disclaimers/Warnings:
Summary: Fred is convinced he fell in love with Hermione when she encouraged him to get the jumper he loved. But he finds out what love really means when he discovers her wearing it; Voldie-Free World; POC Hermione
Prompts:
The Houses Competition Y10 R4
[Pairing - Romantic] Fred Weasley/Hermione Granger
"The Jumper"
The day that the yellow jumper entered Fred Weasley's life was the day he realized he was in love with Hermione Granger. Every year, he and his siblings took a trip into the Muggle world to find a jumper for their annual Ugly Christmas Jumper party, each agreeing to never use one of the home-made jumpers their mother made for them.
It was in a small boutique off the main road that Fred ran into an old crush of his: Hermione Granger. She was a dark beauty who had spent most of her time at school in the library. Two years younger than him and George, her age didn't stop her from trying to mother them all the same. Or at least she nagged like their mother, especially when it came to their joke products. But she had a brilliant mind, and when they had proven to her that they were serious about the safety of their products, Hermione had added in her two knuts worth.
She was brilliantly scary.
When he had graduated from Hogwarts, they had lost touch, so finding her this close to Christmas was a nice surprise. She fingered a soft-looking jumper displayed on the mannequin. On the racks around it was that same jumper in a variety of different colors, some somber and dull, and others as vibrant as Fred's hair and personality. One visually jumped out at him just as Hermione shifted to take a look at it herself, her hand rising to touch the soft material.
It was perfect.
"Come here often?" Fred asked nonchalantly as he approached. Hermione jumped as she whirled around.
"Fred! How have you been?" she asked, a smile blossoming on her face. She moved forward to draw him into a hug, one which Fred returned happily. Small talk came easily to them, each moment drawing Fred closer and closer to the love of his life.
"–and so now, every year, we try to find the ugliest jumper we can, and then doctor it up to make it look worse!" Fred explained, before reaching out a hand. He pulled a bright jumper in his size off of the rack and grinned widely. "And this one is mine!" he then declared triumphantly. He held the jumper up to himself and posed with a grin. "So? What do you think?"
Hermione grinned back at him, one eyebrow raised. "You know full well that color would look much better on me," she stated, holding her arm out close to the jumper, and he saw how well the yellow brought out the tones in her darker skin. "But if your aim is to be the most garishly dressed, by all means, this is the perfect addition to your wardrobe."
Still holding the jumper against himself, Fred whirled around to look in the full-body mirror in the aisle. Seeing how nicely the yellow clashed with his hair and skin color, his grin widened.
Nine months later brought many changes to Fred's life, one of which included him finally asking out Hermione Granger. Those changes, however, did not include the jumper that quickly became his favorite. Despite his siblings' attempt at getting rid of it–color-changing charms, and even the single attempt to let the gnomes at the Burrow keep it–the jumper itself stayed strong. Fred had stopped wearing it just to keep it safe, and now it had a place of honor in his wardrobe. It was one of the few articles of clothing that he lounged in after work, something he looked forward to after a long day at the shop.
Today was the last day for school shopping in Diagon Alley before September 1st. He and George had even kept the shop open later in order to eke out those last few sales from wearied parents dragging their overstimulated kids home. As he locked up, he looked forward to washing up, changing into what was now his comfort jumper, and then sitting down for a late dinner with his girlfriend, who had grabbed Muggle Chinese takeaway.
"Honey, I'm home!" Fred called out as he headed up the stairs. George had flooed over to Angelina's for the night, so he and Hermione had the flat all to themselves until the morning. "Hermione?" he called out. He heard running water in the bathroom and shrugged, quietly padding his way to the bathroom to get changed. He could just wash up afterwards.
His robes landed in a heap on the floor, mere centimeters from the laundry basket, his shirt and pants following. His socks somehow landed in the basket. After donning a pair of joggers, expectantly grinning, Fred headed for his wardrobe to grab his yellow jumper.
It was missing.
His pulse rushed in his ears, his mind whirling. Had one of his siblings snuck in while he was working? Was it merely in the wash, and he had forgotten to hang it back up?
The door to the bathroom opened, and Fred whirled around.
"Hermione, have you seen my jump–" The words died on his tongue as his girlfriend stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the tiniest shorts he had ever seen and the missing yellow jumper.
Fred's mouth went dry. Hermione finally noticed him standing there.
"Oh, Fred! You're home!" Hermione said, delighted, greeting him with a kiss. "I have the food under a warming spell, but we should probably eat sooner rather than later. Are you hungry?"
"You know what? Keep the jumper. You're right; it looks so much better on you than on me. Mhm. Wear this every day, please!" Fred declared dramatically as his hands rested on her hips, drawing her to him. A laugh bubbled up out of her.
"Fred! Let's eat now, and then you can show me your appreciation for this jumper later, okay?" Hermione stated. She giggled again as he saluted her.
"Yes, Ma'am! But food quickly!" He stole another kiss before racing off to the kitchen. Her laughter followed him, and he couldn't help but thank his lucky stars that he found not one love, but two in that boutique last December.
