I hope you like this one!

-owl


If one were to ask Hermione, what one of her personal grievances throughout her life thus far were, she would have to say the fact she got cold really easily, when it wasn't even winter. And, really, she did. She could be bundled up in a cloak, a scarf around her neck, a hat on her head, gloves on her hands, her boyfriend holding her close. She would still be cold, though.

Today, however, Hermione was certain of the fact that she was even colder than that one time Dumbledore had made them all go trick-or-treating in sixth year. Somehow, sitting on the couch that retained the most heat, wearing three pairs of socks, two cloaks, her scarf and hat, and two blankets were wrapped around her.

Even though it was only fall, it was a cooler night and Hermione had somehow dropped her wand at work. The fireplace wasn't lit, and Draco wasn't yet home. Did she really need her wand to start a fire? Yes, she did. Wizarding households never kept flint and steel or matches in their homes, as they had their wands to light fires and candles. There was obviously also no hope of casting a warming charm on herself, either.

Then, just as Hermione was contemplating how to get Crookshanks to cuddle with her, the fireplace erupted into green flames and Draco stepped out of it. Once he was clear, the flames died away. He was wearing his ministry robes and carried his small bag of papers in his left hand. In his right was both of their wands.

"Shacklebolt said you lost this at work?" he said, tossing the wand at her.

Hermione watched it fall onto the pile of blankets she was under, but did nothing to grab it. Then again, her arms were pinned under the blankets. "Thank you. Can you start the fire?"

He smirked. "Cold?" he asked teasingly.

"I'm so cold I think the only thing that can warm me up would be Hell fire," she snarked back.

"I'm not sure I can complete that request, Hermione."

She glared at him. "If you can't summon flames directly from Hell, anything you can summon would be much appreciated."

Laughing, he pointed his wand at the fireplace, and muttered "Incendio."

Immediately there were happy flames crackling on the logs there, casting a warm glow around the room, as well as a wave of heat. Hermione smiled and relaxed deeper into the blankets. Draco shook his head at his girlfriend before making his way to his room to likely get changed from work.

Hermione was finally warming up, but still was quite cold. Even though the fire definitely helped, she was too far away to get as much of the heat as she wished she could. So, pulling her blankets with her, she scurried from the couch, onto the floor.

When Draco returned to the room, Hermione had moved herself to be on the floor as close to the fireplace as she could. One of her blankets was trailing behind her towards the couch.

"Am I to assume you're feeling at least a little warmer?" Draco asked as he sat next to her.

She nodded. "Yes, and I'm not even sure why I've been so cold lately." Her voice took on a tone that was somewhere between confusion and annoyance.

Draco couldn't hide a small smile, and spoke. "Harry told me about the Weasley twins' plan to prank you."

Hermione gave him an odd look. "What?" She asked.

"It sounds like one of the pair — Harry pointed him out, but I can never tell them apart — cast a cooling charm on you, made so that it gains strength the longer it is in effect."

"I'm going to kill them."

"Please don't go to Azkaban for murder, dear."

"Who's going to find out?"

Draco held his face in his hands. "You're bound to slip up at work somehow, which so happens to be the Ministry of Magic. Also, let's not even discuss the fact that I, your boyfriend, am an auror."

"I can keep a secret, nobody has to know," Hermione muttered. "Did Harry happen to tell you how to break the charm?"

Draco shook his head, and the conversation lapsed into silence.


The next day, as soon as Weasley's Wizard Wheezes opened, Hermione was through the door. Once inside, she saw Fred at the front counter and George by the new display they were promoting today. They both looked up when she entered. There was no hint of recognition in their eyes, as Hermione was bundled up in a large coat and a scarf. When she spoke, though, they knew who she was immediately.

"Which one of you," Hermione spat out, advancing towards them. "Cast that damn charm on me?"

They both pointed at the other. "He did it!" they said simultaneously.

Hermione clenched her fists. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me which of you did it, will you guys at least remove it?"

Fred nodded. "George? Will you do the honors?" he asked, waving his twin forwards.

Waving his wand in one of the most complicated patterns Hermione had seen since Lockhart, he muttered a spell and Hermione could feel herself getting warmer.

"Dare I even ask why you thought to test that spell on me?" she asked.

Fred shrugged. "We honestly thought that you'd figure it out a lot sooner than you did. How did you find out, anyway?"

"Draco told me after he got home from the ministry last night to find me huddled on the couch with two cloaks, two blankets, and an assortment of other warm clothing."

George looked a little pale at her words. "We hit you with the charm only a week ago, our tests showed that the target shouldn't get as cold as you're describing until two weeks."

"It could be nothing, I get cold very easily anyway. But," and now her tone dropped dramatically. "If you ever try that again, I will have you arrested for attacking the Minister of Magic herself."

And, with that, she swept out of the store to Diagon Alley, leaving a shocked pair of twins behind.