** This is a series of drabbles, ficlets and one shots following our dear Fred and Hermione from June of 1995 (shortly before the third task of the Triwizard Tournament) to an as-of-yet undetermined point post-war.**
oOoOoOo
25 December 1995
"Son of a –" Fred placed his actively blistering fingertip between his lips and swore colourfully around it.
"What exactly are you doing? And why in the name of Merlin's saggy left tit are you doing it in my kitchen at six in the morning?"
Sirius strode into the room clad in a dark red dressing gown, eyes squinted against the light overhead and bedsheet creases still faintly visible on his face.
"Sorry mate, didn't mean to wake you." Fred shot a rueful look at what appeared to be a brand-new percolator sitting on the stovetop before sighing, grabbing it, and dumping the contents down the drain to start over again.
"You didn't, and that doesn't answer my question."
"I am attempting to make coffee. Thus far the closest that I've gotten is a sort of sludgy brown goo." He placed the scoop back in the small tin and began to measure.
"You are aware that you're British, correct?"
Fred offered a withering glare and didn't say anything.
Sirius, taking pity on his visibly defeated demeanor, sighed and stepped around the table. "Budge over."
He grabbed the small silver pot and twisted the top off.
"Here – you're meant to put the grounds in this little basket, then the water underneath it."
"They should really include that in the directions."
Sirius arched a brown and grabbed the small, folded piece of paper beside the box that the thing had come in. Flipping it over he revealed not only detailed instructions, but a measuring chart and an illustrated guide.
Looking more than a little humbled, Fred sank into the nearest seat and asked, "How do you know how to make coffee?"
"Moony favored it when we were younger," Sirius explained, shrugging. Having set the percolator to rights, he placed it back on the burner and took a seat as well. "Never liked it much myself, but the smell is rather nice."
Fred huffed a laugh, an indecipherable and slightly hysterical expression flickering across his face before he schooled it away.
"I take it you aren't making it for yourself?"
"Erm… no." The young man didn't elaborate and Sirius didn't press, though he did take note of a subtle flush of rosey colour around Fred's ears.
They sat in a silent, early morning stupor while the coffee brewed. When it was done, he summoned a mug and showed Fred how to remove the basket. Once the grounds had been discarded and the coffee had had a moment to settle, Fred filled the cup, placed a stasis charm on it, and quickly disappeared upstairs.
Sirius leaned against the counter, arms crossed and looking at the doorway thoughtfully until Remus made his entrance a few minutes later.
"I was wondering where you'd gone – holy hell, is that coffee?"
"Mmhmm," Sirius nodded, distracted. "You'll have to make a new batch though."
Not deterred at all, Remus stepped up to the counter and began to measure grounds like an addict that had just tumbled off the wagon. He glanced sideways and noticed Sirius' expression.
"What's eating you, Pads?"
"Am I crazy," Sirius started slowly, "Or is there something going on between Fred and Hermione?"
Seeing as Fred was related to everyone else in the house but Harry, who thus far had not shown any inclinations of that nature, that seemed the most logical conclusion to draw. Remus looked a little surprised but nodded.
"Yeah, absolutely. I don't think they're shagging or anything, but I noticed their scents get wrapped up together sometimes, and the poor bloke's heart-rate just about doubles when she walks into the room."
"Huh. Bit of an odd pairing, isn't it?"
"No more peculiar than Prongs and Lily. Do you suppose it's meant to be a secret, then?"
"Yeah, I think so." Sirius shot a grin sideways. "Care to have a bit of fun with them?"
oOoOoOo
When Hermione awoke on Christmas morning, the very first thing she became aware of was the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
"This had better not be a dream," she muttered drowsily.
"On the contrary, I've been referred to as dreamy many a time."
Her face split into a smile and she lifted her head from the pillow, squinting one eye open to find Fred crouched at the side of the bed. He was still in his pyjamas and had apparently been wafting a mug of steaming coffee in her direction.
"Happy Christmas," she whispered, sitting up and stretching. She was thankful she'd elected to go to bed in a matching flannel set of sleepwear rather than the oversized t-shirt with a bleach stain that she sometimes favored.
"Happy Christmas," Fred replied in an equally hushed tone, surrendering the mug and receiving a heartfelt thank-you. Hermione scooted to the side with her back to the wall and tipped her head for him to take a seat next her amid the rumpled sheets. Ginny was still snoring loudly across the room, both an exceptionally sound sleeper and not in any way an early riser.
Hermione looked to the right and saw a small stack of presents on the wardrobe near the foot of her bed.
Fred tracked her gaze and shook his head admonishingly. "Now just hold on – I believe I was promised that my gift would be opened first, no?"
"Oh, alright," Hermione relented. "Hold this."
She handed Fred the cup of coffee again and rocked forward to root in her trunk beside the bed. After a long moment she popped back up, bright red package in hand.
"It's probably best that I'm here when you open it anyway," Fred admitted. "It requires a bit of explanation."
Quirking her eyebrows, Hermione slowly began to peel the wrapping back. There was a card on top that he waved off before she could read it, presumably holding whatever clarification he was now to offer in person.
"Oh! It's beautiful," she breathed. It was a book, as she'd suspected, bound in the same color of leather as her bookmark. In the top right corner of the cover was yet another small sprig of lavender. "Is it a journal?"
She couldn't fathom what about that would require explanation. Fred shook his head.
"Here, switch."
He handed her mug back, which she took an enormous sip from upon receiving, and he seized the book. Flipping to the front page, Fred revealed a small, numbered list in his own slanted handwriting. Squinting a little in the dim light, she discerned that they were book titles. More specifically muggle book titles, all of which she had read in the past several months.
Pride and Prejudice
To the Lighthouse
The Mill on the Floss
Crime and Punishment
"Okay," she said, shaking her head. "You're right, I'm going to need some clarification."
Fred smiled, took his index finger, placed it over the top title and muttered, "Ostende Mihi." She didn't think anything had happened until he flipped to the next page.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife…"
"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth. They both looked nervously at Ginny, but she remained fast asleep. She quickly set her now-empty mug on the bedside table and grabbed the book from Fred's lap with wide eyes.
"Oh my God!" she hissed again, much more quietly as she flipped through to find the entire book was in fact there. "This is - how on earth did you - ?"
He looked a little sheepish, running a hand over the back of his head. "Modified protean charm and a conditional extension on the pages; unfortunately you have to already have the book that you want to enter so that you can link them, but it's meant to be convenient. You know, for traveling or when –"
"You have to patent this," Hermione said abruptly, still examining the pages with an awestruck expression. "Sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. But you need to patent this. Immediately."
"I'm not sure our clientele will be particularly interested," Fred replied uncertainly, appearing thoroughly surprised by the suggestion.
She shook her head and finally looked up at him. "No, not for the shop. Create the patent and then sell the rights and collect royalties. Flourish and Blott's alone would give you a mint, it's essentially a portable library."
The idea didn't seem to have occurred to him.
"That's – do you really think so?"
"I know so! Fred, this is brilliant. You're brilliant. My gift is going to look like absolute rubbish now."
She'd felt pretty good about it until he sprang this, but couldn't muster up even a trace of annoyance. Fred laughed and they grinned at each other for a moment. He just started to lean in when there was an abrupt thud from downstairs.
"That'll be your mum," she sighed, looking down at the floorboards a little reproachfully. Ginny stirred across the room.
"I need to get back anyway, haven't opened your gift yet. See you at breakfast?"
She nodded and Fred got up from the bed and started to make his way toward the door. He was just about to turn the handle when she grabbed his arm and rolled onto her tiptoes to place a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Happy Christmas," she said again, quietly. He tweaked the tip of her nose impishly with his knuckle and then stepped into the hall, heading up the stairs.
"Wasgoinon," Ginny muttered, half-awake and beginning to sit up behind her.
"Nothing," Hermione said, glancing down at the book still in her hands, running her fingertips lightly across the cover. She shook herself and smiled. "Look, you have presents to open."