Disclaimers: J.K. Rowling owns all of the content of which pertains to the world of Harry Potter! I only use her lovely work to feed my own imagination and share the by-product with you. I do not make any profit from this story. The only benefits I have are pleasing my readers and enjoying my own imagination's work being seen. Any characters, storyline, or location not within the J.K. Rowling's Canon Wizarding World is strictly my own and, any similarities shared with the muggle-realm, are completely coincidental. Any resemblances to real life locations, such as the Savernake Forest, are intentional to maintain some authenticity to the muggle world.

-F.A.L.

Ministry's Yule Ball

The Ministry of Magic was hosting a Yule Ball, one of the many events since the Battle of Hogwarts and the end of the Second Wizarding War, in an attempt to ease the minds and hearts of the Wizarding World. Hermione and Harry, her flatmate and best friend, received theirs via owl a week before the event. They were permitted one person to accompany them each. She glanced at Harry and knew he would be apparating to the Burrow to invite Ginny, along with inquiring if the Weasley family received invitations of their own. Classes were out for the holidays and Ginny was baking when Harry apparated to visit and inquire about the invitations. Ginny, of course, accepted his invitation and informed him that the Weasleys did receive one for their family. Molly and Arthur planned to stay home, since Molly was unwilling to face the world in her grief. George was busy with the shop, and would not be attending, either. Bill and Charlie were to be out of the country until Christmas Eve. Fred had been undecided. Harry and Ginny came up with a plan for Fred to accompany Hermione, but they would need to convince the two most stubborn people they knew to go together. Fred, having no date, was more inclined to decline the invitation. Their plan was to invite Fred for supper at the flat that evening, and convince them together.

Right after losing Percy, who died selflessly, pushing Fred out of the way as the wall exploded during the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron left the country. The Weasley family had been grieving the loss of two sons, Percy and Ron. It had been four months since Ron returned an owl, which Molly cried over daily. Ron had magically denounced his family, severing the magical ties, which every Weasley felt when it happened and the hole left in its place. Molly had realised she lost two sons that day and spent most of her time crying. Arthur threw himself into work. Charlie visited more frequently from Romania, trying to ease the pain of his parents. Fred and George created a pranking quill in memory of Percy that squirts ink onto the face of anyone who writes the letter 'p'. The twins, also, created a small set of sweets in the shape of chess pieces that had similar effects to their Puking Pastilles in honour of Ron. George had been dating Angelina since the beginning of summer. Fred remained single and denied anyone a chance to date him.

Ginny, however, grieved in her own way. She could be caught crying in Harry's arms, baking, or turning her sadness into anger as she degnomed the garden at the Burrow. She had returned to Hogwarts for her Seventh Year, making it more difficult to maintain her relationship with Harry. Harry, whilst he enrolled to become an Auror, was an apprentice and rarely had time off. He made it to every Hogsmeade trip and found an excuse to go to Hogwarts to assist with Defence Against the Dark Arts, a few times.

Harry and Hermione received an owl the same day as the Weasley's last, from him, congratulating them on their relationship, having mistaken their two-bedroom flatmate situation as a romantic relationship. Hermione and Ron had shared a kiss in the Chamber of Secrets, but Ron ran from the Great Hall hours later, after seeing Percy in one of the cots, among the dead. He failed to show up for any funeral and ignored every owl until he was in Australia, weeks after Harry defeated Voldemort once and for all. Hermione and Harry had moved on with their friendship, understanding Ron would never rejoin them.

xXx

Fred arrived on time for supper at the flat. Harry had sprung the idea of having Fred and Ginny over on Hermione last minute. She agreed, stipulating that Harry did the grocery shopping and left her alone to cook. He stayed out of the kitchen once he bought the ingredients for a braised lamb chop, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and salad. Harry was tasked with retrieving ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley for dessert as Hermione finished preparing supper and ensuring her spells would hold before opting to shower and freshen up. Choosing a simple canary yellow button down short sleeve with a frilled collar and black slacks, she carefully got dressed and slipped on a pair of white tennis shoes. She had no sooner dried her hair than the doorbell rang. Hermione checked on the food and spells before casting the levitation spell to tidy the lavatory. She went to the front door, spotting Fred and Ginny waiting to be invited in. "Come in," Hermione smiled as she shifted out of the entryway, allowing space for Fred and Ginny to enter.

"Thank you for having me," Fred offered her a mischievous smile and placed his hand over his heart with a grin.

"Yes, thank you, Hermione," Ginny's hidden smirk had shone through her tone. Hermione did not want to know what the Weasley siblings were planning. They were mischievous on their own, but when paired together… she shivered slightly at the memories of pranks played over the autumnal season at the Burrow.

"Supper is nearly ready. Ginny, do you mind setting the table? Harry should be back shortly with ice cream for pudding after," Hermione called out as she entered the kitchen.

"Of course!" Ginny began setting the table. Hermione noted two place settings on each side of the table and presumed it was so Harry and Ginny could sit next to one another and not feel awkward about it.

"'Mione, is there anything I can do?" Fred stepped into the kitchen behind her and watched as she removed the lamb chops and Yorkshire pudding from the oven.

"Yes, you can gather the salad and beverages from the fridge, please."

Fred retrieved the salad and carbonated apple juice from the fridge and set them onto the table, where Ginny began pouring the carbonated beverage into the glasses she set out. Fred placed a serving of salad on each plate as Hermione levitated the lamb chops and Yorkshire pudding out to the table. She followed with the bowl of mashed potatoes. Harry arrived just as the table was set, placing the ice cream in the fridge before sitting down to enjoy supper.

Midway through supper, Harry and Ginny suggested the idea of Fred and Hermione attending the Yule Ball together. Hermione had hesitated, knowing how the gossip would create chaos around the two of them, especially as she was one of the Golden Trio and, unfortunately, still frequently garnered unwanted attention. Fred hesitated because he believed Hermione's feelings towards him had become that of an annoyed sibling. Fred would have agreed that he earned that badge of honour. However attending a public event together would mean he would need to be on his best behaviour, especially as Hermione worked at the Ministry of Magic, as did Harry.

"Harry, I am unsure if I even want to go," Hermione attempted to object a third time.

"Hermione, take the night off and come with us. I promise, Ginny and I will be with you and Fred the entire night," Harry coaxed.

"Harry…" she attempted to thwart him a fourth time before Fred interceded, making it more difficult to object.

"Hermione, they promised to not leave us alone. Maybe we should go… as friends," he suggested. "Plus, it might do us some good to be around people other than my lot and work acquaintances."

"Fred's right, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed before a withering look from Hermione caused her to quiet down.

"Fine, I will go. On two stipulations: First, Fred and I go without you two. You two will be bothersome and will eventually ditch us anyways. Second, there are no pranks, jokes, hijinks, shenanigans, et cetera, from ANY of you," Hermione countered, pointedly looking towards Fred whose hands were up in defence.

"No shenanigans, pranks, jokes, nor hijinks of any sort. I promise," he laughed with sincerity.

"We promise," Harry and Ginny simultaneously responded.

Hermione had agreed to allow Fred to accompany her to the Ministry of Magic's Yule Ball.

xXx

Adorned in a sweetheart-cut corset bodice with an open back and full princess skirt in a deep burgundy red, matching kitty heels, and simple gold chains for a necklace and bracelet, with her hair French-braided elegantly into a Chignon hairstyle, Hermione stepped into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic with Harry. They were meeting Fred and Ginny. No sooner had they apparated into the Atrium than Harry and Fred gasped at their respective partners for the evening. Ginny was in a similarly styled gown to Hermione's, however hers was gold with deep red lace accents. Fred and Harry wore simple black dress robes. Fred walked towards Hermione and held out his hand for her to take. She took the proffered hand and Fred pulled her in close. "You look incredible, Hermione," he whispered into her ear, causing her to blush.

"You are handsome, tonight, Fred," she offered the compliment, and meant it.

His hair was tidy and his dress robes made him more attractive than he typically was, by her standards. Whilst she had developed fleeting feelings for Ron, her crush on Fred dated back to her Fourth Year when their teasing banter backfired on the twins in the form of an Ageing Line. She had always found him attractive, especially as his wits and intellect rivalled her own. However, that evening held the moment her attraction turned into a crush when after being spelled back to their proper age, Fred caught Hermione in the corridor outside of the Gryffindor Tower and kissed her cheek, "Maybe we should listen to you more often." He stepped into the Gryffindor Common Room laughing at the situation, unknowing of the crush forming on him.

Fred escorted Hermione towards the lifts where they would be further escorted to Basement Level Ten, where a courtroom had been transfigured into a ball room. The floating candles and brilliant icy colours reminded Hermione of Hogwarts's Yule Ball during her Fourth Year. She had accompanied Viktor Krum, and whilst she could acknowledge he was attractive and sweet, they were always better off as friends. Fred glanced at Hermione as she took in the room, her eyes filled with the reflections of the candles and hinted at her memories of the past. He recalled watching her enter with Viktor Krum and being unable to look away as she danced in her blue dress. As miserable as his brother, Ron, acted, Fred felt the same internally as he danced with his date, Angelina. The past was in the past and he had the woman he had admired and adored, since the Triwizard Tournament, holding onto his hand.

"Hermione," Fred leaned towards her ear as he pulled her to face him. "You truly are incredible, tonight and every moment of every day." He watched as she blushed and turned her head away.

"Fred, you do not need to flirt with me. Just as long as you do not pull any pranks, I am content to be here with you," came her nearly inaudible, breathy response.

"Hermi-"

"Fred. Let's enjoy tonight," she cut him off and took a small step back to put space between them. Her heart, rapidly beating, and she felt as though she would suffocate if she did not put space between them. Her crush on him grew stronger. His sweet moments always made her fall harder, even if they never lasted long enough for her to act on them.

Fred nodded, and for several songs they danced in silence. A faster paced song came on and Hermione suggested exiting the dance floor and rehydrating. Fred followed her to the small bar set up in a corner. "Two firewhiskys," he heard her order for them.

It took him by surprise, as Hermione only drank when she was celebrating or her anxiety was becoming uncontrollable. He knew the later detail after he found her crying at the Burrow due to a panic attack a month after Ron left. He recalled Molly ignoring her tears and blaming her for the loss of Ron. Molly apologised later, however the damage had been done. Fred had nearly stepped into the sitting room when he witnessed Bill assisting Hermione through her panic attack, introducing her to firewhisky.

Fred recalled Bill's voice from where he hid and observed, "Firewhisky isn't a fix-all, but it takes the edge off. Be careful drinking it, though. You need to talk about what is going on in your head to heal. I am here if you want to talk to me. Fred and Harry are there for you, too. You just need to ask one of us. As for Ron, he is a prat and always has been. He may be my brother, but you can do better than Ron." Her response once she visibly calmed down stopped Fred from even contemplating on moving on and opening himself up to dating, "It's not Ron I am crying over. He and I… It would have never worked. I… I like someone else and he'd never return the feelings…" Her sobs returned and just as Fred went to step out to ask what was wrong, he heard Bill, "Hermione, you need to let Fred know how you feel." The response from her ended the conversation and was the end of Fred's desire to move on from the crush he had developed, "No." Bill summoned a glass and the firewhisky the children hid from Molly, allowing Hermione her first proper taste. She grimaced at the taste, but her demeanour relaxed seconds later. "Thank you, Bill."

When would Hermione learn that Fred never backed down from a challenge? Her heart was his reward, and he was determined to find a way to genuinely express his feelings towards her tonight. With her throwing the firewhisky back before ordering a second for herself, he knew tonight was causing her to panic and would possibly ruin his chance to convince her he wanted her as much as she wanted him, if not more.

"'Mione, slow down. We have all night," Fred grasped her hand, stopping her from throwing back the second glass and grinned as his skin heated where it touched her skin. Her blush suggested she felt the same sensation from their contact.

"Are you becoming the protective brother now?" she chided with a hint of mischief in her tone.

Fred groaned, she was wrong about everything, but that tone went through his heart into his bones. "No," he pulled her into his chest, holding her tight to him. He felt her breath hitch as her hand on his chest curled into his dress robes. "I am protecting you like a boyfriend would," the deadpanned murmur into her ear and hair sent chills down her spine, pooling below.

"Fred," she struggled to breathe, inhaling his scent deeply as she attempted to calm her nerves, "I said no joking, no pranks, n-"

Fred leaned away from her ear and kissed her lips softly, if she continued to disbelieve his intentions behind his words he would act on his intentions. At first, Hermione was stiller than a statue, shock having taken over. Fred was patient and waited for her to respond. It took a moment for her to begin responding to his kiss instinctively, her lips slowly found themselves moving against his, as the hand unoccupied in the chest of his dress robes found itself in his hair as she pulled him closer. His soft moan brought her back to reality. She jumped back and immediately apparated to the flat she shared with Harry. One of the few benefits of her position in the Ministry of Magic, she can apparate within certain areas of the Ministry.

Hermione sat at her desk in her bedchambers, crying, when she heard Harry yelling for her. She ignored him, until she heard their entry open and Fred's voice thanking Harry as he ran towards her bedchambers. Every step getting closer to her caused her panic further. She faintly heard the sound of an apparition before Fred barged into her bedchambers and heard her attempts to control her tears. "Hermione, do not ever do that to me, again! I was and am worried about you!" his voice raised as he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. He softened as she sagged into his embrace, "I meant everything I said tonight. More importantly, I meant that kiss deeper than I can express with words."

She pulled back and stared into his eyes. Fred's thumb wiping her tears softly before gently tucking the strands of her hair that fell loose behind her ears. She wanted to find the mirth she believed would be hiding in his eyes, but she only found sincerity, causing her to drop her head, silently sobbing. His hand gently lifted her chin, tilting her head to look into her eyes. He wiped away her tears as they fell and he kissed her, unforgivingly. If she still would not believe his words, he would prove it with another kiss. This time, she didn't hold back, she returned the kiss with fervour. Hands pulled each other closer as the pleasure they were finding in each other's affection created vocal responses that matched their physical ones.

xXx

Christmas Eve arrived. Hermione found herself covering a love bite from Fred as she pulled on a simple black short-sleeved dress that fell to her knees with a lace collar and sleeves. Fred would be arriving any moment to escort her to the Burrow. It had been three nights since they admitted their feelings after the Yule Ball, and decided to go on a date to see if the chemistry they believed they felt was true. Last night had gone better than anticipated, leaving love bites on both partners. Fred had asked Hermione to be his girlfriend and his date to the Burrow for Christmas Eve.

Tonight, everything had to be perfect. Tonight, everything was different. She would not be entering the Burrow as a friend of Harry and the Weasleys. She would be entering as Fred's girlfriend. Her anxiety rose as she heard the knock on the door, signalling Fred's arrival. Harry and Ginny suspected the two were together, especially after Harry had to let Fred in to calm Hermione after she apparated away during the Yule Ball. Their suspicions were confirmed when Harry opened the door to Fred asking for Hermione. Harry shouted for her as she stepped out of her bedchambers. Fred smirked as he let out a low whistle. "Incredible." He crossed the space and kissed her cheek.

Hermione laughed softly as she took in his matching attire, he wore a black fitted collared short-sleeve shirt and black denims that hugged all the right places. "I'm ready, I think. Just nervous."

"A drink before we go?" Fred suggested, walking towards the cupboards in the kitchen. He knew where she hid the firewhisky, they broke into the bottle last night.

"No, Molly would have our heads if we showed up sloshed!" Hermione attempted to find her Gryffindor bravery to face Molly sober.

"Mum won't notice a drink. Just one. It might not be a fix-all, but it will take the edge off," Fred paraphrased Bill. He realised his mistake when shock filled Hermione's expression…

"You KNEW?!" There was no need for firewhisky. She found the strength she needed. "You knew this entire time and only just thought it would be a grand idea to date me?!"

"Hermione… You didn't want me. You said 'NO' when Bill tried to convince you to tell me!" Fred placed the glass he had pulled from the cupboard down with a sharp clonk. He strode to her in just a few paces so their faces were centimetres from one another. "I wished you HAD said you would tell me. I would have left my spot that day and kissed you right then. I wished you HAD wanted me that day as much as I wanted you. I waited for you to find it in your heart to want me enough to tell me. YOU were the reason I chose to not go out on dates with anyone else. Hermione Jean Granger, you ARE the bloody reason I am still able to find my heart opening up to love, after I lost my brothers. I love you, you bloody idi-"

Fred was cut off with a searing kiss from Hermione. She pulled back, "I love you, too, Fred."

Harry cleared his throat and they gathered themselves to apparate to the Burrow. Fred and Hermione followed Harry's lead.

xXx

Everyone sat for supper. Molly had noticed Fred and Hermione arrive and sit together. Once the table slowly quieted down into private conversations, Molly paid closer attention to the couple. Fred had suggested to Hermione about waiting until Aunt Muriel left after supper to announce their relationship. However Molly noticed the way they shared looks and "secret" touches. Something in her was initially angry that Hermione moved on to another one of her boys, but she had not seen Fred genuinely happy since before the war, and watching him smile and fall in love before her eyes, she wiped her tears that fell silently. Arthur patted her hand and followed her gaze. He let out a chuckle. Supper continued uneventfully, and Aunt Muriel found her way home at its conclusion.

Molly levitated mistletoe above the fireplace in the sitting room after everyone filed in, where a tree had been decorated and gifts sat wrapped beneath. Arthur passed around the gifts as each one opened their Christmas jumper and put them on. Hermione, this year, had made one for Molly since she never had one made for her. Molly embraced Hermione and whispered her blessing to be with Fred. Hermione tightened the hug briefly before releasing her. A soft smile filled both of their faces. Arthur passed a small black box with a silver ribbon to Hermione. It was the only other gift under the tree, as the rest would appear and be opened on Christmas Day.

Everyone stopped and stared as she opened the box, revealing a small goblin-silver heart-shaped locket with her name engraved on back. A picture of her parents was found in one of the two frames inside, and a picture of the Weasleys with her and Harry on the other frame. She looked at the box to see who gave her such a sensitive and generous gift. A small note was attached to the cover, "Hermione, I'm bugger-all with words, but let me show you how I feel about you. Love, Fred". She leapt up as he stood and offered to assist her by placing the necklace on her in front of the fireplace. "I love it, Fred," she whispered as she turned to face him. "I love you, more."

Fred leaned down and kissed her gently, causing the occupants of the Burrow to clap and shout for joy. Fred and Hermione felt hands clasping their shoulders and heard the congratulations as they continued to kiss and pull apart to gaze into each other's eyes.

"About bloody time!" Bill shouted gleefully.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione!" Fred's voice, low and gentle as they pulled apart.

"Happy Christmas, Fred!" she leaned in to kiss him, once again.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading!

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