Chapter 34

November 10th 1999

Confirmation

Winter had arrived in all of its glory by the time Hermione and Ginny had managed to meet in Diagon Alley, with the younger of the two having just finished the season with an all time record number of goals for the Harpies. Ginny had needed to give interviews, attend events and awards ceremonies, not to mention the number of public events she had needed to attend. In truth, the youngest Weasley was becoming quite the celebrity and while it made Hermione incredibly proud of her friend, it did cause some issues with managing to meet up.

But, once things had died down they agreed to meet in Diagon Alley for supper after Hermione left the Ministry for the day and she now found herself sitting in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for Ginny. Ever since their abysmal attempt to revisit Hogwarts, she and Fred had grown ever closer and now spent not just Fridays together, but random evenings during the week too when he came to her flat and they would cuddle up under a blanket together while he indulged her love of classic movies. She couldn't fail to notice that he always seemed more than happy to spend time with her, never spurned her affections and sent his own affection right back at her. Over the last couple of weeks she had allowed that small spark of hope to grow and she desperately needed Ginny to either confirm she had been right to do so, or otherwise validify her doubts. If she continued to let the spark grow and it turned into a raging wildfire within her, she didn't know if she would be able to mentally handle the fallout if her suspicions about their close relationship were wrong. Glancing at the back door of the pub when it opened and a gust of cold air swept over her, she smiled when she saw a very windswept Ginny enter and close the door behind her.

"Gin!" she called, waving the girl over to where she sat in the alcove at the back of the room, "How are you?"

"Exhausted," Ginny muttered as she took her coat off and hung it over the back of the spare chair before pulling it out and collapsing into it, "you?"

"I'm good, thanks," Hermione smiled, shoving the Butterbeer she had already ordered in Ginny's direction, "here, figured you would need a drink when you got here."

"You're a saint," Ginny smirked tiredly, resting her elbows on the table and leaning towards Hermione, "so what's with the urgency to meet? I'm surprised you didn't want me to come to yours."

"Well, Fred shows up at random times and I didn't want him to hear…" Hermione said nervously and Ginny's face broke out into a wide grin.

"Oh? Tell me more."

Hermione mustered up all of her courage and spilled everything to Ginny, starting with reaffirming her feelings towards Fred and how they had grown exponentially before moving on to describe all of the little touches and looks, the large amount of physical affection and the kisses he dropped on her head, forehead or cheek whenever he greeted her. She told Ginny about the time he had said 'I love you' without even seeming to realise he had said it, how it had made her feel and how he had acted during and after their visit to Hogwarts. Ginny seemed enraptured by the explanation and was grinning the entire time, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as Hermione told her about all the cuddling and hair stroking. When she had finished telling Ginny everything, she fell silent and the other girl rolled her eyes, laughing to herself.

"So what's the problem?" Ginny asked and Hermione sighed, giving an uncertain shrug, "oh Merlin, you people are hopeless."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, feeling slightly offended by the comment but Ginny smiled, leaning forward and placing her hand on top of Hermione's in a reassuring way.

"Look, I've never known Fred to be particularly affectionate with anyone," she began and Hermione's eyes widened; she had imagined that perhaps this was just his way, having never been particularly close to him before, "sure he'll give us lot a hug sometimes, if we need one or he does, but outside of that he tends to value his own space. And that's just the hugs, never mind the fact that he strokes your hair, that's unheard of for him."

"He's only like this with me?" Hermione sighed, furrowing her brow and looking at the tankard of Butterbeer in her hand, "I really don't want to get my hopes up here, Gin…"

"I'm not sure why you think he doesn't feel the same for you, but if he really is as affectionate as you say he is then I think that can only be seen as a good sign," Ginny offered honestly and Hermione nodded, smiling slightly, "I'd be able to tell if I saw the two of you together, though."

An idea sparked in Hermione's mind at Ginny's words. The shop was just down the street and the twins would likely be closing up now, but she was positive they wouldn't mind a visit from her and their sister. She expressed these thoughts to Ginny, who said it wouldn't hurt, so they finished their drinks while Ginny told Hermione all about the events and appearances she had made over the last couple of weeks. Honestly, it sounded to Hermione like the perfect approximation of hell; constantly in the limelight, always expected to act in a certain way and having to fulfil obligations when you'd rather be at home. Ginny grumbled about it, but Hermione could see the light in her eyes as she described it and knew that the red-head didn't mind too much, despite the complaints she now put forward. Once their tankards were empty, they pulled their coats around them and exited the pub. The wind was bitter, cold and strong and Hermione hated to think what it was doing to her hair, hoping to at least make it to the shop without looking like she had been dragged backwards through a hedgerow. As they approached the shop, amid the whispers and points from Ginny's newfound fans, Hermione could see Fred through the window and she smiled to herself despite the knot of anxiety that grew in her stomach. She wasn't nervous to see him, but it would be the first time in a very long time that she had been in a room with three Weasleys and her decision as to whether to let the fire grow inside of her hinged on Ginny's opinion of her interaction with Fred. He spotted them just as they came to the door and his face broke out into an affectionate grin as he approached and pulled it open for them.

"Hello, love," he grinned, pulling her in for a hug and kissing her forehead as he always did before turning to his sister, who rolled her eyes at the sight of them, "Gin, wasn't expecting to see you two."

"We went for a drink and Hermione wanted to come say hello," Ginny replied, smirking when Hermione glared at her from his chest before he let her go, "where's George?"

"Storeroom," Fred offered simply and Ginny nodded and started in the direction of the back room before he turned back to Hermione, "everything okay? How was work?"

"It was fine, same as usual," she told him and he smiled as he watched her cross to the window before sitting on the little ledge there, "how was your day?"

They talked about their days, with Fred telling her about a mother who had come in with her child, complaining about the fact that the boy's hair was now irreversibly pink. He said he had honestly tried to keep a straight face while she yelled at him, but it hadn't worked and she was not happy about it, demanding to talk to the "responsible twin". Hermione found it hilarious when Fred described how he had told the woman she must have been in the wrong shop, because there was no such twin in this shop. The woman had ended up very shocked and ashamed when all it had taken was a simple 'Finite' from Fred to render the boy's hair back in its normal shade of brown. As he spoke, she glanced over his shoulder and was both amused and annoyed to see both George and Ginny poking their heads around the door to spy on them. When he finished his description of his eventful day, he came to sit next to her and she saw them cast a disillusionment charm over themselves as Fred's arm wrapped around her and pulled her against his side. She could have sworn she heard a feminine snort when he began to brush his fingers through her very knotted hair.

"Do you want to watch a movie tonight?" he asked and she smiled, nodding against his shoulder, "I'll bring the food, if you want."

"Sure, what were you thinking?" she asked, trying to ignore the fact that she was very aware they were being watched and he had no idea, "I could go for a Chinese… Or do you have any of your Mum's Prawn Curry left?"

"I'll check, but if not I'll grab a Chinese before I come over." he affirmed and she grinned as he kissed her forehead before getting up and going back to organising the shop after a day of business.

She watched for a couple of minutes until he rolled his eyes and threw a dusting cloth at her, which she caught easily and started to help him. They worked together while George and Ginny were conspicuously absent, though she could hear them talking together in the storeroom whenever she got close to the door. They must have cast a Muffliato though, because she couldn't make out a word they were saying. Ginny was likely hearing about the position George had found them in a couple of weeks before, unless she had already heard about it. When they had cleaned up most of the shop, using both magic and muggle methods, the two missing siblings came out of the stockroom and Hermione shot a questioning look at the younger of the two, receiving a smirk and eyeroll in return. Her eyes flicked to George, who simply winked, before he returned to the stock room and Ginny came to stand next to her.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," she whispered and Hermione smiled at her words before glancing at Fred, who thankfully had his back turned and wouldn't see them gossiping in the corner, "George agrees, go for it."

"What do you mean 'go for it'?" Hermione hissed, her eyes widened and Ginny snorted, wiggling her eyebrows, "Gin, I have no idea how to even begin going for it!"

"You're doing a pretty good job so far," Ginny remarked, winking and Hermione blushed and ducked her head to hide it, "you could kiss him, though. That would help get the point across."

"I've only ever kissed Ron! What if I'm terr-"

"What if you're what?" Fred asked and both girls jumped, having not heard him sneaking up behind them.

"Uh… Nothing," Hermione squeaked, clearing her throat before she continued, "Gin and I are going to go to… Uh… Blotts."

"But Ginny, you hate book shops," Fred muttered with a frown and Ginny rolled her eyes, but failed to hide her smirk, "what's going on with you two?"

"Hermione needs some girl time, that's all," Ginny chuckled and Hermione groaned, covering her face with her hands, "Don't worry, I'll have her home in an hour for your date."

"It's not a-"

"It's a date." Ginny interrupted him and he sighed, shaking his head with a soft smile and Hermione felt warmth spread from her chest as she noticed he was blushing.

She turned and wrapped her arms around Fred's waist, hugging him more tightly than she could remember doing. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and burying his face in her hair as Ginny stood beside them chuckling to herself. When she let him go, Fred kissed her forehead again before she was dragged from the shop and back out onto the street. As they walked down the road, she ignored all of Ginny's comments about how weird it had been to see her brother acting in such a way and glanced over her shoulder. Fred was standing in the window of the shop, a soft smile on his face as he watched her go. She smiled back at him and he held his hand up to his chest dramatically as his smile turned into a grin. Ginny gave her a strange look when she laughed brightly, but didn't comment. Pleased that Ginny, and apparently George, seemed to see what she saw, which meant she likely wasn't reading too much into it, she occupied her mind with the pressing matter at hand; how was she supposed to move their friendship into new territory and did she even want to risk doing so?

If she took the risk and tried to push for something more between them, there was a chance that it could go horribly wrong. She was grateful to have the reassurance of his closest relatives that he felt the same, but that didn't mean that an attempt at a relationship would be successful. She had come to rely on him so heavily over the last few months and his friendship was incredibly important to her. If they did step into a romantic relationship and it went wrong, she would lose the friendship they already had and she wasn't sure that was a risk she was willing to take, no matter how much she may want to. She couldn't imagine her life without him in it and to put that on the line in an attempt for more seemed illogical, but she could no longer ignore the love she felt for him either. On the other hand, if he really did feel the same as her and they didn't try then she would always wonder what could have happened. If she didn't try, then what would happen if he stopped feeling the way that he did and moved on to someone else? Could she handle seeing him be the way he was with her, with someone else? The thought made her feel sick and added to the turmoil in her mind. She didn't voice any of this to Ginny, she didn't get a chance. While absentmindedly browsing the shelves in Flourish and Blotts, Ginny shoved a book into her hands and she frowned at it to find out why Ginny was so amused.

"Clueless Witch's Guide to Dating, Gin?" she shrieked incredulously, but that only made Ginny laugh louder and Hermione couldn't help but join in, "really?!"