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This was a bad idea. A really bad idea. She could murder her past self for this. She should have known better. She was smarter than this, wasn’t she?
Apparently not.
Or, she just had no sense of self-preservation. If she did, she wouldn’t have agreed to this.
This could only end in pain for her. Unrequited love and all that. Not that he knew. And he would never know, if she could help it. That would just lead to more embarrassment.
Maybe she was being a bit melodramatic. It was one night. She could make it through this. She had survived torture at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, for Merlin’s sake. One fake date with Fred Weasley would not kill her.
They had grown close after the war. Fred had needed to stay at St. Mungos for almost six months after the final battle as he recovered from his injuries. During the day, there were so many other Weasleys around that he was never alone, but at night when most of them chose to go home to get some proper rest. It was just George who stuck around, not wanting to leave his twin alone in the hospital.
Hermione had first stayed with George so that he would not be alone during that first week when Fred was unconscious. After Fred had woken up, she would volunteer to stay in the hospital overnight a few times a week so that George could get some rest as well. Occasionally, Fred would be unable to sleep, so they would talk for hours or she would read aloud to him at his request.
After he was discharged from the hospital, they continued to spend time together. Hermione would help out in the shop whenever she could and they had made a habit of dinner together at least once a week. Those Wednesday night dinners had quickly become the highlight of her week.
Somewhere along the way, she had fallen for him.
But they were friends, and she didn’t want to risk ruining that with him.
She had been worried about awkwardness after the kiss with Ron during the final battle and had been lucky that they both had not felt any sparks. That there were no hard feelings after that conversation. She doubted that she would be that lucky again if she made a move on Fred and he did not feel the same way.
“Good enough,” Hermione mumbled to herself with a final glance in the mirror. She made her way through her flat, stepped into the floo and was off to the Weasley twin’s flat.
They were hosting a New Years Eve party this year for the first time. When Fred had mentioned that he did not have a date for his own party and had given her a pointed look, she had offered to be his date for the evening. She knew it wasn’t a real date, of course. No matter how much she may want it to be.
“Hermione!” She laughed as Fred enveloped her into a tight hug. “Thank goodness you’re here. You look absolutely gorgeous. Let’s get you a drink!”
Not waiting for a response, Fred released her from the hug but grabbed her hand and led her across the flat to the drink table.
“Champagne, my lady?” Fred asked, presenting a champagne flute to her with a low bow and a wink.
“Why thank you, good sir,” she replied with a roll of her eyes and a small curtsy. He laughed at her response, the sound of his laugh making the butterflies in her stomach take flight.
It was too early in the night for this.
She took a sip of her champagne as a way to distract herself and looked around the party. “Looks like you two had a good turnout,” she said brightly.
Fred hummed in response before grabbing her free hand and entwining their fingers together. “Come on, i’ll give you the grand tour.”
She could admit that she was impressed. The flat itself was not very large, but they had made good use of the space. The kitchen housed all the refreshments and the living room had been turned into a small dance floor.
The most impressive thing though, was outside. There was a small balcony that housed a staircase that led to a rooftop terrace. The terrace was decorated with fairy lights of different colors and had several tables and chairs for guests who wanted to enjoy some quiet away from the main party early in the night. Fred explained that at midnight, this is where they would all come up to watch the fireworks display that he and George had put together.
“Fred, we’re in the middle of muggle London. The fireworks…”
“Don’t worry so much, Hermione,” he replied easily, nudging her shoulder with his as they leaned against the railing of the terrace overlooking Diagon Alley. “Georgie and I have charmed them so that they look like regular fireworks to everyone but those of us here on the terrace.”
“Really? That’s an impressive bit of magic, Fred!”
“You wound me, Hermione,” he said with a laugh. “You know, George and I are quite good at magic. We own this shop, you see…”
“You know that’s not what I meant,” Hermione mumbled as she looked away from him, a bit embarrassed.
“None of that now,” Fred said quietly as he gently cupped her cheek with one hand and turned her head back to face him. “I was just teasing.”
Hermione’s breath caught as his thumb gently caressed her face. She could feel heat rush to her cheeks in a blush. This felt too intimate. She knew that this wasn’t a real date, but good Godric did it feel like one in that moment. Was he leaning in toward her, now?
No. She knew that she couldn’t trust herself if they stayed like this for much longer. She needed to get away for a moment.
“I...I think we should go back inside. I don’t want to keep you from your hosting duties,” she managed to get out as she turned her head away again and headed back to the stairs that would lead them back to the party. She didn’t look back at him but could hear his footsteps, so she knew that he was following behind her.
Once back inside the party, she was able to get away from Fred when George cornered him to discuss a few things about the fireworks display. She quickly made her way back to the kitchen for another glass of champagne
She shouldn’t have offered to be his date. She had known that this would be hard. She just didn’t realize how hard he was going to make this on her. Did he know how she felt about him and was pranking her? He must. She swallowed down the rest of her glass of champagne and grabbed another.
Now she was angry. She had thought that they were friends. Why would he do that to her? Fueled by a little more liquid courage, she made her way through the crowd and found him where she had left him with George.
“I need to talk to you. Now.” She hissed at him as she grabbed his forearm and pulled him back toward the balcony.
She could tell that he was surprised by her seemingly sudden change in mood, but he didn’t put up a fight as she led him outside and up the stairs back to the roof. No matter how angry she was at him, she wanted to do this in private. It was his and George’s party after all, and she didn’t want to ruin it for everyone else.
“Hermione, what’s wrong?” he asked once they reached the terrace, a mask of concern covering his face that made her laugh bitterly.
“What’s wrong? Really, Fred?”
“Yes, really. I thought that things were going well. Why are you so upset? Did something happen inside?” There was that fake concern again.
“No, nothing happened inside. I need to know what you’re playing at. Is this some kind of prank?”
Now, Hermione thought that he looked confused. “No. No pranks tonight. Not that i’m aware of, anyway...just tell me what’s going on, Hermione. Please?”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I just don’t get it, then. When I agreed to be your fake date for tonight - “
“ Fake date?”
“Yes, fake date. That’s what this is, isn’t it?” she asked, gesturing between them.
“Why would you think that this is a fake date?” He reached out to her with one hand and gently laid it on her shoulder. “Hermione…”
“What else would it be? You mentioned that you needed a date for the party and gave me this look that could only mean that you wanted me to be your date for the night so that you wouldn’t be alone.”
“Oh, you silly witch.” Fred pulled her into his arms and just held her for a moment. She eventually felt herself relax in his hold without realizing that she was doing it. Once she had finally uncrossed her arms and essentially melted into him, she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hermione. For a witch who is so bright, how can you not see what is right in front of you? Fake date...really? Why would I have wanted this to be a fake date when I have been in love with you since I was in St. Mungos?”
Her breath caught in her throat for the second time that night. Was he being serious?
Then, reality came flooding back as the rest of the party guests made their way onto the rooftop for the fireworks. “Shite. We’ll finish this conversation later,” Fred whispered into her ear before dropping a kiss to the top of her head and moving them toward the railing near George and Angelina.
The fireworks were gorgeous, of course. The twins really outdid themselves. But Hermione’s mind was racing in a million different directions. And then the countdown started.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6…
“Did you mean it?” she asked as she turned toward Fred, looking away from the fireworks display.
5,4,3…
“Of course I did,” he replied as he gently pushed a stray curl behind her ear.
2, 1…
“Happy New Year, Hermione,” Fred whispered into her ear, sending goosebumps down her arms. He then cupped her face gently in both of his hands, tilting her face up toward him as he leant down and brushed his lips against hers.
“Happy New Year, Fred.”