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Hermione hated surprises, more often than not, she didn’t get the joke, and while she had a sense of humor, it was definitely an acquired taste.
As it was, the fact she and Fred had ended up becoming such good friends had surprised nearly everyone but the two of them.
Their relationship had been forged over the grueling months of Fred’s recovery. Having lost his leg in the Final Battle, it was Hermione who had dragged him into the Muggle world explaining that there were plenty of options to help him walk again that wouldn’t be a constant drain on his magic or subject to a misplaced Finite.
Through it all, it was Hermione who was consistent in her belief that Fred could accomplish anything he chose, as long as he was willing to work on it. She had been the only one who had looked at him without pity, who had pushed him to work to get used to the odd prosthetic, even on the days when he much preferred to lay in bed and let the world pass him by.
His family always gave him that look. His mother’s lip quivered and said far too much about her poor son. His father always stared, fascinated by the Muggle technology. His brothers’ gazes routinely held pity, as he clumsily navigated all the things he’d done before. Even something as simple as climbing the stairs took effort to relearn, let alone getting on a broom again.
Even his twin’s jokes now often came with a lot less impact, as if Fred needed less humor in his life, instead of more.
Over the time of his rehab, and eventually the months of adjustment, trying sockets and crutches and eventually getting the hang of the blade he now wore, Hermione had become his rock.
When others told him that he could charm it, so it would look like a “regular” leg, Hermione had shrugged and asked why he would need to do that, when it already looked far cooler than any leg could be. That’s when Fred knew, really knew, that she was one for him. He just had to figure out how to tell if she might feel the same. He knew they were friends — and had become close friends at that, but hoped that they might be more between them.
And therein lay the rub. His forte was gags and pranks, none of which she would appreciate. In fact, he might just as soon get hexed by her if he tried any of the things he was comfortable with. He wanted to do something to impress her, to make his admiration known. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling inspired to create, so he headed in to the workshop to see what he might come up with.
It had taken Fred longer than he expected, but as he stepped back from the display shelf, he knew he had a winning product… at least where Hermione was concerned. There might be some commercial challenges, but if the new line served its purpose, he’d eat the losses if he had to. George had said he was mental, but chuckled, an implicit endorsement that he was on the right track.
Now that it was all said and done, all he had to do was see if she approved.
The bell sounded over the door and he looked up to find the object of his interest smiling brightly at him from the entry. She made her way over, with a serious look on her face.
“Hey, I got your note. You said it was important. What’s up?”
He ran his fingers through his hair and grinned at her, turning on every ounce of his charm and subtly maneuvering himself to stand in front of the display.
“Indeed I did. We’ve got some new products that I wanted to show you.”
Hermione’s face fell, as if that wasn’t what she’d been expecting him to say.
“Oh, Fred. I thought something was wrong.”
Her reaction threw him. He worried that he’d misstepped in his vague summons and scrambled to recover.
“No, everything good. Actually, it’s better than good, now that you’re here.”
He gave her a smile that he hoped conveyed how truly glad he was that she was here.
“But you know I don’t-“
“-typically like our products. Yes, I’m well aware.”
He’d go down fighting that she’d actually had a soft spot in her heart for the Canary Creams, after the time Lavender had unknowingly bit into one that had been modified to hold the transfiguration for longer than normal. Ron had been horrified, but Fred had seen how Hermione hid her face in her jumper to avoid being caught laughing. Of course Fred had seen it, though. After all, he was the one who had whipped up the special batch and offered it to Lavender in the first place.
“But, this is a new line, something we’ve never done before, and I really wanted you to be the first to get a look at it.”
Hermione folded her arms in front of her. She looked decidedly unimpressed.
“What is it a new trick wand?”
“No.”
“A Punching Telescope?”
At best, she was humoring him, but he was confident that she’d like what he had to show her. And he could still have a bit of fun with her, drawing out the reveal. It wasn’t as if she would guess what he’d done in a million years.
“Wrong again.”
“Well, where is it?”
He carefully took two steps back and waited for her to notice.
She crouched down to take a closer look.
“But why is everything so small?”
He didn’t answer right away. He just waited as she took in the boxes and trinkets on the shelves placed close to the ground.
“Wait, that’s not…”
Fred bit back a grin.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She looked up at him, stunned.
“Is this for real? You made a whole line of products for elves?”
Fred couldn’t hide his smile as he nodded. “I hired Winky as a consultant and everything. She assured me that the prices are set within the disposable income for the elves who receive wages and that these are things they could use.”
Hermione suddenly stood and hugged him so fiercely that he reached a hand out to brace himself, but he used the other hand to hug her back.
“I can’t believe you did this! It’s genius! No one has thought about them like this.”
“No one?” he asked with his eyebrows raised. “Seems to me most of them wouldn’t have wages or fair working conditions at all, if it weren’t for your efforts.”
“Well, that was just fair, making sure they were paid for their work.”
“Hermione-’”
“I mean, after all, anyone could have ensured elves were treated fairly by their employers.”
“Hermione-“
“And besides, I only-“
“Hermione. Everyone didn’t do that, you did. And everyone didn’t know what to do with me, but you did. And I guess what I’m trying to say is…”
“That you’re going to shut up and kiss me now?”
Fred’s eyes opened wide. Was she giving him an invitation?
Hermione rolled her eyes, but pulled him down towards her, carefully though, so as not to upset his balance.
“About time,” she murmured, as his lips touched hers.
Meanwhile, Fred was still recovering from her comment, trying to figure out exactly how long they could have been doing this.
The two stood in the store for a while getting to know each other in a different way and making up for lost time.
No, Hermione Granger may not be a fan of surprises, but Fred Weasley? He enjoyed them just fine.
Especially this one.