Work Text:
Hermione should have known that something was going on. There was no other reason for Ginny to “kidnap” her for a spa day, or Molly to get weepy when she looked at Hermione, or Arthur to beam at her when they made eye contact, or Fleur to ask her if she wanted to borrow an outfit for her date. The signs were all there, but she was just so excited about their date that she ignored them all.
She paced the length of her hallway as she waited for Fred to come pick her up for their mystery date. They had been together for nearly a year, and their relationship was the best she had ever been in. There was a level of understanding and commitment they had that she had never experienced with anyone else she dated. Hermione knew that he was it for her, not that she would be telling him that anytime soon.
Hermione smiled at him as he walked out of her fireplace, and once she was within arms reach, he grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her hugging her closely.
“You look beautiful, Love.”
“Thanks. You look handsome yourself.”
“Are you ready for our date?”
“She nodded and grabbed his proffered hand before he apparated them out of her flat.
She was surprised to see that they were in Fred’s flat and the man was nervous. He stared at her with open adoration as he used a nonverbal spell to light an abundance of candles in the room.
“This way, Love. I’ve got dinner cooking for us and some of that wine that you enjoy so much.”
She followed him into the kitchen and sat in the chair that he pulled out for her. She graciously accepted the glass of wine he offered her, knowing he would never prank her after the ‘incident’ and stared at him openly. They chatted about their days and munched on some bread while their dinner finished.
“This is all so lovely, Fred. You went through a lot of trouble tonight.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’d do anything for you. You know that, right?”
At that moment, a terrible screeching sound came from inside the walls of the flat itself. Hermione stood, wand at the ready, unsure of what was happening, as Fred scrambled up and went to the oven to check on their dinner. As he opened the door, smoke started pouring out, and she could hear Fred groaning and swearing to himself under his breath as she realised that the screeching must have been a smoke alarm of sorts.
“Freddie? As delicious as I’m sure that roast would have been, you know I am content to just be with you. We can go grab something from the Leaky and come back to the flat to enjoy the romantic ambience.”
“Content to be with me, huh? I guess I can live with that. Sure let’s go to the Leaky.”
When they settled back in the kitchen to eat their dinner, they continued their conversation. When talk turned to Harry and Ginny’s pregnancy announcement, Fred got a faraway look in his eyes that made Hermione breathless. There was no doubt in her mind, he was thinking about her being pregnant with his child.
“OH, what now?” shouted Fred as he looked around the living room as the screeching started again.
They looked high and low, but they couldn’t find a thing that would make the alarm go off. Fred pointed down the hall towards the bedrooms and then himself, then pointed down to the guest room and the bathroom and pointed at Hermione. After examining the rooms and finding nothing, she heard Fred yell from his bedroom.
“Fred! What’s wrong?” she asked, running to him.
“GEORGE!” was the only reply she heard, and Fred nearly shoved her out of the way as he barreled out of his room and into George’s old room.
Hermione sighed as she followed behind, knowing that she would be fixing a rogue Wheeze for the rest of the night. When she made it inside, she saw a very distraught Fred standing in the middle of the room waving his wand maniacally. There was a popping noise, and Fred was gone. She walked into the room and saw that he wasn’t gone but had been transfigured into a cat.
“Of course,” she said with a smile as she grabbed Fred and apparated him and his cat form to George and Angelina’s.
After getting Fred turned back to Fred, figuring out what happened with the alarm (a prank from George was all she could make out), and breaking up the argument between the two, Hermione was exhausted and just wanted to get into bed and sleep.
“I’m going to go home. I’m exhausted. Thank you, Fred, for a lovely evening.”
“NO!” they shouted at the same time.
“What?! Why?”
“No reason. I’ll take you home, Love,” said Fred sadly, wrapping his arms around her and apparating them into her flat.
She knew something was wrong with him. He had been nervous all night, he got upset about pranks, and he fought with George. It was not typical Fred behaviour in the slightest.
“Freddie, are you ok?” she asked quietly.
“Yea, I’m fine, Hermione. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch at Mum’s,” he said softly, and with a kiss on the forehead, he apparated out.
She got ready for bed, thinking about the sad look on Fred’s face as he left. All at once, she put all the clues together and realised what was supposed to happen that night.
“I am such an idiot,” she groaned. With that, she sent out several patronuses, and after receiving her quick responses, she went to bed.
The next morning she showered and dressed before heading over to The Burrow. She kept herself busy until Fred showed up. She grabbed him by the hand and led him outside to the dock near the pond.
“Fred, I have something I want to say,” she started, making sure he was looking at her. “You are charming and kind and wonderful, and I just... I love you so much. You’ve helped me relax, taught me how to have fun, and you’re there for me when I need you. Nobody was as supportive as you when I couldn’t reverse the memory spell on my parents. You’re all the good things in my life, and I want you in it forever. So, marry me?”
He looked at her a moment before grabbing her and kissing her as if his life depended on it. He swung her around and held her close to him before whispering in her ear, “Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you.”
She shouted, “HE SAID YES,” and fireworks exploded in the sky, making him laugh before he kissed her again.