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When Hermione Granger pushed open the door to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes that day, George Weasley spotted her from where he was standing at the register. He would have laughed at how pathetic she looked as she dragged her feet across the floor towards him if she didn’t look hopeless at that moment as well. When she reached the counter she hoisted her bag up and plopped it down as she put her elbows beside the bag and rested her chin on her hands. Her hair was a mess, George could tell she’d worn it fancier that day and it had all fallen from where she’d had it held, tufts of curls falling in her face and the rest of it escaping the pins she’d used to keep it in place. All in all, she looked a mess. When she groaned dramatically George couldn’t help himself and he started to laugh.
“Rough day, Hermione?”
She shot him a dirty look, “No, George. I’m just peachy.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t get snarky with me, woman.” He said jokingly pointing a finger at her, “If you’re going to be all grouchy at least take it upstairs to my uglier twin and away from my customers.” He then used the finger he pointed at her to point around at the store.
Hermione rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, then grabbed her bag and dragged it off the counter, turning to make her way to the back room where the stairs led up to the flat above the shop. She called over her shoulder, “The uglier twin is working right now,” she laughed.
“Oi!” He called laughing too, “I know you don’t mean that.”
“You don’t know, and you never will. Love ya, Georgie!”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s a good thing I like you, Granger, or I’d ban you for life.”
She stopped at the door to the back, looking at George and blowing him a kiss before pushing through the door and dragging her feet up the stairs. She knocked on the door softly and after about thirty seconds, Fred Weasley opened it.
“Yikes, you look awful.” He said as he opened the door and motioned for her to come in.
“Remind me again why I’m friends with either of you, Weasley twins?” She said as she pushed past him into the flat. She plopped her bag on the chair in the kitchen and made her way to the sofa where she fell onto it dramatically.
“Because you love us,” Fred said simply, moving to join her on the couch.
“Merlin knows why.” She rolled her eyes. She turned so that she was sprawled on the sofa with her back against the side of the couch and he motioned for her to put her legs over his lap. Once they were there he started rubbing them comfortingly.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Where should I start?”
“That bad?”
“It feels like it’s been a week already, and it’s only Monday!” she let her head fall on the armrest as she spoke, “The weekend was apparently full of chaos at work so you could imagine the pile of paperwork I was greeted with this morning. Then we all got hauled into a meeting that I did not have time for, mind you,” She pointed a finger at Fred for emphasis, “Then, I went back to my office to continue on with the paperwork where McLaggen was waiting to go over the newest set of paperwork he was so kindly dropping off and before he left he asked me to join him as his date to this ceremony on Saturday.”
“Yikes.” Fred said, trying to contain his laughter at the last part, “Didn’t he get the message when you were at Hogwarts?”
“Apparently not. Or he thinks that because we work together now I’d be willing to give him a chance?”
“What did you tell him?”
Now, Hermione averted her eyes from Fred, bringing her hand up to her mouth and looking uncomfortable.
“Hermione … what did you tell him … or what did you do?” Fred looked nervous.
Hermione mumbled under her breath, still not looking at Fred. He playfully cocked the side of his head towards her, leaning his ear closer, “Sorry, love … didn’t quite catch that…” He laughed.
She mumbled again and stole a glance at him when he repeated the ear action towards her. She threw her arms down dramatically, “I told him I was bringing you as my date... because you’re my boyfriend...” Her voice went to a whisper at the last part.
“Well well love, that certainly adds some fun into the mix now dunnit?” He laughed.
“Do not make me go ask George instead, Cormac can’t tell you apart so it would be easy enough to do.” She pointed her finger right in his face.
“Woah there,” Fred held his hands up in surrender, “Of course, I can be your date for the evening. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t show up! Besides, you’re my best mate, it won’t be too difficult to act like a couple.”
Hermione shifted uncomfortably. Yes, Fred was telling the truth; they were best friends. After the war, Hermione volunteered at St. Mungo’s helping those injured in the final battle. She had asked to be assigned to Fred’s recovery and was with him and George every step of the way. Since then they had formed a deep friendship; her and both of the twins. She was still close with Harry and Ron, but their work as Aurors took them away a lot. Even Ginny, her closest girlfriend, was away a lot with her professional Quidditch career. She’d also become quite close with George’s girlfriend Angelina, but she too played professional quidditch and was home even less than Ginny, playing for a team farther away. When they were all home though, they were still thick as thieves and it usually resulted in most of the Weasleys and Harry and Hermione spending the evening at one of their houses playing games or drinking, or both. She’d made a lot of wonderful memories with all of them.
The one thing that no one knew was that she was head over heels in love with her best friend, the older red-headed twin best friend. She should have known that he would agree to go with her, she should have known she would dig herself this hole; put herself in the position of going on a date with the man she was in love with that wasn’t actually a date. Stupid, stupid, Hermione she admonished herself. The Ministry was hosting a ceremony for the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and the official victory over Voldemort. It was supposed to be a fancy evening; Hermione was hoping that Ginny would be home early enough this week to help her pick out what to wear. If Ginny wasn’t home in time she would owl Fleur and ask her for help knowing the older witch would be delighted to offer her assistance.
“I don’t think Gin will be home, I think she’s coming in just for the evening, but let me send her a quick owl.” Fred said, gently moving her legs and getting up, “We should coordinate our outfits, don’t you think?”
Hermione was dazed, her brain working on calming itself down as it panicked through the thought of a fake date evening with Fred in front of all of her coworkers, her friends, and especially his family. They would have to tell the Weasleys as soon as possible before they heard it from anyone else that Fred was Hermione’s date. If Molly heard, she’d have a conniption that she wasn’t informed that Fred and Hermione had gotten together. Hermione remembered how disappointed the Weasley matriarch had been when Ron and Hermione seemed to be on the track to a relationship but quickly realized that they were better as friends than a couple. Molly was eager to have Hermione join their family officially; having already welcomed Hermione as an honourary Weasley. Hermione smiled at the thought of Molly; she was lucky to have such a loving mother figure so close. She’d found her parents, but they’d chosen to stay in Australia once their memories were restored and Hermione saw them a couple of times a year but having a mother figure so close to home was a relief to her as well.
She and Fred were busy working out the details they would tell people at the party on Saturday when George pushed through the door to the flat. He took one look at Hermione and said, “Well you look more chipper than you did a few hours ago when you lied to me.”
“What, exactly, did I lie to you about?”
“I’m not going to say it in front of Freddie, Hermione,” He laughed.
“What’s he on about?” Fred looked to Hermione and thumbed over his shoulder at George.
“I told Georgie he was the uglier twin after he said that you were.” Hermione shrugged.
Fred turned back to George with a hurt look on his face, “I am definitely the better-looking one! That’s why she asked me to be her date to the big party on Saturday!”
George got a mischievous look on his face, “Oh she did, did she?” Okay, so maybe George knew about her crush, but in her defense he guessed it and she stumbled to deny it quickly. She shot him a look when he winked at her when Fred wasn't looking at him.
“Yes, she did! She told Cormac that I was attending with her as her date and boyfriend after he asked her.”
George stared at them for a moment, looking between the two of them, and then keeled over in loud laughter, “Oh, I can’t wait to see this!” and then he started to walk towards his room, still laughing loudly as he did.
“Ignore him,” Fred turned back to Hermione, “What do you want for supper?” He asked, casually, assuming she’d be staying.
George returned from his bedroom, now clad in jeans and a t-shirt as opposed to his shop robes and still giggling softly, “We could go down to the pub?”
“Oh, we could, could we?” Hermione said in a snarky tone.
George pointed at her, “What did I say earlier about the snark, Granger?”
“You asked for it with your maniacal laughter, you git.” She stuck her tongue out at him and threw a pillow from the sofa across the room at him while Fred snorted out a laugh from his spot at the cooler. George looked back at Hermione with his giant puppy dog eyes, “Alright, fine.” She relented and got up, “Let me floo home and change quickly. I’ll be back in a moment.” As she walked over to the floo and called out her address.
As soon as she was gone, George zeroed in on Fred and picked up the pillow Hermione threw at him and chucked it at Fred, “Are you out of your bloody mind?”
Fred stopped lifting his glass to his lips, “Excuse me?”
“Pretending to be Hermione’s boyfriend!” His tone was harsher than he intended it to be, he had to be careful to not tip Fred off to Hermione’s feelings, but he also felt a strong obligation to protect her from being hurt.
“Yeah, she needed help, of course, I would.” He furrowed his brow.
“Well … just … be careful!” George said quietly, but firmly.
“Why? Afraid I can’t handle myself with Hermione?” George didn’t know what to say to that so he just stood there thinking when Fred continued, “Oh come on, George. It will be fine. I know it’s fake.”
George perked up at that, “What?”
“What, what? I said I know it’s fake, she’s my best friend, I’m not going to let my feelings for her get in the way of helping her. I’ll be fine.”
“Your feelings for her?” George asked, and when Fred realized what he’d just said and his eyes went wide, while George thought how the bloody hell didn't I pick up on that.
“You can’t say anything! To anyone!”
George snickered, “Oh don’t worry, Freddie, your secret is safe with me!” And as he thought back on everything Fred and Hermione, he realized he may have been blinded by knowing Hermione's feelings because Fred was not subtle in the slightest.
“For some reason, I don’t believe you. At all.”
“I promise. Your secret is safe with me.” George used his finger to cross his chest, “Just, be careful.”
“I will. I know what I’m getting myself into.”
“I’m not sure you do,” George muttered under his breath, and just as Fred was about to ask him what he said Hermione stepped back through the floo, dressed in more casual clothes.
“You guys ready? I’m starving!”
“Yes, let’s go!” George said and the three of them headed down to the pub.
***
Ginny owled Fred back that night and said that she wouldn’t be in town until Saturday for the party so he sent an owl to Fleur immediately asking her for her help in preparing them for the party. The next day Fleur wrote back that she would be happy to and asked them to come round to Shell Cottage on Thursday. Fred and Hermione had agreed to meet at the Burrow Tuesday evening to tell the family the plan. Everyone thought it was rather amusing that they were pretending to be a couple for the party, but everyone also agreed to help them keep the charade up if they were required to. Fred and Hermione left fairly early, Hermione claiming it had been another long day and she was exhausted and Fred offered to see her home.
George turned on his family once they were gone, “So … who’s placing bets?”
“On what, dear?” Molly asked.
“On how long it takes those two to actually get together.” He thumbed toward the fireplace.
“Oh, do you really think they will?” Molly asked excitedly.
“Definitely.” George nodded firmly.
Everyone looked at Ron for a second, unsure of how he would react, but he looked around and said, “What? I have to go first? Fine. I don’t think they’ll make it through the evening without confessing it to each other.” He laughed.
George marked it down in his notes, “Harry?”
“I’ll be surprised if they’re not admitting it before the party.” He answered breezily.
George chuckled and jotted it down, “Dad?”
“I think it will take about a week afterward.”
“Mum?”
“Oh…” She seemed to think about it for a moment, “I’m going to say a while dear. I love your brother, but that boy’s been so far gone for Hermione for years and he’s not said anything yet; I think it will take a while for him to actually get his head out of his rump and do something about his feelings. Merlin knows I wish he would get it together though!” she threw her hands up in defeat.
George laughed at that, as did the rest of the family, “Perce?”
“What?” Percy asked looking up from the book he had been reading, clearly not having paid attention to anything that happened that evening.
“When do you think Hermione and Fred will admit they love each other?”
“What? Aren’t they already together?” Percy looked around confused and everyone laughed.
“One would think, but no they aren’t.” Harry laughed.
“Oh, well alright then, I guess tomorrow is my guess.” He shrugged.
“Great! I’ll owl the rest of the family tomorrow and get their bets!” George smiled at them and headed to the floo, “So … Sunday dinner here?” He looked to his mum, who laughed and nodded at him, “Brilliant! It should be a fun evening.” He stepped into the floo with a laugh and called out the address of his flat.
***
Thursday found Hermione sat in the master bedroom of Shell Cottage with Fred beside her and Fleur pulling things from her closet and throwing them on the bed beside the pair. When she had three options for each of them she sent them off to be changed and then return in the first set she’d collected. Hermione was in a black floor length gown that was tight to the waist and then flowed freely and the straps laid just off her shoulders; Fred was dressed in simple black dress robes with a plain white shirt and a black bowtie. Of course she thought he looked handsome but she turned to Fleur and shook her head telling the older witch she felt like the attire was too somber for the occasion.
Fleur nodded in agreement, as did Bill who had finally been roped into joining them and offering his opinion. Fleur sent them off to change again with a ‘shoo-ing’ motion with both of her hands. Hermione and Fred looked at each other before they chuckled and went to change into option number two. Hermione knew the moment she put on this dress that it was the one she wanted to wear. It was a deep eggplant colour, all lace with a solid underlayer. It was the same shape as the last dress and was tight to her waist, then falling to just above her knees; the top had a small little lace cap sleeve that had no underlayer to it and allowed her skin to be seen through the designs. Fleur had added a little pearl and beaded belt at the waist and paired her with a black heeled shoe.
Fred’s mouth fell open when he saw her and she felt the colour rush to her cheeks when he was speechless at her entrance. Her blush was made deeper when she saw how handsome he looked again in his dress robes. He was dressed still in black dress robes, but this time he donned an eggplant dress shirt and black bowtie. Hermione saw Bill lean over and whisper something to Fleur, whose eyes promptly lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.
“‘Ermione, do you like zis dress?” Fleur looked at Hermione who nodded happily.
“I don’t think I need to try on the next one, I love this one!” She smiled.
“You do look incredible,” Fred said, still staring at her, and her blush deepened again.
“Okay, I ‘ave an idea for Fred; well Bill ‘ad an idea for Fred.” She smiled at her husband and went back to the closet, pulling something out in secret and sending Fred away. She then went to her closet and picked up a different pair of shoes, passing them to Hermione and motioning for her to change. She obliged quickly and slipped her feet into the dark gray heels that Fleur had handed her. Then she sat and waited for Fred to return. It was a couple moments later when he did return and as soon as he stepped into the room she stood up, mouth open and her eyes soft but wide taking in the sight of him.
Fred stood just inside the room, looking around at the three of them staring back at him and then locking his eyes with Hermione’s. He smiled at her and bowed his head bashfully, looking up at her through his eyelashes still smiling. Fleur and Bill had put him in a dark gray muggle three-piece suit and he still wore an eggplant dress shirt, though this one was definitely more muggle styled than the one he’d had with his dress robes and a black and white tie instead of the bow tie. Again, Bill leaned over and whispered to Fleur who nodded and waved her wand at the tie changing the colour to a gray with a light purple paisley print that Hermione had to admit was very Fred.
“You look amazing,” She breathed.
“Well, Hermione, go stand beside him so we can see the two of you together!” Bill gave her a soft nudge. She stumbled forward when he did, and Fred opened his arms to catch her and she felt her breath hitch as she looked up at him. Damn her feelings for him and damn him for looking so good and damn Bill and Fleur for making him look this good. She straightened herself out and smoothed the dress and stood beside Fred and linked har arm through his, smiling at Bill and Fleur.
Bill looked to his wife who was silent for a moment before standing up with her arms raised excitedly, “Zey are PERFECT!” she said happily.
“Duh, it’s me you’re talking about here, love.” Fred winked at her.
“Hermione’s so out of your league, brother.” Bill laughed and Fred dropped his jaw in offense to which Bill said, “Have you looked at her?” and motioned toward the witch beside his brother; the witch who was again blushing a deep shade of red.
“Wait until Ginny sees a photo of you both!” Fleur clapped excitedly.
“Fleur, thank you so much for all your help!” Hermione smiled and moved away from Fred to hug Fleur who welcomed the embrace.
“I was ‘appy to help, ‘ermione!”
Hermione smiled and nodded, when Fred came up beside her, “What do you say? Are you ready to go?” She nodded to him telling him she was just going to change and then she’d be ready. Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of the floo in the living room of Shell Cottage. Fleur said she would come over on Saturday to help Hermione get ready, and Bill said he’d tag along to have a drink with his brother. Hermione called out the address to Fred’s flat and Fred followed behind her. She would get ready there on Saturday so she was leaving her dress there. She was about to go to the floo to go home, when Fred called from behind her, “Hermione?”
She turned back to him, “Yes, Fred?”
“I was thinking …” He started, clearly uncomfortable, “Well it’s just that…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe we should … you know, practice … being a couple before Saturday.”
She looked at him with slight confusion, “What d’you mean?”
“Tomorrow, we should go on a date.” He said quickly and her eyes went wide and she couldn’t say yes fast enough. No - she actually couldn’t say it fast enough because when he saw her reaction he clarified, “Just for practice! Get used to holding hands and soft touches.”
She looked confused again, she was pretty sure they did those things already. And by pretty sure, she could assure anyone that they did because they were the little things that prevented her from getting over her feelings for him and as much as she knew she should stop so she could move on she couldn’t bring herself to let that happen. Instead of explaining to him that they did those things already and saving herself the torture of a practice date night with him, she said, “Okay.” She tried to smile when she said it.
“Okay, come here when you’re done work!” He smiled.
She smiled again, and nodded, then stepped into the floo and was gone.
***
Their date on Friday was lovely, and Hermione found herself imagining it was real far too often throughout the evening. Fred took her to a nice restaurant for dinner, held her hand as they walked the streets of muggle London (it was better to go where no one knew them, incase they were spotted and had to explain, Fred had reasoned), and they even stopped for ice cream at a small shop before going to sit in a park. He was charming and witty and handsome, and Hermione knew she was screwed; that her crush was never going away. She resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to tell him and get the rejection over with - or live with her feelings forever.
They were sitting on a bench, in the quiet little park when a thought hit her and she stiffened beside Fred. He noticed immediately and turned to look at her, concern evident in his eyes.
“I’ve just had a thought …” She said quietly.
“Alright…” He replied cautiously.
“What if ..., what if we have to kiss or something? That’s something couples do - they kiss.” Fred could tell she was spiraling into her thoughts, and he grabbed her hand.
“Hermione, love. We don’t have to. People don’t expect couples to kiss all the time, especially at public events like that.” He reassured her.
“But what if they do. I’m sorry, this is too much. I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Hermione, as if kissing you to protect our cover is a hardship.” He laughed and it broke her heart a little that he worded it that way though she knew that’s what it would be. What she didn’t know was, it upset Fred to know that she seemed so put off by the thought of kissing him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring down the evening.” She said, sadly.
“You didn’t, love.” He answered, gently.
She looked up at him, unfallen tears in her eyes and he looked at her before leaning in slightly. He waited for a second for her to give a small nod before he closed the distance and pressed his lips gently to hers. She closed her eyes just before their lips met and left them closed for a second after he pulled away.
“There, now we’ve got the first one out of the way, without anyone’s eyes on us. Tomorrow should be a piece of cake.” He smiled at her and went back to happily chatting to her for the rest of the evening. He tried to put the memory of the fireworks he’d felt explode through his core when his lips met hers and tried to ignore the butterflies he’d had the rest of the evening.
Hermione, on the other side, did her best to stop herself from spiraling into an overwhelming sadness over everything she couldn’t have. The butterflies she was used to around him; the overwhelming heat in her body whenever he touched her; the irregular beat of her heart when he smiled at her. This had been a terrible idea; what had she been thinking?! She tried her best to act normally for the rest of the evening, and when he walked her to her door at the end of the night, she gave him a kiss to the cheek and another quick kiss to the lips. If I’m going to suffer, I might as well make the most of it while I can, she thought.
When she was safely inside her flat, she fell against the door and cried for a good twenty minutes before picking herself up and going to bed. In an odd show of affection, Crookshanks curled up right beside her as she fell asleep and his purring settled her as she drifted off.
***
Hermione woke Saturday morning to an incessant pecking at the window to her bedroom. She groaned, wiping her hand over her face and sitting up grumpily. Crookshanks was now at her feet, and he hissed softly when she moved making his annoyance at the disruption of his sleep known. She looked over to the window and saw Ginny’s owl was the source of the pecking and went to let the bird in. He dropped a note for her and looked up expectantly, as she grabbed a treat from the little bowl she’d kept there and he took it happily.
Hermione opened the note from Ginny
Hermione,
Sorry, I can’t be there to get ready with you but I’ll see you at the party! Can’t wait to watch you ‘dating’ my brother! Maybe you’ll finally admit how you feel?
-Ginny
“How the hell does she know?” Hermione breathed to no one, but the owl looking at her hooted playfully. She motioned over to a perch for the owl to go have a rest and he happily obliged. She wrote Ginny a quick note back for when the bird was ready to take it and then went to have a shower.
She got herself as ready as she could, knowing that Fleur was meeting her at the boys’ flat that afternoon to get her ready. She fixed herself breakfast and made herself some tea, sitting at the counter in her kitchen and thumbing through the newest edition of the Quibbler. After getting caught up in a couple of the articles, she looked at the time and realized it was about time to go over to Fred’s. Hermione sent the owl off with the note to Ginny, gave Crookshanks a pet on the head and went over to the floo calling out the address for the flat above the shop.
“Hello?” She called as she stepped out of the fireplace.
“Hermione!” George called out with a big smile on his face, “Ready for your big date tonight?” he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Yes, George, I’m ready for my evening with your brother - who is doing me a favour - and the rest of you.” She shot him a look.
“Ah, yes, my sweet Hermione, but that’s the same brother that you’re madly in love with.” He winked.
She looked around with panicked eyes, “Would you keep your voice down?”
George laughed, “He’s not here, love. Your secret is still safe with me.”
She groaned and threw her head back, “What am I going to do, George?”
“I know you want some cushy answer here, Hermione, but I’m going to give you the obvious one and say tell him how you feel.” She didn’t say anything, just looked at him. George pulled her into a hug, “Who knows, maybe the outcome will surprise you?”
She was just about to say something when the door opened and Fred walked in, flanked by Fleur and Bill. Fleur wasted no time in whisking Hermione away to Fred’s room to get ready and the boys laughed as Bill showed them the bottle of firewhiskey he’d brought with him for them to enjoy through the afternoon.
Fleur put a silencing charm on the door so the boys couldn’t hear them talking and proceeded to chat away to Hermione that afternoon. Over the course of the afternoon, Hermione became more comfortable letting Fleur get her ready for the evening and the amount of questioning Fleur had done over Hermione’s intentions with Fred. Having grown up with no sisters, heck no siblings, and away from her mum for so much time, Hermione was grateful to the older witch for the advice she’d been giving her and the amount of help she’d been in getting her ready. She promised Fleur that she would take her for lunch as a thank you one day soon.
In the kitchen, the boys were sipping their drinks, and Bill and George were having a joyous time pestering Fred about his feelings for Hermione. Just like she had earlier, he hushed them and spoke in a whisper. Not that he paid much attention to what George had to say about the whole thing (as most of what he had to say was just things to tease his brother), he was relieved to get a little bit of brotherly advice from Bill. He stopped himself after a couple of drinks, ensuring that he didn’t get too involved in the activity before the evening, but had just enough to calm his nerves while Bill and George carried on, slowly but carried on nonetheless.
After Fleur had Hermione for about two hours, she opened the door and stepped out walking to the kitchen.
“Ah, hello my darling!” Bill said happily.
“Oh my word, I see you boys ‘ave ‘ad fun!” She laughed at her husband, whose cheeks were red and darkened in a blush as his wife planted a kiss to one of those cheeks. Fred and George giggled at his embarrassment and Bill quickly righted himself and gave them both a dirty look.
“Frederick Weasley, you ‘ave to get ready! Go now!” Fleur pushed him towards George’s room to get changed. Fleur went back to make sure Hermione was changed and the two of them made their way to the kitchen.
George took one look at Hermione and brought a hand over his heart and stumbled backwards, “Merlin, Hermione. You look stunning!” His eyes were bright as he took in her look.
She blushed a deep shade of red, “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I’m not!” George said quickly, “Just, wow!”
“Thank you, it’s all thanks to Fleur though.” She motioned toward the older witch.
“Ah, ‘ermione, you are lovely naturally, it was easy really.” She smiled.
“You look lovely, Hermione.” Bill smiled and Hermione felt her blush deepen again.
“Thank you, Bill.” She smiled at him.
They heard the door open and after they heard a few steps behind them Hermione turned around. Fred was fixing the cuffs of his dress shirt when he saw her and stopped in his tracks with his mouth falling open as he looked at her. Fleur had her hair in loose curls, with the fronts braided to the back. Her makeup was natural, a soft gold shadow on her eyelids, a soft blush on her cheeks, and a pale pink lipstick on her lips.
“Wow,” Fred breathed, “I know I saw the dress already, but … wow. You look absolutely beautiful, Hermione.”
Well, the blush was supposed to be soft on her cheeks, Hermione was sure it was maroon at this point, “Thank you, Fred. You look very handsome.”
“Thanks!” He smiled and finished fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt.
“Come on then, let’s get a picture!” Bill said, as Fleur pulled out their camera.
Hermione went to stand beside Fred, stopping for a moment to fix his tie as the flash went the first time and Fleur winked at the girl when she looked over. Fred pulled Hermione to his side, wrapping his arm tight around her waist as she wrapped hers around his waist and they smiled at Fleur who snapped a picture.
“Twirl her, Freddie!” George called.
Hermione laughed, but Fred listened to his brother and twirled her, flash, causing her to laugh even more which would be caught in the magical moving photo. Then Fred pulled her into him, flash, facing him as if they were about to start dancing. Last, he gently leaned in, flash, to kiss her cheek and she turned her head away in a bashful manner smiling as she did and he smiled with his nose still pressed against her cheek.
Fleur was blubbering about how sweet it was, Bill and George were having a hay day. Fleur sent them in to take some pictures too, which in their slightly drunken state was nothing but laughing and fun and even the girls were laughing at their antics. Hermione insisted on a photo with Fleur and Fleur took that opportunity, just before Bill snapped the picture to whisper to Hermione that she was pregnant and have the reaction captured forever. Fleur took the camera back and nodded to Bill who blurted it out as Fleur captured the reaction of the twins at the same time.
For a few minutes, Hermione forgot that she was going on a fake date with the man she was in love with and let herself get lost in the family moment of it all.
She was broken from her thoughts when Fred held up his arm for her, “Shall we?”
She hugged Fleur and Bill, saying congratulations and thank you and smiled at George who blew her a kiss and winked at her. They assured her that they would see her soon and told the couple to save them seats and then Hermione took Fred’s arm and apparated them to the hall the party was being held in. There were already loads of people sitting at their respective tables and the hall was done up in classic gold decorations. She was greeted by her boss and another colleague and she introduced them to Fred, who smiled and held his hand out to each of them, and then wrapped it back around Hermione’s waist.
They mingled their way through the crowds, even stopping to chat to Professor McGonagall, who was invited by Kingsley. Harry and Ron eventually made their way over, showed them to their table where they were all sat together, as well as the rest of the Weasley family, who Fred nodded towards the door as the family in question walked in. Hermione waved to them and they all made their way over to Fred, Hermione, Ron, and Harry.
“Oh, my word! You two look wonderful!” Molly squealed in glee bringing her hands to her cheeks.
“Thanks, Mum.” Fred said as Hermione said, “Thank you, Mrs. Weasley.” And the Matriarch pulled them both into a hug, one arm around each of them.
Molly turned to Charlie and asked that he go to the floo room of the hall and meet Ginny as she should be arriving any moment and sure enough ten minutes later, Ginny and Charlie strolled in and the girl went right to Harry. When she broke away from her boyfriend Hermione pulled her friend into a hug, “It’s been far too long!”
“It definitely has, I’ll have to get you to one of my games in the near future.” Ginny smiled as she embraced her best friend.
Kingsley got to the front on the podium and called for everyone to take their seats. He used his booming voice to speak to everyone there, “Good Evening, everyone. Thank you for coming tonight. As you all know, teams of Aurors have been travelling the country and the world tracking down the last known affiliates of Voldemort. I’m proud to announce that three weeks ago, two of our teams joined together and brought the last three of them into custody. Now, I know the second wizarding war technically ended when Voldemort was defeated in the Battle of Hogwarts, but this - the final captures, to many of us here at the Ministry further confirm that light has triumphed over darkness. Many of you here tonight fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, many of you here tonight helped in some way, shape, or form in the defeat of Voldemort and his affiliates. And more than that, many of you here tonight felt and experienced loss. This night, having brought the final death eaters into custody so close to the anniversary of that final battle is to honour those we’ve lost and those who were an integral force in the war that we faced.”
Professor McGonagall stepped forward from her place behind Kingsley and took the podium, “I have known many of you, for many years. I’ve seen you grow, learn, mature, and move onto so many milestones in your lives. Another thing I’ve seen is the way that you all came together in the face of darkness and evil, to fight for what you believe in; to fight for your friends, to fight for your freedoms, to fight for those who were trying to be brought down by a radical idea of what the wizarding world, what our world, should look like. I wish he could have seen the passion that you all have running through your veins, the desire to do good for the world and the desire to make it a better place. I stood alongside you that night, I fought alongside you that night, and I have never, in all my years, been more proud of the people that you all grew up to be.”
Kingsley took the podium again, “We have all lost people we love. We honour them tonight, and every day moving forward. The Ministry has built an outdoor sanctuary with plaques containing the name of those we lost that day or as part of the war and it is accessible by any witch or wizard, or family member of those that rest there, at any time. Also, I am proud to announce that the Ministry is setting up a program that will help integrate muggle-born wizarding children into our world for smooth transitions and anything that they may need in order to move forward and be successful in their lives as a witch or wizard. We are working with Headmistress McGonagall to work out the final details and we are both looking forward to seeing the difference that this can make.” Everyone clapped, and Kingsley and Professor McGonagall smiled, “We thank each and every one of you for everything that you’ve done. So please, enjoy the evening, visit our sanctuary, and honour those you love and lost and know that we are committed to evolving our world to be the best it can be and know that my door is always open.” He smiled again and as he finished, the band started and Kinglsey offered his hand to McGonagall for a dance and it prompted others to join them.
The evening carried on, and Fred played the perfect doting boyfriend to Hermione, especially when Cormac made his way over to her asking for a dance and Fred swooped in to dance with her before she even had to answer. He made his point even more clear by placing a firm kiss to her lips as he dipped her in the dance and Charlie and George both wolf-whistled at them. Hermione was convinced that Fleur hadn’t needed to add any blush to her cheeks because she’d done enough of it naturally throughout the evening. Fred did let Harry and Ron both steal Hermione away for a dance and she laughed as she danced with Harry like they had on the run and at the fact that his dancing skills had not improved. Ron surprised her with his moves on the dancefloor as he twirled her around and led them through the moves. Fred snatched her back into his arms when the band dropped into a slow song and pulled her tight to him.
“You really do look beautiful tonight, Hermione. But then again, you always look beautiful.” He whispered in her ear.
She pulled back to look at him, “Thank you, Fred. You look very handsome tonight too. But then again, you always look handsome.” She took the moment and kissed him, and when the night was over and they went back to being friends, that was the kiss she would remember most. She would remember how gentle he was when he kissed her back, how his palm cupped her cheek so softly, how he smiled against her lips, and how she’d swear he chased her for more when she pulled away.
“I love you, you know that?” She asked him, so yeah she was in for torturing herself tonight, like she figured - she’d go all out with the one night she got - sue her.
“I love you too, Hermione, you know that?” She smiled and nodded, resting her head on his chest as they moved to the beat of the song. Fred was looking around at the rest of his family, in very similar positions on the dancefloor, and thinking about how lucky he was to have Hermione in his life. She’d been there for him through so much, and he didn’t care how cliche he sounded he fell in love with her a little bit more every moment he spent with her. He caught George’s eye and sent his brother a desperate look, George just shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Hermione. Fred knew he was telling him to do something about his feelings, and Charlie seemed to be sending him the same look. He rested his cheek on the top of Hermione’s head and continued dancing with her.
They changed their dancing as the songs changed, eventually a group of Weasleys occupied the dancefloor as Charlie came up behind Hermione, lifting her in the air and spinning her around causing her laughter to ring out through the hall. At one point Kingsley came up to Hermione, “Miss. Granger, may I have a word?”
She looked nervous, but nodded, “Of course, Minister.” Fred gave her hand a squeeze and she followed behind Kingsley, “Is something wrong?” She asked when he stopped to face her.
He put his hands up and laughed, “Not in the slightest, Miss. Granger. I wanted to discuss something with you on Monday morning, though I fear I’m far too impatient to wait.” Hermione looked at him, puzzled and looked over her shoulder as he waved Professor McGonagall over who joined them quickly and smiled at Hermione when she did.
“Hello Professor.” Hermione smiled.
“Miss. Granger.” Professor McGonagall smiled and nodded at the younger witch.
“Miss. Granger, Hermione, as you know we announced the fund for integrating muggle born children into our world tonight.” Hermione nodded at the Minister, “There is no one we would rather have leading that as we implement our plans. You would be in charge of the entire thing, working with Professor McGonagall closely with rollout and growth and everything. Now we can go over all the details on Monday, but as I mentioned, I was far too excited about this to wait!” Kingsley rushed out, giddy with his words.
“Miss. Granger,” Professor McGonagall addressed her now and she turned to look at the woman she’d admired growing up, “You were an exemplary student through your years at Hogwarts. You are resilient, determined, brave, intelligent, creative, the list goes on, and most importantly you’re compassionate. I can't think of a better person to help lead this initiative to success than the brightest witch of her age.”
Hermione’s face was that of shock and Kingsley was quick to address her again, “You don’t need to give us an answer tonight, take some time and think about it. If you have any questions we can discuss them Monday morning, say half nine?”
“Absolutely! Thank you so much, Minister.” She nodded at Kingsley, “Professor.” She nodded at McGonagall and they both smiled at her, and Professor McGonagall uncharacteristically pulled her into a hug before she released her back to Fred.
She returned to Fred with a look of awe and he was quick to inquire about the conversation. When she explained everything he picked her up in a tight hug, spinning her around, exclaiming how exciting that was for her and how proud he was of her. He then proceeded to drag her over to the rest of the family and tell them the good news where she was met with a group Weasley congratulatory hug. She was beaming when they all broke away but Fred kept a tight hold on her, pressing a kiss to her temple and whispering how proud he was of her.
Neville approached them and was also greeted with smiles from all the Weasleys and he easily returned the smile, “I just wanted to let you know, there is a group of us meeting for breakfast at that new place in Diagon Alley tomorrow morning, if you’d care to join?”
Fred looked to Hermione and then George and Hermione looked to Fred and then Harry and Ron and they all seemed in agreement, so Hermione turned to Neville and said, “We’d love to! Who’s all going?”
Neville looked around, “Dean, Seamus, Lee, Luna, Susan, Cho, Angelina, Alicia,” He looked around nervously, “...and Cormac.”
Fred saw Hermione pale as she looked at him, he knew what it meant - if they went they’d have to keep up their act. He turned back to Neville, “What time are we meeting, mate?” He smiled.
“Half ten? I imagine some will need a lie-in.”
“Sounds perfect!” George said, and the rest nodded in agreement.
Hermione smiled nervously but went along with it. Harry excused himself as Ginny mentioned that she needed to be going, and walked her to the floo room to say goodnight. Ron had gone off with Dean, Seamus, and Neville getting into some sort of trouble Hermione was sure of. George and Lee were talking to Angelina about her latest quidditch match at the table, George getting animatedly excited about the whole thing. That left Fred and Hermione where they were, and he looked down at her, noticing the worry in her eyes.
“You alright there, Hermione?”
She shook her head out of the daze she’d been in, “Fine, why?” She smiled.
“You looked like your mind was a thousand miles away a moment ago.”
“Are you sure you’re alright with keeping this up tomorrow? Maybe I should just tell him..”
He turned her to face him full-on, “Hermione, it’s fine. I’d not have agreed if it wasn’t.” He smiled.
“Okay.” She relented.
“Now, what do you say? Do you want to dance some more…” He nodded to where the dancefloor was slowly emptying, “Or do you want to go home and watch a film?”
She thought about it, tapping her finger on her chin with a pensive look on her face, “Film, obviously.” She nudged him playfully, and he laughed at her.
“Alright, let’s let everyone know we’re leaving and then home for a snuggle!” He nudged her playfully.
***
Breakfast with the group the next morning was a fun time. Fred played the doting boyfriend as perfectly as he had the night before and Cormac seemed to (finally) get the hint. At one point, Hermione had leaned over to Fred, placing a hand on his thigh and whispering in his ear that Cormac was looking at them as if he didn’t believe they were dating. Fred in turn turned his face and pressed his lips firmly to hers, with a little bit more force than probably required, and when he pulled away Hermione chuckled softly and he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. She snuck a look at Cormac and he had gone back to talking with Cho and she smiled at Fred, getting wrapped up in a conversation with him, George, and Luna.
The new cafe was quaint, and the food was delicious. Hermione made a mental note to come back and try their lunch menu next time she visited the shop. Fred had his arm around the back of Hermione’s chair and his fingers were twirling the ends of her hair that fell down her back. Occasionally his hands would brush her back and she’d shiver at the contact and every time it happened he chuckled softly and she smiled at him while side-eyeing him and he smirked at her. George leaned over and whispered something to Luna whose eyes went wide and she laughed softly. Both Fred and Hermione shot him a look but said nothing. Luna then leaned over to George and whispered something to him and he just nodded at whatever she had said. Fred and Hermione exchanged a look as they both rolled their eyes and laughed.
The morning carried on and one by one people started to leave, Fred and Hermione when Hermione said she was just going to use the loo quickly and that she’d meet Fred outside. She watched him walk out but didn’t notice Cormac following behind him. She finished up and thanked the waiter again, and went out into the alley. She looked around for Fred and heard his voice before she spotted him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She turned to try to find where it came from when she heard Cormac’s voice, “I think you do.” He answered smugly and Hermione rolled her eyes. She couldn’t even see him and she could picture the stupid look on his face.
“I can assure you, I don’t.” Fred answered coolly.
“I find it pretty strange that no one seemed to know about the two of you until the other day.”
Hermione found where they were but wanted to see where this conversation was going so she didn’t reveal herself right away. Fred shifted to his other foot and said, “The people important to us knew.”
Cormac laughed a condescending laugh, “I don’t think so.”
“Look, mate, I don’t know what you want me to say here.”
“I want you to admit that you’re not actually dating Hermione, that you two aren’t in love, that it was all a show.”
“Why do you seem so convinced that we’re not actually together?”
“Because if I was dating Hermione Granger I’d shout it from the rooftops and let the whole world know. That’s what she deserves.”
Fred snorted out a laugh, and Hermione saw McLaggen roll his eyes, but Fred said, “Sorry, mate. I don’t mean to laugh, actually I do because you're so daft it's hilarious. You go on about how that’s what Hermione deserves but what you fail to understand is how much she would truly hate that. Being Harry Potter’s best friend she’s been in the spotlight enough and she loathes it. So while you may think that’s what she deserves, it’s not what she would want. So forgive me if I don’t do that and choose to do things that make her happy instead; because that’s what she deserves. I love that girl, more than words will ever be able to tell you.”
Hermione chose that moment to make herself known, “There you are!” She came up beside Fred, slipping her hand into his and going up to press a kiss to his cheek, “Everything okay here?” She looked from him to Cormac and back to him again.
Fred just smiled, “Everything’s fine, love. Cormac was just leaving.”
“Right, goodbye Fred. Hermione.”
“Cormac.” She nodded at him and he turned and walked away. She turned to look at Fred again, who seemed agitated, “Hey, you sure you’re alright?”
“Fine, love. Why?” In reality, Fred was spiraling, all this pretending with Hermione, having to defend their relationship to Cormac just now, it was becoming too much. He was tired of pretending, tired of faking it, and tired of wishing every night for everything with Hermione. It was time to do something about it.
“You seem, I’m not sure, agitated?” Damn, she’s good, Fred thought and suddenly he had an idea. He grabbed her hand and walked her to his shop.
“Want to go up to the flat, I’ll meet you there in just a moment?” He asked.
She nodded and made for the back where the stairs to the flat were and Fred watched her push her way through the door. After he was sure she’d be in the flat by then, he made a bee-line for his office and grabbed a potion out of the locked cupboard. He said a quick hello to George as he breezed by him to the stairs up to the flat. He found Hermione sitting on the sofa thumbing through one of his old books. He smiled at the sight of her, so comfortable in his space, and she seemed to notice that he was there and smiled.
He started pacing, and Hermione stood and went to stand in front of him, “Fred, what on earth is going on?”
He felt too exposed, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her to his bedroom, closing the door and casting a silencing charm on the door just in case anyone came up or through the floo. He started pacing again and she watched him before saying, “Fred, you’re worrying me here. What is going on?” He could hear the edge in her voice.
He pulled a small vile out and popped the top out and handed it to her, “What does this smell like to you?”
She took it and before she even looked at it she knew what it was, and before she could even answer he said, “Because to me it smells like old books, parchment, and lilacs.” He rushed it out before continuing, “All things that remind me of you. Old books because you’ve always got your nose buried in them, parchment because I’ve never known anyone smarter or more organized, and lilacs because you keep that one on the little garden you have on your balcony and you once told me you’d like a bigger one someday. I want to give you that someday, Hermione.”
She stood there, just looking at him, mouth slightly agape. She ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back out of her face, and went to say something and then stopped. She watched the panic and then horror cross his face as he thought that he’d made a mistake and she brought the vile of Amortentia to her nose, inhaling deeply, “Just as I thought.” She said simply.
He looked at her curiously, and she continued, “Fireworks, marshmallows, and leather. All things that remind me of you, Fred Weasley. Fireworks because well, you’re extremely talented at making them, it’s like your signature thing; marshmallows because of those snack boxes and I know they’re one of your favourite snacks; and leather because of that book you keep all your ideas in.” She bowed her head, and looked up at him with just her eyes, “I heard what you said to Cormac, in the alley. Did you mean it, or was that just for Cormac?”
“I meant every word.” And when her eyes snapped up to meet his, he didn’t waste another moment leaning forward and capturing her lips with his own. It was gentle, it was soft, it was as sweet as first kisses should be; and though it wasn’t their first kiss, it was the first one where she was sure he felt for her everything she’d felt for him. He’d had a hand placed on her cheek, and she brought hers through his hair to the back of his head. He smiled against her lips and she pulled back and said, “I love you too. I have for a long time. I let myself get so wrapped up in the past week because it’s everything I wanted and everything I never thought I’d have.”
He burst out laughing and she looked at him with a look of horror, “Sorry, my love, I’m only laughing because I was doing the same thing.”
“Well, let’s not waste another minute thinking we can’t both have everything we want.” She said and kissed him again.
And they showed up to family dinner that night, hand-in-hand.
(George would later tell them that Luna won the bet, and did so because with her devious little mind she made a comment to Cormac about Fred and Hermione that caused Cormac to approach Fred in the alley that morning leading to the confession).
Hermione still keeps the bottle of Amortentia on a shelf in the bedroom, next to the magical photo of Fred kissing her cheek and her smiling while blushing as he did. She really needed to thank Fleur.