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The chill that cut through the air was harsh. November had only just begun, and Hermione could already tell it was going to be a harsh winter. How her year at Hogwarts had turned out like this, she wasn't sure. Ron wasn't speaking to her, Harry was sick of being a go-between, and Hermione was just plum exhausted. OWLs were six months away and it felt like there was a never-ending list of things she needed to go over. It didn't help that Dumbledore had approached her at the beginning of the year, either. Her side project had side projects, and the exhaustion was cutting her to the bone. The tale-tell golden chain around her neck had been returned to her at the beginning of the year. The only problem was she was using it more than she ever had the first time around.
Cutting through the courtyard she slipped inside the castle before briskly making her way to the library. There were only a few more weeks before they left for Yule and she had to make sure that she had everything she needed. Having access to the Black Family Library would help with her research, but she still had to get through the books on her list before they left for the holiday. Making her way to the potions area, she pulled down five books before she slipped to the Herbology section. As she reached for a book, a voice behind her startled her, causing her to drop the book she had been trying to pull from the shelf.
“And how are you this fine day?” It was enough to stress her already wrecked nerves as she turned around to face Fred.
“Fine. Can I help you?” She asked, picking up the book she had dropped before adding it to the pile that was floating next to her. Fred gave her a crooked smile.
“We where actually wondering if you could help us revise for Charms? Mum will kill us if we don't pass.” Hermione snorted, that much of Fred's statement was very accurate. Molly Weasley was a force to be reckoned with angry.
“What's in it for me? My schedule is full at the moment.” Hermione said, eyeing Fred as if she was looking for a hint that this was all a trick.
“The pleasure of our company and anything you could need from the greenhouses or potions store room.” Fred said, a glint in his eye as Hermione perked up at the promise. It would do wonders for her personal project to have access to the greenhouses and potions storeroom, but she knew the twins. Which meant she knew their methods.
“Don't drag me into it when you get caught.” Hermione warned, sighing when Fred simply winked and walked away whistling a tune.
The once weekly meetings became every other day and then daily, yet it happened so slowly that Hermione didn't notice that it was happening at first. Food always seemed to appear when they had been studying. Even if Hermione only picked at it, it was better than her skipping meals entirely. With stacks of notes taller than some books, Hermione burrowed deep into the library and didn't seem to want to leave.
She'd find sandwiches sitting next to her when she finally looked up. That and a thermos of tea were usually enough to keep the worst of the symptoms at bay. Yet there were days the bags under her eyes seemed to grow exponentially and Hermione couldn't keep her eyes open. Those were the days the twins worried about her the most. The fact that neither Ron nor Harry seemed to notice enough to care that Hermione was overworking herself again spoke volumes. Even as they borrowed pages upon pages of notes from years gone by, there was a disconnect that even Fred and George picked up on that caused them to silently raise an eyebrow at several points.
It was obvious enough that when they left one of their near-daily study sessions they slipped into the Room of Requirements as if of one mind.
“She remind you of anything?” George asked, sinking down into a chair near the door as Fred started to pace.
“The Hermione from third year who hardly slept, spent more time with her nose in a book than should be humanly possible and went slightly manic towards the end there?” Fred asked, and although his tone was jovial there was a stressed undertone to it. George nodded his head as Fred sighed before he sat down in the chair next to his twin.
“The question is....how to fix it?” George asked, leaning back and kicking his feet up on a stool before letting out a sigh himself.
It seemed they had a lot to ponder.
December came upon them with such a vengeance that it pushed all the students indoors. Colder than usual temperatures seemed to send a frenzy through school that couldn't be tamed. Hermione however had taken this frenzy and multiplied it. Where before she was actively sleeping and trying to keep a regular schedule, now she had thrown all that to the wind and it was obvious. She was constantly found deep within the bowels of the library, deeper than most students would wander on their own.
It was where George found her one night, surrounded by notes and papers and mountains of books, fast asleep atop a tome. Gently shaking her, he guided her back to the Common Room She was so tired, she hardly noticed him guiding her to the girl's stairs and into the hands of Katie who guided the young girl up to bed.
Sharing a look with Fred, he knew they needed to do something.
They cornered her a week before Christmas. It had taken that long to come up with a plan.
“Granger, could we borrow you?” George asked, giving Fred a smile as they led her away from the library and towards the Room of Requirements.
“What's up?” Hermione asked, even as they led her past the doors and into the come-and-go room. When she passed the door, Hermione stopped and blinked once, twice, and a third time before she turned to face the twins who had identical grins on their faces.
The room had changed into an oasis, a giant floor bed sat off in the corner in front of the fire. There where bookcases lining the walls but when Hermione looked closer she noticed they were mostly fiction books, even a few on stress and anxiety. On a table not far away sat a full tea set as well as an assortment of snacks. When her eyes finished assessing the room she turned to face the twins.
“What's all this?” She asked, even as she sank into an overstuffed chair as both boys dropped to their knees in front of the chair, each reaching to hold a hand.
“You're working too hard. You need to learn to relax.” George said, giving her a soft smile as she cracked the first smile to cross her face in months. Taking a deep breath, Hermione breathed in the scent of peppermint as she eyed the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Even then, she felt the tension leave her body for the first time in months.
When Fred leaned forward and kissed her, she breathed a sigh of relief. When George followed suit, she nearly melted into a puddle. The hours they spent in the Room of Requirements passed by quickly, yet she would remember this night for years to come.