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It was dark when Fred entered the common room that night. All the candles had been snuffed, the fire was only embers, and he was pretty sure he saw a house elf scurry out of the portrait hole.
Detention had been brutal. He was exhausted. Not feeling up to the task of more stairs, Fred stumbled to the couch nearest the fireplace. He lowered himself onto it, however the couch had become quite lumpy.
“Buh-Hexpelliarmuf!”
“Oy!” Fred rolled onto the floor in a startled clatter. He regained his composure and crouched by the human (he hoped it was human) that he'd nearly squashed (he hoped it was nearly). “Uh, ‘lo?”
“No, A-lo-ho-mo-ra. Say it right. Honestly...”
“Oh! It's you, Hermione. I'd recognize that ‘honestly’ anywhere.”
“Huh? Who's there?” Hermione stirred and sat up. She cast a bluebell flame at the fireplace. An iridescent fire flickered instantly, casting a soft blue light across their faces. It was clear she had fallen asleep while reading one of her large tomes. Her face relaxed when she recognized that it was one of the Weasley twins.
“Guess who.” Fred gave her a coy grin.
“Hmm….” Hermione hunkered down on the floor next to him to make the dim light work in her favor. She leaned in close. “Oh, hello Fred.”
He huffed in frustration. “How?”
“I'm a witch,” she replied, smugly.
“Yeah, ok. But how?”
“I'll tell you if you tell me why you're up late, trying to cop a feel.”
“I was not! You'd know if I… Alright, I was out late having a wretched detention with Snape.”
“Did you deserve it?”
“Well, yes, but that's quite beside the point isn't it?”
“And what, pray tell, did you do this time ?” Hermione was grinning.
Fred tried not to show the fluttering feeling he was getting from her smile. “Oh you know, melted a crater in the floor… maybe a bit on purpose.”
Hermione grinned wider as she crossed her arms over her chest. “What exactly-”
“I was distracting Snape so Lee could sneak out. He's interested in a bird.”
“Who's the bird?”
“Who said anything about birds? Do you mean Hedwig? Errol? The delightfully neurotic Pigwidgeon?”
“Ok, ok, Lee has a secret crush. I get the picture. So what did your detention entail?”
“You're muggle-born. You've heard of cement, no?”
“Oh, um, yes.”
“Well, that was it. Snape had the ingredients. I had to mix, pour, and smooth out the crater. No magic.”
“Can they really make you do that?”
“Probably not, but Snape was so livid, I consider it a favor that my bones and brain aren’t currently in a jar on his shelf.”
“I suppose.”
“Right then. Your turn. How do you tell George and I apart?”
“Oh yeah. Ok. It's your eyes.”
“Really? Our eyes are pretty similar, what do you find different?”
“No, not the collective ‘your,’ but singular. Your eyes.”
“My eyes.”
“Yes.”
“Go on, what about my dashing eyes?”
“Um,” Hermione looked down nervously, “I'm not sure if-”
“Oh come on, I've done loads of stunts that have put me in embarrassing situations. We're Gryffindors, no? Be brave, Hermione. What is it about my eyes that gives me away?”
Hermione frowned at first, but took a deep breath and smiled as she looked up at him. “They dilate. Your pupils dilate. It's a sign of, um, of physical attraction.”
They both blushed. However, Fred's cheeks grew significantly more red, and it was the first time Hermione had seen him at a loss for words.
“I, uh…”
She rested her hand on his arm. “It's really ok, I'm flattered. I noticed it over the summer, while at the Burrow. We were all at dinner, you and George sat across from me. You made a joke, you both looked up and, I don't know, I just noticed. Your eyes dilated and his didn't.”
Fred turned towards the fire, stretching his long legs out across the floor. He slumped back against the couch and sighed.
“I suppose you've told Ron and Harry.”
“Oh, you mean ‘daft’ and ‘angst’? No, I haven't said anything to them. I figured you'd either come around to the idea or get over it. Either way, I wasn't going to sit and wait for you to figure it out. In fact, I'm a bit miffed that the science of it is ruined since I told you. It would have been interesting-"
“Hermione, how do you feel about the idea?” Fred interrupted.
“Of what? You? Oh, um, I uh, I guess you could say, there was a reason I was looking.”
“Oh really? Hmmm, how very interesting…” Fred chided. He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Oh shut up!” She smacked him on the shoulder. There was a brief lull where they both awkwardly smiled at each other as well as their own hands.
Fred sighed. “I guess we should go to bed. Er, separately! Sorry. I didn't mean-”
Hermione was laughing so much she had doubled over on the floor.
“Laugh away, ‘Mione, I’ll just keep blundering over here.”
“Oh I'm sorry, but you're never this flustered. You're always cool and collected, unless you're opting to showcase.”
“I only like looking a fool when it's on my terms. But I think I'm pretty average in that, don't you?”
“Yes, most likely.”
There was another awkward pause.
“‘Mione, why do you stay up so late? Do you really get more information? Sometimes you're so tired at breakfast, I don't know that it's worth it.”
“Well, sometimes, I just need a bit of time that's uninterrupted by other people.”
“Whoops. Sorry ’bout that.”
“Oh, no,” she chuckled, “It's alright, obviously I wasn't studying.” She motioned to the couch, and mimed sleeping. She smiled at Fred.
Moments of rapid nervousness passed. Neither knew quite what to do. Fred was the first to speak again.
“Hey, um, the three broomsticks, sometime on a Hogsmeade weekend.”
“Yes, what about it?”
“Go with me?”
“To Hogsmeade?”
“Yes. And, you know what,” Fred squared his shoulders, “how about really going with me?”
“As in, be your girlfriend?”
“Yes. Absolutely. Too much?”
“I don't think so. But before I say yes or no, I need a bit more information.”
“I'm an open book.” Fred gestured with his arms spread out.
“Not quite what I meant.” Hermione smiled.
“What did you-” Fred was cut short by his own confusion. He noticed something in her eyes. Something new. An intensity, a heat, that he’d never noticed before.
There was an extremely awkward pause.
“Oh!” Fred beamed. “Right!” He slid the short distance between them. He turned his body toward her and she mirrored him. They were both cross-legged, and their knees were touching. Fred smiled, laughed awkwardly, and then spoke again. “Ok, honestly, I've thought about this before, and I'm a bit off guard because it's not what I imagined at all.”
“What did you imagine?”
“Most of it involved swooping by on my broom after a Quidditch win…”
“Oh really? You thought that would work?”
“Hey!”
“I'm sorry, but that's not exactly romantic.”
“And what exactly is romantic?” Fred leaned back a bit and crossed his arms.
“This. You and me, alone, talking by the fire. I like this a lot. I think I could get used to it.”
“Oh. Ok. Cool.” Fred furrowed in curiosity. “Did you ever wish before now that this would happen?”
“Yes. Well, kind of. I noticed that when you would get up to leave, either at dinner or to go to bed, I found myself wishing you'd stay. I figured it was best to ignore that feeling though.”
“Why? I'd’ve been thrilled if you’d tugged on my sleeve and asked me to stay.”
Hermione placed her hands on Fred's knees. “But I didn't know that, and I wanted you to stay because you wanted to, not because I asked you to.”
Fred softened. He reached out and rested his hands on top of Hermione's. “I usually wanted to stay, but I figured it would be too obvious.”
“Little did you know…” Hermione smiled at him.
Fred took her hands in his, caressing them with his thumbs. “Your hands are tiny.”
“I’ll still hex you into next week though.”
He chuckled and leaned in.
Just then, the portrait hole swung open, and they could hear the fat lady complaining.
“Who's there? Do you have any idea what,” she yawned, “hour it is?”
Fred and Hermione froze. She put it together first.
“Harry?” she asked the darkness.
“Damn.” Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak and stepped back inside the common room.
“No, carry on. By all means,” Fred encouraged.
“What- What's going on?” Harry stammered. He set the cloak on the back of a chair.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Harry, cover for me and I'll cover for you. Now go find Cho, wherever she's hiding. Poor girl is probably catching a chill.”
“Right. Er, g’night then.” Harry opened the portrait hole again and ducked out.
Hermione was turning back to Fred, about to comment when suddenly she was pulled forward and on top of Fred. He laid himself back on the floor and held Hermione on top of his stomach and chest. He was pleased to find she was laughing. Her laughter was beautiful, it filled his soul. He tickled her sides. She giggled and twisted frantically in his arms.
“Nonono, you have to stop! I'll screech and wake someone up!”
He stopped, but continued to hold her close. He was grinning from ear to ear. She had been holding herself up, trying to avoid a collision between their foreheads while being tickled. He tucked a curl behind her ear. She let herself down so she was resting on her elbows. They stared at each other. They were so close that most of each other's faces were blurry.
“Fred?”
“Yeah?”
“Is your heart racing?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Me too.”
They bridged the gap.
Fred was pleased to find Hermione was just as graceful at kissing as she was with most everything. He had found himself staring at her lips more than once, wishing he could kiss her. He watched her bite her lip in concentration, he watched as she smiled at his jokes, he imagined kissing her as they passed in the hall. Actually kissing her was far better than he'd ever imagined.
Hermione’s heart beat so fast she was certain Fred could feel it. Heat rose to her cheeks. All the air was suddenly gone, but she didn’t care.
The pair kissed and toyed with each other. When they both ran out of air, she nestled into him, laying her head on his chest. She let her legs rest comfortably against him. And while it was certainly obvious, she made no verbal note of a particular evidence that he was interested in her. He returned to running his hands up and down her back. She tucked hers underneath his arms and held him tight. She felt so comfortable with him, and he with her. A quiet settled between the two.
Next moment, someone was shaking Hermione awake.
“Hermione, I can’t cover for you if you aren’t at least a little discreet.” It was Harry, his invisibility cloak draped over his arm.
“Harry, love you mate, bugger off,” Fred mumbled, but Harry was already at the first stair.
“Thanks Harry, goodnight,” Hermione called after him. She tried to push herself up off of Fred, but was quickly restrained. “Hey now!”
“Since when is Harry the boss of you?” Fred chided.
“Since when are you the boss of me? I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Hermione wrested free and sat up.
Fred sat up, leaning back against his hands. “Are you going to ignore me at breakfast tomorrow? Nose in a book?”
Hermione frowned, slightly offended. She stood up and straightened her jumper. “I wasn’t planning on reading at breakfast tomorrow. I was planning on sitting next to you, nicking toast off your plate.”
Fred surged to his feet and kissed her, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. She returned in kind, holding him close and kissing with fervor. After the swell of affection subsided, they parted. Fred helped Hermione collect her books from the couch and floor. He carried them to the stairs for her.
“Shall I chance the slide, or should I just chuck these up as high as I can?”
She rolled her eyes, but giggled. “I can handle them from here. Thank you.”
He handed the small stack of books over, eyeing her warmly. “‘Mione, I hope you sleep so peacefully that even Peeves couldn’t wake you.”
“He’d only wake me if you sent him.”
“It’s probably true.” He grinned cheekily. He leaned down, taking her face with one hand, and kissed her cheek. He lingered, tracing his nose next to hers, before gently kissing her on the lips. He stepped away to soon for her liking, but the books were actually quite heavy.
She started up the stairs to the girls dormitories, but stopped and turned to look back.
“Breakfast then?” She offered.
Fred nodded. “I’ll save some toast.”