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Hermione sighed for the tenth time in less than five minutes as she discreetly stared at her secret crush, Fred Weasley.
A few months ago, the brunette had discovered she was in love with the tall redhead. Her first reaction was to completely deny it, she couldn't possibly be in love with the older brother of two of her best friends, could she? Unfortunately for Granger, that's exactly what happened.
During one of Gryffindor's Quidditch matches, she couldn't take her eyes off that twin. From that day on, she found herself constantly thinking about the boy, and she berated herself for it.
She didn't know what her friends' reaction would be to the passion she felt for Fred, and what if Ginny hated her? Worse, what if Ron freaked out? She didn't know what to do if something like that happened, so she preferred to keep that feeling locked away in her heart.
"Hermione?" She was awakened from her reverie by Ginny's voice "Is everything alright?"
"Ah....Of course, of course, don't worry" The redhead raised an eyebrow, confused by her friend's absentmindedness, it wasn't something very common.
The youngest of the Weasley family spent the rest of breakfast watching her friend. She had noticed that Hermione had been more distant and absent-minded for the past few weeks, which was unusual for her.
She noticed that she frequently glanced in the direction where Fred, George, Harry, and Ron were sitting. She was confused but soon understood what was happening, or at least she thought she did, she would question Granger later.
Hermione sat on her bed, lost in thought once more, her mind a mess ever since she admitted to herself that she was in love with Fred.
She was so distracted that she didn't notice Ginny sitting down opposite her. The redhead watched her silently, waiting for the older girl to notice her presence, but realizing that this wouldn't happen, she decided to get her friend's attention.
"Hey, Hermione" She gently shook the brunette's shoulder, bringing her back to her senses.
"Yes?" She tried to disguise her absentmindedness as she straightened up in bed.
"Something's going on, isn't it? You've been acting strange for weeks, and I've seen you staring at the boys several times" Weasley moved closer to whisper "Are you perhaps in love with one of them?"
Granger's eyes widened, there was no way Ginny could have found out, was there? She had tried to be discreet while staring at them. Apparently, her attempt had been thwarted.
"Of course not, Ginevra" the redhead frowned at the mention of her name "How could I fall in love with any of them? It's impossible."
"That's not what it looked like, come on, tell me... Is it Harry? Is that why you don't want to tell me?" Once again, the brunette's eyes widened. What was Ginny thinking? Falling in love with Harry? He was like a brother to her.
"OF COURSE NOT!" She covered her mouth when she realized some girls in the dormitory were staring at her strangely because of the scream. "Are you crazy, Gina? Harry is like a brother to me, besides, I would never do that to you, I know you've always liked him."
She saw the redhead relax slightly, but quickly return to her interrogative pose.
"So who is it? I know, it's Ron, right? You've been friends for years and are always together, and well, if it's not Harry, it can only be him, and you know, I think it's really weird, Ron's an idiot, I don't know why you like him..." Hermione covered her friend's mouth to stop her from talking, now she was sure. Ginny Weasley was going crazy, first Harry, now Ron?
"You must be crazy, Ginevra Molly Weasley. Ron is the same to me as Harry, he's like a brother to me, you understand?" Ginny nodded and the brunette let go of her mouth.
"Then what is it? Because I doubt your total inattentiveness is all in my head. I'm your best friend, I know you like the back of my hand." She held the brunette's hand and looked her directly in the eyes. "Trust me."
The Gryffindor girl was nervous, she didn't know if it would be a good idea. If she didn't seem so bothered by the idea of her liking Ron, it wouldn't be so bad if it was Fred, would it? She didn't know, but she preferred to trust her friend.
"Fred" The Quidditch player looked at her confused.
"Fred? What about him? Did he do something to you? I knew those silly pranks were going too far" She was angry, was her brother bothering Hermione? She would give him a beating when she saw him.
"No, Ginny, he didn't do anything to me, what I mean is..." She took a deep breath "It's Fred I'm in love with, Ginny"
The redhead's eyes widened and she let go of Granger's hand, who began to get nervous. Would Ginny hate her? Was the idea of her being in love with the most unruly boy at Hogwarts so repulsive?
"That, that's... incredible!" The brunette arched her eyebrows in confusion. Incredible? So she wasn't angry? "That's incredible, Hermione. It's a relief that it's because of Fred and not Ronald. After all, Ron is a jerk when he wants to be" Granger chuckled.
"But it doesn't make much difference, he doesn't even know. I don't have the courage to confess my feelings, not to mention he would never fall in love with me," she sighed, defeated and hurt.
"Hermione Jean Granger, what's this all about? My brother would have to be an idiot not to fall in love with you. You're beautiful, intelligent, fun, only a complete fool wouldn't see that."
The youngest was indignant, Hermione must be crazy to think Fred would never notice her. For the next few hours, the girls talked about it, it was comforting for Granger to finally admit her feelings to someone.
And Ginny wouldn't give up until she saw Hermione Granger and Fred Weasley together.
It was game day, Gryffindor vs Slytherin. Everyone was excited, students painting their faces with their house colors and putting on their accessories to cheer on the players.
Ever since she fell in love with the Weasley twin, Hermione hadn't missed a match, even though she didn't like the sport and hated the noisy crowd, she loved seeing the smile on the boy's face while he played.
Gina questioned how she managed to tell him apart from George, especially during the game, since not even the matriarch of the family could do it.
She didn't know how to answer, she just knew, simply knew. After all, her heart warmed every time she saw Fred's smile, and when she looked at George she felt nothing special. She liked the boy, they were friends, but it wasn't the same as with Fred, which is why she could tell them apart so clearly.
Soon she, Ginny, and the rest of Gryffindor headed together towards the field, it was time to cheer on her redhead.
The game was over, Gryffindor had won. "It was obvious we'd win," Ginny said. Hermione smiled at her friend, she was excited too, after all, Fred was happy and smiling.
When they arrived at the Common Room, all the Gryffindors congratulated the players and celebrated loudly, for the whole castle to hear. When they finally managed to get close to the boys, they hugged them tightly, and when it came time to hug Fred, the brunette froze and blushed.
Seeing her friend's reaction, Ginny pushed her against her brother, who hugged her with a smile. The girl was redder than all the hairs on the entire Weasley family's heads.
Even though he was dying of embarrassment, she hugged the red-haired boy tightly and with a courage typical of the House of Lions, leaned closer and whispered in the tall redhead's ear.
"I have to tell you something, but it can't be here " Confused, Fred nodded and they separated, then indicated for Hermione to follow him.
Ginny, seeing her friend —hopefully her future sister-in-law— and her brother walk away, sent an encouraging smile to the older brunette and then turned her attention back to Harry and the others.
Once they were in the castle gardens, Fred stopped walking and stared at her curiously.
"So, what do you want to tell me?" He crossed his arms casually and shifted his weight onto one of his long legs.
"Well, well..." She took the deepest breath she could and quickly approached the Weasley twin, who looked at her confused by her closeness.
She mustered all her Gryffindor courage and pulled Fred to her by his playing uniform. The redhead's eyes widened when he felt the shorter brunette press her lips against his.
He sensed her nervousness and soon closed his eyes, letting himself be carried away by the kiss of his younger brothers' best friend. He uncrossed his arms, holding Hermione's slender waist.
They couldn't say how long they kissed, but only separated when they felt the air leave their lungs.
When they parted, they lingered before opening their eyes, savoring the final moment of that kiss that had left them breathless. The boy was the first to open his eyes.
He saw Hermione with her eyes closed, breathing deeply, trying to catch her breath, her lips were red and swollen from the passionate kiss.
When the girl finally opened her eyes, it seemed like reality hit her, she had kissed Fred Weasley. AND HE HAD KISSED HER BACK. It had to be a dream, right? She shook her head slightly to conclude that it wasn't a dream, she really had kissed the boy she was in love with.
She looked up to meet the older guy's eyes. Her swollen lips, flushed face, and bright eyes only made Fred want to kiss her again, but he was too confused for that.
Hermione bit her lip nervously, she couldn't give up, not now. She clenched her palm.
"You don't know how I feel about you, but it's time I said it" The eldest Weasley's eyes widened. "I'm hopelessly in love with you, Frederic Gideon Weasley."