Chapter One: By the way he looks at her!
It was summer, the summer before Hermione Granger’s seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the summer before her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was trying to make the most of it.
It was Tuesday, in early June; Hermione had only been home from school for a week, when her whole world got turned upside down. She was walking down the street toward her home; she had just been to the movie rental place and got a whole stack for her and her parents. The movie store was only about five blocks from her house so she walked instead of drive.
Anyway on this particular day, just as she was about to cross the street from the video store, to the street that would lead her home, something flashed in the corner of her eye. It was red hair. She turned her head, not really expecting to see anyone she knew, but checking just in case, when she saw something she never expected. Fred Weasley, standing on the street corner: alone? Wait where was George? They never were separated for more than an hour. And that was normally in the same building. What would Fred be doing all the way in muggle London, especially where Hermione lived, without his twin? Well, Hermione being Hermione decided to find out.
“Fred? Fred!” she called waving, he obviously didn’t hear her, oh well, “FREDRICK ALBUS WEASLEY!!!”
At that his head snapped up in an instant. He gapped. “Hermione?” He asked walking over to her. “What the bloody hell are you… YOU’RE MUGGLE
BORN!!!” he suddenly shouted slapping his hand to his forehead.
Hermione surprised by his outburst grabbed the wrist that was holding his hand up to his forehead and pulled, dragging him away from the crowd of staring Muggles. “Well spotted Fred,” she said sarcastically, “it only took you six years. That’s worse than Ron taking four to realize I’m a girl.”
Fred looked greatly affronted. “HEY!!! Cheap shot,” he said as though merely a child -- oh who are we kidding here, this was Fred Weasley he is a child, so I guess he said it as though he were Fred Weasley. Stupid simile, but whatever.
“I don’t know where you get off Miss-I-Know-Everything-And-You-Better-Listen-Cause-If-You-Don’t-You’ll-Die-Or-Worse-Get-Expelled!!!”
“Well I would think that’s better than Mr. Let’s-Prank-Someone-Until-They-Want-To-Die-Or-Worse-Kill-Us-Never-Mind-The-Consequences-It-Will-Just-Be-Another-Great-Story-To-Tell-The-Grandkids-Even-If-I-Do-Get-Arrested-It’s-Still-Worth-It!!!”
They glared at each other for a minute before bursting into laughter. People stared but they didn’t care. Then Fred pulled Hermione into a friendly hug, “Hey Mione, how are you?”
Hermione’s laugh rang out merrily as she replied, “I’m good Fred, I’d ask you how you are, but right now I am more interested in why you are in Muggle London, more specifically in MY neighborhood.”
Fred grinned cheekily, “Why my dear Mione, I came to see you of course.”
Once again Hermione laughed and responded, “Liar!”
“Yeah yeah yeah, it’s a long story, bottom line I lost a bet, now I need a place to stay for the summer in Muggle London, but nothing seems to be available at the moment.”
“Oh dear, not another one of yours and George’s bets? What was it this time?” Hermione asked with a sigh.
Fred looked down at the ground, “Who could eat the most peanuts in five minutes”
“Fred! Oh when the hell are you two going to grow up, honestly! Well, you’re welcome to stay at my house, as long as my parents are okay with it, until you find somewhere to live.”
“Oh no Mione, it’s okay, I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Well that’s a first,” Hermione said as they both grinned. She then put her arm through his and steered him in the direction of her home. “Anyway, it isn’t a big deal, my house has four bedrooms, we use two, trust me we have room. Plus it is really just returning the favor for the countless summers I’ve spent at the Burrow.”
“That is true! You big moocher!” Fred ginned evilly and nudged her with his elbow good naturedly. Merlin she looks amazing, he thought to himself as they walked arm in arm. He loved her hair, as she had matured so had her hair; it was still wavy but much more manageable. It flowed beautifully to the small of her back. When the sun hit it just right you could see the spectrum of extraordinary colors that flowed through it. It’s over all color was a dark rich brown, but in the sun it glowed with gold. Reds, oranges, browns, and blondes blended perfectly to give her the look of an angel. Her eyes were a dark sparkling greenish-bluish color, Fred, in his mind, always referred to them as ocean eyes, the swirling continuum of blue and green, intermingling in the deep pools that were Hermione Granger’s eyes. The thin rings of brown around the edges of her pupils entranced him to the point that if he looked too long he would loose all coherent thought. Her lips were plump and pink, perfect for kissing he would think, then immediately berate himself. She was tall and slim, her legs reached for miles and Fred would sometimes have to yell at himself internally for wanting to see just how long they really were. Today was going to be exceptionally difficult for him; Hermione was dressed in a short khaki mini skirt that fell three fourths of the way up her thigh, from underneath, miles of smooth tan leg descended. Her upper half was covered by a red wife-beater tank top over a pink one. Her hair was pushed back off her face by a pair of thick rimmed sunglasses. Flip flops graced her perfectly painted feet. In Fred’s mind, she was flawless.
OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! I cannot believe he is here! He has his arm around me! OH MY GOSH! That was all Hermione could think at the moment. He looks amazing, she thought as she took in his familiar features. His infamous Weasley red hair was cut short and styled so perfectly it didn’t look styled at all. It was combed forwards and flipped up, so his fringe that would normally cover his forehead was up in a semi-faux hawk. The freckles that Hermione knew covered his whole body (having seen him in swimming trunks) seemed to have multiplied adorably. They dusted his face and arms beautifully. His strong chin was poised perfectly as his smooth lips turned up when he smiled, showing wonderfully straight white teeth. His electric blue eyes seemed to bore deeper and deeper into hers making her go weak in the knees (as usual). He was tall; at least 6’ 2”, but unlike all his brothers, he was big. His shoulders were wide, and his body was broad. His muscles were toned from years of Quidditch, she couldn’t see them beneath the nice checkered dress shirt he was wearing with well fitted jeans, but she knew they were there. In a word he was gorgeous.
They walked on in companionable silence, both thinking only about the other. Hermione and Fred had been very good friends for the past year. They had grown closer last summer. Fred had been injured on a mission for the order and had to stay around the Burrow and rest. Hermione had taken care of him because everyone else was busy with Order business. Harry and Ron had been too rapped up in Ginny and Luna, so that had left Hermione to take care of Fred. She didn’t mind, she was still recovering from the Department of Mysteries. They talked and laughed and kept each other company. They had shared their hopes and fears with each other; about the war and just about life in general. They became closer and over time they had become the best of friends. Hermione learned that Fred wasn’t all that immature. She finally realized that what she took for irresponsibility was really just his playful personality, what she thought was frivolity and carelessness was just Fred’s joy for life and laughter.
Fred had been apprehensive at first about spending the whole summer with Hermione; after all, she was the one who gave him and George about two hundred detentions. He was blown away the first time she cracked a joke, not just any joke, but a nasty, rude, dirty joke. After that day he began to realize just how amazing Hermione really was. Her “prude-ness” as he had once referred to her personality was really just her caring and protective spirit. She hated seeing bad things happen to the people she loved and her overachieving nature was her way of making sure that no matter how bad things got she would always have a backup plan. Over the summer of their ‘confinement’ they became not only close but both began having feelings for the other. Of course neither was confident enough to admit it, to the other or even themselves, but the feelings were there, no matter how much they denied it.
After about five minutes Hermione and Fred reached a large white house with a picket fence. The shutters that framed the windows were painted green, as was the front door. The front of the house was lined by a wrap around porch with a trellis veined with roses and ivy. Multitudes of flowers grew in the garden on the far left of the yard. The lawn was lush and green, broken only by the pathway leading up to the front of the house. It was lined in pansies and petunias. The air around the house was warm and inviting, just looking at the house makes a person feel welcomed and comfortable. It gave off the same feeling as the Burrow.
Fred was impressed; “Wow!” he said in awe, “it’s beautiful.”
Hermione laughed before grabbing his hand and pulling him through the door. The inside of the house was just as spectacular as the out. It was decorated in rich warm colors, the furniture was plump and cozy and presented the clear invitation to sit and curl up with a book.
“MUM! DAD?” Hermione called as she set down her purse and videos on the small table by the door. “I’M BACK! AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!” At this Mr. Granger appeared through a glass door at the opposite end of the foyer that Fred suspected led to the back garden.
“Who did you bring home now?” he asked good-naturedly stepping through the door, when he spotted Fred his face broke into a grin. “Why it’s a Weasley twin!” he exclaimed. The Grangers had finally spent enough time with the Weasleys to be able to pick up on which Weasley was which, though they could never quite tell the twins apart (not that a lot of people could). He approached his daughter and her friend and stuck out his hand, “Nice to see you again…” he left his sentence hanging waiting for confirmation on a name.
“Fred,” Fred replied as he took Mr. Granger's hand and shook it amiably. “It’s good to see you again too Mr. Granger. How have you been?”
“I’ve been good, what brings you here?”
Fred didn’t reply immediately, he blushed though; “Umm…” he said and looked at Hermione.
“Actually Daddy,” Hermione said using her I’m-Your-Little-Girl-Daddy-And-You-Know-You-Would-Never-Deny-Me-Anything voice. “Fred needs a place to stay for awhile and nothing seems to be available, I was wondering if maybe he could stay with us?”
Mr. Granger nodded silently, “Ah, am I right in assuming this has something to do with a bet?” The Weasley twin’s bets were known by everyone who knew them as the reasons for weird requests by the twins.
Fred blushed more, than glared at Hermione who stood next to him trying to stifle her giggles. “Umm…yes, yes sir.” Fred replied humbly.
Mr. Granger laughed good naturedly and clapped a hand to Fred’s shoulder, “well, as long as it is okay with Hermione’s mum.”
“What about Hermione’s mum?” Mrs. Granger asked coming into the room from the hallway to the left. “Oh hello…wait don’t tell me…” she said looking at Fred narrowly. Fred looked at Hermione for a moment before Mrs. Granger smiled knowingly and finished, “Fred.”
Everyone gaped. “Whoa!” Fred said in astonishment, “no one out side our immediate family, except Hermione and Dumbledore has ever been able to tell George and I apart. Even our mum gets screwed up sometimes.”
“Well,” Mrs. Granger said smugly, “maybe I’ll tell you how I knew some other time, but at the moment I would much rather talk about why we have the honor of a visit from such a busy young businessman as yourself.”
“Actually Jules,” Mr. Granger said turning to his wife, “Hermione was just asking if Fred could stay here for awhile, apparently he lost a bet.”
“Oh, well of course you can stay here, dear,” the woman replied happily, “Hermione’s friends are always welcome. You may stay as long as you like. Hermione why don’t you show Fred up to one of the guest rooms.”
“Ok mum. Thank you!”
“Yes, thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I really appreciate it. And don’t worry as soon as I find something to rent for a month or so, I will be out of your hair.” Fred said politely before following Hermione up the stairs to the second floor.
When the young adults were gone Mr. Granger turned to his wife questioningly, “How on earth did you know it was Fred?”
Once again Mrs. Granger smiled smugly, “Oh dear, it’s quite obvious.” When her husband just starred blankly she continued, “I knew by the way he looked at Hermione, and the way she looked at him. There’s something there, something that is definitely not there with his twin.”