Is That A Yes?

“Hermione, we won’t work. We have to break up. You know I’m right,” Harry pleaded, his green eyes begging for her forgiveness.

“And why is it that we won’t work? Oh, that’s right,” Hermione said sarcastically, “you were too busy shagging Cho to notice your girlfriend of three years!” Harry was visibly vexed; Hermione rarely raised her voice to him. “Not to mention you got her pregnant.” Hermione lowered her voice to a deadly whisper.

“Just tell me, Harry. How long?”

Harry squirmed uncomfortably.

“Two years,” he said softly. Hermione’s eyes narrowed and her normally warm eyes were shooting death glares at everyone who stopped to see what the commotion was.

“Two years,” she repeated in the same dangerous whisper. Harry hung his head.

“Go to hell, Potter.” A loud smack ensued and Harry knew the conversation – er, argument – was over. He watched regretfully as Hermione turned her back on him and walked away, finally fed up with it all.

But Hermione wasn’t as stable as she pretended. She walked straight into the Three Broomsticks and sat herself down at the bar. She needed to be close to the source.

“Three firewhiskys, please,” she demanded. At once, Madame Rosmerta produced three shots of Odgkens Firewhisky. Hermione downed them in less than ten seconds.

“Another,” Hermione requested. After several more shots, Hermione started to calm down, but she was far from done. Or so she thought.

She was in the process of ordering another drink when she heard a voice say her name. She couldn’t quite place it. He said it again.

“Hermione? Hermione, I know you’re in there somewhere. Fine, have it your way…Herm-own-ninny,” the mystery voice said, an eerily good impression of Viktor Krum. There were only three people Hermione knew who could pull off such a perfect impersonation of Viktor so well and Ron was away at Hogwarts teaching. She turned around, the sudden movement causing her head to throb, and exclaimed rather drunkenly, “Fred!”

“Actually, I’m George,” he chuckled. Seeing her suspicious expression, he relented. “Okay, you were right, I am Fred. Amazing how you can still tell us apart when you’re drunk off your rocker.”

He pulled up a stool and sat down next to Hermione. He motioned for Madame Rosmerta to stop with the firewhisky and ordered two butterbeers instead.

“C’mon, let’s go to a table. You can tell me all about what an arse Harry is,” Fred encouraged. Not having strength enough to argue, Hermione stood up, or rather tried to. She stumbled, but Fred caught her and held her tightly by the waist. He guided her over to an empty table and set her down, then went back to the bar to collect the butterbeers he had left behind.

“How’d you know ‘bout ‘Arry?” Hermione slurred. Fred gave a soft chortle. Who’d have thought Hermione Granger would ever be drunk?

“This won’t do, Hermione. Take the blue one first, then the red,” Fred instructed, producing two colored toffees. Hermione eyed them suspiciously.

“Whadda dey do?” Hermione asked, popping the blue one into her mouth.

“The blue one – Drunken Toffee – will get rid of your er, rather unbecoming state of drunkenness,” Fred grinned, “then, unless you want that nasty hangover you’ll be getting in, oh about three seconds, you’ll want the Hangover Toffee.” Hermione clutched her head as the room started to clear up again, desperately trying to unwrap the red toffee. She chewed silently for a few seconds, visibly relaxing.

“What would I do without Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes?” Hermione said thankfully.

“Well, probably splinch yourself trying to Apparate home for one thing. And for another –“

“Okay, okay, I get the point,” Hermione laughed. What am I doing? I just found out Harry’s been cheating on me for two years and I’m laughing? Hermione was very confused indeed, but Fred seemed so innocent in the whole situation. Ha, Fred? Innocent?

“Now, tell me, Hermione, what’s going on between you and Harry?”

“Nothing,” she spat, regaining her previous venomous disposition. “Less than nothing, even.”

Fred looked taken aback; he had never heard Hermione so bitter. He had never heard Ron so bitter, for that matter. However, he was concerned and continued prodding Hermione.

“It’ll feel better once you talk about it,” he wheedled. Hermione sipped her butterbeer thoughtfully.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “It all started when Cho showed up on our doorstep, extremely, er…perturbed…” she began. Fred listened with interest, quickly turning to anger strong enough to give Hermione a run for her money.

“…And so then I asked him, ‘How long, Harry? How long?’ Do you know what he said?” Fred shook his head, knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

“Two years! Two bloody years! So I told him to go to hell and came and got myself nice and drunk. Probably not the brightest idea,” Hermione added as an afterthought.

“You’d probably be passed out cold by now,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I would, if my knight in shining armor wasn’t here to save the day,” Hermione grinned in spite of herself.

“Man, when I get my hands on that pathetic excuse for a wizard, he’ll wish he’d never messed with you. He doesn’t know what he gave up, the stupid prat.” He would’ve gone on if Hermione hadn’t held up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t you go doing anything stupid, Fred,” Hermione warned him.

“Who, me? Something stupid?” Fred’s eyes lit up as he tried to sound innocent.

“Yes, you do something stupid. Unfathomable, isn’t it? Anyway, he doesn’t deserve to have any attention paid to him. I just want to be done with him,” Hermione finished emphatically. She paused, then added, “Though I’d love to show him how much I don’t care anymore.”

“Well, here’s your chance,” Fred said as the door opened. Harry Potter walked in, Cho Chang hanging possessively on his arm. Hermione clenched her teeth, then grinned devilishly. Standing up, she smoothed her clothes and walked to Fred.

Fred, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, showed every sign that he knew what she was doing and approved of it fully. This’ll show you, Potter. This’ll show you how much you mean to Hermione after pulling that stunt of yours, he thought to himself as he held his arms out. He grabbed her waist and gave her a lopsided grin as she squealed and sat squarely on Fred’s lap.

“You don’t have to do this,” she murmured, running her hands through his hair.

“Yes I do. We’ll show him, Hermione,” insisted Fred. He brought one hand to her thick hair, less bushy than it had been, but still curvy and wavy…like the rest of her had become, Fred noted. Pulling her head towards him, Fred kissed her lightly at first. Their lips barely brushed, but the moment they did, they both knew this was only the beginning.

Hermione felt a pleasant shiver run down her body when their lips met for the first time. She wanted more. She glanced into his eyes and saw the same desire in Fred’s eyes mixed with surprise. Both of them a little nervous at this sudden rush of understanding, they closed their eyes and brought their heads together as if they knew exactly what the other would do. As if they had done this hundreds of times. As if they were meant to be together.

Their lips met for the second time deeply and passionately. Again and again they meshed together, feeling not like a developing romance, but one that had been separated far too long. Hermione’s heart was fluttering; her breathing was irregular and her heartbeat was still rising. They finally broke apart when they heard Harry’s voice.

“Not even an hour and you’re already snogging a stranger like there’s no tomorrow?” Harry asked coolly.

“Take a closer look, Potter,” Hermione said scathingly. “I would hardly call him a stranger.”

Harry took a step back and understood why he hadn’t recognized Hermione’s newfound attraction. It was Fred Weasley, but the normal devious glimmer in his eyes was gone, replaced with blatant anger and distrust. Harry turned to Hermione.

“And how long have you two been holding these little rendezvous?”

“Oh, I don’t know. What would you say, love? Two years?” Fred asked sweetly, biting back a smirk.

“I’d say that’s about right, dear,” she replied, playing along. Hermione and Fred refrained from snickering as they watched Harry’s jaw drop, then close, and drop again, not unlike a fish.

“I’m just glad we don’t have to sneak around anymore,” Hermione said nonchalantly, pressing a small kiss to Fred’s forehead. Much to Fred’s satisfaction, Harry’s mouth continued to do a dead on impression of a fish.

“Harry, dear, I think we should leave. I don’t think this environment is good for the baby,” Cho said anxiously, reminding everyone that she was there.

“Right you are,” he said absently. “Let’s go.” Harry glared darkly at Fred and Hermione and led Cho out of the tavern.

Once Harry and Cho were out of sight, Hermione turned her head back to Fred and smiled broadly. She hugged him close and whispered, “Thank you.”

“It was nothing. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought we really were holding these ‘rendezvous’ for two years,” he grinned good naturedly, not wanting to show what he was feeling. “Now, c’mon. Let’s get you home.”

Fred released his hold on Hermione, letting her stand up, but they both felt the pain of the loss of contact. They left a few coins on the table to pay for their drinks, then walked out toward Fred and George’s joke shop.

“Do you want me to make sure you get home okay?” he asked.

“No, I’ll be – bugger.”

“Excuse me?” Fred raised an eyebrow.

“I just realized…well, I’ve lived with Harry since we graduated and that’s obviously not going to work anymore.” Hermione looked like she was on the verge of breaking down again, suddenly acknowledging how much her life was about to change.

“Hey, there, there now,” comforted Fred, “I’m sure George won’t mind if you crash at our place for a while. He can move in with Katie if it gets too cramped. They’ve been meaning to for a while, anyway.”

Hermione looked up at him through watery eyes.

“Really? You mean it?”

“Of course.”

“Will you come with me to collect my stuff?” Fred nodded his consent, then grinned playfully.

“Wouldn’t want to get splinched, now would you? I mean, those toffees are good and all, but in your given state, I think I better keep a very close eye on you,” he teased, grabbing her waist again and tickling her. Hermione shrieked and flailed her arms, trying to get out of his grasp to no avail. Hearing a familiar voice, they stopped and looked at each other guiltily.

“Oi! Fred, didn’t I tell you to keep your interactions with your girlfriends away from the shop? Or at least inside in the back?” George yelled, not realizing who Fred was with.

“Let’s go inside, make sure he’s managing okay without me.”

They walked arm in arm into the shop, greeting George pleasantly.

“George!” Hermione cried excitedly.

“Huh? Wha? Hermione? Is that you?” he replied as he looked frantically back and forth between Fred and Hermione, trying to make the connection. “That was you I saw out there…frolicking with Fred? Wait, but I thought you were with Harry.”

Hermione’s eyes misted over, but she controlled herself.

“It’s over. He knocked up Cho and she’s demanding that he take care of the baby.” George nodded knowingly.

“So that’s what that fight was about. I was wondering if you would be okay. I would’ve come after you, but Fred said he wanted to be the one, so I let him.”

“You…you heard us?” Hermione stammered. She didn’t like the idea of knowing that everyone within a thirty-foot radius had heard her – even indoors. George nodded gravely.

“Not too clearly, but I heard a lot of shouting, then some murmuring, then a really loud smack and that’s when Fred said he wanted to go after you.”

“We really showed Potter how much Hermione cares, didn’t we?” Fred grinned. George shot him a questioning look and from the look on Fred’s face, he knew the answer.

“Hermione, why don’t you look around? I’m sure you can find some more interesting ways to pay Potter back,” George suggested, a devious twinkle in his eyes, and tugged on his twin’s arm. Hermione began wandering around the store, thinking up different ways to surprise Harry and Cho.

“What happened between you two?” he demanded. Fred just smiled at him.

“Fine, fine. When we were there, Harry walked in with Cho and Hermione decided this would be a perfect time to get back at him. To make a long story short, it ended with her on my lap snogging my brains out,” he said, trying to wipe the foolish grin off his face and failing miserably.

“That’s my Fred for you!” George’s face broke into a grin. “I was wondering if you’d ever go for it or not.”

“Well, it wasn’t really my idea, but you know me. I’m not going to turn her down.” Fred was still having trouble not grinning. “After those five years at school…man, I thought I was going to murder Ron for liking her. I know, I know, it’s not nice to think that, but it was only out of respect for him that I never asked her out.”

“Speaking of Ron, I owled him right after you left. I sent it with Pig, so he’ll have gotten it by now. Bet you by the time he gets here, he’ll already have beat Potter senseless.” Fred and George snorted in attempting to picture Harry trying to defend himself against Ron. They were no fools; they never tried to mess with Ron and they were bigger than him. When he got in one of his moods…well, there was no hope for you then.

“Oh yeah,” Fred added sheepishly, “would it be okay if Hermione stayed with us for a while?”

“You’ve got it bad.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Of course it is. You know she’ll always be welcome. Man, I just can’t believe Harry. I never thought he’d do something like this,” George sighed. Fred nodded his agreement, but it was clear that he was happy with the possibilities. They stood in silent understanding until Hermione’s voice broke the silence.

“Hey, George, whadya think? The Ball of a Million Hexes sound like a good gift to leave as a farewell present?” Hermione said wickedly. "This Ball of a Million Hexes will continuously cast hexes on whomever the buyer wishes for up to one month. All you do is taking the matching Ball and tap the name of the hex you would like to cast. Not to be used by people who don’t know what they’re doing. Only you two could come up with a disclaimer like that,” Hermione chuckled.

“Well, normally I’m not supposed to even sell those, but I think I’ll make an exception. In fact, I’ll do more than make an exception…it’s on us. Why don’t you and Fred go get your stuff? Bring this along and leave it somewhere…inconspicuous. Wouldn’t want Potter to find it and throw it out before you’ve had a chance to have some fun, would you?” Excitedly, Hermione picked up the multicolored ball and ran over to Fred.

“Let’s go!” she exclaimed, grabbing Fred’s hand and Disapparating with a quick pop.

Back at the house, Harry and Cho were caught up in a heated snogging session. Hermione groaned audibly when she and Fred landed in her old home. Startled, Harry and Cho broke apart to see Hermione and Fred staring at them with cold eyes.

“Don’t mind me. I’ve just come to get my stuff. Seems I’m moving in with Fred,” Hermione told the two, smiling happily. She kept hold of his hand and he noticed how tightly she was gripping it. Leading them towards her room, Fred paused, and then turned around for a moment.

“You’ll regret it, Potter. Hermione’s much better in the sack than Cho,” he called, before disappearing into Hermione’s room and leaving a bewildered Harry and a guilty looking Cho.

“Fred Weasley! I cannot believe what you just said! That was…utterly embarrassing and you have no evidence whatsoever that it was true!”

“Oh, yes, I do. You’re a much better kisser than Cho ever was,” he smiled down at her. Hermione blushed, but she continued on her tirade.

“Be that as it may, you had no right to insinuate that we had slept together! I never cheated on Harry, as much as I wanted to sometimes…” she trailed off when she noticed Fred looking at her strangely.

“Hermione?”

“Yes? I hope you’re not trying to change the subject because we’re going to have to have a long talk about honesty and mor-“

“Shut up.” Before Hermione could protest, Fred had pressed her against the wall and kissed her hungrily. She responded to him before she had even acknowledged she was kissing him again. He pulled away and she whimpered involuntarily.

“Sorry, that was the only way I could think of to shut you up. Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are when you’re upset? Now, about that Ball of Hexes…” Hermione took it out of her pocket and slid it under the mattress, still rather flustered. She walked over to the closet and pulled out a large suitcase. Looking at it carefully, she decided it was large enough.

Taking her wand out, she called out a spell that neatly pulled all her clothes out of the closet, folded them in the air, and landed them in her suitcase. Satisfied, she pulled the lid shut with a click, then took Fred’s arm again, activated the first hex, and Disapparated from Harry’s house for the last time, laughing as she heard Cho’s weak denials that she had ever slept with Fred and Harry’s accusations. Serves them right, she thought wickedly.

The next day, Hermione woke up, confused as to where she was. She noticed tousled red hair poking out from under a blanket on the couch and the events of the previous day came flooding back. Her lips turned up, a smile threatening to break loose. She eased herself out of bed and walked over to the sleeping Fred. Kissing him lightly on the forehead, she felt him stir a little, a wave of gratitude rushing over her. If it hadn’t been for Fred, she would probably still be out cold and soon waking up with a nasty hangover.

She was just finishing dressing when she heard a light knock on her door. She called out to come in and the door opened, showing a very grim looking Ron. He held out a hand and Hermione followed willingly.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Ron tried to decide where to start.

“You and Harry are over? For good?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t get mad at me when you found out I hexed him so bloody bad, he won’t be able to stand for a week,” Ron grinned weakly as a smile broke across Hermione’s face. "Although, when I got there, it seemed he was already under the effects of the Jelly Legs Jinx," he added thoughtfully.

“You did that? For me?” Ron nodded. “How sweet,” Hermione said laughing.

“And you and Fred?”

“I don’t know,” said Hermione.

“Well, I have a story to tell you.” Ron searched Hermione’s eyes for agreement. She looked confused, but curious as always and he found consent quickly.

“Once, there was a fiery haired boy with a fiery temper who had two older twins. He had two wonderful friends who meant the world to him and very soon, he found himself falling in love with one of them. He never thought he would fall for such a know-it-all, but he did. Then, one day, he found out that one of his brothers was planning to ask her out and his temper quickly flared. He marched straight up to their room and threatened to perform each of the Unforgivable Curses on him. Needless to say, he didn’t, but he did succeed in what he was trying to do.”

A look of understanding was dawning on Hermione’s face as she absorbed this information. Neither of them noticed Fred standing at the doorway, hair tousled and eyes still weary with sleep. Ron continued.

“His brother, out of respect for him, never tried to ask her out again.”

“But his feelings for her never changed,” interrupted Fred. Hermione and Ron looked up, surprised. “Every day, he would watch her, scurrying around like a mouse, trying to do everything. And everything she did was perfect. He would tease her and treat her like a sister, but he always wanted more. But he couldn’t have it, so he contented himself with watching her day after day, up until the day when he and his twin created a giant swamp and flew away.” Ron stared at him, then decided he wanted to finish the story.

“The boy watched his friend with interest and saw the distant regret in her eyes. But it wasn’t for his brother, no, it was for his best friend. He didn’t know when it had happened, but suddenly, she was taken with his famous best friend. He knew she would be hurt someday, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her. So he turned away, picking fights with her, hoping the feelings would cease. They didn’t. For a long time, they never went away. It was like a constant pang in his side, but he never gave in. He never let himself. And slowly, the feelings did start to go away, replaced with a stronger feeling of friendship – one he never wanted to lose. He found himself attracted to her silly, playful roommate and they’ve been together ever since. And now, she has finally been hurt and betrayed by the famous green-eyed boy and his brother realizes something. He still loves her. Even after all these years, he still loves her. The boy is finally willing to let go and hopes she will give his brother a chance. He knows his brother will take good care of her and she deserves something good in her life,” Ron ended the story and looked Hermione in the eyes. She was blinking back tears, but smiling softly.

“I have a story too. It starts six years ago. There was a girl with bushy hair and not very many friends. Sure, she got along with most people, but not many people took the time to get to know her, except for her green-eyed infatuation and fiery haired best friend. She loved them both dearly, but she found herself increasingly attracted to the Boy-Who-Lived and felt herself being pushed away from her dear red head. It pained her terribly and one day, she realized that there was a reason behind it. He was afraid of what he would say to her; he liked her.” Ron’s eyes widened at this point, but he refrained from interrupting her story.

“She went to his brother to ask him his advice, for she did not want to ask her own crush. While she was talking to him, she realized something. She liked him. She always had, but never realized it because it was so out of character for her. Not knowing what to do, she thanked him quickly and ran up to her room where she sat, confused. For days, she wandered the halls unable to think of a solution. In the end, she contented herself by watching her red haired love from afar, satisfying herself with his brotherly gestures.

“Until the day he left, she was never able to bring herself to tell him because she didn’t want to risk her friendship. And so she took the route everyone expected her to go on. She moved in with her green-eyed attraction and for three years, they stayed that way. But there was never enough emotion between them and it ended badly. And who was there but her red haired joker? When she kissed him, it was like a dam breaking; a flood of feeling came washing over her and she never wanted it to stop.” Hermione was looking at the two Weasleys wistfully.

“He’s right, you know. Everything he said is right. I do love you and if you gave me the chance, I would never leave you.”

“Fred. Sweet, wonderful Fred,” Hermione whispered. “It’s all true? You’ve always loved me?” Hermione’s voice broke as she absently brushed a lock of hair behind her ears.

“Always, Hermione. Always.”

“Ron?”

“Yes?”

“I think you had better give him the same talk you gave Harry.”

“What talk?”

“The ‘You-Had-Better-Treat-My-Best-Friend-With-Respect-Or-I’ll-Hex-You-Until-You-Can’t-Walk’ talk,” Hermione smiled.

“Fred?” said Ron.

“Yes, dear brother?” he answered, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“You had better treat my best friend with respect or I’ll hex you until you can’t walk…just ask Harry,” he smirked.

“Does this mean what I hope it means?” asked Fred in a small voice. Hermione stood up, walked over to where Fred was leaning against the wall and wrapped her arms around him. She stared into his eyes for a moment, before pulling him in and kissing him like there was no tomorrow. They came up for air and Hermione noticed a devilish twinkle in his eye.

“So, is that a yes?”