Notes: This was written for Naked Weasley Fest in Hermione's Nook.

Many thanks to my wonderful beta, LadyBlack3, who went above and beyond to polish this story for me! Any remaining errors are my own.

Thank you to Moonfairy13 who is always willing to answer my random question about how to word something in a more British way. And specifically for assisting me with the food choices in this fic!

xXx

Hermione's breath came out in pants and the sound of her own heartbeat thundered in her ears. Knowing that she needed to calm down and assess the situation, she leaned against the cool tiles at her back and forcefully slowed her breathing. One minute she'd been at work in the Department of Mysteries, and the next she was stark naked and wandless in an unfamiliar shower. Strangely enough, it somehow smelled familiar, comforting even, but that was not the point. How the bloody hell had she ended up naked in someone's bathroom? Fuck! Of all the predicaments she'd landed herself in over the years, this one ranked near the top.

Listening closely, she raised her trembling hands to the bright blue curtain and prepared to slip out of the unknown shower. She desperately needed to figure out how to get back to the Ministry where she'd find her wand — or so she hoped. Just as she'd decided that it was safe to leave her temporary sanctuary, she heard the resonating sound of approaching footsteps. Her pulse leapt as someone entered the bathroom. The door closed with a click and she prayed that they would use the toilet quickly and leave.

Unfortunately, today wasn't her lucky day. As Hermione listened with growing dread, she heard a cupboard being opened, then a rustling sound before the shower curtain was swiftly drawn back. Her mind raced, running through the possible scenarios. At that moment she was unable to decide if she should attempt to cover herself or prepare to run. Because of this indecision, she was positioned in a half-crouch, trying in vain to cover all of the important bits when she came face to face with an equally naked and extremely shocked Fred Weasley.

Embarrassment, relief, and an emotion that she wasn't able to put into words all jumbled together in a confusing cluster and she promptly burst into tears.

"Hermione? What on earth is going on?" Fred asked. Confusion and concern clouded his handsome features as he calmly passed her a towel, apparently unconcerned about his own nudity. As she wrapped herself in the overlarge towel, he unhurriedly grabbed his boxers from the floor and stepped back into them.

Without a word, Fred reached out a hand to take hers and helped her climb out of the tub. He drew her into a hug, holding her until she'd stopped crying before reaching into a cupboard for a flannel. Hermione watched transfixed as he wet it, wrung it out, and then turned back to her. She had to fight to keep her emotions under control as he carefully wiped away all traces of the tears from her face.

Taking her hand, he set the flannel down on the edge of the sink, then led her out into the hallway, stopping next to his bedroom door. He guided her inside, nudged her to sit on the edge of his bed, and after rummaging around for a moment, he passed her an old Gryffindor Quidditch jersey and a pair of joggers.

"Get dressed, love. I'm going to go and make us a pot of tea and you can explain what just happened," he kissed her cheek lightly and left her to it.

Once he'd closed the door behind him, she let out a long sigh. What on earth had happened? As an Unspeakable, she'd been trained to deal with the most bizarre situations, but this had certainly never come up in any of their training scenarios.

She couldn't think about any of that right now. She had to go out and face Fred, which was utterly mortifying. How would she be able to look him in the eye now? Taking a deep breath, she pulled on the borrowed clothing, rolling the waistband of the joggers to try and make them fit a little better. Finished dressing, she went in search of Fred.

Making her way into the kitchen, Hermione was pleased to see that Fred was pouring them each a cup of tea. She was less than pleased to see that he hadn't bothered to put on additional clothing. He was still only dressed in a pair of navy blue boxer shorts. That was going to be distracting. Unable to help herself, she gave into temptation and allowed her eyes to roam his very fit body. When her gaze reached his face, she saw that her appraisal hadn't gone unnoticed by the handsome wizard. Thankfully he didn't comment but his bloody smirk and teasingly raised brows made a soft blush bloom on her cheeks.

With that smug look still on his face, he held out a steaming cup of tea and gestured for her to take a seat at the kitchen table. Once seated, she forced herself to keep her eyes off his chest and instead focused on his face. Meeting her gaze unflinchingly, Fred asked, "So, Hermione… want to tell me how you ended up in my shower? Naked?"

Feeling her face heat further, she blew out a breath and contemplated how to answer the question. Settling on the truth, or at least the truth that she could tell him, she began to explain. "Well, you know what I do for work, right?"

"Of course, Miss Brilliant and Terrifying Unspeakable. It has to be the coolest job ever!" Fred exclaimed, punctuating his statement with a jab to the air above his head that made his muscles flex and ripple in the most alluring way.

Smiling apologetically, Hermione continued, trying desperately to ignore the thoughts she was having about the nearly naked man sitting across from her. "And you know that due to the nature of my job, I'm not going to be able to tell you much. All I can say, unless I'm granted special permission, is that I was at work one second, and in your shower, naked, and wandless the next."

"Why my shower though?" He asked, his confused frown morphing into a flirty little wink. "Not that I minded of course. As far as surprises go, finding a gorgeous, naked witch when I pulled back that curtain was a pleasant one for sure."

Fred thought she was gorgeous? Now is not the time, happy dance later, she admonished herself, trying to stick to what was important. Was where she turned up the strangest part of this ordeal? Maybe it was, she wasn't sure. It was definitely a toss-up between that and the naked part. He did have a point though. Of all the showers of all the people that she knew, and ones she didn't know, why Fred's? Shaking her head and frowning slightly, Hermione answered, "I honestly do not know why I ended up here. It's going to be the first thing I try to figure out as soon as I get back to work."

"Back to work? It's nearly five now. Do you have to go back?"

"Even if my wand wasn't there, I would have to return. I have to log this — uh, mishap, and notify my team about what has occurred." Realising that this was a workday for him too and she'd interrupted him taking a shower, she had a horrible thought. "Do you have plans that I'm interrupting? I know that you don't usually close the shop this early..." She trailed off when Fred broke in.

"You're not, I promise," he held up a pacifying hand. "George and I have started taking it in turns to knock off early when we aren't busy. I'd been brewing all day and wanted to wash off any leftover residue. After that, my big plans involved ordering some takeaway and lazing about the rest of the evening. You're not interrupting," he shrugged and grinned at her.

She considered him for a moment, before sharing her suspicions. "I suppose It's good that you don't have plans. When I make it back to the Ministry and explain what happened to my team, they are very likely going to want me to attempt to recreate the event."

"So, you're telling me that you could end up back in my shower again, naked, sometime this evening?" He asked, waggling his brows suggestively.

Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, she nodded and agreed with a chuckle."Yes, I suppose you could say that."

"Well, in that case, why don't we get you back to the Ministry. Once you're done with work, you can come back and have dinner with me even if you don't mysteriously show up in my shower."

Fred suddenly appeared to be more nervous than Hermione had ever seen before. The tips of his ears turned pink, and he refused to meet her gaze as his fingertips tapped an anxious rhythm against the edge of the table. Was this sudden case of nerves because he was afraid that she wouldn't agree, or because he'd blurted the offer out and regretted his rash suggestion? She couldn't be sure, but she really did want to come back if she was being honest with herself so her decision was made easily. "I would really like that, thank you. I need to figure out a way to get back to my flat, and then to the Ministry. By the time I've talked with my team, I could be gone for a couple of hours. Is that alright or is that too late?" She watched him closely, vowing to beg off later if he seemed less than pleased by her acceptance.

His face however lit up with a broad grin. "That's brilliant, not late at all. I can side-along you to your flat and then on to the Ministry if you'd like?"

Relieved at the suggestion and grateful to avoid explaining this to anyone else, she agreed with a nod. She would have simply asked to borrow Fred's floo but she was in the habit of locking and warding hers while she was at work. And explaining this to Harry or, Merlin-forbid, Ginny was a downright traumatic prospect... She knew that Fred would likely share the story around, but it was too fresh and embarrassing for her to want to do so today, beyond having to disclose it at work. "That would be amazing. If you're sure that you don't mind?"

Fred reached across the table and placed his hand on top of her arm. "I don't mind in the least. Honestly, I was a little depressed about my lack of plans tonight. You popped in and made my evening a hundred times more exciting than I thought it would be. Give me a second to throw on some clothes. I don't suppose it would be acceptable for me to show up at the Ministry wearing my boxers," he winked.

Hermione giggled briefly at the absurdity of that scenario until she pictured exactly what that would entail. The thought of a nearly naked Fred Weasley taking her by side-along apparition caused a disconcerting flutter in her lower belly. Forcing those confusing thoughts from her mind, she smiled up at Fred. "Well, that would certainly cause a stir at the Ministry. You may even make the front page of The Prophet."

"Can you imagine what Rita Skeeter would do with that?" Fred laughed as he rose from the table and headed down the hall toward his bedroom, seemingly unaware of Hermione's appraising gaze on his freckled form the entire way.

A short while later, Hermione and Fred apparated into her flat where she quickly changed into something more work-appropriate. Would you mind leaving these in your bathroom for me?" she asked, handing the bundle of borrowed clothing back to Fred. "I want to be prepared if I land in your shower again. Hopefully, I won't end up in another random location."

If she hadn't been watching Fred closely, she wouldn't have noticed the flash of anger in his gaze at her last remark. What in the world was that about? It was gone before she could think too much of it, replaced by a smile once more. "You will come back to the flat no matter what, right?"

"Of course, if you still want me to?"

"I do," he nodded, smiling down at her. "Let's get you to the Ministry then. The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back." He held out his arm for her to hold and turned on the spot, reappearing at the Ministry's apparition point just outside of the Atrium.

With a quick look around to make sure they weren't being watched by anyone who would land them in the papers, Hermione rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to Fred's cheek. "Thank you. Landing in your shower was terrifying, not knowing where I was. When I saw you, I was embarrassed, of course, but very relieved as well. So, thanks for taking care of me and not taking the mickey." Noticing the glint in his eye, she huffed in good-natured resignation, adding, "Well, not taking the mickey when I was still feeling vulnerable that is, I'm sure you'll make up for that later."

With a laugh, Fred doffed a pretend hat."You're quite welcome," he winked and was gone.