You've Got To Start Somewhere

AU: Fred's alive, Ron and Hermione never kissed, the rest explains itself.

Chapter 1:

Fred Weasley had two wishes, now that the war was well and truly over.

1. He wanted Hermione Jean Granger to fall madly, wildly, and deeply in love with him.

2. That he had realised his love for aforementioned girl in a more romantic setting than the shop floor of 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.

It had been somewhere in the summer before Bill and Fleur's wedding, and it had been excruciatingly hot.

/

The door of the shop flew open, causing Fred to leap from his chair in surprise.

His younger sister and brother barrelled through the door, bickering about the length of her skirt, closely followed by Harry, whose attentions were seemingly also fixed on his sisters non existent skirt.

'Fred! Is there anything wrong with my skirt? Is it too short?'

'Of course it is! You should have seen the looks she was getting Fred! Men almost twice her age, drooling over her! It was disgusting!'

Fred hated these arguments. You couldn't win against Ginny, even when you were right.

'Look, Ron, I see your point, but she's old enough to...to...'

He'd been about to make an excellent point about Ginny having her own choices and consequences for those actions, but he found himself lost for words.

The only thought rolling around his brain, the only coherent sentence his mind could form, was 'Bloody Hell'.

Her hair was like a perfect brown halo, curly and gorgeous, her wide brown eyes looked like melted caramel, and she was framed perfectly by the stream of light surrounding her in the doorway. In a white cotton dress that fell just above her knees, she looked every bit the summer goddess.

'Bloody Hell Granger, what happened to you?'

He clapped a hand over his mouth, realising a second later that it hadn't been his own voice echoing through his trance. It was George. He'd obviously heard the door ope and had come down from their flat above the shop.

What did he mean? She looked gorgeous. Outstanding. But why would George tease her like that?

'The humidity doesn't get on with my hair. And don't get me started on Percy knocking me over in the mud beside the Burrow! I had to wear this old thing, which I'd forgotten was torn, until we floo'ed here.'

George was laughing uncontrollably. Fred looked her up and down again, realising what he'd missed before.

Her dress was torn right up the front, almost to the top of her thigh, her shapely legs were splattered with mud, her hair wasn't framing her face, it was an unruly frizz sticking out at random angles, and her nose was smudged lightly green with floo powder.

'Oh Granger, you do have the worst luck! Isn't she a picture Fred?'

'Yeah...something like that...'

He was still dazed. How had he not seen how awful she looked? She looked as if she'd been dragged trough a hedge backwards.

The conversation drifted slowly back to Ginny's inappropriate clothing, with the youngest Weasley triumphing over her brothers once again.

Fred hadn't really been listening to the conversation. He'd been frantically trying to fix his brain.

Hermione Granger was the brightest witch of their age.

She was not a lust object.

She was smart and confident and gorgeous and funny and beautiful and he loved her.

Oh Merlin. He loved her.

What the hell was he going to do?

'Oi!'

Fred jumped, falling out of his thoughts and back to reality, as a harsh whisper penetrated his panic.

'If you're done ogling Granger, oh smitten twin of mine, we're closing up early and going to the pub. You in?'

Fred stared cooly at his twin.

'I don't know what you're on about.'

'Of course. And I'm best friends with Umbridge.'

/

Months had passed since then. A war had been won and lost. People had died.

It was hotter than the last summer, and the family were once again getting ready for another wedding.

He just had to avoid her, and those beautiful eyes, and he'd be fine.

Yeah, that was going to happen.