Prompt: during DA training Fred is embarrassed he cannot produce a patronus as well as George can. So he asked Hermione to help him separately and she helps him find his happiest memory

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"Make it a happy memory, a very strong memory; let it fill you up, yeah? Ok, Hermione, why don't you try it?"

The brunette blinked at the boy before waving her wand around her and saying the incantation,

"Expecto patronum." She said, the mist barely visible before it disappeared.

"Expecto Patronum!" The silvery mist flickered as it shot from her wand, wavering slightly before it became an otter, the otter swam around her head and she laughed a good, joyful laugh that normally the twins would be the cause of.

"Good!" her best friend praised her, "Fred, George, you next?"

The two looked at each other before saying, "Expecto Patronum," Together.

From each brother's wand shot a mist, Georges strong and bright as the hyena leapt from his wand, Fred's weak and flickering as the fox attempted to form, eventually giving up and dissipating from the world as if it was never there, as if it had never caused the prankster to go pale with embarrassment.

Everyone was speechless, the jokester of the school, the one who always made them laugh… wasn't able to produce a patronus as well as his twin? An excited murmuring broke out, and Fred was getting twitchy under the glances. When George had tried to comfort him he'd brushed him off, he knew it wasn't his fault, but he was still angry, or mortified. The truth was, he couldn't think of anything, he just latched on to the memory of their first invention, but that had been ruined by…

They had gone around a few times, and even Neville's patronus was more potent than Fred's. The white wisp finally formed into a baby elephant, and tottered around before running up to see Harry's Stag. Whereas Fred's patronus never stayed for more than a few seconds before disappearing. Constantly shocking everyone. The key to the patronus is a happy memory, so why wasn't he happy? He made everyone else laugh…

About three rounds later and three failures from Fred and the DA meeting was out.

"GRANGER!" Fred called the girl as she was leaving, "can you help me with something."

The young Gryffindor looked at him warily, keeping her distance, "I don't plan to be a test subject if that's what you're asking…"

"Oh no! Of course not! We always have the first years for that." He told her with a wink, causing her to scowl, before turning back to complete seriousness, "but really, I do need some help."

That's when she realized how uncomfortable Fred looked, shifting foot to foot, not looking at her, trying to avoid her eyes.

She was immediately worried, what had happened to the famous prankster that caused him to be so nervous?

She peered up into his face, "what do you need Fred?" she asked, eyebrows knitted in worry for her favorite trouble maker

"Well, um, I- uh…" Fred stuttered, looking at his shoes, "Can you um, help me with the patronus charm?" his face suddenly became as red as his hair. "Um, you know, um, never mind I'm sor-"

"No, no, it's fine, I'll help, its fine." Hermione quickly said, nodding so quickly she slightly resembled a bobble-head doll.

"Really?" he asked, his blue eyes shooting to her chocolate brown ones, disbelief sparkling in them, he thought she couldn't stand them.

"Of course! It's really no problem." She replied, giving a small smile

"Okay, uh, when can we start?"

"How about at lunch? I know how much you Weasleys love to eat but it's my only free period tomorrow."

"Oi! That's just Ron, the rest of us have impeccable table manners!" he said, laughing

Hermione smiled up at him, relieved he was back to his joking self. "So? Lunch?"

"Are you asking me out on a date granger?" he asked, eyes twinkling with mischief.

This time, it was Hermione's turn to blush. Her cheeks went a dark shade of red, and she suddenly found the ground very interesting as she stuttered out a response, "um, uh, well, erm, no?"

Fred busted out in a laughing fit, only stopping when his sides were stitched and he was oxygen deprived. "Of… course… not…." He spit out between great gulps of air.

"Um. Well, we can meet here, tomorrow, at lunch. Yeah?" she said, turning an even deeper shade of red.

"Okay granger. Just try to keep your hormones in check, yeah? Don't need you jumping me in the middle of the come-and-go room."

Hermione didn't answer, she simply spluttered, and made a few choking noises before fleeing from the room of requirement, as a door appeared.

Because in that moment, a quick exit was what she needed most.

She was in front of the door to the room, standing there, trying to pluck up the courage to enter.

It took her a good five minutes of internal fighting before she decided to enter.

She grabbed the metal handle and prayed for Godrics help as she opened the door.

"Fred." she stated when she saw the redhead was already there with a smirk on his face.

"Granger." He replied mockingly.

"Um… so I'm guessing you have the incantation down… it's just the memory, yes?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well… why don't you find a new memory? Like, a date, or quiddatch, or… a prank?"

Fred winced at the mention of pranks, causing Hermione to quirk an eyebrow

"Well…. I have a memory, a new one, I just don't know if it's strong enough…"

"Try it?" she asked, a small smile gracing her features.

"Um… well. expecto paronum." Fred said, nothing happened.

"Try it again Fred. Make it a powerful memory, let it fill you up, let it… empower you." She ordered, nodding to him to try it again.

"Expexto Patronum!" this time the wisp shot out, formed for a few moments and died away.

"Come ON Fred! You're like the happiest boy in the school! You can do this, I know you can…" she chided softly.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Fred yelled, waving his wand. Magic shot through his veins as he lit up, he seemed to glow, his ginger hair rivaling the sun as the fox shot from his wand and pranced around, it walked to Fred and bowed down low. He kept the creature alive for a good minute before stopping.

"YES!" Hermione yelled, launching at Fred, and wrapping her arms around him. He immediately hugged her back.

She pulled back, looking into his eyes and smiling, then leaping back as if stung. She sat on a conjured up mat and blinked at him thoughtfully.

"Fred, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why couldn't you perform the patronus charm?"

Fred froze, and then paled considerably. "My memory has a few problems…"

"Such as?"

"Well, it was my first prank, but it becomes… well it turns into an unhappy one, really." Fred explained quietly

"Oh…" she murmured.

Then Fred made a decision, he decided to tell the bookworm everything. "You see, my first prank, went perfectly… to perfect. Mum got upset… and I felt horrible, but she suddenly went cold, and told bill to get the kids together and put them in the cupboard. So he grabbed us and shoved us in, and then, there was this explosion. And I didn't know then, but there were death eaters. Luckily, none of us were hurt, but it was really my first brush with them. It really freaked me and George out.

Hermione now saw the bared soul of the prankster. The boy she thought only knew joy, knows suffering as well.

"Hey." She whispered to him, sitting next to him and resting his head on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. And I'm sorry you had to go through… that."

Fred snorted. "Me? What I have to go through? Hermione, you're best friends with the boy who bloody lived, and you think I have it hard?"

She blinked down at him. "You called me Hermione…" she said in disbelief.

"That's your name right?" he asked, humor lacing his words

"Well, of course, but you've never called me Hermione." She explained.

He raised his head from her shoulder, "I haven't?" she shook her head, "wow…"

She suddenly realized how close they were sitting. "Hermione. Can I ask your favorite memory? And the one that failed? Since you asked me." A grin quirked his lips.

"Well, the one that failed was of the quidditch world cup… but that was ruined by… well, you know. And my favorite memory was probably… this year. The prank that you played on Umbridge. It was like a reprieve from Azkaban. Everyone was so bloody happy. It was perfect…" she murmured rubbing her hand.

Fred looked down at the appendage. "Hermione… what's that?" he asked, already dreading, and knowing, the answer.

"I had detention, no big though, almost everyone does these days…"

He grabbed her left hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the words. "I must not speak out."

"Most of my happy memories are of you…" the girl mumbled. Looking at the boy before her.

He looked surprised at this fact. "They are?"

"Of course… you're a light in dark times Fred, a very much needed light. You and your brother… people like you are the key to winning this war."

He smiled up at the Gryffindor, and she slowly became aware of how their legs were pressed together, how their hands were still connected, and how their faces were SO close.

Hermione blinked, "what's yours?"

"My…?"

"Your happiest memory."

Fred, instead of answering, leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, it was a sweet kiss, not hard and rushed, but gentle. When he pulled back he looked at her and said, "Of you. When I realized I am head over heels in love with you. George tore the mickey out of me for it too. Even funnier because he had a beard at the time."

She blanched. "When?" she finally asked

"Remember when we were taking that aging potion? And you said in this smug little voice that it wasn't going to work? Then. But I think… that this memories the best."

Hermione blinked again, and in a flush of Gryffindor courage she asked, "Wanna make it better?"

His eyebrows shot to his hairline and he crushed his lips to hers, much more heated then the last kiss they had shared. She made a small squeak before responding enthusiastically, running her hands through his hair and tugging at the ginger locks, causing him to deepen the kiss.

When they finally had to separate for lack of air they both looked thoroughly snogged, and quite happy.

"So… 'Mione, do you um, want to go out with me?" he muttered.

"Fred, you just told me you loved me, snogged me senseless, and now you're asking me out? A bit unconventional yeah?"

"What's this conventional you speak of? I know not of this word…"

Hermione laughed, shaking her head as she leaned up and pecked him on the lips.

"Fred?" she asked after they parted.

"Hmm?"

"Yes."