A/N: IMPORTANT. This fic is set in Hermione's 5th yr and Fred's 7th. Fred is still playing Quidditch and wasn't banned from playing because he didn't get to fight alongside Harry and George. He may also live through the war, though I haven't decided if I'm taking this story that far yet.

Touch Me Like You Do

Chapter 1

Hermione Granger had to be the hottest girl in Hogwarts, he decided as he watched the uptight little Prefect storm away from the table. Harry had just jumped all over her and Ron about something again; his temper completely out of control this year. But he wasn't really thinking about Harry at all. As Hermione walked away Fred Weasley was acutely aware of the way her school skirt brushed against the back of her thighs, the way her school cardigan hugged her petite figure and showed off just how much she'd been maturing these past five years.

Fred had no idea what was wrong with him. He was supposed to be focusing on products for the line of wizard pranks he and George were developing with the money Harry had given them last year. That was he was supposed to be doing, but instead, ever since the summer they'd spent at Headquarters, Fred kept finding himself distracted by Hermione Granger.

It was driving him spare. Every time she scowled at him and George for their latest experiment or misbehaviour; every time she yelled at them for testing their products on first years; every time in DA when she'd wear that determined expression - the one where she narrowed her eyes and frowned slightly - kept him from concentrating on anything but her.

"Oi, where are you going?" George asked him, and Fred glanced over at his twin before realising he was on his feet and climbing away from the table with every intention of following the feisty little witch out of the Great Hall.

"Bathroom" Fred muttered to his twin, meeting his eyes for just a second before turning away. He hadn't told George what was going on inside his head in regard to Hermione, and to be completely honest he didn't really want to. George might think him barmy for a start, and might think that he was developing some kind of respect for the rules that Hermione was always lecturing the two of them about. Rather than pondering the fact that now the little witch even had him keeping things from his twin and partner in crime, Fred strode away from the table wondering where Hermione could've gotten too. Since she'd just stormed out on dinner, Fred guessed she would probably head for the Library, the Common Room or the Prefect's bathroom. They were her usual haunts, and the places she was most likely to retreat to in the face of Harry's fury.

Silently he debated with himself about it as he climbed the stairs, deciding that being Hermione, she would probably do something to try and calm down after having Harry snarl at her. Fred grinned to himself as he slipped into a secret corridor, taking the steps three at a time in the hopes of beating Hermione to the Library. There was every possibility that she might not head to the library; that she might instead seek the comfort and peace of a bath or even the Gryffindor common room, but Fred didn't think so. After all, Hermione was never more at home than when she immersed herself in the confines of a book and absorbing knowledge like a sponge.

He watched Madam Pince raise her eyebrows when he strolled by her, before she began to eye him suspiciously since the only times he and George ever came to the library was when they needed to learn how to do some kind of magic for their latest prank. Fred winked at the librarian, earning himself a scowl. He chuckled to himself as the uptight woman reshuffled some parchment to avoid looking at him anymore, clearly uncomfortable to be having a handsome seventeen year old student winking at her. The poor old broad probably hadn't been laid in years.

Over the past few months, Fred had become increasingly aware of Hermione's activities, and so he knew that when she got stressed and wanted to be alone, she'd deviate from her usual sitting place in the library in favour of a dark and always deserted corner of the library deep within the shelves of books where very few students ever went, up on the second floor of the library. Even as he headed for it, he couldn't help his self-deprecating chuckle to know that he clearly had some kind of infatuation going with the girl if he knew her secret hideaways. But then, Fred Weasley had always been one for learning secret hideaways and skulking through deserted corridors just to say that he knew where they were and could take advantage of them.

Striding quickly through the library, Fred made his way to the spot where he was sure he would find Hermione. Harry and Ron had no idea where her little hideaway was, and Fred suspected Hermione wouldn't be too happy to have him knowing where it was that she went to get away from everything, but he was prepared for any objections she might throw at him when he found her like he was about to. He slowed his steps when he caught sight of her.

She was perched on the cushion of a squashy brown armchair, reading from a book on the coffee table in front of her. The only source of light came from the tiny desk lamp she must have snavelled from one of the study booths. The entire area where she was seated was surrounded by high shelves covered in dusty books, most of which probably hadn't been read since the turn of the century. She had picked a section that most students never had cause to enter, thereby allowing herself a high degree of privacy.

"Well look who it is" Fred chuckled softly, watching the way Hermione jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. When she spun in her chair to stare at him in surprise, Fred noticed that in spite of the chill in the deserted corner of the library, Hermione had removed her cardigan. He grinned a little when he noticed that she had kicked her shoes off her feet as well, having tucked her feet up beneath her on the couch. She'd clearly made herself at home, and had no intention of returning to the common room, probably until after Harry had had a chance to calm down.

"Fancy seeing you in my spot Hermione" Fred teased softly, moving closer until she was staring all the way up at him. She looked kind of adorable as she did it. She'd let her hair out of the ponytail she'd been wearing it in, and it framed her pretty face nicely.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him softly, surprised and curious. Fred knew she meant in the library and not her spot.

"I could ask you the same thing. How'd you find my spot?" Fred asked her.

"Your spot? I didn't even know you'd ever been in the library, let alone that you had a spot here that you'd claimed all for yourself" she scoffed.

Fred shrugged at her "Sometimes it's nice to be alone. And it is my spot. If you don't believe me, look under the seat, you'll find a charms book I've been reading to improve our products" Fred told her. Narrowing her eyes on him suspiciously for a moment, Hermione slowly bent forwards and stuck her hand under the seat. As she did Fred hopped over the back of her armchair, planting his feet either side of her thighs and perching on the backrest.

When she sat up again she had hold of the book he'd planted there last week and Fred smirked to himself. He also enjoyed the way Hermione looked startled to see him sitting so much closer to her. She jumped a little when he leant forward slightly to rest his hands on the tops of her shoulders.

"Why don't you have the book out on loan instead of hiding it here where no one else can access it?" she demanded in a whisper, her back and shoulders going tense to feel him touching her. Fred smirked; part of him lived to hear her try to lecture him on things like that.

"And ruin my perfect blank record?" Fred laughed "George would clobber me if we left Hogwarts with any record of borrowing library books. Evidence of studying wouldn't do Hermione" Fred said, knowing he was pushing her buttons since to Hermione studying was a necessity, like oxygen.

"So why isn't he here too?" she asked "Normally you two are inseparable, especially when you're working on your pranks."

Fred could tell he was making her nervous. She'd gone even more tense and was clutching the book tightly, having resorted to tilting her head back and looking directly up into his face where he hung it over hers, since she obviously didn't like the idea of turning around to stare up at him given the proximity of his body to her face as he perched on the back of the single seater armchair with her on the cushion between his knees.

"You're not the only one who likes time to yourself Hermione" Fred admonished her quietly "And alone time is a lot harder to come by when you have an identical twin" Fred smiled a little as Hermione blushed.

"Do you want me to go away?" she asked before frowning "I was here first."

Fred chuckled. No he sure as Merlin did not want her to go away. Otherwise he'd have to follow her somewhere else and there was less chance he'd be likely to get her alone like this.

"Stay if you want Hermione" Fred offered "Mostly I'm here to think in silence today. I promise not to disturb your study" he added with a grin at the bushy haired girl sitting between his knees.

"Um…." Hermione said when Fred fell silent and leant back so that he wasn't peering down into her face anymore. He still had his hands rested lightly on her shoulders and they itched to fidget; to delve into her hair or to massage the tension out of her shoulders. He'd always loved giving back rubs to people, since it helped to keep his hands strong for Quidditch and flying; sometimes they'd seize up too, after a cold wet training session like today's from gripping his bat and his broom so tightly to avoid losing them.

"Do you want your book back or anything?" Hermione offered after a few minutes of tense silence.

"Not today. Just some peace and quiet to plot things out" Fred told her softly, aware of the fact that his hands had begun to twitch slightly. Hermione didn't seem to quite know what to do about him touching her and Fred smirked when she leant forwards slightly to pick up her book and bring it over to the lap since she obviously realised he wasn't likely to let her go, but also wasn't rude enough to ask him to bugger off.

In the silence that followed, Fred couldn't stop grinning. It was like he had no control of his hands anymore since they'd begun to gently massage her shoulders and neck. It was currently having an adverse effect since Hermione was getting tenser and tenser by the minute. But she hadn't said anything yet. When his fingers came across of a knot of tension in her neck, he began working it with his strong fingers, kneading the tension out of it, knowing it had to be from that bag she lugged around to classes all day. It was always overflowing with books and Fred had often noticed of late how she had to slump into the weight of the thing. It was no wonder she had muscle knots from it.

When Fred heard her sigh softly, he felt like he'd just won a thousand Galleons but he pretended not to hear, trying to make it seem as though he were lost in thought just as he'd told her he would be.

"Fred, what are you doing?"she asked him almost ten minutes later as he found another knot in her muscles and began to work it, this time applying more pressure since it was a huge knot.

"Hmm?" he hummed at her, pretending that he'd been lost in thought rather than focusing on the way she kept beginning to relax into his touch before tensing again as she realised she was all alone with her best friend's older brother; someone known for being a prankster and torment.

"What did you say?" he asked her absentmindedly.

"What are you doing?" she repeated a little nervously. Fred stopped rubbing the tension out of her muscles for a minute.

"Oh… sorry Hermione" he pretended to apologise "It's a habit…. I've been doing it for years. Ginny loves to take advantage of it. Mum too. When I'm thinking I can't keep my hands still; they get sore from gripping my beater's bat and my broom so hard at Quidditch practice too, especially in the cold. Am I bothering you?" Fred feigned innocence and sincerity.

"Oh, um…. Not really…" she stammered and Fred could tell her nervousness had spiked up a notch, no doubt undoing the work he'd already done on her shoulders. Silently he went back to massaging her shoulders, this time with more pressure, as though he were paying attention rather than thinking of other things.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked her very softly when Hermione didn't turn a page for several minutes and sat there stiffly. Hermione tensed even more for a moment before sighing softly.

"Um… not if you don't want to" she whispered and Fred could practically hear the blush in her voice, even if he couldn't see it on her face as she admitted "It feels nice."

Fred grinned like a fool to hear her say that, setting to work on her shoulders and neck with purpose now that he had her stated permission. He wished he could talk her out of her shirt so he could massage her properly, without the hindrance of fabric, but he knew better than to push his luck.

Hermione sighed at the feel of strong fingers working at the tension that had been giving her a headache for days. Her back and shoulders regularly hurt from lugging her school bag around, and she'd noticed a few days ago that the tightness in her neck and shoulders had begun to increase as exams drew closer and closer. They were still months away, but Hermione had realised how much everything else she was involved in -with DA and Harry's issues and fighting with Ron- were impinging on her hours of study.

There was something about sitting silently in the library, studying in the soft glow of her lamp in peace and quiet that felt incredibly nice, which was how she'd wound up here in the first place. She'd nearly swallowed her tongue when Fred Weasley had leapt over the back of her armchair and put his hands on her shoulders, beginning to massage them as though he were off in his own world and not even realising what he was doing. She never wanted him to stop, it felt so good, but at the same time she felt nervous. She liked Fred, for all that she yelled at him and disapproved of his rule-breaking ways, but she wasn't sure she trusted him to simply be rubbing her shoulders without some ulterior pranking motive.

"Relax Hermione" Fred murmured to her, as she almost let her head fall forward, enjoying the feel of his strong fingers rubbing the tension, tightness and pain out of her neck. She paused for a moment before slowly letting her head fall forward until her chin rested against her chest. Immediately Fred took advantage of the position, applying firm pressure to drag his fingers up either side of her spine and Hermione blushed pink when she heard the little moan of ecstasy that escaped her at how good it felt.

Tensing up all over again with embarrassment, Hermione waited to hear to prankster laugh at her or tease her, but he didn't say a word; he just rubbed more firmly until she started to forget her embarrassment. Slowly Hermione went back to her study, loving the way it felt to be massaged while she learned. Fred was even making her forget how mad Harry had made her when he'd jumped down her throat earlier.

Fred's hands were beginning to hurt just a little bit half an hour later. He liked the way Hermione would begin to relax into his touch before tensing up again. She'd gone back to studying, but he could tell she was still a little nervous and tense to have him touching her. He liked the challenge she presented. Everyone else he massaged tended to turn to putty pretty quickly since he'd been doing this since he was about five years old.

George had started the whole thing; he'd hurt his shoulder during one of their many crazy stunts and didn't want to tell their parents since they'd get into trouble. For almost a week Fred had massaged the knots and pain out of his twin's shoulders until he was healed. George had of course gone on with life as normal, but Fred found that he enjoyed the ache in his hands from helping someone else relax. He hadn't been lying to Hermione about it becoming a habit, and every now and then he liked to surprise his mother when she was knitting or reading after a long day, especially if he and George had done something particularly bad that she'd screamed at them for. As Ginny had grown she'd taken to sitting at his feet, preferring his and George's company to everyone else's in the family. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd been plotting with his twin only to find his baby sister sitting at his feet and taking advantage of his constantly twitching hands.

Focusing back on the girl currently sitting between his knees, Fred smirked. Hermione wasn't the first girl he'd given a back rub to that he wasn't related to, but there was something incredibly sensual about doing this to Hermione. Maybe it was the cute little moan he'd elicited from her, or the way she fought so hard against the relief he was giving her, or just the fact that he suspected he'd begun to fancy her, but Fred found it exciting and highly enjoyable to massage her.

He grinned a little when he noticed that Hermione had begun to lean forwards slightly, not to get away from him, but to give him better access to the rest of her back instead of just her neck and the tops of her shoulders. She jumped when he slid down the back of the chair, positioning himself between her and the backrest of the armchair and Fred felt the way her muscles all bunched again as though she was ready to bolt and completely nervous about having him that much closer to her. His legs bracketed her thighs and if she leant back she would be pressed against his chest. He didn't help matters when he chuckled just a little bit.

"Relax Hermione" he murmured to her again, using his hands to make her lean forwards slightly so he could reach the middle of her back. She stayed tense even as he set to work on her again.

"What's the matter?" he whispered to her softly, amused by her mistrust "Don't you trust me to be a gentleman?"

Fred knew she was blushing and that she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking that she might be thinking of him in a way that wasn't platonic, even though her actions all but screamed that fact.

"What are you doing Fred?" she asked him in a strange voice as he began working his fingers up either side of her spine from the middle of her back to the nape of her neck. If she'd lean forwards further he'd be able to do the whole thing, but he knew he'd have to earn that trust from her first.

"Thinking" he replied mischievously "Stretching out my hands; trying to get you to relax. I've never met anyone so tense. You're lucky your muscles haven't torn, they're so tight and strained."

"Why are you doing this?" Hermione asked him and Fred could hear the breathlessness of her voice. She was clearly enjoying his touch but either didn't trust him or didn't trust herself. In response Fred stopped for a second, feeling her panic as his fingers agilely unsnapped the clasp of her bra. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, Fred would never have caught her before she shot off the couch. Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, Fred held her on the couch for a minute.

"Would you relax Hermione?" Fred implored "I'm not going to bloody jump you or something. That was just in the way and you have a knot underneath where it was."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you here?" she demanded quietly, clearly freaked out and a little mad at him for undoing her bra without warning and without asking her if it was ok. Fred couldn't help smirking into her hair, enjoying how incredibly skittish she was around him.

"Helping you out while you help me out, enjoying the silence" he murmured to her "You can go if you're so nervous…."

"But why are you here in the first place?" she asked him.

"I already told you that. You're in my 'alone' spot but since you're pretty good at being quiet and not interrupting while I think, I don't really mind" He replied, feigning innocence again. After all, it's not like he could tell her he'd begun to fancy her and followed her here with every intention of testing whether or not she thought of him in a strictly platonic way. And now that he had his answer he'd love to slide his hands beneath the fabric of her shirt and explore her body, helping her relax in a way she never known before but Fred knew better than to push Hermione Granger that far.

Releasing her waist, Fred went back to working the tightness out of her muscles and very slowly he felt Hermione begin to relax again. She didn't say anything else to him, but instead went back to reading, clearly hoping she'd be able to ignore him.

Fred wasn't having it. Using every trick he knew his fingers delved into her muscles, working out even the most deep seated knots and aches and he smirked when he hit on one that made her groan softly at how good it felt to have it worked out.

She'd transferred her book back to the table in front of her and was leaning forwards until her chest practically rested against her thighs and Fred grinned when she shuffled forwards slightly to give him better access to her lower back. Taking shameless advantage, Fred dug his thumbs into the two little dimples he found there, wrapping his fingers around her hips and dragging his thumbs outwards. The last time he'd given a massage to a girl he wasn't related to she'd told him it felt amazing to have her lower back worked since it dealt with PMT cramps along with all the other stress tightness.

When he did it to Hermione a second time he was awarded a moan of pleasure as she slumped forwards, finally surrendering to the feel of his hands on her. Fred felt like he could fly without a broom. He made no comment, though he did smile happily as he kept working the area before working his way all the way up to her neck and back down again.

"Merlin that feels good" Fred heard Hermione whisper. He smirked. His hands had begun to ache from the pressure of working her muscles so long, but he didn't mind. He'd do it all night just to hear Hermione sigh so contentedly. He knew she'd completely abandoned her study by now, lost in the relaxing feel of his hands on her body.

Fred knew his job was done when he let his hands slide beneath the hem of her shirt where it had come untucked at the back and she didn't react. She barely flinched to feel his warm hands against her skin, even when he slid them all the way up to where he'd undone her bra. Unable to resist, Fred did it again. Every time he did Hermione sighed happily.

Knowing he'd do something foolish if he kept going when he had her so relaxed and all but mewling at his touch, Fred did it one last time, snaking his hands up to catch the two sides of her bra and fastening them together.

Gently Fred took hold of the tops of her shoulders and pulled her up. He'd intended to pull her into a sitting position so that he'd be able to get up, but Hermione was so relaxed that she leant back against his chest, her head cushioned in the hollow of his shoulder. Even with his hands aching, they began to itch to give her front the same treatment they'd just given her back. Lowering them to her hips, Fred let his arms go around her gently, his hands resting over her stomach. She didn't seem inclined to move and when Fred glanced at her face he saw that her eyes were closed and she wore a contented smile. He grinned, realising she was probably all but asleep from how relaxed and comfortable he'd made her feel.

"Hermione? You still awake, love?" he murmured to her, enjoying the feel of her curled against him like that but aware that his body was sporting the effects of how much he fancied her.

"Hmmm" she hummed contentedly "You have magical fingers."

"You have no idea" Fred murmured so softly that he wasn't sure she heard him.