Chapter 4

Hermione wanted to disappear and never have to face Fred Weasley again. She was furious with him for lying to her about the prank but, mostly she was hurt. She felt betrayed somehow. So, in order to clear her head, Hermione decided to take a walk around the castle. On her way up the stairs, she ran into Ginny, who appeared to be on her way to lunch.

"Hermione!" shouted the youngest Weasley in relief as she wrapped Hermione in a tight hug. "You're all right!"

"Yes, Ginny, I'm fine," Hermione replied with a light squeeze.

Ginny released her friend and her smile faltered at the look she spotted on Hermione's face. "What's wrong?" she said.

The brunette shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "I'm fine, Ginny."

"Hermione," Ginny said in a knowing tone while crossing her arms.

Hermione sighed. "I promise, Ginny, I'll be fine. I'd rather not talk about it right now. I just want to be on my own today."

"No," said Ginny stubbornly. "You were on your own all day yesterday and you nearly froze to death. I'm not letting you do that to yourself again. You're stuck with me today, whether you like it or not."

"Ginny, I'm fine. I swear, I won't even go outside today," Hermione pleaded. Ginny shook her head and stood her ground. Sighing, Hermione said, "Fine. I was just going to walk around the castle. Care to join me?"

"No," Ginny replied. "I'm going to grab some lunch. And you're coming with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes; she knew it was pointless to argue so, instead, she allowed Ginny to drag her into the Great Hall.

The two girls sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry and Ron, who were very happy to see Hermione out of the Hospital Wing. Lunch carried on as usual for the group and Harry even got Hermione to smile when he made a comment about Umbridge's lack of teaching skills. Hermione sat there, picking at her food without actually eating anything. She was off in space when a familiar presence sat next to her. Instantly, Hermione stiffened and pursed her lips together as Fred leaned close to whisper in her ear.

"Come on, Hermione," he beseeched. "Talk to me."

Hermione's expression went cold and she stood abruptly. "I think I'm going to go for a walk," she said firmly, ignoring Fred. "Ginny, would you care to join me?"

Ginny looked curiously at her friend but agreed without question. The two Gryffindors were just about to leave the table when Fred seized her wrist. "Hermione, wait!" he said desperately. "Please, won't you just talk to me about this?"

Hermione yanked herself free of him. "I have nothing to say to you," she said with an air of finality. With that, she left the Great Hall with Ginny close behind while those closest stared with their mouths hanging open.

The girls walked around the school for nearly two hours while Hermione explained everything to Ginny.

Fred's heart sank as he watched one of his best friends leave the Hall with his little sister.

"Woah," said Harry with wide eyes as he stared after his best friend.

"Bloody hell, mate," Ron agreed. "What did you do to her?"

Fred sank onto the bench and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know," he said honestly with a sigh. "She's mad at me for our little musical prank, I guess."

"Really?" George said as he claimed the seat beside his twin. "I thought it was pretty obvious that was one of ours."

Fred nodded in agreement. "So did I. She's mad because we told her it wasn't us. She called me a liar and stormed off saying I was no longer her friend."

George kind of shrugged a little and stabbed a biscuit with his fork. Ron, on the other hand, tried to reassure his older brother. "Ah, don't worry about it, mate. She'll come 'round eventually. She didn't mean what she said."

Fred, however, seemed much less certain about that. He knew he lost her.

Weeks passed before Hermione would even look at Fred and whenever she did, it was always with a blank expression. For some reason, Harry kept pairing them together during Dumbledore's Army meetings. Hermione strongly suspected that Harry was trying to get them to be friends again. Bless him.

They were practicing the Patronus Charm one meeting when Hermione pulled Fred aside. "Look," she said quietly to him as everyone started practicing. "Harry keeps pairing us together on purpose. Probably trying to get us on good terms again. So, let's just make the best of this and try to be civil with each other, all right?'

Fred looked at her in a defeated sort of way. She really didn't want to be his friend anymore. He tried for weeks to get her to speak to him but she refused. And now, all she was willing to do was be 'civil' with him. How was he ever going to get his friend back if she wasn't even willing to meet his eyes when they spoke? Fred hung his head in sadness. If he ever wanted them to be friends again, he would have to play by her rules. He would have to give her space and let her come to him. It could be years before Hermione forgave him; she was so stubborn.

Fred's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. "Okay," he said.

Hermione nodded and stood up straight. "Let's practice the charm then. You first."

Fred hesitated. "Do you think you could go first? I need time to think of my happiest memory." Fred could feel his neck burning from embarrassment.

Hermione paused briefly. She wasn't sure she could produce a patronus just yet. She didn't honestly think that her happiest memories would be strong enough and she was nervous to try it. Especially in front of Fred. Hermione nodded anyway and took her position with her wand raised. Taking a deep breath and furrowing her brow in concentration, Hermione focused all her energy on the memory of when she got her Hogwarts letter. "Expecto Patronum," she said.

Nothing happened.

Hermione tried it three more times before Fred suggested that she try another memory. Hermione nodded in agreement and instead focused on a memory gained only a few months previously when her parents told her that she was going to be a big sister come April. Hermione smiled warmly to herself at the thought of reading stories to her new baby brother or sister. She tried to cast the spell again and this time a wisp of silvery light emerged from her wand. Her eyes lit up and she tried it again, concentrating more on becoming a big sister. Unfortunately, even after a dozen more tries, Hermione still couldn't produce more than a silver light from her wand.

Fred could tell that Hermione's confidence was faltering so, he quietly walked up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Hermione," he whispered encouragingly in her ear. He could feel her stiffen instantly at his touch. "Just relax. Think of the one memory that makes you happiest. Remember that happy feeling and let it fill you up until you're bursting with it. What's your favorite memory, Hermione?"

Listening to Fred's words, Hermione slowly relaxed and allowed her mind to wander to the one memory she was trying so hard not to think of. The Yule Ball. The kiss. Fred's lips on hers in a slow, heart-stopping, breathtaking kiss. His fingers lightly brushed her cheeks, making her eyes flutter closed. For about ten glorious seconds, the whole of Hogwarts stood still and the only thing that mattered was the movement of Fred's soft lips on hers. Then, too quickly, it was over and Hermione opened her eyes to see Fred smiling kindly at her before he simply walked away.

Hermione shivered with delight at the memory and suddenly became very aware of Fred standing so close to her.

"Do you have a memory?" Fred asked, keenly aware of Hermione's sudden change in demeanor. She nodded numbly. "Good," he continued. "Now concentrate on it with everything you've got and try it again."

The scene began to play again in her mind's eye and her heart began to pound. She could see Fred move to stand beside her and she could feel his eyes on her. Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was getting harder to keep her composure. As the memory replayed itself Hermione could feel herself reliving every sensation. She could feel every touch, hear every sound, smell the soft scent of sandalwood that came off of Fred. As pleasant as the memory was, it soon became too much to handle and Hermione felt herself begin to fall apart. Fred felt her tremble again and he couldn't help but wonder what memory she was thinking of. It had to be something intimately special to make her shiver like that.

Hermione could feel herself fill up with the best emotions she had ever experienced immediately followed by some of the worst things she had ever felt. Hermione's hand began to shake and she realized she couldn't hold her wand steady. She shook her head.

"No," she whispered. "It's your turn."

Fred looked at her, confused. "But, Hermione," he said incredulously. "You almost had it! You were so close. Just give it one more –"

"No," she said a little more firmly. "I don't want to try again. It's your turn."

"Why not?" Fred questioned with furrowed brows.

Hermione looked him in the eye for the first time since she was in the Hospital Wing. Fred could see her eyes swimming with emotions he couldn't recognize. "Because," she said softly. The broken sound of her voice nearly made Fred cringe. "Some memories aren't worth remembering when they cause too much pain."

She looked away as a tear escaped her eye. Fred reached out to her before she could completely shut him out and he gently wiped away the single tear and softly inquired. "Hermione, what's wrong? You can tell me."

Hermione flinched away from his touch. "Don't worry about me," she said. "It's your turn to try the spell."

Fred hesitated. He knew she was hiding the truth from him and he wanted nothing more than to demand she tell him what was going on, but he knew she wouldn't speak to him at all if he kept pushing her. With a slightly agitated sigh, Fred positioned himself to practice the spell.

Fred closed his eyes and thought for a moment. What was his happiest memory? Fred's mind wondered to many fond memories, but none of them compared to the day Katie agreed to be his girlfriend. So, he focused on that happy moment and tried to conjure his own patronus. Fred tried and tried again, he even changed memories. Still, nothing happened.

Hesitantly, Hermione stepped toward him and echoed his earlier encouragements. "Concentrate," she said. "You can do this. Remember a moment when you couldn't stop smiling and you weren't entirely sure why. Think of a memory that still makes your heart skip a beat and lifts your spirit. Remember the one moment that you promised yourself you would never forget. You can do it. Keep trying."

Fred looked at her, stunned. For a moment all he could do was stare into her eyes. Fred nodded, closed his eyes, and put every ounce of effort he could muster into his favorite memory. He could feel the energy vibrate within him as he cast the spell one more time. His efforts were rewarded when a shining silver fox burst forth.

Fred's eyes lit up at his success and Hermione smiled, trying her best to look happy. "I knew you could do it," she said gently. She couldn't quite hide the pained expression from her face and, as a result, Fred's face fell and his patronus dissipated into silver smoke.

The meeting concluded before Fred could say another word to Hermione. He watched on in his own misery and puzzlement as Hermione slipped out of the Room of Requirement with his younger brother. Why was she so broken? He didn't know how, but Fred knew that by some means it was his fault. Fred sighed. Was she going to hate him forever?