For: ShmabbyTheStrange

Pairings: Fred/Hermione

Genres: Friendship, Romance.

Prompts: (word) genius, (AU), Muggle High School, (dialogue) "Why is it that whenever I leave all hell breaks loose?"

AN: This was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. The high school setting just didn't agree with me and it wasn't as romantic as I'd originally wanted, but I hope you like it :)

Fighting Over Magic

"We may have a problem," Fred announced as he and George sat down at their usual lunch table.

Hermione sighed. "What now?"

"Well," he began, "Mr Binns was teaching us about the Salem witch trials."

"So, he asked the class why people felt the need to burn people as witches," George continued.

"So naturally, I tell the class it's because they were stupid."

"The people doing the burning, not the so-called witches."

"Because witches don't exist."

Hermione opened her mouth to object, but George spoke over her.

"If you think magic existed, do you think Fred and I would still be in this hell hole of a school?"

"The answer is no, but we're getting off topic here."

"Right, so anyway, that caused a bit of a disagreement within the class."

"That it did, and now Graham Montague's trying to fight Lee on the football pitch."

"Who knew Montague believed in magic?" George laughed.

Hermione just stared at the pair in shock.

"Well, why the bloody hell are we sat here then?" Ron asked, getting to his feet. "That's going to be a great fight. Doesn't Montague know that Lee knows karate?"

Hermione sighed but followed behind as Fred, George, Ron and Harry all stood and started to make their way outside.

"Boys," she muttered.

"What have they done now?" Hermione jumped as Ginny appeared next to her.

"Jesus, Ginny, you scared me," she laughed. "Graham Montague challenge Lee to a fight."

Ginny sighed. "Why is it that whenever I'm not here, all hell breaks loose? I want to be there when this stuff happens sometimes."

"Well, I'm hoping after Fred and George leave it'll calm down a little. It's always their fault."

As they reached the field, Fred, George, Harry and Ron started running. There was a ring of students in the middle of the field all chanting "fight" as they watched, Hermione assumed, Graham Montague getting beat up by Lee Jordan.

She had planned to just hang back, not wanting to get caught up in the consequences when a teacher inevitably found out about it, but also reluctant to get her friends in trouble by telling someone. Fred, however, had other plans. He had noticed Hermione hanging back so had grabbed her wrist to pull her through the crowd that the others were fighting their way through.

"Fred!" Hermione protested, with a half-hearted attempt to pull her arm away. After spending years being friends with Harry and Ron, as well as the rest of the Weasley family, Hermione had gotten used to being pulled into their antics, just not always quite so literally.

Pushing through the crowd behind Fred, Hermione found herself at the front of the crowd where Harry, Ron, George and Ginny were already watching a surprisingly evenly matched fight between Lee and Graham Montague. She knew the fight hadn't been going very long, but even so, both of them were sporting cuts—Montague above his eye and Lee his lip—and Hermione instantly regretted not going to tell a teacher. She couldn't let it keep going on.

As she stood trying to decide what to do, she felt Fred let go of her wrist and jump into the middle of the fight, just as Montague threw a particularly heavy punch. She winced as she heard, more than saw, Montague's fist land against Fred's temple making him collapse.

Her heart raced slightly as she rushed forward to make sure he was okay.

"Fred Weasley," Hermione scolded as Fred sat up, a grin that was half amused and half angry spread across his face. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"I—"

Fred's response was cut off by the voice of Ms McGonagall who had appeared at the front of the crowd. "Montague, Jordan, Weasley—both of you—my office. Now!"

"But," Hermione started, attempting to vouch for Fred's innocence, but the deputy headmistress had already started making her way back through the crowd, the sea of students parting without her even having to speak.

The rest of the day went agonisingly slowly for Hermione. Fred hadn't come back during lunch, and all she could think about was whether he was okay or not. Even during Chemistry and Maths, which were normally her favourite lessons, she struggled to pay attention. Of course, being the genius of the school, she still managed to get every question right that she was asked, but that didn't stop her from glancing at the clock every thirty seconds and wondering why Fred had decided to jump into the middle of a fight he could never win.

As soon as the bell rang at the end of Maths, Hermione packed her bag quicker than she'd ever done before and bolted out of the door to the front gate. She scanned every face she saw, searching for the familiar Weasley face. It seemed like forever to Hermione, but eventually she saw George round the corner towards her.

"George!" she yelled, running towards the older boy in a complete frenzy. "George, what happened? Where's Fred?"

George rested a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Hermione. Fred's fine. He got sent home because the nurse thought he might have a concussion. McGonagall was so annoyed at Montague, she suspended him and almost forgot about Lee. He just got a detention with her after school tomorrow."

"But he's okay?" Hermione felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Well, he's obviously mental for getting in the middle of that fight." George let out a laugh, but Hermione had obviously let her annoyance show on her face and he answered her seriously. "He's a little banged up, but apart from that he's absolutely fine."

Hermione felt herself smile for the first time that afternoon. "Are you sure?"

George looked at her as if she was crazy, but put his arm around her shoulders. "Yes, I'm sure. Come over and see for yourself if you must. Mum won't mind—she loves you."

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Ron asked as he walked up behind them.

"Yeah, Hermione, you ran out of Maths so quickly, you didn't even collect the homework."

"What?" Hermione felt her stomach sink. What am I going to do? How can I do the homework if I don't have it?

"Don't worry, I picked a worksheet up for you."

"Harry, you're a lifesaver!"

"Are we going then?" George asked as Ginny finally joined the group. "I bet Mum will have food waiting and if we don't get home soon, Fred will have eaten it all."

"Fred?" Hermione called up the stairs. She had checked the living room and the kitchen and he wasn't there.

"Upstairs," her replied. "I'm bedridden."

Hermione made her way upstairs. She expected the rest of the group to be following her, but they had all ducked into the kitchen where Molly Weasley was waiting with food for them all.

At the top of the stairs, she took a deep breath before tentatively knocking on Fred's bedroom door and walking in. Fred was sitting up in bed, a comic book resting in his lap and the top of his head covered in a large bandage.

"Fred, are you okay?" Hermione asked as she rushed over to him, wanting to do anything she could to help.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said with a laugh. "Mum took one look at the bandage and sent me up to bed. It's all a bit much, this." He gestured at his head. "I'm just a bit bruised. It does mean I get to spend the rest of the week in bed rather than at school, though."

Fred winked, and Hermione batted him on the arm before realising he was injured.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" she asked, sitting on the bed so she could make sure he was okay.

"Relax." Fred put his hand on Hermione's leg and gently squeezed her knee. "I'm perfectly fine. Stop fussing."

"Why on earth did you jump into the middle of their fight? There's no way you would have beaten Montague!"

She wasn't sure, but Hermione thought she saw Fred's cheeks flush a faint pink.

"I could see that it was upsetting you. I thought I'd try and get them to stop."

Hermione felt her stomach do a little flip. He was going to stop their fight for me.

"Of course," he continued, "I was going to take advantage of it myself too. Reschedule it for a later date, give George and me some time to collect some bets."

"Fred Weasley, gambling in school is strictly forbi—" Hermione started, but she was cut off by Fred leaning forward and kissing her.

She was too stunned to do anything for a moment. All she could think was, he's kissing me, but eventually she told her brain to shut up and kissed him back.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Hermione jumped backwards at the sound of George's voice, her face flushing a bright red.

"Just sharing a kiss, brother mine," Fred said. His voice was composed, but one look at him told Hermione that he was just as flushed as she was.

"Well, if you could go ahead and ask her out sooner rather than later, Freddie, that would benefit me greatly. I have a bet with Ginny, you see. She said you wouldn't get together until after the exams, said that Hermione wouldn't want to distract herself during her GCSE year."

"I… I'm still here, you know," Hermione stammered, her face turning an even deeper shade of red. It wasn't that George was talking about her and Fred so casually, it was more because they were betting on when they'd get together rather than if.

"That you are. Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds be," George said with a wink, before turning and leaving the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

A silence settled over the room, neither of them knowing what to say. Hermione could feel butterflies in her stomach, she was replaying the kiss over and over in her head, and all she could think about was how much she wanted to kiss him again.

It was Fred who finally broke the silence.

"Well, that was awkward."

That was all it took, and seconds later, both of them were roaring with laughter.

It's nice, Hermione thought to herself. It's nice that something that embarrassing can happen, and he can still manage to make me laugh.

"What do you say then? Are you too focused on your exams, or will you, Hermione Granger, do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"

Hermione felt a grin spread across her face. "Call me a sucker all you want, but I just can't say no to someone who's injured. Of course I will!" She was surprised when she saw Fred relax slightly—he had seemed so calm about it all. "But you can tell George this counts as his birthday present."

Fred laughed, and Hermione felt a wave of warmth wash over her as he pulled her in for another kiss.

Word Count: 1,850

This is for:

Pokemon Trading Card – Blastoise;
(Bonus Shiny) Write about someone with a hidden agenda.

Greek Mythology Category Competition;
Aphrodite – Write a romance fic.

The Restricted Section;
Shelf 2 – Write a romance story.

Social Media Competition;
Youtube Vlog – Set your fic in an alternate universe of your choosing.

The Valentine-Making Station;
Tulips Sticker: Write about a couple's first kiss.
White Roses Sticker: Write an innocent (G-rated) love scene.
Conversation Hearts (Text Me): Write a Muggle AU.
Gummi Bears: Write about a couple that makes you feel particularly cuddly.

Gringotts Prompt Bank;
A-Z of AUs – Highschool!AU
Various Prompts: CSI New York — (action) walking
Various Prompts: Haikyuu! — (word) jump, (emotion) embarrassed
Various Prompts: NCIS — (action) smiling, (action) collapsing
Various Prompts: Codebreaker — (scenario) a fight
Various Prompts: Bambi — (action) first kiss, (action) fighting a rival
Various Prompts: Black Butler — (action) a door closing
Words instead of said — announced, began, continued, laughed, muttered, protested, replied, stammered, yelled