Written for QLFC Season 5, Round 3 - Truth or Dare. I'm chaser 2 for Ballycastle Bats (Go Bats!). I had to write about a Truth that is accidentally found out OR write about a Dare that is given and/or carried out by accident.
My lovely betas were: theotherthompson and Rrit. Any mistakes are all mine!
Optional prompts were: [word] fair, [word] difference, and [sound] screaming
Word Count: 1674
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Giggling. All I hear is giggling and screaming," Fred complained to his twin brother George as he made a face and pulled the Extendable Ear (patent pending) away from his head. They were ensconced in Grimmauld Place for the summer. Harry Potter hadn't shown up yet, but Hermione Granger and the rest of the Weasleys were there. George and Fred were working hard on coming up with products for their owl-post joke business. Extendable Ears were their latest invention. They were still in the testing phase.
"It is two teenage girls, Gred," George responded with a grin. "They are bound to be giggly." They had dropped an ear through the floorboards and were listening in on Ginny and Hermione's conversation.
"Hermione doesn't seem like the giggly type to me," Fred grumbled as he put the Extendable Ear back to his own ear.
"Tell me! You have to tell me, Hermione!" Ginny squealed and Fred grimaced again. The ears worked really well, maybe too well. It sounded like they were in the same room and sitting right next to the girls as they tittered over whatever it was that teenaged girls giggled over.
"No! It's bad enough you got it out of me that I like one of your brothers. I refuse to tell you who," Hermione replied once she got over her latest fit of laughing.
Fred's eyes widened. Secrets! They were telling secrets! He waved at George, "Georgie! Grab one and lower it through, hurry!" Fred focused back on the ear and what the girls were saying two floors below them.
"Fine, I'll just start with the oldest and work my way down then. Your face will tell it all," Ginny threatened. Fred could hear the laughter though and knew his sister wasn't really threatening her friend.
"Not fair, Ginny," Hermione groaned and Fred could imagine she was burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. Fred grinned at the thought. This was going to be good. He looked up and caught George's eye.
"What's going on?" George asked with a look of confusion.
"Hermione's admitted to liking one of the magnificent Weasley brothers," Fred replied his grin almost breaking his face.
"Ooo! I love a good secret," George said and his eyes brightened. He and Fred turned their focus back to the conversation between the girls.
"Bill? No, not Bill. You haven't met him yet, have you? Charlie? Did you meet him last year? No, not him either. So Percy then?" Ginny asked.
"Ew, no!" Hermione replied. Fred and George shared a grin at the note of revulsion in her voice.
"Hmmm, one of the twins then? Ooo! It is one of the twins. You are getting bright red! Fred? Hmmm, no change. George? Can you tell the difference between them?" Ginny asked.
Fred met George's eyes and raised his eyebrows. George smirked back. They both knew that Hermione was one of the few people who could tell them apart. They didn't know how, but she'd always been able to do so.
"I told you - I'm not telling," Hermione replied, clearly embarrassed.
"What about Ron?" Ginny asked. "Just to be sure."
"Ugh, definitely not Ron. He's my best friend, but I think of him like a brother," Hermione said.
"So definitely one of the twins then, hmmm. You sure you won't tell me which one? I could put in a good word for you," Ginny teased.
"Ginny! No! I already told you, I don't plan on telling you. Besides, I definitely don't want you putting in a good word. It's just a silly crush," Hermione said.
"A crush? With your face as red as a tomato? Oh, Hermione, I think it's much more than a crush. I think you are in looove," Ginny said in a sing-song voice.
"Ginny! I'm not listening to this anymore," Hermione said in a snit. The twins grinned at each other again as they heard a door slam below them.
Clearly, Hermione had just left the room she shared with Ginny. Which meant she would go and hide in the library. When Hermione was upset, she always went to hide in the library at Hogwarts, and that behavior didn't change here at Grimmauld Place.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Forge?" Fred asked his twin.
"Need to spend some time in the library, Gred?" George replied his grin turning into a smirk.
"I think that'll be just the thing," Fred said as he stood and went to the door of their room. They raced downstairs to the library. They hadn't discussed their plan yet, but couldn't miss an opportunity to tease Hermione about her apparent crush on them.
"We are crush worthy, aren't we Fred?" George asked before they walked into the library.
"Of course we are, Georgie! Just look at us! Handsome, delectable -"
"Delectable? Good gods, man. She's not going to eat us!" George laughed.
"Maybe she will," Fred replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. George reddened and then laughed along with his twin.
"Oi, Granger!" Fred shouted when they opened the door to the library. Fred was amused to see her face redden when she saw who it was. She was curled up on a couch in the library in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Fred had never thought of her as a girl before, but right now, she looked pretty good to him.
"George, Fred, hello," Hermione said. She didn't quite meet their eyes and her face hadn't lost its red color.
She stood quickly from the couch, "I'm just going to exchange this book and then I'll get out of your hair." She walked away and between a couple of bookshelves. Fred grinned, she was getting herself trapped and he was not about to let her get away. He gestured for George to go the other way around the row of bookcases and they soon had Hermione trapped between them.
"Good book, Granger?" Fred asked. Hermione hadn't been paying attention, she'd leaned her back against the bookshelf and was engrossed in the book in her hands. Fred leaned his shoulder next to her so he could read what she was reading. When he spoke, she jumped and let out a small squeak.
"I don't think she heard us, brother," George replied. He was leaning against the same bookshelf, they had Hermione trapped between the two of them. Fred grabbed the book out of her hands and set it on the shelf beside him.
"A little ear told us a secret, Hermione," George said as he leaned down and brushed a lock of her hair behind her shoulder.
"S-secret?" Hermione asked. She took a big breath and then looked up, first at George, then at Fred.
"Yep," Fred said, popping the 'p' and leaning towards her. Her hair smelled nice, he thought absently. "A juicy one."
"What about?" Hermione seemed to have dug deep into her Gryffindor courage and her voice almost didn't waiver.
"About you," George told her.
"And us."
"So which one of us is it?"
"Forge?"
"Gred?"
"Oh, erm. I don't know what you are talking about," Hermione said. She attempted to move past them, but Fred and George were quicker than her and blocked her in. Her back was to the bookcase and there was a twin on either side of her.
George dug into his pocket and pulled out an Extendable Ear, "Do you know what this is?"
Hermione shook her head.
"It's an Extendable Ear - patent pending," Fred replied.
"For your joke shop?" Hermione asked.
"We're just in the testing phases now," George said. His chest puffed a bit with pride.
"And while we were testing we couldn't help but overhear -"
"You and Ginny, giggling like mad in your room."
"Oh, Merlin," Hermione groaned and dropped her head into her hands in embarrassment.
"Name's George, love."
"See the thing is, Hermione -"
"You never did answer Ginny -"
"About which of us -" Fred motioned between him and George.
"You fancy."
"You can't be serious," Hermione said. She still hadn't looked up from her hands.
"Of course we're not Sirius, he's in the kitchen, love," George smirked.
Fred reached out and lifted her head by the chin, "It's an easy question to answer."
"I - well, you see," Hermione stuttered.
George laughed, "I'll help, you say either Fred or George. Both are just one syllable."
"Both," she whispered.
Fred and George exchanged a look above her head. They hadn't considered that possibility.
"Both?" Fred asked, trying to keep the excitement from his voice.
Hermione nodded and shut her eyes not meeting either of their gazes.
"That's brilliant, love," George said and leaned down to give her a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Truly marvelous," Fred agreed and kissed her on the other cheek.
Hermione seemed to gather her courage and she looked at the pair of them, "Isn't it a bit weird?" she muttered.
"Not for us. I think it's fabulous," Fred told her and gripped her chin again, this time turning her head to look at him. He couldn't stop himself from looking at her lips and when she pulled the bottom one in to nibble on, he almost groaned.
"Stupendous, really," George said. He had wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and was holding her to him. With her back to his chest, she really wasn't going anywhere.
"Prodigious," Fred murmured as he leaned closer hoping to steal a kiss from the witch they had trapped.
"Incredible," George replied as Fred's lips met Hermione's. She stiffened for a very brief moment before she relaxed into his kiss. The kiss was sweet and full of fire.
"Astounding," Fred sighed as he pulled away from the kiss. He grasped Hermione by the shoulders and turned so her back was against Fred's chest.
"Breathtaking," George purred as he bent his own head down to kiss Hermione.
"Phenomenal," Fred mumbled as he tightened his arms around the little witch. When Hermione wound her arms around George's neck. Fred grinned. It seemed George and Fred's summer was off to a fantastic start.