A/N: This story is a oneshot dedicated to the lovely, cuddly ( ;D ) wvvampire, Crystal, who's always ready to e-hug me. I hope you had an awesome day once you had a chance to relax, and I hope you enjoy the story! As always, as usual, as every time I say this, I own NOTHING! lol!
She was going to slaughter them.
Hermione Granger slammed her textbook shut and launched herself off the bed, hitting the floor, well…stomping. This time, the twins had gone too far, and she was going to murder them.
Painfully.
Slowly.
Agonizingly slowly.
She had put up with everything they had hurtled her way for years, but this was too much. They were jeopardizing her career at Hogwarts! They would get her expelled! And for what? Just so that they could test another new product? She would have guessed that after all of the pranks they had pulled on her over the years, they would get tired of suffering her consequences.
But apparently they were stupid as well as annoying.
"Adorably annoying," her mind whispered, pulling to mind a myriad of memories of Fred Weasley, even as her body pushed through the door of the fifth year girls' dorm and stomped its way down to the Common Room. Cute or not, she would be cheerfully spilling his guts on the rug in front of the fireplace if he didn't have an amazing excuse for this latest prank.
And the guts of his tolerantly-good looking brother as well.
Fred Weasley knew the exact moment that Hermione had noticed their little prank. Actually, everyone in England must have noticed it since she slammed the door so hard that some of the pictures on the walls vibrated, and then started complaining about earthquakes in a stone castle-esque school.
But perhaps that was just speculation. "FRED, GEORGE, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" might have tipped him off better.
One thing was sure. Hermione Granger certainly didn't mince words.
When he saw her at the top of the stairs, though, his breath caught in his throat. She wasn't wearing shoes, just knee-high socks that encased her slim legs. Her cheeks were flushed with anger, her white blouse stained with a colorful assortment of different inks, and her hair was a tangled, curled mess that somehow accented her facial features and made his heart jump even more.
As she came down the stairs, Gryffindors stood, including the twins, and scattered in all different directions to get away from the young witch. She walked past everyone, her gaze fixed directly on him, probably because he was closer that George. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she turned him around and slammed him against one of the walls in the Common Room. The breath left Fred's lungs, but his smile morphed into a wicked smirk as he wheezed, "Geez Hermione, if I'd known you liked this kind of power struggle, I would've tried this years ago."
For one split second, something flashed through Hermione's eyes, but then it was gone, a blush staining her cheeks instead. "Fred Weasley, I've had it with you!" she gasped out.
George, meanwhile, was trying to discreetly edge himself out the door.
"Move one more inch, George Weasley, and I'll castrate you," Hermione growled, never taking her eyes off of Fred.
George froze.
"Oh come on, Hermione-" Fred started to whine.
He found Hermione's wand pressed up against his nose.
"No 'buts' of any kind. And don't think for a moment that you two are going to get your scrawny little ones out of trouble this time. Tell me, Fred," she said coolly, "do you two enjoy making my life extra miserable? Do you take pleasure in the fact that I have worked on this assignment of Snape's for a whole thirteen hours, and to what end? Your blasted ink ruined my work!"
Fred knew that he should be listening. This was obviously bothering her, but all he could do was stare at her face, watching her eyes as they flashed with anger. Perhaps they had gone a little overboard with the prank?
"Well?"
Oh, she was still saying something. He took a deep breath and said, "Look Hermione, I-we're really sorry, but seriously, we have two more days before the assignment needs to be turned in, and we thought you needed a break."
"A break? A break?" Hermione's voice was getting shriller by the moment. "Thanks to you two idiots, I have to rewrite my paper all over again! Your whatever-you-call-it bookmark spewed ink all over my parchment…and me!" She let go of his shirt to run an angry hand through her hair. "Merlin! Why did I ever accept that bookmark from you anyways?"
"Because it was in your favorite color and said 'I Love Homework' on it?" George supplied optimistically. Hermione whipped her head around to send a death glare his way. "Oh, it was rhetorical?" he asked meekly. "Sorry."
"Hermione, the bookmark will only spray ink when you've been working too hard. It's supposed to sense a rise in your stress level and alert you when it's time to stop working."
"Oh it alerted me, alright," she growled. "Now, my paper is ruined, and so is my shirt! Can your stupid bookmark sense my stress level now?"
Fred closed his eyes for a moment, half to gain control of his thoughts, and half to keep from kissing the angry witch in front of him. "Hermione, the paper, and your shirt for that matter, are easily repairable. Trust me."
Hermione snorted. "Really?" How could one word drip so much sarcasm? "Then why is it that every cleaning and repairing charm that I've tried simply smears the ink even more?"
George tried one more time to be helpful. "We invented the spell, Hermione. It's easily retracted."
She took a step away from Fred. "Why didn't you say so? Would you please cast the spell so that I can get back to work? In exchange, I'll let you both live for a little while longer."
Fred's mouth quirked into a grin once again as he stared down at the back of Hermione's head. His eyes met those of his twin's and resisted the urge to laugh. "Hey Hermione, we'll make you a little deal, alright?"
Hermione turned away from George and narrowed her eyes at Fred. "I don't want to make a deal. I want to study!"
Fred shook his head saucily, all the while keeping an eye on her wand hand. "No, I don't think so. You've done quite enough studying for today. Now, we'll tell you what. You take the rest of the day off and play a little game with us, and we'll set your parchment to rights. Deal?"
"Absolutely no-"
Fred swooped down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Great. Library's first!"
With that, they ran out of the room.
She hated not having a choice. She always wanted options, and the twins weren't giving her any. With one last stomp of her foot, Hermione headed out towards the library. Upon reaching the library doors, she noticed a scrap of parchment spell-o-taped to the doors. It read:
Hermione,
We know that this wasn't your first choice, but we hope you enjoy this little game. Head to the first place you ever brewed that Polyjuice Potion. (Yes, we know about that, naughty girl.)
The Handsomest Boys at Hogwarts
With a huff, Hermione headed off towards the lavatory, all the while dreading having to see Moaning Myrtle. She was not in the mood to deal with the pesky little ghost. Actually, she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone at the moment. All she wanted was to go back to studying. Studying was safe. Books were safe. She didn't have to worry about books steering her wrong.
Fred Weasley could break her if she wasn't careful. The way he looked at her sometimes gave her hope, but the pranks he pulled on her still kept her feet too firmly on the ground. If he gave her too much more hope, she was afraid that she would come crashing down.
And she wouldn't be able to get back up.
Hermione crept into the bathroom, praying that Moaning Myrtle would either not notice her, or would just leave her alone. She spotted the note taped to the sink and ran out of the room just as one of the U-bends thumped. Once safely out of the bathroom, Hermione looked down and read the next note:
Hermione,
We hope Moaning Myrtle didn't keep you too long. The house elves have your next clue.
The Handsomest Boys at Hogwarts
Hermione sighed, barely resisting the urge to smile, and headed down to the kitchen. It took several minutes to assure Dobby that she wasn't in need of food, and only wanted the clue. "Harry Potter's friends gave it to Dobby," Dobby informed her happily. "Dobby kept it safe. Dobby watched over it for Miss Hermione."
"Thank you, Dobby," Hermione said, taking the tiny clue.
"Miss Hermione's friend likes Miss Hermione," Dobby continued adamantly.
"Which friend?" Hermione asked, her heart beating faster.
"Why, Ron Weasley's brother," Dobby said.
"Which one?"
"Mister Fred Weasley," Dobby continued.
Hermione bent down and kissed the top of Dobby's head. "Thank you, Dobby." She raced out of the kitchen and eagerly scanned the next note, only then noticing something very important missing from her person….
Hermione,
I know that you think that we only tease you for the fun of it, but the truth is, you're special to me, and I just wanted you to actually be able to enjoy today. (You've probably forgotten all about today, but I haven't.) Meet us in the room we've been using to get the jump on Umbridge.
Love Hopefully,
Fred
Heart pounding, Hermione ran as fast as she could towards the Room of Requirement. All she could think of was, "I need to find Fred. I need to find Fred." The room, however, seemed to understand, because the door appeared and she opened it with fingers that shook slightly.
"Happy Birthday, Hermione!"
Everyone from Dumbledore's Army stood inside, balloons and flowers scattered around the room, cheering for her. Luna was clapping dreamily for her, Ron and Harry had glasses of butterbeer in both hands, and Ginny was giving both of them disapproving looks, but Hermione's gaze lasted only a moment on each of her friends. She skipped over the towering cake entirely. She couldn't stop looking at Fred. He stood there in the middle of the room next to George, smiling at her.
Feeling like her heart would burst and break at the same time, Hermione strode over to him and he responded by placing a hand on one shoulder. "Happy birthday, Mione," he said softly, so softly that she barely missed it.
"You were right," she told him. "I'd completely forgotten what today was." She smiled up at him, relishing the hold he had on her shoulder. "It just took a little bit of incentive, and a lot of thoughtful planning."
Fred gazed down at her hopefully. "So you're not mad anymore?"
She shook her head. "The ink disappeared from my clothes before I even reached the kitchen, and I'm guessing that when I get back to my paper…tomorrow," her eyes twinkled happily, "it'll be in just as good condition. Playing along was definitely worth it."
"And you feel the same way?" This time, she nodded shyly.
He leaned down and captured her upturned mouth in a dizzying kiss, pulling her tightly against his body and completely ignoring the wolf whistles and catcalls that surrounded them. His hands were gentle as he cupped her cheeks, tilting her head slightly so that he could deepen the kiss. Hermione willingly followed his lead, feeling both passionate, and joyful, warmth flood her stomach as he pulled her even tighter, and she wound her arms around his neck.
After what seemed like an eternity, Fred began to soften the kisses, lengthening the time that they spent gasping for breath in between. He leaned his forehead against Hermione's, grinning down at her. "Is it my birthday, or yours?" he asked, his voice husky and amused.
"Definitely mine," she said happily, ignoring the grins and chuckles of the friends around her as she let herself be snuggled into Fred's side, close to his heart. "And thank you, both of you, for putting this together."
Fred kissed the top of her head and grinned across the room at George, who was giving the couple a thumbs-up. "You're most welcome."
"Hey Fred?" Hermione said softly, playing with the buttons on his shirt.
"Hm?"
"Don't ever pull a stunt like that with me again, or I will come up with something special for you two, and an ink-spraying bookmark will look like child's play." She paused for effect before adding, "And I'll tell your mother."
Fred couldn't help but groan, and then laugh aloud. "Fair enough," he murmured softly, leaning down for another kiss.
A/N: I really hope you all liked this! I quite enjoyed it, because I would be wanting to murder them as well. :P Please review, and thanks so much for reading. Again, Happy Birthday Crystal!