Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.

A/N: I'm sure so many of you must hate me for making you wait so long and, trust me, I'm terribly sorry and I appreciate all those who still have hope in me and this story! I do intend to finish it and I hope everyone can rest assure in that fact. And with that said…

I hope you enjoy chapter fifteen!

Dear Fred,

I feel as if it's only fair to inform you about the early ending to this deal of ours. You have showed me an ebullient, carefree perspective of the world in these five days that we shared, but I'm afraid I can no longer continue with this. I cannot say that I regret these past days because they have been one of the most consecutive captivating days that I've experienced in a long while, but I no longer wish to dwell upon the memories you have given me. I realize that it may seem cowardly saying this all through a letter, but I cannot find it in my heart to have to tell you this in person. I hope you are happy with the life you pursue and I wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely,

Hermione

Fred stared with despair at the paper; no longer reading, for he had nearly memorized every sincere word, although the action in itself was excruciatingly agonizing. Slowly, his focus with reality began to diminish and as he stared without seeing, he found his grip on the letter begin to falter, causing the parchment to slip between his fingers and flutter to the ground. Fred snapped back to reality when he bent over to pick up the letter, but as he held the delicate parchment between his fingers, he found himself tearing the paper to shreds. Each tear to the paper synchronized with the ripping his heart was going through as it beat heavily against his chest.

Feeling his temperature immediately rising as his face flushed with emotion, the Weasley twin tore his coat off and threw it across the room and, as he did so, two slips of paper flew out of his pockets and landed a few feet away from him. The ginger-haired boy glanced up from anguish-filled eyes and walked with feet full of lead towards the contents that had fallen out of his jacket. With a few swift motions, he picked them up and glanced at them before shutting his eyes and tearing up the tickets for two to ride on a hot air balloon.

His blue eyes were brimming with tears of frustration as he watched the shreds slowly fall to the ground and he shook his head, as if to shake away the tears that were building up under his eyelids. "Leave it to Fred Weasley to ruin everything," he thought to himself bitterly. He choked back his emotions as he shook his head again, fiercer than before, and he contemplated rushing to her flat, but decided against it after much consideration. "What'd I do to make her end the deal so abruptly…?" He questioned himself against the pulsating of his head. He sighed and let out the thought, "Well, whatever it is, I reckon Hermione doesn't want to see me and that's for certain…"

The lanky twin leaned against his wardrobe with his forehead pressed against the dark mahogany wood and exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was keeping captive in his lungs as he pushed off and quickly muttered, "Accio love potions," so that a cardboard box flew straight into his arms. He didn't take a second glance towards the shreds of paper he left lying on the floor as he apparated down to the shop.

"Bollocks, Fred; what took you so long? You just missed the afternoon rush," George asked when he noticed his twin appear with the box. He immediately perceived the distressed look on his other half's countenance and frowned as he questioned, "What's wrong, Freddie?"

Fred placed the box down next to his brother and sighed before furrowing his eyebrows, as if he was still in deep contemplation, and replied, "Hermione ended it." He shook his head and muttered, "Through a sodding letter." He sighed, looked into his twin's eyes, and finished, "I know it was just a deal- full of uncertainties, but I was so sure I'd get her to come around."

George, not knowing what to say, but certain he had a suggestion that would cheer up his counterpart, smiled comfortingly at him and stated, "What do you say we close the shop early today at around seven, so you and I can go cause some mayhem elsewhere? Maybe afterwards, we could grab a few drinks at The Three Broomsticks with Ron, even."

The attempt was weak, but the fact that George had even attempted to cheer him up was enough for Fred to smile and nod. "I reckon that sounds like a great plan, Georgie."

7:15 PM

"You owled Ron telling him to meet us at the bar at 8 P.M., right?" George asked for clarification to his brother who was leaning against the brick walls near the shop as he handed Fred his broomstick.

"Yep," was all Fred muttered as he took his broomstick and breathed out a sigh, causing a heavy fog to form in the newfound chilly, evening air.

George smiled sympathetically at his twin and mounted the broomstick simultaneously with Fred. He carried a bag full of pranking material and inventions that hadn't been released yet since they were planning to test them out before meeting Ron at the bar. He bolted before Fred and noticed that his brother was easily riding his broom slowly with a look of despair spread all throughout his features. This caused him to return to his twin and smile encouragingly in his direction.

"Loser pays for the rounds at The Three Broomsticks tonight with Ron- and you know how much Ron can drink," George called out, a challenging look filling eyes as he readied himself on his broom.

Fred shook his head, but responded with, "You're on, brother mine," as he braced himself against the frigid wind and focused on the route ahead of him. George and he often went on broom rides on nights when the other was feeling down to just get their mind off of whatever was burdening them.

"Three-" Fred counted before George and his grip tightened around his broom.

"Two-" George called out, leaning up slightly in front of his broom to maximize his speed during the race.

"One!" Fred exclaimed as he shot forward in front of George.

The wind began to sting against Fred's countenance as pursed his lips and his eyes made slits against the night's winds. As far as he could tell, he was a ways ahead of George who was on his tail. He could hear his brother calling out to him, but did not stop to hear exactly what it was he was saying, just in case it proved to be a trick. In a fleeting moment, Hermione's face flashed before his eyes and he began to hear her soft murmur in his mind. He shut his eyes and clutched his face with one of his hands.

"FRED!" he heard the scream coming from his other half before everything went black.

X-X-X-X

"Calm down, Hermione," Ron whispered from the brunette's side as she remained curled up into a ball underneath her covers. He placed a hand on her shoulder and watched her flinch from underneath his touch with a frown.

Finally, she let out a sniffle and replied, "I end the deal and he and George invite you to go out for a couple of drinks! How am I supposed to feel, Ronald? I suppose we were both wrong about his feelings for me, weren't we?"

Ron shook his head, although Hermione couldn't see his motion, and sighed before looking over to Harry and nodding his head in the girl's general direction as a signal for help. Ron knew that Harry was always the better one of the two when it came to handling Hermione's feelings. The black haired boy sat adjacent to his best friend, placed his hand on her shoulder, and sighed. "Hermio-" was all he was able to let out before a shaken Ginny appeared from the fireplace in a rush.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Harry asked from his place next to Hermione. Upon realizing the unnatural fear and tears on the Weasley girl's face, he made his way over to her and caressed both cheeks with his fingers in an attempt to soothe her.

"Fred- he and George-" she hiccupped before falling into Harry's arms and continuing, "-there was a broom accident and now Fred's admitted into St. Mungo's, but they wouldn't let me see him because they told me to call you, Ron, and Hermione over first."

Hermione lifted her head from the pillow she had furrowed into as Ron inquired, "Broom accident? Do you know what happened? They had just owled me to let me know to meet them at bar at 8…"

"I don't have the faintest idea. That's why we should all go right now!" Ginny slipped her fingers between Harry's and pulled him towards the fireplace. He looked questioningly into Hermione's eyes and nodded his head in Ginny's direction. "Are you coming?"

Hermione didn't need to think before jumping up from her sitting position and feeling a supporting hand resting on her shoulder from Ron. "Everything's going to be okay, Hermione," he reassured her before they all proceeded to use the Floo Network to transport themselves to St. Mungo's Hospital.

In the next chapter: Will Fred be okay? What will become of him and Hermione?