Fred Weasley had always been fascinated by a certain bushy-haired bookworm.

He met her when he was thirteen, and was instantly interested. Of course, to be fair, at thirteen he was instantly interested in nearly every witch that crossed his line of vision. This particular girl, though, was different. He wasn't interested in her for romantic reasons, he was simply altogether fascinated by her confidence.

She was a tiny, eleven year old girl, her hair nearly twice the size of her head, with too large teeth, and a nose too high in the air. Still, he gave her the respect she demanded when she strode into his compartment only twenty minutes after the Hogwarts Express departed from the magical platform.

There she stood, all four feet, eleven inches of her, dressed already in her first years' robes, a strict expression plastered on her face and a look in her eyes that said quite loudly "I dare you to try to make fun of me." She was all confidence as she took a breath, glanced at them, and asked her question.

"Have any of you seen a toad? A boy called Neville has lost one, and I'm helping him search for it." She stated, her voice strong and professional for such a small girl.

Fred's identical twin brother George was the first to reply.

"I think Angelina mentioned seeing a toad earlier."

The look on the girls face softened slightly, though she still had a guarded air, as though the usual reaction she got to this question was the compartment door being slammed shut in her face.

"Yeah, she did mention that, didn't she Freddie?" asked Lee Jordan, roommate of, and best friend to, the twins.

"I do believe you're correct, gentlemen." Fred replied.

Fred knew they were right, because he had held on to absolutely everything Angelina Johnson had ever said to-or-around him. She was another one of those girls he was quite interested in.

"Why don't you escort this nice young lass to dear Angie's compartment, oh brother of mine?" George said, offering his brother a suggestive wink.

Fred had decided that this would be the year he either went forward with the "Angelina thing" or dropped it completely, and George was ready to give any sort of push he needed.

"Sure I will, come with me, madame." Fred said, sweeping his arms to the hallway.

"I'm Fred, by the way, Weasley." He told her as they headed down the corridor.

"I'm Hermione Granger. I see that you're in Gryffindor house! I really hope that I get into Gryffindor as well, I've read nothing but incredible things about those from that particular house, and I think it would be just amazing to be considered brave among all of these other witches and wizards." She babbled in reply to his introduction.

"I can see you as a Ravenclaw, actually. You strike me as the smart type." Fred complimented.

Hermione Granger stopped walking and mumbled something.

"What was that?" Fred asked.

"I said, I'm not just smart."

"I didn't mean that as an insult. I hardly even know you, I couldn't possibly insult you. Besides, Ravenclaw house is very esteemed. All of the are very special in their own ways. Except for Slytherin. I'll never talk to you again as long as we both shall live if you're put into Slytherin. Sorry, Weasley rule." He joked lightly.

Her face became slightly worried. He then watched as her eyes flashed with something, her face then becoming a bright pink.

"Well, if I'm in Gryffindor, will you talk to me?" she asked quietly.

It was a shy question, that was certain, and that fact alone was shocking to Fred. He had known this girl for little over ten minutes, but already he knew she didn't do "shy".

"Well 'course I will." He replied brightly, slinging an arm over her shoulders.

"I'll even give you a tour tomorrow morning before classes!"

Wait. What?

He wasn't sure where that had come from. Since when did Fred Weasley, of the infamous Weasley twins, EVER offer a tour of the school to anyone? The answer was never. But still, he couldn't help but have a sneaking suspicion that he would be holding his breath tonight, waiting with fingers crossed to see if "Granger, Hermione" would be sorted into his house.

Hermione's face lit up at the offer.

"That would be wonderful! It would be really quite nice to have a friend already to show me the ropes. Some things you can't read…" she blushed again, looking as though she thought she may have pushed her luck with the "friend" comment.

"You know what? I'll still be your friend, even if you're in Slytherin." He said with a wink.

Was he flirting?

No. That wasn't possible. Because Angelina Johnson was inside of the compartment, and this was just a bushy haired first year, whom he knew nothing about.

Even though it did sort of sound like they had a date tomorrow…

But no…that wasn't right…he was being a friend to a girl who needed someone to look out for her. After all, she was going to be a prime target for bullying with hair like that, and it was his civic duty to protect her.

Even if he never cared about protecting anyone who wasn't his baby sister before this point.

"And risk breaking a family rule?" she replied, a small grin on her face and an eyebrow raised.

"Hermione Granger, you'll soon learn, that I am all about breaking rules." With that he pushed her lightly into the compartment that held Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet.

He turned on his heel and walked back to his compartment, a grin on his face that he knew his twin would believe to be caused by seeing Angelina.

A fact that he would continue to allow his dear brother to believe, since the truth was far, far, too confusing for him to figure out at the moment.

A/N: WELL! I'm back! Oh my gosh, I feel like I've been gone forever, and I've missed writing terribly. Even more than that, I've missed Fred and Hermione terribly! So terribly that I'm supplying you with a MULTICHAPTER STORY, which I never ever ever ever ever ever do, what with me being the number one supporter of one-shots!

There's no real excuse for my absence from the fanfiction writing world, other than the fact that I've been horribly busy. I just switched my major in college, I've written, produced, and directed two plays, directed a musical, costumed some shows, and just been crazy insanely busy. But I'm back, hopefully to stay, but at least long enough to finish this story! Leave me some comments, hopefully I'll have chapter 2 up later today!

Love you all!

~MxxM