Alrighty, so this is another submission for the Twin Exchange! The themes this month were absolutely inspiring and have given me enough to write a full multi-chapter fic. However, I've run out of time to write and publish the entire thing, as it will span some major scenes from books 4 through 7, and, if you all like it enough, will be quite lengthy. Thus, this little ficlet is born. It follows different themes and ques than the original plan, but still fits the criteria. This fic, once the others have posted, could easily fit inside the larger story, or be read entirely on its own. If you enjoy this, or any of my other FreMione stories, please subscribe to me and you'll see the stories posted soon! Also, if you send me a review for this chapter, I'll send you a reminder email when the new story is posted, in case there are some of you that don't like to follow people or get the email alerts. Just let me know and I'll be happy to help!
Sidenote: The product I chose to use is one that's actually shown in the movies. The story cover is of the product itself, to help you see what I'm talking about!
PS: Being American, I read the prompts originally and wondered how I was supposed to incorporate Dragon Ball Z into the world of Harry Potter. To my fellow DBZ fans, you understand my confusion, to everyone else, Brolly is a rather intense character from the show :D Also, for my How I Met Your Mother fans, notice the color of the umbrella ;) I'm also thinking of making a Harry Potter roleplay on here. If anyone would be interested in joining, please let me know in a comment or send me a PM. Thanks! :D Alas, here's the fic!
Prompt: Brolly (British for Umbrella), Quotes: "Is this a...", Theme: April Fool's Day (the twin's birthday!)
Hermione bustled through the crowds, her bright yellow brolly held directly above her head. If the rain were to touch her hair, all of her work to look presentable would have been in vain. Her eyes darted from her feet to the wizards and witches in front of her, keeping an eye out for any puddles that may have formed already.
The saying, "April showers bring May flowers," rang through her ears and she let out a small laugh at how quickly that old adage had proven itself this year. After stepping over a particularly wide puddle, she found herself directly under the overhang that marked the front of the store. The smile that spread across her lips made its way up to her eyes as she lowered the brolly, closed it securely, and cast a quick drying spell.
With the yellow, waterproof material tucked under her arm, she pushed the door open. The somewhat unfamiliar jingling of the bells floated to her ears, a sound which wasn't heard often as the crowds inside were usually too loud to hear over.
And that's when she heard it.
The sound that made her knees go week.
"Oi, we're closed for lunch. Your last minute pranks will have to wait."
A wide smile spread across her lips as she watched George push through the fabric that sectioned off their work room during his twin's warning, coming to make sure the intruder actually left the store. His eyes shot open and darted quickly around the room, clearly looking for the person behind the joke being played on him.
"I'm sorry, I can come back later if you'd like..."
Her voice kept it's joking tone as she playfully turned to leave out of the door again. She didn't have time to even reach the handle before she heard his footsteps approaching. His arms wrapped tightly around waist and picked her up to halt her movements. The small giggle that passed through her lips earned her an appreciative kiss on the cheek. Still in his arms, he turned and began to carry her towards the backroom, smirking as she relaxed in his arms.
"Just wait until he sees you..."
Hermione shook her head and and let out a small laugh in disbelief that he has insisted on carrying her. Once pushed past the curtain, she was granted the first view of him, one that she had been denied for far too long.
Fred was hunched over the desk, eye help up to a magnifying glass as he inspect the contents of what looked like an old fashioned straw dispenser from the diner she used to frequent with her parents. George set her down quietly and held a finger up to his lips as he jerked his head to gesture to the man in front of them.
Hermione flashed him a wide smile before moving forward slowly. When she had almost reached him, he began to speak and she worried that he had either found them out or that he would turn and ruin the surprise. She fought against the jelly that her legs had turned into since hearing his voice and inched forward.
"I can't seem to get this right, for some reason it only-"
Hermione took the opportunity to lean forward and press her lips lightly on top of his cheek. She pulled back slightly to whisper in his ear, smiling slightly when she noticed how rigid his body had gotten at the contact from the unknown person.
"Is work really the only thing you think about? You need to lighten up..."
She pulled her head away from his as his head shot to face her. His eyes were wide and the shock was easily apparent.
"M-Mione?" His voice was a mix between confusion and disbelief. After the short nod of her head and seeing that smile that she reserved only for him, he moved at lightening speed.
His chair swiveled so that he was able to fully face her, taking all of her in. Arms wrapped around her waist and held onto her tightly as his lips crashed onto hers. Hermione was thankful that he had taken that moment to pull her down onto his lap, for she knew her legs surely wouldn't have been able to support her any longer.
As if on instinct, her arms found their familiar place around his neck and tangled with the hair at the base of his neck. The two deepened the kiss, neither needing to take the lead as the desire and need of both was present. It wasn't until a few moments, and a good snog later, that the clearing of the throat could be heard.
After one last lingering kiss on the lips, the two regretfully pulled apart and turned to look at their third wheel. George had taken his seat on his regular work chair and was patting his thigh with a smirk.
"Enough hogging her, it's my birthday too, you know?"
Fred scrunched his nose in disapproval, although his face quickly turned to shock as he felt his girlfriend climbing off of his lap.
"Oh silly me, how could I have forgotten!" Hermione closed the few steps between them and planted herself fully on his lap. Her arms took their usual place as they did on Fred, although they lacked the intimacy normally present with her hair playing. She leaned forward and peppered his cheek with kisses, making sure to make each dramatic. When she ceased a few dozen kisses later, she noticed George's pout immediately.
"You know, somehow I think that's not exactly the same thing he just got..."
Hermione leaned forward and gave him one last lingering kiss on the cheek. "It was, it's just the angle of your chair..." George let out a small laugh and turned his head to plant a kiss in return on Hermione's cheek, although his lips would never connect with the target.
"Alright, I'm done sharing." Fred said with a pout of his own as he easily lifted her off of his twin's lap. "You want kisses? Go get your own girlfriend."
George's eye lit up as he jumped up from his seat. "Amazing idea! Secret passages work both ways, you know..." Hermione's eyes widened as the thought registered. Now she would have yet another way to see the twins.
"Angelina's at the pitch, she had practice, that's the only reason she wasn't here with me." Hermione tried to keep the excitement out of her voice and watched as he rushed towards the curtain that would lead him to the door. "Good luck, let us know it it works!"
George nodded and turned back with a smirk, warning the two to 'try not to behave' while they had the shop and flat to themselves. The two remaining in the store after his departure now donned bright red cheeks of embarrassment.
Fred set her down lightly on his twin's now empty chair and reclaimed his own that he had dragged to sit as close as possible to her.
"So how did you get here anyways? Which passage did you take?" Fred asked curiously, smiling over at her as he reached to grab her hand that was resting on her lap.
"None." Hermione answered simply, giving her head a quick shake. "Dumbledore allowed me to come. He said he knew I would be planning a surprise birthday trip for you and that he'd rather I not use any unknown secret entrances, to avoid the weak points in Hogwarts security to fall into the wrong hands." She considered commenting on how she knew that George would be safe about it, but decided not to bring it up.
Fred leaned over slowly, also choosing to ignore the mood-killing conversation and pressed his lips to her temple. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and flashed her one of his smiles that took her breath away. "Well, either way, I'm so happy you're here. This is the best birthday present ever."
Hermione's eyes dropped in embarrassment to look over the straw dispenser he had been working on. She raised an eyebrow, deciding it best to change the topic. "So, what new contraption has my boyfriend working so hard on his favorite day?"
Fred's eyes turned back to look over the jar and shook his head. "We were kind of inspired by today's weather. We're basically trying to bottle the rainstorm, meaning if you pop the top, you'd have a mini storm of your own in the room you're in." Hermione looked the glass jar over with a raised eyebrow.
"And why exactly would someone want to get caught in the rain?"
Fred laughed and shook his head. "It's more for...educational purposes..." His voice was envious, and Hermione knew instantly it was because he'd never get to use it for it's designed purpose.
"Say you're in a double potions and you've just taken loads of notes. Snape, or..what's his name? Sludgehorn? Whatever, besides the point...the potions master assigns you three feet on what you've covered in class. Now, imagine it...you stealthily grab the Weasley's Wet Weather from your bag, open it up, and all of those 'notes' you took in class are just gone! He can't really expect you to write a full paper from memory, thus meaning the assignment is cancelled!"
Hermione burst out laughing and reached out to grab hold of his other hand with the one that wasn't already claimed. "And what about drying potions?"
Fred shook his head and flashed her one of his proud smiles. "Already thought of that, love. We're trying to enchant the rain with either an anti-drying spell or a spell that will allow the rain to make ink disappear. I just can't find a way to balance them..."
"But what about the books?" Hermione rushed in, fearful for the ruined texts that were sure to come if the latter was chosen. Her concern earned her a chuckle from the man next to her and a soft kiss on her lips.
"It would only work on ink that has been recently written, and would allow the ink to reappear once the paper in dried naturally."
She considered the idea for a second and nodded. "I suppose that would work, it's more a combination of the two then."
Fred nodded and smirked for a second before grabbing a piece of parchment and a quill from in front of him. He used his other arm to cover his work and scribbled quickly on the parchment before shoving it for her to see. She rolled her eyes and sighed at the obvious note passing, but read the note regardless.
When she noticed that 'I Love You' had been etched by his trademark handwriting, she felt her cheeks tint with color at the sweetness of the moment. She grabbed the quill from his hand and began to write it back to him.
Fred, however, noticed her distraction and took the opportunity to pull the umbrella shaped cover from the container and waited for the product to react.
Before she was even able to put the 'o' in 'love', she watched the first raindrop splash onto her boyfriends written words. As the water sunk into the paper, the words seemed to sink with it and she looked in horror at Fred's now marred writing. Her eyes traveled up, noticing the black storm cloud, and her eyes shot open.
"I-is this a..."
Her head immediately shot to her boyfriend who was holding the two separate pieces of the canister with a smirk. On instinct, she dashed for the brolly that had been discarded on the floor during their 'greetings'. Right when her had was working to push the opening, a larger hand was placed on top of hers to cease her movements.
"That's bad luck you know..."
She looked up at him with sheer terror in her eyes. He pulled her against his chest and leaned down to give her another kiss.
"B-but my hair..." Hermione mumbled pitifully, disappointed that all of her hard work was for naught.
"I like it much better and think you're way more beautiful the way you normally have it." Fred offered her a reassuring smile and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Afterall, don't you want to kiss me in the rain? I thought girls loved that kind of stuff..."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, to remind him that she was, in fact, not like 'most girls'. However, her protests were never heard before his lips leaned down to meet her own. Knowing that she was able to finally have her arms wrapped around the love of her life was enough for her.
Winning an argument or debate right now wasn't worth wasting the precious time she got with him. "Happy Birthday Fred." Her voice mumbled against his lips as she allowed herself to get lost in the kiss, the two resuming exactly where they had left off before being so rudely interrupted by George.
And, as much as Hermione hated to admit it, kissing in the rain wasn't as idiotic as she had expect. It definitely did have it's advantages...
A/N: Alright guys, there you have it! Please leave a review. They're greatly appreciated! Remember to subscribe if you want more Fred/Hermione goodies, there are many more to come. Also be sure to check out the Twin Exchange forum on this site. Amazing new challenges every month that really help to get the creative juices flowing, and you can vote on any fics that I may have entered! Thanks again for reading! :D