Author's Note: Hello again, fanfiction world! It has been years. I really missed writing but I've been very busy with schoolwork and everything else. I had no idea college was this crazy. Haha! :)

Anyway, how have you all been? This is actually my first time writing a Harry Potter fanfic, so please bear with me. And because I've been re-reading the series, my potterhead feels are at their peaks. I'm actually a newbie Fremione fan, because I've always been a Dramione fan but then I saw some Fremione posts on tumblr and BOOM! I'm an even bigger emotional mess because of what J.K. Rowling did to Fred. Oh my heart!

But fear not! In this story, no Weasley is dead. (Scarred, maybe. George and his holeyness. You get my drift, yeah?) And there would also be no Ronald-is-my-always-king-Weasley-bashing because, honestly, I have nothing against him and Hermione. I really think they're meant for each other. (ROMIONE FOR THE WIN!) It's just kind of nice to explore the world of 'what ifs' where Ron and Hermione are the best of friends but not really lovers.

Okay, I've taken so much of your time now. So on with my disclaimer.

Disclaimer: These amazing characters who have been there for all of us and who we have been there for until the very end are created by the most powerful witch of all, J. K. Rowling. *applause* *standing ovation!*

On with the story!

"Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. It is distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rises from the potion in spirals. Amortentia smells different to each person, according to what attracts them."
—JK Rowling

Muffled voices from the many brightly lit shops and soft crunches of winter boots against the snow-covered pavement filled Diagon Alley as witches and wizards of all ages run along to make some last minute Christmas shopping. Little kids squeal while the adults engage in conversations here and there. The cobblestones streets reflect the dozens of floating Christmas lights while soft music wafted through each shop.

It has been months since that dreadful battle which had left the wizarding world in a sea of grief and despair. Even after the fall of Voldemort, people were still too scared to venture outside their homes. It wasn't until the Ministry have made an announcement regarding the capture of all Death Eaters and others who have been a member of the dark side that slowly, people trickled down the streets to try and repair what was broken. It took a while, but soon enough life returned to the way it used to be.

Diagon Alley was one of the first places people had repaired after the war. And among all the shops that had been gravely affected by it, the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was the one that took most of the blow. Before, it was a place booming with laughter and mischief, but once the dark cloud had passed, it was just a huge rubble. A colorful ruin consisting of many sweets and potions that had once brought smiles to the community. Not to mention that it's owners had been scarred for life by the war.

The Weasley twins, a.k.a. the best pranksters and Gryffindor beaters Hogwarts has ever known, have suffered so much that even they needed cheering up. George had been scarred both physically and emotionally. The first came in the form of a missing ear and the latter came in the form of his twin brother lying unconscious with a wall pinning him to the cold floor in Hogwarts. That scene caused him nightmares for weeks. And if anyone in the family had been grateful the most for Hermione being there in time to revive his twin, it was definitely him. He wouldn't know what would've happened to him if ever Fred had died that night.

He even hugged the poor girl to death due to his overwhelming happiness and gratitude. If he was being honest, he have always had a soft spot for the bushy-haired bookworm. Perhaps it was because he grew up with six brothers and only one sister. He cared for her the way he cared for Ginny. And he actually shares the same wish with his family that hopefully, she'd be a Weasley too. Officially. And he knows his twin agrees with him. In fact, George thinks Fred couldn't agree more.

They are twins after all.

"Blimey! I'm gonna have to buy an entire bag full of chocolate frogs when I'm done with this potion," Fred sighed as he stirred the shimmering liquid, his stomach grumbling due to the delicious smell it was emitting.

"I never knew chocolate could smell this amazing!" he muttered to himself as he collected a dozen small vials to fill with the potion.

As he was checking the liquid one last time, George suddenly popped his head in the doorway, grinning at his twin. "Hey Forge! How's the love potion coming along?"

"Pretty good, Gred. What else needs a second batch?" Fred asked, carefully filling the vials with the mother-of-pearl liquid.

Just last month, after reviving most of their products and finally post-war re-opening the shop, their products have been solding out due to their popular demands. And given that Chistmas is in just a few days, the demands have increased excessively. So now, they were both stuck in the shop restocking most of their products before coming over to the Burrow to spend their first Christmas without any worries about ickle Voldy. And they wouldn't have it any other way.

Fred, of course, was ecstatic. After being discharged from St. Mungo's a few weeks after the battle, he spent some time with his family in the Burrow. He pranked every single occupant of the house, including poor Crookshanks who had tried to get back at him by attacking him first thing in the morning for about a week. But to him, the scratches were like tokens of gratitude. Because finally, it made them all feel like everything is back to normal.

As normal as it could get with the twins around.

Though this holiday seems like a miracle and a curse at the same time. At least for him. It was just everywhere he looked at home, everyone would be coupled up. His mum and dad are as in love as ever and Bill and Fleur were happily married as well. Charlie's got himself a beautiful muggleborn whom he met in Romania. Ginny was of course with Harry the-boy-who-never-dies Potter. Their like the power couple of the century. George has finally man up and asked Alicia Spinnet out, so now they're another happy couple. Ron was stupid enough to break up with Hermione and now he's seeing Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff. Bloody hell, even Percy's got Penelope Clearwater.

And when he's out with his friends, he's starting to question just how much of his life had passed him by when he was knocked out cold in the war. Oliver had finally stopped thinking about Quidditch long enough to notice just how amazing Katie was for him. Even his ex-girlfriend Angelina Johnson has moved on and now is happily in love with Lee. Not that he was having hard feeling or anything. In fact, he was happy for her, since they had broken up in their last year at Hogwart, which was a mutual decision, finally realizing that they were better off as just close friends.

Besides it just never felt right going out with someone and kissing or hugging them, having their lavender scent fill up your senses when in reality, you heart and mind are somewhere or someone else, rather. Someone who smells just like wood, freshly brewed potion and chocolates.

Muggle chocolates.

Fred started at the thought, sitting up straighter as he poured the last drop of Amortentia in the vial.

'I think I've inhaled far too much of this potion!'

"Hey, brother of mine. When you're done back there, let's clean up and head over. Yeah? I want to catch mum's first batch of gingerbread cookies. Oh and to answer your question, everything's good for now. So can you please hurry up?" George called out from the counter.

Shaking his head as he cleared his mind, Fred waved his wand to clear the table and levitated the shimmering vials to the front of the shop where the rest of the love potions were arranged.

'Muggle chocolates, huh? You're bloody mental Fred! It's probably just chocolate frogs you're smelling'

As they were getting ready to apparate, George handed him a chocolate frog, grinning so widely with a sparkle in his eyes. "Thought you might need to satisfy your sweet tooth. That potion got you big time huh?"

Fred chuckled and thanked him, opening the package. Before the frog could even blink, Fred has eaten the whole thing, frowning when he realized that it didn't really help his chocolate crisis. If not chocolate frogs, that what chocolate was it really? Even if it was a muggle one, there'd still be hundreds of choices for him. Sighing, he looked at the card, only to choke on his saliva.

Because there, smiling brightly at him with eyes as warm as a summer breeze, was none other than Hermione Granger.

The subject of his affection for the past however many years.

Someone's probably toying with him as of the moment. And without meaning to, he sent his twin a glare before disappearing.

Meanwhile...

"Would you like me to read it to you? No? Okay," Hermione cooed to the toddler sitting in front of her on the carpet. Teddy gripped the thick spine of her favorite book, Hogwarts: A History, with his small meaty hands. He let out a tinkling laugh that made Hermione smile.

She was sprawled on the carpet, just watching and playing Teddy, while Harry and the other Weasleys were outside having a game of Quidditch. It was way too cold outside for her liking and besides, she wanted to just relax for a bit. What better way to relax than to watch an adorable toddler who loves to imitate the appearance of the person he's spent the previous hour with. So as of the moment, the little Lupin was sporting a mass of chocolate brown curls much like her own bushy mane and her warm brown eyes. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen making batch after batch of gingerbread cookies with Andromeda while Mr. Weasley was in his shed happily tinkering with the new addition of muggle magazines Hermione has given him. They were about cars so it was a big help to him regarding his bewitched one.

Crookshanks walked over to where Teddy was giggling while slapping the book with his hands. Once he saw the furball, he reached out to pat his head and Crookshanks gratefully meowed, before resting his head on Teddy's lap.

"You like Crookshanks, Teddy?" Hermione smiled again as she tickled the toddler, causing him to giggle louder.

Spending time with Teddy make her wish she wasn't an only child. After meeting the Weasleys, she realized that having a sibling was probably the best feeling in the world. You have someone to care for and someone who cares about you. Someone who will always have your back no matter what. But no matter, with the Weasley, she was as good as at home. She had brothers and a sister here that accepted her for who she is. They were like her second family. Her own still somewhere in Australia, not knowing they have a daughter who misses them and who needs them so much. It was her own fault anyway. She had been the one to erase their memories in order to save them. She did what she had to do. Besides, right after the war, she had asked for assistance from McGonagall and the Ministry to search for her parents and to help with the spell to bring back their memories. She's almost there.

She knows she'll be able to see and hug them again before Hogwarts re-open the next school year. Yes, she was in fact invited by McGonagall to fully complete her last year at Hogwarts, together with the others, who had also accepted.

But for now, she was stuck in the Burrow, reminiscing the holidays she used to spend with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been very kind to her ever since she was little and the minute they found out what she did to her parents, they had gathered her in their arms as she sobbed helplessly. They had welcomed her like their own, despite the break up between her and Ron just a month after the war. They had been very supportive of their relationship and was very glad that finally, she was going to be a part of the family. But after a month of trying to be a couple, they both have decided that they're better off as best friends. They've experienced so much together that somehow, the kiss they shared during the battle was somewhat just a reliease of all their fears combined. They care about each too much that in the end, they felt like they were more like siblings rather than lovers. It took the others a while to accept it, but after some time, everything went back to normal. Ron started seeing Hannah, with a little push from Hermione and Harry of course, seeing that Ron was still as clueless as ever in the name of name.

She, however, remained single. Why? That's what Ginny kept asking her. Even she kept asking herself that. Maybe it was the fact that certain feelings decided to resurface after years of trying to hide them from everyone, and after a near death experience with a redhead and specific Hogwarts wall, she's waiting around for some miracle in her life.

If falling for your best friend's older brother counts as a miracle, that is.

Ginny suspects something now since they were sharing a room. And Hermione blames it all in that tiny vial of shimmering liquid. She had no idea it was all a trap. One second they were just laughing and the next, Ginny's holding the vial open under her nose, asking her what exactly it smells like to her.

'Like parchment, old books and spearmint.'

Sure, Ron smelled like spearmint, only after he'd brushed his teeth. But other than that, he just smells like cinnamon and wood. No minty trace at all.

But clearly, Ginny had an idea. Because almost every day after Fred had been discharged from St. Mungo's and was able to help around in the shop, she drags Hermione there to help her brothers with their products. And almost every day there, she catches a whiff of spearmint whenever the twins were around. That conclusion alone scared her, so if her assistance was not really necessary there, she stayed clear of the two, hoping and praying her feelings would subside.

Suddenly, a loud crack sounded in the room and Teddy squealed as a pair of arms lifted him off the carpet and into the arms of Fred Weasley.

"Hey there little Granger!" He chuckled, ruffling the kid's curly mane, before looking diwn at Hermione, who was frowning at him because of the nickname.

"Why hello there, Mione! How are you on this lovely afternoon?" He grinned at her as she chuckled at George who was making silly faces at Teddy.

"I'm swell, Fred. What about you guys? You're early," she smiled up at him, frowning a little when a faint smell of spearmint reached her nose.

George whooped as Teddy held out his arms to him, giggling. "Wouldn't wanna miss mum's cookies, Granger."

Hermione laughed as Fred held Teddy to his twin. But as he did so, his eye caught on something pinkish on the boy's little arm. "Hey, what's that on your arm, buddy?"

As he looked over to check, Hermione caught a glimpse of it and her eyes widened in surprise and horror. How did Teddy got that, unless...

She mentally slapped her forehead, and unknowingly scratched the scar of her arm. He might have seen it while she was playing with him and the sleeve of her jumper slid up her arm.

"Hey, Hermione? Do you know where he might have seen this?" George asked her, frowning slightly as he and Fred stared shocked at the now fading word 'mudblood' on Teddy's arm.

"Oh, I don't really know where he got it, maybe he saw some writings of it from the book he was playing with," Hermione lied, her voice soft and a little shaky, avoiding his eyes.

Fred studied her for a moment before sharing a look with his brother. Slowly, Teddy was now imitating the twin's features, the scar now gone on his arm. He knew Hermione was hiding something, but before he could figure out what it was, the door opened and the others trailed inside, cheeks red from the cold, and clothes wet from the snow. And a minute later, Mrs. Weasley came into the room with Andromeda, levitating tray after tray of gingerbread cookies and hot chocolates with marshmallows.

As every one settled down into the many seats in the room, Mr. Weasley came in and smiled at the growing chatter around the fire. Teddy was now happily playing with George. Ron and Harry were having a round of Exploding Snaps, while Ginny was chatting with Charlie. Bill and Fleur were whispering sweet nothings to each other. While Percy was probably having a Ministry related discussion with Andromeda. Molly was in one of the couches, sipping her mug of hot chocolate, watching her children as well. Hermione was seated in front of the fire oblivious to the staring his son, Fred was doing. Shaking his head at the two, he sat down next to his wife and enjoyed the evening.

After a few minutes, Fred finally pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against while watching Hermione stare at the fire. He walked over as quietly as he could before flopping down on the floor next to her.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" He whispered, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

She smiled softly as she looked up at him, the smell of spearmint stronger this time. "Just.."

"Just what, Mione?" He leaned closer to catch her eye.

Hermione sighed and watched the marshmallows melt in her drink.
"Just thinking about my parenst. I really miss them, Fred."

She sighed shakily, and visibly relaxed when Fred, not able to take her sad eyes looking into his any longer, placed his drink on the floor, took hers and did the same before wrapping his arms around her. If it had been before, they both would've felt awkward hugging like that, but after all that they've all been through, somehow they had grown closer over the course of the past few months.

But as they relished the warmth from in each other's arms, the realization hit them both hard in the face.

The minute Fred's arms encircled her, the scent of spearmint engulfed her. And as she wrapped her own arms around him, she subconsiously buried her face in the crook of his neck, just inhaling the relaxing scent. It was then that her feelings from the years before came back and she felt her cheeks flush. What started out as a simple admiration back in second year, turned into a crush in third and fourth, which developed into something more she was far too scared to venture into so she decided to try and make them go away, seeing as he was so happy with Angelina. But that night, with all that was happening, seeing him lying on the floor triggered something inside her.

As for Fred, as he rested his head at the top of hers, something gold caught his eye. He looked closely and realized it was a golden wrapper of a muggle chocolate she used to bring over to the Burrow. The one his dad had been obsessed with for the past few months. Tilting his head a little, his cheek pressed to her brown hair and he caught a whiff of chocolate from it. Smiling a little, he pulled her closer to him. And the questions running around in his head finally stopped and all his hidden feelings for the little brunette came rushing back to him. From the moment she was introduced to him on the summer of his fourth year to moment she smiled at him from across the room during Bill and Fleur's wedding. It all came back, together with the pain he had felt when he found out about Ron's affection for her and he knew he had to let her go. That was until Ron brought home Hannah and Hermione was showing no sign of sadness at all, he suddenly felt a renewed sense of determination. And fight for her, he shall.

Right after he cleared some things first. Reluctantly, he pulled away and looked her in the eyes.
"Hermione, what's holding you back? You could have gone to Australia already and gave them back their memories. What's holding you back?"

She sighed and looked at the fire.
"I guess, I'm just. I'm just not ready. I'm not ready to face them and see the hurt and betrayal in their eyes for what I've done to them. I'm not ready to explain and relive the past months to them. I'm not ready for them to see what's happened to me."

Without realizing what she was doing, she scratched her arm as she said the last part and this did not go unnoticed by Fred. Frowning, he reached over and her arm.

"What's happened to your arm, Hermione?"

She started at the question. "What?"

"You arm. What is it?" Rage was suddenly filling him, just thinking what might've happened to her.

"It's..it's nothing. Fred."
She pulled her arm from him and hid it behind her back. Only realizing that this was the wrong thing to do. She could see the anger in his eyes.

"Hermione. Please."
His voice begged her as he leaned forward, cupping her face. She just looked so broken at that moment and his heart broke.

Finally giving up, she held out her arm to him and bit her lip as he shakily slid her sleeve up. She felt him stiffened in shock and horror and anger.

"Fred.," she whispered.

"Who?"

"Bellatrix," she shook her head sadly, "you don't know how glad I was when you mum finally defeated her." She let out a shaky laugh.

"Hermione.." He looked up at her with hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

She frowned in confusion. "It wasn't your fault, Fred."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed someone the most."

She smiled at him, love filling her eyes. "But you're here now. And I'm thankful for that." She reached up and pushed back the red strands that had fallen over his face.

Fred looked deep in her eyes and found in her dark brown orbs the one thing he's been looking for all these years. So gathering all his Gryffindor courage, he raised her arm to his lips and pressed the lightest kiss over the raised words there. He pulled her closer, cupping her cheek with other hand.

"I really like you, Hermione Granger."

He didn't wait for her to reply. Instead, he leaned down and captured her lips with his own. And it felt like everything has finally made sense. Cliché as it may sound, maybe this holiday was a miracle and as he felt her hands slowly trace his chest, up his shoulders, around his neck and in her hair, he felt like the happiest kid under the Christmas tree.

When pulled away, his heart soared higher when he saw the smile in her lips.

"I really like you too, Fred Weasley."

So they both held back just a little bit, but one thing was for sure, they now know the reason why the Amortentia smelled of spearmint and chocolates.

~*~ FIN ~*~

AN: Hehehehe too much guys?hahaha sorry if I made some mistakes and if it's so long. I didn't want to start off with I love you's already because I like to think they're taking it slow. I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I admit, I was craving some Andes mint chocolates while I was writing this one haha. Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading it!

By the way, this story is just a one-shot so it is now complete, however, I'd probably add some more one-shots to this. So it'll be like a series of Fremione one-shots. But this is the one for now, okay? Just stay tuned, I guess. :))

Also, you might have noticed I paired them all the way I wished they were really paired. Although, I stand by my words when I say, I have nothing against Romione. That's my life, you know. And Hannah well, I really think Neville would be perfect for Luna and vice versa. Hehe *winks*

So thanks again, for reading. Tell me what you think!
Here have some Twix!
Bye-bye! *waves*