AN: I know it has bee a while, but I hope you haven't given up on this story yet. I have a direction in which I want to direct this story, so please bear with me while I write. If ever you grow impatient waiting for the next chapter of this story, please feel free to check out some of my other work. There is a Fremione one-shot called I Wish He Had Told You, which is a bit on the sad side. There's also my other story called An Unlikely Friendship. That story follows an original character of mine called Drucilla Tonks. It will be a series eventually. Any who, without further ado, enjoy!

Everyone at the Burrow was outside in the garden, finishing up their dinner. Hermione, however, was in the kitchen adding the last few finishing touches to the hippogriff shaped birthday cake on the counter. Ginny was there too, but she mostly chattered at Hermione rather than helped with the cake.

"I hope Harry likes the birthday gift that I gave him," she said. "Honestly, he's so hard to shop for."

Hermione let out a small, breathy laugh. "Gin, all you have to do is give Harry something Quidditch related and he'll be over the moon."

Ginny huffed. "But everyone's going to give him something Quidditch related!" she whined. "I wanted to give him something special. Something he could remember me by while I'm at Hogwarts."

At the mention of Hogwarts, Hermione's mind wandered to other things. It had been a week since she had received her letter from McGonagall saying she could return to Hogwarts for her seventh year if she so wished. Hermione still hadn't told Fred that she was going. Of course she had try to tell him several times, but it never seemed to be the right time. Either he was busy or she was busy, or one of them was having an emotional breakdown. God, trauma is the absolute worst!

Just then, Molly came stumbling into the kitchen. "Hermione, love," she began affectionately, "are you almost ready to bring out the cake?"

"Oh yes, Mrs. We-er, I mean, Molly. I'm just about finished."

"Wonderful, dear! Ginny, come help me clear the dinner things from the table."

Ginny begrudgingly got up and shuffled after her mother.

Hermione sighed. She added a few more details to the hippogriff's feathers. It had a striking resemblance to Buckbeak, which Hermione felt Harry would appreciate.

Just as she finished decorating the cake, Fred came into the kitchen. He smiled softly at her. Shyly, she smiled back.

"They're ready when you are, love," he told her.

"All right. You go out and join them. I'll be out in a moment."

Fred walked closer to her, a smirk-y pout on his lips. Hermione felt herself blush, but she was able to keep her voice steady as she said, "Now what?"

Fred's smirk grew bigger and more mischievous as continued to make his way towards her. Hermione felt her heartbeat quicken. When Fred was standing in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her waste. He leaned down and kissed her softly. So softly, that Hermione was left wanting more when he pulled away. He then leaned down to whisper in her ear and said, "I just needed a kiss good bye."

For half a heartbeat, Hermione was afraid that he knew about the letter already. "W-what?" she asked half dazed.

"Well," he said, now leaning back so he could look at her, "you're making me go all the way back outside. It's going to be a while before I see you again."

Hermione rolled her eyes and wiggled out of his hold. "Frederick Gideon Weasley, you're being over dramatic!"

"No I'm not," he said with a laugh.

Again, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh no, you have to wait a whole whopping three seconds before you can see me again! You poor thing," she mocked.

"Now we're on the same page," Fred said with a wink.

Despite herself, Hermione laughed. "Fred, get outside before I whack you with a spoon!"

"As you wish, m'lady," he said with a flourishing bow before heading back outside.

I have to tell him about the letter, Hermione thought to herself. Today.

oOo

Once everyone had finished with the cake, Harry opened his presents. As Ginny had predicted, nearly everyone got him something Quidditch related. The only people who hadn't gotten him something Quidditch related were Ginny, who had given him a gold chain with a small Hungarian Horntail pendent dangling from it. She told him that it could take the place of the tattoo she told the girls at school that he had. The only other people to give him something different, were Fred and George, who gave him all kinds of their products. "This'll help with all that Auror trainin', mate," George told him.

After all of that, everyone settled into a comfortable chatter. Hermione was talking to Charlie about the behavioral patterns of Norwegian Ridgebacks, a topic she found quite interesting, when Fred came up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Fancy taking a walk down to the lake?" he asked her. She nodded.

They walked together hand in hand. Though they said nothing to one another, Hermione felt as though she was on an adrenaline high. Just holding Fred's hand caused her to feel like she was touching some sort of electrical current instead.

When they had reached the banks of the lake, they stopped. Fred turned her so that she was facing him. In they setting sunlight, his flaming red hair looked almost violet. He brought his hands up to cup her face gently. He leaned down and kissed her, this time it was more fierce, as though it was the first and last time he would ever be able to kiss her.

"God, I love you," he whisper when he broke the kiss.

"I love you too, Fred," Hermione whispered back. "I love you so much that it hurts."

Fred swooped down and captured her lips once more. It was a needy, searing sort of kiss. Hermione had to hang onto Fred's waste in order to steady herself.

Hermione felt Fred slide his tongue along her bottom lip. Understanding what it was that he was asking, she opened her mouth slightly.

She had always thought that the idea of French kissing was disgusting. It always sounded like it would be a slobbering disaster. However, she found that she didn't mind it all that much. In fact, she rather enjoyed the sensation of it.

Fred pulled her closer to him. She moaned into his mouth, which caused him to kiss her more fiercely.

His hands began to slide up her shirt, when the thought of the letter came to her mind. Wait, she thought. I can't do this without him not knowing about the letter.

She broke away from his kiss. "Wait," she breathed out.

Worry shot through Fred's eyes. "Oh my God, I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked as he loosened his grip on her waste.

Hermione smiled warmly up at him. "No, I'm fine. I just need to tell you something before we go any further."

Fred looked a little relieved over the fact that she was okay, but he still looked worried. "Okay, what is it?"

She sighed and looked away before speaking, "Freddie, McGonagall sent me a letter along with Ginny's. She said that I could come back and go through seventh year if wanted to. I... I think I'm going to go back."

There was a brief silence before Fred replied with, "Okay."

Hermione looked up at him. He did look a bit disappointed, but he didn't seem upset. However, just to be sure, she asked, "Are you upset?"

Fred smiled down at her. "Of course I'm not mad, love. I just wish that I was able to spend more time with you is all."

"Well, if you're going to run the shop down in Hogsmeade, then we'll be able to see each other more."

Fred's smile deepened. "I nearly forgot about that!"

"I'll come and visit you as often as I can," she promised him.

He chuckled to himself. "Now I have to get that old flat all fixed up! George and I where just going to apperate home in Diagon Alley every night, but I can just stay in that flat while you're at school."

"Fred, you don't have to do that," she reassured him.

"Mione," Fred began, "If a bloke gets a chance to be with the bird he's been pining for the past five years, then he should take that chance!"

Hermione's eyebrow shot up in surprise. "You've liked me for that long?"

"Well, yeah," said Fred as though this were obvious. "I've always liked you, Hermione. I mean, don't remember when I had to be restrained from beating Malfoy to a bloody pulp when he called you names?"

Hermione giggled a little. "That's not what I meant by 'like,' Fred. I meant, when did you start liking me as more than just a friend?"

Fred's face turned slightly red. "Well," he said as he ran a hand through his hair, "if I'm being honest, I've like you since the summer we went to the Quidditch World Cup together."

"What?!"

"Yeah," Fred continued. "I mean, I always thought you were cute, and of course I knew you were exceptionally bright. I don't know, one day it just sort of hit me that I liked you. I think it was that one time when you decided to help George and I with our products after Ron had made you upset. Of course, you disapproved of everything, but you helped anyway."

Hermione thought this over for a moment. "Okay, if you liked me so much, then why didn't you ask me to the Yule Ball."

"Would you have said yes if I had?"

"I don't know. Probably not. I'd probably think you were pulling another one of your pranks."

"That's another thing, Mione. Haven't you ever noticed that George and I don't pull pranks on you?"

Hermione sighed and buried her head into Fred's chest. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Fred wrapped his arms around her. "For what, love?"

"For taking so long to notice."

Hermione felt his chest hum as he chuckled. "Better late than never."

AN: Okay lads, there you are then. Hopefully that meet your standards. I apologize if got a little too heated for your liking. If you would like, I can put in warnings next time something like that happens. Just let me know. Any who, please review!