Title: Much Mistletoeing

Author: Sneezy Mouse

Rating: PG/PG-13 due to overwhelming Christmas fluff, slight inebriation, children out-of-wedlock (GASP!), naughty language, naughty situations (as well as some nice ones; it is Christmas after all), snogging, mistletoe and heavy sexual tension (as always...)

Summary: Best-selling author Hermione Granger has spent the past six years touring the world to showcase her novels. Now, she receives an out-of-the-blue letter asking her to join the Weasleys for Christmas at the Burrow. A fluffy, Christmas-y Fred/Hermione fic.

Author's Note: Okay, I totally love this chapter. This is the chapter with moment all you F/Hr's have been waiting for. And Christ is it fluffy. And romantic and – yes, this is bragging – based on personal experience. Enjoy!

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Much Mistletoeing

● Chapter Three ●

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow..."
White Christmas, Irving Berlin

December 20th

"So, Hermione," Ginny asked as the two girls stood outside of Gladrags in Hogsmeade, having just purchased a pretty cloak for Oriel. "You have traveled the world and are an international sensation."

"No, I am not dating anyone," Hermione said flatly. She assumed she correctly interpreted Ginny, as the redhead had quickly quieted, obviously taken aback by Hermione's intuition.

"Oh, for Lord's sake, Hermione," Ginny finally said as the two continued walking down the bustling High Street. "You don't have to be so bloody defensive. I was just wondering. I don't care. I just thought you probably haven't had a very good girl talk recently." Ginny paused, smiled and continued. "Of course, I'm not as girly as, say, Lavender. But I can give it a shot."

Hermione laughed as well, her annoyance leaving her. Poor Ginny, having grown up with six older brothers, had never been much a girly girl. She preferred Quidditch to shopping, playing pranks more than primping. During school, the youngest Wesley got almost as much flack about needing a makeover as Hermione did. But Ginny had always been there when Hermione needed to have some girl time. Translation: complain about Ron.

"Ginny," Hermione replied. "I have been so busy with my writing that I haven't had any semblance of a relationship since Liam."

"Liam," Ginny repeated. "Now that is an attractive name."

"What?"

"Well," Ginny explained. "There are some names that instill the image of attractiveness. Such as Liam, Brent or, er… Draco." Hermione made a face. "And then there are, sadly, names that create an image of ugliness or neediness. Like Melvin or Percy."

"Poor Percy," Hermione said. Ginny's eyes got wide at this; as if she had forgotten that she had an older brother by that name.

"Oh, I didn't mean that!" Ginny responded as Hermione began laughing. "There is obviously something about Percy that is attractive. After all, he landed Katie Bell."

Hermione's laughter faded and she considered what Ginny said before asking her question. "You mum mentioned something about Katie and Percy. How did that happen, no offense to your brother or anything?"

"Of course not," Ginny said, pausing to look into a shop window at a new set of writing quills. "But I really don't know. One day, Percy came to dinner and brought a friend who turned out to be Katie. She came with him a few more times but not with enough regularity to merit any sort of relationship, according to mum. But then the visits became more frequent a Katie and Percy began to be closer – physically closer, that is. Mum said the Percy was constantly touching her hand and she would always push some curls out of eyes. It was all very sweet. There was never any sort of announcement on their part. No 'hey we're dating' or anything. She is so amazing for Percy. She helped him really loosen up. Or, as loose as my poor brother can get. He actually takes vacations and sick leaves now."

"Really?" Hermione said, actually surprised. Percy was always so diligent and obsessed with his career so many years ago.

"Yeah," Ginny said, pausing once again in front of a shop, this one called Wizards' Wardrobe, another apparel store. Judging from the jumpers in the window, Hermione figured it focused not on robes or cloaks but on casual attire.

"Oh, I need to buy that sweater for Draco," Ginny said, pointing to a dark red jumper. As the girls walked in, Ginny added, "He really doesn't like any colors other than green, grey and black. But I think red suits him. It reflects off of his skin giving him a bit of color. You know how pale he is."

Hermione bit her tongue, ready to make a remark about him being an albino ferret, but decided against it. Draco was being far more mature than Hermione was and damned if she was going to let him have the upper hand.

"He could use a bit of color," Hermione agreed.

Ginny surveyed Hermione for a moment before smirking in a very Draco-ish manner.

"Oh, go on."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You know you want to say something snarky," Ginny continued, smiling when she saw Hermione's cheeks turn a faint ink shade from embarrassment. "Make your comment about him being a ferret. You know you want to."

Hermione stayed silent.

"You are incorrigible. Almost just like Ron," Ginny added, plucking a jumper in Draco's size from the shelf and holding it up against her. "Except Ron treats him a lot better than you do, I must say."

"In my defense, Ginny, this Draco business was a complete surprise to me," Hermione argued, adding before Ginny could rebut, "Yes, I know. I was aware of his, what would you like to call it? Side switching?"

"His mother was killed, his father driven insane; what else was he supposed to do?"

"Is that what happened?" Hermione asked, freezing in shock. She hadn't been aware of the true reasoning behind Draco's joining the Order of the Phoenix.

"Yes, didn't anyone ever tell you that?" Ginny asked, equally shocked that Hermione hadn't known. Hermione shook her head. "Good heavens! Do you remember how that foul Black house elf Kreacher had been passing along bits of information to Narcissa, Draco's mum? Well, You-Know-Who was very pleased at this and exploited it to get Harry to the Department of Mysteries. But, not only did You-Know-Who not get Harry or the Prophecy, he decided that Narcissa should be punished."

"Oh, dear," Hermione said quietly, now actually feeling pain for Draco.

"He wasn't very rational after that, apparently. He was blaming everyone but himself for the unsuccessfulness of that night. So he killed her one night while Lucius Malfoy was off doing Death Eater business. When Lucius came home, he was devastated that his wife had died. Began trying to curse You-Know-Who in retaliation. So You-Know-Who Crucio'd him until he lost all mental control. Lucius Malfoy is now no healthier than Neville Longbottom's parents."

At this point in the tale, Hermione could feel her eyes stinging, knowing that at least one tear had escaped down her cheek. A new respect for Draco now encompassed Hermione and she had the strong urge to hug him at the moment.

"I had no idea," Hermione admitted.

"I don't mean to be rude, Hermione," Ginny responded. "But you never really tried to find out. You never gave him a chance to explain it. Neither you nor Harry and Ron. I mean, I can see how there would have been some reluctance. After all, he had been a completely immature little bastard to you all – myself included – since he met you. He was forced to deal with adult issues as abruptly as Harry was. Not to take away from the terribleness of which Harry's life had been."

As Ginny walked away to pay for her Christmas gift for Draco, Hermione stayed quiet. Not only did she feel respect for Draco, but she also felt incredibly guilty. Ginny was right of course; Hermione never really gave Draco a chance. She never thought he had joined to Order as a spy or double agent because Draco never seemed smart or cunning enough to handle that sort of secret and responsibility. And knowing this, she now felt incredibly stupid for not getting the real story.

Guilt and stupidity really aren't the best feelings to be feeling around the holidays, so Hermione requested a better tale. One she knew to have a happy ending. So she asked Ginny to tell her how Draco and she began dating. Smiling at this request, Ginny seemed more than eager to divulge this, as though she had been waiting all day for this question to be asked.

"I remember," Ginny began strongly. It was obvious this tale had been told many times before, often as an explanation, Hermione assumed. "It was during the Christmas holidays during my seventh year. I was a little disappointed because you were going to France with your parents so I would be all alone. Because Harry and Ron would go off and be boys and generally ignore me.

"And much to the anger and hatefulness of everyone – once again, myself included – Mum decided to invite Draco to have Christmas dinner with us. She thought it a nice thing to do, seeing as how everyone Draco had befriended during school was either dead, in prison, awaiting a trial or on the run. He reluctantly accepted only after Mum had run into him in Diagon Alley and all but ordered him to come. It was so amazingly awkward with him there. Mum had made us all swear up and down that 'we were not to be mean to the poor child. He has been through almost as much as we have.' So instead of being mean to him, we simply ignored him. Except for Christmas Eve night."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, finally speaking. The two girls were now seated on a bench outside the clothing shop, resting as Ginny spoke. The weather had shifted from a just-rained dampness to a bitter cold. Hermione would have bet all her money that she could smell the snow in the air.

"I walked down from my room since I had left the book I was reading earlier on the chair by the fireplace. As I walked down the stairs, I saw Malfoy standing a few steps away from the Christmas tree, holding two bags. I just stopped and watched him, knowing that my presence would do nothing but annoy him. As the fire faded, I watched as Draco placed ten packages under the tree. One in each of the small piles we had created for each of us Weasley's, including Mum and Dad. At this point, I'll add, it was still just a Weasley Christmas. There were no fiancés or girlfriends present.

"Draco had bought us all gifts. And the next morning, when we opened them, we realized that not only had he gotten us gifts, he had gotten us good gifts. Things that we really wanted or needed but thus far had not received. It was almost simultaneous that everyone in the family realized that Draco had to have spent all the time he spent with us observing and paying close attention to give us such amazingly perfect gifts. We stopped ignoring him almost immediately after. Harry and Ron actually presented him with a gift they had purchased. It was so heartwarming; so perfectly Christmas. I still have the watch he gave me," Ginny finished, shoving her left wrist under Hermione's face.

It was a very simple silver watch with a dark blue face and silver numerals. After placing her glove back on her hand, covering the watch, Ginny finished her story, explaining that the rest of their relationship had been cliché.

"We did nothing but get on each others' nerves. We'd insult each other constantly before finally owning up to how we felt and going on a date. For a few months we kept it all quiet, just because we didn't want to cause a fuss since we didn't know what was going to happen between us. But after realizing how surprisingly right we were for each other, we exposed our affair to the family.

"Of course no one was completely excited at the idea, but we weren't faced with much opposition. It was very boring after that, I am sad to say. We dated for a year and half before we moved in together. After that, it was another year and a half until we were engaged. And now, we've been engaged for two months."

"Any plans for the wedding yet?" Hermione asked, wondering if she would be free to come to the wedding.

Ginny shook her head.

"We honestly haven't really talked much about it," Ginny answered. "I want to wait for Ron and Luna to get married before Draco and I begin discussing it. And despite what Draco would want to do, I intend to have very small ceremony, hopefully in the Burrow's back yard. Just family and close friends. But, being a Malfoy, Draco believes we should show off. He still hasn't lost his arrogance, in case you didn't notice," Ginny added to Hermione.

"Oh," Hermione answered, smiling. "I noticed."

"But honestly, he has changed," Ginny defended.

Hermione hesitated before reluctantly saying, "I know. It's just… hard, I guess. Even still today it's hard to adjust. But I am trying. I promise."

"I know," Ginny responded, standing up from the bench. "And I understand."

Hermione followed Ginny as she walked around the street. The two continued chatting, but Hermione couldn't help but notice strain in their relationship. It was something that Hermione wished she could breach, but she couldn't help but feel a bit stubborn when it came to liking Draco. So Hermione thought that the best decision would be to bring up a new subject. Unfortunately, Hermione didn't get as much information as she had hoped.

"Ginny?"

"Hm?" Ginny asked, stopping to smell a bouquet of holiday flowers.

Hermione fiddled with one of the petals and asked, "Who is Bethany?"

"Bethany." Ginny phrased it as a statement, as if she knew exactly what Hermione was asking but was trying to think of an appropriate response.

"Hermione," Ginny finally answered. "If you want to know about Bethany, I am afraid you are going to have to ask Fred. I shouldn't be saying anything. It's really hard for me to give you an unbiased opinion of that stupid bint."

"Okay." Hermione let go of the flower and after realizing she had ripped it off the stem, Hermione purchased the small bouquet from the vendor.

"I'll ask Fred," Hermione repeated, gazing at the Christmas red flowers she had in her hand.

●

It was two a.m. and Hermione was sill awake. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to sleeping in foreign beds. After all, for the past few years she has been globetrotting, sometimes every night for week sleeping in a different hotel, a different bed. Compared to that, the Burrow bed she was sleeping in was the most familiar, considering she had slept on it many a time in her school days. But something was not right, and Hermione could not seem to place what that was. The most logical part of her mind said that she was just wound up – the last few days had been very exciting, what with seeing all of her old friends and almost-family again. Hermione and Tonks had a brilliant conversation over dinner which made Hermione wonder why she had all but ended contact with the woman. She was like Hermione's older sister which wasn't surprising since she was almost Ginny's sister-in-law.

But then, there was that other part of her brain; the one that picked out your most secret thoughts and displayed them so that was all you could think about. And what Hermione was thinking about was how she had not been able to talk to Fred. At all. He was always jabbering away with his brothers or – to Hermione's shock – joking around with Malfoy as if they had been old friends. Well, of course they were old friends. Draco actually had contact with Fred for the past six years. And then Hermione was just basically catching up with everyone else, telling almost the same story over ten times, each to new people.

And yet she never talked to Fred. And Bethany was still a complete mystery to her. Obviously, she had some connection with Fred and if Hermione had to guess, it was probably a romantic one at that.

So due to her mind being a muddled mess of thoughts, Hermione decided to get up and do what she did every other night when she couldn't sleep: she wrote. And write she did. It was almost dawn when Hermione looked up from her desk and saw that a very faint trace of light began to peak over the hills. Feeling nostalgic, she walked over to the door, mindful of the old and creaky boards. As she peeked through the calico curtains, Hermione had to stifle a gasp (after all, Ginny was sleeping just a ways away – like she and Draco would have been able to share a bed).

It was snowing. And by the looks of the ground, had been for a few hours. It took all her will not to prance about the room and find her boots; it had been ages since Hermione had seen snow. It was almost perfect that Hermione was to experience a good snow along with all of her old friends. It just felt right.

So, properly bundled, Hermione sneaked out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the back door. When her boot sank into the snow almost to her ankle, Hermione jumped full force into the snow, giggling like an imbecile. She twirled and smiled to herself, humming a few bars of some her favorite Christmas tunes.

"That's one of my favorites."

The sudden voice that caught Hermione mid-twirl almost caused her to lose balance, but she saved herself with some flailing arm movements and a step forward.

"Fred," Hermione said, smiling. "You startled me."

"Well," he replied, standing up from his chair. "It didn't seem right to interrupt you in such a moment of sheer joy."

Hermione glanced at the chair, and then at Fred. The chair did not have a single flake of snow on it, yet Fred had obviously been outside awhile.

"It began snowing at around four," Fred commented, staring up into the sky. "I had gotten up to go to the loo when I looked outside and saw the beginnings of some flakes. I've been sitting out here ever since."

"You must be freezing," Hermione replied, now noticing how she could not feel the tips of her ears or her nose.

"I am a wizard, Hermione," Fred replied, laughing as he pulled a chunk of snow out of Hermione's hair. "It's called a warming spell."

The both laughed slightly at this before falling into a pensive silence. Hermione surveyed her surroundings and noted that the sun had begun to come up a bit more. She could clearly see the snow hanging onto the green trees and saw that Fred had acquired some flakes in his hair and on the shoulders of his coat. As the sun began to rise even more, everything seemed to be sparkling, including Fred.

"I am witch," Hermione said suddenly as she continued to stare in awe at the wonderland around her. "And have been so – at least known so – since I was eleven. I myself have been privy to charms, enchantments, potions… everything a person thinking about the wizarding world could imagine. But never, in my entire life, have I experienced something as magical as this."

Fred looked at her softly and Hermione was sure he was going to laugh. She couldn't help but realize how stupid she must have sounded. However, he didn't laugh. Instead, he agreed.

"You sort of lose touch with these kinds of moments," Fred added to Hermione's thoughts. "You grow up and these moments become memories. Memories that don't even feel real anymore."

"Profound," Hermione replied with a wry grin.

"I try, you know," Fred responded, a grin also on his face.

This was the moment. The best moment to just come right out and say it.

"Who is Bethany?" Hermione asked, then after seeing Fred's body visibly tense, immediately regretted it. "I am sorry," she added quickly. "I shouldn't have. It's none of my business."

"Did Ginny mention something?" Fred asked, not unkindly.

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle before saying, "No. It was Draco."

Fred nodded, pondering this.

"Its weird," Fred said, distant yet still seeming as though there was a story he was about to tell. "For many years I despised Draco, just because he was a git to us and because his last name was 'Malfoy.' Then, I despised him because he switched sides and I couldn't hate him for being evil anymore. Then I hated him because he was seeing Ginny. But after everything with Bethany – and this is going to be a bit scary – I think Draco may be closer to me than George even."

Hermione was silent.

"George is one of those people that constantly will ask, 'Are you okay?' and no matter how many times I say I am fine, or that I don't want to talk about it, he persists," Fred continued. "And it annoys the hell out of me. I tried to deny it when Ginny said he was a good man. She constantly raved about how he was able to sense people and… and dammit, she was right. It's weird."

"And what are you going through?" Hermione asked, knowing that this was an okay question to ask, given the circumstances.

"A massive feeling of rejection," Fred said simply.

Once again, Hermione stayed quiet in a silent urge to continue.

"About four years ago, I met a girl," Fred stated. "Obviously, her name was Bethany. I had been doing the whole serial dating thing and had finally hit that point when I realized I wanted a girlfriend, someone serious. And Bethany was it. I don't want to bore you with takes of our dates or sappy memories of how she made me feel – because she made me feel bloody fantastic when I woke up and she was there next to me. Because all of that is inconsequential. All that leads up to the simple fact that I loved her. A lot. And she loved me. Or, she did."

Hermione suddenly realized that this story was going to have a very heartbreaking ending.

"About two and half years ago, I was in love," Fred continued. "I was in stupid, fluffy, kick-me-in-the-crotch-and-I'll-still-be-smiling love. So I did what any fool in love would do when they had found their perfect girl who loved you back. I proposed."

Hermione felt her heartbreak knowing what was coming.

"And she said no. She just… didn't want to. She said no, explained that I wasn't nearly as exciting as I used to be, and left. Oh, and ripped my heart out of my chest, boiled it in acid and then force fed it to me. Can't forget that part."

Hermione took a step towards Fred and gave him a hug. She couldn't think of a single word to say that could help ease that pain, though Fred seemed to have dealt with it somewhat. So she gave him a hug, because she remembered that sometimes the simplest gesture can mean the most.

"God," Fred said as they stayed in the embrace. "That was the first time I told that story and didn't feel like I was reliving it. Wasn't nearly as painful."

"That's good, then, right?" Hermione questioned.

Fred finally ended the hug and replied, "That's wonderful. Thanks. I don't know what you did, but thank you."

"You're welcome," Hermione replied. "And for the record, Bethany must have been crazy to let you go."

Fred nodded and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"If you are looking for me to list all your wonderful, charming qualities, forget it," Hermione answered, giving him a playful little shove.

Fred laughed and turned away, glancing towards away from the house and out into the massive space that stretched into the distance, empty except for the faint traces of Ottery St. Catchpole's clock and bell tower and church steeple.

She was so caught up in her scenery and the story Fred told and the moments that had just occurred that she never realized she had said what she was about to say out loud before it was too late.

"I wouldn't have said no."

Immediately, her eyes widened and she looked to Fred. Embarrassment was spreading from her toes to her face, the latter of which she could feel turning red at an alarming rate. She did not just say that, did she? But instead of saying anything, or smiling or laughing or doing any of the things Hermione thought he would do, Fred did the one thing that she had secretly wanted but feared he would.

He kissed her.

It was soft, tentative at first as though Fred expected Hermione to pull away. And she wanted to because this was far from appropriate. But then she wondered how it was inappropriate and couldn't come up with a good enough response, so she let herself fall into the kiss. With her submission to her feelings, the kiss became passionate, Fred's hands creeping up her back to finally stop in her hair. Hermione had placed her hands on Fred's shoulders, letting her body fall into his and let him hold her up because her knees were scaring her, going weak and all, and she feared that if he were to stop kissing her, she would tumble to the ground and not ever stop falling.

Except she already was falling.

And despite how wrapped up they were in each other, in that moment, a small sound from the kitchen caused then to break apart. And without another word, just eye contact that seemed to say all that needed to be said at that time, Hermione rushed inside. She muttered a quick 'Good morning' to Molly and chirped about the snow and how exciting it was before fleeing upstairs to let herself sort out all the buzzing feelings she had racing through her mind and veins and body like electricity.

But as soon as she opened her bedroom door, she knew that she wouldn't be able to sort them out by herself.

"Okay," Ginny said, propping herself up even more on Hermione's bed. "Spill."

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Author's Note: So, I hope you all enjoy Christmas fics in January because I was so wrong when I said I'd have it done by Christmas. I am going to try and crank out at least another chapter, maybe two, by Christmas but it won't be finished probably until January. Sorry. And thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews because they mean so much to me. I am so excited by the prospect that I might break a hundred by chapter four, maybe even this chapter if I am lucky.

I also hope that you all liked my fluffy kissing scene. I tried not to be too romance-novely, but I wanted enough feeling and imagery to make it appropriate. Not just 'and they kissed with passion before springing apart at a noise from the house.' I probably overdid it, but I enjoyed it. Hope you all did too!

Oh, and sorry for the no update on the Lucky One. This weekend, I promise.