The sun had begun to set on the horizon as the gleaming scarlet train glided through the winding tracks of the countryside. Inside were eager students on their way to school. Inside, two identical Weasley boys shared a cozy compartment and laughed.

"Another year, another reason to drink," Fred joked as he ate the Chocolate Frog he purchased from the sweets cart. His twin, George, laughed in agreement while he shoved a licorice wand in his mouth.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," George told him. He chewed loudly on his candy while Fred licked his fingers of the chocolate that the Frog left behind. He flipped over his collector's card and chuckled.

Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, was smiling up at Fred. His blue eyes twinkled in the card, much like they did in real life, and the portrait smiled subtly.

"I've got about a dozen Dumbledore's," Fred sighed. "I was hoping for Cliodna. She is a foxy woman."

George growled jokingly at the mention of the beautiful sorceress and shared a laugh with his brother. Fred put the card in his pocket and watched George as he swallowed another licorice wand.

As Fred watched his brother gorge himself with the chewy treat, a knock came from the compartment door and the boys turned their heads.

Hermione Granger stood in the doorway looking slightly frazzled. She pushed her curly hair out of her face, let out a sigh and smiled weakly at Fred and George.

"I was hoping they'd be with you," she muttered.

"I beg your pardon?" George asked her in a confused tone.

Fred watched her sway with the train and remembered how much he liked the sweater she was wearing. He followed her eyes as they went between himself and George.

"Ronald and Harry," she grumbled, crossing her arms.

Fred wondered how she put up with his little brother sometimes. He loved him but it always seemed to be Ron causing her anxiety. Harry never seemed to be innocent either.

"Harry wandered off somewhere and Ronald," she paused, rolling her brown eyes. "Well, I suspect he's still in the lavatory but I obviously have no way of checking."

George let out a snicker and smiled at Hermione who seemed to relax a little bit. She sighed and looked at Fred, who had joined in with his brothers' laughter. Leave it to Ron to keep a lady waiting because he had to use the bathroom.

"It's not funny," she said, laughing while she spoke.

"Well it's pretty obvious it is," George told her.

She smiled at the boys and started to close the compartment door.

"Thanks anyway, boys," she told them sweetly.

"Hermione," Fred blurted out. She looked at him expectantly, giving him her attention. He felt himself freeze and he stared at her oddly for a moment.

"I really like your sweater," he told her shortly. He grinned at her and felt his brother's eyes on him, though he didn't dare look at him.

"Thanks, Fred," she said, obviously caught off guard. Her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, she bit her lip and closed the door, disappearing from their sight.

Immediately, George broke out in hysterical laughter and Fred felt his face getting hot. Fred grabbed his second Chocolate Frog and whipped it at George who deflected it and continued laughing.

"Oi! Shove off…" Fred mumbled.

"I really like your sweater, Hermione," George said, impersonating his twin in an amusing voice.

Fred glared at his brother before looking out the window of the train, watching the dim scenery pass by.

He wondered what had possessed him to make an outburst like that. He felt weird, almost embarrassed, but a smile played across his long face.

George's laughter subsided and Fred smirked at his brother, playing things as cool as possible. George raised an eyebrow at Fred and waited for his brother to speak.

"I'm not even sure what that was," Fred admitted with a soft chuckle. He shook his head while he grinned wider.

"I think she threw you for a loop, mate," George told him. "She's surprising everyone. I mean, when we walked on the train, half of the fifth years were looking at her."

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked, unable to understand what his brother was insinuating.

"She got bloody gorgeous over the summer! I think it's because she can finally tame her hair…" George joked. "Haven't you noticed?"

Fred shook his head. He'd never noticed any drastic changes in Hermione's looks. To him, she'd always been pretty and he thought that other people saw it too.

"Maybe it's just because I've seen her so much," Fred told him, not telling George what he really thought.

"Maybe," George said in a muffled voice. Fred looked over to see him shoving another sweet in his mouth. "You should keep complimenting her though. She's going to be all over us for the jokes now that her and little Ronnie-kins are Prefects. It will help if you butter her up every once in a while."

George winked jokingly at Fred, who let out a light laugh.

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Georgie. We've got to focus on finding testers first. The First Years will be easy targets," Fred explained.

Fred's head pressed uncomfortably against the glass of the window and hurt from being there so long.

George had eventually decided to go find Lee Jordan to buy more sweets and discuss the joke store business.

Fred sat in the compartment silently, alone with his thoughts. He'd felt better when George was with him and regretted not joining him to find Lee.

He didn't quite understand why he had decided to act on his thoughts. He'd always found Hermione pretty and he knew how brilliant she was. But he had never realized anything more than a friendly liking of her. Or had he?

Fred shook his head away from the window and sighed. He rubbed the spot on his forehead when it had been resting on the window and suspected a red mark to be there.

"Ahem?"

Fred jumped out of his daydream and back into reality at the sound of someone clearing their throat. He turned around to see Lee and George standing outside of the compartment.

"Are you coming or are you going to head back home to Mum?" George asked him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how happy she'd be to see you."

Fred forced a laugh and stood up to join his brother. He decided to leave the confusion for another time and greeted Lee with a hardy hug.

"Good to see you, Lee," he told him as the three of them started to make their way off of the Hogwarts Express.

"You too, Fred!"

The boys walked past the incoming First Years and towards the gateway for Second Years and up, where the carriages would take them to the Great Hall. Fred had taken the trip so many times before and it felt odd to be for one of the last times.

They all hopped in the carriage that drove itself and waited until more people came along to fill it. Lee showed them a scar on his forearm that he got from falling off of his roof. Fred couldn't keep his focus long enough to hear why he was up there, but he didn't care.

He brought his head back into reality just as George was explaining to Lee how they'd spent their summer: apparating where ever they pleased, using magic to its fullest. Fred smiled at his brother's excitement and realized how good it felt to be back. He pushed the thought of Hermione out of his head and decided to just enjoy the evening and save that headache for another day.

"Oi!" yelled a familiar voice. "Got enough room for us?"

Ron, Harry, Hermione and a blonde haired girl approached their carriage. Fred's heart rose and dropped at the same time. This was not what he needed.

"I suppose," George said teasingly. "Hop on!"

The four of them joined the twins and Lee and a moment later, the carriage began to move. Harry and the blonde girl sat next to Lee and George while Ron joined Hermione as she sat next to Fred.

Of course she sat next to me, he thought to himself. Why wouldn't she?

Fred blocked everyone out and was back with his thoughts. He bit the inside of his cheeks as he worked hard at figuring out a reason how he was feeling, and still nothing came.

He'd finally given up when he turned towards Hermione, who was tying her hair back into a ponytail. She fussed with it for a moment before pulling her bangs behind her ears.

Seeing her hair tied back sparked an epiphany in Fred's head and he knew it.

The Ball. The Yule Ball.

That's where it all began.