This is a chaptered story based off of my one-shot, Always Look on the Bright Side of Death. It comes as a request from natieg6, so this first chapter is dedicated to her. Thanks, Natalie!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
by: 93 Diagon Alley

Hermione had just set down her empty champagne glass on the nearest table when she felt a tug on her arm, and she was pulled out onto the dance floor. "Dance with me, Granger," Fred requested, placing his free hand on her hip.

She smiled at him, shaking her head, as she placed her own free hand on his shoulder. "Alright, Fred, you lead."

He gave her an impish grin. "You'll regret saying that..." he said in a low voice, before spinning her out and then pulling her back in to his chest. They waltzed for awhile, with Fred sending Hermione on a little twirl every now and then, until a slow song started playing. He drew her close, but was prevented from doing much else due to a tap on his shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" a voice completely identical to his own requested. Fred turned his head to see his brother and nodded.

"Not at all, George. Thanks for the dance, Granger."

She smiled at him as he let go of her hands, and George swooped in to take his place smoothly, placing both hands on her waist. She brought her hands up to rest around his neck, looking into his bright, blue eyes for a moment and smiling before laying her head down against his chest. "Are you enjoying yourself, Granger?"

"Mhmm," she mumbled. "I'm glad you asked me to dance, I was hoping you would."

"Oh you were, were you? And why would the great Hermione Granger want to dance with a lowly peasant like me?" he replied with a small grin on his face.

She pulled her head back and looked at his face as she responded. "I was hoping to get a dance with each of the Weasley boys, plus Cousin Barney, and you and Ron were the only ones I hadn't danced with until now."

"You haven't even danced with Ronniekins yet? Aren't you supposed to be his girlfriend by now?"

"Hmph. I am most certainly not his girlfriend. Especially not after having to watch him and Lavender eat each others faces all year; I'm surprised he didn't invite her."

"Sorry I mentioned it, then, Granger. Speak of the devil, it looks like Ronnie's headed over this way. Should we dance away from him, or should I let him cut in?"

"That's up to you, George," she replied. "Surprise me."

He grinned wickedly and whipped her away from him in a spin, twirling her back into his body. She laughed as he settled her back into his arms, moving them a bit faster than the music. Ron approached them and placed a hand on George's shoulder, asking to cut in. But just as he took her hand, a bright silver Patronus in the shape of a lynx bounded into the tent.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep, booming voice rang out across the now-silent dance floor as his Patronus faded away.

Mass chaos broke out. All of a sudden, a herd of people appeared between Hermione and Ron, forcing them away from each other. They tried to hold on to each others hands, but were eventually tugged apart by the shifting masses. Hermione's beaded bag – the contents of which included everything the trio would need for the horcrux hunt and then some – slipped off her wrist in the process and ended up in Ron's possession. She saw him grab onto Harry and they looked at her with desperate eyes, pleading for her to make a decision. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply through her nose, and then stared them straight in the eyes with a look of resignation. They nodded, and disapparated.

As soon as they were gone, she was swept away and bumped back into George. "Hermione! We've got to get you out of here!" Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and twisted into the air, apparating them to the apartment above Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"George! What did you do that for?" she exclaimed, incensed.

"It wasn't safe for you, Hermione. They were looking for Harry; they would have taken you had they seen you, I had to get you to safety." He pulled her lightly by the wrist into his bedroom, and led her over to his closet, opening the door. Letting go of her hand, he knelt on the floor and reached into the back of the closet, shifting things out of the way as he whispered 'alohomora' at the back wall. A lock clicked open, and he pulled a piece of wall aside. "There's a safe room in there. You'll have to crawl to get in, but there's plenty of room inside. Go, get yourself hidden, I have to get back to the Burrow. Don't make any noise, and don't leave the closet until either Fred or I come back to get you. And make sure we tell you something only we would know first! Got it?"

She nodded, and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you, George. Be safe." He pulled away and watched as she got down onto the floor and crawled into the safe room, and threw in one of his jumpers and a blanket for her before closing and locking the door, concealing it from anyone who didn't know it was there. Then he twisted into the air, heading back to the Burrow.

-oOo-

"Hermione! It's Fred, I'm coming in to get you. I once slipped you a tester love potion and you followed George around all day like a lovesick puppy, thinking he was me." He heard a quiet laugh from behind the closet wall and non-verbally unlocked the door to the safe room. Hermione came crawling out, clad in her dress from the wedding and one of George's old Weasley jumpers, which was far too large for her. It was a funny sight to see, and he chuckled before he could catch himself.

"What's so funny, Fred Weasley?" Hermione huffed.

"I'm sorry, Granger, but just...go into the bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror. You look so tiny in that jumper!" he replied, still laughing slightly. He led her to the bathroom and pointed at the mirror, smiling. She couldn't help but allow a small grin to lift on her face, and her cheeks flushed as she turned around and buried her face in Fred's chest, embarrassed.

"Oh Fred, I look ridiculous! I can barely even see the bottom of my dress from under this jumper!" she groaned, stepping back, splaying her arms out and looking down to indicate that he should look at her.

"It's a good look for you, Granger. If it wasn't unsafe for you, I'd suggest popping back over to the Burrow to model your new outfit for the rest of the family."

She blanched. "The family! Did everyone make it out alright?"

He nodded, a more serious look washing over his face. "Yeah, everyone's alright. The only people unaccounted for are Ron and Harry; they seemed to have disappeared somewhere, but we have a feeling it was of their own accord." Hermione flushed a deep red and looked away at that, trying not to meet Fred's eyes. "...Hermione? Do you know something about where they went?"

She gave an almost imperceptible nod and raised her eyes to meet his slowly. "I know that they left, I'm just not sure where they decided to go. But they should be safe."

"How do you know this?"

She hesitated before responding. "Because I was supposed to be with them..."

His eyes widened at her confession, but he didn't get to ask her what they were up to because George chose that moment to apparate into the apartment. "Fred? You here?"

"In the bathroom," he called. Turning to Hermione, he motioned for her to exit the room and led her over to the living room to meet George.

"Hermione, good, you're safe. I just got back from calming down Mum, and we decided while we were there that you're going to hide out here with us instead of at the Burrow, because they're less likely to search here."

"Wait, I'm going to have to stay here with you guys? But I have to get to Ron and Harry, they need my help!" she responded, panicking slightly.

"Hermione," Fred spoke softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. You're Harry's best friend, and Harry is a wanted man. They're going to come after you, and the first place they'll look is the Burrow. If they think to check here at all, it won't be for awhile, and we'll have you hidden anyway."

"Yeah, it's not safe for you to go out looking for Harry and Ron. If they contact us with their whereabouts, then we'll help you get to them. Otherwise, you're stuck with us until then," George added.

Hermione sighed softly and nodded her consent. "Alright. But where will I stay? There's only two bedrooms, right?"

Fred and George looked at each other and had a silent conversation with their eyes. Fred nodded, and George turned back to Hermione to respond. "You'll be staying in my room, in the safe room. I'll expand the entrance so you won't have to crawl in every time, and we'll transfigure you a mattress and some furniture. Fred's gonna go back to the Burrow to get some of Ginny's clothes for you sometime tomorrow. This way, if there's a raid, the entrance to your safe room is well-hidden. That will give us an extra few seconds to get you in there and close it up without being seen if they barge in."

"You seem to have this well thought out; did you plan this ahead of time?" she asked, looking slightly suspicious.

"Well, yes, but not specifically for you. Most members of the Order have some sort of safe room and a contingency plan just in case someone needs hiding," Fred replied.

Hermione looked pleasantly surprised. "That's really smart!"

The twins beamed at her, pleased that she approved of the preparations the Order had made. She let out a large yawn, and George turned to her. "Looks like it's time for us to turn in, then, it's been a long day. You take my bed tonight, Granger, and I'll sleep on the couch. I'm too tired to transfigure any furniture for you tonight."

"Alright," she replied, "are you sure? I can sleep on the couch, you know."

"Naw, it'll be safer if you sleep closer to the safe room. If they come knocking tonight, I can make it look like I just passed out on the couch. C'mon, let's go to my room, you can borrow some pyjamas if you'd like; can't imagine you'd want to sleep in that dress."

"Thanks, George," she said with a soft smile, and followed him to his room. "Goodnight, Fred."

Posted: 21 November 2011
Word Count: 1,862