A Chain Of Events

Chapter 1

Hermione smiled softly in her sleep. Her dream, although having been the same for the last week, never ceased to produce this reaction. The dream in question involved her passionately snogging a certain red-head who was staying at Grimmauld Place with her, and who was responding with the same fervour. Just a couple of months ago she would have laughed out loud at the suggestion that she would ever be attracted to this person, but since arriving at Head-Quarters, she had started noticing him in a new light, and had been inexplicably drawn to him.

CRACK! The noise of apperation was followed a millisecond later by a heavy weight pressing down on her legs, jolting her abruptly from sleep. As she sat up to face the intruder and opened her mouth to cry out, a faint swear word emitted from the weight on her legs, making her hesitate.

"Shit! Sorry Hermione. It's actually quite hard to apperate in the dark."

"Fred? Is that you? What are you doing here? I'm trying to sleep." This conversation was held in whispers, and both occasionally glanced at Ginny, who was snoring gently in the next bed, and was quite unlikely to wake, although there was a chance, albeit a slim one.

"Fred...why are you in here? Are you ok?" Hermione was worried. Recently Fred had seemed more subdued than normal, committing fewer pranks and overall acting much more seriously, and although she sometimes got annoyed at him over his behaviour, it was him. She wouldn't want him to change for anything.

"Can we talk? Please?" Fred sounded hesitant, unsure of himself. He had long since moved off Hermione's legs, but was covered in goose-bumps, as Kreacher never lit a fire in the mud-blood and blood-traitors room and Fred was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Seeing this, Hermione smiled and pushed back her blankets before patting the space next to her, inviting him to join her in bed. He did so, pulling the blankets over both of them and hugging Hermione close.

"You-Know-Who's really back, isn't he, Hermione? Everything's changed now. We're on the front line of the fight. Despite mums insistence that we're too young we're not going to be safe. Harry Potters best friend and families – a muggle born and a whole bunch of blood-traitors-"

"Don't call yourself that!" interjected Hermione sharply.

"Why the hell not? That's what the Death Eater's call me and my family. That's all I am to them. I'm scared Hermione. I'm so scared but I can't tell anyone, not even George, because I need to be strong for them. I'm meant to be the joker, always the one with a smile on his face. But this affects me too. I can't just pretend all the time Hermione." Fred's shoulders slumped forwards and he made to get out of Hermione's bed, but a gentle hand on his bare back stopped him.

"Is this why you haven't been sleeping?" Fred opened his mouth "Don't ask me how I know, it's the bags under your eyes, I've noticed. You can stay here tonight, if it'll help. And, just so you know, I feel the same way. I think Harry and Ron would fall to pieces without me sometimes. Ron wouldn't have a clue about what he was meant to do, and Harry would be running off on noble, self-sacrificing missions constantly. Half the time I feel as if I'm just their babysitter."

"That's not true. You're so much more than a babysitter. Harry and Ron really care about you. Ron especially – did you know he fancies you? It's quite sweet really, the lengths he goes to in order to try and deny it. He won't even admit to me and George, although we know already. He never was one for subtlety."

"Does he? Poor him – I like someone else – someone he wouldn't be too pleased about." Hermione finished this confession with a yawn that she quickly tried to smother, but Fred immediately picked up on it.

"Sleep, Hermione. I've kept you awake long enough as it is. Thanks for listening to me though."

"That's ok, Fred. Thanks for telling me. Stay here tonight?"

"If you want me to, then sure" Fred's mouth quirked into the half smile that Hermione secretly went weak at the knees over, and the both slid down the bed until they were lying with their heads on the pillows. Fred wrapped both his arms around Hermione and pulled her to his naked, toned, chest, tucking her head under his chin with his right hand.

In turn Hermione snuggled closer and, with her left hand resting on his shoulder and her right arm draped over his hip, they both drifted off to sleep, wrapped around each other.