Hey everybody! I'm back with a new fic! It's a Fred/Hermione taking place during the summer before her seventh year.

I promise you that this will be updated much more frequently than my other fic, as I already have the first six chapters written, and am halfway through the seventh. The entries should be a bit longer too.

Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 1 It Starts

Hermione Granger sighed as she left Hogwarts. She took one last glimpse of the castle from the train window before it disappeared around the corner. It was the end of her sixth year at Hogwarts, and she was headed off to spend the summer with her boyfriend of six months, Ron Weasley. A loud explosion drew her attention away from the window just in time to see her boyfriend loose a game of exploding snap to her best friend Harry Potter. Her best female friend and Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley rolled her eyes at the boys, and then gave Hermione a grin. Ginny leaned over to Hermione.

"You know," she began. "Mum's going to be ecstatic when you get off the train. She's wanted you and Ron together for years. She wrote me this morning, and said she was dying to see you."

"Oh lovely. Your mum will smother me as soon as I step off the train," said Hermione with a groan picturing Mrs. Weasley's infamous hugs.

"Most likely," grinned Ginny.

Ron reached up from her other side and gave her a quick kiss, then draped his arm around her shoulders. She flinched, going unnoticed by Ron. She supposed she just wasn't one for physical touch the way some girls were. She found herself feeling extremely awkward when Ron felt the need to wrap his arms around her. She never said anything though, thinking that she was a terrible girlfriend not to like her boyfriend's touch.

Ginny frowned, as did Harry. They both noticed Hermione's lack of enthusiasm for Ron's actions but said nothing. Ginny always noticed that Hermione hated this, and tried to tell her that she should just ask Ron not to do it anymore, however Hermione was the most stubborn person she knew, aside from Ron, and simply refused to even hear of it. She hadn't wanted to upset him, she'd said. After that Ginny had just given up trying. Hermione and Ron seemed happy enough after all. She didn't want to ruin anything for them.

They spent the majority of the ride home laughing and joking and talking about the trip to the Quiddich world cup this August. It was being held in Ireland, however the twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was commenting the match since Ludo Bagman had run off, and had gotten the Weasley family plus Harry and Hermione excellent tickets. It was to be England verses Romania. Bill, Charlie, and Percy were coming to stay in the beginning of August, and remain at the Burrow for the summer, so it was going to be quite full. Before they knew it, the train had pulled into platform 9 ¾ and they all scrambled to get their luggage before heading back to the platform.

Harry and Ginny walked through the barrier first, followed by Hermione and Ron. The moment Hermione caught a glimpse of Kings Cross however, Mrs. Weasley had acted as predicted, gave a loud squeal, and was hugging Hermione so tight that she was afraid she might suffocate right there on the platform. A red-eared Ron pulled his mother off Hermione, and she greeted her other children.

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"Hey Herms," said Ron as they were eating breakfast the next morning. Hermione winced. She hated that nickname, and had asked Ron not to call her that many times. Now however she found she didn't have the energy to scold him.

"What Ron?" she replied.

"Harry and I were going up to the hill to fly for a bit, until lunch, would you like to come?"

"No thanks Ron, I'm a bit tired today. I think I'll just stay and read."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Go and have fun. I'll see you for lunch." She smiled.

Five minutes later, Ron Harry, and also Ginny had departed for the hill, and after a quick kiss goodbye, to which Harry made gagging sounds, they were on their way. Hermione had gone back to Ginny's room, and found she didn't really want to read, so she got up and began to wander around the burrow. She heard a noise ahead of her, and as she rounded the corner she saw George Weasley sitting outside the door to his bedroom.

"George?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Hey Hermione."

"Are you locked out of your room or something?" she asked, concerned.

"No. Fred's in there," he said and then gave no more explanation. Suddenly the door opened, and Fred left without the merest glance at either of them as he made his way to the bathroom. She didn't dwell on it though, because she had looked in the room when the door opened and saw what could only be described as a lab. It looked just like the ones she saw in muggle books when she was small. George saw her looking.

"That's our Burrow lab. We have a much better one at the shop of course, but we needed something for when we're here and want to invent. Would you like to see it?" he asked after seeing her eyes widen. She nodded.

She and George spent the entire day in the lab until Molly called them down to dinner. Fred had appeared in the room at some point but George didn't disturb him, and Hermione followed his lead.

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It wasn't until Hermione was going to bed that night, and she reached for her wand, that she realized she didn't have it. She wondered briefly where it could be, before remembering she had set it down during her tour of the Weasley twins' lab. She got out of bed again, wondering if the twins were asleep yet. Probably not, she thought to herself. She soon found herself knocking on the door.

A bleary eyed Fred answered the door in just his boxer shorts, clearly ready for bed.. "George I though you went to-oh," Fred said finally looking up at her. "Hey Hermione…uh what's up?" Hermione found herself staring at his toned stomach, and didn't answer for a moment. He shuffled his feet, and the slight noise brought her back to reality.

"Oh," she said willing herself not to blush. He's your boyfriend's brother you idiot. "Well, I just came up to get my wand. I think I left it here earlier when George was showing me the lab."

Alright then," said Fred, moving aside to let her in.

Hermione walked into the room, and Fred followed, throwing himself back down on the bed. She walked over to the table near the bed and picked up her wand, lying right where she had left it. She turned to head towards the door, and noticed a letter sitting on the table where her wand had been. Fred was still lying grumpily on the bed. She moved the letter slightly, and saw that it was from Angelina. She had a strong suspicion that the letter was the reason for Fred's peculiar behavior today. Usually Fred would be perky and full of mischief, and today he had been a bit depressed, which was something you didn't see coming from a Weasley twin that often. He hadn't even tried to turn her hair purple yet.

"Fred, are you all right?" she asked slowly. She was worried after seeing him mope around all day. George seemed to think he wanted to be left alone, but being Harry and Ron's friends for so many years had taught her to love to investigate things.

Fred simply turned to study her for a long moment, before blinking, and speaking so softly she had to strain to hear him at all. "No."

Hermione's heart ached for the unusually morose twin. She looked around for something to cheer him up. She turned back to the lab, and saw a Canary Cream. She sighed, and decided that maybe pranking herself would cheer him up. She picked it up, and walked over close to the bed, and popped the dessert into her mouth and swallowed. She waited.

Pop!

Hermione Granger was a canary. Fred had looked up startled, and crawled to the edge of the bed, wanting to see her reaction once she molted. He only had to wait about 30 seconds, and then Hermione Granger was sitting on the floor in front of him. Surprisingly enough, she smiled, and looked over as if expecting his reaction. When no one said anything for a minute, she decided it was time to break the silence.

"So that's what it feels like to be a canary. I wondered."

Fred looked at her incredulously. "Excuse me?" he said in amazement.

"Well I hoped it would cheer you up, but I'm rubbish at making people laugh. That's something your good at," she told him.

"You wanted to make me laugh?" he asked slowly, trying to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Yes, well you seem a bit down lately. I was hoping I could cheer you up, but as I said, I'm rubbish at it."

At this Fred gave the smallest of smiles. "Hermione Granger voluntarily ate a Canary Cream. Wow, this goes down in the record books."

She smiled back up at him, before he reached a hand down and helped her up. She sat next to him on the bed, and looked at him. "Why are you so upset today? Is it anything I can help you with? Where's George?" she found herself rambling and only stopped when he held up his hand.

"George has Katie back at our flat, so I figured it would be best if I stayed here tonight," he said. Hermione thought about what George would be doing at the flat with his girlfriend of a year, and shuddered.

"Is my brother that repulsive?" asked Fred in a half serious, half jokingtone, correctly interpreting her shudder.

"What-no, I just-" she stuttered. She stopped for a moment to gain her composure, an then began again. "Is that why you're so upset? Because of George and Katie?"

"No," he said again, giving no further explanation.

"Well why are you so upset then? I hate seeing you this upset," she said, and she truly meant every word.

"You're not going to leave me alone are you?" asked Fred. He paused for a bit. "I received a letter from Angelina today. She decided she just wants to er- 'remain friends.'" Fred fell back onto the bed again. Hermione crawled over next to him, and drew circles on his back.

"I'm sorry Fred," she said. "You must be feeling awful. Care to talk about it?"

After a few minutes, he broke down and told her of all his worries. About how he was worried that this breakup would affect his group of friends, and force them to choose. He was worried that George and Katie would break up, as George would stick by him and Katie would surly stick buy her best friend. He told her of everything that was bothering him. He talked for hours, and she listened, not wanting to interrupt. When he was finished she offered words of comfort, assuring him that it was not as bad as it seemed, and if both he and Angelina wanted to remain friends (which seemed like the case), then everything would work itself out.

She continued to draw circles on his back with her finger, as she sometimes did to Harry or Ron when they were upset, and as her mother used to do for her when she was growing up. It was a comforting gesture, and they lapsed into silence for a long time, until they began to get sleepy. Within the hour, Fred and Hermione were sleeping peacefully side by side.

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Hermione kept her eyes closed, not wanting to get rid of this wonderful feeling she was having. She awoke feeling warm and comfortable. She enjoyed this feeling until a grunt came from next to her. She sat bolt upright and looked around for the source of the noise. She heard another incoherent mumble, and looked to her left. There lying on the bed next to her, apparently now awake, was Fred Weasley.

"Hermione?" Fred asked slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"I-"she started, but then paused to think. What was she doing there? Then she remembered trying to comfort Fred the previous night. "I think we both fell asleep last night."

"Oh."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments before she started speaking again. "Well I guess I better get going now. I've got to change."

"Okay then. Probably…yeah…" Fred trailed off. He sat up and looked around.

"Oh, Fred," said Hermione quietly as a thought had just occurred to her. "Could you maybe not mention this to Ron? He er- well he might get the wrong idea you see, and-"

"Don't worry Mione, I wont tell him," said Fred cutting her off. "Or anyone else," he added, correctly interpreting her thoughts. She had just turned around and reached for the door handle when someone knocked on the other side.

"Shit!" muttered Fred, now panicked. "It's mum! She'll have a bloody cow if she sees you in here this early, after having obviously slept here, and she won't take it lightly."

"Where am I supposed to go?" whispered Hermione frantically, now equally panicked, knowing what Mrs. Weasley would be thinking.

Fred thought for a moment before making a decision. "Get back under the covers. And hurry."

She didn't need telling twice. Hermione moved as quickly as possible, while trying to make as little noise as possible as she settled her self under the covers next to Fred. "Get in closer," said Fred. Mrs. Weasley was still pounding on the door. She scooted in a little closer. Fred let out an exasperated sigh before grabbing her and pulling her over so that she was practically laying on him, and he tangled his legs in hers. He covered them up properly so that Hermione could not be seen, and laid back down just as Mrs. Weasley burst into the room.

"Fred Weasley, wake up," she screeched.

Fred grumbled, and reached a hand up to rub his eyes, while keeping the other securely around Hermione's waist as to make sure she didn't move. He needn't have worried though, as she couldn't have moved if she tried. She was just struck with the idea that if Ron found out about this it could ruin their relationship forever. She was also feeling slightly dizzy from being in this close proximity to Fred who, as it turns out, smelled very nice, and had a nicely toned body. She was sure Ron didn't have muscles like those. 'What are you thinking? You're dating Ron! You should be more worried about Mrs. Weasley!' She shocked herself back into the present.

"Don't you grumble at me Fred!" said Mrs. Weasley tersely. "I expect you to be out with Ron to degnome the garden in a half an hour. And why didn't you tell me you were staying the night? I most certainly was not aware of it! Is George here too? Does he know you're here? Are-"

"Alright mum!" Fred grumbled, cutting her interrogation short. "I'll be down stairs in five minutes. It's too bloody early for this."

"Fred Weasley watch you language!"

"Sorry Mum," said Fred. "I'll just change an be down in a minute then, shall I?"

"Hurry up will you," said Mrs. Weasley before walking out of the room. Hermione and Fred stayed still for another minute before they allowed themselves to sit up. Hermione crawled out from under the covers, and Fred let out a breath of relief.

"Well that was certainly suspenseful," said Fred grinning at her. "I think it was rather refreshing in the morning."

"Speak for yourself," said Hermione, gathering her things, and making for the door once more. "I have no desire to be in that much panic ever again!"

Fred simply smiled and shook his head. Then just as she was reaching for the door again he called her back. "Hermione, wait!"

She turned around to look at him, wondering what he could possibly want. "Yes?"

"Thanks, Mione."

She noticed how wonderful that nickname sounded when compared with Ron's 'Hermy.' She smiled at the thought, and wondered what on earth had made Angelina break up with him. Suddenly she caught herself, fought another blush, and replied.

"Anytime, Fred."

She raced out of the room and down the hall back to her and Ginny's room. When she walked in the door, she thanked Merlin that Ginny was still asleep. She crept over to her bed, and sat down to think. She wondered how she should act after this. Perhaps like it hadn't happened. Or perhaps she would share a secret with Fred? Maybe they would be better friends, or just plain awkward around each other. This was all so confusing. She decided she would take her cues from Fred. However he acted, was how she was going to act.

Just as she came to this conclusion, Ginny started to wake up. "Hey Hermione," she said with a sleep ridden voice. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long now. I only just got back from the bathroom," lied Hermione, feeling the blush creep back up her face. She turned away from Ginny quickly so the younger girl wouldn't notice anything. She was in luck however, because at that moment Ginny announced that she was going to the loo.

Once Ginny left the room, Hermione let out a breath of relief. Lord, she was such a bad liar. She eventually sat up, and began to dress before Ginny got back.

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Hermione spent the rest of the day with Harry, Ron, and Ginny. As it turned out, George flooed around noon, and asked Fred to come back to the shop for some 'bloody brilliant idea,' and he had left, so she didn't have to worry about him after all.

"Hey Hermy, said Ron, making her wince. "Want to come outside for a bit of fireworks?"

"Fireworks?" she asked skeptically. "Does your mum know about this?"

"Well…" began Ron. "It was Harry's idea. He said he bought a few filibusters, and he wants to set them off before Fred and George find out that he has them."

"Why would the twins care?" asked Hermione confused.

"They're the competition of course," said Ron rolling his eyes. Then he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Besides, Harry seems excited, and I don't want to ruin that for him."

Neither did Hermione, as Harry had been down ever since fourth year. Then after Sirius died, everything was made so much worse. Ron was right. Harry did seem happier since he had come to stay at the burrow. She wondered though, if this perhaps was due to the increased presence of Ginny. Nevertheless, she agreed, and spent the remainder of the night stealing kisses with Ron underneath a great display of fireworks, pushing everything else to the back of her mind.

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