In Which There Is A Small Amount of Physical Violence
Fred hadn’t been able to focus at all for the quidditch game. He had been such an idiot with Hermione. He hadn’t expected all of that to come rushing back to him as soon as he saw her and now that it was out of the box… well he was having a really hard time getting it back in. He had been hoping that suggesting a game of quidditch would clear his head and get him focused on something else, but even while flying he could barely take his eyes off her. It was that damn yellow dress. It made her glow, just like sunshine.
Man if she had been sorted into Hufflepuff maybe he would have figured these feelings out sooner.
He avoided George as they headed down the hill to the snacks. They hadn’t had a chance to talk yet but he knew his twin knew what was up from the way George was throwing him very amused looks. The jackass had probably figured this out years ago and had just been waiting for Fred to catch up. As Hermione approached to join them at the snack table he had to fight the urge to poke his tongue out at George in response to his latest amused smirk. Git.
Speaking of gits’, just as he got the stones together to say something, anything, to her as they loaded their plates next to each other, Ron appeared. This was not going to go well. Ron still held quite the grudge for Hermione leaving and he was still very much the hothead he had been in school. Sure he had grown a little and was well on his way to becoming Head Auror, but his sharp temper was part of what made him so successful in that field.
“Hi.” Hermione greeted Ron with an awkward wave as he approached her. Poor thing seemed like she knew what was coming.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ron growled at her.
Positioned behind her Fred tensed and set his plate down. “Ron…” He tried to warn his little brother. Ron might be a high and mighty Auror and in the best shape of his life, but Fred still towered over him and was still very confident in his skills to kick his little brother's ass if the need arose.
“I’m getting snacks.” Hermione responded cooly, Ron’s familiar attitude seeming to almost set her at ease, “Would you like some? Your mom made loads as usual.”
Fred grinned. She was amazing.
“What do you even know about what my mom usually does?” Ron wasn’t having any of it. “You swanned off and left all of us in the dust! You don’t get to just swan back in here and pretend nothing happened!”
“I haven’t swanned anywhere!” Hermione’s tone shifted to annoyed. “I was invited! I moved back. You knew I was coming back.”
“I didn’t expect you to be this brazen!” Ron was pitching up.
“Brazen!?” Hermione was starting to match him. “Ron, I went away to Uni. I’m back now. People do it all the time! This is normal!”
“Not people who are needed! Not after a war!” Ron snarled at her. “After all we did for you! Then you put us all through a new hurt.”
“The only one who seems to have been hurt by my departure is you.” Hermione stayed calm in the face of his ire. Fred supposed she was pretty used to it at this point. “Everyone else has been able to understand and welcome me back without throwing a hissy fit.”
“Ooooooo!” George broke in from across the table, giddy with Hermione’s calm retorts.
Ron flipped him off without taking his focus off Hermione. “Maybe I just don’t trust someone who can send one set of parents off to get killed and then abandon another.”
Hermione took a shocked step back at that dig, right into Fred’s chest. Fred reached out and put his hand on her arm to steady her and provide support. Ron clocked the contact immediately and sneered. “And maybe some of them are getting an extra incentive. Slag.”
That was too far. Honestly the parent comment was way too far, but Fred had planned to give his brother a talking to for that one away from Hermione once she was okay. But throw the slag comment on top of that?
Fred moved around Hermione, careful not to shove her, and then squared up with his little brother.
“You want to reconsider any of those statements, Ronniekins?” He asked in a dangerously low voice. “I would if I were you.”
Ron snorted at him.
“Can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Fred shrugged, then punched his little brother square on the nose. Ron crumpled to the ground immediately. He clutched at his nose, groaning, blood seeping between his fingers like he had just taken a fair few Nosebleed Nougats. Fred leaned down over him. “Take a time out and think things over. Then you come find her and apologize.” Then he turned away, gently took Hermione’s hand and led her away from the scene.
________
Fred took Hermione to one of his favorite spots on the Burrow property. A quiet weeping willow situated next to the pond where they swam each summer. He quietly transfigured some rocks into a blanket and a few pillows and sat down, pulling her down next to him.
“Are you okay? You know what he said is incredibly out of order right?” Fred asked her softly, brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers checking for tears.
She wasn’t crying, just staring at him with shock written all over her features. After a moment of her just starting he began to actually get a little worried. Right when he was considering going to find his mom or Remus to check her over she finally spoke.
“Fred.” It was like a breath she had been holding onto. “Why did you? You punched him!”
Fred shrugged. “He was out of order. Sometimes Ron needs a hard reset to get his head out of his ass.”
She chuckled and then looked mildly horrified that she had done so and looked down at her hands, where Fred was still holding onto her. She picked up the hand he had punched Ron with and ran her fingers over his now red and slightly swollen knuckles. “Are you okay?” She asked him.
“I’m fine.” Fred pulled his hand from her grip and used it to tilt her gaze back up to his face. “Are you okay?”
“It wasn’t my first time dealing with Ron.” She smiled ruefully at him. “I’m not saying what he said wasn’t awful but,” she shrugged, “he tends to say awful things when he’s upset. You really didn’t need to do that.”
“I’m sorry if I overstepped.” Fred dropped his hand from her chin and it landed on her knee somewhat by accident. “I just.. Couldn’t stand there and listen to him talk to you like that.”
“It was very sweet of you,” her hand came up to brush his cheek, “if a little old-fashioned.”
He grinned at her. “Well I am known for my chivalry.”
She chuckled softly at that.
They sat there for a moment, somewhat tangled up in each other as they stared. Hermione’s hand staying on his cheek, while his hand on her knee itched to move up her leg and explore the toned expanse of skin he could see peeking out of the slit of her skirt. Then her hand dropped, and his hand returned to his own lap and they shifted apart.
“We should probably head back over and make sure he’s okay.” She said, standing and offering her hand to help him up.
Fred nodded silently and followed her away from the tree, letting her fall a few steps ahead of him. It certainly seemed like Hermione was feeling things similar to him. Two moments in one afternoon where it felt like he could have kissed her without protest wasn’t a fluke. But he didn’t want this to just be a hurried and secret kiss. This felt like it could be something. And things like that deserved wooing and moving slowly. So that’s what he would do. He was going to woo Hermione Granger and make sure that she felt the same way he did. For right now though, he was going to walk slowly and appreciate the way her ass moved in that skirt.