If He Stays | ғʀᴇᴍɪᴏɴᴇ ✓

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-- THE BURROW 

By the time dinner rolled around, Hermione was dreading going downstairs. She cursed herself for promising to let Fred know how the charm went. How was she going to face him and somehow not let it show how practically everything had shifted in her perspective? 

"Hermione," Ginny called, opening the door to their room. "Come on, Mum says dinner's almost ready." 

"I'll be right there," Hermione said distractedly. 

Ginny was about to leave when she turned back on impulse, doing a double-take on Hermione. 

"Is everything alright?" 

"Yes, fine," Hermione said quickly. 

Ginny walked closer, closing the door behind her. She narrowed her eyes on Hermione. "Seriously, what's going on?" 

Hermione kept her poker face for about ten more seconds before falling back on the bed, letting out a groan of frustration. "Your brother is what's going on!" 

"Ron?" Ginny asked. "Not surprising he's done something stupid, but I'm surprised you like him enough to finally feel the need to rant about it." 

"Ron?" Hermione questioned, looking up at Ginny. "No, why would I be frustrated with Ron?" 

"You don't have a crush on him?" Ginny asked. 

"What? Ron? No! Oh Godric, forget it, never mind," Hermione babbled. She couldn't believe Ginny thought she had a thing for Ron. Maybe at one point, but when he tried to shame her for not being happy about him asking her to the Yule Ball as a last resort, it's like some sort of switch flipped off and she just couldn't see him that way anymore. 

"Oh," Ginny said, processing it. "Wait. If not Ron, then which of my brothers has you in a ball of nerves?" 

"None of them," Hermione mumbled covering her face. "Forget it, Ginny!" 

"No, tell me," Ginny cried, jumping on the bed and shaking Hermione. When Hermione didn't answer, she started going through the options one by one. "Well it can't be Bill or Charlie, you barely know them. And I can't see it being Percy; he's too stuck up, even for you. So one of the twins?" 

Hermione mumbled an incoherent no, rolling over away from Ginny. The persistent girl merely climbed onto the other side of the bed so Hermione had to see her anyway. 

"So which twin? Fred or George?" 

"No." 

"Come on, stop being stubborn. Either way it's a shocker, no one expected you to fall for one of the pranksters." 

"No." 

"Hermione!" Ginny cried, shaking her again. 

Hermione glanced up at Ginny, slowly holding up one finger. For a second Ginny just looked at her confused before the wave of realization hit her. 

"Fred?" She whispered for confirmation. When Hermione nodded with with a sheepish grimace, Ginny squealed. "FRED? Seriously?" 

"Shhh!" Hermione whisper-cried, finally sitting up. "We don't want your whole family knowing!" 

"Well when'd this happen?" Ginny whispered again in excitement. "It was after you saved him isn't it? It had to be!" 

Hermione grinned at Ginny, one of the few girl friends she really connected with and that was mostly because of her no nonsense attitude. She began her story from the hospital wing and the summer, and continued right up to the potions lab in their shop and the daydream charm.