Two Can Keep a Secret

Chapter 2- The Silent Treatment

Hermione was working on homework with Harry and Ron on their favorite couch. She was still giving Fred the silent treatment whenever they were in the same room though. She was always aware of when he was in the same room though.

Ron must've been watching his brothers for a while, because he suddenly said something about it. "Uh... Hermione, Fred keeps staring at you," he said quietly.

Hermione didn't bother looking up from the chart she was correcting. "It's not a crime to stare, Ronald," she said with a sigh. "If you ignore him, he'll stop."

"Did something happen between you two?" Harry asked casually.

Hermione threw her quill down in anger. "Absolutely not!" She snapped, shaking her head as if he was crazy for even coming up with that idea. She happened to glance over at Fred for the first time since she entered the common room.

Fred winked at her before he returned to his conversation. Hermione stared at him in shock even though he was no longer watching her now.

"He just winked at you!" Ron said, sounding completely horrified with that exchange. "Why would he wink at you?" Hermione could feel herself turning warm, so she quickly ducked her head into her textbook.

This movement didn't go unnoticed by Harry. "Hermione?" he asked her quietly. She slowly looked up at her two best friends. Harry looked concerned, and Ron looked incredulous. He still had an eye on Fred.

She sighed and decided to come clean with the truth. "Nobody else can know about this," she hissed quietly as she motioned them to move forward. They nodded and bent their heads close to hers.

"Fred thinks....that...I like him," she admitted finally as she shifted awkwardly in her seat.

Harry and Ron looked at each other incredulously and they busted out laughing. Hermione raised an eyebrow at them, but her annoyance grew as they continued laughing. Harry stopped laughing when she gave him a glare, but Ron laughed even harder. She finally smacked him on the shoulder with her textbook.

"It's not that funny!" She snapped as Ron covered his shoulder and muttered something under his breath. She decided to ignore what he said.

"It kind of is," Ron said slowly. The corners of his mouth twitched, and Hermione went back to working on homework. She started scribbling away in annoyance.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Ron said after she remained quiet.

Hermione nodded her head at his apology. "It's kind of weird, isn't it?" She asked them quietly. "The idea of...us?" She hoped her face wasn't giving anything away.

"Well... yeah. He's my brother, and you two have nothing in common," Ron answered immediately.

"Not really," Harry answered at the same time as Ron said it was weird.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other before looking at Harry in surprise. "Oh?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You both are smart, and it's not too weird. Plus you already know each other," he said, before shaking his head. "I'm terrible at explaining these types of things," he muttered.

Hermione lifted a hand up. "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't like him. I like somebody else," she said. Her eyes widened as she realized what she said, and looked away.

"Who do you like?" Ron asked, looking interested all of a sudden. Harry even looked mildly interested as well.

"That's private information. I'm not telling you," Hermione answered. She purposefully emphasized on the you, knowing that he wouldn't pick up on it at all.

"But we're your best friends! You know about Harry's crush on Cho!" Ron said loudly.

Harry winced as he glanced around the common room. "Thanks Ron," he said sarcastically.

Ron realized what he said and saw that people were giving them strange looks. "Sorry," he apologized. He looked back at Hermione. "You kept Krum a secret from us," he said hotly. He ignored the fact that Harry began shaking his head and waving his hands in the air to stop Ron. "I don't think you should keep this crush a secret also," he finished.

Hermione scowled as she stood up and gathered her books. "If you haven't figured it out by now, you never will," she snapped and she headed toward the girls dormitory. She was halfway up the staircase when she realized she left her Potions textbook behind.

***

Hermione retraced her steps and saw Ron was now arguing with Fred. She scowled and stood right behind him until he noticed.

"What are you doing to Hermione?" Ron demanded to know, not knowing Hermione was next to him.

Fred looked amused when he saw her standing behind Ron, but she was grateful that he didn't say anything.

"Nothing she didn't start," he said casually, glancing over at her meaningfully. Hermione crossed her arms and gave him a glare.

"Yeah? Leave her alone then!" Ron said, pushing his brother's shoulder lightly.

Hermione decided it was time to step in before a fight broke out between the two. She reached for her textbook as she stood next to Ron. "I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Ronald," she said in a cold voice. Fred grinned and handed the textbook over.

Ron jumped when he saw her next to him. "But- but he's the reason you're acting so strange!" he sputtered out.

Hermione decided not to acknowledge that. She started walking back to the girl's dormitory again now that she had her potions textbook again.

"You're welcome, love!" She heard Fred call out in an amused tone. George and Lee laughed beside him, and Hermione headed up the stairs without saying another word.

***

A/N: Thanks for reading! I will try to get out two or three chapters a couple of times a week since this story is already finished elsewhere.