Broken Bits

6. Therapist Orders

Hermione watched Fred mingle with the other men in the group, already forming his own little group of friends that she did not envy.

She had slipped away from him the moment they had wandered into the parlor, choosing to claim her seat in the back by the bookcases then listen to the other girls complain about their fiancé's.

She was entirely overwhelmed by the day, and even the events of last night. She felt like running, far far away from the stupid couples retreat. She hated the stares, the questions and the invasive conversations.

But Fred, every time he looked at her she didn't feel like running. Somehow he grounded her.

Whether it was familiarity or a promise, she wasn't sure.

For now, she was going to enjoy her stolen minutes with a cookbook clutched to her chest while she settled under the dim light of the lamp.

Hermione slipped into her seat next to Fred at the large dinner table, and he greeted her with a smile. A wine glass clutched firmly in his grip.

"You are going to have another headache." Hermione pointed at his glass as she spread her napkin over her legs.

"I did not have a headache." Fred mumbled, but all the same set the wine glass down knowing entirely that she was right.

"And I didn't purposefully mess up the remaining half of the pancake batter this morning." Hermione shrugged and Fred gasped in shock. He turned to her wide eyed, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"I knew you messed with it!" Fred scolded, he had been thoroughly embarrassed after all his boasting, that the second half of his pancake batter suddenly quit well, resembling batter. It had turned into a sticky dough, that was impossible to pour in the pan.

"I was bored." Hermione shrugged, and Fred gasped again. Earning a glance from Blaise across the table, but he opted to ignore it in favor of leaning closer to Hermione. "And you never helped me carry my books back last night like you promised." Hermione pointed out, spearing a potato with her fork. 

"What are you on about?" Fred asked, throwing his hands down in his lap annoyed. He still could not believe she had sabotaged his food. It rather ticked him off if he was being honest about it. 

"Our bet fishing? I won remember." She leaned over, poking at his green beans. Trading a strip of chicken for a scoop of the vegetables. He let her without arguing, it had become rather routine of her to do such things. 

"Oh bollocks, I totally forgot." Fred sighed, looking at Hermione slightly put out. It's not like she reminded him or anything, he would have carried them if she had just asked.

"Point proven, stop drinking so much and maybe you'd remember." Hermione shrugged, sipping her water pointedly. Fred at once decided he didn't not like her passive aggressiveness. 

"It calms my nerves." Fred deflected, causing Hermione to roll her eyes annoyed.

"If you need to drink to have a conversation with me then you'll be a drunk by the time you hit thirty." Hermione pushed back her chair standing, earning the attention of everyone at the table. They all put a halt to their conversations, in favor of watching the famed couple have a bickering match.  

"I would have carried them if you would have just asked!" Fred snapped, trying to keep his voice low but that was impossible in a now silent room, pulling at her sleeve but Hermione ripped it away from him.

"The point is, I wanted you to remember without me having to remind you." She snapped, with a turn of her heel she strode out the door. Fred could honestly not believe what had just happened. They had had a wonderful day, at least he had thought. Spending the entirety of the day hanging around the cabin, reading and simply existing beside one another.