When Did You Know
Word Count: 4,015
Summary: Fred lives!! Need I say more.
Warning: Some Angst. But overall get ready for a disgusting amount of fluff.
A/N: I know this is not a popular ship…BUT it is my favorite ship. So if you also enjoy Fremione I hope you like this. And if you just like to read…we’ll then I hope you like this too 😊.
Fred and Mrs. Weasley continued to shout at each other as she climbed up the stairs. It had been a little over a month since the war had ended. The Weasley’s, unlike many other wizarding families, had gotten quite lucky. True one Weasley, Fred, had been so badly injured that the healers at St. Mungo’s were unsure if he’d survive. But he proved the healers wrong, he’d survived. And Hermione, along with the Weasley's, thanked Merlin everyday for that miracle. Hermione continued up the stairs, lost in her thoughts. She remembered running down the halls at Hogwarts with Ron at her side. They had been looking for his family when it happened. Hermione has spotted Fred and Percy fighting off Death Eaters when a stray spell caused the wall behind Fred to collapse on top of him. Hermione took another deep breath as a tear rolled down her cheek and she replayed that scene in her head. Her piercing scream, Ron and herself removing rubble as they ran closer to the scene. Seeing Fred’s bloody, limp and pale body emerging from the rubble and the feeling Ron’s arms around her to keep her from falling as she cried. Hermione took a deep breath as she tried to relax, “it’s over” she said, “It’s over”. She pushed those thoughts from her head, Fred had scared all of them but he was alive. He was grouchy, stubborn, impatient and in a lot of pain sometimes but he was alive. And she thanked Merlin for that.
The voices grew louder further she climbed up the stairs. She was about to open the door to Fred and George’s room when she heard “Mum I’m fine! The bandages are not dirty. See? No blood. Mum I just want some fresh air, to see George and my friends and I just want to get outta HEEEREEE!” he yelped. “Merlin woman!!” Fred hissed. Mrs. Weasley annoyingly sighed, “Well if you’d stop moving I’d be able to take these old bandages off and clean you up. Now, hold still!” she snapped. Hermione sighed, she hated seeing Fred in pain but she knew this was all apart of his recovery. She took a deep breath and opened the door to see the Weasley matriarch trying to wrestle her son down and re bandage his wounds. “HERMIONE! SAVE ME!” Fred said quickly, “This deranged woman won’t let me...”but he was instantly silent as Hermione cast Silencio in his direction. “Would you like some help Mrs. Weasley?” she asks with a smile. Fred stared at the two women looking shocked and betrayed. He looked angrily at Hermione and mouthed “GRANGER!” She laughed softly at him and said “I am sorry Freddie, but it’s for your own, good.”
Mrs. Weasley saw the interaction between her son and the young witch. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew there was something there. And if Mrs. Weasley was being completely honest the thought of Her Fred and Her Hermione together made her smile. But she quickly shook her head clear of those thoughts and said “I’d love some help dear”. Though Fred was no longer shouting he still put up a fight Hermione and Mrs. Weasley did not shy away from the challenge, they welcomed it. “Aaaaaaand we're done!”, said Mrs. Weasley standing up straight. “Thank you for helping me dear” she said wiping the sweat off her forehead. Hermione smiled as she admired their bandaging skills, “my pleasure”. Hermione looked at Fred. He was spent and pale but was intently looking at her, annoyance clear in his eyes. Finite Incantatem she said pointing her wand at Fred, who gasped for air dramatically. He held Hermione’s gaze and scowled, “traitor”.
She smiled but Fred ignored her. He put Hermione’s betrayal aside and cleared his throat as he focused his attention right back to his unfinished task. “SOO” he asked his Mum sweetly, “about going outside?” “Absolutely not Fred, you can barely stand with out....” but Mrs. Weasley rant was soon interrupted by Ginny. “Oh come on Mum” she said poking her head through the door “let him come out” Fred nodded in agreement. “Yup!! Let the man out Mum” said George, who’s head poked out from underneath Ginny’s. “He can watch us play quidditch”. Mrs Weasley shook her head firmly and said “No”. “He’ll be off to the side Mrs. Weasley” said Harry, who was standing on his tiptoes peeking over Ginny’s head with a smile “he’ll be a spectator ”. “Yeah Mum” Ron added from behind Harry, “I’d love for Fred to witness the look on George and Ginny’s face when I beat them” Ginny rolled her eyes while Fred and George snorted, “Calm down Ronniekins” George said. Mrs Weasley turned towards her children with an unsure look on her face “I don’t know”. “Pleeeaassseeee” they all sang in unison as Fred gave his mom his best puppy dog eyes. Hermione smiled, there was something about that “innocent” face that made her feel butterflies. She quickly pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the debate in front of her. Hermione agreed with Mrs. Weasley, true Fred was slowly getting better but he was still very weak. And his bandages required extra care. She did however feel a tad bit bad about the Silencio charm she’d cast on him earlier, so she decided to help Fred accomplish his goal. “I will be with them as well Mrs. Weasley, I’ll gladly keep an eye of Fred for you” Hermione said. The group snickered. “I'm sure you will” George quipped, wagging his eyebrows while Fred looked smugly at Hermione. She just smiled and rolled her eyes. Mrs. Weasley ignored them, “Thank you sweetheart!” she beamed at Hermione, “I appreciate it!”
“Let’s apparate him outside”, said Ron whose comment was followed by a shower of insults. “Oh Ronald”, sighed Mrs. Weasley. “What?! It was an honest suggestion!” he said indignantly. But before any more insults were hurtled towards Ron, Mrs. Weasley spoke “Ginny, Harry run along and set something out over by the clearing.” “The Quidditch Pitch Mum” said George. “The what?”, said Mrs. Weasley. “It’s not a clearing, it’s called a pitch”, replied George. “Who’s the snitch?”, asked Mrs. Weasley. “Oh Merlin”, said Fred and George in unison while Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione laughed. “Well it’s hard to hear and you are all driving me insane. Harry, Ginny off you go. Find a couple of chairs, or a bench or something for Fred to sit on while he’s out there. George, Ron you’ll help me carry Fred outside”. Ron groaned as Harry and Ginny left. “Are we really going to carry him all the way out there Mum?”, Ron whined. “It’s not like you’ll carry him all on your own you git. I’m going to help too”, George snapped at him. “I’ve got a better idea, why don’t you two stay here and I’ll walk myself out”, said Fred irritably. “You stay put Fred Weasley”, snapped Mrs. Weasley, “or you’ll remain inside a lot longer than you’d like.” Ron, George and Hermione smirked, while Fred scowled. “Wait! Maybe we won’t have to ‘carry’ him outside”, said Hermione, “I’ve got an idea”.
“Good call on that feather-light charm ‘Mione, I was starting to think we’d really have to leave him behind”, said Ron. Fred snorted and George rolled his eyes. Hermione smiled, “There’s Ginny and Harry”, she said as they got closer to the quidditch pitch, “We are almost there, come on”. “A love seat?” asked Ron confused when they got to the clearing by the pitch. Ginny rolled her eyes, “It’s a wooden bench”, she said. Ron ignored her, “Why did you guys bring a love seat out here instead of a couple of chairs?”. “Not quite sure to be honest”, said Harry with a shrug, “But Ginny brought up a good point. Fred would be a lot more comfortable sitting on this as opposed to a hard wooden chair”. “Oh”, said Ron, “Well when you say it like that, it makes sense”. Ginny punched Ron’s arm, “OW! What was that for?!” he cried. “That was for questioning my decisions”, Ginny said. Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat, “Alright you lot, the faster we sit him down, the faster you can play your game”. After what seemed like hours of complaining, grunting and a few witty remarks from George, Fred was finally sitting down with a few pillows supporting his left arm and shoulder. Mrs. Weasley turned to speak to Hermione, “If you need me sweetheart, I’ll be in the kitchen, it’s not too far from here. Just give me a shout and I’ll come outside”, she finished. “You!”, said Mrs. Weasley, pointing her finger at Fred “on your best behavior. Got it?” Fred smiled sweetly at his mom and said, “Always''.
“Soo” winced Fred as he leaned back in the seat , “it’s been 10 months.” “You okay?” Asked Hermione. Fred kindly but dismissively waved at her, “10 monTHs” he said putting emphasis on the th. “10 months?” Asked Hermione with confused. “Oooh yes!!” Fred nodded with a devilish grin, “Ten months to the day Granger. Ten months since you kissed me” “You mean ten months since YOU lied and came to me asking for help with your tie?” said Hermione. Fred laughed “Me?!” he said in mock surprise. “Yes you!!” said Hermione shaking her finger at him. “YOU found me on my way down the stairs and” she used fingers quotes “asked for help with your tie.” “AANNDDD??” Fred asked wagging his eyebrows, traces of a faint smirk slowly crept onto his face. “Well mmm, I uh you, I mean I or should I say we” Hermione stammered. His smirk was fully visible now “YOU kissed me” he finished. “Exactly! Wait what?! No, WE” said Hermione moving her finger back and forth quickly, “WE kissed each other” she finished hurriedly as she slowly blushed. “We sure did” said Fred smiling smugly and Hermione rolled her eyes. “Plus” Fred added “if I remember correctly, you liked helping me” he finished with a wink. Hermione blushed harder.
“Well you’re right” she said rolling her eyes as she smiled “it’s been a while”. Hermione felt him staring at her but she couldn’t look at him, at least no yet. The cheeky git always made her nervous, and they’re previous back and forth episode had, as much as she hated to admit it, left her completely flustered. They were watching the others play quidditch when Fred cleared his throat “I know we never got a chance to discuss what this” he said seriously as he slowly moved his finger back and forth between them “Was. But mm, during the war, whenever Lee, George and I were on the radio, I tried my best to send YOU messages. Like mmm”, he cleared his throat as he rubbed his neck, “mm yeah, telling you to stay safe and of course telling you I loved you”. Hermione’s heart was pounding. “Yeah George would yell at me saying it wasn’t wise and that I could potentially be putting you in danger but I just had to tell mm yeah, I had to tell I loved you. In case”, his voice was almost a whisper, “in case you know, I never saw you again”. Fred quickly wiped his eyes and cleared his throat once more, “Did you hear them?” Her heart was pounding so loud, she felt it could have been heard all throughout England. “You said you loved me?” Hermione asked quietly. This was obviously some sort of misunderstanding. But all it took was one look at Fred to realize it wasn’t a misunderstanding, he’d meant what he’d said. Fred nodded nervously biting his lip “I also asked you to stay safe” he finished with a weak smile. He looked at her once more before turning his attention back to the game.
Hermione was lost in her thoughts again. Her mind took her back to those days she’d spent in the forest listening to Potterwatch with Ron and Harry. She was feeling butterflies again as she remembered an evening where Harry and Ron had been so confused by a message they’d heard on the radio. “What the hell was that?!” Ron had hissed, “that was a bloody waste on time”. He’d been clearly irritated. “I don’t know Ron”, Harry had said, “I’m sure that message meant a lot to whoever it was for”. Hermione looked at the two of them as tears fell from her eyes. She didn’t know who that message was for but it was beautiful. And in that moment all Hermione hoped was that those lover would one day be together again. “Penny for your thoughts” said Fred bringing Hermione back to reality. His eyes were closed as he looked up at the sky. “You know”, Fred said, “I’ve always liked the way the sun feels on your skin. I don’t know why but it always makes me feel happy”. Hermione smiled at his words and was glad Fred wasn’t looking at her.
She was nervous, extremely nervous. And no matter how many deep breaths she took, it didn’t seem like she was able to calm down. Hermione took one deep breath, cleared her voice and spoke. “Darling, though it was brief”, she said shakily as Fred snapped down to look at her. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself but it was useless. Hermione cleared her throat again and began “Darling, though it was brief, know you’re the reason I get up wanting new adventures. The good, the bad, I’ll take it all just to be with you, in this life and the next. Stay safe.” Fred looked at her anxiously as he took a deep shaky breath. Hermione stared at him, her heart beating so and loud she was certain he heard it. “Oi! Can you two stop looking at each other like that!”, Ron said, “It’s disgusting!” “Don’t take your frustrations out on them Ronniekins. You’ve got a game to lose, come on now” George said as he winked at Fred and Hermione. “I heard your messages. I mean I didn’t know they were for me but I heard them. And they, mm well, they were beautiful”. A huge smile spread over Fred’s face. He then cleared his throat, “Good, good, I uh, I mean good. I’m, I’m uh...I’m glad you heard them and mmm, I’m glad you liked them” he stammered and sighed in relief.
They were silent again, watching the others play quidditch. Fred laughed. He looked weak, and a little pale but happy, very happy. “Get him Gin!” he yelled, “Don’t let him score!!” Hermione was still trying to wrap her head around what Fred had just said. He was in love with her, but how? More importantly when had that happened. Hermione took a deep breath and cleared her throat “So” she croaked as Fred turned to look at her. Hermione was determined to keep going, so she took a deep breath and continued “so, when did you know you loved, I mean liked” she saw Fred smirk but ignored him and continued “when did you know you liked me” she finished. “Weeeellll....” said Fred, that lopsided smile back on his face, “we were on the Hogwarts Express. George, Lee and I had our own compartment as we like we always did. You know this one time Alicia and Angelina came into our compartment and Lee got so nervous he started rambling for what seemed like hours until they left” Fred smiled at the memory. “Wait where was I, oh yeah...I got distracted, sorry” he said embarrassed “ANYWAY as I was saying George, Lee and myself were about to change into our school robes when our compartment door slid open”, Fred smiled fondly at the memory. “She had big brown eyes and dark brown hair. The girl looked us up and disapprovingly then tutted, ‘Have you all seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost it’”. Fred’s smile got bigger even though he was talking to Hermione she quickly realized that he was completely lost in his memory of that day. “We told her no”, he continued, “then she scolded us for not being dressed in our robes” Fred chuckled. He turned to look at Hermione and said “I remember looking at George and saying ‘That one is going to get us in trouble Georgie. We best keep an eye on her’”. Fred laughed softly as he looked at her, “You know George had a smile on his face when I said that, and he rolled his eyes at me just like you did right now”.
Hermione chuckled, “So that’s when you loved me?” “NoPe!” Fred said, putting emphasis on the p. “That’s when I knew I LIKED you” he said as he wagged his eyebrows. A wolfish grin appeared on his face as he continued “I knew I loved you the night of the Yule Ball...” He smiled at the memory “I was tired so I left Angelina dancing with George at the ball. That’s when I saw you crying on the stairs. I had no idea why you were crying but at that moment I knew I had to make you smile.” Hermione chuckled, “Oh yeah?” “Yeah”, he said as he confidently shrugged. “And well yeah, that’s when I asked you to not move. Then I raced to the kitchen and took a few snacks then asked you to follow me. I figured the astronomy tower would be empty and you’d feel a lot more comfortable telling me what happened there”. Fred sighed as he continued, “we talked until the sun rose. That’s when you looked at me and said ‘Thank you Fred, I had a wonderful time’ and then kissed me on the cheek.” He was smiling as he put a hand on his cheek, “That was the best day ever because that was the day I fell in love with you.” the rules!’ and well hearing that, seeing that” that wide grin still on his face “hearing you say that, well that’s when I fell in love with you” he finished with a deep sigh.
“Sooooo”, Fred said “What about you?” “What about me” said Hermione quietly as Fred rolled his eyes. He seemed a bit shy, which was very uncommon for him, but he was determined to ask her. “When did you know you know? That well, mm you know” he finished flustered. Hermione smirked, “My second year. We were out by the quidditch pitch, when the Slytherins came out. Draco had just called me a Mudblood”, she said absentmindedly holding her arm and smiling, “You and George tried to pounce on him but were held back”. Fred looked amused, “Really? That’s when you knew?”. Hermione rolled her eyes and started laughing. Her laugh was contagious as he soon found himself laughing with her as well. “Okay, okay to be fair”, Hermione choked through her laugh, “You were the first person to ever stand up for me. I can’t really explain it, you made me feel special.” Fred stared at her, a gentle smile on his face, “Well Granger I can’t say I blame you. I have it on good authority that I look irresistible doing just about anything”. He wagged his eyebrows making Hermione blush slightly as she smiled.
“Anyway”, she said, “That’s when I knew I liked you. I knew I LOVED you about a month ago”. The smile was gone from Hermione’s face. She took a deep breath, “I remember seeing that wall fall on you”, but she found herself unable to continue as tears started to fall down her cheeks. Hermione took a deep breath trying to calm herself but she ended up lowering her head as she cried harder. For the first time in his life, Fred did not know what to do. Seeing Hermione so hurt and in tears was pained his soul. He longed to hold her, comfort her, reassure her that everything was okay but when he tried to move closer to her Fred’s body refused to listen to him. Instead it ached and left him momentarily dizzy after that small, unsuccessful bit of physical exertion. Fred chided himself mentally and did the next best thing he could think of, he’d hold her hand. Hermione looked up when she felt Fred’s hand on hers, she felt a warm feeling in her chest as he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. The warm smile, encouraging smile on Fred’s face helped Hermione say everything she’d she’d been feeling these last couple of weeks. “I'm worried Freddie”, she said between sobs, “I am worried that I’m dreaming”. Fred took in a shaky breath and rubbed her knuckles with her thumb. “I'm terrified that this isn’t real. And that I will just wake up at any moment and you will go away”, but before she could continue Fred’s lips were on hers. Hermione’s mouth eagerly molded to Fred’s as he slipped his tongue in her and they became one. As they broke for air, Fred placed a kiss on her forehead and looked deeply into her eyes. “Those were a lot of words”, he said with a soft chuckle. He gave Hermione a chaste kiss on the lips and said gruffly, “This is real darling, I’m real. Trust me, you can’t get rid of me so easily “. Hermione gave him a teary smile, “I can’t lose you Fred. Life without you would just not make sense. It would be sad, boring and flat out miserable”, she finished with a sob. Fred cleared his throat gruffly and winced as he lifted his arm to put it around Hermione. She felt butterflies again as she snuggled closer to him resting her head on his chest. “I like you and I love you Fred Weasley”, Hermione said instantly smiling as the words came out of her for the first time. Hermione looked up and saw Fred looking at her, a huge lopsided smile lit up his face. “I like you and I love you too Hermione Granger”, he said as he kissed her again.
