Second Chances (Fremione)

5.

Dinner at The Burrow was always an event. The food was always delicious and never in short supply, and the long table was always full of people, laughing and talking. Hermione loved eating with the Weasleys. It was her favorite part of staying with them because it made her feel a part of a big family, something she had always sort of wished she had.

Ginny, Fred, Harry, and Hermione were the last to arrive at the table, and there were four seats left, all next to each other. Fred took a seat next to George and Harry next to Ron, leaving two in the middle. Ginny grinned and took the seat next to Harry, leaving Hermione no choice but to sit next to Fred. She blushed a little as she took the seat and began filling her plate.

Throughout the meal, Fred passed her food and she could just barely feel their fingers touch underneath the bowl. She tried to tell herself it was accidental, but the look in his eye as he made perfect eye contact made her wonder.

"Potatoes, 'Mione?" She locked eyes with him for just a second before quickly grabbing the bowl and turning away.

After dinner, the whole group (minus Molly) began preparing to go to the Quittich World Cup the next day. The house was full of people, running frantically about, packing and looking for lost items in preparation for the trip. Hermione bumped into several people, mumbling an apology and going about her business.

As the chaos died down, Hermione picked up her bag and threw it at the foot of the stairs with everyone else's. She then headed back up stairs to take a shower before bed, but she bumped into one more person along the way.

"Sorry" she mumbled, about to make her way passed the person without even fully realizing who it was. She caught a glimpse though, of Fred, fresh out of the shower. He wasn't wearing a shirt (of course) and his hair was still slightly wet. She didn't know how long she stood there gaping at him, but it was long enough to elicit one of Fred's signature smirks.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's not polite to stare, 'Mione?" He smiled. "Even if there are attractive shirtless men in front of you."

She started to say something smart mouthed, but she stopped herself, noticing how many times Fred had been (she thought) flirting with her tonight. It had to have been more times than the first time she had lived this day. Maybe she was just paying more attention, but she didn't remember Fred doing this before. She smiled. Retorting with a sarcastic comment would have been exactly what she would have done if he had been doing this the last time. No, this time, she was going to do things differently.

"Sorry, Fred." She smiled, giving him her best smile and pushing passed him, putting her hand on his chest as she did. He grabbed her hand and stared at her for a second, locking eyes with her as he pulled her back to his other side.

He stared at her for what seemed like a lifetime, though it must have only been a few seconds, all the while not letting go of her hand. Was he going to... she wondered if maybe he might. But no. He hadn't done it the last time, and surely one flirty smile and a hand on the chest wasn't enough to change things that dramatically. Still, she found herself hoping that maybe he might.

Finally, he just smiled and dropped her hand. "I was going this way." He grinned, walking backwards toward his room. "You were in my way!" He walked through the door, not breaking eye contact with her as she stood motionless at the end of the hall, not at all sure what just happened. "Goodnight, Hermione!" He grinned as he peeked his head out of the door.

"Goodnight, Fred." She answered, almost in a whisper. She headed back to Ginny's room and then jumped a little when she saw Ginny standing in the doorway, a knowing smile on her lips.

Hermione shoved Ginny into the room. "Shut up!"

Ginny laughed. "I didn't say anything." Hermione rummaged through her trunk pulling out her pajamas and soap, heading to the shower. "You didn't have to."

Ginny smiled. "I really thought he was going to kiss you!" Hermione faked being annoyed and threw a pillow at Ginny on her way out of the room, but as she left, she whispered to herself "So did I."

And she couldn't help but notice as she turned on the shower, that she hadn't stopped smiling since Fred told her goodnight.