Unforgettable (Fred & Hermione)

III

After the Yule Ball things were different between Fred and Hermione. They never told anyone but George about their kiss and they wanted to keep it that way. Hermione convinced herself it was an innocent crush and not something that would grow even more. She told herself Fred had been there for her as a friend, that he had known how low she felt and he was just trying to cheer her up. But she was wrong. And every time she thought about it, she felt a blush in her cheeks and a little giddy feeling in her tummy. Things were different after the kiss but they pretended nothing had changed. It was like their own little secret. She continued to scold the twins for their relentless joking, they continued to play jokes on her and try sneak more Weasley Wizard Wheezes products past her. But she couldn’t ignore the little giddy feeling she would get when he would wink at her or call out “Oi Granger".

When Rita Skeeter published the article about Hermione and Harry being in a scandalous love affair Fred would raise his eyebrows and quip “Didn’t know you had it in you ‘mione" which usually led to the others laughing and Hermione telling him to sod off with an obvious smile. However the weeks following saw Hermione become the topic of a Daily Prophet article that claimed she was cheating on Harry with a “red haired wizard in hand me down robes". While everyone rolled their eyes and blamed it on the amount of time she spends with Ron and Rita Skeeter's fondness to embellish the truth  - Hermione and Fred suspected what had happened. Someone had seen their kiss or maybe had just seen the kiss on the cheek she gave him on the staircase. No matter, Fred was grinning ear to ear at the thought of Hermione and him being together all summer since her parents were going travelling Asia for all of July and August.

Much to Fred's glee, Krum eventually got the message that she wasn't interested. Fred told himself, just because she didn't want Victor didn't mean she wanted him. But at least dumb Krum was out the picture. Fred backed himself, but he wasn't sure he could compete with the best and potentially most handsome seeker in the world.

When Harry reappeared after the final round of the triwizard tournament with Cedric dead by his side it took a moment for everybody to realise what had happened. Harry’s shouts of “He’s back!” could barely be heard over the trumpets fanfare to celebrate the Hogwarts Victor’s. Hermione and Ron had sat near the front with Fred, George and Ginny in lieu of Harry’s family because they were all he had. When he appeared with the cup they jumped up cheering and began to push towards the champions. Being Cedric’s friends the twins were thrilled he too had won. But the truth reached them within seconds as people heard Harry's sobs and noticed Cedric's eyes that were open and yet completely blank. Harry’s screams drowned out the crowd as he gripped Cedric’s singed shirt swearing that he promised to bring him back to his father, that Voldemort killed him and Harry barely escaped with his life.

Fred and George froze. Cedric was their friend. He was one of the few people who had bothered to learn them apart. They had camped together at the Quidditch World Cup, finding out that the simple Hufflepuff boy was quick witted and sarcastic enough to keep up with the twins and their jokes. They had played quidditch together since the twins had become beaters and he was always up for a laugh on and off the pitch. It was Cedric who convinced the other Hufflepuffs to sneak out on the first Thursday of every month to play inter house quidditch. It became a tradition for everyone where house colours were regularly swapped and your normal position didn’t matter. Cedric had swapped places with Fred one night, letting Fred be seeker for Hufflepuff and he be beater for Gryffindor. Fred could scarcely remember a time when Cedric didn't have a grin or even just a smile on his face. He had seemed one of those people blessed in life, with good luck and good looks. And now he was dead.

Hermione watched as Harry screamed “I couldn’t leave him... not there. I had to bring him back".

She had never seen anyone so tortured as he was in that moment. He could barely breathe through his screams and his fists clutched to Cedric’s dead body. She couldn’t help but cry too. Whatever had happened to them, she had a cold feeling that not only Harry, but their lives weren't going to be the same any more. She saw Fred and George back away from the crowd who pushed towards the boys. George ran his hands through his hair and Fred just kept backing away, grief and utter shock painted on his face. Ron held Ginny back from going to Harry, nobody could comfort him now. Hermione couldn't stand there watching any longer. It was too much, too loud and too many emotions all at once. She slipped behind the stands, where the twins had retreated to.