A Knut for Your Thoughts

No Longer an Accident

The third time it happened, it was because Fred honestly just took the potion as a way of desperately hoping to hear his girlfriend's thoughts, to know that she was safe wherever she, Harry, and Ron were.

After he had kissed her that night at by the pond, he and Granger started dating. It was hard while she was at Hogwarts, but Fred made an effort to appear at all the Quidditch matches and the Hogsmeade weekends. They wrote each other often and it wasn't long before Hermione could say to Fred those three little words he'd been longing to hear her say.

Their amazing year together was followed by the immense pain that was the death of Albus Dumbledore. Hermione returned home to obliviate her parents, knowing that they would be destroyed and tortured for the information they knew about Harry Potter and the fact that they were muggles. Numerous parents of Muggle-borns had been killed as of late and Hermione did not want that same fate to fall on her parents.

Fred remembered that day vividly. He appeared the Grangers' house earlier, claiming he was by to see his wonderful girlfriend. Instead, he was there because Hermione needed someone to lean on. She cried into his chest all night and he desperately wished he could have done something better for her.

When she told him that she was not going to be returning to Hogwarts, Fred laughed. He never, in a million years, imagined that Hermione Granger would leave school before taking her N.E.W.T.s. He decided that he was having a good effect on her, to which she rolled her eyes.

She, then, explained that Dumbledore had left a special task for Harry to complete (of course he did) and that only Harry could complete it (of course, because no one else in the world could get rid of Voldemort) and that Ron and Hermione were going to accompany him (naturally.) Fred wished that for once the weight of the world wouldn't fall to the shoulders of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

But people rarely get what they wish for.

Not long after the incident at the Ministry, in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared freed a bunch of Muggle-borns, Fred and George followed their example and started to travel. They traveled with Lee Jordan, who started a broadcast called Potterwatch. They were constantly on the show with Lee, giving laughter to the dreary situation surrounding them.

One night, after they finished the broadcast and George and Lee had already gone to sleep in the tent, Fred pulled out the potion. He knew it was a long shot and he had already learned once the ramifications of mistaking Hermione's hair for Crookshanks's. He just couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to her. He desperately wanted to know if she was alright.

Before they fled the Burrow, Hermione had accidentally left one of her sweaters in Ginny's room. It was on this sweater that Fred had found strands of her hair. (And apparently, Crookshanks's as well.) He had been saving the potion for the perfect moment. And in this moment, he longed to know what was happening to her.

Fred plucked the strand of hair from the sweater and threw it into the potion. He quickly drank the potion, straining to hear Hermione.

The chances of this working were slim to none. She could be anywhere in the world. She was probably too far away for Fred to hear her thoughts. Then, piercing the silence, he heard a soft, Fred.

In a second, Fred was on his feet, walking off to his left, towards the sound. They're...again...Horcrux. It was faint, but the more Fred walked, the more he could hear. She was here, somewhere, nearby.

It's the Horcrux, she was thinking. What on earth was a Horcrux? It's tearing us apart. I wish Fred were here. We need someone to make us laugh against the lies of that stupid necklace.

Her thoughts didn't make any sense to him, but Fred didn't care. She could think about the Warlock Convention of 1259 for all he cared. She was here! She was close and she was safe. He thought about calling out her name, but there was no telling who or what was lurking in the woods as well. So, he kept walking, clinging to the words in her mind.

An image appeared in her mind and Fred could see every bit of it. It was a memory, a memory that was very dear to him as well.

"I'm not getting on that thing."

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, Granger," Fred replied. He was hovering a few feet off the ground, reaching his hand out to her. She never wanted to go flying. She hated it. Heights terrified her to her core, but Fred wanted her to fly with him. "I promise I won't let you fall. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I trust you, Fred. I-I just would prefer to stay on the ground. C'mon, I'll even help you with your products if you want." Fred smirked at her.

"You're not getting out of this. Besides, it's not like you've never flown before. You went on that thestral to the Ministry with Harry last year."

"That was different! I thought Sirius's life was on the line. I didn't have time to think about–"

"I think that's your problem, Hermione. You always overthink things. You're incredible and brilliant, but sometimes you need to stop thinking so much and just enjoy life." This time, he didn't give her time to argue before he pulled her onto the broomstick and flew up into the sky. At first, she clung to him, refusing to look around. But Fred kept the pace slow, allowing her to see the beauty of the world all around them.

After a while, she untangled herself from Fred, glancing around them. They hadn't flown very far, just around the Burrow. But Fred noticed the distinct change in her. She needed to fly like this. Slow, but purposeful. She even let out a small chuckle.

Eventually, Fred flew back to the ground, helping her off before he dismounted. Her hair was wild from the wind, but her face was bright with joy. She pressed a kiss to Fred's cheek. "Thank you for that, I did like it."

"I love you," he stated. The had fallen out of his mouth absentmindedly. She just looked so enchanting like that. He had meant to tell her in some wildly romantic way, but he had never had much of a filter and the words had fallen from his lips before he could stop them.

She was surprised, understandably, but then a smile spread across her face. She stepped closer to him and pressed her lips against his. Their kiss was long and sweet and immensely perfect.

"I love you, too, Fred Weasley." The words warmed his heart.

Fred could see the image perfectly, but he couldn't see Hermione anywhere. He knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione were smart. They probably had the same protections around their camp as Fred, George, and Lee had around theirs. Still, he wanted to see her. He wanted to talk to her, kiss her, be with her.

Yet, they weren't around anywhere.

Fred returned to his camp, saddened he couldn't find Hermione, but grateful that she was okay. He spent the rest of the night, listening to her thoughts and memories about him.