Hermione walked along with Fred on one side of her and George on the other. They told her about the new products they were working on and had her laughing in no time at all. All three of them sat on a bench down by the lake and watched the students milling around. Fred was the first one to notice the strange looks they were receiving.
“George, is it me, or are people looking at us like we’re the latest attraction at the zoo?”
George looked around and said, “I see what you mean. Pick someone and ask him what the problem is.”
Fred stood up and approached a group of students he didn’t know. He picked out the friendliest looking guy in the group and asked, “Why is everyone so interested in what we’re doing here today?”
The young man blushed. “It might be a twin thing, but most of us are a bit shocked that you’re both dating Hermione.”
Fred blinked. “We’re both what? Where did you get that idea?”
“Well, there was a rumor going around the Great Hall this morning that you were a threesome. Then, there was the way you three were acting towards each other.”
Fred shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t suppose you’d believe we were just friends?”
The young man snorted and pointed back at the bench where George was kissing Hermione. “If you want to keep your relationship a secret, you might want to tell your brother not to snog her in broad daylight.”
Fred took in the scene of George kissing Hermione. That was certainly a new development. He rubbed his jaw. “I see what you mean.”
Fred walked back over to the bench where George had his arm around Hermione. She was blushing, and George was looking quite pleased with himself.
“George, that young man didn’t really know anything useful. Why don’t you go ask that group of students over there.”
George stood up. “All right. I’ll see what I can find out.”
Fred sat down and looked at Hermione. “We need to talk.”
Hermione’s heart skipped a beat. Fred seemed annoyed with her. “I’m sorry,” she said in an attempt to try and curb whatever he was mad about.
“What are you sorry about?”
Hermione chuckled. “I don’t know. You seem upset that I kissed George.”
Looking down at his hands, Fred said, “I’m not upset. I just want to make sure that you aren’t kissing him to get back at Ron for ignoring you all these years.”
Hermione bit her lip while she took a moment to test out her feelings about Ron. When she thought about him, the only words she came up with were ungrateful prat. “Ron is a separate issue. I think I’m hurt, because I thought he was my best friend.”
“Ron will come around eventually. If he does, will you drop George?”
Shaking her head emphatically, Hermione said, “No, I wouldn’t. I hadn’t realized it until now, but my crush on Ron was more habit than substance. I want to be with George.”
George walked back over to Fred and Hermione. “Fred, you need to owl Katie. Some idiot started a rumor that we were both dating Hermione.”
Fred stood up. “I think I’ll just go visit her instead. You two have fun.”
George looked off into the distance and frowned. “You won’t have to visit her. Someone must have owled her already, because she’s stalking up behind you and she looks like she wants to rip your head off.”
“Play along,” Fred whispered, and then spoke in a loud voice. “Hermione, I’m sorry. There’s someone else.”
Hermione clasped her hands in front of her chest and did her best to look disappointed. “Is it serious?”
Fred nodded. “It’s very serious. I’ve been seeing Katie for a few months now, and...I think I love her.”
Hermione’s jaw fell open. Katie stepped in front of Fred and stopped short of yelling at him. “What did you just say?” she asked incredulously.
Fred reached out and took her hand. “I said, that I think I love you.”
“You love me?” Katie asked in joyous disbelief.
Fred wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly before replying, “Yeah, I do.”
Katie emerged from the kiss looking slightly dazed, but happy. She glanced over at Hermione. “Sorry, Hermione. I didn’t realize you were...involved.”
Hermione clasped George’s hand and gave him a sly wink. “That’s all right. Two Weasleys are far too difficult to manage. I’ll just stick to one from now on.”
***
Ginny’s stomach growled, and she thought it might be safe to head down to lunch. She’d taken a long, cold shower, and her hormones were firmly leashed and under control. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the stairs and into the Great Hall. As she sat down, her eyes flicked across the aisle, not to check and see if a certain blond Slytherin was having lunch, but just because that is what her eyes had decided to do.
It really wasn’t her fault that she was seated directly across from Draco. She hadn’t planned it. It was her normal spot. She drank a cold glass of pumpkin juice and wondered if he was actually shooting heated beams at her with his eyes, or if she was just delusional. In her mind, she was lecturing her hormones to remain calm. She was the manipulator in this situation, damn it. Her hormones completely ignored her directive and started doing back flips.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she wheeled around to see Hermione smiling at her.
“Hey, Gin. Did you hear the good news?”
Ginny set her drink down and studied the glow radiating from her friend. “You’re having Fred and George’s love child?”
Hermione snorted. “No, there will be no love child, thank you very much. If there were, it would be George’s. I’m down to dating a single Weasley.”
Ginny perked up. “You’re really dating George?”
The brother in question appeared behind Hermione. He sat next to her and kissed her on the cheek. “What are we talking about?”
Ginny looked at her brother. “You’re dating Hermione? How did that happen?”
“I just thought I’d drop by Hogwarts and snog all the eligible girls. That way I could pick the one I liked best. Lucky for Hermione, I decided to stop with her.”
Ginny chuckled, but then she had a sudden thought. “Shouldn’t we take measures to squash the rumor about you dating both of the twins?”
Hermione leaned back against George and gave Ginny a sly smile. “I’ve always been known for being a know it all. It’s kind of nice to have a different reputation for a change. Plus, I thought a loud denial might make waves for other people. Fred already told Katie he chose her over me. I’d hate to screw up their relationship.”
Ginny realized if Draco heard Hermione had never been with both twins, then her cover would be blown as well. “That is an interesting choice, Hermione. I can appreciate your reasoning.”
George spoke up. “I’ve always wanted a way to start a rumor that I was more manly than Fred. That was a bit difficult to pull off since we are identical twins. Now I can tell people that Hermione chose me because of the size of my...”
“Not another word,” Hermione warned.
George feigned innocence. “I was going to say heart, Hermione. What were you thinking about?”
Hermione turned bright red while Ginny laughed.
***
Ginny enjoyed her lunch with George and Hermione. The two of them invited her to go to Hogsmeade, but she declined. It amused her that Hermione had no problem using George’s forged passes. As she watched the two leave the Great Hall hand in hand, her eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table again. She saw that Draco was gone. Feeling slightly rejected, she walked outside and sat with her back against a tree.
She was musing about how Ron was going to take the news that Hermione was George’s girlfriend, when an irritated looking Draco sat down next to her.
“You know I don’t believe I’ve ever had a girl actually flee from me before.”
Ginny took in his cold expression. “Sorry, I was overwhelmed.”
He plucked a blade of grass and tied it in a knot. “You do realize a simple request to stop would have sufficed? I’m not in the habit of mauling unwilling women.”
Ginny reached out to touch his arm. “I didn’t think you were.”
Taking her hand in his, he looked at her curiously and asked, “Then, why did you run away?”
Ginny felt her face heat up as she tried to think of a way to explain that didn’t make her sound like an idiot. “I’m going to try to explain this in a way that isn’t mortifying. If you make fun of me, I will hex you.”
Draco nodded solemnly, and she continued. As she spoke, she looked at their intertwined hands. “I’ve never reacted to anyone else the way I reacted to you. When you kissed me, I forgot about where we were and what was appropriate. It scared me.”
When she risked a look up, the smirk on Draco’s face was nearly blinding. “Could you possibly tone down the smirk?” she asked in an irritated voice.
Draco looked away, cleared his throat, and then looked back at her with a slightly smaller smirk in place. “Is this better?”
“Marginally.”
Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I bet I know a way to make you forget.”
Ginny muttered, “Bastard,” as his lips skimmed along the outside of her ear. She heard him chuckle, and she poked him in the ribs. He jerked away from her with a surprised yelp.
“You’re ticklish,” she stated with a huge grin.
“I am not,” he defended with dead certainty.
“Really?” she asked. “I wonder what happens if I do this?”
Draco flinched when she poked him in the ribs again. “Ginevra,” he said in an ominous tone. She giggled, and he held tight to both of her hands as he kissed her senseless.
When the kiss ended, she sighed.
“Feel like running away?” he asked as he studied her expression.
“Nope.” Ginny changed their position so he was sitting with his back against the tree and she was reclining against his chest.
“What, are we doing?” he asked.
“We are cuddling,” she explained in a delighted voice.
“Slytherins do not cuddle,” he complained. “We snog, we have amazing sex, but we do not cuddle.”
Ginny looked up at him. “Do you want to get to the amazing sex part?”
He nodded as he gave her a searing look.
“You have to cuddle first.”
Draco made a noise as if her were in serious pain. She patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
“George, is it me, or are people looking at us like we’re the latest attraction at the zoo?”
George looked around and said, “I see what you mean. Pick someone and ask him what the problem is.”
Fred stood up and approached a group of students he didn’t know. He picked out the friendliest looking guy in the group and asked, “Why is everyone so interested in what we’re doing here today?”
The young man blushed. “It might be a twin thing, but most of us are a bit shocked that you’re both dating Hermione.”
Fred blinked. “We’re both what? Where did you get that idea?”
“Well, there was a rumor going around the Great Hall this morning that you were a threesome. Then, there was the way you three were acting towards each other.”
Fred shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t suppose you’d believe we were just friends?”
The young man snorted and pointed back at the bench where George was kissing Hermione. “If you want to keep your relationship a secret, you might want to tell your brother not to snog her in broad daylight.”
Fred took in the scene of George kissing Hermione. That was certainly a new development. He rubbed his jaw. “I see what you mean.”
Fred walked back over to the bench where George had his arm around Hermione. She was blushing, and George was looking quite pleased with himself.
“George, that young man didn’t really know anything useful. Why don’t you go ask that group of students over there.”
George stood up. “All right. I’ll see what I can find out.”
Fred sat down and looked at Hermione. “We need to talk.”
Hermione’s heart skipped a beat. Fred seemed annoyed with her. “I’m sorry,” she said in an attempt to try and curb whatever he was mad about.
“What are you sorry about?”
Hermione chuckled. “I don’t know. You seem upset that I kissed George.”
Looking down at his hands, Fred said, “I’m not upset. I just want to make sure that you aren’t kissing him to get back at Ron for ignoring you all these years.”
Hermione bit her lip while she took a moment to test out her feelings about Ron. When she thought about him, the only words she came up with were ungrateful prat. “Ron is a separate issue. I think I’m hurt, because I thought he was my best friend.”
“Ron will come around eventually. If he does, will you drop George?”
Shaking her head emphatically, Hermione said, “No, I wouldn’t. I hadn’t realized it until now, but my crush on Ron was more habit than substance. I want to be with George.”
George walked back over to Fred and Hermione. “Fred, you need to owl Katie. Some idiot started a rumor that we were both dating Hermione.”
Fred stood up. “I think I’ll just go visit her instead. You two have fun.”
George looked off into the distance and frowned. “You won’t have to visit her. Someone must have owled her already, because she’s stalking up behind you and she looks like she wants to rip your head off.”
“Play along,” Fred whispered, and then spoke in a loud voice. “Hermione, I’m sorry. There’s someone else.”
Hermione clasped her hands in front of her chest and did her best to look disappointed. “Is it serious?”
Fred nodded. “It’s very serious. I’ve been seeing Katie for a few months now, and...I think I love her.”
Hermione’s jaw fell open. Katie stepped in front of Fred and stopped short of yelling at him. “What did you just say?” she asked incredulously.
Fred reached out and took her hand. “I said, that I think I love you.”
“You love me?” Katie asked in joyous disbelief.
Fred wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly before replying, “Yeah, I do.”
Katie emerged from the kiss looking slightly dazed, but happy. She glanced over at Hermione. “Sorry, Hermione. I didn’t realize you were...involved.”
Hermione clasped George’s hand and gave him a sly wink. “That’s all right. Two Weasleys are far too difficult to manage. I’ll just stick to one from now on.”
***
Ginny’s stomach growled, and she thought it might be safe to head down to lunch. She’d taken a long, cold shower, and her hormones were firmly leashed and under control. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the stairs and into the Great Hall. As she sat down, her eyes flicked across the aisle, not to check and see if a certain blond Slytherin was having lunch, but just because that is what her eyes had decided to do.
It really wasn’t her fault that she was seated directly across from Draco. She hadn’t planned it. It was her normal spot. She drank a cold glass of pumpkin juice and wondered if he was actually shooting heated beams at her with his eyes, or if she was just delusional. In her mind, she was lecturing her hormones to remain calm. She was the manipulator in this situation, damn it. Her hormones completely ignored her directive and started doing back flips.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she wheeled around to see Hermione smiling at her.
“Hey, Gin. Did you hear the good news?”
Ginny set her drink down and studied the glow radiating from her friend. “You’re having Fred and George’s love child?”
Hermione snorted. “No, there will be no love child, thank you very much. If there were, it would be George’s. I’m down to dating a single Weasley.”
Ginny perked up. “You’re really dating George?”
The brother in question appeared behind Hermione. He sat next to her and kissed her on the cheek. “What are we talking about?”
Ginny looked at her brother. “You’re dating Hermione? How did that happen?”
“I just thought I’d drop by Hogwarts and snog all the eligible girls. That way I could pick the one I liked best. Lucky for Hermione, I decided to stop with her.”
Ginny chuckled, but then she had a sudden thought. “Shouldn’t we take measures to squash the rumor about you dating both of the twins?”
Hermione leaned back against George and gave Ginny a sly smile. “I’ve always been known for being a know it all. It’s kind of nice to have a different reputation for a change. Plus, I thought a loud denial might make waves for other people. Fred already told Katie he chose her over me. I’d hate to screw up their relationship.”
Ginny realized if Draco heard Hermione had never been with both twins, then her cover would be blown as well. “That is an interesting choice, Hermione. I can appreciate your reasoning.”
George spoke up. “I’ve always wanted a way to start a rumor that I was more manly than Fred. That was a bit difficult to pull off since we are identical twins. Now I can tell people that Hermione chose me because of the size of my...”
“Not another word,” Hermione warned.
George feigned innocence. “I was going to say heart, Hermione. What were you thinking about?”
Hermione turned bright red while Ginny laughed.
***
Ginny enjoyed her lunch with George and Hermione. The two of them invited her to go to Hogsmeade, but she declined. It amused her that Hermione had no problem using George’s forged passes. As she watched the two leave the Great Hall hand in hand, her eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table again. She saw that Draco was gone. Feeling slightly rejected, she walked outside and sat with her back against a tree.
She was musing about how Ron was going to take the news that Hermione was George’s girlfriend, when an irritated looking Draco sat down next to her.
“You know I don’t believe I’ve ever had a girl actually flee from me before.”
Ginny took in his cold expression. “Sorry, I was overwhelmed.”
He plucked a blade of grass and tied it in a knot. “You do realize a simple request to stop would have sufficed? I’m not in the habit of mauling unwilling women.”
Ginny reached out to touch his arm. “I didn’t think you were.”
Taking her hand in his, he looked at her curiously and asked, “Then, why did you run away?”
Ginny felt her face heat up as she tried to think of a way to explain that didn’t make her sound like an idiot. “I’m going to try to explain this in a way that isn’t mortifying. If you make fun of me, I will hex you.”
Draco nodded solemnly, and she continued. As she spoke, she looked at their intertwined hands. “I’ve never reacted to anyone else the way I reacted to you. When you kissed me, I forgot about where we were and what was appropriate. It scared me.”
When she risked a look up, the smirk on Draco’s face was nearly blinding. “Could you possibly tone down the smirk?” she asked in an irritated voice.
Draco looked away, cleared his throat, and then looked back at her with a slightly smaller smirk in place. “Is this better?”
“Marginally.”
Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I bet I know a way to make you forget.”
Ginny muttered, “Bastard,” as his lips skimmed along the outside of her ear. She heard him chuckle, and she poked him in the ribs. He jerked away from her with a surprised yelp.
“You’re ticklish,” she stated with a huge grin.
“I am not,” he defended with dead certainty.
“Really?” she asked. “I wonder what happens if I do this?”
Draco flinched when she poked him in the ribs again. “Ginevra,” he said in an ominous tone. She giggled, and he held tight to both of her hands as he kissed her senseless.
When the kiss ended, she sighed.
“Feel like running away?” he asked as he studied her expression.
“Nope.” Ginny changed their position so he was sitting with his back against the tree and she was reclining against his chest.
“What, are we doing?” he asked.
“We are cuddling,” she explained in a delighted voice.
“Slytherins do not cuddle,” he complained. “We snog, we have amazing sex, but we do not cuddle.”
Ginny looked up at him. “Do you want to get to the amazing sex part?”
He nodded as he gave her a searing look.
“You have to cuddle first.”
Draco made a noise as if her were in serious pain. She patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
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