Title: Past Occurences
Pairing: Fred/Hermione
Disclaimer: Not mine. never will be.
Rating: T
Notes/Warning: Post DH AU

Summary: Fred wakes to find his wife Hermione missing, and suddenly realizes he's several years in the past, before the two ever got together. Can he convince Hermione that his feelings are genuine, or has his coming to the past ruined their future forever?

Past Occurences

Chapter Nine: Stop By

Ginny Weasley was the first in the family to graduate in a long while. Both Fred and George had dropped out mere weeks before graduating, and Ron had bypassed the need for NEWTS thanks to Kingsley Shacklebolt appointing both he and Harry to the auror department at the ministry.

Because of this, Mrs. Weasley had decided to go all out in celebration, throwing a joint party for both Ginny and Hermione. Fred and George had needed very little convincing to leave the shop in Verity’s hands for two days so that they could stay at the Burrow during that time. Actually Fred had needed no convincing, while George had begged his twin to leave him home. Apparently he didn’t want to be witness to Fred’s mooning over Hermione, now that he could see her post Breakup of Doom, as the family had come to call it. The twins were both a bit apprehensive about how things would go when Hermione saw Ron for the first time as well, George’s theory resting heavily on their minds.

Ron himself was as sullen as ever and had suddenly started talking about finding his own flat just prior to the summer. Mrs. Weasley had nipped that right in the bud, telling him quite plainly that trying to run was an immature response and that his lack of maturity might well have had something to do with Hermione breaking up with him in the first place. It had been the highlight of Fred’s day until his mum gave Ron a pep talk and instructed him to talk things out with his ex. His younger brother had cheered considerably after that, apparently set on making things right.

The entire house was a bustle of activity. Entrees, appetizers, pies and other desserts had been flying in and out of the oven for two days. Of course every room had to be impeccably clean, and the yard de-gnomed before tables were set out and decorations hung. Every Weasley boy was in attendance and put to work prior to the girls’ arrival.

“I really should have begged off,” Bill sighed. “If I told Mum that Fleur needed me for Victoire, she would have agreed.”

“I thought you agreed to help to get away from, and I quote, your exhaustively nagging wife and that kid who won’t stop crying for two minutes,” George teased as he twisted his wand, raising his corner of the tent higher.

Bill laughed. “It’s a pain, yeah, but the positives outweigh it. Here it’s just one job after another with no reward.”

“Amen to that,” Charlie muttered, shrugging his shoulder. He’d been on de-gnoming duty for hours that morning.

“How soon will they be here, anyway?” Fred asked from his corner. All three of his brothers rolled their eyes at him.

“Five minutes sooner than the last time you asked.” Charlie grinned and let out a sigh as he was finally able to lower his arm, the tent in place. “Well, only three more to go.”



 

In her absence, Fred had forgotten what an allure Hermione held for him. He had never forgotten how much he loved her, and there were times he physically ached to be near her, but none of that compared to having her stand in front of him as she made her way through the Burrow, her graduation robes still on. His hello hug lasted a bit too long, and the kiss he aimed for her cheek landed a bit too low. She turned away from him quickly and before he’d decided whether or not he should apologize, she’d disappeared into the kitchen.

There was a veritable feast spread across the table, and nearly everyone was gathered in the room. Following Hermione in, Fred quickly lost her to the crowd, catching sight of her talking to her parents for a moment before appearing again next to Bill and Fleur. She glanced in his direction and frowned before quickly looking away, her hair curling around her face as she moved.

“You okay?” George asked, appearing at his side.

“Yeah,” he answered, still staring across the room. “Why?”

“Why? Because you like you’re gonna hurl any minute.”

Fred grimaced. “I do not. Now go away and stop ruining this for me.”

“Stop ruining what?” George followed his line of sight for a moment, then shook his head. “Okay, now that is creepy. You’re just going to stand here and stare at her all night?”

“Of course not.” He turned to his brother, looking back only a moment later. “I just haven’t seen her in so long. I just want to… look.”

“Yeah? Well stop. She’s practically hiding behind Dad right now and if I had to guess, it’s to avoid the scary redhead who hasn’t blinked in three minutes.”

Fred blinked rapidly and forced himself to look away again. There’s was a nagging urge to glance back before she disappeared again but he forced himself to ignore it, nodding at George tersely. “I need some Firewhiskey.”

“Think you need more than that, but it’s a good start.”

They each grabbed a bottle and headed out to the porch where Charlie was talking with Harry. They seemed to be discussing the potential of the new Harpies team but Fred could barely follow along. The window to his left looked into the kitchen and at every flash of brown he turned to look.

“You alright George?” Charlie asked.

“I think you mean Fred,” George suggested with a smile.

“Guess so. You two should be forced to stand with your ears or lack thereof pointed at people for easy reference.” Charlie grinned. “Seriously though, what’s up?”

Fred was about to respond but he saw movement by the window and was distracted so George spoke instead.

“It’s Hermione. He’s in stalker mode right now.” Fred felt a fist slam into his arm and was forced back into the conversation.

“Hermione?” Charlie questioned.

Harry shook his head. “You don’t want to know. I still don’t get it, but both George and Ginny are in on it, which scares me.”

Fred sneered teasingly. “It’s not healthy to be so scared of your girlfriend Harry. If you don’t grow a backbone she’ll have you whipped for the rest of your life.”

“Is that a guess or information from the future?” Harry asked with a grin.

“The future?” Charlie stepped forward. “Now I really am confused.”

“And I thought Mum kept you up to date with all the gossip,” George teased. “The Fred you see here is not the same Fred you saw last time. Or, well, he’s still Fred, just… Fred from the future. Okay, it doesn’t make much sense but basically, somehow a few years from now something happened to send Fred back in time.”

“…Right. And how does Hermione factor in to this?”

“She’s my wife,” Fred answered.

“Was his wife,” Harry corrected.

“Or rather, will be. Or would have been. Could be.” George shrugged.

Charlie frowned. “So, in the future you marry Hermione?” Fred nodded and his elder brother burst out laughing. “That’s a laugh! You really had me going for a minute there.”

Fred groaned. “It’s true! Does everyone think it’s so impossible for me to get her to marry me?”

“No,” Charlie answered honestly. “I think you two could pull off anything you wanted to. It’s you falling for her in the first place that I can’t believe.”

“Shove off,” Fred muttered. “We may not have got on that well in school but it’s different now… Will be different now that she’s not in Prefect mode. You’ll see, me and her. It’s gonna happen.”

“He’s kind of scary, isn’t he?” Harry whispered.

“Should see him at the shop,” George muttered.

“You sure he didn’t accidentally take some sort of potion?” Charlie asked. “A smile like that isn’t natural.”

Fred rolled his eyes but his reply was cut off by a number of partygoers drifting outside carrying plates of food. The four of them wandered in to the kitchen to prepare their own plates before settling in the sitting room. Their conversation moved on to more mundane topics and Fred was able to follow it for quite a while, though he was always aware of Hermione on the periphery.

She was sitting with Ginny and Luna, discussing career plans. She let Bill talk her into a game of chess which she lost splendidly. She bypassed Ron as he approached her, ducking into the stairwell and returning sometime later. He smiled at her as she reentered; a small show of support which she didn’t return. She showed her parents how the wireless worked and left them to listen, disappearing into the kitchen.

“Time for a top off?” he suggested, raising his third empty bottle. George nodded, as did Charlie while Harry declined. Fred grabbed the two bottles from his brothers and made his way into the kitchen, depositing them in the bin. Hermione was at the table, cutting a slice of ham. The knife was held delicately in her hand, her freshly painted nails standing out on the black handle.

“Can you…” she suddenly said meekly. “Can you please not do that?”

“What?” He hadn’t even realized that she’d noticed him with everyone else in the room.

“It’s just… I’m trying to be understanding. Really, I am. But you’ve been staring at me all day and it… well, it’s starting to freak me out.”

Fred’s jaw clenched. George had warned him but he’d still… “Hermione, I’m not trying to freak you out. I just can’t help it. I haven’t seen you in so long and-“

“Stop it. Please, just stop.” She stood back, smoothing out her robes. “Look, I’m going to go into the sitting room. Please don’t follow me.”

She stalked off before he could find a response; any words his mind formed were unable to get past the choking dryness of his throat. Things had been so much better for weeks and he didn’t know what to do now. The wallowing pity and frustration felt unfamiliar to him after having gotten used to smiling again.

“Hey Fred, sign these.” George jostled his way over and thrust two cards into his hands along with a quill. “Oh and after you sign it, put the date on it.”

“What for?” he asked, swallowing hard. If George noticed his shift in mood, he didn’t make mention of it.

“I dunno. Mum said it would be a nice touch, and that they’d appreciate it when they look at the card years from now.”

Fred shrugged and quickly signed both cards before squirming his way past a number of relatives to the calendar on the wall. He ran his finger across it to find the date and frowned. Giving his head a quick shake he double checked it and sighed. He placed the date into both cards, his handwriting impeccably neat to cover the shaking of his hand. He didn’t think he could take much more.

Much more came far too soon though; before he’d even left the room. His slightly inebriated brother had apparently decided that if he couldn’t have Hermione, he would take it out on everyone else. ‘Everyone’ being the one person in the house who might possibly understand what he was going through.

“Shove off, Ron.” Fred gave him a quick push as he approached, trying to direct him towards someone else.

“No,” Ron bit out, turning back around to face him. “You screwed everything up. I had a plan! A plan… that I was working on. It was working… gonna work. But then you went and got all stupid and ruined it!”

Fred scoffed. “That’s bullshit and you know it. You didn’t have some grand plan. You weren’t gradually building up to anything. You were just too damn scared.”

“You don’t know that. You just stay away from her.”

“Or else what?” Fred snapped. “You know what? You should be thanking me for the time you got with her because the first time around you didn’t get anything. That’s right! You sat on your arse and waited for years without making a move and by the time I did, you’d already given up.”

“There he goes again,” Ron muttered sarcastically to the few partygoers who had remained in the room. “Goin’ on about bein’ from the future or summat.”

Fred sneered. “I don’t give a shit if you believe me or not. The only thing that matters to me is Mione. Obviously that’s not the case for you.”

“Shut up!” Ron stumbled slightly. “You don’t know her like I do. She loves me! I know it!”

“I know her better than you ever will,” Fred growled fiercely.

“If you two don’t knock it off, neither of you will even see her again, never mind know her.”

“Fuck off, Gin” Ron mumbled to their approaching sister.

“Just stay out of this,” Fred agreed.

Ginny stood firmly, marching forward to slam Ron into a seat before delivering a solid slap to Fred’s face and pulling her wand on the pair of them. “While you two are in here bitching and moaning, Hermione has to sit in the next room while the entire family listens. Did either of you even think of that?”

Ron scowled angrily while Fred’s face fell. “I didn’t realize anyone could hear,” he muttered half-heartedly.

Ginny glared at them both. “Ron, leave her alone until you learn to grow up. And Fred? You’re on your own. Leave me out of it from now on. I quit.”

“But Gin-“

“No. My first priority is to Hermione, and right now that means keeping both of you away from her.”



 

Fred disappeared immediately after the incident in the kitchen, trudging up to his old bedroom and laying alone in the dark for hours before George finally came up and lay down, trying to offer some encouragement.

“Hey, it’s not that bad-”

“Stuff it, George.” Fred could practically feel his brother glaring at him but he was in no mood to talk, even after his forced isolation.

“Nice. Keep up that attitude and no one will want to help you.” A long silence passed before George spoke again. “Ginny’ll come around. Don’t worry about it.”

Fred sighed. “Thanks. And sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. Get to sleep and don’t worry about me, all right?”

“If you say so. Night, Fred.”

“Goodnight, George.”