Chapter Text
Hermione was feeling too warm, it was almost suffocating. She, Ginny, Ron, George, and Fred were sitting on the hard wooden floor of the attic in Number 12, Grimmauld Place. The summer heat had seemed to collect in the space and hadn’t quite cooled all the way down despite it being past 1am. The bottle of firewhiskey being passed around wasn’t helping much, either.
She had only arrived earlier in the week after receiving Ron’s owl inviting her. As much as she loved spending time with her parents, being the sole focus of their attention was starting to lose its charm - she was needing some space.
The evening had started innocuously enough, the kids had been banished to the upper levels whilst the Order members held their meeting around the kitchen table. Ginny and Hermione took it upon themselves to do a bit of organizing in their shared bedroom. Giggling as they discussed Hermione’s visit to see Viktor Krum a few weeks prior.
“I cannot believe you did it with Viktor Krum!” Ginny squealed.
“We did not do it . We just did... things , I don’t know, I just couldn’t bring myself to it. We really didn’t know each other well enough, I was just feeling uncharacteristically bold I suppose,” she trailed off as she turned to see the twins pop their heads in.
“Oy, ladies, as much as we would love to hear about Curly’s escapades, dinner is ready,” George smirked and Fred was working to bite back his chuckling at Hermione’s flush.
The four of them trotted down the stairs, Ron already at the table. By the end of the meal, Fred had managed to sneak the bottle of firewhiskey out during the chaos of clean up. The 5 young guests gathered in the attic and cast a muffliato so none of the adults would be woken up by their chatter.
“It’s weird to think about heading back to school with the state of things, but I also can’t imagine being anywhere else,” Hermione stated somberly. They had begun discussing the events that occurred at the end of last school year and over the course of the summer.
“I know, Harry’ll be in a right state when he finds out,” Ron trailed off. “Imagine how he’ll react when he finds out Snape’s been slinking around here.”
“I’m sure he won’t be too pleased about it...do you guys really think You-Know-Who’s back? Like, actually back? Not just some lump on a professor's head?” Ginny asked cautiously. Wishing it weren’t true, but also knowing the answer.
“Ah, come on Gin. Tell me you’re not believing what’s being written in the Prophet ,” George admonished. “Besides, if you have to question it then you’d have to question who killed Cedric.”
“Maybe we should switch topics,” Hermione jumped in, looking between the siblings nervously.
“I agree,” Fred added. Then, after a moment of silence, “So, Hermione, tell us about your out of character exploits with a certain quidditch player,” he started.
“Yeah we didn’t quite catch the beginning of that tale. Do share the dirty details of this summer fling,” followed George, grateful for a much more interesting change of direction.
Hermione’s already warm face burned even more somehow. The bottle was nearly empty at this rate, and against her better wishes, the heat of her flush seemed to travel lower as the reminder of pleasure came back to her. The alcohol only added intensity to the sensation, and Hermione was not about to go there with an audience consisting mainly of Weasley men.
Ron stared at Hermione, brow furrowed, “Please tell me he’s not talking about Krum.”
“Oh, we’re talking about Krum,” the twins chimed in unison.
“I visited Viktor last month, that’s all. Nothing of importance happened. Nothing worth sharing that is,” the last bit directed at the twins with a glare.
“Yeah, Hermione’s sexual awakening is no one’s business,” the youngest Weasley hiccuped with a giggle. She had clearly had too much to drink.
Ron’s nose crinkled as he looked back at his friend. He was undoubtedly jealous, and while there was a point in time where Hermione would have returned those feelings, after she had calmed down from the events of the Yule Ball her attraction to him had stifled. She didn’t want to be with someone who would openly put her down and go out of his way to make her feel badly about herself. Whether he was naive or not, that just wasn’t the type of person Hermione wanted to be with. Especially when she was on the receiving end of the unapologetic flattery coming from Viktor Krum.
She shot Ginny a look, who then burst out laughing even harder.
Feeling overwhelmed, Hermione stood up quickly and uttered something about needing to use the loo.
Thankfully the temperature seemed to slightly drop as she headed down the stairs. Once the bathroom door was shut behind her she pulled her hair to the top of her head. The air against her neck felt instantly refreshing. She stepped over to the sink to splash some cool water on her face, letting it run down her neck and wetting her t-shirt instead of patting it dry. She took a few deep breaths to will away the heat that was still pooling low in her stomach.
How embarrassing was that? What started off as a fun and silly evening quickly turned into an awkward night. Why would Fred bring that up? They’ve never all openly talked about their relationship or sexual experiences. At least not with her.
She figured a glass of water would do her well as she felt a bit spinny with alcohol. She left the washroom and quietly padded down the stairs into the kitchen. As soon as she took her first sip Fred came into the kitchen with the nearly empty firewhiskey.
“If you planned on putting it back that way you may be better off just stashing it in your room. At least with the bottle gone it might be forgotten.”
“I thought about it but figured it wasn’t worth the risk of being caught out with it. Mum and dad will just assume it was Sirius, Sirius will assume it was dad,” Fred countered. “Right idea, though,” he nodded at her half finished glass of water. He moved to get himself one.
Hermione stepped out of the way, “I guess the night is done, then?”
“Yeah, Ginny needed to lie down and Ron was getting a bit agitated. He can’t keep up with the fun.”
Hermione nodded and took another drink.
“Sorry about putting you on the spot like that by the way. Not very appropriate or fun for that matter,” He stated sheepishly, looking down at his glass.
Hermione’s flush returned again. She just wanted to pretend this night never happened at this rate. “It’s fine, really. I guess I’m just not used to being so...forward? I haven’t really had much to share before and I’m not quite comfortable with it now,” she set the empty cup down and crossed her arms in front of her body.
Fred nodded almost too quickly, “I understand, in my mind it seemed to be a much more exciting topic, but I see how that was wrong.”
She explored his face, and knew he was being sincere, but something made her feel like he was holding back. It could just be the awkwardness of it all. “Thank you, I think I’m ready to call it a night. I should make sure Ginny’s okay.”
Fred followed her up the stairs once they left the kitchen and when she stopped outside the door to her room he put his hand up as though to touch her shoulder. Instead he dropped it.
“Goodnight Hermione.”
“Sleep well, Fred.”
Hermione woke up the next morning wishing she would have drank more water the night before. Luckily she was in better shape than Ginny, who was groaning with her head covered by her duvet.
She reached down towards her bag to find some muggle pain relievers and swallowed them dry before moving to get out of bed. She blushed thinking about the night before, and in turn thinking about the time she spent with Viktor Krum not so long ago.
Hermione heard the door to her guest room creak open as Viktor snuck in. Eventually him laying with her turned to kissing, which turned into wandering hands, and eventually other types of kisses.
Hermione had never orgasmed before that trip, she had explored her own body, sure, but never quite found the rhythm she needed to take herself over the edge. Her visit with Viktor had been fun and in a way, empowering. Hermione didn’t feel as shy or self conscious about her body. While her and Viktor agreed that their relationship would not continue after her trip, she still felt warm-hearted towards him.
She brought herself back down to the kitchen, where once again she came face to face with Fred Weasley.
“Good morning, nice to see you up bright and early!” George called a bit too loudly as she flinched.
Fred mumbled out a much quieter greeting as he began plating his breakfast. Hermione quickly followed suit.
They clumsily bumped hands while reaching back and forth putting food on their plates. Considering her recent thoughts, Hermione felt unusually clued in to every sensation. She tried to combat feeling embarrassed, she wasn’t doing anything wrong - she was simply paying more attention.
Despite him being obviously tired, he still moved with certainty, and his skin seemed pretty soft on the occasions they’d brush together on accident.
She wondered if he had noticed how often they were touching. Her ears burned slightly at the thought.
Her thoughts eventually shifted as Molly swiftly entered the kitchen to continue cooking more food and they fell into a comfortable chat about what daily activities to expect. No one wanted to mention the recent story published in The Prophet that once more was painting Harry as a liar.
Hermione felt a kick to her foot as Fred quickly blurted an apology, he was trying to readjust his legs and hadn’t meant to. She was again pulled back into the train of thought of her time with Viktor, and the desire to feel that way again. Sexy, powerful, alluring. She pressed her knees together and made eye contact with the red haired boy sitting across from her. He was quite handsome. He had grown a bit and years of quidditch and mischief had made him lean but strong. Hermione had never considered either of the twins in any non-friendly way before, and she wasn’t too certain on why she seemed to be fixating on Fred so much. She was sure he most likely viewed her in a sisterly way, but feeling bold from her tiredness, she slowly and lightly placed her sock-clad foot against his. They were hardly touching, but still impossible to not notice. Fred’s eyes glanced over to hers instantly but she pretended to be listening to Arthur assure Molly that all will be righted soon enough once Harry is here.
She felt a surge of confidence when she felt him press his foot slightly firmer into hers. At this rate she had no idea what she was doing or where this was going, but she did know she wanted to ride this high.
Her summer was only just beginning.