• Fred Weasley | Battle of Hogwarts 

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"No – no – no!" someone was shouting. "No! Fred! No!"

Harry helped Hermione up with a hand, and they stumbled over to where the three Weasley brothers were on the floor. Ron was screaming at his too still bother while Percy merely sat in complete shock. 

"No," Hermione mumbled, pushing past Ron. "He can't be dead. He can't." 

Ron fell back in shock as Hermione plowed past them, shooting spells at Fred faster than he could see. With each spell that failed to get the jokester to open his eyes, the more frantic Hermione became. 

Not him, Hermione thought in panic. If Fred dies, part of George would die right along with him. Then who would teach them all to laugh again once this whole bloody war was over?  

Nothing worked. Bone repairing charms in his skull. Healing charms on the incisions on his skin. None of it brought him back from whatever brink he seemed to be teetering on. Hermione paused for a moment, a fleeting thought coming to her. Before she could even think it through, she was already murmuring the incantation. The boys around her froze as a bright gold light encompassed the two. 

If Hermione had let herself think it through, she'd have realized what a potentially disastrous idea this was. Because the spell she'd just repeated could only be found in one book that she knew of. The same book that contained the chapters on Horcruxes. 

With a heaping gasp, Fred jerked up from his supine position, eyes wide in shock.   

"Fred!" Ron cried in relief.

Fred's brothers rushed around him, unable to believe he was truly alive. Only Harry, who stood behind Hermione, could see as Hermione swayed unstably. 

For a brief moment she'd felt like she was on clouds, feeling what must have been Fred's magic spark to life. But within the next moment, she could feel her own energy draining dangerously quickly as her magic reached out to support his. She felt her head become dizzy. 

Perhaps she should sit down. 

Oh... she already was. 

The last thing she heard was a familiar voice screaming her name as darkness closed around the edges of her vision.  

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Hermione's eyes fluttered open, meeting the welcoming rays of warm sunlight. Had the night already broke? Was the battle over? 

"Hermione," someone breathed in relief beside her. 

"Harry?" She croaked out. 

"It's me, you're okay. You'll be okay. Pomfrey said you've only been recovering for the last few hours. Though for a while we weren't sure whether you'd make it through the night." He choked on the last sentence. 

"What happened?" She whispered. 

"Oh not much," he laughed somewhat hysterically. "The world only fell apart and went up in flames without you. Voldemort killed me but it turns out he only killed his last Horcrux- so I came back to life. Neville beheaded that disgusting serpent. And then I killed him...finally." 

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "So... we won?" 

"We won," Harry nodded with a hint of a smile. 

"Oh thank Merlin." She fell back on the cot she'd been laid to rest on. 

"What happened, Hermione?" Harry asked her, watching her carefully. "You healed Fred and then all of a sudden it seemed like you were dying." 

Hermione froze, looking over to him with a rare bout of fear in her eyes. 

"Oh Harry..." 

"It can't be that bad," he assured her. "You're both alive, and we just won the war." 

"I... I used an old binding spell. One I'd read about in the same book as the passages on Horcruxes." 

Harry stilled. "You what?" 

"It was the only thing I could think of," she exclaimed. "Nothing else was working."

"So you... what? Bound the two of you together?" 

Hermoine winced. When he put it like that, it practically sounded like slavery. 

"Not exactly, I don't think. It has to be performed both ways for us to be fully bound. My doing it allowed his magical core to pull from mine to heal itself. That's why nothing else I tried worked- he was too close to death for superficial healing to do anything for him." 

Harry nodded before looking her flat in the eye. "We both know every spell in that book is illegal." 

"I know," Hermione gulped. 

"Since you and Fred both seem to be doing fine now, I propose we keep this between the two of us," he said urgently. "I know you did what you had to, but we don't know if everyone else would see it that way." 

"You would do that for me?" She asked squeakily. 

Harry looked at her incredulously before exhaling with a laugh. "Blimey, Hermione- of course, I would! You stuck with me through Godric's Hollow, the least I can do is keep your secret. Besides, you saved his life."     

"Where are they all anyway?" Hermione asked, scanning the Great Hall that seemed strangely absent of the easily spottable redheaded family. 

Harry paused. 

"Well... not long after you died Percy split off from the rest of us to help Remus and Tonks. We were trying to get your body to the Great Hall. And... well... he saved them... but he died in their stead." 

"Oh no!" Hermione's hands flew to her mouth. The Weasleys must be devastated. 

"They've taken him back to the burrow. Ron and Ginny went with them, they figured their family needed them most right now." 

"Of course... and Remus and Tonks?" 

"Returned to Teddy as soon as they could," Harry assured. 

"Why are you still here?" Hermione asked Harry curiously. He could've just left with the Weasleys. Merlin knew he must be tired. 

"Are you barmy? You were here lying unconscious, I didn't even know when you would wake! Where else would I be?"

Hermione smiled gratefully, squeezing his hand in thanks. It was more reassuring than Harry would ever know to realize she hadn't been left completely alone- that even in this great wizarding world where she had no blood ties, she still had family.  

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The first day she and Harry saw the Weasleys again had been nearly a week later. Harry and Hermione had gone back to Grimmauld place to rest and recover. They slept for nearly 24 hours in one go. Eventually, their bodies caught up to them, and they realized they had people to check in on.

The Weasleys were all gathered for breakfast when the Weasley matriarch opened the door. 

"Oh dears, thank heavens you're alright!" She pulled them both into a tender hug before ushering them towards the rest of the family. 

Hermione caught a glimpse of the twins sitting together at the table and a wave of relief hit her. This was how it was meant to be. One of them caught sight of her first, rising swiftly from the table and rushing at her. Before she'd had time to do more than take a single step back in surprise, he'd swept her into his arms and lifted her off the floor in a fierce hug. 

Her feet found the ground seconds before he pulled back, and Hermione could see the tears glistening in George's eyes. 

"I heard you saved him when no one else knew what to do," he choked out in the most serious tone she'd ever heard from him. "Thank you. For giving me my brother back."       

Hermione squeezed his hand in reassurance before a nearly identical voice called out from behind him. 

"Oi! Are you done there? Or can I not thank my savior myself?" 

Hermione looked around George to see Fred smiling at them. He walked around his brother and bent down to wrap her in a grateful embrace. 

"Thanks Hermione. Good thing the Brightest Witch of Her Age was with me when I almost died," he joked. "No one I'd rather call my rescuer!" 

Hermione laughed. "Why I'm honored." 

She counted herself lucky that no one bothered to ask how exactly she'd healed him. Ron seemed too glad that it was all over to even think to ask. And Percy, who'd been the only other witness and the only one likely to question how she'd managed her miraculous feat, had already passed. 

But as she sat on the end of the table, observing in quiet content as the family she'd grown up with in the wizarding world all ate and talked, she couldn't help but feel a distant tug on her magic. 

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She lasted nearly a month before she felled compelled to seek him out again. 

But it that time she'd kept herself busy and gotten just about everything in her life sorted out. Her first move had been to find her parents only to have them turn her away with distrust in their eyes and betrayed hurt in their hearts. So she'd come back and immediately set about getting her wizarding life in order. She applied to take her NEWTS as soon as possible. She started an apprenticeship with Madam Pomfrey and within 2 weeks had an offer from St. Mungos in her hands. 

It wasn't until she paused for a breath of air that she realized how empty she felt. She wanted to write it off as an unfortunate consequence of everything following the war, but her magic kept reminding her of the annoying truth.   

What could it hurt to visit them? She was close enough to their family to do that. 

"Hermione!" George had exclaimed in joy when he spotted her drifting through the aisles of their shop. 

"Hi George," she smiled. 

"Did you say 'Hermione'?" An identical voice echoed from the back.  

Fred peeped his head out from his private office to see the familiar witch in their shop. For some reason he couldn't quite place, he felt instantly elated. 

"Hi Fred," she greeted softly. 

"What brings you around?" He asked with a grin. "Couldn't be that the Hermione Granger actually wants to purchase a prank from us?" 

"I was just in the area," she chuckled. "You two wouldn't be interested in grabbing some lunch, would you?" 

George seemed surprised for a split moment before a nodded. "We'd love-" 

Right as he was about to finish his sentence, the miniature dragon at the door roared, alerting them to a new guest. 

"Hi boys! It's me!" A feminine voice called out. "I brought food! Figured you two would be too lost in your potions to even remember the hour," she spoke absentmindedly as she tried to retrieve her wand from the bag of takeout she was carrying.     

"Alicia," George greeted in amusement. 

She finally looked up, her hair an adorable mess from the wind outside. 

"Oh," she blinked owlishly. "Hi, Hermione! So sorry, I've been a right mess today." 

"An endearing mess," Fred smirked. 

Hermione felt her heart plummet as the two exchanged glimmering glances in the way only two special people could. The nails were only secured on the coffin when Alicia made her way over to Fred, giving him a soft kiss in greeting. 

Fred pulled back from his girlfriend in confusion as he felt a distinct piercing sensation. It felt sharp, and it hurt. It was painful. Yet as he tried to center himself, he could recognize nothing was wrong with him. 

"Urm..." Hermione backed away, trying to think of the least awkward way to extract herself. 

"Oh yeah, do you mind if Hermione joins us for lunch?" George asked suddenly. 

"Oh no," Hermione insisted. "We can take a rain check, I still have a few errands to run anyway." 

"But-" George looked at her in confusion, caught off guard by her begging gaze. 

"Nonsense!" Fred called to them. "Hermione, you must stay! I still haven't even properly thanked you!" 

He'd began clearing their counter of the heavy potions equipment and broken glass they had yet to clear. The interior of the shop was still a bit torn apart as George and he had mainly focused on creating stocks of their products before they decided to reopen. 

"Another time, I promise," Hermione insisted, already almost out the door.  

"Let me at least walk you out." George followed her in concern.  

He caught ahold of the door, holding it open for Hermione. A loud, pained grunt caught both their attention, and their gazes flew to the couple within the shop. In his haste to clear the counter, Fred had accidentally caught his hand on a shard of glass, creating a nasty gash in his hand. 

"Fred!" George called out in concern. 

His twin took out his wand shakily, trying to focus on a spell to stop his bleeding. Before George could rush back to them, the cut was disappearing before their eyes. To the shock of both twins and Alicia, the wound disappeared into a tiny sliver until his flesh knitted itself back together. 

"What the hell?" Fred murmured. 

A small, barely perceptible whimper drew George's attention back to Hermione. To his alarm, she was now clutching a bleeding hand to herself. 

"Hermione," he whispered with fear and shock in his eyes. 

She looked up to him, quickly backing out of the store with tears in her eyes. 

It only took George a moment for the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. 

"You guys have lunch together," He called out to his brother and his girlfriend. "I'm going to join Hermione!" 

Without waiting for a reply, he was already rushing out the door. 

Fred stared after them in dumbfounded surprise. He was shocked his wound healed so easily with such little focus on his part. He'd barely even thought the healing incantation he knew before it was disappearing as though it were never there. When George called out that he was going to lunch with Hermione, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He hadn't seen Hermione in nearly a month, and as much as he liked Alicia, he'd rather been looking forward to a lunch with the witch who'd miraculously saved him.  

Hermione was rushing away, clutching her bleeding palm close. Shit. Now George knew, which means Fred would find out. Shit shit shit. 

"Hermione!" She heard a familiar voice call urgently. 

She fully intended to keep walking until she could slip into the nearby alley to apparate home. She almost made it too, but George caught hold of her arm, pulling her to a halt. 

"Dear Merlin," he muttered, taking her bleeding hand as he tried to stop the bleeding. 

They stood together at the entrance of the rarely used alley, George patiently healing her hand while she kept her gaze resolutely on her hand and off him. 

"Hermione," George urged quietly, brushing his fingers over her now healed palm. "What exactly did you do to save my brother?" 

Hermione sighed, finally looking up at him with guilty eyes. 

They went around to the Leakey Cauldron, which was almost empty at this time. She explained quietly how everything that night happened, her voice growing more choked as she tried to explain to George how every other spell she'd tried was useless. 

"That's why you'd passed out after healing Fred," George finally said. "Your body basically absorbed his injuries. It's a miracle you woke up." 

She looked up in surprise, her fidgeting hands going still around her mug of butterbeer. 

"You're not mad?" 

"Are you crazy?" He asked her. "You saved his life- nearly at the risk of your own!" 

"With dark magic!" She whispered sternly. The truth of it still scared her sometimes. 

"Actually, I think it's more blood magic than dark perse..." George thought aloud. "But from what you said, it sounds like he needs to complete whatever bond you used in return."     

"No." 

Hermione," George tried to reason with the stubborn witch. 

"George, no." 

"Why not?" 

"He's already with Alicia. Besides, it's not even necessary to complete the bond. It's best to just leave it." 

"Leave it? Hermione, if you leave it you'll absorb any and all of his injuries for the rest of his life! Even if it kills you!" 

"Well it's a good thing the war is over," Hermione pointed out. 

"Hermione!" 

"George!" She retorted in kind. 

"He wouldn't leave you like this," George insisted quietly. "He and Alicia have only been together for a few months, and that was mostly because they were pushed together when this whole war came to head."  

"Whatever the reason," Hermione excused. "They are together. I don't need him to complete the bond. You won't tell him, will you?" 

George stared at her incredulously. 

"Promise," she pleaded. 

"I can't do that, 'Mione," he whispered. "Surely the Brightest Witch of Her Age can see why this bond is so dangerous incomplete?" 

"I don't want a forced bond," Hermione choked out. "I'd honestly rather die. Now promise." 

"I promise... to let you tell him yourself," George sighed. "But if this shit happens again and you end up hurt because of this, Fred will hear about it." 

Hermione pursed her lips but nodded. She knew there was no talking one of the twins out of something once they were decided- they were more stubborn than she was.   

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 This was initially going to be a longer multi-chapter fic, but I already have a lot of ongoing projects I should be focusing on. I know this is incomplete- it's because this plot isn't suited to be finished in a one-shot. Still, I wanted to get this out there (in case I pick it up for a multi-chapter one day)! 

Also -- the title was inspired by the classic Evanescence song! Who else is old enough to remember it?  

** UPDATE 5/5/21: 
I will be writing a multi-chapter story with this plot. It is published as a new story called "Third Time's the Charm." You can find it on my page!