Hermione and George have been dating secretly for several months, since the beginning of 5th year for Hermione. They got together during their stay in Grimauld Place on the summer holidays. This happens just after Fred and George guarantee Harry time to make his floo call to Sirius.

"Hermione, Can I speak to you for a moment?", George asked as he and Fred rose from the coach.

"Good luck, I'm going to get Angelina. Stuff to sort out , you know", Fred said in an undertone to George. He clapped him on the back and climbed out the portrait hole. George felt a pang of sadness for his brother. Fred had been dating Angelina for a year now and was head over heels in love with the girl. If their plan was as successful tomorrow as they hoped the separation was going particularly tough on the two of them.

"Why do you want to talk to Hermione?", Ron asked suspiciously.

"Need her help with the plan tomorrow", George lied easily though his eyes never left Hermione's.

"Oh", Ron said slightly mollified, "Don't get her in trouble though!"

"Oh, honestly Ron! I can take care of myself, thank you very much!", Hermione snapped and stomped out of the portrait hole.

"Smooth", George snickered as he followed her.

George wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders once they were outside the portrait hole and placed a platonic kiss on her forehead. She wrapped her arm around his wait and looked up at him with her big chocolate colored eyes.

"What's up?", she asked him, picking up on his serious nature,

"I want to show you something", he told her absent mindedly as they began to walk down the corridor.

Hermione was slightly wary as they walked down the corridor in complete silence. George was never this serious, or quiet unless something was bothering him. Nevertheless she let the silence continue. He would tell her when he was ready, she reasoned.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination, yet another of the many rooms in the castle that Hermione never knew existed until she started dating one of Hogwart's infamous pranksters.

"Where are we?", Hermione asked.

"We, my dear, are in Fred and my's common room. We stumbled across it in first year, when running away from Flich", George answered in a forced jovial voice.

"What had you done that time?"

"We may have accidentally on purpose stuck the entire contents of his room to the ceiling. That includes Mrs. Norris by the way. We may have also stuck them with a semi-permanant sticking charm so that even Flitwick had trouble removing all of his stuff from the ceiling", George said laughing at the memory as he flopped down on one of the sofa's that were in the room pulling Hermione onto his lap as he continued speaking. "Anyways over the years Fred and I have used this as our getaway / planning room so we spruced it up a bit".

Hermione looked around the room admiringly taking in the two sofas, radio, rug and a table full of suspicious looking items. Naturally, since Fred and George decorated it, it was decorated in the Gryffindor house colors.

"I love it", she said enthusiastically.

"Thanks", George said. The solemn look that had seen part of his face since they left the common room fell once more over his face. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck. George looked suddenly very interested in his shoes. Placing her hands on either side of his face, Hermione forced George to look into her eyes.

"Hey, come on, what's wrong?", she asked looking into the sapphire blue eyes that she loved so much.

George swallowed. He felt that someone had placed a canary cream in his throat that was making it difficult to speak. His heart felt like it wasn't working properly anymore, like it has stopped beating and was instead trying to find out how many pieces it could tear itself into. He stared at Hermione for another moment. Just so that he could give her another moments peace before he had to deliver the news that would change her world. He took a deep breath, hoping to dislodge that canary cream in his throat. Noticing that it wasn't going anywhere soon, he opened his mouth and said;

"Fred and I are more than likely not going to be coming back from the prank tomorrow evening".

"What do you mean?", Hermione asked, doubt and worry slowly slipping into her voice.

"I mean", he swallowed again "I mean, if we get caught or when we get caught tomorrow evening, Fred and I will leave Hogwarts"

"Wait, what do you mean leave Hogwarts?", Hermione asked. She knew what he was getting at but she needed him to say it because until he said it there was a chance that she was wrong, that he wasn't going to shatter he entire being into a billion fragments, that he wasn't going to pull her heart through a shredder.

"I mean, we will walk out the doors of Hogwarts and not finish 7th year", George said slowly.

Hermione slid off his lap and placed her head in her hands, she felt as if she was hyperventilating. She felt George slide his arms around her shoulders and attempt to pull her close to him.

"It wont be long until summer, I mean its only a few months. The shop in Diagon Alley is nearly ready to open for business and there is a flat above it that we bought as well so that you can come and stay for a few weeks of the summer and in the meantime we can write and see each other on Hogsmeade weekends and ….", he knew he was rambling but he couldn't help himself. She slowly raised he head, tears in her threatening to spill. He hated the fact that he put those tears there. He brought his hand up to cup he cheek.

"I love you Hermione", he said.

"I love you too", she replied he voice choked up with tears. "We can work through this", she continued. "I mean you were finished with school at the end of this year anyways. We'll figure something out. We always do". She gave him a watery smile. He felt his heart soar. They would survive this.

"Well?", she asked pointedly, staring at him.

"Well, what?", George asked confused now.

"Well, we have about 22 hours left together before a two month separation and all you're doing is staring at me. Do I really have to ask you to kiss me?", she asked, a faux annoyed expression on her face.

His face broke into a wide grin, as he leaned foreword and gently pressed his lips against hers. What started, or meant to start as a gentle kiss gained in urgency as she began to kiss him back. Suddenly Hermione was straddling him, he fingers running through his long red hair. He tasted of chocolate, his scent filled her nostrils. He had one arm wrapped around her back pulling her closer to him, while the other hand was tangled in her long bushy curls that fell foreword placing the equivalent of a curtain around him.

She tasted like strawberries and the smell of her ginger scented shampoo filled his nose and his head and made him forget everything but the gorgeous witch who had somehow managed to fall in love with him. He tried to memorize the way her lips felt against his, the taste, the movements, the way their mouths moved in perfect harmony against each other. He moved the hand tangled in her hair down to her cheek and once again attempted to memorize the contours of her cheek and the way her skin felt against his.

Hermione shuddered as she felt his slightly calloused fingers made their way down he cheek and onto the back of her neck, pulling her even closer to him. Damn! This was going to be even harder then she thought originally.

Finally a dire need for oxygen forced them both to break the kiss. They didn't move positions and simply lent their foreheads against each other as tears slowly leaked their way from beneath Hermione's closed eyes and rolled down her cheeks. George reached his hand up and placed them on her cheeks wiping away her tears.

"Remember the first time I told you I loved you?", George asked quietly.

Hermione nodded, more tears escaping as she opened her eyes. George diligently wiped them away as well.

"What did I say?", he asked gently.

"That you would always love me, through thick, thin and the confrontations with Ron that would result. That you promised me to be my knight in shining armor, that despite me being the smartest witch of a generation and being friends with Harry Potter, you would still protect me", she replied smiling.

"I meant every word. I don't care what happens. I promise I will always, always, always love you. Bearing that in mind, I would like to ask you this". George slid Hermione off his lap onto the coach and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box before kneeling down on one knee. He opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful ring, a single solitaire diamond suspended on a fine gold chain.

"Hermione, I love you, and I know we are both young but I bought you this. It's a promise ring and I would like your permission to one day ask you to marry me. So, Hermione Granger will you one day allow me to ask you to marry me? I promise to always love and cherish you, and I promise to always try my hardest to make you happy and I promise…..", George was suddenly stopped talking by Hermione placing her hand over his mouth.

"Yes", she said simply, her face breaking into a smile that she felt would surely crack her face in two.