"It's freezing in here," Hermione shivered as she sat down at the kitchen table of the Burros.
"That's because it's winter," George said sarcastically, sitting down next to her, "It's meant to be freezing."
"Can't we light the fireplace?" Hermione groaned. George slung his arm over Hermione's shoulders.
"You don't need fire, I'm hot enough to keep you warm," he winked. Hermione blushed.
"Only joking," George chuckled, "But we can't light the fireplace until Dad floos home from work, wouldn't want him landing in fire now, would we?" Hermione sighed.
"Right. Of course. And when will that be?"
"Well, since it's now 11.54 pm, we can assume that he's pulling another all nighter at the office, and he probably won't be home until tomorrow afternoon, maybe tomorrow morning if he feels like a nice home cooked meal." Hermione groaned.
"Maybe my bed will be warmer," Hermione said as she rose from the chair.
"You're not going to leave me down here by my lonesome, are you?" George pouted.
"Maybe you should think about heading to bed too. You look like you haven't slept in weeks."
"That's probably because I haven't really, unless you count the few hours I get every couple of nights. Actually to be honest I haven't really slept at all since Fred died." Hermione gave George a worried look.
"It's been almost a year, George! I don't expect you to be over that by now, but why haven't you told anyone you can't sleep? We could've made you a sleeping potion or something."
"I didn't want anyone to worry."
"I have a little bit of sleeping potion in my room. You go upstairs now, and I'll bring it, and a nice hot cup of tea, to you in a few minutes. Go!" Hermione said, pulling George out of his seat.
"I don't need it," George said tensely.
"Yes you do. I'll force it down your throat if you don't take it willingly, now go!" George reluctantly got out of his chair and started up the stairs.
"If you're going to make me drink it… can you at least make me a hot chocolate instead?" George asked.
"Okay."
"With marshmallows?"
"Fine."
"Thanks."
Five minutes later, Hermione was walking to her room to get the sleeping potion, with two drinks levitating in front of her (one for George and one for herself). When she tried the door to her bedroom, however, it was locked. A simple alohomora could have easily unlocked it, but there was only one reason the door would have been locked and Hermione didn't want to walk in on that scene. So she walked to George's bedroom door and knocked. George poked his head out, and motioned for Hermione to come in.
"Where's the potion then?" George asked.
"My bedroom door is locked."
"So? You're a witch, aren't you?"
"No. You don't understand. The door of the bedroom that I share with Ginny, who is dating Harry who is also staying at the Burrow, is locked."
"Oh Merlin, that's disgusting! Where are you going to sleep then?"
"Well I'm probably not going to get any sleep now, so it doesn't really matter."
"Why not?"
"I can't sleep without a sleeping potion."
"That's not healthy, you know what they can do to you if you take to many. How long has this been going on? Not since the War finished?" It was George's turn to worry.
"No. I could sleep fine, knowing that Voldemort was dead. But then they had all the court hearings for the Death Eaters, and I was a main witness for so many of them… and just knowing that these people might have been responsible for the death of so many of my friends… I just couldn't deal with it."
"Well, we might as well enjoy these hot chocolates and get ready for a long night," George said, "At least I've got someone to keep me company now."
"What is it that you normally do, all these nights you don't sleep?"
"Read, mostly, but lately I've been trying to come up with some new ideas for the joke shop. I'm thinking of reopening it, if I can find some people willing to work for me."
"George that's a fantastic idea! You'll have no trouble finding people to work for you, I'd love to have you as a boss!"
"You really mean that?"
"Yes! Oh, everyone's going to be so happy when you tell them!"
"You can't tell anyone yet," George said sharply.
"Well of course I'm not going to tell anyone, you will!"
"I'm not sure I want to tell them until the joke shop is actually open. I don't want them thinking I'm getting better, only to relapse."
"George, do you need to talk about Fred? I completely understand if you don't want to, but no one seems to want to bring him up around you, and talking about him might help."
"I just miss him, all of the time. I can't remember a day in my life where I didn't see him, and now… and whenever I pass a mirror, or a window, and I catch a glimpse of my reflection, I think it's him, and then I remember that it isn't him. It's just me. I'm nothing without Fred, Hermione. Nothing."
"Don't be ridiculous, George," Hermione said, rather sharply, "You and Fred were two completely different people. I know a lot of people saw you as a package deal, but you weren't. Fred was always the instigator of pranks, and you were always the one who made sure everything was carefully planned so nothing would go wrong. You were the one who stayed up late to finish assignments, even after you knew you were leaving Hogwarts, just in case you decided to stand up and say "No, I want to finish my education, no matter how much of a bitch Umbridge is". You were always the one who made sure to let me know that Ron was a git every time he did something to upset me. So no, you are not nothing without Fred. Because if you were, then it would have been Fred who I fell in love with, not you." Hermione paused, not sure if the last sentence she spoke had really come out of her mouth.
"What did you just say?" George said with wide eyes.
"I just said a lot, which part do you mean?" Hermione said, blushing profusely.
"Did you just say that you fell in love with me?"
"Y – yes. I did. And I'm sorry, because now everything is going to be awkward between us, because you could never love anyone like me."
"Hermione, you're an amazing woman. And it'd be great if I could say that I knew that ever since I met you, but I didn't realize it. Not until I saw how strong you were after the War. Not until I saw how willing you were to sacrifice everything. You obliviated your parents' memory. Even though you knew you might not be able to reverse it. Do you remember when you told me that? It was right after Fred's funeral, and I was yelling about how there was no point in me living anymore, because Fred was gone. And you pulled me outside and you looked me in the eye and said "you aren't the only one who lost someone." And then you told me about what you had done to your parents. And I've loved you ever since then, Hermione." Hermione blushed even more.
"What do we do now? A relationship wouldn't be healthy for either of us right now," Hermione asked, her logic still prevailing even after this unexpected turn of events.
"We help each other get better. And when we're both ready, we'll figure it out. But for now, can I at least kiss those beautiful lips of yours? I've been wanting to for Merlin knows how long."