Winter Vacation by WeasleyForMe
Hermione and George have been together through thick and thin, and it's about time they treated themselves to a vacation! But maybe Hermione shouldn't have allowed George to plan the trip... what could possibly go wrong?
Happy Birthday to my dear friend Clover Bay! I hope you enjoy it!
As she dusted the worn, oak bookcase in her tiny library, Hermione gazed longingly at the framed picture at the end of the shelf past her old textbooks. She felt a January chill through her body as the wind howled outside. This was the only wizarding photograph she had ever taken with her parents.
It reflected a happy moment just before the start of her fourth year at Hogwarts. The three of them had paused while eating ice cream sundaes at Fortescue's to smile for a complimentary back-to-school photo. She smiled slightly as the image of her father dripped pistachio and peppermint ice cream on his sleeve, and her mom wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders.
The much younger image of herself filled with joy and hope brought burning tears instantly to the back of Hermione's eyes. It just never got any easier.
George happily sprinted up the last of the stairs, his magenta work robes trailing behind him jubilantly. He came to an abrupt stop in the library doorway, having found his wife in the one room where he somehow knew she would be. But, he wasn't expecting to see her this way.
After watching her for a moment, he cleared his throat, and Hermione quickly spun around in surprise. His heart broke as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Hermione," he whispered as she threw herself into his open arms.
It had been almost seven years since she had sent her Obliviated parents into their new, childless life in Australia. After the defeat of Voldemort, the entirety of the Weasley family, along with many other members of Britain's Wizarding community, had volunteered countless hours searching the unfamiliar continent for the Grangers, but to no avail.
Deep inside, Hermione knew it was probably better this way. Memory charms and restoration were a particularly tricky type of magic, and if the Grangers were ever found, their minds may be unable to withstand the many spells involved in returning them to their previous life, sanity intact.
Hermione cried openly into George's unbuttoned robe. It had been at least six months since she had had a breakdown of this scale, and he just held her until the shaking stopped. "I know you still miss them, Hermione. But you have to stop blaming yourself. You did the right thing, and deep down you know they still love you for the courage you had to send them away safely." He gently wiped the tears away from his wife's bright pink cheeks.
"I'm sorry for all the tears, but I had a horrible day at work, and I've been worried about you," she sniffed and told George. "I need a day away from my office to try to forget about all of the unfinished cases I'm dealing with. And you aren't exactly good at knowing how much work you can handle on your own at the shop. And, and… I've been thinking about Fred today as well."
George's lip visibly quivered, and his green eyes seemed to darken at the sound of his twin's name. He took a deep, ragged breath, not wanting to upset Hermione any further.
Hermione pulled him tightly against her. It was this severe sense of loss that had brought them together after the war. Somehow they found beauty in one another where others could only see sorrow. They were slowly learning that the passage of time couldn't heal them completely, but they were doing much better as a pair than either would do on their own.
"I was thinking," Hermione continued, "that Fred wouldn't appreciate so much hard work without any play. You, Ginny and Verity have been working so much at the shop, but the holidays are over now, and things will be slowing down. And I have almost two months of vacation time built up at the Ministry."
George grinned down into her cinnamon coloured eyes. "You're absolutely right, Fred wouldn't like this at all, my love!"
"And the most important thing we can do is remember to honor those who can't be here with us," she agreed with a small smile and a glance at the photograph.
"Pack your bags, sweet pea, we leave on Saturday!" George announced, throwing his magenta robe across an arm chair.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll find out on Saturday!" George promised, peppering her cheek with kisses.
This first chapter is a little on the sad/serious side, but it's going to get sillier later! I hope you liked it, and I really hope you'll leave a review :)