Disclaimer: Unfortunately I didn't recive Harry Potter & Co. for Christmas. I did however get a car:D
Genre: Romance/Slight Drama/General
Rating: K+ (mild drinking & language)
Pairing(s): Who do you think?
Feedback: Is always appreciated. & I will answer any questions you have.
Summary: George and Hermione meet in a muggle market after four years of absence-what could come from that?
Notes: Kay, so I know I should be working on about half a dozen OTHER fics but I thought this was better than nothing. Btw, check out my last chapter of He's Already Taken. I need some help with things & want to leave it up to you, the reader to give that to me. You can review there, here, or in a PM. Email if you want idc. Oh and I didn't really check over this that well since my beta is at school-so if there are any BLINDING errors please NICELY let me know. Thanks and oh, happy n to the ew year. :D
When We Meet Again
"Hermione? Hermione Granger?" A voice behind me startled me. I knew that voice too. I hadn't heard it in over four years, but it was the kind of voice you don't easily forget. I whipped around, curly hair bouncing in my face, only to be met with the exact person I had been picturing with my mind's eye.
"Ermh, yes I am she." I feigned innocence and pretended to not recognize him. Though how you could forget someone like him is beyond me. "And you are-?"
"It's me Hermione! George, George Weasley!" The bright eyed red head exclaimed. "Don't you remember?" He asked, his face falling slightly.
"Oh of course! I'm sorry, it's just been so long—you hardly look like yourself." One of the biggest lies I've ever told. He didn't look any different than when I walked out of the Burrow for the last time.
"Me? Your one to talk. The pot calling the kettle black that is. Well come'ere 'Mione, give me a hug!" He said smiling jovially, like Christmas had come early, and with it a scant few days away it was an easy feat.
I stepped closer to his opened arms and allowed myself to be enveloped into his warm embrace, thinking the quicker we got this done, the quicker I could leave and go back home. "Good to see you George." I told him somewhere in the vicinity of his chest.
He didn't, like I had assumed he would, let go of me to talk. No he kept his arms around me and began to talk into my ear, his warm breath tickling my ear. No Hermione, bad thoughts. You know the terms you left on. His voice however stopped me from thinking further.
"—you too Hermione. It's been too long and too much has gone on. So much has changed you'd have no idea. It'd drive any bloke barmy." His breath tickled my ear again as I fought with myself to pay attention to what he was saying and keep my eyes on the goal; getting out of this little 'meeting' without an invitation back to the Burrow.
"Mmhm." I managed to mumble into his well toned, warm-hold it. I thought to myself again. Remember this is George Weasley. Your one-way ticket to the last place on earth you'd want to be right now. I tried looking up at him to get him to pull away but he simply looked down at me with dark chocolate brown eyes and smiled that goofy smile of his.
"Don't ask too many questions all at once, I might not be able to keep up with you." He said teasing me a bit.
"Um," I frantically racked my brain for anything to end this and end it soon. "Er-do you really think this is the-"
"Place?" He interrupted. "Merlin's balls no. I apologize 'Mione. Seeing you tonight has thrown me into a tizzy it has. Hm, where's a place we can chat for a bit." He paused then his face lit up. "How about the-"
I knew he was going to say it before a syllable of the sentence even left his mouth. "How about we go sit in my car?" I offered quickly before he even mentioned that hellish place.
"Oh, sure. That sounds-comfortable." He didn't seem to really agree, but he also seemed to know that that was the only place he was going to get the chance to talk to me tonight so he grabbed it.
"No worries. I'm not driving around in a matchbox like most people here in London are." I told him as we heading toward the front of the market. We passed the wine rack and I grabbed the nearest bottle. "To celebrate." I liked smoothly at George's questioning gaze. To celebrate if I make it out of this alive…
I lay my four pounds down and the petite, bored looking blonde cashier girl put the bottle in a brown paper bag with a pop of her chewing gum.
"My car's down at the end of that row there." I told the now silent George, pointing to the right of the exit.
"Do you always park so far away?" He mused.
"The exercise never killed anyone." I told him huffily as we walked up to the small dark blue car. I unlocked the door and we both got in, closing our doors with a snap as to not let the cold winter breeze in. Putting the brown bag on the consol between the front seats I turned to him and waited.
"So Hermione…" he cleared his throat. "Er, what have you been up too?"
"Oh well I went to university for a while-dabbling in a couple different honours courses, and I've been working at a quiet little law firm for, oh, about two years now?" I answered surprised that he hadn't immediately demanded why I hadn't contacted them in so long. "How about yourself?"
"Well you know Forge and I, we still have the shop. He though, is actually engaged to the always lovely Angelina and I am still a handsome bachelor." He told me cockily.
"Not by choice I'm sure." I teased him lightly as I smiled.
In response he only stuck his tongue out at me.
"Well I heard about how well the shop's doing—and the engagement." I said offhandedly at the silence that followed my previous statement. I decided now was time to break out the wine.
Bugger. I had forgotten about the bloody cork.
"How did you-" he started asking.
"Come on George, you're a smart boy. Just because I'm not living in Wizarding London doesn't mean I can't still read the Daily Prophet." I didn't look up but instead glared at the still corked bottle of wine hopping maybe that would open it.
"Wand Hermione dear?" George asked puzzled.
"Bring a wand to a muggle filled market? Do you think I'm daft George Weasley?" I scolded him while he sheepishly pulled his want from somewhere in his jacket and uncorked the bottle with a simple swish of his wand.
"Glass-" The questioned died of his lips as I took a large swig from the bottle. "Do you need to be drunk just to talk to me?" He asked me quietly.
Slowly I lowered the bottle from my lips, and slowly licked my lips as I thought of how to answer him. I was blind to his staring plainly at my lips as I thought. "Not to talk to you per se." I said cautiously snapping him back to attention. "More for where I think this conversation is going to be heading."
"Oh? And where exactly is that?" he asked taking the bottle and sniffing it gingerly before taking a drink.
"Don't patronize me George. You know exactly what I'm talking about. You were there for Merlin's sake!" I snatched the bottle back and took another generous swig.
"Was I now?" He was being infuriating and he knew it. Well if he wanted me to say it then he was in for an ear full.
"Yes! You were there when Harry died, when Ron and my relationship fell apart because of Harry's death and the war, and you where there when your sister said she's washed her hands of me because somehow it was my entire fault that Harry had died and that Ron and my relationship had failed! And you know what's worse?! She was RIGHT! About everything! It was my entire fault! I didn't save Harry, I couldn't. And I just didn't try hard enough with Ron and let everything in my life fall apart right before my very eyes! SEE! You were there for all of that!" I broke down in sobs, clutching the already almost half empty wine bottle to my chest-like it was my last anchor that I had to keep my sanity.
George was taken aback fro a moment, never seeing my emotional side before. However he quickly snapped out of it and leaned over and wrapped his long arms around my shaking body. "Shh." He whispered in my ear soothingly as he stroked my hair.
I shivered slightly as his breath tickled my ear but I doubted he could tell with the sobs that were still wracking my small body.
"Shh Hermione, now listen here. Ginny was wrong. Everything she said was a lie. None of this was ever your fault, ever. Harry died because it was prophesized; you and Ron didn't make it because you two weren't meant for each other. All that happened because of fate Hermione; you couldn't have changed any of it even if you had tired a hundred times harder. Do you understand what I'm telling you Hermione?" George told me passionately, squeezing me to his chest tighter.
My sobs quieted and my arms slowly slipped around his middle feeling comforted with just being held. It had been so long since I had someone else to hold me. Not since Ron if I was really honest with myself. No one else held as much importance, but I felt that George was different so I snuggled further into his warm embrace. "Thank you George." I whispered into his chest.
I hadn't thought he heard me but apparently he had. "I have no reason to lie to you love. We all miss and want you to come back. Yes I said all of us." He told me cutting into my protest. "Ginny feels just awful about how she treated you. She was upset and mourning Harry. He was her rock and with him she was alone and lost. But she's moved on, she's even engaged. Mmhm, to Neville. Ron's moved on too. Let's just say Luna's going to be an interesting addition to the family. And mum misses you terribly. Especially when Forge and I pull a prank and you're not there to scold us before she gets a chance too. We-"
He was going to go on but I cut him off. "Can I ask you a question George?"
"Hm, well you already did but I suppose you could ask another one 'Mione." He teased me and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Ha, ha. But, how did you find me?" The thing that had been eating at me since I first heard his voice all the way back in the market.
"Oh," he faltered a bit. "Well you see I-I've kind of been searching for you um, well everywhere since you left." I could practically feel the blush radiating off of him.
"Why would you do something like that?" I asked perplexed.
"Because-" his voice broke.
"George—what is it? You can tell me." He was getting flustered and I could feel it. "Please?"
He took a deep breath and I moved my arm up so my had was closer to the nape of his neck and where his hair curled there slightly. He let the breath out and started. "I liked you 'Mione—a lot. So much it physically hurt me to see you so happy with Ron sometimes because I knew you two didn't belong-that you belonged with me. You have no idea how happy I was that day you and him broke up. I pictured myself to be you knight in shining armor-to sweep you off your feet and ride into the sunset. But then Ginny had to go and screw up my chances. You left without a word so I had no idea where to start looking for you. I looked everywhere I could think of. First around Wizarding London, the Scotland and Ireland. Wales even! It never occurred to me that you'd be living like a muggle. I guess I thought you loved magic too much to just give it up. I guess I was wrong…"
"It wasn't easy." I said quietly. "None of what I did was. I still use magic every once in a while but I like to keep a low profile. Especially around some of the neighbors I have." I giggled lightly at the thought of my neighbors. "And I do have to get my paper sent to me in the middle of the night so they don't get suspicious of the owls. But not talking to any of my friends in the past four years was the hardest thing of all."
"Have you tried contacting anyone in the four years since you've left?" George wondered aloud.
"Well—no one in London. Every once in a while I'll get an owl from Victor but other that that—not really, no." I replied. Feeling him tense slightly at the mention of Victor I tired to clarify myself. "George—he's happily married, with two kids. We're just friends."
"Oh—I knew that." George said sheepishly.
"You're about as good of a liar as your brother. Ron that is." I laughed.
Above me, George sighed.
"What was that for?" I asked still smiling.
"You laughed. I haven't heard that in a very long time." He told me finally pulling away a bit so we could look into each others eyes. "It's nice to hear it again."
I smiled and blushed a bit under his watchful eye. He also smiled and crooked a finger under my chin, bringing my face closer to his. Our eyes searched each other, not quite sure what exactly we were looking for. I could fee his breath on my cheek and my eyes drifted shut as his lips touched mine in a soft kiss.
He pulled away after a second, his eyes silently asking if this was all okay. I answered him by leaning up and kissing him again. This time longer and with more passion than the first. We moved slowly against one another—enjoying the feeling of being with another. Time seemed to slow. I couldn't tell you even now whether minutes or days passed during that time. What I do know is that when we pulled apart we were both slightly breathless.
"Hermione I-" he started.
"Thank you George." I cut him off and kissed him again before wrapping my arms around him contentedly.
We fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes until George broke it. "Hermione—will-would you come back to the Burrow with me?"
I squeezed him tighter, burying my face into his chest further. Then finally, "Okay."
El Fin.