Decisions
Six young adults sat around the room talking and just happy to be alive. Four of them were siblings and the other two were their best friends. The youngest one was a red headed girl named Ginny. She was the only girl in a family of seven children all of them with fiery red hair. She was a very pretty girl with an outgoing personality and when she gets riled up she has a temper to match her hair. Her brother Ron was a year older than her and, like Ginny, he had a head full of fiery red hair. He was a loyal friend and, like Ginny, he could have a fiery temper. He sometimes got upset and ran his mouth without thinking, and he could hold a grudge, but in the end he always did what was right. The two oldest boys in the room were Fred and George. Well, technically Fred was the oldest, but since they were born only minutes apart they were always considered as one. They were ambitious and knew what they wanted to do with their lives at an early age and set out to make their dream a reality. Which they had succeeded in doing. They were happy and successful business men. They too, had a head full of fiery red hair. They had never showed that they had a temper, but instead they were jokesters. If someone got on their wrong side they would use pranks, usually charms or potions that they invented, to get even. The only other girl in the room was a brown-haired girl named Hermione. She was considered the brightest witch of the age, and it wasn't for nothing that she was called this. She was very smart. She read everything she could and was at the top of her class all through school. All through her school years her hair was bushy, but as she got older the bushiness turned to curls. She blossomed into a very beautiful young woman and everywhere she went people stopped to get a second look at her. She was level headed and thought things through before she acted upon them and she was fiercely loyal to her friends. The last one in the room was a young man named Harry. He had the weight of the wizarding world thrust upon his shoulders when he was a year old. A power hungry dark wizard hunted Harry and anyone who tried to help him, until eventually there was a war in the wizarding world between good and bad. The good side prevailed, but the loss of lives was high. Now that the war was over it was the first time in the young man's life that he would be free to live. He was a handsome young man; he had dark hair, green eyes and glasses. He had a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt that the dark wizard had given him when he was a baby.
The house they were in belonged to Harry's Godfather, Sirius. Sirius took Harry in and he was raising him like he was his own child, even though, Harry was considered an adult. The six kids were alone in the house and they were drinking fire whiskey. They were laughing and having a good time when Harry said to the Weasley boys. "I've asked Ginny to marry me and she said yes. We're going to tell Sirius, and your parents tomorrow."
"I knew it was going to happen." Ron said happily. Ron was Harry's best friend and he couldn't think of a better person to marry his little sister.
"Congratulations." George said to them, then he turned to Harry and said "You'd better treat her right, she has six brothers, you know?"
"I know. And I will always treat her right." Harry told the boys.
"It's about time." Fred said to them. "It was a little sickening for a while watching Ginny moon over you."
"I never mooned over anyone." Ginny said trying to sound stern, but she was a little tipsy and it came out slurred. Everyone laughed at her.
"You two are perfect for each other. You'll be so happy together." Hermione told them getting up to hug each of them in turn.
Everyone was steady congratulating them because it was common knowledge that they would end up together. It was at this time when Ginny, who was a little drunk on the fire whisky, turned to Hermione and said, "Hermione, we will all be related now except you. I've always thought of you as a sister to me, so why don't you pick one of my brothers to marry and we will all be related? Oh, except Bill. You can't choose him. The rest are all single and you can have your pick."
"I couldn't do that." Hermione protested. "You don't just pick a husband."
"Yes, you can. Any one of them would be lucky to have you."
"Are you sure? You can't just make a spur of the moment decision about something like this." Hermione said to Ginny not even realizing that their conversation was being held in front of the guys. None of the guys said anything the entire time. They just sat and listened.
"Sure, you can. Which one do you want?" Ginny said with a smile. She was envisioning the future with Hermione as her sister.
"Well, if you're sure then I pick George." Hermione told Ginny as she continued, "I will truly be your sister then."
At that time, George said "Yes! I win." While doing a little jig. He then walked over to Hermione and tried to get down on one knee, but fell on top of her.
Everyone was laughing. "Real smooth, bro." Said Fred to George as he righted himself.
He lifted Hermione's hand in his and said, "Hermione would you do me the honor of becoming my wife."
She giggled and said "Are you going to give me a ring? I need a ring. Ginny got a ring, didn't you Gin?"
"No I didn't. Harry where's my ring?"
"I will get it tomorrow. It's in the vault at Gringotts. I want to give you my mother's ring."
"Oh Harry, that's so sweet. What about you George? Hermione wants a ring." Ginny told her older brother.
"I will take her and get one tomorrow, then we can go to the Ministry and get married. How does that sound Hermione?" George said.
"Ok. The rest of you can be our witnesses. Is that ok?"
"Yes."
"Of course."
"I would never miss Georgie getting married." Fred exclaimed loudly before falling over and causing everyone to laugh.
The kids sat around planning their futures for the rest of the night and when it was time for bed George said, "Since we are getting married tomorrow we may as well spend tonight together."
"Why can't we wait until tomorrow?"
"Are you scared? You're going to be spending every night for the rest of our lives with me."
"You've got a point." Hermione conceded.
"Freddie, you can take Hermione's bed."
"What? I have to share a room with Ginny?"
"They need privacy, you Git." Ginny told him. "It's only for tonight. Tomorrow everyone will be at their own homes."
When Hermione and George went up to go to bed, George told her. "I wanted you to come up with me so we could talk. I want to make sure you're ok with what we are doing. Marriage is a big step. I want to make sure it isn't the liquor talking. It's not too late for you to change your mind."
"Are you sure it isn't the liquor talking for you?" Hermione asked him.
"Honey, I quit drinking the minute Ginny brought up the subject of you picking one of us. I noticed you did the same thing, so I think our heads are pretty clear now."
"Do you want to back out? Ginny and I didn't give you a choice, did we?"
"Why did you choose me? I would have thought you'd have chosen Ron."
"Well, truthfully, I've fancied you for several years. You've never noticed me. Ron is closer to me than a brother or a best friend. Ron, Harry and I have been through a lot together and they both will always have a piece of my heart, but there isn't anything romantic about it."
"Really, you've fancied me for years? Merlin! Think of all the time I've wasted. I've been watching you for years too. Do you know how often I've thought about walking up to you and kissing you? I've always thought you would cut me down. Or that maybe Ron would hate me for it, so I never did anything about it."
"I wouldn't have, and nothing's stopping you from kissing me now."
He didn't need to be told twice. He took her in his arms and pulled her gently to him. When he touched his lips to hers it was like spontaneous combustion. They both were overwhelmed with emotion. It was like they couldn't get enough of each other. The world could have ended right then and neither would have noticed. They spent the better part of the night in each other's arms. In the early morning hours they pulled apart and started talking.
"Everyone will have expected us to have come to our senses and call this off, but I'm looking forward to this. Are you sure, George? I don't want to pressure you."
"Love, I've never been surer of anything in my life. I'm getting everything I've ever dreamed of. Let's go get our rings, and then we'll go get married. Shall we get everyone up?"
"No let's go get the rings then come back for them. I'm so excited."
When George and Hermione returned to Harry's house everyone was up. Sirius was giving them hangover potions and was surprised when George and Hermione came in holding hands and looking happier than he had ever seen them.
"I guess you two weren't with this lot last night?" Sirius said the Hermione and George. "They drank too much fire whiskey and they're paying for it now."
"We were here, but we didn't drink as much as them." Hermione told Sirius.
Then George asked if they were ready to go.
"What? You can't be thinking of going through with it." Ron said to George while looking at Hermione.
"Yes, we are. We stayed up all night talking about it and we are going to do it." George said, and Hermione shook her head in agreement. "Now are you lot coming with us?"
"What are you doing?" Sirius asked.
"Sirius, we can tell you, but you have to keep it to yourself until we tell everyone ourselves. Do you agree to these terms?"
"I will, unless it is something that could get one of you hurt or in some kind of trouble. Then I will do whatever I have to- to help you."
"Hermione and George looked into each other's eyes and had a silent conversation. Then Hermione said with the biggest smile on her face, "We're going to the Ministry to get married."
"What? How long have you been a couple?"
"About 12 hours." George replied. "But it was the most amazing 12 hours of my life."
"Just because you had a night of good shagging is no reason to get married."
"We didn't shag. We talked."
"What? You're going to get married after just talking? What are you thinking?" Sirius almost shouted. You could the strain it was on him to hold himself back from shouting.
"Sirius may be right." Harry said. "It was just the liquor and the talk. Take some time and think it over. As you said last night, Hermione, this is not something to make a spur of the moment decision on. Any you, especially, never make spur of the moment decisions."
"Harry, I know what I'm doing. This feels right. If you don't want to come be our witness it's ok, but we're going to do it." Hermione told Harry.
"Guys, I'm closer to George than any of you and believe me when I say he always thinks things through and once he makes up his mind that's it. If he says Hermione is who he wants then Hermione is who he wants. Plus I've spent too much time listening to him go on about her, maybe with them married we can move on to better subjects like me, for instance." Fred told everyone. "I'm going to go put on my dress robes and be a best man for my brother."
"I'm going too. I'm getting Hermione for a sister today, and if you think back you'll remember the looks of longing we used to see on her face when George was around. And do you remember during the battle when she couldn't find him how ballistic she went. When we questioned her about it later she said it was her adrenalin and she needed to know where everyone was, but did you see her get that way about anyone else?" Ginny told the group, but mainly Harry and Ron.
"You did that? I didn't know about it." George told her while leaning in for a kiss.
It was decided they would go be witnesses like they planned and Sirius promised not to say anything, but he made them promise to let him know when they were going to tell Molly so he could be there for that.
The six of them went to the Ministry of Magic and asked to see the Minister. When they were called in and told the Minister what they wanted they got the same kind of response from the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, as they got from Sirius. The Minister was a close friend to each of the young adults, but as both George and Hermione were of age he couldn't deny their request and he performed the ceremony for them.
Before they left he called Hermione over to him and told her to take the next two weeks off and get settled into her marriage. She hugged him and thanked him.
While Hermione was talking with Kingsley, George was talking to Fred. "Fred, can you handle the shop for a week without me? We are going to go on our honeymoon."
"Yes, take your time. The full moon is a couple weeks away, so Remus and I have it covered. Where are you going?"
"Don't know. I haven't told Hermione yet. I want to surprise her. Any ideas?"
"How about the little beach house we went to when we went to visit Bill and Fluer? It's far enough away from them that they wouldn't know you were there and it's secluded and private. Plenty of room to get busy." Fred told George with a wink.
"Sometimes, I don't know who's smarter you or me. Thanks, bro."
When Hermione returned to George's side he leaned down and kissed her grabbed her hand and apparated away.