My second Twin Exchange story. :) Hope you like it.
Prompt:
Storm clouds
Pairings:
George Weasley/Hermione Granger
Quotes:
"Who understands these things?"
Theme:
April Fool's Day aka Fred and George's birthday
George huffed as he glared outside at the dark, dismal scene outside of his window. He watched the sky darken in on his supposedly sunny day, the rumble of thunder in the distance. He brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them to bury his face up to his eyes in his sweatshirt.
Ever since Fred had been hit by a wall in the Battle of Hogwarts, he'd felt like somebody had decided to beat his insides up with a Bludger bat and jump up and down on his heart. He'd been relieved to find that his twin wasn't dead, but had suffered a coma. He'd been in one for a few weeks now, and today was their birthday. Sundays were the only day in the week where George couldn't visit St. Mungo's, so he usually read or rolled around on the grass or something, bored and worried. However, it was his birthday, and he wanted to spend it with his twin, or at the very least get grass stains on his newly cleaned sweatshirt. He couldn't even think of anything to prank anybody with, as it wasn't the same without Fred.
George blinked as he saw a little figure stare up at the sky as they walked around, waiting for rain. The little figure was wearing an overly large yellow shirt that slipped around her shoulders, making her stop to pick them back up every once in a while, skinny jeans and yellow high tops to match with them, her curly brown hair blowing around in the fierce wind.
Hermione had been staying at the Burrow since she'd come back from Australia, a little sunburned and soaking wet from the rain outside, looking like she'd be crying before announcing that she couldn't fix her parents' memories. Harry and Ron had been at the Ministry, talking to Kingsley about their Auror offers, and Ginny was sleeping off a cold. Bill was with Fleur, Charlie in Romania, and Percy at some location that George couldn't remember. So George stood up from his place at the kitchen table and hugged her while she sloshed and stood there, letting the front of his shirt get soaked.
He picked his face up out of his sweatshirt as he watched her frown up at the sky, hands on her hips as if she were waiting impatiently for something. He sighed, standing up to clump down the stairs and out the front door, standing on the front porch and watching her for a minute until he decided to call out to her.
"What're you doing?" he asked.
She huffed, looking annoyed at the sky before turning to him, "I want rain." She then turned back to the sky as he blinked at her, who was acting as if for all the world that this was a normal Hermione thing.
He waited for her to continue then, after realizing that she wasn't going to continue at all without a little push, he asked, "Why?"
"I want to dance in it," she shrugged before turning to him, "Want to dance with me when it rains?"
He blinked at her, staring at her as she stared at him. He slowly shook his head, getting ready to back up, "No thanks."
She shrugged again, letting him go back inside as another rumble announced the thunder getting closer. He sighed and wandered through the empty house. Harry was out on a date with Ginny, Ron on a date with Lavender, Bill with his wife, Charlie with his dragons, Percy with Penelope, Molly with Arthur. Why did everyone have a date on his birthday? Weren't these people supposed to be his family? Weren't they supposed to help him forget the fact that it wasn't just his birthday, but also Fred's? Weren't they supposed to help him forget that he couldn't see Fred on a very important day to the both of them? Some family, he decided, as he quickly opened the window for Pigwidgeon to fly through and crash excitedly on the dining table.
George arched an eyebrow at the owl, wondering why the hell Sirius had gotten Ron such a weird little bird, when he noticed that there was a letter tied to his leg. This resulted in a fifteen minute wrestling match with the pint sized owl, making George glare as the bird happily fluttered around. He debated on wrapping up the small gashes on his arm before opening the letter, but shrugged and ripped it open.
George –
This is stupid. Absolutely stupid. I wake up, expecting everybody I ever knew to be crowded around my bedside, you and Mum sitting right there, wishing me a 'happy birthday' only to find that this stupid bloody wanking hospital doesn't allow visitors on Sundays. It is my – our – birthday, we are the Weasley twins, this is our bloody day!
So, in case you didn't guess, I am awake, and waiting for cake on Monday, when you and the rest of our family (including Harry and Hermione, because they sure as hell better be alive for what I went through for them) haul your arses down here to rejoice in my return (did I ever really leave though?)
- Fred,
The Better Looking Twin
(PS – Happy Birthday, Georgie.)
George grinned down at the letter, feeling like little pieces of his bad mood were being chipped away until he felt like he did before the whole ordeal. He jumped at the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning, suddenly realizing that there was the plat-plat-plat! of rain hitting the Burrow's roof. He folded the letter and shoved it in his pocket, going back on the front porch to grin at Hermione twirling slowly around in the rain, her shirt looking as if it weighed a thousand pounds and was ready to take her down at any second. He took a deep breath, suddenly remembering that he liked the rain, and stepped out into it, also remembering that he liked the rain only when he was inside. But he continued over to Hermione, tapping her on the shoulder to grin at her.
"Came to dance with me?" she asked with a smile.
He laughed, "Yeah, I think I'm getting pretty rusty."
"Let me right the wrong, then," she grinned, reaching for his hand and settling on her waist as she reached for the other one. They did the basic steps for a few moments before George smiled and twirled her, faster than what she'd been able to do by herself and have her give a quick scream, wobbling into him to make them laugh. They tried it again, only resulting in him dipping her seconds later, the two laughing. They continued this until they gave up with dancing all together, standing there in the rain with their arms around each other, basically holding each other up.
"Why is it that everybody has made a date on my birthday, leaving us the only ones here?" George asked aloud as she wondered what the probabilities of them getting struck by lightning would be.
"I don't know," she shrugged, her shirt practically falling off of her from this motion. "Who understands these things?"
George paused to think of an answer to that, "The ones who do them, I think."
"Okay," she said, pulling away to look up at him, "Want some hot chocolate?"
"Love some," he grinned back, following her into the house. They slished and sloshed their way to the kitchen, standing there to wait for the water to boil. Hermione was humming, letting her hair drip water into her eyes as George debated on the best time to tell her about Fred waking up.
"Do you believe in miracles?" she asked before he could tell her, making him blink.
He looked at her and realized for probably the first time since his fourth year that she was two years younger than him. Her brown eyes were rather large, her wet hair showing more of her forehead to make her look younger than she usually did, and her clothes making her look like she was drowning in them. She looked little and scared. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be okay.
"I guess," he said before asking quietly, "Your parents?"
She gave a slight nod, "I guess." There was a pause before she gave a little laugh, "I was mostly thinking about Crookshanks coming back home, actually."
"Oh," he gave a little laugh too, grinning, "Fred woke up today."
"What? Really?" she asked, getting excited and looking at him brightly.
"Yeah, I got a letter," he reached into his pocket, pulling the paper out and gaping when the dripping mass fell apart in his hands, "No! Come on!"
She reached forward, patting him on the back, "I believe you either way. We'll go tomorrow."
"Thanks," he smiled, bumping her hip with his. He reached forward and got the kettle off, letting her pour it into the cups before they stood there, wondering where the hell the hot chocolate stuff was. They then proceeded to go through every cupboard and cabinet, calling out their findings only to find it next to the tea. When they got back to their cups, they sighed when they found that the waster had cooled at the same rate they did.
George tapped his fingers against the counter, glaring at the re-boiling water before sighing and turning to Hermione, "I'm going to go take a shower. Feel free to pop in."
"Oka – what?" she blinked the same time he did, sharing their surprised glances with each other before George cracked a nervous smile.
"In – in the other one. Which we don't have. I forget that sometimes. Bye," he then bolted up the stairs, making Hermione blink at the spot where he'd stood.
"Hey, George, I've successfully made hot chocolate!" Hermione's voice called up the staircase, continuing after a pause, "I swear to Merlin yours should taste better than mine."
George took a deep breath before letting it out shakily. He'd thought she'd bring up his "Shower Slip-Up," but instead she sounded as normal as ever. He had no idea as to why he'd said that to her, as it was such a weird thing to say to Hermione Granger when you weren't joking or even had the thought to joke about it. Maybe the cold from the rain had gotten to him in some way.
He stepped down from the last step, walking into the kitchen to see Hermione glaring at her cup. He blinked and swirled his around to him, picking it up and peering into the dark reflected George.
"What's wrong?" he asked, glancing at her before arching an eyebrow at his reflection.
"Well, the hot chocolate powder we found was actually just unsweetened chocolate powder, and no amount of sugar makes it taste better, so I poured yours out and gave you coffee, if you don't mind. Now I'm trying to fix the bloody hot chocolate," she growled, "Because if I don't I'll be thinking about it all day."
George hummed, frowning at the coffee now before sniffing it, "And coffee is…?"
"Muggle drink."
"Aha," he hummed before taking a sip, making a face once he swallowed it, unaware that Hermione was looking up at him and smiling in amusement, "That's…uhm…."
"I put chocolate syrup, milk, and sugar in mine so it only has a little bit of the aftertaste of it," she offered, "Harry is weird and puts cinnamon, sugar and caramel in it, saying it tastes like an apple pie, but I can't see it. Ron says it tastes like feet, but he drank it black."
"Lovely," he said before going over to the fridge and pulling out the chocolate syrup and milk, "Pass the sugar, please?"
"Sure," she said, sliding the jar over to him.
He nodded his thanks and went to work on his coffee, taking a few sips to judge what would need to be added until he decided that it was good. He slid it over to Hermione, who was frowning down at the hot chocolate now.
"Try some," he said, taking the hot chocolate from her and pouring it down the sink, getting another mug out and musing on how to work the Muggle coffee maker thing.
She took a sip and smiled up at him, "Just like how I do it."
"Apple pie does not sound like something I'd like to drink," he grinned, staring blankly at the machine that she'd conjured. She grinned at him, letting him think for a few moments before speaking up.
"I've already made the coffee – you can just pour it out into the cup," she offered, making him shoot a grateful smile at her before doing as he was asked. Once he'd poured it out, he stopped Hermione from sliding the already made coffee back to him with a frown.
"That one's yours," he said before looking around for the ingredients.
"What? No, George, this is yours," she said, getting ready to slide it back to him.
"No, it is yours – I am making mine," he said, giving up on looking for the things and getting ready to argue with her.
"I can make my own, you don't have to do that," she insisted.
"I don't have to, but I am," he said, leaning against the counter.
"It's got your spit in it," she said as a last result.
"And yours too," he grinned, liking this game. "But if it makes you feel better…" He brought the new coffee to his lips, taking a sip and frowning at the bitter taste before smiling at her, "There, now both of them have my spit."
She stared at him blankly for a few moments before sighing and drinking the coffee in her hand, staring out the window. George smirked and went back to making his coffee, as he saw the small smile she'd had at the exchange.
LINE
"Hermione!" Fred said gleefully, throwing his arms out as she and George walked through the door, nearly hitting Angelina in the face.
George huffed at his twin, crossing his arms over his chest, "Why do you say her instead of me? I'm your twin."
"She has cake," Angelina answered for her boyfriend, making the two girls laugh at the obvious statement.
"Fine then – Fred!" he repeated his arm motion, Angelina ducking and glaring.
George grinned and did the same, "George!"
Fred turned to Hermione again, smiling at her, "I really am glad you're here though."
"For the cake?" she grinned, holding up the orange and purple tie-dyed mass of icing underneath the plastic covering.
"No – Granger, I haven't seen you since you were running around, yelling curses and hexes and jinxes, trying to save everybody on our side that you could," he huffed, "I was worried you'd tripped on a tree root or something."
She laughed, handing Angelina the cake and sitting at a chair next to the bed as George hugged his brother and Angelina slid down from the side of the bed for him to sit. "Well, I'm relatively fine."
"Your parents?" Fred asked, watching as she slowly shook her head.
"Still Monica and Wendell," she sighed but shrugged and smiled, "But they're happy."
He smiled back as George reached an arm out to tug lightly on a curl. Fred suddenly snapped up, frowning at the two.
"There's only two of you! Where the bloody hell is everybody else?" he asked.
"Ron is in Auror's training, Harry's in Healer's training, Ginny's at Quidditch practice, Charlie's dealing with an irritated Norwegian Ridgeback named Norbert – who, interestingly enough, is actually a Norberta – Percy and Dad are smacking around Death Eaters at the Ministry, Bill is dealing with a newly announced pregnant and hormonal Phlegm, and…is that everyone?" George turned to Hermione, an eyebrow arched.
"No, that is not everyone," Lee said from the doorway, making them all turn and grin at him, "Honestly, been trying to walk again and you lot completely forget about me."
"Jordan!" George and Fred said happily, grinning as he walked over to them.
"Weasleys!" he cheered as Hermione stood up to have him sit down, only he grabbed her shoulder and forced her down, "Nah-ah, Granger, stay. I can stand, I'm fine, honestly."
"But - " she started to argue before Angelina ripped the covering off the cake, grabbing a chunk from the corner and lopping it at her face. The younger girl gave a small shriek before blinking at the mess on her face. Lee sucked in a breath to keep from laughing as Fred, Angelina and George all gaped at her.
Hermione blinked as she scooped a handful of the icing off of her face before she frowned and chunked it back at Angelina, who screamed before throwing it back, laughing with her as the boys watched on. Fred reached over on the table where the cake sat, Lee conjuring up forks so the three could eat as the girls fought. They stopped as they ended up on the floor, laughing at the mess they'd managed to make before George quickly cleaned them up, right when a Healer burst through the room.
"What's going on here?" she asked in a ridiculously prissy tone.
"Nothing," they all answered as George pulled Hermione up and hugged her quickly as they grinned at the Healer. She scoffed before turning away and walking with her nose up in the air, making Hermione and Angelina shake their heads at her in disbelief.
"Ooh, look at me, I'm a nurse," Angelina said sarcastically, waving her hands around as Hermione bit back a giggle, "My arse is too big and I think everybody should look at my terrible nose job."
"Ang – Angelina, please stop," Hermione giggled, shoving her hands over her mouth as Fred smiled at his girlfriend, offering her a fork. "Please, I'm going to laugh and she's going to come back in here."
"Let her!" Angelina said, grabbing the fork from her boyfriend and stabbing the air with it, "Poke her in the big fat arse!"
Hermione laughed, attracting the attention from said nurse as she came strutting into the room.
"What is going on here?" she asked as Hermione quieted and sat down next to George, hiding her face in his shoulder.
Angelina smiled and hid the fork behind her back, rocking on her heels, "Nothing."
The nurse and Angelina had a stare down before the former began to strut off, Angelina quickly holding up her fork and bending the head back as if she'd let it fly. Hermione grinned into George as he grinned back, Lee muffling his laugh as a cough as Fred beamed proudly at his girlfriend.
"I think I love you," he announced as she retook her seat by his bed.
She smiled happily back at him before arching an eyebrow, "Think?"
"I do," he grinned sheepishly before looking at his twin and Hermione, "So, how's it going with you two?"
They exchanged glances before George shrugged, "Great, I guess."
"Good, glad Hermione's on her way to being in the family," Fred smiled happily at them.
Everybody blinked at him before George spoke up, "Err, what?"
"What?" he blinked back.
"Fred, what do you mean?" he asked, standing up and looking worriedly down at his twin.
"Well, you and Hermione are dating. Have been since before Bill and Fleur's wedding," he shrugged before tilting his head to the side, "Why?"
"George, with me, outside, now," Angelina ordered as she and Lee grabbed his arms and yanked him out of the room, his legs kicking as he was forced back. Once the door was shut, Angelina hissed to him, "George, Fred was hit in the head, You've got to be patient, the Healers said he'll regain his memory on his own, but you can still tell him what really happened, no hiding or nothing."
"To him, you and Hermione have been dating since, like he said, a week before Bill and Fleur's wedding," Lee offered.
"Oh my Merlin," George let out, staring blankly at them before shaking his head and going back in the room.
When he got back, Fred was shaking his head at Hermione before looking up at George, frowning before finally saying, "Such a shame, really, that the better looking twin got bonked on the head. Now I look exactly like you."
George grinned and shook his head, pointing at the hole on the side of his head, "Nah, still got the 'holy' thing going for me."
"And yet you're still single," Fred said drily before sighing and flopping against his pillow, "And here for a few moments I believed you'd be set up, but no – it's all an illusion. Tell me," he turned to Hermione now, looking at her pleadingly, "Is there any way for you to go back to him? I'll give you money – power, anything just to get him a girl."
"Fred," Hermione pursed her lips, standing up to put her hands on her hips, "I am in no way, shape or form a prostitute, and I'd kindly ask you not to compare me to the lowest form of the word 'slag' again."
George snorted, coughing his laugh away with difficulty.
But Fred only grinned up at her, "No, my dear, the lowest form of the word 'slag' is a little twat named 'Lavender Brown.'"
George finally laughed, grinning brightly at the two of them as Hermione smiled back.
Angelina patted Hermione's hand as she plopped down in a chair next to her in the waiting room, allowing the other Weasleys to see the newly awakened Fred.
"You're doing such a good job, Sweetheart," Angelina said as Lee appeared on her other sighed and rubbed comforting circles into her back. "Just a little bit longer, Love."
Hermione sighed, closing her eyes then looking down at her feet, "It's hard."
"I know," Lee soothed, "Just have a little bit of patience. Make it work."
"You're you – we believe you can do anything," Angelina smiled before pecking the younger girl's frizzy hair.
"And there's no way you can prove us wrong," Lee smiled before pecking her cheek as Harry approached, a worried half-smile on his face.
Hermione smiled back at them before standing to hug Harry.
Fred was returned home, and things continued on with much more happiness. Fred and Angelina dully mentioned to George one day in the back room that they were getting married soon, making George tell his mum so that they could have an excuse to go to the Burrow instead of working. Lee had somehow managed to snag a date with Luna, how he did this nobody will ever know as he claimed it "just happened!" Harry and Ginny were perfectly happy, aside from their jobs tying them up, and Ron was still trying to figure out a certain case that he wouldn't tell the others about.
They continued on, past Halloween and Christmas, wincing through Valentine's Day as well. Harry, Ron, Ginny, everybody in his family always seemed to act strange when it came to him and Hermione.
For example, on Christmas day, everybody had piled together to make George sit next to Hermione on the couch, even doing this continually throughout the dinners she joined in. He wondered if maybe they'd heard about Fred's crazy idea of him and Hermione dating, but then decided that there'd be much more pushing from his mother if they had.
"Happy birthday!" Fred jumped on George's bed, sending the previously sleeping one flying up and scrambling to get to his feet before he made contact with the floor. He landed safely, making him sigh in relief before he grinned at his twin.
"Happy birthday!" he repeated as Angelina walked past and threw a pillow from the living room at her boyfriend. He got it in the head and blinked before turning around and grinning sheepishly at her.
"It is three o'clock in the bloody morning," she growled, "The owl is telling you to shut the bloody hell up."
"It's three?" George questioned, picking up his watch and squinting at it in the dark.
"Details!" Fred 'psht'ed, waving his hands, "And besides, you needed to get up too, remember?"
Angelina gagged before wandering back to get dressed. Fred ushered George to hurry up and get dressed as well, making George finally notice that his twin was in jeans and a deep purple t-shirt with interlocking WWW's in orange on the front. He wondered how long the bugger had been up until he was shoved into his closet and locked in. He sighed and accepted his wand that rolled underneath the slats, gritting it in his teeth so he could get dressed with the minimal light "Lumos" brought. Once he announced that he was ready, Fred grabbed his arm and Apparated the two away.
George blinked and wobbled at the plain white door they stood in front of, Fred pressing a finger to his lips to silence his twin as he quietly unlocked the door with a flick of his wand. He dragged George through, leading him around as he checked each room until he found one. He smiled and stepped through, flicking on the light and disturbing the form piled up in bed. She groaned and hugged her pillow, squinting against the light as George finally understood that this was Hermione's flat.
"Wakey wakey, Granger!" Fred cheered, drawing back her curtains before remembering that it was still night out, shrugging and turning back to her, "Big day planned!"
"It is your birthday and not my problem," she growled, opening her eyes to glare at the red head.
"Ah, that's where you're wrong," Fred smirked, "It is your problem, remember?"
She scowled darkly, her eyes flicking over to her wand on the bedside table. She and Fred had a quick little stare down before they both lunged for it, Fred snatching it up and running out of the room, leaving George to stand there in confusion as Hermione huffed and tore the blankets off.
"Slimy git!" she called out, hearing him laugh by the door. She sighed as George finally huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Do you have any idea of what is going on?"
She smiled at him, running a hand through her unruly hair, "Somewhat, but it's a surprise."
He watched as her hand slipped through the curls before shaking his head and getting his train of thought back on track, "My family is so weird."
She laughed and grinned at him as he walked out and plopped on Hermione's couch, letting Fred poke through her bookcases and things. Once he made sure that George was dozing off, he carefully took his twin's wand before slipping quietly through the front door, locking the room before Apparating back to the flat.
Angelina met him in the living room with a grin, "They all set up?"
He waved Hermione and George's wands, "Oh yeah. What time should we let them out?"
"I'm thinking around noon," she stood and took Hermione's wand, admiring the little designs.
"So…nine hours with each other, during which she should tell the truth?" he mused before grinning, "Wicked."
Meanwhile, Hermione finally stepped into her living room in jean shorts and a yellow tank top. George blinked his eyes open as she yawned and moved to the chair next to him.
"Sorry, dozed off," he mumbled to her.
"I did a few times," she laughed before sighing and slapping her knees, "Alright, let's go get this over with. Fred!" She stood with George, the two looking around her apartment before George finally checked the front door. He was flown back onto the couch, gasping from the shock as Hermione gaped.
They stared blankly at each other before they groaned and got comfortable. George huffed as Hermione absentmindedly petted Crookshanks.
"Some birthday," he muttered to her, "Get woken up at three in the morning only to be locked in your flat."
"It's not even my birthday, but I share the sentiments," she snorted, pecking Crookshanks on the squashed in head as he purred loudly against her chest.
George eyed the animal for a few moments, "Why did you get him again?"
"He's a sweetheart," she explained simply, "He's smart and loyal and terribly brave."
"And lost in a fight with a brick wall," he added dully, "Admit it, he's not the prettiest cat out there."
"I know," she smiled simply, stroking the ginger cat's fur, "We're a lot alike."
"You're right," George hummed, ticking off the similarities on his fingers, "Smart, loyal, brave, a sweetheart. So…you got you in male cat form." He then caught on to what she was saying before and sighed, turning his head back to her, "And I just now got that. Hermione, your cat is ugly, but you are not."
Crookshanks glared darkly at him as Hermione smiled back at him. "Thank you, George."
He smiled back, and they were silent again for a while. The rabbit sitting on the balcony outside of the living room, however, twitched her nose before disappearing with a pop.
Luna blinked dreamily at Fred as he and Angelina looked expectantly up at her. "They're just sitting there. It's going nowhere."
Fred sighed, standing up and wincing at Angelina, "Hermione's got a Pensieve, right?" At her nod, he groaned, "I'm sorry, Georgie."
"I'm freezing," Hermione muttered before standing up to go and find a suitable enough blanket for her, looking around for the hidden one for George.
His head rolled back onto the couch dully, his eyes shifting around as he debated on falling asleep on her couch until something caught the light. He blinked and sat up, turning to the silver bowl. He stood, glancing back at Hermione's room to make sure she wasn't going to make an appearance any time soon, before dipping a finger into the Pensieve.
He blinked, quickly taking in the Burrow as he wondered just who's memory this was when his eyes landed on Harry and Ginny, who were exceptionally close. Ginny was gripping the front of her dress, asking Harry softly to zip it up for her. The boy's eyes widened as the Memory George turned away from the sink, his toothbrush in his ear-hole as he smiled mischievously behind his coffee.
Up until Hermione came waltzing through, pausing to zip Ginny's dress up until she continued on her way to the cupboard, "Harry, it really doesn't do to gawk at girls whose brother is in the same room and can kick your arse."
The Memory him smirked back at Hermione as she looked in the cupboard for a mug, stretching up on her toes to reach for the last clean one that wasn't claimed by anybody in the Weasley family. George felt his eyes widened as his memory looked her over, Harry and Ginny sharing smirks at this.
"And it doesn't really do to come downstairs with a hickey on your neck, Hermione," Ginny quipped, making the memory snort his coffee and Hermione drop her mug with a gasp, shattering it into the sink. Hermione whirled around to glare at the redheaded girl, leaning back against the counter as she pursed her lips.
"And what do we have to do to keep everybody from finding out?" the Memory asked as George started pacing around the room and cursing loudly, yelling at himself as he wondered what the hell was going on.
"More like Hermione," Ginny smirked, grinning down at the plain blue-grey dress the other girl had on.
"What?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and drumming her fingers against her elbow.
"You have to let Mum make you over today," she said happily as the other girl's mouth dropped open.
"But – but!" she paled before sighing, glancing up at MG before wincing and slumping towards the staircase, "Mrs. Weasley? Does your offer still stand?" At her excited and joyful tone, she sent a dark glare towards a smirking Ginny and Harry before smiling softly back at MG.
The memory changed, the present timed George sitting on top of the table and frowning down at the memory him and Hermione, who were much closer than he'd remembered – literally. His arm was around the back of her chair, turned almost completely towards her. If he wanted to make it a secret, he was doing a terrible job of it. But then again, so was she. Her legs were much too close to his to have been accident. George blinked as he caught himself staring at her legs.
Fred walked up to his twin and Hermione, raking a hand through MG's hair and yanking sharply on it to make him grin and glare up at him.
"Oy, you going to let her dance at all or what?" Fred asked with a grin, "She should dance with the better looking twin at least once tonight, to know what she missed out on."
MG smirked back up at him, "And does Angelina know you said that?"
"Angelina knows I say lots of things," he waved his hand away, "Although I doubt she knows I said those words stringed together in that way before. Anyway – I have to figure out how to embarrass you in front of your girl somehow," he winked at Hermione, making her grin, "Dancing with her is just a pretense."
MG shook his head, grinning and rolling his eyes towards the sky, reaching forward to peck Hermione on the side of the lips – which caused the present George to spazz and fall off of the table – before watching his twin dance with his – supposed - girlfriend.
George cursed aloud, watching as everybody ran in wayward directions, spells blasting through and creating different bursts of light in the air. He found himself rushing through, looking around wildly before sighing in relief and grabbing onto Hermione's arm, yanking her up into him to press his lips very hard against hers, letting her go to run off and stop Fred from being crushed by a wall. But of course, the two didn't know that then.
It was quiet now, Memory George staring at where his family was worrying over the unconscious Fred. George nodded to himself, as this was something he remembered. Hermione stood up to sit next to him on the table, resting her head against his shoulder. They sat like that for a while until he sighed.
"I don't know what I'm going to do now," he admitted.
George frowned at this, as if they had been dating, this wouldn't be something he would say. Saying that he didn't know what they were going to do would be the correct way. But he had said this, he remembered it.
Hermione picked up on this and slipped away from his shoulder, a masked look of horror in her eyes as she patted his back, "Live." She then stood up to go and consult with Madame Pomfrey, who checked over MG before talking with the other Weasleys. MG had been detoured by comforting Angelina, and hadn't seen this.
So what happened then?
He was thrown back into Hermione's living room with a jolt, blinking at the silver bowl as the girl walked back through, holding out two blankets happily.
"I found one at the foot of my bed – the other was in the bathroom," she rolled her eyes and grinned, settling one on the chair with her and the other with him. She sat down, looking up at him in confusion before tilting her head, "What's wrong? George?"
He was frowning at her, tilting his head an arching an eyebrow before practically growling, "Why didn't you tell me?"
She blinked slowly, "Tell you what?"
He pointed at the Pensieve, "That, Hermione."
She stared blankly at him before it settled down on her, glancing between him and the Pensieve, "I – I didn't…."
"It's been a year, Hermione!" he yelled, "A year not knowing that, ever since my brother has been married, I've been dating you and not knowing it? Do you know how jacked up that is?"
"The Healer said you'd find out on your own – to just…let it happen…" she said quietly as Crookshanks puffed up on the arm of her chair, a low rumbling in the ginger cat's chest.
"Well obviously that didn't work!"
"I'm sorry, George," she looked down at her hands, glancing back at Crookshanks. "We only did what the Healer said."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning down at the floor before turning back to her. He quickly dropped the angry attitude when he found little beads of tears crawling down her nose and cheeks. "Merlin, Hermione, I didn't – "
"I get it, George," she smiled softly up at him, one hand on her blanket, "You didn't really want to date me, you don't really want to be trapped in my apartment on your birthday – I get it." She stood, smoothing down Crookshank's fur before waving towards the front door, "I suppose that'll work now, if you care to use it." He watched her walk into her room and shut the door.
"But…" he said to the air, shifting between her bedroom door and the front door, "I don't want to leave." He paused before opening up the bedroom door, shutting the door quietly as he moved to sit at the edge of her bed, while she stared up at the ceiling. He stared down at her while she completely ignored the fact that he was there until her eyes flicked over to his.
"Don't do this to me," she murmured, her eyes getting the tears back again, "If you're going to stay, you're going to have to mean it. I've missed you far too much."
He fidgeted a little before finally swooping down and pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I think I've missed you too."
"Thanks," she smiled slightly, closing her eyes as he shimmied underneath the covers with her, wrapping his arms around her and deciding that this really wasn't so bad.
I went waaaaayyy overboard with that one. Gah. But, umm…mmyeah. *shrug*
Love,
Birdie