I promised myself I wouldn't start a new story with two going already and Duality hanging over my head but I'm in a sappy romantic mood and I need some good George/Hermione post-war love. Forewarning, this is going to be a fairly light-hearted piece. I think that's just the way George and Hermione should be. OH and before I forget (like I tend to do)...
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any portion of the Harry Potter franchise including (but not limited to) the novels, readers guides, movies or video games. I have no connection to J.K. Rowling and I am merely borrowing her AMAZING work to amuse myself and partake in one of my favorite past times (writing). I am not profiting at all from this story except in the kind words of readers and the satisfaction of putting out something I am proud of. I do however, own the story line and anything that you do not recognize from one of the above sources. I also dearly WISH I owned one or both of the Weasley twins, and perhaps Malfoy too.
Ante Bellum
"Before the War"
Prologue - 1 August, 1995
Hot days always seemed hotter when one was not allowed to escape into fresh air, the young man thought with a sigh. He stretched his gangly legs out across the refreshingly cool wooden floor of the parlor, his back flat against the peeling green wall. His brother, sitting just feet from him, mirrored his pose, using a thin book to fan his face. A layer of sweat coating their identical faces. Of course it didn't help that their mother had glanced wearily at Hermione's shorts earlier that day before forbidding any of her children wear them for proprieties sack.
"Bugger propriety." He groaned, remembering the lecture they had received only hours earlier. As if his skinny white ankles would illicit some animalistic response in Hermione, the only female in the house around his age who he was not related to. The idea was certainly not a bad one, but absurd all the same. Hermione was the epitome of propriety.
His brother nodded his head slightly, increasing the fanning, "Too right you are brother."
He pulled at the collar of his shirt, releasing a few of the top buttons with an exaggerated sigh, hadn't anyone in this awful place heard of a cooling charm?
They could faintly hear the others coming down the stairs, talking in hushed whispers.
"Harry mustn't know Ron."
"I know Hermione." They heard their brother reply exasperated, causing them both to chuckle low in their throats.
A minute later the door flew open and the arguing duo appeared, clueless to their company. Ron stood nearly a head taller than Hermione now, leaning over her, his face so red with anger it almost matched his sweaty t-shirt. Hermione for her part was holding her own, hands on her tan short clad hips, somehow managing to still look down her nose at Ron despite the height difference. He cleared his throat to alert them to his presence before they, god forbid, start snogging or something equally revolting.
She turned quickly on her heel, face flushed red when she saw them, "Oh, Fred, George, your mum is looking for you."
The two stared back at her incredulously as if to say why do you think we're hiding in here. Before resuming their previous attempts out cooling. Noticing their discomfort the younger witch rolled her eyes to the heaven before saying, "Can't you two do magic now? Set a cooling charm."
"They can't, mum took their wands." Ron gloated from behind her, earning a scathing look from the other three.
Hermione sat down on the edge of one of the straight back wooden chairs, crossing her legs at the ankle, even in the summer she seemed so prime, so proper. "Well if she did I'm sure she had very good reason." She stated, a sense of finality in her voice as if she was ready to dismiss the conversation all together.
"She did."
Nobody had noticed the fourth red head join them. A slender girl with her hair pilled on top of her head in a loose ponytail she looked enviously at Hermione's shorts before taking in to consideration her own attire, a pair of sensible grey slacks and a white button down shirt. Hermione was, she thought bitterly, lucky she had such forward thinking parents.
The twins merely glared at their younger sister. The three tended to get on quite well but as Ginny had been the reason their wands were temporarily confiscated they were none to pleased to see her.
"Out with it then." Hermione implored with a huff, clearly not enjoying being the only one out on a secret. She looked expectantly at the red headed family, waiting for someone to reply.
Throwing himself into the chair across from her Ron deigned to respond as if it was obvious, "Tried to break into the meeting again."
Since their arrival at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place the twins had been curious about the meetings that took place almost nightly in the kitchen before dinner. Being forbidden from said meetings had effectively turned mild interest to almost an obsession. They had, for the past week, tried various means of listening in, not limited to hiding in the pantry and putting every one of their spy products to the test. Somehow their mother seemed to find them out every time and give them a good scolding before sending them on their way. They had thought they had a fool proof plan the night before when they had magically glued themselves to the underside of the table. Unfortunately, Ginny, annoyed at their teasing about Dean Thomas, had ratted them out with far too much glee.
Hermione rolled her eyes even more this time, her pupils almost disappeared entirely before turning on them again, "And what did you try this time? You never listen to me, I told you that you would get caught."
Fred groaned, holding his heart, "Your lack of faith is astounding Granger. We still have time left mind you."
George nodded in hearty agreement, suddenly coming more alive than he had in the past few days, "Yes we have many many more options." His voice held a tone of mystery and he was pleased to see the other three looking quite interested.
"As long as it doesn't involve gluing yourselves to furniture again; mum ought to have left you there." Ginny said with a smirk reminiscent of their own; she was too clever and witty to stay mad at for long they both realized.
Just as Hermione made to say something else to them, they were once again joined, this time by their eldest brother Bill Weasley. Fresh from Egypt he had only been home a matter of days staying temporarily at Grimmauld Place until Harry's arrival.
Bill had a laid back air about him, his hair was held back loosely from his face with a leather cord and his signature fang earring glinted in the light. Despite the heat he was wearing a pair of black jeans low on the hip and and a black t-shirt, not tucked in, with his favorite dragon hide vest over it. The effect was that of a rock star and none of his siblings could help but wish they could just, for a day, look as cool as Bill did.
"Alright you lot?" He asked cheerfully, leaning against the doorframe.
They all nodded in unison looking expectantly up at the oldest Weasley.
"Well then, who wants to go to Diagon Alley with me? I have to stop by the bank for a minute, but then we can get your school shopping done and maybe stop in for a kip at the Leaky Cauldron."
The sedentary group all at once came to life, clamoring up with shouts of "me!".
Bill chuckled at the display, smiling approvingly, he was happy they accepted as he had put his neck out to get his mum to let him take them all, by himself no less.
"Right then, go get your things and I'll meet you in the kitchen in half an hour."
They herded past him, knocking one another out of the way to get upstairs, all except Hermione who stood slowly, allowing them to pass her as not to get involved in the scuffle. Being an only child she still wasn't quite used to the chaos that was the Weasley's. She was almost out the door when Bill stopped her with a featherlight touch to her shoulder. She turned instantly, curiosity and perhaps a bit of confusion on her face.
The seldom embarrassed Bill actually tinged a slight pink as he spoke, "Um, Hermione, mum had one condition..." He trailed off, unsure of how to bring up her attire with the young girl.
"Yes?" She implored him on.
"You need to wear, pants." He fumbled out at last, "Don't get me wrong, shorts are dandy as far as I'm concerned, it's just -"
She smiled, shocking him, "Of course." And then was gone, joining the rest in the race up the stairs.
Bill sighed in relief, after hearing her argument with Ron last night, he had half expected a row about it. Thumbing his belt loops to pull up his pants he disappeared back into the kitchen, whistling a merry tune. A visit into Diagon Alley was just what he needed.
Meanwhile upstairs was complete chaos. The boys were the first ready and were waiting impatiently outside the girls door so they could make their way downstairs.
Growing anxious Ron plucked up the courage to knock on the door, not noticing the amused looks his brothers shared. He was in for it. "Hurry up you two!"
The door opened with a bang, revealing a very annoyed Ginny Weasley, "Give us a minute Ron!" She eyed him appraisingly, "Unlike you, we want to look presentable to go into town."
In an equally scathing tone Ron replied, "Why would anybody be looking at you two?"
Hermione came up behind her friend, seemingly ready to join the fight but surprised everyone by saying, "Oh leave it Gin, let's not spoil our trip. Besides, I'm ready to go if you are."
The younger girl nodded, grabbing her friends hand and pulling her past the boys as the two descended the stairs, gossiping in excited whispers.
Ron shook his head, "Girls."
Fred and George, still unusually quiet, merely grinned at one another and bounded down the stairs ahead of him.
"Shame Granger took of the shorts," George noted, barely able to keep the wistful expression of his face.
Studying his twin peculiarly for a minute, Fred at last shook his head as if deciding something and then lead the way into the kitchen were Bill had the two girls involved in a lively conversation about ancient runes. Hermione was, they both thought, the first girl not related to them to be interested in Bill for his knowledge of ancient runes. What a bookworm.
"Where's Ron?" Their eldest brother asked, noting their presence.
His question was answered a minute later when Ron appeared in the kitchen, his sour expression from upstairs gone. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his ill-fitting jeans, he looked expectantly, "Ready?"
Bill stood, reaching into his pocket and procuring two wands, "Here you go boys, I talked to mum and she said you can have them back as long as you behave," the twinkle in his eye said he knew the likelihood of that happening, "her and dad have stopped home for a bit to get some things, but they'll be back for dinner. Ready than? We're going to have to be careful about leaving, two at a time and get off the step quickly. Fred you with Ginny, George take Hermione and I'll take Ron. Apparate to Diagon Alley and nowhere else." He warned, noting the mischevious glint in the twins eyes.
Hermione was eyeing George cautiously, having gone pale at the news that she would be side-along apparating with a wizard who had only just passed the test a few weeks before.
George merely smiled back at her, "Don't worry Hermione, it could be loads worse."
"Yeah," Fred chimed in, "it could be Charlie. He had to take it twice."
Bill smiled at her reassuringly, "You'll be fine Hermione, those two have been apparating so much I'm sure they've gotten enough practice."
The twins had taken to apparating about the house, even if it was just from the foot of their bed to their dresser. They found it exceptionally satisfying to sneak up on their pour unsuspecting mother when she was cooking dinner or looking for them in one of Grimmauld Places many rooms.
Hermione didn't have time to protest as Fred and Ginny had already disappeared and Bill was pushing them towards the door with an unusual sense of urgency. Once on the front step, George wrapped his arms around her middle, ignoring her blushing face and with a quick command of "hold tight!" apparated them away on the spot.
They landed stumbling, nearly on top of Fred and Ginny, apparently their minds were even identical in choosing apparation points. A minute later Bill and Ron followed, landed gracefully a few feet from them. Ron was, Hermione noticed, merely holding onto Bill's arm, not hugging him as George had had her do. That was strange.
She brushed it off, attributing it to his inexperience, and turned to Ginny, "Where to first?"
"Madame Malkin's. I've got to get a new cloak and mum said we can pick up our uniforms there now too."
"We're going to Gambol and Japes." The twins said in unison, mischief now covering their faces.
Torn between the two Ron at last sidled up to his brothers, obviously choosing them as the lesser than two evils.
Bill nodded, reaching into his impossibly deep pockets and taking out five identical drawstring pouches, "Here you go, I went yesterday and got your money," in response to Hermione's confused expression, "Dad went to your parents and explained the shopping trip, I exchanged what they gave you."
They all accepted the pouches happily and were ready to make off when Bill stopped them, "Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours, and please no later or mum will have my neck."
They all agreed to the meeting time and disappeared in different directions, Bill across the street to Gringott's and the other two groups down either end of the Alley.
Madame Malkin's was busy as always, especially since she had begun carrying the standard Hogwarts uniforms in all house colors. Each girl filled out the slip that asked their sizes, underwent the quick task of taking measurements and were rewarded with two pairs of black trousers, one made of a thick wool for the winter, two dark grey skirts, two long sleeve sweaters, one in the same dark grey as the skirts and one in black and two sweater vests in the two colors as well. All the clothing was embroidered with Gryffindor colors and at the counter Madame Malkin herself added four white collared shirts for each of the girls.
With their important shopping out of the way the two girls roamed Diagon Alley, enjoying their first day outside in weeks.
"How was George's apparition? Fred gave me an awful headache." Ginny said conversationally, rubbing her temple for emphasis.
Hermione shrugged, "Fine I suppose, he did hold on rather tight though."
"What do you mean? You only need to link arms."
"Oh, George, um, he well, hugged me I suppose. It was rather strange now that I think about it."
Ginny, seeing something that caught her eye quickly agreed, "Strange." And then grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her quickly down the street.
They come to a stop just before Dean Thomas who was accompanied by Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw from Hermione's year. Both girls seemed to find this a bit strange, as they had never seen the two together before, but Ginny was too excited to see her boyfriend to give it much thought, instead flinging herself at him for a lengthy snog, leaving Hermione and Terry to awkward conversation.
"How's your summer then Hermione?" He asked, edging away from the amorous pair.
She looked nervously around, hoping none of the other Weasley's were present, "It's been good Terry, thank you. And yours?"
The conversation was cordial and exceedingly boring. She was almost beginning to wish one of Ginny's brothers would appear and break up the snogfest so she could go back to her shopping. Terry Boot was on the whole, an unremarkable boy.
Of course he was exceptionally intelligent, he was a Ravenclaw, but his conversation held little spark and the way he droned on was giving Hermione a headache. He was shorter than Ron, but stockier with close cut brown hair and an unremarkable face. He was, according to Ginny's gossip, dating Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff also in their year. Hermione wondered belatedly why the girl hadn't been invited on the two's trip to Diagon Alley.
Just as Hermione was beginning to think Dean and Ginny had become glued together and they would therefore never be able to get to Flourish and Blotts to pick up their texts, the twins appeared from inside Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ginny was fortunate they were the two to catch her as they weren't half as protective as Ron was and merely laughed at the display, tapping their sister on either shoulder until she pulled away from her boyfriend with an exasperated sigh.
"Yes?"
Fred looked at an invisible watch on his wrist, "Play time is over kids, we've got to get to the Flourish and Blotts before Hermione's head explodes," he winked at her, "and Bill kills us for being late. Don't worry Gin, you'll have loads of chances to reacquaint yourselves back at Hogwarts."
George nodded in earnest, "Loads."
"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked, realizing he was no longer accompanying them as he had been when they had parted ways earlier. Luckily, she was too busy looking about to notice George's sour expression at her interest.
Fred shrugged, "Probably got himself lost. He'll turn up."
"Eventually." George finished, a bit too gleefully.
Hermione cast a suspicious look at the two before noticing the time on her wristwatch, "We should really go get our books, we don't have much time left."
"I quite agree Hermione." George spoke up first, a rarity as Fred was typically the leader and offered her his elbow.
Fred watched the exchange with the same confused expression from before as Hermione walked past his brother without a second glance and, linking arms with Ginny who had bid farewell to Dean started towards the book store.
"Smooth." Fred whispered with a laugh in his twins ear, receiving a swift elbow in the ribs in return.
xXx
Harry arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place so soon after their shopping trip that all Fred's questions about George's peculiar remarks and longing looks in Hermione's direction were temporarily forgotten. In fact, he would not search for answers again until the term had started and his brothers change in behavior increased; tenfold.
It was a bit short, the following chapters will be longer, but keep in mind it is a prologue, not even the first chapter yet. Please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome it lets me know people are reading. Also, please check out my other two stories if you have the time. Cheers!