Whoever said that time healed all wounds was a liar. Three years had passed now and Hermione could see, could feel how the pain of losing his brother still took George's breath away nearly every day. Some days were better than others, but every joyful moment of his life now was blemished by the fact that Fred wasn't there to share it with him. His brother being collateral damage, the cost of war only seemed to add insult to injury for each of George's failures and missteps. If time did anything, it just slowly dulled the knife but never pulled it out of his chest. He was a broken man, half of his heart crushed beneath the rubble with Fred and if she could've, Hermione would've split her heart into two and given him the beating half.
Instead, she gave him her an entire heart, locked away in her chest for safe keeping. And now, Hermione had to find a way to tell him about another unexpected gift that she had for him. Though she couldn't be exactly certain of it, Hermione thought she knew exactly the night it had happened.
Every occasion for family celebration was also a reminder of what the war had taken from them. Despite what everyone tried to tell themselves, Bill wasn't the same young man he'd always been and he never would be again. The same could be said for George because Fred was gone, but the changes in him were far less deniable. But being a family did help and their sweet, beloved Victorie's first birthday was certainly cause for celebration along with another year since the war had ended. George was madly in love with his niece and whenever he was around her, he didn't let her out of his sight or arms. It was her presence that helped him through the day though as day gave way to night, Hermione could tell that the weight of the day was beginning to crush him.
When it was time to go, the pain becoming almost blinding for him, George and Hermione found Victorie asleep in Bill's arms on the back porch of Shell Cottage, overlooking the beach. "I can't anymore, I gotta go," George simply told his brother as he leaned down to press a kiss to the little girl's forehead. "I know, brother," Bill told him as he stood up and encased him close in a hug with his free arm. "I'll tell everyone that you said goodnight." Allowing George out of his grip, he moved to pull Hermione into his arm to hug her goodnight as well, trusting that his little brother would be in good hands with her.
The couple walked a stretch of the sand hand in hand, the silence between them nearly suffocating the young woman with the helplessness that she felt when it came to her boyfriend's pain. After stopping for a second, they tightened their grip on one another and apparated back to Fred and George's old bedroom at the Burrow where they'd be staying for the night. When they landed safely, George finally let out the shaky breath it seemed like he'd been holding in for hours and it released in the form of a sob. Hermione moved to her tip toes as she threw her arms around him, releasing her own sob. George's heavy sobs shook them both, but she continued to hold on to him as tightly as she could. Everything that George wanted to say, but couldn't because the tears had overcome him so much, Hermione already knew. He wished that Fred was still there, that he could take Fred's place in death instead. How he wanted so much for his niece to know her uncle and how it wasn't fair that Freddie never got the chance to know the little girl. If he could've spoken, he would've told her how he still missed his twin so much that it felt impossible to breathe, that the pain made his fingertips numb sometimes, and how nearly everyday he thought about following Fred into the dark because it might be the only way for him to see light again.
Hermione already knew this though, so he didn't have to utter a single word. They could just stand there and they could cry together, just as they had countless nights after the war ended. Instead, after it seemed like he'd exhausted nearly every bit of strength in his body, George pulled away slightly so that he could look at the younger woman with his tear soaked face. "I love you," he managed to choke out, as he brought his fingertips up to gently wipe at her tears "you keep me alive."
The rest was a blur of lips and tongues intertwined, hands pulling clothing away desperately, and neither one of them could think more than three seconds ahead. But their bodies knew exactly what they were meant for and in their trance, they guided them together. Their minds only became aware of what was going on when Hermione cried out as she lowered herself down and he entered her. Their awareness faded away quickly though as their hips moved together in perfect syncopation until waves overtook both their bodies and finally they crashed together into a beautiful, warm mess of love that grew from pain.
And the next morning when they woke, they both felt closer to complete than they had in three years not yet realizing the life they'd just created together.