Hi! Thanks to everyone who R&R-ed for the first chapter. I'm glad you all want me to continue! I have decided that I really like writing this story, so I'm going to keep writing it no matter how many reviews I get, but it would still be nice to know what you all think of this story, so I'd like you all to continue R&R-ing, and they will make me update faster, too.
For this chapter there is a time skip, and Hermione is now nine years old, and George and Fred are eleven.
Now, on with the story!
Pairing(s): George/Hermione, Fred/Angelina, Harry/Ginny
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Drama and a little bit of Humor
Rating: M (for mature themes, violence and language)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters ...
Love Of My Life
-x-
Chapter 2:
Being Separated
-x-
A nine year old Hermione Jane Granger yawned tiredly and snuggled closer into the warmth coming from both sides of her. She really, really didn't want to have to get up at half past four in the morning, but Mrs Weasley needed to start breakfast early today, and Hermione always helped her make breakfast. Ever since her first night staying with the Weasley's, she has made breakfast and supper with Mrs Weasley as a silent thank you for everything Molly and the Weasley clan have done for her over the years.
She groaned in annoyance as she went to open her eyes, only to close them again painfully when the sun blinded her, making her eyes burn and water. But, she still had to get up.
Now if only she could somehow find a way to untangle herself from the various arms and legs thrown about her body...
She somehow managed to lift one of the arms off from around her waist and place it on the bed beside her, and she managed to untangle her legs from the ones that were tightly wrapped around her own. She then wiggled her way out of the tight grip one of the arms had around her shoulders, and she managed to somehow crawl down to the end of the too-small-for-three-people bed, without waking the other two still fast asleep and lightly snoring in the bed.
'Too bad they're going to have to get up in just half an hour...' She thought to herself as she watched them sleep peacefully, and felt the familiar pang of loneliness she was already starting to feel in her heart by just thinking about them going away for so long.
She huffed as she stood up from the bed and stretched tiredly, barley managing to keep her still heavy from sleep eyes open. She rubbed them in attempt to wake her up more, before walking over to one side of the bed and planting a small kiss on Fred's cheek, then leaning over the still sleeping Weasley twin, and kissing the lightly snoring George Weasley.
As she straightened herself out again, tears started to blur her vision, and she had to blink rapidly to keep them from falling. She didn't want to risk one of the twins - or both of them - waking up, just to see her crying. It was an exciting day for them, and she wasn't going to upset them, just because she was upset.
She slipped quickly and quietly from Fred and George's bedroom and stealthily crept across the landing, barely missing the creaks and cracks.
Ever since she turned eight last year and the twins turned ten, Mrs Weasley had forbidden Hermione from being able to sleep in their room. Hermione had no idea why, but had respected Molly's wishes.
Too bad the twins didn't respect their Mother's wishes and made Hermione promise to sneak into their room whenever she can, and for some reason she caved into them, like always. And those two knew they had that effect on her and used it to their advantage- the bloody gits. So when they would beg and plead and use their infamous puppy dog eyes on her, she would reluctantly give in and sneak into their room to sleep at least once every week.
'But we won't be doing it again for a long time.' She reminded herself sadly.
She came to her bedroom door, hoping Ginny was still sleeping. She opened the door as quietly as she could, and hissed out a "Shhh!" at the door when the door squeaked loudly.
When she closed the door behind her, she turned around, holding her breath, and let the breath out slowly in relief when she saw an eight year old Ginny still fast asleep, snoring lightly, just like her brother, George.
She smiled lovingly at the sleeping petite girl in her bed, Ginny's long, beautifully red hair spread across her pillow. 'She's going to be so pretty when she grows up. I wish I could look more like her.' Hermione thought. She then shook her head and reminded herself she needed to get downstairs before Mrs Weasley started asking questions.
So, she quickly pulled out a pair of muggle jeans with pink fake diamonds in the shape of small flowers going up each sides of her jeans and a plain white shirt and pulled them on before quietly exiting her and Ginny's bedroom, making sure not to wake Ginny up as she left.
She walked across the landing, this time not so stealthily, and walked down the stairs, missing the crack in the second from the top step that was purposely planted there by Fred and George for Ron when he wakes up. She reached the last step and walked into the kitchen, smiling when she saw Mrs Weasley already busy making her family breakfast.
"Good Morning, Molly." Hermione greeted the older woman in front of her, hoping she hid her true feelings well. She didn't want Mrs Weasley asking her questions about why she was feeling so down and finding out she wanted the twins to stay.
Mrs Weasley turned from the stove long enough to greet her back, "Good Morning, dear. I didn't think you would be coming down this morning. Its too early for you to be up. A growing girl such as yourself needs her beauty sleep." Molly said and turned back to the stove and started stirring something that smelt absolutely delicious.
She walked up to Molly and smiled up at her only Mother figure, "Its alright, Molly. You know I never miss making breakfast and supper! Its the least I can do for everything you've done for me. Now, what do you want me to do?" She asked turning to look at the food in front of them.
Molly smiled down at Hermione lovingly. Molly had told Hermione time and again that she didn't need to repay them 'cause they weren't going to let her Father get away with hurting her any more, but she never listened. Hermione was a stubborn one, that's for sure. "Hmm... I think you can make the toast today, dear, and butter the toast too. Alright?" Molly asked.
Hermione nodded and set to work, making toast from bread and then spreading it with butter when it was toasted.
They went on like that in silence for a while until Molly exclaimed happily out of nowhere, "Oh, I can't believe my little boys have all grown up! Its going to be so quiet without them! Although, I could use some time away from their pranks, but I'm still going to miss my babies!" She wailed at the end, wiping away a tear that wasn't really there.
Hermione managed to force out a smile, but inside her heart had clenched painfully and her stomach had turned horribly.
'Its really happening... they have to leave...' The thought made her feel sick. What if they forget all about her? Or meet nicer and friendlier people than her, and they become the twins best friends, and she would end up all alone?
George and Fred had finally reached the age of eleven and had gotten a Hogwarts letter a few days ago, congratulating them on making it into Hogwarts and welcoming them and giving them lots of details, like where to get you're school stuff (Diagon Alley) and when school was starting (September 1st), and wishing them a great first year.
September 1st had finally come, and Hermione wouldn't miss seeing them off by the train, no matter how much it would hurt her to see them get further and further away from her, out of her reach.
"They are very excited, aren't they?" Hermione asked, though secretly she wanted to go back to the comfortable silence they were in before.
Molly smiled happily at Hermione and laughed out, "Oh yes, yes. I haven't seen them so excited since the first Christmas with you in the family, when they thought they were finally going to find out how you can tell the difference between them."
Hermione had to smile at the fond memory. She would never forget the way Fred and George's faces had dropped from ecstatic to utter disbelief when she had told them they hadn't been good enough that year to find out how she can tell the difference between them. It was like this every Christmas, though. They would get themselves worked up, only to be disappointed when she would tell them they wouldn't find out that year.
The twins just don't seem to get that if they just stopped terrorizing little children, then she would tell them straight away.
"Its going to be very... quiet without them, isn't it?" Hermione asked quietly, but before Molly could answer, the Weasley family started making their way into the kitchen, intent on eating the food given to them.
Ginny, Percy and Arthur had already sat down by the table - after mumbling their good mornings - when Fred and George walked in, still half asleep. "Mornin'" They also mumbled out. George kissed his Mother on the cheek before doing the same to Hermione, Fred following and doing the same thing before they both sat down at the big wooden table, their heads drooping every now and again when they would doze off.
When the food was finally set, Molly asked Ginny, "Ginny, dear, go and see if Ron's awake yet."
Ginny grumbled under her breath, but got up anyway. She walked to the kitchen door, opened the door, stuck her head out and shouted up the stairs, "RON! GET YOU'RE LAZY ASS DOWN HERE NOW!" before walking back into the kitchen with a small, innocent smile on her face as she sat down at the table.
Molly was shocked into silence for a moment, before she bellowed out, "Ginny how dare you use such language in this house! Where did you learn such a foul word?" Ginny pointed at the twins, making them turn white as a sheet. Molly rounded on them, her face bright red, and they could have sworn they saw steam coming out of her ears, "I should have known." Molly said in a dead whisper, making everyone sitting at the table shuffle away from the twins and Molly encase they also suffered her wrath.
"Now, Mom..." Fred gulped out.
"We didn't mean too..." George's voice shook slightly.
But before Molly could snap at either one of them, they heard a tired Ron shout from the top of the stairs, "I'm coming, I'm coming, just give me a min- AHHH!!" They all heard crashing noises that sounded suspiciously like someone falling down the stairs, before there was one last Bang! that made everyone in the kitchen wince, almost being able to feel the pain themselves.
"Ow..." They heard Ron mutter.
Mrs Weasley was now an even brighter shade of red and had her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "Fred! George!" She shouted and the twins gulped audibly.
Poor Hermione was stuck in the middle of the twins, and she knew Fred and George would only tell Molly that she was in on the prank too, so she quickly shot up from her chair and said, "I'm going to go see if Ron's still alive."
She went to move but something - or more like two somethings - caught hold of her arms. She looked down to see Fred and George use their infamous puppy dog eyes on her, "Please don't leave us with the she-devil, 'Mione!" Fred whispered, his voice slightly shaking from the deadly glare his Mother threw his way.
"Yeah, Mia. Please don't go!" It was George now who's voice had raised a pitch higher than normal from the scare he was also getting from his Mother's intense glare. "Who knows what she would do to us if you left! I'm pretty sure that butter knife in her hand won't be clean for long."
Hermione was so close to giving in to them when she saw their puppy dog eyes, but for the first time she didn't fall for them. So instead, she smirked almost evilly and knelt down in between George and Fred's chairs and whispered,
"Do you remember that prank we did, the one where we turned Charlie's hair into clown hair?" When the twins nodded, she continued, "I remember that I was the only one who got told off for that prank. You wanna know why?" She could see the twins eyes widen in realization, then fill with dread, but she went on, "It was 'cause you two blamed in all on me." Her smirk widened now when she finished with, "This is payback, loves." And with that she got up from her crouching position and walked away from the now trembling twins.
"FRED, GEORGE HOW DARE YOU TWO...-" Hermione closed the kitchen door behind her so that she wouldn't hear Molly's ranting, and went up to the crumpled form that was Ron on the floor.
"Hey, need a hand?" She asked, and Ron groaned in response. She took this as a "yes" and started to help him to his feet, "Gosh, Ron. How much do you weigh? I know you eat non-stop, but this is ridicules!" Hermione exclaimed when she had finally gotten Ron to his feet.
Ron glared at her, but decided not to answer that question. Instead he rubbed his now bruised bum and said, "Why do I always have to be the one you guys pick on? Do you know how many bruises I counted last week?" He didn't wait for her to answer and threw his hands up in the air as he shouted, "A lot of bruises, Herms!"
Hermione had to grin slightly at this, but said honselty, "Honestly Ron, I wasn't in on this one. I just knew about it."
Ron pouted as they made their way to the kitchen door, "But you could have warned me! I wouldn't have a bruised bum then!"
Hermione stopped with her hand on the door, biting her lip to stop from laughing at Ron as he limped towards her, holding his bum with a painful expression on his face. "If I told you, Ron, then I would loose the trust of my best friends." She said.
"But you've lost my trust, Herms!" Ron pouted.
Hermione pretended to be shocked, "I use to have you're trust?!"
"Just open the damn door." Ron grumbled out.
"Don't let Molly hear you say "damn", Ron. I'm warning you." Hermione laughed out as she opened the door, just to come into an eerily quiet kitchen. Molly looked satisfied, the twins looked shaken- literally since their forks would shake when they went to put it in their mouths, and the others looked traumatized. But, when Ron walked in, Fred and George couldn't help but snicker at him, but one scolding look from Molly shut them up straight away.
Ron sat in between Ginny and Percy and Hermione sat in her usual chair, in between Fred and George. The twins each gave her a hard glare, but with one small, innocent smile she threw their way, they forgave her and went back to their food.
Hermione smirked at this. They may be able to get her to do almost anything with their puppy dog eyes, but if they were mad at her, all she had to do was send a small, innocent smile their way, and they wouldn't be able to stay mad at her. She used this whenever she needed to, and it has always worked.
The breakfast was unusually quiet, everyone still trying to get over witnessing or being targeted by Molly's wrath. But when Arthur decided to finally start a conversation, it wasn't one Hermione wanted to be apart of, "So, Fred, George. Are you excited about finally going to Hogwarts?" He asked, and Hermione sighed mentally. The twins perked up straight away, and everyone started chatting happily again, apart from Hermione.
When Hermione could stand listening to the conversation any more, she got up from the table to excuse herself, "I've got a bit of a headache so I'm going to get some fresh air." She announced, and Molly was quick to worry.
"Oh, you do look quite sickly. Oh! And you've hardly touched you're food!" It was true. Hermione's stomach was twisting and turning and making her feel ill, so she didn't eat any food in fear she would just bring it all back up. "You should go straight up to bed."
"No, I'm fine Molly, really. I just need some fresh air." And with that Hermione rushed out the back door of the Burrow, leaving six confused redhead's in the overcrowded kitchen.
She ended up sitting by the lake next to the Burrow for at least an hour before someone came to get her. She had been thinking about all the fun times her and the twins had had at the lake she was staring at now, before her mind had started to wonder in a different direction. What would life be like now that the twins were leaving? She had thought of a few different ways her life could lead, but neither of them led to a happy life without them. She could only wish that they don't meet nicer and more fun people than herself, otherwise she would be screwed... and alone.
"Herms?" Someone waved a hand in front of her face, and she quickly snapped out of her depressing thoughts.
She blinked and looked up at the other person, and smiled. "Hey, Ron. What are you doing here?" She asked her friend, his worried expression making a small smile spread across her face. It was nice to know people like the Weasley's cared for her.
Ron opened his mouth to answer her simple question, then decided against it and said bluntly, "They may not look like it, Herms, but Fred and George are going to miss you. A lot."
Hermione's eyes widened in alarm. Was she that obvious? Did everyone think she was a spoil sport for not being happy for them? But, Ron's blunt comment did make a small smile reach her face, "You think so?" She asked. She had been wondering if the twins would miss her at all, after all, they did have each other to keep company before they meet new friends.
Ron smiled and answered, "I don't think so, I know so. Hell, you three are practically joined at the hip!" His smile turned into a grin, "And Merlin help Hogwarts when you finally arrive in two years! The pranks will just keep coming and coming." Hermione grinned along with him, now feeling much better.
Hermione stood up with the help of Ron and pulled him into a tight hug, which he akwardly returned. "Thank you. I really needed that." She said as she pulled back and gave Ron a dazzling smile.
Ron smiled back, happy he could help make Hermione feel better, before he remembered why he came down here in the first place. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot! The reason why I came down here in the first place was because Fred and George asked me to come and get you. They said they have a surprise for you in their bedroom." Ron said and Hermione's smile turned into a grimace.
"They know I hate surprises." She muttered to herself, before giving Ron one last thank you hug and running to the Burrow and up to the twins bedroom.
"Okay guys," Hermione said as she opened George and Fred's door, "you know how much i hate surprises, so...-" She stopped in mid sentence, though, when she saw the twins standing by Fred's bed, obviously trying to hid something that was on it. She rolled her eyes, "What have you two done now?"
Before the twins could even open their mouths to explain, a small, furry, ginger cat jumped from Fred's bed and ran to her. Hermione knelt down and started stroking it, amazed by the gorgeous white and ginger colors in its fur. "That's you're surprise." Fred said with a smile, hoping she would like it.
"He's not just a cat though!" George exclaimed, excited. "He's part kneazle, part cat! He's unique!" George smiled, almost bouncing with the excitement as he and his brother waited to see if their best friend liked their thoughtful gift.
Hermione's face beamed with happiness as she picked the part cat, part kneazle off the ground and held him close, stroking him with much care, "This is amazing! Thank you, guys! But why did you get me... Crookshanks?" Hermione asked, confused as well as deciding on the cats name.
"Crookshanks?" Fred made a funny face at the name, "What kinda name is that for a part cat, part kneazle?" But at Hermione's hard glare, he decided to let it drop and instead answered her question, "Well, seeing as we are ganna be away at Hogwarts this year, we thought we would get you something that would keep you company while we're away."
Hermione smiled happily, placed Crookshanks down, and ran over to her two best friends who's arms were already out and waiting for her hug, and she flung herself at them, wrapping her arms tightly around them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She thanked them, still beaming from the very thoughtful gift they had just given her.
The boys laughed, also wrapping their arms tightly around her. No one, not even Hermione herself, would know just how much both Fred and George were going to miss her. They already couldn't wait for the Christmas holidays to come!
"I'm ganna miss you two." Hermione said quietly, her arms still tightly wrapped around them.
"We're ganna miss you too." They murmured back, and Hermione smiled in relief.
They stayed like that for a few more moments, just happily holding each other, before they suddenly heard a loud Riiippp! They turned to see Crookshanks ripping Fred's pillow in two, making Fred let go of Hermione and shout out, "Oi! Bloody beast! Stop damn it!" and he ran over to Crookshanks and tried to get him off his bed, with much difficulty.
George still held on tightly to Hermione and whispered again, "I'm really going to miss you, Mia."
Hermione smiled up at George. He had always been the more sensitive of the two, not caring if anyone saw his true feelings, "I'm really ganna miss you too, George." George smiled down at her happily, and as he went to say something else, they heard Fred cry out in pain, making them turn to see what happened.
"AHH! He scratched me! The bloody beast scratched me!" Fred whined out as he cradled his arm to his chest, gently stroking the large scratch mark going down his pale arm.
Hermione and George laughed at the sight, and Fred soon followed after giving Crookshanks a deadly glare that could wake the dead.
Hermione was going to miss them terribly, but it was good to know that she wouldn't be the only one suffering. She knew the twins would miss her just as much, and that made her smile even wider. Just two years. Just two more years until she could see them again every day, but next time at Hogwarts instead.
All three of them couldn't wait until the Christmas holiday.
That's the second chapter done! I think I did all right, what do you think? Let me know in a review please!
Thanks for reading!
x- Twilight -x