A/N Sorry for the wait. This chapter took a little longer to write than I originally had thought. Hopefully it's not dragging out too long for you all. Anyway, here it is!

Thank you turnthepage21 for the review!

When the skies turned grey and threatening Ron and Hermione made their way back to the Burrow. Ron went to join Harry and Ginny in the living room while Hermione retreated to Ginny's bedroom. Settling in by the window with an old charms textbook she decided to practice her wand movements to occupy her mind.

She easily fell into a rhythm of reading, chanting, and swirling her wand. It was a familiar habit that comforted her in a small way.

Hermione didn't emerge from the room again until Ginny peaked in to let her know dinner was ready. She closed the book, blinking away the fuzziness at the edge of her vision from looking at it for so long. Hermione set the text book down on Ginny's nightstand and tucked her wand back into her pocket before exiting the room and heading to the kitchen. She hadn't eaten lunch but still didn't feel like eating. There was no way Molly would let her skip two meal times in a day though.

Taking a deep breath she rounded the corner and quickly stole the seat on the end near the door. Harry was across from her with Ginny and Ron. George was to her right with Charlie on the other end. Arthur sat at the head of the table as usual with Molly seated on the opposite end next to Hermione. Percy was absent but that was no surprise. He typically worked late at the ministry, coming home only to sleep before leaving again.

After a series of nods around the table Molly looked satisfied and gave the okay to dig in. There was practically a feast laid out, no doubt to celebrate Charlie's homecoming. At the center were two large roast ducks. Potaoes, vegetables, breads, and various desserts nearly covered the table in front of her. As mouth watering as it all looked and smelled, her stomach turned at the sight of it all.

Most everyone was too preoccupied with filling their own plates to notice how little she took, except of course Molly. She frowned a bit as Hermione picked at a piece of bread and some pudding, not really eating much of it. She said nothing though, much to Hermione's relief.

About halfway through the meal George stood up and cleared his throat. Immediately the chatter died away and all eyes were on him.

"I would like to let you all know that I've decided to reopen Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." After a brief pause a series of whoops went around from the boys and Molly squealed with excitement. Hermione gasped and put her hand over her mouth to hide her shock.

"I think I can still get in on the back to school rush and plan to take this week to prepare and open on Monday morning. I know it's sudden but I can't sit around anymore. I need to do something, anything, or I'll drive myself mad." He looked over at Charlie as the older boy patted him on the back.

"Charlie here helped me see that I'm dishonoring Fred by dragging my feet. He's right, I should be preserving his memory by making sure McGonagall never forgets us," He ended with wink and a laugh aimed at Molly. She rolled her eyes in response but it was obvious she was overjoyed. It didn't matter what the reason was, he was going to try to enter society again and she'd support him however she could.

George sat back down and conversation resumed around the table, mostly consisting of light banter about which of the twins' products was the best.

"I was wondering if you would help me around the shop," George asked quietly, leaning in so only she could hear. "I need someone who won't get themselves hurt and I can't think of a better person for the job. You don't have to answer now, just promise me you'll think about it?"

Hermione scanned his face wondering what prompted him to ask her. She only saw sincerity. Surely Charlie had already volunteered to help and Ron and Ginny would jump at the chance. It was only Tuesday, he has plenty of time to change his mind she thought before nodding to him.

Satisfied, he rejoined the group conversation. The rest of the meal was relatively uneventful and slowly the family excused themselves one by one. Not wanting to seem eager to leave Hermione waited until Harry and Ginny left to excuse herself. They went towards the stairs and so she redirected towards the living room, not wanting to intrude.

The sun was starting to set and the sky was already dark due to the stormclouds. Taking a seat in an old armchair by the fireplace Hermione sat down, thinking of ways to politely turn down George's offer.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the lights came on with a muttered spell as Charlie came into the room. He stopped short seeing her in the chair.

"Oh, hello Hermione."

"Hello Charlie," She replied, shielding her eyes from the sudden brightness.

"I'm sorry, am I disturbing you? I didn't see you there in the dark."

"No, no, you're fine. I didn't realize how dark it had gotten until the lights came on. I should probably head to bed anyway," She said standing up and heading towards where he still stood just inside the doorway.

Just then the fireplace flashed green and they both turned to see Percy stepping out dusting himself off. He looked from one to the other standing next to each other with an odd look before tipping his hat to Hermione and passing by on his way to the kitchen.

It was then Hermione realized she had stepped in front of Charlie protectively when the fireplace flashed and she still had her hand in her pocket gripping her wand tightly. She relaxed herself, letting go of the breath she held, and turned to leave when his hand caught her arm.

"Hey are you okay?" He asked.

"Me? Yeah I'm fine, old habits from the war I guess, sorry about that," She shrugged and he released her.

"Look, I know we don't really know each other but if you ever want to talk..." he started.

"Thank you Charlie, you're very kind. I'm okay, just a bit tired. I'm going to try to get some sleep now. Goodnight." She said as she turned to leave again.

She entered Ginny's room to find the younger girl already sleeping soundly. She quickly put on her nightgown and laid down, praying sleep would come to her as well.

Instead she laid there in the darkness staring at the ceiling like so many nights before this one. Tonight her thoughts were on George and his offer. She had always loved the store, despite her disapproval of some of the products sold there. The fact that Fred and George had created it themselves amazed her. No small amount of skill in almost every aspect of magic was required to make the various candies, tricks, and protective items they sold. Many of their products were simply brilliant.

I could do without the love potions and boxing telescopes but I'd be lying to myself if I denied the usefulness of their bruise paste or ten second pimple remover she thought.

With Ron leaving for auror training, Ginny going back to Hogwarts and Fred gone George would be shorthanded she realized. Even with Charlie helping it would be a struggle. And then when he leaves for Romania again, who would be there? She sighed, finally seeing why he asked her for help.

It would be nice to practice my potions skills again she thought. I bet his stock is low after being closed for so long. Who could resist the opportunity to learn some of their production secrets?

With her decision made, her mind finally slowed down enough for her to drift off to sleep. For the first time since the war she was excited to see what tomorrow would bring.