Sorry it took FOREVER to update, everyone! I'm a bad person! I just got terrible writers block. I couldn't think of anything! Plus, I had to read Deathly Hallows. Then I had to throw Deathly Hallows across the room in a fit of rage. Then I had to decide that I really did like Deathly Hallows, even though J.K. Rowling is a sadistic, murderous pooface. But she's still pretty awesome. Thank you all for reading my story! I feel loved!

To my lovely reviewers: Katherine-the-Crowned, The Forgotten Alchemist, Akira-sama, Flipflopper333, Lovebuggy, last-blue mage, Krazie.Glue., DMG5440- you are all my heroes! Hope you like this chapter!

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George stared in panic as his brother ran down the hall. How could he? Fred knew that he was terrible around girls; as cool as he was most of the time, he couldn't help stuttering and blushing when talking to a pretty girl. It was like his Achilles' heel or something.

Obviously, he couldn't just stand there hoping Fred would come back. He would have to talk to Liz.

"So, er, I guess we can, um . . ." George was at a loss for words. He had no idea where to take her next. He thought she was probably bored with looking at the classroom doors. Not to mention that his inability to speak would make things rather awkward. He thought longingly of his favorite spot in the castle. Why couldn't he just—

Wait a moment. Why couldn't he?

"Would you like to sneak into the kitchens and grab some food?" George asked.

"That sounds perfect." Liz smiled. She hadn't had anything to eat since a small bag of pretzels that morning on the plane. George turned and headed down to the painting of the fruit. They entered the kitchen quietly. Liz smiled as the house elves crowded around them with platters of delectable-looking food. Her grin widened as a small squeak sounded over the heads of the other house elves.

"Mr. George, sir! So glad to see you again!"

"Hey, Dobby, how's it going?" George smiled. Harry Potter was not the only one who had made friends with Dobby. "This is Liz Dashwood. She's going to Hogwarts next year. She'll be in Harry's year." Dobby's eyes widened at the mention of his hero.

"Oh, miss! You will get to meet Harry Potter! You are lucky, you are! Harry Potter is the greatest and most noble--"

George cut Dobby off. "Yeah, yeah, we know, Harry's brilliant. Hey, could you maybe bring us some pie? What kind of pie do you like, Liz?"

"Umm, how about chocolate cream?" Liz smiled as three house elves instantly brought her and George plates of chocolate cream pie, along with two tall glasses of milk. "Nice service!"

"Here, you want to sit down?" George asked as he led Liz over to a couch in front of the fireplace. "You'd think they wanted kids to sneak into the kitchens, wouldn't you? Putting a couch here and all." Liz laughed.

"I guess so. The house-elves don't seem to mind." She finished a large bite of pie before continuing. "Hogwarts seems like a really great place."

"Yeah, it really is. I love it, anyway. I'm a bit sad that next year's my last."

"What do you think you'll do after school?"

"I dunno." George said truthfully. "Fred and I have been thinking about starting a business. A joke shop, actually. But my mum wouldn't be too thrilled with that, she wants us to go into the Ministry."

"I think a joke shop would be great. You should do it!" Liz said. "At least you have an idea what you want to do. I have absolutely no clue."

"You'll figure it out, don't worry. What do your parents do? I have always thought the first step was eliminating the family business, myself."

"Actually, my parents are dead." Liz said quietly. At the horrified and embarrassed look on George's face, she quickly added, "Don't worry about it. I'm not offended or anything. It happened a long time ago. I don't even remember them, to be honest."

"I'm so sorry." George finally stuttered. "What ha—do you mind me asking what happened?"

"No, it's fine. They were on vacation here in London a few months after I was born. They were actually coming to visit Hogwarts. They wanted me to come here, see. They got in the way of a group of Death Eaters attacking some Muggles, and they were killed." Despite her previous protests, Liz's voice broke slightly at the end of her story. George looked shocked.

"Liz, that's awful. I'm so sorry."

Liz regained her composure and continued. "Honestly, it's not a big deal. Stuff like that happens, you know? I--"

George suddenly threw his hand over Liz's mouth. Liz quickly saw why. The kitchen entrance had opened quite violently and two people had walked in. Silently, Liz tapped George and herself on the head, casting a Disillusionment Charm over both of them. They now blended in perfectly with the couch. However, their cover was almost blown when they saw who had burst in and why.

Hermione Granger had entered the room, followed closely by Viktor Krum. Krum looked confused as Hermione pulled him forcefully into the room.

"Vhat are ve doing here, Hermy-own-ninny?"

But his question was quickly answered as Hermione pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss. George and Liz held back laughter with extreme difficulty. George had to bite his fist to prevent an outburst.

They had to wait for about five minutes, until Hermione said breathlessly, "I have to get to class now. I'll see you later, okay?"

"O- okay." Krum stuttered. They kissed one more time before leaving the room.

As soon as the painting closed again, George and Liz burst out in uncontrollable hysterics. George was literally in tears.

"This—would—be so—much—funnier—if you knew—Hermione." George gasped between fits of laughter.

As soon as he could breathe again, George turned to Liz, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Well, what would you like to do next?"