Okay, I was on the computer for like three hours straight writing this, and... doing other stuff. Like waiting for my Vampire Diaries download to complete. Just for the record, does anyone else watch that? Or rather, who else thinks that Damon is the sexiest vampire ever?

Anyyyyway, chapter 3! Enjoy. R&R.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. No recognizable characters, settings and general plotlines belong to me.


"So let me get this straight," Ginny said, pulling a brush through her long, red hair. "The first time you tried to propose, Ron came in for food. The second time, Fred and Ron played a prank on Bill and Charlie."

"Yeah," George said.

"Ron took part in the prank-playing?"

"Yes," he said impatiently.

"Sorry," Ginny apologised. "Just making sure. Do Bill and Charlie know he was involved?"

"Doubt it. Why?"

"No, no…" she said, waving her hand to cut him off. He thought this was a rather odd answer to his question and he opened his mouth to say so, but she cut him off… again. "Have you noticed that in both of your failed proposals, there was a common factor?"

George thought back. On Sunday, Ron had stumbled in looking for milk. On Tuesday, a prank had been pulled by Fred and… Ron. He ground his teeth together.

"Yes, Ron," his sister confirmed.

"What are you saying?" George asked, blinking at her confusedly.

"We need to get Ron out of the house while you propose," she told him matter-of-factly.

"Wait, why do I need to propose in the house?"

"Mum's got us on lockdown," she reminded him. "There's two days until Percy and Audrey return from the honeymoon and she knows we'll try to escape. I tried Apparating out, I couldn't."

"Are you sure you can Apparate properly?" he asked her dubiously. She shot him a glower through her fringe.

"Anyway, what's the plan?" she asked him, pinning one side of her hair back with a black clip that had a flower on the end.

"Erm – kidnap Ron, tie him up and stuff him in a cupboard?" George suggested. The idea was vetoed immediately.

"Gag him and shove him under a bed?" This, too, was met with disdain.

"Use a Canary Cream on him and put a Body-Bind on him while in canary form and then stuff him under the bed?" George offered with an edge of desperation. Ginny glared at him.

"Why do all your plans involve ropes or gags or other forms of immobilisation?"

"Well, what do you suggest?" he scoffed, slightly rattled by the easy dismissal of his plans.

"I was thinking of sending Ron for an early morning swim. You could maybe take Hermione up to the roof and propose at dawn?"

"Wow," was all George could say. "You're brilliant, Gin!"

"Always the tone of surprise," she said wryly. He smiled at her quotation of Hermione. She shook her head, standing up and placing her hairbrush in a basket on her vanity. "Honestly, George. I knew you didn't have a romantic bone in your body, but that was a teensy bit pathetic." She grinned at him so that he wouldn't be offended, and flounced out of the room, leaving a trail of some flowery perfume in her wake.


"Hermione!" she heard a voice calling. Her head whipped around automatically – just in time to get hit by a ball of mud.

"Thanks, Fred," she said dryly, wiping sludge out of her eyes.

He bowed gallantly. "My pleasure." While he was bowing, Hermione sneakily scooped up a handful of the disgusting greyish slop by the side of the pond.

"Fred," she said quietly. He looked up unsuspectingly, and promptly received a mouthful of Merlin-knows-what. Laughing, she stood, brushing the grass off her jeans. "Oh, poor, naïve Fred. You underestimate me at your peril." She sauntered off, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. As she strutted back to the house, Fred stared after her in disbelief.

First off, no one pranked the prankster.

And second, George had given him a job. And he was failing!

Time for drastic action.

He lunged at Hermione, knocking her to the ground, but making sure to cushion her head with his forearm. George would kill him if she got hurt – or concussed. Grabbing up a handful of mud, he smeared it all over her face before standing up with a triumphant grin.

Hermione lay on the ground, eyes wide with shock and anger and horror. But as the reality slowly dawned on her, her eyes narrowed to slits and she sat up slowly, rather like something out of a horror movie. The mud helped a bit with the latter, of course.

Fred's grin slid off his face like Hippogriff shit.

And what had started as an innocent little distraction turned into a free-for-all mud war. Free for all because Bill, Charlie and Percy all ended up joining in after getting hit by stray mudballs. Bill got clocked on the shoulder by Hermione's hand and Charlie was nailed straight in the groin by an excellently aimed shot from Fred. Percy, however, was hit by no less than four splats of mud as he attempted to sidle past the mud fight unobtrusively.

As George and Ginny heard the shrieks and splats as they constructed a bench on the roof, they grinned at each other conspiratorially. Everything was going to plan so far – George had relied on both Hermione's instinctive hate of losing and the fact that he knew Fred would help him out no matter what when he'd formed his plan.

Stepping back to survey his handiwork, he gazed with a critical eye at the bench. "It needs something," he mused with narrowed eyes. Ginny gave him a questioning look. He circled the bench thoughtfully, trying to pinpoint what was irking him.

Waving his wand, he erected a twisting arch of black metal over the top, charming vines to snake around it. The bench attached itself with hinges to the top of the arch and George admired the newly-created swing. He cast a Concealment over the whole lot so that his mother wouldn't see, and he and Ginny climbed down from the roof, the latter looking quite stunned at George's artistic ability.

"Didn't know you had it in you, George," she said wonderingly. She thumped his back in congratulations and he groaned at the blow, stumbling forward a pace.

"I had to get stuck with a headstrong, bullying, pushy younger sister, didn't I?" he asked rhetorically. "I'd been looking forward to kicking the arse of any guy who touched you, but no, you had to grow up all tough."

"You and Fred are the people responsible for that," she reminded him. "I had so many pranks played on me that I toughened up."

George thought about it. "Fair point," he conceded after a few seconds. He stuffed his wand in his back pocket and headed into the kitchen, munching on a piece of pie as he watched what was going on in the back garden.

As Charlie scooped up a handful of mud, he didn't notice the brown globule heading straight for his arse. Fred's missile hit him with a thwack and Charlie stumbled forward, almost face-planting in the mud. A few feet away, the exact same thing happened to Bill from Percy's side. Hermione was at the side, scooping up what looked like a monster mudball. She set it to the side as she finished with it, immediately putting together another one. George cocked his head to the side, wondering what her plan was.

Fred and Percy bent over the side of the pond, gathering up handfuls of sludge. George winced at the vulnerable position; they were bending over double, their arses in the air. And it seemed that Charlie and Bill had the same idea, as they crept up behind the duo with uncannily similar wicked expressions.

"Aim – and – fire," he heard Charlie call. Fred and Percy started to turn, but they were too late. Bill and Charlie took aim and a second later, with a few splats and yells, Fred and Percy tumbled headfirst into the lake.

With large grins, the two eldest Weasley sons high-fived and congratulated themselves before noticing that Fred and Percy were still struggling to stay afloat in the pond. They bent over the edge of the lake, careful not to get themselves wet – and then George noticed his girlfriend creeping closer with her handfuls of mud.

Laughing out loud as he figured out her plan, he and Ginny watched Hermione's master plan unfold before them. His pie lay forgotten on the counter. He was so engrossed in watching Hermione that he didn't even perceive Ginny edging a hand under his torso to extricate the pie.

Taking careful aim, Hermione drew back her right hand, taking aim at Bill's arse. It hit him head-on, sending him plunging into the pond. Within seconds, Charlie met the same fate, letting out a yell as he nosedived fantastically.

Hermione dusted off her hands smugly, watching the four boys thrash around in the water. Retreating to her favourite tree, she sat herself comfortably in its lowermost branch just as Harry and Ron appeared from the woods, brooms over their shoulders. Slowly, their eyes slid from Hermione to the pond, and back again. He almost heard a click as they made the connection, before a series of hysterical hyena laughs echoed in his direction. Frowning, he squinted at them. Yes, the laughter did indeed seem to be emanating from his youngest brother and his best friend, but –

"You – " Harry gasped, pausing to cackle for a while before continuing his sentence, "You just got outpranked by the Gryffindor Princess!" he gasped, clutching his side. Ron simply rolled around on the grass, rendered speechless by his laughter.

"Are you going to cackle all day or help us out?" Fred called desperately. Harry and Ron looked to their best friend. She shook her head with a toothy grin and his heart fluttered just seeing her smile.

"Sorry, mate," Harry said apologetically, still laughing as he helped Ron off the grass. "Hermione's hexes are a force to be reckoned with."

Laughing at the scene, George tore his eyes from the garden, fingers searching for his pie.

The countertop was empty. He whirled around, eyes narrowed in suspicion, to find Ginny with a bit of blueberry on her bottom lip. "Oops?" She offered with an ingratiating smile.

He snorted, cuffing her lightly on the head as he passed. It was time to corner Ron and activate the next part of Plan C.

"Ron, mate," he called as Ron ascended the stairs. The redhead turned around questioningly before descending a few steps.

"Yeah?" Ron asked, wiping sweat off his forehead. Ron had always been the sweatball of the family; he sweated even on brisk days like this. It probably didn't help that he'd been playing Quidditch.

"Heard that tonight's going to be a warm one. Fred said to ask if you fancied calling Luna over here for a midnight swim."

"What about you?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"I have stuff to do for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes," George lied smoothly, "and Hermione has some report to do for work."

"Well – yeah, sure. I'll check with Luna," Ron said uncertainly, his hand already drifting to his pocket, which George knew held the old DA Galleon that he used to communicate with his long-term girlfriend.

"She says she'll be here," Ron said after a moment of silence. "And she's staying two nights, her dad's gone to Prague in search of a Kippelby Spinker, whatever that is. So I guess she's rooming with Ginny and 'Mione?"

"Yeah. Check with mum, though," George said, trying to hide the elation in his voice. His plan had worked perfectly. Now all that was left was to set a Warming Charm on the pond at midnight.

"I will. Is that all?" Ron asked, his leg almost twitching to be away and in the shower.

"That's it," George confirmed. "Go shower, you stink." Ignoring Ron's glower, he spun on his heel and strode out the kitchen door with a most definite spring in his step.

Crossing to the tree where Hermione sat, he noticed with no small amount of amusement that his four brothers were still stuck in the pool. He had a strange, nagging suspicion that Hermione had something to do with their predicament – and sure enough, when he reached her, he found her surreptitiously twiddling her wand, concealing it under the branch.

"I am such a good influence," he bragged as he came up beside her. She looked at him with mirth shining in her eyes and he felt his heart grow two sizes, like – what was that movie Hermione had shown him? – the Grinch! The Grinch who stole Christmas.

"And why, pray, are you a good influence?" she asked with a smile. He couldn't stop the monster grin from erupting all over his face. He never could restrain it, especially when she was flirting.

"You're keeping my brothers in the lake. The old Hermione Wea-Granger could never do that," he said, stumbling slightly over her name. His insomnia had been so suffocating the past few nights that he'd taken to repeating 'Hermione Weasley' over and over until he fell asleep.

"Well…" she said thoughtfully. "Do you prefer the old Hermione Granger or the new one?"

His smile was predatory. "Oh, definitely the new one. The old one wouldn't rip her shirt off and dive into the pond, would she?"

A bright blush crept over her cheeks and she avoided his eyes until he trapped her face, letting her see the deep appreciation in his eyes. She cleared her throat and jerked her face out of his hands, almost losing her balance and falling off the branch, but George's strong hands ensnared her before she could fall.

And then she was there, so close that George couldn't help himself. He tugged her closer and slanted his lips over hers, feeling his heart grow another two sizes when she pressed herself nearer and moaned in the back of her throat. His capable hands gripped her waist as he kissed down her neck, and -

"Oi! Not in public!" Fred called. George turned to see him shaking the water off his body like a wet dog – evidently, Hermione had been so distracted that she'd dropped the spell.

Blushing even more, Hermione pulled away. George stroked her red cheeks, cooling them with his touch.

"You got us this time, Granger," Charlie began as he wrung out his shirt.

"But we'll get you better next time!" Fred and Bill warned. Hermione lifted an eyebrow in question.

"Isn't it usually only George and Fred who do the finishing-sentences act?" she asked them.

"Our bond is more considerable than you think, Ms Granger," Bill informed her loftily.

"Right, so you three didn't spend all that time in the lake practicing that little scene?" she said sceptically.

"… no?" Charlie offered. She snorted.

"I do have ears, you know."

Three faces slumped into sulks. Percy simply wrung out his shirt and trudged off upstairs with his nose in the air. George shook his head. When the rest of his family was so fun-loving and carefree, how did Percy end up like that?

"Someone had to," Hermione said from his side. He looked at her questioningly. "I knew what you were thinking when you watched Percy go upstairs," she explained. "I know you well enough for that. And… I think the reason is that someone had to. There was an imbalance, you know? Someone serious was needed to balance out all the fun."

He nodded, accepting her explanation and watched his twin and two older brothers bang through the kitchen door. They left muddy footprints on the porch and he sincerely hoped that they'd remember to clean it up before mum came home, or they would all be in deep shit.

"It's getting late, want to head inside?" he asked her, suddenly noticing the dark sky. She nodded her acquiesce, slipping off the branch and into his arms. He kissed her softly, enjoying her scent and her rose-petal lips, before pulling her into the crook of his arm and setting off back to the house.

"Toilet," she told him before ascending the stairs. He motioned for her to go ahead and entered the living room, where he flopped down on a sofa. Not thirty seconds later, however, she reappeared, scowling. "Your brothers are all waiting in line for the bathroom," she informed him, seating herself beside him.

"Who's in there?"

"Percy, I think," she said.

"Oh Merlin," George groaned. "Percy takes the longest. He sings in the shower, stands under the spray for ten minutes at a time, soaps himself three times over…"

"How the hell do you know?" Hermione asked teasingly.

George rolled his eyes. "So we spied on him once. His bits were covered by the shower handle, don't worry."

"Why on earth would you spy on your brother in the shower?" she said incredulously.

"I gave you a reason as to why you won't get inside the look for the next two hours," George said sternly. "Show some gratitude."

"Surely Percy won't take two hours?" she asked, horrified.

"No, but there's still the rest of them," he reminded her. She sagged back into the cushions, casting a charm on herself.

"What did you do?"

"Cast a charm to prevent my bladder from exploding," she said absently, her wand still tracing patterns in the air. A plate of food appeared before her with two forks in it. They eagerly dug into the food.

Now, George thought as he spooned up some peas, All I have to do is wait.


One in the morning arrived soon enough and Luna in tow. She, Ron, Fred and Charlie dressed in their swimsuits and could soon be heard splashing around in the pond. George had cast the warming charm earlier that night and the splashes soon quieted to the occasional splash and quiet conversation.

Hermione fell asleep on his shoulder, and he let her. He himself was too ramped up with nerves to fall asleep, but he wanted her to be awake for the sunrise.

At four am, right on cue, Ginny appeared from her room and her voice could be heard telling the swimmers of a pool in the woods. Muttered warming charms came from all around and the sound of their voices faded away.

It was time.

He stroked Hermione's cheek gently, whispering, "Wake up, love." She stirred, a curl falling into her eyes. He brushed it away and pulled her to her feet, cradling her in his arms.

"What – what's the time?" she asked blearily.

"Four in the morning," he answered softly. She came to a halt, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"What – why?"

"There's something I want to show you," he explained, tugging her along behind him. He cast a joint Levitating charm on himself and Hermione and raised them up to his bench. He removed the Concealment charm and revelled in Hermione's gasp of delight.

"George! Did you make this?" she breathed, agape.

"Myself and Ginny, yes," he said, seating her on it and plopping down beside her with a flourish.

"It's lovely," she said admiringly, shielding her eyes as the first rays of the sun shot over the horizon. "Oh," she breathed, taking in the sight with wide eyes. She curled up at his side, pressing kisses to his cheek and neck.

"Hermione," he said abruptly as he heard familiar voices drawing closer. She looked at him askance and he winced, softening his tone.

"Hermione, I've tried to do this twice already, and I'm hoping that the third time's the charm." He got down on one knee, his heart thumping wildly. "Hermione Granger, I promise to love you for every day of my life. Will you –"

With a hideous crashing and roaring, a fantastic explosion shook the house below him, accompanied by the yells of Fred. George and Hermione were flung off the roof by the blast but he cast a Cushioning charm in time and they landed softly. Hermione ran into the house immediately to assess the damage and George remained outside, tears welling in his eyes from the strength of his frustration. He yelled, a scream of frustration and anger, but only one person heard.

Ginny appeared in the Burrow's doorway, a concerned expression etched on her face.

"What. The. Fu –"

She cut him off, running down the steps. "I tried to stop him, I really did!" she cried anxiously, pleading. "Luna started to feel cold and Ron went into protective mode and it was no fun without them – and then I saw the fireworks and I tried to stop Bill and Charlie, but they were taking revenge for the prank last week and – " she rambled on until George clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Ginny, stop." He ran his hand through his hair in exasperation, mussing it up thoroughly. He could hear Hermione's incantations and Bill and Charlie's sheepish apologies through the open window, and even caught Fleur's silvery, sleepy voice asking what was going on.

"I'll – I'll plan again," he said thickly through the lump in his throat. She patted his shoulder, squeezing his hand once before ambling back to the house.

Sighing, he stared up at the window. Would he ever get a chance to propose without any interruptions? Through the glass, he caught the end of a bushy brown ringlet, and he resolved to himself that by the time Hermione's birthday rolled around, he absolutely would secure her hand.