George apparated in the middle of Diagon Alley, in the mist of last minute holiday shoppers. He quickly began maneuvering through them to reach his destination.
The whole alley was crowded with people, but George went as fast as he could; so fast, in fact, that he seemed to have missed his shop.
"George, I didn't know you owned Gringrotts?" Lupin laughed, taking a seat next to George, who was catching his breath at the top step of Gringrotts.
"I don't believe it! I ran right past it!" George said in disbelief.
"Are you sure you ran past it?" Lupin asked.
"Well, my wicked speed is the only explanation. How could I have missed it?! The place is so bright and colorful; it sticks out like a sore thumb!"
George walked slowly, to the exact spot where his shop should have been. Now he understood why he hadn't noticed it.
"This is it." George said quietly, staring at his shop in disbelief. "This is my shop."
But could he even call it his shop anymore? Instead of the bright purple bricks used to make up Weasley's Wizard Weasleys', it was a bunch of dirty brown bricks slapped together. The sign was tilted, and some of the letters had fallen out. It said Wzrd Wath Israce, whatever that meant. The grimy windows were not filled with cool gadgets and gizmos, but instead, a look inside to a bunch of desks and books.
"It was a bit more...lively, last time I saw it, wasn't it?" Lupin said lightly.
"This isn't my shop! But this is where it's supposed to be." George said, and opened the door, which creaked loudly as he entered.
There was boring wooden floorboard and plain walls, with desks and chairs scattered across the room, each having a dimly lit lamp set upon it. There was a counter at the end, with large books stacked behind it, and a girl sorting through them.
"Excuse me." George said politely, and the girl turned around to face him.
"Welcome to Wizard Watch, the safest place to invest your insurance!" The young women said with a forced smile.
She wore frumpy clothes, a long skirt and a dull colored sweater draped over her shoulders. Her hair was unkempt and bushy. George's mind was filled with questions on why his joke shop was now his insurance agency, but he quickly forgot about those questions as he recognized the girl behind the counter.
"Hermione?" George sputtered.
Hermione stared at him for a moment. "Fred? Fred Weasley?"
George looked at her in surprise. "No, I'm George." She stared blankly at him. "George Weasley...Fred's twin brother..."
"Fred Weasley doesn't have a twin brother." She said confidently.
"Yes he does; me!" George said. "Remus, help me out here!" He said, looking towards his friend.
"Who are you talking to?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"Remus Lupin, he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during your third year at Hogwarts." George said, like she was the crazy one.
"How did you know Professor Lupin was at Hogwarts during my third year?" Hermione asked, getting nervous. "Listen, sir, I think you've gone a bit mad. There's no one here but you and I, so unless you would like to invest in some insurance, I suggest you leave."
George looked to Lupin for backup, but he simply said, "Oh, did I forget to mention you are the only one able to see me?"
George glared at Lupin before saying angrily to Hermione, "I'm not here to invest insurance! I need some answers!"
Hermione recoiled in terror. "I don't know what you're talking about! And if you don't leave, I'll have to call my fiancée to throw you out! He's in the storage room, and I don't think you want to get in a tiff with him."
"Yeah, like Ron would throw out his own brother." George smirked.
"Ron Weasley?" She asked in an offhand voice.
"Yeah, how many other Rons do we know?" He said impatiently.
"You think Ron and I are engaged?"
"Well, I didn't know much about engaged, but together, yes." George said.
"Ron and I have never been together." She said quietly.
"What are you talking about?! You've been dating for four years!" George scoffed. "You've liked each other since first year!"
"I don't know what potion you've been drinking, sir, but it sure hasn't done you well. Yes, I'll admit I did have feelings for Ron Weasley in the past, but he was too shy about his feelings."
"Ron? Shy?" George sneered.
"Yes, Ron!" She spat. "Well, maybe shy isn't the right word. How do I explain it? I couldn't deal with his lack of confidence? I couldn't deal with his mixed signals? He never gave me any signs that gave notion that he liked me! He was so...hesitant to act on everything, so when a nice guy came around who treated me right and made me feel like I was worth something, I went for it." She sighed, and George could sense some unresolved feelings, considering she was pouring her heart out to someone she thought was a stranger.
"Well, you're still coming to the Burrow later tonight, aren't you?" George asked, not knowing how to respond to Hermione's softened attitude. "It's Christmas Eve!"
Hermione looked at him skeptically. "No, I will be attending Christmas Eve with my fiancée's family." She said with a glare, and sighed, and said in a kinder voice, "Besides, after Cormac and I started dating, Ron and I got in a massive fight, so I don't talk to Ron anymore, or any of the Weasleys. It's a shame that Harry has to hang out with Ron and me separately."
"You're marrying Cormac McGlaggen?!" George yelped.
"Yes, is there a problem with that, mister?" Hermione said with a suspicious glare.
"Yes, there is, actually!" George bellowed. "If anyone, you should be marrying Ron!"
"Actually, why should I even put your opinion into account?! You're mad! Like I said before, unless you want to buy insurance, I advise you to get out of the store!"
"I'm not here to buy insurance; I'm here to tell you what's gone damn wrong with your life!" He spat.
Hermione's eyes began to water. "Get out." She said shakily, pointing a wavering hand to the door. "Out!"
"No! What's happened to you, Hermione?!" George said, and Hermione came around from behind the counter and started to forcefully push him out. "Why are you not working in the Department of Magical Creatures for the equality of house elves?!"
"This is Cormac's insurance agency, and he said it would be a family thing, so he advised I come work here." She said through gritted teeth, trying to push him, but he was much too strong.
"But you loved your job!"
"Yes, but I love Cormac more!" She responded.
"No you don't!" He roared. "You love Ron! I know you still love Ron!"
"Stop, please, stop! Get out!" Hermione began to sob, grabbing his arms, which were trying to bracingly lie on Hermione's shoulders and talk sense into her.
"Why are you with an asshole like McLaggen?! He doesn't love you like Ron does!" George screamed.
"Cormac!" Hermione cried. "Cormac!"
George heard thundering steps, and then Cormac McGlaggen was at Hermione's side. Hermione wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest, while he put one arm around her comfortingly while holding his wand at George menacingly with the other.
"Weasley! Didn't I tell you years ago to stay away from Hermione?" He bellowed.
"It's not Ron, Cormac!" Hermione bawled. "I don't know who he is, but he's mad! Get the Aurors, get Saint Mungo's, or at least get him out of here!"
George scrambled out of the shop before Cormac could do anything. He didn't stop before he hid behind a shop in Knockturn Alley.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Although sometimes the teasing you and Fred did to Ron was nasty, it did build character. Without you, Fred took more after Percy, and kept most of his funny jokes and crude comments to himself, so he didn't do much teasing to Ron." Lupin explained. "You would think the lack of teasing would boost his confidence, but in fact, it did quite the opposite. The teasing gave Ron reason to prove himself. Hermione was thing Ron was proud of. She wasn't easily swooned by Harry's fancy titles, or you and Fred being funny and popular. She liked Ron for Ron, and made him feel happy and secure. But if Ron had never been teased, he had never felt he was a worthless Weasley, so he didn't need to prove himself. He wasn't determined, he was fine with who he was. So he never showed his emotions to Hermione, so she was never sure if he liked her back, so she never kissed him. It wasn't until after the war, when Cormac made it known that he had feelings for Hermione, that Ron made his feelings for Hermione known, but it was too late."
"That...that's stupid!" George yelled in disbelief. "You're telling me that Ron and Hermione wouldn't be together if I wasn't born?!"
"Together, you and Fred helped make Ron who he was. He got his humor from you. He got his moves for girls after watching you two charm countless witches. He got his confidence from the need to prove you and Fred wrong. But without you, Fred wasn't who he was, so Ron never became who he is." Lupin said.
"And the shop?! Why is it a stupid insurance store?! Weasley's Wizard Wheezes has been me and Fred's dream since we were seven!"
"Like I said, without you, Fred was never who he was. Fred Weasley never had the desire to open a joke shop. But why its insurance agency is beyond me." Lupin said.
"Then who is Fred?! And who is Ron?! I need to see them!" George said, grabbing Lupin by the collar.
"Then I guess we should head over to the Ministry of Magic." Lupin said easily.
Author's note: Does it make sense why Ron and Hermione aren't together? It's because he's a different person. In my head it makes sense, but I just want to make sure everyone's clear. And why did I choose an insurance angency in place of the shop? Honestly, because it sounded boring, which is the opposite of a joke shop.
