Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.


With the shop light's switched off and everything locked up and tidy, Hermione walked out to the storeroom, intent on saying goodbye to George before she left for the day.

It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the shop would be closed until the second of January, so she had made certain everything was extra tidy before closing up. She opened the door to the storeroom and walked to the back, where George was most likely tinkering with his latest experiment. She was surprised to find that he had already tidied and was putting his journal into his briefcase. He turned to look at her when he heard her walking over to him.

'Ready for Christmas?' he asked with a grin. 'I heard Ron has decided to spend Christmas with the family of one of the Seekers on his team this year, so it's safe for you to come to The Burrow.'

'Your mother must be upset about that,' she said, leading the way out of the storeroom.

George nodded, switching off the light as they left through the back door. 'She sent him a howler while he was at practice earlier this week,' he replied. 'He's taken your argument a lot harder than any of us expected. I'm sorry.'

Hermione waved him off. 'It's alright,' she replied. 'Ron will come around in his own time. I am tired of having to treat him like he's made of spun glass.'

As the two of them walked alongside one another, they fell into silence. Hermione glanced over at him and saw that he had a frown marring his brow. She wondered what was wrong with him. Ever since her fight with Ron, George had gone back to being subdued around her, barely smiling any more and not laughing. She had gotten so used to his smiles and the slow return of his former cheerfulness that his regression was unnerving.

She reached her free hand up to her cheek without even realising it, brushing the spot where he had kissed it a little over a week before. She smiled a little, but dropped her hand immediately, not wanting to draw attention to herself. They reached the bank shortly after and deposited the money before heading straight to the Apparation point. She stood there, turning around to face George momentarily before Apparating.

'I'll see you on Christmas day then?' George asked, looking at the ground.

She felt her heart clench at the look on his face and, without thinking, reached out to him and touched his cheek with her hand, tilting his face up to look at her. He looked at her then, and she smiled at him. Grabbing his arm, she tugged him towards her and Apparated them both, reappearing in front of his flat. He looked at her in surprise then, and she merely smiled and shrugged, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.

His eyes widened in surprise before a smile curved his mouth. 'Want to stay for dinner?' he asked, gesturing at the door.

'Okay,' she said, surprised at her own daring and breathless from the smile he gifted her with.

George unlocked the door with a wave of his wand and led the way in, switching on the lights and dropping his briefcase on the coffee table in front of the armchairs by the fireplace. She followed him in, shrugging her robes off. He took her robes from her and hung it up with his own on the hooks by the door, gesturing for her to have a seat. She did, watching as he nervously bustled into the kitchen, retuning with two tall glasses of sparkling pumpkin juice.

'Thank you,' she said as he sat down on the lounge beside her.

'I don't really have anything planned for dinner,' he said, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly. 'There is a great Vietnamese takeaway place just around the corner from here. I can call and order something?'

Hermione grinned. 'You actually have a phone?' she asked, not sure why she was so amazed. He was the son of Arthur Weasley, after all.

George nodded enthusiastically. 'There are some things I really like about living in Muggle London,' he replied. 'So, takeaway?'

She nodded. 'I'm not a bit fussy,' she said with a chuckle.

She watched as George got up and disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes, listening to him as he made the phone call to the Vietnamese takeaway shop. He returned afterwards and sat down beside her.

'It'll be about twenty minutes,' he told her. 'I'll Apparate down there later and pick it up for us. I hope you don't mind, but I ordered all of my favourites.'

She nodded, excited. She always said she wasn't fussy, but she really did enjoy eating Asian cuisine. An awkward silence fell over the room. Hermione fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt, staring down at her hands. She knew that she had been bold in Apparating them both to his flat earlier, but now she was struck with a sudden shyness. She didn't know what she had been thinking, kissing him the way that she had and practically inviting herself over to his flat.

She glanced up from her hands for a moment to look at George and noticed that he was staring into the empty fireplace. She felt a chill run through her and shivered. Pulling her wand from her sleeve, she pointed it at the logs in the fireplace and whispered a quiet 'Incendio', sparking a flame in the grate. He looked over at her in surprise, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

'Sorry,' he mumbled. 'I didn't realise you were cold.'

She waved him off. 'It's fine,' she replied, standing and walking over to stand in front of the fire.

She looked around the room, surprised to find that there was a bookshelf in his sitting room along with an oriental rug on the floor, a lounge chair, two armchairs, and a coffee table. She had never been in his flat before, despite having known the address for quite a while. The photos sitting on the mantle over the fireplace drew her attention, a photo of Fred and George in particular, drawing her eye. She walked over to examine it closely, smiling when she saw how happy the two of them were, waving up at her and grinning.

Hermione was about to sit back down when something dark and shiny sitting beside the photo frame caught her eye. She reached up and grasped it, lifting it up to look at it closely. She gasped when she recognised what it was, putting it back on the mantle and spinning around to face George. She had a frown on her face, and she could see that he was embarrassed that she had found the stone. Her expression softened, and she moved to sit down beside him.

'George, what are you doing with the Resurrection Stone?' she asked, reaching over to place a hand on his knee. 'How on earth did you get it?'

'Harry gave it to me after the final battle,' he mumbled. 'I said I would get rid of it for him – he doesn't know that I still have it, so please don't be mad at him.'

'I'm not mad,' she said quietly. 'I'm just a little concerned for you. You know it's not healthy to use the stone. You know the story of the three brothers.'

He nodded solemnly. 'I know the story,' he whispered. 'I keep meaning to get rid of it, really. I just – it's the only way I can still talk to him.'

Hermione moved closer, her heart trying to crawl up her throat. She ignored it – George was hurting still in a very bad way, and she knew that she needed to comfort him rather than berate him. She put her arms around him in a tight hug, stroking his hair out of his face. She felt his body tremble slightly as sobs began to wrack his body. She felt tears begin to blur her own eyes. She was tired and emotional, but she had to hold it back. The last thing he needed was for her to beak down while he was in that state.

The sobs slowed after a little while before completely stopping, his sniffles and their breathing the only sounds in the room. He looked up after a while, his face flushed in embarrassment at his emotional display. She knew that he would be ashamed for crying in front of her, but she was not about to let him curl in on himself and close everyone else out.

'I'm sorry,' he said, looking down at his hands that were clenched in his lap. 'I don't normally fall to pieces like that. Fred keeps telling me that I spend too much time moping around the house.'

Hermione reached over and put her a hand on his clenched ones. 'Don't worry about it,' she said with a smile. 'There is nothing wrong with mourning those we love. I miss Fred too. Everyone in your family does, and that is perfectly fine.'

'You miss him too?' he said, looking up in surprise.

Hermione nodded, taking a deep breath to fortify herself. She couldn't believe it, but telling him how she truly felt might help him to understand. 'I miss him because he was a great person and a funny, loving guy,' she said softly. 'But mostly, I miss him because you have not been yourself ever since he was taken from us. You used to smile and laugh – I miss seeing your face light up in excitement. When you started to experiment and work on your products a few months ago, I saw you started to smile again, but over the last week or so, I've felt like you were slipping backwards.'

'I felt like things were improving too,' he agreed. 'But lately I've been feeling a little bit like moving on from mourning is like I'm forgetting him.'

'Being happy yourself doesn't mean that you've forgotten him,' Hermione said seriously. 'I sincerely doubt that Fred would want you to be miserable for the rest of your life. He'd want you to be happy.'

'I know that, logically,' he said, relaxing his hands and turning one of them over to hold her slender hand with his gently. 'Fred is right though. I'll never build any lasting relationships if I am blubbering all of the time.'

'I don't mind the blubbering,' she said with a teasing smile. 'Mind you, I wish you were happy – I like to see you smile.'

'I like it when you smile too,' he murmured quietly, his cheeks flushing as he looked up at her.

Hermione felt her stomach flip as they inched closer together inexplicably, his warm breath washing across her lips. She wanted the kiss that she knew was coming, but she knew that it would be wrong to take advantage of him while he was emotional. She put a hand on his chest before their lips met, retreating a short distance. His look of confusion hurt her, but she knew it was for the best. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and sat up straight, staring at the logs in the fire as they burned.

'I'm sorry,' he said softly. 'I thought you wanted… I'm sorry.'

'I do want you to kiss me,' she whispered softly, turning to face him. 'I want you to kiss you so badly that it hurts.'

He turned to look at her, his brow furrowed further in confusion. 'Then why did you stop me?' he asked.

'Because you're vulnerable,' she said in frustration. 'I can't take advantage of you when you're in this state. You're only reaching out to me because I'm here. I don't want you to kiss me just because I'm the only one around.'

'It's not just because you're the only one here,' he said, moving towards her again. 'I want you, Hermione. I've wanted you for months now.'

'You have?' she whispered, her breath hitching in her throat.

'Yes,' he murmured, leaning in close, his eyes closing as he lips hovered above hers.

Hermione felt her own eyes flutter closed. The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire and their harsh breathing as they moved closer. She nearly fell off the chair when she felt his soft lips touch hers. She was startled suddenly when his hands grasped her, pulling her towards him and wrapping her in his strong arms. His mouth opened slightly, followed by his tongue brushing over her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to him, allowing him to invade hers, entreating him to glide his tongue against her own. She moaned softly as the kiss intensified, her hand drifting up to his head, running her fingers gently through his soft red hair.

She pulled back suddenly, looking at his face, which was flushed, his lips glistening from their kisses.

'What's wrong?' he asked, confused, obviously wondering why she had stopped.

'We forgot about dinner!' she exclaimed with a small giggle.

He smiled at her, leaning in and stealing another quick kiss. 'I'll go and pick it up now,' he said, standing up and walking to the kitchen.

He returned to the sitting room with Muggle pounds in his hand. Apparently while he was there he had cast a charm to straighten his rumpled clothing and hair out also. She grinned and stood, walking over to join him at the front door as he retrieved his long winter jacket – after all, he couldn't be seen wearing his wizards robes at the takeaway store, and it was snowing outside. He gave her another gentle kiss before he Apparated away, leaving her alone in his flat. She walked into the kitchen then and decided to occupy herself with the task of setting the kitchen table with plates and cutlery.

As she looked around his cupboards for the items in question, her mind raced frantically over what had transpired so far that evening. He had kissed her – and not just a friendly peck on the lips – an honest to god, tongue-tangling kiss. So far, he hadn't touched her anywhere but her back, rubbing circles on her lower back as his tongue had danced with her own, but she felt flustered. She'd wanted him to touch her in more places than just that. She wanted his hands everywhere, and his lips and tongue too.

Before she could think on her desires for too much longer, a 'pop' of Apparation sounded in the other room. George walked into the kitchen soon after with a plastic bag filled with takeaway containers. He placed the containers on the table and removed all the lids so that they could help themselves to whatever foods they wanted. He pulled out a chair for her, seating her properly before taking the seat directly beside her.

'It smells great,' she announced, serving herself a little of everything.

'It's the best takeaway in the area,' he said, helping himself to a giant serving of food also. 'I hope you enjoy it.'

They ate in comfortable silence, glancing at each other every now and then. Hermione delighted in the way that his face would flush every time she caught him staring at her through the meal. Once they were finished, they put their used dishes in the sink, and George washed up while Hermione disposed of the empty takeaway containers and put the leftovers in his refrigerator. When they were finished tidying, they both retired to the living room, and George put another log on the fire, stoking it with the iron poker he had standing up beside it.

He sat down beside her, immediately putting an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close to him. She willingly snuggled against him, her head leaning against his shoulder as his free hand grasped one of hers. It was warm, and she began to feel sleepy from all of the food they had consumed and how comfortably soft the lounge was. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to doze, exhausted from all of the emotional excitement of the day.


Hermione woke up suddenly and found herself horizontal on the lounge, pressed up against the long, hard form of George who was asleep behind her. His strong arms held her tightly against him so that she was not at risk of falling off the lounge. It was fortunate that the lounge was wide enough to accommodate the two of them falling asleep on it. She could feel that a blanket was draped over the two of them, and she smiled, knowing that George must have willingly fallen asleep with her there. Why else would they be covered with a blanket without her shoes on?

She looked up to the mantle and could barely make out the time on the face of the clock sitting atop it. The orange glow of the fire that still burned was not quite a strong enough source of light. She squinted and saw that it was nearly five in the morning. She had been asleep for a few hours already. Wriggling out of his grasp, she tried to extract herself from him as carefully as she could. She desperately needed to use the loo, but she didn't want to wake him in the process. Quickly, she looked for the bathroom and found it, attended to her business with haste, and washed her hands before returning to the sitting room.

When she arrived back, George was sitting up and stretching. He looked over at her with a sleepy smile. '

'Sorry I woke you,' she said with a shy smile, walking back over to the lounge and sitting down beside him.

'That's okay,' he said, moving close to her. 'I shouldn't sleep out here anyway – I always wake up with a dreadfully sore back when I do.'

Before she had a chance to respond, his mouth descended onto hers in a kiss that sucked the breath out of her. She kissed him back, suckling his bottom lip for a moment before opening her mouth to let his begging tongue enter. The frenzied kiss continued, each only coming up for breath when absolutely necessary. His hands were everywhere – rubbing her back, massaging her hips, and working their way upwards until one of them finally caressed the underside of her breasts. She moaned her approval as he let that same hand glide beneath her shirt, working its way up to grasp her bra-clad breast.

His hand found the clasp between her breasts, plucking at it frantically until it came undone, and as the cups moved aside, his hand found her bare breast, his nimble fingers plucking at her nipple, which hardened even more under his ministrations. She moaned into his mouth, pressing her chest forward, encouraging him to touch her more. She broke the kiss a moment later, pulling back just enough to reach the buttons of her shirt. She frantically ripped at the buttons and tore off the shirt and bra at the same time, exposing her upper body to him fully.

The desire in his eyes told her that she'd made the right decision. Without breaking eye contact, she moved to undo the buttons of his waistcoat, followed by his shirt, which she pulled out of his trousers and pushed both layers to the floor. His chest was pale, but broad and strong, the muscles wiry. They rippled slightly as she touched his skin, amazed by how smooth and hairless he was compared to Ron, with only a light dusting of red hair around his nipples. He wasn't a body-builder, but he was trim and fit, and the she welcomed the sight, amazed that he was allowing her to see him.

'Let me finish undressing you,' he whispered a little hoarsely.

'Okay,' she answered, the huskiness in her voice a surprise to her.

He reached for the zipper at the side of the skirt she wore, drawing it down slowly. He urged her to stand, which she did willingly. Letting the skirt slide to the floor, he grasped the top of her winter tights and knickers, peeling both of them down her legs and tugging them off, tossing them to the pile of clothing building on the floor of his sitting room. She felt a little embarrassed as he drank in her naked form, but she needn't have if his dilated eyes were anything to go by. He stood up then and unzipped his own trousers, dropping them and his underwear in one go also.

Hermione admired his long, toned legs, following them all the way up to his groin, where his erection stood out proudly from the rest of him. It was of a reasonable size, she noted: long and thick with a pearly liquid glistening at the tip. He reached down with one of his hands and grasped it, giving it a quick stroke, all the while smirking at her. She smiled back at him, walking towards him and allowing him to wrap his arms around her. He kissed her hard, his erect cock pressing into her hip as he did so. She felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach followed by warmth in her own groin at the prospect of what was to come.

It had been a long time since Hermione had last slept with a man. It had been almost a year before, and the guy had been the Muggle twin of a witch she attended classes with. They'd met at a College party, and she'd gone home with him and they'd had messy, drunken sex. She saw the guy for a short while afterwards, but realised it wouldn't work out and had ended it.

This was different though. George was someone she cared about deeply – who knew, maybe she was even a little bit in love with him. This time it was going to matter. He wasn't just some guy she met at a party. Anything that happened between them was going to affect their relationship for the rest of their lives. She looked up into his eyes and saw that there was affection as well as desire in their deep brown depths. With the reassurance that he truly wanted her, she threw herself into another kiss.

A moment later she was startled when he hoisted her up into his arms, squealing loudly as she was forced to wrap her arms around his neck.

'Let's relocate to somewhere a little more comfortable, hmm?' he said, walking towards his bedroom.

He deposited her in the centre of his huge bed, scrambling onto it afterwards, his face looming over hers. She smiled, reaching up to stroke his brow and cheek, letting her fingers slide through his hair and down to where his ear had been sliced away. She felt him tense a little at that, so she moved to sit up slightly, and brought his head closer, tilting it and pressing her lips gently against the place where his ear had been. That seemed to relax him, so she released him once more and lay back against the pillows behind her.

'You are so beautiful,' he whispered reverently, his hand travelling down her body, stroking her breasts and hip before his fingers found her centre.

She moaned, arching her body upwards involuntarily as his long fingers wriggled into her, the moisture she had been seeping serving to lubricate her. She felt his thumb brush against her clit and had to hold back the urge to shriek her pleasure. He pumped his fingers in and out of her for a while, his mouth dropping down to her breasts to kiss and suckle her nipples as he played with her. She could feel herself winding up towards an orgasm, and was startled when he removed his fingers and mouth from his task suddenly.

'What are you doing?' she whispered, opening her eyes and gazing up at him.

'This,' he replied, lining his erection up with her sex and slowly beginning to press himself within her.

The exquisite fullness she felt was unmatched by any sexual experience she'd ever had before. He held himself still within her for a second, allowing her to accommodate his girth. She urged him to move with a gentle wriggle of her hips, to which he responded by withdrawing nearly all the way out before plunging back in – hard. Her hips bucked at the suddenness, but she enjoyed it all the same.

'Fuck,' he gasped as her muscles clenched around him slightly.

'I'm so close,' Hermione admitted, ashamed at how little stimulation she required to find her completion.

He smiled, leaning down and kissing her tenderly, even as he began to move within her again. 'Then come for me, Hermione,' he whispered against her lips.

At his words, her whole body tightened before a strong orgasm washed over her, tightening the muscles of her sex around his cock, even as he continued to move within her. She heard his laboured breathing even though her body was still quaking and trembling, and felt him pick up his pace, slamming into her repeatedly. After a few more hard thrusts, she felt his body stiffen and relished the sound of his moan as he came. She could feel the warm liquid that his cock spewed forth and the throbbing of his member as her still-clenching muscles milked it.

After a couple of minutes, he withdrew, collapsing beside her in a tired, messy heap. Hermione smile at him before casting a cleansing charm wandlessly on the two of them. She felt George snuggle up to her, spooning against her on the bed as the covers magically wriggled out from beneath them and covered them both fully.

'Thank you,' he whispered, nuzzling the back of her neck.

'No, thank you,' she replied, wriggling herself against him to find a comfortable position.

She heard his breathing even out soon after and knew he had fallen asleep. Closing her eyes, Hermione allowed herself to fall back into slumber, a smile curving her lips.


George nervously stood in Hermione's flat, pacing back and forth in front of her fireplace as he waited for her to finish getting ready.

They were expected at The Burrow at midday for Christmas lunch, but they had unfortunately become distracted after waking up that morning, and were running late as a result. He breathed out in relief as she rushed out of her room into the sitting room, trying to fasten a silver chain around her neck. He walked over to her and took the necklace from her, urging her to turn around so he could help her to put it on.

'There,' he announced as she spun around to face him again. 'Now you look perfect.'

She reached up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. 'I feel a bit frumpy,' she said with a grimace, tugging at the bottom of her teal-coloured knit sweater.

He held her at arms length and took in the sweater, in combination with the black winter tights she was wearing beneath her cream-coloured skirt that fell just above her knees. She looked sweet – just like his Hermione. He pulled her back and tilted her chin up, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

'Beautiful,' he said with a smile.

She blushed, but didn't argue with him that time. 'All right, let's go or we'll be extremely late,' she said with a soft sigh.

George put his arms around her and, after they made sure that the place was secure, Apparated them to The Burrow with a loud 'crack'.


The end.