Hermione woke up the next morning to the pitter patter of rain on the roof and to a pair of electric blue eyes. George showed no sign of emotion as she stared back.

"You talk in your sleep." He said.

Hermione felt herself blush. She's always hated her habit, but no one has ever commented or known about it.

She felt like face palming herself. "What did I say?" She asked nervously.

"Nothing much. Just that you're madly in love with me." Hermione choked at his words and bluntness.

He impassively watched her speechlessness for a moment. "I was only joking, Hermione."

She felt herself sigh in relief. There's no way that could have ever happened anyway. But what did she say then?

A thought crossed her mind before she asked him though. "George Weasley?"

"Hm?"

"You made a joke." George's face was unreadable as he processed her words. But she could feel his arms tighten from where they were around her waist.

She smiled wanly at him before dragging him down to breakfast.

Hermione was ready for a very awkward breakfast with Ron and George.

Some glaring. Maybe even some yelling. But she didn't expect this from Ron at all.

"George, I'm sorry about what I said at the lake. I was angry and said some things that I didn't mean and I hope you'll forgive me."

George nodded to Ron and there was a collective sigh of relief around the table.

Only Hermione could see the steely eyes and clenched jaw on George.

Ron also apologized to Hermione and she smiled in returned. She was still extremely mad at him for what he said, but nothing could change a seven year friendship.

Breakfast went back to normal, but Hermione could feel Ron's eyes on her the entire time. She caught George's eye a few times and he would blush before looking away. Blush? Nah, must be the lighting.

After breakfast, George and Hermione decided to vacate to the bedroom. It was still raining so everyone was forced to stay inside.

"Do you regret anything?" Hermione looked up from her book to George who sat beside her on the bed.

"Don't we all?"

George avoided her eyes. "I mean bigger things. Things that would've made a difference."

She closed her book, already knowing this would be a long discussion. She thought for a moment before answering.

"I'd have to say always wishing to grow up. Kids spend a lot of time wishing they would grow up already; while when thinking back, being a kid was the best thing ever. No worries, no regrets-"

"No saving the world from an evil dark lord." George interjected. There was a twitch to his lips, but Hermione could sense the change of direction the innocent conversation was going.

A sad smile graced her lips. "There's that too. All I remember is wanting to grow up, while all I ever think about nowadays is my childhood. How good I had it back then. Do you have any?"

George was silent and Hermione didn't think he would answer. He finally opened his mouth, "I regret not being more grateful for what I had at the time. For not being nicer. For not arguing with him. For not saving him."

They sat in silence. She knew that there was no good reply to that. So she held his hand, letting him know that she was there for him.

Hermione pulled open her book again and read a few words before George interrupted her.

"What's your favorite memory as a child?" They spent the next two hours going back and forth with stories from their childhood.

Hermione eventually ran out, but George was full of them. All of them had to do with Fred and after each one, George's eyes would water up a bit more.

"-and Mum about killed us when she found out. But we didn't care; Fred and I were too proud of ourselves."

By now, tears were steadily flowing down his cheeks. Hermione lead his head down to her lap and proceeded to wipe his cheeks free of all moisture.

George sniffled every once in a while, but didn't talk. Hermione swept her hands through his hair in a comforting manner.

"You lied to me you know." Hermione's eyebrows rose at his words. "What are you talking about?"

"When you told me you didn't understand what I'm going through. You never told me that you lost your parents."

Hermione's breath hitched. "I didn't lose them."

"You couldn't regain their memories. That's close enough to losing them."

Hermione took her hands out of his hair and put them to her own face. She felt her eyes prick, but she mentally screamed at herself not to cry in front of him.

She felt the weight on her lap disappear, before she felt hands trying to pry her arms away from her face.

"Hermione." She felt liquid run down her face and she cursed herself repeatedly.

She felt arms wind around her, before being lifted onto George's lap. Her back rested on his chest and her head was nestled under his chin.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Don't bottle these things up, Hermione. Let it out."

And that was the day Hermione Granger broke down in front of George Weasley.

Hermione finally calmed down enough to breath evenly. George had stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal and continued to rub soothing circles where his hands rested on her waist.

She found her voice and winced at the raspiness of it. "How did you find out?"

"I told you, you talk in your sleep." Her sides were tingling from where he was rubbing circles, but she ignored it.

"But George, sure I lost my parents, but I wasn't lying when I said that I don't understand what you're going through. Losing my parents doesn't compare to losing a twin."

His voice was soft when he answered. "My family is far from small. Whether I like it or not, I'm never alone. You're parents were your only family."

Although his words weren't said to hurt her, Hermione suddenly felt sick.

Because he was right , she had no other family members. "How did you know that?"

"I've known you since you were eleven. While we were never the best friends or anything, I managed to learn some things."

Hermione was slightly embarrassed. She'd known him for a few years short of a decade and had always though that she wasn't important enough to show up on George's radar. Maybe he paid more attention to things than she originally thought.

"What's this about?" George's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

He was holding her book and looking at the cover. Hermione climbed out of his lap to sit beside him once more.

"It's a tragic story about two lovers whose families have a rivalry against each other."

"What's so tragic about it?"

"Their love is forbidden and they die in the end."

George's nose wrinkled in disgust. "It sounds terrible."

"It's not terrible! Romeo and Juliet is a classic." She cried indignantly.

George looked at her with barely concealed amusement. "A classic, really? I've never heard of it."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course you haven't; it's a muggle story."

George flipped through the dog eared pages and read a few sentences here and there.

"The muggle who wrote this must've been a loony." Hermione realized that he must've been referring to the old timey language.

She shrugged. "It's Shakespeare."

"Gazuntite."

They stayed there and discussed Shakespeare and literature; he even got her to read a few passages.

"This story really is terrible. Romeo is a stupid prat."

Hermione gasped in outrage. She'd always had a bit of a crush on Romeo.

"What? He is," George continued. "He let a stupid feud get in the way of his love. That's not very noble if you ask me. If the woman I loved was set to marry someone else, I would sweep her off her feet and get her the hell out of that town pronto. Besides, he was never in love with her. You can't just look at a girl and love her purely for her looks."

Hermione giggled. "You mean to tell me that you don't believe in love at first sight?"

He scoffed. "What's the point of having a girl with looks if you can't have an intelligent conversation with her. I want a girl with substance, and I can't find that in a girl with just one look."

Hermione gazed at him thoughtfully. The twins were always popular with the ladies throughout their school years, but she couldn't recall any of George's relationships and how he was as a boyfriend.

George, oblivious to her thoughts, read a few lines out of the leather bound book. "'One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun ne'er saw her match since first the world begun.' See? It's all about the looks for this guy."

When it was time for lunch, Hermione stopped him from getting up from the bed. "About what we were talking about earlier..."

George's eyes softened and he took her hand. "I won't tell anyone about your parents if you don't want me to." Hermione smiled gratefully at him.

"Thank you. But that's not what I was going to say." George gave her a questioning look. "I'm just glad that you've finally realized it."

The look stayed. "Realized what?" Hermione got off the bed and pulled him towards the door.

"That whether you like it or not, you're never going to be alone."

A/N- 7/4/12 edited!