I do not own anything in the Wizarding Universe, but this plot.

"Hermione, thank goodness you are safe." Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as the young witch attempted to breeze through the backdoor of the Burrow the next evening shortly before dinner. "I have been so worried about you."

"Mrs. Weasley, I only left this morning. Besides, I was with Ginny and Harry. The three of us can more than take care of ourselves." Hermione said hugging the matriarch with heavily encumbered arms. Then, she sat down the shopping bags she was carrying onto the table. She had the scramble to keep all the bags on the table. One or two of the packages inside was uneven and started to topple onto the bench and floor. "Ginny will be along in a bit. Bill and Charlie twisted the couple's arms to play two on two quidditch. I offered to carry in all the bags to let them take advantage of the increase of sun in the evening."

"I am sure that was a hard sell. I appreciate you letting them have a fun moment before the real craziness of wedding planning increases." Mrs. Weasley said chuckling along with the young witch. Surveying the table, she asked, "I hope you lot did not buy out all of Diagon Alley. What is all of this?"

Hermione answered while fidgeting with the tops of a few bags. "We have been going through the Godric's Hollow home over the past month in between missions and everything else. Ginny found Harry studying his parent's wedding album one afternoon. Ginny really wanted to incorporate the same muggle traditions that they had at their wedding for him. Today was too nice for scouring the cottage. We decided to go shopping in muggle London for the afternoon."

"Hermione Jean Granger!" Molly yelled loud enough that it shook the burrow from bottom to top. The red-headed witch stood with her hands on her hips and glaring at the young witch. "You are still just a muggle-born to some wizards. Were you careful? There is still someone out there shooting Dark Marks into the air. They were two more over the same dwelling in Florida less than three days ago."

"We were very vigilant. Mad-Eye taught us very well." Hermione said with barely a wince while saying the deceased auror's name. It felt good to be thinking of him fondly, instead of tearing up at the loss. "Ginny was obviously thinking along the same lines as you. She kept making me walk in between her and Harry. Because of how much she was keeping me close to Harry, the shop gal helping us thought Harry and I were planning our wedding."

Mrs. Weasley was inwardly proud of her daughter for protecting her friend, but only let a small smile show on her face because of her worry. She bustled back to the counter to continue making a large salad from her garden to go with the roast that was resting on the stove for an early supper. "Ginny could have waited to go shopping when some of her brothers or I could have gone with you for safety. Their wedding is not for sixth months. We could have done that owl, I mean, mail order muggle post shopping."

"You know that girl when she gets an idea in her head." Hermione said with a shrug filled with guilt. In the back of her mind, she thought she should have talked Ginny into waiting for the shopping trip.

"That it true, that is true." Molly said stepping sideways to chopping tomatoes. "Did you find anything for yourself while you were out shopping? You may not know who you are marrying, but you will find out very soon. I believe that the match letters are set to arrive tomorrow. With all of these weddings that are going to be happening in the next year, you need to get your plans set and items bought soon. The United Kingdom might have a great number of shops, but there will be a lot of weddings both muggle and magical in the next year."

"I have some plans in mind already. It will not be anything fancy or over the top. I have always wanted calm or simple." Hermione said, hoping that would drop the subject, but knowing that it wouldn't.

The older witch whipped around quickly with her knife still in her hand. "You have plans? Tell me anything that I can do to help. To warn you, Fleur will bombard you with help from her bed. Gabrielle is years away from a wedding and Ginny has her hands full with me, so it is down to you for her to help until the baby arrives."

"All you need to do is show up a month from Saturday about three in the afternoon at either Hogwart's or the Shacklebolt's. I not quite sure which yet, but I will let you know ahead of time." Hermione answered a little questioningly at the end hoping to placate the knife wielding witch. "Can you put the knife down?"

"In a month! The letters have not even arrived yet." Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she quickly turning to put the knife onto the cutting board. Turning back around, she said through her teeth. "That is not enough time to plan a wedding, Hermione, especially since you do not know who your husband will be."

"There is not much to plan, Mrs. Weasley. I want things very simple. I am not a very fancy person." Hermione explained. "I want a simple ceremony like my parents had. I just want some sunflowers, close family, a few friends, and Kingsley agreed to do the officiating."

"And what if your future husband or his family do not want that? Did you think about that?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "You cannot make all of the plans. There will be other people involved once you find out who you are marrying."

"I already know who I am marrying." Hermione said partially giving up and dropping down into a chair. "Kingsley told me before the article was even released to the public. He kept my name out of the papers to protect my privacy and the privacy of my fiancé." Hermione said quietly. "Both of the men completely approve of these plans. My fiancé prefers to keep things private as well."

"And just who will your husband be?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "Do I not even get to know who will be joining our ever-growing family?"

"I wish I could, but I cannot tell you. I promised him I will not let anyone know. I will tell you soon." Hermione said with sincere regret in her voice. To get a small smile out of herself and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione tried for a bit of levity. "I will have to if I am getting married in a month, right?"

Mrs. Weasley turned back to the salad she was making. The older witch understood, but she was clearly offended evidenced by how vigorously she was tossing the salad. "Well, its best that you tell me what he is like. I will not approve of him yet, but I need to learn if there is anything to like him."

"He loves his family fiercely. He does not show his love and care in the way most expect. He makes rather good money. He works hard at his job that he loves even though he barely works at it right now. He has his own place to live, but we will have to move to have a family. He is very smart. I think he will be a good husband to me… in time."

"Is he ashamed of you? You are a war heroine. You are the brightest witch of the age or probably any age."

"He is not ashamed of me. He actually is proud of me. He is more ashamed of himself and how he has behaved. Plus, he is afraid of how his family will react to the marriage."

"I FORBID THIS MARRIAGE! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO MARRY DRACO MALFOY!" The matriarch yelled. Seconds later, four pairs of feet slammed into the ground just outside the backdoor of the Burrow.

After Mrs. Weasley had jumped to conclusions, the family had calmed her down and reassured the matriarch that the Ministry would not put Hermione directly in harm's way. The family ate a quiet dinner. Hermione felt the eyes of every Weasley there on her throughout the meal. Harry had kept his eyes to himself because he knew who Hermione was matched to marry.

Hermione left the Burrow shortly after the meal was over. She had an overwhelming sense that Arthur was going to want to have a talk about George in relation to this marriage law.

"George!" Hermione yelled with a smile on her face as she burst through the floo in the great room of his flat. "George!" She spotted him sitting on his sofa staring at a three-fourths full bottle of fire whisky. He looked better than even that morning. He was wearing a grey Mrs. Weasley sweater that had a large, golden F on it. The dark denims he was wearing were ripped on the right knee and he was absent-mindedly playing with the strings crossing it. He was still bare-footed. She stepped short and unbidden let a hint of worry seep into her voice. "George?"

"Don't worry that pretty little head of yours. I haven't had anything to drink since the day after you told me that we are going to get married. I am still sober-ish. Although, I do think part of my blood is permanently liquor." George said with a small, proud smirk on his face. His eyes did not move from the bottle though. "I went into Fred's room earlier. I wanted to say goodbye on my own to Fred and to his stuff. I know that soon we will have to clear it out for you and then, for our future children. Most of his clothes will be sorted into my clothes because growing up in a big family one learns not to waste. To continue, this bottle was sitting innocently next to the far side of the bed."

"Oh, George." Hermione said coming to sit down beside him. She gently placed a hand on his thigh. She was not sure the best way to comfort him, but she knew that touch was something George craved most of the time.

"I feel like Fred knew what I needed and provided it." George said as Hermione slid her other hand into his and squeezed. "I have not had any to drink. The cap is sealed, I mean, magically sealed. I cannot open it. Believe me, I have tried, but that cap will not budge."

Hermione smiled slightly and accidently let her amusement slip into her tone. "That Fred sure is a smart one."

George knocked his shoulder into hers. "What do you know, little birdie?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Are you okay with me puncturing your mental image of all knowing and providing Fred?"

"He would love it if you tried!" George laughed. Then, he leaned back against the sofa and pulled Hermione back to him. He slung his arm around her shoulders tucking her into him. He smiled when he realized that they were slightly matching. They had the same shade of dark denims and the heathered grey of her jumper was mostly the same as his own sweater. "So, what do think that you know?"

"You sealed that bottle the night I accidently told Harry we have been…"

"Feeling each other?" George said as he stared up at the ceiling. He lazily traced his fingers up and down Hermione's arm.

Hermione slapped her hands over her face. "You will never let me live that down, will you? We have sex. Are you happy now?"

"Oh, most definitely that makes me happy." George said chuckling. "I would be even happier if we were having said sex right now."

"You need to work on being sober instead of chasing the high we get from being together." Hermione said slowly taking her hands away from her face. She did keep her face against his side.

"Can we stay like this for a while before you run off to Grimmauld Place for the night?" He asked putting his head back and rolling it slightly in her direction.

"I have another reason for coming here today that you might not want to hear."

George took her hand in his. "What is this reason?"

"The time has come that we have to tell you parents that we are getting married." Hermione blurted out quickly in a rip the band-aid off style. "Your mother freaked out thinking that I am going to have to marry Malfoy. She screamed so loud that Bill, Charlie, Ginny, and Harry came in from the quidditch pitch. Bill helped me to get her into a chair before she passed out straight to the floor."

"We can tell her tomorrow or maybe the day after." George said playing with Hermione's fingers. "I think I need more time of staying sober before I tackle talking to my mother. That witch is a definite force to be reckoned with."

Hermione nodded against him. She knew he was making an excuse because he was actually just scared to see his family again. She was going to let the excuse slide because she did not want to push him too far too fast.

"Want to stay over tonight to keep me that way?" George said slyly before kissing the top of her head.

"Nice try." Hermione said smiling as she wiggled out of his arms and stood.

"Are you leaving already? Did I go too far?" George said comically pouting up at her, but there was a hint of remorse in his eyes.

"I am leaving. I am going to take you with me." She answered grabbing his hand to pull him off the sofa. "I am taking you to dinner or dessert if you ate earlier."

"I have not eaten, but didn't you just eat dinner with my family and Harry?" George asked letting her pull him up. He was worried that she would not hurt herself straining to raise him from the sofa.

"One, you need to stop sitting here staring at that bottle. Two, you need a dry run out in the world before dealing with your family."

"I have been out in the world the past six months since I was forcibly taken to my parents' home by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." George said trying to pull her toward him. She resisted and tugged him closer to her and the front door. "I can handle being out in the world."

"You can handle running to the store to buy a food craving item or more liquor." Hermione said summoning her beaded bag and pulling George with her to the door. Motioning for him to slip into his boots, she said, "You need to work on being out in a crowd and having a civil, polite conversations."

"Hermione, dear," George whined as she led him through the busy, wizarding street. She ignored him and kept pulling him along behind her. She stopped short just to the left of the wizarding pub entrance. He took his hand from hers and crossed his arms over his chest. The dragon leather jacket that Fred had bought him for Christmas pulled use to pull tight on his biceps, now stayed loose. "I really do not think that taking me through a pub is the smartest of your ideas."

"We are going in and walking straight through. We will be in the pub for less than a minute." Hermione explained for the sixth or seventh time. Then, she added, "If you need to, close your eyes and pinch your nose. You can trust me to lead you through."

"I trust you." George said with a smirk. "Trusting myself is the question."

Hermione looked back at him and smiled sweetly before reminding him to close his eyes. She led him through a rather quiet pub. The barkeeper, Tom, looked up from the glasses he was cleaning and reached for the firewhiskey for George. Hermione shook her head no with s smile. She pointed her finger toward the door to the muggle world.

George opened his eyes when he felt fresh air hit his face again. He tightened his grip on Hermione's hand when she attempted to let go of his hand. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand back as she began leading him down the street.

Making through several muggle streets, George was nervous being around all these people. Fred had been gone for a year, but he still felt that he was missing half of himself. He shook his hair to cover the left side of his head where his ear was missing. No one seemed to notice the gaping hole in his head, but with George being newly sober he was more conscious of every flaw in himself.

He was shaken from his inner worries when Hermione stopped them in front of a little hole in the wall restaurant. There was not even a name on the outside of the building. You knew it was a restaurant because of the smell coming from the place was full of spices, warmth, meats, and potatoes. This place you could almost taste their passion for life, food, and love.

The inside of the restaurant was much larger than it appeared on the outside. There were a few windows dotted around the walls, but mostly they were painted a pale rose with patches of deeper red brick. The tables were spread out haphazardly around the bar that jutted out into the center of the room. The light from the candles flickered slightly causing the colors of the blue and sea green glass jars candle holders to dance around on the white linen tablecloths.

When they entered to restaurant, a tall and slender man with a full head of white hair yelled with delight when the young couple was spotted at the entrance. Hermione greeted the owner she had known since childhood with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. He led the couple to a table toward the back of the right side of the bar. He explained how he and Hermione first met all those years ago when she decided to turn her pasta into confetti on her third birthday causing George to laugh and her to blush.

George pulled out Hermione's chair. She wasn't entirely comfortable about it because George had her sit perpendicular to the door. She turned her head sideways so many times that her neck started to hurt.

"Hermione, just look at me. You can trust me to protect you." George said reaching across her and grabbing her chin with his thumb and side of his index finger. "This is a muggle restaurant. We should be relatively safe, unless the chef decides to undercook the meat. Trust me."

"Fine," she answered softly. "I trust you not to let me get killed over dinner."

"Zabini, our table is over here in the back." He said grabbing his former schoolmate's arm with a bit more force that necessary in the hole in the restaurant he had found. He had explored muggle London two summers ago when he escaping Death Eater meetings being conducted at his house.

"Mate, slow down I just got here. Besides, George Weasley is just over there with some shapely bird. I must go introduce myself and steal her way." The tall, dark, and handsome wizard said jerking his arm back. He rubbed his hands together like an evil genius from a muggle cartoon. "He stole a lovely bird from me a few months ago. I have yet had the opportunity to return the flavor. This might be my last chance since we should be finding out who we will be forced to marry in the next few days."

"Not with that girl you don't." His friend countered.

Blaise turned back to his friend with a playful pout on his face. "Why not? She is not his sister."

"No, she is someone worse." Blaise looked back at the table in question while his friend, who was speaking through clenched teeth, finished. "Granger."

"She did save my life in that final battle. Rescuing her from a Weasley would be like I am repaying her a debt." Blaise responded with a sly smile and turned his well-groomed head back toward the couple sitting at a table on the far side of the muggle restaurant. "It would be the polite thing to do. My mother would be embarrassed if I did not save a lady in distress."

"Let's head to the table, please."

Several minutes after perusing the menu and ordering, Blaise turned the normal run of the mill conversation to the reason his friend had arranged this late dinner. "How much do you really want this potion? My mother does not brew her special love potion for just anyone."

"I know. I have heard that many times over the years. What I need to know is will it be effective enough to knock these crazy plans out of my father's head?"

"Only if you have a witch in mind to go along with your plan." Blaise answered before taking a long drink of wine. "It will only work if there is someone for him to cast his thoughts on."

"Would it work if I if I used my mother?" he pleaded imploringly. "She is dead, but could it work if he became in love with her and her memory?"

"It might." Blaise answered. "I will check with my mother, but I really think it will work for your situation."

George had a hard time deciding on what to eat so Hermione ordered one dish that he wanted so he could have two choices instead of one. Throughout the meal, Hermione would take a bite or two and then, add more food to George's plate. She was very happy that since he stopped drinking his way through the day and night his full appetite was returning.

They talked over the ins and outs of his family. George was amused to hear that his oldest brother is pacing everywhere he goes since his wife is a few days overdue with their first child. He laughed at the image in his head after she told him about a conversation on Ministry politics Percy had trapped her into having.

"Do you remember the time the Percy was obsessing over caldron bottom thickness?" George said laughing with tears in his eyes. "It was Fred's idea to enchant pond scum to hit his windows at regular intervals. Percy always thought I did it, but it was Fred's idea. He always knew the best ways to get under Percy's skin."

Hermione reached across the table for his hand. "You didn't just lose your brother and twin, did you? You lost the person that gave you courage." She said almost more to herself than to George.

"I think that is why I am working my way through Fred's list of what you call crazy and asinine ideas." George said echo the thoughts that were going through Hermione's head. "They were the last ideas of his and I don't have any of my own."

"Can I help you?" Hermione asked after asking the server to box up the rest of the food and ordered George's favorite desert, molten chocolate cake.

"I don't want you to get hurt." George said smiling slightly and waving her off. "I do not think that I could handle live if you got hurt."

"Do you not realize that I do not want you hurt?" Hermione said softly, but firmly. "If we work together, we might just figure things out without either of us getting hurt."

"I am not promising anything, but I will think about it." George said before taking a drink of sparkling water. "Water, even this fancy bubbly stuff, withdinner is just bloody weird."

"Enjoy your piece of cake when it gets here. When you are done, I will take you back home to your flat." She said smiling back at him. "Tomorrow we can worry about telling your family we are getting married and how we are going to improve the shop together."

"That is going to go extremely well." George said not caring too much because a giant piece of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on the side was just set in front of him.

I hope you enjoy this week's post!

DuckiBelle