A/N: Hi there guys, thank you again for the reviews, I appreciate every one of them! Hope you enjoy this chapter…
Chapter 10
The next two weeks in the upcoming for Christmas flew by. The Christmas tree had a slowly mounting pile of presents growing underneath it; Mrs. Weasley was very busy in the kitchen; they received a lot of visitors, like the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Neville and Luna; and Celestina Warbeck's voice was blaring out all over the Burrow. This factor particularly annoyed Fleur when she was present: "I cannot stand to 'ear zat woman seeng any longer!" everyone was keeping themselves busy.
But, soon enough, it was Christmas Eve. Arthur had enlarged the lounge and kitchen magically, so 15 people would all fit. Teddy and his grandma, Andromeda Tonks, were staying over on Christmas Eve to spend the day with all the present occupants of the Burrow. Teddy seemed to know something exciting was going on – his hair kept changing from turquoise to orange – and Harry and Ginny were struggling to get him to settle down (they were giving Andromeda a break).
With nothing else to do, Hermione and George were on the sofa, her head lay on his shoulder. They were silent; just enjoying each other's company. Andromeda entered the room.
"Well, you look quite the couple, don't you?" she chuckled. Hermione and George looked at each other awkwardly. They were relieved when she walked straight through the room and out of the door leading to the kitchen.
"Speaking of couples, I saw a very unlikely one in Diagon Alley today," George said, but he wasn't smirking or anything like he would normally be doing.
"And who might that have been?" Hermione enquired.
"You might not like it."
"Tell me anyway." George sighed.
"Ron and Lavender Brown." Hermione's chest tightened. She felt hurt all over again. Like she had been slapped in the face. "I couldn't not tell you Hermione," George said apologetically.
"I know. I'm glad you did though." She felt miserable suddenly.
"There may be nothing in it, but I do seem to remember that he dated her about four years ago."
"Nothing'll come of it," Hermione assured herself. "He always went on about how much she annoyed him. Well, never to me, but to Harry. And it's too soon."
"I hate to say it Hermione, but there may have been an affair." Hermione allowed herself to snort.
"I refuse to believe that. Even Ron wouldn't sink that low."
"No, you're right," George agreed, mentally kicking himself for believing that of his brother. They were silent for a few minutes, watching the time pass.
"Why me, George?" Hermione broke the silence. George looked at her.
"I don't know, I mean, Ron was lucky enough to have you and-"
"-No, I meant, why do you like me? You could have your pick of any girl, and they'd have you. Why do you want to choose me? It's not like I'm remotely attractive, or funny…I'm just boring." George glanced at Hermione in incredulity.
"I'm going to tell you exactly what I think of you. I think your dark curls are like molten chocolate, and your eyes are beautiful. I find your company great and you are funnier than you think. You are kind, generous, honest, true, gentle and loving, and at the same time you are cheeky, daring, strong-willed and brave. You are in no way boring. You are beautiful and adorable. Even when you read, the way you furrow your brow and bite your lip and look excited at the prospect of reading drives me crazy because you are so adorable. You don't give yourself enough credit for what you're worth. You need to." George finished his little speech, in which Hermione's blush grew steadily redder as he went along.
"Thanks, George. No one has ever said anything like that to me." She felt this was somewhat lame thanks.
"Then no one appreciates you fully. So now you know I do." She smiled, and George returned it.
"George? Would you think I was crazy if I said I wanted to go to Australia to find my parents?" Hermione asked, biting her lip. George looked at her, not surprised in the slightest.
"Of course not! If I'm honest with you, I'm surprised you haven't already gone over to find them. They're your parents; shouldn't they be on the top of your priority list?"
"I know they should be. I know I put a good enough charm on them to keep them safe and happy, but I'm…I'm just scared." Hermione bit her lip.
"Scared? Of what?" George enquired.
"Well, what if I can't find them? I may never get to see them again. What if I can't reverse the memory charm? What if, if I do lift the charm, they get angry because of what I did or how long I left them for? What if…what if…what if they're…dead?" this last thought terrified her to no end. Hermione loved her parents dearly; it had hurt her enough to send them away in the first pace. If it hadn't been for a matter of their safety, she would not have put any of them through it. She looked up at George with nervous, wide eyes. He took both of her small hands in one of his larger, strong ones.
"Hermione. Don't even waste time worrying about those things. You don't need to. Seriously. If you want, whenever you go, I'll come with you. You'll doubtless need the help, and you can't go to Australia on your own. And then there's always you getting lonely, and we wouldn't want that." Hermione smiled slightly.
"I know, I know. Thanks George. I'll think about it. But I just love them so much, and I miss them. I want them back."
"I know you do. That's why you need to think about it," George said.
"It's just, when I get married, if I ever do, I want them to be there; I want my dad to be there to give permission, to walk me down the aisle, and if I have children, I want them to know their grandparents."
"Absolutely," George said sincerely, completely understanding. "Whenever you decide to go, I'll be there."
"Thank you George. You have no idea how much that means to me. I don't appreciate you enough either." Hermione smiled at him before releasing a huge yawn. George glanced at the clock.
"Right, little booknymph, it is 9 o'clock, and you need to be in bed if you want Father Christmas to visit you." Hermione giggled.
"Well, I'd better be off to bed then, hadn't I?" Before she could move, George had scooped her up into his arms and cradled her like a baby. She shrieked.
"George? Put me down! What do you think you're doing?"
"Carrying you up the stairs," he replied innocently.
"Did I say you could?" she demanded, struggling.
"No?"
"Then why are you?" they had reached the stairs; George started to climb his grin couldn't be wider.
"Because that makes it all the more fun! You know me, I don't like to obey rules. I like to cross a few boundaries."
"Oh, I know that all too well," she said grimly. "George, please."
"Okay." He let her fall out of his arms. She screamed and tried to grab onto him. He caught her just at the last second. "I thought you wanted to be put down?" he said innocently, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes, put down, not dropped down the stairs!"
"Hermione, would I really let you fall down the stairs?"
"Knowing you, probab-"
"No. would I really?" he looked at her sincerely and she calmed down.
"No, I guess not," Hermione finally said, defeated.
"You see, this, Hermione Granger, is called building up trust," George informed her, putting her down properly as they reached her room. "And don't say you already trust me, because if you did, you would have known I wouldn't drop you."
"It's instinct to grab."
"Yes, I know, but your answer should have been no straight away." Hermione looked into George's eyes.
"There are some things I trust about you, but your reputation doesn't do you any favours."
"It's not supposed to. And focusing on a person's reputation is never right. You should always focus on who they are underneath."
"I know. Night Ginge. See you in the morning." Hermione smiled at George.
"Yes, good night to you, my little Booknymph." Hermione chuckled, and wrapped her arms around George for a hug.
"Goodnight," they both said simultaneously, and Hermione turned to enter her room. George grinned as she shut the door behind her, and went off to his own room.
A/N: Hope that was alright for you, please review! :)
WerrnogWeasley96 x