Chapter 11

It was dark by the time they exited Madam Malkin's, the three witches thoroughly exhausted after going trying on what must have been every design in every colour in the store.

Mrs Weasley was still glowing from the happy news and what she deemed to be a successful days shopping. Ginny shot her mother a glare behind her back before linking arms with Hermione, who looked nearly dead on her feet.

"Will you girls be accompanying me back to the Burrow?" Molly asked over her shoulder as they approached the apparition point, fumbling in her handbag for her wand, squinting in the dark.

"Not me, I have a proposal to accept," Ginny replied, looking more than relieved to be rid of her mother for the day.

"And you, Hermione?"

Hermione stifled a yawn, "No, I think it's just a cup of tea and some toast before bed. Thank you for the offer though, Mrs Weasley."

"Well, good night then!" she said with a quick wave, twirling her wand and apparating home.

"Thank Merlin, she's gone," a voice behind them exclaimed, making Hermione and Ginny jump.

"I thought she'd never leave!" a second, very familiar, voice agreed.

Ginny huffed, her hands balling into fists as her twin brothers materialized from the shadows of the nearest building, "Fred! George! You need to stop sneaking up on people," she scolded.

"But where would the fun be in that?" Fred asked, slinging an arm around his sisters shoulder, leading her toward the apparition point.

"Now, run along home to the Chosen One, we need to steal Hermione for a few hours," George told her, slinging his arms around Hermione's shoulders and pulling her back toward the Alley.

"What for?" Ginny asked suspiciously, her eyes darting between her brothers.

"Top secret..."

"Highly classified..."

"Work related..."

"None of your business" the twins finished together.

With yet another roll of her eyes, Ginny shrugged off Fred's arm and pulled her wand out, "Fine, but she better be returned in one piece," she warned, "I'll let Ron know why you're late," she said to Hermione, sounding like she disapproved.

Fred grinned, joining his brother and slinging his arm around Hermione's waist, trapping her between them, "On our honour."

"Now, get lost," George said, blowing her a kiss.

The three of them watched Ginny disappear before turning back toward the joke shop.

"So, top secret, huh?" Hermione queried, letting herself get pulled along while stifling yet another yawn. She really was exhausted.

"Oh yes, super secret stuff," Fred answered.

"Nothing our poor, innocent Ginevra should be subjected to," George countered with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Hermione gave a rather indelicate snort, "Innocent, sure."

They ambled slowly down the nearly deserted Diagon Alley until they came to the brightly coloured, slightly gaudy joke shop.

"So, tell us, how did dress shopping with Mum go?" Fred asked as he unlocked the door with a wave of his wand, holding it open to let them in before locking it after them.

"Exhausting. You're probably going to find out soon anyway, but she overheard Ginny and I talking about Harry's botched proposal and it's now going to be a double wedding," she informed them, letting them pull her upstairs to their flat.

They chuckled at her news, "Any wonder Gin looked like she was going to strangle Mum."

She collapsed onto the couch, pulling George by her side as Fred went to stoke the fire back to life, "I don't think I'm cut out for this wedding stuff," she admitted, snuggling into the warm chest beside her, drawing what comfort she could from an embrace she was now beginning to accept she was going to have to give up soon.

She felt, rather than witnessed, the twins exchange a look over her head, "What?" she asked, struggling to sit up.

"Neither can Ron, it seems," George told her, playing with one of her thick curls.

Fred sat down on her other side, "We ran into Ron and Harry today while you were playing dress up. Seems there was an alleged Death Eater revel witnessed last night in Northern Ireland. Rather than sending a few of their team, the Auror department asked for Aurors to volunteer, even those who've just come back from assignment. Didn't want anyone to miss out on the action, just in case the reports are true."

She gave a deep sigh, "Let me guess, the boys were at the front of the queue?"

"It seems that way. Well, actually it was just Ron. Harry decided to stay behind since they only just got back from their last assignment," Fred shrugged, kicking his shoes off and propping his feet on the coffee table.

Hermione sunk back into the couch, her head flopping back onto George's chest, "He didn't even drop into the dress shop to let me know. Or owled, I mean, people still use those right? Or even floo'd called me from home or the office..." she grumbled faintly.

"He can be a bit of a git at times," George said, shifting her tighter in his arms.

They sat in companionable silence for a long time, listening to the popping of the fireplace, each lost in their own thoughts. Hermione could have very easily gone to sleep in their arms, but knew that despite Ron being away, Ginny and Harry still knew where she was.

"I should probably go," Hermione heaved a sigh, "Unless you guys really did have some top secret thing to show me?"

"Sorry, love. No secrets tonight, we just wanted you to ourselves for a bit," Fred admitted, shifting on the couch when she stood.

"I'm going to miss this," she whispered, her fatigue making her unusually emotional.

"Us too," George said, pulling one of her hands into his own, looking up at her with a sad smile, "Why don't you stay tonight?"

"I really shouldn't..." she started to protest, "Ginny will wonder where I am."

What she really wanted to do was stay there and wrap their long limbs around her, sharing their body heat as she slept the rest of the night away.

"I can fix that," Fred announced, pushing off the couch to kneel at the fireplace, throwing a handful of floo powder into the flames and before calling out his sisters name.

"What?" Ginny practically growled, her torso swimming into view as she tugged at her silk dressing gown, covering what was quite clearly lingerie underneath.

"Full moon tonight. We need Granger to come picking potions ingredients. Just wanted you to know not to wait up," Fred told her, the lies slipping off his tongue easily.

"Sure," Ginny agreed, looking over her shoulder at something in the background, "Is that all? Because I'm sort of in the middle of something," she hinted with a pointed look behind her.

"Nope, that's all. Have fun shagging Boy Wonder!" George called from his place on the couch, laughing when Ginny terminated the call with an ashy huff.

"Now you can stay," Fred told her, coming to grab her other hand, tugging her toward the bedroom. George tailed along at the end.

"I'll stay, but sooner or later we're going to have to talk about the three of us," she yawned, letting them slowly undress her, helping to unbutton their shirts before they all slipped between the cool sheets.

She was drifting off to sleep, one large calloused hand on her hip, another hand slowly gliding up and down the length of her spine when George answered, "Sleep, save your deep and meaningful for tomorrow."

She was sure she replied, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what she said to either twin before sleep claimed her.


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