Chapter Fourteen – 5:40 of dramatic music
A/N: Here we are at last, the final chapter! I'm so excited to post this, my heart is racing and I'm doing a happy dance in my seat. Since it's the final chapter there's going to be some details from canon that are moved around a bit, but hey, that's fanfiction for you. Many thanks will be at the end of the chapter, but for now, enjoy the last four parts!
"Ange? Oi, Johnson!"
Angelina Johnson turned around in the busy street and tried to find the source of the noise. The crowd parted around her as they walked on while she stood still, and she finally caught sight of a mess of flaming hair rushing towards her. The tall man linked his arm through hers and dragged her into a side street, shouting apologies to the crowd as they cut them off.
"How've ya been, Johnson? Hope I haven't taken you away from anything important." George said, looking like he couldn't care less if he had.
"I'm supposed to meet my dad for lunch, but I'm early. Haven't been around here in a long time." she commented, looking around fondly at the buildings she used to stroll past as a girl.
George looked at her in interest as he sat down on an empty bench. "I take it Quidditch is still treating you well?"
She joined him on the bench. "Haven't been killed yet, so yeah, it's going alright." She had been accepted into the Montrose Magpies as a reserve nearly as soon as she graduated and had quickly earned a Chaser position on the team. She'd played for them for the past two years, the only break she'd had apart from seasonal breaks was a two week suspension for returning to Hogwarts for what they called the Final Battle, and even then that was to make sure she was still physically capable to play. She didn't set out to become a national player but she couldn't pass up the opportunity Oliver Wood had set up for her. No, instead she wanted to become a tattoo artist, but that wasn't something she wanted to share with anyone at the moment. Her dad would be so disappointed if he found out she was considering giving up Quidditch so early in her career. "What are you up to today?"
"Just grabbing a take-out lunch." he said cheerfully. She hadn't really thought about George over the past few years and whenever she did it was usually in the memories that still haunted her, those where they were all mourning over Fred's body in the Great Hall or during his funeral on a sunny hill near Hogwarts. The George in her memories was empty and broken, but this George was… well, happy. Happier than she would've expected.
"You look really good, George." she said, trying to keep the faint trace of pity out of her voice.
"Oh Ange, you flirt." he said mischievously. She didn't bother to do anything but roll her eyes. "I know what you mean, I've been alright. I've been shit, but I'm getting better, slowly but surely. Even seeing a mind Healer, y'know. Things are starting to look up again."
She had missed how chipper he and his brother used to be and it was refreshing to be around the unwavering confidence again, even if she felt a little awkward without Fred there. "If you're just doing take-out for lunch you can always dine with me and Dad; he loves your work in the shop."
"I'll have to take a raincheck on that, Johnson; gotta get Hermione fed."
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Hermione Granger? George and Hermione? Together? How much had she missed while on the road?
"I didn't know you two were-"
"We're not." He cut her off. "We actually just finished writing a book together, believe it or not."
"You're having a laugh." she said. "George Weasley, the boy who I not once saw open a textbook for seven years, wrote a book?"
He took her disbelief in stride. "I've been getting that reaction a lot recently, I think we're gonna have to change the cover of the book to read "by Hermione Granger and George Weasley; yes, George Fabian Weasley." Has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?"
"What's it about?" She was genuinely curious.
"It's about the War, really. Not much else to it. It's a lot of what she and Ron and some Harry bloke did for seven years, but a lot of it is showing what went wrong and how, and she wants it to be a reminder that some bad shit has gone down and we can't let it happen again. And about what we've all started to do in the future and the new world and how we're all gonna keep it safe. It sounds dumb when I say it, but when you read what she's done you're blown away. She's put so much work into it to make it factual and emotional and unbiased and just overall incredible. I've chucked a few pages in here and there but yeah, Hermione's a genius."
"And you said you're not together?" she repeated.
"We are not." he reaffirmed jovially.
She let out a whistle. "You've got it bad, man."
He grinned. "I do indeed. Don't tell anyone though, Ginny said I have to take it slow."
Her eyebrows shot up again. "Ginny knows? Why can't I tell anyone if Ginny knows?"
"Because dearest Ginevra worked it out, that's why. Couldn't hide it from her if I tried. Whatever you do, don't tell Lee, alright? He doesn't need to know yet."
"Yeah, alright." She agreed with him because he was starting to look less confident and more worried. "That raincheck on lunch will have to wait a while, the season starts up again soon and I won't be able to get back home for a while. Are you sure you don't want to come? Hermione can come too if she wants."
"Nah, I'll head back, Johnson, but we'll keep in touch. Would you prefer tested prototypes or standard products with your letters?"
She grinned. "Tested prototypes if you're got enough for me to prank the whole team. I know the Campbell brothers are both partial to Jaffa cakes if you've got any jokes with those involved." she mentioned casually. She watched as his eyes lit up the way they used to when he or Fred had worked out a solution to whatever problem was stumping them.
"Jumbling Jaffas…the cacophonic cakes! Johnson, I could kiss you!"
"I'd rather you send me some, but I honestly have no idea how you pull some of those words out of thin air." she said with a smile at his delighted air. She handed him a pen she kept on her for the odd autograph and he wrote the words on his hand.
"We used to look up bad words in the dictionary, Fred and I. 'Course we didn't actually know many so it was a lot of reading. Some words just sound good and stick in your brain."
She stood up from the bench as she tucked the pen back into her pocket. "The only book you've read back to front is the dictionary. George Weasley, you are full of surprises. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Johnson. We'll have to round the old team up again one of these days and meet at a dingy pub somewhere, won't we?" She nodded her agreement as he stood up too. He wrapped his arms around her for a quick hug. "I promise I'll owl you those cakes as soon as I perfect them. Or maybe not. How close are you to the Campbell brothers?"
"They treat me like a sister, I could get away with murder." she laughed.
"Perfect." he replied. "I'll send you the prototypes of the prototype. Have a fun lunch with your dad."
"I will, have a fun lunch with your girlfriend."
"Not my girlfriend yet!"
"At least you're confident." she said as he began to walk away. "Hey, Weasley!" she called out before he was too far away. He turned around before entering the crowd. "What's the book called?"
"It's called What We Lost, I'll send you a copy when it's out!"
"Sorry I'm late, love, but you'll never guess who I ran into in the Alley."
She looked up from her couch. She'd been bored waiting for him and set out plates and cutlery to make their rather unhealthy take-out look more appetising which he looked at with approval. "Was it Ron?"
"Ron? Of all the people…I see him every day, why would I be excited about Ron?"
"Because he's not supposed to be on lunch yet? I don't know, you said guess and I guessed."
He shook his head at her and sighed. "No, no, think Quid ditch players."
"Hogwarts Quidditch players or national Quidditch players?" she asked as she took one of the bags from him and started setting out lunch. He only had about half an hour left considering he took so long to get lunch.
"Both." he said, excitement taking over him. "It was Angelina Johnson, the one and only, strolling down Diagon Alley as if she'd forgotten about me."
"I doubt she'd forgotten about you." she said with a smile. His excitement was contagious. "I haven't seen her since...well, I don't remember the last time I saw her. What's she up to?"
"She was getting lunch somewhere in the Alley but we talked for a bit before she headed off. Sorry for being late by the way, we got to talking before I got to the Leaky."
"How long is she back for?" she asked between bites of her food.
"Just today by the sounds of it. She invited me to go to lunch with her too, so she might only be back for a few hours. Tough life for those Quidditch stars."
"She invited you to lunch?" she asked with a frown. "Why didn't you go?"
"Because you would've gone hungry, love. Can't have that on my hands."
She sighed heavily as she put down her fork. "It's Monday, George. Your mother is going to force me to eat enough food to tide me over until tomorrow afternoon, you know that. Besides, I am quite capable of taking care of my own meals – I do live on my own."
"Barely." he said with a mouthful of food. She pulled a face at the sight and he grinned, swallowing his food before speaking again. "And I like seeing you at lunch, it makes the day go quicker."
"I'm sure the day would've gone just as quick if you had lunch with Angelina. When was the last time you'd spoken to her?"
"In person? Not since the funerals, but we did used to owl each other until I stopped replying. It was a bad time for me." He shrugged as if to say it wasn't his fault – which it wasn't – but she still felt uncomfortable.
"You should've sent me a message or something, you need to see your friends."
"Good thing I came back then, hey?"
"You see me nearly every day!" she argued.
"And it still doesn't feel like enough sometimes!" he countered. "Honestly, it just sounds like you want me to go."
She honest to Merlin couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but she sincerely hoped he was. "You know I don't want you to go, but your life doesn't revolve around me either."
"Who gives a shit?" he asked as he skewered some food onto his fork. "The whole point of winning the war was to live free lives and be happy, that's what Healer Willems has been telling me. Writing letters to Johnson made me happy, sending her prototypes of jokes and pranks will make me happy. Seeing you after waiting all morning is making me happy right now. I've got the rest of my life to catch up with Ange and Oliver and the rest of the old Quidditch team, Ange and I agreed we need to organise that whenever everyone can meet up, but in the meantime? All I want to do is sit with you and eat my noodles before I have to go back to work and wait until dinner to see you again. Is that alright with you?"
She sat in stunned silence. They'd really become dependent on each other, hadn't they? She guessed she should've seen it coming - he was only a thought away these days, and they'd slept together a few times. Slept, not slept. That was one thing she had to keep her wandering mind away from on more than one occasion. If she went down that road in her mind he'd be able to read it on her face in a heartbeat, and what sort of teasing would that lead to then? She'd never live it down.
Although…maybe there wouldn't be any jokes. Hadn't he just said he'd be waiting to see her all morning? Had he not skipped lunch with one of his oldest mates to stay with her? Ginny had told her George was "absolutely smitten" with her and she'd brushed it off like the joke she thought it was, but…what if it wasn't? She'd told Ginny she wouldn't go for a relationship with anyone (but they both knew she meant George) because she wanted to put her life back together. She was still interested in Ginny's idea for a wizarding kindergarten as absurd as the idea was, and she could always go to muggle university first to have something to fall back on, but did ideas count as moving on? Could George himself be considered moving forward?
"Love? You alright?" His voice was full of concern and his eyes matched. She looked at him, really looked at him, and felt a sense of release take over. He was right, who gave a shit? Her goal in life used to be keep Harry and Ron alive, defeat a dark wizard, get her N.E.W.T's, and live her life in a free world. She'd done everything but the last; it was harder for her to do than she thought it would be. Living her life used to mean studying and learning and improving herself, but what did all that matter if she wasn't happy or content? She knew George's life didn't revolve around hers and hers didn't revolve around his, but when they were together she felt what she used to dream about while on the run, excitement and love and happiness and possibilities that she could explore to her hearts content. Her dreams usually had those feelings coming from within her, but did it matter if someone else was there to support her?
"You're scaring me, Hermione. I'm sorry, okay? Next time I'll go to lunch with Ange."
"No, George, that's not it. I'm just…" She trailed off, not knowing how to finish. What was she? She felt the same as when she did when it hit her that there was no more fighting to be done and they'd won. It was a mix of relief, of hopes and dreams and the end of an era. But this wasn't then end, she was hoping it was the beginning.
"Just what?" he pressed, looking for an answer she couldn't give him.
She shrugged instead of telling him he felt like hope to her, because that sounded terrible even in her own head. "I don't know, but if you're happy, I'm happy. And you have to promise me you'll write her."
"'Course I will, love, I've gotta send her a batch of Jumbling Jaffas! Remember how I told you about that that potion I made, the one that…"
She listened with interest as he went on about his new and brilliant creations until it was time for him to relieve Ron at the shop. She even gave her own suggestions about how to make the potion tasteless so the receiver wouldn't be tipped off at first, which George added to the writing on his hand to try at work. "Y'know, if you really want a job you could always apply for WWW." he joked.
"I'll explore my other avenues first, thanks." she joked back.
"I'm just a last resort to you, aren't I?" He grinned as he said it, but it made her feel uncomfortable.
"You? No. The shop? Maybe." His grin transformed into a beam with that, and it made her uneasy heart flutter. "Besides, I still would like to research a magical kindergarten, even if nothing came of it. It would be a good idea if there was enough interest from parents for that sort of thing. Not exactly typical in the wizarding world, is it?"
"No, but muggleborns and those raised with muggles would probably have an interest." he agreed. "You never really explained the premise to me, but I have to run. I'll see you at Mum and Dad's yeah?"
"If you close up early enough you can always come here first, especially if you get the Jaffa cakes ready."
He turned around after banishing the dishes to her kitchen with bright eyes. "You want to be a taster?"
"If it's very diluted; I'm not going to dinner if I can't speak."
"Deal." He held out a hand for her to shake and she took it hesitantly, wondering what the hell she'd gotten herself into. Why did she have to invite him over? Why did she invite him over? She would've seen him later that night. "D'you mind if I Apparate out?"
"Not at all." she said. Her voice was quiet for no obvious reason. "Bye, George."
"Until tonight, love." He kissed the hand he was still holding and let go a second later, Apparating away with a loud pop.
She told herself she was getting into dangerous territory with George ages ago, but now she was realising that it was right where she wanted to be.
"First thing first, I need you to say two sentences that you'll repeat after eating the biscuit. Pick one that's short and sweet and one that's longer than the first. Try and use a variety of words if you can."
George had returned with a box of Jumbling Jaffas after changing out of his work clothes that evening. He'd tested them at work of course, he wouldn't give something so unpredictable to anyone, let alone Hermione. He'd had the potion for the cakes for a few months so it had technically been tested already, but he'd learnt the hard way that pairing potions and food could end in disaster. One time, he'd added the 'nosebleed' part of the Nosebleed Nougat to a simple jam donut just to see what would happen (plus he liked the visual of finishing off a jam donut and then looking down to see "jam"), and it had taken seven purple antidote candies just to stop the bleeding.
"Alright then; My name is Hermione Granger. I am interested to see if the cacophonic cakes will impediment my speech. Is that enough?"
"Yeah that's perfect. Help yourself to one of the cakes and don't speak until I tell you." he directed as he wrote down what she'd said. He'd tried his own tests with a self-writing quill but it wrote different words to what he was trying to use. She finished eating the cake and he gestured for her to speak, so she did.
"My name is Hermiogne Frendgar. Mie arm krensristed to see if tlue tapheonic paeokes dils bincrewdiemont mar skreetch."
"That's brilliant." he said with a grin as he (attempted to) write down her speech. He wasn't surprised that she'd broken free of the potions hold for a moment, it was very diluted. "How do you feel?"
"Mie derk hine." she said, nonchalant. He was struggling to hold back his laughter, he'd never heard her sound anything less than eloquent except for when she was half asleep.
"Can you hear the words you're saying or do they sound normal?"
"Fey thoand quormel. Shwourd fey sound normal?"
"Pardon me?"
"I said they sounf mornal and should they sound normal – Oh, I think it's worn off now."
"What makes you say that?" he asked in interest.
"My tongue, it feels… heavier? I didn't realise it felt so light until it was back to normal."
"That's how I felt too," he said as he scribbled down what she'd written. "And you're not supposed to know you sound different, that's the point. I'm glad you couldn't tell if it was working, it'll be even better when people are given them without knowing." He finished his notes and looked up at her. "Thanks for volunteering by the way. Saves Ron from being my guinea pig."
"Right, well, you're welcome." she said with a slight stammer. She didn't look away exactly when he met her eyes with raised eyebrows, but she certainly didn't keep eye contact for long. What was going on there?
"Dinner's in a half hour, did you wanna head to the Burrow now or wait for a bit?"
She paused for a moment before deciding to wait a bit if that was alright with him. He told her sure, doesn't worry him, but he didn't tell her that he was relieved he didn't have to share her for a while longer.
It was strange not having the book as something to do anymore. If they had an half hour like this to kill before Hermione would've been all over it, giving him things to check for grammatical errors or to add his own thoughts on the topic. Now with the book sent to an editor it felt taboo to talk about, like everything would fall apart if it was mentioned and all their work would be for nothing. That's how he felt, anyway. He knew her well enough by now to know that it was most likely on her mind too.
"Explain to me this pre-Hogwarts school thing Ginny got you so excited about. Who's it for?"
"Oh, it would just be for whoever needed it, I think. I guess it wouldn't be a kindergarten, it would be like tutoring, I guess? In my head it's a place that's relaxing and stimulating and makes kids want to learn rather than being stuck in a castle and having no choice but to learn – not that Hogwarts wasn't amazing, it was, but it could be quite suffocating."
"Should've snuck out with us." he said wistfully.
"Suffocating for people that studied." Hermione added.
"I studied!" he said indignantly. "I didn't fail, did I?"
"I suppose not." she said sarcastically as he sent her a grin. It, or something in her head, made her freeze up, and she averted her gaze. Something was up tonight, and he wanted to know before things were weird at dinner and he got cornered by Ginny.
He tried to get her to forget whatever was in her head. "Your school thing, would it have terms? Year levels? Are you starting a whole new system of education? You could do it, y'know. I think you're the only person I know who could."
Hermione smiled at that. "I'm not starting wizarding primary school, that would be ridiculous. You learnt your basic reading and writing from your Mum, correct?"
"Yep, but we had Bill and Charlie's help a lot of the time. Mum was busy with two other babies after us. And Dad pitched in a lot, too."
"But you come from a very big family." she pressed. "And your mum didn't work. Not that that's a bad thing, but she didn't spend a lot of time away from her kids. This would be more for parents that can't afford that one-on-one time with their children and to make sure they're all up to par with their peers who have that advantage, but they'd be coming for a few hours a day for a few days a week." She frowned to herself. "I'm not making sense, am I?"
"Sure you are. Kids need to learn somewhere, you're giving them a place to learn. It wouldn't be as structured as Hogwarts, would it? Not for young kids?"
"Oh Merlin, no." she agreed. "People wouldn't want to send their kids to school earlier than they have to, this would be a place for learning though doing, with toys and games and that sort of thing. And I bet I could get them up to fourth year muggle studies in under a year if the environment was set up near Muggles. We could have electricity and pens and fridges and television, oh my gosh I would love to show kids a television. Teddy absolutely adores it when he gets to watch one. This is why it's exciting, because there's so much wizards don't know about Muggles and don't care to learn, plus it would be good for wizard-muggle relations, wouldn't it?"
The earlier hesitancy was gone, replaced by enthusiasm and determination and a great dash of adventure. It was perfect for her, really. "I can't wait to see it in action, love."
She laughed lightly. "It'll take years to set up, George, not a month or two."
"Who cares? I still can't wait."
He heard her breath hitch almost silently. "You're going to be around that long?" she asked, closing her eyes as her voice squeaked a bit. What the hell was going on with her? She'd been acting off since he'd arrived, like she was nervous or something. What the hell would she be nervous about? Testing the product? She'd done that, it wore off within a minute, he'd tested it before he arrived to make sure of it. What else would it be?
And why the buggering hell was she asking if he was going to stick around? His life didn't revolve around hers, but she sure as fuck made it easier to get through the days. They might hang around each other as much, they might not, but she was his ladder out of the hole of despair he'd unknowingly dug himself into for the past few years. Everything he'd avoided and dodged over the years with experimenting in the back of the shop and copious amounts of Firewhisky was coming to light in a safe environment, an environment that had no mirrors or alcohol to get him through the nights he woke up in. Their work was done for now and he still felt he could tell her anything (almost anything, he reminded himself) without ridicule or question, he could still feel the comfort and familiarity they both still needed from time to time, and she thought he was willingly going to leave it?
"Where'd you think I'd be going?" he asked, breaking the silence he'd built up unintentionally.
"I don't know," she said, playing with her short and filed nails. "You've talked about expanding the shop but you never said when. Or where. And you might find…nevermind."
"Find what?" he asked, amused. He knew where this was going. "What am I finding, love?"
"Nothing, forget I said it." she murmured, not looking at him.
"Is this about my mysterious bird you were going on about on Friday?"
He was glad her hair was in a braid, otherwise he would've missed the brilliant sight of her face changing colours faster than Ron's ears. He didn't understand why she was blushing exactly, but it was cute. "It is, isn't it? Hope I get to meet her soon, she sounds delightful."
She shot him a glare, the effect completely ruined with her pink cheeks. He would've rubbed his knuckles into her hair like he did to rouse Ginny up but her hair was pulled back and she'd have to redo it; instead he crossed his arms and slid down the sofa until he was halfway off it. "Honestly love, I don't know how many times I have to tell you; if Mysterious Bird pops up someday and demands me to romance her she'll know that we're a package deal. Same as me and the shop, if she doesn't like jokes and fireworks and pranks then we're probably not gonna work out."
"I guess that makes sense." she mused as her face slowly returned to a neutral shade.
"What about you?" he said, slightly nervous. "What if some bloke comes in and sweeps you off your feet? You still gonna have time for me?"
"You've already swept me off my feet numerous times."
And just like that, Hermione's face was back to a brilliant shade of red. The sunset would've been jealous of her radiance had it still been lingering in the air. George wanted to laugh at her feelings of awkwardness but a sense of being trapped in a glass box that was filling with water had taken over him.
"I meant, like, because you've carried me to bed, that's all." She distracted herself with the damn throw blanket again, twiddling the fraying tassels she used as a distraction from him, from them.
The sense of water rising had reached his stomach, sending it surfing on a perilous journey of unpredictable endings. It felt of dread, of hope, of imagined scenarios and lingering dreams and the future and he felt it all at the same time, bubbling up inside his lungs and his heart and repeating in his head until he could hold in the months of longing no longer.
"Hermione, are you there?"
They both jumped at the voice, George nearly falling off the sofa entirely. He was lying down on it trying to calm his erratic heart as Hermione went to answer the Floo call.
"Ginny, hi, what's wrong?" she said in a rush.
"Mum wants to know if you're coming for dinner, she's serving up in ten."
Hermione turned and looked at the clock above her head. "Oh my gosh, I lost track of time. Tell Molly I'll be there after I get changed."
"No worries; hey, is George here? He hasn't made it to dinner yet and Ron said he left the shop early."
"Oh! Um, um, he's not-"
"Yes I am." He cut off, sitting up on the couch and waving to a fire-green Ginny. "Took a nap, that's all. We'll be there soon."
"I bet you took a 'nap' you slag!" Ginny called out, which wasn't exactly necessary as he could hear her disbelief loud and clear. "Get cleaned up and head over in the next ten minutes or everyone else will know what you've been up to."
"We didn't do anything!" Hermione cried but it was too late, Ginny's head had disappeared from the fireplace.
George paid no mind to how her hand ran down her face a moment before she declared she was getting changed and he should Floo over. His hands were on his knees, probably digging crescents into his skin under the fabric of his pants with the force he couldn't reign in. She emerged from her bedroom a minute later and pulled the hair tie out of her hair, running her fingers through it to unwind the pattern. She must've noticed him still sitting on the couch at that moment because she called out his name. He didn't reply and she stepped closer, standing at the side of the sofa and looked at him.
"George, are you alright?" she asked, stopping herself from playing with her hair as she looked at him, trying to figure out what was wrong. He was neck deep now, barely able to keep his head above the rising emotions that he had fought for months now. He'd kept them in check for too long, not letting them explore more than a kiss on the head and a hug on the sofa, and now they were rebelling inside of him. He noted absently that it was the same sort of feeling he had after they buried Fred, a sense of having to act, to do something just to make sure he was still there, still alive and in charge of his life. Back then he wanted to punch a wall, snap a broom, dig a hole next to Fred and bury himself next to him, but now there was something he could do, something to change his fate or path in life, and he was sick of holding it back.
He stood up slowly, flexing the muscles in his fingers as he looked at her. His body felt like rock and like fire, unable to move his tense body but ready to jump over to her and set her alight.
You do anything to her, it'll fuck it all up his little voice reminded him.
If I don't try I'll never be able to give up he argued back mentally.
"George? You're scaring me." she whispered. He stopped flexing his fingers, realising he'd been staring at her the whole time. He blinked a few times and the feeling of drowning receded some, but not enough.
"Hermione, please, love, just once. Please, just... I need to know." He begged as quietly as she had been.
Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion. She tried to say something but her words died as he reached out to cup her face. Her hair seemed tame as it brushed against his fingers, not as wild as usual, not a reflection of how he felt inside. Her eyes widened as his thumb ran lightly across her cheek, calmer than he was. She must've understood what he'd wanted and he was so close to closing the gap between them, closer than he dared possible, but he waited for her permission. He wasn't as impulsive as he was in another lifetime, he couldn't fuck this up. If he jumped her now he knew any chance of "them" would be done for.
"George…" she trailed off, not giving him any indication of whether he could lean in. It infuriated the fierce side of him that was rearing his head, but it gave him time to take a deep breath that shuddered in his lungs.
"Say no and I'll go. Say no and I'll forget this ever happened." he said.
"Just once." she said, barely loud enough for his one ear to pick up on. He looked at her, studying her face to make sure she wasn't just saying it to make him happy. He couldn't see anything but a hesitant hope in her eyes and in her brow; he could tell because it was what he realised the water inside him was.
With her permission he stepped in, increasing his grip on her the slightest bit more as he leaned closer. Her eyes, her wide eyes that he'd spent so long studying and reading as he fell for her flickered shut, and he could contain himself no more.
His lips met hers and the awareness of his watery cage disappeared, leaving him with the feeling of softness and completion. He moved his lips experimentally against hers and she followed his lead, putting a hand on his waist to steady herself. He felt like a teenager again as his body became hyperaware of everywhere her hand was touch and everything her lips were doing against his. She had told him he could do this just once, so he was determined to shut his mind up and give it his all.
Hermione let go of his waist and wrapped both arms fully around him, pulling him completely against her as he fought against the need to come up for air. Whether it was because she was indulging him or enjoying herself he didn't know, but she held on tight regardless. He was going slow because he hadn't done this in years, and he realised belatedly that it almost the same for her.
The need for air was burning his lungs, almost bringing him to the point of painful tears. He ended the searing kiss reluctantly, breaking his promise of just one with a small peck to her closed lips. One of his hands had made it to the back of her head at one point, cradling her tilted head and surely knotting her hair as she gazed at him through her lashes. Her hands were still around George's waist loosely, as if unsure of what to do with herself now.
He supposed this was when the mental bashing should've began. He should've felt angry at himself, disappointed that he couldn't keep his cool like he had every other fucking night he'd been at her place, especially when they were late for dinner at his parents. Ginny.
The thought of his little sister and her teasing words made George snap out of his thoughts, stepping back until Hermione's arms no longer circled him. He turned away from her as he raked his hand through his hair. He'd just snogged Hermione Granger, and now he had to go to dinner and act like nothing happened? Ginny would be able to smell the guilt pouring off of him, forcing her to do something like th-
"George." Hermione said to his back. He couldn't turn around just yet, he hadn't figured out how to apologise.
Her hand came to rest at his shoulder, not applying enough pressure to force him to turn around but enough for her to know she was there, waiting. He knew that they should've left ages ago, dinner would've started without them at this point, yet he still couldn't face his family, couldn't face her. There had been signs in the past that she'd wanted the same thing, sure, but they were signs he was sorely convinced he had conjured out of thin air to make him hold onto hope.
"George, you need to talk to me." she pleaded.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked turning around and shielding himself with his hair.
She drew a breath, sliding her hand from his shoulder to his palm. "I want you to explain why you said just once." she said quietly, watching herself rub the back of his hand with her thumb.
Her request wasn't what he expected at all. He was waiting for the "what the fuck?" (well, "what in the world"; it was Hermione after all.) or the "you've ruined everything!" speech. Maybe she was just biding her time.
"Because," she continued, oblivious to his internal struggle, "that didn't feel like a 'just once' sort of thing. Not to me."
George took a deep breath. He was hearing what she was saying but his heart and his head were mixing the signals. He went with his head. "Because you told me yourself, you're not looking for anyone."
She laughed then, a melodic bubble of energy in the tense room. "That was months ago! I was thinking about moving to Australia for a few months as well, but things change, don't they?"
His heart did a happy dance in his chest but his mind refused to give in. "Even if that changed, you said you wanted someone who didn't know who you were."
"That's because I was scared." Hermione said, a trace of her laugh still left on her features. "I didn't want to have to explain myself to anyone, to relive all the terrible things I went through, the hideous things I did to survive, but that doesn't matter with you, does it? You already know everything, you helped me deal with it all."
She looked up at him then, moving his hair out of his face and holding back the side that couldn't be tucked behind his ear. "Love, I…"
"Why do you call me love?"
"I don't know." He lied after a pause. She sent him a look that clearly said she knew it was bullshit. "I can't explain it, alright? You're not Hermione, you're just…love. I think of you at work and I'm happy, I come over to your place and I'm happier, and when you Floo over to my place I'm ecstatic. You make things look up, you shine when I feel dark and alone, and I'm not sure what sort of stupid shit I'm saying right now because my heads a mess, but when I call you love it makes me feel like a little piece of you is mine."
She smiled to herself at whatever nonsense he just sprouted and focused on playing with a lock of his hair. "You want me to be yours?"
It was now or never, wasn't it?
"Yes." He breathed out, afraid to say it even though he knew he'd come out the other end just fine regardless of how she took his answer. "But you won't be."
"And why's that?" she asked, looking into his eyes. He thought he could detect a hint of amusement in her tone.
"Because you're too lovely and amazing and selfless to not be shared."
"Shared with who? The wizarding world?" He nodded at her question. "I nearly died, George. Several times. Every time it was for the wizarding world. I'm allowed to be selfish now. It's time for me to be happy." Her hands linked behind his neck, giving her leverage as she stood on her toes. "Can you help me find my happiness again?"
"'Course I will, love. We help each other."
This wasn't one of his dreams, was it? She was actually kissing him, not snogging him back, but initiating and leading and kissing him. He thought he'd have to pinch himself as her hands were replaced by her arms around his neck. She was barely tall enough to each him but he held her firm around the hips; they were so close that no air could pass between them. He almost dropped her in surprised when her tongue stroked his bottom lip, that was definitely something that didn't happen in his dreams. He followed her lead, letting her keep control as she had done for him yet still trying to convey everything he was feeling through his touch, to let her know how much he…well, how much he loved her.
She leant out of the embrace slightly puffing and looking thoroughly snogged. He leant his forehead against hers, unwilling to stop their connection even though their arms were around each other, and when she opened her eyes she was greeted by George's smile that he was pretty sure wouldn't leave his face for a week. Her smile was sweet in return, full of an optimism and delight he didn't have to be jealous of.
"We should probably go." she whispered.
"Gimme a minute." he said, muffling his words into the crook of her neck. She hugged him tighter, not speaking as they held each other close.
The fire roared to life, transitioning from orange to green as Ginny's head reappeared in the flames. Her eyes were screwed shut as she yelled for the two of them.
"We're right here, Ginny. Why are your eyes shut?" Hermione asked.
"Because I didn't want to have to Scourgify them if you were all doing what we thought you were doing." Ginny retorted as she opened one eye. Determining that they were both fully dressed and not touching, she opened both. "Judging by George's grin something's happened. Hermione, if you want people to know about it, hurry the hell up before I outshine you both."
"What're you talking about, sis?" George asked.
She huffed, sending a small flame into the air as she did. "You would know if you actually made it to dinner late, but no, you missed the entire meal. I promise you if you're not here within the next five minutes, I will never forgive you. Ever." With that, her head disappeared from the fire as it turned back to green.
"What do you say, love?" he asked, reaching out to take her hand.
"To what?"
"Do you want people to know about it?"
"Do you want people to know we're together?"
"They already do." he grinned. "Well, Ange thought we were together today at least. I'll have to send her an owl and correct myself."
"Then it's settled." she said with a tone of finality and squeezed his hand. "We better go, I don't want Ginny to kill me."
He sent her a squeeze and let go of her hand. "You first or I?"
"You." Hermione said without hesitation. He laughed and kissed her on the forehead – if he kissed her like he wanted to his sister would become a murderer. "I'll see you there, yeah?" he confirmed.
"I'm right behind you."
"Finally! I'm abut ready to strangle both of you with your own hairs. What did you do?" Ginny demanded to know as George came through to the Burrow via Floo. She was the only one in the room besides him, everyone else must've been eating dessert or mingling in the kitchen.
"I…I kissed her." George said in a quiet excitement. Ginny only stared at him as she registered the earth shattering news that didn't seem to affect her as much as he'd hoped.
"Okay?" was the reply that came. Hermione still hadn't come through which worried him, she'd said she'd be right behind him. "What's so good about that?"
"What?! You're the one who's been harping on about how bloody brilliant we'd be together!" he scowled.
"Yeah but that doesn't mean you mi- hang on, was that?"
"Yeah." George grinned as she realisation dawned on his little sister's face.
A matching grin grew on Ginny's face as Hermione came through the fireplace, now with a tight braid instead of loose curls. She was smiling at George as she stepped through but it faded as she looked between him and Ginny and noted their expressions. He relieved her of his discomfort by stepping forward and planting a quick kiss to her lips. "You ready?"
"She's been ready for months, idiot. Hurry up into the dining room, I have gifts!" Ginny sang out as she bounced through the archway and away from the two of them. Hermione reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze as she took a deep breath.
"Relax, love. They thought we were already together; well, Ginny did anyway, that probably means they all did." he reassured her.
"If you say so. Together?" she asked as she swung their entwined hands slightly.
"Together." George confirmed as he took the first step.
The pair walked into the dining room and he noticed boxes of different shapes and sizes in front of all the chairs, except for where Victorie's place at the table was, wrapping was everywhere and she was playing with a fuzzy bear on Bill's lap that he hadn't seen before.
"Oh, there you two are! We were all so worried!" his mum cried as she reached out and hugged him tightly. He let go of Hermione's hand briefly to pat his mum on the back, letting go one she'd squeezed him hard enough to help him grow another centimetre or two. She moved onto Hermione next and gave her the same treatment, only stopping to lean back and hold her outstretched. "Is everything alright, dears?"
"Everything's fine, Mum." he said as she inspected Hermione's face, probably searching for tell-tale signs of tears.
"We are, really." Hermione added on. She let go of Hermione and clasped her hands in front of her, turning her head only to admonish Charlie who'd burped loudly. He reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand in the short distraction, which unfortunately was still caught by the Weasley children.
"Mum, I'd say they're more than fine." Charlie quipped, nodding his head towards their joint hands. Molly turned back to face them and looked down, smiling brightly to herself as she tutted and fussed over the two of them.
"I'd go so far and say they're positively okay." Ron joined in as he nudged Charlie.
"Well whatever they are I'd say they need to sit down; Ginny looks ready to kill them." Percy said as he watched his sister. George looked at her where she was sitting, she looked happy enough but was drumming her fingers on the table. She stopped as she realised what she was doing, leaning back in her chair that Harry had his arm around the back of. "I've been waiting to do these presents for a month." Ginny said. "I'm happy for you, really, but I wanna get them opened before dessert. They were supposed to be before dinner, but not everyone turned up, did they?" Ginny said with a glint of mischief as George sat down in front of a box with bright purple wrapping. Hermione sat next to him with a blush, looking determinedly at the small white bag in front of her.
"Now," started Ginny. "I've been travelling a lot, far too much, actually, and these are just small things I picked up on the way. They might not be terribly exciting, but you know how it is when you've got money burning a hole in your pocket." She smiled at her siblings as she said that and they all smirked knowingly. "I only ask that you two open yours last, is that alright?"
"Perfectly fine, Ginny." Arthur said from the head of the table.
Ginny looked at everyone else. "Well, go on!" she said in excitement.
The room became loud with the sounds of ripping paper and noises of delight. Harry didn't have a gift, however Ron received a signed Chudley Cannons banner which he examined in delight; Charlie thanked Ginny very much for his gift of aged Swedish mead while Fleur and Bill showed off their Dutch vase to Victorie that Ginny pointed out matched their living room in Shell Cottage quite nicely. Percy was already organising his Austrian inks and quills while explaining the importance of a sturdy set of quills for work done for the Ministry at home, which George found to be a rather redundant conversation considering their father had worked years longer than Percy had been alive. He didn't say anything though, he was too busy staring at the gift Ginny had gotten Hermione. The black box it came in had a kangaroo on the front, so the necklace she was touching lightly must've been from Australia, somewhere Ginny hadn't been in months. The pale blue gem inside the silver encasing sparkled with bursts of orange and green when light reflected on it, and George knew it would suit her perfectly.
"It's an Australian opal." Ginny explained. "Technically that's a crystal opal, but don't ask me what that means because I have no idea - here's a handout under the jewellery pillow if you want to have a look later. Anyway, it wasn't the brightest one there and certainly not the biggest, but it's modest enough to wear whenever, yeah? I hate things that are too flashy to wear once every five years, I always forget about them when I get dressed for fancy occasions, but I saw that one and thought it would work really well with your hair and your eyes. I think George agrees." Ginny finished by smirking at him. He didn't give a shit, instead he held his hand out for Hermione to drop the necklace into as she held her hair out of the way. He fumbled with the clasp slightly as he put it on her, but he got there in the end.
Hermione turned to get his approval of the necklace and he nodded without speaking. Ginny was right, the colour didn't exactly match her eyes or her hair, but somehow the mix of colours complimented both perfectly. She turned to face Ginny and thank her yet again, and the necklace looked purple instead of blue. Full of surprises that opal was, just like Hermione.
"What did you get?" she asked him.
"No idea." he said as he shook the box that was inside the purple wrapping. He couldn't see an opening or a close, but he could definitely hear something inside of it. When he tilted it away from him slowly he could feel something in there too.
Ginny laughed as he played with the box. "You need to owl me when you work out how to open it, took me a month and a half to open mine." she said brightly as he scowled. He had to fiddle with this thing for a whole month to get a present?
"You'll work it out." Hermione said quietly from his side as she rested a hand above his knee. He leant over and kissed her cheek in response to her encouragement. One of his brothers let out a wolf whistle as he did, and he glared at their guiltless expressions sarcastically.
Harry was the only one not seeming to enjoy the gift receiving as everyone else. George had no idea why; as much as it made him want to Scourgify his eyes and brain he imagined Ginny would've given him something once every few times she came home from her travels. Instead his eyes were darting around to everyone, looking for clues or hints or something that he couldn't work out. George noticed that Harry's eyes rarely strayed to his parents, but it was most likely because they'd hadn't opened their presents.
As if on cue Ginny stood up and raised her voice above the talking, as one did in the Burrow if they wanted everyone's attention. She continued to stand as she spoke. "I hope everyone enjoyed their gifts, and you can all stop thanking me, they're gifts because you've all supported me throughout the years and because I love you all, yes, even you, Ronald. Now it's time for Mum and Dad to open their presents, but I recommend Dad goes first. Dad?"
His dad nodded and began ripping open the paper excitedly. George couldn't see anything, the large box was on the floor next to his father, but he could see the wrapping paper being thrown everywhere. The box inside was carefully opened at Ginny's insistence, and once it opened Arthur look at her with wonder. "Ginny," he began, slightly choking out the words. "This…this is too much, Ginbug, you shouldn't have-"
"But I did, though." Ginny replied. "I did because I wanted to and because I knew how much it would mean to you. Open it up." she encouraged. Arthur stood up, lifting what he thought was a piece of rolled parchment but what rapidly expanded into a tapestry of some sort. His dad beckoned Percy to help him unroll it with him, and together they revealed a blank tapestry save for a border and a title that read "Weasley" in bold, capital letters. "I remember you telling me there was an old motto for the Weasley's years ago before bed but I couldn't find it anywhere. If you want to add it under the heading you can with the needle. It's all very thought out, you can just speak to it after casting the spell and it'll write anything. Hide that spell from George."
Their dad laughed at that, but it was choked with happy tears. "You didn't have to do this, Gin." was all he could say.
"But I saw it and thought about how happy it would make you. I know you don't want to forget anyone or treat them as long gone or whatever, and this way no one can ever forget them, as long as we have a blast-free pact that saves it from becoming like the Black family tapestry." Ginny commented. "I have no idea where you're going to hang it when it's done, though. That's the only problem I could see with it."
"It's perfect, Ginny; thank you so much." Arthur said as he walked over and kissed her on the head. Ginny smiled broadly as she turned towards her mother and her present, a medium sized box sitting on the table in front of her with a bright pink bow on it. Harry looked terrified of it.
His mum started to unwrap the bow, pulling at the end of it until it fell apart. The box did too, falling apart at the sides to reveal a set of fancy knitting needles and two balls of thick wool, emerald green in colour and looked like they'd be fuzzy if you stroked them. Molly gasped as she handled the needles that were engraved and crafted so well they almost looked like delicate silver wands. "These are gorgeous, dear; where did you get them?"
"Germany, about a month or two ago. The wool is from Greece." Ginny said as she took Harry's hand. The poor bloke looked ready to chuck up his dinner or run. His wife's thumb ran over the back of his hand soothingly as she talked to her mother. "It reminded me of Harry's eyes, but I was hoping you could make a jumper out of it."
"Oh, dear, I don't think I could. See the way the wool is structured?" Molly said as she inspected the wool closely, "It's too exquisite to enlarge or duplicate enough to make a jumper for you, I'm so sorry. If you could pick up some more I could make you one, otherwise I could make one for Victorie?"
"Could you make it for someone smaller than Victorie?" Ginny asked with excitement taking over her voice. "I don't have their measurements yet but I could get them for you soon."
"Of course, dear, I'm excited to use these needles, they look far too fancy to be spelled to do work. Who's the jumper for?"
"For Lily. Lily Luna Potter."
A wave of confusion washed over the table, gradually breaking as various people caught on and looked down at Ginny's slightly-bulging-if-you-looked-at-the-right-angle stomach. She rested her free hand over said stomach lightly and whispered to the silent table.
"I'm five months pregnant."
George could only describe the scene as hysteria. His mother had instantly started crying over her new needles and wool while their father rubbed her back with his own unshed tears. Charlie and Ron had started to call out various congratulations over one another, and Percy was shaking Harry's hand and giving him advice that he probably wasn't listening to. Bill had let out a whoop of excitement at the same time Charlie had called out something decidedly crass, and the combined loud noises had scared Victorie off his lap and into her mother's arms. Fleur picked her up and started to spin, saying "No tears, mon Cherie, you vill have another friend, a cousin!"
George didn't know what to think. He was thrilled that Ginny was pregnant even though he thought she was too young for a woman of the modern era, but he wouldn't let it stop her if she was happy. It was times like these where he wanted to escape outdoors with a bottle of Firewhisky and pray his brother was back. People were moving on, moving forwards with their lives while he was stuck underground with a fading grin on his face. He knew that it was a bad thing to think when he was told he'd be an uncle, but he couldn't help it. Lily would only know her uncle through stories and photos, though there'd be plenty to go around.
There was movement beside him as Hermione walked around the table to hug Harry and congratulate him. When Molly finally removed herself from sobbing happily all over Ginny Hermione swooped in, claiming she should've known and all the clues that she could see looking back on her behaviour. The table laughed at that and Hermione blushed, looking towards George for help. He grinned at her and shrugged, telling her silently that there was nothing he could do. Ron held Hermione's shoulders and moved her away to encase his sister in a bear hug, rapidly telling her his plans to turn Lily into a Cannons supporter.
Hermione moved back to George's side and slid an arm around his waist. It wasn't something he'd suppose she'd do normally in front of everyone so early in their relationship, but with all the excitement and love going around she probably had gotten swept up in it herself. Her touch brought him out of his melancholy some, but he still felt the absence of Fred like a void in the room.
"She's going to be spoilt, isn't she?" Hermione asked with a smile. "She's got so many people that love her already…I would've done anything for a great big family like this growing up."
"You've had this family while growing up." George pointed out.
"You know what I mean." she said as the arm around his waist pulled him closer. "All this love and energy and happiness, she's going to love the onslaught of uncles. Even the ones that aren't here." she said pointedly, quietly enough that no one around them would overhear the bleak conversation in the jubilant room.
Of course she knew what he was thinking. She probably knew him better than anyone these days, even better than Lee or his brothers. "It just sucks, y'know? He should be here celebrating."
"He should." she agreed. "Because this is what we fought for; we fought for the future, for a new life. Even after all this time I still can't fathom what it felt like, what it feels like to lose Fred, but he was fighting so kids like Victorie and Lily won't have to. I think he'd be pretty happy with what his passing has turned into, wouldn't you?"
He would. He would've been thrilled to be an uncle, to teach them the ways of the master prankster who could terrorise his siblings from afar. He would've loved to see if they'd say Uncle Fred or Uncle George first, and he would've been a great father himself someday. All that was left of him was great memories that he was trying everyday not to taint with the sadness and grief he still felt, but weren't they all? His dad would add Fred's birthday and deathday to the new Weasley Tapestry, and Ginny would have a baby that he would treasure like no other and tell stories about. Lily would live in a world that Fred made a safer place, that they all made a safer place, and she'd live a life filled with jokes and pranks and too much love for one person, much like Victorie was. She'd learn about what they lost during those dark years, maybe even through the book that had brought two misguided people into each other's lives to heal their hearts together.
Maybe one day he'd even have his own children to share his memories of their Uncle Fred with. He'd told Hermione he couldn't be a parent because he simply couldn't cope with the pain of losing a child, but maybe he could celebrate what they'd achieved, what they'd fought for. Maybe Hermione could be the one to travel the path of parenthood with him. Maybe they'd just enjoy what they had together for a long time without sharing anymore of themselves with the world. Maybe, just maybe, it was okay to be happy, to face his problems with her and move forward from his brother's passing once and for all. There was a future, and he wanted it now.
"Yeah." George said as he stared at his happy family, milled around the endless joys and possibilities that the new life had brought before her arrival. "I think he would."
A/N: This both took longer than I thought it would take to write and no time at all. It's about 2 o'clock in the morning at the time of posting this final chapter, but the words just kept flowing!
I know I haven't shut up about reviews this whole time but I sincerely thank everyone for their kind words. It's been so lovely seeing emails saying I have a new review, follower, favourite, or direct message, and I hope you'll all join me on my next adventures. I plan on writing a few one shots, maybe even a chaptered story or two based on this storyline, but we'll have to see how it goes, maybe I'll just get a brand new idea and roll with that.
Once again, thank you so much for reading my first ever *completed* fanfic, and I hope to see you all again in the future (horrible pun intended).