Author's Note: NOOOO! Our last chapter! I will have the first chapter of my story up either tonight or tomorrow, so keep a look out! Not Rowling.

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A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS, NEW AND OLD. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

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Hermione woke up and yawned, blinking her eyes, trying to get used to the sunbeams forcing their way through the slats in the window shutters. She heard a yawn next to her and felt movement as George rolled onto his side and wrapped an arm around her stomach, pulling her close to his chest. She giggled as he kissed ear, making it pop, just like they did when you went up in an airplane.

"Good morning," she heard his raspy voice whisper into her ear. She turned over, his hand now on her back as she faced him.

…

"Good morning," she said happily, kissing him. "What time is it?" He rolled over and checked the clock next to his bed.

"Seven o'clock."

"I've got to get going! I've got class in an hour!" She moved to get up, but he pulled her back down, kissing her once more before letting her get out of bed. She hurried to the bathroom, and he heard the water from the shower turn on a second later. He got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to make some tea. He was about halfway through making breakfast when he heard her padding footsteps in the hall and turned just in time to see her walk into their bedroom, wrapped in a towel, her hair already dry and what little amount of makeup she wore already on. He was just setting the snapping sausages onto a paper towel-lined plate when she walked out, clad in a black pencil skirt and a white button down with the sleeves rolled up, her cloak in one arm and her shoes in the other, her hair pulled back into a loose plait. As she walked to the small table, she set down her cloak and shoes on the armchair and smiled at him as she saw he had already made her tea the way she liked it.

"You're so good to me," she said with a smile.

"I know," he teased, earning a swat from her as he set some food on her plate. After they finished eating, she rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth while he started cleaning up. She headed to the fire but before throwing in the powder, she rushed over to George, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss. He grinned and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground, making her laugh. He set her down and gave her a quick peck before picking up her cloak and handing it to her.

"I'll see you later tonight," she said as she checked she had everything with her.

"Yes you will," he said, thankful she missed the sly grin that appeared on his face as he replied.

"I love you," she said before stepping into the merrily crackling flames.

"I love you too," he replied with a smile.

…

Hermione was halfway through her day when an owl rapped on her classroom window. She made sure the class was busy working before she headed over and let the owl in. It soared over to the desk and stuck out its leg, to which a note was tied. She untied it and the owl immediately took off, soaring out the window and into the cloudless, blue sky. She unfolded the note to see George's handwriting.

Need you to pick up something from our dear friend. The nargles seemed to have stolen it.

She laughed to herself and shook her head. 'Nargles, honestly.' Once class was done, she headed to the History of Magic classroom, where Luna was just sorting through some of her papers.

"Hello Luna!"

"Oh, hello Hermione," replied Luna in her sing-song voice.

"Apparently I'm supposed to pick something up from you."

"Oh! Right…hold on…let me…" She searched through her pockets until she found a small envelope labeled Hermione. "Here you go!" She handed it to Hermione and went back to organizing her papers. Hermione opened the envelope to see George's handwriting again.

So sorry, I guess I left it with the bravest Gryffindor our generation has seen. The one with the green thumb, I mean.

"Seriously?" Hermione asked, incredulously.

"What?"

"It's like I'm on a scavenger hunt!"

"Maybe you are on a scavenger hunt," replied Luna, as though this was the most logical thing in the world. Just then, students started slowly making their way into the classroom, talking and laughing amongst themselves. "Hermione, you better get back to you class."

"Oh. Right. Thanks Luna!" She hurried back to her classroom, but she was somewhat distracted during her next class, busy wondering about what Neville had. Luckily, it was a class of seventh years, so they already knew what to do. As soon as class was done, she hurried to the greenhouses, attracting several odd looks from the students as she rushed by. "Neville!" she cried as she got into the greenhouses just to find they were empty. "Neville!" she cried as she went from greenhouse to greenhouse, walking up the aisles, trying to see if he was hidden by a large plant of a shelf of potting soil. She got to greenhouse three and called again. "Neville! Are you he-AAAAHHH!" she screamed as one of the dangerous plants moved to wrap its tendrils around her neck. Just then, Neville rushed out from behind an array of pots that Hermione recognized as adolescent mandrakes. He shot a spell nonverbally and the tendrils recoiled from around her neck as if burned.

"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked as he rushed over to her.

"Y-yeah," she said, somewhat shaken. "Umm…I heard you have something for me."

"Oh yeah, I do," he said, staring to rummage around in his pockets. He finally pulled out another small envelope, this one covered in dirty fingerprints and green streaks from the plants. Just as happened when she got the letter from Luna, students started hurrying in, not wanting to be late for their last class of the day. "You've got to go, Hermione! You don't want to be late!"

"Thanks Neville," she called as she hurried out of the greenhouse and ran to her next class. She slowed and tried to gain some composure as she got a few yards from her classroom. "Hello class," she said as she walked in, not wanting to seem out of breath or frazzled. "Sorry I'm late." She continued with her lesson as usual, but although she itched to read the note, she couldn't as this was a much more hands-on class with the third year Slytherins and Gryffindors, who were thankfully working well today. When class was finally done, she pulled the letter hastily from her pocket and opened it quickly.

If you please, could you visit our lovely friend who can't keep it in his pants?

Hermione burst out laughing and rushed to her office, pulling off her robes hurriedly and dropping them on the floor. She threw powder into the flames and, with a shout, stepped in and spun away.

…

Hermione burst out of the fireplace in the back room of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and saw Lee was hauling a box from the storage room to the front of the store. "Lee!" she called after him.

He turned around and smiled at her. "Hello, Hermione. George is out right now."

"Actually, I'm here to see you."

"Finally got your head on straight and realized I'm much better looking than your loser boyfriend, eh?" he said with a cheeky grin. She laughed.

"Actually, that's not why I'm here, but thanks for reminding me of my other purpose," she joked. "Actually, I got a note from George saying I had to pick something up from you."

"Oh, that thing. Yeah, he attached it to something when he was setting up this morning. A box of some kind. I don't remember the product."

"Oh great," she said, slightly exasperated. "Another hunt through Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." She set to searching the store, immediately going for the Skiving Snackboxes. There was nothing there. "Dammit," she muttered to herself and resumed her search. Finally, about ten minutes later, she found a small envelope with her name on it attached to a box of Reusable Hangman. She sighed. "I should have seen that one coming."

"Yes, you should have," said Lee amusedly, who had been watching her and adding his own sarcastic commentary to her search.

"You said you didn't know which box it was!"

"Well, I remembered about halfway through, but that would have made it too easy for you." Hermione made a noise of aggravation before ripping open the letter.

Wonderboy.

Hermione flipped over the card, but there was nothing more than that single word. "Thanks Lee," she called over her shoulder as she dropped the note on the floor and rushed towards the door.

"Oi! You're littering!"

"Oh gosh, I forgot I dropped that. Sorry!" She gave him a wink, her tone sarcastic as she headed out, hearing Lee chuckling at her comment as she left. As soon as she stepped onto the pavement, she turned and was now on the front steps of Grimmauld Place. She opened the door and cried "HARRY!" as she hurried in, closing the door behind her.

"I'M UP HERE!" he called from one of the upper levels. Hermione rushed up the stairs, checking every floor before finally finding him in the attic. Hermione leaned against the doorframe, breathing heavily.

"There are a lot of bloody stairs to get up here," she panted.

"Keeps you in shape," replied Harry, who was going through the last few boxes that hadn't been cleared out. "What brings you here?"

"I'm supposed to get something from you. Something from George."

Harry sat back on his heels, staying in his crouched position, and looked at her for a moment, a look of concentration on his face. "Hmmm…I think I left it in the office." She looked at him blankly. "Sirius' old room."

"Right. Thanks!" She ran back down the stairs to the third floor and ran in. The room was dark and still looked as though Sirius lived there, but had simply grown up. The old bed was still there, clean and rumpled, as though someone had taken a catnap on it, and above it hung the old posters, banners, and pictures of the Marauders. There was now a desk, probably taken from one of the other rooms, on which several files labeled with different case numbers lay, next to a lamp, an inkwell, a few quills, and a few frames. Hermione bent down and looked at each of the frames. The first was a picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Harry and Ginny's wedding. Ron and Harry looked dapper in their jet black dress robes and Hermione was in her emerald bridesmaid dress, her hair in an elegant updo, though some of the shorter curls had fallen out and were framing her face. Harry had his arm around Ron's shoulder, who's arms were wrapped around both Harry's and Hermione's shoulders. Hermione had her arm wrapped Ron's waist. They were all beaming and suddenly, Hermione burst into laughter, the other two following suit. Hermione smiled at the photo and looked at the next frame. It was a rather intimate picture of him and Ginny on their wedding day. Ginny, in her beautiful snow white, strapless mermaid gown, swayed with her hands resting on his shoulders as her lips brushed Harry's jaw line. As they, swayed, Harry came into focus and he tilted his head from where it had been resting, cheek to cheek with his new wife, and kissed her softly on the cheek, making her smile. It was the perfect summary of their relationship, of all they had went through to be together, of all the happiness that filled them now that they were. Hermione teared by a little, but moved on to the next picture, which was a familiar one of James, Sirius and Lupin during their Hogwarts years, laughing and relaxing under the old oak tree by the lake. The fourth frame held a picture of Harry with a toddler Teddy. Harry was bathing Teddy and was completely soaked, laughing as the toddler splashed in the water, his turquoise hair still vibrant through the bubble hat he had on his head. Hermione was so caught up in looking at the photos that she almost forgot why she was there, but her mission came to mind as she saw a letter under the picture of Teddy. She gently picked up the picture and set it back after removing the envelope, which she opened hurriedly.

She knows more about our relationship than any outsider should.

Hermione was out of the room like a shot. "GINNY!"

…

Hermione finally found her in her bedroom, putting away some laundry.

"Hey Hermione! What brings you here?" she said, sending her a smile as she put her and Harry's clothes in their respective drawers.

"I need to pick something up that George gave you."

"Oh, I was wondering when you'd come rushing in, asking about it." She picked up another nondescript envelope from the top of the dresser and handed it to Hermione.

You don't know this story, but he actually had a big part in us finally getting together.

Hermione stared at the letter for a moment before looking up at Ginny to find that she was watching Hermione with a little smile on her face. "Does he mean Teddy?"

"I dunno," replied Ginny, although her tone said quite the opposite. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Hermione hurried out of the room, Ginny hot on her heels, and down the hallway to Teddy's room, where he was laying on his stomach on the floor, drawing.

"Hi Auntie Mione!" he said happily.

"Hey, Teddy! I heard you have something for me from Uncle George."

"Yeah!" he exclaimed happily, sitting up and rifling through his pictures. He set down a picture of two people holding hands, one with red spikes for hair and one with long brown spirals for hair. Then he set down a page that said, written in purple marker, The place that started it all. She looked up from the picture to see a smiling Teddy watching her. She leaned forward and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you, Teddy," she said happily, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome!"

She got up, hugged Ginny, and started rushing down the stairs.

"Do you know where you're going?" Ginny called after her.

"Yeah! Thanks!"

…

Hermione stood for a moment, regaining her balance before taking off down the street. She ran into the Three Broomsticks, waved to Madame Rosmerta, and rushed to the back booth where she had meet George after her last scavenger hunt over a year ago. There, in the torch bracket, was another bouquet of fresh lilac branches.

"Gotcha!" she cried happily as she rounded the booth. There was no one there. She searched the table, but there was no letter either. "Wha-" She turned, but her words trailed away as she saw George standing behind her, a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets.

"Had a fun time today?" he asked, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Yeah, but why did you do it this time?"

"I thought it would be fitting. Both were the start of a new beginning."

"What do you-" She gasped as he sunk down onto one knee and pulled a small, velvet box from him pocket.

"Hermione Jean Granger, you are the woman who I have unknowingly loved for years, the woman I fell madly in love with almost a year ago, the only woman who knows how to completely break me and completely heal me. Would you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?" He opened the box as he said this to reveal a beautiful gold ring. It was the ring she had seen in an antique store window when they were out shopping. It was three small, interconnecting rings, one made of white gold, one of yellow gold, and one of rose gold. There were no diamonds, no flashy ornaments, just a beautifully simple ring in a beautifully simple box.

She covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes streaming, unable to control her beaming smile.

"Really?" she asked, almost a little afraid to believe this was true. He started laughing.

"Yes, really." She gave a little squeal of excitement and grabbed George's arm, pulling him up from his kneeling position. She threw herself onto him, kissing him on his lips, cheeks, anything she could reach. "So is that a 'yes'?" he asked, smiling.

She looked into those deep blue eyes she loved so much and smiled back, biting her bottom lip unconsciously. "Yeah," she replied, a beaming smile on her face.

"I'm glad to hear that," he replied, leaning forward and kissing her like their first kiss, the kiss that started it all.

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I want to clarify, since I have gotten several questions about this. This is the last chapter of "A Faint Heart" and I will not be writing an epilogue. I had one in my last story and am planning on having one in my next story, so I didn't want to be overly repetitive. Thanks so much for reading!

Cat