Chapter Twenty-Three
George POV
Christmas break at Hogwarts couldn't come any sooner. He was so anxious to see and hold Hermione in his hands to make sure she was okay. When she got off of the Hogwarts Express, he yanked her into a fierce hug that made her beat-up sneakers come off of the ground when she was lifted into the air. Hermione didn't protest and instead planted a kiss on his warm lips. The electricity between them made the two forget that they were on a crowded platform and not in private. "Mate… we should get a move on." Fred chuckled from behind his twin. "Not that I don't fancy seeing you both so smitten, but maybe it'll be safer elsewhere." He winked and dodged a swat that Hermione sent his way.
The Order members escorted the Hogwarts students safely to the Burrow. Hermione and George refused to be apart and everyone was thankfully respecting that. It had been so long since the Hogsmeade trip. George was waiting for them to be in private to tell her about the full attack at the shop and he could tell she was anxiously waiting for him to discuss it since his note had to be so vague and short.
When they made it to the Burrow, George and Hermione brought her bags up to Ginny's room before going to talk in the twins' room. "What happened?" She finally asked him when the door clicked shut behind them.
George sank down onto his twin-size bed with a sigh. He knew that Hermione would want the facts and get straight to the point. "Two death eaters entered the shop and attacked Fred and I. We are now in hiding here because of it. They are after us because they think we can give them answers. There's a bounty on our head apparently."
"So… because of me." Hermione sank into the bed next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "It's probably because you were at Hogsmeade with me… I'm so sorry, George."
"They know that we are a part of the Order because of the night we came to rescue all of you at the Ministry. It's not your fault, love." He lifted her chin up so that she had to look into his eyes. "Please do not take this on yourself. It's not your fault at all. We knew the risk that came with being in the Order and we welcomed it with open arms. Weasley's fight for what is right, no matter what the cost."
Hermione nodded and gave George a quick kiss. "I love you. I just don't want to see you getting hurt."
"Don't worry about me, love. I can handle myself. I want you to work on staying safe and on your studies." He kissed the top of her curls before pulling her up on her feet. "Let's go downstairs and join the others."
Fred popped into the room with his hands over his eyes. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything…"
Hermione giggled and it filled George with warmth. "Stop being so ridiculous, Fred. We were just going downstairs."
Fred frowned. "Well that's disappointing. We should really work on some type of code word in case you all need the room for activities." He winked as Hermione threw a pillow at him.
"In your childhood bedroom? Don't be ridiculous."
"There are silencing charms you know." Fred wiggled his eyebrows as Hermione blushed a dangerous shade of red. "Only joking, Hermione." His twin winked at George as they all walked out of the room.
When they made it to the kitchen, they heard Ron talking to Harry as they completed the chores that their mother had given them for the day. "I don't think Fred's buttock every recovered—"
"Why are we talking about my ass?" Fred asked as he sank into a wooden chair in front of Harry and Ron.
"Ron was telling me about Unforgivable Curses and how you and George tried getting Ron to do one." Harry smirked at Fred's comment as he continued to cut the sprouts for their mother.
"Ahh, Fred look at this. They're using knives and everything. Bless their soul." George chuckled.
"I'll be seventeen in two months then I'll be able to do it by magic!" Ron huffed before looking at the three. "One of you could help all of you are of age."
Fred smiled and put his feet up on that table, "Whoops-a-daisy!"
The knife sliced Ron's hand slightly as the table jerked from the movement. "You just wait until I'm of age!"
"I'm sure you will dazzle us all with your unsuspected magical skills." Fred yawned and waved his wand, mending his brothers cut just as quickly as it appeared.
"Speaking of unsuspected skills, Ronald… what's this information from Ginny about you and Lavender Brown?" George wiggled his eyebrows.
Ron turned the same shade as his hair. "I don't feel like talking about it. You all should just mind your own business."
Mrs. Weasley walked in which made all the talk of Lavender to cease, she didn't know about the relationship and no one wanted to be the one to break the news that Ron has finally got a girlfriend. "Okay… Bill, Fleur, and Charlie will be arriving tomorrow. Lupin will be staying as well in Percy's room. Fleur is going to stay with you and Ginny, dear." She said turning to Hermione who nodded.
"That'll be interesting. Ginny, Hermione, and Fleur in one room?" Fred laughed at the thought. "I wonder who will come out champion of a fight when they all explode. My bets are on Ginny, no offense, Hermione. You got the smarts, but Ginny has the rage."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Fred before turning to Mrs. Weasley. "I don't think it will be an issue. Don't worry about it, Mrs. Weasley." She assured their mother who was looking worried at Fred's comment.
"No Percy?" George asked in a tone that seemed he wasn't surprised as his finger nails scraped against the wooden table.
"No… he's busy, I expect, at the Ministry." Mrs. Weasley rubbed her hands on her apron with a sad expression on her face before walking out of the room to do some more housework.
"Or he's the world's biggest prat." Fred said as their mother left the kitchen. "We better get going, enjoy the sprouts!"
George kissed the top of Hermione's head. "We will be back soon. Order stuff."
She nodded understandingly as the twins got up and left the kitchen to go across the snowy grass field. They had to run perimeter and George knew this was just a safety precaution, so he was okay with it pealing him away from Hermione for a few moments. He stuffed his hands into his front pockets of his faded jeans and walked a little faster to try and hurry the process up to return to her side.
Hermione POV
"I don't get what you see in him." Ron huffed as Fred and George were out of ear shot. His freckles were popping off of his pink face, still hot from anger. "The twins are gits."
"Well with that attitude, I'm not helping you with the sprouts. It's a shame too seeing as I have a fall birthday and could help you with magic." She got up and tossed her curly hair over her shoulder. "Sorry, Harry."
Hermione stormed up the stairs to find Ginny furiously cutting away paper snowflakes the muggle way without magic. "Would you like some help?" The 17-year-old girl waved her wand in the air reminding her friend that they had an ability to use magic since Hermione was old enough.
Ginny smiled as she tucked the small braid that was holding her fringe behind her ear. "That would be amazing! Where's George? I would've asked you originally, but I assumed…"
"He's busy doing something for the Order." Hermione nodded sadly as she flicked her wand and bewitched three pairs of scissors to begin cutting furiously at the paper to turn them into delicate snowflakes. She grabbed a pair of scissors herself and begin helping Ginny cut the muggle way as the other scissors helped them speed up the process.
"Well, I'm glad to have a bit of girl time even if it's brief." Ginny smiled and winked mischievously at her friend, looking a lot like the twins as she mimicked their signature move.
"Get ready for even more girl time… your mother informed me Fleur is going to be staying with us." Hermione chuckled.
"Oh, I doubt it." Ginny laughed.
"What do you mean?"
The red-headed girl looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I honestly figured you and Fleur would just put stuff in my room as a formality and go stay with Bill or George."
Hermione blushed since she hadn't even thought of that possibility. "Oh… I didn't even think of that."
Her friend chuckled. "Did you honestly plan on sleeping in here every night? You're more than welcome to of course! I just assumed… I mean… What do you think you'll do?"
Her face felt like it was going darker in color the more her friend pried and tried to get a peek inside her head. To be honest, Hermione hadn't even thought of it. She wasn't one for breaking the rules often. What would happen if Mrs. Weasley found out? Wouldn't it be weird for her to violate that rule? "I'm honestly not sure…"
Ginny took that as a cue that Hermione was frazzled and switched the topic to how clueless Dean has been on their last date. Apparently, he was unfocused on the conversation and Ginny wanted to make sure she wasn't overanalyzing the scenario and wanted another female opinion on the matter. Hermione listened and nodded at the appropriate times. She was a little distracted however and kept wondering to what George would think if she snuck into his room in the middle of the night…
After the girls cut up all of the snowflakes and made a large festive paperchain with bright red and green paper. They began to hang them up in the living room to make it more lively and Christmas ready. Fred came in with a bleeding ankle and a garden gnome that was stupefied and painted gold and put it on the top of the Christmas tree. "Bastard bit my ankle. So now he will serve as a Christmas topper."
George laughed and waved his wand to add small wings to the back of the gnome making it the ugliest Christmas angel that Hermione had ever seen in her entire life. Harry and Ron bellowed in laughter at the opening of the living room carrying the carrots that the four boys were picking out of the garden moments before.
Bill and Fleur emerged from the fireplace, traveling by Floo and smiled as they saw the others filling the living room. Fleur gave Harry a hug and hoped that this year was going well, she still apparently cared for him after competing in the Tri-Wizard Tournament with him. She then turned her attention to Hermione and Ginny and gave both the girls a hug. "Do you think she will be more warmed up to me this year?" Fleur asked Hermione and she knew immediately that she was referring to Mrs. Weasley.
"Well… you're here this year versus hiding in a tearoom at the hospital so I think that's a positive start!" The bushy haired Gryffindor girl gave the other a calm and understanding smile. "It'll all work out in the end. Besides, the only opinion that matters is Bill's, right?"
Fleur straightened her slender shoulders and nodded in agreement with the Gryffindor's wise words of encouragement.
They all fell into jobs to do to get ready for Christmas Eve night as Mrs. Weasley bound into the room telling them what needed to be done. Hermione found herself in the kitchen mashing potatoes in a large pot. She could have used magic, but she found it comforting doing it the muggle way. It made her think of her own mother doing the same thing for their Christmas dinners. "I feel like I haven't gotten a chance to catch up with you, everything has been so crazy around the Burrow." George smiled and leaned against the counter next to her.
"You could help me out, you know." She teased him.
"You could use magic, you know." He repeated in a same teasing manner but instead, he got out some hot pads for his hands and another potato masher to help her get the potatoes in a lumpy formation. "I find it fascinating that you like to do things the muggle way. I know it makes my dad really happy when he sees it."
"It reminds me of my own parents…" She said sadly, thinking that since she was here, they would be spending Christmas on their own. "I miss them."
"Do you regret coming here?" George asked seriously with his eyebrows raised. "You don't have to stay here for me, I understand if you want to spend the holiday with them!"
She shook her head. "No… I think it's safer if I'm here. I worry that if I'm too close to them that they will get hurt with everything going on. Not that I would want to put your family in danger but…"
"Hey if Harry is already here, I think they would be after the Burrow. Besides, Weasley's can defend themselves." George winked at her and whisked his wand to clean the utensils that they were using to mash the potatoes. "Let's go for a walk while we wait for the others to finish their jobs."
"What if your mother needs more help?"
"I'm being selfish. I want some Hermione time." He smiled and waved his wand once more, bringing all of their winter gear coming flying towards them to bundle them up to protect them from the slight snow that was falling outside the window.
She blushed slightly. Hermione wouldn't admit it, but she was thankful that they were going to get some alone time. She had been missing him immensely and was going to attempt to soak up every moment of his time this break. "I feel like I haven't gotten a chance to even ask you… how are you and Fred doing with the change of having to move back home?"
George sighed and held her hand with his own as they walked outside. "It's hard. It was harder to see some of the products get destroyed but I'm just glad Fred and I are okay. Our lives are more important than the joke shop. It's just another thing that the war is making us sacrifice."
Hermione nodded taking the information in. "I'm glad you are okay too… I couldn't bare if you were hurt."
George sighed and turned to face her with a rare look of worry on his face. "I might get hurt, Hermione. This is a war we are talking about. I'm fighting on the front line with the Order. I'm doing it to keep you and my family safe. If I ever do get hurt—"
"You won't." Hermione said fiercely and was aware that her feet felt like they were frozen in the snowy ground from fear of what he was saying.
He sighed and stared up to the sky with his thumb playing circles on the back of her hand. "Hermione, if I do—"
"You won't!" She interrupted again and felt a hot tear fall down from her eye. She knew she was being ridiculous, acting like a child, not at all like the of age witch she is. The thought of George hurt from a death eater was too much to think about at the moment.
"Hermione." George wrapped her into his arms and pulled her close, wrapping her in the comforting combination of vanilla and firework smoke. He played with her curly hair as he spoke. "If I get hurt… you cannot stop fighting. It might be hard, but you need to keep Ron and Harry safe. It's all a part of some bigger picture that I don't know about. I do know that you three are a big role that we need to keep safe. Dumbledore made that clear. You need to promise me, you will keep fighting."
She felt pride swell in her chest. Dumbledore deemed her and her friends valuable enough to be a big picture in the war. Why wasn't he telling them any of this? Probably it wasn't the time to do so. Still, it made her said to hear him talk about himself as being expendable in this war. He wasn't insignificant in her life. "I can keep fighting if you promise to never stop taking care of yourself and fighting yourself."
"Never." George said and kissed the top of her head.