George found himself in the middle of a field of oat grass, comforted by a light breeze that was just strong enough to make the oat grass whistle. The sun poured through the clouds like pumpkin juice into a goblet, warming him with golden rays. Gradually, the undulating waves of oat grass melted into brown hair…brown eyes…Hermione. He reached out to touch her, but she spoke suddenly, startling him, "Why are we in a field of oat grass, George? On page 217 of Hogwarts: A History, it is specifically stated that there is no oat grass on Hogwarts grounds."
George woke with a start, a smile playing on his lips.
***
Over the past couple of years, Hermione had become rather stoic, responding to the misery of adolescence by becoming unnaturally cold. She made it impossible for anything to hurt her feelings by making it so that she had no feelings to hurt in the first place. But even she knew that if this emotional hardening went on any longer, she might just end up dead inside, nothing more than a bush-haired shell, living her days thoughtlessly…But there was a way to stop it.
"Please let me in," said a voice. For a moment, she thought it was a voice in her head, but hearing something thud to the ground an obscenity muffled, she knew who it had to be.
Quickly smoothing her hair, she jumped to the door. Completely knackered, a sheepish look painted across his face, George handed her a bouquet of flowers…and a six-pack of Weasley Wizard Wheezes Wizzer.
"I hope you're feeling better," he said nervously, "Have you even left the dorm since I last saw you?"
"Well," she looked down at her very wrinkled jeans. "Not really, no…But I am feeling better now…What is it with you and sneaking into the girls' dorm?"
He grinned. "I added a new ingredient to the wizzer, and I thought you might give me your opinion of it."
She eyed him suspiciously. Adorable or not, he was still a Weasley twin.
"Just trust me."
Was it just her, or were his eyes actually getting more brown? She thought to herself that she'd like to jump straight into his gaze, just to know what it felt like to be surrounded by the warmth that his eyes radiated.
He crossed the room, opening the windows and letting in crisp air.
"Take my hand and we'll both try it, okay?"
She nodded and joined his warm, Quidditch-worn hand with her own delicate, frozen one. The strangest sensation took hold of her as she sipped down the soda…It was like she was floating on a lemon-lime cloud.
"Ow!" Her head hit the ceiling, and she turned to see George, a look of absolute ecstasy painted on his face, hovering next to her.
"Wicked! It works!"
He did a couple of frog-kicks and pulled Hermione out the window…Suddenly she was Wendy being led to NeverNeverland…And George was her Peter Pan.
They flew higher and higher until George stopped kicking and looked at her intently, as though he had something very important to say.
"'Mione…I know you aren't ready to start anything with me yet…You made that pretty clear yesterday. I mean, you've been kind of a zombie this past year. You probably didn't think anyone would notice, but I have."
She suddenly realized that she was one hundred meters above the ground.
"George--I--"
He brought a finger to her lips, silencing her, and pulled her into a strong hug.
"I just want you to know that I love you, always have, since the moment I first heard you quote Hogwarts: A History."
So the two remained in silence, suspended in the air, and tasting real magic for the first time.
**
Don't we all wish that real boys are as sweet George is in this fic…*sigh*…Any complaints about the length of this fic should be addressed to my evil history teacher.