"You're wearing dress robes?" George asked incredulously, not bothering to stifle his laughter.
"Can you tell?" Ron asked worriedly, straightening them. "Is it that bad?"
"No," George replied, still chuckling. "I only recognized them because I bought them." He put a hand on Ron's shoulder. "You look fine, Ron."
Ron sighed. "I've got twenty minutes." He went to stand in front of a mirror and tried to straighten his hair.
George sat down at the table and picked up the Daily Prophet. To his surprise, Angelina Johnson was grinning back at him from the front page. She was standing next to a man George had never met, but whom he assumed was the head of the Dark Arts Defense Department. He had his arm around her in a sort of hug and Angelina didn't seem at all to be bothered by it.
He didn't take the time to read the article, however, because Fred had just entered the room. Instead, he tore out the article and pocketed it. Whether it had anything complimentary about Angelina or not, he wasn't about to let Fred see it.
"Hey, what've you got there?" Fred asked, hopping into the chair next to him. "Daily Prophet, eh? Who ripped off the front page?"
"Ginny, probably," George replied, trying to sound as uninterested as possible.
"Guess what?" Fred's eyes were wide with excitement. "If we move in this week, we can open by August twentieth. That means we'll be able to sell to all of the Hogwarts shoppers!" he said gleefully.
George smiled. "Great!"
"Did you quit yet?" Fred inquired.
"Of course," George said. "Oliver didn't seem too happy about it--said something about never getting to play professional Quidditch."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and both twins turned to see what it was. Mrs. Weasley hurried over to the door. "Oh, hello, Hermione!"
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," came Hermione's soft muffled voice (she was being smothered by a hug).
"How are you?" Mrs. Weasley asked happily. "Hungry? Good! Have a seat." She said this all very fast, not even giving Hermione a chance to reply. "Fred, clear off the table, please!" she yelled and went into the kitchen.
"Hey, Hermione," Fred greeted, wiping crumbs from the midday meal off the table. "China was good, I expect? Yeah?"
"It was lovely," she answered. George watched her as she sat fidgeting in her seat. She was wearing a long blue dress with short sleeves. George knew Hermione would be too embarrassed to wear a sleeveless dress in front of Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. Her auburn hair was a bit unruly, as it usually was. But she was pretty, even when she wasn't trying.
George turned around when he heard one of the steps creak.
Hermione stood up. "Hi Ron," she said uneasily, forcing a smile.
He approached her and they kissed each other's cheeks, then he sat down next to her. "Hi. Sorry I didn't come down right away. I didn't hear the door. So..." He stared at her uncomfortably as Mrs. Weasley piled food onto their plates. "How was your vacation?"
"Oh...it was wonderful," Hermione replied. Then she launched into an explanation of everything she would have seen, had she really gone to China; George knew she had spent a day at the library reading up on it all. He admired that about her, doing all that research to back up her lie. She was amazing.
"Well, um, I'd better be going," Hermione said, edging slowly to the door. "Thanks so much for the meal. Ron, can I have a word outside?"
"Sure," Ron said and followed her out.
George watched as the door shut and waited impatiently for his brother to come back.
"Look, Ron," Hermione began, as he closed the door behind him. "Something happened last year that you're not going to like."
"Oh, god, you're dating Malfoy, aren't you?" Ron said, aghast.
Hermione looked befuddled for a moment, then she replied quickly, "No, no, of course not. What gave you that idea?"
Ron shrugged and turned red. "So, what is it?"
She stared down, unable to look him in the eye. "I can't date you anymore."
Ron furrowed his brow. "I don't understand."
"I'm dating George, Ron," she said, however it came out louder and more full of desperation than she would have liked. Ron didn't say anything and she couldn't help but look up at him. "I'm so sorry...it just...wasn't working out between us--we're so different! Ron, please say something, don't just stand there!"
"All right. Good-bye." Ron looked at her briefly, then turned and went back inside.
Unsuccessfully biting back a cry, Hermione walked off to the nearest bus stop. She crossed her arms, shivering from the cold night air and the guilt she was feeling.
Ron shut the door and, dragging his feet along the wooden floor, walked up to his bedroom. Before he left the dining room, he shot a look at George that was not anger at all, but disappointment.
George swallowed and went quietly to the door. Once outside, he gazed around for Hermione. "Hermione!" he called, and Apparated a short distance down the road.
She screamed when he appeared in front of her. "George, what are you doing?!" Tears were falling freely down her face, but she could have cared less about them.
"I was looking for you," he replied simply.
"I don't want to talk right now!" Hermione cried angrily. She turned away and marched down the path, unfortunately tripping on a tree root. "Ah!" she cried and fell to the ground. Rather than try to rise, however, she merely sat on the dirt road and cried fiercely into her hands.
George kneeled down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione--"
She pulled away from him. "George, what is happening to me?" she shouted. "Look what I've become! I can't control these feelings--I just can't!" She hugged her knees, sobbing more quietly now. "I should have listened to my parents. 'Don't get involved,' they said. I mean, what are the odds that I'd fall for two Weasleys?"
Rather than object, he pulled her into a hug. "It's all right...everything will be fine," he said, letting her cry into his robes.
"No, it won't," Hermione protested, pushing herself away again. "What about next year, at Hogwarts? Do you think Harry will even think twice about talking to me? This has happened before--they both ignored me."
"Well," George began weakly, "there's always Neville."
"You're not helping."
"I'm sorry." Suddenly, thunder struck and he looked up. Immediately afterward, rain began pouring down. He turned back to Hermione. "Well, this is nice."
Hermione shook her head. "I have to get going if I want to catch a bus out of here."
"Why don't you just call the Knight Bus?" George asked. Before she could protest, he pointed his wand straight into the air, flagging the massive vehicle. "I can't have you walking all that way in the pouring rain."
"Thank you, George." She kissed him. "You're a real gentleman." She started for the bus.
"Hermione," he said, wiping his hair away from his eyes. "You look beautiful. I...didn't get a chance to tell you."
"Thanks." She smiled weakly.
"And don't worry. Everything will work out." He took a breath, waved and watched the bus zoom off. "I know it will."