Taking Care of Business
Ch. 3- Here Again There Again
Disclaimer: Only the plot really belongs to me. Everything else is Rowling Rowling Rowling.
Authors Note: I am so sorry for not updating in about two or so months. The truth is it's my last semester at college, and a LOT of things are going on. But soon I'll be a university graduate!
Hermione awoke with a start of nervous energy on the morning that she was to meet the Weasleys and Harry in Diagon Alley for their new school supplies. One part of her couldn't wait to see George. And another part of her, was dreading the moment that she would have to face Ron. Would he give her the silent treatment as he had for the past week and a half? Or would he throw caution to the wind and ream her out in front of hundreds of other wizards and witches, many of them Hogwarts classmates?
Part of Hermione was astounded that Ron would have such a terribly adverse reaction to her having found someone that, oddly, she could identify with. Especially since it was troublemaker George Weasley. She knew that Ron must have strong feelings for her, and that to see her dating his brother of all people must be extremely hard...but, Hermione also reasoned, it was also a large part his fault that he had not attempted to express his feelings in some sort of way. She was Hermione Granger, top in her class and Gryffindor prefect. And a woman like that waits for no one. She wouldn't wait for Ron to get a hold of himself just because he was her best friend. And in being her best friend, she suspected that doing anything intimate with him would result in much use of her gag reflex, because it had come to her attention that being that much of a friend to someone and their family made them almost brotherly in a sense. George, for some reason, was not blessed with this unfortunate sense of family that Ron was. Perhaps it was because Ron had treated her as a sister for so long. George had never done such a thing- to him, she was always either a meddling prefect, or----
A goddess. That's what Hermione Granger is, George thought to himself as he laid in bed on the morning that they were to descend upon Diagon Alley. Her wild hair, her knowledge that knew no bounds, her passion for life; George Weasley had decided that she was a goddess, and if not that, then an Amazon, with the power to strike any man senseless. He contemplated her beauty for a moment, imagining that she was standing before him, her graceful body on display for only him, while she extolled the many properties of DRAGON'S BLOOD???
"Oy... Fred. Shuttup," he said, tossing a limp and pathetic-looking old pillow at his twin, who was again talking about potions in his sleep. If Fred Weasley had not been a goofball, he may have been a potions master. Fred twitched and yelled in his sleep about being attacked by something.
"Boys! Ginny! Time to get up and go to London!" Molly called up the stairs to the children's rooms. Groaning, George hesitantly left his reveries as Fred woke with a start.
"Mrs. Norris, no!" Fred called out, his heart pounding. Fred Weasley was plagued by visions of a demon cat attacking him. He took a minute to realize where he was, and sighing, muttered to himself. "It was so real..."
In another bedroom of the Weasley household, Ron was just waking up. He truly didn't want to go to Diagon Alley. He didn't want to anticipate that another school year would start in about a month and he didn't want to face Hermione, who would probably be all over George, leaving him all alone. Ron had thought that maybe, maybe Hermione might have known by now how much he cared. He simply couldn't force himself to wake up when everybody but him seemed to be on the verge of pairing off into couples. What would happen to Ron, if he weren't with Hermione? Harry had a whole fanclub, including Colin Creevey, who had begun to put his photography skills to good use by selling snapshots of Harry playing Quidditch and smiling in his Gryffindor robes to every other girl.
Ron shook his head free of jealous thoughts about his friends. He tried his hardest to swallow his pride, and his pain, and wish Hermione and George the best of luck. But the more he thought about it the more he realized that it wasn't only his feelings for Hermione that caused him pain. It was Ron Weasley's overwhelming fear of being the one who got left behind.
Back in London, Hermione Granger was organizing her things, preparing to make her trip to Diagon Alley. She glanced around the room, suddenly distressed. Tears began to flow into her eyes and down her cheeks as she bit her lip to try and maintain her composure.
This is how Theodora Granger found her daughter when she went to collect her.
"Hermione, sweetheart, what's wrong? Did you get bad news?" her voice was soft and gentle, just like every other part of her demeanor. She honestly didn't know where her daughter had become such a workaholic, but she was proud. From the day she found out that her daughter was a witch, she knew that Hermione would do great things.
"Oh...mum, there's so much I want to bring with me, and I can't pack it all," Hermione began to sob. If Ron's greatest fear was being left behind, Hermione's greatest fear was that she would be the one to leave something behind, to have to choose between all the things she loved. Theodora held her daughter closely and soothed her, hushing her as she always had.
"Sweetheart, you know you never have to worry about leaving anything behind. I promise it will all be here when you get back. And we'll always be here for you as well, your dad and I." Theodora had gotten used to her daughter's separation anxiety, and as an only child it was Hermione's right to feel homesick. "You know, you have another week after you go to get your school supplies before having to, uhm...officially leave to go to...um..."
Hermione sniffed and nodded, knowing that her mother was afraid to say that she would be going to Order headquarters, despite the fact that it was most likely safe in their house. Headmaster Dumbledore had made sure that her house was especially charmed and protected, and like Harry, as long as she called a place home in some way, she would never truly be unsafe there.
"Oh...a girl moment. Well, I'll just be going then." Hermione and Theodora looked up to see Hermione's father, John in the doorway. He smiled weakly at his baby girl, who was getting to be so much more than just a little girl, and poked his head out just the tiniest little bit, as if to ask if there was any room for a middle-aged dentist who wanted to hug his daughter.
"Oh Daddy, don't be silly, where would I be without you," Hermione Jane Granger pulled her father nearer and the family shared the most recent of many, many group hugs.
* * *
The Weasley family arrived in Diagon Alley just as the Granger family did, although from opposite ends of the road. The Weasleys had young Harry Potter in tow with them, who looked like he was relieved to be spending time with his friends despite all the traumatic things that had happened in the past school year.
"Look, Ron, it's Hermione!" Harry pointed as they saw the bushy- haired, cinnamon-eyed wonder rushing toward them. Ron barely got a chance to look up and see where she was coming from before Hermione plowed into both of them. Half-laughing and half-lecturing, Hermione began to babble about the books they needed.
"Three books just for arithmancy, and wouldn't you know I've already read all of them," Hermione sighed as she finished her monologue. Harry was dumbstruck by not only how much this girl could fit inside her head, but also how much she could spew out of it. Ron glanced sadly at her and thought to himself, "That's my Hermione. Except she's not mine. Where did I go wrong?"

Before entering Flourish and Blotts, they stopped at Gringott's, where Hermione was greeted with wary eyes from the suspicious goblins. This wasn't really an issue, however; the goblins are greedy, they look at everyone suspiciously. Even Dumbledore. Hermione went straight away to the exchange desk to change her pound sterling into galleons and sickles. Theodora and John looked on with subtle fascination while simultaneously deep in conversation with Arthur Weasley, who had recently been enjoying a paid vacation for all the years he had never taken holidays unless he truly had to.
From behind Hermione a soft hand crept about her face, covering her eyes and causing her to emit a soft gasp.
"Guess who," the voice cheerfully asked.
Hermione of course did not have to guess as she turned around and came face-to-face with a Weasley twin, namely George. Forgetting pretense and propriety, Hermione threw her arms around her lover and kissed him softly. Two very shocked set of parents gasped, and then naturally acted as if nothing had happened.
"Ehm...yes, and if you look over here you'll see statues of the founders of Hogwarts, ehem..." Arthur continued after a beat. Molly Weasley stood in shocked silence. Those children, she thought to herself, they might just be growing up too quickly.

When Ron looked up from the selection of teas in the corner he nearly vomited. Tears stung his eyes as he became overwhelmingly aware of the truth; he didn't have her. He might never. Harry, whose senses were very keen and sympathetic toward the heartbroken that year, immediately understood his friend's desperation, and intervened.
"Oy...um...Ron," Harry started. "Look, I...I'm really in the mood for a great big huge sundae, because I need to gain weight."
Ron stared at his friend's ridiculous excuse, but then realized that perhaps Florean Fortescue's was the best place to escape to on this dreary morning. Especially after what he had seen. And Ron had NOT eaten breakfast, considering he would have liked to throw it all at George.
"You know I'm pretty hungry, as well," Ron stated in quite a deadpan fashion. No emotion behind the voice. This was the Ron that hid his feelings, Harry knew this Ron. He waved him toward the door of Gringott's and assisted his friend in their liberation from a place of pain. Along the way, they met up with Susan Bones, whose desire for ice cream was just as intense as her liking for a certain Ronald Weasley...