Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long. The world of Rachel has been a little crazy lately. I also discovered this new forum that I'm completely enamored with, Three-Tasks, very cool, everyone should check it out. Be careful though, addictions can be fatal, heh! Just kidding! But if you do sign up, say that Ravenclawriter referred you.
I'm on Spring Break, so hopefully I'll have a chance to reel out two chapters this week!
Oh and the wonderful Natalie (Narcissa Malfoy at TT) made a banner for this fic! Check it out on my profile.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, simply the plot.


Chapter 7

Living Arrangements

Weeks passed. Hermione and George hadn't seen or spoken to one another since that night. More than once she picked up a piece of parchment and began a note to him, but as she touched her quill softly to the paper she drew a blank. She knew she should apologize, but she didn't know what to say or how to say it. Sometimes, in her packing, she'd imagine just how it would seem. It wouldn't matter what words she used, they would convey some deeper message.

The words 'I was overwhelmed' would become, 'Sorry I was such a bitch, just scared I might fall in love with you.' Or how about 'I got scared'? Basically that would mean, 'I have a great fear of good night kisses, you know like them leading to other night activities' or in a male mind it translates as, 'I haven't gotten any lately.'

She sighed, amidst packing yet another box of books, and laughed to herself. "Maybe I do need to get some!" she said aloud.

Not all of Hermione's time had been spent dwelling about her outburst on George. She had many things to do before heading off to Hogwarts.

She had to tell her parents, who gushed over her, "Hermione, dear, you're getting back into the game", "You're finally snapping back!", and "It's about time you go on with your life." Was she that much of a loser since she left the wizarding world?

She also had to put a notice in at the restaurant, much to Bradley's chagrin. Sometimes she wished she'd have taken him up on a few of those offers, but then she remembered that no respectable woman had a one-night-stand.

She closed her lease on her flat and spent the rest of her time packing and cleaning, preparing lesson plans, being typical Hermione. Ron and Ginny had each come over to help her pack. She expected that Ron might question her relationship with George. He didn't. She had even rehearsed a completely honest response that she barely knew George anymore and wouldn't consider him a good friend, but a friend nonetheless. She was a little disappointed, hoping that maybe George would have tried to contact her. She couldn't blame him though. She went mental on him, right there in his parents' kitchen, for no good reason. All he was trying to do was give her a kiss.


"Hullo brother." George looked up from his writing to discover Fred perusing the kitchen cupboards. "Never thought I'd see the day…"

"That kitchen cupboards would house food. I know, it was a shock to me as well," George smirked.

Fred laughed and sat down with a sandwich, lightly fingering the books surrounding his twin. "A Weasley twin surrounded by textbooks, heading back to Hogwarts. What is the world coming to?" Fred sat back on the bench and laughed. "Do they usually have professors teach that never even graduated?"

George began stacking his books and papers. "Oh shove it Fred!"

Fred sat up straight, a look of mock horror on his face. "Oh, George! I know you're taking over Snape's former position, but I didn't realize you were actually going to become him! You couldn't even keep a shred of humor?"

"Hey!" George snapped. "Have a little respect for the dead, will ya? Your arse might be dead if not for him."

"Sorry," Fred conceded as George began stuffing his belongings into a shoulder pack. "At least you'll have a hot co-worker though," he winked. "Hermione's looking pretty sexy these days. What's up between the two of you? Anything?"

"Nothing," George said honestly, making his own sandwich, facing away from his brother. "I haven't seen or spoken to Hermione since that dinner."

"That's surprising. You two seemed rather cozy with one another. Sort of thought there might be a bit of something there."

"Hah! Fat chance!" George sat across from Fred at the table, "Ithinkshemighthateme," he said through a mouth full of sandwich.

Fred, having fully understood his twin's sloppy sentence, just nodded. "For the best I guess. Be mighty weird too, what with she and Ron being each other's first loves." George nodded silently. He'd actually never thought of that, Ron was Hermione's first love, first boyfriend, first kiss, first…well, lots of firsts. So even if she was attracted to George, she'd probably have no idea how to respond to those feelings. It would be so awkward. He felt awful for making her feel uncomfortable. He was going to visit her, more than once. He'd talked to Ginny about it, but she suggested that he just leave Hermione alone. Ron would talk to her, he'd help her. George always had a sneaking suspicion that Ginny hoped Ron and Hermione would get back together. Hell, everyone hoped they would.

Eventually ignoring Ginny's advice, George sent her an owl. It was short, just apologizing for anything he may have done and letting her know that he was here if she needed someone to talk with. He sent it off with Pig but, old and senile, Pig got lost and ended up delivering it to Angelina. That was fun to explain to Fred.

"Tomorrow's the big day," Fred stated, pulling George from his reverie.

"Yeah, it is. I'm ready though, I'm excited too."

"Good," Fred told him confidently. "You should be excited. It's quite an honor and you're going to make one hell of a potions professor."

"So that means you're hoping I'll use the students as test subjects?"

A sly grin sneaked across Fred's face. "It would be a shame to have all those innocents at your finger tips and not make use of them."

Tomorrow was the big day indeed and George woke in the morning thinking just that. He had everything packed, though that wasn't hard. He didn't have too many belongings, being very conservative despite his new-found wealth. Not to mention that he had barely unpacked anything since moving into the burrow. He'd also packed 'supplies' for his other job. He would still be a necessary member of the WWW team, handling their finances and some of the :cough: sampling. He woke early, he'd be expected at Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross by 9:30. He wanted to make sure he really had everything ready. As though he couldn't just have Fred bring him whatever he had forgotten…

Hermione, however, was not as calm.

"Is there anything I've forgotten?" she asked, scanning the rooms of her now bare flat.

"Hermione," whined an exasperated Ginny. "You've been through every room five times already. I think you have everything."

Ron laughed at his sister sprawled on the sofa. "Even after having shrunken all your boxes, there are still three boxes! And, trust me, they're not light!"

"Sorry, I'm just…"

"Nervous," Ginny and Ron recited together.

"You told us already."

"Actually you told us about ten times already." Hermione laughed as she playfully punched Ron's arm.

"Thanks you guys, really. I couldn't have done it without you two."

"Done what?" Ron asked.

"Anything." Hermione smiled warmly at him.

The sentimental silence soon became slightly awkward and Ginny, thankfully, broke it. "Hermione, you and Ron better get going if you want to be early."

"I don't have to be early…"

The other two just laughed as Ginny crossed the room toward Hermione, embracing her warmly. "Everything will be great, you'll be great." She pulled away and looked at her friend; saw the excited nervousness in her eyes. "If you need anything," she smiled, "I'm just an owl away."

"Thanks Gin, but I'll be fine."

"Yeah," Ron teased, "She'll have George to take care of her." Hermione forced a smile as Ron laughed heartily at his own joke. Ginny just smiled and shook her head at the pair, wondering how the two ever survived a relationship with one another, as she disapparated from the room.

The two rode silently to Kings Cross until they pulled into a parking spot. Ron broke the silence. "Hermione," he placed a hand over hers. "You really are going to be great. I'm sure of it."

She smiled gratefully, "I'll miss you too Ron."

He grinned cheekily, "I never said I'd miss you!"

Hermione just laughed as she left the car. Ron insisted on carrying all of her things onto the platform and loading them into the train. Hermione spotted Mrs. Weasley across the way who bustled over to her and captured her in a hug.

"Hermione, dear. Good luck. I'm sure you'll be great."

"Mum, let her go before you smother her."

Molly pulled away, slightly embarrassed as Hermione whispered, "Thanks Ron."

The whistle blew and Hermione wished the two another good-bye, giving Ron a huge hug and kiss on the cheek. "You'll owl, right?"

He winked, "Every day."

Hermione wandered the hall of the train, looking for an empty compartment where she could get in some good study-planning. The train was considerably smaller, with only one car since the students didn't return for another week. She found her compartment at the back of the train and quickly began pulling out her books.

"It'll be great to have an old teammate back at Hogwarts, George." Oliver and George bumbled down the train looking for a compartment full of professors that wouldn't bore them out of their minds. Since they found none, Oliver guided them to the back of the car. "This compartment's always empty. The older professors get motion sickness quite easily." Before looking in, Oliver pulled open and the door and waved George in with an arm.

George looked at the sight before him, Hermione sitting amidst stacks of books and papers. He couldn't help but chuckle; she was so in her element. She didn't even notice that the door had been opened and that there were two (dashingly handsome) men in front of her. His chuckle, however, pulled her back into reality.

"Oh." She stared up at George, not really sure what to say. Their gazes were locked, trying to read the other.

Hermione hadn't even noticed Oliver who broke the tension. "Hermione, you stole our compartment," he smiled teasingly.

She just rolled her eyes, "Oliver. George," and turned back to her work.

"We'd love to sit, thanks for asking." Oliver and George took the seats across from Hermione as her entire bench was full of her work. Oliver reached over and pulled the paper Hermione was working on, right out from under her nose.

"Hey!"

"Wow. Hermione, this is your 'Week 42' Lesson Plan. A bit overzealous, don't you think?"

She shifted her gaze to George. "What are the odds that Oliver's going to allow me to get any work done?"

George just laughed. "You should pack it up now. Oliver can be quite exhausting."

"That's what I thought."

"I'm still here. I can hear you, you know!"

"Oh, Oliver!" George's eyes widened as though he hadn't noticed him there before. "Didn't see you there, buddy."

Hermione giggled while packing up her things.

"Well isn't that a cute little giggle there Miss Hermione. Rather girly for such a self proclaimed hard-arse, don't you think?" Hermione would have been offended were it not for Oliver's sweet, joking tone.

"Sorry, I forgot. You've got the 'girly' angle covered. I don't want to go stealing your thunder."

George laughed heartily as Oliver leaned in toward Hermione, "You're going to pay for that Professor Granger." His voice held such a seductive tone that it stopped George's laugh in its tracks and caused Hermione to visibly blush.

In a rushed attempt to stop Oliver's passes at Hermione, George pulled something out of his pockets. "Uhh…exploding snaps, anyone?"

The two looked up and Oliver smiled as Hermione, avoiding George's gaze, was blushing harder. The rest of the ride was spent in light conversation and exploding snaps until finally they arrived at Hogwarts. Upon entering the school, the three separated to their quarters. Professors each had their own spacious suite and shared a kitchen and living area with two other professors. Oliver shared with Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick as the two had been very good friends with Madam Hooch before she retired. The rooms were modeled to fit their occupant and new professors took the rooms of their predecessor. Snape happened to room with Professor McGonagall and Professor Vector and George would be taking his room…he could hardly wait.

Much to George's surprise, the room was decked out in red and gold, in tribute to his former house colors. He surveyed the room in awe until his eyes landed on a large, spacious bed. George smiled and took a running leap, sinking into the soft, comfortable comforter. As his head hit the pillows, he discovered they were filled with…feathers! George always dreamed of having a pillow fight in which feathers actually fell out of the pillows. He smiled as he jumped off the bed to explore the other rooms. The bathroom wasn't large, but did have a bath. George secretly relished bubble baths every once in a while. There was another room full of shelves and cauldrons.

"A lab," he whispered to himself. "A potions lab." The grin on his face stretched from ear to ear. Around him were shelves and rows of any ingredient he could have hoped for! "Wow."

Finally, after examining many of the ingredients, he forced himself to leave the room. His things had been carried up by some house elves earlier. He also discovered that he could call a house elf with a snap of his fingers. His clothes had been neatly placed in his closet and drawers, along with seven pairs of professor's robes and one pair of dress robes. The rest of the room was completed by a large desk and bookshelf, full of books of potions, two fluffy arm chairs and a loveseat surrounding a coffee table, as well as a table and mahogany chairs in another corner. He finally decided it was time he checked out the rest of his new living space.

He walked into a large room with a high ceiling and a large fireplace. One side of the room was a small, functional kitchen that didn't look very used at all. He supposed it was used before house elves were so widely available. There was also a table set to comfortably seat four people with a vase of fresh flowers upon it. Living with two women, he'd have to get used to some of this girly stuff. Two of the walls were lined with shelves, filled with books of all kinds. Upon closer examination, he even saw some books on pranks and gags. He smiled to himself and thought; I could get used to this, as he plopped down on one of the couches but landed on something hard.

"Ouch!"

George jumped up quickly. "Hermione! Sorry, I…I didn't see you there." That 'something hard' happened to be her feet.

She smiled as she pulled her feet up to her. "It's okay." Hermione had forgotten that George would be in Snape's former room. He had obviously forgotten that she was taking over for Professor Vector.

George took a seat at the opposite end of the couch as Hermione pulled her book back up in front of her. She wasn't reading though, she was watching him as he took in the room and this new life he'd be living. He had such love in his eyes. Not love for her, just love for life; it was almost like a new, young love. He loved this new life, this new job, the new hope that came along with it, she could tell, just from his eyes. They probably mirrored her own. She was so excited to be starting this new life; she had such hope for it.

"The professors' Welcome Feast will begin in fifteen minutes," echoed across the room.

"What?" asked George, obviously very confused.

So the voice repeated itself more clearly. "There will be a Welcome Feast for the professors held in the Great Hall, beginning in thirteen minutes and fifty-six seconds."

George's eyes widened as he looked all around for the source of the voice. Hermione quietly tried to stifle her laughter until George started trying to climb up a book shelf to reach the source of the noise. A snort escaped her nose and she burst into laughter.

"What, may I ask, is so funny!" George questioned, hands on hips, looking much like a six-year old girl. This image of George, bewildered and lost, made Hermione laugh harder and she couldn't speak. "Where did that voice come from?" Hermione just laughed. "I know you know!" he pouted.

"It's…it's an automated…announcement," she managed.

"A what?"

Hermione had completely gotten her laughter under control. "It informs each room in the professors' wing fifteen minutes before something will be started. Like class, assemblies, quidditch games, meals…"

"Oh."

George's look of confused understanding caused another small giggle to escape Hermione's lips.

"You think that's funny, do you?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing and nodded.

"I seem to remember something else you laugh at, that would be, oh right…tickling!" he said as he lunged at her, getting her sides.

Hermione exploded into laughter. Tickling happened to be one of her only weaknesses and, having known George as long as she had, he knew that. "George!" she shouted between laughter and gasps for breath. "Stop…stop!"

"I thought you wanted something to giggle at," he said as he grinned down on her.

If only the two knew how compromising a position they were in, Hermione lying on the couch, squirming beneath an eager George who was tickling her from every angle. Hermione was squirming so much that she managed to push George off the couch, only to have him wrap an arm around her side and bring her down with him. On top of him, to be more precise. The two realized their very close proximity to one another as Hermione looked up at George. His smile was no longer playful. Every ounce of him just wanted to lean in and kiss her, but he couldn't. Not after the last time he tried to kiss her.

Maybe it was the position they were in, maybe it was the fact that it'd been so long since she'd been this close to a man, maybe she was feeling guilty for the night she blew him off, maybe she was actually falling for him, but at that moment, she didn't care why. Her eyes locked into a gaze with him as she moved her body up on his, closing in their gaze. As she came closer, her eyes moved to his lips and she leaned toward him, closing her eyes…


Author's Notes: Mwahahaha! Tell me how evil I am. Hehe. :Runs from readers angry faces: I'm sorry, I know it's mean, it's just. This is the perfect ending to this chapter. I'm sorry. I will try and have the next chapter up before Easter though. I'll try – promise! Please don't hate me!