Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything but the plot.
Chapter 4: Second ChanceGeorge watched helplessly as Hermione dashed out of the little shop. For a brief moment he thought it best to just let her go, but it suddenly dawned on him that he had no idea where she lived and he might not see her again if he just let her run off.
"Hermione, Hermione!" George shouted as he jogged outside, looking around in the dark night. He prayed that she had not apparated home. He heard a quiet little "sniff sniff" coming from the ground and saw her sitting on the curb outside the coffee shop. He sat down next to her and muttered "Lumos" to give them a little more light. He could see tears running down her cheeks.
"What are you doing down here Hermione?" He asked gently.
"Leave me alone, George, I don't want to talk to you," she said, crossing her arms stubbornly. She looked like a three year old throwing a temper tantrum.George scowled and took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
"If you really didn't want to talk to me you would have apparated home by now," he snapped back at her. She glared up at him in the dim light provided by his wand and the neon glow of the coffee shop.
"Let go of me."
"No," he said forcefully.
"If you don't let go right now I'm going to apparate home anyways, and believe me, it wouldn't be the first time I accidentally left behind some important appendages. You don't really need your legs, do you?" She hissed. George just gripped her shoulders harder.
"Don't play these games with me Hermione. You're not the bossy fifteen-year-old prefect and I'm not the seventeen-year-old troublemaker you can push around. We're not at Hogwarts anymore. We're adults Hermione, its about time you realized that," he said severely. Her chin dropped a little and he let go of her shoulders, trusting that she wouldn't apparate away from him.
"You know I couldn't ever push you two around anyways," she whispered quietly. He managed half a smile, for it was true.
"You don't have to go to the Burrow Hermione. You never have to go back there if you don't want to," he said softly. Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks. "I just don't want you to disappear again. We've been given a second chance you know? I thought it was a second chance for you to be part of our family again, but if that's not what you want, that's fine. But I'd really like a second chance at a friendship with you."
"We weren't even friends to begin with George," Hermione pointed out through her tears.
"Hermione I always considered you a friend," George said solemnly. Hermione looked into his eyes and saw that he was not joking. She bit her lip but nodded slightly.
"All right. We can try being friends, but please don't tell anyone about this. Not yet at least. Not even Fred."
"All right, if that's what you want. Can I see you tomorrow?" He asked. She thought about it briefly.
"You could come over for some lunch, at my place? Around noon?" She suggested.
"That sounds perfect, could you write down your address for me?" She tapped his hand with her wand and muttered "Inscribio." Her address appeared, scrawled across his hand in black ink. He smiled at her ingenuity. "Do you want me to walk you home?" He asked kindly. She shook her head though.
"I think I'll just apparate. I'll see you tomorrow though George. Good night." And with a little crack! she was gone.
A moment later, Georgeapparated into the London apartment he shared with his brother, Fred. Frankly, George was a little surprised Fred was home already, seeing as how he had been on a date earlier in the night.
"Hey George, how was the party? Any pretty girls there?" Fred asked from the couch as he flipped through stations on the Muggle TV. It took George a moment to answer, seeing as how he'd forgotten all about the party by then.
"Erm, well, no, there weren't any pretty girls there. Sort of a disappointment really, I didn't stay too long," George said, trying to avoid downright lying to his brother. "How was your date? You're back earlier than I expected."
"Pretty little thing but she was dull as dishwater. It was like sitting through a History of Magic class with Binns again. I took her home as quickly as I could, to be honest with you." Fred answered, a hint of disappointment in his voice. George nodded sympathetically as he collapsed on the couch next to his brother. Neither had found any luck in the romance department, despite their good looks and charming personalities.
"What's this garbage you're watching?" George said reaching for the remote control lying in between him and his brother on the couch. Suddenly Fred's hand grabbed his own.
"What's this?" Fred asked, staring accusingly at his brother's hand. Upon realizing what Fred was talking about, George blushed and trying to wrestle his hand away. Fred held on, though, with a death grip.
"It's nothing," George mumbled.
"It's not nothing. It's some girl's address!" Fred exclaimed. George just muttered nonsense in response, knowing he'd been caught. "Smart little witch isn't she?" Fred continued.
"What do you mean?" George asked.
"This charm. It's a tricky bit of magic. I'm assuming it comes off when you safely reach your destination?" Fred said, staring pointedly at his brother.
"Well, I suppose so, she didn't really say," George said.
"Aha, so it is a girl!" Fred shouted, proud of his great powers of deduction. George rolled his eyes. "Too bad she's ugly," Fred added as an afterthought.
"Hey! She's not ugly!" George said.
"Well you said there weren't any pretty girls at the party…so I just assumed…" Fred reasoned. George just glared at him.
"Well I was wrong, ok? There was a pretty girl at the party, and we're going to meet for lunch tomorrow," George gloated, forgetting that it was Hermione he was talking about, not just some date.
"What's her name?" Fred asked shrewdly, half suspecting that his brother was making her up.
"I'm not telling you," George shot back, knowing full well Fred's ability of ruining any and all potential relationships George started. All of a sudden George blushed a deep crimson at his own thoughts. He didn't have to keep the girl from Fred because it was a new relationship, it was just that Hermione had asked him not to tell. The blushing did not escape Fred's careful observation. He chuckled a little.
"You've got it bad, don't you little brother?" Fred asked. George blushed even deeper at the mere thought of him and Hermione.
"Fred I'm older than you by five minutes, don't call me little brother," George retorted.
"Oh George, you know my maturity level is leagues above yours. That's what I was referring to," Fred answered as if it was obvious. George shook his head a little bit and faked a yawn.
"I'm going to bed, I've got a big day tomorrow what with this date and all. You know, with the smart and interesting witch? The one who can carry on a conversation and isn't dull at all?" George gloated. He ducked the pillow Fred threw at him and headed to his room to mull over the happenings of the night.
A/N: Hello my lovely readers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please continue reading and reviewing, it makes me soooo happy to see reviews! Thanks to all who have reviewed so far!