Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything I love (except, I suppose, my puppy!)
Chapter 15: Feigning IndifferenceAfter leading Hermione into her room, to which Mrs. Weasley had already added a bed, Ginny pushed the door shut deliberately and then rounded on Hermione with a maniacal gleam in her eyes.
"Tell me everything. I want to know every single detail," Ginny squealed. Hermione blushed so red that it rivaled the color of Ginny's hair.
"I suppose you know then?" Hermione mumbled.
"Oh Hermione, you're lucky this family is full of men, very dense unobservant men, otherwise we'd all know by now. I'm fairly certain Fleur knows already and Penny would know if it wasn't for all the attention she pays to her children," Ginny explained, settling herself on her bed.
"What about, your-your Mum?" Hermione stuttered a little, hoping against hope that Mrs. Weasley's observational powers had dulled in the past six years. Ginny chuckled a little.
"Welll, considering that she was expecting George to bring home his fiancée and then was rudely informed otherwise, she might be trying to convince herself what we witnessed all day between you two is just a figment of her imagination…however, she does have a highly proned love detector," Ginny explained. Hermione giggled before remembering that it was her love Mrs. Weasley was bound to detect.
"Oh shit, Gin, what will we do? We didn't want anyone to find out," Hermione said, collapsing on the bed next to Ginny's.
"Well maybe you should have reminded George of that before he asked you to come sleep with him at his place," Hermione threw a pillow at the smirking red head, which Ginny only hugged to her chest dreamily. "I can't believe it, you and my brother. Merlin Hermione! I can't even believe you're here. I know it's been six years since we last slept in this room giggling all night long about Ron and Harry, but it feels like yesterday. What's happened to you in the last six years? Tell me everything, please? I've missed you so much!" Ginny sighed deeply. Hermione crossed the room and settled next to Ginny on her bed, leaning against the headboard like old times, and launched into the story of what happened after she'd left the Burrow six years ago.
Two floors up, Harry and Ron plopped onto their own beds. Ron scratched his head thoughtfully.
"It's weird, isn't it? Mione popping up like this again. I feel eighteen years old all over again," Ron said to Harry.
"What do you mean eighteen all over again? You don't…" Harry paused, trying to gauge the reaction from Ron, "you don't still fancy her do you? I mean you don't want to try and get back together with her, do you?" Harry asked worriedly. Admittedly, he was just as dense as the rest of the Weasley men, but after catching Ginny staring openly at Hermione and George all through dinner he was starting to wonder himself. This was only perpetuated by George asking Hermione to go back to his apartment with him. Either Harry was terribly jumping to conclusions (it wouldn't be the first time, after all) or Hermione and George were romantically involved. However, Harry was quite certain that George's youngest brother was, as always, blissfully ignorant. At the moment, Ron was blushing slightly at Harry's question.
"No, I don't want to get together with her again or anything. Believe me, that ship has definitely sailed. Not that it wouldn't be nice. I mean she looks bloody beautiful. But right now I think we need to go back to being friends. Now lets say in a few months she just can't help herself and flings herself upon me with unbridled passion, well I couldn't say no to that, right?" Ron reasoned.
"Erm, yeah, ok," Harry muttered, hoping Ron would not get his hopes up. Harry and Ron, being boys, pretty much felt like that little conversation summed up everything they needed to say in regards to Hermione's arrival, climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile, Hermione and Ginny chatted animatedly until the wee hours of the morning in the room two floors below.
The next day, Saturday, passed with little incidence. The boys (or men, as they insisted on being called these days) started a game of Quidditch which lasted from early afternoon until well into the night, only pausing to scarf down some of Molly's fried chicken for dinner. This allowed Hermione to stay entirely away from George, and Molly's watchful eye, all day. Even so, Hermione had pulled him aside when he had shown up that morning and scolded him for his lack of discretion the day before. When the Quidditch game finally ended, George and his brothers trudged back up to the house, reliving their moments of glory that afternoon. Hermione could not help but smile to herself at the sight George's disheveled hair, sweaty clothes, and bright red cheeks. She even allowed him to pull her away from the knot of gossiping women and take a walk through the garden, despite her own warnings that morning.
"Gosh Hermione I have missed you," George said, sweeping her up in a hug.
"George," Hermione hissed, "What are you doing? What if someone sees?"
"What, you think they're all crowded around the window watching us?" George asked sarcastically.
"They very well could be," Hermione hissed again, obviously missing the sarcasm in his voice.
"Well, if that's so, they're in for quite the show," George murmured as he swooped down on her, capturing her mouth with his. She pulled away from him but he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, pressing her hips into his.
"Ok, ok, you win," she mumbled crossly, before surrendering to his kisses. When he was apparently finished kissing her, she hugged him with a sigh.
"What is it Pumpkin?" He asked, stroking her hair. She giggled at his pet name for her.
"I can't believe I let you bring me back here," she murmured.
"You're doing so great Hermione. You've been unbelievable. I am so proud of you." He smiled down at her, his eyes sparkling in the dark. "In fact, I think you deserve a reward." He said mischievously.
"Oh? A reward? What kind of reward Mr. Weasley," she chuckled as her mind roamed to all sorts of "rewards" he could bestow on her.
"Have you ever been to the zoo?" He asked.
"The zoo! Is that the reward you're suggesting? I was sort of thinking it would be something that grown-ups do for fun, not seven year olds," she teased, well it was more half-teasing. She really had had other things in mind.
"Oh Hermione you have obviously never been to the zoo properly if you think it's not grown-up fun," George joked back.
"George!" She scolded, "there are children there!"
"Hermione! What kind of pervert do you take me for? That is not what I was suggesting. All I'm saying is that wizard zoos are fun for people of all ages, unlike those lame muggle zoos."
"Wait, wizards have their own type of zoo?" Hermione asked. This certainly was news to her.
"It's true, my dear. There's more to the wizarding world than what's written in Hogwarts, A History. And tomorrow afternoon I am going to take you to the best wizard zoo around. Just you wait." With a final kiss to solidify their plans, George marched out of their secluded corner of the garden and towards the house, with Hermione hurrying to catch up.
A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you don't mind that I sort of breezed through the rest of the weekend. However, the next chapter will be full of fluffy zoo romance. Even at the old age of 20 (nearly 21!) I adore the zoo. I went there just last week actually with my boyfriend. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, though I know it was short. Please read and review as always. I love reading your reviews! Thanks!