Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Chapter Twenty
Life is a Show
Ron, Hermione, Harry and George were huddled around the Gryffindor Common Room discussing life as they knew it- tasseomancy, joke shops, pregnant sisters, dementors, whatever. Although Professor Trelawney's class was disturbing, to say the least, the four of them mixed conspiracy and planning with laughing and joking around. Harry still liked being around George. She was smart and funny, even if she wasn't his heart's desire. Hermione had suggested that they have George help them plot their 'plan of attack' for getting the dementor off Harry's tail. What Harry and Ron didn't know was that Hermione had other reasons for keeping George within their circle of friends.
Hermione couldn't help thinking about Harry's quick change of heart. It was ludicrous. She thought of her own feelings for Ron. Although they had developed over time, she couldn't now imagine not feeling the way she did for him. No matter how goofy, how dense, how silly he could be, Hermione knew that Ron was the only one for her. A different light, a different day, a different place- nothing could change that.
What made Harry's behavior all the stranger was that George's feelings had changed for him as well. She nearly knocked Hermione over with a feather when George started asking her all about... Draco Malfoy. What was he like? Who did he go out with? Was he smart? Was he nice? And as much as she thought Trelawney was a fraud, she had a fundamental respect for divination's role in the magical world. Those double perfect circles could only mean one thing: Georgia and Harry were meant to be together. Something strange was was definitely going on, and Hermione intended to discover exactly what that was.
What she'd thought thus far was that given the fact that George worked for Snape, and that Malfoy was one of his darlings, Hermione coudn't help but think there was some connection; she just didn't know what. If Snape was involved, that meant there was a potion involved. Hermione knew two important about antidotes to potions: the first was that a bezoar was best for counteracting the physical reactions to a potion. The second was that true love was the best for counteracting the mental and emotional ones. She just needed to find a way for Harry and George to jumpstart those feelings.
"So, it's all set. Hermione and George will go about finding out everything they can from the professors about dementors- if you can talk to them, if they can be killed and how, etc., etc. Ron and I will try to discover who actually did give the poisoned mushroom to Samanski. After we do that, we'll all plan a trap for Buttercup- a place in the open for her to find me alone and where the rest of you, including Fred and George, can be in hiding to watch over me. First, I'll try to talk sense into her. If that doesn't work, I'll have to kill her." Harry went through the basic plan, while Ron and George chimed in with details.
"Okay, I think we're all set. Can we do something fun now?" Hermione asked petulantly.
"Hermione's right," Ron said, "we've been at this awhile. Let's switch gears."
"Yes, let's play Truth or Dare," George suggested.
"Exactly my thought," Hermione screamed gleefully, clapping her hands, "Ron first!" The boys groaned and rolled their eyes.
"Okay, Okay," Ron said resignedly, "I'd rather do a dare. Who knows what additional questions to gain insight to my psyche Hermione has in store for me?" Ron laughed teasingly as he glanced at Hermione.
"Fine, we'll work on a good dare. Hermione?" George leaned over to confer with her partner in crime. After what seemed like an infinity of giggling, they turned back to the boys and yelled in unison, "Dress in drag!"
"Whaaaaa?" Ron shrieked.
"You've got to be kidding!" Harry exclaimed, "Isn't dressing in robes close enough?"
"Yeah," Ron joined in, "and what about my dress robes experience at the Yule Ball? That's got to count for something!"
"No, no! You've got to dress in drag next trip to Hogsmeade Village!"
Ron and Harry looked at each other in disbelief. "No way!"
"Yes, way!" the girls shouted to them, giggling uncontrollably once again.
"Fine, fine! But one of you is next!"
Ron, ever vigilante of the wrath of Hermione, suggested George, "Truth or Dare, Miss Sanders?"
"Ah, no one can say I'm not fair- you'll have your chance to get back at me now... Dare!" Ron's and Harry's eyes shone brightly as they both thought of numerous embarassing scenarios for George to play out. Harry was lost in his own mischievous thoughts, and didn't notice Hermione wagging her at Ron.
As thick as ever, Ron just looked at her with a blank, stupid look at his face, screwing it up eventually as if to say, "What, then?" Hermione vigorously jutted her head in the direction of George, and then puckered her mouth in an unmistakable kissing gesture.
Ron, thick head, finally got her drift- or so he thought, "I know, George has to kiss Her-" his voice trailed off as Hermione glared at him.
"Er, Harry?" he said inquisitively, looking for Hermione's approval. Just as her beaming smile told him he'd figured out her instructions, Ron also figured out her intent.
"Yeah, George has to kiss Harry. And no little peck on the cheek- we're talking full-on snogging. If you try to come up for air in less than five minutes, you'll have to do the dare all over again." Hermione looked at Ron as proudly as he had ever seen her- he'd done more than well, getting into the swing of things with his detailed admonition to the both of them.
"Yes, yes- let's get on with it!" Hermione laughed.
"What are you two playing at?" Harry asked heatedly.
"Yes, what?" echoed George. Both imagined that Ron and Hermione were just stuck on seeing them as a couple.
"Oh, come on, come on! It's just a game!" Hermione gasped. Harry and George looked at each other knowingly.
"I guess there's only one to get them off our backs, Harry," George said grudgingly.
"Yeah, let's just do it," said Harry, sounding like a NIKE commercial.
With that, they comically took deep breaths and dove into each others faces, much to the delight of Ron and Hermione- and the shock of the few Gryffindors also occupying the Common Room. They started with a tentative touching of lips and worked into full-blown tonsil hockey within mere seconds. "Ha! That's what we're looking for you two," Hermione gloated.
"Whew, Harry, smooth!" Ron observed with surprise and admiration all over his face, watching Harry shift positions on the sofa so that George shifted as well and now had the full weight of Harry's torso against hers. Ron's and Hermione's broad grins went slack as seconds turned to minutes, and minutes wore on. Now they looked at each other in disbelief, Hermione nudging Ron to do something.
"Maybe they're stuck, Ron," Hermione said ludicrously. "Well, it could happen!" she looked at him imploringly.
Ron looked at her indulgently, and shouted, "Okay, time's up!" to the daring duo, "I said, time's up, already!"
Harry and George disengaged, straightened up and looked at their two friends as if entering the earth's atmosphere for the first time ever. "Uh, was that five minutes?" Harry asked seriously.
George shyly looked at Harry with the softest of smiles, and then at the two friends. "Yes, did we really finish the dare? Or do we need to start over?" she asked, looking for any excuse to kiss Harry again. How had she possibly thought greasy Draco Malfoy was anything compared to adorable Mr. Potter? George couldn't believe how fuzzy her thinking had been the last few days, and wondered if she still had any chance with Harry after the somewhat cold romantic signals she'd been sending him after that first tutoring session.
Hary answered her inner questions with his next sentences. "We could start over, guys. Really, if it wasn't five minutes, I guess we'll have to go again," Harry started saying to Ron and Hermione, who were in absolute stitches over Harry and George's amorous babbling. "Be our guests," Hermione invited them. "Don't let us get in the way," Ron laughed.
Harry couldn't believe his good luck. He'd gone into this meeting of the foursome like a work session on dementors, and now his whole world had turned back around by the end of it. Harry thought he must have eaten something funny last Friday night, or perhaps the new potion for his sight had a temporary bad side effect. That was all gone now. Whatever the reason for not only being attracted to George again, he was now full scale in love with her. What's more, she seemed to feel the same way- at least based on her enthusiastic snogging! His only hope was that this never passed away again.
The rest of the Gryffindor Common Room suddenly turned their attentions away from the four of them- whom they'd been intently watching- as someone turned up the volume on a contraband mini-telly. "Welcome to 'Divination Deathwatch', the new reality game show," a smarmy announcer intoned. "Each week, pairs of contestants will battle each other in foretelling Harry Potter's new mortal challenge. Only one pair will win, as we watch Harry Potter until he meets his own untimely death!" The four friends sitting across from each other at the table in the far end of the Common Room stared from one to each other in shock.
"But I didn't sign a release," Harry said ironically.