Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is just a figment of my imagination
Chapter Thirteen: Of Illnesses and Introductions"Vivian...What are you doing here..." he asked slowly.
It was obvious he hadn't been this surprised in a long, long time.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Hermione asked, almost as confused, if not more, as George had just sounded.
"I work here, silly." Vivian said, ignoring Hermione. "And as a matter of fact...I am also the lawyer covering your case!"
"I thought Hoot-" he said.
"But I had to take over now that he's- Well, I just couldn't say no when I read your name in one of the files." she continued enthousiastically.
George smiled and seemed to smirk for a moment. He was about to say something when Hermione coughed softly. He looked at her questioningly, but before she could say anything, Vivian had resumed talking again.
"Why don't you come into my office and we'll discuss that problem of yours right now."
"Actually," Hermione said forcefully, "We've got a previous engagement and we have to hurry."
Vivian blinked. "...'We'? George, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend. I never would have guessed miss Granger here..."
"George, we need to go now." Hermione said even more forcefully.
This time George understood the hint and quickly glanced at his watch.
"Yes, we do, don't we."
He took Hermione's arm and she quickly picked up the bouquet he had brought along. Vivian watched them go with almost hungry eyes.
So he was taken...By Granger, so that was no problem. It only made it even more interesting for her to have another go at George Weasley.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"You never told me you knew her!" Hermione said, making sure she wasn't sounding jealous.
"Well, I didn't know." he said. "I mean, I didn't recognise her name. She used to be called Vivian Walker, not Kramer..."
She rubbed her arms. "I guess she was married."
She watched the flowers she had set in a vase and sat down on her couch. She had ordered pizza as soon as they had reached her appartement, not feeling up to cooking after this latest developement. George was sitting next to her and he was petting Crookshanks on his lap.
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" he asked finally when she kept silent.
"...No."
"Then why are you so quiet?"
"It's just...I'm a bit surprised...You and her...you were together?"
"Yeah..." he nodded. "But only for a little while. Basically I left her hanging when I quit Hogwarts. I didn't mean to, but Fred and I were so busy with setting up the shop that I forgot about her. Sounds terrible, doesn't it."
Hermione said nothing. George turned to face her.
"Listen, you don't feel awkward about this, do you? Me knowing her, I mean. You don't have to. Viv was just a girl I knew back at school."
"...So was I. And I wasn't even your friend but your little brother's."
He wrapped his arm around her and looked into her eyes sincerely.
"Hermione, it's you I'm in love with. I chose you, didn't I? Viv showing up doesn't change that I wanted you."
She sighed and he detected a small hint of relief on her face.
"So..." he said with a grin. "What was this 'previous engagement' we so anxiously needed to go to."
She laughed and shook her head. "You know there isn't one...I just wanted to get you out of there."
"Aah...a little jealousy!" he said triumphantly. "So the Weasley charm still leaves its mark!"
"Obviously. Just look at Ron."
"What about him?" George asked with a raised eyebrow.
She blushed. "Well...Oh, I promised I wouldn't say...But I suppose if you promise me not to tell...Ron is going out with Tess and somehow she's crazy about him. She talks about him a lot, you know. Just don't say anything to anyone." she pleaded. "Ron would murder me."
He placed his hands in her neck and pulled her head towards him and kissed her.
"Don't worry." he whispered with a smile that could melt her, mind and body. "I like you too much to let Ron murder you."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The judge rested his head against his fingertips for a brief moment. What he had just heard had hit him as a rather big surprise. He looked at the people in the courtroom. The two lawyers sat immovable, the defendant was holding back a smirk as well as he could and the journalists scribbled away furiously.
No one had expected this to be the outcome concerning someone who practically everyone believed to be a Death Eater. The element of murder had certainly been expected to play a part in this. But this had caught everybody by surprise. He looked at the man who had given his statement only just before.
"Are you certain?" the judge asked.
"I am, your honour. Unless mr. Parkinson is carrying it himself, there can be no doubt that Alexander Hoot died of natural causes. There is little hope for those who catch it, because the desease itself is still rather unknown. There has yet to be found a cure. But the deceised's bloodtests clearly show-"
"Very well." the judge interrupted tiredly. "I will order a bloodtest to be performed on mr. Parkinson. The outcome of it will determine his fate in this case."
The people in the courtroom started to whisper when he got to his feet, leaving the room before any riots could start up. He let out a loud sigh and realised that the next morning all this would be in every paper, spreading rumours of Parkinson's innocence.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
George rolled over on his side and watched Hermione. She was asleep and had a cute little frown on her face. He caressed her bare arm and crept his fingers up to her shoulder, halting once he had reached the strap of her nightgown.
She looked so beautiful. Suddenly he realised that there was something knawing in the pit of his stomach. It was a hunger of some sort. But, he told himself sternly, it had still only been a few weeks since things had started up between them and he was sure he was her first serious boyfriend. He knew he wasn't to push her into anything.
On the other hand, he had to admit that feeling this...urge...was a sign that he really had a good feeling about their relationship. If she offered it to him, he'd be a fool to say no.
She turned around in her sleep and her hand came flying towards him. He ducked just in time and grinned. She really did look innocent like this, probably even endearing.
He slipped away from under the sheets and tiptoed into her kitchen to get a glass of water. When he had returned, she had taken up all the space in the bed. He had to sit on the edge, slowly pushing her onto her side so he could fit in next to her. She was heavier than he had expected, but she was easy to shift.
Once he had managed to slip under the sheets again, he curled up against her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but it was harder than he thought now that he had gulped down a glass of cold water. Wrinkling his nose when her hair tickled it, he closed his eyes tighter.
When he had almost managed to doze off again, Hermione's body began to shake violently as she started to sneeze and cough uncontrollably. She covered her mouth with her hands, having been woken by her own sneezes.
"I see you're awake." he said with a dry chuckle.
She nodded and stifled another sneeze, causing her eyes to water.
"I know...I'll go see a Healer today." she said with a nasal voice. "You'd better not kiss me till this is over. You might catch it too."
"Hmm, I don't think I'll be able to wait that long." he said with a grin.
Suddenly he swooped down and kissed her so pationately that all she could do was wrap her arms around him so he couldn't pull away. He leaned up just a little bit to look at her.
"See, failed already." he whispered into her ear, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine.
She realised that the feeling of his lips against her ear was perhaps the most pleasant thing she had ever experienced, but she would never admit it, she thought with a blush. He noticed how she held her eyes closed as she savoured the moment and he decided to trail a path of kisses down her neck.
Like before, he found his fingers halt at the feeling of those straps. She still had her eyes closed and held her breath. What would he do? And...what would she let him do?
His hand slowly slid down her arm, taking the strap with it. He kissed her now completely bare shoulder and she had to bite her lip to keep any strange uncontrollable noises from escaping her. George felt there was something inside him burning, like that hungry feeling he'd had before.
All he wondered now was how far Hermione would let him go and slowly he placed his hand onto her stomach and let the fabric crawl up as far as she would let it, revealing bare skin a little more every second. Suddenly she grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"George..." she turned on her side and looked him straight in the eye. "I-"
She didn't know what to say. Every touch made her glow and she wanted more of it. She wanted more of him. But on the other hand, it had only been a few weeks. She had never gone passed kissing before...and she couldn't explain why she felt like it now.
"I've never..." she whispered, casting her eyes down.
He caressed her face. "That's okay. There has to be a first time even for this."
She nodded slowly. "But-"
"I understand that you're nervous...that's normal. So am I." he whispered, his voice sounding deep and strangely tempting.
She felt herself melting away. His hand slid further upwards over the fabric and she took a sharp breath when his hand brushed her breast. George looked at her. The way she was enjoying this moment and dreading it at the same time made him feel even more hungry.
His moral of 'not until she lets me' seemed to melt somewhere in the back of his mind. He kissed her again and let his hand roam more freely over her chest. He could sense that she was fighting to keep herself quiet, as was he himself.
His hand now slipped the strap off her other shoulder and slowly, very slowly, he pulled at the skirt of the offending piece of clothing she had on, eager to see more of her than anybody ever had.
Suddenly her eyes popped open and she grabbed her nightgown just before he could slide it down far enough.
"...I'm not...I don't think we should just yet..." she said, breathing heavily.
Her mind was so confused. She wanted him, even though she wasn't quite sure what that would mean. She wanted him. But in her head she kept telling herself 'not yet' and this was so frustrating that she didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted George to ignore her words.
She sat up quickly, sliding the straps back over her shoulders. She didn't look at him, dreading to see disappointment on his face. He sat up too, trying to cover a very embarassing bulge in his boxers with his hands so she wouldn't notice.
"I'll go take a shower." he said. 'A really cold shower'. he added to himself.
He didn't want Hermione to think he was let down, but the feeling of an anti-climax like this had really hit him hard.
When she heard the door to the bathroom click into its lock, she got to her feet and dressed quickly. Keeping herself busy, she searched for her Andersson, Hoot & Kramer robes.
She halted when she saw the logo. Would they keep 'Hoot' in the company name? Or would it just become 'Andersson & Kramer' now, she found herself wondering.
She walked into her kitchen and layed out some bread on a plate and boiled some water on the stove. While waiting, with a feeling of horror she couldn't explain as anything but fear to have let George down, she looked out the window to see if her owl had come.
Just as she was opening it, the owl flew through. She untied the paper and paid the requiered Knut. Then she sat down and burried herself in the headlines to get her head clear. After one quick look at the news printed, however, she gasped and let it drop to the floor.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Good morning..." a very cheerful voice whispered in his ear.
Ron turned around to see the very pretty girl he had taken out on a date the night before.
"Blimey..." was all he could say.
He couldn't help noticing she was wearing one of his shirts."
"...Did we...?"
She laughed. "If you don't remember, then I suppose it'll be my little secret. It's for me to know..."
She didn't finish her sentence and quickly kissed him on the lips. He grinned and stretched out his arms. A sudden rumble of footsteps on the stairs outside his room wiped his grin away.
"Oh shit..." he muttered. "Quick, under the sheets."
She dove away like he told her to with a big grin. Dating Ronald Weasley never seemed to get boring at this rate. Just as she had disappeared from view, the door opened.
"Ron, you've got some mail from Tutshill. And I really think you should read the Daily Prophet today...There's an article..." she halted.
On the floor there were some pieces of clothing she prayed her son never wore. Then she noticed the bulge behind him in the bed. Her lips faded into a thin line, causing her to look somewhat like an angry McGonagall.
"Ronald Billius Weasley!" she said sternly. "What did I tell you about bringing girls home!"
"...No staying over..." he muttered in an embarassed tone.
Tess found the courage inside her to resurface and composed herself to face mrs. Weasley.
"Good morning, mrs. Weasley..." she said apologetically. "I, er, I'm Tess Farlane..."
Mrs. Weasley nodded her head curtly and turned around. Ron said nothing as the door closed and only when she had heard her footsteps move away did Tess break the silence with a giggle.
"So now you had me meet the family too! Very sneaky."
"I need to find a place of my own..." he sighed loudly. "I need to get away from her."
"At least she brought you your mail. I don't have anyone to do that for me. I think it's sweet." She said as she bent down over his legs to grab the post mrs. Weasley had dropped at the end of the bed.
Suddenly she gasped, causing her to tumble down onto the wooden floor. Once she had managed to scramble up to her knees, she pushed the headline of the Prophet in Ron's face.
"Look at this!" she sqealed.
"Believed Death Eater not guilty." He read slowly.
He took the paper from her hands and read the article out loud. "Philip Parkinson, whom everyone believes to be a close follower of You Know Who, has been found not-guilty by the judge appointed to the case of mr. Alexander Hoot's death. The coronary report revealed that mr. Hoot had died of a rare virus. There is still a lot unknown about the virus itself, though it is currently believed that it is contagious."
Tess snatched the article away from him and read on. "It apparentally attaches itself to red bloodcells in someone's bloodstream and can be passed on genetically or through airways. It causes coughing and sneezing and is often misguidedly treated as 'just a bit of the flu.' Breathing the same air as one contaminated with this illness can mean infectation. The court summons all who might have been infected to see a Healer. Doctors are still trying to find out more about the ilness..."
She stopped and shook her head unbelievingly.
"A Death Eater off the hook? I've got to tell Hermione..." She shot into her clothes and bent down to give Ron a quick kiss. "Owl me."
He nodded. Tess whipped her wand and disappeard with a 'crack!', but not before wondering if this could have anything to do with Hermione's health lately.
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