Hi! Sorry for the wait! :) Here's the next chapter though, forgive me? *Looks around hopefully*

So here it is Hermione and George on their very first date! Hope you like it, it took me awhile to get what I thought was right into words. Did that make sense? Anyway, it took awhile to write it, but I do think it turned out okay :D

DISCLAIMER: Honestly, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it if I was JK Rowling. But as it is, I'm still in school, have never written mulitple bestsellers, nor am I blonde. So there. Obviously not JK here, people

Chapter 8

Hermione Jean Granger was never the type of girl to fret over a date. But then again, Hermione Jean Granger had never been on a first date with her soon-to-be-husband. Hermione had of course dated, but it was mostly in her summer-breaks. She hadn't been out on many, but there had been a couple of cute guys who had asked her out when she was home from Hogwarts. Now with the war over and everything, Hermione had only been on one date, once in Australia. It hadn't been very good either. But her mother had felt that she was cooped up with her parents, so Hermione had finally taken the neighbour of her parents up on his offer of a date. But apparently, he thought she would enjoy a wild night out with his friends. She didn't.

Honestly, Hermione thought, isn't there some sort of unwritten rule of being alone on the first date?

But now she stood in front of her closet, her hair dripping wet – she hadn't bothered with a drying-charm, it would make her hair stand all around – with a towel around her, and she was panicking. She had no idea what she should wear. She wanted to dress up for George; she wanted to make a good impression. She wanted him to see her as a woman, and not the bookwork from Ravenclaw, who had never been outside of a library. She sighed. This needed professional help.

Making her way to her living room, she made sure her towel was tightly wrapped around her. She grabbed some powder, and dropped to her knees.
"The Burrow!" Hermione knew that Ginny would be at the Burrow still, as there would be a family dinner tonight; Mrs Weasley wanted her kids to have one last normal day before their lives were thrown upside down. But George and Hermione had gotten special permission from the Weasley Matriarch, so all was well.

Hermione was lucky; it was Ginny who answered her call. After 30 seconds of explaining, Ginny was on her way over. All she had had to say was 'I don't know what to wear! HELP ME!' and Ginny was to the rescue.
It wasn't even 45 minutes later, and Hermione was poked, prodded and perfected; she was ready for her date with George, and just in time.

Her hair was fixed so that it fell in waves down her back, with some hair pulled back, twisted and held together on the back of her head. She had on a simple, flowing lilac dress with matching high heels. She felt pretty for the first time in a long while. It's not like that's what you focus on when you're on the run. It was good to feel like she could actually pass for a girl again. Hermione just hoped that George would like her dress as well. Ginny carefully hugged her before hurrying back to the Burrow – and just in time as well. George knocked on the door, and Hermione had to take a settling breath before she opened the door.

Normally you would see George in the most ridiculous outfits. Hermione had once seen him in a pair of green jeans with an orange shirt which had a Bludger being chased around by a Beater's bat on it. But she had to admit he cleaned up nice. He had a pair of jeans on, with a nice button-up shirt and a black cloak over his shoulders. She could only guess they weren't going to Muggle London. He smiled at her, and with a flourish of his hands, he held out a bouquet of flowers.
"Hi 'Mione. You look beautiful." She giggled at him, something she really didn't want to admit. Since when had she been reduced to a giggly girl in the presence of a handsome man?
"Thank you, George" Taking the flowers, she quickly put them in a vase and grabbed her cloak, and they were out the door.
George offered her his arm, and she had to hold back a girlish giggle. It was a very nice gesture, and she liked being treated like a lady for once. In all her years in the magical world, she'd always either been seen as a Mudblood or a frightfully clever student. Being with George was a whole new experience and she was enjoying it fully.

They walked in silence for a little while, listening to the bustling life in the city. Hermione had to resist the urge to lay her head on his shoulder. Their silence was by no means uncomfortable; Hermione was content to just be in his presence. She felt no pressure to fill the silence with mindless chatter, though after a while she got curious as to where they were headed. She refrained from asking for a little while longer, until George turned down a narrow little dirt road, which led to a park.
"Where are we going, George?" She laughed softly, as he tugged on her arm to get her to speed up.
"It'd ruin the surprise if I told you, now, wouldn't it?" He grinned at her, flashing a full set of perfectly straight teeth. Hermione hoped that their children would get his teeth instead of hers; she's had to have Madam Pomphrey regulate hers, after she had fallen and a piece had broken off.

To distract her, no doubt, George began asking her all sorts of questions. What was her favourite book of all time? Which was a hard question for her to answer; there were just so many! In the end she'd settled on a favourite author instead. What was her favourite colour? She'd have to say a soft, light green, as it was the colour of hope. Had she ever had a pet before Hogwarts? No, because her father was allergic to most animals. He continued on with them, not giving her time to ask a few herself.

Finally, George seemed satisfied with where they were. They had arrived in a little nook in the park, surrounded by trees, and very secluded. If you didn't know it was there, you probably would pass it by. Then it dawned on Hermione; she lived a little outside of wizarding London, and this park was very near where she lived. There weren't many Muggles out, but the little nook was only occupied by wizards and witches. It was probably charmed like The Leaky Cauldron, so that only magical people could see it.
"Oh, George, it's lovely" Hermione whispered as she took in the little garden fully. Small tables were placed around, some bigger than others, with more chairs surrounding them. In the back, there was a little, white hut, where several witches were coming out from, levitating meals and drinks to various tables. To the side there was a small pond, where the sun reflected beautifully in the fading daylight. George smiled down at Hermione, and let her to a table for two, with a flower floating about 20 cm over the table top, going through the motions of life, from a mere nub, to a fully grown bloom.
"I can't believe I've never seen this place before! I've been in this park I don't know how many times!" she exclaimed as George chuckled slightly.
"Well I'm glad I get to be the one to show you then." He let her enjoy the view of the little haven, as he waved over a waitress. He was glad when Hermione didn't hesitate to ask for a soup for starters, and grilled chicken with a side dish of salad. He'd been out with girls before, who seemed to think it would impress him if they ate little to nothing.

Over dinner, they laughed and got to know each other. George entertained with stories of his, Fred and Lee's – the Twins' best friend – pranks and the outcome of some of their self-tested products. In turn, Hermione told him about growing up Muggle, and coming into the magical world.
"I got a shock the first time I saw Dumbledore. I mean, I'd read so much about him, but the first time I saw him in person – Merlin I nearly laughed out loud." George had to laugh at that; he remembered Harry's reaction after the first speech he heard after the sorting: "Is he a bit mad?"

"Hey, Ron never told me, just how did you three become friends?" George asked. He knew that Ron and Harry had never even talked with Hermione before the war, and suddenly they were as thick as thieves.
"Well, Harry actually saved me. He and I, along with Dean, Luna and a goblin had all been caught by Snatchers, and were taken to Malfoy Manor. For some reason Bellatrix Lestrange thought the two of us had been in her vault, because Harry had the Sword of Gryffindor with him-" and she launched into a long tale of the following events. George felt a swell of anger well up in him when Hermione described what went down at Malfoy Manor not so long ago.
Hermione, for her part, did tell George a lot, but she didn't tell him everything. She didn't tell him about the scarred words she hid underneath long blouses, or where the thin white line on her neck had come from. She told him about coming to the tent, meeting Ron, getting to know everybody while they healed.
"On a happier note though, I am so grateful to have met those two. They're like the brothers I never had. They are really funny to be with, studious, intelligent. They have some amazing stories of their years at Hogwarts. I remember when Harry was in that damn tournament; I was terrified for him, he was three years too young! But to actually hear all about it from Harry's point of view – I was really glad I was too young to enter." Then she smiled and George felt warmth spread inside him. If nothing else, then a beautiful friendship would blossom between the two of them, he was sure of it. Maybe this Marriage Law thing could be good for something, after all.

They sat several hours just talking. The food had long since been eaten, but they didn't really want the date to end, so they just sat, talking. Hermione watched him as he spoke about the joke-shop; his eyes lit up with happiness and mischievousness. The blue in them seemed to become lighter and his freckled nose wrinkled just a little bit when he laughed. His shaggy locks moved a bit in the wind, and Hermione had to resist the urge to reach out and run her hand through it. It looked really soft.
George had stopped talking, and was staring right back at her. Her long hair was wavy down her back – not the frizzled look he seemed to remember from her when they went to Hogwarts. Her deep brown eyes were framed with long dark lashes, only coated by a little amount of mascara. She had a cute button nose, and her lips were just right. George wanted to reach over, and take her hand, but he didn't want to cross any boundaries, as it was only their first date, even if they were getting married within the next five months. Due to the fact that they were as young as they were, the Ministry seemed to be giving them a little more time to prepare for everything. Seemed odd when Charlie and Lisa had to be married in three months, but who knew just what the Ministry were thinking.
"Should we head back?" His voice was low and he smiled slightly. With a sigh, Hermione agreed, and before she could even comment, George had summoned the waitress, paid the bill and stood to help her out of her chair. She was a little stunned, but immediately told him he didn't have to pay the bill; she had a little money.
"Mione, I took you out; I pay." Hermione frowned.
"But I asked you!" He laughed and tucked her toward him. Offering her his arm, he kept laughing and started walking. She huffed but grinned a little; she would just have to surprise him with lunch or something then.

In no time at all, they arrived back at her little flat. George walked her all the way to her door, and when she turned around to say goodbye, she was caught up in his gaze, the words dying on her tongue. The blue of his eyes held the brown of hers, and he smiled a little, before leaning in, and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. He tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her right ear, and softly told her he had had a wonderful night.
"Me too, George. Thank you for the lovely evening." They smiled at each other, quietly saying goodbye. He disapparated leaving her with a small smile on her lips as she let herself in.

She got ready for bed, realizing just how late it was, and just how tired she really had become. With a sigh she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

So, was it any good? ;)

Love,

MissH-95