"When did this happen?" Hermione heard Ginny ask Ron. She didn't hear Ron's response though because she was too distracted by the red haired Weasley who was smiling at the crowd. The students were all talking excitedly about George being their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Most remembered his and Fred's famous exit from Hogwarts during Hermione's fifth year and for the younger students who hadn't been there, they had heard from siblings, older friends, and even some professors. The Weasley twins were that legendary. Hermione then realized that this was, most likely, what George had been talking to Mrs. Weasley about the night before.
This also had to be why George had been awake so early to shower. It was then that Hermione saw Professor McGonagall was still speaking.
"Now that we have gone through our introductions, I would like to invite everyone to enjoy their dinner." And at that, the plates in front of them magically filled with food. Hermione was less interested in eating than she had been before McGonagall went through her announcements.
"Hermione, aren't you hungry?" She heard Harry to try say, his mouth full of mashed potatoes. She shrugged her shoulders and looked over at Ron and Ginny who were deep in conversation. Once Ginny finished eating, she asked Hermione if she wanted to hang out in her cabin to which Hermione gratefully accepted. Hermione didn't want to be with everyone anymore. Everyone at the tables were still eating and Hermione and Ginny were the first to stand up, gaining a few quick glances from their classmates in the process.
It took them a little while to find their way back to where the sixth year Gryffindor girls had been assigned.
"They should have given us a damn map for this place." The Weasley girl said at one point with a chuckle.
"Or at least some signs." The brunette agreed. When they finally got to the suites they were out of breath. Hermione looked around at their common area and it looked exactly like the one that Hemrione was staying in. Since it was the first night of the cruise, both girls were certain the rest of Ginny's roommates wouldn't be back for a while. Ginny laid out on the couch while Hermione sat on one of the reclining chairs.
"You okay, 'Mione?" Ginny asked her, looking a little concerned. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and a small moan escaped her lips. She decided it was time to tell Ginny about her and George's meeting.
"That day a few days ago when I went to Fred's grave, I had gone following George," She began, Ginny sat back and looked at her, urging her to continue. "I've been worried about him a lot, he's been withdrawn and quiet and he just hasn't been looking good. When he saw that I was there he got angry that I had followed him then started crying. He told me he felt lost without Fred here and I told him that he should get a job teaching at Hogwarts. Then he told me to mind my own business and disapparated. That night, after you went to bed, I went downstairs to have a slice of pie and some milk and we met again. He told me that Fred wanted to fight in the battle to make sure that I was safe. It's my fault that Fred died." Towards the end of her story, Hermione's voice had faltered but she really didn't want to cry again. She felt as though she had spent a lot of time the past few days crying.
"Hermione, it's not your fault that Fred died! Don't let yourself believe what George is saying!" Ginny sounded angry with her brother and Hermione didn't do anything besides shrug her shoulders.
"What I don't understand is why would he snap at me when I suggest he try becoming a professor just to become one anyway?" It just didn't make sense to her. The other girls in Ginny's year started to come back a few minutes later and Hermione bid her friend goodnight. When Hermione left the sixth year Gryffindor girls' area she suddenly felt wide awake. She wasn't ready to go back to her room yet.
It seemed like a good idea to explore the ship while most of her peers were back in their own rooms. That way she wouldn't have to deal with people stepping on her and walking too slow. Hermione would also have time to think about Fred. The cruise ship that they were on didn't seem too big but magic made it seem as though they had plenty of room. There were five floors, each of the houses had their own floor and the fifth floor was where all of their activities and meals were going to be. After walking around the whole ship a few times Hermione felt as though she was getting the hang of everything. She was just about to walk back to her room when she heard someone talking.
This was a stupid idea, Fred. But I didn't know what else to do. I'm not cut out to be a teacher, I'm not cut out for anything. The only thing I'm good at is making jokes but I'm just so miserable. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to laugh or joke again. George was at the front of the ship, sitting with his head and his hands and facing the water. Hermione didn't know whether or not to go near him and decided that she would leave him alone with his grief. She didn't want to mettle again.
The next few days passed by and Hermione was having a pretty good time. She was spending a lot of time with Ginny, Ron, and Harry and doing different activities. There was dancing, some painting, some yoga, and some other things that she had never tried before. George was very popular with the students, especially the female students. He was putting up a happy act but Hermione could see the pain that was behind his strained smile. She had continued with her nightly walks and George was always in the same place, talking out loud to Fred about different things. She was kind of surprised by something she had heard the previous night. It turned out that Professor McGonagall had asked George to take the job so she could keep an eye on him. She and Molly were very concerned with his well-being and McGonagall had promised Molly she could keep George safe.
Whenever Hermione listened to George talk to Fred she began to feel anxious for his safety. He really did sound suicidal with some of the things he was saying. Instead of getting better George was starting to sound worse each night.
"Can you pass the cheese?" Ron asked Hermione at dinner that night. They were having make your own tacos which was one of Hermione's favorite foods. She passed it to him right away while she munched on her own taco. It was quickly discovered that if she ate, even just a little bit, her friends wouldn't ask her as many questions. George had discovered this too, it appeared, because Hermione saw that he was gradually eating more at meal times too. His seat had been moved from next to McGonagall to next to Hagrid which seemed to be working. Gradually, the students began to make their way back to their rooms and Hermione wasn't too far behind them.
After everyone in the seventh year Gryffindor girl area fell asleep, Hermione got out of bed to walk around. She began her habit of walking up to the fifth floor and around where the Ravenclaws were being housed then down to the fourth floor, where the Gryffindors were. She always saved the third floor for last because that was the 'main' floor and where George usually was. The first floor housed the Slytherins and the second floor the Hufflepuffs. By the time she got back to where George would be sitting he was already crying. As Hermione walked closer she could smell alcohol and saw the tell tale bottle of firewiskey on the ground next to him. Suddenly, George stood up and climbed to the top of the rail, looking as though he was about to jump off.
This is for you, my brother. It's a same Mum never taught us how to swim. We will be together before too long. George jumped into the waters and Hermione ran to where he just was.
"George!" She called but his head wasn't breaking above the ocean. She jumped in after him and managed to pull him up to the surface before it was too late.
By the time she had found a floating log for them to hold on to, the boat had already disappeared. McGonagall had put a charm on it to do that so Muggles wouldn't see them. They were stranded. George coughed a little bit from next to her but he didn't open his eyes, Hermione guessed that he was knocked out. She didn't know what to do until she looked further in the distance and saw an island. It was about a mile away but Hermione didn't care, she began to swim towards it. It was difficult, kicking and making sure George didn't let go of the log but eventually they made it there. Hermione laid on the shore, breathing deeply and then rolled over to where George was, he was coughing out more water and eventually his eyes opened.
"What's happening, where am I?" He spluttered and looked even closer. "What are you doing here?" George added coldly.
"I think I'm the one that just saved your life!" Hermione all but shrieked back at him. "What the hell were you thinking? You jumped off the ship and I jumped in afterwards."
"I'm not happy here, Granger! Can't you see that?! I'm nothing without Fred. Absolutely nothing." George went over to sit on a rock and look out into the ocean. Hermione wanted to start a fire until she realized she had left her wand on the ship. Part of her wanted to ask George if he had his but she knew he wasn't in any kind of mood to listen to her so she moved to a different part of the beach and curled up. The Hogwarts Cruise was long gone by now and since it was so late no one would notice they were gone until the next morning. Hopefully she and George would be able to find someone on the island the next day.
When Hermione woke up the next morning, George was already wide awake and trying to catch fish in the water. Her heart sank as she watched him, he would have been using his wand if he had it.
"You don't have your wand?" She decided to ask him and he shook his head.
"No, I left it in my room." He replied without looking at her. "Do you have yours?" Hermione shook her head as well and he swore. "What are we going to do? While you were asleep I went around the whole island and there's nobody here. It's just us."
"Have you ever been muggle camping?" Hermione asked him to which he shook his head again. "I've read some books but I've never been camping either with my parents. I know a lot of what we have to do but I don't know how to do it. You might, though. We have to work together."
"I will not work with you!" George said firmly and at that took a stick and drew a line down the beach. "Until someone comes and get this you will not step foot on my side of the island!" Hermione didn't feel like arguing him so she walked further into the island and picked some large leaves so she could build some sort of a shelter. She shuddered as she realized that there was no set time they would be leaving. The pessimistic part of her pointed out that they might never be rescued and she quickly pushed it away. There was no way in hell she was going to be stuck on this island the rest of her life, she wouldn't allow it. Harry and Ron were sure to find her.
When she came back with her armload of thick and heavy leaves she saw that George had spread himself over a section of his 'half' of the island. He had taken off his shirt so he could enjoy the sun. Hermione quickly glanced at his body. His years playing on the Gryffindor Quidditch team had done him well. She knew for a fact that even after he left the school that he continued playing pick up games with his brothers. Guilty thoughts of Fred made her finally look away and she sat back in her half of the sand to start weaving her leaves together.
There was sa large rock on her side of the beach that had a crevice so it kind of resembles a small cave. She could fit comfortably in the crevice and it would protect her from any potential storms. All that she really needed was a door/cover to make sure she'd be totally protected. It didn't take that long to make because she had been a skilled weaver when she was younger and before she found out that she was a witch. When Hermione was done, she noticed that George had gotten up and had made himself a hammock. Or, at least, he had tried to. When he tried to climb into the hammock it broke and he fell back into the sand.
"Hmph." He grunted as he fell. Hermione tried to suppress a giggle as she ran over to his side.
"Are you okay?" She asked as he stood up to brush himself off.
"I'm fine." He muttered, the tips of his ears turning a pink color, the Weasley tell tale sign of embarrassment or anger. Hermione glanced over him and saw that his elbow had a nasty looking gash on it. Without a word she tore off part of her bath robe and wrapped it on the cut. George gave her a surprised look while he gently pulled his arm away. "Why're you being so nice to me?" He asked quizzically.
"You've never given me a reason not to." Hermione replied with a small smile.
They both got quiet and Hermione decided to go back to her side before it got more awkward. As much as she wanted to reach out to George, she knew it would be best if he began to reach out to her first. She crawled into her mini cave and curled up on the mattress she had made out of moss and closed her eyes. The loud crash of thunder woke her up as some point during the night. Hermione crawled to where the cover was and lifted it gently. Rain was crashing on the island and she saw that George was soaked and trying to take cover under a large leaf. It clearly wasn't working, his hair was so wet it looked like it was plastered to his head. Hermione got out of the crevice and sprinted over to George.
"Come with me!" She said loudly so he could hear her over the storm.
He nodded gratefully and followed her back to the mini cave. If Hermione had to estimate she would have guessed the mossy mattress she made was about the size of a king sized bed plus a little bit more. She laid down on one side while George laid down the other said and she was asleep within minutes. The next morning she woke up to George's arm around her tummy and his head on her shoulder. Before she had had the chance to really wake up she enjoyed having Fred snuggling up with her in bed. It had been a long time since they were able to, but then her nostrils opened. Fred had his own distinct smell that was hard to describe and this smell, although similar, was different. Hermione's eyes snapped open and saw that it was George. Why would George, the man who absolutely hated her guts and believed that she was responsible for the death of his twin brother, put himself in this position?