I've decided that most of these chapters are going to be pretty short and light. I don't want this to be an in depth angst story. Just about 6 or 7 chapters of humor and fluff would be good!
Chapter 2: The Guy with an Obsession
The following Friday, Hermione paced back and forth in her kitchen, checking her watch repeatedly. She was supposed to meet her date, Augustus, in Hogsmede, where they would be having dinner at an Italian restaurant and then visiting Fred and George's new store in Hogsmede. Hermione felt sick, like she needed to vomit. This was a horrible idea! Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE! Why did I let George do this to me? She pondered angrily, making circles around her kitchen. Spotting a picture of Ron waving at her happily from her mantle, Hermione picked up her wand and yelled "Bombarda!" After a loud boom, the picture lay on the floor, singed and smoking. "Stupid git," she mumbled, flicking her wand to repair the damaged wall.
She disapperated, arriving at the restaurant at the pre-arranged time. Augustus was supposed to be carrying a red rose, according to George, but Hermione did not see a short, younger guy with a rose. Hermione sighed and flopped down on a bench outside the restaurant, not caring if she was dirtying her robes. Great, stood up again. What is wrong with me? Do I smell? She pondered, considering smelling her underarms covertly. Just as she was about to lean down and take a sniff, a mildly attractive man with a red rose walked nervously to the door of the restaurant. Okay, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all, Hermione thought, a smile crossing her face.
"Augustus?" Hermione asked as the man began to open the door.
"Hermione?" he said, turning to look at her. She smiled and nodded.
"What a pleasure to meet you," he said, taking her hand and kissing it before handing her the rose. A blush crept into Hermione's cheeks as Augustus moved to open the door for her.
They were seated at a quiet table as candles floated around them. A wizard sang softly in the corner. "George hasn't told me much about you," Hermione said, turning on her charm. The longer she looked at him, the cuter he was.
"There isn't much to tell…" he said, pausing to take a drink of water, "but George has told me loads about you. How you are friends with Harry Potter, and how you were there with him most of the times that he met You-Know-Who, and that you've known him since he first started at Hogwarts." Hermione was a little perplexed, but she allowed him to be starstruck about Harry for a few moments, hoping the conversation would move on to something else.
But by dessert, Augustus was still at it. "And I've heard he's back together with Ginny Weasley. Is that true? Are they going to be married? The Daily Prophet said he's in Auror training. Is he doing well? I'm sure he's going to be the best Auror that the Ministry has seen. Is it really true that he is the Chosen One? I think that's got to be really hard, knowing that you are the only one who can defeat You-Know-Who…" he babbled as Hermione played with her pudding.
"Look, Augustus," Hermione said, interrupting him, "I'm not feeling too well. I think I'm going to have to skip the trip to Fred and George's and head home." He looked severely disappointed, and stood to walk her out, laying down a few galleons for the check.
"I had a great time," Augustus said, leaning in to kiss Hermione on the cheek as they stood in front of the restaurant.
"Er, me too," she said, stumbling over her words as she tried to avoid his kiss.
As he walked away to disapperate, Hermione wondered how the date had gone so horribly wrong. Never have I had anyone want to date me purely because I was friends with Harry Potter, she thought, amused and angry at the same time. Shaking her head, she walked down the road to Fred and George's new shop to give George the play by play on the date.
Fred gave her a wolf whistle as she stomped into the shop, a smile missing from her face. "Blimey, Fred, who's that smoking hot chick that just walked through the door?" George teased, pretending to drop the box that he was carrying.
"Can it," Hermione commanded, still not smiling.
"What did you do with Aggie? Ditch him?" Fred said, walking toward Hermione.
"George, I thought you said you were good at matchmaking…" Hermione began, proceeding to tell the twins about the horrible date.
"…so he just kept asking about Harry? How strange…" George said, leaning over the front counter to talk to Hermione. Fred was stocking a shelf nearby, joining in on the conversation.
Hermione shook her head. "The whole entire night…" she said, leaning against a shelving unit.
Fred cursed, causing Hermione to look up. Augustus had just walked into the shop. "Quick! Hide me!" Hermione said, running behind the counter.
"Under here!" George said, pushing her under the counter.
"Hey, Aggie, where's Hermione?" Fred asked, trying hard to pretend that Hermione wasn't under the counter.
"Oh, she wasn't feeling too well. She decided to go home," Augustus said, reminding Hermione of a Muggle cartoon character, Eeore.
"How did it go?" George asked, nudging Hermione with his leg to keep her quiet.
"It went really well! I think she likes me," Augustus said, examining a Skiving Snackbox. George nudged Hermione again after hearing a snort from under the counter. "Well, see you two later, and thanks again, George," Augustus continued, walking out of the shop with a wave.
George bent down to look under the counter at Hermione, his face red from holding back his laughter. He had never seen Hermione so angry, which made him want to laugh even more. "What are you doing tomorrow night?" George asked, knowing she would blow up.
"Oh, no! I am not going on another date with him or anyone else. I need at least a week to recover from that!" she ranted, standing up and brushing off her robes.
"No, Mum wants you to come 'round for dinner tomorrow. Bill and Fleur are going to be in town," George said, returning to stocking the shelves with Fred.
"And no, Won-Won isn't going to be there," Fred added, knowing she would refuse if Lavender or Ron were going to be present.
"Alright, what time?" she said, gloomily.
"Dinner starts at 6," George said, handing her a Skiving Snackbox, "And next time you need to get out of a date, use one of these."
The early summer heat wrapped around Hermione's body as she walked up the path to the Burrow, her sandals making a flipping sound with every step she took. George glanced up from the kitchen sink where he was peeling potatoes, the Wizarding Wireless blaring in the background and his mother singing along from the next room. Since when did Hermione Granger become sexy? George asked himself, shaking his head and looking back down at the potatoes.
"So, who is the next date?" Fred said, stepping into the kitchen and seeing Hermione walking up the long drive.
"Well, I was thinking about Marcus Diggle, the guy we know from the Ministry," George said, wiping his hands on a towel.
"But he's such a nerd!" Fred laughed, helping his brother with the potatoes.
"Well, it's worth a shot. Besides, Hermione is a nerd too," George replied.
"Yes… a very hot nerd," Fred chuckled, looking back down the path as Hermione approached the house.
To be continued…