I'm really sorry it took so long! The time just got away from me!

Anyways, here it is… a new chapter! No real fluff, but don't expect that to last long. I've got the writing bug again and my writer's block is gone, at least for this story, so you should expect another chapter relatively soon.

Chapter 6: When We Were Dancing

George's eyes scanned the pub. Why did I let him talk me into this? George thought, looking down at the stupid rose that his twin had told him to carry. George had finally grudgingly agreed to let Fred fix him up with someone. Fred had promised that George wouldn't regret it and that he had the perfect date for him.

Not seeing a girl carrying her own rose, George sat down at one of the few empty booths and watched the lively couples dancing on the dance floor. This pub was more like a dancing club than a bar, but Diagon Alley needed something different. Glancing down at his watch, he saw that it still wasn't 8 o'clock. He had been so anxious to leave that he left early; Fred was driving him crazy and he couldn't stand one more second in their flat with him.

George ordered a butterbeer and sipped it slowly, his stomach full of butterflies. Smiling to himself, he wondered what Luna Lovegood would say had invaded his stomach. Just as his brain was taking him through the memories of four years ago, the last year that he and Fred were at Hogwarts, he heard a pair of heels clunking on the thick wooden floor of the pub. He ignored the sound until it stopped directly in front of his booth.

Looking up from his bottle, he almost burst out laughing at the sight. A gorgeous Hermione Granger stood in front of him, clutching her purse and a red rose, a smirk on her face. They both stared at each other for a second before Hermione covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "Well, sit down," George said, himself laughing.

"Your brother…" she said smiling, shaking her head.

"Is a git," George finished for her, smiling and handing her a drink menu.

Hermione smiled at him across the table as she sipped the drink that the waiter had brought to her a few minutes earlier. The entire situation was humorous and not awkward in the least bit. "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from my brother. He's always meddling in people's lives," George said, turning the butterbeer bottle in his fingers as he looked at Hermione.

"Well, I think we should just go ahead and have ourselves a great night with each other," Hermione said, pulling off the dangling earrings that she had been wearing. "Those were bothering me," she said, smiling slightly sheepishly.

"Well, are you hungry? We could go around the corner and grab a bite to eat," George suggested.

"I'm not really hungry. I'm still a little worked up from being nervous," she said, taking another sip of her drink, "We can stay here. This looks like a fun place. I haven't seen any place in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade that had music and dancing!"

"You don't strike me as the kind of person who likes to cut loose on the dance floor, but I've been wrong about you before…" George said, passing his empty bottle to the waiter and taking a new one.

"No, you're right this time. I'm usually not into dancing, but I'm also usually not on a date with a Weasley twin. Besides, this drink is strong enough to turn me into a dancer," she laughed, beginning to feel the weight of the last few days lifting from her shoulders. George smiled back at her and she noticed his blue eyes as they sparkled in the dim light of the pub. Ron's were blue also, but it was a different kind of blue. Ron's were dark blue and serious, at times filled with anger and at other times filled with fear. She had spent so many nights thinking about those eyes that she had memorized them. But George's eyes… well, they were light blue, almost grey. Hermione studied them intently for a few seconds before George waved his hand in front of her face.

"Wake up, Hermione," he said, chuckling.

Her face turning beet red, she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about…" She stopped before the word "Ron" came out of her mouth, but she was afraid that he knew what she was going to say.

"It's okay," he said, "All of us Weasleys… well, we look the same. I know what you were thinking about."

"I'm sorry. I'm getting over him, but it's hard," she said, her throat tightening. She quickly took a large gulp of her drink, burning her throat, causing her to cough.

"You okay?" George said, trying not to laugh at her. She nodded, taking another drink. "Are you drunk enough to dance, now?" he continued and she rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Alright, come on," she said, playful exasperation in her voice as she stood up and adjusted her skirt.

"Is this a muggle song?" George asked her loudly as they slowly weaved their way between the tables and people.

"No, it's the wizarding version of a muggle song. The band, Black Eyed Peas, has a witch in it. Fergie, she's a witch," Hermione called back to him.

The dance floor was a lot more tightly packed than they had originally thought. George and Hermione had to stay very close together to keep from being bumped apart by the bouncing crowd. "This place is mad!" George said, leaning close to Hermione as a loud song played over the magical speakers. She nodded, stumbling toward him slightly after being run into by a drunken witch who was dancing crazily. George reached out his hands to catch her, stopping her from falling forward.

"Sorry!" she said to him, glancing back at the intoxicated witch, noticing that the witch looked familiar. "That's Pansy Parkinson," she said to George, trying not to be overheard by the witch.

Unfortunately, Pansy heard her and whipped around. "Granger, is that you?" Pansy said, her face sweaty and her mascara in circles around her eyes, "Boy, you sure like your Weasleys, don't you? First Ron, now Fred or George or whoever the hell he is. I heard Ron's marrying Lavender Brown. I knew he'd never want to marry a buck toothed bitch like you."

Hermione silently stared at Pansy, not knowing what to say but not wanting to say nothing. George, however, beat her to it. "So, what ever happened to your Death Eater boyfriend? Oh, that's right… how could I have forgotten? Harry Potter captured him and he's now in Azkaban with his father!" Pansy made an angry face and pulled on the arm of the man that had continued grinding on her throughout the whole conversation. Pansy stormed out of the pub, stumbling as she went.

Hermione and George stared at each other for a few seconds, neither sure of what to say to the other. "Do you want to go?" George asked awkwardly as a slow song started and the people on the dance floor coupled up.

Hermione shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. George guided her into his arms and they swayed to the music, Hermione fighting back the tears and George clearing his mind of the intense anger he was feeling. George felt her shoulders shake and knew that she was crying, so he tightened his arms around her as she gasped air.

Always arriving at the most inconvenient time, Fred stood just inside the doorway of the pub, his eyes searching for his twin. "There he is," Ginny whispered, pointing to the dance floor.

"Are he and Hermione…" Harry asked, his voice drowned out by a loud group of girls walking by.

"I can't tell," Ginny replied, standing up on her tiptoes to see over the crowd, "But we had better get out of here before they see us."

"Agreed," Fred said, "But at least now, we know for sure. There's something going on between those two…"

Feeling better after her cry, Hermione and George, several drinks later, were back on the dance floor, moving to the beat of the music. The later it got, the more slow songs the DJ played. However, Hermione and George sang drunkenly to the music and made fun of the couples who were dancing closely and seriously. "Look at those two… I bet they're going to have a dirty shag after this is over," George whispered to her as she tilted back her glass, still dancing.

"No, I don't think so. I think he wants to have a shag with her, but she doesn't look like she's into it," Hermione pointed out, nodding to the girl.

George studied the girl as he drank more of his butterbeer and, after noticing something, almost spit out a mouthful of the sticky drink. "Then why, dear Hermione, does she have her hand down his pants?"

Hermione gasped, scandalized, but then burst into giggles, placing her hand on George's shoulder to steady herself. "I guess I'm not too good at reading people, huh?" she said, setting her empty glass down on a nearby table.

"You want another?" George asked, pointing to her glass.

Shaking her head, she said, "I really better be getting home. I have a lot of studying to do tomorrow to catch up before class on Monday."

"I'll apperate with you to make sure you get home okay," George said as they walked back to their table to get her purse. George laid several galleons down on the table to cover their drinks and the tip and then followed Hermione out of the pub.

With a pop, they both arrived in her apartment's living room. George saw medical books strewn all over the floor and parchment stacked on the coffee table. Hermione smiled sheepishly and said, "It's a little messy."

"Believe me, this is nothing compared to my flat," he laughed.

"Well, I had a great time tonight. We're going to have to kill your brother sometime soon, but I'm glad that you were my blind date," Hermione chuckled, tossing her purse down on the coffee table.

"Same here," George said, reaching out to hug her.

They shared a friendly hug and she gave him a happy peck on the cheek and smiled as he walked toward the door.

"Can I take you to lunch tomorrow for a study break?" he asked suddenly, his hand on the door.

She paused for a second. Was this going to be a second date? That same smirk appeared on her face and she nodded. "Be here at noon," she said.

With a smile and a pop, he was gone, but only until tomorrow.

To be continued…