"George," Hermione said practically falling into his arms. "I'm so sorry it took this long, there were just complications after complications." She quickly kissed him on the cheek. Upon witnessing his slight hesitation, she noticed Percy standing over to the side, awkwardly trying to look away from everything.
"Percy," she said, a hint of surprise in her voice.
"Hey Hermione," said Percy with a slight nervous giggle. The three of them stood there for about a millisecond before anyone knew what to do when Percy suddenly went up to Hermione and began to shake her hand energetically. "It has been ages," he said kissing her on the cheek as well.
"It has," said Hermione patting him on the back and returning the gesture. "I'm just going to go quickly check on Anna," she said, swiftly running towards the bedroom George pointed her to. Percy smiled towards George, clicking his tongue in mock disapproval.
"Well," said Percy, "This may be the first time in many years I've seen you smile." He said, placing both arms on the shoulders of his younger brother.
"Mum doesn't know yet," George said softly. "Now you, Ron, probably Harry and therefore Ginny know…" He said trailing off.
"She's going to kill you," said Percy. George chuckled and looked worriedly over to Hermione.
"And Hermione," George added softly. Percy's smile faded as he realized that even in her older age, Molly was fiercely protective of her children. He removed his hands and took a step back, clearing his throat nervously.
"I mean, better late than never," said Percy. "Tell her around Christmas, she's more forgiving in this time of the year." George sighed, and gestured for Percy to stop talking as Hermione came back into the room.
"She's back to sleep," she said, "The fever is pretty much down, I think it's just the flu, she always gets it this time of year." She sat down on a barstool, sighing exhaustedly as she did. George chuckled and walked over to her, patting her on the back gently. Percy, unable to stop himself from grinning, cleared his throat.
"Well, I should go. Hermione, it was fantastic seeing you," he kissed her cheek.
"Goodbye Percy," she said, returning the favor and squeezing his hand softly. He smiled and walked over to George. The two brothers shared a warm embrace and the elder than proceeded to the fireplace, where he promptly flooed home. Finally, a moment of silence enveloped both Hermione and George and they crossed the room to bridge the distance between them.
He pulled her into his strong embrace and she clung to him.
"I missed you," he said, staring into her brown eyes. She smiled back up at him.
"Not as much as I missed you," she countered. He broke his hold on her and took her by the hand to the sofa, where he sat down and she nestled into his arms. His hands caressed her shoulder as she traced small lines on his chest absentmindedly.
"Long day?" He asked with a soft chuckle.
"To say the absolute least," she said. Suddenly she sat up, pulling him with her. They both sat facing each other with the utmost seriousness and she began to move her lips towards his. He gladly returned the favor, meeting her lips in a delicate yet passionate kiss. "I should go check on Anna," she said softly standing up and heading towards his bedroom. George nodded, sitting back and closing his eyes. For the first time that day he felt in a state of peace.
A moment later, he stood up and walked to his bedroom. Anna was lying down; breathing heavily while Hermione lay on her side stroking the younger's hair. He smiled and sat down on the bed on the other side. Hermione cocked her head and gestured for him to lie down too on the other side. Anna snuggled closer to him and he kissed the top of her head.
He whispered, "lumos" under his breath and checked his watch. 11:45. He sighed, it had been an incredibly long day. He glanced over at Hermione and Anna laying side by side on his large bed and an incredible warmth spread over him. He remembered when he and Fred were little and would go crawl into Molly and Arthur's bed. Soon afterwards, Ron would toddle in while Ginny's crib would be in the corner. Sometimes Percy would join them, and the next morning, Bill and Charlie, feeling left out would always come in as well and all nine of them would be laughing in the same room, excited to just be a family.
As George recollected those moments of pure bliss, he felt his eyelids grow heavy and he succumbed to sleep.
He was in a park, the lighting was oddly bright and everything had a tinge of yellow and orange to it. The greens were greener, the blue was bluer, and everything was just blindingly bright. There were birds chirping, and a brook babbled up ahead. George wandered around the grass, he knew he was looking for someone, he just did not know who. He also noticed that his hearing was a lot more clear an he reached up with his right hand and found that he had two intact ears. He smiled, checking his reflection in a clear blue pond that seemed to appear beside him. An identical reflection stood beside him and he turned.
Fred Weasley was standing right there, hands on his hips, grin flashing across his face.
"Fred!" George exclaimed, throwing himself into the latter's arms. Fred laughed and hugged him back. His laugh seemed more echoey and distant, but George did not care. He felt tears stream down his face as he clung to his brother, hoping he would never have to leave him.
"We don't have much time," Fred said.
"What?" George asked confusedly.
"Well, strictly speaking, you have as long as you wake up. I don't have that much time," he said, emphasizing the I.
"Why?" George asked.
"This isn't something we really often get to do in the great beyond," he said waving his arms around.
"What's it like?"
"It's pretty nice," Fred said. "But really, I miss being alive."
"I miss you," George said, tears pouring down his face.
"I'm right here silly," Fred said. George stared down at the ground.
"You know what I mean," said George. "I never got to say goodbye."
"I tried to," said Fred, "I saw you coming with me, and well, at least you could be saved."
"Why are you here now?"
"To see you silly," said Fred. "I got to come see you because it will be so long until we're reunited, and we can cause so much mayhem over here."
"I look forward to it," said George with a smile. They both walked towards a bench and sat down.
"Anna is cute," said Fred after a while.
"She is, isn't she? I just don't know how I'm going to tell Mum."
"Glad I'm here for that," said Fred with a wink, "I don't know how you're going to do that either." George laughed and began to sob again.
"Oh boy," said Fred, "You've turned pansy on me." He laughed. George chuckled a little through his tears and placed his head tenderly on his brother's shoulder. Fred put his arm around George and patted him on his shoulder a little awkwardly.
"I don't hate you," said Fred. "For ending up like you did. You did a pretty good job, had I been in your place, I don't think I could have fared quite as well. And you were lucky to have Hermione." He paused and grinned, "You love her don't you?"
"With all my heart," said George.
"I can see that," Fred said with a grin. "Well, before we end up like a 90s American Sitcom, what else is there to talk about? Oh! How's Angelina doing?" He asked, a certain tenderness in his voice towards her. George smiled sadly.
"She pretty much mourned you like I did, minus the firewhiskey. But she threw herself into becoming an Auror and then she fell in love with this French boy. I think his name was Christophe d'Artagnan. But they're married, I don't know if they have kids, but they've pretty much become freelancers and are doing fairly well. But one day out of the year, she goes to England and we both meet up and go to—"
"My tombstone," Fred finished.
George remained silent.
"So everyone has moved on?" Fred asked. George nodded. "Good," said Fred, "The only time I was actually allowed to do this is when you've moved on. I thought ten years ago I'd be able to come see you, but that fell through. But I'm glad to see you're moving on." Fred said.
"Me too," George agreed. "I mean I wouldn't say I'm over it, but I have a reason to live again Fred." Fred smiled, and George mirrored. They both embraced tightly. Fred looked George square in the eyes.
"This is our last time saying goodbye," he said, tenderly wiping the tears from George's face. "Next time we meet, you're coming with me." He smiled. George sighed.
"I should wake up now I guess," said George. Fred nodded.
"Also, the new owner of the shop…well April Fools: Weasley Wizarding Wheezes…not a big fan."
"Neither am I," George agreed.
"Fix that, will you?" Fred winked. George nodded, squeezing his brother's hand tightly. As Fred stood up and walked off, George smiled, although he missed Fred dearly, he was looking forward to the future. He leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes. As he opened them, he found himself in his apartment.
Anna was asleep beside him and he checked his clock. It was 5:00 AM. A smile crept up on his face as he looked at the young girl at peace. Hermione had her arm around Anna also peacefully asleep. He looked at the two of them, his girls. Who knew that in a few short weeks, everything could change? He sat up on the bed gingerly so as not to wake the other two and he tip toed over to his study in the next room.
He sat at his desk, still in his clothes from the previous evening, and stared down at the folders he brought back with him. More mergers for the company, insignificant ones that no one would ever really care about except for the small joke and novelty stores in the nation trying to merge to avoid bankruptcy. April Fool could only acquire so many companies in one calendar year, and since most of the acquisitions occur in April, this was the time of year he would send his finance division around the country in order to let the small businesses down. George sighed, it was a heartless job, but the only way he could keep the company afloat. He sighed and placed his head in his hands.
Hours later, or was it moments, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He leaned his head against the hand and then looked up at Hermione.
"Why are you up?" She asked. He looked at her and looked down at his pile of work. Hermione sat up on the desk and he put his hand on her knees, slowly rubbing them.
"George Weasley doing work," said Hermione with a grin, "And I thought that was the stuff of legends."
"Oi," George said playfully.
"I took the day off," said Hermione. George looked up at her. "Not for you, erm, I figured since, well, I mean I have no reason to not be a witch anymore, and I have kind of been missing it. I'm thinking about going to the hospital in New York at Dramtik Alley and seeing if they have any training slots for being a healer." She said staring down at her knees. "Plus, then we could see each other more often and not when my—our daughter is sick."
"You don't have to change your life around for me," said George. Hermione made eye contact with him for the first time since they were up.
"But George," she said, "I already did." George looked down at his paperwork and then looked up at her. He stood up as if to say something. His mouth opened and closed several times with the full intention of speaking but no words came out.
"It was my decision," Hermione said, "But—"
"Shut up," said George softly.
"What?" Hermione asked, rather taken aback.
"No buts, no explanations, no apologies. What happened happened, and if you try to apologize again, apologize for driving me absolutely insane."
"Insane?"
He did not reply with words but merely stood up to meet her gaze. He slowly lowered his lips towards her and kissed her strongly, full of intensity and passion. Moments later they separated.
"I should go check on Anna," Hermione said, "I'll take her home today."
"You don't have to," George said looking down.
"All of our things are there, but you can come stay with us," Hermione said coyly pulling his shirt close to her chest. George looked down and smiled, kissing her softly.
"I have to go into the office for a few hours today. But I'll come by if you don't feel like I'm intruding," said George. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Shut up," she said.
"What?" He asked.
"You'll drive me crazy if you're not there," she said. George grinned and they both heard Anna rolling around while obviously very congested. She let out a small sad cough. Hermione sighed softly while turning around and walking towards the bedroom. George followed her in as they both began to fuss over their daughter. It was time for another round of medicine, and they both seamlessly fell into a routine helping each other help Anna.
At the office George found himself humming along with the Christmas carolers singing around. He even began to decorate his office, a little tinsel here, and a little tinsel there. He transfigured a scarf into a wreath and hung it up on the door much to the shock of his employees.
"Um, sir?" One of them asked, clearly afraid if his boss's brain had been addled.
"Yes Wallace?" He asked as he charmed his hammer to hang up the wreath and twinkle lights around his doorway.
"Are you okay, sir?" He asked sheepishly.
"I am fine," said George laughing. "And no, I didn't steal all of these Christmas decorations from the citizens of Who-ville." Wallace looked at him uneasily unsure of what to do.
"Laugh, Wallace," he said, "You're allowed to." Wallace began to laugh awkwardly. "You may go now," said George with a sigh. Pretty soon word had spread far and wide that the Grinch had grown his heart, Scrooge had seen the ghosts, pretty much every Christmas story ever told. Employees would walk by the office to see if the rumors had been true. After a while, George finally had his new secretary dismiss everyone from the area threatening to cut their vacation time in half.
As he was reinstated into the league of number one office villain, George walked up the short flight of steps to where Adam's office was. He reached the door as Lavender walked out holding their son's hand. Adam followed closely.
"Bye Adam," said Lavender turning around and kissing him lightly on the lips. She waved at George. "Bye George," she said.
"Off on vacation?" George asked. Lavender nodded.
"Disneyworld for a week, and then next week Adam will join us and we're going on the cruise. 7 days without magic, but I think we can handle it. It should be fun." She said with a smile. "Say goodbye to your Uncle George," she said.
"Bye Uncle George," the little boy said.
"Bye Peter." George waved with a warm grin. Lavender and Adam seemed taken aback. Usually George was kind to their child, but his version of kind had always been a curt nod. Usually he just denied the presence of children wherever he went. After a few moments of flabbergasted silence, Lavender kissed Adam again and then went to kiss George on the cheek. He was receptive, and returned the gesture.
"Hello stranger," she whispered with a grin. George looked down at her with a smile. After they both left, Adam nodded George into his office. He waved his wand and a bottle of scotch lifted itself up and towards two glasses that danced out of their place to stand at attention. Some cubes of ice flew into the glasses clinking as they touched the glass and then one another.
"What's up?" Adam asked, sitting behind his desk.
"I need some time off," said George staring at his shoes.
"What?" Adam asked raising his eyebrows in shock.
"She's back," said George.
"Who's back?" Adam asked.
"Remember when we had some scotch, not this one, the poison one, and I told you about a girl that broke my heart?" George asked. Adam nodded.
"Yep," he said, already aware of where this conversation was going. "Are you sure man, I mean she really really fucked you over," he said. George smiled and looked down.
"We both fucked each other over," George said, "I never told her I loved her, she never had a chance to admit her feelings towards me. But Adam, in the ten years I've worked for you, I've never had time off. You know that the turnover to me as CEO won't go over until after the tax year is over, so I won't sit in this office until May. Just until New Years," said George. Adam sighed.
"You've got it," said Adam, "But you owe me big time."
"Thank you so much," George said with a grin. "See you tomorrow at the party?" Adam nodded. George left the office and sighed. It had taken forever for him to get this far but he was happy. He turned the hallway and began to whistle Deck the Halls to himself, much to the shock of a mailroom delivery boy that had been terrorized by him many times.
"Afternoon Frank," he said with a grin. Frank dropped his neatly stacked pile of envelopes. George laughed and flicked his wand, resuming it to the surprised boy's hands.
"Af-af-afternoon Mr. Weasley," George turned around and began to whistle another cheery Christmas tune to himself.
He reached Hermione's apartment at around five, and hoped that both of the girls were at home. Sure enough Hermione came to the door to answer it. As soon as she opened the door she fell into his arms, and he held her small body tightly. She leaned up and kissed him.
"How was your day?" She asked him. He shrugged.
"I managed to get the rest of the month off," he said as they both walked up the stairs hand in hand. Soon he heard Anna's voice excitedly race down the stairs and she jumped into his arms. "Is she well enough to be out of bed?" He asked Hermione. Hermione nodded.
"It must have been a 24 hour flu," she said, "She seems well enough."
"Why are we going upstairs?" Anna asked, she was already bundled in her coat and scarves. George looked confused. Hermione laughed as well.
"Mommy needs to get dressed as well," she said, to Anna. She looked up at George.
"Anna wants to go buy a real Christmas tree this year. So I said we'd wait until you got back to see if you wanted to come with us." George nodded enthusiastically.
"Sounds like fun," he exclaimed. Anna pulled his hand down the stairs.
"Come on!" She moaned, "I have to get it tonight so that we can decorate it, I have a four hour dance rehearsal tomorrow."
"I will run upstairs and get my coat gloves and scarf," said Hermione checking to see that Anna was properly bundled up, "And I will meet you two downstairs." She ran up the stairs in twos to try and get ready quickly. Before George could see her retreating figure, he was pulled down the steep staircase by his daughter who took him out to the front porch.
"When is your dance recital?" He asked as she danced around trying to keep warm in the cold air.
"We're opening Sunday and then until Thursday."
"Are you excited?" He asked. Anna nodded with a wide grin.
"I am," she said, "It should be a really good performance. We're teaming up with a really advanced ballet studio that are doing the character dances. George shrugged.
"I've never seen it," he said, "so it'll be my first time." She grinned widely as Hermione finally came out and joined the two of them closing the door behind her as she went.
"Hey, we can go," she said. The three of them went down the stairs and turned left towards the end of the street.
"Where are we going," George asked.
"Upstate," Hermione said rummaging around in her purse.
"And how are we getting there?" He asked as they crossed the street and Hermione swiped her card into a building.
"Car," she said.
"You have a car?" He asked.
"No, but my dad does," said Hermione. She pressed the up button and they waited for the elevator. George looked startled. Hermione nudged him with elbow.
"You okay?" She asked.
"You can drive?" He asked. She nodded.
"Dad taught me," she said. "I'm good," she insisted.
"Okay," said George, smiling.
"Okay," said Hermione staring up at him. Anna cleared her throat loudly behind them as the elevator announced its arrival. George laughed, a little embarrassed.
"So what'd you do all day today Anna?" He asked.
"Homework," Anna grumbled staring at her mother.
"But that's good," said George.
"Seriously?" Anna asked raising her eyebrow and looking up at him.
"Yeah," said George faking his enthusiasm. Hermione looked over at him sternly so that he couldn't say anything to the contrary.
"So what were you like in school?" Anna asked, interlacing her fingers with his as they headed to the car. Hermione pressed a small button on the keys she was holding and a car in the distance chirped open.
"Me?" George asked as Hermione walked ahead and he purposefully held the two of them back and leaned down towards Anna. "Don't tell your mum," he said softly handing her a small box.
"What's this?" She asked. He opened it and there was another box inside, the words were faded completely.
"Insta-sneeze," he said looking towards Hermione who stood by her car with a questioning glance. He held one finger up indicating her to wait a minute.
"What?"
"Just a small pinch of this near whomever you want to suffer, and for around ten minutes they won't be able to stop sneezing. It's really strong so don't use it too much, save it for special occasions." Her face lit up. He winked and stood up clearing his throat as he did.
"And that's how I passed my O.W.L.S," he said walking towards Hermione, winking to her as they got into the car. Hermione climbed into the drivers seat and as Anna was buckling her seatbelt she leaned over to George.
"Don't think I believe that for a second," she said in mock-anger, winking as she leaned back and put her seatbelt on. As soon as the key turned in the ignition, smooth jazz music began to play. All three of them at the same time groaned, and then laughed as George began fiddling with the radio stations.
A few hours later they made it to the farm sky was black above, stars glimmering. He looked up.
"Stars," he commented. Hermione smiled.
"They're beautiful," she replied. Anna rushed ahead to look at Christmas trees, unfazed by dazzling array above. Hermione grabbed his hand and pointed up towards the sky.
"It's Sirius," she said pointing to Orion's leg. George smiled.
"You look for that too?"
"Every night this time of year," said Hermione with a grin, "It's almost like he's up there, reminding us of our past. Biting our ankles."
"That was deep," said George.
"Are you mocking me?" Hermione asked.
"Only a little," George said putting his arm around her shoulder and squeezing her tightly. She leaned her head against his chest and sighed.
"So you got the whole month off?" She asked. George kissed her head.
"Yes," he said.
"Why?" She asked him.
"I want to get to know the two of you," he replied honestly, "I missed a lot, I don't want to spend a moment away from you." Hermione stared up at him, shocked that he would be so candid. She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. She was just about to reply when she hear Anna coming towards them.
"Mommy, I found it!" Anna exclaimed excitedly. A shadow of disappointment crossed her face as she realized the conversation would have to be placed on pause.
"Where is it?" She asked walking towards Anna. George followed at a short distance as they came across the tree. It was perfect, large, but not too tall. It was very grand, with strong branches, and if it didn't just scream Christmas George didn't know what did.
A few hours later, after a silent car ride (Anna was asleep), they arrived in New York. Hermione parked back in the small car park that they had gone to before. She was about to shake Anna awake when George placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
"I'll get her," he whispered. Before Hermione could protest, he picked the small child up and she sleepily wrapped her arms around his neck. Hermione closed the car door and locked the door as George stood back.
"Are you okay?" She whispered. George looked at her as if she were being absolutely silly and nodded. It seemed only a few moments later for George that Hermione was helping Anna wash up and change. He was sitting in Hermione's bedroom. He unbuttoned his work shirt and sat down on the bed in his t-shirt underneath and his slacks. He looked around the bedroom at the picture frames hanging around. There were multiple of Anna as a baby girl and he could have sworn that it was him as a baby, and was almost surprised when there wasn't another identical copy somewhere around.
"Hey," said Hermione from behind him. He heard the door shut. He turned and Hermione was wearing, well, a night dress was a very loose term for what she was wearing. She looked down and looked back up at him coyly.
"Merlin's beard," he said softly. She walked up to him, slowly and when she reached him she took his face into her hands and kissed her, need evident in her grasp. Suddenly she was no longer Dr. Hermione Granger, trained surgeon about to be a healer-in-training, and he was no longer George Weasley C.F.O of April Fools Inc about to be the C.E.O of the company. It was ten years ago again in the house by the lake in England, their love for each other secret, but real.
"Wait," he said as she tore his shirt off, running her hands up and down his back.
"I cast a silencing charm," she said. "Emma went back home today to Paris for the holidays, and Anna is asleep." George stared down at her and kissed her passionately, removing her garment with ease.
vvvvvvv
"I love you," George said as they lay together in her bed. She turned to him and smiled, stroking his cheek gently. She caressed his scarred ear and a tear fell from her eye and traveled over the bridge of her nose. He wiped it and placed that hand on top of hers on the side of his face. He rubbed it consolingly and then pulled it to his lips and kissed it gently.
"What?" He asked as more tears fell down her face.
"What was it like?" She asked.
"What was what like?" He asked her, genuinely confused. She pointed to his ear and he rolled over and stared at the ceiling. He pulled her onto his chest and played with her hair.
"Well I was with Lupin, we were flying on brooms. I guess I was on a high, shooting Death Eaters right and left, I thought I was the king of the world to be honest. It was exhilarating, I imagined that's what muggle boys felt like when they played video games. Out of nowhere suddenly I felt a blinding pain on the side of my face.
"I dunno what it was, it felt like someone had just slapped me with something. I honestly thought something had struck my cheek and I pulled my hand to my face to feel it and suddenly it hit something warm and sticky.
"At this point time just sort of slowed down, and I was beginning to get dizzy. The pain kept on increasing and the last thing I remember was falling. I fell so fast. And that's all I remember. I thought I was dying.
"Next thing I know you guys are all around me and Fred is sitting in front of me. And what scared me most about the whole thing was his face. He looked as if he had almost lost everything, I felt even worse about the fact that that he was so pale and green. I had to joke about it. No matter how much pain I was in, I couldn't bear—"
He stopped, and sat up on the bed, pulling his knees closer to his chest. Hermione knelt by him, her hand on his knee.
"You couldn't bear to see him like that," she finished. He looked over at her and smiled.
"Why do you ask?"
"Do you still have nightmares about it?"
"I do," he said, "Almost everytime I dream I see Fre—"
"No, not that," Hermione interrupted, "About getting your ear chopped off."
"Not really," said George, "Why? Are you okay? Do you still have dreams about the Manor?" She stared down and nodded, refusing to make eye contact with him. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. After a while, she pulled away from him and walked over to her desk where she had placed her wand when she came into the room earlier. She returned to her spot on the bed and pressed her wand against her forearm and a harsh white outline began to form on her arm.
"I've been hiding this for almost 11 years," she said softly as the scar began to show up more clearly, MUDBLOOD, written with a cursed knife. "Concealment charm." She said softly.
"Hermione," he whispered in a sort of strangled kind of way. He touched the scar gently. He traced over the letters with his hand and then kissed her forearm. He looked at her. She had tears flowing down her face. She threw her arms around his and buried her face into his shoulder.
"I love you," she said. He pulled her away from him and grinned, only to pull her face towards his and kiss her lips gently. They both lay back down on the bed, spooning.
"The Christmas party is tomorrow night," he said softly.
"I have to find a babysitter for Anna," Hermione said, "The girl who was going to do it before just cancelled. There's a girl who lives downstairs who really gets along well with her and has offered me her services whenever I would need them. I'll just ask her if she's free."
"Good," said George.
"Also thank you so much for picking Anna up yesterday," she added.
"Seriously, it was nothing."
"No, I shouldn't have asked, you had to leave work. I know that's imp—" she furrowed her eyebrows and then laughed hysterically. "I'm sorry I can't do it." she said through tears.
"What?" George asked with a grin.
"No seriously, I can't do it," Hermione said with even more difficulty. This is too good. He laughed, but purely out of confusion.
"Seriously?"
"I know you've changed a lot, I see it," said Hermione wiping tears from her eyes, "But I can't bring myself to say that work is imp—" she began to laugh again.
"Is it so difficult to believe that work is important to George Weasley?" He asked. Hermione nodded as he began to laugh too.
"It's not," he said, "It's just important to everyone else, so I figure I should actual—" He began to laugh, "I'm sorry I can't do it either," he said. After a few moments of side splitting hysterical laughter, they calmed down enough.
"But seriously, I hope it wasn't inconvenient."
"No, it wasn't. Not even a little. I'm glad I could have been there, I just wish—"
"You wish what?"
"I just wish that, I could have been there. I know it's a moot point, but I can't help but feeling like I've missed a lot," George admitted. Hermione sat up and brought her knees to her chest.
"I know," she said, "I have home movies for you, but I wish you had been there too. The first time she said mom, the first time she walked, or ate solid food, a part of me imagined what you would say if you were sitting there with me. And it's my fault entirely. It was the young stupid angsty teenager in me." She looked at him. He was facing forward, avoiding her eye. She couldn't read his expression. He seemed to be thinking. "But seriously George, if there's anything I can do to make you show that I'm in this for good, I won't ever run from you again. I'm exactly where I want to be. I want this to last fore—" He stopped her words with a kiss. She smiled.
"Well," he said after he stopped kissing her, "There is something you can do."
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Come with me to the burrow next Saturday after the ballet, It'll be Christmas Eve, all three of us. We're going to tell Mum."
Hermione's eyes widened in fear.
(A/N) OH NO! Okay so It's def almost been a whole year that I've started this story. Thank to you to all those who stuck by me, and I can safely say that I can promise at least one more chapter before the week is out! Remember, the more you review, the faster I update :)