A/N: Hey, look! An update! Get ready cause we are drawing towards the end.

Chapter 15: Looking for Answers

"Silence isn't empty, it's full of answers."- Unknown

Early March

"I need your help with something." Harry whispered in her ear.

Hermione had been sitting on the couch, fully immersed and disgusted with the blood magic behind the recent set of pureblood laws she was trying to dismantle. She turned to look over the back of the sofa, to find her best friend kneeling with his head resting on the back of the couch. He had a light in his eye, that either called for a bit of merry mischief or he had a task to accomplish. Hermione hoped for the latter. Closing her book, she twisted to face her friend with a smile.

"What is it?" she whispered back, ready to commit said conspiracy.

"I need you to come with me." Harry said as he jumped up and took the heavy book off her lap and unceremoniously tossed it on the table with a large 'thud.'

She would have yelled at him for treating her books so carelessly, but he had grabbed her arm and forced her to stand, before she could get the words out. With a quick twist, Hermione could feel the familiar squeezing, pulling and unnatural stretching of appartion. When her feet were finally rooted to the ground, she found herself in the busy cross-section of Diagon Alley.

It was cold today. The sun had decided to remain hidden behind the thick clouds that never seemed to disappear. Hermione crossed her arms to maintain some semblance of warmth, as she glared at Harry, for not letting her grab her coat. Harry rolled his eyes at her as he cast a warming charm around them. Once comfortable, he took her hand and began walking down the road a piece.

"What are we shopping for?" Hermione asked as they neared the front stoop of Defiantly Devious.

Even against the bland sky, the small shop seemed to still draw the attention of shoppers walking by. The well-lit front display, seemed to draw passerby's as if aching for a glimpse of a few sunrays through the drizzle.

"One of these." Harry pointed to the window with an air of excitement.

When they entered the shop, they found it to be quite crowded. There was a line at the register that seemed to wrap its way towards the front of the store. Harry managed to guide the two of them through the crowd towards the front window to look at their options.

Levitating before them were intricately designed muggle lightbulbs that were wrapped with wires and colorful jewels. Each of them would slowly light up as they would begin to rise, hover for a few seconds before slowly descending back towards the ground. They would be within inches of the floor before their "fire" would repeat their flight. The store was filled with these tiny hot air balloons, and everyone seemed to want one.

"What do you think of this one?" Harry asked as he pointed out a copper wrapped bulb in the corner.

As it descended into his hand, Harry held it out to Hermione. It was beautiful. The copper wiring formed gentle swirls around the bulb where it held turquoise and white moonstones into place. The small basket under the bulb was weaved with the same wiring with enough space to hold a large marble.

"It's quite beautiful, Harry. Is it for Ginny?" She asked as she looked the balloon over.

She saw Harry nod out of the corner of her eye, and saw him fish in his pocket.

"I just need to make sure this will fit in it." He said as he held out his hand.

In his palm was a simple, yet newly varnished gold engagement ring.

"It was my mother's. I don't think there's any other person in this world more worthy to wear it. I just hope she accepts." Harry said as he placed the ring into the small basket.

Hermione smiled at her friend, as she handed the balloon back to him.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Harry."

The weather in March can be so unpredictable. One minute you're freezing your arse off, and the next, you're opening the windows to basket in a gentle warm breeze. Thankfully for George, it was helping his growing supply of bottles.

It was on this night that George was coming down from Ron's cluttered bedroom with an air full of empty butterbeer bottles that he found Hermione sitting on the window bench on the landing between the second and third floor. She had a book in her lap, but was not paying it a bit of attention. It was when one of the bottles slipped from his arms and came crashing down the four stairs that Hermione had whipped her head around.

"Why is it every time we run into each other, it involves you breaking glass?" she asked with a light glare.

"Because it breaks my heart to see you sitting there so sadly that even your book can't bring you a smile?" he suggested.

Hermione shook her head and waved her fingers to lift the bottle off the ground. It was then that she noticed how many he was holding.

"Should I be concerned?"

George laughed as he placed the remaining bottles on the last step.

"With the tidiness of Ronald's room? Yes, you should." He paused as he patted her legs to make room on the bench. "Think of your favorite holiday you took with your parents." He commanded as he settled in.

He watched as she furrowed her brow trying to go over the numerous trips she had taken over the years. He could see the exact moment when she found one. She smiled as she looked over at him.

"Got it? Okay, now imagine the weather that day. Was it sunny, raining, windy…?"

"It was actually snowing during that trip." She answered as she watched him twirl his wand.

A brown bottle, just like the ten or so that were currently sitting on the stair a few feet away, had appeared in his hand. This one, however, had been cleaned and repackaged. One of the famous magenta and green labels had been affixed to the bottom of the bottle, the corkscrew replaced and sealed at the top.

Weather in a Bottle

The bottle was completely empty, but this one felt as though this one had just been removed from the fridge. She looked back at George, and he nodded to assure her that it was safe. She laughed as she unwrapped the purple seal. She pulled on the cork and waited.

It took a moment before she felt it. The fresh, calm, icy air that filled her lungs as she race her father down the ski slopes. She felt her nose and cheeks turning red and cold, she could see her breath despite the fact that the air coming from the open window was mild. It was refreshing, but more importantly happy. It was amazing how the weather could affect your mood.

She looked over at George, who was shyly scratching his shoulder.

"That's just one, of the two dozen I've come up with." He explained as he summoned two other bottles. "I was mad at the rain the other day, and I just wished for a bit a sunshine for once, and I got the idea."

Hermione took the two other bottles in her hand. One was greatly warmer than the one that now laid in her lap, and the other seemed to be lightly shaking. As she inspected the labels he could see why:

Weather in a Bottle

Wild sea breezes (fill your sails or cool your soup)

"I thought about making that one out of milk bottles, maybe then the breeze would be strong enough to blow those hot air balloons away." He laughed.

Hermione reached out for his hand.

"Having competition seems to have been doing you good. You have put a lot of yourself into your work lately and look what's happening, you have one of the most popular shops in the alley. You're helping people recover from a time of darkness with your products and ideas. You are making people happy." She whispered.

But the words did not have the impact she had hoped for. She watched as he absorbed her speech, and his face fell.

"Then why don't I feel happy?" he asked as his voiced cracked.

Her other hand went to his cheek as her thumb stroked away an escaped tear.

"'Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.'" She quoted as she brought her forehead to his. With bottles between them, the warm night air assisted a small hot air balloon with a tiny ring past their bench to a window one floor above them.

A/N: And thus, the reason there is a hot air balloon on the story thumbnail! Hermione's quote is from Dumbledore a la GOF. Let me know what you think!