The Truth in Her Eyes

George was thoroughly confused when he woke up the night after he had been with Hermione. She was snuggled into his side, comfortable near the heat of his body. He sighed, thinking over his options. Two women who both seemed very devoted to him had given themselves to him in the same day. One vowed to return his brother to the land of the living and the other sweetly alluring him to love her. He didn't know which was the one he was destined to be with. His dreams had only shown him a pair of lovely chocolate eyes, something that both women possessed.

For a while George contemplated leaving Hermione's bed, but the idea that he may have deflowered her for no greater purpose than his own confusion was too much for him to deal with on top of finding himself tangled in her bed sheets. He decided to stay and evaluate her reactions to him to try and work out where he had gone wrong and what would happen as a consequence. He only wanted happiness and now the gods had presented him with the key to Pandora 's Box…and he had foolishly stuck his hard key into both the box of Pandora and the one of her gentle sister.

Sunlight trickled in and the soft girl in George's arms began to stir. He watched her blink for a few moments, then focus on his face and smile. A nagging voice in the back of his head berated him for being pleased about that smile. "Morning," she whispered, not taking her dark eyes off of his blue ones.

"Morning," he replied, a bit surprised at himself for sounding so confident.

She smiled at him and kissed his bare chest, sending shivers down his spine. "What time do you have to be at work?" she asked him, rubbing her face against his abdomen seductively.

He cleared his throat. "In an hour or so…I suppose I should go," he told her, starting to get up. She tensed up and he looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine." But he could tell by her clipped tones that she was dealing with some internal conflict.

"Hermione, I…I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to compromise your purity. I don't want to make you feel guilty," he said.

"No…it's not that…I erm. Well, I wanted to see you tonight, if that's ok."

"Sure. You can see me anytime."

She looked up at him. "You aren't sorry about what happened, are you?" Her eyes were wide and full of fear, something he had not previously thought her capable of possessing. George pulled her to him and brought his lips down on hers lovingly, determined to push all doubts about his feelings for her out of her mind.

"No. I'm not at all sorry," he lied, hating himself for not knowing what his heart really wanted. "I didn't want to hurt you, but you did give me a great gift and I am grateful for that."

"I don't want you to regret being with me," she told him, blushing. "I know I'm not exceptionally beautiful, but I'm not a terrible person."

He laughed a bit too loud and the hurt came back into her eyes. "I find you very beautiful," he told her gently. "Don't let anyone tell you you're not."

He climbed out of the bed, leaving the warmth of her body behind to pull on his trousers. "Meet me in the shop for lunch."

"Ok."
One last chat with Verity should make things a bit more clear for me, he told himself as he smiled at Hermione. There was a strong connection that he felt with his brother's best friend, but Verity seemed to know how to get Fred back. He had to find out the truth and make things right with both women. Her bright smile greeted him when he opened the doors, having apparated in a few feet away from the front door.

"You look chipper this morning, where've you been?" she asked.

"Out and about," he replied evasively. "Can I talk to you in the back?"

"Sure," she replied, eyes sparkling with delight. "RON! YOU NEED TO GET OUT HERE!" she called out before escorting George to the employees only section of the shop. "So what's on your mind?" She hopped up on top of a counter and gazed at him lustily.

"I need to know how you're planning on getting Fred back," he told her, deciding it best to be frank about the situation.

"I've had a time turner for a while. I'll just go back and pull him out of the way of that explosion," she told him as though everything were simple and clean.

"Do you love me?" he asked, his voice catching on the last word. He had to know, however and was determined to set things right as soon as possible.

"Sure I love you, George. I loved Fred as well…that's how I can get him back…It takes love to do something that changes the course of time."

"Do you love me, or do you love Fred?" he asked, catching on to her subtle messages.

"I love you both." She frowned. "Don't you believe me?"

"I think you'd better go help Ron," he said carefully. He had a lot to think about.