Hello lovelies :)

volfan: You made my day! Thank you for your kind words.

ShamelesslyObsessed: I can't wait to reaaaaally play with UST later in the story!

Thank you all for reading. I'm starting to feel a little sick, but I guess that just means more time of me laying bed typing? Who knows!

Enjoy :)

-eedie

George woke the next morning to the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. He bolted upright and looked at his clock. It was barely 6:00 AM. He changed out of the clothes he was wearing when he fell asleep into a pair of sweatpants. He left his chest bare and exited his room. He was shocked to see Hermione in the kitchen, in sweatpants and a tank top, humming softly in front of the stove. George shook his head and slid into a seat at the kitchen island. Hermione turned when she heard him sit and smiled brilliantly.

"Good morning! I didn't mean to wake you. I wanted to surprise you with breakfast!"

She grabbed a mug out of the cupboard and poured him a cup of coffee. George laughed and thanked her, looking on with interest.

"Hermione, how did you know where everything was in here?"

She turned and propped her elbows up on the counter, laying her chin in one dainty hand.

"I looked around, duh. I have no problem letting myself into people's business. I mean, if we are supposed to be roommates for a while, I think I really need to know where everything is, don't you?"

George nodded and sipped his coffee. He was curious about what she did after he left last night and when she got home, but he couldn't bring himself to ask just yet. A comfortable silence settled over the kitchen as Hermione turned back to the breakfast she was serving up. George glanced around her figure and noticed she was making a breakfast feast! There were eggs, bacon, pancakes, seasoned potatoes, and French toast. Hermione noticed George's eyes on the food and she giggled softly.

"I wasn't sure what you liked. So I made a few different things."

George nodded. He stood up and walked to the cupboard, taking out a couple plates for Hermione to fill up with food. He handed off the plates to Hermione, who shooed him back to his seat. He chuckled and sat back down as Hermione plated up the food. She slid into the seat next to him and threw him a sideways glance.

"Ask me."

George choked on his coffee as he took another sip. His face reddened, but he didn't say anything. Hermione dropped her fork with a clink and turned to face him. He turned as well, and Hermione's knees slid in between George's. She leaned forward and crossed her arms.

"Ask me, dammit! I see it all over your face. You want to know what happened last night. Stop being a pussy and just ask!"

George laughed and put his head in his hands.

"What happened after I left last night? And when did you get back here?"

Hermione turned back to her food and started eating slowly. George followed suit, but kept glancing back over at her, waiting for her to explain herself. A few minutes later, Hermione cleared her throat.

"I went home with some guy named Colin. He was a great dancer, so I thought he was going to be great in the sack also. That's pretty normal right? WRONG. He was shit. Seriously. Like he didn't know what to do with a naked woman. Ugh. So I let him do his business and then I left. Got home probably like 4 o'clock this morning? I'm still on Vegas time, so right now it feels like it's night. So I haven't slept yet. I went for a run, got some exercise. Then I decided to make breakfast, and I accidentally woke you up."

She shrugged, picking at the food on her plate while George gaped at her. He gathered his bearings and finished his breakfast before turning back to meet her gaze.

"Well breakfast really was great. I'm going to hop in the shower… I need to open the store in less than an hour."

Hermione waved him off while she finished her breakfast. George took a quick shower, not worrying so much about his appearance today. He was the well-known owner of the most profitable joke shop in the wizarding world. He had no desire or need to "dress to impress." He slipped into his bedroom and through on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and his black robes over it. When he exited his bedroom a little while later, he noticed the kitchen was empty, and spotless. He heard the shower running as he examined Hermione's work. The kitchen was cleaner than it had ever been. He pulled open the refrigerator and saw neatly stacked containers of leftovers. He laughed softly. Stripper or not, Hermione would make a perfect housewife.


"Hey, Man."

George slapped Draco on the back as he entered his office, sweeping some papers into his hand on his way in. He flopped down into an armchair and flipped through the papers before handing them back to Draco.

"So… did Hermione say anything about how her night ended?"

Draco sat behind his desk and signed a few documents before handing them off to George. The friends caught each other's eye for a second before bursting into laughter. George signed the documents and handed them back before standing to leave the room. He turned back as he opened the door.

"It was quite the story. Maybe she'll tell you sometime, but I am not going to repeat it."

George could hear Draco laughing as he wandered out of the offices. He said greeted the few employees he had in the shop. There were a couple young kids working in the shop for some extra cash. Kids who had dropped out of Hogwarts. Kids who had just finished school and didn't want to join the world yet. He could see Marco and Gillian behind the counter, preparing for the store to open in a few minutes. He said good morning and did his regular sweep of the store, making sure everything was exactly in its place. He was proud of this store. Draco was talking about opening a new shop in another place, but George wasn't sure he would want to leave this one. Once his loop was complete, he signaled for Marco to open the doors. He put on a huge grin as people began filing into the store. I love my job.


Hermione wandered into her bedroom after making sure she left the house looking absolutely perfect. She pulled on a pair of low rise black skinny jeans and a denim button-up tank top, which she tied at the bottom to reveal part of her toned stomach. She slipped on a pair of flats and brushed out her hair, making sure it was as straight as could be. Hermione knew she wasn't trying to impress anyone here, but she couldn't help slapping on a few coats of makeup. It was her usual routine in Las Vegas, and she planned on sticking to it here. She wandered downstairs to take in the action. She noticed a leggy brunette wearing almost office inappropriate clothing standing at the door to an office. She could hear the obnoxious giggling, which could only mean she was flirting with whoever was inside. Hermione was willing to bet she knew exactly who was in there, so she scooted that way first. She stopped behind the girl, taking a moment to take in her appearance. Her ass really was too large. NOT in a good way. She was wearing a wrap dress that was meant to show off her body, but instead it just enlarged the bulge of her behind. Hermione cleared her throat loudly and rudely. The girl turned to face her with an annoyed look on her face. She took in the sight of Hermione and crossed her arms.

"Are you lost? The shop is out front."

She turned back to the doorway, firmly ignoring Hermione's intruding figure. Hermione let out a loud laugh and tugged firmly on the girl's arm.

"OW! Excuse me?!"

Hermione smiled sweetly and leaned against the doorframe.

"I'm sorry, Honey Bee, I've just been all over these offices, and I can't seem to find Draco Malfoy's office. You see, there was no receptionist back here to greet me, so I just assumed I was supposed to come back on my own. But when I came back here, there were no doors with Mr. Malfoy's name on them. And then I discovered you, standing in front of a name plate. I quickly discovered this was the office I was searching for. Now, since you clearly have no idea how to do your dumb ass office job, I'm so glad I have a meeting scheduled with Mr. Malfoy. Maybe I can tell him it's time to hire a new staff member. I think I would be an excellent replacement. Now, please, move your extremely fat ass out of my way and don't bother me again, bitch."

Hermione pushed past the girl into the room and slammed the door in her gaping face. She turned back to Draco and smiled innocently, perching on the edge of his desk. He was staring, wide-eyed, at the door. He slowly moved his gaze to meet hers and laughed briefly.

"You know, that wasn't very nice of you. She really isn't that bad."

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, give me a fucking break, Draco. Trained monkeys could do her job. You're just saying that because you want to sleep with her and you haven't yet. The fact still stands that she's rude and unprofessional. You really could do much better. Actually, maybe you should fuck her and then fire her. That would be even better!"

Draco stood up and walked around the desk as Hermione grinned evilly. He laughed slightly and leaned against the wall, surveying her.

"Not that I don't enjoy this visit, why are you back here? This is where all the boring stuff takes place."

Hermione hopped off the desk and started walking around the large office, taking in the decorations on the wall. She stopped in front of a picture of Draco's parents. They looked significantly older than she remembered. Clearly the war hadn't been kind to them, but at least they looked happy. She stopped in front of Draco and placed her hands on her hips.

"Can't a girl visit an old friend? Actually, George told me you were quite talented. I wanted to see if you lived up to the hype."

Draco smiled and led Hermione to the door.

"I am talented. But now, I have a real meeting to get to, and sadly, it's not one you can sit in on. Go see the store. And please, steer clear of Stacey on your way out. I'll speak with you later."

Hermione wiggled her fingers in a wave as she left the office. She caught Stacey's glare on her way out and raised an eyebrow. Stacey quickly busied herself with her work, which made Hermione laugh. She pushed open the double doors and took in the mass amount of people in the store. Children and their parents were flitting around. Teenage boys were attempting to prank each other, while the teenage girls were fawning over love potions. Hermione wandered around the store watching customers pick items off the shelves. She found herself fixing shelf decorations after families left a particular area. In an attempt to help out, she began whisking around the store, fixing the arrangements and putting items back on the shelves. She felt a hand on her back and turned, ready to smack the perpetrator, when she realized it was George. He had a goofy grin on his face, but took a step back when he noticed her raised palm.

"Hey there…. I was wondering what you were up to. So first you clean my kitchen, and then you clean my store? What's up with that?"

Hermione smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Actually, I cleaned your flat before I came down here, so there's that too. I just wanted to help out, George. You know, since you're letting me flip your world around a bit."

George laughed and pulled Hermione into a lingering hug. He threw an arm around her shoulder and steered her toward the front of the store. Hermione was pleasantly surprised to see Ginny standing there with a huge smile on her face. Hermione hugged the younger girl tightly and giggled.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gin? I'm fucking thrilled to see you, but I just wasn't expecting it!"

Ginny linked her arm through Hermione's and pulled her out the door, throwing a small wave to her older brother. Ginny wasn't going to tell Hermione her underlying motives for today. She wanted to find out what they had gotten their brother in for. But she was hoping that a little girl talk really would draw some of those deep, inner secrets out. So, she was going to pamper Hermione today.

"I'm taking you to my favorite spa, Chez Francoise! We're pulling out all the stops. Mud baths, massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures. You won't be back here until this evening. How's that sound?"

Hermione grinned and walked a little faster.

"That sounds great, Gin. Will there be champagne?"

Ginny nodded and apparated the pair to the front of a large, ornately decorated building. Lots and lots of champagne.


Ten hours later, Ginny and Hermione stumbled back into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Gillian was about to lock up, but opened the door to let the rambunctious friends in first. George raised an eyebrow from his spot behind the cash register.

"All right, ladies?"

Hermione clambered onto the counter and knelt in front of George, and Ginny had trouble keeping her footing on the walk around the counter. Hermione linked her hands behind George's neck and lay her head on his chest.

"I feel so relaxed, George…. and I think I'm drunk! I had a lot of champagne. And some guy named Georgio rubbed me down in ways that should be illegal! Isn't it funny his name was Georgio? That's just like George! I wouldn't mind it if you rubbed me down like that. Why won't you sleep with me, George? I just think you're so sexy. it just makes sense!"

George looked over at his sister, who was in no better shape than Hermione, who was still babbling on about having sex with him. George sighed and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Harry's number.

"Hey, brother. Yeah, she's here. I need your help... the girls are so blitzed. I need to finish closing up shop here, can you get over here and take them upstairs to entertain them until I'm finished?"

Before he had even hung up the phone, George heard a crack and saw Harry appear in the entryway. His eyebrow quirked when he took in Hermione and George's position, but George glared at him. Once he had untangled himself from Hermione, he wrapped her arms around Ginny so Harry could take them upstairs. Harry struggled to convince his wife and best friend to make it upstairs, but only because he promised to watch a chick flick with them. Ginny chose Gone with the Wind, eliciting a groan from Harry as the girls clambered onto the couch around him. Within the first hour, Harry was ready to escape. Both girls were curled up into his chest, bawling like a couple of babies. Harry had really hoped George would appear soon, but unfortunately, he didn't. Harry had to sit through the entire hour with the emotionally unstable women. His shirt was soaked from the mass amounts of tears they shed. Honestly, he thought. How are they not dehydrated? The door opened as the credits began rolling. Harry saw George hesitate in the doorway, but he shot him a seething glare. The women were wailing unintelligibly about Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. George entered the room, and Hermione launched herself into his arms.

"Oh Geooooooorge! It-it-it's so saaaaaaaad! Why c-can't they just l-l-love each otherrrrrr?"

George blinked down at Hermione. He had no clue what she was even talking about, and he wasn't about to find out. He pulled Hermione over to the couch and sat down. She climbed into his lap and cried into his neck. George looked over at Harry in fear, only to see Ginny in a similar position. Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head.

It took about 20 minutes to calm the women down long enough for the tears to subside. Ginny and Harry were cuddling on the floor. Hermione had stretched out on the couch with her head in George's lap. He was absentmindedly playing with her hair. She still felt a slight buzz from the champagne from earlier. The problem with that was it caused her to be a bit loose-lipped.

"I didn't tell you guys the whole truth."

George and Harry whipped their heads in her direction. Ginny had heard the story earlier. It was actually the reason for the request to keep the champagne coming. Hermione sighed and blinked up at the ceiling.

"When I left after the war, I went to Australia to try and find my parents. I spent about a year in Sydney. I found my parents pretty quickly, but I couldn't bear to bring them back to the life we had before. That was the moment I knew I couldn't go back to how it was. So I decided to try and make a life there. That way, I could still see my parents from time to time, but they just wouldn't know I was their daughter. I met a guy while I was there. His name was Thomas Lachlan. He was a Muggle. I fell in love, hard and fast. We were inseparable. After six months, he proposed. I said yes. We planned a quick wedding. We just wanted to be married as soon as possible. But I decided I needed to tell him that I was a witch. I figured since we were engaged, it wouldn't bother him at all. I wanted to tell him before the wedding, but I chickened out. We had a simple beach wedding. There were only like 20 people there. We traveled to Hawaii for our honeymoon. It was the most blissful week of my life. Before we left, though, I decided it was time to tell him. He freaked the fuck out after I told him. He was screaming at me to stay away. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. He told me I couldn't come back with him. I was so heartbroken that I apparated away, right then and there. I found myself in Las Vegas, wandering the streets. I had some money stored up, so I checked into a cheap hotel. I charmed my hair to a different color and style every day so no one knew who I was. I would gamble every day to make my money last. Except there was one day that my money ran out. I started to starve. I was desperate. That was when I stumbled upon Sapphire. Donald Mackenzie, the owner, saw how pathetic I looked. He asked if I knew how to dance, and he gave me an audition. He hired me on the spot. I've been a stripper ever since."

The room was silent for a long while. George and Harry were speechless. Ginny sat up and grabbed Hermione's hand, rubbing it soothingly.

"Hermione said Thomas was the reason she began sleeping around and enjoying it. She got more comfortable with Vegas and started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. And every time she had a moment of hesitation, she saw Thomas' face and pushed herself forward. Whatever she was going to do needed to be something that he wouldn't like her to do. That's how she would get over him."

Hermione nodded and sat up.

"I'm no longer pining after that dickwad. He actually just helped me find my true potential. I know you guys don't agree with my career choice, but I do. I get whatever I want whenever I want it. I can drink all the time. I can come to work high and no one cares. I live a life that breaks all the rules, and I never want to go back to being that prude rule-follower again."

Hermione lay back down in George's lap. She closed her eyes and felt herself drifting off to sleep. It only seemed like a moment before George was shaking her awake. He picked her up and carried her down the hall to her bedroom. He didn't even attempt to take her clothes off, but he pulled back the sheets and tucked her in. Hermione grabbed his hand before he could leave the room. He turned back and met her sad, brown eyes.

"George… stay. Please."

George stood at the side of the bed, fighting his instincts. This woman in front of him was the vulnerable Hermione he hadn't seen for many years. She sounded broken, and George's heart wilted for her. He sighed and kicked his shoes off before climbing into her bed and pulling her against his strong chest. His breath was warm as he whispered in her ear before she drifted off to sleep.

"I'll stay. No matter what."


Don't think George is quite falling for her yet... he's just feeling a little sorry based on her story. Wonder what will happen? :)