I don't know what Luna did to Ron other than kiss him, but he beat McLaggen with flying colors. Ginny got on the team as Chaser, Demelza and Katie were the other two Chasers. Jimmy and Ritchie were both beaters, but neither were anywhere near as good as George and Fred had been. Still, I felt rather good about our chances of winning the cup. I had thought about teasing him about kissing 'Loony' Luna, but I honestly couldn't do it. I was too thrilled that they had actually finally made a move on each other that I didn't want to risk hurting it. The two of them were a really strange couple, but they seemed to work to me. Not like I can talk about strange couples though, I'm a rule loving bookworm who is dating a rule breaking prankster.
The first weeks of September seemed to melt away and before I knew it, it was Wednesday the eighteenth, the day before my birthday. I left Harry, Ron, and Ginny in the common room to do my prefects round. I had just passed the corridor of Gregory the Smarmy, and it made me sigh. That was the same corridor that George and Fred had put a portable swamp in. I briefly considered going up to it and looking at the swamp and graffiti that now marked the spot. During the end of Umbridge's reign several students had posted messages of rebellion on the spot in permanent paint.
I decided to check it out and turned down the hall, walking swiftly to the spot where the bit of swamp lay roped off.
"Lumos." I murmured, deciding not to use a nonverbal. I had to use them in all my classes, and I was beginning to get bored of them. The tip of my wand exploded in a blue glow and the soft light lit the passage. I walked up to the swamp and smiled at it, reading the messages with a slight feeling of regret.
I had never posted anything. I'd thought about it quite a bit, but I never got the courage to do it. Sadly, it was too late now.
Or was it? Why couldn't I leave a message now? I could put a charm on my hand so that my writing would look different, no one would have to know it was me. It would be fun, and a small tribute to my boyfriend. He'd probably laugh his head off if he knew I was even considering breaking the rules. It would make his day. What should I write though? What would be a personal message that he'd get, but wouldn't stand out?
Oh, that would do nicely.
I gripped my wand firmly in my hand before glancing around, I was still the only one in the corridor. My breath quickened as I turned back around to the wall. I raised my wand and thought the spell before I started writing the words out. A moment later I was done. I took a step back and examined my handy work. It looked fine, not as neat as my handwriting, but at least you couldn't tell it was mine.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." A voice said beside me. I jumped, squealing in fright as I turned to face who had found me. My squeal turned into one of delight as I saw who had snuck upon me.
"George!" I squeaked, grabbing hold of his waist in a tight hug. He laughed and hugged me back, pulling me closer to his chest.
"I like your message." He said, pulling back and looking down at me with his toothy grin. My heart fluttered before beating painfully fast. Had it really only been two weeks since I had last seen him?
"When did they start putting the graffiti up?" He asked. I smiled nervously, feeling embarrassed to have been caught defacing Hogwarts.
"Right after you left. They did it to further irritate Umbridge. I think it's the reason Flitwick decided to keep this section of swamp." I explained, turning back towards the roped off swamp, my arm still tight around George's waist.
"Blimey!" He said, laughing. "That's so cool, wish I'd have known, we could have come up with a great message."
"Wait," I said, suddenly recalling that he shouldn't be here. "How did you get here? What are you doing here? Won't you get in trouble? You know you mustn't cause any." I said, smiling by the end of my questions.
"Why I thought you were up to no good." He said, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I'm here to keep watch on Hogwarts. Dumbledore is out tonight and he had some Order member positioned in the halls to keep watch." He explained, rubbing my arm as he spoke.
"Is Hogwarts in any actual danger?" I asked, feeling horrified by the thought of George getting hurt.
"Nah, I don't think even Voldys dumb enough to attack the school." He said, instantly diminishing my fear with his ease and calmness. I smiled happily and leaned back into hug him. It had been far too long. I was slightly shocked by the intensity of my emotions at seeing him again, it almost hurt how much I wanted to hold him. It was like a dull ache had risen up in me and he was the only one who could soothe it.
He held me gently, probably sensing my need to hold him. He rubbed my back softly, burying his other hand in my hair.
"I've missed you." He said softly, pushing back from me so that he could see my face. He ran a finger along my jaw line, causing me to visibly shiver with pleasure. "Would you mind if I walked my rounds with you? I'm sure McGonagall won't mind if we do he." He said, looking at me with eager excitement. I nodded my head yes, how could I have said no? It would be ages before I got to see him again. Okay, it would be 17 days till our Hogsmeade weekend, but it still felt like forever.
He took my hand and we started walking down the dark corridors.
"So," he said after a brief, but comfortable pause. "How's school going? Too much work?" he said playfully. I smiled at him and shook my head.
"Quite the opposite actually, I'm kind of getting bored. I had so much fun learning nonverbal spells last year, I think I need a new challenge." I said, my eyes twinkling at the memory of him teaching me nonverbal spells.
"Really?" he asked, sounding mildly surprised. "What would you like to learn?"
"I don't know," I answered honestly. "Something tough that I can work on for a while. Any ideas?" he was quiet for a moment, his eyes distant and thoughtful.
"Something difficult and time consuming…" he said to himself, scrunching his face up in thought. I studied his face while we walked, only slightly interested in the conversation. I was having an internal debate about when I should tell him I love him. I really didn't want to scare him off, but I wanted to tell him so badly. I kind of wanted to shout it out, to let everyone know that I loved George. Silly I know, but I still wanted to.
"Animagus?" he asked suddenly, a grin pulling his lips upward. They looked soft and full, begging to be kissed. I swallowed before I forced my eyes from them and looked him in the eye.
"Hmm?" I asked, feeling warm. He smiled happily, having no doubt about what I had been looking at.
"Animagus. It takes a long time to figure out how to turn into one, and it's supposed to be really difficult. We could try it." he said, his eyes sparkling at the idea of the challenge. Animagus huh? That could work, it'd be really hard, but it would also be a lot of fun. Plus, I might get to see George.
"That could be fun, but I think I'd need someone to do it with." I said, smiling suggestively. He grinned broadly and stopped walking, pulling me to his chest again.
"I think that could be arranged." He said huskily before claiming my lips in a kiss.
I woke up the next morning feeling light and happy. I hadn't gotten to tell George I loved him, but I had spent the night walking with him. I hadn't gotten back to my dorm until after 1:30, and only then because George had made me. I would have stayed up all night with him.
I made my way downstairs to the common room feeling only a little tired. I was too happy at having seen George to feel too sad or tired.
"Happy Birthday!" Ginny called from the portrait hole. I started in surprise as I looked at her. Birthday? I had forgotten today was my birthday. I was 17, I was of age!
She laughed at my obvious surprise, shaking her head as I followed her out to the great hall. "You forgot your own birthday?" she asked as Harry waved us over. I nodded my head embarrassedly as I sat next to Harry.
"Yes, I was, umm, thinking of other things."
"Like staying out till well after one with my brother?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.
"How did you know that?" I asked, feeling slightly horrified. Had anyone else found out?
"Really?" she asked, sounding mildly insulted. "I'm amazed you didn't have all the girls awake. You were humming some song rather loudly." She said, giggling softly. "I knew you were with George because he told me he was coming to do an Order watch, he told me to make sure you did your rounds tonight."
"Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" I demanded, poking her with my spoon. Merlin, if she'd have only told me I could have dressed up, made myself prettier.
"He wanted it to be a surprise." She said it as though it was a perfect excuse.
"So what? Merlin Ginny, I could have gotten dressed up for him." I said, glaring at her. My eyes grew ridiculously large as I realized I had been wearing my un flattering school uniform.
"Oh relax Hermione." She said, rolling her eyes at me. "You were fine, you pull of this blasted uniform better than most every bird here."
"What?" I said, feeling embarrassed and annoyed. I didn't pull this off well.
"Really Hermione?" she asked, turning towards me with a disbelieving gaze. "You are quite, umm, well endowed." She said, smirking at the end.
"I am not!" I squeaked back, feeling mortified to be having this conversation in the great hall.
"Yes you are." Two voices said at once. One was the higher, softer voice of Ginny. The other was the deeper, and somewhat huskier voice of my boyfriend. I jumped in surprise and whipped my head around, frantically looking for him.
"What are you doing Hermione?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Didn't you hear that?" I asked, discovering that he was nowhere to be seen.
"Hear what?" she asked, looking slightly worried. I heard a faint laugh and then a brush of hot breath by my ear that caused me to shiver.
"Meet me at Smarmy's, where you did last night." George's voice said. I shivered again and stood up, grabbing my bag.
"Umm, I think it was just me." I said lamely to Ginny. "I'm going to go to the library for some quick reading, see you later."
"Okay." She answered, staring at me like I was crazy. I smiled at her before I fairly near ran out of the great hall.
I made my way down the corridors swiftly, never stopping for anything. I finally reached Smarmy and stopped, looking around the empty corridor in excitement. Where was George? I looked around and felt sad, he was nowhere to be seen.
"You, ran, bloody, fast." A voice breathed in my ear. I jumped once again before spinning around into someone's arms. I still couldn't see George though. What was going on? I felt something invisible wrap its arms around me and I nearly screamed.
"Mmm, you look pretty Hermione." George's voice said in my ear. I relaxed against his hold and raised my hands to lay them flat against his still invisible chest.
"George? I can't see you."
"Oh!" he answered with a laugh before I felt myself being pushed back. A whoosh noise sounded in front of me and George was revealed.
"It was the invisibility cloak you got me for Christmas." He explained a sheepish grin on his face. I smiled happily, closing the space between us again as I claimed him in a hug.
"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but why are you here?" I asked, snuggling into his warm chest.
"It's my girls 17th birthday, how could I not be here?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling down at me.
"Your girl?" I asked, cocking my head and raising my eyebrow. I frowned at him before smiling broadly and pulling back into him. "I like the sound of that."
"Good, because I have no intention of letting you go." He replied before smothering me in a kiss.