It was two nights before I got to see George again. It was dinner time, and I was sitting next to him. Several of the Order members were here and we were all eating together at an extremely overcrowded table. It made for enjoyable eating for some, and awkward eating for others (namely Harry and Ginny.) George and I kept bumping each other's arm, and he ended up making it into a game. He waited until I'd have a forkful of peas, and then he'd bump me, causing them to go flying. I'd smack him after each bump, just making him laugh and earning us several stares.
"We must decide 'ow you will be disguised, 'Arry," Fleur said while Mrs. Weasley served pudding. Everyone looked at her like she was being silly, but I knew she was just trying to lighten the mood. "For ze wedding," she added, when he looked confused. "Of course, none of our guests are Death Eaters, but we cannot guarantee zat zey will not let something slip after zey 'ave 'ad champagne."
"Yes, good point," Mrs. Weasley said, peering over her list of chores. I'd considered burning it several times, but I didn't want her to make a new, longer one. "Now, Ron, have you cleaned out your room yet?"
"Why?" Ron exclaimed, looking furious as he slammed his spoon. "Why does my room have to be cleaned out? Harry and I are fine with it the way it is!" Yes, him and Harry were fine living in a pig sty.
"We are holding your brother's wedding here in a few days' time, young man –" Mrs. Weasley started, flaring up. I glanced at George uncomfortably, this could get bad.
"And are they getting married in my bedroom?" Ron asked curiously, still angry. "No! So why in the name of Merlin's saggy left –"
"Don't talk to your mother like that," She said fiercely, glaring at her son. "And do as you're told."
"I can help, some of it's my mess." Harry told Ron, but Mrs. Weasley cut across him.
"No, Harry, dear, I'd much rather you helped Arthur muck out the chickens, and Hermione, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd change the sheets for Monsieur and Madame Delacour; you know they're arriving at eleven tomorrow morning."
George glanced over at me in surprise and a bit of guilt. I'd told him about how she was behaving, but he'd thought I was exaggerating. I smirked at him as I ate the last bit of my pudding and got up. I trailed my hand along his back as I left, tucking my napkin in the back of his robe as I left. Hopefully he'd feel it and get my message.
Mrs. Weasley had already asked me to clean the sheets, so I snuck upstairs and waited for George, Fred, and Harry with Ron in his attic room. I didn't wait long. I'd barely started going through my books when George and Fred snuck in wearing a very familiar invisibility cloak.
George smiled mischievously as he walked into the room. His huge grin made me feel happy, and rather flushed. I hadn't gotten to see nearly enough of him. I scooted over and made some room for him, and he plopped himself down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leaning over to see what book I was holding.
"Standard Book of Spells Year One." He read, a smile lighting his lips. "You gonna bring that one along?"
I shook my head and tossed it in the reject pile. "I've got all the spells in it memorized." I said cheekily, grinning happily.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he asked, leaning towards me. I smiled even wider and leaned towards him, claiming his lips in a tender kiss. It quickly became far more heated as we both deepened the kiss and scooted closer to each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his hair, while he tugged my hip closer to his.
"Oi!" Three voices called out from the other side of the room. George and I jumped apart, and an embarrassed blush heated my cheeks. Fred, Harry and Ron were all looking at us. Fred was trying not to laugh, Ron looked torn between annoyance and amusement, but Harry mostly looked annoyed.
"How did you manage to get away?" Harry asked, sending a quick glare at George. What was that about? I grabbed another book and fumbled with the cover.
"Ron's mum forgot that she asked Ginny and me to change the sheets yesterday," I answered, feeling awkward. George glanced at the books and tossed 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' into the reject pile.
"What are you doing with all those books anyway?" Ron asked, looking at all the books I had sorted. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I hadn't told anyone but George about this part of my plan. They already thought I was book obsessed, this would just confirm their thoughts.
"Just trying to decide which ones to take with us," I answered honestly. "When we're looking for the Horcruxes."
"Oh, of course," Ron said, clapping a hand to his forehead. "I forgot we'll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library."
"Har-Har." I replied, rolling my eyes as I tossed another book into the reject pile. George was looking at the 'take' pile with interest as he began to rummage through them.
"Listen," Harry said. I sighed and picked up Hogwarts a History. I'd known this talk was coming, and I really didn't want to listen to it.
"I know you said after Dumbledore's funeral that you wanted to come with me," He began, I set the book in my lap and leaned into George, rolling my eyes when I glanced up at him. He got a goofy grin on his face and put his feet up on a pile of rejected books. He had 'Traveling with Trolls' in his hands and pretended to start reading.
"Best relax Freddie, this could be awhile." He said, winking at Fred who promptly laughed before putting on a face of utmost solemnity.
"You know, I think I will take Hogwarts, A History. Even if we're not going back there, I don't think I'd feel right if I didn't have it with –" I began, fingering the book lovingly. It was the copy George had gotten me for Christmas in my fifth year. I loved this book, it was the first magical text I'd ever read. It would be like having a little bit of Hogwarts with me.
George grabbed the book from my hands gently, laying it on top of the keep pile carefully. I smiled up at him, tears misting my eyes. He was probably the only one who knew how much that book meant to me, how much the books meant to me. He was also the only one who knew how I was carrying them all, I'd enlisted his help in a bit of that part of the plan.
Harry straightened up, a glare in his green eyes. "Listen!" He said again, more forcefully. I slammed my book down, not thinking in my anger and glared right back at him.
"No, Harry, you listen," I hissed, feeling aggravated that we had to have this conversation yet again. "We're coming with you. That was decided months ago – years, really."
"But –" He tried to interject.
"Shut up," Ron advised him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
"Yeah mate, you know we're coming with you no matter what." Fred said.
"– are you sure you've thought this through?" Harry persisted.
"Let's see," I snapped, tears welling up in my eyes as I threw Travels with Trolls onto the discarded pile. "I've been packing for days, so we're ready to leave at a moment's notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Mad-Eye's whole stock of Polyjuice Potion right under Mrs. Weasley's nose." I sniffed and felt George tighten his grip on me, probably aware of what I was about to say.
"I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me – or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you.
"Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't – well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see." I was crying now, open and honestly. I couldn't help it, I'd hoped to avoid telling him just how much we'd done to insure our family's safety. Every one of us, George, Fred, even Ron had taken extreme measures to make sure that our families stayed safe so that we could go with Harry.
George wrapped both arms around me and I turned, burying my head into his chest. He held me in strong arms.
"I – Hermione, I'm sorry – I didn't –" Harry said trying to apologize, the others were having none of it.
"Didn't realize that we all knew what we were signing up for?" George asked, his voice holding a distinct warning note in it.
"Show them what you've all done." I said, turning my head away from George's chest to look at Harry.
"Nah, he's just eaten," Ron said stiffening up and looking uncomfortably.
"No, go ahead Ron, he deserves to know." George said, speaking up before I could. He was looking at Harry emotionlessly, keeping his feelings to himself. Harry looked scared, and worried. George wasn't mad at him though, I could tell that he was worried. He wanted Harry to understand that we weren't taking this lightly, that we understood the risk involved.
"Oh, all right. Harry, come here." Ron said, shoving himself off his bed and pulling Harry after him. He headed towards the attic, Harry following him unsurely. They went up the ladder leaving Fred, George and I alone. We sat in silence for a moment, the only sound in the room coming from my sniffling.
"Fred?" I asked, breaking the silence. He looked over at me and let me know I had his attention. "Have you decided if you're bringing Angelina yet?"
He tensed up, looking momentarily worried before he caught George's gaze and relaxed. "Well, yes, and no," he said after a moment. What did he mean, yes and no? Was she coming or not? I really hoped so, I'd hate to be the only woman with the four of them, I could use her spunkiness.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking pained. "She has special plans for the upcoming war." He explained, standing up and coming over to the corner we were in. he sat in the floor next to George, wrapping his arms around his long legs.
"Her, Lee, Alicia, and us came up with a plan for how we could resist You-Know-Who and she's going to help carry it through." He explained.
"Yeah," George said, "We're going to make a special radio station for Harry. To let people know what's going on, how to resist, pretty much anything You-Know-Who doesn't want the people to know."
"Are you not still coming with us?" I asked, tensing up and feeling rather alarmed.
"Yes!" they both responded quickly, George held me closer and Fred placed a hand on my leg. "Don't worry about that, we'll be with you through thick and thin." Fred continued, smiling.
"We may pop out from time to time to check on them," George continued, rubbing my back. "But since you have that bracelet we can get to each other no matter what. I'm making one that connects Fred to me and Vice Versa as well so that he can apparate over to help Angelina but get back to us even if we have to move for some reason." He looked thoughtful for a minute as though a new idea just occurred to him.
"It can actually work to bring them to us too if we need their help for anything."
So she's not coming." I said, a wave of sadness washing over me. Fred shook his head quickly.
"No, she is, but she, and me too probably, will be helping Lee so we'll both pop out every so often." He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "When she heard about what I was planning on doing she told me to tell you that there was no way she would leave you alone with all of us."
A thud sounded from the other side of the room and we all three looked up to see Harry and Ron come down the ladder. Ron looked proud while Harry looked sick and unsure.
"I had no idea." Harry said after a moment, sitting down on Ron's bed with Ron.
"We hadn't intended on telling you mate." Ron replied, sighing a slight bit as he looked up at the attic. "We just wanted to let you know that we were taking this very serious."