Chapter 11
Hermione struggled to stifle yet another yawn. Altogether, she wasn't fairing much better than Charlie. Her sleep patterns were still unusually disturbed, leaving her to run on nothing but adrenaline, which she was running low on too.
She glanced at the clock and furrowed her brow realizing it was later than she thought. Normally, the twins would have come and dragged her off to dinner by now. As a matter of fact, they usually would have stopped in several times already. She hoped everything was okay. The thump of books startled her from her thoughts.
"Ah… thanks Meredith." She turned, suddenly remembering the young woman was still there. She'd just taken over Flourish and Botts and was in the process of giving it a much needed makeover. Meredith was a squib who was barely 15 years old, loved books just as much as Hermione and was a complete Merlin-send to her overworked boss.
"Sure thing Miss Hermione," Meredith grinned, in a perpetual good mood. She had volunteered to stay late, claiming to not have any other plans. In reality, she had owled her boyfriend earlier in the day to cancel their date that night; she could tell something was bothering her boss and she wanted to say and try to help her until the twins arrived to take over.
As if on cue, she spotted two heads of ginger making their way to the front door. She glanced to Hermione and saw her entranced by a shipment of ancient books they had received earlier that day. Quietly, she slipped away to the door to meet them, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
"Hey Meredith," they greeted her in unison. They stopped and shared a look finally noticing her annoyance.
"Where have you two been?" She hissed sharply. "Hermione's been out of it all week and having you two disappear doesn't help! She's been glancing at the door all day looking for you."
Fred and George grimaced, realizing they should have owled or something. They had gotten so excited about exacting their revenge; they'd forgotten how protective she was of her surrogate family and having them suddenly going missing was bound to sit unwell with her.
"We're sorry Meredith," George muttered.
"We got caught up in something," Fred added.
Meredith shot them an arch look before nodding in acceptance of their explanation. She shot them a look that clearly promised hell to pay should they slip up again.
"I'm going to head home now, okay Miss Hermione?" Meredith turned toward her beloved boss. Behind her back, Fred and George grinned at one another, well aware of the humor of being so intimidated by someone over a decade younger, just under a foot shorter and almost half their weight. But she was loyal as a hound to Hermione, and that's all that mattered to them. They watched silently by the door as Meredith gathered her belongings, said good night to Hermione, and slipped out of the door.
They remained silent, watching Hermione, who now thought she was alone in the shop. She let loose a deep heavy sigh and rubbed her sore neck. It was evident the lack of sleep was taking a serious toll on her. They stalked up to her, determined to help their friend out.
The familiar scent of the cologne was a pleasant warning before they executed their plan. George wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her flush against his chest. Hermione giggled and relaxed a little against him, trusting him enough to not need her in his line of vision. Gently, he slid his hands up her sides and to her shoulders. He began to massage the tension from them; a second pair of hands came to rest on her hips. A light kiss was dropped on her nose on her nose, making her giggle again. Fred took her arms and placed them around his neck; he firmly slid his hands down her sides and wrapped them securely around her, successfully sandwiching her tightly between himself and his brother. They smirked when she hummed in contentment and rested her head on Fred's shoulder. The prided themselves in their ability to induce complete relaxation in the witch with such ease.
"Stressed?" George asked rhetorically. His only response was a muffled groan. He grinned, amused by her cute response.
"Come on sweetie. Let's get you home." Fred spoke softly as he slid an arm beneath her knees and lifted her up and apparted them to Charlie's house. George popped up next to them barely half a second later, and quickly lowered the wards and opened the door, letting them in. Fred walked in, moving smoothly so not to jolt Hermione. He moved into the living room and gently deposited her on the couch. He tucked a pillow behind her head while George carefully removed her shoes
Both men moved nonchalantly. Well aware of the presence of an extremely powerful wizard, watching them. Then again, it was pretty obvious that the wizard wanted his presence known. Hermione's apparent oblivion to the presence showed just how worn out she really was.
They wrapped a throw blanket around her and gave her a light kiss each, all while telling her to close her eyes and relax. They would handle dinner and clean up for the night. They entered the kitchen and leaned against the counter…waiting.
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