Chapter 10

"Pass me that spoon, would you?"

Pausing his knife, George handed Hermione the spoon and went back to cutting potatoes. They were in his uncles' small kitchen preparing dinner for the four of them. Neither of the older men understood why they weren't using magic, but they preferred doing it the muggle way. It reminded Hermione of her parents and George found it relaxing. At least when they did it together.

"Here, taste this." He obediently opened his mouth. "Does it taste alright? Need anything?"

It was perfect, but he hummed in thought and looked pensive anyway. When she realized his game and crossed her arms with an amused glare, he laughed.

"It's perfect, obviously. You're as good at this as you are potions. Here, I've finished the potatoes."

She blushed a little as she helped him add his offering to the pot. "Yes well, all you have to do is follow the directions. Now we can leave it for a bit. There, I'm going upstairs. You'll remember to check it?"

He raised an exasperated brow and smiled at her. "Yes, I'll remember."

Once she was gone, he waved his wand at the dishes to set them washing and turned in time to see an amused looking Gideon watching him from the table. "What?"

Gideon shrugged, never dropping the grin. "I've been trying to decide for the last week what you two really are to each other. You've not said anything other than it wasn't our business…"

"It isn't."

"Yeah yeah, so you said. But I've not once seen you kiss her, even when you think you're alone. So I thought… must have just been part of the story you fed Dumbledore." He leaned across the table, his smile turning smug as he gestured at George. "But you two, whatever you have, you're closer than friends. You just… seem like you fit so well together. I can't figure out why you're not shagging for real. She's fit, and wicked smart. And I'm assuming she loved your family as much in the future as she does now. What's holding you back?"

George didn't want to have this conversation, not with himself and especially not with anyone else. Sighing heavily, he ran his hands through his hair and looked out the small window. "You're right, she is those things, and so much more. But… well Fred fancied her too. Told me in our sixth year at school. Git even kissed her once and never said anything."

"Hmm. Probably because he knew you fancied her too." Gideon looked much more sober when George glanced back at him. "If Fabian and I were both interested in the same bird, he'd probably bow out too rather than even tell me how he felt just to avoid conflict. Bloody noble idiot."

He tried to laugh but it came out raspy and choked. "Yea well, it doesn't matter now. I can't…" Scrubbing a hand down his face, he turned back to the stove and the quietly simmering pot.

He remembered when Fred had told him how he felt about Hermione. She had looked wonderful at the Yule Ball, but it hadn't taken fancy dress and enough sleekeazy's to drown a small child for George to notice her. The year before, when she'd already been running herself ragged with her time turner taking every possible course, he'd watched her spend time she didn't have to help Hagrid when no one else would. Hermione was beautiful at the ball, but he'd already known that. Not that her looks were all Fred was interested in, they were just what had turned his head.

The chair scraped across the floor as Gideon stood and slowly crossed the room to lean against the counter beside him. "You know… if you still have feelings for her, I can't say I know her well but she doesn't strike me as the cradle snatching type." George scoffed. "Fred, the Fred that kissed her once, he's gone. Don't lose her to a ghost, mate. He wouldn't want that, and I can't imagine she would either. "

Frowning, George set the spoon down and looked at his uncle. "You don't know what he'd want. And you can't know what this feels like, Uncle Gideon."

Gideon looked genuinely heartbroken for him. His hand, when he rested it on George's shoulder, was heavy. "You're right. And I hope I never do. But we're at war, George. Either of us could die any time. Apparently we will eventually, or we did. I do know what you and your brother meant to each other. And I know that if something happened to me, I wouldn't want Fabian to stop living his life out of grief for me. It won't ever feel the same, but you can be happy again."

Sniffling, George wiped his eyes on his other shoulder. "Maybe you're right, but I'm not…" He cleared the tightness from his throat and tried again. "I'm not ready for that yet. And as for Hermione, well I definitely dont think I'm ready for that kind of relationship with anyone. Like you said, there's a war on and she and I are in it again. I might be able to move on someday, but if I let myself love her, form that kind of a bond with her only to lose it too…" He shook his head. "That'd be it for me."

Gideon's lips twitched in a small, understanding smile and he squeezed his shoulder once before letting his hand fall to his side. "Just… don't let fear or guilt keep you alone and miserable forever, George."

Unable to think of anything else to say, he nodded and turned back to the simmering pot. If he was honest with himself, in the few rare moments he could forget about being sad—always with her—he thought Gideon might be right. But he'd meant it when he'd said he didn't think he was ready for that.

"So," Gideon reached into the cupboard and pulled two glasses and the now much lighter bottle of Ogden's. "Tell me about school. You and Fred were in Gryffindor of course?"

The next morning dawned rainy and cool. Fabian, still being somewhat close with professor Slughorn, had owled earlier in the week to inquire after the next Hogsmede weekend so they could meet for drinks at the Hog's Head. He had been solicitous, offering up the information they needed but declining to meet, citing a previous engagement. They had what they needed but now Fabian was stuck meeting Slughorn for drinks at a later date.

Loitering in the Three Broomsticks, the four of them waited for the students to descend on the village. There was no guarantee Snape would make an appearance, but cornering him while he was in Hogsmede was their best option. Once he graduated, they had no way to track him.

Tracing patterns in the condensation on the side of his butterbeer, George watched Hermione. She sat across the table discussing an arithmancy theory that was leagues above him with Fabian. Finding out his uncles shared the interest had delighted her as she seldom met others that understood the challenging subject to such an advanced level. More animated than he'd seen her in months, George thought she practically glowed.

He really wished Gideon hadn't pressed him about their relationship the night before. It had been easy to avoid thinking about the things he felt for Hermione. Between the heartache over Fred, and tickling guilt for feeling anything for her at all, it had been easy to just be intimate friends. Spending most of their time together in some stage of depression or grief over their individual losses had helped things stay platonic.

Now it was all he could think about when he was around her.

She'd asked if he'd go with her sometime soon to her parents' dental clinic after they'd gone to bed the night before. Assured she wouldn't have to face her younger parents alone, she'd fallen asleep almost immediately. George had laid awake for ages thinking about what Gideon had said.

If their deaths had been reversed, if Fred had lived and he had died, would he have wanted his brother to waste the rest of his life wallowing in misery and guilt? Of course not. George could be forgiven the time he'd spent that way so far, it hadn't even been a year after all. But the future? His future? Could he be happy again, here in the past? With her?

It was a stupid question he already knew the answer too.

Gideon's sharp kick to his foot jarred him from his dangerous thoughts and obvious staring. "Come on George, let's bother Rosmerta for some early lunch."

Rolling his eyes, he pushed up from the table and followed him to the bar. After they ordered, his uncle leaned back against the counter and nodded back towards their table. "You know, you sure don't act like someone that's supposedly uninterested."

George grumbled. "I never said I wasn't interested."

His smirk was infuriating. "Mate. You looked like a besotted fifth-year." He glanced back at Hermione. "Not that I blame you. If you weren't our nephew I think Fabian would be putting in real effort to woo her. She's definitely the kind of woman he usually goes for. Smart, pretty, and that hair."

This conversation made him more uncomfortable than he would ever admit and Gideon laughed at the look on his face as he reached around to accept their food from Rosmerta. "Don't worry, Georgie. Fabian knows how you really feel about her. He wouldn't steal a bird from his nephew."

Shaking his head, he took the rest of the food and trailed him back to the table. By the time they sat back down, students were starting to trickle into the pub. It was strange; they were twenty years in the past but the students looked mostly the same as when he'd been in school himself.

"Bloody hell."

Surprised at the rare use of language, George glanced up to see Hermione staring from between her fingers across the room, her eyes wide with shock.

"What?" He looked around trying to see what had caught her attention.

She swiped at his arm and practically hissed a response. "Don't look! They'll notice!"

Ignoring her, he glanced around more subtly. "Bloody hell. Is that Sirius Black?"

"George! Stop! You know how he is, he'll notice us staring and come over here all smug and cock up our plans!"

Gideon and Fabian both chuckled. "You know Black in the future then?"

"Oh Merlin, George, he's seen us. Yes, we knew him. We really did a spotty job telling you about our future."

"No worries." Gideon grinned at the approaching teens. "We know him too."

"How?" Hermione frowned at Gideon before thinking of something just as he responded. "Oh, let me guess…"

"Related."

Stifling a laugh and wanting to alleviate Hermione's sudden anxiety, George pulled her hand away from her face and held it under the table. She had time to flash him a nervous glance before they were surrounded by three teenagers.

"Cousin and cousin Prewett . What are you two doing here?" Interest lit Sirius's grey eyes as they briefly slid around the pub. "Anything interesting happening today?"

"Young cousin Black." Fabian frowned slightly and shook his head. "No, nothing like that."

"Just showing another long lost cousin and his lovely fiancé the sights." Gidion clapped George good-naturedly on the back. "Both were too good for the likes of Hogwarts."

Sirius smirked and turned to George. "There's no school better than Hogwarts. Cousin you say? Can't say I've ever seen you before. Too good for the usual pure blood gatherings as well?"

The obvious disdain in his voice for said parties made George want to smile. Growing up a poor, blood-traitor, Weasley was worlds apart from the upbringing Sirius had had. He was not envious in the least. "George Prewett . This vision is Helen Wilson. We've been out of the country for quite a while actually, and those sorts of things were never something my parents enjoyed."

"Lucky you." Given what he knew of the man and the reputation he'd had as a student—but mostly by the way he eyed her—George could tell he wanted to say something obnoxious to Hermione. Fortunately the strict etiquette, no doubt literally beaten into him, won out this time and he resisted the urge to openly flirt with another man's fiancé right in front of him. "Miss Wilson."

Hermione smiled politely but her hand squeezed his tighter as she looked at the other two boys. One was clearly a less-scarred, though still somehow old beyond his years, Remus Lupin. The other…

"Come on Sirius, let's not bother them any longer on their day out, we've got our own things to do today, remember?"

"Yeah, alright, Pete." Sirius turned back to the twins with a significant look. "I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of you once we graduate." He turned and ushered his friends away from their table. "Right then, Snivellus won't bother himself."

Bollocks. George waited until the trio had exited the pub and turned back to his uncles. "We've got to go." Hermione was already standing and snatching up her bag from the table.

"I told you they'd cock up our plans! Stupid boys and their stupid bullying!"

"Hang on, what's wrong?" Fabian tossed a few Sickles on the table for their hardly touched food and stood as well, both he and his brother looking confused.

Practically growling in frustration, Hermione explained as George tried to look inconspicuous as he scanned the windows for their target. "Sirius and his pack of friends have been feuding with Snape since their first year. It's ridiculous and cruel and well… we better find him first or we'll be knocking them out as well."

A/N Sorry this was late. Yesterday kind of sucked and so it didn't get posted. Here it is! 11 will be up later today or tomorrow.