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"Oh." It wasn't the greeting that Hermione had expected from George, but she knew that she deserved a lot worse as she made her way into the kitchen. Part of her wondered if she should turn and leave him alone, but she was so hungry that she was actually nauseous. This was something new, but Hermione didn't have time to worry about it just now as her attention was focused almost solely on the man whose heart she was sure that she had broken.
"I just…" She gestured vaguely to the cupboards, unable to make actual words come out of her mouth that would make sense so instead she went to help herself to the cereal that she had ventured out of Ginny's room for in the first place. She had tried putting it off as long as possible, hoping to avoid the Weasley family entirely, but it seemed that George had the same idea.
"Yeah." He said quietly, his eyes dropping to his own bowl for a moment before he looked back up at her. He opened his mouth to say something but as Hermione turned to face him properly, he snapped it shut again and just gave his head a shake.
Hermione swallowed thickly as she tried to figure out if there was something that she could do or say that might make the whole situation better, but she realised that that was unlikely pretty quickly. She turned back to her cereal, pouring it into the bowl and adding the milk before pausing for a moment. She didn't know whether she should join George or simply retreat to Ginny's room.
And then it slowly dawned on her that George must want to talk or at least to see her in some shape or form. He had his own flat, he didn't need to be here, and yet he was.
Hermione chewed on her lip and eventually managed to convince herself to take a seat at the table, far enough away from him that he didn't even need to look at her if he didn't want to. As she tucked into her breakfast, she let her mind flicker back to the other night.
**
Hermione hated the rain, it messed with her hair something rotten, which begged the question why was she out in the rain. It had seemed like the best way to attempt to clear her head though, to take a walk and just get away from the Burrow for a little while.
She loved the Weasleys, but even though she understood why Ron had broken up with her, that didn't mean that it was easy to be in the same house as him as he flaunted his new found happinesses in her face.
She had heard him say earlier that he had never been this happy before and that had cut her like a knife. She had given him the last five years of her life and even though she knew he couldn't help that he was simply not attracted to her, not in love with her, those five years were now gone.
She walked with her arms wrapped around herself, wishing now that she'd actually taken a jacket with her and cursing herself for not having thought about it when she was making her exit from the house that evening.
"Hermione?" Her name being called from behind her made her jump. She hadn't expected anyone else to be out here, especially not in this heavy rain.
She spun on her heel to see George. His smile was a reminder of why she hadn't left the Burrow entirely. She made enough to get her own flat, after all, but she couldn't imagine leaving certain Weasley family members behind.
"What are you doing? You'll catch your death out here!" George exclaimed, striding towards her while taking his jacket off at the same time and wrapping it around her shoulders.
Hermione wanted to point out that colds and things had nothing to do with the actual cold, but at the same time she didn't want him to take his jacket away again. It wasn't just warm, but even in the rain it smelled like home. Instead she just thanked him and let him wrap her up.
"I just fancied a walk." She told him with a slight smile. Her eyes flickered back towards the house where she knew that Ron was still inside with Neville. Neville, of all the people that Ron could have fallen in love with it had to be someone that Hermione called a friend.
"Can I - Can I join you?" Hermione didn't know at the time why George was so nervous, but she couldn't help but enjoy seeing this side of him. Not many people ever got to see him without Fred around, and not many people got to see that he was sweet and sensitive.
"Of course." Her smile stretched ever-so-slightly as George fell into step beside her.
They walked in silence for a little while, something that Hermione didn't mind at all as it meant that she could straighten out her thoughts - or at least attempt to. The smell of his jacket was very distracting, after all.
"I'm sorry about Ron." George broke the silence after a little while. "Tact has never been his thing, as you well know."
Hermione just gave a slight nod. She definitely knew that, but that didn't mean that it made her feel any better that he was able to flaunt his happiness so freely when her own head was still such a mess. She didn't have any feelings for Ron any more, she knew that for sure. This wasn't a case of being jealous that he had a boyfriend - no, this was a case that he was able to be happy when she was still stuck.
She wasn't even able to tell the person - well, people that she liked about her feelings. She couldn't risk putting her heart on the line like that just now. She needed to focus on her career, on her work at the Ministry, and getting caught up in her feelings was not going to help that.
And yet her heart skipped a beat when George took her hand into his and gave it a small squeeze. She couldn't help but hate the power that he and his twin seemed to have over her.
"Hermione?" George asked quietly after a few more moments of walking, his quiet time catching Hermione off guard as it still managed to pull her out of her thoughts as they were trying to run away with her.
"Hm?" She hummed as she glanced sideways at him. She then stopped in her tracks when she saw the serious expression that had fixed itself in place there. There were very few things in life that George was ever serious about so she did end up worrying about him a little.
"Can I...I know this is going to sound stupid, but can I kiss you?" George's eyes found Hermione's and for a split second she found herself wondering what the joke was but that vanished as she let herself be drawn in by the softness of his gaze.
She didn't bother giving him a verbal response and instead took a step towards him and pressed her lips to his gently. A warmness spread through her from his lips and through every vein in her body. She didn't know how to explain it, but she found that she didn't need to as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
**
"I'm sorry." Hermione said quietly as she eventually decided to break the silence. "I never meant to lead you on or hurt you. I do really like you, George."
George looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers and sending a chill down her spine. He didn't look angry, which she decided to take as a win. He didn't even look hurt, just confused.
"Why Fred?" He asked as he set his spoon down, giving Hermione his full attention. "I can… I can sort of understand the whole thinking you like two people, but why Fred?"
"First of all, I don't think anything. I know how I feel. Secondly, I don't really get a say in any of this. I don't get to choose who I like any more than you do. Would you honestly have chosen to be attracted to your little brother's ex?* She didn't mean to get annoyed but she just couldn't help it.
"I…" George began but he trailed off, his eyes flickering to the table for a moment before he looked back up at her. "What do we do now?"
"I can't see my feelings for either of you going away." Hermione admitted. "And in fact I want them to grow. I know it sounds complicated, and maybe a little foolish to even think that this could work considering that you two are so close, but I.. I'm going on a date with Fred this Friday and well… I'd like to… to date you too. Separately, of course. And we - the three of us - we can figure this all out as we go."
George blinked a couple of times before he finally gave a small nod. "I suppose it makes sense. I've shared every other part of my life with Fred, why not my girlfriend as well."
Hermione wasn't sure if he was joking or not, and when he put it like that she was hit with a new pang of guilt that made her want to throw up, but she fought it down as she tried to give him a small smile. She hated that she had put him in his position in the first place, but she wasn't going to make herself choose between the twins, as selfish as that may be.
"Fred's taking you out on Friday?" George asked after a few more moments of silence.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah, or at least that was the plan before he found out that the other guy was you. We haven't really spoken since last night."
George paused for a moment before he said "Then we could do something on Sunday?"
Hermione couldn't help but smile at that. "I'd like that." She said softly. She had no idea how this all was going to work, especially in the long run, but she was going to try not to stress over it.
**
Hermione let out a content sigh as she sank down onto the sofa and let George wrap his arms around her from behind. She closed her eyes momentarily as she let her head rest against her chest. She never felt more safe than when she was in the arms of her boys, and after the adolescence that they had all endured, safety was on the top of her list of priorities.
"Mummy! Look!" Sophie's voice snapped Hermione back to reality before she had the chance to doze off, which had been more than a little tempting to do especially as George had pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
She opened her eyes and sat up a little better so that she could look over at her daughter who was building a tower with Fred on the rug in the middle of their living room.
"Tall!" Sophie announced, grinning from ear to ear as she stood next to the tower, rather excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet. Hermione could only smile back. That grin of Sophie's was infectious and Hermione could never get enough of it.
This was the life that she didn't know that she wanted until she was living it and now she was never going to give it up. She had George, she had Fred, and she had their beautiful little girl. More children were a possibility one day, but she had work to do at the Ministry as Minister of Magic before she could truly take time off to focus on growing her family. Until then, life was pretty perfect.