Ch. 44

The four of them stepped off the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross, nerves racing through the group. They ignored the looks they were receiving, Blaise and Draco taking both sides of the girls and wrapping a protective arm around them as they walked through the crowd. Thankfully there weren't any paparazzi there.

After they had reached a safe spot behind one of the pillars away from the wandering eyes of people, they set down their bags and sighed.

"It's only one day," Hermione said. "And Ginny and I will see you two in the morning!"

Draco took her hands and squeezed them, smiling down at her. "Doesn't mean I won't miss you."

She grinned. "Silly, it's only a day."

He pulled her to him and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Always the logical one."

"You like my logic," She countered.

"Yes I do, my smart little witch," He said.

"Aww, how cute!"

They looked over to see Ginny grinning at them and Blaise making a fake sick face. Hermione rolled her eyes. "So mature, Blaise."

He grinned. "Always!"

Ginny smacked him on the arm and sighed. "Well, mum is probably expecting us. We'll let you know when we're about to apparate to the Manor."

Draco and Blaise nodded and pulled the girls in for another kiss before the group separated. Blaise and Draco apparated first, though Hermione knew Draco wanted to stay until the girls apparated away. Ginny nodded at Hermione before disappearing with her bag, and Hermione took a deep breath and King's Cross disappeared.

She landed in a field not far from the Burrow, looking up at the old house. After the war, Molly and Arthur Weasley had returned to their old home and rebuilt it, making it much larger than it was previously. It was still just as welcoming as it was before, and Hermione smiled up at the house, reminiscing in the memories.

"Come on, 'Mione!"

She heard Ginny call from somewhere in front of her. She adjusted her grip on her bag and made her way up to the house, grinning from ear to ear.

As soon as they entered there was a squeal of delight and they were pulled into a large hug by Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh my girls!" She cried. "I've missed you both so much!"

She pulled away and looked at the two of them. Then her smile dropped slightly and she leaned in, looking between the two of them. "Something's different about you two."

"It's a long story, mum," Ginny said, looking at Hermione. "We'll tell you later."

Hermione nodded in agreement and then smiled at Mrs. Weasley. "It's so good to see you; I'm sorry I wasn't able to come over this summer."

Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly and patted her shoulder. "That's alright dear, Ginny told me what you were doing. Any luck?"

Shaking her head, Hermione sighed. "Nothing yet. But I'm going to try again next summer, and Ginny's offered to help so we should have more luck finding them."

"Well you be sure to let me know as soon as you find them," Mrs. Weasley said. "I'll cook a celebratory dinner and you will have to bring them to visit!"

"I would love that," Hermione smiled.

"Now you two get settled," Mrs. Weasley said, waving them off. "Breakfast will be ready soon!"

Ginny and Hermione went to Ginny's room, which was now on the second floor instead of the first. With the renovation, the rooms were all moved around which no one really minded. Ginny was happy to be on the second floor now with George, and based on the explosion that had suddenly come from his room, the girls knew he was home.

They had set their things down in Ginny's room and immediately went to George's door. He opened after a few knocks from Ginny and wiped away the soot from his face, his face splitting into a grin.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls!" He said, sweeping them both up into a hug.

George and Ginny had become much closer over the summer, with Ginny able to confide in him about her troubles with Harry and George needing someone to talk to about his grief of Fred.

He let go of the girls and then looked between them before straightening up and frowning. "Did you two get taller?"

Hermione shook her head and laughed nervously. "You're imagining things, George."

George stared at her face, his mouth hanging open slightly before he looked at Ginny. "No, something's really different. Did you two take a beautification potion?"

Ginny looked at Hermione nervously and quickly said, "Uh, yes! Beautification potion! It was our last Potions class from yesterday!"

Raising an eyebrow at them, George then shrugged after a few moments and seemed to accept the answer. "Is breakfast ready yet?"

"Mum said it would be soon," Ginny answered. Then she peered past him and asked suspiciously, "What exploded in here?"

George grinned. "That is a secret, my dear Ginevra."

Her face went red with annoyance and she stormed off, causing George to laugh. He then looked at Hermione and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a side hug. "It's good to see you, Hermione. We missed you this summer."

She smiled up at him. "I know, I'm sorry."

He waved her off. "Don't worry! It was a rough summer anyway, I'm sure everyone wanted to leave."

He dropped his arm and leaned against the doorway, looking at her with a slight smirk. "So, Ron told me about a certain couple of Slytherins that seemed to have come into your life recently."

Hermione groaned. "Please don't tell your mum. Ginny and I need to be the ones to break it to her because there's a lot more to the situation than I'm sure Ron let on."

"I'm sure there is," George said, nodding. "Ron of course was ranting about you two being put under some sort of love potion, but my brother isn't exactly the most reliable source of information so I was going to wait to hear it from you."

"Are you mad?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Why would I be mad?" George laughed slightly with a shrug. "Hermione, you and Ginny are both incredibly smart. I know the two of you wouldn't be dating Slytherins if they were horrible."

"Did he happen to mention which Slytherins they were?" Hermione asked.

"He did, in fact. That was mostly the reasoning for his rant," George smirked. "That and he fact that he was angry with himself for letting you go."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "It couldn't have been helped."

"You know," George said, grinning suddenly, "There was a bet between Freddie and I on how long you two would last. Fred was hoping to snatch you up once you got smart and ended things with Ron."

She stared at him. "Fred? He was interested in me?"

"Oh yes," George gave her a sad smile. "He was hoping that after the war he would be able to start something. He really cared about you, Hermione."

Hermione looked away, unsure of what to think about this news. She had to admit, she did have a crush on Fred before, but she didn't think anything would have come of it so she didn't pursue it.