Chocolate & Pumpkin Ice Cream

There was a loud knock on the door of George's hotel room and Ron Weasley poked his head round the door. "You better get up, George! I'm getting married in a few hours!"

"I'd never have guessed," George told him from where he was still lying in bed, covered by the sheets.

"Well, I am! I'm getting married!"

"Good for you, bro. Go wake Mum and Dad up. Better yet - go wake Percy up." Ron grinned, giving George the thumbs up and left, shutting the door behind him. George gave a sigh of relief and Hermione emerged from beneath the bedcovers.

"Do you think he knew I was here?" she asked nervously.

George shook his head. "Nah, Ron's too dense to notice something like that. He didn't even notice your clothes that are flung around everywhere."

Hermione blushed, looking around the room. Her clothes, and those of George, were strewn around everywhere. She even spotted her underwear hanging from a table lamp. She pulled one of the bed sheets around her body, trying to create a barrier, no matter how flimsy, between the two of them. "Can you actually remember what happened last night?" she asked him.

He squinted trying to recall what exactly had happened the previous night at Ron and Amanda's pre-wedding dinner party. "I can remember us drowning our sorrows with vodka shots. We were complaining about our non-existent love life's, I think, though that's a little fuzzy."

It suddenly came rushing back to Hermione. "I remember now. You said something about having to go to bed, and I..." she trailed off, obviously embarrassed.

"You offered to join me," finished George, the tops of his ears turning red. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Oh, gawd," she moaned. She looked at the clock and paled. "I'd better get going," she said, pulling the sheet yet tighter around her. "The wedding's in a couple of hours. I need to get ready." George nodded and Hermione climbed off the bed, and began to collect up her clothes.

Once she had found all of them, including the underwear on the table lamp, she hurried into the bathroom. A couple of minutes later she emerged in the clothes that she had been wearing the night before, a set of dark blue dress robes over a smart trouser suit. "See you later, George," she said, before Disapparating back to her hotel room with a small 'pop'.

"'Bye, Little Bee," said George to the space in which Hermione had stood just moments before. He fell back onto the pillows with a groan. He had slept with one of his brother's best friends. He had slept with one of his best friends! Since Hermione had left school and started working for the twins, the two of them had become quite close friends.

Hermione's job as manager at the Diagon Alley branch of 3W (formerly Weasley's Wizard Wheezes), had originally only been a temporary thing until Hermione found a more permanent job. That was seven years ago. Her logical, businesslike mind was just the thing the company needed - it balanced out Fred and George's reckless creativity and brought a sense of order to their work.

'I can't believe that happened,' he thought desperately. 'That wasn't supposed to happen.' Of course, another, a more mischievous part of his mind kicked in. 'But you liked it, didn't you? You want her more than anything. You want it to happen again. And again. And again.' George covered his face with one of the pillows.

He removed the pillow a few moments later, and struggled out of bed towards the bathroom. 'I need a shower,' he thought. 'A cold shower.'

Ron and Amanda's wedding was probably as close to perfection as a Weasley wedding could get. Molly Weasley was crying her eyes out, wailing that her 'little boy was all grown up'. Hermione noticed that Arthur Weasley, Ron's father was watching his wife in some amusement. He had seen this sort of behaviour from her at all of his son's previous wedding's and was actually wondering if he should use a sedative on her when Ginny eventually got married.

Amanda was a vision in an off-white chiffon dress and a simple, though effective diamond tiara. She belonged to a fairly well-off family, though anyone who saw Ron and Amanda together could tell straight away that he wasn't marrying her for her money. It was like they were soul mates.

Hermione was almost jealous of Amanda, but she and Ron had dated whilst still at Hogwarts. It had been disastrous. Their normally petty arguments could inflict emotional wounds which would last for days, if not weeks. Eventually there was a mutual agreement between the two that they should not see each other any more, at least, not in a romantic way.

The reception after the wedding was held at the ballroom in the hotel where the guests were staying. The ballroom was similar in size to that of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and just as lavish. The ceiling was enchanted so that bright stars were always twinkling against a velvety black backdrop. Heart-shaped silver balloons hung in the air with Ron and Amanda's initials on them. Every so often, one of the balloons would burst with the sound of tinkling bells and confetti would rain gently down on the guests who were dancing to the band who were playing various Muggle and Wizard romance songs.

About a thousand candles lit the room, creating a romantic atmosphere. From across the ballroom, George Weasley watched Hermione as she sat at one of the small tables, occasionally taking a sip from a tall glass of water. He smiled to himself. She was obviously trying not to get drunk. Hermione was watching those dancing with a strange look in her eyes. It was... longing?

Eventually he could take it no longer and strode purposely across the ballroom. "Can I have this dance?" he asked nervously. Even he was slightly surprised by this. There was something about Hermione recently that made him feel like a first year at Hogwarts who's too nervous to ask a Prefect for directions and gets lost, subsequently being late for Potions with Professor Snape.

Hermione gave a small smile. She took a last sip of her water and said, "Sure, why not?" She took his hand and they walked out onto the dance floor where the band had just started to play a slow song.

They danced in silence for a few moments before George broke the silence, saying, "You look lovely tonight, Hermione."

She blushed slightly. "Thanks. Your new sister-in-law has very good taste. Well, dress wise, anyway. I'm not too sure about her taste in men."

"May I remind you that you also dated my brother?"

"Please don't. I'm trying to repress those memories." Hermione pulled a face. George chuckled at this. Ron and Hermione always looked back on their time as boyfriend and girlfriend with a sense of humour. They had been friends trying to persuade themselves they were something more. They often had a good laugh about it, and Hermione had gladly regaled tales of Ron's attempts at romance to Amanda.

"Look, Hermione, I think we need to talk about our relationship."

Hermione's brow furrowed, and she bit her lip. "Are we in a relationship?" she asked, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable. Was it her or had it suddenly got hotter in the ballroom? "Is that what this is?"

"I don't think so," said George. He rubbed his forehead, a habit he had when he was troubled. "Last night was just a drunken mistake. A big drunken mistake."

"Exactly," agreed Hermione. She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She really need to get a haircut. There was silence between them as they danced before George asked:

"Do you want to get drunk now?" Hermione arched an eyebrow. "My room?"

"I'll go wait for you."

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes," he agreed. Hermione smiled and slipped quickly from the ballroom. When he could no longer see her formfitting maroon dress, he headed straight over to his brother, Fred who was standing at the edge of the dance floor.

"What's up, George?"

"The ceiling."

"I meant is there something wrong, idiot," said Fred, rolling his eyes. George shook his head in response.

"Nah. If Ron asks where I've gone, tell him I've gone."

"Hey - have you pulled a girl, mate?" Fred asked with a cheeky grin.

"No!" George exclaimed, shaking his head vigorously. "No, I... just don't feel too good."

"Ah. You ate the shrimp."

"Exactly," agreed George, wanting to get out of there. He should have told Percy he was going - he wouldn't have asked any questions. Then again, Percy probably would have told Mrs Weasley that George wasn't well and she would track him down and force feed him her home-made chicken soup.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, bro," said Fred, patting his brother on the back.

With a sly smile playing on his lips, George left the ballroom and headed towards Hermione's room on the second floor. Fred watched his brother leave and frowned. There had been no shrimp of any kind served at the wedding reception, due to Amanda's unfortunate allergy to it. George was up to something.

"Where do you think you're going, Fred Weasley?"

Fred spun around guiltily. "Ah, there you are, Katherine! I was just looking for you!" He smiled brightly at his wife who gave him a patronising look.

"You were not. You were just about to leave, weren't you?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Fred suddenly. "Where's Alexander?"

Katherine sighed. "He's is with his Grandma Weasley." She nodded over in the direction of Mrs Weasley who was playing with her youngest grandson. "And stop trying to change the subject. Where were you going?" she demanded.

Fred sighed. "Nowhere, dear."

She smiled. "Good. Now we can dance. Just don't step on my feet!"

"I'm not making any promises!" said Fred laughing, and he led his wife of two years onto the dance floor, thoughts of his scheming brother banished, albeit temporarily, from his mind.

About a week after the wedding, Ginny Weasley, who was currently between jobs, met up with Hermione when Hermione had finished work for the day. It had become a custom for them to meet up every couple of weeks, and they always met up at the same place, a quaint little cafe at the end of Diagon Alley called The Gateway. As it was July, they sat outside at a small metal table under a red umbrella, which sheltered them from the Sun.

As usual, Hermione was late. It was only by a few minutes, but she was almost always late. She wasn't naturally a late person, as anyone who had been to Hogwarts with her would testify, it was just that her work at 3W often consumed her entirely and she would lose track of time.

When she took her seat opposite Ginny, the younger woman had already ordered their drinks. They always had the same thing; Ginny had a hot chocolate with whipped cream no matter what time of year it was, and Hermione always had the special ice tea.

"Oh. My. Gawd. You've had sex."

Hermione was startled by this sudden declaration and she looked around to see if anyone had heard what the redhead had said. If they had, they hadn't taken any notice. "Excuse me?" she demanded. She was sure she sounded guilty.

"You've slept with someone. Who is it? What's his name? It is a 'he', right?"

"Of course it's a 'he'," Hermione said, still shocked. She covered her mouth with her hand. She really shouldn't have said that.

"So you have! Ooh. Now I have to find out who."

"No, you don't!" Hermione said quickly. There was no way on Earth that she was going to let Ginny know what was going on between her and George. What exactly was going on between her and George, anyway? Sure, they had slept together a couple of times. Okay, so almost every night since Ron's wedding, but did that really qualify as a relationship? Hermione's head was starting to hurt.

"Yes, I do. That's my job."

"You don't have a job," pointed out Hermione, taking a sip of her ice tea.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Not that sort of job. Interfering in people's love life's is my calling in life. The reason I'm on this Earth."

"I thought you were on this Earth because your parents... you know, twenty-four years ago," said Hermione teasingly. Ginny sighed.

"Fine, if you're going to be like that, I won't pry into your mystery boyfriend's identity."

Hearing George referred to as her 'mystery boyfriend' made Hermione's skin tingle. "Whatever, Ginny," she said waving her hand. She took a couple of Galleons from her purse and set them down on the table. "Here's money for the bill, Gin. I have to go back to 3W. I... forgot something."

"Bye then, Herm."

Hermione practically sprinted back to 3W. When she burst in through the door, George, who was busy taking down a display started to say, "Sorry, we're closed," but stopped when he realised it was only Hermione. "What are you doing back here, Little Bee?"

"I forgot something," Hermione told him.

"Really? What?"

"You."

George said nothing, but folded up the last poster. "Is that code for 'we need to talk'?" he asked after a moment.

Hermione nodded mutely. "Okay. You want to go to The Bubbling Cauldron?" he asked. The Bubbling Cauldron was a Wizards inn not far from George's house. Hermione considered this for a moment, then nodded again. George collected his cloak and put the security charms in place. They then Apparated to the inn.

The inn was surprisingly quiet. Then again, it was only a little before seven. It would probably start getting busy in about half an hour. George ordered their drinks and they went and sat at a table in a secluded corner. "What's this all about, Hermione? What's the problem?"

"Ginny."

"Not quite the answer I was expecting, I admit, but..."

"Do you know what the first thing she said to me today was?"

"Erm... hello?"

"She said, and I quote; 'You've have sex.'"

George almost choked on his Butterbeer. "She what?"

"You heard me. Now she's convinced I have some secret boyfriend I'm not telling her about."

"You do, don't you?"

"Do I?" Hermione asked. "I mean, are we going out or what?"

"I don't know."

"I don't think we are. We're just friends who very occasionally... more often than not... sleep with each other. Right?" A slight pink tinge appeared on her cheeks.

"Exactly," agreed George, nodding. There was another of those infamous awkward silences between them. George shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Hermione sipped her glass of orange juice thoughtfully. "I think this is this opposite of my relationship with Ron."

"How so?" asked George slightly confused. Hermione was making his head spin more than usual. It was either that or the perfume she was wearing... 'Snap out of it, George,' he reminded himself. 'You're not supposed to think like that! Argh!' He mentally slapped himself, trying to get rid his mind of these thoughts.

"Well, we were friends trying to convince ourselves we were more."

It took a few moments for George to realise what she was saying. "What exactly do you mean, Hermione?" he asked quietly.

She frowned. "I think I'm in love with you," she said after a second.

"I thought I was the only one!" George said, surprised.

Hermione gave him a funny look. "You're in love with yourself?"

"No, I'm in love with you."

"Oh."

"Please say something, Hermione," said George quietly, not really sure if he wanted to hear her response.

Hermione looked across the table at him. She said, "Um, can we go somewhere else?"

"Your place or mine?"

"I didn't mean like that!"

"Neither did I!" said George rolling his eyes.

"Can we go to my house?" Hermione asked. "It's just that I feel more comfortable there." George nodded and they Apparated to Hermione's small cottage just a few moments later. "Something doesn't feel right," said Hermione as she pulled her key out of her bag. When she opened the door, water flooded out, lapping at their feet. "The boiler burst again," she moaned.

"You'd better stay at my house," said George. Hermione nodded.

"Let me get a few things together," she told him.

She went inside, the water up to her ankles. A couple of minutes later she emerged, carrying a small overnight bag. "Can you believe that this is all that's not ruined?" she asked. The boiler was situated right above her bedroom, and when it had burst, her entire wardrobe had been ruined. There had only been a few robes which weren't destined for the rubbish bin. "I have like, nothing to wear!"

"You look good whatever you're wearing," George told her, quietly. She smiled.

"Thank you," she said, rising slightly on her tiptoes to kiss him gently.

"I should compliment you more often," said George grinning.

"Definitely," agreed Hermione kissing him again. As they kissed, they Apparated back to George's house. He had originally shared his house with Fred when they had left Hogwarts. Fred had moved out after marrying Katherine and the newlyweds had moved to a slightly larger house about thirty miles outside of London. It was a fairly large house, with a total of six bedrooms. The master bedroom had an en suite bathroom and there was even a small library, though the only access to it was through a hidden passage in the living room.

Hermione collapsed onto the navy blue couch in the living room as soon as she got inside. The house was decorated in a very Victorian style, but there was also a modern twist to a lot of the rooms, such as the Quidditch posters which hung on the walls and several Muggle devices. It seemed that George had inherited his father's passion for all things Muggle.

"That's the fifth time my boiler has burst during the last three months!" she wailed. "I am seriously going to have to find somewhere else to live."

"Why can't you just put some charms on it?" George asked, sitting beside her.

"The Ministry won't let me," she grumbled. She sighed and looked at George. "So."

"My sentiments exactly." They both looked thoughtful for a moment, not looking at each other. Suddenly George asked; "Can I kiss you now?"

"That would be a very good idea," agreed Hermione, smiling. Their lips met, though slightly hesitantly at first, but gradually it developed, becoming more heated and fiery. When they broke apart, panting slightly, they said nothing, but instead stared deep into each other's eyes, dark brown into vivid hazel.