Chocolate & Pumpkin Ice Cream

"You're a lifesaver, Harry. Thank you."

Harry shrugged. "It's no big deal. I've got a few days off work."

It was a week or so since Hermione and George had resolved their relationship, becoming an official, though secret, couple. They hadn't told anyone.

George grinned. Harry had volunteered to test a new product for 3W. It was a quill that looked harmless enough, but once a person had touched it, anyone who used it after them would turn into a duplicate of them for an hour. George was currently holding the quill in his hand. He handed it over to Harry who took it. Harry seemed to shudder, then the metamorphosis began. The first thing to change was his hair, which became a shocking red almost instantly. His scar faded into nothingness and freckles sprung up all over his face. As Harry was about an inch or so taller than George, he shrunk slightly. Within a minute he was an exact duplicate of George Weasley.

Laughing, George handed him a mirror. Harry gasped upon seeing his reflection. "I really hope this isn't permanent."

"It isn't," George told him. "We've tested it before. This is the final stage of testing." Harry nodded.

A strange beeping noise filled the room and George groaned. He pulled his MagiPager from his pocket and examined it. "Will you be all right here for a few minutes? I have to go and sort something out."

"I think I'm mature enough to be left alone in a joke shop," said Harry. George grinned, then Disapparated.

Harry settled himself down at the work table, picking up a copy of the Daily Prophet, which he began to flick through. He and George were in the workshop which was behind the store. He could hear Fred out front serving some customers. After a few minutes, Hermione came in, settling some shopping bags down on the table.

"Good morning," she said brightly.

"Morning, Hermione," Harry replied looking up. "How are you?"

She took a seat next to him at the table and pulled a bottle of water out of one of her bags. "Fine. A little tired, maybe, but fine otherwise. You?"

"I feel a little strange, to be honest," Harry told her honestly.

Hermione smiled. "Well maybe I could sort that out," she said, leaning forward. She kissed him gently, and Harry almost fell off his stool.

"Wha... what was that?" Harry asked, backing away from her. "Why did you kiss me?"

She looked shocked and hurt. "What do you mean, why did I kiss you?" she asked angrily.

"I mean 'why did you kiss me?'"

Hermione looked at him closely, looking into his eyes. She gasped, turning pale. "You're... you're not George," she whispered meekly. Her eyes widened. "Harry?" she asked. He nodded. She looked at the floor, not wanting to meet Harry's eyes. "Oh, God..."

"Um, Hermione, I can understand you thinking I was George," said Harry quietly, "but why did you kiss me? Him. Whatever." Hermione blushed heavily, and Harry suddenly realised Hermione and George's secret. "How many people know?" he asked in amazement.

"Just you," she told him.

George suddenly appeared in the workshop with a small 'pop'. He instantly noticed Harry's embarrassed expression and Hermione's upset face. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Why didn't you tell me you were testing the Duplicate Quill today?" Hermione demanded, rising from her seat. She walked over to George.

"I didn't think you'd care," said George with a shrug. "Why?"

"Because I just kissed Harry!"

"Oh. So, I'm guessing he knows about us?"

"You could say that, yes," agreed Harry.

George sighed. "What are we going to do?" he asked Hermione. Hermione thought for a second.

"Memory charm?" she asked hopefully.

"No!" said George. He was actually a little surprised. Shouldn't he have been the one suggesting a memory charm and Hermione be the one telling him 'no'? "We're not putting memory charms on our friends." Hermione frowned.

"Well, then I'm fresh out of ideas!" she admitted.

"Harry," said George. "Can we trust you to not tell anyone?"

"Why? asked Harry. "This is like the news of the century! Can you just imagine everyone's reactions?" He grinned. "You can't keep your relationship a secret forever!"

"Well, we'd like to try," Hermione told him. "Harry, you don't understand how serious we are about this. About each other. For practically the first time in my life I'm in a good relationship." She was quiet for a moment. "Plus, if you tell anyone, I'll send that picture of you snogging Ron at his twenty-first birthday to the Daily Prophet," she added.

Harry paled beneath his newly acquired freckles. "We were both totally drunk!" he protested.

Hermione shrugged. "They don't have to know that."

For a moment, Harry considered his options. He either spilled the beans about George and Hermione and had a picture of Ron and himself kissing splashed over the front of all the newspapers in the world, resulting in Ron hating him and eternal embarrassment, or he kept his mouth shut. "Okay, I won't say anything," he told them.

George and Hermione smiled at each other. "Thanks, Harry," said George. Harry shrugged.

"So what now?" asked Hermione.

"Well, for one, I think you owe me a kiss," George told her.

"I think I can fix that," said Hermione, tilting her head upwards. Their lips met in a soft kiss. It was gentle to start with, but when their lips met, it was as if the world around them disappeared.

Seeing that they weren't about to come up for air anytime soon, Harry said, "I... I think I'll go and see if Fred needs any help out front..." He quickly slipped out of the workshop, but both George and Hermione were oblivious to his disappearance.

"Good morning, Little Bee."

Hermione opened her eyes to see a smiling George looking across the bed at her. "Morning," she said, smiling. He moved slightly so he could plant a kiss on her lips.

"So what are you doing today?" he asked her.

"I'm going house hunting this morning," she said. The repairs are costing loads on my cottage. It'll be cheaper if I live somewhere else." She rested her head on his shoulder and he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"You could always move in here," he told her.

Hermione looked up at him. "I can't," she told him. "People'll get suspicious."

George grinned. "What? Of two friends living together?"

She considered this for a moment. "I suppose so. We could say it was for convenience?" she suggested.

"See, now you're thinking like a Weasley."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm not thinking like a Weasley, I'm thinking about a Weasley." She smiled seductively.

"Really?" asked George. "And which Weasley would that be?"

She planted a row of kisses along his jaw line. "Percy, obviously."

"Why don't I believe you?" he asked.

"Because I'm an awful liar," admitted Hermione. He kissed her gently, and she said, "You know, now that I've sorted out my living arrangements, I've got the morning free."

"So do I," George told her.

"Hmmm..." Hermione said, trying to sound thoughtful. "I wonder what we could do?"

"Are you always this horny in the morning?" George asked.

"Only when I'm around you," she whispered, capturing his lips in a forceful kiss. She could feel him smile against her lips, before he started to slowly unbutton her pyjama top. She shivered slightly under the touch of his hand against her bare skin, but soon forgot as they became completely engrossed in each other...

Fred Weasley was not happy. George had failed to turn up for work on time for the tenth day in a row. Normally this wouldn't have bothered him, himself not being the most punctual of people. But now he was getting annoyed .They were trying to merge their business with a small joke company called 'Laugh a Minute' and George was vital to the proceedings. Was it just him or had George been getting later since Hermione had officially moved in with him two weeks before? He dismissed this immediately. Hermione was a stickler for punctuality. Of course, she always worked in the afternoon - she didn't have to worry about getting up early.

He looked at his watch. It read just a little after ten. George should be out of bed by now, shouldn't he?

It took him a while to find his key to George's house, as the door was still locked. He had kept a key, even though he had moved out some time ago. he quietly opened the door and went in. The door closed automatically behind him, due to a nifty charm that had been put in place.

There was no sound coming from anywhere, so he padded up the stairs to George's bedroom. He pushed open the door and stared in amazement at what he saw. Hermione was lying in bed next to George, one arm draped across his bare stomach, a small smile on her face. Her head was resting gently on his chest and George had one arm wrapped protectively around her.

Fred quickly closed the door. That wasn't exactly what he thought he'd see when he went to wake George up. He quickly left, not wishing to see anymore. No wonder Hermione had had no reservations about moving in with his lout of a brother.

He wondered how long it had been going on, eventually coming to the conclusion that it must had had something to do with Ron's wedding and George's mysterious disappearance.

When he arrived back at 3W a few minutes later, Harry was there waiting for him.

"Uh, where's George?" he asked.

"At home in bed," said Fred quickly. He was sure he was blushing.

"Right." Harry nodded. He seemed a little embarrassed by this response.

Fred looked at him curiously. "Harry? Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell anyone?"

Harry looked startled. "No! No secrets! I don't want any more secrets!"

"You have secrets?" asked Fred.

"No! No secrets whatsoever," said Harry, looking guilty.

"Do you know something?"

"What are you on about?" asked Harry, trying, though failing, to look innocent.

"Oh, it's nothing." He hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, darn it. George has got that book I need. Would you mind going to his house and getting it? It's probably in this bedroom."

Harry paled considerably. "I-in his bedroom?" he stammered. His eyes widened. "You know!" he exclaimed.

Fred gaped. "You mean you know as well? George and Hermione?"

"Yes!" Harry looked extremely relieved. "You do not know how long I've been wishing someone else knew! Keeping this a secret is killing me!"

"How long have they been together?" asked Fred curiously.

"I think Hermione said since Ron's wedding."

"Whoa," Fred took a seat at the workbench. "This is major stuff. How serious are they?"

Harry shrugged, and ran a hand through his untamed dark hair. "I dunno. Pretty serious, I guess. I was talking with Hermione the other day and George came into the room. Her face just lit up when she saw him."

"You think they're in love?" Fred asked.

"Could be. I'm guessing George won't be in this morning. I'd better go. Do you want to meet up for a drink this evening? I can tell you everything I know." Fred nodded.

"Sure. See you later, Harry." Harry nodded and Disapparated.

Harry and Fred met at the Three Broomsticks later that evening. The place was as crowded as it normally was, and the smell of beer wafted through the air. Fred was already there waiting when Harry arrived at a little after eight. They talked over a couple of pints before the subject of George and Hermione came up. "So why don't they want anyone to know?" Fred asked.

"I asked George about that. Something about them both being in really screwy relationships before and this one actually being good. Personally I think that the whole secrecy/no-one knows thing just makes the sex better."

"Okay, Harry. I know George is my twin and everything, but I do not want the ins and outs of his sex life." Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. To be honest, I don't know much. They're pretty intense, though. We're talking Ron and Amanda intense." Fred raised an eyebrow at this. Ron and Amanda had one of the most intense relationships he had ever seen.

"So is he any good?"

"Ginny!"

The redhead grinned. "What? As your best friend I have a right to know everything about your love life. Plus, I need gossip."

"You really need a job, Ginny," said Hermione. Unbeknown to her, Fred had discovered her relationship with George almost a week before. A young-looking waitress placed their orders down in front of them as she spoke. They thanked her and continued on with their conversation.

"Don't I know it. I've actually got a job interview. Thing is, it's in America."

Hermione frowned. "Well, I suppose it's a job."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Yeah, it pays pretty well as well. Hey, don't you hate pumpkin ice cream?"

"With a fiery passion," agreed Hermione. "It tastes nothing like pumpkin. It lacks flavour of any kind, actually."

"Then why did you order it?" Ginny asked, pointing at Hermione dish. They were at Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlour. Ginny had dropped by 3W for a brief visit and persuaded her to come for lunch. As The Gateway was shut for redecorating, Ginny had chosen the ice cream parlour. "And is that chocolate ice cream as well?"

Hermione nodded. "Sure is. Oh, don't give me that look!" she protested. She scooped up a spoonful of the ice cream and swallowed it. "I had a weird sort of craving for it."

Ginny pulled a face. "Does it taste nice?" she asked.

"Not particularly," said Hermione, taking another bite.

"Oh. Well, are you going to answer my question? Is your mystery boyfriend any good?"

Hermione felt her skin tingle. Why did she always react like that when people referred to her mystery boyfriend? Everyone knew by now that she had a 'mystery boyfriend', thanks to Ginny, the Queen of Gossip. "You can't ask me that!"

"I just did," said Ginny, a smug smile on her face.

"I don't think you want to know," said Hermione seriously. She was secretly wondering how Ginny would react if she found out that she was asking how good her brother was in bed. She smiled slightly at the thought, but Ginny must have thought her smile meant something different.

"Don't hide things from me, Hermione. I really want to know!"

"No, you don't," Hermione reassured her.

"Yes. I. Do."

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Fine,' she thought. 'I'll tell you.' "Okay, Ginny! Yes! He is. He's amazing. It's like we connect on some other level, not just a physical one. When I'm with him, it's like nothing else matters. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes, actually," said Ginny, smiling broadly. "I like talking about your relationships," she told her. "They're so much more interesting than mine. So when are we going to find out who this guy is?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. 'I just hope it isn't soon.'

"Ginny, it's seven thirty in the morning. Neither of them will be up yet," Fred warned his younger sister. 'And if they are, I don't want to know what they're doing,' he thought. It was two days later, and Ginny had dragged her older brother to George and Hermione's house at seven thirty in the morning.

She claimed she had dragged Fred out of bed because she didn't like to Apparate and she couldn't use a car. Plus she had forgotten to pay her Floo bill, and her flat had been disconnected from the network. She also didn't Apparate because she had failed the test four times and had actually given up on ever being able to Apparate properly.

"I want to say goodbye before I go to America for my job interview," she told him.

"You're only going for three days!" he reminded her.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I like to be personal." He wrenched the key from Fred's hand and unlocked the door. She stepped inside and stopped in her tracks. Muffled sounds could be heard from upstairs. The unmistakable cry of a woman could also be heard. "I don't believe it! George has got some girlfriend here, and with Hermione here!" Her face contorted into one of complete shock when the cry was heard again. "Oh, God. I think that is Hermione."

Fred grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her out of the house, locking the door. Ginny was now starting to babble. "Oh my God. My brother and my best friend. They're doing it right now! Oh, gawd..." She gasped. "Hermione's secret boyfriend was George!" she realised. She turned pale. "That means all the time I've been asking her how good her boyfriend is I've been asking how good my brother is... oh God..."

"Yes, Ginny. That is Hermione. And you can't tell anyone," Fred told her sternly.

"You knew?" she exclaimed.

"Yes! I found out by accident. Luckily they weren't doing anything when I saw them in bed together. Harry is the only one who 'officially' knows."

"They don't know that you know?"

"No. Harry knows I know, but they don't I know."

"Ginny, promise me you won't tell anyone," he said. "They don't want anyone to know."

Ginny nodded mutely. "I won't say a word," she said quietly, still in deep shock.