A belated birthday gift for Barbara

Having proved that her plan for the journals should work, she cast the Protean Charm first on the set bound in green and then on the set bound in black. Then, she slipped one of each back into her book bag, leaving the other two on the table.

"You should get an early night," Fred remarked just loudly enough to carry over to Ron and Harry's table. "You still look a bit pale."

"Why thank you, kind sir," Hermione answered with both sarcasm and amusement in her voice. "Flattery will get you everything."

"You know," Ron's voice sounded from a couple of tables over, "he's probably right. You wouldn't want to miss another day's studying tomorrow."

Ginny snorted. "You mean you wouldn't want to write your Potions essay without her helping you!"

"Yeah, well, that too," Ron admitted looking not the least shame-faced, "but she has to take care of her health with OWLs coming up. She's not going to beat Percy if she's not feeling at her best."

"She already beats Percy in every way that matters," Ginny argued. "First, she's a girl. Second, she wouldn't ever talk to her parents the way Percy talked to Mum and Dad. Third, she doesn't have her head stuck up her arse. Fourth—"

"Alright, alright," Hermione interrupted as she stood, lifting her book bag onto her shoulder with one hand and pressing the other to her stomach. "I'm not entirely convinced that being a girl is a plus point right now, but I am going to get an early night." Keeping her back to Ron and Harry, she let her gaze meet George's, doing her best to convey her newly-recognised affection for him without words.

The twin lifted Crookshanks from his lap and set him down in the spot Hermione had vacated before stretching and getting to his feet. "'M'on, Fred. Things to do."

As he made his way past Hermione, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Fred scooped up the journals and followed him to the portrait hole, but only after he had ruffled both Hermione's and Ginny's hairs.

"Oi!" Ron protested. "It's nearly curfew. What are you two up to?"

George grinned. "Ask no questions, Little Bro'."

"And we won't need to hex you when you tell everyone," Fred added as he pushed the fat lady's portrait closed behind them.

"Gits!" Ron muttered under his breath.

Hermione shook her head at the way Ron continually rose to his brothers' baiting. She hugged Ginny and nodded to the boys. "Night."

---

Hermione seated herself at the desk by the dormitory window, pushing the few cosmetics that Lavender and Parvati had left behind to one side and opening a bottle of green ink into which she dipped a Dictaquill that she had purchased during her London shopping spree.

Opening the green-bound notebook at its marbled fly-leaf, she began dictation. "This is the journal of G.S." Turning the page, she watched the quill hover over the first of its creamy white sheets. "Page title, Day One:" she whispered, the quill underlining this with a wavy line. "Today, I begin this journal, and it's fitting because this is also the day of another first. Tonight was the first time I found myself looking at M.T. as the thought, "I love you," passed through my mind.

"Is it 'real'?

"I don't know.

"I suppose the only way I ever will is to see if these feelings can stand the test of time and separation. I do know that I find it increasingly easy to picture a future with him in it, not just as we are in the here and now, but as we might be in fifty or even a hundred years time. I do know that just his smile is enough to make my day brighter and that the touch of his hand can soothe me when I'm upset, or arouse me to wantonness."

She spun in her chair, snatching the quill from midair as a loud click sounded from behind her. "George Weasley! I could have been naked."

George grinned and shrugged. "Better luck next time," he suggested as he drew her up from her chair.

"How did you do that, anyway?" she asked nodding toward the hole in the room's wooden panelling where George had stepped through. "That passage isn't on Harry's map."

"Charm, intelligence and a willing accomplice," George answered as he cradled her face in his hand and swooped in for a kiss. "Nothing the Room of Requirement does is on Harry's map."

"You sneak!"

"Yep! Of course, if Fred decides to disappear, then I'm buggered, but as long as he stays in his private room with access to the fifth-year-girls' dormitory, then the passage should stay open. We've been testing it, but with the passage going to our dorm."

Hermione's brows drew together in frustration. "You're so damn smart. No wonder your mum hit the roof when you got those OWL results."

"It's all about priorities," Fred announced as he slid open the zip on her top to reveal the dark green satin bra that Ginny had brought her that morning. "Passing exams isn't something that bothers me. Spending time with you is a necessity."

"You realise if anyone finds you here, then we'll both probably be expelled," Hermione protested weakly.

"I'll try not to make you scream too loud," George promised as he slid her top from her arms and leaned down to kiss her again.

"Underwear stays on," Hermione gasped when he lifted his head.

George's eyes drifted shut for a second and he gave a lazy grin. "I can live with that."

"I bet." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You first."

George's eyebrow quirked upward and he had dropped to his knees before she realised his intention. "My pleasure." He slipped off each of her sandals and then his hands paused at the waistband of her jeans. His eyes met hers as if seeking confirmation and he waited for her almost imperceptible nod before he undid the button and slid the zip open.

He pressed kisses to her navel, then her thighs, and finally her knees as he pushed the denim down to puddle around her calves until she stepped free.

Hermione crossed her arms instinctively as he stood back up.

George just smiled. "Hermione Granger, I know full well there's a mirror in the prefect's bathroom," he remarked in a soft but amused tone.

"And?"

"And I know you know there isn't one inch of your body that you need to hide." He took her chin in one hand and tilted her head back, kissing her gently until her arms unfurled like the petals of a flower and then wrapped themselves around him. He let the embrace continue for a very pleasant minute. "And, Hermione, you could put on fifty pounds, have your insides taken out by one of those Muggle Healers and be covered from head to toe in Dragon Pox scars and I wouldn't let you go."

"Pffft," Hermione snorted.

George pressed an index finger to her lips. "I'm not saying that I don't appreciate that lovely lithe little body. You'd have to be blind and partially paralysed not to have noticed that I do. I'm just saying that I've made my choice and unless you kick me to the kerb, you're stuck with me, come hell, high water, expanding waistlines, premature baldness—"

"Shut up, George," Hermione cut in. "I get the idea." She reached up with unpractised fingers to undo the buttons on his shirt one by one.

When she had finished, he kicked off his shoes and pulled his socks free. They shared another long slow kiss as she pushed the shirt from his shoulders.

"Tell me another secret," George whispered, as she hesitated with her hands at the waistband of his jeans.

Hermione's teeth caught on her lower lip. She stood like that for a second and then picked up the journal she had been writing in and passed it to him, open at the page.

George gazed into her eyes for a long moment before his eyes dropped to the written words. He read them through carefully and then read them again before he closed the book and set it back on the table.

"I feel exactly the same," he told her, as he took a seat on the nearest bed, which happened to be Hermione's. He stretched out a hand to her.

She took it and settled herself so that she was straddling his lap, half-kneeling on the bed.

"My head says it's too soon to say the words," he admitted, "and I'm terrified I come on too strong and scare you off, but my heart says this is it. I won't say it out loud until I'm sure, but I can picture my future with you in it. All my future."

Hermione's eyes glittered brightly as she took George's face in both hands and pressed her lips to his forehead. "Me too." She grinned and tumbled onto the mattress. She looked coyly back at him. "So are you going to take those jeans off and join me?" she asked. "Or is that further ahead than you planned?"