Seven Sleepless Nights by WeasleyForMe

With swirling thoughts and a hectic schedule, Hermione finds herself unable to sleep. When George shares his secret with her and keeps her company, she finds another, sweeter reason to stay up late.

Thanks to Clover Bay for beta reading and offering fantastic ideas!!

Saturday Night

If Hermione was being honest with herself, she would admit that she was a little bit disappointed that she hadn't seen George since they snogged until one o'clock in the morning. She had spent most of the day trying to keep herself busy in the common room, or at the very least appear that she was busy. But no George.

He hadn't showed up for any meals, and although it was the weekend, he and Fred surely needed to eat something. After picking at her dinner, she went back to the common room, swiftly avoiding Ron and Lavender holding hands and cooing to one another outside the Fat Lady.

"Disgusting," Hermione muttered as she made her way inside. Ron didn't spare a glance in her direction.

"Hey Ginny, have you seen George?" Hermione asked, taking the spot on the crimson couch next to the redhead.

Ginny grinned at her friend. "Obviously he and Fred are up to no good. I just saw them, and I know they are planning something. But why are you asking about George?"

"Umm…" Hermione mumbled. "You know, he's just usually around, and hey, look at the time! Off to the library!" And she was immediately back on her feet and leaving Ginny alone in the common room, looking rather puzzled.

With no real destination in mind, Hermione decided the library could use another visit, and she headed in that direction, wondering where George had been when Ginny ran into the twins. Sadly, as she traipsed down a long hallway, she didn't see a single redhead. What a disappointing day this had turned out to be, especially since it started with George's lips on hers.

"Good evening, Madam Pince," she whispered to the matron of the Hogwarts library, earning a bright smile and a nod from the older woman.

Hermione grabbed some light reading, Advanced Applications for Arithmantic Appraisals, from a nearby shelf and sunk into an overstuffed armchair. The combination of the fascinating subject matter and the plush seat weren't enough to help her relax. She could think of little more than George, and she was starting to get scared. Perhaps their kisses had meant a great deal more to her than they did to him.

Then another thought occurred to her. Maybe George had done the very same thing with every other girl; she probably wasn't the only one he had taken off to a remote part of the castle and snogged. But, she had no proof, and she didn't want to think about him that way.

"You know how I feel about doing homework on the weekend."

Hermione nearly threw her book into the air as George managed to creep up behind her and whisper in her ear.

"George!" she hissed in a harsh whisper. "You shouldn't sneak up like that!"

He chuckled and sat down on the arm of the chair. "No harm done. At least I got your attention away from that dastardly text." He pulled the tome from her hands and let it drop to the floor.

"Hey, I was reading th-"

Hermione's complaint was silenced by George as his mouth met her parted lips with a gentle force that made her insides feel like warm butter. He turned slightly on the arm of the chair until he had Hermione trapped between his arms, at his mercy.

"No more homework on the weekend," he whispered, releasing her from his kiss. "Now, you'll be flying with me tonight, even if Scotland gets an unexpected late spring blizzard."

"But, George, I don't really like to fly." She realized it was pretty late in the game to be telling him this, but it was the honest truth. Flying was uncomfortable and basically terrifying.

"No excuses. I waited all week, and you promised," he told her with a pout.

She sighed and crossed her arms, but she knew there was no way she would be able to tell him no. "Fine," she agreed.

"Meet me in the common room later, and wear something comfortable." With a wink and a peck on her cheek, he was gone.

And Hermione had the feeling that she was going to get caught up in some mischief.

"Everything is set up, and you are good to go!" Fred encouraged his twin, slapping him on the shoulder for luck.

George took a deep breath and picked up Ginny's broom. "What if she thinks it's stupid?"

"She won't, Georgie. It's going to be perfect. And if it's not, we'll blame Ron," Fred sincerely promised, pushing George toward the door. As soon as he made it down the stairs, he saw her, and his heart jumped.

"You're late!" Hermione shouted triumphantly.

"What do you mean I'm late?" George asked quickly.

"It's after midnight, so technically now it's no longer Saturday, and you said you were going to make me fly with you on Saturday night, not Sunday," she stated, matter-of-factly.

"Nice try, Granger. Now, let's go," George smiled, taking her hand and practically dragging her toward the portrait hole.

"W-Wouldn't you rather play a game of chess? Or maybe knit some scarves for the House Elves?" she asked, hoping to deter him from his mission to get her to fly.

But once they were in the corridor, George merely put his finger to his lips, asking for her to remain quiet. She trudged along, trying so appear annoyed while her hand was encompassed by his; that was nearly impossible.

"Here we are. Hop on," he whispered once they had reached the empty Charms classroom.

"Aren't we supposed to be outside?" she asked nervously.

"Nope, this is the spot," he replied, guiding her so that she was seated on the broomstick in front of him. "Ready? Good!"

George never gave her a chance to answer before he called out a spell to open the window on the far wall and lifted them off the floor.

"Wait! Wait, George!" Hermione yelled, fighting the urge to cover her eyes with her hands. It would be far worse to let go of the broom and face that particular set of consequences.

"Hold on tight," George whispered with a chuckle, and suddenly there were shooting rather quickly toward the open window. Hermione clamped her eyes shut and ducked her head in between George's arms which were holding the broomstick in front of her.

"I'm going to hex you as soon as we land!" Hermione screamed once they were safely outside and flying over the grounds of the school.

"But then you won't get your surprise," George sang behind her.

"Surprise?" Hermione asked, turning her head slightly to the right until she could see his face.

"Oh yes, but you won't get it until you loosen up and enjoy the flight," he teased, pushing her bushy hair behind her ear and kissing her neck lightly.

Hermione felt her stomach dip, and she wasn't sure if it was from George's kiss or the tight circles they were flying. She tried to relax against his body, but she was antsy the entire time they were in the air. "Don't look down. Relax. Don't look down. Relax. Ooh, George's arms look very strong." She couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Ready to land?" George finally asked.

"Yes!" she replied immediately. He laughed as he gently guided them toward the edge of the lake. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt Hermione starting to topple over.

"Oof!" She was on the ground at George's feet before either of them could stop her. Blushing profusely, she was really ecstatic that it was nearly black outside, save for the light from the half-moon.

"That's exactly where I was going to have us sit! Great work, thinking ahead," George commented with a grin as he stowed the broom behind a shrub and pulled out a small paper bag. Then he sat next to Hermione near the edge of the lake.

"What's in the bag?"

George pulled the bag away from her as she reached for it. "You are way too curious, Hermione Granger. This," he gestured to the bag, "is your surprise."

"Thanks George, but I don't believe I need a brown, paper bag."

George laughed heartily as he finally handed it to her. "Open it."

She unfolded the top and reached in. "Mint humbugs?" she asked, holding up one of the small chocolate candies.

"Aren't they your favorite?! I thought you liked them!" George was beginning to get very nervous.

"They are, but how did you know?" she confirmed, gently placing one between her lips before eating it. She closed her eyes and smiled as the flavors of mint and chocolate invaded her taste buds.

"You always seem to enjoy them the most at dinner," George commented, enjoying the way her eyes fluttered closed as she savoured the sweets.

She held out the bag for him to take one of the candies. "It's been nice to have your company in the common room recently," she remarked as he slipped the humbug between his lips.

George chewed thoughtfully before responding. "I agree. It's been pretty good having your company in my bed, too."

"What?!"

George laughed so hard he nearly choked. "I'm talking about Exploding Snap the other night!"

"Oh. Of course." Hermione blushed. "Well in that case, I had a great time in your bed," she managed with a small laugh of her own.

Nervously, George scooted a little closer to her. The only sounds were the rustling of his movement on the grass and the Giant Squid swimming laps around the lake.

George cleared his throat and looked up at the moon. "So… what if we spent more time together outside of the common room, and the Dumbledore's Army meetings, and you giving me detentions when I play pranks?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked quietly, turning to look at his face.

Heart pounding, palms sweating, George cleared his throat again. "Well, maybe you and I could hang out more and do stuff?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Like what?"

"Well, anything that we can do so that we can spend time together," he mumbled.

"Such as?" she asked, trying to see what he was getting at.

"Hermione! Give me a break here! I'm more nervous than a long-tailed kneazle in a room full of rocking chairs!"

"I'm just trying to figure out what you want, George!" she exclaimed, completely exasperated.

"I like you, and I like kissing you, and I want you to be my girlfriend!" he blurted out loudly.

"Oh!"

George sat frozen on the spot chewing his lip. "Well that didn't come out exactly as I wanted it to."

"Yes," she replied, nodding her head.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend! Now stop acting so silly," she whispered.

George pushed the bag of sweets out of the way and leaned toward his girlfriend until they were sharing a minty kiss. Hermione pulled him closer, enjoying his warm body against hers as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. He kissed her passionately, making her feel like the most important thing in his world, and Hermione didn't mind that feeling one bit.

As he released her lips, he still held her close, his nose resting against hers. "Mmm, Hermione, I don't think you're allowed to give me detentions any longer," he whispered. "It would be a conflict of interest."

She leaned in and kissed him deeply before pulling away. "I won't stop assigning until you start behaving. So, you'd better get used to it."

George chuckled and stood, pulling her to her feet as well. "Let's get you back to the common room. It doesn't look good when the Prefect is out breaking the rules."

"Oh no, there's no way I'm getting back on that broom and flying back in throughthe Charms window!" she told him, pointing to Ginny's Nimbus and shaking her head fiercely.

"Ok, ok, Pretty Prefect. We'll go in through the main entrance and get caught," George promised with a wink.

"Well, maybe that's not such a good idea either," Hermione conceded.

George grinned. "I knew you'd see it my way."

After a terrifying flight back into the Charms classroom, followed by some snogging in the Charms classroom, Hermione and George made their way back to the Gryffindor common room. After so many sleepless nights, Hermione found herself on the squishy crimson couch, slipping into a comfortable sleep, curled up next to George.

The end! I hope you enjoyed this story, because I loved writing it! Now, REVIEW! Please :)