Luck of the Weasley by WeasleyForMe

George waits until the luckiest day of the year to ask Hermione on a date. Will she beat him to it? Hermione/George

Written for the Twin Exchange March challenge! Don't forget to vote!

Prompts: a tree house, "That's my foot!", and St. Patrick's Day!

George had been trying for several weeks to convince Fred that it was a good idea to throw a St. Patrick's Day party at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"We can close the shop early and have our friends stop by. It will be a bloody blast!" he insisted over and over again.

Fred, finally tired of having this conversation, narrowed his eyes. "I have been your twin for long enough to know when you have an ulterior motive. Spit it out."

Sighing, George muttered. "St. Patrick's Day is the luckiest day of the year, right?"

Fred shrugged and nodded in agreement, urging George to get on with it.

"So that's the day I plan to finally ask Hermione out on a date. Luck will be on my side!" he exclaimed happily.

"You'll need all the help you can get!" Fred agreed as he burst into laughter.

Hermione sat at her desk across from Bill Weasley in the small office they shared as Gringott's lead curse-breakers. They were busily writing up a report and planning their next project when a huge barn owl swopped in the door.

"What's all this?" Bill asked, jumping up and trying to contain the bird as it knocked his report to the floor.

"That's my foot!" Hermione shrieked as Bill lumbered around the room, having stomped on her toes.

The owl screeched, dropped two green envelopes on the floor and disappeared through the window with a mocking ruffle of its feathers.

"Sorry about your foot," Bill grimaced as his partner rubbed the spot where he had landed. He handed her one of the envelopes and opened the other.

Green glitter sprinkled to the floor as they both read invitations from the twins.

You're invited to a St. Patrick's Day happy hour!

oOo

Fred and George are throwing a party,

Wear green and don't dare be tardy,

We will have butterbeer, bring your luck and your cheer,

If you accept then you're a bloody smartie!

oOo

Where: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

When: 6pm on the Luckiest Day of the Year

How: As intoxicated as we can get you!

Hermione giggled, already looking forward to attending the event and having a chance to see George. His laugh was infectious, and when he looked at her, he made Hermione feel like gold.

She'd had a soft spot for George after the two of them had sat up in the rickety, old tree house in the side yard of the Burrow on her last birthday. She had spent the cool evening after her birthday dinner wrapped up in George's jumper as they talked and watched the stars come out as the sun slowly set on the horizon. Since then, she always looked forward to every dinner invitation to see the Weasleys, and sat between her favourite co-worker and her favourite twin at the Burrow's large table.

"So are you going to go to this party?" Hermione asked Bill, gesturing to his copy of the invitation.

"Did you forget? That's the day we have to be in Stonehenge to break a curse before those muggle archeologists arrive," he grunted, picking up the last pages of his report.

"Oh, that's right," Hermione recalled sadly, knowing the visit to Stonehenge could very well last late into the evening.

"Ready to finish up this report?" Bill asked. Hermione nodded, and they returned to the work at hand.

"I've got to hand it to you, this ended up being a great idea, George." Fred slapped his twin on the back, nearly upending the green butterbeer he was holding. "Everyone is having fun!"

The twins looked out across their store which had been closed early to customers so they could host the green-themed happy hour for their friends. As each guest presented their invitation to enter, their hair turned a bright shade of green.

Ginny was sipping a glass of green wine and talking with Seamus Finnigan who was wearing a green tuxedo. Irish flutes and fiddles played by magic, encouraging a group of dancers to gather near the front window. A magical rainbow spanned the entire store, ending at the cauldron full of punch and a table of snacks. Faux-gold Galleons littered the floor, exploding into a wild-fire whiz-bang whenever someone picked one up.

"Yeah, it's a blast. Just one thing missing," George mumbled unhappily to his twin.

"She'll show," Fred encouraged as he bounded off to dance with Angelina and her shamrock shaped hat.

George made his way through the crowd, stopping at the snack table where Ron was inhaling green cauldron cakes at an unbelievable rate.

"Mmm, these are delicious, George," he managed between bites.

"Thanks," George mumbled, pulling out his wand and vanishing the trail of crumbs around his baby brother. He tucked the wand back into the pocket of his green trousers. "Hey, you haven't heard from Hermione recently, have you?" George asked.

"Yeah, the other day. She and Bill are working late all week. Might not make it tonight." He took a large bite of cake as if to make up for having to stop to answer George. Then he dashed off to greet Harry leaving a frowning George alone with the snacks.

Trying to make the best of the situation, George went to mingle with Alicia, Katie and Lee. It was always good to catch up with his old Hogwarts mates. However he was only half enjoying himself until he turned and saw Bill enter the shop. A lopsided grin found its way onto George's face as he watched Hermione follow his brother inside. Her face lit up and she started laughing as her long curls as well as Bill's ponytail turned lime green.

Not sure of the best way to approach her, George watched as she smiled and hugged some of her friends. George had had a soft spot for her ever since she had joined the Weasleys for a Chudley Canons match. She spent the game sharing a blanket with him while he explained the rules to her. She even joined him in the victory chant as the Canons won the match.

Smiling at the memory, he noticed that she and Bill looked like they had rushed to get to the shop.

"Wotcher, George," Bill greeted, snatching up some green jelly beans.

"What's up?" George replied, barely able to take his eyes off Hermione as she laughed at something Oliver Wood was saying.

Bill grunted. "Exhausted. Hermione rushed around all day to be here for your party. I'm too old to work with her," he said with a yawn.

George's heart skipped a little faster. "She wanted to be here?"

"In the worst way. She refused to take time for lunch and insisted I 'hustle my arse a little faster' all day long."

George chuckled as Hermione scolded Ron for eating too much, hoping that perhaps she wanted to be here to see him. Just then, she looked up, and her laughing eyes met his. George swallowed hard, trying to remember to breathe as he watched her mouth Hi George! in his direction. Time seemed to slow down. He watched as she blinked, her long eyelashes brushing against her pink cheek. She bit her lower lip and smiled only at him.

With a sudden surge of good luck, George walked over to her. "You certainly do look cute with green hair," he told her with a grin.

She scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes. "Riiight," she replied sarcastically with a laugh.

"No, you really do!" he insisted, touching one of her curls.

She blushed and quietly thanked him.

"I'm glad you made it," he told her sincerely, knowing that this whole event had really been for her.

"Well after I read the invitation, I was afraid to be late or forget to wear green!" she said, poking fun at the limerick he and Fred had written.

"Good thing you weren't late enough to find out," he told her somberly. "We're feeding anyone who shows up after seven o'clock to a flock of hungry leprechauns."

Hermione snorted and sputtered as she had been trying to take a drink. "You're full of shamrocks, George Weasley," she laughed.

Her laughter made his insides feel gooey in a good way. "So how was your day at work? Bill said you were busy."

"It was interesting. We were in Stonehenge breaking a difficult curse, but the landscape was beautiful," she told him. Her eyes flitted nervously from her hands to his eyes before she blurted out, "It was really quite lovely, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me there for a picnic sometime."

George stood dumbfounded. "Like go on a date?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Yes," she managed, getting nervous that she had been reading him incorrectly all along.

"But I was about to… I was going to ask you… I had planned to…." He blurted a few incomprehensible sentences as she waited for an answer.

"I never thought today could be this lucky!" he exclaimed, leaping in a celebratory dance.

"Is that a yes," she asked, still puzzled.

"Yes! Definitely," he told her, pulling her close.

She laughed as he pulled on another green curl before tucking it behind her ear. "So you promise you won't feed me to the leprechauns?" she asked.

"I'll see what I can do," he told her.

Hermione reached up and pulled him into a sweet kiss as the party around them faded into a blur of green. It had clearly been the luckiest day of the year for George.

May the luck of the Weasley be with you! Thanks for reading :)