No Regrets by WeasleyForMe

George wants to live his life with no regrets, especially when it comes to Hermione. Hermione/George!

Hermione sat on the stairs leading up to the girls' dormitory, smiling quietly at the chaos around her. Crimson and gold streamers were hanging haphazardly from the ceiling, the wireless was playing a ballad by the Weird Sisters, and a golden Snitch was flying erratically around the Common Room. She watched as Fred and George Weasley were hoisted up in the air, and a round of the Birthday Song was started by Harry and Ron.

Hermione stood and laughingly joined in the song, shouting along with the others. She watched as the cake she and Ginny had made, a red and gold blob that was supposed to be shaped like a lion, was illuminated with candles. Then she sat down once again in her own corner of the Common Room and watched the twins blow out the candles on their eighteenth birthday cake.

Today was a perfect storm of sorts: it just so happened that Gryffindor destroyed Slytherin in an important Quidditch match on the same day as the twins' birthday which happened to fall on Sunday which was April Fool's Day. Spirits were very high in Gryffindor tower! But, as Hermione looked around, it was hard for her to feel really happy.

Sure, she was pleased to be part of the celebration, and of course she was glad everyone else was able to make merry, but things were not the same at Hogwarts this school year. Umbridge was tormenting both staff and students with her militant ways. Even Filch was much worse than usual, relishing in the punishments he was allowed to liberally hand out. The other teachers were no longer teaching with the inspired enthusiasm that Hermione had come to appreciate as an integral part of her magical education.

She sighed. At least the others could enjoy themselves fully even though she could not. She watched as a group of sixth year boys passed around a small bottle of Firewhisky; as a Prefect, she knew she should take it away from them, but as a member of Gryffindor, she just didn't have the heart to do it. The celebratory mood would be ruined, and she knew there wasn't enough drink in the bottle for the boys to actually become inebriated.

When she finally stood to make her way to bed, she caught sight of something that stilled her immediately. George Weasley was standing alone by the hearth looking positively morose, an expression that never seemed to cross the faces of the jubilant twins. He glanced up and made eye contact with Hermione, not bothering to change his expression. Oddly, it felt like an intimate exchange.

The spell was broken when Katie Bell bounced over to him. Hermione noticed a mask of sorts slip into place, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"Hermione, get your rear end over here and have a butterbeer with us!" Ginny called, breaking Hermione's thoughts. It was impossible to ignore her friends all evening, she decided, slipping her own halfhearted smile into place.

"Thanks," she replied when Ginny thrust the cold drink into her hand.

"Isn't this the best party? We should have more parties like this!" Ginny said, bouncing around to the song playing, completely carefree.

A genuine smile appeared on Hermione's lips as Ron and Harry joined Ginny's uncoordinated dancing. They were eventually able to coerce some loud singing out of Hermione and soon she was swept up in the fun of it all. She even danced the Pygmy Prance with Neville and Lee.

"One, two, three, turn! Spin, Hermione! No, the other way!" Lee called over the music and Neville's laughter. "We should have more parties like this!"

"As long as Fred and George are around, I'm sure we will," Neville added to Hermione as they spun around in a circle.

Short of breath from dancing and laughing, Hermione collapsed onto the middle of the comfortable, crimson sofa, surprised to have landed in the middle of the Weasley twins. "Oh, sorry!" she murmured, leaning forward to stand again.

She felt a large, firm hand on each shoulder, and she was immediately pulled back down onto the cushions.

"Don't be sorry, Granger," Fred told her with a wink where he was seated to her left.

"Yeah, we like spending time with pretty girls," George added from the spot on her right side.

She laughed and settled into the soft seat. "I know that; your reputations precede you, birthday boys!"

Fred smiled brightly. "I think Hermione just acknowledged that we are the true playboys of Gryffindor house!"

George barked out a laugh. "Yeah, okay Fred."

Hermione just laughed along, pleased that George's solemn mood from earlier seemed to have passed.

"You two will have to excuse me," Fred said as he looked around the Common Room, which had begun to empty, as it was well after midnight. "I'm going to go spend some time with Angie while I still can," he added, giving George a serious look.

George nodded back at Fred who then quickly went to Angelina who was on her way up to the girls' dormitory.

"What was that supposed to mean? 'While I still can'?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Uhh, it's complicated," George answered with a shrug. "Hey, why didn't you take that Firewhisky away from McLaggen and his cronies?"

"It's complicated," Hermione replied with a smug look on her face.

"Got a crush on Cormac, then?" George asked, knowing how to goad an answer out of the Prefect.

"I do not!" she gasped, looking around the room to see that Cormac McLaggen and nearly all of the others had gone to bed. "He's really quite vile, in my opinion. Always licking his lips and making passes at every girl in school. Really George, that would be like me accusing you of carrying a torch for Romilda Vane!"

"Ugh! Okay, you win! You don't have a crush on him!" George said with disgust at the mere thought of that Vane girl and the way she would always bat her eyelashes at him.

Hermione giggled at the look on his face. "I rest my case. But, if you must know, I really didn't have the heart to take the drink away from them. Everyone seemed to be having such a great time tonight, celebrating your birthday and the Quidditch win. I know I myself haven't felt this happy in weeks. I didn't want to put a damper on the mood, and I especially didn't want to send anyone to a detention with Umbridge. She would be likely to sentence them to a public hanging for swigging a contraband, which is just too much punishment for the crime."

George gave her a very serious, appraising look; Hermione felt her flesh grow warmer as he took in the details of her face. "You know, Hermione, that's very reasonable of you. You've always been very level-headed, and I tend to agree with you. The school is different this year," he muttered, seeing her nod in agreement with him. "I actually had to console a first year Ravenclaw kid yesterday who was sobbing outside the Defence classroom. He told me he was so afraid of Umbridge that he didn't want to go to class."

"That's horrible!" Hermione gasped, her heart breaking for the child.

"Yeah, imagine a Ravenclaw wanting to skip school!"

Hermione chuckled at his joke. "I know what you mean. I overheard McGonagall and Sprout talking the other day, and they said it's hopeless trying to argue with Umbridge. Even the teachers are afraid of her, George. What are the rest of us supposed to do?"

George took a deep breath and nodded slowly, his eyes looking past her to the fireplace. "I think we have to live with no regrets. We need to stand up for what's right and take care of each other."

"Right, that's why Dumbledore's Army has been so successful. We've all been looking out for one another," Hermione said in agreement. "I would have regretted denying myself a proper defence education. I guess there are a lot of things to regret this year," she mused.

"Not tonight, though. Tonight was a lot of fun," George replied with a smile, flicking gold streamers off of the sofa.

They sat side by side in companionable silence listening to the dying fire crackling. Hermione felt George's fingers brush her hand as he moved a little closer. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and the sound of George clearing his throat made her spine tingle.

"Hermione, we're leaving tomorrow."

She turned to face him, unable to make sense of his words. "What do you mean?"

George looked at her sadly. "Fred and I, we're leaving Hogwarts tomorrow."

Hermione's brow puckered as she processed his words. They were dropping out of school? Willingly leaving behind a priceless education?

"Quitting school?" she asked, and when George nodded she felt like crying. "Why would you do that, George? It's a terrible waste!" Hermione's voice started to rise.

"Shh, Hermione. Nobody else knows about this, other than Lee and probably Angelina by now. We're done here. There's nothing left for us."

"But you only have ten more weeks until you graduate!"

"That's ten weeks too long in our case. What's sitting for N.E.W.T.s going to do for us?"

"It could open a world of possibilities for you!" she replied passionately. She couldn't quite place her feelings, but she definitely didn't want to think of Hogwarts without the twins, especially George.

George shook his head and gently tucked an errant curl behind Hermione's ear. Her eyes fluttered closed at the contact, and George continued with what he wanted to say.

"I know that's what you believe, Hermione. Maybe for you, earning N.E.W.T.s will make all the difference in the world, but Fred and are abysmal students."

Hermione laughed, unable to disagree with him this time.

"Besides, we already know what we want to do. We're going to set up a store in Diagon Alley and specialize in selling our joke products and imported pygmy puffs. We have been working on a business plan for months now, and it's time for us to go. It's all set up. We know that we've maxed out our education, and at this point we need to get away from all this Umbridge nonsense and start doing what we were meant to do."

Hermione eyed him, knowing for once he wasn't joking or pranking. "Now I understand why you've been looking so melancholy. But why are you telling me this? Why would you include me in your secret? Won't Fred be upset?"

"By the next time we see Fred, he will be so cheerful from his seven hour long snog session with Angelina that he won't care what I've told you," George answered with a grin. "And I needed you to know. I don't want to leave here with any regrets, and I know I would regret never doing this."

George leaned closer to her and paused. Hermione could see each clearly defined freckle on his nose and cheeks, and she could feel his warm breath which smelled like cake frosting. He pulled his lower lip between his teeth for a second before releasing it. She felt like she was frozen in time, unable to make a decisive move.

"No regrets," he murmured before closing the small space between them. His lips met hers in a chaste kiss. It was sweet and soft, something Hermione would have never expected from George. He pulled his head away slightly, trying to gauge her reaction to him.

Hermione was unable to prevent a smile from creeping onto her face. As if on cue, George's lips met hers once again in a more forceful kiss. This time his lips slid against hers, their noses bumping, and she returned his kisses. Hermione instinctively reached for his shoulders, and she clung to him as he deepened the kiss by parting her lips gently with his tongue. He teased her, nibbling on her lower lip and eliciting a broken sigh.

She felt a swoop of thrilled pleasure in her tummy when George tugged her closer. She pulled away to get a breath of air, and realized she was perched on George's lap. As the dim firelight illuminated George's hazel eyes and his ginger hair, Hermione allowed her fingers to find the soft strands. George gently kissed the tip of her nose and smiled.

"I don't think Fred would have let me live with myself if I left here without doing that," George whispered, holding her gently on his lap.

Hermione leaned toward him, burying her face in the crook of her neck. "Please don't leave," she murmured, inhaling the scent of his soap.

"We have to, Hermione," he replied, holding her close. He felt her shaking her head, fighting his answer. After a while, the motion changed to a nod, accepting what he and Fred wanted to do with their lives.

Hermione woke to the sound of hushed talking. She realized she had a severe kink in her neck and could barely move. She opened her eyes just a sliver and realized she was in the Common Room where the light of a cool spring dawn was starting to creep through the windows.

When she tried to free her arm, she remembered what had happened the previous night. She loosed herself from George's grasp where they had fallen asleep together, waking him in the process. "Morning, Mione," he said groggily, his voice hoarse from sleep.

Hermione smiled, and the sight of his messy hair and rumpled shirt warmed her heart. Then she realized the voices she heard were growing louder, and she quickly untangled herself from George.

"It's just Fred and Angie," George confirmed, immediately missing the warmth of her body.

Angelina, her face streaked with tears appeared just inside the portrait hole followed by Fred, who didn't look nearly as sad as his girlfriend.

"Ready then, George?" he asked merrily, looking from his twin to Hermione. "Everything taken care of?"

"Almost," George replied. "Why don't you get the rest of our things together? I'll be up in a few."

Angelina looked at everyone around her and barely muttered, "I can't believe you're both leaving. I'm going for a walk before class starts," before disappearing through the portrait hole again.

When Fred had gone as well, George cleared his throat and tried to tame his hair a bit. Hermione was beginning to feel apprehensive about what would happen next. Was last night a one-time thing? Was George going to forget about her?

"Hermione, two things are about to happen. First, Fred and I are going to set up a portable swamp near Umbridge's office in about three hours. You need to promise me you'll make sure you, Ginny, Ron, and Harry are nowhere near there when it happens. I don't want to hear you've been blamed for anything. Second, Fred and I are going to be breaking our brooms out of captivity and making a rather grand exit. So the place you'll want to be is the Great Hall," he told her with a smile. "That way I'll be able to see you when I leave."

Hermione blushed, but she needed to know. "About all the snogging last night…."

George gingerly twirled one of her long curls around his fingers. "I had to let you know that I care about you, but if you don't feel the same way, I…. I'm okay with that," he finished, nodding. "If you're not interested in me, I understand. I know you want to focus on school, and you definitely should. I just want to make sure we can at least be friends."

Hermione certainly was surprised by these recent revelations. "I think I like the idea of something more than friends," she whispered shyly.

George whooped, pumping his fist in the air before kissing a laughing Hermione until her back was pressed into the seat of the sofa and George was over her.

"Honestly George, you need to surrender Hermione and get a move on!" Fred called from the boys' staircase. "Everyone is starting to wake up. It's time."

"Write to me, 93 Diagon Alley," George said pressing one last kiss to her lips. "And I promise I'll see you every chance we get." George stood and pulled Hermione to her feet before heading toward Fred.

Hermione stood in the Great Hall, amid a blaze of Wildfire Whiz-bangs, smiling along with the rest of Hogwarts' students and staff. Everyone watched in awe as the Weasley twins departed the school in magnificent fashion, advertising for their new joke shop as they went. She knew eventually Umbridge would manage to get control over them again, but for a few minutes, they all got to witness what would surely become a legendary story.

Hermione waved until George was out of sight, already anticipating when she would see him again.

Thank you for reading! I wanted to put my own little spin on the events leading up to the twins leaving school to start their business venture.

I really hope you will leave a review and let me know what you think!