For Kit and snapdragon who both prompted me to go back to this series

And most especially for Selene2.

George picked up the glass she had left behind, waiting until she had climbed onto the bed and was lying on her side watching him to pass it back to her. "You can't expect me to drink the rest of the bottle on my own," he offered by way of encouragement.

"George Weasley, I do believe you're trying to get me drunk so that you can take advantage of me," Hermione teased, but she took the glass from his hands.

George grinned. "Half a bottle each and we'll both be pleasantly tipsy. Now, if I drink a whole bottle on my own..."

"Did I say you were evil?"

"Did I say my job was to make you relax once in a while before you work yourself into the ground?"

Hermione smiled and took a sip from her glass, watching George from under her lashes as he picked up the bottle and his own glass and set them down next to his side of the bed. "I think you might have mentioned it once," she agreed.

"There you go, then. I'm just living up to my side of the deal." His eyes flicked briefly down the length of her body before he met her gaze again, and as his hands moved to the front of his shirt she realised he intended to do something about the inequality of their clothing before he joined her.

Button by agonising button, Hermione watched as George unfastened his shirt. It felt like the anticipation of Christmas and her birthday and that nervous heightened sensory perception of exam time all at once. "You are a tease," she accused, even as she deliberately tried to relax the muscles that were tightening of their own accord. "I bet if I wasn't here you'd have pulled that off over your head by now."

"Uh-huh," George agreed, pausing to take a sip from his glass once the front of his shirt hung free before he undid the cuffs. "But that wouldn't be much of a treat for my girl, now, would it?"

'Oh hell!' said a little voice inside Hermione's head as she nervously made to toss back the last of the wine in her glass. 'He's too damn good at this. When did the joker next door learn to be a sex god?'

George slid his fingers over hers, tilting the glass away from her mouth. "Easy, beautiful, slow it down," he whispered, keeping his hand over hers so that it gradually guided the glass down until its base rested against the mattress, his gentle touch steadying her trembling grip. Then he leaned in to taste her wine-damp lips.

Her mind was full of competing flashes of thought, but it was as if she was aware of them only through the densest fog. Her body knew what it wanted. Her mouth opened to him with a sigh of longing, her tongue flicking out to taste the same sharp dryness on his that she could taste on herself, as if they were complementary parts of one whole. Her free hand stroked his cheek, her fingers tangling in his hair. Her body twisted to follow his, never quite touching but moving into a kneeling position opposite him as he straightened up again, as if having once closed the distance between them to mere inches she couldn't let him go. She slipped her hand from underneath his, vaguely aware as she trailed her fingertips over the cotton of his sleeve that he managed to set the glass down somewhere safe.

Her hands wound their way under the layer of thin cotton that covered his shoulders, and as she pushed it down, George twisted his shoulders back so that the shirt finally fell to the floor at his feet.

For long minutes after he knew he should stop it, George let the kiss continue. His arms gathered her closer still, savouring the way she arched her body to meet his and how her tight nipples brushed against his chest with only a thin layer of cotton jersey separating them, but he knew it was too soon to press things any further and he finally forced himself to step back until Hermione's hands slid from his shoulders to his arms and down until hand slid over hand, fingertips parting with a final tingle.

With a wry smile, he topped up both their glasses and passed Hermione's to her. Then, rather than taking his own he kicked off his shoes and socks. Hermione's cheeks flushed as he began undoing his belt, finding her glass of sudden interest, but she made no protest when he stepped free of his jeans and joined her on the bed. He propped the pillows up against the headboard and settled himself, gently nudging a disgruntled Crookshanks over to one side. He held out a hand to her.

Hermione nudged his legs apart as she shuffled forward on her knees to claim a chaste kiss and then she turned, leaning back against his chest in a position reminiscent of the one they had shared by the lake on their first date. She pulled up the bedclothes until they were covered up to several inches above the waist, this last proving the final straw for Crookshanks, who gave her a reproachful look as, having tunnelled his way out, he dropped off the bed and ambled toward the fire.

Silence stretched out between them, not awkward but comforting, but when George shared out the last of the wine into their glasses he seemed driven to speak again. "We went to see the shop this morning."

Hermione twisted in his arms until she could see his face. She'd known the twins' plans were moving forward but it had never seemed more real than in this instant. "You're taking it." It wasn't a question.

"We took it. Or, well, we're renting it, at least. Minimum of a year, with the option to draw out at a month's notice after that."

"Already?" Hermione asked. She'd been hoping that red tape might buy her another week or two. She didn't ask the other obvious question about whether they could afford the rent if the shop didn't do as well as they hoped.

"Already," George confirmed. "They were making noises about having someone else who was interested and, well, it's all about location. It's not like we can set up just anywhere..."

Hermione raised her glass, touching it gently against George's. "Congratulations! To new beginnings." She couldn't keep the sadness from her voice, but she managed to keep the tears that welled up in her eyes from spilling onto her cheeks... at least until after they had finished their wine and dowsed the lights.