Fic: Semper Vigilans (6/?)
Semper Vigilans
- Chapter 6 -
The Zoo - Friday Afternoon
Hermione was excited. Her love of creatures great and small was a well-known fact to the twins, something George had banked on when suggesting the idea earlier that morning.
Sure enough, a half hour in and Hermione had completely forgotten all about the trauma of the night before involving Malfoy and her mysterious Protector.
They relished in their shared company as they moved from one habitat to the next, admiring the different species of animal and partaking in a frozen treat when it grew hotter in the day. Hermione took extra enjoyment from reading aloud to the twins from the many information plaques positioned strategically along the marked path.
They entered the Arctic section, an enclosed portion of the zoo that housed polar bears, seals and the like, when they came upon a rather amusing sight. Two large black and white penguins were putting on quite a show for a third, smaller penguin. It looked, for all the world, like the two males were attempting to woo the tiny female.
Hermione's deep chocolate colored eyes glowed with the light of happiness and longing as she gazed at the penguins' antics. "Look, Freddie!" She squealed like a little girl, tugging on his hand. "Those three penguins are totally in love!"
George's pale red eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he chuckled at her. "Something you want to share with the class?" He asked teasingly.
Fred smirked with mischief gleaming in his bright blue eyes. "Is a love triangle something that appeals to you, love?" He whispered into her ear, his hot breath tickling her earlobe.
Hermione shivered, her breath leaving her in a short puff of air. "N-no." She stuttered. "Love triangles are too complicated."
George leaned in and playfully kissed her jaw, whispering softly. "That doesn't mean they aren't fun..." His voice trailed off.
Hermione swallowed, as her heart began beating wildly in her throat. That pesky sexual tension was seeping in again, making her slightly uneasy. She shook herself out of her daze and swatted both boys on the arm. "You're incorrigible!" She huffed, flustered still.
They reached the end of the winding trail a few hours later, nearing closing time for the zoo.
"Well, this day has been fun," Hermione began, only to be cut off by Fred.
"Who said the day is over, pet? We're not done with you yet." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, grinning all the while.
The innuendo was duly noted by George and whole-heartedly approved. Hermione was having difficulty swallowing as she replied. "What did you two have in mind?" She cringed inwardly as she realized how leading that question was. Fred could have a field day with it.
True to form, Fred smirked and was about to reply with something appropriately inappropriate, when his spidy senses went off in alarm. He glanced at George, and he nodded that he also sensed the potential danger. "How about we go back to our flat for a drink?" He smiled at Hermione, who was happily oblivious to their by-play.
Hermione agreed, though she insisted they stop by her place first in order for her to pack a change of clothes and some pajamas, just in case. The twins agreed and flanked Hermione as they exited the zoo and headed toward the parking lot. The entire time, the twins kept scanning the area for anything amiss. They drove to Hermione's house in relative silence, the tension that had held the twins' bodies at the feeling of being watched finally leaving them.
"I'm not crazy, right, Georgie? You felt it earlier, too?" Fred looked to George once Hermione had gotten out of the car and entered her house.
George shook his head somberly. "No, Freddie, I felt it, too. Like someone was watching us." The twins shared a knowing look. They would definitely have to keep a more watchful eye on their lovely bookworm from now on out.
It wasn't long before Hermione was exiting her house, overnight bag in hand. She locked the front door and then jogged back towards the little car where two red heads were enjoying the view her slightly jiggling assets afforded them.
~*~*~*~*~
A half a block away, Gregory Goyle leered at the pretty brunette woman's curvaceous body, from the driver's side of an SUV. He licked his lips as she hurried towards the twin devils' car, and basically rejoiced in the lusty glances they threw at her. He smirked to himself, thinking about how satisfying it would be when he took her from them. Perhaps she would be a good little slut in need of some desperate attention, and oh, the dark man promised himself that he would be generous enough to give her what she deserved, hard and plentiful.
Vincent looked back and forth his colleague and their mark worriedly, he was not liking how much Goyle was drooling over the young lass. He elbowed him sharply. "Get a hold of yourself, and stop drooling like an idiot. We are here to follow orders, not look like a pair of peeping toms." He growled.
The other man sneered. "Shut up! We might have orders to follow, but the boss did not forbid us from enjoying ourselves, if we can... Chill out, dude, I am only looking..." He added soothingly, as Crabbe was about to murder him with a glare. But in his thoughts, he added '...for now.' to himself, because he knew he wanted to do a lot more than ogling the bitch.
Hermione quickly slipped into the passenger side seat. George had taken up the driver's position while Fred graciously sat on the cramped back seat. She smiled at both men who returned it with smirks that carefully veiled their more heated thoughts.
"Ready, love?" George asked, already putting the Anglia into reverse. At her nod of assent, he slipped the transmission into reverse and backed out of the drive. Soon they were heading up Diagon Alley towards their flat, unaware of the dark SUV stealthily keeping pace a couple car lengths behind them.
Vincent ignored Gregory's quietly muttered colorful expletives, while keeping his eyes on the road, and the bright blue Ford Anglia, following the trio from a respectable distance. He had a suspicion that the twin men somehow felt someone was watching them earlier, because they left the zoo quite hurriedly.
When it looked like their car was about to park, he stepped down on the gas pedal, and raced past their vehicle, so they would not get noticed, and he could hide their car from their eyes.
George quickly got out of the car and rushed around to the passenger’s side. He opened Hermione's door in a gentlemanly gesture, but quickly closed the door when Fred moved to exit as well.
"Whoops, sorry, Freddy. Forgot you were in there." He laughed at the look his twin shot him as he let himself out of the vehicle.
"Git," Fred muttered but George could feel the lightheartedness behind the jab.
Hermione laughed airily at the way the boys were teasing each other playfully, and stole George's keys, running up ahead of them to play a prank on the twins. As soon as she got inside their flat, she leaned against the door and locked it, a mischievous smirk tugging at her lips.
"Oh, no, she didn't," Fred laughed as he twisted the doorknob futily, but the door refused to open. “She did! The little minx just locked us out of our own flat!" He and George shared a grin as George casually reached up and grabbed the spare key kept perched above the door on a small ledge of molding.
Hermione's grin widened as she silently congratulated herself on tricking the boys. It was very seldom she got the upper hand on them when it came to pranks. It was juvenile of course, nothing as ingenious as what the twins were able to achieve. Still, she giggles as she pressed her ear to the door and heard Fred's exclamation. Her eyes widened as she heard the sound of a second key being inserted and turning to release the lock. She scrambled to reinsert her key in order to block them, but it was too late. The door burst open, and with a delighted squeal she was off like a blur, running further into the flat as the devilish pranksters gave chase.
She didn't get far as the twins split up, each rounding the couch she had ran behind in hopes of putting a barricade between them. With predatory gleams in both their eyes, they closed in on her from both sides. Fred pulled the petite brunette towards his chest, while George pressed his lanky frame against her other side.
"You are trapped little Miss." George whispered into her ear, resisting to lick at her delicious earlobe.
"There is no escaping us now, love." Fred smirked, as his fingers traced the lines of her hips.
There was a moment where the sexual tension hung tangibly in the air as George ran his fingertips slowly up Hermione's sides, but then he thoroughly dispersed it with a wriggling of his fingers against her ribs. Soon Hermione was struggling to free herself as she laughed uncontrollably. Darn George for knowing about her most ticklish spots.
Hermione giggled. "S-stop, G-georgie." She bit out between peals of laughter.
Fred had a wicked grin plastered across his face. "Do you surrender?" He asked as he joined in the assault, running his fingers up and digging them gently into her armpits.
"I-I s-surrender! Oh, please!" Hermione choked out between fits of laughter. "Please s-stop!"
George looked at Fred and winked at him schemingly. "Do we want to stop, brother mine?" He asked thoughtfully.
Fred grinned at the act his twin was putting up, and played along. "I don't know, Forge, I rather like this Hermione tickle sandwich..."
In an effort to escape their delightful torture, Hermione allowed her body to go limp between them, forcing them to stop what they were doing in order to wrap their arms around her to prevent her descent to the floor.
"You are one tricky woman, Kit." Georgie laughed whole-heartedly at the brunette minx's tactics, and he gently led her around the bright magenta couch, pushing her down on one of the soft cushions, and placing a canary yellow pillow into her hands, while Fred made a beeline towards the kitchen to get some fine Ogden's whiskey, which got the very accurate nickname of Firewhiskey, because it burnt one's throat really good.
They situated themselves on the couch with Hemione in her usual place between them. The twins watched in amusement as she became more increasingly tipsy as the night drew on. Thanks to their special-ness Fred and George found it near impossible to become drunk so they were thoroughly able to enjoy all the wonderful things currently spilling from Hermione's mouth.
Hermione rubbed her chest against George's side, as she glanced up at him adoringly. "You have the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen." She slurred.
Is that so," He replied with a lifted brow. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her. He remembered her reaction the last time he had done so and did not want to risk a repeat.
He watched as Hermione practically propelled herself away from him and into his twin, giving him a similar compliment.
"Mm!" She mumbled and turned against Fred, her hands dangerously close to his thigh. "And you have the most amazing smile I have ever seen." She purred as she reached up to brush her thumb against his lower lip, making him tremble with desire, as his shocked eyes found her gaze.
Then she clumsily shifted up onto her knees and proceeded to crawl into Fred's lap. "Okay, Georgie, I think our Kit has had quite enough for the night!" Fred said, slightly panicked as while he did desire Hermione, he drew the line at taking advantage of her in her drunken state. He shot George a look as he caught her wandering hands from going any further in their downward trek on his chest.
Fred's words went over Hermione's head, the only thing in her mind was that she had to kiss him, and kiss him she did. She crushed her lips against Fred's, her arms flying around his neck, as she devoured him with a passion so deep, it made Fred's whole soul quiver.
For the briefest of moments Fred gave in and returned Hemione's wanton kiss, before the sound of George subtly clearing his throat brought him back. As gently as he could, he extracted himself, and shifting her into the couch, moved to stand.
Hermione's lips trembled with a pout as the tall redheaded man pulled away, the thoughts of him not wanting her crossed her mind, but then she thought that perhaps her other favorite twin would respond better. She turned towards George, and plopped herself into his lap with her big bright eyes holding his gaze. "Are you going to push me away too?" She asked in a sulky voice, that did something to his insides, and instead of the petite woman kissing him, he kissed her.
"George!" Fred hissed in annoyance. "Don't encourage her! And what would mum think?"
Hermione stiffened at Fred's harsh words, and pulled away from George hastily, horrified that he found her so repulsive that he wouldn't even want her to kiss his brother. She got up from the couch, her body swaying from the alcohol and the humiliation, as she made her way towards the bathroom, shutting the door, and sliding down on the floor, only to burst out in tears.
"What the hell, Fred?" George cast his brother an incredulous look. He knew Fred could hear the muffled sobs drifting from the bathroom door as well as he did.
Fred winced at the tone of George's voice. He hadn't wanted to upset Hermione and he felt guilty at hearing her crying in their bathroom, but he knew it was wrong to engage in an intimate way with a woman they both knew was thoroughly sloshed.
"Georgie... she's drunk out of her mind, don't you care about that?" He asked in a loud voice, then added mentally. ‘What if we let her get touchy-feely and she regrets it in the morning, or worse what if we get intimate with her, and something otherworldly happens to her? How in the hell would we explain that to her? Get real, twin o' mine, we agreed to not pursue her, until we know more about ourselves.'
Fred's words effectively soothed George's hackles and the older twin nodded in agreement. "You're right, Freddie. I guess I just got carried away." Which was true, and this fact bothered George. He had always been the more reserved and responsible twin. Still...
"You should go apologize to her." George stated jerking his head in the direction of the bathroom that held a still crying Hermione, though her sobs had waned to mere sniffles now.
Fred nodded, his heart constricting at the thought of facing an upset Hermione, he never thought he would rival their brother when it came to being a colossal git. He walked to the bathroom door and knocked.
"Hermione?" He asked in a tentative voice.
"Go away!" She mumbled weakly, her cheeks wet from her tears. She felt so humiliated she never wanted to come out of the bathroom again.
Fred swallowed the lump in his throat. How had he managed to so royally mess up what had up until now been a nearly been a perfect day with their girl? Gently, he rapped the door with his knuckles again. "Please, Kit, at least let me apologize."
Without warning, the bathroom door flew open and Fred was faced with the slightly puffy-eyed, yet icy glare of Hermione. "I really don't want to hear it right now." She said lowly before casting her eyes toward where George stood. "I'm a bit wore out after today and I feel rather woozy so... Would you mind terribly if I borrowed your bed again George?"
George was watching the scene in front of him in alarm. Fred had really messed up this time, hadn't he? He sighed inwardly as Hermione turned to him.
He nodded. "Of course, love." He said tenderly, and gently ushered her into his bedroom, closing the door. "I'm sorry about Fred, Kit. He's been a bit off lately, he didn't mean to offend you, I'm sure." He said quietly. "And for the record, we both really want you, but you are under the influence, and it wouldn't be right to take advantage of you." He confided in her and brushed his lips against hers in a sweet kiss. "But when the time comes... you will be ours." He promised.
Hermione was already succumbing to the alcohol's influence even as George was putting her to bed. The combination of Fred's harsh words and being completely sloshed were taking its till and George's soft words were coming to her in barely comprehensible mumbles of sound. So instead of replying, she allowed herself to drift into the realm of drunken slumber.
George gently covered the snoozing witch's form with his blanket, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Hopefully she won't remember any of this in the morning, because then they are going to have a really awkward encounter, and as much as an awkward Hermione was cute, this situation would not amuse him in the least.
He walked back to the living-room, gently closing the door behind him and looked at Fred. "I do understand why you wanted us to stop, however, you should have remembered how sensitive Kit is." He sighed as he moved to collapse upon the couch, his face buried in the palms of his hands. He scrubbed at his face furiously before sliding his hands up and clutching his hair in frustration.
"We really need to figure this out. Without full disclosure about our Foxy Forms them any relationship we hope to have with her is sure to fail." Fred joined his twin on the couch. “We start researching in earnest tomorrow, brother-mine."
George nodded in agreement. "It's a deal."
~*~*~
- Chapter 6 -
The Zoo - Friday Afternoon
Hermione was excited. Her love of creatures great and small was a well-known fact to the twins, something George had banked on when suggesting the idea earlier that morning.
Sure enough, a half hour in and Hermione had completely forgotten all about the trauma of the night before involving Malfoy and her mysterious Protector.
They relished in their shared company as they moved from one habitat to the next, admiring the different species of animal and partaking in a frozen treat when it grew hotter in the day. Hermione took extra enjoyment from reading aloud to the twins from the many information plaques positioned strategically along the marked path.
They entered the Arctic section, an enclosed portion of the zoo that housed polar bears, seals and the like, when they came upon a rather amusing sight. Two large black and white penguins were putting on quite a show for a third, smaller penguin. It looked, for all the world, like the two males were attempting to woo the tiny female.
Hermione's deep chocolate colored eyes glowed with the light of happiness and longing as she gazed at the penguins' antics. "Look, Freddie!" She squealed like a little girl, tugging on his hand. "Those three penguins are totally in love!"
George's pale red eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he chuckled at her. "Something you want to share with the class?" He asked teasingly.
Fred smirked with mischief gleaming in his bright blue eyes. "Is a love triangle something that appeals to you, love?" He whispered into her ear, his hot breath tickling her earlobe.
Hermione shivered, her breath leaving her in a short puff of air. "N-no." She stuttered. "Love triangles are too complicated."
George leaned in and playfully kissed her jaw, whispering softly. "That doesn't mean they aren't fun..." His voice trailed off.
Hermione swallowed, as her heart began beating wildly in her throat. That pesky sexual tension was seeping in again, making her slightly uneasy. She shook herself out of her daze and swatted both boys on the arm. "You're incorrigible!" She huffed, flustered still.
They reached the end of the winding trail a few hours later, nearing closing time for the zoo.
"Well, this day has been fun," Hermione began, only to be cut off by Fred.
"Who said the day is over, pet? We're not done with you yet." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, grinning all the while.
The innuendo was duly noted by George and whole-heartedly approved. Hermione was having difficulty swallowing as she replied. "What did you two have in mind?" She cringed inwardly as she realized how leading that question was. Fred could have a field day with it.
True to form, Fred smirked and was about to reply with something appropriately inappropriate, when his spidy senses went off in alarm. He glanced at George, and he nodded that he also sensed the potential danger. "How about we go back to our flat for a drink?" He smiled at Hermione, who was happily oblivious to their by-play.
Hermione agreed, though she insisted they stop by her place first in order for her to pack a change of clothes and some pajamas, just in case. The twins agreed and flanked Hermione as they exited the zoo and headed toward the parking lot. The entire time, the twins kept scanning the area for anything amiss. They drove to Hermione's house in relative silence, the tension that had held the twins' bodies at the feeling of being watched finally leaving them.
"I'm not crazy, right, Georgie? You felt it earlier, too?" Fred looked to George once Hermione had gotten out of the car and entered her house.
George shook his head somberly. "No, Freddie, I felt it, too. Like someone was watching us." The twins shared a knowing look. They would definitely have to keep a more watchful eye on their lovely bookworm from now on out.
It wasn't long before Hermione was exiting her house, overnight bag in hand. She locked the front door and then jogged back towards the little car where two red heads were enjoying the view her slightly jiggling assets afforded them.
~*~*~*~*~
A half a block away, Gregory Goyle leered at the pretty brunette woman's curvaceous body, from the driver's side of an SUV. He licked his lips as she hurried towards the twin devils' car, and basically rejoiced in the lusty glances they threw at her. He smirked to himself, thinking about how satisfying it would be when he took her from them. Perhaps she would be a good little slut in need of some desperate attention, and oh, the dark man promised himself that he would be generous enough to give her what she deserved, hard and plentiful.
Vincent looked back and forth his colleague and their mark worriedly, he was not liking how much Goyle was drooling over the young lass. He elbowed him sharply. "Get a hold of yourself, and stop drooling like an idiot. We are here to follow orders, not look like a pair of peeping toms." He growled.
The other man sneered. "Shut up! We might have orders to follow, but the boss did not forbid us from enjoying ourselves, if we can... Chill out, dude, I am only looking..." He added soothingly, as Crabbe was about to murder him with a glare. But in his thoughts, he added '...for now.' to himself, because he knew he wanted to do a lot more than ogling the bitch.
Hermione quickly slipped into the passenger side seat. George had taken up the driver's position while Fred graciously sat on the cramped back seat. She smiled at both men who returned it with smirks that carefully veiled their more heated thoughts.
"Ready, love?" George asked, already putting the Anglia into reverse. At her nod of assent, he slipped the transmission into reverse and backed out of the drive. Soon they were heading up Diagon Alley towards their flat, unaware of the dark SUV stealthily keeping pace a couple car lengths behind them.
Vincent ignored Gregory's quietly muttered colorful expletives, while keeping his eyes on the road, and the bright blue Ford Anglia, following the trio from a respectable distance. He had a suspicion that the twin men somehow felt someone was watching them earlier, because they left the zoo quite hurriedly.
When it looked like their car was about to park, he stepped down on the gas pedal, and raced past their vehicle, so they would not get noticed, and he could hide their car from their eyes.
George quickly got out of the car and rushed around to the passenger’s side. He opened Hermione's door in a gentlemanly gesture, but quickly closed the door when Fred moved to exit as well.
"Whoops, sorry, Freddy. Forgot you were in there." He laughed at the look his twin shot him as he let himself out of the vehicle.
"Git," Fred muttered but George could feel the lightheartedness behind the jab.
Hermione laughed airily at the way the boys were teasing each other playfully, and stole George's keys, running up ahead of them to play a prank on the twins. As soon as she got inside their flat, she leaned against the door and locked it, a mischievous smirk tugging at her lips.
"Oh, no, she didn't," Fred laughed as he twisted the doorknob futily, but the door refused to open. “She did! The little minx just locked us out of our own flat!" He and George shared a grin as George casually reached up and grabbed the spare key kept perched above the door on a small ledge of molding.
Hermione's grin widened as she silently congratulated herself on tricking the boys. It was very seldom she got the upper hand on them when it came to pranks. It was juvenile of course, nothing as ingenious as what the twins were able to achieve. Still, she giggles as she pressed her ear to the door and heard Fred's exclamation. Her eyes widened as she heard the sound of a second key being inserted and turning to release the lock. She scrambled to reinsert her key in order to block them, but it was too late. The door burst open, and with a delighted squeal she was off like a blur, running further into the flat as the devilish pranksters gave chase.
She didn't get far as the twins split up, each rounding the couch she had ran behind in hopes of putting a barricade between them. With predatory gleams in both their eyes, they closed in on her from both sides. Fred pulled the petite brunette towards his chest, while George pressed his lanky frame against her other side.
"You are trapped little Miss." George whispered into her ear, resisting to lick at her delicious earlobe.
"There is no escaping us now, love." Fred smirked, as his fingers traced the lines of her hips.
There was a moment where the sexual tension hung tangibly in the air as George ran his fingertips slowly up Hermione's sides, but then he thoroughly dispersed it with a wriggling of his fingers against her ribs. Soon Hermione was struggling to free herself as she laughed uncontrollably. Darn George for knowing about her most ticklish spots.
Hermione giggled. "S-stop, G-georgie." She bit out between peals of laughter.
Fred had a wicked grin plastered across his face. "Do you surrender?" He asked as he joined in the assault, running his fingers up and digging them gently into her armpits.
"I-I s-surrender! Oh, please!" Hermione choked out between fits of laughter. "Please s-stop!"
George looked at Fred and winked at him schemingly. "Do we want to stop, brother mine?" He asked thoughtfully.
Fred grinned at the act his twin was putting up, and played along. "I don't know, Forge, I rather like this Hermione tickle sandwich..."
In an effort to escape their delightful torture, Hermione allowed her body to go limp between them, forcing them to stop what they were doing in order to wrap their arms around her to prevent her descent to the floor.
"You are one tricky woman, Kit." Georgie laughed whole-heartedly at the brunette minx's tactics, and he gently led her around the bright magenta couch, pushing her down on one of the soft cushions, and placing a canary yellow pillow into her hands, while Fred made a beeline towards the kitchen to get some fine Ogden's whiskey, which got the very accurate nickname of Firewhiskey, because it burnt one's throat really good.
They situated themselves on the couch with Hemione in her usual place between them. The twins watched in amusement as she became more increasingly tipsy as the night drew on. Thanks to their special-ness Fred and George found it near impossible to become drunk so they were thoroughly able to enjoy all the wonderful things currently spilling from Hermione's mouth.
Hermione rubbed her chest against George's side, as she glanced up at him adoringly. "You have the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen." She slurred.
Is that so," He replied with a lifted brow. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her. He remembered her reaction the last time he had done so and did not want to risk a repeat.
He watched as Hermione practically propelled herself away from him and into his twin, giving him a similar compliment.
"Mm!" She mumbled and turned against Fred, her hands dangerously close to his thigh. "And you have the most amazing smile I have ever seen." She purred as she reached up to brush her thumb against his lower lip, making him tremble with desire, as his shocked eyes found her gaze.
Then she clumsily shifted up onto her knees and proceeded to crawl into Fred's lap. "Okay, Georgie, I think our Kit has had quite enough for the night!" Fred said, slightly panicked as while he did desire Hermione, he drew the line at taking advantage of her in her drunken state. He shot George a look as he caught her wandering hands from going any further in their downward trek on his chest.
Fred's words went over Hermione's head, the only thing in her mind was that she had to kiss him, and kiss him she did. She crushed her lips against Fred's, her arms flying around his neck, as she devoured him with a passion so deep, it made Fred's whole soul quiver.
For the briefest of moments Fred gave in and returned Hemione's wanton kiss, before the sound of George subtly clearing his throat brought him back. As gently as he could, he extracted himself, and shifting her into the couch, moved to stand.
Hermione's lips trembled with a pout as the tall redheaded man pulled away, the thoughts of him not wanting her crossed her mind, but then she thought that perhaps her other favorite twin would respond better. She turned towards George, and plopped herself into his lap with her big bright eyes holding his gaze. "Are you going to push me away too?" She asked in a sulky voice, that did something to his insides, and instead of the petite woman kissing him, he kissed her.
"George!" Fred hissed in annoyance. "Don't encourage her! And what would mum think?"
Hermione stiffened at Fred's harsh words, and pulled away from George hastily, horrified that he found her so repulsive that he wouldn't even want her to kiss his brother. She got up from the couch, her body swaying from the alcohol and the humiliation, as she made her way towards the bathroom, shutting the door, and sliding down on the floor, only to burst out in tears.
"What the hell, Fred?" George cast his brother an incredulous look. He knew Fred could hear the muffled sobs drifting from the bathroom door as well as he did.
Fred winced at the tone of George's voice. He hadn't wanted to upset Hermione and he felt guilty at hearing her crying in their bathroom, but he knew it was wrong to engage in an intimate way with a woman they both knew was thoroughly sloshed.
"Georgie... she's drunk out of her mind, don't you care about that?" He asked in a loud voice, then added mentally. ‘What if we let her get touchy-feely and she regrets it in the morning, or worse what if we get intimate with her, and something otherworldly happens to her? How in the hell would we explain that to her? Get real, twin o' mine, we agreed to not pursue her, until we know more about ourselves.'
Fred's words effectively soothed George's hackles and the older twin nodded in agreement. "You're right, Freddie. I guess I just got carried away." Which was true, and this fact bothered George. He had always been the more reserved and responsible twin. Still...
"You should go apologize to her." George stated jerking his head in the direction of the bathroom that held a still crying Hermione, though her sobs had waned to mere sniffles now.
Fred nodded, his heart constricting at the thought of facing an upset Hermione, he never thought he would rival their brother when it came to being a colossal git. He walked to the bathroom door and knocked.
"Hermione?" He asked in a tentative voice.
"Go away!" She mumbled weakly, her cheeks wet from her tears. She felt so humiliated she never wanted to come out of the bathroom again.
Fred swallowed the lump in his throat. How had he managed to so royally mess up what had up until now been a nearly been a perfect day with their girl? Gently, he rapped the door with his knuckles again. "Please, Kit, at least let me apologize."
Without warning, the bathroom door flew open and Fred was faced with the slightly puffy-eyed, yet icy glare of Hermione. "I really don't want to hear it right now." She said lowly before casting her eyes toward where George stood. "I'm a bit wore out after today and I feel rather woozy so... Would you mind terribly if I borrowed your bed again George?"
George was watching the scene in front of him in alarm. Fred had really messed up this time, hadn't he? He sighed inwardly as Hermione turned to him.
He nodded. "Of course, love." He said tenderly, and gently ushered her into his bedroom, closing the door. "I'm sorry about Fred, Kit. He's been a bit off lately, he didn't mean to offend you, I'm sure." He said quietly. "And for the record, we both really want you, but you are under the influence, and it wouldn't be right to take advantage of you." He confided in her and brushed his lips against hers in a sweet kiss. "But when the time comes... you will be ours." He promised.
Hermione was already succumbing to the alcohol's influence even as George was putting her to bed. The combination of Fred's harsh words and being completely sloshed were taking its till and George's soft words were coming to her in barely comprehensible mumbles of sound. So instead of replying, she allowed herself to drift into the realm of drunken slumber.
George gently covered the snoozing witch's form with his blanket, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Hopefully she won't remember any of this in the morning, because then they are going to have a really awkward encounter, and as much as an awkward Hermione was cute, this situation would not amuse him in the least.
He walked back to the living-room, gently closing the door behind him and looked at Fred. "I do understand why you wanted us to stop, however, you should have remembered how sensitive Kit is." He sighed as he moved to collapse upon the couch, his face buried in the palms of his hands. He scrubbed at his face furiously before sliding his hands up and clutching his hair in frustration.
"We really need to figure this out. Without full disclosure about our Foxy Forms them any relationship we hope to have with her is sure to fail." Fred joined his twin on the couch. “We start researching in earnest tomorrow, brother-mine."
George nodded in agreement. "It's a deal."
~*~*~