A/N: I'm back and better than ever. Here's chapter ten almost three years later for all those who are still interested. And of course, not Rowling and I don't own Harry Potter.

It was the morning of the first task and Hermione was a wreck. Fred and George had to watch over everyone at breakfast that morning and insisted that they all ate plenty of food. Hermione and Ginny were the only ones the twins were initially worried about but once they made it to the Great Hall, they noticed Ron was also picking at his food and looked more than slightly sick all morning.

"Come on, you lot, can't be passing out from lack of food in the middle of the first task, you'll miss Harry being—"

"—Better than the other champions, right, Fred?" George interrupted his twin. The group did not need another "Harry could die today" joke. Fred looked at his sister sheepishly, who had looked up from her plate and was glaring at him.

"Right-o, Georgie. Sorry, Gin," he said. Hermione leaned into George's side, silently thanking him for looking out for them all and comforting her through all this. He smiled kindly at her and bent down to kiss her forehead. They'd been together for only a few days but things have been going wonderfully in the little time they've had to spend with each other. Hermione had been spending most of her time training with Harry and attempting to teach him challenging spells in only the span of a couple of days. George had waited up for her every late night she spent with Harry and always made sure she knew he understood. And while he did completely understand their lack of time spent together, he still couldn't wait for this bloody task to be over already. He desperately wanted to spend time with his new girlfriend, especially with the Yule Ball approaching.

"Well, we should all probably head down to the field now," said Ron, rising from his seat. The friends nodded and stood with him, their dishes vanishing into thin air. "I'm sure he'll do fine, I mean, he's Harry Potter, eh?" It was unclear whether Ron was trying to convince himself of this, or everyone else.

The friends made it to the arena where the first task was being held. The roar of the dragons could be heard from yards away and they were all starting to feel their nerves jitter once again for Harry. George lightly tugged Hermione's arm so they could hang back from the others a little bit.

"'Mione, love, Ron's right, he's Harry I-Can-Defeat-Anything-You-Throw-At-Me Potter. He's already defeated Voldy a total of three times now, and Quirrell, a three-headed dog, a mountain troll, the heir of Slytherin, a basilisk, an army of dementors, and who else's bloody knows since I probably don't even know everything! Not to mention he's the youngest Seeker in a century! What's a little dragon got on him?" Hermione smiled slightly and stopped walking, turning towards her boyfriend. The others didn't notice and continued towards the field. Hermione placed her hands on George's shoulders and stood on her tip toes, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. He blinked in surprise before quickly returning the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. Before it could deepen any further, as they were surrounded by other students, most of whom were openly staring at them and whispering, they broke apart with bright smiles on their faces. Hermione flushed at the attention they were now getting and George winked roguishly at her. She rolled her eyes and shoved him away from her playfully before grabbing his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Thank you for always comforting me, George, you know just what to say. And once again, I'm so glad your name didn't come out of that ruddy cup. I just couldn't stand it and I hope you know how much I care about you," she said shyly. George's heart leapt and he pulled her even closer to him to press a kiss to her forehead, hoping she couldn't hear his blood pumping as loudly as he could.

"You're too good to me, 'Mione. It'd be my honor to comfort you whenever you need it," he said to her. And the smile she gave him made the dam that had built up in his chest burst.

Merlin, he was falling for the bookworm Hermione Granger. Well that was fast.

"POT-TER! POT-TER! POT-TER!" The Gryffindors were radically celebrating, rejoicing that their champion had bested a dragon, even having the scariest out of the four. Even Harry was feeling a rush from the victory and allowed his House to revel in the triumph. Hermione and George were dancing along to the music someone had started along with most everyone else. George was twirling her around and she was laughing and they had exchanged more than a few kisses, neither seeming to mind the company of their entire House.

They were interrupted after many minutes of being in their own world by a tap on George's shoulder. Katie Bell was grinning at him innocently.

"Hey, George, would you and Fred want to join me and Angelina in getting more food from the kitchens?" she said, touching his arm lightly. Hermione's smile fell immediately. George faltered slightly, before hitching another polite smile on his face and looked over at Hermione, as if asking permission. At that exact moment Ginny ran up to the awkward trio and grabbed Hermione's arm.

"'Mione! Come quick, Ron is back and I think he might punch Harry!" She then ran off in the other direction, towards the boys. Hermione looked after her and turned to her boyfriend and his teammate. Her voice was stony and dejected as she released her hold on George and turned away from him.

"Hurry back, if you can," she said, peaking one last look between the two, before following Ginny towards her other two best friends.

Katie was smiling brightly at George, who looked very lost and slightly hurt. Katie's pretty face was very animated as she started rapidly talking to George about how exciting the first task was and how she had looked for him to sit next to but he was surrounded by too many people. George wasn't listening in the slightest. He was absorbed in his thoughts of Hermione. Had she really chosen Harry over him? Had he been misreading everything that was going on in their relationship and thinking that things were going perfectly well? Maybe this was just a game to her. After all, she could have anyone, Krum sure seemed enthusiastically interested in her. And maybe Skeeter's article about her and Harry wasn't as phony as they made it sound…

George was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he didn't pay Katie much attention as she led him out the portrait hole, nor did her notice that his twin and Angelina weren't following them.

"I figured you'd have to be barking mad to put your own name in the Goblet of Fire…"

"Caught on have you? Took you long enough…"

Harry and Ron's voices slowly faded away from Hermione's attention as her thoughts of what had just happened consumed her. She knew she wasn't beautiful like Lavender Brown or Angelina Johnson or Katie Bell but she had let George in and he had made her feel like he didn't see those other girls, and only saw her. Watching Katie watch George like a predator waiting to pounce had made her sick, because she was waiting for this perfect dream of her and George to come crashing down. It was all too good to be true, he was a half of the most attractive pair in all of Hogwarts. She knew everyone wanted them and for George to have taken a notice in her and made her feel wanted was something she definitely did not expect. Of course, someone as beautiful and funny and much more George's type than her would come in and sweep him away. Her heart ached and she suddenly felt the need to burst into tears. Images of Katie in George's arms filled her mind and she pushed them away feverishly.

"Suppose I was a bit distraught…" She heard Harry and Ron awkwardly laugh together and it threw her back into reality. She promptly pushed past the Gryffindors surrounding her and ran out the portrait hole, hot tears streaming down her face. She was on her way to the library where she could cry in peace when she ran face first into a hard chest. Falling to the floor, she looked up and made eye contact with George. His face and ears were bright red and he looked very hurt.

There was an uncomfortable silence before George begrudgingly offered her a hand to help her stand. Once she was righted, he gave her a hard look before starting to walk back to the common room.

"Where's Katie?" Hermione called after him, unable to help herself. George stopped in his tracks and turned towards her.

"What?" he asked. She scoffed.

"I said, where's Katie? Leave her in the kitchens?" George looked at her blankly.

"No, I didn't go to the kitchens with her. I left her halfway there to come back here. I didn't even want to go with her."

"Well then, why did you?"
"Because you left me. For him."

"For who?" Hermione asked completely lost.

"For Harry," George said bitterly. "Obviously, I'm not as important as him, seeing as how you have to run to his aide every time Ickle Harrikins is in the slightest bit of danger." Hermione froze threateningly. Her hand twitched minimally towards her wand in her pocket and George did not miss it when her large hair crackled with magic.

"Are you barking, George? I only went to Harry because you were quite literally picking Katie over me! What was I supposed to do? Stand there like an idiot while you waltzed through the portrait hole?"

"Excuse me? Picking Katie over you? What in the name of Merlin's Pants are you talking about? She invited us both to the kitchens!" George retorted. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"No, George," she huffed. "She invited you. Not me, or us, but you. Because she fancies you! It's written all over her face, not that she tries to hide it at all." George paused.

"Wait… what? No she doesn't," he said. Hermione snorted humorlessly.

"George, yes she does. And she has made it very clear she despises our relationship. Or did," she said quietly. George was silent as he let the signs make sense to him. Slowly he understood how it all must have looked to Hermione and he felt his blood run cold.

George reached out to her, startling her by crushing her in a hug. He pushed back the pain he felt at her not returning his embrace.

"Hermione, love, I'm so sorry I had no idea. I never meant to make you feel like I was picking her over you, she's nothing to me. I honestly let my jealousy get the better over me and I have no idea what I was thinking. The truth is," he paused to take a deep breath and muster his Gryffindor courage, "I'm falling for you and I honestly don't know what you're doing to me but I hope to Merlin this never ends. Please forgive me."

Hermione, who had been standing rigid in his hold, unsure of the situation, felt her resolve break and she let the tears fall as she held him tightly right back.

"Oh, George, I'm so sorry, I never, ever want you to think I'm picking Harry over you. You mean so much to me and honestly… I'm falling for you too." She looked up at him and their eyes met before they both leaned in. Their lips met with a fiery passion and they let their mouths explore one another. Their tongues met in a dance for dominance and eventually Hermione let George win. They kissed passionately for some time before oxygen demanded they break apart. Breathing heavily, they looked at each other with such an intense tenderness, neither one of them wanted to interrupt the perfect moment.

It was Hermione who spoke first. "George, I'm so sorry for overreacting about Katie. I should have known better." George shook his head.

"No, 'Mione, you have nothing to apologize for. I just hope I've made it clear how much you mean to me now."

Hermione grinned. "I may need a refresher," she said slyly. George smirked as he said, "Your wish is my command." He captured her lips with his once again, and they remained in that corridor longer than Hermione would care to admit.