"What are you doing in here on New Year's Eve?"
George looked up from his tankard of butterbeer and kept looking upwards. He eventually came to the concerned face of Angelina Johnson. Her hair was out of their normal braids and he had an irrational desire to tangle his fingers in it.
George shook his head and looked back at his tankard of barely strong butterbeer. "At least I'm out on New Year's Eve. I could be sitting on my arse at the flat, listening to Celestina Warbeck blathering on about a cauldron of hot buttered love."
Angelina waved to Hannah and held up 2 fingers and took the bench across from George.
She looked at the man across from her. He looked old for being 23, with hooded eyes and circles around them. His garish purple jacket and his bright chartreuse button down looked new but the man inside the robes looked tired and worn out on life. Gone was the George she remembered from school, getting up to no good and having a smile on his face most of the time.
She sat down across from him and regarded her former lover's twin. "I'd ask how you're doing but I can tell that you're still struggling."
"Am not. It was a long arsed day at the shop. It didn't help that my brother of a git was off being Auror boy instead of working the busy day today."
"Pathetic sod. Are you still arsed that Ron's chasing his dream of being an Auror? Get over yourself, you git."
George looked up at the dark haired woman across from him. He finally noticed that she was dressed up, wearing a bright orange snug fitting frock. Her hair was, for lack of a better description, fluffy, and she had on make-up.
"When did you decide that you wanted to look like a girl?"
"You have been in your bottles for far too long. It's New Year's Eve and I wanted to have some fun tonight. I dress like a woman when I'm not on the pitch flying like my arse is on fire. So finish your pint and we're going out."
George took a long pull from his tankard. "I'm not going."
"Yes, you are. You can drink at the next place."
"Not supposed to drink more than what I've got here," he hoisted the pewter stein in his hand. "Besides, I promised Mum I'd not drink, especially tonight."
Angelina looked around before turning back to the broken man before her. "I don't see your Mum here, and I'll be your chaperone tonight."
"I'm not leaving this place 'til I go home and fall asleep on my couch."
Angelina reached her hand across the table to ghost a touch across George's hand. "Yes, you are, and you're coming with me out to have some fun tonight."
He looked up and saw the sincerity on her face. "You're not just taking the piss. You really want me to come out with you, on New Year's Eve."
Angelina smiled. "I do. All the other jumped up little shites I've been out with this year were missing something, or, more to the point, had something that I didn't want."
"And what's that?"
"A second ear. Now come on, we've got a club to get to."
"Yeah, and which one is that?"
"Odysseus."
George drained his beverage and saw Hannah waving to them as they left. "You sure about this? If I get anything stronger than what I was drinking, I turn into a tosser."
"Oh I'm sure. I spoke with Hermione earlier and she gave me a vial of the sobering potion she used on you. So you're ok once you get to walking arsehole stage."
"Who else will be there tonight?"
"I know Harry and Ginny'll be there tonight, and probably Ron and Hermione."
George stopped walking and looked at the woman next to him. "You want me going out clubbing with them? Are you barmy?"
"Far from it. It's where the Harpies go to party, and to stay out of trouble."
"But Harry and Ginny'll be there. Those two are a handful themselves."
"You have no idea," Angelina muttered to herself. "Come on, get a wiggle on."
Angelina left her galleons on the tabletop and pulled George up with her. "For a sodding old man, you weight more than I do."
"Like you give a shite about me."
Angelina stopped and looked at the young man standing before her. He was an inch shorter than her while she was wearing the heels for tonight. But his posture spoke of a broken old man. "If you think I'm here out of pity, you can go crawl back into the bottom of the bottle for all I care."
She watched him looking around at everything other than her face. "No, I don't want to do that."
"Do you honestly think I can be bribed to find you, pay your drink bill, and take you out for some fun?"
"No."
"Then come on. We're going out to have some fun and see what kind of mischief we can get into tonight."
She pulled his hand into hers and started walking out the doors into the chilly December evening."
"Why me? Why not some other bloke you can get a leg over with tonight?"
She looked to her side and saw him looking at her with a serious look on his face.
"They don't make me laugh, not like you will."
They kept walking in companionable silence, eventually making their way to the apparition point on Diagon Alley. "Ever been there?"
"Nope. Never been there."
She put her hand out. "Do you trust me?"
George looked at her and smiled – the first sincere one he felt in quite some time. "Yeah, I reckon I do."
"Then secure your wands and give me your hands."
George put his wand into the interior pocket of his jacket and turned to her. The smile on her face was infectious and he couldn't help smiling back at her. He handed over his hands and she squeezed them just a touch.
"Ready to go have a whirlwind?"
"Ready when you are."