George sauntered down the lane, excited about the prospect of seeing the girl in the paper shop once again. There were plenty of girls he had fancied over the years, but this felt, well, different. The first time he caught her eye, he casually flirted with her just to sharpen his skills for when he finally would work up the courage to ask out Katie Bell. During the conversation, though, he found sense of freedom that was a breath of fresh air. For the first time, nothing in his past or present circumstances followed him, including his magical ability. Even Fred, who was normally his shadow (or was he Fred's shadow?), gave him a sly smile and slipped out of sight when he saw the girl eyeing George as they walked by the shop windows. She had a charming little laugh that she freely gave, and she was so innocent in her understanding of the world, or at least the world that George knew. To get her to smile, he showed her a quick magic trick, having her pick a card and him guessing it. He had placed a quick little spell on the card so that it pushed out right when he held the deck (towards his hand so she wouldn't notice but he could feel it) and made an overly dramatic scene just to get her to smile.

Admittedly her smile wasn't the only thing he noticed when she leaned forward in anticipation.

After a few minutes of amazement, the girl had begged for another trick, but George saw it as an opportunity to come back. "Real magic takes a bit of preparation," he responded, grinning ever so slightly and leaning forward he whispered, "and my best shows are always done in private." She blushed at the thought, her eyes at her feet. George realized what he just implied and backtracked awkwardly, "I mean, not too private, just somewhere I won't get you in trouble with your boss for distracting you at work." With this, she looked up and giggled, telling him that on Friday her shift was over around 1:30 p.m.

George had every reason to saunter, and as soon as they entered Ottery St. Catchpole, Fred winked and disappeared around the bend, perhaps to find a paper girl of his own. Then again, the girl in the paper shop was exceptionally fine and would it be hard to find someone elsewhere in town as pretty as she was. Turning round the corner, he saw her stepping out of the shop. She was dressed in a red calf length coat, nice and fitted showing off perfect curves that had been hidden behind the counter. She wore skinny jeans that fit nicely into her black boots. Her curly blonde hair was tamed only by a cute black ski cap. To top it all off, she had a pearly white smile waiting for him as he walked up to her. Yes, she was most certainly fine.

"Hi again," she nervously said. "What's in the sack? Props?"

George shrugged his shoulders. "A wizard never tells his secrets." He then looped his arm around hers and led her to a small park not far from the paper shop. There they found a bench, and George pulled out his Hogwarts robe and wand (Dogwood and Unicorn Tail, 10 ½ inches). The girl looked at him with amusement and disappointment. "When you said true magic takes preparation, I didn't think you'd go the cheesy route. You really do pull off an act" Ouch, George thought to himself. She thinks traditional wizarding robes are tacky.

"Well," he said, making a grand looping (yet totally pointless) gesture with his wand, "perhaps this will change your mind." Bowing low, he muttered an incantation and with a small flick of his wand, he stood up tall while pulling yellow roses from his wand. She smiled wide and her brown eyes sparkled as he handed her the bouquet.

"Now do you think my props are cheesy?" He grinned.

She coyly smiled at him. "I'm still making up my mind. Show me another." And so George went through his magic show, complete with pulling a rabbit out of his pointed hat, a few more card tricks, and the making her gloves disappear and reappear. With every trick she grew more and more innocent, continuously guessing where all of the items were hidden within his robes or his hat. Muggles always wanted to rationalize magic away when they saw it, and as a particularly gullible girl, she had no hope of realizing that it was real magic right in front of her eyes.

Within a half an hour he had her completely spellbound and decided it was time to try a different sort of magic.

"For my final performance for the night," he bellowed grandly, "I'll need an audience member." He looked around, pointing as though fans were shouting to come on stage. "Why, look, a beautiful girl in the front row." She giggled at this. George sat next to her on the bench.

"Now, I'll need you to close your eyes. No peaking, or the trick won't work." Her eyes glittered mischievously, but she decided to play along, closing them and holding her face up defiantly. George had no idea if she knew what was coming, but he knew with the way his heart was pounding, he couldn't wait too long. He leaned in slowly, kissing her gently as any true gentlemen does on the first kiss. She responded eagerly, slowly working her hands up his shoulders and around his neck. George knew the door was open, and he smoothly wrapped his arms first around her waist, working his way down, kissing her much less like a gentlemen and more like a lover.

George wasn't sure how long they enjoyed each other's company, but he made every moment worth his while. When the cold finally urged them to separate, he pulled away, a stupid teenage grin on his face that matched her own. Neither of them were sure what to say next in the awkward silence, and so they sat, shifting nervously. Finally she blurted out, "I don't have work on Monday. Can I see you then?"

For the first time, George frowned. He had only really planned in detail what he needed to do for a quick Christmas snogging. He genuinely didn't mean to lead the girl on, he just wasn't thinking about much beyond his pants. Having a muggle girlfriend wasn't in the plans, especially with the events happening in the wizarding world. No, she was better off staying as far away from the wizarding world as possible. This was always the awkward part. However, he did have magic on his side.

He gave her a sad smile. "You know, the best performances are those wrapped in a mystery."

He could tell by the look on her face that she was not thrilled with the direction of the conversation. Better do this quickly, he thought to himself.

"My favorite act is one I only show to those I like best," he said, gathering his things into his sack.

She looked unimpressed. "After everything that happened this afternoon, I'm beginning to think you like me for only a few obvious reasons," she responded tartly. He gave her a kind smile, leaned in close, and quietly said, "I like you for more than just the obvious reasons," and gently kissed her on the cheek. She smiled slightly at the gesture.

"Now, you'll have to close your eyes for this one," Fred said, stepping a few feet back from the bench.

"Again?" She replied hesitantly.

"Just one more. To add to the mystery of it all." She nodded and closed her eyes. George turned on the spot and with the crack of a whip, apparated back to his home. The paper girl opened her eyes immediately at the sound, and stood up with a start. It took her a moment to realize he was gone, but immediately she looked around trying desperately to find where he might be hiding. After several minutes of searching, she realized she stood alone in an empty park and decided to smile as the snow began to fall.