CHAPTER 6

GEORGE watched with furrowed brows and kept his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the closed wooden panel of the door, watching Ron restlessly pace back and forth against the floor until the man's shoes practically made a groove in the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd hired Parkinson, George? What the hell? I should have been told! You thought that you could keep this from me?!" Ron shouted angrily through gritted teeth as his brown eyes flicked upward to meet George's expression.

George flinched and racked his brain for what to say. Not for the second time, he wished Fred were here. George shook his head and motioned towards his younger brother's restless pacing with an agitated wave of his arm.

"Because, Ronnie," he snapped, an edge to his voice as he used their mum's nickname for him that never failed to set Ron off.

Normally, he wouldn't provoke and goad his brother like this, but he aimed to try to make Ron understand how much of an arse he was behaving.

"I knew when you saw Pansy here this morning that you'd likely react like this, mate. Could you blame me for not wanting to tell you, Ron?" He shook his head in disappointment at Ron.

"This cannot be happening to me," Ron bemoaned, running a shaking hand through his wild tuft of ginger hair in agitation. "What in the bloody hell were you thinking, George? Pansy?!"

A wave of cold anger slowly overtook Ron's hurt as he watched his brother's expression shift from one of confusion to acceptance. His eyes widened, as he recognized the look and realized what it would mean, not only for George but for him as well.

"Fuck," he whisper-hissed through gritted teeth. "This entire time, mate, you—you like her, don't you? You fancy Parkinson!" Ron hotly accused. His words directed at his brother were more of a hollow statement than a question.

George felt his breaths catch in his throat and his heart seemed to stop beating the moment the words left Ron's lips. He had never expected Ron would ask him such a thing. Never. He felt all the color drain from his face and could feel his chest constrict as he began to fret uncontrollably. He did not know how to laugh nor condemn the thought and found himself at a loss for words.

He wasn't in love with Parkinson, Merlin's Beard, no! Of course, he wasn't. He was just…helping her out, he began to torment himself. His kindness had been a spur of the moment, wanting to make a fresh start now that the war was over, and the threat of the Dark Lord now abated.

"What?" he exclaimed sourly, all the while trying to contain the reddening of his face. "I'm not in love with her," he spat, snarling the words as though the idea disgusted him.

"Good. Then don't start this shit, mate, Parkinson in our lives on the regular is already bad enough," Ron snapped angrily.

George felt his face redden in anger at hearing his brother's poisonous words. "You don't know her, Ron," George growled in a spiced and offended voice. "You didn't get on so great in school, I get that. None of us did. But out here in the real world, popularity doesn't mean anything. And you don't know her, what Pansy's been through, Ron."

"And you do?" Ron asked, shooting him an incredulous look of disbelief, but his question fell on George's deaf ear.

"You don't know what she's been through, the struggle…"

"George, mate, stop it! Are you even listening to yourself? This is Pansy we're talking about!" Ron cried, but George cut him off.

"No, you stop it, Ron!" George's voice rose to match his growing anger and his throat hollowed as Ron hesitantly reached out an arm to place it awkwardly on his shoulder, though George ripped away, not in the mood to be touched.

Even George couldn't explain his sudden need to be so defensive and hurt towards Pansy and was alarmed by it.

Ron's mind reeled, at the notions forming in his thoughts. He recognized that look in George's eyes, having seen it in Fred's whenever he was around Angelina. Or Harry with Ginny, or even these days, him whenever Hermione entered the room. He scowled heavily. He wondered if George was even aware of what he felt for Parkinson, the witch... Judging by the furrow of confusion in George's brows and the way he was eyeing him, he didn't think so.

Ron exhaled loudly, frustratedly through his nose as he raised his shaking fingers to the bridge of his nose.

This could not bloody be happening to him. Not now, not today... He squeezed the bone firmly, hoping to stall the damned bloody headache he could already feel today turning into, and he'd not even officially started work yet.

George knew that Ron expected a direct answer out of him, but he couldn't. There were some things his little brother couldn't get him to talk about, and his reasons for hiring Parkinson onto his staff was one of them.

"Drop it, Ron, now," he commanded in a curt and clipped tone that sounded more like their father than himself at the moment, and he was pleased to see Ron flinch and shirk away. "The topic of Pansy's employment is not open for discussion," George answered coolly. "Do you think you can forgive her for…whatever it is that she's done to you?"

Ron frowned, quietly contemplating the question now that the worst of his shock and anger had dissipated.

It was a long time before Ron was finally able to answer his brother's question, and all Ron could manage was, "I—I don't know, Georgie," in a stammering and subdued voice.

George nodded. "Well, I've forgiven her and put it behind me. And if I've forgiven her, then I think you can too. I hope so, anyway, mate. For both our sakes. If you're going to stay, you'll have to see her and work with her daily."

Ron's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he thought his own damned bloody brother was about to fire him. After everything that he'd been through in the last year alone with Harry's hunt for the Horcruxes, losing Fred during the Battle, Ron had very little left in his life that he valued, aside from his family, his relationship with Hermione, his friendship with Harry, to call his own, and his position as an assistant shopkeeper in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was more precious to him than nearly anything else. He'd worked hard for it and didn't know what he would do if George decided not to keep him on staff for the summer.

"If I'm to stay here?" Ron asked, his fear seeping into his words.

George's expression softened at hearing the shift in Ron's voice.

"You're not hearing me, mate," he sighed, allowing the pads of his fingertips to ghost over the mangled flesh where his ear had once been. "I'm not implying that you're in danger of losing your job, Ron. I know how much this place means to you and I do appreciate the help with Freddie gone." He swallowed past the lump in his throat and continued, not wanting to talk about Fred and he could tell Ron didn't either. The wound of losing their beloved brother was still too open and raw. "If you want to stay on and help, at least until you and Harry hear back from the Ministry about your Auror applications, then you're going to have to work alongside Pansy Parkinson, mate. It's simply a fact of life, Ron. Do you think you can do that without letting your feelings get in the way?"

"Yes," Ron answered defensively without a moment's hesitation.

George scowled, seeing his younger brother's lips purse in a thin line as he shot Ron a look that suggested he did not quite believe him but said nothing. He merely motioned for him to exit the breakroom door, signaling to Ron without words that this conversation was now over.

Ron willed his anger to cool as he stalked out the door, which was easier said than done because before he know it, he felt his bitterness and rage return tenfold the moment his gaze landed on Draco Malfoy's ex. Ron slowly lifted his gaze to George as his older brother wrenched open the door.

Ron left the room so but sneered in Pansy's direction as he noticed the pretty former Slytherin witch hovering awkwardly near the front counter, shooting both Ron and George a nervous little smile.

Before Ron even knew what he was saying, he mumbled his not-so-veiled remark towards Pansy.

"I'm not going to be working alongside that slag Parkinson, Georgie, you're nutters if you think I can survive one summer working alongside this...this witch, mate, you're insane," he growled, rudely, his vile words ringing in Pansy's ears as she turned slowly, her pretty features contorted into an expression of utter disgust and hurt.

Pansy's fingers of her wand hand twitched as her hand hovered over her robes, looking like she wanted nothing more than to jinx George's brother where he could for the disparaging remark, and would have but was stopped by George's call as Ron began to angrily stalk towards Pansy. Verity bristled at the look of rage on George's younger brother's face, having taken a liking to George's newest employee in just the short period of fifteen minutes, and moved to stand protectively in front of Pansy, having appeared at Pansy's side from seemingly out of nowhere.

"You will work alongside Pansy, Ron, and you will put aside your differences. You both aren't in school anymore, Ron, don't you think it's time to put it all behind you?" George's commanding tone rang throughout and above the noise of the shop and the customers that were starting to trickle in. "You will get along with your new coworker, Ron. Or you're not going to work for me at all. Your call, mate," George threatened.

Pansy gaped, her jaw going slack with surprise, hardly able to believe it, a jar of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder in her hands that she had been helping Verity appropriately label and stock on the shelves.

Even she could not mistake the steel in George's voice. He did not want any trouble from his brother, no acts of tricks or deceit or cruel pranks against her on Ron's part.

"Please don't make me say it again, Ron," George sighed as Ron only sneered once more in Pansy's direction.

Sensing that his brother wasn't going to cooperate, the furrow of anger and confusion between George's brows deepened as he strode forward to stand in front of the counter, in front of her and Verity.

"You know what, Ron? Why don't you take the rest of the week off? Take some time to get it through that thick skull of yours, mate, that Pansy Parkinson works for us now, and if you want to help a brother out, you'll learn to put aside this stupid, childish grudge that you've got against her for whatever reason. When you're ready to behave like a mature adult, then you can come back and work for me, but until then, if you can't accept Pansy in Verity's position, mate, then do us all a bloody favor and just stay away," he threatened, giving his brother a menacing glare, letting Ron know and anybody else that he was not going to tolerate any further disrespect directed at Pansy.

Pansy bit her bottom lip at Ron's snide remarks against her. In truth, she had been expecting as much from Won-Won, considering their previous history in classes alongside one another. She'd seen the sideways glances, and hidden laughter from Won-Won whenever she would pass with Draco in between classes back at school, or in the Great Hall. She'd known Ron talked about her to anybody who would listen and insulted her. The whispers had been veiled back then, but they'd still been spoken, nonetheless. But now, this was admittedly the first time he had the nerve to say anything within earshot of her and she was admittedly floored, not knowing how to react.

Throughout her life, thanks to her parents not being present for most of her life, save for their loud opinions on what they thought their only daughter should do with her life, she'd become a master at hiding her feelings.

She might as well have been a Legilimens. Professor Snape had offered to teach her, once, though when he had probed her mind once when he had made the offer one evening after Potions class, even Snape had been stricken to learn that Pansy's mind was already serving as something of a shield, without her even really needing to actively try anymore.

Though there were still times when her mouth would go raw from her chewing attempts on the wall of her cheek or her tongue to keep her tears at bay. She swallowed down hard past a lump in her throat and gathered herself enough to give George a thankful, barely visible nod of her head and flinched as Ron's eyes narrowed.

Whether or not he was suspicious of the strange look that had passed between his brother and former nemesis just now, Ron made no mention of the odd look.

Instead, Ron Weasley shot Pansy one last withering cold glower before turning on his heels and stalking out the front door of the shop, slamming the door so hard that the damned thing rattled in its iron hinges.

She sighed. George frowned, staring at the space where Ron had stood for a moment before turning back to face Pansy. He tried to smile at Pansy and Verity, though his smile was admittedly strained, and even Pansy could see his cheeks' reluctance to be molded so falsely into a smile that was less than genuine.

"I'm…sorry for that, Pansy," he apologized, and he really did sound sorry and looked it too. "I…I don't know what Ron is thinking, talking to you like that. He's….not been himself since Fred's death." He swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat though he shook his head to clear it and continued. "You'll let me know if he bothers you when he comes back? I'm sure Ron just needs a couple of days," he said, the edges of his mouth turning down in a frown.

"I…y-yes, o-of course, thanks for handling it," Pansy stammered, though her tongue felt thick in her mouth.

Her gaze flicked towards Verity, who shot her a sympathetic and understanding white smile.

Her cheeks burned and already, she could feel her eyes beginning to tear up against her eyes. She furiously blinked her lids in the hopes of quelling them back, though she could already feel that it was a lost cause.

"How's she doing out here, Ver?" George asked in a casual voice, his effort to steer the conversation in a different direction, which Pansy greatly appreciated.

Verity smiled widely and shot Pansy an easy smile.

"She's a natural, Mr. Weasley, sir!" she chirped before her bright blue eyes drifted towards the clock on the wall. "We've still got a couple of hours before lunch, but we were thinking of hopping on over to The Hopping Pot if you'd like to join us when we take our breaks, sir," she offered, not noticing how George rolled his eyes at her pun or how Pansy's breath caught in her throat at the notion of George joining them over their lunch break.

She stiffened and straightened her posture, half hoping that George would accept the offer, and felt her shoulders slump in disappointment when she saw him shake his head no, though he looked remorseful at having to decline.

"I wish I could, Ver, though someone has to stay and watch over this place, but maybe tomorrow I'll join you, Pansy, if you want," he murmured, an odd expression flitting across his pale features as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers, before flicking his gaze back to Pansy and offering the young brunette witch a bright white smile.

George sighed sadly as he stared at Pansy, who had turned to the left and was actively averting their gazes.

He knew exactly what was happening to his newest hire because he had seen the same look in his own eyes whenever he looked into a mirror, dealing with Fred's permanent absence in his life now that his twin was dead. By keeping busy, and staying focused on the work that was in front of her, she would have less time to let herself feel the pain and the loneliness that came along with missing them.

She could forget if she stayed focused on something else entirely. George frowned.

From what little Umbridge had told him the evening he had visited Pansy in her room at St. Mungo's, she was an only child, and had no one left in her life to call family. And to have people she knew as his brother turning against her could not have been an easy thing to cope with. He thought he saw her swallow a lump in her throat and furiously blink back tears as she kept her back still paraded towards him and Verity.

"Are you alright, Pansy?" he asked. He came closer towards the counter and leaned against it, causing Pansy to immediately stop labeling the jars of Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder with their price markdown stickers and looked up in surprise at hearing him speak.

"Mmm? Oh, y-yes, Mr. Weasley, everything is fine!" she replied brightly, her hands curling tightly around the jar of Peruvian Darkness Powder in her hands so hard that her knuckles had practically gone bone white with the effort.

George rolled his eyes and let out a groan of exasperation.

"Not you too, Parkinson, it's bad enough that Verity here refuses to call me by my name. It's George, Pansy, nobody except for Verity calls me Mr. Weasley. We're all equals here. The first couple of weeks here are always an adjustment, so if there's anything you need, anything you want to talk about, just let me know, alright? My office door is always open, and upstairs, you and I are practically neighbors. As your boss, I want to help you through…this difficult time," he stammered, hoping he was not overstepping his boundaries by offering this to Pansy. "Considering your…ah…special circumstances, Pansy," he said, his expression solemn, not a hint of joking in his dark brown eyes.

"O-oh," Pansy stammered, unable to form a coherent reply in her mind as she stared wide-eyed at her supervisor.

She could only stare at George, who stood there looking across at her with a kind, non-judgmental smile on his face, his brown eyes surprisingly full of tenderness that she was sure she had never seen in Weasley before. She had not expected George to be on her side in this, much less daring to go against his brother for her in her defense, or for the wizard to be so kind to her when she did not have to be, and, in her mind, when she was admittedly undeserving of the wizard's selflessness. George was proving himself to be a man of many layers, which Pansy felt curious by, though right now, she was more moved by his kindness than anything else.

Rudeness and impoliteness were all things that Pansy could easily deal with and had on a semi-regular basis. However, in her current state of unease and vulnerability, George's kindness felt like a stab to the heart.

Pansy could feel her eyes beginning to tear up and hurt.

"Um, thanks, George, f-for…your kind words and concern, I-I will take them into consideration, but I'll be just fine," she replied coldly, perhaps a little too curtly than she really would have liked, before sharply turning away, bending her head, and continuing sorting through the jars in front of her.

He sighed. George shot a curious glance towards Verity, parting his lips as if to speak, and then thought better of it, and made to turn away.

"I'll be in my office if either of you has any questions, see me. I need to balance out the ledgers to get them ready for Ragnok, that shoddy old bloke," he grunted, an ugly look flitting across his face as he thought of the goblin who worked for Gringotts and served as tax collector for Diagon and Knockturn Alley.

He scowled at the mundane work ahead of him but recognized that it had to be done and left Pansy in the care of Verity, though he could not help but sneak one last glance over his shoulder at the young witch, who had since moved on from her labeling of the Darkness Powder and was now assisting her first customer without Verity's help. His heart inexplicably started hammering in his broad chest. He was almost afraid she could hear it. He took in a hitched breath as he stared back at Pansy, who was so engrossed in helping her customer, a young man close to their age, a bit younger, in picking out the perfect box of Nosebleed Nougats and Puking Pastilles to get out of his classes once the new school term started. A couple of times, he thought their gazes locked and no matter how long George stared at Pansy Parkinson, the blushing wizard could find no strand of distaste or anger in her brown eyes for how his brother had behaved towards her earlier, or at him, which he felt rather relieved by.

As Pansy made to turn away to head back towards the register to ring up the boy's order, George could have sworn the witch looked back at her over her shoulder and met his gaze. He thought he saw Pansy smile at him.

What a day, he thought to himself, excitedly.

What a day… Unknown to him as he disappeared into his office and shut the door behind him, the flustered new young shopkeeper's assistant had the same thought as she finished ringing up her first sale of the day.

George had already closed the door to his office behind him, and as a consequence, did not see Pansy stare at the space where he'd stood watching her a moment ago, with a wistful look of longing on her face...

FOR the next couple of hours, Pansy stayed busy assisting customers and stocking shelves when they ran low, ringing up orders, and cleaning when able. George had barely emerged from the back room, which she thought was odd, considering she thought, as the manager and owner of the store, he would have had more of a presence in greeting the shop's clientele.

It had started raining, the rain coming down so hard for so long over the last hour or so, that she thought no one else would come in today, at least until the storm let up some. Business trickled down to a lull at around 11:30, shortly before she and Verity were set to go on their lunch break when a customer walked in.

Happily surprised to see someone new she could help, she jumped up off the stool she had been perched on behind the counter as if to move towards him, but Verity intercepted him before Pansy had a chance and she shot her new coworker a hard glare as Verity playfully winked at her. It had become something of a game to the two witches over the last several hours to see which of them could help the most customers, as with each sale the shop made, whichever witch had helped finalize the sale earned a small commission. Nothing too much to boast of, but money was money, and Pansy was about to take every opportunity that could come her way.

Pansy reluctantly settled back down behind the register and propped her elbows up on the counter, resting her face in her hands as she watched the cute blonde work her magic, sure that Verity would render this guy melting where he stood within seconds with just one white smile.

She took a moment to observe the tall wizard as her coworker went to greet and assist him.

"Good afternoon, sir, how are you today?" Verity asked the stranger in a calm but cheerful voice.

The man turned to look at the blonde, observed Pansy's new coworker silently, and then turned back around.

Normally, Pansy thought it wouldn't be so out of the ordinary to see a wizard with a thick black knit cap on in this weather or such thick black woolen robes, but the fact that he did not lower his hood and reveal the features of his face struck Pansy immediately as odd. His reaction to Verity only seemed to add to the overall strangeness of this wizard.

His cheeks were red and windblown, the rain making him glisten slightly.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Are you looking for something in particular?" Verity asked in a bright, chipper voice as she followed the tall, black-clad wizard to the wall where the many jars of Charmed Shield objects were kept, Shield Cloaks, hats, the like, items that officials from the Ministry of Magic came in and purchased, as well as the jars of Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder that she and Pansy had spent most of the morning leading up to the morning rush properly labeling.

The wizard turned his head just a fraction of an inch towards Verity, before flicking his gaze back to the wall.

"Verity," Pansy whisper-hissed through gritted teeth in a voice that was more a shout than an actual whisper, and her new coworker looked back at her. Verity raised her thin eyebrows at Pansy and she shook her head, not liking the strange way this man was making her feel, trying to mouth 'no' to the blonde, but she only winked at her before returning her attention to the shop's customer.

"I guess…you're a bit of a prankster then?" she asked in an attempt to make casual conversation as the wizard went straight to the wall with Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder. "Nothing better do with your life?" Verity said, her words blunt and rather clumsy.

Her coworker laughed nervously but the older man stopped abruptly in his browsing and turned to look at Verity sharply.

Pansy grimaced, knowing that Verity had truly only meant it a joke to make fun of both of them, not just this strange bloke, but this wizard did not know that as he did not know Verity as Pansy was beginning to after working alongside the witch for several hours. She flinched at her coworker's inability to tell a joke that wasn't insulting.

She wondered just how much of the twins' styles of humor had rubbed off on her.

Verity quietly and quickly apologized for any harm done on her part and backed away. The cloaked wizard went back to his searching and Pansy irritably shook her head at her coworker.

"What were you thinking?!" she whispered in a hoarse voice as Verity moved to take her place back behind the counter and the blonde casually shrugged her shoulders by way of response.

Before Pansy could fathom what was happening, it was as if her legs were suddenly moving of their own accord and no longer taking directions from her mind. As if she had been hit with an Imperius Curse. Alarmed, she walked over to the wizard that Verity had just inadvertently insulted, hoping to supplicate the wizard some.

In this type of business, Pansy was quickly learning that word of mouth was everything.

"You'll have to excuse my coworker, sir, she's a bit of a mental bint, she meant no offense by her comment," she announced, loudly enough for Verity to hear the mocking lilt to her tone and to let the blonde know she was teasing her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Pansy saw Verity stick out her tongue and playfully roll her eyes, a soft smile on her face as she leaned her elbows up on the counter and watched their newest hire strut her stuff on the now deserted sales floor, save for him.

Pansy felt her chest puff out with a steadfast determination and resolve to finalize the sale. She would show Verity exactly how it was done and prove to her colleague that she would be a valuable employee here.

The wizard turned his head to look at Pansy now confidently approaching them, her new magenta robes billowing behind her as she walked, but he did not immediately go back to his searches. The man looked at her for a moment and tilted his head to the side before the cloaked wizard nodded slowly.

Smiling somewhat triumphantly, she cast a curious glance out of the corner of her gaze towards Verity, who was still watching her interact with him, seemingly interested in it.

"She does mean well, sir. She's just one of those people who doesn't know how to interact with other people."

Pansy allowed a tiny ghost of a smile to flit across her lips as the wizard paused and reached for a jar of Darkness Powder.

"Oh, here, it looks like you're getting a lot. Let me find you a basket," she offered, spotting a bright blue basket near the front door and thinking that sufficient. She darted over to retrieve it for him and when she returned and held it out to the wizard, he placed his items inside before taking a hold of the handle.

The wizard reached for a Shield Hat, and she had been about to step away and leave him to it when she made an odd little noise of dissent through her nose and softly shook her head no.

He paused and looked at her, his gloved hand not moving.

"That's technically," Here, Pansy raised her hand to do air quotes, 'top of the line', and good quality, but if you're wanting more coverage in a duel and something that won't fall off you so easily, I would recommend one of the Shield Cloaks instead. What are you needing it for, if you don't mind my asking? Are—are you with the Ministry? Are you an Auror or…?" Her voice trailed off as the man picked up one of the wrapped packages of the Shield Cloaks that Pansy had been looking towards and examined it.

He said nothing and Pansy peeked back over her shoulder. Verity was still behind the counter, staring at the odd encounter. She offered Pansy a quick shake of the head and a shrug of her shoulders.

Her lips were pursed thoughtfully, and Pansy could tell just by the look in her eyes that the blonde was currently weighing in her mind whether or not she should go pull George out of his office and away from his work to come and assist this customer who either did not want to speak to them or perhaps he was not able to.

Pansy was about to leave and head back behind the counter and leave the man to his browsing alone when he stepped up to the packages of Shield Cloaks and motioned towards it.

The wizard peered back at her from underneath the hood of his cloak and though she could make out no details of his face, even from this close distance, Pansy smiled at him, eager to end the monotony of the exchange.

"Is it for dueling?" she asked, and again, received no answer. She frowned and plucked a different one off the shelf, this cloak a dark purple, the various colors of the cloaks indicating the strength of the Shield Charm the garments had been enchanted with. "I would recommend this one. Purple indicates it's the strongest level of a Shield Charm that's been cast on it. It's strong and reflects the jinxes at your opponent if it hits," she laughed nervously. "I'd recommend this one if it's just to deter heavy spells. I mean, it's strong and can do some damage, but hopefully whatever you're hiding from won't catch you."

He grabbed the one that she recommended and plunked it into the basket. Pansy continued, noticing the odd wizard's sudden interest in the Darkness Powder jar that he had picked up and was now eyeing.

"Oh, and if you want to make a quick getaway from someone, that jar of Peruvian Darkness Powder you're holding is what you want," she joked, but Pansy could feel her mouth go slightly dry as he set the jar down into the basket as well. She looked over to Verity to see if she had noticed it, but she was scribbling something down in the ledger book. She laughed, trying to keep the discomfort from her voice as she spoke. "Ah, could I interest you in some Extendable Ears or a Skiving Snackbox as well?" she asked.

He looked at her then, his mouth pinching and turning down into a slight frown. Slowly, the wizard's head turned downward, and she felt a cold chill waft over her, and her stomach turn when Pansy came to understand, without the slightest doubt in the world, that this bloke was slowly, openly, without same, checking her out.

Her face turned beet red, and she tried not to notice.

She was pretty enough, she supposed. Not too skinny but athletic for her age, with brown hair and even darker brown eyes. She'd been used to creeps checking her out in school and back at home, but the fact that his appraisal of her physical appearance had occurred, perhaps after an off-colored joke, gave Pansy the chills.

She was eager to put as much distance between herself and this wizard as possible.

"So…I—I'll be behind the checkout counter, if you have any more questions or would like me to show you something, just let me know, my name is Pansy, sir," she said and walked away before her resolve could falter her.

He turned his head and could feel his eyes on her as she went back to the counter.

"What a creep," she murmured to Pansy as she watched the wizard go back to his shopping. He began looking at the Invisibility products and she looked towards Verity. "I think I'm going to take my break now if that's alright with you. Maybe after we can go to lunch? You'll tell me when he leaves?" she said.

Verity looked a little shocked at Pansy's request but less so than she expected it to be as a hesitant little smile curled her lips upward.

"Sure," her new coworker replied softly.

Pansy took one last glance at the cloaked wizard before slipping into the back of the store. She swore she felt his eyes crawling all over her as the door shut behind her.

Though Pansy could have sworn as she snuck out the back door of the shop, seeing George poke his head out the door and stare after her, as she left him leaving him watching her go.

And she thought she saw him smile.