Chapter 37
Into the Fire

Cassie was extremely flustered as she felt George's eyes on her while she crossed the room. She was certain she would trip over her own feet or run into someone or something. She wanted to reach up and touch her hair because she was certain he was staring at it, but she also didn't want to draw attention to herself and the fact that he was looking at her more than anyone else. She managed to make it to the table without humiliating herself and stared at the floor while everyone said hi to everyone else. Fred said hello to her and she glanced up. He was smiling broadly.

"Sit down, sit down." Ginny took her arm and pulled her, sitting her down in a chair. George sat back down and Cassie realized that Ginny had arranged it so she was sitting right next to him. She tried not to grin too stupidly at him, but now that he was sitting right there, she couldn't stop looking at him. Ginny spoke up.

"Pia, you remember Fred and George, right?"

"Yes. I remember them."

"It's okay if you can't tell them apart. No one can." Cassie turned to glare at her, but Ginny was just smiling. Cassie stared down at the table, embarrassed at being so openly stared at. He finally said something and she felt her heart jump as she heard his voice.

"Your hair used to be . . ."

"We had to change it, to make her fit in with the family better." Hermione explained and Cassie squirmed a little. They were talking about her like she was six years old and too young to have made any decisions on her own.

"But I braided it, and Ginny's, too." No one said anything and Cassie realized that she probably had sounded a bit out of place, a bit defensive. She glanced up and met his eyes, embarrassed at how stupid she had sounded but he was just looking at her, completely serious.

"It looks nice, the braiding . . . and the color." His eyes were fixed firmly on her face and she felt her face grow hot. She hoped he remembered why he liked her and didn't wonder what he had ever seen in her to begin with.

"Thanks."

"Exactly how close are we supposed to be . . . cousin-wise?" George addressed the group generally, but Cassie felt his eyes on her. She didn't know whether to hope he looked away or whether to enjoy the fact that he could not seem to stop looking at her. She decided she could not sit here and stare at the table forever. She would much prefer to be looking at him. So, she forced her gaze up and met his eyes again. They were an interesting color, close to Ginny's brown, although not quite, and she didn't look back down at the table. She much preferred to study the way he was looking at her.

"Not close. We haven't really worked out the family history or anything. Just close enough to be friends." Hermione was taking charge again which, when Cassie stopped to think about it, was probably all right, as most of the cousin-thing had been her idea. She kept looking at him, his face, his hands, even the side of his arm as he leaned over to talk to Fred for a second. He was even better looking than she remembered. He was wearing wizard robes, too, although not the heavy winter ones the Hogwarts students had on. They were open at the top and she could see that his shirt was white, making his skin look dark against it. She had no idea why he would ever consider her as his girlfriend. She had never felt like such a gauche little girl before.

He turned to look at her again and smiled and she felt an answering smile on her face. It seemed like it had been years since she had seen him rather than just a few days. She dragged her eyes away from him and looked around at the other people at the table. Ginny and Harry were talking quietly between themselves and Ron was gesturing animatedly with Fred. Hermione was looking directly at Cassie, though, with a rather peculiar look on her face. Cassie smiled hesitantly at her and Hermione raised an eyebrow but then smiled back and turned to join in with Ron's conversation.

The noise level started swelling around them as they both just looked at each other. Cassie knew she should probably pay attention and make appropriate comments, but they were talking about things completely unrelated to her and things she did not really care about. "Anyone up for some butterbeer?" Ron asked, moving as though he was going to stand up.

Everyone around the table declined so Ron said he would just get one for himself and walked over to the bar. Cassie's stomach was doing double flips and the thought of drinking anything at the moment was disgusting to her. She looked at Ginny who was holding Harry's hand and laughing and Cassie felt a spurt of envy that she got to be so openly in love with Harry while she had to sit there and pretend to have no interest in the boy, no . . . man, sitting next to her. Then she felt something against her knee. She instinctively moved it out of the way, only to feel it pressing against her again a second later. She looked down to see what it was and saw a black-clothed leg pressing against her. She looked up quickly at George, who just gave her a small secretive smile and she realized that he was doing this on purpose. He kept talking to people around the table and she bravely pushed her leg back against his. There were at least four layers of clothing separating their skin, one of them her thick winter robe and another her jeans. So it was hardly an intimate contact, but nonetheless it was the best she could do at the moment, and she enjoyed what she could get. George looked at her again for a moment and winked. She flushed and stared down at the table again, willing the color to recede from her cheeks before someone noticed.

"So . . . how's Hogwarts, Pia?" Fred asked after a few more minutes.

"It's fantastic, really. The classes are fun and I've met lots of nice people."

"Ginny's schedule isn't killing you off?"

"No. I'm managing to hold my own, I think. I did use one of your Skiving Snackboxes on Thursday, though. It worked great."

"Excellent! Excellent!" Fred enthused. "Which one did you try?"

"The nosebleed one - I wound up with blood all over me, really gory."

"Good! Glad to know it worked a treat. So . . . what class were you skiving?"

"Divination."

"With Trelawney, the old bat?"

"No actually, it was with Firenze. It was a good class . . . but" Cassie really didn't know what to say now as she couldn't really explain why she had had to skive off that particular class. She glanced at George, who was staring at her silently, his face pale.

"I don't like the idea of your bleeding." Everyone around the table started laughing.

"Sure, you don't care about the rest of us . . . the more we bleed or puke, the better. So what's so special about Pia?" George blushed at Ron's teasing tone. Ron sat back down next to Hermione and took a big drink of what Cassie assumed was butterbeer although it wasn't in the bottles she was used to seeing it in. The tankard was steaming slightly and she looked at it with interest, hoping that everyone's attention would focus on something else besides her. George's leg was still pressed against hers and she felt it bump against her knee. She looked back at him.

"I'm serious." His voice was quiet, obviously meant for her ears only as the rest of the table moved on to other areas of discussion.

"It was fine. It stopped immediately when I ate the light side. Plus, I think I found you a customer. She was so impressed with how well it worked that she asked for a catalog. Ron gave her one, I think." George opened his mouth to say something but before he did, he was interrupted.

"Actually . . . ." Hermione spoke up loudly and everyone looked at her. She was using what Ginny and Harry called her Head Girl voice and everyone knew whatever she was going to say was serious. "Pia is having a bit of a problem at school that maybe you boys could help her with." Cassie immediately knew what Hermione was going to say and she shook her head frantically.

"No. It's fine. I'd rather not discuss it."

"It's not fine. It's terrible. And if anyone can figure out how to get the slimy git off your back, it's Fred and George."

"Which slimy git?" "What's going on?" Both questions were asked simultaneously and Cassie wanted to crawl under the table and hide. She shook her head again, desperate that this not be brought up. It was so embarrassing to admit that someone that disgusting fancied himself in love with you.

"It's nothing, really."

"It's Draco Malfoy. He's been giving her nothing but grief since he first laid eyes on her. She's been telling him no every way possible, but he won't give up. It seems that he's convinced himself that she has a crush on him. And Harry overheard some things last night that told us he is not just playing games. He's dead serious. And I, at least, am worried about her." Cassie bit her lip. Ginny was nodding as Hermione finished the recitation.

"Malfoy!" George was incredulous. "But . . . his father is the one trying to find you!"

Cassie just nodded. This was completely humiliating. "I know."

"Have you told him to get lost?"

"Of course!" She looked over at Fred, who seemed to think the whole thing was a joke. "I've told him in no uncertain terms that I hate him and that I never want to see him again, but he won't believe me. I think he thinks I'm playing hard to get."

"I thought Ginny was going to teach you the bat bogey hex." There was complete silence around the table as everyone absorbed the impact of that statement. Cassie realized that everyone except Ginny had assumed both George and Fred knew that she would never be able to do that hex, no matter how hard Ginny tried to teach her. She was certain that one of them would blow her secret in just a second and she hunched her shoulders, preparing for the worst.

Ginny spoke up, covering for her, and Cassie was grateful. "I've been meaning to, but things have been a bit hectic around school. I haven't had a chance." Harry and Ron laughed. Hermione just raised her eyebrow again. Then she sighed loudly and grabbed Ron's mug. She took a big swallow and then put her hands on either side of her head and rubbed gently, like her head was hurting her. "Anyway," Ginny continued. "It is getting to be a big problem. He actually wanted her to come to Hogsmeade with him today. Or that's what he said last night according to Harry. But you avoided him this morning right, Pia?"

"Actually, no." She pulled the wadded up piece of parchment out of her pocket and laid it on the table. "He gave me this and told me to meet him at noon here."

George picked up the piece of paper and studied it for a minute, wordlessly handing it to Fred. "It's an old trick."

"He must not think too much of her if he thinks she would fall for it."

"I'm going to kill him, personally, rip him limb from limb."

Ron jumped in after George's last comment. "I'll help. The git is humiliating her in front of all his friends and the whole school naturally knows about it."

Hermione seemed much more focused than the others on the piece of parchment, which Cassie was beginning to suspect was more than just an address and map. She was sincerely hoping that neither twin had noticed what Ron was saying. To her relief, they didn't respond. Their attention, too, was firmly fixed on the crumpled parchment on the table. George spoke again. "Shall we test it?"

"Of course. Maybe both of us together?" Both Fred and George waved their wands and said a word that to Cassie sounded like "Reveal" although that wasn't quite it. The parchment glowed bright blue for a second.

"As we suspected . . ."

"A Portkey . . ."

"Probably programmed to take her there at noon whether she was touching it or not. . ."

"Not the most sophisticated magic . . ."

"But he probably had help."

Harry jumped in this time. "Where? Where would it have taken her?" George just scowled and turned to look at Cassie. "It's a club, Harry, Pia. A private club. It's here in town but it's not something you would be able to just walk into off the street. The management doesn't ask questions . . . provided you have a membership and the money is adequate."

Cassie was staring at the table, trying to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't mentioned the parchment. George's hand found hers under the table and she felt immensely reassured as he squeezed her fingers for a brief moment. Then his hand returned above the table and he picked up his wand. "Let me have the honors, please, Fred."

"Of course." The paper caught fire with that always-surprising blue flame and the entire group watched as the never-activated portkey burned into ashes. Fred blew on the ashes remaining on the table and they scattered over the floor. Cassie watched one particularly large piece settle daintily like a dark snowflake onto the wooden floor and noted with satisfaction when another customer stepped on it. "So . . .both of you boys have mentioned something about Malfoy humiliating her. Out with it." Fred and George were both looking around at the group and Cassie felt all the color drain out of her face. She could not sit here while those disgusting bets were discussed. She just couldn't. She looked around for a toilet. There must be one - somewhere she could hide so that she didn't have to hear what George said in response. She stood up, thinking she would just leave the pub completely, maybe wait outside until her humiliation was over. Everyone looked up at her as she stood.

"I . . . I can't . . . listen. I think I'll . . ." Ginny jumped in immediately.

"Stop it, you two! That's enough! You put on a good show of being offended for Pia's sake, but I think in reality you are getting a bit of a thrill from it, yourself! It's embarrassing her and that's enough! I don't want to hear one more word about it - at least not now. She's obviously upset . . . She just found out that Malfoy had yet one more nasty trick up his sleeve. Poor thing."

Ron and Harry started to protest that they were innocent of such deviousness, but they did shut up and both George and Fred stood up. "Pia, we're sorry."

"We didn't realize it was that terrible for you. We don't need to know . . . "

"At least not right now. We can talk about it later, okay?" George took her arm gently. Let's go over to Zonko's. The jokes there should put a smile back on your face." He looked at Fred. "You finish up here and you can meet us there in a half hour or so." He stepped away from the table, tugging Cassie along with him.

"Sure. Everyone up for butterbeer now?" Fred addressed the other four students. "My treat?" Cassie vaguely heard them all answer in the affirmative as George led her through the now-crowded pub toward the front door.

"George? Why are we going to Zonko's alone?"

"I want to be alone with you for a while. Is that all right?" Cassie flushed. She couldn't imagine anything more right. She nodded. The cold air outside helped cool the burning on her cheeks and she looked up and down the street, following George's lead. He didn't step off the porch of the pub, though, instead leading her around the corner of the building and opening a small door. She looked at him hesitatingly, but he just smiled and gestured for her to go inside. She did and found herself in a large but crowded kitchen.

"Uh . . . this doesn't look like a joke shop."

He smiled broadly. "It's not. We're not really going there. It was just my excuse to get you away from everyone."

"Oh."

"Come on. Over here." He led her to a side of the kitchen where no little house elves were bustling about and the smell of cooking food and warming butterbeer was less prominent. There was a large fireplace here with a low fire burning in the grate. There were two armchairs off to the side and an old-fashioned sort of rag rug on the floor in front of the chairs. It looked like a cozy little place to visit and she smiled with pleasure at the thought of sitting and talking with George here. She was suddenly extremely nervous. She wanted to kiss him, desperately. And she knew he wanted to kiss her, too. She just hoped that they hadn't set themselves up for disappointment if it wasn't as perfect as they both had imagined. "I've got a present for you."

"I told you not to bring me a present. I don't have anything for you."

"I didn't bring it."

"What?" She was very confused.

"I'm taking you to it."

"Taking me . . . to it?"

"Yes. I've got it all planned and I made the reservations. I hope you don't mind. There's a beautiful little inn on the edge of Loch Ness with the most wonderful restaurant. They've got big viewing windows and you can look over the Loch and see Nessie when she's in the mood to play. You normally have to make reservations weeks in advance, but I begged and managed to get us a table."

"I . . . I . . Loch Ness? The monster? Are you kidding?" George looked confused now.

"No. I'm not kidding. Haven't you ever been there?"

"Um, well, no. But you know there's really not a monster, right?" His face relaxed and he laughed.

"Well, that's what the Muggles think. It's just a simple concealment charm, though. That's what's so great about this restaurant. It's purely for wizards and so you can see Nessie a lot. The charm isn't effective at the inn or on the grounds. Kids love to feed her and you can buy fish right there to toss to her."

Cassie stood there, feeling rather stupid. What he was saying was just so unbelievable, but she had to focus on the immediate problem at hand. He wanted to take her far away from Hogsmeade. "I don't think I should go, George. Everyone will worry."

"Fred knows about it and knows how to reach us if he needs to. You're not really a student, so they can't really expel you or anything for unauthorized travel. Besides, I should have you back in plenty of time to go back to school. No one will even notice you're gone. Our reservations are for 11 and we can probably be back by 2. Ginny knows we want to be alone. She'll just assume we're off somewhere private and Fred will encourage her to think that." That made sense, but her head was whirling and she wasn't quite sure what to do.

"It sounds nice . . . but I'm not sure . . .I mean, I am in hiding."

"I know. I wouldn't ever let anything happen to you. I'll take good care of you. I promise." Cassie looked up into his face and thought that anything he wanted to do was okay with her, especially if he just kept looking at her that way.

"Am I supposed to be dressed fancy? Because I'm just wearing jeans."

"No, it's fine. It's fine. It's for tourists mainly, so anything goes."

"Are you sure it'll be okay?"

"Positive."

All right. And you're sure we can see the Loch Ness Monster?"

"Well, I can't promise you that, but it's likely."

"Okay. It sounds wonderful. Thank you. I should warn you, though, I don't travel well by portkey. I'm embarrassed to admit that I always wind up on my bum."

"That's okay. We won't go by Portkey. There was no way I could get authorization for one, not with you listed on the application." He smiled and took her hand, leading her toward the fireplace. Cassie, however, was now thoroughly confused, and unsure of what he was planning. She thought it was possible to apparate holding onto someone else, but she had never traveled that way and thought it seemed rather scary.

"Then how are we going?"

"By floo powder, of course. Madame Rosmerta gave me permission to use her private fireplace."

"Floo powder?" Cassie had no idea what he was talking about, but the word fireplace was sending warning signals to her brain.

"Yeah, I know it's not ideal. Kind of messy. But we can clean you up when we get there. It's a little far to apparate two people and I know you're too young to have your own license." He grinned. "By the way," and his voice dropped very low with a husky note that sent signals of another kind out to every nerve ending in her body, "I haven't kissed you yet. Maybe we should remedy that situation. We've still got a few minutes before we really need to leave." And he pulled her close to him, wrapped his arms around her, and lowered his face to hers. Cassie closed her eyes in appreciation of every second of this. His lips were warm and firm and she stood on tiptoe to meet them more thoroughly. He pulled back after a second and she opened her eyes to see his looking down at her. "Cassie. I'd forgotten just how beautiful you are. And then you walked in and I thought I had seen an angel." She blushed. He lowered his mouth again. "I don't want to be late, but . . ." and then they were kissing again and she put her hands up on his shoulders, feeling the smooth satin of his robes under her fingers. He pulled back again and she instinctively put her hands up to her mouth as if to hold in the tingly feeling left behind. "Do you want to go first or shall I?"

"Go . . . first?"

"Into the fire." His arms were still around her and he was smiling. She blinked. He hadn't just said what she thought he had said, had he?

"The fire?"

"Here's the powder." He pulled a small bag out of his pocket. "The name of the place is the Dragon's Claw. You'd think they could have thought of something . . ."

But she interrupted him. "What are you talking about, the fire? That doesn't make sense. I'll burn up."

George laughed, but then pulled back, looking genuinely puzzled. "You're not going to burn up. You're a witch. Are you telling me you've never traveled by floo powder before?"

She shook her head, realizing that the time had come to tell him. Lunch would obviously not be happening today. "George, I need to tell you something."

"You just get into the fire and then announce where you want to go and throw down the floo powder. I don't understand how you've never traveled this way. If you don't like . . ."

"George. I can't go in the fire."

"I can go first, if you'd like, but I'd really rather you go first. That way I know you got there safely. I wish I could have found somewhere with a bigger fireplace. Then we could have gone together. The one at the restaurant is plenty . . ."

"George!" She interrupted him. "You need to listen to me." Her heart was pounding. The moment of truth had come and she was alternating between terror and tears. "I have to tell you something important." He glanced down at his watch.

"Right now? Because if we're late, we may lose the table."

"Yes. Right now. I should have told you a long time ago, . . . but I was afraid. And the moment never seemed right." He was looking at her seriously now.

"This is the big secret, then? The one you wanted me to ask my dad about?" She nodded and bit her lip. There was no way around it, really, and no easy way to say it. She stared down at her feet.

"I'm a Muggle, George." Total silence. Then,

"I already knew you were Muggle-born, Cassie. Remember? I . . "

"No. Not a Muggle-born witch, just a plain old Muggle. Not a witch at all."

"What did you say?" She wasn't sure she could say it again, but she had to.

"I'm not a witch, George. I'm a Muggle." He laughed loudly.

"That's really funny. I thought you were serious about this."

"I'm being completely serious." She looked up at him, hoping that he would be able to tell she was being honest with him. The look of amusement faded from his face, replaced by doubt.

"But . . . .that doesn't make any sense. I mean, you've been in Diagon Alley, and at Hogwarts, twice! You've been at school now for a week! Taking classes!"

"And it hasn't been easy. But people see what they want to see. And I've got them all convinced that I'm a pretty powerful witch, really. Ask anyone."

"What you're saying . . . it's not possible."

"It's possible." George sat down hard in one of the chairs in front of the fire, his brows drawn together in confusion.

"Well . . . .I guess this isn't going to work, is it?" The words she had been so convinced he would say still caught her by surprise and she took a deep breath in sudden shock at the pain of it. No matter how much she had told herself to expect it, it still stabbed like a knife and she gasped.

"I guess not. I mean . . .you're right." She fought back the tears that suddenly threatened. She would not cry in front of him. She just couldn't. "I'll go back out with Ginny" she muttered quietly, and then suddenly the thought of seeing her with Harry, laughing and having a good time was too much. "No, I think I'll go back to the castle after all. I . . . I'm sorry, George. I never meant for it to get this out of control. She glanced at the small door they had come through and at the big doors that obviously led to the main part of the pub, unsure of which way would be best for an inconspicuous escape.

His head whipped around. "Where are you going?"

"Back to school, I guess. I'll be safe enough there."

"Why?"

"You said it wouldn't work, and I know you're right. I'm sorry I lied to you all this time." He stood up and took three steps with his very long legs to reach her.

"I just meant that going by floo powder would definitely not work. You would end up a very crispy Cassie and I definitely don't want that. What's wrong?" The tears that had threatened overflowed and she hurriedly tried to wipe them away.

"I thought that . . . I thought that you meant, you and I . . . I just . . .I'm sorry."

"Cassie." George sat down into the chair again and pulled her over next to him, and then tugged hard on her arm until she had no option but to sit down on his lap. It was a strange feeling, but nice. "I don't care. Well, I mean I do care. I'm just absolutely amazed. You . . . you must be incredibly brave. And I want to hear all the details, some other time." He stopped because she was crying in earnest now and buried her face in his chest. His arms slid around her and held her for a long moment. "I never even suspected that. And I wouldn't have guessed in a million years. So you surprised me. Oh, come on. Don't cry. Please. In all the plans I made for today, having you cry was not on the agenda." Cassie laughed, a watery laugh, and realized that she had left tear marks all over his robes. He lifted her chin and kissed her briefly. "Look. Would you mind if I . . . I'm not trying to be mercenary, but I wasn't quite truthful about the begging part for today's reservation. It was more like a business arrangement, profitable to both sides. I better let them know we're not coming, but that we're still interested in the deal. Would you be offended if I called?" She shook her head. "You better get up then. This shouldn't take long."

Cassie was not sure what she expected but it definitely was not what happened. He stepped closer to the fire and knelt down on the rug, bracing his arm against the side of the mantle. He reached into the little bag he had again pulled out of his pocket and threw something into the fire. "Dragon's Claw Inn," he said quite clearly and then he stuck his head in the fire and the flames flared. She gasped but he didn't move at all. "Hello. Yes. Today's luncheon is not going to work out after all. I'm dreadfully sorry." Apparently someone was talking back because there was a long pause. "I understand. Um, well, my date just wasn't that interested. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, she had a terrible incident when she was younger with another kelpie and . . . she was bitten quite badly. When I mentioned that we would probably be seeing Nessie today she went into near hysterics." Cassie tried very hard not to laugh. There was another long silence and she studied George as he knelt there. It was an interesting sight and she was glad that it was not her bum stuck in the air. He had a nice . . . body, though. He was tall, although Ron was obviously going to be taller when he was finished growing. His robes were open and she could see that he was wearing jeans and the white shirt she had previously noted. His feet were in some kind of rather fancy looking boots. Maybe alligator skin? She made a note to ask him later. Whatever they were, they looked expensive. He was talking again and she listened. "Of course, we are still interested in . . . Yes. The fireworks have already gone into production. They will be delivered in plenty of time for New Year's. Exactly like we promised and yes, the discount will still apply, even without your wonderful meal to help ease the pain." A short pause. "Well, just send it by owl instead. Terms as discussed. Yes. No problem. Thank you. Um, if I find another date who might be interested in coming some other time . . . is there any chance of my getting a table on short notice again? Hmm. I thought not. Well, that's fine. Thank you anyway." He pulled his head out of the fire and sat there blinking for a moment.

This time Cassie did laugh. His face was black from soot and ash and his hair was definitely singed. "Were you really talking to someone or were you just pretending?"

"Of course, silly. That's what's called fire-talking. My head comes out the other end and I can talk . . ." Cassie was shaking her head.

"But your head stayed right there the whole time. I could hear you talking." He just wiggled an eyebrow at her and waved his wand quickly at his head which then returned to its normal coloring and cleanliness.

"Magic, my dear. Magic. Sometime you'll see it from the other end." He stood up and brushed his knees off. "Now, let's see . . . where were we?" And he sat back down in the chair and pulled her down onto his lap again. This time, though, she did not feel like crying and the look on his face was a lot less confused. "I think we were somewhere about here." His hand slipped behind her head, under her braid, and pulled her face to his. When they were sitting like this, they were about on an even level, his head just a little higher than hers. So it was easy to tilt her head a little and let him kiss her. His other hand slipped around to her hip and stayed there. She wasn't sure what to do with her hands. As the kiss continued though, she wanted to touch hm, so she raised her hands to his face and laid them against his neck, feeling the pulse slow and steady above the collar of his shirt. After a minute or so, she pulled away and stared into his eyes.

"Are you upset with me?"

"I'm . . . shocked. I guess that's the only word for it. But I'm not angry if that's what you're asking. Obviously, this makes things a lot more complicated, but . . .I'm still here, with you. And that's where I want to be." She nodded.

"That's where I want to be, too." He smiled, a secretive little smile and his hand came from behind her head to stroke against her jawline.

"So we're not going to lunch. We have some time to kill. What shall we do?"

"I don't know. Nothing really comes to mind." The light teasing she had gotten used to with him when they were in Diagon Alley together resumed as though they had never been apart.

"I can think of one thing. . . but maybe you'd be bored."

"I doubt it." And he kissed her again, more thoroughly this time, pulling her closer to him and angling his head so that their mouths fit together even more intimately.

"Are you bored yet?" She shook her head. "Good. Neither am I." Merlin, she thought. He is a fantastic kisser. He moved away from her lips and started just pressing soft little kisses on her face, her eyes, nose, and chin, never touching her lips, the part that so desperately wanted to be touched. Finally, in desperation, she grabbed his chin with both hands and pressed her mouth firmly against his. He laughed and she felt a shiver go through her at the feel of his laughter against her lips. It was the most incredible thing she had ever felt. He pulled back after a few minutes. "Aggressive little thing, aren't you?" She smiled into his eyes, not offended in the least. "Are you getting hot in those robes?" She nodded. "You can take them off. I think we'll stay here for a while." She stood up, pushing the heavy robes down off her shoulders and throwing the bulky garment across the other chair. "You are so beautiful." He pulled her back down and she had a momentary qualm about sitting on his lap. But he wasn't doing anything obscene with her so she relaxed and leaned against him.

"That's not true. I'm just me."

"Well, just me is pretty incredible." He was touching her arm, where the edge of the jumper met her skin. "I like this on you. I like your hair, too, by the way, although it's such a beautiful blond color it seems a pity to cover it up."

"Too conspicuous." She sat there for a few minutes in his arms, just enjoying the warmth of him and the feeling of being held although she was quite sure that if her mother saw her sitting on a boy's lap she would have a heart attack. "I guess I should get up." And he smelled so good. She turned her head and pressed her nose against his neck right above the collar of his shirt. It was a scent she didn't recognize but it was really nice. She made no effort to actually move.

"Why? Aren't you comfortable?"

"I'm very comfortable. Too comfortable."

"No such thing."

"I'm not too heavy on you?" He laughed and the feel of it vibrated through her whole body as his chest moved under her back.

"Fishing for compliments, are you? You know I could lift six of you without trying." She flushed slightly. Maybe she had been fishing because she knew full well that her weight was not going to bother him. But she thought . . . well, she wasn't sure what she thought. She had wanted to call attention to the fact that she was on his lap. Maybe give him a graceful way to get her off. She wasn't sure. She looked at his arms as they curved around her tummy. He was extremely strong, if muscles were any indication. She suddenly remembered that he had been a Hitter on the Quidditch team. No, not a Hitter. A Beater.

"George?"

"Mmmm." She liked the way his chest rumbled as he hummed his answer like he was too comfortable and happy to even make the effort to talk.

"Do you still play Quidditch?"

"When I can - usually when I'm at the Burrow with the family."

"I'd love to see you play sometime."

"I'll remember that. Maybe I can take you flying." He shifted then, pulling her legs around so that she was sitting sideways on his lap again. "Enough talk. More kissing." And she smiled as his mouth met hers. She put her arms up around his neck and closed her eyes. She was sure that she could stay here forever if someone just fed her once in a while. No, never mind the food. Just water once in a while to sustain life. As he turned her face with his hand to allow his mouth to settle even more solidly against hers she had the thought that water was not necessary either. Kissing him would be enough, really, to keep her alive for a very long time.

"Hem, hem!" A soft cough sounded behind her and George jumped about a mile, setting Cassie off his lap and standing up almost instantly. His eyes flashed as they landed on Ginny, who had a particularly wicked smile on her face.

"That was uncalled for."

"Wondered if you'd remember. Hey, I hate to interrupt your little reunion but everyone's heading over to Zonko's. Hermione's got them all stalled at the bookstore, but I don't think Harry and Ron's patience is going to last too much longer. Since you obviously can't go to lunch as you originally planned . . . I think you should sneak over and pretend you've been there the whole time. That will forestall some rather messy explanations, I would think."

"Fred told you, then?"

"Of course, once we all informed him of the fact that Cassie would never be able to do the bat bogey hex on anyone. He did look slightly panicked. But I informed him that she would never be stupid enough to step into a burning fire - even if the promised lunch on the other side sounded really tempting. But don't worry. He told me in private. That's why I think you should . . . keep up appearances. I've got to get back there myself. I told Harry I had to run to the loo, but I can't be too long. Seriously, you've got maybe 10 minutes, tops!" And then she was gone.

"Hmmm." George looked down at Cassie. "She's too smart for her own good. I don't want to go over there and meet everyone . . . but we're going to have to eat sometime. And I think you really would enjoy the shops, so . . . I guess today, instead of Nessie, you get a guided tour of Hogsmeade by one who knows it best. It'll be great." He took her hand. "I'm not going to be able to do much of this today. But remember what it feels like, okay?" And then he tugged her to him and kissed her very thoroughly and five minutes later as they slipped out the little side door and he dropped her hand, she realized that a whole day of being near him and not being able to touch or kiss him was going to certainly be an exercise in self-discipline.