They came to a soft thump on a hillside, and Nora could see the houses of a small town at the bottom of the path that they were standing on. Hills graced the sides of the path, and there was grassy land for as far as she could see, green melding with the blue of the cloudless sky far in the distance.
Conscious that she was still holding onto his bicep quite tightly, Nora stepped away, letting her hands drop to her sides, slipping one hand in the back pocket of her jean shorts while the other gently tapped against the top of her thigh.
George glanced at her, and then at his arm. "What? Do I smell?" he asked, bemused.
Nora rolled her eyes. "No, but I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate someone holding on for dear life when we're already here…"
George sent her another small smile, and then looked out towards the town below them. "I thought a walk might be nice? Or I could get us closer?" he asked, glancing back at her.
Nora shrugged and began to walk along the path, leaning backwards slightly to counteract the steep section they were on.
George caught up with her when the path straightened out a little, and they walked in relative silence for a few moments, until George let out a massive, long sigh, smiling up at the sky.
Nora raised an eyebrow.
George shrugged. "It's nice to be forgiven. Feel like I can get on with my life now. Die in peace with no enemies, y'know?"
Nora tried to hide her smile, and instead of looking at George, who was grinning at her, she kept her eyes on the hedge which they were now walking past. "I'm not forgiving you, I'm just intrigued."
"Intrigued?" he asked, walking closer to her now, his arm brushing against hers slightly now and then, sending shockwaves through her.
"Yeah," she said, thoughtfully. "If I'm honest, I think I've read too many romance novels and we're at the point where I..." She stopped suddenly and George kept walking for a moment before he realised, stopped, and turned around. "Jesus, I just walked off with a stranger... You're not a Death Eater... Are you?" she asked, frowning at him.
"What?" George spluttered. "Merlin, no!"
"Okay..." Nora replied, lifting her chin slightly and appraising him from her higher position.
"Why would you ask that?" he asked with a breathy and confused laugh.
Nora shrugged. "I don't know... You're… mysterious. You disappeared when we had plans… you lured me to a place I've never been before..."
"First off, I didn't lure you. I take offence to that. And second, I'm pretty sure I'd have more important things to do if I was an ex-Death Eater, and I don't think offering to buy you a bacon sandwich would rank higher than 'find a way to resurrect Voldemort' on my daily to do list…"
"You really think Death Eaters have to do lists?" she asked, smiling now and beginning to walk down the path again.
George watched her walk past him, and then followed a few moments later.
"Some, maybe. Their notebooks probably have skulls all over them or something," he said, joking. "But do I really seem like a Death Eater to you?"
"Well, at first I would have said no, but then you did try to kill me a minute ago, so…" Nora teased. She sent George a wink and a cheeky smile.
He rolled his eyes and grinned back at her. "Now that's not fair," he said, and his arm brushed hers again. His hands were in his pockets and he was ducking his head slightly to see her expression.
"I know!" Nora said, trying not to let him see her embarrassment at their closeness. "I was going about my business, looking at chocolate, and bam! The hot guy fed me poison. You just couldn't write it."
George nudged her with his elbow. "Let's back peddle here. Hot guy?"
"Yeah... well, objectively, it's a nice warm summers' day, and you're wearing jeans, so yeah, you're probably quite hot at the moment..." Nora said.
She bit her lip and nudged him using her elbow. He stumbled slightly and then recovered, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you think about my state of dress a lot then?" he asked.
Nora couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Okay, if there's one thing I'm sure of in this world, it's that you, George, do not think you're ugly. I'm guessing I'm not the first woman you've flirted with?"
"No..." George said, looking back at the path in front of them, which was widening slowly as they neared the town. "Not really... just a bit out of practice if I'm honest. I've been putting all my efforts into work recently and if you ask my brother, he's the more attractive twin..."
Nora stared at him for a moment, and then said, "Well I've met him and I was more attracted to you, so..."
"Really?" George asked, raising an eyebrow again.
Nora felt her face grow hotter, and felt happy that her brown skin wouldn't show her blush well. "Really."
"Well, thanks," he said, a light blush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks.
"No problem," she said, staring ahead of them as they walked.
"So... do you have an objectively less attractive sibling?" he asked, and Nora let out a chuckle this time.
She snorted and then nodded. "Yeah, though if you ever have the chance to meet her you'd know that she really is the more attractive sibling, but luckily for me she'd be a bit too young for you I think."
George laughed. "Okay.. how old is she and is she a witch?"
"She's sixteen and she can be..." Nora said, nodding her head from side to side. She raised a finger in the air and said, "Oh! You said witch! No, she's a Muggle."
It was George's turn to laugh loudly. When he'd recovered, he asked, "It must've been hard when you went to school. You... you uh... went to Hogwarts, right?"
Nora nodded. "Yeah, class of '96 actually. But like I said, I don't really remember much about it thanks to the accident..." she trailed off and looked at George, who was frowning slightly. "Did you go to Hogwarts too?"
George nodded slowly, as they reached a small gate, with houses lining the path ahead. "Class of '96 as well."
Nora stopped and let George step over the gate. "We didn't... We didn't know each other, did we?" she asked when he reached back to help her over.
She let out an oof when she missed her footing and fell on top of the gate itself, winding herself. George placed his hands on her hips and guided her softly down to the ground with strong arms.
When she was steady again, he shook his head. "I don't think we did. Can't say I'd heard of you much before," he said.
"Well, Islington's not my real surname, so," she said, smiling at him and sliding her hands into her back pockets. He paled slightly, but she put that down to his embarrassment at not knowing her at school. "I'm guessing we just didn't really cross paths then. I was a Ravenclaw. Most of my memories from Hogwarts are of the library, so I'm guessing I wasn't too social."
"I'm a Gryffindor through and through… handsome, chivalrous, brave..." George said, grinning at her now that he'd recovered from his moment of embarrassment.
He moved slowly closer with every word, until they were practically chest to chest, and Nora could see a freckle which sat just above his lip line. She stared at it for a moment, and then looked up to meet his eyes.
"Humble," Nora whispered with a wink. She bit her lip, but George made no move to close the gap between them, and so she stepped back and began to walk along the path again, taking in the light brown brick buildings.
Again, George caught up with her a few moments later.
They fell into a thoughtful silence, broken only by the occasional shout from a townsperson, or the call of a bird.
Nora breathed in deeply through her nose and then said, "I'm glad we haven't really crossed paths before... It's… it's nice to be on the same page. You don't really know me, and I don't really know you. It…. It's hard to explain, but it makes me feel more… well, like we're on the same playing field really… I've probably said that before, haven't I?" she asked, with a forced laugh. "I know it's difficult to understand…"
"No," George replied as they reached the main part of the town, and he began to lead them over to a small café by the Post Office. "I understand completely. I have a friend who was... changed... by the war. I think if he could hide his surname and go incognito he would too."
"Is he okay?" she asked, frowning at George now.
"What? Oh, yeah, yeah he's doing well," George replied when he reached the door and opened it, revealing a small but homely café with mismatched chairs and tables, and a kind-looking woman at the counter. "He's actually proposing to my sister soon..." he added as Nora walked past him. He ducked inside after her.
"What? That's mental!" she said when she sat down at a table towards the back of the large room.
"Don't like windows?" George asked, sitting across from her. They were both side on to the front door.
"Uh… no,…" she said slowly. "More like… I like to be able to see the exits…"
"Worried I'm going to kill you?" he asked, chuckling.
Nora shook her head but didn't smile. "Not you, no. It's uh… it's a fall-back of my memory loss. I can get… panicky. I prefer to be able to see what's coming."
"Merlin, sorry," he said, sobering.
"It's fine," she said, waving her hand in the air. "Anyway, let's go back to your sister. Younger or older?"
"Younger. Though if you ask her, she's older than all of us. She's a real force, that one."
"That's nice. Though I can't really imagine someone being younger than you and getting married…" she said, smiling.
George laughed. "Yeah, well, they're pretty solid as couples go. School sweethearts. My mum's not too keen on any of us jumping into marriage but she can't really stop any of us when we put our mind to something, and after my older brother…"
He trailed off when the woman came to take their orders. Nora chose a coffee and a pain au chocolat, while George ordered a large full English breakfast and a tea.
"What?" he asked, smiling. "I'm a growing lad."
"Mhmm," Nora replied, rolling her eyes. "What did your older brother do?"
"Oh, nothing bad. He just got married to his wife two summers ago. Great wedding, bit stuffy though. Didn't care much for the robes we got put in… but yeah, anyway, they'd only known each other for two years really before they tied the knot. Mum wasn't too happy."
"Well," Nora shrugged. "When you know you know. And trust me, two years can be a long time. God knows this past year..." she trailed off and coughed, avoiding looking at George's expression. "Are they happy?" she asked.
George smiled and nodded. "Yeah, just had a baby actually."
"Oh! You're an uncle!" she asked, accepting her drink from the server, who stalked off once George had accepted his tea.
"Yeah, yeah I am," he said, a thoughtful smile on his face.
"That's cool. Must be nice to have so many siblings. Is it just the four of you?" she asked without thinking.
George looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Uh, no, there's actually quite a few of us…"
Nora nodded and decided to change the subject slightly - she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. "There's only really me and my sister. My parents didn't want too many kids..."
"Not many people are crazy enough to have more than a few," George said, grinning. "Then again, my mum definitely had her hands full with Fred and me."
"Fred?"
"My brother. The one you winked at, not the one with the baby."
"Oh no!" Nora cried, "don't keep going on about that! I thought we moved on?"
George laughed. "Well I thought I was forgiven for accidentally standing you up, yet here we are, my heart in tatters still…"
"Well," Nora replied, "you know how we can fix that?"
"Nope."
She leant her elbows on the table in front of her and stared into his eyes. "Drop the false accusations that I fancy your twin, and I'll half-forgive you for making me feel absolutely awful."
"Awful?" he asked, leaning forwards as well now.
"Well, it's not a confidence boost when someone stands you up… I think I spent most of Thursday glaring at anything that moved…" Nora replied honestly.
"Sorry about that," George replied, grimacing and sending her an apologetic, if not very guilty look. "Okay, I'll work on gaining full forgiveness and we'll truce about the twin stuff."
"Deal," Nora said, nodding and reaching her hand across the table.
George took it without question. Nora stared at their hands. His firm grip held her hand so tightly and yet so gently, and she could feel the multiple callouses on his hands. She wondered where they were from. She gulped when she felt his thumb gently move against the back of her hand.
"Excuse me," said the server, and Nora pulled her hand back immediately, sitting back in her chair as she smiled kindly up at the woman who placed their food down in front of them. She caught George's eye and tried to not laugh when the woman walked away muttering under her breath about loved up teenagers.
"Do you want to tell her we're adults with proper jobs or should I?" George asked, picking up his cutlery and beginning to tuck into his plate.
"Well I can't do it," Nora replied, ripping off a piece of her pastry, which paled in comparison to George's giant plate. "You're the one who grew up round here."
"True," he replied, nodding his head to the side.
Nora pursed her lips together and stared down at George's baked bean and buttered toast.
"Sure I can't tempt you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She shook her head. "No, I don't have much Muggle money on me."
George sighed and placed his cutlery down. A moment later he was standing by the counter, talking to the server. And then he was sitting down and Nora was sending him a confused look.
"I told you," he said, smiling. "I've got this. What's the point of earning money if I can't treat a gorgeous girl to a nice meal every once in a while?"
"Oh, should I leave then?" Nora asked, rising up in her chair. She smiled and sat back down when George laughed.
They spent the next hour talking about anything and everything, and then, once George had paid and they were walking along another path which led away from the town but towards flatter land not more hills (which Nora was incredibly grateful for as she was completely stuffed), Nora asked, "So you said you work in a shop?"
George nodded. "It's a cool one, really. I uh… well, we sell all sorts. But it's a good job. I mean, I like it at least. And means I can spend my spare time inventing things."
"Inventing?" she asked, urging him on.
George nodded and removed one of his hands from his pockets. He hesitated for a moment, and then he reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist (her hands were back in her own back pockets) and pulled her hand out of her pocket. He slid his hand down to hers, and then held it tightly in his own.
"I'm working on expanding some Defensive magical bits I made," he said, "and some more back to school bits."
"Like what?" she asked, firming her fingers around his hand, and smiling to herself when he squeezed her hand back.
"Well… at the moment we sell self-inking quills, and spell-checkers and stuff, but I think there might be a market for invisible ink and charmed paper for notes."
"That's brilliant!" Nora replied, grinning. "Could you maybe make something for those of us who are quill-unfriendly? Muggle-borns, I mean. It's like my hand can remember how to use a quill, but it's just a bit confusing when one second you're writing and the next all of your notes are splattered with ink…"
George chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure I can work something out…"
"That's so cool," she said, squeezing his hand again. "I could never come up with something like that. I've just got to hope that one day I'll be good enough to do something like... pack a suitcase without everything going all over the place!"
George chuckled and sent her an adoring smile. "That's a simple but admirable dream, Nora."
"Thanks, I like to think and dream small at the moment. That way I don't disappoint myself."
"What would your big dream be? If you could have one?" he asked, frowning at the ground as they walked.
"I'd probably find a way to get my memories back. But that would come with a load of bad side effects, so probably not."
"Like what?" he asked.
Nora thought for a while, and then said, "Well, what if I changed completely? What if I'm not the same person I was? And what if I remember things I don't want to remember?"
"What don't you want to remember?" he asked, quietly.
Nora shrugged. "I guess the night that I lost my memories. I can remember a little bit from the start, but otherwise nothing of the accident. I guess it just feels like a scary mystery I don't want to unravel."
"That's very honest," he said quietly.
"And depressing," Nora laughed.
George chuckled and nodded.
They finished their walk slowly, and before they knew it, it was almost time for George to go to work. They stood on the bank of a river, almost chest to chest, their hands clasped in each other's. It had only been a matter of hours that they'd been walking, talking, or eating, and yet Nora felt as though a lifetime had passed.
"You're sure you can get home from here?" George asked.
Nora rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'm really, truly, completely sure that I'll be fine."
"And you'll replenish your allergy potion?"
"Yes, mum, I will," said cheekily, and George chuckled in reply.
"Okay," he said, smiling down at her. "Then I'll see you soon?"
"Sure," she replied, nodding.
But before he could ask when he'd see her next, she stepped back, turned on the spot, and appeared a moment later in the hallway outside of her flat.
This time, when Nora opened her door, it was with a blissful smile on her face. And when she crawled into bed, it was to stare at the ceiling and think over the most perfect of afternoons.
xXx
A/N: Thank you to CharlotteGryffindor for your lovely review, and to everyone reading, favouriting and following.
