Sunday came and went in a haze of studying for Nora. It dawned on her while she was sipping her morning coffee that she only had a month and a half left until her first OWLs.

The Ministry had revoked her original grades when she'd been unable to remember many spells, but she'd been given the opportunity to resit them over the next few years.

And so, she'd chosen to begin with rather easy subjects on the main part, and a couple of harder ones - this summer she was due to take Defence Against the Dark Arts, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, and Herbology.

The rest, she would handle next year.

One of the perks, she'd found, of having already studied these subjects, was that she found herself carrying out the actions for spells rather easily due to her muscle memory. So, her harder subjects were Herbology, the theory DADA, and Arithmancy.

She spent the Sunday revising and not thinking about a certain redhead, and on Monday, she returned to work.

In the office, she let herself think of George freely for the first time in over a day, and found her heart not in her work at all. She thought she was getting away with it, but at lunchtime, Arthur questioned her, saying that she seemed extremely happy...

She simply replied with a secretive smile and said that she was.

Arthur sent her a knowing look, and returned to his lunch while she walked off in search of her own food.

That evening, the reality of not knowing George's real surname hit her, when she was interrupted in her bedtime reading by a gentle tapping at her window.

There, it's breath fogging up a small part of the window pane due to the unseasonably cold evening, was an owl.

Nora grinned and slid open her window, eagerly accepting the note. Before she could ask it to stay while she wrote out her reply, the bird flew off.

She closed the window and sat back against her pillows, running her thumb underneath the seal of the envelope.

The note was simple and written in a scratchy handwriting.

Wednesday sound good for a coffee?

George

She pursed her lips and brought the note to her chest. She had no idea how to reply. Her envelope was addressed to Nora Islington, which was technically her (the Ministry had confirmed that she could use either that or Eleanor Warton), so she knew how he'd found her. It was just a case of how she'd find him...

She went to the Owl Office in Diagon Alley early the next morning, but they said that if she didn't know a full name, they couldn't ensure that the letter would arrive with the right person. And she didn't fancy turning up to find another George King waiting for her. So she went to work and was planning to ask someone in the office if they knew how to find someone, but before she could, she received another letter. This one said:

Ok. Coffee's no good? What about lunch?

George

Nora laughed when she saw the little image he'd drawn underneath - it was of a heart, with a foot stomping on it.

"Admirer?" another witch in her office, Amy, asked, and Nora blushed slightly, nodding. "Same one from last week?"

"Yeah... he's back in my good books. I don't know his surname though... Which makes it kind of hard to reply to his letters..." she said, frowning down at the note in her hand.

The older witch smiled. "Even if he has redeemed himself, let him sweat some more."

Nora laughed. "He's already asked me to go for coffee with him, this one's for lunch... He thinks I'm ignoring him now..."

"Well, maybe the next one will include a trip to Paris..." Amy said with a wink.

Before Nora could reply, the door burst open and three officers came in with a whole week's worth of findings from their raids. It took Nora the rest of the day to try and catalogue everything, and she left the office three hours late.

After a quick McDonalds for dinner, she lay on top of her covers, fully dressed, and fell asleep, completely forgetting that she was meant to be finding a way to reply to George.

The next morning Nora woke to more insistent tapping and looked up to see a rather large and more impressive owl on her window ledge.

She smiled and opened her window. This time, it didn't leave, and instead perched on her bedside table, knocking over her half full water glass.

She opened the letter which, as before, was addressed to her, but this time the handwriting was slightly different, as if George had concentrated more on his penmanship.

She snorted at the first line and tried to hold in her laughter as she read.

Dearest Nora,

Please tell me I'm not too late

To ask you for another date?

Or do you not see us being a two

Because you have another to woo?

No matter what, I need to know

If I should return Cupid's arrow.

Please use this mighty flying steed

To give me the answer I so desperately need.

Because let's be honest, I don't know how to rhyme,

And I'm sure this is taking up too much time.

Coffee? Lunch? Dinner? A walk?

I'll be waiting, hoping to hear an owl squawk...

George

Nora was just rereading the poem and laughing again, when she heard more tapping at her window. She let in another owl, the one which had delivered the other letters, but as usual, it left immediately she'd taken the letter from its leg.

Nora,

Sorry, please ignore the last letter. I wasn't going to send it after all, but Fred added it to the shop's post run this morning. It's okay, I understand that you don't want to see me again. Just... Sorry for Fred's making it awkward.

George

Grinning, Nora summoned a piece of spare parchment and her pen, and wrote out a few versions, before she sent her reply:

Dearest George,

Keep the arrow, and summon your coat,

I loved all the words that you wrote.

I'll meet you in Leicester Square at one,

For some coffee, lunch, a walk and some fun.

And thank you to Fred for sending your note.

(For, not to give him reason to gloat,

But I haven't responded because I couldn't,

I asked your owl to stay put but it wouldn't!)

So long story short, I wasn't standing you up at all,

I'm just a Muggle-born who only really knows how to call.

And, don't worry, I have Muggle money now,

So you won't have to be my cash cow.

Until later, lovely suitor.

(Who I didn't think could get any cuter).

Nora

Three hours later, Nora stood in front of her mirror, turning from left to right. She'd found a pretty red floral sundress which had a tie at the waist and flowed out from her hips.

She'd worn more make up than usual - eyeliner, blusher, lipstick and eyeshadow, in the hope that when George saw her, she might not look like she was dragged through a hedge backwards.

Her hair was freshly straightened and cascaded over her shoulders and her back, showing off its full length..

She finished her outfit with a pair of white trainers (she thought he'd appreciate the practicality), and a small black shoulder bag, into which she popped her sunglasses, Muggle and Wizard money, and some gum. Just in case.

She took a deep breath, locked up, and then apparated to a side street just off Leicester Square. Then, she walked up to a good vantage point in front of the little park and waited.

After ten minutes (he was late again) she noticed George as he walked straight past her and round the corner, looking like he was in a hurry. Frowning, she decided to wait for him to come back. And he did come back. But instead of coming over to her, he looked around, a look of confusion on his face.

She decided to wait and see what happened.

Once again, he disappeared and did a loop, and then he returned, looking even more perplexed.

From his pocket he pulled out her little letter and then he checked his watch. Nora did the same. It was now one-thirty, and she realised she'd been watching him being odd for almost twenty minutes.

"Are you alright?" she asked him, walking up and frowning.

"Yeah," he replied, not looking at her properly. "Sorry, I'm just waiting for someone but I think I was late again and she's left..."

He was scribbling something on a piece of paper, and still not looking at her.

"You're joking... Right?" she asked, thoroughly confused now.

George finally looked up and a blush crept up onto his cheeks, and his eyes widened as he took in her appearance, his eyes tracking her from head to toe.

"Merlin," he whispered, reaching up a hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Sorry," he said, looking back up at her face now. "I uh... Guess I haven't really seen you all dressed up before..."

"Yeah well, you've never officially asked me out before..." she said, trying not to laugh at his expression, which was still slightly dumbfounded.

"Yeah... That was genuinely my loss... your hair's different... Merlin," he stammered, his eyes travelling over her dress again.

This time, Nora grinned. "Shall I put you out of your misery and suggest that we eat first?" she asked.

Deciding to be bold, she wrapped her arm around his and brought her other hand to rest on his forearm.

George grinned at her, recovering quickly, and nodded. They began to walk towards the restaurants, and he said, "Merlin, I really should've made an effort..."

Nora let out a little proud laugh and shook her head. "You look great as always."

xXx

If Nora had thought that their previous date had gone well, she had no idea where to rate this one. By the time they parted, it was past eleven, and they'd not only had lunch, but dinner and drinks, and she was well and truly smitten.

They'd managed to avoid any chat about her 'accident' again, and instead had just enjoyed each other's company immensely.

But, when they were walking along the riverside after drinks, George said something curious which confused her at the time, but that Nora forgot about by the next morning.

He said, "I thought you'd be different…"

"What d'you mean?" she asked, frowning as they walked hand in hand.

"I don't know," he said, frowning. "I just imagined that you'd be stoic, like Harry. Or more quiet… or studious, or... I don't know... Ravenclaw-like…"

She frowned again and then laughed tipsily. "You only found out I was a Ravenclaw on our last date! There's no way you thought I was demure by then," she giggled.

The blood drained from George's face and he nodded.

Noticing his worry, Nora smiled, linked her arm with his, and said, "It's okay, I'll let you off the hook on the assumptions. I can be shy, but I think you bring out a different side in me…"

"I do?" he asked, frowning.

Nora grinned. "Yeah, you do."

And, probably due to the alcohol running in her system, she turned, placed one hand on his shoulder, and the other on the back of his neck, and she kissed him.

His hands found her waist, and he pulled her closer to him as he kissed her back.

It was slow and passionate, and everything that Nora had dreamt of. There were no fireworks, she just felt alive, and energised, and at the same time she felt at peace, and a welcome sense of safety and right-ness filled her.

Butterflies rose from her belly, and her body leant closer to his, her hands meeting at the back of his head now, pulling him even closer.

When she finally pulled away his hands stayed on her waist, and she smiled at him and then bit her lip, blinking slowly up at him.

He smiled back, his eyes tracing over her face, and then he rested his forehead against hers. "There's something I need to tell you," he said. "And I'm worried that you won't take it well."

Nora frowned and pulled her head back. "You are a Death Eater?" she asked, her eyes comically wide.

George laughed despite his worried expression and shook his head. "No, no way. Never have been, never will be. It's nothing like that, it's just a… it's complicated… and I need to figure out the best way to tell you…"

"What is it?" she asked, frowning again.

"Not yet," George said, shaking his head. And then he leant in, capturing her lips with his once more.

They walked for a while longer, and then hailed a black cab to take them back to Nora's flat, George reminding her that she was a bit too tipsy to Apparate, while they realised that he could walk back to his flat from there.

When Nora woke the next morning she couldn't quite remember how she got back to her flat, but she knew that she'd spent the night alone. She remembered the taxi, but she didn't remember past the first five minutes of the journey - the last thing she remembered was resting her head on George's shoulder.

She sat up quickly, and sighed loudly when she realised she was still in the same clothes as the previous day, her bag hooked on her bathroom door handle, and a small note on the pillow next to her from George.

She flumped back against her pillows and groaned, reaching a hand up to her forehead. And then she remembered the kiss, and smiled to herself.

And then she remembered she had work in twenty minutes.

xXx

Nora had grown accustomed to George finding her, so much so that she didn't even try to look for him on the Thursday or Friday, even though she thought about him all the time. She felt like he would find her. And, luckily for her, it took less than two days for George to seek her out again.

She was cooking dinner on Friday evening, making up a random recipe which she just felt would taste good, when there was a knock at the door.

Nora had never had any unscheduled visitors, so she was incredibly surprised by the sound. She waited for a little while, and then came another knock and she knew that she couldn't ignore it again.

She opened the door to reveal George, who was wearing bright magenta robes which clashed beautifully with his red hair. She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her the instant she saw his clothes.

"What?" he asked, smiling.

"There are no words," she said, laughing again and indicating his robes.

"I'll have you know, I've been toning my clothes down for you, so you'd better get ready for more fun and bright shades. Got it?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Hi," she said, smiling.

"Hey. Sorry for the intrusion. I'll be out of your hair in a second, I was just closing up the shop and had an overwhelming urge to see you," he said, smiling at her.

Nora blushed and ducked her head, before she shifted, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Well, would you like some dinner?" she asked when his arms wrapped around her middle and he hugged her to him.

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, but I really did just pop by to see you, don't worry. I won't intrude."

"Oh no," she said, grinning, "it's no trouble at all…" She pulled him into the flat and closed the door.

"Should I be scared, worried, excited, or all of the above?" he asked, eyeing up the now overflowing pot on the stove.

Nora swore and immediately started tending to the pots. "I only looked away for a minute!" she complained, much to George's amusement.

"Here," he said, laughing. He waved his wand and moments later the pots were rearranging themselves, the ginger was being grated by a floating grater, and everything seemed under control.

"You should have seen Fred and me when we first moved out. Could barely boil an egg," he said, when Nora turned to him with a look of awe in her eyes.

"You can boil an egg?" she asked, gasping.

George frowned. "Course. Not like it's- oh," he said when he noticed her giggling. "You're playing with me."

"It's too easy... I forgot quite a lot of things, but I've kept myself alive for almost a year now..." she said, grinning. Her smile dropped slightly and she pursed her lips, looking around her studio. "It's... It's really not much, but-"

"It's perfect. Don't worry," he said, bringing his arms around her and pulling her close.

"It's really small," she said, still staring at the washing drying in the corner. "And I still haven't mastered many household charms..."

"Don't worry," he repeated.

"It's only one room..." she said with a grimace.

George's face dropped. "What? Where do you go to the toilet?"

She could tell from the slight twinkle in his eye that he was messing with her. "Bucket in the corner."

His smile really did drop then, and he looked over to the open corner of the room. Nora giggled and he rolled his eyes.

"But, thank you," she said, linking her arms around his neck again, "I was worried you'd hate it." She leant in for a kiss.

"What if the food burns?" he mumbled against her lips.

Nora giggled. "How long do you think we'll be kissing for?"

"As long as we can if I'm honest..." he whispered, running his thumb over her lower lip. "I can't stop thinking about you."

"Then you owe me dinner," she whispered.

"Right you are," he replied, "that's a bet I'd take any day."

A/N: took inspiration for the 'George walking past Nora because he didn't recognise her' part from my own Grandparents' first date. My grandad genuinely didn't recognise my grandma when she was all dolled up. He walked past her about three times, trying to find where they were meant to meet, and it took her asking him if he actually wanted to go on a date with her for him to realise it was her!