George Weasley walked out of the cabin. Lee Jordan had suggested they use it for the summer and Fred and George graciously accepted. It had been over a year since Harry had destroyed Voldemort and everyone needed to celebrate. Only for the Weasley family, it took a year to get everyone off from work at the same time.
It also seemed like everyone in his family was getting married. Bill had married Fleur shortly after what the Daily Prophet was calling "The Final Battle." George was glad that mess was over, as he had to wear awful teal robes. Fred had also been married in the past year to Angelina Johnson. They were now expecting a baby within the next few months. Ron and Ginny were also getting married; Ron to Hermione and Ginny to Harry. George started to feel slightly depressed at the thought of not having someone to fill that empty void in his life. He had only one real relationship and that was with Katie Bell. They had ended up going out for about six months, and at the end of the relationship, felt more like close friends than anything else.
The door opened behind him, and his twin stepped out.
"What's the matter, mate?" Fred asked.
"Nothing, just thinking up some new items for the store," George lied.
Fred raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that. Speaking of the store however, Verity just sent an owl saying that your Hiccup Wafers are flying off the shelves. She also said that your Sneezing Snacks work. She said the people that we tested on stopped sneezing after an hour, which is better than the first batch of people who didn't stop sneezing for a week. She has also gathered up some people for trying out our Animal Acoustic Crackers as well." He paused at the sight of his twin. George didn't even look remotely interested. "What is up with you?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. Just a little lonely, you know?"
Fred nodded. "Hey, Lee told me about a nice little pond through those woods over there." He pointed behind the house. "Why don't you go there and relax? It's been a stressful year. Besides the Final Battle, you've been coming up with ideas left and right. Just go and get some much needed rest and relaxation."
"I guess your right. Let me just go get changed. I don't want to attract much attention with my cloak on," he laughed lightly. He went inside and changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a t-shirt. He threw some tennis shoes and went out the back door. Passing through the kitchen, he saw Hermione and Ginny looking through color swatches and giggling. He rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind him and set out on the path Fred told him about. He took in the scenery and felt completely at ease. He came to the end of the path and stopped. What he saw nearly took his breath away.
Near the edge of the lake was a girl. She had long brown wavy hair and when the sunlight flickered through the trees, he could see dark red highlights peek through. She wore her hair in a partial ponytail to keep it out of her face. She wore a black halter top with denim shorts and her sandals were tossed to the side as her feet soaked in the water's edge. She had her head down, drawing with what looked like to be a bit of charcoal.
Thunderstruck, he just stood there a bit longer. She continued to draw for what seemed like forever. Then she lifted her head and began to look around as if to see if anyone was there. George jumped behind a nearby bush and watched her through the branches. She evidently thought no one was around and grabbed her bag that was behind her. Searching through it, she found what she wanted. Looking around once more, she pulled out what she had been searching for.
A wand.
George let out a small gasp. That was the last thing he expected her to pull out.
She looked around yet once again and flicked her wand toward the lake. About a dozen lily pads shot out the end of her wand and landed in the lake. She smiled and continued to draw.
After a moment or two, she said (her head still down drawing, "Are you going to stay in those bushes all day and watch me draw or are you going to come out?" Her accent was American.
Damn, George thought. He slowly untangled himself from the bush and stepped out, his face the color of his hair.
She stood up and brushed her pants off. She held out her hand and said, "I'm Claire. And you are?"
"I'm George," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Nice to meet you," she said, sitting back down on the ground.
"How did you know I was back there?" he asked, sitting down next to her.
She leaned in close as if she wanted only him to hear. "I actually got an 'A' on my Divination O.W.L.," she laughed.
George laughed nervously and watched as she put her final touch on her drawing. She was a damn fine artist.
"How did you know I was a wizard?" he blurted out suddenly.
A small smile crept up on her face. He was beginning to like her smile more and more. "Well, besides barely passing Divination, I have heightened senses when there is a witch or wizard around. It's like I can feel the magic pulsing through them. Weird, I know."
"No," George smiled, "not weird at all."
She grabbed her wand and pulled out a small spell book. She opened it to a earmarked page, pointed her wand to the drawing, and muttered, "Coloro!" Color came from her wand and spread across the paper. After a moment, the entire drawing was filled with color. She smiled and said, "I got this book at Mavenhurst Boulevard. It has a bunch of spells one can use to help their drawings come to life. I don't know what I would do without it."
"Mavenhurst Boulevard?" George asked.
"Oh, it's in New York City. I believe you have something similar called Dialong Alley or something like that?"
"Diagon Alley. Yeah, we do. Actually, my brother and I have a store there."
"Really? What's it called?"
"Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes."
"Really? I really like your products," she said, laughing a bit at the slightly shocked look on his face. "My cousin lives in Britain. She sends me some of your things all the time." She went searching through her bag and pulled out a Canary Cream. She took the wrapping paper off and popped it into her mouth. Suddenly, she turned into a large yellow canary. After a few moments, she turned back into herself and was laughing. George was also laughing.
"I never get tired of those," he laughed. After the laughter died down, he asked, "Would you like to go and see Diagon Alley sometime?"
"Of course I would! Do you want to go tomorrow? We can Apparate there. I just got my license before this trip. To be honest, the reason we're taking this trip is because in the fall I'm set to work an exciting job at the American Ministry," she said.
"What job is that?"
"I will be working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I will mainly be working for the house elves registration sector. During my time at Salem, I was the head of House Elf Liberation Front, or H.E.L.F."
George smiled to himself as he thought of Hermione. "You definitely need to talk to Hermione."
"Who?"
"My friend. She's marrying my youngest brother."
"I would really like to meet them," she smiled. She looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh no! I'm late. I have to give my grandmother a bath." She winced. "Not a pretty site. If you ever want to talk or hang out, I live just over there." She pointed toward another path. "Take the left fork in the road and that will lead to my cabin. I hope to see you soon." She smiled and blushed. She grabbed her bag and sandals and ran off to the path.
"I hope to see you soon, too," George replied to her back.
