"Ready George?" Fred called. George had been fixing his hair for the last 20 minutes. He wanted to make sure he looked perfect.
"Just a few more minutes!" he called to his brother. Fred popped his head into the bathroom where George was running his fingers through his hair. "Do I look okay?" George asked.
"You look as handsome as always. But perhaps a little over-styled…" George's hair was gelled into place, an unusual look for him. Fred ruffled his auburn locks, releasing his hair from the hold of the gel. "Much better," he stated. George looked polished, yet casual with his newly messy hair. He looked good without looking like he was trying too hard. It was perfect.
George thanked his brother and they gathered their things to head to the concert. George had immediately bought them tickets to the Weird Sisters when he saw the poster. Not only was Fred excited for his brother to meet up with his soul mate, but he was happy to have a night out.
"So, do you have a plan for tonight?" Fred asked.
George shrugged and said, "I hadn't really thought about it. I'll know what to do once I see her."
"Do you need a wingman? You know I'm terrific at that," Fred stated.
"I actually feel perfectly charming tonight. I think I'll be alright on my own, but I will happily fix you up with whatever friend she's with."
"Ah, how kind of you Georgie." The two reached the crowded club and headed straight to the bar for a drink. George immediately had his radar on, searching for Molly. He wanted to spot her first, and then he would figure out how to talk to her. Being tall was certainly advantageous in this situation, but there were still a lot of people to sift through and it was rather dark.
Fred handed George a brew and they found a spot near the door, keeping an eye on concertgoers still filtering in.
"Remind me what she looks like again?" Fred asked, scanning the crowd.
"She's small, maybe 5' 2" or 5' 3" and she has straight dark brown hair that's about shoulder length. And she has light eyes and freckles and the most amazing smile. It's like-"
"I can work with that," Fred said, cutting him off. George decided to take a lap around the venue to see if he spotted Molly. Fred would stay by the door and watch to see if she walked in.
George took his time walking around, studying anyone that showed even the slightest resemblance. But he knew as soon as he saw her, his heart would skip a beat and that would be the indicator he needed. He circled the place once more but still couldn't find her. George made his way back towards Fred and noticed he was engaged in conversation with a woman. It should have annoyed him that Fred was distracted, but oddly enough it didn't. He joined his brother and was briefly introduced to the new dame before they quickly parted ways.
"Sorry mate. I promise she came up to me, I was focused on finding your girl," Fred said.
"Don't worry about it. You're allowed some fun. Besides, I don't think she's here yet." The two of them eventually migrated toward the stage, as the opening act came on. Every so often Fred would nudge George and point to a short brunette, to which George would shake his head. He was starting to get nervous that she wouldn't come, but he held out hope. After all, she had said she never misses a show. George tried to relax and enjoy the concert. He had plenty of time to find her.
As the opener's set was coming to a close, George made a trip to the bar for another round of drinks. The bar was essentially empty and he easily placed his order and waited for the bartender to pour a round of fire whiskey. His order finished the bottle, so he had to wait a few moments as the barback went in back to grab a replacement. He leaned on the bar to wait and suddenly there was someone next to him.
"Can I get two fire whiskeys please?" the voice said. George froze, recognizing the sweet American accent.
"It'll be just a moment. We're waiting on a new bottle," said the barkeep.
"I suppose I should apologize for that," George said, turning to her. She looked up at him and he was immediately struck by her piercing green eyes. George smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Finishing all the fire whiskey and making me wait for a drink. How dare you," she joked.
"I know. I'm surprised they haven't kicked me out yet."
"Oh I can make that happen, do you want me to get the bouncer?" she said sarcastically.
"Careful love. If you do that, I won't be able to pay for your drinks."
"I am perfectly capable of buying my drinks," she said.
"I know you are, but I want to buy your drinks. It's the least I can do."
"The least you can do?"
"I believe I owe you for a night of wonderful conversation in complete darkness."
George smiled at her and something in her expression changed slightly, like she was putting everything together.
"Oh shit," she said, looking him up and down, "George Weasley. You really need to have your storefront redone. It doesn't do you justice."
"Oh, that's Fred out front. If it were me he'd be much more handsome."
She laughed, "How'd you know it was me?"
"Not many people in London with an American accent."
"Ah of course. That is my giveaway."
The bartender placed four glasses in front of them and George quickly paid before Molly could protest.
"Are you here with Angelina?" she nodded and he added, "Fred and I are standing right over there if you'd like to join us. I will make sure that Fred is on his best behavior."
"What about you? Are you going to be on your best behavior?"
"I can't make any promises," he smirked. She smiled and said, "I'll grab her and we'll come right over."
George returned to Fred as the crowd started to migrate toward the bar for a refill before the Weird Sisters came on.
"I found her," George said with a stupid grin on his face.
"I never doubted you for a second."
"And she's coming over here. With Angelina. So please don't ruin this for me."
"I will be the perfect gentleman," he said.
"I don't believe that for a second," George replied.
Fred shrugged as Molly and Angelina joined them.
"Well, well, well…if it isn't Fred Weasley," Angelina said.
"Ang! Darling, how are you?" He said, kissing both her cheeks. She rolled her eyes but smiled. Molly fell into place next to George and said, "Is he always like this?"
"More or less."
"Then they should get along great," she joked.
"I have to say Molly, I am a little offended that you haven't come into the shop yet. You claim to be a troublemaker."
"Oh I am. I just don't need cheap tricks to play pranks."
George dramatically put his hand over his heart, "Ouch."
"Are you that fragile? I have so much more to dish out."
"I can take it, as long as you can take it back."
"Do your worst," she said.
"I didn't want to have to bring up Kenmare this early, but if you insist."
She shook her head and smiled, "Damn, hit me where it hurts the most."
"How about we call a temporary truce. You don't insult me, I don't insult you, and we enjoy the concert."
"Okay, but just until the concert ends," she held out her hand and George shook it.
The lights went down and the crowd started cheering as the band came out on stage. Molly cheered and a huge smile spread across her face as the music started. George shifted his attention between the band and Molly, as she mouthed every word and moved to the music. Fred and Angelina took turns bringing them drinks and George realized he was feeling a little more than tipsy. And by the looks of it, so was Molly.
Towards the end of the set, Molly turned toward him and grabbed his hand, saying "This is one of my favorites!" She then pulled him forward and started dancing with him. It started out innocent enough, with the two of them facing each other and moving to the music. And then Molly took George's hand and turned around so that she was dancing in front of him, her body pressed ever so slightly against his. The height difference between them was almost comical, with him at 6'3" and her barely at 5'3".
The song came to an end and the mood shifted as the Weird Sisters played one of their few slower songs. Molly took George's other hand and lightly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She leaned her head back into his chest as they swayed to the music, watching the band the whole time. George was trying to suppress the butterflies that were currently in his stomach and simply enjoy the moment. Soon the music ended and it appeared the concert was over. Molly turned around and gave George a small smile. She motioned with her fingers for him to come closer and he bent down. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and George took her hand and squeezed it as they separated.
People started filtering out now as the lights came back on. Molly and George were still holding hands as they followed Fred and Angelina, who were bantering back and forth, and George sighed in relief when they felt the cool spring air hit them. The four of them walked about a block and stopped, determining their next move. Molly and Angelina were talking to each other when Fred said, "Would either of you care for a pint at the Leaky Cauldron?"
Angelina looked toward Molly for an answer and she replied, "I wish we could, but we should get back. Rain check?"
"Sure," George said. The four of them stood there awkwardly for a moment when Fred broke the silence.
"Well my lady, it has been a pleasure," Fred said, kissing Angelina's hand. She rolled her eyes and Fred gently pulled her away from George and Molly. George heard her say, "What are you doing?" and Fred replied, "Shhh…I'm giving them some privacy."
"That was subtle," Molly commented.
"For what it's worth, I had a great time tonight," George said.
"Me too," she nodded.
"Listen Molly, would you like to go out sometime?"
"Oh, so now that you know what I look like, you're suddenly interested?" she challenged.
"Ah that's actually not it at all," she waited for further explanation. "I was interested that night in the dark. And I tried to tell you before we walked out, but you stopped me."
"You certainly didn't seem interested."
George sighed, "I know. I'm still trying to figure out what happened to me that night. I was nervous and I froze up."
"You don't strike me as the nervous type."
"I'm usually not, but you were perfect and I didn't want to say the wrong thing and screw it up."
She ran her fingers through her hair and said, "Shit George, I really wish you would've told me that when we first met."
"Why's that?" he asked.
"Because I liked you, but now I'm sort of seeing someone."
"Oh," he said, disappointed.
"It's new, but it's been going well."
"How'd you two meet?"
"It was at a Prophet party a few weeks ago. I met him towards the end of the night and we went out for a drink afterwards."
George looked down at his feet and nodded, "Sure, got it. I…uh…I hope it goes well."
"I'm sorry George," she said sincerely.
"It's fine, really. I hope you had fun tonight," he said, making his way back toward Fred. Molly stood there and watched him tread back to Fred, with a look of uncertainty on her face. Angelina rushed back towards her and the two took off.
"How'd it go?" Fred asked.
George just shook his head, "She has a boyfriend."
"You're joking," Fred said. George shook his head again, "Well she certainly wasn't acting like she had a boyfriend in there."\
"I should've told her that first night. Things would've been completely different."
Fred consoled him as they apparated back to the apartment. George sat down at the table and Fred immediately opened two butterbeers for them.
"I never thought I could go from feeling so happy to so sad in such a short period of time."
"Alright mate, before you get carried away in the dramatics, let's go through the facts. Molly likes you. As evidenced in the way she was acting around you tonight."
"Maybe she's just flirty. And we had been drinking a lot."
"I don't buy that. The way Molly was looking at you, she wasn't just flirting. And she told you to your face that she likes you."
"No, she said she liked me. As in past tense."
"Don't get hung up on that. The way I saw it, she was more than interested in you tonight."
"What does it matter," George stated, taking another sip of his drink.
"Stay with me here. We know that she started dating someone only a few weeks ago. It's a new relationship. Things could happen."
"Sure, but I don't know that I have the patience to wait for something to happen."
"Have you thought about just trying to be friends with her for now?"
"The last thing I want to do is put myself in the friend zone. I don't want to see her with someone else who makes her happy."
"Fair enough," Fred said as he took a big sip from his drink. Seeing George hurting was killing him, and he knew he had to take action to help him. "Did she tell you how she met this boyfriend?"
"Yeah, she said they met at a Prophet event a few weeks ago," George replied.
Fred got up and started sifting through the pile of mail sitting on the table. "Could it be this Daily Prophet Fundraiser we were invited to about two weeks ago?" Fred asked with a grimace, holding up an invitation they had received.
"Fuck Fred," George said, putting his head in his hands. Fred always went through the mail, and truthfully he didn't think anything of this invitation. The Prophet was always inviting them to events since they often took out advertisements in the paper. Fred hadn't put two and two together. He recalled George saying Molly worked for the Daily Prophet but they never attended the events they were invited to it. Out of habit he pushed the invitation aside.
"I'm sorry, I never even thought about it."
He sighed, "I know, I know. It's not your fault."
"But we can fix this," Fred said, a smile spreading over his face.
"We can?" George asked.
"We can. With the time turner."
"Fred…" George said, concerned.
"Don't argue with me. We can totally do this. You know she likes you. We just have to find her before this other guy does." George was considering the offer when Fred added, "Do you really think she's the one?"
"Yes."
"Then we need to do this. Or else it might never happen for you two."
"I want to, more than anything, but it's risky Fred."
"I know it's risky, and this decision is up to you. But just know I will be there with you if you want to go."
George was weighing the pros and cons in his head. He knew messing with time could be dangerous, but this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. He chugged the rest of his butterbeer and said, "Let's do it." Fred finished his butterbeer with a smile and the two planned out how exactly this would go down.