Song title taken from the Eminem & Rihanna song.

"That's the beauty of love, isn't it? Once you're bit by the bug the person seems absolutely perfect."

The Azkaban fiasco had the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Ministry on edge, triggering rumors and quiet chaos. A department-wide meeting was to be held in the Auror’s Office, with Harry and Dawlish arriving barely on time, still murky from the night before and utterly exhausted.

Harry headed to the front of the room, a room full of gloomy eyes greeting his. “Good morning everyone,†he began suppressing a yawn. “As you may already know, our team was attacked by an unknown perpetrator last night as we were patrolling Azkaban; it unfortunately resulted in the death of several inmates and guards along with the escape of many high-profile criminals, including former Death Eaters. There was one survivor however, who is being held here at the Ministry. Dawlish has done an excellent job interrogating him and we will update everyone on any news when we can.â€

Murmurs swept the room with many suspicious looks darted to Draco, whose jaw was tensing. “Since so many criminals are at large, I am requesting that everyone work more hours until we at least have some leads to their capture. My team that consisted of Dawlish, Granger, Weasley and other officers will be working a half day until noon due to the extensive amount of work from last night. Everyone else will receive notice of their change of schedules. Any questions?†A few groans and signs erupted but no question, prompting Harry to dismiss them.

Rosalind zombied over to her desk, fighting the urge to lay her head down. Breckenridge and Lucille were napping with their eyes halfway open, and another wizard was snoring loudly in the corner. Rosalind dipped her quill in the bottle of ink, scanning the form for her report. The majority of the questions were general but become specific, requiring her to list every spell she used and what was used against her. What would happen if she were honest? She could make it look like she acted defensively, since there was no way to prove exactly what happened during the skirmish. But then again Hermione saw what she did and she was pretty sure she would rat her out if she had the chance. She saw that Bowen was heading to his office and acted quickly, knowing she had to execute this right.

Rosalind knocked on his door firmly, smiling shyly through his window. He looked up while reading a file and smiled widely, waving for her to come in. "Ah Miss Rosalind! Come in come in, make yourself at home." She stepped in carefully letting the door swing shut behind her. "Please, take a seat. You have a question I presume?"

Rosalind nodded, holding her breath. "Yes Captain Bowen, I was filling out my report from last night's escapade and got a little stuck on the last section dealing with the spells that were used." She clears her throat, voice shaky. "I'm trying really hard to remember everything but I can’t seem to remember it all-I’m exhausted-but there was a stressful moment when I lost my composure on a former Death Eater." Bowen's brow furrows, eager for more details. "He attacked me sir, twice and the second time he was armed with a wand. He started to use Unforgivable Curses against me and I panicked...I didn’t know what to do and in the process I performed the first spell that came to mind and that was the Cruciatis Curse," her voice falters, a tear glistened down the corner of her eyes. "I had no idea I had it in meâ€"but I was just so scared for my life I didn't know what else to do." She looked down sheepishly, gazing at the brooch on his cloak.

Bowen's face grew solemn. For a second Rosalind feared the worst, that she was going to get fired on the spot. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, she thought. I knew this was a bad idea.

The portly man's face turned clammy, shocked by the news. "That is a grave realization, Miss Morana," he finally said, his normally cheerful tone gone. "It takes a lot of hatred and pure madness to generate a Cruciatis Curse; most wizards can't even bear the thought of causing such pain onto another. I appreciate your honesty Rosalind and normally there would be sanctions for this, but this was a different circumstance. I believe that you are doing the noble thing by coming into my office and confessing." He leans forward and lowers his voice. "But between you and I, it is best that you do not mention your use of the Curse at allâ€"it is best to leave that blank." He looks into her eyes for a quick second before sitting in his normal position. "Anyway," he continues less somberly, "You have been doing a fine job here at the Ministry these last few weeks and we are very pleased with you. Keep up the good work." He smiles and his door opens, her cue to leave. "Don't hesitate to speak to me with any more questions or concerns!"

Rosalind nods, remembering to smile genuinely. "Thank you so much Captain Bowen, I appreciate this so much." He tells her not to mention it and she turns on her heel to leave, breathing a sigh of relief. She had almost forgotten how easy that was. She felt slightly guilty about lying but she didn't technically lie. Rodolphus did attack her twice and he did deserve what she did to him, even if he didn't strike her with a Curse first. It was just a white lieâ€"no one was hurt by it.

She sat down at her desk, the last two hours passing slowly. The Azkaban team is exhausted and stressed and the rest of the department was frantic. The Daily Prophet was going to get a hold of what happened soon and they didn't want the bad publicity; the wizarding world was just beginning to relax that the Dark Lord was finally gone, this would cause a frenzy. At the first stroke of noon Rosalind packed her belongings and headed straight to the door, almost crazed without sleep.

She and Draco walked the halls together in silence. The lift jerked causing her to fall back into his chest. He held her for a second longer than he intended, inhaling a familiar scent of peppermint. Rosalind glanced up at him, a mischievous smile forming on her lips. The golden grilles open and they walked together through the atrium, Draco dragging his feet behind her.

"Are you heading home?" he manages to ask.

Rosalind doesn’t appear to hear him. A lanky, ginger headed gentleman was standing by the fountain waiting for her.

"George?" she asked as a huge grin spread over her face, her pace quickening. "What are you doing here?"

The young man beams down at her, pulling her into an embrace. "I got word that you were going to be let off early today," he said with a broad smile.

"Who told you that?"

"I do have a brother and father that work for the Ministry, you know." He didn't even seem to notice that Draco was there, whose jaw was beginning to tense.

"Oh yeah," Rosalind laughed. "You're right. Oh!" She turned to Draco and dragged him by the elbow. "I'm not sure if you two know each other but Draco this is George Weasley, the guy I was telling you about."

Draco stood up to his full height, right at George's eyebrows. George was taller but Draco’s shoulders were broader. They didn't say anything to each other for a long moment, Draco breaking the silence first.

“We’ve met before.â€

George had a glimmer of hatred in his eyes but compressed his emotions. "Would you like to grab a bite to eat? I was hoping I could see you for a bit today, I have someone else running the shop right now for me." His torso shifted away from the blonde haired man, boxing him out.

"I'd love to." Rosalind smiled then leaned over to Draco. "See you tomorrow, right?"

He raised his brow trying to hide his annoyance. "Yeah. See you tomorrow Morana." She opened her mouth to say goodbye but he had already turned the other way. She shrugged and left with George, who put his arm around her.

Draco observed them from a distance before he Apparated. What did she see in him? They looked so odd together. She could do better. He ignored the strange pit of annoyance in his stomach before heading home.

"Where are we going?" Rosalind asked.

"I was thinking we could grab some desserts to take home and watch those Muggle motion pictures," he answered thoughtfully. "I know you're beat from what happened last night."

"You got that right," she laughed. They stopped by the ice cream parlor grabbing gelato, cookies, and hot chocolate then headed to George's flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

It was very modest: the walls and floor were the same sandpaper color; the decorations were mostly various drawings from loyal customers or an odd trinket from a junk shop; the kitchen, living, dining and bedroom were all merged into the same room like a studio. A bed sat in the far corner, candles floating above it in a straight line giving it a cozy feeling.

Rosalind glanced at a collage of two identical wizards through the ages, ranging from birth to nineteen years old. "You and Fred were absolutely identical," she observed.

George chuckled. "No, I was definitely the more handsome of the two. But I sure do miss him." He sighed then turned his gaze to Rosalind, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hello beautiful," he said sweetly.

She smiled timidly. "Hello."

"Come here," he motioned for her to come closer to him, pulling her to his chest. He looked into her eyes, slowly cupping the back of her head nearer to his. She closed her eyes and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. He grinned, barely able to contain his excitement. "So now that we have properly said hello, shall we start on dessert?" She laughed and they dug in, sitting on his small couch.

"So what did you tell Malfoy about me?" George asked curiously.

Rosalind laughed. "Nothing really, he just knows we've been on a few dates."

"And you didn't tell him how devilishly handsome and charming I am? How rude."

She smiled. "I told him you're a really sweet guy."

"Ah so you really did talk about me." He swirled his caramel apple gelato and took large bites, not looking at her. "I didn't know you two were friends."

There was that word again. Friends. "We work together. We're partners. I don't know if we're exactly friends," she admitted.

George looked pleased with her answer. "That's good. You should keep it that way," he said casually.

Rosalind furrowed her brow. "Why?"

"Let's just say that his lot isn't the friendliest around and love to murder people for the fun of it."

"Are you talking about his dad being a Death Eater? They don't even talk to each other anymore," she said defensively.

"He's a former Death Eater himself Rosie, he's a selfish little git that will only save his neck when in danger," he replied in a terse tone.

"He didn't kill anyone, he was basically forced to do everything he did," she retorted.

"He told you that?"

"Yes."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes, I did."

George licked his spoon, eating the remaining gelato. "I still don't like him." He flicked his wand and Banished the trash into the garbage bin, sighing. "But enough about Malfoy, I want to spend time with you." He leaned over and planted a kiss on her nose.

Rosalind smiled stiffly, feeling odd. It bothered her that George wasn't fond of Draco but she had no idea of their history. He popped a movie in his DVD player and relaxed onto his bed.

"Are you coming or do I have to convince you to join me?"

Rosalind eyed him and shrugged. "I don't know. I might need some convincing."

George smirked, standing inches from her face. "I think you'll find that I can be rather convincing."

"Try me," she challenged.

He looked at her lips, closing in on them in a passionate kiss. She laced her fingers through his hair as he gripped her thighs and deepened the kiss. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his torso while he pushed her up against the wall, kissing her neck all the way down to her lower collarbone and up again. She moaned, pulling him closer and tightening her grip on him; he thrust her against his bed, kissing her intensely, quickly and ravenously.

"Oh George..." She whispered as he sucked at the sensitive skin around her sides and navel.

He kissed her slowly, making his way back up to her neck and mouth again. He licked the insides of her lips, grazing her teeth before she opened her mouth and the kiss was deepened once more.

George stopped, noticing Rosalind's heavy breathing. "Told you I could be rather convincing,†he said with a lopsided grin.

"Oh so you're done kissing me now?" she teased.

"No," he whispered. "I'm not done with you yet." He lunged his body onto hers, rocking his torso and pelvis against her own. Their breathing became ragged, their hearts were almost beating in sync; there was a rush of electricity and passion between them.

By the time they stopped kissing each other the movie was halfway over; Rosalind's hair was a mess as well as George's. She rolled on her side and faced him. "Don't stop kissing me," she said softly.

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. "It only gets better with time, I promise."

"You sound awfully confident," she observed.

George smiled, moving his body beside hers. "I'm full of surprises," he said casually. "So don't you go too crazy once you fall in love with me."

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" she asked with a small laugh.

He stretched his limbs then wriggled closer to her. "Because up until recently you didn’t think you deserved it. I’m here to show you that you do and how wonderful it is.â€

Her stomach fluttered. “How do you do it?†She says with a blush. “Know exactly what to say to give me butterflies?â€

George grins, caressing her face. “Because you give them to me too.†He gazes at her intently, the reflection of the TV in his eyes. “When we’re together I forget about all the troubles I had before I met you.â€

Rosalind was smiling so wide she could barely see. "So do I. You sound too good to be true," she said honestly.

George laughed, pulling her onto his chest. "I know. But that's the beauty of love, isn't it? Once you're bit by the bug the person seems absolutely perfect." He gazed into her twinkling eyes, kissing her forehead.

"I don't even know what to say," she said genuinely. "This is just so different-I’ve never felt so happy around someone before. This is just-†Her hands gripped his, searching for the right words. "I don't know. I have no words. Everything just feels incredible when I'm with you."

"Good." He took both her hands, bringing them to his lips for a kiss, gazing into her eyes. "You don't have anything to worry about with me."

She grins, heart still fluttering. "I know."

He smiled. "You'll get used to it. In the meantime, you should probably get some rest, I do have to go back to work soon but we can take a nap if you'd like."

"I'd like that," she said quietly. She tucked her head in the nook under his arm, set her hand over his chest and closed her eyes. George kissed her on the forehead once more and drifted into a light sleep.

Hours later Rosalind awoke by herself. She sat up dazed and saw a note on the kitchen counter along with a tray of sandwiches and tea. She rubbed her eyes and read the thin, elegant writing:

There was an incident at the shop and I didn't want to wake you. I have some food for you on the counter so make yourself at home. Feel free to make one last stop downstairs before you say goodbye. I can't wait to see you again.

Regards,

George

Rosalind smiled, still elated. She couldn’t get enough of George. She grabbed her belongings and headed downstairs for one last look.

The stairs led to the back of the shop by the registers. A young, annoyed looking witch was ringing up a customer and Rosalind could see George by the Love Potions, coercing a girl to buy them. She observed him from afar and when the girl left with a box he winked at her to let her know it was okay to talk.

"I see you're convincing in more ways than one," she said to him.

He shrugged in fake modesty. "I am a salesman love, it's my job to make sure I am the best around."

Her heart thumped. Love. It sounded natural. "There you go being cocky again," she teased.

George grinned. He mouthed the words, "Follow me," and led them to the storage room. He pulled her into an embrace. "I apologize for being unromantic but I can't exactly be affectionate in front of customers," he explained. "And I know you have to go so I'll try to be quick."

Rosalind looked up into his big brown eyes. They were shinning with happiness, emphasizing his laugh lines. "Thank you for being so sweet to me."

"You deserve it," he said gently. He pulled her chin and kissed her slowly, Rosalind standing on her tippy toes to fully reach him. Their lips parted and she hugged him tight.

"I'll see you soon?" she asked quietly.

"Sooner." He held her hand and kissed it. "Come back over tonight. I’ll owl you."

Rosalind gave him one last smile and headed home. In her lovely trance she almost forgot about the warning she had received last time she was there. She walked the perimeter and blasted protective and revealing spells to double check everything was alright before walking inside.

The apartment was eerily quiet. Nothing looked like it had been moved; she wished there was a spell for knowing who had been where in certain areas. She searched and searched the flat but found nothing so she had to conclude that no one had been there but she still felt uneasy. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe it was gut intuition; something wasn't completely right. It was clear no one had been inside, but what if they were following her everywhere? She began to sweat at the thought. No, no, she was overreacting. If she felt unsafe for another few days she would tell someone at work, she decided. That felt like a good idea. Hopefully she was wrong and she was not being targeted, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Should Rosalind have lied to Bowen or was it not a big deal? Let me know what you guys think! I know this was a rather fluffy chapter, but I love how sweet George is to her. He'll come back soon. Thank you so much for reading!

Next chapter: Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?