"Jen, we've been at it for hours. I think we should just call it a night and try again tomorrow."
"Quitter!" Jen cried defiantly at Fred, his dark skin glowing in the vague firelight flicering in the brackets on the wall in the WWW development workshop.
She swished her wand valiantly at a pair of Valarian roots lying innocently on a workstation, unmoving.
He rolled his eyes, yet still held back a chuckle, unable to quash the admiration he felt for this fierce, Laotian woman.
.
They had been trying all day to concoct a new sleep-joke item for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Jen was convinced that the sedative qualities of Valarian root could be adapted into lolly-form to induce irresistible napping for a few minutes.
"I am so close Fred, I just need to find the right frequency to get this root into a liquid form without the bother of soaking, grinding, juicing and straining it - all of which will get very little liquid anyway. Do you want to bother soaking, grinding, juicing and straining?"
She stabbed her wand viciously in his direction and it crackled with blue electricity.
Fred's afro started to stand on end as strands of electricity tickled him from the wand.
"No, of course not Jen. I just think we've tried our best for today," he replied, but he still raised his hands up in surrender.
When the crackle had built up more menacingly, Jen quickly turned back to the Valarian root and zapped it with a sizzle.
.
The root looked un-changed for a moment, then slowly melted down into a puddle of goo.
"By Merlin Jen, you did it!" Fred dropped his hands in awe.
Jen turned to him and squealed in excitement, "EEEEE! Perfect for jelly witches or jelly pythons and almost no processing needed!"
They came together naturally and hugged each other in excitement, Fred getting rather caught up and lifting her off the ground with a spin. When he finally popped her back on the ground they stayed close to each other.
"Jennifer Keothavong, you are a damn genius."
"I know," she grinned wryly.
.
Fred had never seen her smile this close up, her tanned, brown face only inches away, her straight black hair framing her smile with one crooked tooth in the corner.
It was the tooth that finally tipped him over the edge, but just as he was about to pull her close, Jen wrapped her arms around his neck and closed the distance for him.
.
Their lips met with the passion and excitement of new discoveries.
Fuelled by success and innovative new prank products, fuelled further by the closeness they'd developed working together over the past year.
Jen sunk her fingers into the hair at the base of Fred's neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Fred couldn't stop thinking; about her irresistible crooked tooth that he ran his tongue over, of the soft skin of her lips, of the lightning bolts surging up his spine as her fingers intertwined around the back of his neck and trailed across his scalp.
Jen on the other hand, couldn't think at all. She was almost incoherent with sensation, if Fred had asked her a question, she wouldn't have been able to respond. All she knew was that her lips were on fire and the warm spread of pleasure from her stomach all the way to her fingertips was turning her to jelly, just as she had done to the Valarian Root.
.
Fred lifted Jen onto the workstation and lifted his lips to the tender spot of skin just underneath her jaw.
She moaned at the the feeling of his lips gently sucking, kissing, biting.
Before Fred even knew what had happened, her robes were off, dropped onto the workstation, both hands leaning on the table as she pulled his lips back up to hers.
.
As they pushed and pulled back and forth between them, Jen moaned again - although it didn't sound quite like a moan.
A moment later, Fred concluded it definitely wasn't a moan as she fell onto him limply and let out another distinct noise that definitely wasn't a moan.
It was… a snore.
He pulled her off the table and saw she had stuck her hands and even sat on part of the jellyfied Valarian root, which had obviously become neatly absorbed directly through her skin.
He let out a deep belly laugh and pulled Jen off the table as she let out another snore, blissfully put to sleep by the product break-through that had started it all.
.
Picking her up around the knees and shoulders, Fred apparated her to his home down the street from the shop and laid her gently on the couch.
As he tucked a blanket over her Jen let out another incredibly loud snore and Fred chuckled again, before turning off the light and heading to bed.
'We'll have to make sure we dilute that Valarian route in our product, we don't want anyone being quite as knocked out at Jen is now,' he thought to himself, chuckling again.
"Oh my fucking god, you fell asleep!" Annie exclaimed, her hand slapping Jen's arm playfully.
Jen grimaced in embarrassment, "I put my hand and arse directly into some jellyfied Valarian root and it absorbed straight through my skin! I woke up the next morning thinking it was a fucking dream until I realised I was on Fred's couch, in Fred's apartment, with Fred making me coffee!"
Rose guffawed as she added a sugar to Jen's tea and stirred, "What did either of you say?"
"I just said, 'I got done by the Valarian root didn't I?' and he said 'Yeah, real bad. It was adorable and hilarious,' then I got off the couch and turned to leave in the Floo and he said 'Jen, don't go, stay for breakfast' and so I did and then after breakfast he snogged my face off and then said 'I'll owl you' and I needed a shower so I grinned all dopey like and went home and then I came straight here and I have no idea what is happening."
.
Jen took a deep breath and Bee patted her sympathetically on the back - the only one of them to not have openly laughed at the situation.
"What's happening dear, is I believe you and Fred Weasley are now an item and that's lovely, that's a good thing isn't it?" Bee offered kindly.
Nodding her head hopefully, Jen drank her tea quietly in the hopes that the incredibly ridiculous events of last night would make for a great story one day, when she was over the sting and could laugh about it.
.
"Well I for one," Annie piped up, "think it's wonderful that you've finally addressed the almost unbearable sexual tension-"
"LALALALALALALALA!" Bee interrupted loudly with her fingers in her ears.
Everyone giggled raucously as Annie exclaimed again, "Fine! But as the only single lady left here I maintain that until I get a girlfriend I am entitled to make fun of those you here who deserve to be made fun of."
Cries of disagreement rang throughout the apartment and the banter continued as Jen blushed her way through her cup of tea, rather astonished that she was managing to feel so clumsy and mortified, and yet so giddy and happy at the same time.
.
As time would tell, the Valarian root jelly witches turned out to be a great hit at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes… and so did Jen and Fred.