Chapter 3

Thursday came too quickly and Jessica found herself getting ready in the back of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She brushed her long brown hair away from her eyes and attached a small barrette to a small bunch of hair above her forehead.

"Got a hot date?" the mirror asked Jessica in an alluring tone. Making a note to never use the male mirror ever again, Jessica headed out to the store. Lee was not there yet, so she took a few more orders.

George came up behind her. "You are off right now!"

"I know, but there's nothing better to do."

"You could be waiting for Lee."

"I am. He's not here yet."

"You shouldn't be doing this. Here." He reached forward and took the bag she was filling with purchases from her. His breath caught as he touched her hand slightly. His ears turned slightly red, but she did not notice.

"George, I'm here, I work for you guys. I can't be here and not work. You're paying me anyway. It just doesn't seem possible for me."

"Why? Have you lived?"

Jessica looked taken aback as her face adopted a faraway expression, and George was immediately sorry. "Look, George, I have lived. The life out there for me leads nowhere. I have a job, and it is my life."

"That is so sad, Jessica. The world is not against you, if you haven't noticed."

The girl's soft face took on a professional sort of terse look that rivaled Professor McGonagall. "I have noticed, thank you very much, but I don't want to leave you guys alone."

"Alone?" He waved his hands at all the customers. "Does this look alone to you?"

"These people are not close to you."

"Jessica, you've always been guarded when it comes to people close to you. Why are you like this?"

"If you lose someone close to you, you would too."

"Is this about your parents?"

"No, this is not about my parents. They died before I became too close to them."

"Then who'd you lose?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

George's voice went so tender that Jessica nearly gasped at the tone. "Time is running out, Jess. Sooner or later, you'll find someone and then I'll never know."

"I promise I'll tell you one day," Jessica said.

"You promise me?"

"I promise."

"You have to shake on that one." He held his hand out. Jessica smiled at him before slipping her hand into his and shaking it firmly.

Lee walked into the store then. Jessica self consciously took her hand out of George's and walked over to him.

"Well, let's be going." Lee led her to the busy December street. "Well, when deciding where to take a lovely lady like you, only one place came to mind. I thought La Maison de Cher is the only place for Jessica Baine."

Jessica blushed. "Lee! I'm not that pretty!"

"You are beautiful, no matter what the Weasley twins may think."

Jessica was immediately interested. "What do they think?"

Lee looked up at the starlit sky. "Well, Fred thinks of you as such a good friend, and couldn't think one way or another, because you are just his friend, and seriously, he couldn't think otherwise of you. Now, George is a whole different matter. I've heard him say that you are absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful friend he ever had. Honestly, if I didn't know that he's just your friend, I'd be jealous and cautious of him."

Jessica looked away. For some reason, the description of George's opinion of her made her face fall. "Well, they are both my friends."

"I know that, and I'm glad I don't have them for competition. With George Weasley for competition, I would be pranked from every side!"

Jessica laughed forcedly. "That you would!"

"Ah, here we are!" Lee pointed at a sleigh with Thestrals reigned to it.

All Jessica could do was stare. "I thought we were going to La Maison de Cher!"

"We are! This is what's going to take us there!"

Lee smiled charmingly. "A lovely lady like you should ride in style!"

Blushing, Jessica allowed herself to be handed into the carriage. Lee got in and then tapped the side of the carriage with his wand. Jessica could not help but enjoy the ride. She saw witches shopping for Christmas gifts and such, and as they rode along, the snow began to fall.

Lee looked at his date. He did not have a crush on her, but being romantic around her was amazingly easy. She seemed to have such a huge heart, ready and waiting for love. It just needed to find the right one, or realize that she already knew him. Her brown hair fluttered slightly in the breeze and he made a mental note to tell George that Jessica's beauty is enhanced by snow. She turned and smiled at him.

"This is wonderful!"

When they reached their destination, he helped her out of the carriage and led her into the large restaurant. Her jaw dropped as she entered. Chandeliers and candles were everywhere. The waiters and waitresses were dressed in tuxedos and had white napkins draped on their arms as they conducted food to each table.

A host came up to them. "Monsieur, Mademoiselle, do you have a reservation?"

Lee stepped forward. "Yes, Jordan, for two?"

"Oui, Monsieur, this way please." He gracefully led the twosome to a small candlelit table in a darkened corner of the restaurant. He left their menus to them and went back to his station.

"Order whatever you want," Lee whispered in her ear.

Jessica blushed and looked at the menu. The prices were insanely high. "Lee, are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, then, I don't even have to look. Can I get lobster?"

"You can get something more than that if you like."

"I have not had lobster since…" her voice trailed off.

"Since when?"

"Since a long time," she said unconvincingly.

Lee raised an eyebrow, but did not push because the waitress came back.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Yes, please, we'd like two lobsters and," he said as he turned to Jessica, "what would you like to drink?"

"Water."

"A water," he said, raising his eyebrow again at her, "and a glass of merlot, please."

"Oui, Monsieur." She left the table.

"Just water?"

"It's the best thing for you, and it's all I wanted."

"All right. You would be a cheap date if I took you anywhere else," he laughed. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"Well, nothing much, just working."

"Is that really all you do?"

"Yes, pretty much. I enjoy it. It keeps my mind off everything else."

"What's everything else?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out. How about you?"

"Well, you know me, the usual mischief making, selling Quidditch supplies. I'd like to be a Quidditch announcer."

"Have you tried?"

"Well, I was the announcer at Hogwarts, but that never gets you anywhere."

"I see. You should give it a shot."

"Thanks. I'd like to. What exactly do you do at WWW?"

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? Mostly keep the twins in check, keep them from ripping each other apart, while attempting to keep the store in order."

"What do they do?"

"Well, most of the time they invent stuff, but when they're not; Fred's taken to checking the girls out while George has taken to sneaking up behind me and surprising me in the middle of whatever I'm doing."

"I see." The conversation was going exactly where he wanted it to. "Why do you think he does that?"

"I don't exactly know. I think he's bored in some respects. I think he and his brother are not as close as they used to be. In all honesty, I think Fred wants to break away while George wants to get out of Fred's rule."

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Poor George. If they'd only communicate about it, things would happen."

"Think about their personality, though. Wouldn't Fred want to go about it the sneaky way, throwing as many pranks into the pot as possible?"

Jessica laughed. "Yeah, Fred would do that."

Their food arrived. As they ate, they talked about nothing in particular. They ordered a large Baklava for dessert and split it. On the way back, Lee was thinking to himself how well he had gotten out on his end of the deal. All he had to do was ask her out again, keep her as his girlfriend. It would be difficult, because if Jessica saw no spark, she was the type of girl to break it off immediately to save breaking any guy's heart. The maintaining of the relationship would be up to Fred.