The sun was shining brightly in Diagon Alley as Ron made his way through the procession of shops towards the Leaky Cauldron. He had been given a routine assignment of treading down Knockturn Alley on the report of suspicious behavior being witnessed there. Of course, suspicious behavior in Knockturn Alley was about as common as the sky being blue. It was another ridiculously easy assignment given to him by Harry since he still hadn't finished his discharge work from the French Ministry. Until that was completed and signed off on, he was considered a liability to the British department.

"You've got to have it all done by the time Robards is back," Harry had said to him earlier that day. "He'd have your head by now if he were here."

"Well," Ron had said before turning to leave on his assignment, "I appreciate you going easy on me."

"Seriously, Ron. I'm technically not even allowed to send you down to Knockturn Alley if you're not signed off—" Whatever Harry had said after that, Ron hadn't heard him. He had left the office and come straight to Diagon Alley, where he'd spent the entire morning mulling about in various places.

As he came to the brick wall that divided Diagon Alley from Muggle London via the Leaky Cauldron, he tapped his wand to the wall and watched as the bricks moved aside to let him pass into the pub. The change in lighting from the bright streets of Diagon Alley to darker pub was enough to make Ron blink a few times as he struggled to see around the room.

"Hey Ron!" a familiar voice said. "Over here!"

Ron squinted across the room until he managed to pick George and Bill sitting at a table against the wall. "Hey guys," he said once he joined them. "Sorry I'm late. Did you order already?"

"I had to," Bill said. "I've only got twenty more minutes before I have to get back to Gringotts."

"I didn't," George said while stretching. "I've got all the time in the world."

"Business slow today?" Ron asked as he picked up a menu.

"On the contrary," he said. "It's been quite steady. But I finally hired a new manager to replace you."

"Finally?" Ron asked. "George I haven't worked there in ages."

"You're irreplaceable," he said dryly. "No, actually, I was just lazy. I did the job myself until it just got to be too much with trying to visit and supervise the Hogsmeade shop on top of this one. So I went and hired a new girl who's really whipped the staff into shape." He paused. "I must have been too easy on them, because the efficiency of that place now is almost odd, to be honest. I feel much more at home in Hogsmeade. I've got Lee over there running that place, so it feels more normal."

"Normal meaning chaotic?" Ron asked.

"Only when the Hogwarts's students file down in droves," George said. "And I live for the chaos. I thrive in it. Although, I will admit that the efficiency over here at the Diagon shop is definitely increasing profits leaps and bounds."

"I wonder why," Bill said as he and Ron exchanged smiles.

"What's with this place?" Ron asked as he looked around the pub. "Look at the menu. It seems nicer or something."

"The Leaky?" asked George before he looked around as well. "You haven't heard? It's under new management. Old Tom finally went and retired a few weeks ago. It was big news."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's still going through quite a few changes, but the food's better already," Bill said. "It's the only reason I agreed to meet you guys for lunch here."

"There's the new landlady now," George said as he caught her attention from across the room and waved her over.

"Hello," said a friendly faced woman with blonde hair and round eyes who suddenly approached the table. "And what can I get you today?"

"Tuna on toast please, Hannah," said George. "And some more tea please, when you get the chance."

"I'll have the same, I guess," Ron said before looking up from the menu and at the woman standing there. "Wait a minute, I know you."

She smiled. "And I know you, Ron Weasley."

"Hannah, right?" he asked as he started to realize. "Hannah Abbott. I haven't seen you in years."

"It has been some time," she said. "I never did go back to finish my last year of school."

"I never went back for mine either," Ron said as he nodded to George. "I went to work with him."

"So, I heard," she said with a small laugh. "George had told me you're an Auror now. Impressive."

"It's a living," he said modestly as he gestured around the pub. "And this is your place now?"

She nodded. "I just bought it a few weeks ago from Tom." She sighed. "I want to put a lot of work into it, but not change a lot at the same time, since it's got so much history."

"Change as much as you want," Bill said honestly. "Please do."

She laughed a little. "I've had quite a few people tell me that," she said as she made excuses. "But let me go and put this order in and I'll be back around." She looked down at Ron. "You'll have to tell me what life in Paris is like. I hear that's where you're living now."

"Was living," George corrected as Hannah started to step back towards the kitchen. "He's back permanently now."

"Maybe not," Ron mumbled as he began drumming his fingers anxiously on the table.

"How's that?" Bill asked.

"Are you planning on going back to Paris?" said George at the same time.

"I don't know," Ron said heavily as the both of them watched him. "I might. I sort of want to."

"What do you mean you sort of want to?" George asked.

"Gerrard," Ron began earnestly, "he's the head of the French Auror department. Well, you two may not believe it, but I ended up doing amazingly well over there. Better than I thought I could, and all the while, I was really enjoying myself. I found myself really loving Paris and everything." He paused. "Anyway, the other day, Gerrard sends me a letter saying that a permanent position would be opening up soon, and that I was the first person he thought of for the job."

Bill and George said nothing.

"And I'm thinking about taking it," he said obviously.

"You're thinking about moving to Paris permanently?"

"Well, maybe not forever," he said. "But in the meantime, yeah."

"When would you leave?" Bill asked.

"I'd have to decide by the 19th," Ron said. "I'd be back to work on the first of May."

"So, you have a little less than two weeks to think about this," George said. "I can't believe you actually want to move there."

"Why not?" Ron asked as his face got a little red. "What's here that's holding me back?"

George had nothing to say, though Bill shrugged. "I don't think it's a bad idea. If it's what you want to do. I mean, there are plenty of times that I wish I was still back in Egypt cracking curses instead of working at the bank here. Hell, Charlie was depressed as anything when he had to make the move back here from Romania after his accident. He's itching to get back out there. This could be really good for you, Ron."

"What'd Harry say about all this?" George asked.

Ron made a face. "I haven't told him. I didn't figure I'd have to tell him unless I was positive I was going. Plus, with the wedding coming up, it's not worth bothering him with."

"Harry has pulled a lot of strings for you," Bill said. "He helped you get through the training process quicker than normal, and if you're planning on picking up and going to Paris, you do owe it to him—"

"That's actually part of the reason I want to go to Paris," he said bluntly. "I mean, Harry's my best mate, but…" He took a deep breath. "It's nice to get away and do things on my own."

"Is that why you haven't even started looking for a new place to live?" George asked. "Mum told me she's been on you about it and that you've said very little about the matter."

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's the same reason I haven't actually finished my discharge papers from the French Ministry either, even though Harry's been on my case about them. I'm lucky Harry's in charge this week, because Robards would never have given me the leeway Harry has."

"You're seriously considering this?" George asked.

Ron sighed. "I don't know. I'm not fully sold on Paris yet, but I'd say I'm definitely leaning towards going more than not."

"We'd come visit you more often," Bill said. "Fleur would love even more excuses to go home."

"That's incentive enough to stay," George said just as Hannah returned and started laying food out on the table. Bill rolled his eyes at him.

"Anything else I can get you?" she asked.

"Looks great," George said with a smile that Hannah returned before she started to walk away. He made no point in hiding the fact that he was watching her go. "You know, I don't remember her from school."

"She was in Hufflepuff," Ron said. "And in my year, and in Dumbledore's Army."

"Obviously I wasn't paying attention," George said as he took a bite of his sandwich. "But she's a sweet girl. Cute, too. Too bad she's got herself a boyfriend."

"Let me guess," Ron asked. "You tried to ask her out already?"

"Crashed and burned," Bill joked.

"Because she has a boyfriend," George said obviously. "Or so she says."

Bill laughed. "She's probably making it up just to get you to go away," Ron found himself snickering too, but George ignored them both.

"I've wondered that," he said. "I've never seen any blokes around here that seem like they would be her boyfriend."

"How often do you come in here?"

"A few times a week," George said. "And before you say anything, I used to come in here just as much as when Tom was running the place. It's just the closest place to my flat."

"You could cook?" Bill suggested.

George made an appalled face.

"You're hopeless," Bill said.

"You know, Ron," George continued as he ignored Bill. "You're friendly with her. Go find out if she really does have a boyfriend."

"Why?" he asked, chewing his sandwich. "So you can find out she really doesn't, and that she actually does just want you to leave her alone?"

"I'm just curious. I only asked her once. It's not as if I sit here and harass her. I'm just nosy as to what kind of guy she's after."

"I'm not doing it."

"Of course not," George said with mock disappointment. "First you quit on me to become an Auror, then you decide to move to Paris, and now you can't even do this for me."

Bill laughed as Ron threw a chip at George. "And you actually wonder why I want to move to Paris?"

"It'll just be a minute," George had said after lunch once he and Ron made their way back into Diagon Alley towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Ron had protested that he really didn't have the time to dawdle, considering he had to get back to the Ministry, but George thought it would be good if Ron popped in to say hello to all of his old coworkers. "They want to see what you're up to," George added as the bell on the shop door tinkled once opened. He gestured for Ron to walk ahead of him, where, just inside, a man in a magenta robe was demonstrating a product to a small crowd of onlookers.

"And you see," the man said to a boy of about ten. "The ink magically vanishes as soon as the intended reader has viewed the message! It's perfect for passing notes with your friends without nosy people looking where they don't belong!"

"Jonas is still the top salesman I've got," George said to Ron.

"That ink stuff," Ron said as he pointed. "That's new."

"I know," George said. "It took me months to get it figured out, but it's at the stage where it does what I want it to." He paused and watched Jonas demonstrate the product for the onlookers. "It was a pain in the arse. My problem was that while the message would disappear after the intended person read it, it wouldn't do it for hours at a time." He looked at Ron. "And what good is that when the whole novelty of the product is to make sure the message disappears right away?"

"It's pretty impressive."

George sighed. "I ended up figuring it out by accident," he said as he made his way behind the shop counter. "It had been so obvious. The sort of thing Fred would have seen right away..." He trailed off and grew suddenly quiet.

Ron smiled fondly as he leaned up against the front counter and observed everything around him. "You've moved a lot of stuff around since I was last here."

"Ever growing and ever changing," George said as his previous upbeat tone returned. "The shop next door may be going out of business, so I'm actually thinking of expanding more."

"Wow, really?"

"Most likely," he said casually as he started to flip through the daily sales ledger. "Not a bad pull for the day so far."

"Not bad at all," said a woman who appeared from the back suddenly. "By the way, George, I re-shelved the entire storage room. It was far too confusing back there."

"I've always meant to do that," George said lazily. "I never got around to it, though."

"Well," the girl said as she pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail, "now you can put it off even longer." She glanced at Ron and smiled. "Hi, I'm Lydia." She reached out her hand.

"Oh," George said, "Lydia this is my kid brother, Ron. Ron, this is Lydia. She's the new manager I was telling you about." He turned towards Lydia. "He used to do your job, but he never went so far as to re-shelf the storage room."

"I'm not that brave," Ron said.

"And here I thought I heard you were an Auror?" she said, still smiling at him.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile, "but they don't teach you how to deal with stuff like that in training."

Lydia laughed as Jonas jumped behind the counter to cash a customer out. "Hey, Ron! How have you been, mate?"

"Good," he said as he stepped to the side so that the customer in question could make their purchase. "Really good."

"Glad to hear it," he said pleasantly as he addressed the customer. "That'll be seven Galleons, four sickles."

"And you're the one who just got back from Paris, right?" Lydia asked.

"Oh, you just wait a second," George said abruptly as he glared at his brother. "He may be headed right back because he's a dirty traitor."

Lydia looked confused as she turned from George to Ron, but Ron simply shrugged and grinned. "I may be moving back," he clarified. "George doesn't exactly approve just yet." He checked his watch. "Speaking of which, I may not have a job to go back to if I don't get back."

"I see," she said, casting George an amused look before she turned and smiled at Ron again. "Well, that's too bad that you may be leaving so soon after getting back."

"Hey, Lydia?" Jonas asked suddenly. "Do we have any more fake wands in the back? These nice people just bought the last of the ones up front."

"Yes, I believe we have an entire box," she said with a friendly smile at the customers. "I'll go have a look." She threw Ron one final glance, her smile suddenly changing to one that seemed far more sincere. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too," he said as he felt a strong urge to smile as she walked away. He turned back towards George, but was surprised to see him staring straight back at him. "What?"

"You tell me," George said. "What was that?"

Ron looked confused. "I don't know what you mean?"

"You're an idiot," he whispered under his breath as Jonas wished the customers a wonderful day as they left. "And a piss poor flirt I might add."

"What the hell are you—?"

"For some reason," George said, "I've gone and hired myself a girl who's going blind, or partly there already, because she was positively beaming at you."

Ron laughed. "She was not."

"Mate," Jonas said as his super positive customer service attitude dropped several degrees to a far more casual tone, "I was dealing with the customers over here and I could tell she was flirting with you."

"She wasn't," Ron said, though his tone didn't sound entirely convinced.

"She's a really nice girl," George said as he put his quill down and leaned in towards his brother. "And better looking than a lot of the girls you could pull."

"Oh, yeah?" Ron asked. "Then why haven't you asked her out?"

"Because I'm her employer," he said obviously. "Plus, she's a little too clever for my tastes. But hey, you love clever girls."

"What do you want me to do?" Ron asked, wondering where this was going. "I've got to get back to work."

"Ask her out," George said as if it was the most obvious realization in the world. "It'll take a few seconds."

"I just met her."

"Which is why you ask her out to get to know her better," he said, looking at Ron as if he had a second head. "And you're honestly bright enough to be an Auror?"

"Maybe another time," Ron said before he started to make his way towards the door.

"Why wait?" George called after him. "I mean hey, maybe you two will hit it off and you'll have a reason worth staying in England for."

"Nice try. I'll see you later."

"Hey," George said, just as Ron put his hand on the doorknob to pull it open. "Didn't you say you needed a date to Ginny and Harry's wedding? You know, when Hermione shows up with her boyfriend…"

Ron slowly stopped and turned around to look at his brother, his face full of sudden thought. "You really think she was flirting with me?"

"I'd bet money on it," George said, right as Lydia suddenly reappeared with a large box in her hands.

"Oh, you're still here," she said pleasantly when she noticed Ron standing by the door.

"Yeah," he said, still looking at George before turning towards her. "Here, let me help you with that box."

"I swear, you have to spell it out for that one," George mumbled to Jonas as he watched Ron take the box and walk towards the front of the store with Lydia. "Sometimes I wonder how we're related."

"Harry and Ginny are getting married?" Jonas asked.

George made a face. "Damn it…"