I know this Chapter is shorter than the others, but forgive me. I liked this chapter, it gets into the darker stuff just a teensy bit. We're only dipping our toes in right now! Enjoy!

Chapter Three Deeper

The rest of the week went smoothly after the students realized that Professor Hawthorne wasn't going to deal with their obnoxious behavior. Ella's job became much more enjoyable and she was working very to keep the subject entertaining.

On Thursday morning, when the morning post came, a large purple envelope fell into her lap.

"That's pretty," Neville chuckled next to her.

Ella turned it over and saw it was addressed to 'Professor Hawthorne, Hogwarts Staff Table.'

She opened the letter and read:

"I've been thinking about those arrogant Gryffindor boys and I hope you got them sorted out. I forgot to mention we're also a very difficult bunch.

I was also thinking that even if you don't need a laugh, I'll probably need a drink. Maybe you could meet me at the Leaky Cauldron around 6?

George Weasley

"What would the students say if they knew Professor Hawthorne had a date tomorrow?" Neville teased.

"Did you read that?" Ella asked, mock affronted.

"Well you didn't hide it." Neville shrugged. "Don't worry though. I know George. He's a great guy."

Ella smiled. Neville had become her closest friend since she arrived at Hogwarts. She had never really had male friends, as most men wanted much more from her. Neville, however, had shown her a picture of him and his smiling wife, Hannah, on their wedding day. Ella had been relieved.

The next day after her last class was over, Ella spend some time grading essays over the goblin rebellions before beginning to get ready to meet George.

It had been a long time since she had been nervous or even excited to meet a man. Even though they had only really spoken once, there was something about George Weasley. He didn't seem to have a troll's level of intelligence and he was the first man she had known who could truly make her laugh.

She curled her long hair and pulled on jeans and a simple gray t-shirt. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard.

Punctuality was sometimes a problem for Ella. She arrived at the pub at ten minutes past six. Standing in the doorway, she looked around the room until she saw the fiery red hair. Ella walked over to the barstool and tapped his shoulder.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Ella asked.

"Well I was supposed to be meeting someone, but I've given up hope that she'll ever show up. I've been stood up," George said, mock woefully.

"Oh it was only ten minutes," Ella laughed and sat beside him.

George smiled and looked for the bartender. "Oy! Can I get a firewhiskey for the lady?"

The bartender grunted and a moment later sat a smoking glass in front of Ella.

"So how many Hogwarts boys would kill to be in my position right now?" George asked with a grin.

"Not many I would assume. I let them know how it's going to work this year." Ella took a sip of the firewhiskey, relishing the delicious burn of the liquor.

"I didn't think that would be a problem for you." George joined her in having a firewhiskey. "And even if they don't like what you said, you're still the best looking thing that's ever walked through Hogwarts."

"George, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were hitting on me." Ella laughed, looking over at him.

He took a big gulp of his drink and grimaced. "I am. Blatantly."

Ella didn't know how to respond. She had always been good at dealing with men, but this man was proving to be so much different that other men she had known. Instead of responding she traced the rim of her glass.

"So tell me something about yourself." George ended the silence.

Ella thought for a moment. "I've never been seriously injured."

George laughed. "I have. I don't have an ear." He pulled back his hair and showed her that he was, in fact, missing the outside of his ear. "It's an old war wound," he adopted an old man's voice.

Ella couldn't look away from the side of his head. Finally, she was pulled back when he dropped his hair back into place. "Tell me something else about you," she said.

George studied the etchings in the bar, trying to think of something. "I was a Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"Were you any good?"

"Is that even a question?" George looked affronted. "Of course I was!"

Ella laughed and fell into silence once more.

"So you're English, but you went to school in France. Where is your family?" George asked, again breaking the silence.

"They live in England, in the countryside." Ella signaled for another round of drinks.

"Countryside," George said. "Sounds like you come from old money."

Ella nodded. "Something likes that."

George laughed. "Well I come from nothing."

She looked him over. "You don't seem to be doing too bad now."

"The joke shop does pretty well and the Ministry's bought a few products off of me. It's amazing how many people can't do a proper shield charm." He shook his head. "But growing up with six siblings there wasn't a whole lot to go around."

"You have six siblings?" Ella asked.

"Yep. Five brothers and one sister." George smiled. "How many do you have?"

Ella shook her head. "None. I'm an only child."

"Really? Wasn't that boring?" George asked. Of course with so many siblings he had never been bored a day in his life.

"Not really. It was normal for me. Sometimes I wished I had a brother or sister, but when I went to school it didn't matter." Ella shrugged.

"Fred and I used to terrorize our younger brother, Ron. We gave him a sweet that burned a hole through his tongue and he is deathly afraid of spiders because we turned his favorite teddy bear into a spider while he was holding it." A huge grin came across George's face as he recounted his memories.

"That's terrible," Ella laughed. "Does Ron still talk to you after all of that?"

"Of course he does," George chuckled.

"So Ron is younger brother. What's the rest of the order?" Ella asked, curious about such a big family.

George took a deep breath. "Bill is the oldest, then Charlie, Percy, me, then Ron, and last is Ginny."

"What about Fred? You mentioned him earlier." Ella thought it would be easy to forget someone in such a large family.

A shadow passed over George's face and she was afraid she had said the wrong thing.

George looked at his firewhiskey glass intently. "Fred was my twin," he said quietly. He didn't make eye contact with Ella and he didn't say anything else for a moment or two.

Ella sat quietly beside him. She had obviously brought on a sore subject and she didn't know what to do to make it right.

"We left school together when we were seventeen and started the joke shop." A brief, small smile graced his lips. "He was killed in the war."

George continued to look at his glass and Ella didn't say anything. Instead, one of her hands went to his back and the other took his hand that was lying closest to her. George didn't respond immediately to her touch, but when he did it was soft and gentle. He stroked the back of her fingers with his thumb and looked at her finally.

As she looked into his sad brown eyes, Ella realized George Weasley went deeper than the funny jokester she had first met.

There you have it, folks! I hope you liked it! I love, love, looooove reviews! No hate comments or flames please.

Happy reading,

Avonmora